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If you're lucky enough to be thinking about buying a home in Melbourne, but have been waiting for the property market to cool, the latest figures suggest that moment has arrived.
New data from Domain's June Quarter 2026 House Price Report reveals Melbourne has recorded its steepest quarterly house price decline in almost four years, with median house prices falling 3.1 per cent (or $33,381) over the June quarter to (a still pretty painful) $1.04 million. It's also the first time in 15 months that annual house price growth has slipped into negative territory. Not sure what all that means? We've decoded the report to find out what it actually means for buyers in Melbourne. Topline? Things could be looking up.
RELATED READ: Melbourne's rental market has slowed significantly – here's what that means for renters
According to the report, the downturn in property prices in Melbourne wasn't limited to houses. Melbourne's unit market also softened, with apartment prices recording a second consecutive quarterly decline – another sign that buyers are becoming increasingly cautious as higher interest rates and affordability pressures take their toll.
After more than three years of almost uninterrupted growth, Domain says the nationwide housing boom has come to an end, with combined capital city house prices falling 1.4 per cent over the quarter. While Melbourne joined Sydney and Canberra in recording house price declines this quarter, Adelaide continued to surge and Perth maintained the country's strongest annual growth, highlighting just how differently Australia's housing markets are now performing.
Thanks to Adelaide's red-hot market – where house prices jumped 4.8 per cent to a record $1.125 million – the South Australian capital has officially overtaken Melbourne as Australia's fourth most expensive city to buy a house in. According to Domain's Chief of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell, buyers are becoming far more selective than they have been in recent years.
"Three months of data confirm that higher interest rates, affordability pressures and weaker confidence are changing buyer behaviour and bringing the broad-based growth cycle to an end," said Powell.
According to the experts at Domain, market conditions are beginning to tilt in favour of prospective buyers. More homes are hitting the market, properties are taking longer to sell, auction clearance rates have dropped to their lowest level since April 2020, and buyers now have more negotiating power than they've had in years.
You can check out the full report over here.
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