Tax overhaul triggers auction market caution

“The Budget contained major changes to housing tax settings, particularly around negative gearing and capital gains tax. While these changes are not immediate, they are significant enough to add uncertainty for buyers, sellers and investors as the market works through what they will mean,” said Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee.

The most notable shift this week was in open home attendance. Nationally, attendance fell to 2.1 attendees per property, down from 2.5 last week and well below 3.4 at the same time last year.

“This suggests that some buyers are stepping back, at least temporarily, as they assess the impact of recent policy changes, higher interest rates and broader economic uncertainty,” Ms Conisbee said.

The preliminary clearance rate also softened, falling to 56.2 per cent nationally, down from 59.4 per cent last week and 65.6 per cent a year ago. Auction volumes, however, were reasonably solid, with 666 properties scheduled nationally, above the 574 held at the same time last year.

Average active bidding held up a little better, easing only slightly to 2.1 bidders nationally. Sydney was an interesting outlier, with active bidders rising to 2.5, despite softer broader conditions.

“This suggests that while fewer people may be attending open homes, committed buyers are still present in some markets,” Ms Conisbee said.

“The main issue remains confidence. The Budget changes are substantial, and it will take time for households and investors to understand how they affect decision-making. Open home attendance is often one of the earliest indicators of sentiment, so the sharp fall this week is worth watching closely.”

“Overall, this week’s data suggests buyers are becoming more cautious, particularly at the inspection stage. The next few weeks will be important in determining whether this is a short-term pause after a major policy announcement, or the beginning of a more sustained adjustment in demand.”

According to Ray White auction data, investors buy 25 per cent of the group’s properties sold under the hammer.

Some 72 per cent of investors buy in the range of $550,000 to $950,000, while 28 per cent of investors buy in the $1.2 million to $2.5 million price range.

Investors buying at Ray White auctions have actually decreased from 30 per cent in mid-2025 to 24 per cent now.

Ray White Collective CEO and auctioneer Haesley Cush said the market demonstrated some resilience particularly in Brisbane’s middle and prestige sectors.

“The general sentiment from the market is that the budget, specifically to deter investors, won’t do anything for Queensland prices,” he said.

“At Ray White Collective, we have sold less than two per cent of our properties to residential investors over the last six months. They have been losing out to the overstimulated first home buyers.”

Mr Cush said removing investors from the market would likely reduce competition rather than affordability. “Pulling them out of the market will remove underbidders from the market,” he said. “The only impact it will have: making the problem worse for tenants. We have already had an issue with investors selling to first home buyers. On the rare chance that an investor would have beaten them, to create a rental property for more tenants, this will just dwindle that even further.”

He warned the consequences could become more apparent in the future. “The problem is coming down the track when we need residential investors (for tenants) and they are all gone,” he said. “They are already usually the underbidders at the moment.”

Mr Cush reiterated that investors were already playing a limited role in the current market. “Investors haven’t really been at play and now they certainly won’t be,” he said.

“The thing that will bring investors back in will be the increase in rents off the back of limited supply; which isn’t good news for tenants.”

The highest sale of the day nationally also came from the Ray White Collective auction event, which saw 186 Park Road, Yeerongpilly sell under the hammer for $2.555 million through agent Daniel Lazzaroni.

Ray White NSW | ACT head of auctions David McMahon said the market was still searching for consistency.

“What continues to stand out is that the market still hasn’t found a consistent rhythm. Conditions remain fluid, and while key metrics have stabilised to some degree, sentiment continues to shift week by week,” Mr McMahon said.

The first Saturday post-budget in Sydney delivered a further reduction in auction activity, with 112 auctions scheduled, 40 fewer than last week.

He said core performance indicators had held steady since the budget announcement, but buyer and seller behaviour was continuing to evolve. “Since the budget announcement, our clearance rate has held at 64 per cent,” he said. “Buyer depth has averaged three registered bidders per auction. Those figures have remained relatively consistent throughout the year, however the behaviour of both buyers and sellers continues to evolve alongside changing economic and policy conditions.”

He also highlighted a notable shift in buyer interest during the day’s auctions. “One trend that emerged more noticeably today was increased interest in properties with redevelopment potential, particularly sites suited to new builds following the proposed changes to negative gearing.”

He said this segment of the market may continue to gain traction. “It’s an area of the market that could gather momentum over the coming months and will be worth monitoring closely,” Mr McMahon said.

44 King Street, St Marys (pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $1.95 million

• Seven registered bidders

• Lead agent: Amber Boumelhem - 0452 669 516

• Ray White United Group

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

“The opening bid was $1.4 million,” Ms Boumelhem said. “We thought it would get to $1.5 million maximum today. The owners were at a higher price than the feedback, and we thought maybe two groups would register.”

She said the property’s position was a major drawcard for buyers. “The location really drew people in; it is in the main centre of St Marys,” she said. “The underbidder who missed out by $50,000 actually happened to be driving by, saw the location and registered today.”

An investor from Shell Cove secured the property after first inspecting it three weeks ago.

“He came to the open home three weeks ago and said he would only go to $1.4 million,” Ms Boumelhem said. “In the end, he was the winning bidder.”

The home had never before been offered to the market and held deep sentimental value for the vendors. “It was actually their parents’ property, and they have now passed away,” Ms Boumelhem said. “It was the first time it had ever been offered for sale. The daughter, who acted as executor, lived here in her childhood and later moved back to help care for her parents as they aged.”

Now living in St Clair, the daughter was overwhelmed by the result. “She is absolutely thrilled and quite emotional,” Ms Boumelhem said. “I actually was getting emotional too; I can’t believe the result we got.”

19 William Road, Riverwood (pictured above: the agents with Ray White Managing Director Dan White)

• Sold under the hammer for $1.425 million

• Three registered bidders, one active

• Lead agent: Adison (Yu) Cao - 0416 878 877

• Ray White Riverwood

Lead agent Adison Cao said the highest bidder lifted their offer by $150,000 to secure the property and bring the auction to a successful close.

The successful buyers were first home buyers who had been closely watching changing market conditions in recent weeks.

“We saw a lot of passed-in auctions in the last few weeks,” the buyer said. “We really liked this property’s location and decided it was a good time to buy after seeing that in the market. It is a good time to be able to negotiate a little more as a buyer and secure something at a fair price.”

The vendor acknowledged the softer conditions compared to earlier in the year but remained confident in the auction process. “It is definitely a tougher market compared to a few months ago, but auction is still the best method to get a fair price,” the vendor said.

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Luke Banitsiotis said he had a strong result out of Mill Park this week with 6 Azalea Avenue selling under the hammer for $1,082,000 through Ray White Mill Park (pictured below).

“The crowd told the story before the bidding even began, with around 65 onlookers turning up and seven bidders putting their hand up to compete for the keys. That level of depth is always encouraging and shows that when a property is well-positioned, buyers are still prepared to engage and fight for it.”

“One noticeable shift this week was around investor activity. Ray White Ballarat reported just 5 investors across 15 open for inspections on properties that would typically attract investor interest. Prior to the Federal Budget, that figure would have more commonly been 2 to 3 investors per property, so the change in behaviour was clear.”

“As we enter what feels like a new chapter for property in Australia, the clearance rate data over the coming weeks will be important to watch. It will give us a clearer read on how buyer confidence, investor sentiment and vendor expectations are adjusting in real time.”

“For now, the early signs still show depth in the market. Bidder numbers are holding at just under 2 active bidders per auction, which suggests buyers are still there, but they may be more measured in how they engage.”

1/65 Latrobe Street, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.15 million

• Two bidders

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Kevin Chokshi - 0430 195 517

• Ray White The Bayside Group

7 Chester Court, Fawkner

• Sold under the hammer for $1.246 million

• Five bidders

• Lead agent: Laksh Jassal - 0401 956 291

• Ray White Coburg

Ray White Corporate Queensland auctioneer Tom Gunness said the auction landscape across the state had shown “significant resilience,” with buyer appetite for unconditional purchases remaining steady following Tuesday night’s Federal Budget.

Mr Gunness said that this had been a widely debated issue throughout the week. “Market activity has remained steady. Average bidder numbers across Queensland have held firm, with most active campaigns attracting between three to six registered bidders.”

He said consumer confidence had been a key talking point in recent weeks, but argued that the structure of auctions was helping underpin engagement. “It would appear that the transparency of auction negotiations is underpinning confidence and allowing for more willing negotiations from all parties involved,” he said.

Mr Gunness also noted a growing trend toward early deals, with “an increased appetite from vendors to negotiate prior to auction. We’ve had 12.2 per cent of scheduled auctions transacting ahead of their auction date.”

He said vendors who actively engaged with the process were generally achieving stronger outcomes.

“Owners who are working closely with their agent in the lead-up to auction day, carefully assessing buyer feedback, offers, and campaign insights, are continuing to achieve stronger engagement levels and more competitive outcomes under the hammer,” Mr Gunness said.

Ray White Collective held its monthly in-room auction event at the Calile Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, delivering a strong result despite ongoing market uncertainty. A total of $23.563 million worth of property was sold across the event, including $9.363 million sold prior to auction and $14.2 million sold under the hammer. Approximately 50 registered bidders participated throughout the day, with the highest price achieved reaching $3.475 million and the event finishing with a 70 per cent clearance rate.

According to Ray White Collective CEO Haesley Cush, the strongest performance on the day came from Brisbane’s middle market. “Today we saw a counter punch from the middle of the market,” he said. “Between $1 million and $3 million performed very well today.”

He also pointed to continued confidence at the top end of the market, particularly in blue-chip suburbs such as Bulimba. “When you consider what construction costs for the block of land in Bulimba; it shows the confidence of the top end market in Brisbane,” he said.

Despite broader economic concerns, Mr Cush said the Brisbane market continued to perform “logically”. “We went in today with the same question marks that everyone else had; the market ended up performing logically,” he said.

“There is more demand for property than there is available property. While interest rates have risen, we have seen a stabilisation in prices but still in line with strong interest.”

He said buyers themselves were ultimately seeking stability rather than falling prices. “Every buyer says they want prices to drop until the day they actually buy,” Mr Cush said.

“People like a stable and steadily growing market. That is what we have in Brisbane. Construction costs are really high; so you might as well pay fair value for an established home.”

One of the day’s most emotional stories came from the sale of 28 Bale Street, Albion, handled by agent Dan James. Mr James revealed the property had remained in the same family for decades and carried significant sentimental value.

“Just as I had this listed and during the pre-market part, one of the vendors passed away,” Mr James said.

“They bought it in 1966, sold it to the Department of Main Roads in 1969 but then bought it back in 1982. So it has been in the family for a really long time.”

He said the property had always represented a dream project for the family. “It was the investment property that they always planned to raise and renovate which just never eventuated,” he said. “They kept it in beautiful condition. Obviously when the husband passed away it was very emotional for the family.”

Mr James said the buyer’s gesture during contract signing deeply resonated with the sellers.

“As we are signing the contract, the buyer was signing at the table with the seller; he said he would plan to name it Caruso’s Cottage - the sellers’ family name,” he said. “He is planning to do all the things that the sellers had dreamed of doing to it.”

He added the buyer had been searching extensively for the right property before securing the home. “This buyer has been actively hunting for a home,” Mr James said. “He is not a first home buyer but has been renting and has been trying to find ‘the one’ for a while. He was gearing up to attend eight open homes after this; but he doesn’t need to do it anymore.”

See below a summary of all the properties sold at the auction event:

Sold under the hammer:

28 Bale Street, Albion
Sold under the hammer for $1,200,000
Lead agent: Dan James

43 Bristol Street, West End
Sold under the hammer for $2,415,000
Lead agent: Ben Osborne

5/23 Norman Street, Annerley
Sold under the hammer for $1,000,000
Lead agent: Jack Roberts

101 Barton Road, Hawthorne
Sold under the hammer for $3,475,000
Lead agents: Brandon Wortley / Bri Suey

149 Bielby Road, Kenmore Hills
Sold under the hammer for $1,515,000
Lead agent: Lisette Schults-Rand

2/15 Rennie Street, Indooroopilly
Sold under the hammer for $1,370,000
Lead agents: Edward Mearns / Sukhraj Singh Nijjar

186 Park Road, Yeerongpilly
Sold under the hammer for $2,555,000
Lead agents: Daniel Lazzaroni / Breyton Hammond

4116/35 Burdett Street, Albion
Sold under the hammer for $670,000
Lead agent: Cameron Jordan-Hawkins

Sold prior to auction:

99 Coutts Street, Bulimba
Sold prior for $1,320,000
Lead agent: Selina McIntyre

6/140 Baringa Street, Morningside
Sold prior for $1,120,000
Lead agent: Rory Lawson

603/15 Parkland Street, Nundah
Sold prior for $1,008,000
Lead agent: Simon Petrie

122 Alexandra Road, Clayfield
Sold prior for $3,425,000
Lead agents: Bryce Osborne / Josh Brown

34 Meyrick Street, Cannon Hill
Sold prior for $1,560,000
Lead agent: Robyn Hoare

1201/35 Burdett Street, Albion
Sold prior for $930,000
Lead agent: Cameron Jordan-Hawkins

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said auction activity across the state was beginning to ease slightly, although buyer confidence and competition remained strong overall.

“Here in South Australia, all the numbers do seem to be dropping when it comes to auctions,” Mr Morris said.

“We’ve got our clearance rate dropping slightly every week, bidder registration numbers dropping slightly every week.”

“We’re averaging about four registered bidders per auction at the moment, with half of them participating,” he said.

“Our clearance rate is hovering around about that 66 per cent mark at the moment, so we’re selling two-thirds of properties under auction conditions.”

He said buyers were still highly engaged, even if decision-making was taking longer on auction day. “The buyer sentiment does seem to still be out there,” Mr Morris said. “We’re getting a lot of bids at the auctions. The auctions are going on for a little bit longer. Buyers seem to be taking a little bit longer to make a decision on auction day over whether they’re going to stretch that budget a little bit.”

According to Mr Morris, many buyers were ultimately choosing to push beyond their initial price limits in order to secure property. “They actually are still getting involved and, in a lot of cases, going slightly above their budgets,” he said.

“My own numbers, I've been selling closer to 90 per cent since the budget happened,” he said.

“I’ve got an average of six bidders per auction because I’ve had a very strong morning this Saturday morning and a lot of property is selling for really, really good prices.”

“South Australia does seem to be still an extremely strong market,” he said. “Yes, the numbers are down, but the sentiment still seems to be extremely high.”

22 Battams Road, Marden (pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $1.31 million

• Six registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Chris Xu - 0433 770 717

• Ray White Adelaide City

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White

3 Henry Street, Croydon

• Sold under the hammer for $1 million

• Five registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent: Adam Humzy - 0488 586 552

• Ray White Prospect

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White

The sale of 3 Henry Street, Croydon marked the end of an emotional chapter for the vendors, with the property sold as a deceased estate by a brother and sister on behalf of their late parents.

“They were emotional but happy that the process was wrapped up and they achieved a strong result,” Mr Humzy said.

Mr Humzy said buyer confidence remained resilient despite the federal budget changes announced this week. “Things are still strong,” he said. “A lot of people are tending to think that this won’t last much longer than two years. There is a bit of scepticism that this will actually flow through, particularly if the government changes power.”

“People are still buying, from what we have seen this week,” he said.

The successful purchaser was an investor, reflecting what Mr Humzy described as changing buyer behaviour in the market. “Investors seem to simply be changing the structure of how they buy,” he said.

The buyer, who declined to be named, said the property appealed because of its location and future potential. “This is an investment property for us; we might rent it out and do it up,” the buyer said. “I live around the corner, I like the area, so that is why we grabbed onto it.”

35 Albert Street, Prospect

• Sold under the hammer for $1,548,500

• 12 registered bidders

• Lead agent: Adam Humzy - 0488 586 552

• Ray White Prospect

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White

Ray White Western Australia CEO Mark Whiteman said the group’s “Auction Spectacular” held today in Perth delivered “outstanding results on the auction floor,” with buyers “clearly out in force in the West for the first Auction Spectacular of the year.”

Mr Whiteman said the atmosphere in the room reflected strong competition and engagement from buyers. “We saw a high-energy atmosphere and competitive bidding across all 11 properties listed, with over 100 people in the room and 28 bidders actively participating.”

He said the format and turnout contributed to what he called an exciting morning. “Buyers were clearly out in force and the auction floor felt very active from start to finish.”

He confirmed that 11 properties were offered for sale with 8 sold by the close of the auction resulting in a clearance rate of 72.7%.”

Mr Whiteman said the result highlighted ongoing demand even in a changing environment.

He also pointed to broader economic pressures shaping buyer decisions. “We are clearly in different times, with rising interest rates, changes to CGT and negative gearing,” he said.

“Buyers are definitely factoring all of this into their decisions.”

Despite those headwinds, Mr Whiteman emphasised the effort behind the result. “Really proud of how hard our agents worked to create these results,” he said, describing the event as another strong example of coordinated team performance across Ray White Western Australia.