The latest data suggests a shift toward a buyers' market in Canberra this spring, but only for those who can afford to put a deposit together.
The most recent CoreLogic report found home values in the nation's capital declined by 0.3 per cent in October, and 0.9 per cent over the quarter.
In the past 12 months house prices in the ACT increased by 0.4 per cent, and properties spent an average of 43 days on the market.
That pales in comparison with the national average value of homes, which increased by six per cent over the past year.
CoreLogic Australia's head of research, Eliza Owen, said Canberra's housing market could be described as "pretty slow and steady", but with a little more weakness in recent months.
"The reason for that, we think, is that affordability constraints are really clashing with the economic environment where you've got high cost-of-living pressures, lower savings rates for households, and that means that people are struggling to put a deposit together in some cases," she said.
More confidence among buyers
Canberra couple Megan and Paul Watts purchased a home in the Belconnen suburb of McKellar for $1 million at auction on Saturday morning.
Mr Watts said they were "ecstatic'' to have purchased the property for their family of four.
The couple started saving for a deposit during the COVID pandemic, making compromises such as forgoing holidays and being careful about what they purchased for their children.
"We were really hoping to get this place and we were just very lucky,'' Mr Watts said.
Ms Watts said house prices seemed to have become more steady in recent months.
"I think after COVID everything went much higher then what we'd previously seen before,'' she said.
"It seems to be fairly steady at the moment, but it's still tough to get into, particularly with a young family.''
Real estate agent Treston Bamber, who listed the house the Watts family purchased, said confidence among potential buyers seemed to have increased in recent months.
"It's a very different landscape today than what it was 12 months ago,'' Mr Bamber said.
He said people were concern about whether interest rate rises.
"They're coming through with a renewed level of confidence that they're probably not going to see a rise," Mr Bamber said.
More sellers than buyers
Ms Owen said there had been more sellers than buyers in spring, and part of that may have to do with some people waiting for interest rates to come down.
"But I do think part of it is that just not as many people can participate in the housing market right now because prices are still very high," she said.
"Canberra has a relatively high median house value across the capital city markets – it's actually the second-most expensive.
"On top of that we're probably seeing lower savings rates, so less ability to accumulate a deposit, and I think people may be a bit tired of waiting for interest rates to come down."
But Ms Owens said for the Canberrans who could afford to put a deposit together it was a buyers' market.
"Sales volumes are a little lower than what we would usually see, competition [is] a little less fierce, and more people [are] looking to sell," she said.
"That's why fundamentally prices are declining at the moment across Canberra; people are able to negotiate lower purchase prices, and ultimately that lowers the value of the housing market as well."
She said house values were down about six per cent down from the peak in May 2022.
"They're still 30 per cent higher than what they were at the onset of the pandemic, but we've certainly seen more of a shift towards a buyers' market this spring," she said.
Ms Owens said she expected values to continue to trend lower until a reduction in interest rates early next year, which could boost the number of buyers in the market.