Sydney's Randwick, Surry Hills and Kirribilli are clearing auctions above the city's own benchmark even as REA Group's November Home Price Index confirms national capital city dwelling values have fallen for a seventh consecutive month. Adelaide recorded the nation's worst monthly result for the second month running, down 0.6% to $907,000, while Brisbane fell 0.4% to $1.014m. Hobart was the only capital to hold steady. Against that national backdrop, REAStats data shows Sydney's citywide auction clearance rate sitting at 70.8%, with a handful of eastern suburbs and lower north shore markets clearing even higher.
National Downturn Deepens as Adelaide and Brisbane Lead Declines
The national median home value dropped 0.3% for the month and 1.9% for the year to $871,000, according to REA Group's report, sitting 4.3% below its peak. Senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the centre of weakness has shifted: "The sharpest recent declines are actually coming from Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, the markets that were previously the country's strongest performers." Hobart's median held at $734,000 for houses and $788,000 overall for a second consecutive month, while every other capital recorded a loss.
For broader market context, see Australian Property Forum property market data.
Separate analysis from The Guardian, citing Cotality research director Tim Lawless, found capital city values combined fell 1.4% over the month and are down 8.1% since March — the fastest pace of decline in 40 years. Lawless said "virtually every suburb across Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide has recorded a drop in value over the past three months," with a fifth interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank widely anticipated at the time of reporting. REAStats data places the current cash rate at 4.60%, consistent with the tightening borrowing conditions described in both reports.
Sydney's Clearance Rate Tops Melbourne and Brisbane
REAStats figures show Sydney's citywide auction clearance rate at 70.8%, ahead of Melbourne's 68.8% and Brisbane's 67.2%, and above the national benchmark of 68.8%. Within that Sydney figure, three suburbs stand out: Randwick, Surry Hills and Kirribilli are all clearing above the citywide average even as the national downturn deepens elsewhere.
Randwick, Surry Hills and Kirribilli Outperform
Randwick recorded a 73.5% auction clearance rate on a $2,400,000 median, with 5.6% annual growth and 23 days on market, according to REAStats data. Surry Hills followed closely at 73% clearance on a $1,920,000 median, 5.5% annual growth and the same 23-day selling cycle. Kirribilli, on Sydney's lower north shore, posted a $2,650,000 median with 72.5% clearance, 4.8% annual growth and 24 days on market.
All three suburbs sit two to three percentage points above Sydney's 70.8% citywide clearance rate, suggesting pockets of consistent buyer depth even as REA Group's national index shows Adelaide and Brisbane absorbing the sharpest monthly declines.
Randwick's 73.5% clearance rate, Surry Hills' 73% and Kirribilli's 72.5% all sit above Sydney's 70.8% citywide benchmark — a two-to-three-point spread that holds even as REA Group's national index records a seventh straight month of price falls.
Regional Divergence: Nedlands Outpaces Port Macquarie
The gap between fast- and slow-moving markets is more pronounced outside Sydney. REAStats data shows Nedlands in Western Australia clearing stock in just 15 days on market, against Port Macquarie's 48-day average — a 33-day spread. Nedlands also recorded 15% annual growth against Port Macquarie's 3.5%, while Nedlands' auction clearance rate of 65.5% outpaced Port Macquarie's 46%. The contrast illustrates how unevenly the current rate cycle is being absorbed across state lines, even as both markets sit well outside the mid-sized capitals — Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth — that REA Group's Eleanor Creagh identified as the centre of the current downturn.
Housing Shortage Risk Looms
Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee, quoted in REA Group's report, said higher interest rates were pushing established prices lower while simultaneously weakening the supply of rental properties: "Lower established prices then make new development harder to stack up. If fewer projects proceed, fewer homes are built and the housing shortage becomes worse." That dynamic has not yet shown up in the clearance data for Randwick, Surry Hills and Kirribilli, where demand appears concentrated rather than retreating.
Background: A Broader Downturn
REA Group's data shows regional markets are faring differently from the capitals — regional Victoria, SA and WA held firm in the latest month while regional NSW, Queensland and Tasmania recorded falls of 0.2%. For investors weighing capital city exposure against regional alternatives, the Capital City vs Regional Property Investment Australia comparison outlines the liquidity, yield and vacancy trade-offs behind that decision.
Eleanor Creagh's assessment that "more affordable regions and property types are holding up better" aligns with the pattern visible in Sydney's suburb-level data — Surry Hills, the most affordable of the three suburbs profiled here, still clears above 73%, just ahead of the pricier Kirribilli at 72.5%.
What the Data Signals Near Term
For vendors in Randwick, Surry Hills and Kirribilli, clearance rates sitting two to three points above Sydney's 70.8% citywide average suggest campaigns remain viable despite the national downturn reported by REA Group and Cotality. For buyers and agents further afield, the 33-day gap in days on market between Nedlands and Port Macquarie points to a market where location and price tier, not the national headline figure alone, are shaping competitive intensity. Clearance rates in these pockets will be the first indicator to watch if the Reserve Bank delivers the fifth rate rise flagged in both the REA Group and Guardian reports.
