Home Values Fall for a Seventh Month, the Fastest Downturn in 40 Years

Australian home values fell for a seventh consecutive month in October, and the pace of the decline is now the fastest Cotality has recorded in 40 years.

Cotality’s national Home Value Index fell 1.2% over the month and is 6.7% below its March peak, equivalent to a fall of about $63,400 in the value of the median Australian dwelling. Capital city values are down 8.1% in seven months.

Brisbane and Perth lead the decline

• Brisbane: down 2.0% in October and 6.1% over the rolling quarter.
• Perth: down 1.7% in October and 5.7% over the quarter.
• Sydney: down 1.6% in October and 4.7% over the quarter.

Buyers step back

Cotality estimates home sales over the past three months were 23% lower than a year earlier and 18% below the previous five-year average, with Sydney down 30% and Brisbane down 29%. Auction clearance rates across the combined capitals are consistently tracking below 50%, the median time on market has reached 39 days, the highest since August 2020, and vendor discounting of 4.7% is the largest since May 2019.

Sellers are holding back too, with new listings almost 18% below average, but slower sales mean capital city listings are at their highest level for this time of year since 2019.

“Affordability and serviceability constraints were the earliest factors weighing on housing demand, with these headwinds amplified by four interest rate hikes, persistently low confidence and ongoing cost-of-living pressures,” Cotality research director Tim Lawless wrote in the monthly report. “The Federal Budget has added to the downside pressure since mid-May.”

Cotality head of research Gerard Burg told the ABC: “This is really a demand-led downturn.”

Then came a fifth hike

Cotality’s report was published before Tuesday’s Reserve Bank decision. It estimated that another 25 basis point increase would mean borrowing capacity had fallen by around 11.5%, or more than $105,000, over the rate-hiking cycle, more than offsetting the decline in the national median value since March. The RBA delivered that increase, taking the cash rate to 4.85%, and said in its statement that “falls in housing prices and turnover are expected to weigh on growth in dwelling investment and household consumption”.

Sources: Cotality Home Value Index, October 2026 (2 November 2026, published via Property Update); ABC News (2 November 2026); RBA Statement by the Monetary Policy Board (3 November 2026).