🎧 In this month’s Property Trio market update, Cate, Dave and Mike unpack the latest January 2026 monthly market figures.

Following the recent cash rate increase of 25 basis points, the Trio reflect on the conditions that lead the RBA Board to raise interest rates in Feb. This was after more than six months of rates on hold following early 2025’s three sets of cuts. Inflation was the primary driver, but many factors are taken into account. Join the Trio as they discuss the rationale behind the decision, and uncover more detail in the data that’s unfolding.

Cate reflects on some of the answers provided by Governor Bullock in the press interviews, while Dave and Mike questioned historical cash rate decisions.

An excerpt from the press interview with Governor Bullock in February 2026:

“This interest rate rise sort of comes across quite negatively. We’re actually in a good position. The labour market is really strong. Domestic demand is recovering. These are good things but it’s just that we’re supply constrained. And we think we’re even a little more constrained than we thought back a little while ago. So, yes, the strategy is still trying to bring the economy back into balance and the labour market back into balance without overshooting and some other countries have done that.”

With all capital cities exhibiting positive growth, the Trio marvel at Perth’s strength. The four standout capitals remain the same; Perth, Brisbane, Darwin and Adelaide. And this month, the regions have outperformed the capital cities. However, as Cate points out, January is a challenging month when it comes to data collation in this industry.

📈 Almost all cities and combined regions have eclipsed their last peak, but Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Regional Vic and Regional NT are still playing catch up.

Rental growth seems to have increased its pace since 2025…. time will tell as we move through peak rental season.

Yields have continued to contract in the high growth markets, however Melbourne now represents a reasonable yield proposition for many investors.

Listings continue to tell a great story, with new listings, total listings and old listings explaining the stock shortage in the four high-performance capital cities.

🏠 Tune in to hear more!…

Resources:

• Ep. 12: Property Cycle Management – why now is always the best time to buy if it suits your personal economy and you have a long-term property plan
• Ep. 158: How interest rate cycles have impacted the property market since 1990 when the RBA first started targeting the cash rate and some predictions on what will happen this time
• Ep. 164: Analysing regional locations – What investment principles can be gleaned from the highest performing regions in each state? Comparing capital city vs regional performance from 2003 – before and after covid
• Ep. 169: Houses vs units – Capital growth performance in capital cities and regions over the last 20 years and which locations have units outperformed houses and why?
• Ep. 313: The History of Property Prices After Rate Cuts – 40 Years of Data, Houses vs Units, Capitals vs Regions & Predictions

Upcoming ep: #350 – Preparing a property for sale (listener question)

Charts sourced from Core Logic, ABS and SQM

And… don’t forget our LIVE Podcast Event – Thursday 5th March at Latrobe Golf Club – 8 Farm Road, Alphington, VIC.

Early bird tickets are now live, or our listeners can purchase a VIP ticket and meet the hosts in person before the event starts. Every attendee will receive a book that Cate has co-authored, and VIP attendees will get an additional copy of Dave’s book.

This will be an intimate live recording with the three of us…. real conversation, audience questions, a bit of banter, and the kind of discussion we usually only have behind microphones.

If you have enjoyed the podcast, this is a chance to experience it properly in the room. As a special bonus, we’ll also have the Property Professor himself as MC!

You can access tickets here.

Places are limited, and once early bird tickets are gone, remaining tickets will be full price.

We would love to see you there!

Warmly,

Mike, Cate and Dave