May '26 Update

Last month, we showed that many regions were flattening or in decline. The shift was most prominent in coastal and metro areas, particularly for houses. The pattern continues this month; house values declined in over half of the significant urban areas in our core index set. Every capital city except Darwin saw negative growth. Several regions are now down over a three-month period.

Turning points have appeared at varying times across the capital cities. While Perth as a whole appears to have peaked in April, the Inner Perth SA4 turned in March and is now down 1.5% from its peak. Sydney shows the most pronounced variation: over three months, its SA4s have seen declines between 0.6% and 3.1%.

Capital Cities Overview

House prices are flat or negative for the month in all capitals with the most substantial decline appearing in Sydney. Unit prices were declining for the month in all capitals except Perth and Darwin. Three-month growth is negative for both Sydney and Canberra - Queanbeyan for both houses and units.

Regional Centres

Year-on-year growth for all of our key regional indices is currently positive, although prices are flattening or declining in multiple regions led by those at the highest prices. One-month growth in the most expensive house and unit markets is negative.

Capital City SA4s

For houses, all metro areas except Darwin are negative for the month. In some instances, price decline is of substantially higher magnitude than the change for the capital city more broadly. In general, price change appears to be led by the higher-priced areas. This month is the first instance of a 1-year growth turning negative - Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

For units, declines on a 1-month basis appear to be at a lower magnitude compared to houses. Declines are largest in Sydney and Brisbane.