Hosts Ciaran O’Brien and Peter O’Malley deliver a clear-eyed check on how Sydney’s property market opens in 2026—steady inspections, cautious buyers, and a noticeable shift where apartments begin edging ahead of houses as first home buyer activity concentrates at the affordable end. We map the three key signals to watch this year—immigration, the employment market, and interest rates—and explain how they flow through to rents, sentiment, and price direction.

We also discuss:

• Buyer activity holding steady, but hesitation rising
• December exchanges pulling demand forward into early 2026
• A slight monthly fall for houses, while apartments lift
• First home buyer schemes pushing more demand into units
• Western Sydney showing intense entry-level competition
• Energy costs squeezing household budgets and adding pressure to rents
• The “three signals” for 2026: immigration, employment quality, and interest rates
• Why the RBA may “jawbone” markets before making any move
• Cumulative immigration tightening rentals and feeding CPI pressure
• Underemployment reducing borrowing capacity and shrinking buffers
• A practical read on where prices could bend next as conditions evolve

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