After years of property investors feeling that Victoria sees them as an easy source of extra revenue, there is finally an encouraging change in direction. The Victorian Government has announced plans to ease the Absentee Owner Surcharge for eligible developments, recognising that attracting investment can help get more homes built. Introduced in 2016, the surcharge…
Australia’s property market has reached a turning point, with the latest figures suggesting the downturn is becoming more widespread than many expected. For the first time in 15 years, house prices have fallen across every Australian capital city in the same quarter, according to Domain’s September 2026 House Price Report. And now some of the…
Spain is in the middle of a political reckoning over housing. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called an early election for November 29, after parliament rejected his government’s emergency housing measures amid widespread anger over rising rents and housing insecurity. In Australia, the day before the Spanish vote, Victorians will go to the polls…
Australia’s property markets are continuing to lose momentum, with falling dwelling values, subdued auction activity and longer selling times confirming that buyers are becoming increasingly cautious. To help keep you up-to-date with all that’s happening, below is my updated weekly analysis of data and charts as of 19th October 2026, provided by SQM Research, Cotality,…
Six months ago the conversation about Australian property was all about resilience, about how our markets kept climbing despite thirteen rate rises and a cost of living squeeze that refused to ease. Boy has that conversation has changed. Capital city dwelling values fell 1.1% over the past month and are now 1% lower than a…
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 spring property market has failed to gain its usual…
![Adelaide housing market update [video] | October 2026](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/adelaide-270x200.jpg)
Adelaide spent most of this cycle as the market that refused to break. That ended decisively in September. Values fell 1.3%, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, and 94% of Adelaide suburbs recorded a drop over the September quarter. The speed of the turn is what stands out. Adelaide set a record high in May this…
Home auction markets have continued to report generally subdued results into the middle of the spring selling season – although some capitals recorded higher clearance rates over the past week. Weekly Auction Results to Saturday, October 17th 2026 Capital City This Week Last Week Same Week Last Year Auctions Rate Auctions Rate Auctions Rate Sydney…
![Perth housing market update [video] | October 2026](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Perth-city-270x200.jpeg)
Perth presents the strangest set of numbers in the country right now. Values fell 1.2% in September, the fifth consecutive monthly decline and the fourth straight month of losses exceeding 1%. Since peaking in April, the market has shed 6%, taking roughly $62,000 off the median property value. And yet Perth is still up 10.1%…
![Brisbane housing market update [video] | October 2026](https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/brisbane-270x200.jpg)
Brisbane has done something this month that would have been unthinkable a year ago: it recorded the steepest monthly price fall of any Australian capital city. Values dropped 1.5% in September, edging past Sydney’s 1.4% decline and taking the market 5.4% below its May peak. That decline has effectively erased ten months of gains. Brisbane…
