Prices of homes in Australia's key cities plummeted in April, reversing the gains that the housing sector saw at the start of the current year, according to the latest figures released on Tuesday by property analysts.

Housing data coming from RP Data and Rismark showed that house prices in Australian capitals retreated by an average of 0.8 percent last month, en route to a decline of 0.7 percent over the last 12 months.

At the quarterly basis, however, home prices inched a bit by 0.3 percent, thanks much to the surge that the property sector had experience in February and March, the RP Data-Rismark Index revealed.

The new report pointed to Hobart as the biggest loser in the month, home values of which shrunk by 2.9 percent while Sydney was listed as the best performer among the losers, shedding only 0.3 percent in April.

In between, the latest index showed major Australian cities losing home values in the following order: Melbourne, 1.7 percent and Brisbane, 1.3 percent.

The index, however, also recorded improvements in the month, with Darwin leading the way when its home prices in April surged by 1.6 percent while that of Canberra's rose by 0.2 percent in the same period.

Yet over the past 12 months, no capital cities emerged as winners as the index showed that home values in the whole period plunged in Hobart, 8.5 percent; Melbourne, 7 percent; Brisbane, 6.4 percent; Adelaide, 4.2 percent and Sydney, 2.6 percent.

The leading gainer in April, Darwin, ended up losing values too in the span of 12 months, the index reported, giving up an average of 1.1 percent in prices since last year.

The new figures, according to RP Data research director Tim Lawless, seemed to prove that the stimulus intended to unleash by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) late last year failed to hit the mark.

"Our estimate of transaction volumes to February suggest that the two interest rate cuts in November and December last year are yet to provide a sustained stimulus to the market," Mr Lawless said in a statement that came with the report.

"The slowdown in buyer activity becomes quite clear," he added while explaining that monthly volume sales in the sector was limited to about 31,000 units since the start of 2012, way off from the average 45,000 units that were turned over each month last year.

With the new indicator most likely to be considered by the RBA board, Rismark managing director Ben Skilbeck is now more optimistic that the cash rate will be slashed today, which should encourage some form of recovery in the immediate months ahead.

"Home buyers will benefit from considerable affordability gains and the housing market is likely to see improved conditions building off the stability evident in the first quarter," Mr Skilbeck said in a separate statement.

According to Business Day, investors largely believe that the RBA will reduce the country's benchmark borrowing cost by up to 50 basis points following the lower than expected inflation and consumer price index (CPI) levels that came out this week.

It is widely believed too that the central bank will heed the call for help sounded off by the housing sector, which came reeling from the latest estimates made by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in April that highlighted the steepest fall of home sales in 17 years.