The period of strong growth in Australian property prices has come to a close in all capital cities except Perth, a report has found. In the June quarter, Sydney median house prices were $495,000, 3.1 per cent lower than the March quarter and down 3.9 per cent on a year earlier. Sydney prices had flattened in the September quarter of 2004 and were now moving downward, the report said. In Melbourne, the median increased 4.3 per cent to $363,000 in the June quarter after dipping in the March quarter, but was still two per cent lower than a year ago. REIA president Ian Wells said the slowdown in growth began about 18 months ago following the surge in median prices in 2001. "Now in most capital cities, growth in median prices for houses and other dwellings has slowed considerably," Mr Wells said. Mortgage Choice national corporate affairs manager Warren O'Rourke said the fall in prices presented opportunities for buyers. "It is a buyer's market so potential purchasers should be focused on working their market research into a long-term property investment strategy," Mr O'Rourke said. "Although capital gains are rising at a slower pace, the right property choice and loan can provide any consumer with good gains over the long term." The report said Canberra had remained flat since its phenomenal upward trend in median house prices ended 12 months ago, with the median dropping 3.7 per cent to $352,500 in the June quarter. The Brisbane median price was $310,000, up 0.8 of a per cent and closely tracking the Canberra pattern. The only bright spot remained in Perth where median house prices grew 4.2 per cent in the June quarter to $297,000. Adelaide median prices fell 1.8 per cent to $270,000. In the smaller capitals, Darwin continued a moderate upward trend to $279,800 while Hobart's median was $260,000, down 4.1 per cent. The report also said the trend in median prices for other dwellings had been flat in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra since the end of 2003. By AAP