Everybody loves a deal. When the market slows down a bit, the first thing people go looking for is the price cuts, and lately there is a lot more to look at.
Last Sunday I put an early cut of these numbers in front of a few thousand Brisbane locals on a local forum, and around 30 of them wrote back. Some agreed, some pushed back, and plenty asked for their own postcode. This is the full version, every number re-checked on 17 October 2026, plus what people said and the answers I could give them from the data. If you came for the Ipswich property market, it is the headline. Logan, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast are all in here too.
- Ipswich: 401 of the 1,964 homes for sale I track cut their price in the 4 weeks to 24 September 2026. About 1 in 5.
- Brisbane City: 808 of 7,578. About 1 in 9.
- Moreton Bay 15%, Logan 13%, Gold Coast 13%. Every one of the five went up on the 4 weeks before.
- The middle cut was 4.8% off the price in the ad in both Ipswich and Brisbane City.
Ipswich cut the most, Brisbane City the least
Here is every council area I track around Brisbane, the 4 weeks to 27 August against the 4 weeks to 24 September. A home counts once in each block, no matter how many times it cut. A cut means the price, or the price wording, in the ad went down at least once in the 4 weeks.
| Council area | Cut, to 27 Aug | Cut, to 24 Sep | Show a price (as last seen) | Of those, cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich | 17% (317 of 1,887) | 20% (401 of 1,964) | 65% | 25% (327 of 1,286) |
| Moreton Bay | 13% (490 of 3,811) | 15% (605 of 3,985) | 54% | 22% (466 of 2,156) |
| Logan | 10% (289 of 2,851) | 13% (375 of 2,882) | 52% | 19% (289 of 1,506) |
| Gold Coast | 11% (526 of 4,951) | 13% (707 of 5,354) | 56% | 18% (542 of 2,997) |
| Brisbane City | 7% (502 of 6,901) | 11% (808 of 7,578) | 43% | 18% (597 of 3,235) |
Coverage: every advertised home I track in each council area that was live, and that I saw, at some point in the 4 weeks (31 July to 27 August 2026, and 28 August to 24 September 2026), all property types, counted on 17 October 2026. Council area is matched from the suburb, within postcodes 4000 to 4599. Whether an ad shows a price is read from the ad as last seen.
Ipswich was on top of the five in both blocks, 1 in 6 in August and 1 in 5 in September. Brisbane City was at the bottom both times, but it moved the most. 502 homes cut in the August block and 808 in September, 61% more, while the number of homes for sale I track grew 10%. So it isnt just more homes to watch.
Moreton Bay, Logan and the Gold Coast sit in between, each up 2 to 3 points. So the Logan property market sits right on the Gold Coast number, 13%, not out with Ipswich. For the longer Brisbane story, what sellers do when a cut doesnt work, see price cuts arent working in Brisbane.
The cuts came before the September rate rise, not after it
As we know, the Reserve Bank put the cash rate up again on 29 September, to 4.60% (the Board's statement). A few people assumed that is what set off the cutting. It isnt. The rate was held at 4.35% on 11 August (that statement) and nothing changed again until 29 September, which is after both of my blocks closed on 24 September.
So the jump in cuts happened with the cash rate sitting still the whole time.
Note that: the August statement itself says there had already been three rises this year, so I am not saying rates had nothing to do with it. I am saying the September jump wasnt the September rise. October is the first month that one can show up in, and I will count it the same way.
Brisbane shows fewer prices in its ads
Lets dive 1 step deeper. Going by each ad as I last saw it, only 43% of the Brisbane City ads in the 4 weeks to 24 September showed a dollar price. In Ipswich it was 65% (about 2 in 3). Count only the ads with a price and Brisbane City goes from 11% to 18% cutting, Ipswich from 20% to 25%.
So Ipswich still cuts more. But on all ads it was nearly double the Brisbane rate, and on ads with a price it is about 1.4 times. So part of the gap comes down to how many Brisbane ads leave the price out, which I dug into in more than half of Brisbane ads wont tell you the price.
I also checked if Brisbane looks calm because of all the apartments. It doesnt. Brisbane City houses and townhouses cut at 10% (513 of 4,921), units and apartments at 13% (277 of 2,206). Ipswich houses and townhouses were at 21% (371 of 1,758).
How much are sellers cutting? About 5%, in every area
One person asked if there is a general % that Ipswich houses are coming down by. Fair question, the share only tells you how many cut, not by how much.
For every home that cut in the 4 weeks to 24 September with a dollar price before and after, I took the price before its first cut and the price after its last. The middle cut was 4.8% in Ipswich and 4.8% in Brisbane City. In money, $46,000 in Ipswich and $50,000 in Brisbane City. Brisbane starts from a dearer number, the middle price before the cut was $1,000,000 there and $859,000 in Ipswich.
Across all five areas, 2,255 homes, the middle cut was 4.5%. So Ipswich sellers arent cutting harder. More of them are just doing it.
Which price brackets are cutting
One commenter reckoned the cheap end would get hit hardest, because there are no new investors and it is the end most sensitive to rate rises. Based on my data, not yet, at least not on the price in the ad.
| Price in the ad | Brisbane City | Ipswich | Logan | Moreton Bay | Gold Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $600k | 7% (8 of 122) | 9% (6 of 65) | 13% (15 of 115) | 6% (3 of 52) | 11% (12 of 109) |
| $600k to $800k | 22% (143 of 644) | 25% (101 of 412) | 21% (76 of 358) | 20% (88 of 448) | 16% (59 of 358) |
| $800k to $1m | 20% (146 of 726) | 27% (154 of 561) | 22% (129 of 578) | 24% (190 of 807) | 21% (146 of 683) |
| $1m to $1.5m | 18% (169 of 940) | 28% (55 of 196) | 16% (52 of 334) | 25% (146 of 578) | 19% (174 of 899) |
| $1.5m and up | 16% (129 of 782) | 16% (6 of 37) | 12% (12 of 102) | 14% (36 of 249) | 16% (149 of 928) |
Coverage: advertised homes I track with a dollar price as last seen, live and seen at some point between 28 August and 24 September 2026, all property types, counted on 17 October 2026. One row per address, so the totals differ slightly from the council table. Bracket is the price before the first cut for homes that cut, and the advertised price for the rest.
In Brisbane City the cutting peaks at $600k to $800k (22%) and eases off as the price goes up, down to 16% at $1.5m and up. Under $600k it is the lowest, 7%, from only 122 ads.
Ipswich goes the other way. The share climbs with the price, 25% at $600k to $800k and 28% at $1m to $1.5m. So out there it is the dearer homes, by Ipswich standards, that are giving the most ground. Above $1.5m there are only 37 Ipswich ads with a price, too few to say much.
And across all five areas the cheapest bracket cut the least, about 1 in 10 (44 of 463). Small numbers, but it is the opposite of the theory, for now. Back in August the Brisbane picture looked different again, the cheaper brackets were cutting more, which I wrote up in the price staircase. Compare the shape across the two posts, not the decimals, they count different things.
If you are buying right now
Thus far the numbers say sellers are giving ground. Here is what I would actually do with that.
- Look at the history of the ad, not just the price today. A seller who has already cut once has already moved, and one who has cut twice is a different conversation.
- Dont read a cut as the sale price. It is only the number in the ad.
- Expect around 5%, not 20%. Anything way bigger is unusual, or it is a land or house-and-land ad swapping one price for another.
- Good homes still get offers. 1 in 5 cutting in Ipswich also means 4 in 5 didnt. Go in silly low on the right house and you just lose it.
- If the ad has no price, ask what it was last advertised at.
What Brisbane locals said about these numbers
Around 30 people replied, and most of it lands in a handful of groups. I have paraphrased everyone and left names out.
Plenty expected Ipswich to be on top
The most liked comment said 1 in 5 in Ipswich was wild but not a surprise, because asking prices out there got pushed hard last year, and the gap between what sellers think a place is worth and what buyers can stomach with these rate rises is getting comical. I cant check last year, my record of ads only starts in late April 2026. What I can say is Ipswich was the highest of the five in both blocks I have.
Same person, local story: the neighbour put a sign up 6 weeks ago, it is still there, they have already knocked $30,000 off, and the open homes went from groups of people to maybe one couple. The suburb wasnt named, so I cant check that home. But $30,000 is a normal sized cut in my numbers, the middle one across all five areas was $50,000.
Someone remembered Collingwood Park 4 bedders asking $1.05m
Another reader remembered 4 bedroom houses in Collingwood Park on okay sized blocks asking $1.05m earlier this year, and doubted any sold at that. Since late April I have seen 19 four bedroom house ads in Collingwood Park at $1m or more, and 5 of them have cut at least once.
But some did sell up there. Our sales record has 30 four bedroom houses sold in Collingwood Park from 1 January to 15 October 2026, and 6 of them went for $1m or more. The middle sale of those 30 was $948,500.
Pushback: the cheap end will crack first
One reply argued the more affordable end gets hit hardest, while the middle and top have older, wealthier owners with more equity to sit on. The bracket table above says the cheapest ads are cutting the least so far. The equity part I cant see in my data.
Tax breaks and rate cuts
A longer reply said there wont be another upswing unless the investor tax breaks come back, now that they are gone for already built homes, and not to count on rate drops either, with fuel and groceries still going up. Another person reckoned it would take a couple of big election wins to undo the tax change.
Half right on the tax. The negative gearing change is law, but it doesnt start until 1 July 2027, it only catches contracts signed from Budget night on 12 May 2026, and new builds keep the tax perks. I went through it, with a calculator, in the 2027 negative gearing changes. On rates, the Reserve Bank's own 29 September statement says it will raise again if it needs to. Planning a purchase around a rate cut looks brave right now.
Rentals barely moved
The most liked comment also pointed out new rentals barely budged while homes for sale kept climbing. That holds up. New rental ads in Brisbane City sat between 896 and 982 a week for the 7 full weeks I could count (new rental ads first seen 1 August to 18 September 2026). New homes for sale ran at about 556 a week in the August block and 570 in September. My nightly check missed some nights after 18 September, so I left those rental weeks out instead of showing a fake drop.
Questions people asked
- Does a price reduction mean it sold for less? No. It means the price in the ad went down while the home was still for sale. It says nothing about what it finally sold for.
- Is there a general % that Ipswich houses are coming down? About 1 in 5 Ipswich homes for sale cut in the 4 weeks to 24 September, about 1 in 4 in postcode 4305 (Brassall, Raceview, North Ipswich and around). The middle cut was 4.8%.
- Can you do my postcode? 32 postcodes and suburbs came in, and they are all in the table below, including the three that never got a reply.
And a couple of sellers
One person was glad they sold in May and wasnt sure they would get the same price now. This camp includes me. I should have sold my investment property in January, and I didnt. I blame my own greed.
Every postcode people asked for
Here they all are, re-counted on 17 October 2026, plus the three nobody got an answer to (4115, 4116 and Kenmore Hills). Sorted by how many homes are for sale, biggest first, because a percentage on 30 homes jumps around a lot. 1 home is about 3 points there.
| Postcode | Suburbs with the most ads | Cut, 4 weeks to 27 Aug | Cut, 4 weeks to 24 Sep | How much to trust it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4655 | Hervey Bay | 15% (147 of 976) | 16% (161 of 1,033) | Big enough to read |
| 4350 | Toowoomba and around | 18% (141 of 797) | 19% (180 of 935) | Big enough to read |
| 4551 | Caloundra, Pelican Waters, Banya and around | 12% (76 of 612) | 16% (112 of 710) | Big enough to read |
| 4306 | Ripley, South Ripley, White Rock, Deebing Heights, Walloon, Fernvale and around | 17% (86 of 508) | 16% (93 of 576) | Big enough to read |
| 4212 | Hope Island, Helensvale, Sanctuary Cove | 5% (26 of 499) | 7% (35 of 480) | Big enough to read |
| 4305 | Brassall, Raceview, North Ipswich, Leichhardt and around | 20% (87 of 445) | 26% (117 of 452) | Big enough to read |
| 4503 | Kallangur, Griffin, Murrumba Downs, Dakabin | 9% (32 of 350) | 17% (58 of 344) | Big enough to read |
| 4101 | South Brisbane, West End, Highgate Hill | 8% (25 of 307) | 8% (25 of 316) | Big enough to read |
| 4122 | Mount Gravatt East, Upper Mount Gravatt, Wishart, Mansfield, Mount Gravatt | 2% (4 of 211) | 6% (13 of 210) | Big enough to read |
| 4068 | Indooroopilly, Taringa, Chelmer | 7% (11 of 162) | 7% (14 of 206) | Big enough to read |
| 4017 | Bracken Ridge, Brighton, Deagon, Sandgate, Shorncliffe | 7% (12 of 175) | 19% (38 of 205) | Big enough to read |
| 4000 | Brisbane City, Spring Hill, Petrie Terrace | 11% (20 of 185) | 16% (28 of 180) | Small so read loosely |
| 4035 | Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs | 11% (19 of 176) | 15% (26 of 171) | Small so read loosely |
| 4069 | Kenmore, Chapel Hill, Fig Tree Pocket, Pullenvale, Brookfield and around | 3% (5 of 153) | 9% (16 of 170) | Small so read loosely |
| 4178 | Wynnum, Wynnum West | 8% (12 of 157) | 7% (12 of 167) | Small so read loosely |
| 4127 | Slacks Creek, Springwood, Daisy Hill | 10% (13 of 135) | 11% (18 of 157) | Small so read loosely |
| 4116 | Calamvale, Stretton, Drewvale | 3% (4 of 134) | 6% (9 of 148) | Small so read loosely |
| 4179 | Manly West, Manly, Lota | 8% (10 of 121) | 10% (13 of 135) | Small so read loosely |
| 4121 | Tarragindi, Holland Park, Holland Park West | 9% (11 of 117) | 16% (22 of 134) | Small so read loosely |
| 4171 | Bulimba, Balmoral, Hawthorne | 3% (3 of 109) | 10% (11 of 113) | Small so read loosely |
| 4151 | Coorparoo | 6% (6 of 101) | 9% (10 of 111) | Small so read loosely |
| 4074 | Jindalee, Westlake, Jamboree Heights, Riverhills, Middle Park, Mount Ommaney | 4% (4 of 94) | 6% (7 of 109) | Small so read loosely |
| 4115 | Parkinson, Algester | 7% (6 of 91) | 9% (8 of 93) | Small so read loosely |
| 4055 | Ferny Hills, Upper Kedron, Ferny Grove, Bunya | 17% (13 of 77) | 11% (10 of 90) | Small so read loosely |
| 4060 | Ashgrove | 5% (4 of 84) | 10% (8 of 82) | Small so read loosely |
| Part of 4069 and 4070 | Moggill and Bellbowrie only | 6% (3 of 47) | 7% (4 of 56) | Small so read loosely |
| Part of 4000 | Spring Hill only | 9% (4 of 43) | 18% (9 of 51) | Small so read loosely |
| 4502 | Petrie | 20% (9 of 45) | 17% (8 of 48) | Too small to read on its own |
| 4073 | Seventeen Mile Rocks, Sinnamon Park | 0% (0 of 36) | 5% (2 of 37) | Too small to read on its own |
| 4013 | Northgate | 4% (1 of 26) | 6% (2 of 33) | Too small to read on its own |
| Part of 4121 | Holland Park West only | 6% (2 of 32) | 16% (5 of 32) | Too small to read on its own |
| Part of 4069 | Kenmore Hills only | 0% (0 of 8) | 0% (0 of 12) | Too small to read on its own |
Coverage: advertised homes I track that were live, and that I saw, at some point in each 4 weeks (31 July to 27 August 2026, and 28 August to 24 September 2026), all property types, counted on 17 October 2026. Only the postcodes and suburbs readers asked about. Under 50 homes is too small to read on its own.
The biggest mover was 4017 (Bracken Ridge, Brighton, Sandgate and around), 7% in August to 19% in September, even though the number of new homes coming up for sale didnt change, 54 in each block. Kallangur and around (4503) nearly doubled too, 9% to 17%. The calm ones were Mount Gravatt (4122), Jindalee (4074) and Calamvale (4116), all around 6%. Kenmore Hills had 12 homes for sale and none of them cut, too small to say anything.
Our suburb pages show the same thing over the last 90 days. Goodna and Sandgate both read as soft. If you want the longer read on either, there is Goodna and Sandgate.
How I counted
- Two blocks of 4 weeks, 31 July to 27 August 2026 and 28 August to 24 September 2026, Brisbane time. Counted on 17 October 2026.
- Council areas are matched from the suburb, inside postcodes 4000 to 4599. Brisbane City means the Brisbane City Council area. I checked that no suburb lands in two council areas.
- Homes for sale is every advertised home I track that was live at some point in the 4 weeks. If my record shows I missed an ad for the whole 4 weeks, it isnt counted. It is the homes I track, not every home on the market. All property types: houses, townhouses, units and land.
- A cut means the price, or the price wording, in the ad went down at least once in the 4 weeks. Each home counts once per block.
- Cut size only uses homes with a dollar price before and after, and leaves out drops under 1% or over 22%, which are mostly land or house-and-land ads swapping one price for another.
- Price brackets only use ads with a dollar price, as last seen, and count each address once. A home that cut sits in the bracket of its price before the cut.
- Rentals are new rental ads per week, and only weeks where my nightly check ran every night.
- The sales record for Collingwood Park is houses only, 4 bedrooms as recorded on the property, same sales list our suburb pages use.
Questions people ask
Are Ipswich property prices dropping?
I cant answer that from asking prices alone. What I can say is about 1 in 5 Ipswich homes for sale cut the price in their ad in the 4 weeks to 24 September 2026 (401 of 1,964), the highest of the five council areas around Brisbane, and the middle cut was 4.8%.
How many Brisbane homes for sale are cutting their price?
In the Brisbane City Council area, 808 of the 7,578 homes for sale I tracked cut their asking price in the 4 weeks to 24 September 2026, about 1 in 9. Counting only ads that show a price, it was 18%.
How much do sellers usually cut their price by?
About 5%. The middle cut in the 4 weeks to 24 September 2026 was 4.8% in Ipswich and in Brisbane City, and 4.5% across Brisbane City, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast together. In money that was $46,000 in Ipswich and $50,000 in Brisbane City.
Did the September rate rise cause the price cuts?
No. The cash rate sat at 4.35% from 11 August until the Reserve Bank lifted it to 4.60% on 29 September 2026. The rise in cuts happened in the 4 weeks to 24 September, before that.