Despite the monthly pause, the overall trend of decline in sales remains in train. Sales in the September quarter were 4.7 per cent lower than in the previous quarter and 8.0 per cent lower than in the September 2017 quarter. The monthly increase in sales was geographically widespread, with all but one of the mainland states posting monthly increases. Queensland was the outlier, experiencing a steep fall of 10.8 per cent during the month.