Australia's national home values fall 1.2% in October

Cotality reported that Australia's national Home Value Index dropped 1.2% in October, marking seven consecutive months of decline.

Brisbane and Perth recorded sharper dwelling value drops of 2% and 1.7%, respectively, outpacing Sydney's 1.6% decline.

"Buyers have a lot more stock to choose from, they have more leverage, and there isn’t the same urgency to buy as there was a year ago when home values were rising rapidly," said Cotality research director Tim Lawless.

Estimated sales volumes over the past three months fell 23% from a year earlier, while auction clearance rates across combined capitals remained below 50%.

Cotality stated that conditions are expected to remain subdued through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027 due to weak consumer confidence and potential interest rate hikes.

Capital city listings climbed to their highest level for this time of year since 2019 because slower sales activity outweighed a flow of new listings running nearly 18% below average.

Private treaty sales took longer to close and required larger vendor discounts as lower confidence and serviceability barriers kept buyers largely absent from the market.