Three forces are reshaping the market. Here is how to read them.
 
Raine & Horne Lower North Shore Team Howe Weekly  ·  1 July 2026
 
David’s Take · Weekly Letter

Three Forces.

Great agents can explain why.

 
Dear Readers,
Most agents know what is happening.
Good agents understand what is happening.
Great agents can explain why.
As we close the 2025 to 26 financial year, the market has moved into a different phase from the one homeowners grew used to after COVID.
Prices are no longer driven by fear of missing out.
Buyers are deciding carefully.
Sellers are finding that yesterday’s pricing no longer works.
Three forces are doing the reshaping. Here is how to read them.
Force 1
Supply has loosened
Through the first half of the year, more owners listed to test the market.
That wave is now easing.
New listings nationally ran about 5 percent below the five year average in the four weeks to mid June.
Across the Lower North Shore, stock is thinner than it was in January, but still well above the tight conditions of the pandemic.
Less supply usually supports prices.
Only if buyers stay confident.
Force 2
Confidence has cooled
The biggest shift this year is not interest rates.
It is not inflation.
It is confidence.
During COVID, almost any home drew a crowd. Prices in parts of Sydney rose sharply, in some prestige pockets by a third or more.
That growth set expectations the market no longer supports.
From my discovery this year, buyer priorities look like this.
Buyer Priorities — 2026
35% Economic uncertainty. People are unsure where the broader economy is heading.
30% Mortgage repayments. Higher borrowing costs have cut affordability and capacity.
25% Choice. Buyers have more stock to choose from and are willing to wait.
10% Price. Price itself is often the last thing on the list.
Most buyers fear a poor decision far more than paying an extra few thousand dollars.
Force 3
Pricing discipline is back
This is where the first two forces show up in the numbers.
A home priced correctly still sells.
A home chasing yesterday’s market sits, goes stale, takes a price cut, and often sells below what it would have made if it had been priced honestly from day one.
The proof is in time on market.
Across our twenty Lower North Shore suburbs, the homes that sold this half cleared in a median of 30 days.
 
Lower North Shore — Homes sold, median 30 days
The stock still sitting unsold is at 63 days.
Lower North Shore — Unsold stock, median 63 days
That gap is the whole story.
Pricing strategy now matters more than marketing.
David’s Take
Sydney is leading the national slowdown. Values have eased from their late 2025 peak, clearance rates have softened, and selling times have stretched as buyers grow more selective.
But this is not a blanket thrown over the whole city.
The Lower North Shore is holding up better than the Sydney-wide story, and the numbers say so. Good stock here is still selling, and selling quickly. The homes that linger are the ones that are overpriced.
Resilience is not the same as immunity.
A good suburb and a well presented home at an honest price still draws competition. An aspirational price sits.
The market has not stopped working. It has become more disciplined.
The buyers have not disappeared. They have become selective.
The homes that sell are rarely the cheapest. They are the ones priced honestly, presented professionally, and launched with the right strategy.
As the new financial year begins, agents who rely on optimism will struggle. Agents who rely on evidence will keep helping their clients get the best result.
Have a wonderful week.
 
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David Howe signature
David Howe
Partner Agent · Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
Charles Tang signature
Charles Tang
Team David Howe · Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
Raine & Horne Lower North Shore
Lower North Shore
140 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge NSW 2063
Sources: Team Howe market data, week ending 1 July 2026. Figures are houses only, Lower North Shore. Provided in good faith and may have changed since publication. Interested parties should make their own independent enquiries before relying on any information herein.

© Raine & Horne Lower North Shore. You are receiving this because you have previously been in touch with our office about Lower North Shore property.