The Tamborine Mountain property market is seeing a slowdown similar to that experienced around the country.
Ray White selling principal Emma Hawker said sales have halved from January to June 30, with only about 47 homes being sold compared to 100 in previous years.
“We are in a changing market. We are no longer booming. It’s a period of adjustment that needed to come,” she said.
“Buyers are very, very cautious. They are taking their time. The time on the market has doubled, pushing out to 60 days.”
Ms Hawker said, apart from newly listed properties, open homes on Tamborine Mountain are also only attracting two to three viewers, which aligned with Ray White’s data for the rest of the country.
However, she said when buyers see value and something they like, they are jumping on it.
Ms Hawker said September, which marks the traditional selling period, would be the real indicator of how the market is looking.
Data from www.realestate.com.au showed Tamborine Mountain’s median sale price for the last 12 months was $1,214,500 with 185 houses sold in that time and an annual price growth of 15.7 per cent and units increasing 25.8 per cent between August 2025 and July 2026.
Bartle Real Estate principal Louis Bartle was more optimistic, describing the market as “active, but more considered”.
“People are still buying and selling, but good advice, realistic expectations and getting the strategy right are probably more important in the current environment,” he explained.
“Tamborine Mountain is also a little different from many conventional suburban markets. Quite often people aren’t simply buying a house here; they are making a lifestyle decision.
“We have a very broad range of property, from smaller residential homes through to acreage and substantial lifestyle properties, so even within the Mountain there isn’t really one single market.
“I don’t think the recent federal budget has suddenly changed the market, but it has probably added to some of the uncertainty that was already there around the economy, cost of living and interest rates.
“We are still seeing buyers actively looking and properties selling, but buyers are generally taking a little more time with their decisions and being more selective about value.
“Sellers are also conscious of the broader uncertainty, and I think there are some who are questioning whether now is the right time to come to market, but I wouldn’t say we are seeing people broadly stop buying or selling.”
He agreed that open home attendance had reduced somewhat over recent weeks but agreed with Ms Hawker that traditionally it’s a quieter period before spring.
Ms Hawker said while interest in land inquiries had risen, the Federal Government budget had killed the investment market, unless it was an investment people were buying with the view to move into in the future.
She believed prices on the mountain were down about one to two per cent with a further drop still to come.
“I can’t see major climbs in the market for the next six to eight years,” Ms Hawker said.
“The cycle is not unexpected and it’s not something we haven’t been through before.”
Mr Bartle’s advice to sellers was to concentrate on the things they can control.
“Presentation, pricing and getting the strategy right from the beginning are particularly important,” he said.
“Buyers have access to a lot of information and quickly recognise when a property is priced ahead of the market.
“That doesn’t mean underselling a property; it means positioning it well enough to create interest and competition and then negotiating strongly once you have genuine buyers engaged.
“For buyers, I think trying to perfectly time the market can be difficult. If they find the right property, it suits their circumstances and they can comfortably afford it, those things are generally more important than trying to predict exactly where the market might be in six or twelve months.”
Ms Hawker agreed that beautifully presented, well priced homes were still selling, with presentation being the key, but said buyers are not wanting to invest too much into their property in case they lost that value.
“Be sensible. If you are selling and buying, it’s balanced. Don’t panic. Present the home as well as you can and be sensible about the pricing, don’t over inflate because buyers are just walking away,” she said.
“The cycle is not unexpected and it’s not something we haven’t been through before.
“It’s not a bust; it’s just an adjustment.”
