Spring Could Finally Give Property Buyers The Upperhand

The spring property selling season is well and truly underway, but vendors looking to sell their homes are still being confronted with auction clearance rates sitting at about 50 per cent. While this is not good news for sellers, if you’re in the market as a buyer, this might be the moment you’ve been waiting for.

I believe this selling season could offer some of the best buying opportunities we have seen in some time. That doesn’t mean every market will fall, or that every vendor will accept a discount. It means buyers are likely to have more choice, more time and, on the right property, more negotiating power than they have had in years.

More listings, but not more motivated sellers

Spring traditionally brings more homes to market. Families prefer to sell when gardens look their best, the weather improves, and there is time to transact before Christmas. That seasonal lift in listings normally creates more options for buyers who have spent winter looking at a limited pool of properties. But it’s important to remember that not every owner needs to sell.

Many discretionary vendors know conditions have softened. If they cannot achieve the price they had in mind, some will withdraw, delay their campaign or wait until next year. This means we may see a lift in advertised stock without a flood of genuinely motivated sellers.

A property being listed does not automatically make it a bargain. The best opportunities will generally be where the seller has a real reason to transact and their expectations are aligned with the current market.

Where buyers have regained leverage

Recent data shows that momentum has cooled. PropTrack’s August 2026 Home Price Report showed national home prices declined for a fifth consecutive month and were 2.7 per cent below their March 2026 peak. Capital-city prices were 3.6 per cent below their peak.

For buyers, lower clearance rates and less urgency create a more balanced negotiation. Selling agents have a harder job manufacturing competition when buyers feel they have alternatives. Vendors also have to decide whether to meet the market or risk sitting unsold through the campaign.

Any further rate rise would push that balance further in the buyers’ favour. Higher repayments reduce borrowing capacity and push some buyers out of the market entirely, meaning fewer people competing at auction and fewer buyers capable of meeting a vendor’s preferred price. But it also changes the composition of what is for sale.

Where a property does proceed in a softer campaign, there’s a greater chance the vendor has a genuine reason to transact. Divorce, debt pressure, an interstate move, an estate sale or a vendor who has already bought elsewhere can all create a deadline. Those are the campaigns where preparation and patience become real negotiating advantages.

Auctions may produce the best opportunities

In a rising market, auctions create emotion, urgency and aggressive competition. In a softer market, they can expose the gap between what a vendor wants and what buyers are actually prepared to pay. A passed-in auction is not a failed opportunity.

In many cases, the best negotiation begins after the crowd has left. The vendor has completed a full marketing campaign and received transparent feedback from the market. If bidding fell short of the reserve, the buyer may be in a stronger position to negotiate immediately afterwards.

Buyers should still complete all due diligence before auction day, set a firm walk-away price and avoid assuming every passed-in property is automatically good value. But they should stay close to agents after an unsuccessful campaign. Motivation can change quickly once a seller has tested the market and found it wanting.

Preparation matters most

The smartest buyers this spring will not spend their time trying to pick the exact bottom. Nobody consistently rings that bell, and waiting for certainty usually means missing out. Instead, buyers should have finance pre-approved, know the recent comparable sales in their target suburbs and understand which compromises they will and will not accept.

The opportunity this spring is not simply that prices may be lower – it’s that buyers can make decisions with less pressure and negotiate from a stronger position. In property, that breathing room can be just as valuable as a discount.

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A softer market does not mean a bad market. For a prepared buyer it can mean less competition, more time and more negotiating power than they have had in years.