AUSTRALIA / RankWire.AI / – Australia’s property market recorded a $34.1 billion drop in value during the June quarter as home prices softened nationwide. The country’s residential property stock fell 0.3% to $12.689 trillion. The decline marked the first quarterly fall in total dwelling value since September 2022. A separate 10% peak-to-trough price forecast would equal about $1.3 trillion when measured against the current national housing stock. The figures show the scale of household wealth held in Australian residential property.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that households owned $12.183 trillion of residential property at the end of June. Australia had 11.531 million dwellings, an increase of 54,400 during the quarter. The average dwelling price fell by $8,200 to $1.1004 million. Despite the quarterly decline, the total value of Australian housing remained 8.5% above its level a year earlier. That annual increase followed several years of strong growth across many capital-city and regional property markets.
New South Wales posted the largest quarterly drop in total dwelling value, falling by $92.9 billion. Victoria recorded a decline of $44.3 billion, while the Australian Capital Territory lost $1.4 billion. Every other state and territory recorded an increase in total residential value. Average prices also fell in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. New South Wales still led the country with an average dwelling price of $1.305 million. Queensland ranked next at $1.131 million.
National home prices extend their decline
Housing market weakness continued after the June quarter. National average home prices fell 0.9% in August, extending a five-month run of monthly declines. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said prices had dropped 3.6% from their peak by the end of August. His published forecast points to a national decline of about 10% from peak to trough. Applied to property worth roughly $12.7 trillion, that percentage represents close to $1.3 trillion in residential value.
Borrowing costs have also increased during 2026. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate three times this year, taking it to 4.35%. Those moves total 75 basis points. Mortgage rates rose as lenders adjusted home-loan pricing after the increases. Scheduled mortgage repayments have moved close to their 2024 peak as a share of household disposable income. The central bank’s August assessment also showed national housing prices sitting 1.6% below their March peak.
Sydney and Melbourne show the sharpest weakness
Sydney and Melbourne have recorded the largest recent home-price declines among Australia’s major markets. Auction clearance rates have also moved below their long-term averages. Brisbane and Adelaide have shown softer conditions, while Perth and several regional markets continued to post gains. Growth in some of those stronger markets has slowed. The differences show that Australia’s housing downturn remains uneven across cities and regions, even as national measures point to broader price weakness.
The latest declines follow a much larger rise in Australian property values since the pandemic began. National housing prices remained about 5% higher than a year earlier in the August assessment. They also stood roughly 50% above levels recorded at the start of the pandemic. Official September-quarter dwelling-stock figures are due on December 1. Until then, the latest national property valuation remains the $12.689 trillion recorded for June, including the $34.1 billion quarterly fall.