National

Buyers' market as housing prices continue downturn

By Lucinda Garbutt-Young

Sep 1, 2026

Housing in Sydney's inner city — Housing price growth in inner city areas trailed behind outer suburbs in the year to August. -AAP Image

The prices of homes in almost all Australian capital cities have gone down for the fifth month in a row, creating opportunities for buyers.

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Cotality's home value index decreased by 0.9 per cent in August with a median property costing $912,885, the data firm reported on Tuesday.

Roughly 93 per cent of suburbs across Australia had a drop in value. The only capital city with a rise in prices was Darwin, at 0.6 per cent, though the median value remains the cheapest in the nation at $647,000.

The Middle East conflict, interest rate hikes and federal changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing have taken some sting out of the market for purchasers.

Sydney led the downturn for capital cities with a 1.4 per cent decrease across the month, bringing the median property price to $1.2 million.

Canberra and Melbourne values went down by 1.1 per cent, and Brisbane by one per cent.

But first home buyers trying to purchase in cheaper areas might be waiting several months for values to fall to levels they can afford, Cotality head of research Gerard Berg said.

While there were outliers in each city, there was a trend toward outer suburbs recording higher growth than their more expensive, inner city counterparts in the year to August.

"The downturn commenced among the highest value suburbs initially. We have seen a slower spread across the other parts of cities," Mr Berg said.

In greater Brisbane, prices in the Logan suburbs of Beenleigh and Carbrook rose by more than 14 per cent.

Sydney's outer areas, including Camden, Penrith, and the Blue Mountains, had some of the highest 12-month value growths across the city.

It is common for prices in expensive suburbs to change first, setting market trends. Values in the most affordable areas are often last to move.

The high number of suburbs in price decline during August suggested the areas young buyers have their eyes on will soon change too.

Mr Berg said first home buyers who were able to make a purchase but lacked confidence should seriously consider doing so while limited buyers are around.

"Being such a high value purchase, you need to be confident you are making the right decision," he said.

"But if you are looking to hold the property for an extended period of time, you don't want to try and pick the bottom of the cycle. You almost certainly won't find that exact point."