As the nation’s property buyers prioritise yields in the wake of the government’s latest budget, demand for new builds has skyrocketed as investors look to capitalise on the new tax settings.

CBRE’s Australian Residential Valuer Insights Q2 2026 found that while the market previously prioritised established homes with strong growth potential, buyers had now become more interested in acquiring newly built homes to preserve their tax incentives.

Valuers found that the demand for newly built homes had increased by 10 percentage points in the past quarter, up to 44 per cent.

CBRE head of research – Pacific, Sameer Chopra, said the increasing strength of new-builds had been spurred by the recently announced tax changes

“Our valuers expect some near-term softness in prices, alongside stronger rent growth and more supportive conditions for development over time,” Chopra said.

Just 29 per cent of valuers anticipated house prices would rise over the next twelve months, down from 70 per cent last quarter.

Similarly, the number of respondents predicting values to decline had soared by 39 percentage points in Q2 to 41 per cent.

The report found that, in broad terms, buyer sentiment had softened across the property market, with fewer than one-third of respondents reporting strong demand in Q2.

The result presented a very different picture from Q1, when more than 50 per cent of respondents reported strong demand.

CBRE national director of residential valuations Kat Hale said that professionals across the nation were seeing their established home markets moderate.

“There is still activity in the market, particularly from first home buyers and upgraders, but as demand slows and rents are expected to rise, this is likely to place pressure on rental supply and weigh on investor activity,” Hale said.

As the market continues to develop following the budget changes, almost half of the valuers (44 per cent) felt that interest rates would be the most significant factor affecting performance over the next 12 months.

The changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT) were the next most impactful factor, according to 28 per cent of respondents, while less than 20 per cent ranked affordability as the most significant factor.

Chopra said the data provided a snapshot of how the market was evolving following the government’s industry-shaping budget.

“These insights from our valuers are timely given the change in sentiment during May following the proposed changes to CGT and negative gearing, which are now clearly influencing how prices, development and rents are being assessed,” Chopra concluded.

This article was first published on Real Estate Business, a sister-brand of Property Buzz.