Late 2025 and early 2026 reporting from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) confirms what many buyers and sellers are already experiencing — Australia’s housing market remains structurally undersupplied, with affordability pressures intensifying despite interest rate cuts throughout 2025.
While rate reductions have modestly improved borrowing capacity, they have not materially shifted the supply-demand imbalance. Listing volumes remain near cyclical lows across many markets, even as population growth and underlying housing demand stay elevated.
This constrained supply environment continues to support dwelling values nationally. However, affordability has become a defining feature of the current cycle. Buyers are increasingly price-sensitive, and competition for well-located, realistically priced homes remains strong.
Cotality data also indicates that nearly one in five sellers during 2025 cited financial pressure as a contributing motivation for listing. Importantly, this does not suggest widespread distress — rather, it highlights the impact of sustained cost-of-living pressures on household decision-making.
