Australian housing market takes another hit as fewer than half of properties up for auction sell

Read the original at Daily Mail ↗
Cite

Nickel, A., & Australian Associated. (2026, October 25). Australian housing market takes another hit as fewer than half of properties up for auction sell. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16237205/Australian-housing-market-rents-auctions-RBA-rates.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-25 · by Ashley Nickel, Australian Associated

Quick Summary

The Australian housing market is experiencing a downturn as fewer than half of properties up for auction sold this week, with clearance rates in Sydney at 48.2% and Brisbane at 25.2%. Factors contributing to weakened buyer confidence include rising interest rates, cautious lenders, dropping house values, and recent tax changes. Median house prices fell by 4.7% nationwide over the quarter, with Perth experiencing a significant drop of 7.4%, while Sydney's median price reached a two-year low at $1.66 million. Housing Minister Clare O'Neill acknowledged the cyclical nature of property market fluctuations but defended government policies aimed at slowing house-price growth.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The Australian housing market experienced another downturn as fewer than half of properties up for auction sold this week, with a national clearance rate of 48.4%. In Sydney, the median house price fell to a two-year low at $1.66 million after dropping 4.7% in September quarter, marking the largest quarterly fall for Melbourne in four years. Housing Minister Clare O'Neill attributed these declines to cyclical market trends but acknowledged criticism over recent government policies like ending negative gearing and reducing capital gains tax benefits, which won't take effect until July 2027. Economists largely blame the Reserve Bank's highest cash rate hike in 15 years for the current housing downturn, impacting buyer confidence across all major cities.

Written for “Australian Housing Market Decline” on 2026-10-25, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 105908: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-25

Story

📰 Australian Housing Market Decline
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 26% hedged 9 of 35 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different aspects of the housing market decline, with Article A focusing on quarterly price declines and Article B on auction clearance rates.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 7410 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ashley Nickel
76 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Labor has copped some blame for the downturn over ending negative gearing and paring back the discount on capital gains tax in May's federal budget. But because those changes don't enter force until July 2027, economists have largely attributed the falls to the Reserve Bank hiking the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years.
🔮 The company will move into its new headquarters on Dorcas St at South Melbourne in November, alongside staff from newly acquired Apparel Brands, which includes Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti, Jay Jays and Jacqui E. Rumours of the scrapping of work from home (WFH) arrangements first appeared on website The Aussie Corporate, which received a tip that the changes were announced at an all-staff meeting in early October.
🔮 'I will keep going 'til you're out of this country (and) back to Lebanon.
🔮 'Average speed' cameras could soon be rolled out for all drivers throughout NSW following a successful year-long trial.
🔮 Greens deputy leader Steph Hodgins-May told the hearing it was 'astonishing' so many organisations were locked out.
🔮 The Labor frontbencher in May was ordered to pay the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority $10,116.11 after an audit found she'd wrongly used taxpayer funds on travel.
🔮 Cameras caught the moment ABC reporter Will Murray and another man jumped into the water and swam to a submerged ute on Thursday.
🔮 Her social media remained public on Wednesday, including a TikTok with more than a dozen videos she made between 2022 and May of this year.
🔮 Richardson, from Williamstown - 51km northeast of Adelaide, was granted police bail following her arrest.
🔮 It's hoped the fundraiser will ease the financial burden on Delilah's grieving parents and three siblings.
Also by Ashley Nickel
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 76 articles by Ashley Nickel →
Australian Associated
23 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Labor has copped some blame for the downturn over ending negative gearing and paring back the discount on capital gains tax in May's federal budget. But because those changes don't enter force until July 2027, economists have largely attributed the falls to the Reserve Bank hiking the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years.
🔮 Wood was refused bail in Maroochydore Local Court on October 9 but on Thursday lodged an application in the Supreme Court seeking bail. His lawyer Mathew Cuskelly had confirmed earlier this month that a new bail application was 'imminent' and that his client would fight the charges against him.
🔮 He will face Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
🔮 'We were pretty much posted three-wide all the way and everyone wanted to question the horse's credentials at a mile-and-a-half,' Bedggood said. 'We couldn't condemn him on his (previous) run here.
🔮 He told the court if the woman was bailed, she would obtain a mental health plan from her GP and then see a psychologist.
🔮 After spending 305 days on the market, the sale represented a fall of more than 20 per cent from the previous offer, reflecting broader weakness across the peninsula's prestige property market. Sotheby's real estate agent Rob Curtain, who helped facilitate the sale, said he hoped the market had fallen as far as it would go and expected buyers to remain cautious until after Victoria's next state election.
🔮 Federal Court Justice James Stellios on Wednesday set aside the order, but his reasons will not be published until Friday afternoon.
🔮 Those close to Mr Yap held out hope for weeks that he would be found alive. 'I know Jordan likes to orienteer and navigate and he's quite an adventurer himself, so I wouldn't be surprised if he tried an alternative route,' long-time friend Kevin Nguyen told AAP last month.
🔮 Former Bachelor reality TV star Sam Wood is set to again apply for bail, taking his fight to a state's highest court.
🔮 He was denied bail in May after a magistrate found his risks could not be reduced to an acceptable level, pointing to difficulties in enforcing a ban on internet access.
Also by Australian Associated
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 23 articles by Australian Associated →

Topics

Australia Brisbane Cotality Melbourne Sydney

Subjects

Australia GPE · 3× Melbourne GPE · 3× Brisbane GPE · 2× Domain ORG · 2× Ongarello PERSON · 2× Sydney GPE · 2× AFR ORG · 1× Australian NORP · 1× Cotality GPE · 1× Perth GPE · 1×

Narrative

The auction clearance rate across Australia was less than 50 per cent this week Median house prices in Sydney are at a two-year low after falling 4.7 per cent in the September quarter, to $1.66million, while Melbourne registered its largest quarterly fall in four years. Housing Minister Clare O'Neill said the movement still reflected the cyclical nature of the nation's property market.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 Labor has copped some blame for the downturn over ending negative gearing and paring back the discount on capital gains tax in May's federal budget. But because those changes don't enter force until July 2027, economists have largely attributed the falls to the Reserve Bank hiking the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years.

Claims (21 extracted, 3 hedged)

Auction rates across Australia have slid for another week, with fewer than half of all properties going under the hammer in the last seven days actually selling. asserted
half → slide → days
Those looking to purchase property are increasingly hesitant due to battling on several fronts, including rising interest rates, more cautious lenders, dropping house values and the removal of capital gains tax benefits. asserted
Those → look → benefits
New data from Cotality showed Sydney auction clearance rate for this week was 48.2 per cent, with one real estate insider telling the AFR the market was 'extraordinarily weak'. Melbourne's clearance rate was 54.8 per cent, while Brisbane was a concerning 25.2 per cent. The national clearance rate was 48.4 per cent. asserted
rate → show → AFR
Earlier this month, the country had just recorded a house price slump the likes of which it has only ever seen twice. asserted
it → record → which
Weakened buyer confidence has driven house prices down across every capital city for the first time in 15 years and the second time ever, according to Domain's September Quarter 2026 House Price report. uncertain
confidence → weaken → report
Australian house prices fell a record 4.7 per cent over the quarter with Perth recording the sharpest drop of 7.4 per cent, while Brisbane and Adelaide also logged their steepest house-price falls on record. asserted
Brisbane → fall → record
The auction clearance rate across Australia was less than 50 per cent this week Median house prices in Sydney are at a two-year low after falling 4.7 per cent in the September quarter, to $1.66million, while Melbourne registered its largest quarterly fall in four years. Housing Minister Clare O'Neill said the movement still reflected the cyclical nature of the nation's property market. asserted
movement → fall → market
'This is the third or fourth downturn in house prices that we've seen just in the last decade ... asserted
we → see → decade
it is unfair to report about house-price growth looking at this just in the last six months,' she told ABC Radio on Thursday. asserted
she → report → Thursday
'We do need to slow house-price growth around Australia, and if that is controversial to you, I'm happy to wear the controversy. asserted
I → need → controversy
Labor has copped some blame for the downturn over ending negative gearing and paring back the discount on capital gains tax in May's federal budget. But because those changes don't enter force until July 2027, economists have largely attributed the falls to the Reserve Bank hiking the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years. uncertain
Bank → cop → years
While a softer jobs figures for September lengthened the odds of a Melbourne Cup day rate rise, RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser on Wednesday maintained there were 'hard choices' ahead and reiterated the November meeting was live. asserted
meeting → lengthen → Wednesday
Higher inflation expectations were becoming embedded as the Middle East supply shock dragged on, which he described as 'a central banker's nightmare', he said. asserted
he → embed → nightmare
Investors and banks have become hesitant after Capital Gains Tax changes and a series of interest rates rises, with more likely on the way before January Ms asserted
more → become → January
O'Neill said the government's tax changes would have enduring beneficial consequences to the housing market beyond the Reserve Bank's decision-making. asserted
changes → say → making
'The changes that we have made to the housing market are permanent changes that, for the first time at every auction around the country, put a first-home buyer on a level playing field with an investor,' she said. asserted
she → make → investor
Some, including Melbourne couple Jessica Ongarello and Callum McIntyre, have managed to take advantage of the tumbling market. asserted
Some → include → market
'We saw how depressed the market was and we're like, this is our opportunity to buy in the area that we want to live in,' Ms Ongarello said. Ms Ongarello said her bank's lending calculation was revised after September's interest rate rise, which left her with a home loan offer $100,000 lower than the initial quote. asserted
which → see → quote
'We've missed out a couple of times now on being a successful bidder because of that,' she said. asserted
she → miss → that
House prices could continue to fall for many months to come, Domain chief residential economist Nicola Powell said. uncertain
Powell → continue → months
'Something needs to shift to alter the confidence to transact, and I cannot envisage the confidence changing until we see an interest rate cut,' she said. asserted
she → need → cut
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support