Australian home values fell for a sixth consecutive month in September, with Cotality’s national Home Value Index down 1.1% and dwelling values now 5.2% below their March 2026 peak, according to data reported by proactiveinvestors.com.au. The downturn was broad-based: every capital city except Darwin recorded a monthly decline, and 97% of capital-city suburbs lost value over the three months to the end of September. Brisbane posted the steepest monthly fall among the capitals at 1.5%, followed by Sydney at 1.4% and Melbourne at 0.7%; Darwin was the only capital to rise, up 0.4%. Sydney values are now 8.6% below their February peak — slightly worse than the equivalent stage of the city’s 2022–23 downturn — while Melbourne sits 7.2% below its most recent cyclical high.
The slide has been driven by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate-tightening cycle: the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.60% this week, its highest level in about 15 years, further squeezing borrowing capacity and buyer confidence. Sales activity has slowed sharply — nationwide home sales over the past three months were an estimated 19.1% lower than a year earlier and 13.3% below the previous five-year average, with Brisbane (-27.2%), Sydney (-26.5%) and Perth (-24.2%) recording the steepest drops. Stock is piling up even as fewer owners list: new listings fell 9.2% year-on-year while total advertised inventory rose 23.1%, and the median time to sell across the capitals stretched to 39 days from 23 days a year earlier. Regional markets have fared better, with dwelling values still up 5.6% annually versus a 1.8% annual fall across the combined capitals; nationally, home values are now flat compared with a year ago.
Bloomberg reported separately that the slump is “set to extend into 2027,” citing Cotality’s Home Value Index, and noted Sydney prices are now down almost 9% from their February peak to a median of about A$1.2 million (roughly US$840,000). Bloomberg’s own September figures — Brisbane’s 1.5% monthly fall, Sydney’s 1.4% and a combined-capitals decline of 1.2% — corroborate the proactiveinvestors numbers above.
References
Proactive Investors – Australian Home Values Fall for Sixth Straight Month as Housing Downturn Deepens / Bloomberg – Australia’s Home-Price Slump Deepens, Set to Extend Into 2027
