Sydney home prices fall for a seventh month: down 1.6% in October, 1.5% below five years ago

Australian home prices fell 1.2% in October from September, when they dropped by a downwardly revised 1.3%, property data firm Cotality reported on November 2 — the seventh straight monthly fall, with capital-city values dropping at their fastest pace in 40 years, down 8.1% in just seven months.

Sydney: down 1.6% in the month, sales down 30%

Sydney prices fell 1.6% in October, leaving values 1.5% below where they were five years ago. The drop in sales has been most pronounced in Sydney, where transaction volumes are down 30% from a year ago. Nationally, sales have slumped 23% from a year earlier and stand 18% below the five-year average. Mid-sized capitals led the October declines, with Brisbane down 2.0% and Perth down 1.7%.

Another rate rise expected on Tuesday, to 4.85%

The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to raise interest rates a fifth time on Tuesday, to 4.85%, an 18-year high, to fight inflation; markets imply nearly a 90% probability of a hike, with a 20% chance that rates could reach 5.1%. Analysts say a further rise will reinforce the downward pressure already weighing on home prices.

A note on method: this article uses Cotality's national and capital-city dwelling value figures throughout; other firms, using different methods, may count the run of falls differently, and their numbers are not mixed in here.

Source: Reuters report from Sydney, November 2, 2026, citing Cotality data.