Brisbane has overtaken the other capital cities with a 6.1 percent decline in housing prices over the past three months.
The speed of price falls across the country is the fastest recorded in four decades.
Cotality’s national Home Value Index (HVI) was down 1.2 percent in October, the seventh consecutive monthly fall.
Over the past three months, Perth prices have fallen 5.7 percent, Sydney 4.7 percent and Melbourne 2.7 percent.
Cotality said the decline was tracking faster than any previous downturn over the past 40 years, with capital city values down 8.1 percent in seven months.
It said low confidence and the risk of further rate hikes was expected to result in a subdued market through the rest of the year and into 2027.
The national index is now 6.7 percent below its March peak, equivalent to a decline of approximately $63,400 in the value of the median Australian dwelling.
Cotality’s research director Tim Lawless said an “array of headwinds” continued to weigh on housing demand, even amid a shortage of new homes being built.
“Affordability and serviceability constraints were the earliest factors weighing on housing demand,” he said.
“These headwinds (have been) amplified by four interest rate hikes, persistently low confidence and ongoing cost-of-living pressures. The Federal Budget has added to the downside pressure since mid-May.”
Mr Lawless said mid-sized capitals like Brisbane and Perth had recorded extreme growth conditions over the past six years.
They were now “well and truly in a correction”.
“Virtually every suburb across Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide has recorded a drop in values over the past three months,” Mr Lawless said.
“However, given the magnitude of the upswing prior to the downturn, most homeowners in these cities are likely to be sitting on a significant equity buffer.
“For example, a 20 percent drop in Perth home values from their record high would only take the market back to levels recorded in around mid-2025.”
Cotality said the number of home sales had dropped sharply as demand weakened.
Home sales over the past three months were estimated to be 23 percent lower than a year ago and 18 percent below the previous five-year average.
The decline was closer to 30 percent in Brisbane and Sydney.
“Auction clearance rates across the combined capitals are consistently tracking below 50 percent, while private treaty metrics have also weakened,” Cotality said.
“The median time on market, at 39 days, is the highest since August 2020, while vendor discounting, at 4.7 percent, is the largest since May 2019.”
The full report is here.
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