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A lift in house values in the smallest cities has driven growth across the country, despite stalling values in Sydney and Melbourne.

CoreLogic's national Home Value Index released on Friday was up 0.7 per cent in March, driven by stronger conditions in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and the ACT, along with several regional areas.

This offset a slip in values across Sydney and Melbourne.

Australian dwelling values rise by 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year, adding about $17,000 to the value of a home.

A year ago, values were rising at more than double the current pace, up 5.8 per cent over the three months to March 2021, before the quarterly rate of growth peaked at seven per cent over the three months ending May 2021.

Sydney's growth rate fell from a peak of 9.3 per cent in the three months to May 2021, to 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Melbourne's housing market has seen the quarterly rate of growth slow from 5.8 per cent in April last year to 0.1 per cent in the past three months.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said there was mounting evidence housing growth rates were losing momentum.

"Virtually every capital city and major rest-of-state region has moved through a peak in the trend rate of growth some time last year or earlier this year," Mr Lawless said.

"The sharpest slowdown has been in Sydney, where housing prices are the most unaffordable, advertised supply is trending higher and sales activity is down over the year."

Exceptions to the trend include regional South Australia and Perth.

Mr Lawless said the annual growth trend would fall sharply in the coming months, as the strong gains recorded in early 2021 dropped out of the 12-month calculation.

National housing turnover is also easing, with preliminary transaction estimates for the March quarter tracking 14.3 per cent lower than the same period in 2021, but still 12.2 per cent above the previous five-year average.

Regional dwelling values increased 5.1 per cent in the three months to March, compared with the 1.5 per cent increase recorded across the combined capital cities.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that residential property prices rose 4.7 per cent during the quarter, reflecting record low interest rates, the labour market recovery and strong demand for housing.

Separate ABS data on Friday showed a 3.7 per cent decline in housing loan approvals in February, compared to economist forecasts for a 1.5 per cent increase.

Approved housing loans had jumped 2.6 per cent rise in January.

The sharp drop in February to a seasonally-adjusted $32.3 billion was mainly driven by a 4.7 per cent fall in the value of owner-occupier home loans - the first since October 2021.

The decline was seen across most states and territories, with NSW down 10.5 per cent) while Victoria dropped 5.2 per cent. The ACT recorded a 23.6 per cent slide.

The value of home loans to investors also fell 1.8 per cent to $10.8 billion - the first such decline since October 2020.

CORELOGIC NATIONAL HOME VALUE INDEX FOR MARCH

(month, annual)

National - up 0.7 per cent, up 18.2 per cent

Sydney - down 0.2 per cent, up 17.7 per cent

Melbourne - down 0.1 per cent, up 9.8 per cent

Brisbane - up 2.0 per cent, up 29.3 per cent

Adelaide - up 1.9 per cent, up 26.3 per cent

Perth - up 1.0 per cent, up 7.0 per cent

Hobart - up 0.3 per cent, up 22.3 per cent

Darwin - up 0.8 per cent, up 10.6 per cent

Canberra - up 1.0 per cent, up 21.6 per cent

Combined capitals - up 0.3 per cent, up 16.3 per cent

Combined regional - up 1.7 per cent, up 24.5 per cent

© AAP 2022

Aviation safety experts are expected to begin combing through the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in mountainous Victorian terrain, killing five people.

Four passengers and a pilot died at the scene after the aircraft crashed at Mt Disappointment, north of Melbourne, on Thursday morning.

The five people on board included four men and one woman aged from 32 to 73. Three were from Victoria and two from NSW.

Their remains were found after ground crews battled steep terrain and dense forest to reach the wreckage near Blair's Hut about 3.45pm, after it was earlier spotted by the police air wing.

"The helicopter's been destroyed and unfortunately there were no survivors," Acting Inspector Josh Langelaan told reporters on Thursday night.

It is believed to be Victoria's deadliest aviation disaster since February 2017, when five people were killed after a charter plane crashed into Melbourne's Essendon DFO shopping centre.

At the time, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was the state's worst civil aviation accident for 30 years.

The helicopter was one of two that departed Batman Park in central Melbourne on Thursday morning, flying in convoy over Mt Disappointment on their way to Ulupna near the Victorian/NSW border.

The passengers were travelling as part of a business trip, police said.

Mr Langelaan said there was low cloud over Mt Disappointment when one of the helicopters went missing and the other raised the alarm, before landing safely at Moorabbin.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to take over the investigation on Friday.

It plans to send a team to the site from its Canberra and Melbourne offices with expertise in helicopter operations and maintenance, as well as aerospace engineering.

The experts will inspect the wreckage and site surrounds before sending any relevant parts to Canberra for further examination.

The ATSB will also analyse any recorded data and conduct interviews with those who have knowledge of the flight.

A preliminary report from the watchdog is expected in about six to eight weeks.

Bulldozers and an excavator have been called in to clear a path to the crash site through the rugged terrain, with the ATSB expected to inspect the site for several days.

© AAP 2022

A chaotic try to Gold Coast's AJ Brimson has got the Titans out of jail with an 8-6 NRL win over the hapless Wests Tigers at CBUS Super Stadium.

Trailing 6-2 and with the match seemingly set to be the first try-less first grade rugby league match in 29 years, Brimson's effort with one minute to play snatched the victory for the hosts.

The winning play on Thursday was fitting for a largely forgettable match that was low on quality and high on errors.

A chip kick by Titans halfback Toby Sexton hit the upright and bounced inside the penalty area where it was fielded by Jock Madden.

But the Tigers five-eighth lost possession after being hit by a Titans player, Brimson pouncing on the loose ball to ground it with one hand and steal the win.

The loss was devastating for the winless Tigers and under-fire coach Michael Maguire, after they held a four-point advantage through a trio of Luke Brooks penalties.

"It can be a cruel game," Maguire said.

"I'm actually really proud of the players ... how they continually stay at it and work.

"They're very rock solid.

"There's a lot of hurt in the change room at the moment. Seventy-nine minutes, whatever it was, and we had it there, but it's a tough one."

Neither team shone in a scrappy first half that was highlighted by ex-Tiger Corey Thompson spilling the ball with the line at his mercy in the 19th minute.

Titans captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was placed on report for a lifting tackle on James Tamou in the 14th minute while Tiger Alex Twal also got placed on report for a crusher on Sexton which led to the first score of the game in the 37th minute.

The visitors also had Jacob Liddle go for a HIA after a clash of heads with Moeaki Fotuaika left the Tigers' hooker bleeding from his nose but the No.9 was cleared to return.

Defeat leaves the Tigers rooted to the bottom of the ladder with no wins from four matches while Gold Coast are now 2-2.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook said simply getting the two points after a week which was disrupted by COVID-19 withdrawals from his squad and the team's training facilities on the Gold Coast flooding during heavy rainfall made him immensely proud.

"They just got on with it and at no stage did the players care about the week's preparation," Holbrook said.

"We were that confident and prepared to play tonight.

"Obviously, a scrappy game all round, but you can only play to the conditions and we come up with a win, that's the main thing."

The Titans host Parramatta next weekend while the Tigers travel to PointsBet Stadium to play Cronulla in their next fixture.

© AAP 2022