An eventful May has swept through the property market, leaving behind the faint scent of change in the winter air. As expected, the RBA delivered its second rate cut of the year – 25 basis points, but not without toying with the idea of a sharper, 50-point move. That hesitation alone told a story: the economy is walking a tightrope, and confidence, once again, is the balancing act.
Leading into the cut, the property market was quietly moving – neither hot nor cold, just ticking over. There’s been a stubborn reluctance in the national psyche to accept that property values, like all things, ebb and flow. While media headlines romanticised runaway auction results, the truth on the ground was far more nuanced: caution, uncertainty, and a buyer base still feeling out the floor.
Let’s call it straight: the market needed that rate cut. In truth, it probably needs two or three more. But even this single move was enough to lift the market off the canvas. Following the holiday-stalled April, listing activity picked up steadily. Auction clearance rates across Sydney, according to SQM Research, had languished below 50% – until the rate cut. Almost overnight, that number nudged above the halfway mark.
