SQM Research released its latest data on residential rental property vacancy rates. Australia’s national residential vacancy rate increased to 1.3% in June 2026, up from 1.2% in May, with the total number of residential vacancies rising slightly to 39,229 dwellings from 37,844 the previous month. While the increase suggests a modest easing in rental market…
Suburbs with a higher share of owner-occupied homes recorded significantly stronger long-term capital growth between 2010 and 2026, driven by a 34-percentage point performance gap across the unit market, according to new analysis from Cotality of 3,000 suburbs over 16 years. The performance divide is steepest in the unit market, where owner-occupied areas deliver more…
If you’ve bought or sold a property recently, you’re used to a familiar process involving contracts, finance approval and a straightforward path to settlement. That process has just changed, and it has changed for everyone, including experienced investors who’ve done this dozens of times before. From 1 July 2026, Australian real estate agents, conveyancers, lawyers,…
July 1 is the start of a new financial year. It also marks the end of the National Rental Affordability Scheme, which once provided more than 35,000 affordable rental homes across the country. The scheme was introduced by the Rudd government in 2008 in response to declining affordability. But it was later axed by the…
Generally low vacancy rates have eased over June but rents have continued to rise for both houses and units – particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney was the top performer with house rents surging by 2.9% over the month followed by Melbourne higher by 1.7% and Adelaide up 0.8%. Brisbane, Darwin and Perth house rents…
Australian home prices fell in June, as all but one capital city recorded a decline, according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index. Despite dropping a further 0.3% during the month, prices remain 5.8% higher than a year ago. According to Proptrack’s data, the median price of a home reached $903,000 in June following a…
Cotality’s national Home Value Index (HVI) dropped 0.4% in June, marking the largest month-on-month fall since December 2022. A 1.2% decline in Sydney home values served as the most significant drag on the headline result. Melbourne followed closely with a 1.0% decline, while ACT values fell 0.6%. The mid-sized capitals recorded a sharp slowdown in…
Cotality’s latest Pain & Gain report analysed almost 101,000 resales in Q1, finding 96.0% of residential property resales delivered a nominal profit over the quarter, up slightly from 95.9% in December and the strongest result since 2005. The median gain increased to a record $377,000, while the median loss remained unchanged at $45,000. Despite signs of…
With so much noise in the media, it’s easy to miss some of the key developments that could have a significant impact on property owners, investors and aspiring home buyers. Over the past week, three major stories have emerged that deserve attention. More importantly, they provide valuable clues about where the property market may be…
Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address last week reminded us she doesn’t like multiculturalism, she sees immigration as responsible for most of the country’s problems, and she regards the values of some immigrants as inimical to a predominantly “Judeo-Christian society”. She called for “monoculturalism” to replace “multiculturalism”. These kinds of views are not new for…
