Australia's Housing Stock Sheds A$34.1 Billion in the June Quarter, Its First Fall Since 2022

ABS figures show the value of Australia's 11.53 million dwellings fell 0.3% to A$12,688.9 billion in the June quarter, the first decline since September 2022.

The total value of Australia's residential dwellings fell 0.3% to A$12,688.9 billion in the June quarter of 2026, a loss of A$34.1 billion and the first quarterly decline since the September quarter of 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on 8 September. The mean price of a dwelling slipped A$8,200 to A$1,100,400, while the number of dwellings rose by 54,400 to 11,531,100.

Two big states did the damage

New South Wales lost A$32,700 off its mean dwelling price, taking it to A$1,304,900, and Victoria lost A$19,600, to A$918,400. The Australian Capital Territory fell A$13,300, to A$981,700. The other five jurisdictions went the other way: the Northern Territory added A$26,100 to reach A$614,400, Western Australia A$24,500 to A$1,123,700, Queensland A$15,800 to A$1,130,600, Tasmania A$15,500 to A$733,200 and South Australia A$13,300 to A$979,600. Five of eight jurisdictions rose and the national mean still fell, which is what happens when the two markets that hold most of the value move in the opposite direction to everyone else.

A shrinking total on a growing stock

The arithmetic is worth pausing on. Australia added 54,400 dwellings during the quarter, and every one of them carries value, so the national total should have risen on supply alone. It fell instead, which means the price effect was large enough to absorb that addition and then some. Dr Mish Tan, the ABS head of finance statistics, attributed the decline to lower property prices, consistent with recent softening in housing market conditions. Measured against the June quarter of 2025, the total value of dwellings is still 8.5% higher.

What an overseas buyer is actually looking at

Glopra's market data for Australia, from the snapshot of 7 September 2026, puts the average at $6,500 per square metre in US dollars, with a gross rental yield of 4.69%, a price-to-income ratio of 8.2, transaction costs of 7.3% and a flat non-resident rental tax rate of 30%. Bubble Risk stands at 61, inside the elevated band. The yield and the price-to-income ratio pull in opposite directions here: income coverage is thin by global standards, so the case has historically rested on capital growth, which is precisely what this quarter interrupted.

Access matters as much as price. Foreign persons, including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, have been barred from buying established dwellings since 1 April 2025 under a temporary measure, subject to limited exceptions. For a non-resident investor the practical market is therefore new stock, not the established housing this ABS release mostly measures.

One note on reference periods: the annual price change stored in our Australian row is anchored to the first quarter of 2026, while this release covers the second. Different reference quarters, not conflicting readings.

Read the measure for what it is

Total Value of Dwellings is a stock measure, not a transaction price index. It blends price movement with new supply, so it answers the question of what the country's housing is collectively worth rather than what a given home now sells for. For a cleaner read on price direction, the ABS residential property price index is the series to watch. And one negative quarter after almost four years of gains is a turn in the data, not yet a trend.

Sources: ABS https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/total-value-dwellings/latest-release; Australian Government Foreign Investment Review Board https://foreigninvestment.gov.au/news-and-reports/news/changes-foreign-purchases-established-dwellings

Market data: Australia