Daniel Butkovich, Property Journalist
First published 12 Nov 2026, 2:32pm
Cooling market conditions have improved buyers’ chances of securing a home across much of Australia, with more properties to choose from than at any time in the past two years.
A quieter spring market has created opportunities for buyers ready to purchase a home, with a surge in property listings in some markets boosting choice for buyers.
Although the number of new listings hitting the market last month was lower than the same period in spring last year, there are more homes on the market overall, and buyers are facing less competition.
New listings in October were down 13% year-on-year nationally, according to the latest realestate.com.au Market Snapshot, but that decline was mostly as a result of fewer new listings hitting the market in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.
It’s a different story in other cities, where there’s been a surge in homes hitting the market in recent months.
There were 17% more new listings in Perth, 12% more in Adelaide and 8% more in Darwin in October compared to the same time last year.
But when it comes to the total number of homes on the market, the boost to buyer choice is much clearer.
The overall number of homes on the market across the country is 9% higher than a year ago, and is at the highest level since late 2024.
Source: realestate.com.au Market Snapshot October 2026
Some cities have far more homes for sale than others. Adelaide has 45% more homes on the market than a year ago, while Perth has 42% more homes for sale and Brisbane has about 40% more.
The improvement in choice and a pullback in buyer demand had made conditions less competitive for buyers, said realestate.com.au senior economist Angus Moore.
“The increase in total listings has been particularly large in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,” he said, noting the increase was driven by both longer sales times and a higher flow of new listings than a year ago.
There were about 45% more properties for sale in Adelaide in October than the same time last year. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Combined with a reduction in demand, the boost to supply has caused property prices to fall faster in these cities.
“Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide saw some of the largest monthly falls in home prices in October, and the peak-to-trough downturn in Perth and Brisbane has nearly caught up to Melbourne’s,” Mr Moore said.
Demand from investors has taken a hit following this year's rate rises and changes to tax concessions, with the latest lending data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the number of investor loans fell by more than 30% in the September quarter.
The data shows investor loans fell 35% in South Australia, 37% in Queensland and 40% in Western Australia compared to the June quarter.
ABS head of finance statistics Dr Mish Tan said lending activity fell across all borrower types but was sharpest for investors.
“Our data suggests that investor activity is being influenced by factors beyond increasing borrowing costs, including the potential impacts of tax changes and expectations of lower house prices,” she said.
However, despite fewer investors in the market, first-home buyers haven't yet stepped in to take their place, with the data showing there were 15% fewer new loans to first-home buyers than in the previous quarter.
Prices in Perth have declined 5.7% from the peak reached in March this year, according to the latest realestate.com.au Home Price Report. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold
Perth Buyer’s agent Peter Gavalas said the increase in the number of homes for sale had given buyers more choice, while falling prices prompted some first-home buyers to hold back out of fear of falling into negative equity.
“There's lots of buyers around; they’re just taking a lot longer to make a decision and they’ve lost that urgency,” he said.
“Because there’s a bit more stock on the market, they’re not worried about missing out. They feel like they have a few more options.”
Mr Gavalas said there was an influx of homes hitting the market for under $1 million, but with less competition from investors and prices falling, many first-home buyers were still holding back.
“They're definitely out there and looking but they're not as aggressive,” he said. “Earlier this year they were buying anything that popped up in their budget and paying overs for it.”
“In my opinion it's a fantastic buying opportunity for them over the long term.”
On the other hand, homeowners selling up to buy larger or more valuable homes were making moves, Mr Gavalas said.
“The upgrading buyers are very active; they’re finding it's a really good time to upgrade from a cheaper suburb to a more expensive suburb."
While choice has increased significantly for buyers in the smaller capitals, it’s a different story in Australia’s two largest cities, where far fewer homes have been put on the market this year amid a decline in prices, Mr Moore said.
“Sydney and Melbourne continued their run of quieter conditions in the second half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, with new listings down 28% and 26% year-on-year, respectively,” he said.
“This, in part, reflects that last October was notably busier-than-average for both cities.”
There were 28% fewer properties listed for sale in Sydney in October compared to the same period last year. Picture: Getty
Market conditions in Sydney and Melbourne are the reverse of the same time last year, when the number of homes listed for sale surged to levels not seen in a decade as buyers moved to capitalise on record-high home values.
Values in Sydney have fallen 6.6% since this time last year, while Melbourne values are down 6.1%.
Source: realestate.com.au Market Snapshot October 2026
“Borrowing capacity and buyer demand have pulled back under the weight of five interest rate rises, as well as changes in the federal budget to housing taxes,” Mr Moore said.
“That has driven a broad-based slowdown in home prices and market conditions.”
Mr Moore said the outlook for property prices hinged on the Reserve Bank, which raised interest rates for the fifth time this year in November.
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“Higher interest rates are weighing on housing demand, and the November hike will continue to put a downward pressure on prices.”
“With the recent rate rise and the possibility of a further hike early next year conditions are likely to remain soft, with home prices continuing to fall, over the coming months.”
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