Cameron Tidy/Unsplash After years of rapid growth, Australia’s housing market is beginning to cool. Auction clearance rates have softened, prices in Sydney and Melbourne are easing, and economists expect further modest declines over coming months. And whenever housing slows, the same question quickly follows: will the broader economy slow with it? The answer is probably yes – but not by much. What does a slowdown mean for the economy? Housing touches almost every part of Australia’s economy.