Australia’s housing market is entering a new phase — and Perth may be where the change is easiest to see. For several years, buying a home in Australia often felt less like shopping and more like competing. A property would appear online: 

• Buyers would rush to the open home. 
• Offers would arrive quickly. 

In some markets, the successful buyer was not necessarily the person who found the best property, but the person who moved fastest and offered with the least hesitation. Across several Australian capital cities, the supply of homes available for purchase has increased sharply in 2026. The shift is particularly visible in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, markets that saw some of the strongest price growth and tightest listing conditions in recent years.

• New listings in September were approximately 20% higher in Brisbane, 22% higher in Adelaide and 19% higher in Perth than a year earlier.
• Total stock available for sale has increased by roughly 30% in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide compared with the same period last year. Perth provides perhaps the clearest illustration.
• REIWA reported 7,755 properties for sale in Perth at the end of the week ending 20 September 2026, up 7.6% from four weeks earlier and a remarkable 164.8% above the same point a year earlier.

This does not mean Perth has suddenly become a weak property market, far from it. Perth’s median house price remained around $980,000 in the June 2026 quarter, according to the latest REIA/REIWA data, still 18.7% higher than a year earlier despite a 2.0% quarterly decline. 

For buyers, the question is no longer simply: “Can I find a house?” It is increasingly: “Which house deserves my money?” And that is a very different property market. The big story in one table

Market indicator	What 2026 data is showing
Perth properties for sale, week ending 20 Sept	7,755
Perth annual increase in available stock	164.8%
Perth four-week increase	7.6%
Perth median house price, June quarter	$980,000
Perth quarterly house-price movement	-2.0%
Perth annual house-price movement	+18.7%
Perth median other-dwelling price	$700,000
Perth annual other-dwelling growth	+21.4%
Perth median house time on market, August	23 days
Perth median unit time on market, August	21 days
Brisbane annual increase in homes available	Around 32%
Adelaide annual increase in new listings, Sept.	Around 22%
Perth annual increase in new listings, Sept.	Around 19%

The key point is that more listings don’t automatically mean falling prices. Listings are only one side of the equation. The more meaningful question is whether new supply is arriving faster than buyers can absorb it. That is where the 2026 market becomes interesting.

Whether you’re buying or selling, Expert Property Management in Perth can help you achieve the best results.

Australia has moved from a shortage-of-choice market to a choice market.

The Australian housing market has spent years dealing with inadequate supply. But there is a major difference between:

• New listings
• Total active listings.

New listings tell us how many properties are entering the market. Active listings tell us how many properties are sitting there waiting for a buyer. Imagine Perth receives 1,000 new properties in a month.

• If 1,000 properties also sell during the month, the market may remain tight. But if only 700 sell, the remaining 300 properties stay on the market.
• Do that repeatedly and stock accumulates. That is broadly what has been happening in parts of Australia in 2026.

Monthly new listings had fallen in some major capitals; buyers nevertheless had more properties available to choose from than a year earlier, because homes were taking longer to sell and accumulated stock was building. This subtle change is one many buyers and sellers miss.

The market does not need a flood of brand-new listings to create more choice. It can simply take longer for existing listings to sell. That creates a larger pool of available properties. And once buyers realise they have alternatives, their behaviour changes.

• They negotiate.
• They compare.
• They wait.
• They inspect a second property.
• They ask for building reports.
• They question the seller’s price.
• They negotiate settlement conditions.
• They become less frightened of missing out.

That last point is particularly important. Consider two Perth buyers.

1. Buyer A — tight-stock market

A three-bedroom house is listed at $850,000.

• 20 groups attend the open home.
• Three buyers make offers.

Buyer A believes the property could sell above asking. They offer $875,000.

2. Buyer B — higher stock market

The same type of house is listed at $850,000. Buyer B discovers:

• another comparable house nearby is asking $835,000;
• another has been sitting for three weeks;
• a third has just reduced its asking price;
• Several similar homes are available within a 10-minute drive. 

The buyer’s strategy changes. 

• Instead of asking: “How much do I need to pay to win?”
• they ask: “What evidence supports the seller’s price?”

That is the fundamental shift from a seller-led market to a more balanced, buyer-friendly market. REIWA itself described Perth as transitioning towards more balanced conditions in August 2026, noting that active listings had remained above 6,000 and time to sell had increased.

For buyers looking specifically at Western Australia, the numbers are particularly significant. At the end of August 2026, Perth had 7,335 properties advertised for sale. That was:

• 7.8% higher than July
• 146.1% higher than August 2025
• The first time Perth had exceeded 7,000 active listings since March 2023.

REIWA also noted that active listings had more than doubled since March. By the week ending 20 September, that number had climbed further to 7,755. This is an extraordinary change compared with the conditions Perth buyers experienced only a year or two ago. 

• Perth has not suddenly become oversupplied with housing. Instead, the immediate change is primarily in properties available for resale.
• REIWA says new listings had largely returned to longer-term averages after a shortage during late 2025 and early 2026.

The major change was easing buyer demand and the consequent increase in time to sell. It means the current increase in stock is not simply a construction boom.

Read about: Self-Employed, Investors and Non-Traditional Borrowers: Are More Australians Turning to Alternative Home Loans?

Perth property prices are falling — but not collapsing.

This is where headlines can become misleading. A headline might say: “Perth property prices fall.” Another might say: “Perth property prices are still up nearly 19% annually.” Both can be true.

• REIWA/REIA reported that Perth’s median house sale price fell 2.0% over the June 2026 quarter to $980,000, but remained 18.7% higher than a year earlier.
• For other dwellings, including units, townhouses, flats, apartments and terrace homes, the median fell 2.8% over the quarter to $700,000, but was still 21.4% higher year-on-year.

That gives us a much more realistic picture. Perth is not necessarily moving from “boom” to “bust”. It is moving from: Rapid growth → slower growth → greater negotiation → more normal market conditions. That is a very different proposition.

The three markets deserve attention because their stories are similar, but not identical.

Perth

• Perth experienced a prolonged period of very strong price growth and extremely limited stock. As demand cooled, existing listings began staying on the market longer.
• The result: More accumulated stock + more new listings = much greater buyer choice.

Brisbane

• Brisbane has also experienced substantial price growth. The latest realestate.com.au data shows total homes for sale approximately 32% higher than a year earlier, with new listings around 20% higher.
• Domain’s June 2026 data also showed Brisbane’s total listings at their highest level since March 2021, while price growth had slowed considerably.

Adelaide

• Adelaide is a particularly interesting contrast. It remains one of the stronger capital-city markets by price performance, yet listings have also increased significantly.
• That creates a fascinating combination: Strong underlying prices + more buyer choice. The result is not necessarily falling prices. Instead, it can mean buyers can compare properties more easily and negotiate on the margins.

The national market cannot be treated as one single market. Sydney and Melbourne are behaving differently from Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. Domain’s June 2026 report showed:

Sydney

• Median house price: $1.734 million
• Quarterly change: -3.3%
• Median unit price: $849,068
• Quarterly unit change: -1.5%
• Sydney’s house market recorded its largest quarterly fall in the Domain series in several years, with weaker auction conditions and longer selling times.

Melbourne

• Median house price: $1.041 million
• Quarterly change: -3.1%
• Median unit price: $587,137
• Quarterly unit change: approximately -0.05%
• Domain reported that Melbourne buyer choice had reached its highest level since 2014, while clearance rates and selling conditions had weakened. 

This means Australia now has several different property markets operating simultaneously.

City	June 2026 house trend	Listing story
Sydney	-3.3% quarterly	Softer market
Melbourne	-3.1% quarterly	More buyer choice
Brisbane	+0.4% quarterly	Supply building
Adelaide	+4.8% quarterly	Strong prices, more listings
Perth	+1.0% Domain quarterly	Momentum easing
Canberra	-2.5% quarterly	Broad softening
Hobart	+1.7% quarterly	Growth slowing

Australian house prices are falling” or “Australian house prices are booming” are increasingly unhelpful. The answer depends on the city, suburb, property type, price bracket and buyer demographic.

The Perth paradox: more listings but still expensive

Perth presents one of the most unusual combinations in the current market. It has:

• substantially more listings;
• longer selling times;
• softer quarterly prices;
• but still very strong annual price growth.

Domain recorded a Perth median house price of $1.183 million in June 2026, up 1.0% for the quarter and 22.5% annually. REIWA’s methodology and dataset produce a different median, with the latest annual median around $955,125 for houses through August 2026 on its Perth metro market page. This difference is not necessarily an error. Different datasets use different:

• transaction windows;
• property definitions;
• geographic boundaries;
• weighting methodologies;
• settlement/pending-sale treatments.

That’s why buyers should avoid relying on one headline median when assessing a property.

For a real purchase, suburb-level comparable sales matter more. If a property in Dayton is being assessed, the relevant comparison is not simply: “Perth’s median is $X.” The useful comparison is:

• “What have comparable three- and four-bedroom homes within the surrounding suburbs actually sold for during the past three to six months?”

That is where local market knowledge becomes important. The rise in listings is not evenly distributed. Different suburbs can experience completely different levels of competition.

• REIWA’s September data shows suburbs such as Dianella, Gosnells, Canning Vale, Alkimos and Baldivis among the higher-volume sales locations during the week ending 20 September.
• Earlier in September, Balga, Baldivis, East Perth, Forrestfield and Morley were among the highest-volume selling suburbs. 

These figures should not be interpreted as a ranking of investment performance. Instead, they show where transaction activity is occurring. For buyers, that can be useful because high transaction activity can create a deeper pool of comparable evidence.

Suppose a buyer is looking at a four-bedroom home in Canning Vale. Rather than focusing exclusively on the asking price, the buyer should compare: recent settled sales; current competing listings; land size; renovation quality; parking; age of construction; street position; school-zone considerations; rental value and days on market. The key question becomes: Is this property priced because it is genuinely better, or simply because the seller has anchored to an earlier market? That distinction matters more than ever in 2026.

Dayton and Perth’s north-east corridor deserve a closer look.

For a business such as Bargoti Real Estate, the shift is particularly relevant in areas around Dayton, Bennett Springs, Morley, Aveley, Ballajura, Caversham and surrounding northern/eastern corridors. Bargoti Real Estate is based in Dayton and operates across buying, selling, investment and property management. Its current listings include properties in Bayswater and Dayton, while its published portfolio includes properties in Dayton, Aveley, Morley, Bennett Springs, Bushmead and Swan View. That local footprint offers an interesting lens for understanding the broader change. The 2026 market is increasingly less about: “How quickly can we get a buyer through the door?” and more about: “How accurately can we match the right property with the right buyer?”

A buyer’s power is not measured only by whether prices fall. Buyer power can increase even while prices remain high because negotiation has several dimensions. A buyer can negotiate:

• price;
• settlement date;
• finance conditions;
• building and pest conditions;
• inclusions;
• repairs;
• appliances;
• deposit arrangements;
• possession arrangements.

A property on the market for 30 or 40 days may give a buyer more negotiating leverage than an identical property selling in 48 hours.

REIWA reported that in August 2026:

• Perth houses sold in a median of 23 days;
• Perth units sold in a median of 21 days.

Both were slower than a year earlier. Compare that with the much faster conditions Perth experienced previously. The change is significant because selling speed is an indirect indicator of market urgency. Consider three properties:

Property	Asking price	Days listed	Buyer interpretation
A	$850k	4 days	Strong urgency
B	$850k	23 days	Normalising
C	$850k	70 days	Investigate why

Property C is not automatically a bargain. It could have:

• an unrealistic price;
• structural problems;
• poor presentation;
• an unusual layout;
• a difficult tenant;
• location disadvantages;
• poor access;
• restrictive zoning.

But the longer listing period gives the buyer valuable information. Buyers often make a common mistake when they see a property sitting online. They assume: “It has been there for ages, so the seller must be desperate.” That conclusion is not necessarily correct. The property may have been:

• withdrawn and relisted;
• repriced;
• under contract;
• listed privately;
• marketed with an unrealistic campaign;
• held back by the vendor.

Therefore, buyers should investigate listing history, not just current days advertised. This is where an experienced local agent can add genuine value.

The new Perth buyer strategy: build a comparison set, not a wish list

In a tight market, buyers often have a wish list: four bedrooms, two bathrooms, double garage, big backyard, good suburb. In a higher-stock market, that is not enough. Buyers should create a comparison set. For example: Target Four-bedroom home under $950,000. Comparison set:

• Property A — $910,000
• Property B — $925,000
• Property C — $949,000
• Property D — $895,000
• Property E — $935,000

Then compare them on:

Factor	A	B	C	D	E
Land	520m²	600m²	450m²	550m²	510m²
Bedrooms	4	4	4	4	4
Bathrooms	2	2	2	2	2
Garage	2	2	2	2	2
Renovation	High	Medium	High	Low	Medium
Days listed	9	31	14	54	22

More listings can create a dangerous temptation. Buyers see falling prices and think: “I should simply buy the cheapest property.” That can be a mistake. A lower-priced property may have:

• higher maintenance;
• poor energy efficiency;
• inferior orientation;
• flood or bushfire exposure;
• difficult tenant demand;
• lower resale appeal;
• high strata costs;
• major renovation requirements.

The better question is: What is the total cost of ownership? A $900,000 house requiring $100,000 of immediate work is not necessarily cheaper than a $960,000 house requiring $20,000.

REIWA’s latest Perth data puts the median unit price at around $690,000 across the 12 months to August 2026. The June quarter data also showed Perth’s other-dwelling median at $700,000, down 2.8% for the quarter but still 21.4% higher year-on-year. The affordability gap between houses and units can naturally shift buyer demand. When detached houses become expensive, buyers often consider apartments, villas, townhouses, smaller lots and older homes with renovation potential. This can make units particularly relevant to:

• first-home buyers;
• downsizers;
• single professionals;
• investors;

buyers prioritising location over land size. Premium properties can have highly individual characteristics, while entry-level properties can still attract intense competition. The middle of the market often contains:

• established family homes;
• upgrade properties;
• downsizer alternatives;
• investor stock;
• owner-occupier properties.

These buyers have more choices when listings rise. That can make sellers compete not only on price but also on presentation, timing, flexibility, and certainty.

A higher-listing market does not mean sellers are powerless. It means sellers must adopt a more sophisticated strategy.

• In 2024–25-style tight conditions, a seller could sometimes rely heavily on scarcity.
• In 2026, sellers must create scarcity through quality and positioning.

If three comparable properties are available nearby, the seller needs to explain why theirs deserves attention. That could be:

• better land;
• renovated kitchen;
• superior outdoor area;
• better school catchment;
• lower strata;
• better parking;
• better orientation;
• superior presentation;
• stronger rental potential.

One of the biggest risks in a changing market is historical anchoring. A seller might think my neighbour sold for $1 million six months ago, so mine should be worth $1.05 million. But the market may have changed. REIWA has specifically warned that annual medians can be slow to reflect rapid changes in market conditions, while suburb-level quarterly prices were already showing declines in many areas. This means sellers need to look at the most recent evidence, not the highest sale anyone remembers.

Why valuation and appraisal are becoming more important

When the market moves rapidly, valuation can become more difficult. There may be:

• fewer genuinely comparable transactions;
• large differences between renovated and unrenovated homes;
• rapidly changing buyer sentiment;
• different results between suburbs.

This is why an appraisal should not simply be: “Your house is worth $X.” It should explain: comparable properties; recent sales; competing listings; likely buyer pool; expected selling timeframe; price strategy and market risks. That gives the seller a decision-making framework, not just a number. Bargoti Real Estate describes its approach as combining local market knowledge, technology and a human-focused service model, with services spanning buying, selling, investing, leasing and property management. In a market with rising choice, this local approach becomes especially relevant. A buyer does not necessarily need another generic property portal. They need someone who can answer:

• “Why has this particular property been sitting here?”
• “Is the asking price realistic?”
• “What have comparable homes actually sold for?”
• “Is there genuine competition?”
• “What is the vendor likely to prioritise?”

Those questions are difficult to answer from a listing page alone.

Perth is not one market. Within Perth, there are hundreds of micro-markets:

• renovated family home in Morley;
• townhouse in Dayton;
• apartment in East Perth;
• coastal property in Scarborough;
• development site in Canning Vale;
• new home in Baldivis;

can experience completely different demands. REIWA’s weekly data itself illustrates this diversity, with different suburbs appearing among the higher transaction volumes from week to week. Rather than creating a simplistic “best suburb” ranking, buyers can use a neutral scorecard. Suburb Market Checklist:

Supply

• How many comparable properties are currently listed?
• How many new listings appeared in the last month?
• Is stock increasing?

Demand

• How quickly are comparable homes selling?
• Are properties receiving multiple offers?
• Are home openings crowded?

Pricing

• Are asking prices moving?
• Are sellers discounting?
• What are settled sales showing?

Property quality

• Are renovated homes outperforming original homes?
• Are land-rich properties attracting more interest?
• Are units moving more slowly?

Future risk

• Is there significant competing development?
• Are there planning changes?
• Is local infrastructure keeping pace?
• This is far more useful than relying on a single suburb “hotspot” list.

The hidden opportunity: negotiating on properties that have already been rejected

One of the most interesting consequences of higher listings is that buyers can investigate properties that other buyers ignored. That does not mean those properties are bad. Sometimes they were:

• overpriced;
• poorly marketed;
• launched at the wrong time;
• overlooked because of presentation;
• listed during a holiday period;
• missing professional photography;
• initially priced too aggressively.

In a shortage market, buyers rarely get enough time to investigate these opportunities. In a higher-stock market, they can. Buyers should consider revisiting properties that:

• have reduced their price;
• have been listed for several weeks;
• have had an unsuccessful auction;
• have changed agents;
• have had a withdrawn listing;
• have been relisted;
• have recently become vacant.

These situations can sometimes reveal where expectations have changed. But buyers should avoid assuming that every price reduction represents distress.

First-home buyers are often the group most vulnerable to FOMO. They may have:

• limited deposit savings;
• borrowing constraints;
• less experience;
• pressure from family;
• anxiety about prices rising further.

More listings give them one important resource: time. Instead of buying the first acceptable property, they can:

• attend multiple inspections;
• compare suburbs;
• speak to a broker;
• obtain building and pest advice;
• compare repayments;
• assess insurance;
• understand council rates;
• check transport;
• calculate future maintenance;
• negotiate.

This does not guarantee a lower purchase price. It increases the quality of the decision.

A common buyer mistake is to focus on purchase price. Instead, calculate: Total acquisition cost:

• Purchase price
• stamp duty
• conveyancing
• inspections
• loan costs
• immediate repairs
• moving costs
• insurance
• ongoing ownership costs

For investors, add: Property management + vacancy allowance + maintenance + land tax + financing costs. The property with the lower sticker price may not have the lower total cost.

Also read: Australian Property Market Update: Auction Clearance Rates Rebound as Demand Strengthens

Investors face a different 2026 equation.

Investors have to evaluate both the purchase opportunity and the income side. The Perth rental market remains materially tighter than the sales market. REIWA reported around 1,974 properties available for rent in Perth in the week ending 20 September 2026, down 6.9% from a year earlier. That creates an unusual contrast:

• For sale: More stock.
• For rent: Relatively limited stock.

This can make the investor calculation more complicated. A buyer may have greater negotiating power when purchasing the property, while the rental market can still support strong rents. Before purchasing, investors should calculate:

Gross rental yield: Gross Yield = (Purchase Price × Annual Rent)/Purchase Price × 100

• Example: Purchase price: $750,000
• Rent: $700 per week
• Annual rent: $700 × 52 = $36,400
• Gross yield: 4.85%

But gross yield doesn’t tell the full story. Deduct: property management; insurance; maintenance; council rates; strata; vacancy; land tax where applicable; and loan interest. The resulting net position may look very different.

This is one of the strongest reasons not to assume that more listings automatically mean a weaker investment market. In the week ending 20 September:

• properties for sale: 7,755
• properties available for rent: 1,974.

That is a dramatic difference. The rental market remains constrained relative to the sales market. For landlords, this means the key question is not: “Are Perth house prices slowing?” It is: “What will happen to the income and expenses associated with this particular asset?” If buyer demand strengthens again while new listings slow, active stock can decline rapidly. 

REIWA’s own commentary suggests that Perth’s current increase in active listings followed a shortage of new listings in late 2025 and early 2026, rather than representing a permanent structural increase in seller supply. Therefore, buyers should not assume: “There will always be 7,000+ properties to choose from.” Several factors could alter the balance.

• Interest rates: Borrowing capacity directly influences buyer budgets.
• Employment: A strong employment market supports household income and confidence.
• Population growth: More households generally mean greater housing demand.
• Construction: If housing completions increase materially, supply pressure could ease.
• Investor participation: Changes in tax treatment, financing conditions or rental yields can influence investor demand.
• Consumer confidence: People can delay buying even when they can technically afford a property.

The 2026 Perth market demonstrates why sentiment can change before fundamentals fully change. REIWA has identified consumer sentiment as a key contributor to the shift in Perth’s market conditions.

Why pricing too high can become expensive

The property can develop a negative narrative. A realistic launch price can sometimes create more competition than an inflated initial price followed by reductions.

• Suppose a seller lists at: $1,050,000
• The market indicates: $980,000–$1,020,000
• The seller receives little interest. After six weeks, they reduce to: $1,000,000

But buyers may now think: “Why has it been sitting there?”

This is not a universal rule, but it is an increasingly relevant consideration in a market with more competing listings. As inventory rises, buyers can become more selective. This creates a two-speed market:

• Tier 1: Well-priced, well-presented, desirable properties.
• Tier 2: Poorly priced or poorly presented properties.

Tier 1 may still sell quickly. Tier 2 may accumulate days on market. That means the headline statistic for a city can hide significant differences between properties.

Instead of asking only: “What’s the lowest price?” ask:

About the property

• How long has it been listed?
• Has the asking price changed?
• Has there been an offer?
• Why is the owner selling?
• Has it previously been listed?

About the market

• What comparable properties are currently available?
• What have comparable properties actually sold for?
• How many buyers are actively considering this property?

About the transaction

• Preferred settlement?
• Are the finance conditions acceptable?
• Are inclusions negotiable?
• Is there flexibility around timing?

These questions produce information. Information produces negotiating power.

Three Perth buyer scenarios

Scenario A — First-home buyer

• Budget: $700,000. Priority: affordability, transport, future resale, and low maintenance.
• Strategy: Compare multiple suburbs and property types instead of competing aggressively for one home.

Scenario B — Family upgrader

• Budget: $1 million; current home: $700,000; desired home: $950,000.
• Strategy: The increased stock can help the buyer negotiate the upgrade property while simultaneously selling their existing property. The critical calculation becomes the price gap, not simply the individual sale price.

Scenario C — Investor

• Budget: $800,000. Priority: rental income; tenant demand; long-term capital growth; expenses and vacancy risk.
• Strategy: Look beyond purchase price and calculate the complete investment equation.

A serious buyer should track five indicators.

• Active listings: How much choice exists?
• New listings: How much fresh competition is arriving?
• Days on market: How quickly are properties selling?
• Vendor discounting: Are asking prices being reduced?
• Comparable settled sales: What are buyers actually paying?

Together, these indicators tell a much more complete story than median house prices alone. Instead of using a formal ranking, buyers can create a simple diagnostic. Buyer Power Signals:

• More active stock → positive for choice
• Longer selling times → positive for negotiation
• More price reductions → positive for negotiation
• Fewer multiple offers → positive for negotiation
• Falling auction clearance rates → weaker urgency
• Rapidly rising prices → negative for affordability
• Strong rental demand → relevant for investors

This is not a prediction model. It is a framework for reading the market.

Why Perth remains fundamentally different from Sydney and Melbourne

Perth’s current adjustment follows a period of very strong growth. Domain reported Perth house values had grown strongly into mid-2026, while REIWA’s June-quarter data still showed an 18.7% annual increase despite the quarterly decline. Sydney and Melbourne, meanwhile, entered 2026 with substantially higher prices and stronger affordability constraints. The most likely consequence of greater choice is not necessarily a sudden collapse in values. A more meaningful possibility is greater dispersion. Some properties may continue performing strongly. Others may:

• require price reductions;
• take longer to sell;
• attract fewer offers;
• lose value relative to better properties.

This is why buyers should focus on relative value. A property doesn’t have to get cheaper for another property to become better value.

Before making an offer, ask:

STEP 1 — Is there enough choice?

• Identify at least five comparable properties.

STEP 2 — What has actually sold?

• Look at settled sales rather than asking prices.

STEP 3 — How long are properties taking?

• Check days on market.

STEP 4 — Is stock rising?

• Compare active listings over several weeks.

STEP 5 — Is the property differentiated?

• Does it offer something buyers cannot easily find elsewhere?

STEP 6 — What is the realistic value?

• Use comparable evidence.

STEP 7 — What is the walk-away price?

• Determine this before negotiating.

STEP 8 — What is the total cost?

• Include repairs and ongoing costs.

STEP 9 — What happens if the market moves sideways?

• Make sure the purchase still works without relying on immediate capital growth.

Sellers should ask: How many direct competitors do I have? Not all Perth listings matter. Your true competitors may be only 5–15 nearby properties.

What do buyers see first?

• Online presentation matters.

What are the comparable sales?

• Not the highest sale from six months ago.

Is the price attracting inspections?

• If not, the issue may be positioning.

Is feedback consistent?

• Repeated objections matter.

Are buyers choosing competing homes?

• If yes, find out why.

A strategy that worked in a shortage market may fail in a higher-stock market.

• Yesterday: speed; scarcity; competition; unconditional offers and minimal negotiation.
• Today: research; comparison; evidence; negotiation and patience.
• Tomorrow: The balance could shift again.

The strongest market participants are therefore not those who predict perfectly. They are those who adapt quickly to new information.

What the latest data tells us about Perth specifically

The September numbers are difficult to ignore. REIWA reported: 7,755 properties for sale as at 20 September 2026. That is:

• +7.6% over four weeks

and:

• +164.8% year-on-year.

At the same time, Perth’s June-quarter median house price was still $980,000, up 18.7% annually despite the quarterly decline. This combination tells us something important: More choice does not necessarily equal cheap property. The Perth market has become more negotiable without becoming universally affordable. That distinction should sit at the centre of any serious 2026 buyer strategy. Across Australia, the pattern is uneven.

• realestate.com.au reported that buyers now have significantly more choice in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, with total stock around 30% higher year-on-year in those markets.
• At the same time, Sydney and Melbourne have seen weaker price conditions. Domain’s June report found Sydney house prices fell 3.3% over the quarter, while Melbourne fell 3.1%.

So Australia isn’t experiencing a single property cycle. It is experiencing multiple cycles at once.

What buyers should not do in 2026?

Don’t buy simply because the property is cheaper than six months ago.

• A discount does not automatically mean value.

Don’t assume every seller is desperate.

• Some sellers are in a strong financial position and may wait.

Don’t use Perth’s median as your valuation.

• Suburb and property-level evidence matters more.

Don’t ignore days on market.

• It can reveal changing buyer behaviour.

Don’t rely entirely on online estimates.

• Automated estimates can lag rapidly changing conditions.

Don’t overlook rental demand.

• For investors, income matters.

Don’t let FOMO make the decision.

• More stock means you can compare.

What sellers should not do in 2026?

Don’t chase yesterday’s record sale.

• The market may have changed.

Don’t overprice to “test the market” without a strategy.

• The listing can accumulate days and lose momentum.

Don’t neglect presentation.

• Buyers have alternatives.

Don’t ignore buyer feedback.

• Repeated objections may identify a genuine market problem.

Don’t confuse high annual growth with current momentum.

• Annual figures can lag turning points.

A 2026 market dashboard for Perth buyers

Indicator	Current direction	Why it matters
Active listings	↑ strongly	More choice
New listings	↑	More fresh competition
Days on market	↑	Less urgency
Quarterly house prices	↓	Momentum easing
Annual house prices	↑	Long-term gains remain strong
Rental listings	↓	Rental market remains tighter
Buyer competition	↓ in many areas	More negotiation
Suburb differences	↑ in importance	City-wide averages less useful

The most important Perth suburbs are not necessarily the “hottest”

In a changing market, buyers should not necessarily chase the suburb with the strongest headline growth. Instead, they should look for: established infrastructure; genuine owner-occupier demand; employment access; transport; schools; shopping; land scarcity; rental demand; reasonable entry price and manageable future supply. The goal is not to identify a magical suburb. It is to understand the local demand equation. A useful framework is:

• Layer 1 — City: What is happening across Perth?
• Layer 2 — Suburb: What is happening in the specific suburb?
• Layer 3 — Property: What is happening with this individual house?

Only when all three layers align should a buyer become highly confident. For example:

• Perth: Listings rising.
• Suburb: Listings rising moderately.
• Property: Recently renovated, well positioned, fairly priced and attracting multiple enquiries.

That property may behave very differently from the city-wide headline.

The next stage of Perth real estate is likely to reward better information. Not simply more information. Better information. That means knowing:

• what is listed;
• what sold;
• what failed;
• what reduced price;
• what rented;
• what buyers rejected;
• what buyers competed for.

The property portals show what is visible. Local agents can add context around what is happening behind the listing.

A sophisticated way to think about the market is: How quickly is the market absorbing new stock?

• If 1,000 properties enter the market and 950 sell: strong absorption.
• If 1,000 enter and only 600 sell: weak absorption.

That is why total listings can rise dramatically even without an extraordinary increase in new sellers. Perth’s 2026 data suggests that this absorption process has slowed. REIWA linked the increase in active listings to easing demand and longer selling times. No responsible market analysis should pretend that the next 12 months can be known with certainty. But the current data identifies several things worth watching.

Watch 1: Active Perth listings.

• If they keep climbing, buyer leverage may keep rising. If they fall quickly, competition could tighten again.

Watch 2: Days on market.

• A continued rise would indicate slower absorption.

Watch 3: New listings.

• If sellers keep listing while buyers remain cautious, stock can build.

Watch 4: Quarterly prices.

• These can reveal turning points earlier than annual figures.

Watch 5: Rental supply.

• If rental listings remain low while sale listings rise, investor economics may remain supported.

Perth house prices were still 18.7% higher year on year in the June quarter. The market has substantially more available stock and weaker momentum than before.

Imagine a buyer has $900,000. Old-market behaviour: They find a $890,000 home. There are 15 buyers. They offer $915,000. They identify:

• House A: $875,000
• House B: $895,000
• House C: $910,000
• House D: $850,000
• House E: $925,000

After inspection:

• A has better land;
• B has better renovations;
• C has better location;
• D needs $70,000 of work;
• E is overpriced relative to comparables.

Suddenly, the buyer can negotiate. Maybe B becomes the target. The buyer offers: $865,000, subject to appropriate conditions.

• The seller may accept.
• They may reject it.
• The buyer can move to A or C.
• That is buyer power.

Not necessarily a massive price crash. For years, the Australian property conversation was dominated by urgency. In 2026, parts of the market are moving towards something different: 

• Research first. 
• Decide second. 

REIWA’s latest figures show that the city’s available stock has increased to levels not seen since early 2023, while selling times have slowed and quarterly prices have softened. At the same time, Perth remains significantly more expensive than a year ago.

Final outlook: Perth buyers have more power — but power still needs discipline

The increase in property listings across Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide marks one of the most significant changes in Australia’s housing market in 2026. For Perth, the numbers are particularly striking. Active listings have climbed from the unusually low levels that characterised the previous market cycle to more than 7,700 properties.

• Homes are taking longer to sell.
• Quarterly prices have softened.
• Yet annual price growth remains substantial.

The result is neither a classic boom nor a straightforward downturn. It is a rebalancing market. For buyers, that creates something they have not had in abundance for several years: choice. But choice is only valuable if you use it intelligently.

The smartest buyer in this market is not necessarily the person who negotiates the biggest discount. It is the person who understands:

• what the property is worth;
• what alternatives exist;
• what comparable homes have sold for;
• how long properties are taking to sell;
• what the suburb’s supply looks like;
• what the rental market is doing;
• what the total ownership cost will be;
• and whether the property still makes sense if the market remains flat.

For sellers, the lesson is equally clear. A rising stock environment rewards preparation, realistic pricing and strong presentation. The days when almost any reasonably priced Perth property could attract immediate competition are fading. The market is asking sellers to compete for attention. 

For Bargoti Real Estate, the opportunity is to help buyers and sellers navigate this more nuanced market with suburb-level evidence, local knowledge, and a genuinely human understanding of the transaction. Bargoti Real Estate centres local market knowledge, technology, and client-focused service in its approach, with operations based in Dayton and covering buying, selling, investment, leasing, and property management. Australia’s property market is becoming less about who can move fastest and more about who can make the best-informed decision. For Perth buyers, that shift matters. More listings do not guarantee bargains.

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