Australian Property

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data on dwelling commencements and completions for the fourth quarter of 2025, which confirmed that the National Housing Accord’s target of building 1.2 million homes over five years has drifted further out of reach.

Australia’s rental crisis continues in earnest.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) annual national accounts for 2024–25, the total value of residential land rose by 7.0% over the financial year to an all-time high of $8.3 trillion.

Amidst the ongoing shift in Australia’s political landscape towards greater and greater levels of tribalism and what could be described, in more local terms, as “Footy team politics”, the debate surrounding the challenges facing Australians in its housing market is increasingly influenced by false narratives on social media.

The latest data shows that Sydney’s and Melbourne’s housing markets are decelerating, dragging down national price growth.

Cotality’s daily dwelling values index shows that Sydney’s and Melbourne’s housing markets are now experiencing price corrections, with values experiencing declines over the latest month and quarter: In contrast, the other major capital cities – Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide – continue to record strong value growth.

God only knows this is a fool’s errand, but here goes my best guess at what the mad POTUS will say tonight in his national address Mission Accomplished.

Cotality’s March housing report has been released, showing that Australia’s rental crisis is deteriorating at an accelerating pace amid strengthening demand.

Australia’s housing market has clearly divided into two distinct blocks: Sydney and Melbourne, where values are now falling and Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide, which continue to experience strong growth.

Over recent weeks, leading Sydney auctioneer Tom Panos has warned that Sydney’s housing market is under stress amid a surge in listings and buyers experiencing affordability constraints following recent interest rate hikes.

The latest housing affordability data from Cotality, released earlier this year, showed that both purchase and rental affordability were tracking at record lows.

Liberal opposition leader Angus Taylor reportedly intends to attack One Nation’s immigration policy, arguing that severe immigration cuts would worsen the housing crisis by starving the construction sector of workers.

So far, Cotality’s daily dwelling values index is holding up amid back-to-back interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Earlier this month, the founder of SQM Research, Louis Christopher, forecast that Sydney home prices would decline by between -2% and -6% in 2026: SQM’s “base case” forecast assumed the official cash rate would rise only once more this year, to 4.35%.

Victoria’s “fast‑tracked” housing program — designed to bypass councils and community objections on the promise of delivering shovel‑ready homes — has produced almost no actual housing, raising major questions about the Allan government’s planning strategy and credibility. Since the Development Facilitation Program (DFP) was expanded in Sept 2023, just six homes have been completed.

Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released monthly and quarterly data showing that net migration into Australia has rebounded and remains at historically high levels.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest Financial Stability Review reported a sharp increase in high-loan-to-value-ratio (LVR) mortgage lending to first home buyers following the introduction of the expanded 5% deposit scheme on 1 October 2025.

In last weekend’s market wrap, leading Sydney auctioneer Tom Panos declared that the “market has changed”, noting that “buyer depth is diminishing” and that “fear is gripping the market” amid rate rises and inflation.