Real Estate

Trends and updates on property markets, including residential and commercial sectors.

Real Estate
Housing values have grown in every capital city
Housing values have grown across every capital during June, with national dwelling values up 0.6%. According to Coatlity, this marks six straight months of gains, with the positive inflection aligning with the first rate cut in February. However, Cotality research director, Tim Lawless, said the pace of home values is no longer accelerating. “We have seen growth rates holding a little above half a percent from month to month since May as the opposing influence of low supply, falling interest rates and rising confidence run up against affordability constraints and lingering uncertainty,” he said. Capital city growth was led by Darwin, which had a solid 2.2% rise, followed by Perth, which was up 0.9%. This comes as national listings are 19% below the previous five-year average for this time of year while Cotality’s estimates show that sales are tracking 1.9% above the previous five-year average. There was a 1.8% rise in the national index over the three months ending July, the strongest result since the three months ending June last year. Cotality found that the rate of growth in house values is once again outpacing gains in the units sector. While housing values have grown by 1.9%, adding around A$16,700 to
Real Estate
Construction productivity in Queensland is down: QPC
A new report has found that construction productivity in Queensland by 9% since 2018, leading to 77,000 fewer homes being built. The Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC) Construction Inquiry report found that Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) could inflict an up to A$20.6 billion hit on the community and increase project costs by up to 25%. “Last year we also took immediate action by suspending BPIC – the CFMEU tax, which caused worksites to be shut down for nearly a third of the year,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Industrial Relations, Jarrod Bleijie, said. Treasurer David Janestzki validates the Queensland government's decision to suspend BPICs on new government-funded projects, after the report found they were adding to the cost of major projects and holding up construction. “This initial modelling confirms the concerns raised by the industry about poor productivity within the construction sector,” Treasurer Janetzki said. “These early signs justify the Crisafulli Government’s re-establishment of the QPC and its initial Construction Inquiry, which is examining conditions in the construction sector and identifying ways to improve the industry and boost productivity.” The commission said it wanted
Real Estate
CBRE raises guidance as revenue grows across segments
CBRE Group has raised its full-year guidance, after beating estimates for earnings per share and revenue last quarter. Earnings per share were US$1.19, up from $0.81 one year ago and passing Zacks estimates of $1.05. Revenue was $9.75 billion, driven by growth across most segments, rising 16.2% year-over-year and above estimates by 4.14%. “The strong momentum we exhibited to start the year continued in the second quarter. Despite uncertainty in the macro environment, occupier and investor clients largely proceeded with executing their plans,” said CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic. “In light of our outperformance in the year’s first half and the pipelines across our business,” Sulentic said, “we have increased our earnings outlook for the year and expect to set a new peak just two years after the 2023 trough in the commercial real estate downturn. We anticipate this outcome even though capital markets activity remains well below prior peak levels.” GAAP net income was US$215 million, rising 65% year-on-year. EBITDA was also up 30% to $658 million. Its Advisory Services segment reported US$2.00 billion in revenue, up 14.4% year-over-year. Global leasing revenues grew by 14% globally, with Europe, the Middle East, and Africa lead
Real Estate
Property-backed loans up in FY2025 amid rate cuts: PEXA
Property-backed loans settled in Australia’s mainland states rose by 6.8% across the 2025 financial year, aided by a boost in buyer sentiment from rate cuts, according to a PEXA report. In FY2025, 544,630 new property-backed loans were settled in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia. Queensland led in total property settlements, while Victoria saw the most new mortgages. “521,750 of these loans (96%) were attached to a residential property. This surpassed growth in property settlement volumes over the same period (up by just 3.2% y/y), indicating that a greater proportion of property settlements required a loan,” wrote PEXA. A total of A$380.6 billion was settled in new loans over the last financial year, up 14.7% from the previous year, with $346.4 billion for residential property. New commercial loans rose by 13.2% to 18,000 in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, with their value rising by 22.2% to $34.2 billion. According to the report, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 25-basis point cash rate cuts in February and May “helped to support household sentiment, consumption, home purchases and savings rates.” Victoria posted the most new loans in FY2025 at 148,126. It
Real Estate
LA dominates most expensive US homes sold in June
Los Angeles has dominated the charts of the most expensive homes sold in June. According to Redfin, five of the Top 10 sellers were in California and three were in Beverly Hills. This was led by Paris Hilton’s US$63 million purchase of Mark Wahlberg’s mansion at 71 Beverly Park, Beverly Hills. The home was also ranked as the fifth most expensive home sale in 2025. The Beverly Hills Estates agent Nicole Palxen said buyers displaced by fires remain big drivers of luxury real estate in LA. She says rising demand from foreign buyers, especially from China, is also fuelling deals in Beverly Hills and Bel Air. “I see this strength continuing based on the activity I’m seeing right now,” she told CNBC. “We’ve been showing every single day nonstop.” This comes after Redfin found the Palisades Fires in January impacted US$51.7 billion worth of homes in LA. Home market data also indicates that it will take a while for the affected communities a while to recover. Despite this, there has been a jump in lot sales with June data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) showing there have been around 172 property or land lots sold in Altadena this year, compared to six at the same time last year. Similarly, the

Real Estate
Luxury property market sees record sales in FY2025
The end of the financial year has brought renewed momentum and record sales to the luxury property market around Australia. According to the NAB Luxury Property review, the June quarter saw increased confidence and activity in the market. During the 2025 financial year, there were new record prices in Sydney and Melbourne for existing dwellings and still-to-be-built penthouse apartments being set, with buyers being influenced by macroeconomic performances and financial markets rather than the broader market’s focus on credit settings and interest rates. The majority of purchasers in this market are entrepreneurs and buyers in their 40s and 50s. However, there have been more millennials entering the space seeking innovative technologies and homes with sustainability and wellness-focused facilities. Key amenities are reflecting these trends, with wellness facilities like gyms and saunas becoming a high priority. Sustainability has also become a priority with buyers favouring homes with energy-efficient design and climate-appropriate features. Sydney has remained the premier luxury location in Australia, despite Melbourne making headway with a joint record-breaking sale in October 2024. ‘Elaine’ in Point Piper sold
Real Estate
Cotality: National rental price growth sees slowdown
Rental price increases in Australia saw a slowdown last quarter, with their lowest second-quarter increase since 2020 nationally. After shifting higher through the busy first quarter by 1.7%, Cotaility found that the change in national rental values is once again trending lower, with rents up by just 1.3% in the three months to June. The 2024-25 financial year also saw a slowdown in rental price increases, with a rise of just 3.4%, the lowest since the 12 months to February 2021, where there was a 3% rise. At the median level, that is equivalent to a A$22 per week or A$1,134 per year increase in rents. Cotality economists, Kaytlin Ezzy said the recent moderation in rent happened despite the remaining rental supply being exceptionally low. She said that over the four weeks leading to 29 June, Cotality observed 100,000 rental listings, and roughly 23% were below the previous five-year average or around 29,000 fewer listings than are normally observed at this time of year. “The shortfall in rental listings has seen the national vacancy rate slip to 1.6% in June, only slightly above the record lows seen in early 2024 (1.5%), and less than half the pre-COVID decade average of 3.3%,” she said. “The slowdown in renta
Real Estate
US homes sales dip as mortgages remain high
United States home sales have once again become weak after showing some signs of a rebound in May. Two months ago, existing home sales in the U.S. hit a five-month low, then this May showed signs of rebound before declining 2.7% in June to an annual rate of 3.93 million, according to Mortgage News Daily. This leaves activity just above the recent slow and 25% below long-term norms, but remains unchanged from June 2024. Housing sales have been hovering at 75% of pre-pandemic norms for the past three years. “The record high median home price highlights how American homeowners’ wealth continues to grow — a benefit of homeownership,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “High mortgage rates are causing home sales to remain stuck at cyclical lows.” Mortgage rates have remained high and steady for the past seven months at an average of 6.77%. At the end of June, supply continues to gain with 1.53 units for sale at the end of June, representing a 15.9% increase year-over-year. The median house price in June increased 2% year-over-year to US$435,300, which is a record high for June. This is the 24th consecutive month of an annual increase. “Multiple years of undersupply are driving the record-high home prices.
Real Estate
Australia’s property market rebounds; QLD leads in value
Australia’s property market made a confident comeback in FY25, PEXA reports, with settlement volumes climbing 3.2% to nearly 722,000 deals. Queensland led in total activity, while Victoria took top spot for residential settlements in the June quarter. Despite the upswing, quarterly figures slipped slightly — down 1.6% year-on-year — thanks to weather disruptions and the May election. Total property value soared to $726.6 billion, up 9.4%, with Queensland and Western Australia driving growth. Falling interest rates and steady job gains helped cushion consumers from cost-of-living pressures, keeping mortgage defaults low and demand strong. The RBA’s double rate cuts in February and May lifted sentiment, while wages finally outpaced inflation. Still, home-building lagged behind demand. Australia faces a projected shortfall of 79,000 homes by 2029, with approvals rebounding in May but still below cycle peaks. Regional hubs and growth corridors are absorbing the demand, especially in states like Victoria and Queensland, where suburbs like Mickleham, Wollert, and Yarrabilba have seen a wave of new land sales. Queensland’s residential property topped $643 billion in value, outpacing Victoria, with a 19.8% annual jump. W