Key takeaways Rents have softened slightly in some cities. Sydney house rents fell around 2.4%and Brisbane almost 2%, suggesting rental development is reducing after the sharp rises of recent years.
Rental markets are still very tight.
Job rates remain around or below 1.5%, meaning demand from occupants still far goes beyond the number of offered rental homes.
The Gold Coast now has the greatest home leas at about $950 per week, above Sydney at $800 and well ahead of Melbourne at $580.
Structure approvals dropped 13.8% in January, with house approvals plunging practically 30%, decreasing the future pipeline of brand-new homes.
With strong need, low jobs, and falling building approvals, upward pressure on rents and housing shortages are most likely to continue through 2026.
Something strange is taking place in Australia’s housing market today.
In some of our significant cities rents have in fact fallen a little over the past month.
Sydney house leas, for example, come by about 2.4%, while Brisbane leas slipped nearly 2%. But before tenants start commemorating, there’s a much larger story unfolding below the surface.
Job rates across the capital cities stay exceptionally tight – typically around or below 1.5%. That suggests there are still far more renters searching for homes than properties readily available.
And at the very same time, the pipeline of brand-new housing is diminishing again.
New structure approvals have actually fallen sharply, particularly for apartments, which are the type of housing that usually adds the most provide to our cities.
So while leas might be wobbling a little in the short-term, the larger question is this …
Are we really setting ourselves up for an even worse housing scarcity in the years ahead?
In this week’s Home Insider Chat, Dr Andrew Wilson and I go into what has actually been taking place in our real estate markets and as always, we’ll exceed the headlines and discuss what this implies for you as a property financier or property buyer in today’s market.
Rental markets tighten over February
Watch today’s Home Insider video as Dr Andrew Wilson discusses that Australia’s rental markets are no longer speeding up at the pace seen over the last number of years, however despite the fact that rental development has slowed a bit, vacancy rates continue to tighten for the most part.
As you can see from the charts below, the relative expense of leasing now differs greatly between cities.
The Gold Coast is the most pricey market for houses, with mean weekly leas at $950 – higher than Sydney ($800) and well above Melbourne at $580.
Although migration growth has actually continued to decrease and very first home buyer numbers have risen, this has actually been balanced out by lower brand-new supply, which has actually contributed to keeping low job rates into 2026.
Capital city rental markets have actually generally continued to report tightening conditions into February 2026, with falling job rates that remain low for both homes and systems– outcomes set to continue through 2026 and set to place upward pressure on leas.
Home structure approvals still falling
Watch today’s Home Insider video as Dr. Andrew Wilson discusses that home structure approvals fell 13.8% over January, following a comparable fall in December.
In particular, the more volatile measure of system approvals fell 29.8%.
Obviously, we know that not all tasks that get building approvals actually leave the ground, particularly apartments, which are too pricey to build in lots of places.
The following charts show how structure approvals have fallen considerably since their peaks in 2016.
Auction clearance rates ease as listings fall over holiday weekend Watch today’s Residential or commercial property Expert video as Dr Wilson discusses how capital city auction clearance rates were lower over the past week, with purchasers and sellers distracted by vacation vacations in many capitals.
Lower auction listings over the past week have integrated with holiday-distracted purchasers, particularly in Melbourne.
However, auction numbers will rise over the coming weeks and ought to reveal a clearer insight into auction market activity and buyer and seller sentiment.
< img src="https://cdn.propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Auction-results-07-March.jpg" alt="Auction Results 07 March" width="602" height="450"/ > < img alt="Cropped Hero Shot Photography 591 1. png" src="https://propertyupdate.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/cropped-Hero-Shot-Photography-591-1-148x148.png" height="148" width="148"/ > About Michael Yardney Michael is the founder of Metropole Residential or commercial property Strategists who help their clients grow, secure and pass on their wealth through independent, objective residential or commercial property guidance and advocacy. He’s once again been voted Australia’s leading home financial investment advisor and among Australia’s 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His viewpoints are frequently featured in the media.