Australia’s property markets are continuing to lose momentum, with dwelling values declining and the traditional spring selling season failing to deliver its usual lift in activity. To help keep you up-to-date with all that’s happening, below is my updated weekly analysis of data and charts as of 12th 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…
Australia has a housing problem that everyone seems to agree needs fixing. We need more homes, our population continues to grow, rental markets remain tight, and governments have set ambitious housing targets. Yet there is an uncomfortable contradiction underneath all this: while governments are asking the property industry to build more, the businesses expected to…
Home auction markets remain in the doldrums with generally low clearance rates, and a surge in listings with the holiday and sports distractions of the past few weeks now concluded. Weekly Auction Results to Saturday, October 10th 2026 Capital City This Week Last Week Same Week Last Year Auctions Rate Auctions Rate Auctions Rate Sydney…
Affordability and cost-of-living pressures have taken the heat out of Australia’s rental market, driving a marked slowdown in rental growth during the September quarter as vacancy rates rose to their highest level since January 2025. Cotality’s latest Quarterly Rental Review shows national rents increased 0.5% in the three months to September, a marked slowdown on…
For the last few years, Australia’s rental market has followed a fairly predictable pattern. There haven’t been enough rental properties available, vacancy rates have fallen to extraordinarily low levels and rents have risen as tenants competed for the limited stock on offer. But something interesting is now happening. The rental shortage remains, vacancy rates in…
With national property values down by 5.2% in September from their March peak, Australia’s housing market is in a distinct downturn. This has sparked concerns voiced by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor of a housing market “in freefall”. Translated into dollar terms, using the Domain property price series, the price of a typical home has dropped…
For years, we’ve talked about Australia’s property market as though there were one type of buyer responding to one set of conditions. Interest rates rise, borrowing capacity falls, affordability deteriorates and buyers supposedly react in much the same way. Of course, property markets don’t work like that. Australia is made up of hundreds of individual…
SQM Research’s Weekly Asking Prices Index for the week ending 29 September 2026 showed a modest easing in asking prices nationally over the month, while annual growth remained positive. Nationally, house asking prices eased 0.4% over the month, while unit asking prices declined 0.2%. Combined dwelling asking prices fell 0.4% month-on-month and remain 3.6% higher…
Are you overwhelmed by interest rates, falling confidence, gloomy headlines and a new prediction every week? Right now, the property noise is deafening, and it’s easy to freeze. My message is simple: there is light on the horizon. The short term will remain uncertain, but the long term is still very much on our side….
