AUSTRALIA / RankWire.AI / – Australia’s housing market lost $34.1 billion in value during the June quarter as property prices weakened after years of strong gains. The national dwelling stock fell 0.3% to $12.689 trillion. It was the first quarterly decline since September 2022. A 10% peak-to-trough home-price forecast published this month corresponds to roughly $1.3 trillion when applied to the current national property stock, highlighting the scale of wealth tied to Australian housing.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said households owned $12.183 trillion of residential property at the end of June. Australia had 11.531 million dwellings, up 54,400 during the quarter. However, the mean dwelling price dropped by $8,200 to $1.1004 million. The quarterly fall marked a change from the strong national gains recorded during recent years. Even after the decline, the total value of Australia’s housing stock remained 8.5% higher than one year earlier.
New South Wales accounted for the largest fall in dwelling value, losing $92.9 billion during the quarter. Victoria recorded a $44.3 billion decline, while the Australian Capital Territory lost $1.4 billion. Total residential values rose in every other state and territory. Mean dwelling prices also declined in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT. New South Wales still had the country’s highest mean dwelling price at $1.305 million, followed by Queensland at $1.131 million.
Home prices retreat as borrowing costs rise
More recent market data show the housing slowdown continued after the June quarter ended. National average home prices fell 0.9% in August, extending a five-month sequence of monthly declines. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said prices had fallen 3.6% from their peak by the end of August. His published outlook projects a roughly 10% peak-to-trough national decline. Applied to a residential property stock worth about $12.7 trillion, that percentage equals approximately $1.3 trillion in value.
Higher borrowing costs have accompanied the housing slowdown. The Reserve Bank of Australia has lifted the cash rate three times in 2026, taking it to 4.35%. Those increases total 75 basis points. Banks have passed the higher rates through to mortgage and deposit products. Scheduled mortgage payments have climbed close to their 2024 peak relative to household disposable income. The central bank’s August assessment also showed national housing prices 1.6% below their March peak.
Sydney and Melbourne lead the weakness
Sydney and Melbourne have recorded the largest recent housing price declines among the major markets. Auction clearance rates have also fallen below their long-run averages. Price declines have become more widespread across the country, although conditions still differ substantially by region. Brisbane and Adelaide weakened in the latest central bank assessment. Perth and regional markets continued recording price gains, though at slower rates in some areas. These differences have left Australia with a national downturn that varies sharply between individual housing markets.
The latest figures also place the current decline against a much larger rise in Australian property values since the pandemic. National housing prices remained about 5% higher than a year earlier in the August assessment. They were also around 50% above levels recorded at the start of the pandemic. Official dwelling-stock data for the September quarter are scheduled for release on December 1. Until then, the latest national measure remains the $34.1 billion quarterly decline recorded through June.