House prices fall in every capital for the first time in 15 years
Domain's September quarter report shows combined capital house prices fell 4.7 per cent, with record falls in Perth and Brisbane.
House prices fell in every Australian capital city in the September quarter, the first time in 15 years and only the second time on record, according to Domain's House Price Report for the September quarter, published this week. Combined capital city house prices fell 4.7 per cent and unit prices 3.5 per cent, the second consecutive quarterly fall, with Perth and Brisbane recording their steepest quarterly falls on record.
For agents, the downturn is no longer a Sydney and Melbourne story: the fastest falls are now in Perth and Brisbane.
Domain House Price Report, the key figures
- Perth: houses down 7.4 per cent, or $88,664, to $1,115,227, the largest quarterly fall on record for the city and the biggest of any capital.
- Brisbane: houses down 5.4 per cent, or $66,001, to $1,152,122, its steepest quarterly fall on record.
- Sydney: houses down 4.7 per cent, or $82,420, to $1,661,167, the steepest fall in four years. The 5.8 per cent annual fall is the largest of any capital.
- Melbourne: houses down 3.3 per cent to $1,014,335, the sharpest quarterly fall in four years.
- Darwin: units up 2.2 per cent to $454,732, the only capital city unit market to rise.
City by city
Adelaide's median house price fell 3.0 per cent to $1,095,429, its first fall in three and a half years. Canberra fell 2.6 per cent to $1,025,084, Hobart 3.0 per cent to $790,155 and Darwin 2.6 per cent to $752,478. Perth units recorded their steepest quarterly fall on record, down 6.5 per cent to $659,561.
Over 12 months, house prices are still up in Darwin (13.4 per cent), Perth (6.8 per cent), Adelaide (6.4 per cent), Brisbane (5.3 per cent) and Hobart (5.1 per cent), and down in Sydney (5.8 per cent), Melbourne (4.7 per cent) and Canberra (0.9 per cent).
How far prices are from the peak
Domain also measures each market against its high, the number many vendors still have in mind. Sydney's median house price is $143,062, or 7.9 per cent, below its December 2025 peak. Perth's is $96,956, or 8.0 per cent, below its March 2026 peak, a gap that opened in just six months.
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Domain's capital city figures are stratified medians, which group sales into segments before calculating the median so a change in the mix of homes sold is less likely to distort the result. Cotality's Home Value Index, a different measure, shows national values down 1.1 per cent in September, a sixth straight monthly fall.
Why the falls have spread
Domain economist Dr Nicola Powell said, in comments reported by ABC News on 22 October: "What began as weakness concentrated in some cities has broadened considerably." She said: "Homes are taking longer to sell, there is greater scope to negotiate, and sellers are having to be more realistic about price expectations."
Cotality found 97 per cent of capital city suburbs fell in value over the three months to the end of September, with capital city homes taking a median of 39 days to sell, against 23 days a year ago. "The lift in available stock is improving choice for buyers, but ironically, many prospective buyers don't have the confidence or financial capacity to buy at the moment," Cotality research director Tim Lawless said.
The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate 25 basis points to 4.60 per cent on 29 September, its fourth increase this year, noting that "housing prices have fallen in most capital cities and new housing loans have declined noticeably". In NAB's latest Residential Property Survey, professionals tipped a 4.2 per cent house price fall over the next 12 months.
What it means for agents
- Price from this quarter, not the peak. For a Sydney vendor anchored to December's high, the gap to today's median house price is about $143,000. Domain's peak-to-now figure for each capital is a concrete number to bring to appraisals.
- Plan for longer campaigns. At a median of 39 days on market, against 23 a year ago, the typical sale takes about 16 days, or 70 per cent, longer. Budgets and vendor reporting need to allow for it, one reason the downturn is changing the economics of selling property.
- Show sellers the quarter and the year. Perth's median house price is $88,664 lower than three months ago but $70,631 higher than a year ago, and Darwin, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart are also up over 12 months.
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