How the Property Market is Changing

By Hanan Dervisevic

Topic: Property Prices

On July 21, 2026, at 4:44 am

On July 21, 2026, at 7:42 am

Four key pieces of data show the property market is cooling down.

Asking prices are falling, and homes are taking longer to sell as the housing market cools across Australia.

During a time of global economic uncertainty, tax reform, and higher interest rates, buyers and sellers are changing how they do transactions.

The head of research at Cotality, Gerard Burg, said the effects of these changes have lowered demand significantly over the last six months.

To understand how this uncertainty is affecting the market, let's look at what four sets of data tell us.

Asking price over time

After many years of growth, Australia's housing market is starting to slow down.

One piece of evidence for this is asking prices.

Buyers are paying up to 3.6 percent less than the original sale price for private treaty purchases in the combined capital cities over the past three months.

This is up from 3 percent in the March quarter.

Australian house prices are slowing down. Here's what a fall could look like.

Mr. Burg has seen a steady increase in the level of discounting since late last year.

When there are fewer buyers and less competition, sales take longer, leading to larger discounts.

A sales agent, Tomas Tonks-Foote, believes Redland City, 30 minutes south of Brisbane, is looking at a 10 percent decline in house prices.

A few years ago, he would add $100,000 to what he thought a house was worth, but now he's doing the opposite.

Data from a property app, Homer, also shows vendors have lowered their prices.

More than a quarter of the listings the app tracks have issued a second price guide that is lower than the first one.

The ACT has the highest share of active listings with lowered price guides, followed by Queensland and New South Wales.

Homer's CEO, Henry Pedersen, said at the beginning of the year, there were almost no price guide drops, but that has changed.

It's a good time for buyers to find value while confidence is low.

With prices going down, it's crucial to price in line with the market.

Auction clearance rates and withdrawal sales

Another sign the market is shifting is the collapse in auction sales, leaving more homes on the market for longer.

In the four weeks to July 12, Australia's auction clearance rate was below 50 percent.

Many vendors are signing contracts before auction day, fearing their homes won't sell.

Close to 20 percent of scheduled auctions were withdrawn in the week to June 21.

A year ago, only 11.5 percent of vendors pulled out of the auction process.

The market is slowing down faster than vendors expected.

Vendors are selling before auction to avoid the risk of an unsuccessful auction.

Australia's auction clearance rates have dropped dramatically in the past couple of months.

Time on market extending

Homer data shows the national median days on market in June was 42 days, up from 33 in May and 27 in November 2025.

Homes are taking longer to sell in every state over the past three months.

Western Australia recorded the largest jump in median days on market, nearly tripling between March and June.

Data from realestate.com also shows national median days on the market have extended over the past three months.

Buyers are taking longer to transact, and with more listings, they have greater choice and negotiating power.

Buyer and seller expectations are becoming less aligned.

Vendors may become more responsive to slowing market conditions and reassess their pricing expectations.

Homes in the Redlands used to sell in seven to 14 days, but now sellers should expect a six-week campaign.

There used to be 15 groups at open homes, but now there are about five groups for the first open home.

From 2013 to 2019, this was normal, but now the market is drawing back to a plateau.

Tomas Tonks-Foote is optimistic about the market's future.

Realestate.com enquiry traffic is down 50 percent since the budget.

Things will take twice as long to sell with half the volume of buyers.

What about the rest of 2026?

Some experts believe nothing significant will turn around the weakness in demand.

Interest rates are unlikely to change, and the war in Iran is still a concern.

The property downturn is set to continue for at least the next six months.

HSBC's chief economist, Paul Bloxham, said the downturn is just the beginning.

First home buyers and owner-occupiers are unlikely to want to buy in a falling market.

Australian home values have recorded their biggest decline in more than three years.

But Mr. Tonks-Foote is more optimistic about the market's direction.

Every time there's an election, end of financial year, budget, and rate changes, people wait to see what it means for them.

With bad news after bad news, there's been a lot of negative sentiment in the market.

But by September or October, the market might be moving in the right direction again.

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