Property MarketAuction Data

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane: Three Months of Auction and Price Falls

Since July, the three biggest east coast markets have moved in the same direction: down. Auction clearance rates have slipped, sales volumes have thinned, and prices have fallen every single month. Here is the full city-by-city breakdown of what has actually happened from July through September 2026.

By Raj Bhangu|Published September 22, 2026|12 min read

Have Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane property prices fallen since July 2026?

Yes. All three cities have recorded falling prices every month from July to August 2026. Sydney fell 1.4% in both July and August, down 4.7% over the rolling quarter. Melbourne fell 1.2% in July and 1.0% in August, down 3.9% over the quarter. Brisbane, the last of the three to turn negative, fell 0.6% in July and then accelerated to a 1.2% fall in August. Auction clearance rates have fallen alongside prices, with mid-September preliminary results of 54.2% in Sydney, 56.3% in Melbourne, and just 37.5% in Brisbane, the weakest of the three despite Brisbane's strong growth earlier in the cycle.

Key Takeaways

1Sydney fell 1.4% in both July and August 2026, down 4.7% over the rolling quarter, the steepest decline of the three cities.
2Melbourne fell 1.2% in July and 1.0% in August, down 3.9% over the quarter, now 5.3% below its 2026 peak and 4.3% lower than a year ago.
3Brisbane turned negative in July for the first time this cycle (-0.6%) and then accelerated to a 1.2% fall in August, a sharp reversal after two years as the country's strongest market.
4Mid-September preliminary auction clearance rates sat at 54.2% in Sydney, 56.3% in Melbourne, and just 37.5% in Brisbane, the weakest result of the three.
5National sales volumes have fallen 5.2% year-on-year across capital cities, with Sydney and Brisbane both down more than 20% in transaction activity.
6Median days on market has risen to 39 days nationally, up from 28 a year ago, while vendor discounting has widened to 4.2%, the highest since January 2023.

Prices: Down Every Month Since July

All three cities recorded price falls in both July and August 2026, but the pattern differs sharply between them. Sydney has been consistently the weakest, Melbourne has eased slightly, and Brisbane's decline has actually accelerated, the opposite direction from Sydney and Melbourne.

Monthly Price Change, July vs August 2026

Cotality Home Value Index

Brisbane's acceleration from -0.6% to -1.2% is the most striking shift, a market that spent two years as the country's strongest performer is now falling faster than Sydney and Melbourne on a monthly basis.

City	July	August	Quarterly	Mid-Sept clearance
Sydney	-1.4%	-1.4%	-4.7%	54.2%
Melbourne	-1.2%	-1.0%	-3.9%	56.3%
Brisbane	-0.6%	-1.2%	accelerating	37.5%

Over the rolling quarter, the combined capital city index has fallen 3.9%, with Sydney leading at 4.7%. Every major capital except Darwin recorded a decline over the same period.

Auctions: Brisbane's Reversal Is the Real Story

Weekly auction clearance rates give the most current read on buyer demand, since they reflect what happened over the past weekend rather than a lagged sales settlement. The mid-September data confirms the softening seen in prices, and highlights just how far Brisbane has fallen.

Preliminary Auction Clearance Rates, Mid-September 2026

National combined rate fell 4.6 percentage points to 54% on 1,832 auctions

Brisbane's 37.5% clearance rate, down 4.1 points week on week, is well below the roughly 60% threshold generally considered a balanced market, and a world away from the tight seller's market Brisbane represented through 2024 and 2025.

Sydney and Melbourne recorded their worst clearance results in years

Both cities posted clearance rates in late June that were described at the time as the worst in years. The recovery since then has been partial and uneven, Sydney's preliminary result in mid-September, at 54.2%, was still its lowest in seven weeks, and Melbourne's 56.3% was its lowest in three weeks, evidence that the softness has not simply passed.

Quarterly View: The Downturn Is Broad, Not a Blip

Single months can be noisy. The rolling three-month figures make clear this is a sustained trend rather than a one-off dip, and that it now extends well beyond Sydney and Melbourne.

Quarterly Price Decline, Three Months to August 2026

Rolling quarterly change

The downturn has now spread to 93% of capital city suburbs, according to Cotality's September data, up from a much smaller share earlier in the year.

Premium properties are leading the falls in both Sydney and Melbourne, with upper-quartile values down 10.7% and 10.5% from their respective peaks. If you are assessing your own equity position after these falls, our borrowing power calculator can help you understand how it affects your next move.

Sales Activity: Fewer Buyers, Slower Deals

Beneath the headline price falls, the underlying market mechanics have shifted too. Fewer transactions are settling, listings have piled up, and vendors are cutting their asking prices more than they have in years.

Market Softening Indicators, September 2026

National figures

A 4.2% average vendor discount and 39 days on market both signal a market where sellers are having to work harder, and negotiate more, to secure a sale.

Transaction volumes down more than 20% in two of the three cities

National sales volumes are down 5.2% year on year across capital cities, but that figure masks much sharper falls in specific markets, Sydney and Brisbane are both estimated to be down more than 20% in transaction activity compared with a year ago. Total listings have climbed to over 139,100 properties, up 18.1% year on year, as fewer of those listed properties actually sell.

The pattern is not universal across every capital, see our companion pieces on Canberra's parallel decline against Darwin's continued strength and the more mixed picture across Adelaide, Perth and Hobart for the full national view.

What This Means If You Are Buying or Selling

A softer auction market changes the calculus for both sides of a transaction, and the right response is different depending on which side you are on.

Buyers have genuine negotiating leverage right now. With clearance rates below 60% across all three cities and vendor discounting at multi-year highs, there is real room to negotiate on price, especially on properties that have already passed in once at auction.
Sellers should price realistically from the outset. Properties that sit on market too long in a softening environment tend to attract lower offers than a realistically priced listing from day one.
Auction is not the only path. With clearance rates this low, more vendors are opting for private treaty sale or switching strategy mid-campaign, worth discussing with your agent before committing to an auction date.
Get your finance sorted before you act. In a market with more room to negotiate, having unconditional finance approval ready lets you move decisively when the right opportunity appears.

Frequently Asked Questions

The falls reflect a combination of factors: three RBA rate hikes earlier in 2026 that reduced borrowing capacity and buyer demand, a build-up of listings as fewer properties sell, and widening vendor discounts as sellers compete for a smaller pool of active buyers. Brisbane's fall is particularly notable because it followed two years of strong growth, suggesting the market had become stretched relative to what buyers could actually afford at current interest rates.

Sydney has recorded the steepest decline, down 4.7% over the rolling quarter to August 2026, with consistent 1.4% monthly falls in both July and August. Melbourne is close behind at 3.9% over the same period. Brisbane started from a smaller base but its decline has been accelerating, moving from a 0.6% fall in July to a 1.2% fall in August.

A clearance rate above roughly 60% to 65% is generally considered a seller's market with strong demand, 50% to 60% suggests a balanced market, and below 50% typically indicates a buyer's market where properties are harder to sell and vendors have less negotiating power. As of mid-September 2026, Melbourne and Sydney sit around the balanced range, while Brisbane at 37.5% is firmly in buyer's market territory.

Falling prices and weaker auction clearance rates generally favour buyers, who have more room to negotiate and less competition than during the stronger growth periods of 2024 and 2025. Whether it is the right time for you personally depends on your own financial position, timeframe, and whether you believe the specific market has largely finished correcting or has further to fall, a question worth discussing with a broker or buyer's agent familiar with current local conditions.

Premium properties have led the downturn by a wide margin. Upper-quartile house values are down 10.7% from their peak in Sydney and 10.5% in Melbourne, considerably steeper than the falls recorded across the broader market. Lower-quartile, more affordable properties have generally proven far more resilient, in some periods even continuing to record modest growth while premium values fell.

Navigating a Softer Market?

Whether you are buying with more leverage or selling into a slower market, getting your finance strategy right matters more than ever. Book a free consultation to talk through your options.

Raj Bhangu

Principal Mortgage Broker, iSmart Finance Group

Licensed Mortgage BrokerCredit Representative 481761FBAA Member

Raj Bhangu is the principal broker at iSmart Finance Group, specialising in investment property finance and helping clients navigate changing market and regulatory conditions across Sydney and beyond.

Published: 22 Sept 2026

Sources & References

This article references information from the following authoritative sources:

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Our content is based on industry expertise, regulatory guidelines from ASIC and APRA, and data from the Reserve Bank of Australia. All information is current as of the publication date and subject to change.