By Michael Yardney August 17, 2026

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This week’s Australian Property Market Update – Latest Data, State by State August 18th 2026

Property Market News
This week’s Australian Property Market Update – Latest Data, State by State August 18th 2026

Key takeaways

Australia’s property markets have moved into a cooling phase, with combined capital city dwelling values falling 1% over the past month while remaining 3% higher than a year ago.

Sydney and Melbourne continue to lead the downturn, with values now 3.1% and 3.6% lower than a year ago respectively.

Brisbane remains 13.8% higher than a year ago, while Perth and Adelaide continue to outperform, although momentum is slowing and conditions are becoming increasingly fragmented.

The RBA left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% last week after three increases earlier this year, but Governor Michele Bullock maintained a hawkish tone and made it clear that another increase remains possible.

The RBA now expects below-trend economic growth to gradually create spare capacity, with unemployment forecast to rise from 4.4% to 4.8% by the end of 2028.

Underlying inflation is expected to remain above 3% until mid-2027 before easing towards 2.5% in early 2028, suggesting interest rates are likely to remain higher for longer.

Labour force and wage growth figures will be important this week because any upside surprise could revive expectations of another interest rate increase.

Asking prices have softened across many capital cities and homes are taking longer to sell, giving buyers greater choice and more negotiating power.

Rental conditions remain tight, with national rents increasing 5.9% over the year and combined capital city gross rental yields reaching their highest level since August 2019.

The growing differences between cities, suburbs and individual properties reinforce the importance of careful property selection, strong cash flow management and a long-term investment strategy.

Australia’s property markets have entered a more challenging phase, and the latest figures confirm that the momentum of the past few years has shifted.

Combined capital city dwelling values have fallen 1% over the past month, although they remain 3% higher than a year ago.

However, those national figures hide a widening divide between our capital cities and, increasingly, between different suburbs and property types within the same city.

Sydney values have fallen 1.4% over the past month and are now 3.1% lower than a year ago, while Melbourne values have declined 1.1% over the month and 3.6% over the year.

Brisbane has also slipped over the past month, yet values remain 13.8% higher than a year ago, highlighting just how differently the various markets are travelling.

At the same time, asking prices are softening across many capitals, properties are taking longer to sell and vendors are generally having to negotiate more than they did earlier in the cycle.

This is the type of market where buyers become more selective and compromise less, while sellers who remain anchored to yesterday’s prices risk watching their properties sit on the market.

Of course, interest rates remain a major influence on buyer confidence and borrowing capacity, particularly after three increases earlier this year.

Last week the Reserve Bank left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%, as widely expected, although Governor Michele Bullock’s press conference retained a distinctly hawkish tone.

The Board considered another increase before deciding unanimously to hold, and the Governor made it clear that a further rate rise remains possible if inflation proves more persistent than expected.

There were relatively modest adjustments to the RBA’s economic growth and inflation forecasts, but the projected path for unemployment was revised higher, partly because the starting point is already higher than previously anticipated.

The RBA now expects several years of below-trend growth, with unemployment gradually rising from its current 4.4% to around 4.8% by the end of 2028.

Importantly, the latest forecasts suggest the economy will return to balance during 2027 before some spare capacity emerges across the labour and product markets.

That is a meaningful shift from earlier forecasts, which largely assumed demand and supply would return to balance without much spare capacity opening up.

Underlying inflation is still expected to remain above 3% until the middle of 2027 before easing towards 2.5% in early 2028.

In other words, the RBA appears increasingly confident that tighter financial conditions and slower economic growth will eventually bring inflation under control, but it is unwilling to declare victory while inflation remains well above target.

My expectation is that the RBA will continue to talk tough because keeping inflation expectations contained is part of its job.

However, if unemployment continues to drift higher and inflation annualises at around 2.5% during the second half of 2027, the cash rate is likely to remain unchanged through the rest of 2026 and into 2027 before beginning a gradual decline.

The next important clues will come from this week’s labour force and Wage Price Index figures.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain around 4.4%, continuing to track above the 4.1% to 4.3% range that prevailed over much of the preceding year.

Meanwhile, wages are expected to rise by around 0.8% over the quarter and 3.2% over the year.

That level of wage growth should be consistent with inflation eventually returning to 2.5%, although there is very little margin for a stronger result, particularly while productivity growth remains subdued.

For property markets, the message is that borrowers should prepare for interest rates to remain higher for longer, even if the next move in rates ultimately proves to be down.

Meanwhile, the rental market continues to tell a different story.

National rents have increased 5.9% over the past year, listings remain limited and gross rental yields across the combined capitals have risen to their highest level since August 2019.

For investors, improving rental income is providing some support as property values soften, although higher borrowing costs, insurance premiums, council rates and other holding expenses continue to place pressure on cash flow.

To my mind, this remains a cyclical correction driven by tighter financial conditions, reduced borrowing capacity and weaker confidence rather than a broad deterioration in the long-term fundamentals supporting our housing markets.

Population growth, chronic housing undersupply and rising construction costs remain powerful influences, but they cannot prevent prices from falling temporarily when affordability is stretched and finance becomes more expensive.

I see the current slowdown as a normal correction after three interest rate increases and months of uncertainty surrounding changes to property taxation.

If you need to sell today, conditions are undeniably tougher than they were 12 months ago. However, if you own well-located, investment-grade property and have the financial capacity to hold it for the next decade, these softer conditions are simply another stage of the property cycle.

Strategic investors should remain financially prepared and highly selective because slower markets create opportunities for buyers with sufficient buffers, access to sound advice, and a long-term perspective.

On the auction front this week... Sydney and Melbourne ease, yet clearance rates hit a 12-week high

The preliminary combined capitals auction clearance rate nudged up a little last week to 56.5%, its highest early success rate in 12 weeks.

This came despite falls in the two largest markets, where Sydney eased 1.4 percentage points and Melbourne.

See Cotality's full auction report below.

This week, Cotality also reports that:

Sydney property prices declined -0.5% over the last week, also declined -1.4% over the last month, and are -3.1% lower than they were 12 months ago.
Melbourne property prices declined -0.3% over the last week, also declined -1.1% over the last month, are -3.6% lower compared to 12 months ago.

Brisbane property prices declined -0.3% over the last week, declined -0.6% over the last month and are 13.8% higher than they were 12 months ago.

Overall, Australian capital dwelling prices declined -1% over the last month and are now 3% higher than they were 12 months ago.

Clearly, the property cycle is moving on but our markets are very fragmented.

Weekly Change 17 August

Monthly Change 17 August

12 Month Change 17 August

Source: Cotality August 17th 2026

Of course, these are "overall" figures - there is not one Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane property market.

And various segments of each market are performing differently.

At the beginning of this cycle the upper quartile of the market lead the upswing but last year the lower quartile across every capital city recorded a stronger outcome for housing values relative to its upper quartile counterpart.

The following chart shows how various segments of each capital city market are performing differently, with median-priced properties performing well.

Quarterly Change In Stratified Hdi

28 Day Rolling Change In Hvi 17 August

To help keep you up-to-date with all that's happening in property, here is my updated weekly analysis of data and charts as of 17th August 2026, provided by SQM Research, Cotality, and realestate.com.au.

Current property asking prices

Property asking prices are a useful leading indicator for housing markets - giving a good indication of what's ahead.

Here is the latest data available:

Sydney

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	2,042.934	-4.939	-1.2%	0.8%
All Units	890.409	1.091	0.0%	1.9%
Combined	1,571.445	-2.575	-0.9%	0.9%

Source: SQM Research

Melbourne

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,301.772	-1.049	-0.7%	0.5%
All Units	676.471	0.867	-0.1%	6.8%
Combined	1,104.096	-0.275	-0.6%	1.7%

Source: SQM Research

Brisbane

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,376.707	-6.956	-1.2%	8.8%
All Units	853.518	1.382	-0.9%	14.2%
Combined	1,243.958	-4.977	-1.2%	9.6%

Source: SQM Research

Perth

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,298.467	8.682	0.1%	11.5%
All Units	783.453	5.594	0.2%	19.1%
Combined	1,162.960	7.808	0.1	12.7%

Source: SQM Research

Adelaide

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,107.818	-0.094	-2.6%	5.1%
All Units	632.006	-0.706	0.4%	12.1%
Combined	1,021.928	-0.271	-2.2%	5.8%

Source: SQM Research

Canberra

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,231.510	-3.023	-2.8%	0.1%
All Units	597.274	-2.037	-1.0%	1.2%
Combined	989.398	-3.090	-2.5%	-0.2%

Source: SQM Research

Darwin

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	837.846	-3.246	0.9%	5.5%
All Units	492.069	-0.569	1.2%	13.1%
Combined	701.847	-2.172	1.0%	7.5%

Source: SQM Research

Hobart

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	907.710	-8.603	-1.9%	8.2%
All Units	536.428	-0.128	0.5%	8.5%
Combined	850.754	-7.341	-1.7%	8.2%

Source: SQM Research

National

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,062.040	-3.190	-1.2%	5.4%
All Units	658.962	2.388	0.7%	10.3%
Combined	974.149	-2.022	-0.9%	6.1%

Source: SQM Research

Cap City Average

Property type	Price ($)	Weekly Change	Monthly Change %	Annual % change
All Houses	1,522.275	1.977	-0.9%	2.9%
All Units	794.430	2.195	0.4%	5.9%
Combined	1,303.728	1.950	-0.7%	3.3%

Source: SQM Research

The value of property asking prices as a leading indicator for housing markets is quite significant.

In fact it's more valuable than median prices which can be quite misleading.

Let's delve into why this is the case and how it impacts the real estate market.

Early Market Sentiment Indicator: Asking prices often reflect the current sentiment of sellers in the real estate market.

If sellers are confident, they might set higher asking prices, anticipating strong demand.
Conversely, if sellers are uncertain or perceive a market downturn, they might lower their asking prices to attract buyers.
This makes asking prices a real-time indicator of market sentiment, often preceding changes in actual sales prices.
Predictive of Future Price Trends: Trends in asking prices can be predictive of where the actual property prices are headed.
For example, a consistent rise in asking prices over a period can signal an upcoming rise in transaction prices.
Impact of Economic Factors: Economic factors such as interest rates, employment rates, and broader economic health influence asking prices.
For instance, changes in the Reserve Bank of Australia's policies or shifts in the job market can quickly reflect in the asking prices, providing insights into how these factors are influencing the housing market.
Regional Variations: In a diverse market like Australia's, asking prices can also provide insights into regional disparities.
For instance, the property markets in Melbourne and Sydney might behave differently from those in Brisbane or Perth. Asking prices can give early indications of these regional trends.
Influence of Supply and Demand: Asking prices are also a response to the balance of supply and demand in the market.
In areas with limited supply and high demand, asking prices tend to be higher and vice versa.

However, it's important to note that while asking prices are a valuable indicator, they should not be used in isolation.

Other factors like actual sales prices, time on the market, auction clearance rates, and economic conditions also play crucial roles in understanding the property market dynamics.

Last weekend's auction report

Sydney and Melbourne ease, yet clearance rates hit a 12-week high

The preliminary combined capitals auction clearance rate nudged up a little last week to 56.5%, its highest early success rate in 12 weeks.

This came despite falls in the two largest markets, where Sydney eased 1.4 percentage points and Melbourne 3.4 percentage points.

The gains were concentrated in the smaller markets, with Adelaide (up 15.1 percentage points), Brisbane (up 13.8 percentage points) and the ACT (up 14.1 percentage points) all moving higher.

For the second consecutive week, the combined clearance rate remained above 55%.

This improvement is from a low base, having risen from a cyclical low of 47.4% in the week ending 21 June.

Clearance rates remain significantly below the decade average of 68.0%.

At this level, market values continue to decline, and buyers retain a stronger negotiating position.

There were 1,309 auctions last week, down 5.3% on the previous week and 31.9% on the same week a year earlier.

Volumes are set to rise again, with about 1,420 homes scheduled for auction this week and around 1,540 next week.

Capital City Auction Statistics 17 August

Melbourne was again the busiest market, with 596 homes going under the hammer.

The preliminary clearance rate eased to 57.4%, down from 60.8% a week earlier, while volumes fell 9.6% week on week
and were 36% below a year ago.

A total of 425 homes went to auction in Sydney, up 3.2% from the week before but down 39.7% from the same week last year.

The preliminary clearance rate eased to 55.6%, off 1.4 percentage points from 57.0%, a 15th straight week under 60% and well adrift of the 70.1% decade average.

In Brisbane, 145 homes went to auction, 9.9% fewer than the previous week but 6.6% above the same time last year.

Just over half found a buyer, with the preliminary clearance rate at 51.9%. That was a 13.8- point rise from the previous week and the city's best early result in 13 weeks.

Adelaide's 88 auctions were down 6.4% from the previous week, yet 3.5% higher than a year earlier.

The standout was the clearance rate, which reached 61.9%. That was up 15.1 percentage points from the week before and the strongest early figure since the week ending 7 June.

In the ACT, the preliminary clearance rate increased to 60.0%, surpassing this threshold for the first time since the week ending 12 May.

The 45 auctions held were down 4.3% from the previous week and down 11.8% from the same week last year.

Perth held ten auctions, and Tasmania held none.

Our rental markets

Cotality’s national rental index rose by 0.4% seasonally adjusted in July , continuing a modest slowing trend in monthly growth from recent peaks in January.

That said, annual rental growth has remained elevated, increasing by 5.9% yoy for the third straight month .

This is the equivalent of adding around $40/week to the median rent over the past year.

Annual Change In Rents Houses

Across the cities, annual rental growth was strongest in Darwin (up 10.4%), Perth (8.1%) and Hobart (8.0%).

In contrast, there was weaker growth in the ACT (3.3%), while rental growth in Melbourne (5.1%) and Adelaide (5.3%) was a little below the national average.

Annual Change In Rents Units

Gross rental yields have continued to move higher in recent months, reflecting the increase in rents against the decline in home values nationally.

In July, the gross rental yield across the combined capitals was 3.56%, its highest rate since August 2019.

Across the major capitals, yields are highest in Melbourne (4.0%) and lowes in Sydney (3.3%) and Brisbane (3.4%).

Gross Rental Yield Dwellings