Adelaide Defies the Housing Slowdown

Adelaide’s property market remains comparatively strong, while Sydney, Melbourne and other states are showing weaker or negative indicators, reinforcing that Australian housing conditions should be assessed state by state rather than through national headlines. Federal claims that housing reforms are helping first-home buyers were questioned: first-home buyer lending fell 2.9%, investor lending fell 8.6%, total investor lending value fell 10.2%, and total new-build loans fell 5.4%, although investor loans for new builds rose 27%. Victoria’s proposal to require exact auction reserve prices seven days before auction was broadly supported for improving transparency and reducing underquoting. Publishing a clear price could stop buyers wasting time on unaffordable properties and force agents to give vendors realistic valuations. Concerns remain over implementation details and seller negotiating flexibility. Media claims of a nationwide “buyer’s market” may also mislead Adelaide buyers, who can lose properties by assuming agents are exaggerating urgency.