What does the spring 2026 market mean for a Queensland agency?

Spring is when most Queensland agencies expect their busiest stretch. Owners who waited out winter list, Saturdays fill with open homes, and the phones ring from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. This year the season opens on a different market from the one agents worked through in 2025: values have started to ease, there is more stock, and borrowing costs more.

This post sets out what the data published up to 31 August 2026 says about that market, and what it means for the work that lands on an agency's phones and in its inboxes. It describes conditions. It does not forecast prices.

Did property values fall over winter?

Yes. Cotality's Home Value Index fell 0.7% nationally in July, the largest monthly fall since December 2022, and the decline spread from Sydney and Melbourne to the mid-sized capitals (Cotality, Home Value Index, August 2026). Brisbane values fell 0.6% in July. After Cotality revised its earlier figures, that was Brisbane's second monthly fall in a row, from a peak in May.

The numbers need context before they reach a vendor. Brisbane values were still 14.8% higher than a year earlier, with a median dwelling value of $1,104,094. Regional Queensland slipped 0.3% in July and was 11.7% higher over the year.

The falls have been heaviest at the top of the market. Nationally, the most expensive quarter of homes lost 3.2% of their value over the three months to July, while the cheapest quarter gained 0.3%. An owner of a large riverside home and an owner of a first-home-buyer house on the city fringe are having very different years.

Why did the market turn?

Dearer borrowing did much of it. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate three times earlier in the year, then held it at 4.35% on 11 August. The Board said "momentum in the housing market has shifted", with prices falling in some capital cities, and that it does not expect inflation to return to around the middle of its target range until late 2027 (RBA, 11 August 2026).

Fewer people are taking out loans. The number of new home loans fell 5.4% in the June quarter to 134,225, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. First home buyer loans fell 2.9% in the quarter and were unchanged over the year. Investor loans fell 8.6% nationally, the largest fall since the September quarter of 2022. Queensland's fell 10.1%, behind New South Wales and Victoria.

The Federal Budget on 12 May also changed the sums for investors buying established homes. From 1 July 2027, losses on an established home bought after 7:30pm AEST on 12 May 2026 can only be deducted against income from residential property, not other income. New builds are exempt, and homes bought before the cut-off are unaffected. From the same date, the 50% capital gains tax discount is replaced by indexation of the cost base, with a 30% minimum tax rate on gains, and owners of new builds can choose to keep the old discount. The Senate passed the bill on 25 June (Baker McKenzie). Cotality's July report pointed to lower investor activity after the Budget.

When an investor rings to ask whether to buy or sell because of the changes, the agent's job is to describe what changed and refer the tax question to their accountant.

Is there more stock to sell?

Yes, and the growth is in the mid-sized capitals. REA Group reported that new listings on realestate.com.au in July were 2% lower nationally than a year earlier, but up 13% across Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide combined, while Sydney and Melbourne combined fell 16% (REA Group FY26 results). REA expects national new listings for the year to June 2027 to be flat or down by a low single-digit percentage.

Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide

+13.0%

National

−2.0%

Sydney and Melbourne

−16.0%

Total stock shows the same shift from a different angle. Cotality counts every home advertised for sale, not only new listings. Nationally, total listings were 1.1% below the five-year average in the four weeks to 26 July, up from 25.9% below in mid-January. Across the combined capitals, advertised stock was 5.7% above average, and capital city auction clearance rates had stayed below 50% since late May.

More stock and fewer buyers who are ready to commit mean listings take longer to sell. Cotality noted time on market starting to rise.

What does a slower market do to the phones?

It means more calls for every sale, and more of them from vendors. A campaign that runs six weeks instead of three carries twice as many weekends of open-home enquiries, follow-up calls and price questions.

• Buyers enquire more widely. With more choice and less urgency, a buyer enquires on more properties before committing. REA reported an average of 2.5 million buyer enquiries a month on realestate.com.au in the year to June, up 8%. Each one ends up on an agent's phone or in an inbox.
• Vendors need more contact. In a slower market a vendor wants weekly enquiry and inspection numbers, honest buyer feedback and, when a campaign stalls, a conversation about price. These calls take time, and they are often what keeps the listing.
• Owners test the market. Some owners ring for an appraisal to find out what their home is worth after the May peak, with no fixed plan to sell. REA reported a 22% rise in seller leads over the year. Every one is a seller conversation worth taking properly, and the guide to questions to ask a seller on the first call covers how.

The portal is changing at the same time. In August realestate.com.au rolled out a set of tools it calls NextGen Now, including an AI Assistant for members, plain-language AI search, Campaign Assist for agents, iGUIDE interactive tours and walkthrough reels (IT Brief).

Are rentals still tight?

Yes. SQM Research measured Brisbane's vacancy rate at 0.9% in July, with 3,057 vacant rentals, unchanged from a year earlier. The national rate was 1.3% (SQM Research, July 2026). SQM counts rentals advertised for three weeks or more against all established rental homes. Its Brisbane asking rents averaged $756.11 a week, 8.3% higher than a year earlier.

Cotality measures rents a different way, through its own rental index. On that measure, national rents rose 5.9% over the year to July, with Brisbane house rents up 6.7% and unit rents up 6.2%.

For a property manager, a vacancy rate under 1% means every listing draws a crowd. Most of the enquiries ask the same handful of questions about pets, parking, the available date and the next inspection, and each one deserves a quick, accurate answer, because the people asking have written to five other listings too.

How should an agency prepare for spring?

Start with where calls and enquiries go unanswered now, then fix the biggest gap first.

• Measure the gap. A one-week count of missed calls and unanswered enquiries shows where the problem is. The guide to measuring your agency's response gap sets out how.
• Cover the busiest hours. Saturday open homes, back-to-back appointments and evenings are when calls ring out. Conditional forwarding on no answer and busy keeps the agent's phone ringing first, as covered in the guide to call forwarding for real estate agents.
• Set a rhythm for vendors. Agree a weekly update day with every vendor, with enquiry numbers, inspection numbers and feedback.
• Agree a line on tax questions. Every agent should describe the Budget changes the same way, and send the question of what to do about them to an accountant.

For agencies whose missed calls cluster on weekends and after hours, AgentFront's Phone Assistant answers forwarded calls, answers listing questions from the public realestate.com.au listing and agrees appraisal times with sellers from the agent's calendar during the call.