Buyer confidence in the local property market is starting to lift ahead of next week’s Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, with analysts tipping a third rate cut for the year.

Marnie Beauchamp, from Belle Property Kiama, says signs of renewed momentum are finally starting to emerge after a “pretty tough” opening half of the year.

She believes the RBA’s next move could be a turning point.

“It does feel like there’s more confidence and movement happening in the market in the past couple of weeks,” Beauchamp said.

“I think that if we do get another interest rate cut next week, then that’s going to give us a real boost.

“I just don’t think the two rate cuts we’ve had so far this year have been enough considering where everybody was at leading up to that.

“With inflation and the cost of living these days, people need a bit more of a reprieve before they’re going to make their next move.

“Coming into the second half of the year, another rate cut will be key, absolutely.”

The RBA’s next interest rate decision is scheduled for Tuesday, with strong anticipation of a 25 basis-point rate cut.

Economists from the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are among those to forecast a rate reduction.

Greg Crumpton, of Stone Real Estate, agrees confidence is rising again in the local property market.

“It’s definitely starting to move upward,” Crumpton told The Bugle.

“The last couple of interest-rate reductions have helped, but it’s the next one that I think will really kick things off.

“Borrowing capacity and confidence increases when rates drop, and that brings more activity and buyers into the market.”

As confidence improves, the region’s prestige performers remain in the spotlight.

Leading the way is Gerringong, which topped Cotality’s 20-year growth rankings when it released its May 2025 property data last week.

According to Cotality, Gerringong’s median house price has jumped from $625,000 in 2005 to nearly $1.8 million today.

Beauchamp says the surge reflects the natural growth of the seaside town.

“If you go back 20 years, there was very little infrastructure in Gerringong,” she said.

“People came to Kiama because it had more shops and a supermarket, whereas over the last 20 years there’s been a whole lot of new buildings in Gerringong … more restaurants, shops, little boutiques, and more business in general.

“And then they also opened that beautiful subdivision around Tasman Drive, and all of a sudden the big prices came in and people were paying $2 million for a block of land where the views are just incredible.”

In the key growth corridor of Shell Cove, the median house price now sits at $1.4 million, also edging into prestige territory.

Beauchamp was there from the very beginning, as the first stages of Shell Cove were launched in the mid-1990s.

“I was working for a property developer at the time, before I got into residential sales,” she said. 

“We actually had a model created, which was sitting in the foyer of one of the display homes up there, showing how it was all going to look and where the marina was going to be.

“That marina was proposed around the late ’90s but it has only just really taken off in the last couple of years.”

Crumpton said local demand remained strongest east of the freeway, especially in locations with views.

“This is still particularly sought-after,” he said.

“Close proximity and walking distance to the beaches is a big attraction, and/or the local shops and cafes.”

While buyer interest from Sydneysiders and Canberrans remains strong, Crumpton said locals were still key players in the Kiama market, either upsizing or downsizing.

As for his local market prediction over the next year?

“The previous 12 or 18 months, there’s been a lot of hesitation, but I think we'll see an increase in activity, and prices may even start to creep up again,” Crumpton said.

“Interest rates are likely to keep going down, and that generally means things will start to pick up again in the market.”