Land & CommunitiesClare BurnettMon 19 Oct 26
Stockland Buyer Enquiries Plunge 71pc as Housing Demand Cools
Stockland’s masterplanned communities have lost almost three-quarters of their buyer enquiries in a year, with the developer also reporting a 29 per cent fall in net sales as housing demand softens nationally.
The developer told the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on October 19 that masterplanned community enquiries peaked at 36,551 in the first quarter of its 2026 financial year.
By the first quarter of 2027, enquiries had fallen to 10,452.
The latest figure also marks a sharp quarter-on-quarter decline, with enquiries falling almost 50 per cent from 20,183 in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The drop comes amid declining house prices and expectations of further interest rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia, weighing on buyer demand.
Stockland managing director Tarun Gupta said residential housing demand had softened nationally, driven by interest rates and federal tax changes.
Stockland said reduced enquiries had been partially offset by stronger conversion rates.
Net sales fell 29 per cent to 1506, down from 2117 in the comparable quarter of 2026.
Demand in Queensland had moderated and was slowing “in line with the national market”, Stockland said.
Conditions in Western Australia were more “balanced”, while affordability constraints in New South Wales were affecting sales.
## Mixed results for Stockland residential
Stockland reported “record settlements” across its residential platforms, with nearly 10,000 homes and lots sold nationally. About a third of masterplanned community buyers were first-home buyers, the developer said.
Stockland secured planning approval for the redevelopment of the Jetstar headquarters on Victoria Parade in Collingwood and is progressing its Waterloo urban renewal site in Sydney.
Land lease community net sales also fell quarter-on-quarter, bringing them back to the same level as the first quarter of 2026, when 206 sales were recorded.
Stockland secured planning approval for the redevelopment of the Jetstar HQ on Victoria Parade in Collingwood, and it is progressing its Waterloo urban renewal site in Sydney.
Land lease community net sales also fell quarter-on-quarter, bringing them back to the same level as the first quarter of 2026, when 206 sales were recorded.
Land lease enquiries fell 47.2 per cent year-on-year, from 9146 in the first quarter of 2026 to 4823 in the latest quarter.
Stockland attributed the decline to “lengthening of customer decision timeframes and softer established market conditions”.
Higher conversion rates partly offset the fall in enquiries, with portfolio occupancy at 100 per cent across its established portfolio of 4025 sites.
Strengths and weaknesses
Retiring Stockland chairman Tom Pockett said the company had “materially reshaped” its portfolio during the past five years, with diversification helping offset some of the weakness in residential.
Office remained a weaker performer, with occupancy at 84.2 per cent by income and leasing spreads of 1.6 per cent. Earlier this year, Stockland sold the life sciences campus at 60–66 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park.
Data centres were a growth area, with 450MW of power secured across Stockland’s identified pipeline. Four sites at Kemps Creek, Wetherill Park, Macquarie Park and Melbourne Business Park were in planning.
Logistics leasing also strengthened, with 121,199sq m in executed leases during the latest quarter, up from 66,244sq m in the same period last year.
Leasing spreads on new leases and renewals reached 17.6 per cent. Occupancy slipped to 96.9 per cent from 97.5 per cent at June 30, while weighted average lease expiry improved to 3.9 years from 3.7 years.
Retail also remained resilient, with moving annual turnover of $5.2 billion, up 5.5 per cent, and leasing spreads of 7.9 per cent.
Stockland said it had signed three new capital partners during the year: Marsh, Morgan Stanley Real Estate, which will invest in convenience retail assets within masterplanned communities, and EdgeConneX, which will develop, own and operate an Australian portfolio of data centres.
