Facing the Back Half of 2026 With Optimism in a Fluctuating Market.
If you were to look back at our market predictions in early 2026 not even the most studied minds could have foretold the ways in which the Australian real estate market would swing, dip and loop back around again. However, amid an international geopolitical conflict, budget tax changes, buyer and seller nerves, a housing shortage crisis, interest rate rises and inflation – there is still a positive story to tell as we look towards the back half of 2026. Sitting down with Witheriff Group Director, Nick Witheriff proffered his predictions for the rest of the year, and they come with optimism and clear thought-leadership in how to weather the demands of the local Tweed Coast real estate market. One of his big takeaways when assessing how the rest of the year could play out, Witheriff says there is a compelling narrative when it comes to owner-occupier demand having a positive flow on effect to the local market. “I think overall the higher demand for owner-occupier ownership demographic is allowing for more consistency with achieving the sales and the pricing that the owners and buyers are looking to meet at,” he said. “There’s certainly been some caution from buyers moving but what’s helpful is there are opportunities around.” The demand is there and things are moving. While we are hearing of some cooling factors gripping major cities like Sydney and Melbourne – here in our Tweed Coast pocket the extent of tax reform effects are not being felt as keenly. Witheriff expects those conditions to continue through the back end of the year. “We’re not finding that (lack of engagement from buyers) here because of the demand to live in this lifestyle,” he said. “We’re also noticing that there’s still some interest from holiday investors who are purchasing second and third properties as they look to forecast ahead with their retirement plans. For many of these buyers it will be a principal place of residence in the future and therefore some of the changes handed down from the government around negative gearing and capital gains tax have been ignored by them because they are going to use it as a home eventually.” While there are positive predictions to be warmed by, Witheriff is also realistic about the challenges the market faces. In particular he cautions that a cooling of some sections of the market will require industry experts to assist with dynamic strategies for those campaigns. “We’ve probably seen a softening of pricing between $2 and $4 million mark and that’s somewhere around at 5 to 8 per cent,” he said. “We’d all have our heads in the sand if we didn’t agree that we’ve had to adjust expectations to get results in that space because there is more competition. There are more properties in that range and buyers have choices. So naturally they’re negotiating on multiple properties with a view that they’ll probably be looking at achieving a fair result. “Sellers in that range are finding they’ll sit longer on market before they accept a 5 to 8 per cent decline on what they have expected. Whereas if they’re pricing them well, they’re moving quickly and they are sitting on the market for fewer days.” As we prepare to enter the notoriously busy spring selling season, Witheriff says he feels buoyed by the residential market on the Tweed Coast. “I think the resilience of bias to keep purchasing through uncertain times has showed that we’ll probably just start to get more confidence back through the rest of 2026,” he said. And with that we look forward to a big push to end the year with confidence, clear direction and a depth of experience to tackle 2027.