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Australian housing profitability hits 20-year high
Australian home resale gains reached their highest level in more than two decades during the December quarter, according to a fresh report from Cotality. The 102,000 resales analysed in Cotality’s Pain & Gain report, 95.9% record a profit. This is a slight jump from the 95.6% recorded in the last quarter and the strongest result since 2005. The median gain also reached a record A$365,000 while the median loss edged higher to $45,000. Cotality's head of research, Gerard Burg, said these results come from gains that have been built over time and reflect the accumulation of value growth over recent years. “Most sellers have held their property for close to a decade, so the results we’re seeing now are a product of sustained value growth rather than short-term market movements,” Burg said. Properties with higher ownership periods were more likely to record a profit. Properties that sold at a profit had a median hold period of 9.2 years, while those that recorded a loss had a median of 8.2 years. “Shorter ownership periods remain the key risk factor for losses, particularly for those who purchased closer to recent market peaks,” Burg said. “The longer a property is held, the more likely it is to absorb cyclical
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US existing home sales unexpectedly up 1.7% in Feb
United States existing home sales unexpectedly rose in February as mortgage rates continued to drop, though prices could soon increase if demand begins outpacing slow inventory growth. Sales were up 1.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is above Reuters-polled economists’ forecast of 3.89 million units, but a 1.4% decrease year-over-year. “Housing affordability is improving, and consumers are responding,” said NAR chief economist Dr Lawrence Yun. “Still, there is a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels of transaction activity. There are more than 6 million more jobs than in 2019, yet home sales per year are down by one million.” “Despite the modest gain in home sales, actual housing demand remains muted relative to wage growth and job gains,” Yun said. “Wage growth is now outpacing home price growth by almost four percentage points. Mortgage rates are also measurably lower compared to a year ago.” NAR’s affordability index rose, reaching 117.6 in February. This is the highest reading since March 2022, surpassing the 117.1 seen in January and February 2025’s 103.1. Mortgage rates continued to slide last mont
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Australia's housing market growth splits in two
The Australian housing market has been split in two speeds, with Sydney and Melbourne values flatlining while the mid-sized capitals continue to record a solid rate of gain at more than 1% month-over-month in February. Perth home values had the greatest growth of 2.3%, adding more than A$22,500 to the median dwelling value. Sydney and Melbourne have been less resilient to the February rate hike, with home values remaining flat for the month and down 0.1% and 0.4% over the rolling quarter, respectively. Cotality research director Tim Lawless said that while Melbourne and Sydney traditionally lead Australia’s housing cycles, there have also been periods where the market moves in a counter-cyclical pattern. “The clear slowdown in housing conditions across Sydney and Melbourne could signal an easing in growth conditions elsewhere down the track, but for now, the mid-sized capitals continue to see support from extremely low inventory levels, which is boosting the growth in values,” he said. In the four weeks to February 22, Perth listings remained 48% below their five-year average, with Brisbane 31% below and Adelaide 23% lower. While advertised stock levels are also low in Sydney and Melbourne, they are only 1% and 4
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Coastal property values rebound from floods
Property values in Australia’s desirable coastal suburbs have recovered from floods far faster than those in inland or regional areas, according to a Cotality report. Coastal suburbs in southeast Queensland largely saw property values rebound within 18 months after floods in early 2022, while values in many affected inland areas in northern New South Wales remain below their January 2022 levels. “This analysis demonstrates that lifestyle-based demand remains a stronger driver of value than climate risk, even where lived experience has shown communities how significant the effects of natural disasters can be,” said Cotality head of sustainability solutions Richard Griffiths. “Our analysis shows that communities with deeper buyer demand, stronger amenities and higher value housing stock tend to bounce back far quicker, even when they have sustained significant physical damage from an event. Conversely, flood-affected inland and regional areas have faced prolonged stagnation and, in many cases, values that still haven’t returned to where they were in early 2022.” Combined, property values in the impacted coastal markets surveyed were up 31.3% from January 2022 to January 2026. Broadbeach Waters and southern Southport p
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US pending home sales drop unexpectedly; supply stalls
United States pending home sales fell 0.8% in January amid insufficient supply growth, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR’s pending home sales index declined to 70.9, despite Reuters-polled economists projecting a monthly increase of 1.3%. Pending sales also dropped 0.4% year-over-year in January. “Improving affordability conditions have yet to induce more buying activity,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates.” “Unless housing supply increases, these additional potential buyers becoming active in the market could simply push up home prices. This will put increasing pressure on affordability, which is why it is critical to increase supply by building more homes.” The Northeast saw the largest decrease in pending sales, down 5.7% on a monthly basis. Pending sales in the South also dropped 4.5%, while the Midwest and West reported increases of 5% and 4.3%, respectively. JPMorgan forecast last month that home prices would remain flat across 2026, saying that rising demand from low mortgage rates would be countered by stalling growth in

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Regional home price growth outpaces capital cities
Regional dwellings have surpassed capital cities, with dwelling values growing 3.2% in the three months to January compared to a 2.1% rise across the combined capitals. The results mark a shift in market momentum as affordability, renewed internal migration and competitive conditions direct more buyers towards regional areas. According to Cotality, regional value growth has gathered pace since the previous quarter, while capital city markets have slowed from 3.3% Almost three in five of the country’s largest regional Significant Urban Areas (SUAs) recorded a faster pace of growth than the October reading, underscoring the breadth of the upswing. Cotality head of research for Australia, Gerard Burg, said the results indicate a deepening divergence between city and regional markets. He also said that affordability remains a key driver of buyer behaviour. “With capital city prices still near record highs and stock levels tight, many households are once again looking to regional Australia for greater value and liveability,” Burg said. “We’re seeing momentum build across a wide range of regional markets, from inland hubs to coastal centres and mining adjacent regions.” “This reflects a renewed movement of people
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US existing home sales fall to 2yr low in January
United States existing home sales fell 8.4% to a two-year low in January, though affordability improved as mortgage rates declined. January’s seasonally-adjusted annual sales rate was 3.91 million, per the National Association of Realtors (NAR), representing a 4.4% year-over-year decrease. Economists had expected 4.18 million units. "The decrease in sales is disappointing. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low.” Sales dropped across all regions, with the West seeing the largest decrease at 10.3%. The West was the only region to report a year-over-year decline in median housing prices, but NAR’s Housing Affordability Index improved in all regions. Median housing prices rose 0.9% nationally from January 2025, r
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House prices hit an all time high in the Hamptons
House prices in the mega-popular Hamptons area of New York have hit an all-time high. A new report Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel found that in the fourth quarter, the median house sale price for the Hamptons reached US$2.34 million, an increase of 34% year-on-year. Sales above $5 million were also the highest on record. The Hamptons, a coastal area past Long Island, is a hotspot for the rich and famous to holiday, with this latest sales boost coming from hedge funders, and those with tech wealth, according to real estate brokers. Real estate brokers also reported that the Hampton's rental market for this year is going strong as well, with many holidaymakers opting to do annual leases of a beachside property, rather than outright buying.
Reports
Australian dwelling approvals down 14.9% in December
Australian dwelling approvals dropped by 14.9% in December, weighed down by plunging approvals for apartments. The total seasonally-adjusted number of dwellings approved fell to 15,542 in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today. Despite the monthly decline, this is an 0.4% rise year-over-year. “The drop in total dwellings was driven by a 29.8 per cent fall in approvals for private dwellings excluding houses. This follows a 29.6 per cent rise in this series in November,” said ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi. “'While the fall in December was large, it came off the back of last month which had the highest number of private sector dwellings excluding houses approved since June 2018.” Private sector house construction approvals were 9,487, up 0.4% month-over-month and 5.7% from the previous year. Approvals for private dwellings excluding houses were 5,855, which was also a 6.1% drop from one year prior. This includes apartments, townhouses, terrace houses, and semi-detached houses. Apartment approvals fell 37.6% to 3,740, 14% lower than the 12-month average, after surging 63.7% in November. This was largely due to Victoria, where just 339 apartments were approved in December, co