The market continues to adjust

For months, we've been talking about a falling property market.

Prices have declined. Auction clearance rates have been weak. Buyers have become cautious; campaigns have taken longer, and negotiations have become harder. But the market has moved again.

We've moved from a falling market into a selective market. Buyers are now highly discerning about what they buy, what they pay and where they're prepared to compete. They are assessing value property by property, and we're seeing increasingly different outcomes depending on the quality of the asset and how it is positioned.

Right now, there are four very different sale experiences playing out.

1. Quality property + priced well = competition

This is where buyers are engaging.

Good position, strong fundamentals, scarcity and sensible price positioning are creating urgency and competition. These properties are outperforming the broader market because buyers recognise quality and are prepared to fight for it.

2. Quality property + overpriced = admiration, but hesitation

Buyers will inspect it. They'll like it. They may even love it.

But they're not acting.

Buyers are extremely sensitive to value. When the price feels disconnected from the evidence, they wait. And the longer a quality property sits, the greater the risk that momentum disappears.

3. Compromised property + priced well = a market

Every property has a price.

A compromised property - whether that's position, condition, aspect, parking, layout, or another factor - is selling when the pricing acknowledges the compromise.

Buyers will accept imperfections when they believe they're being appropriately compensated for them.

4. Compromised property + overpriced = trouble

This is the hardest part of the market.

Buyers have choice, time and information. Asking them to accept both the compromise and an ambitious price is proving extremely difficult.

These are the conversations we're having with buyers and sellers every day, and the evidence is now clear. For anyone considering selling this coming spring, there is a significant lesson here:

Quality matters. But positioning matters just as much.

On Friday evening, we sold 10 Simmons Street, Balmain East prior to auction for $6.1m.

The property had been held by the same family since it was built in 1978. It had many of the fundamentals Balmain peninsula buyers consistently value: garaging, a northerly rear aspect, water views from three levels, substantial scale, excellent construction and a level lawn flowing directly from the living areas.

It was also dated.

Our guide was $5.25m.

Buyers engaged, competition developed, and the property sold for $6.1m - the strongest sale we've seen across the peninsula since March. That result doesn't tell us the market has suddenly recovered but it does tell us something far more useful.

When quality real estate is positioned correctly, buyers are competing for it.

And that's the lesson I would be taking into spring. Don't confuse an ambitious asking price with an ambitious selling strategy. They are two completely different things. The objective is to create engagement, build competition and then allow the market to determine how far buyers are prepared to stretch.

Earlier this week, all eyes turned to the RBA

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank handed down its latest interest-rate decision. The rates have remained on hold, but the bigger issue is what comes next.

Trimmed mean inflation remains stubbornly high at 3.6%, with much of the pressure coming from domestic services and housing-related costs. So, we have an unusual collision occurring.

The property market has weakened considerably, households are under pressure and confidence remains fragile - yet underlying inflation is still running too hot for the RBA to comfortably declare victory.

That means anyone making a property decision shouldn't be sitting around waiting for interest rates to rescue the market.

Sellers need to deal with the market in front of them. Buyers should do the same. And right now, that market isn't just about adjustments, it’s about considered selection.