Australia house prices fall 1.2% in October 2026
Cotality's national index dropped for a seventh month in October, leaving values 6.7% below the March peak and widening seller discounts to 4.7%.
The facts
- Cotality's national Home Value Index fell -1.2% in October 2026, the seventh consecutive monthly decline, in a release published on 2 November 2026.
- The national index now stands 6.7% below its March peak, about 63,400 Australian dollars off the value of the median dwelling.
- Across the combined capital cities, values fell 8.1% over the seven months of the downturn.
- Brisbane led the October falls at -2.0%, ahead of Perth at -1.7% and Sydney at -1.6%; over the rolling quarter the three were down 6.1%, 5.7% and 4.7%.
- Modelled sales over the three months to October ran 23% below a year earlier and 18% below the five-year average.
- Median time on market reached 39 days, the longest since August 2020, and vendor discounting widened to 4.7%, the widest since May 2019.
What it means for your money
- Entry is cheaper for a seventh month. Sellers are discounting 4.7%, so there is more room to negotiate.
- A lower purchase price lifts the rental return on an unchanged rent: Glopra puts the average national asking price for an Australian unit at 471,613 US dollars and the gross rental yield at 4.89%.
- For anyone already holding, the same move is a loss. The median dwelling is worth about 63,400 Australian dollars less than in March, and with 39 days on market and 4.7% discounting an exit is slower and brings in less.
What to watch
- Whether the decline extends to an eighth month will show in the next national index reading.
- Cotality research director Tim Lawless says this is a buyer's market but that buyers are "noticeably absent"; the 23% shortfall in sales is the figure that measures that absence.
- The release prints no national annual change and no median dwelling value, and gives October monthly figures for only three capital cities.
Sources: Cotality https://www.cotality.com/au/insights/articles/housing-downturn-broadens-as-brisbane-and-perth-lead-the-decline; Cotality https://www.cotality.com/au/insights