What Brokers Are Telling Me About the Illawarra Market, November 2026

Buyers are thin on the ground, and the people closest to them say so. After the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.85% this month, the finance and legal professionals I spoke with this fortnight describe quiet pipelines, with plenty of refinancing and very little buying. Here is what I'm hearing, what the numbers say, and what it means if you are the one buying.

What finance and legal professionals are telling me

I asked a mix of people who work with buyers and borrowers the same question: are your clients looking at property, or holding off? Four themes came back, and none of them names a client or a deal.

1. Buyer enquiry is quiet. One broker described buyer demand as almost absent. Fewer than a quarter of the loan applications they have handled this financial year were for a purchase, and most of the rest were refinances. Another adviser told me almost none of their clients are buying right now, though a few are thinking about next year.

2. Investors are waiting. Investment activity is still slow. The clients who are considering a purchase next year are leaning towards investment property rather than a home to live in.

3. People are fixing what they own. Instead of moving, clients are renovating, consolidating debt and chasing lower repayments. Some are also reviewing their loans with lenders outside the big four banks, where rates can be lower. A smaller group is looking at upsizing while the market is soft.

4. Transactions are slower, and people are asking whether prices will fall further. A legal professional agreed that transaction volume is much slower, and I was asked directly whether I expect prices to come down a bit more.

What the numbers say

The conversations line up with the data. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate by 0.25% to 4.85% in November, and it expects inflation to stay above 3% until the end of 2027. It also reports that national housing prices in September were almost 5% below their March peak, and that new housing lending has fallen sharply (RBA Statement on Monetary Policy, November 2026).

Locally, homes in the Illawarra are taking around 44 days to sell and vendors are discounting about 4.5% (CoreLogic's October data, via Region Illawarra). Listings are up nearly 6% on a year ago (Cotality, via Region Illawarra). More stock, slower sales and larger discounts are the combination that gives an active buyer room to negotiate.

What this means if you are buying

A quiet market gives you more room, but it does not make every purchase a bargain. Three things are worth doing now.

First, ask your broker to reassess your borrowing capacity at the new rate before you shortlist. A 0.25% increase changes what you can safely borrow, and it is better to learn that before an inspection than after.

Second, use the slower pace. Homes taking longer to sell and vendors accepting discounts means a considered offer, with conditions and a sensible price, is more likely to be heard than it was a few months ago. Look at how long a home has been listed and whether the price guide has already moved.

Third, do not wait for a perfect bottom. Nobody I spoke to could say whether prices fall further, and neither can I. If a home suits your brief and the numbers work at today's rates, the more useful question is whether you are comfortable if the market stays flat for a while.

If you are weighing up a move to the Northern Illawarra, book a call with The Shoreline Agency and we can talk through your brief.

This is general information about the local market and not financial advice. Speak with your broker about your own borrowing position.