August 2026 is a challenging time and making a smarter property decision starts with asking the right question. If you’ve been wondering should I sell my house now? ,you’re not alone. With property values softening in several Australian capital cities, plenty of homeowners are weighing up, is now the best time to sell a house?, or does it makes more sense to wait?
We provide real CLEAR honest property advice that you can discuss with your accountant, finance broker and financial planner to walk you through the maths, the market data, and the questions worth asking before you commit to selling in a softer market.
At realCLEAR, honest property advice means we prefer to lose a listing than give bad advice. So before you list your home, here’s what the evidence actually says about selling property in a slow market, and why the answer to “why not sell your house now” often comes down to one simple question: are you buying again, or not?
The Current State of the Australian Property Market
According to the Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) national Home Value Index, Australian dwelling values fell 0.7% in July 2026, the third consecutive monthly decline and the steepest single-month fall since December 2022.
The national index sits roughly 0.7% below the peak it reached in March 2026. The pattern isn’t uniform: Sydney and Melbourne have led the pullback, falling about 1.2% and 1.0% respectively in June, while Darwin and Perth were still recording gains over the same month.
At the same time, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate three times during 2026, taking it to 4.35% before holding it steady at its June meeting. Higher borrowing costs have reduced how much buyers can afford to pay, which may be one of the factors weighing on prices in the larger capitals.
No one knows for certain if this means prices will keep falling, nor if prices will bounce back and the great thing about trends is a better chance of understanding if your decision to buy or sell is on the right side of the trend curve.
Market conditions are one factor in a property decision and realCLEAR provides honest data for better insights.
That single sentence is the foundation of everything that follows.
The Core Idea: It’s Not the Sale Price That Matters, It’s the Changeover Cost
Here’s how homeowners can get the maths right.
When people hear that property values have fallen, the instinct is to think: “I’ll get less for my house, so I should wait.” That’s may be true if you are downsizing, yet even if downsizing the savings on reduced stamp duty, and taxes like capital gains etc, may show even if downsizing you may be better off. UPSIZING? Then selling and buying in a slow market is often far better.
WHAT IS BETTER in a softer market? often these thing make it better for sellers also buying:
- Less stamp duty on purchase
- Less interest payments as you buy for less and borrow less and have less due for repayments
- Less capital gains tax on your sale
- Less agents commission to pay on your sale
- Less to pay on the home you are wanting to buy
MOST things become cheaper and potentially, YOU ARE THE WINNER!
This is the single most misunderstood concept in the “should I sell now” conversation. Let’s walk through it with numbers.
Worked Example: Selling and Buying in the Same Market
Imagine two properties in the same city, both of which have fallen 10% in value over the past year, broadly consistent with the kind of falls being recorded in Sydney and Melbourne through 2026.
House A: The home you’re selling
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Value at market peak | $1,500,000 |
| Value today (after a 10% fall) | $1,350,000 |
| Change | −$150,000 |
House B: The home you’d like to buy (an upgrade)
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Value at market peak | $2,000,000 |
| Value today (after a 10% fall) | $1,800,000 |
| Change | −$200,000 |
The Changeover Cost
| At market peak | Today (after 10% fall) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of House B | $2,000,000 | $1,800,000 |
| Less: proceeds from House A | $1,500,000 | $1,350,000 |
| Changeover cost (gap to fund) | $500,000 | $450,000 |
Both properties fell by exactly the same percentage, 10%. But because House B is more expensive than House A in dollar terms, its fall was worth more in dollar terms too. The result: the amount you need to find to complete the upgrade fell from $500,000 to $450,000, a $50,000 reduction.
This is a simplified illustration only. It excludes stamp duty, agent commission, loan interest, and other transaction costs, all of which we cover below. It also assumes both properties move by exactly the same percentage, which real markets rarely do with such precision, different suburbs, property types and price brackets can rise or fall at different rates even within the same city.
But the underlying principle holds: if you are selling and buying in the same falling market, the price you get on your sale may be partly or fully offset by the price you pay on your purchase.
This is why, at realCLEAR, we often say the question isn’t “is now a good time to sell”?
The Maths and breaking Down, Selling Property in a Slow Market:
- Less stamp duty on purchase
- Less interest payments as you buy for less and borrow less and have less due for repayments
- Less capital gains tax on your sale
- Less agents commission to pay on your sale
- Less to pay on the home you are wanting to buy
A note on tax
For most owner-occupiers selling their main home, may be exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) under the Australian Taxation Office’s main residence exemption.
Partial exemptions can apply in other circumstances, such as periods where the property was rented out or wasn’t your main residence. Stamp duty (also called transfer duty) is generally payable by the buyer, not the seller, and the rules, thresholds and any concessions vary significantly from state to state.
Because tax and duty rules are complex and change over time, this article provides general information only. We recommend speaking with a registered tax agent, accountant or solicitor about your specific circumstances before making a decision.
When Waiting May Make Sense
For some homeowners, there is no pressing need to sell at all, and in those cases, market softness is a reasonable factor to weigh into the timing of a decision. Waiting may make sense if:
- You have no financial pressure requiring a sale.
- You’re happy living where you are and your current home still suits your needs.
- You haven’t identified a replacement property, so selling now would leave you searching under time pressure.
- The transaction costs of selling and buying again would outweigh any benefit of moving now.
- You expect to stay in the area long-term, making short-term price movements less relevant to your outcome.
None of these are guarantees that waiting will produce a better financial result as predicting future prices is not a guaranteed science.
When Selling May Still Be the Right Decision
It’s important to be direct about this: market conditions are only one factor in a property decision, and for many people, they may not be the deciding factor. There are many legitimate, sometimes urgent, reasons to sell regardless of where prices sit, including:
- Relocating for employment or family reasons, where staying isn’t practical.
- Downsizing, where reducing running costs or maintenance matters more than maximising sale price.
- Upsizing, where a growing family needs more space and the changeover-cost logic above may actually work in your favour.
- Divorce or separation, where selling the family home is often part of a legal settlement.
- Deceased estate administration, where executors are required to sell as part of finalising an estate.
- Financial hardship, where selling may be necessary to reduce debt or free up equity.
- Retirement, where accessing home equity supports a change in lifestyle or income needs.
- Health reasons, including a need to move closer to family, care facilities or medical services.
- Lifestyle changes, such as a move to a different region or a change in household circumstances.
If any of these apply to you, waiting for a “better” market is not necessarily good advice, and no honest adviser should tell you to delay a decision that’s being driven by circumstances, not by price charts.
A Simple Way to Think It Through
Before deciding whether to sell, it can help to separate the decision into two questions:
- Am I selling because of my personal or financial circumstances, or because of what I’ve read about the market?
- Am I also buying another property in the same market, or am I selling only?
| Your situation | What matters most |
|---|---|
| Selling due to personal circumstances (divorce, estate, relocation, health, hardship) | Your timeline and legal or family obligations, not market timing |
| Selling and buying in the same market (upgrading, downsizing, moving suburbs) | The changeover cost, the gap between your sale and purchase price, not the sale price in isolation |
| Selling only, with no plan to buy again | The full sale value matters more, because there’s no offsetting purchase discount |
| No pressure to sell either way | Whether the transaction costs and disruption of moving are worth it right now |
Working through these two questions honestly, rather than reacting to headlines about the market, is usually the difference between a smarter property decision and a rushed one.
The Bottom Line
Property markets move in cycles, and no adviser, including realCLEAR, can tell you where prices will be in six months or a year. Making a smarter property decision doesn’t depend on getting that timing right, it depends on understanding your own numbers and circumstances.
If you’re thinking about selling, the question that matters most isn’t “is the market up or down?” It’s “what does this decision actually cost me, once I account for everything, including what I’ll pay for my next home, if I’m buying one?”
DON’T be influenced by an agent that wants your commission. At realCLEAR we provide honest property advice and work for you and are not influenced by bad commission decisions.
For homeowners who are both selling and buying in the same market, a downturn may reduce the real cost of upgrading, even though it feels uncomfortable to accept a lower sale price.
For homeowners selling without buying again, a downturn may have a more direct impact, because there’s may be no offsetting purchase to soften it. And for homeowners selling because of divorce, estate administration, relocation, health or financial hardship, market conditions are rarely the deciding factor at all.
At realCLEAR, we believe the best property advice isn’t always “sell now.” Sometimes the right decision is to wait. Sometimes it’s to buy. Sometimes it’s to stay exactly where you are.
Our role is to help you understand your options so you can make the decision that’s right for you, not the one that generates the biggest commission. That’s what a smarter property decision looks like, one shaped by your circumstances.
If you’d like to talk through your own situation with no obligation and no pressure, we’re happy to help and you can reach out anytime for a simple chat.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute financial, taxation or legal advice. Property values, interest rates and market conditions referenced are current as at the time of writing and are subject to change. Everyone’s situation is different, for advice specific to your circumstances, speak with a licensed financial adviser, registered tax agent, or solicitor. Data referenced from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) Home Value Index, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the Australian Taxation Office.
Join The Discussion