October 2026 · Issue #9
What’s still selling in a softer market
The national headlines this week aren’t pretty. Values fell for a sixth straight month in September, listings are piling up, and agents across South East Queensland are telling sellers to reset their price expectations. All true. Here’s the part that doesn’t make the headlines: homes that are priced and prepared for this market are still selling, and still drawing competition.
A local example: 80/47 Freshwater Street, Thornlands
This three-bedroom townhouse in the Bayside Vista complex went to market at the end of August with an advertised price of offers over $785,000. Seven groups came through the first open home, and the first written offer arrived that same day. A second followed a little over a week later, and a third after that.
It’s now under contract at $790,000 — above the advertised price — after five inspections and three written offers.
The campaign at a glance
| Advertised price | Offers over $785,000 |
| Groups through the first open home | 7 |
| Inspections in total | 5 |
| Written offers | 3 |
| Contract price | $790,000 |
What made the difference
A price set for today, not last summer. The asking price was set against what comparable townhouses had actually sold for in the weeks before launch, not what the market did a year ago. Buyers could see it was fair, so they made offers rather than waiting.
Paperwork ready on day one. The seller disclosure statement and contract were ready at the first open home. A buyer who’s keen can act that afternoon — and one did.
Keeping the competition alive. One offer is a negotiation. Two or three is a market. Every buyer who showed interest was kept informed, so when offers came in they knew they weren’t alone.
A softer market doesn’t mean no buyers. It means buyers are choosier — and they reward the homes that get the basics right.
The Redlands read
If you’re thinking of selling
The sellers struggling right now are mostly the ones priced for the peak. If you’re weighing up a sale in the next six to twelve months, the most useful thing you can have is a straight read on where your home sits against what’s actually selling around you — not the national average.
Curious what your home is worth in this market?
Get a straight number
Greg Leigh — local Redlands specialist, Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty. Published 7 October 2026.
Sources: Cotality Home Value Index, October 2026; realestate.com.au; Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty campaign records.