Friday Market Recap

This week new data was published on consumer sentiment, changes in wages, internet job vacancies and labour force conditions.

The major data releases next week will be the latest update on inflation, construction work done, CAPEX and household spending.

Below are some of the articles this week that caught my eye.

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Falling house prices are failing to attract nervous first-home buyers nervous of negative equity

Why the Kiwi and Canadian property bubbles burst and what we can learn

Rental disorder: property manager backs warning on 30pc rises

Bumper Mirvac, Stockland sales turn housing turmoil story on its head

Mirvac and Stockland hit by housing slowdown after CGT, negative gearing, SMSF changes

For now, let’s take a look at some of the major data releases out this week.

Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index August 2026

Key insights

• The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose 6% to 88.9% in August 2026 with the increase mostly driven by the RBA’s decision to hold interest rates.

• Each component of the Consumer Sentiment Index rose however, they all remain below 100 points indicating respondes are more pessimistic than optimistic.

• The Time to Buy a Dwelling index rose 12.1% over the month to 95.7 index points which was the highest it has been since November 2025 but is still below 100 points and well below the long-term average of 119 points.

• The House Price Expectations Index was 6.1% lower over the month and down 32.5% over the past year and at 110.8 points was the lowest it has been in three years.

What does it mean?

Sentiment is obviously extremely interest rate sensitive and the fact that rates were left on hold in August led to a significant rise in the Consumer Sentiment Index. In saying that, sentimnet remains low and much more pessimistic that optimistic. Most respondents don’t think it is a good time to buy a property but the proportion that do is increasing, which is most likely due to the recent falls in prices. At the same time, respondents increasinglythink price growth is going to slow which again, doesn’t surprise given in most cities values have fallen recently. Overall, sentiment is likely to remain weak until there are interest rate reductions which I believe are still around a year away at this stage.