![Melbourne housing market update [video] | October 2026](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/melbourne-1-270x200.jpg)
For the first time in nearly a year, Melbourne has something that could cautiously be described as good news. Values fell 0.7% in September — the tenth consecutive monthly decline, but also the smallest monthly fall since March. That matters because Melbourne has spent this entire cycle as the market with no bottom in sight….
Australia’s housing downturn has stopped sparing anyone. Cotality’s National House Price Index fell 1.1% in September 2026, the sixth consecutive monthly decline, bringing the cumulative drop since March to 5.2%. Every capital city except Darwin recorded a fall over the September quarter, and 97% of capital city suburbs saw values decline across those three months….
There is no doubt that our housing markets are facing challenges from all directions, but clearly they have remained more resilient than the property pessimists had predicted. To better understand what’s happening, this monthly collection of charts from Cotality paints an interesting picture. According to Cotality, Australia’s most expensive homes are leading the housing downturn, with upper-quartile…
Something interesting is happening in Australia’s property market, with auction clearance rates only telling part of the story. Auctions work best when several motivated buyers compete for the same property, creating urgency and pushing prices higher. But as buyer demand has softened in 2026, that competition has become harder to generate. New Domain research shows…
There is a dangerous tendency in Australia’s housing debate to assume that anything that makes life harder for property investors must automatically make life easier for first-home buyers and tenants. It’s a good political argument that sounds appealing, particularly when housing affordability is such an emotional issue, but housing markets don’t work in isolation. Investors,…
Capital city home rental vacancy rates generally tightened over August with most remaining at historically low levels. Despite low and tightening vacancy rates, rents for both houses and units however were mostly lower over the month. Hobart was the only capital to report higher monthly house rents, rising sharply by 2.4%. Perth rents were steady…
Australia’s economy expanded by 0.4% in the June quarter, with spending growth driven by record sales of imported electric vehicles. For the year to June, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, slightly stronger than market expectations. The bureau noted overall growth remained subdued, with spending growth and…
Australia’s housing market has clearly entered a downturn, and prices are likely to fall further in some markets. Higher interest rates have reduced borrowing capacity, confidence has weakened and the Federal Budget has changed the investment equation for established residential property. Sydney and Melbourne are already recording meaningful declines, transaction volumes have fallen sharply and…
Australian home prices fell for a fifth consecutive month in August, according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index Report, as higher interest rates continued to weigh on borrowing capacities and housing demand. Data shows that national home prices declined 0.2% over the month and are now 2.7% below their March 2026 peak. Despite the…
Home value declines spread sharply across Australia’s housing market through winter, with home values falling across 93% of capital city suburbs and every capital city except Darwin recording a decline over the past three months. Cotality’s national Home Value Index fell 0.9% in August, marking a fifth consecutive month of decline and taking national home…
