House prices flattened in September after the strongest winter gains in seven years.
A daily home value index for mainland state capitals compiled by RP Data and CoreLogic was down 0.3 per cent in the first 26 days of September, compared with the average for all of August.
But the trend picked up late in the month, making a "relatively flat" result likely for the month as whole, RP Data research director Tim Lawless said.
"The first month of spring has seen housing market conditions remain buoyant with clearance rates consistently above the 70 per cent mark on a weighted capital city basis and agents continuing to report strong housing market activity," he said.
"From a valuations perspective we have seen a flattening in the rate of capital gains over the month of September."
The September result would bring the three-monthly growth rate for prices back to about 2.5 per cent, a "healthy reduction" from growth of 4.2 per cent over the three months to August, Mr Lawless said.
"With the debate around sustainability of dwelling values heating up, the softer September result should be viewed as a welcome evolution in the housing market, although it remains to be seen whether these softer conditions will persist throughout the rest of Spring."
The final figures for September, which will include data for smaller capitals and regional areas, are due for release on Wednesday.