Illawarra house prices have continued to fall, but there may be signs that "things are turning around", a leading economist says.
Domain Group has released its House Price Report for the June quarter.
The report says the median house price in the Kiama LGA as of June 2019 was $822,500. This was a noticeable dip from the June 2018 figure of $937,500, a decrease of 12.30 per cent.
In Shellharbour, the June 2019 median price was $600,300; the median 12 months earlier was $630,000.
This represented a decrease of 4.70 per cent.
In Wollongong, the median house price in June this year was $675,000; down from $756,000 a year prior, a drop of 10.70 per cent.
Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said across the Illawarra LGAs, it appeared the price correction really started to occur from mid-2018 into late 2018, and this had accelerated in the June quarter this year.
"A factor that's impacted not just that region, but around the country was the uncertainty surrounding the election, and tighter lending conditions really started to hit prices as well," he said.
However, Mr Wiltshire said there were signs that "things are turning around a little".
"Most indicators point towards prices bottoming out, although there's obviously regional factors at play in different areas," he said.
Mr Wiltshire said factors like lower interest rates would probably work to support price growth going forward.
"With prices falling or perhaps near the bottom in a lot of areas, vendors are reluctant to sell unless they have to," he said.
"So we're not seeing much stock changing hands, and this seems to be a similar story across all areas, including the Illawarra.
"I think if Sydney prices do turn around and start growing again, and there are definitely indications that the Sydney market is near the bottom, I think we'll see for the Illawarra that it might be six to 12 months behind what's happening in Sydney.
"When Sydney prices look to be stabilising, perhaps the Illawarra might see further falls before also following Sydney and start to stabilise."
Meanwhile, Sydney property prices fell further in the June quarter, although the pace of the price falls is slowing.
House prices fell 0.4 per cent in the quarter and 9.1 per cent over the year. The median house price remains above $1 million, but is 14 per cent below the mid-2017 peak.
Unit prices continued to fall in the June quarter and are down 7.1 per cent over the year. The median unit price is $688,700, which is 11 per cent below the 2017 peak.