09/09/2026
š¼ September 2026 market update.
The market has changed.
Australia's housing market recorded its largest monthly fall since December 2022 in July, with national values declining 0.7%. The market decline spread beyond Sydney and Melbourne and into every other capital city too.
1ļøā£ What's going on in Cairns?
The Cairns property market continues to show resilience to the national trend.
There is still little evidence of a major decline in Cairns property prices, despite signs of slowing growth in some markets across Australia.
Cairns property prices continue to perform - the latest figures show the Cairns median house price is approaching $800,000, while the median unit price sits at around $487,000.
Recent media headlines have suggested that Cairns has entered a downturn, but the decline in values is very slight (for now).
2ļøā£ The short, sharp truths.
Spring selling season could be less active than usual.
Vendors are more cautious and some homeowners will be discouraged from listing.ā
Buyers have regained the upper hand in the negotiation stakes.
3ļøā£ What this all means 4 you.
Property markets are complex, and news headlines only tell part of the story. I believe the market isn't dead, it's a normalising one.
Good properties are still selling, and great properties can still attract significant competition. But buyers, nowadays have more choice, vendors are having to work harder and unrealistic pricing is being exposed.
For everyone involved in the transaction, having the right information before making a decision matters more than it did six months ago.
4ļøā£ Benefit of a "Queenslander".
In Queensland, hundreds of houses a year are cut into pieces, loaded onto trucks and driven to a completely different address ā the house sold separately from the land it was standing on.
Timber Queenslanders on stumps are essentially flat-pack, and settlers were already shifting them in the 1860s. The industry never stopped ā one Brisbane family firm reckons it has moved more than 7,500 homes across three generations.
You can buy the house at one address and the block at another, and introduce them later. Everywhere else "the house comes with the land" is a law of nature. In Queensland you have a choice.
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If you need advice on timing, value, market trends, or preparing your home for sale, Iām always happy to help, whether youāre planning for now or the future.
Helping with your real estate journey.
Daniel Sheehan
0409 262 326
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