Australian Property

The weekend of 8-9 August suggested the nation’s housing market might be stabilising after the national auction clearance rate hit a 12-week high of 51.4%, following 10 consecutive weeks in the 40s.

As price falls spread to a larger and larger share of Australia’s housing markets, commentary continues that the nation could see the largest housing price falls on record.

Australia’s housing market is facing a ‘perfect storm’ of forces that are converging to deliver the largest price correction in generations.

Brisbane’s and Perth’s property corrections are in their infancy and are lagging well behind Sydney’s and Melbourne’s, according to Cotality.

When the debate over the impact of removing negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount on investment properties kicked off after budget night in May, a narrative emerged that this would reduce the number of homes built by property investors.

For decades, as values continued to march ever higher, Australia’s housing market was in a state of FOMO (i.e., the “fear of missing out”).

The ABS released housing finance commitments on Friday, and the standout number was the flight of investors with a quarterly crash of 10.2%.

Australia’s immigration policy is worsening labour shortages in the construction sector.

Sydney’s house price correction has worsened.

According to Cotality’s daily dwelling values index, home values have declined by 3.2% from their peak across the five major capital cities. So far, this decline has been driven by Sydney (-5.8%) and Melbourne (-5.6%), with smaller falls of 1% or less recorded across the mid-sized capitals.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has defended the federal government’s 5% home deposit scheme amid renewed criticism from Coalition counterpart Andrew Bragg.

Murdoch is on the warpath.

Earlier this year, Cotality published the following chart showing the biggest national declines in dwelling values over the past 40 years.

Indebted state governments are likely to be the biggest losers from the synchronised housing market correction.

The nation’s biggest mortgage lender, CBA, has released its annual results, and the investor presentation contains interesting information on home lending.

In the realm of politics, the role of the political staffer in the path to being a career politician is an often overlooked one.

Australian tenants have experienced the most severe rental cost inflation in living memory.

In the ongoing and eternal debate surrounding the right level of migration into Australia, there are often claims that the current level of migration into Australia is “normal” and that on these grounds criticism of the size of the intake should be dismissed.

Melbourne dwelling values have experienced zero growth over the past five years and have declined significantly this calendar year.

In the years since the pandemic first arrived on Australia’s shores, there has been an often forgotten factor boosting the fortunes of the housing market: far less stock on the market for sale.

Cotality’s daily dwelling values index continues to fall across all major Australian capital cities. Over the past month, values have fallen by 1% at the 5-city aggregate level, with Sydney (-1.5%) and Melbourne (-1.2%) leading the decline and smaller falls recorded across the other major capitals.

New data compiled by The Guardian Australia from Housing Australia shows that 50,633 guarantees were issued in the first nine months after the Albanese government expanded the 5% deposit scheme on 1 October 2025.