Australia’s biggest apartment builder says Sydney no longer stacks up. If that capital shifts north, the housing squeeze may get worse before it gets better.
Australia’s prime working-age population is still growing, but not everywhere. That split could reshape local housing demand, council budgets and business growth by 2036.
Western Australia is still pulling in investors, but sentiment has slipped fast. If rates and policy risk keep rising, the next phase could look very different.
Sydney and Melbourne have started slipping while other capitals keep rising. The stakes are bigger than one weak week, but where this ends is still unclear.
Auction clearance rates are still stuck below 60 per cent. Sellers are turning up, buyers are hesitating, and the next few weeks could reset price expectations.
Approvals surged in February, led by apartments and townhouses. That sounds like relief for supply, but the bigger housing story may still be far less comforting.
Fuel, freight and material costs are rising again, and builders say marginal projects are slipping closer to unworkable. The real question is who wears the damage.
A fresh cost hit is creeping into renovations and new builds. Paint is going up next, but the bigger risk is what that says about the whole housing pipeline.
SQM has cut its 2026 housing outlook as oil, inflation and rate risk return. But first-home buyer lending is still rising, and that changes the read on the market.