BreakingMelbourne listings rise as spring selling season begins
More than 41,000 dwellings are advertised for sale across Greater Melbourne, the highest August total in eleven years, without a corresponding fall in clearance rates.
Greater Melbourne began the spring selling season with 41,312 dwellings advertised for sale, the highest August figure since 2015 and roughly 14 per cent above the five-year average for the month. In most cycles a stock build of that size would be accompanied by a falling clearance rate. It has not been.
The combined Melbourne clearance rate held at 64.1 per cent across the weekend, essentially unchanged from July and a shade below the same weekend last year. Agents across the inner north and south-east describe the same pattern: more properties, more inspections, and vendors setting price expectations early rather than testing the market and adjusting later.
41,312
Dwellings advertised for sale, Greater Melbourne
APD listings index, week ending 23 August 2026
That behaviour matters more than the headline count. Listings that are withdrawn or repriced repeatedly tend to sit in the data for months and depress measured values. Stock that clears at or near expectation moves through the system quickly, and Melbourne's average days on market has actually shortened by two days since June, to 38.
Apartments are doing the unusual work
Melbourne house values fell 0.4 per cent over the month and are 1.2 per cent higher over the year. Apartment values were flat over the month and are 2.4 per cent higher over the year — the first sustained period of apartment outperformance since 2017.
The explanation is on the supply side. Apartment completions across Greater Melbourne are tracking at roughly 11,400 for the calendar year, against an underlying requirement most estimates place above 20,000. Buyers priced out of the detached market are competing for a shrinking pool of newly completed stock.
| Segment | Median | Month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houses | $1,042,000 | -0.4% | +1.2% |
| Apartments | $782,000 | 0.0% | +2.4% |
| All dwellings | $938,000 | -0.2% | +1.6% |
Source: APD hedonic index
What the rest of spring depends on
Two things will determine whether the current balance holds. The first is the volume of new stock coming to market in September and October, traditionally the heaviest weeks of the year. The second is the Reserve Bank, which has held the cash rate at 3.60 per cent since May and meets again on 15 September.
“The rate cycle stopped being the main story about eighteen months ago. Supply is now doing most of the work in the price data.”
David Nguyen, chief economist, Meridian Capital Partners
Meridian's own forecast has Melbourne dwelling values finishing the calendar year between flat and 2 per cent higher, the narrowest band it has published for any capital city.
Source: ABS, APD estimates
Sources
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