Rates at 4.85%: what a slower market asks of agents

On Melbourne Cup day the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.85 per cent. It was the fifth rise of 2026 and takes the rate to its highest level since 2008. The board was split, six votes to three, which tells you even the people setting rates think this is a close call.

The same day, SQM Research released its October listings figures. National stock passed 300,000 for the first time in more than five years, and is up about 19 per cent on a year ago. The detail matters more than the headline: new listings are slightly down on last year. The growth is in homes that have been on the market for one to six months, up around 41 per cent. In other words, more property isn’t coming to market. More property is simply staying there.

Put those two facts together and you get a market where buyers can borrow less and choose from more. That changes the job.

The work moves from finding buyers to setting expectations

In a fast market, a lot of the work happens after the listing: managing a crowd, running the campaign, handling multiple offers. In a slow one, the most important conversation happens before the listing is signed. If the price expectation is out, the campaign drifts, the property ages on the portals, and every week makes the next conversation harder.

This is where newer agents often feel most exposed, because the conversation is uncomfortable. But it’s a skill, and like any skill it improves with a method:

• Bring evidence, not opinion. Recent comparable sales, what is currently listed nearby, how long similar homes are taking to sell, and the gap between asking and sold prices in the suburb.
• Talk about the competition the vendor can’t see. A buyer is comparing their home with every other home in their price range. More stock means more comparison.
• Agree on checkpoints early. Decide together what the response after two and four weeks will tell you, so a price review is part of the plan rather than a surprise.

Local beats national

National headlines are blunt. The SQM figures themselves show how different the capitals are: Brisbane and Adelaide carrying over 40 per cent more stock than a year ago, Melbourne and Canberra at record highs, Hobart actually below last year. Within each city, suburbs and property types move differently again.

The agents who stay useful in a slower market are the ones who can tell a client what is happening on their street, not just in the news. That means keeping your own simple record of local results: what sold, for how much, after how long, and what didn’t sell at all. It’s unglamorous, and it’s the most persuasive thing you can bring to a kitchen table.

Buyers need more help, not less

Higher rates shrink borrowing capacity, so buyers are more cautious and slower to commit. That isn’t a reason to chase them harder. It’s a reason to make the process clearer: be upfront about the price range a property is likely to sell in, follow up properly after inspections, and point buyers to a broker early so finance isn’t the thing that falls over at the end.

Your database is your pipeline

When fewer people are selling, the next listing is more likely to come from someone you already know than from a cold enquiry. Regular, useful contact with past clients, open home visitors and appraisal leads (a short local market update, a genuine check-in) keeps you in mind for the moment they do decide to move.

If you’re thinking about getting into real estate

A slower market is a more honest picture of the job. The work isn’t only sold signs and busy open homes. It’s preparation, communication and knowing your area well enough that people trust your read on it. Those are learnable skills, and the earlier you practise them, the more natural they become.

Markets turn. Habits stay. Building good ones while conditions are hard is one of the better investments a new agent can make.

Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy decision, 3 November 2026; SQM Research Total Property Listings, October 2026 (released 3 November 2026). Topic first reported by Real Estate Business and Elite Agent.