MELBOURNE, June 29, 2026, 07:02 AEST
- REA ended Friday around 16% under the average price it paid in the finished A$200 million buyback.
- Clearance rates in NSW and Victoria were under 50% on realestate.com.au as of 06:30 AEST Monday, with more private sales listed.
- REA leaned on Buy yield in Q3, but the key question now is if new listings slide further.
ASX cash trading was in pre-open at the dateline, with normal trading to start from 09:59:45 Sydney time. The exchange’s 2026 cash-market calendar shows a closure for King’s Birthday on June 8, but trading is open on June 29.
REA Group Ltd ASX:REA, which owns realestate.com.au, opened the week close to last week’s 52-week low. Shares closed Friday at A$133.54, falling 0.25% for the session and down 4.67% over the last week. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) slipped about 0.91% for the week.
REA’s capital return stands out for its timing. In its final buyback update on June 12, the group said it bought 1,257,405 shares for A$199,999,934.31, working out to an average price of A$159.06 each. Shares ended Friday down 16.0% from that average, and 9.2% below the A$147 lowest price REA reported paying.
| Stock and buyback check | Latest figure | Read-through |
|---|---|---|
| REA last price, June 26 | A$133.54 | Stock is 1.5% above its 52-week low |
| REA 7-day move | -4.67% | REA’s drop was about five times bigger than ASX 200’s weekly loss |
| REA vs 52-week high | -49.26% | Compression on multiples still weighing |
| Buyback average price | A$159.06 | Shares closed Friday 16.0% below buyback average |
| Lowest buyback price | A$147.00 | Friday’s finish was 9.2% under buyback low |
| S&P/ASX 200 weekly move | About -0.91% | REA lagged the main index |
Why it matters: With the buyback done, REA shares lose that ongoing company buying. Now traders are looking at the core business. The market is figuring out if REA can keep lifting yield as auction clearances and new listings stay soft.
Private sales continued to outpace auctions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland last week, according to realestate.com.au’s auction page. For the week to June 28, there were around twice as many private sales as auction results, and clearance rates stayed low. Auction weakness isn’t the only story for these markets.
| realestate.com.au data, week ending June 28 | Clearance rate | Auction results | Private sales | Private sales / auction results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 39% | 718 | 1,291 | 1.8x |
| Victoria | 47% | 682 | 1,071 | 1.6x |
| Queensland | 28% | 200 | 780 | 3.9x |
| Three-state total | — | 1,600 | 3,142 | 2.0x |
Domain’s separate auction results page also pointed to weak numbers in the capitals this week. Sydney’s clearance rate came in at 49%, Melbourne at 54%, and Brisbane at 38%, according to the preliminary update for the week to June 27.
Agents are sounding more cautious. Cate Bakos, buyer’s agent and head of the Property Investment Professionals of Australia, said budget changes had caused “quite a market rattle.” Anthony Webb at Belle Property and Hockingstuart Victoria said Melbourne’s auction clearance rate was “as low as I’ve ever seen it” in his 26 or 27 years. Realestate
Deal flow hasn’t disappeared. Luke Evans, The Agency’s NSW and ACT sales GM, wrote in a city outlook last week that “deals are still getting done”—even if it’s taking longer to move properties. Realestate
PropTrack’s May city snapshots on realestate.com.au point to a key difference for REA. Sydney and Melbourne have fewer fresh listings, but the overall number of properties for sale is up. For a marketplace, lingering inventory and brand new ads aren’t equal.
| PropTrack May data | New listings m/m | New listings y/y | Total listings m/m | Total listings y/y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | Down 4.5% | Down 1.8% | Up 4.4% | Gained 7.1% |
| Melbourne | Fell 11.2% | Off 3.2% | Up 2.6% | Up 1.5% |
| Brisbane | Dropped 9.0% | Rose 10.1% | Added 6.4% | Up just 0.4% |
| Adelaide | Sank 10.8% | Up 2.2% | Lifted 3.7% | Up 2.6% |
REA’s May Q3 update showed a 12% jump in Australian residential revenue, lifted by a 14% Buy yield and 1% growth in national Buy listings. The company kept its FY26 forecast for national residential Buy listings to drop 1% to 3%, with Buy yield still expected to climb about 13%. Chief Executive Cameron McIntyre said at the time that Sydney and Melbourne listing activity “remained strong.”
REA put out an ASX notice Friday saying independent director Kelly Bayer Rosmarin will retire from the board at the Oct. 8 annual meeting. Chairman Hamish McLennan thanked Rosmarin for her “counsel, perspective and dedicated service.” The board plans to look for a new independent director.
