Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are climbing higher again in Wednesday morning trade.

At the time of writing, the shares are up around 0.5% and changing hands at $33.30 a piece. Today’s increase means the shares are now up around 41% for the year-to-date. They’re also roughly 27% higher than this time last year.

What drove Woodside shares higher this year?

So far in 2026, the oil and gas giant has benefited from major oil supply concerns and volatility around conflict in the Middle East.

The US-Iran war shows renewed signs of cooling. But each time it looks like conflict is calming down, it quickly returns. The region is highly volatile, and the movement of oil from the area will continue to be uncertain until a resolution is reached. 

Shipping disruptions and production cuts pushed crude oil prices to a multi-year high of around US$111 per barrel in April, according to Trading Economics data. While the price of oil softened in June and early July, it is now trading back up at around US$85 per barrel.

And it’s not just volatile oil prices and market demand driving the company’s shares higher.

Woodside grabbed headlines in late April after it posted its first-quarter FY26 update. The oil and gas producer reported a 7% quarter-on-quarter increase in operating revenue and an 8% hike in revenue. The company’s production figures were lower thanks to weather events, but this was offset by an 11% increase in the average realised price of oil. 

Late last month the company made waves again after it posted its second-quarter update. Woodside announced a 28% increase in quarterly operating revenue and confirmed that its major growth projects are on track. The Scarborough Energy Project is now 98% complete and remains on budget, targeting first LNG cargo in the December quarter of 2026.

Woodside is expected to release its first-half results for 2026 next week on the 25th of August. Its full FY26 results will be announced in February next year.

Can Woodside shares keep climbing higher?

It looks like brokers now think the oil major’s shares are now trading around fair value. In fact, some are tipping a downside over the next 12 months.

Market Index data shows the majority of brokers have a hold rating on Woodside shares. The $28.52 average target price implies a potential 14% downside ahead.

Experts on TradingView are a little more positive. Sentiment is split between a hold rating and a buy/strong buy rating. Although the average $32.31 now implies a potential 3% downside, at the time of writing. 

The team at Morgans have a hold rating and $32.50 target price on the energy shares. The broker said it was pleased with the company’s latest quarterly update, with the figures coming in ahead of expectations.

Michael Gable from Fairmont Equities recently reduced his rating on Woodside shares to a hold. He said that the US strategic petroleum reserve was recently at a 43-year low, and he is concerned it will be difficult to keep a lid on crude oil prices.

The post Up 41%: How much higher can Woodside shares go? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares are jumping higher again on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the shares are up around 1.5% and changing hands for $43.92 a piece.

The latest increase means the ASX tech shares have now rebounded around 52% from a five-year low of just $28.76 a piece, recorded in late-June. 

But there is still a long way to go until WiseTech shares have regained the huge losses shed over the past 12 months. For the year-to-date and tech shares are still down around 36% and they’re roughly 62% lower than this time last year.

But, while it’s important to consider how the company’s shares have performed over the past 12 months, investors should also keep an eye on what lies ahead.

So, if I buy $8,000 of WiseTech shares today, what could that be worth in 12 months time?

The experts are incredibly bullish about the outlook for WiseTech shares over the next 12 months, with the majority forecasting a strong upside ahead.

Market Index data shows the majority of brokers have a strong buy rating on the shares. The $54.71 average target price implies a potential 27% upside, at the time of writing.

Analysts are even more bullish on TradingView. The data shows that the majority have a strong buy rating on WiseTech shares, but they have a higher average target price of $60.61. That implies the shares could increase another 38%, at the time of writing.

But some are even more optimistic. The $114.11 maximum target price implies a potential 160% upside over the next 12 months.

Assuming the average target price comes to fruition, that means your $8,000 investment today could be worth around $10,160 to $11,040 by August 2027.

But if the more bullish expert forecasts are correct, an $8,000 investment today does have the potential to climb as high as $20,800 over the next 12 months.

What‘s ahead for the ASX tech shares?

WiseTech is due to announce its FY26 results on the 26th of August.

The company reaffirmed its FY26 guidance earlier this year, expecting full-year revenue of US$1.39 billion to US$1.44 billion (representing a 79% to 85% increase) and EBITDA in the range of US$550 million to US$585 million, up 44% to 53% from FY25.

WiseTech has a strong competitive advantage in the global logistics industry. I think the company’s future hinges primarily on its FY26 results. If the company manages to reach or exceed its upgraded guidance, I think we’ll see a turnaround in investor sentiment.

The post By August 2027, $8,000 invested in WiseTech shares could turn into… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Australian house prices have spent most of this cycle shrugging off higher interest rates.

That stopped in July. National home values fell 0.7% over the month, according to Cotality’s Home Value Index, making it the steepest monthly decline since December 2022.

For investors holding ASX property shares, that gives food for thought.

These trends are a signal about where earnings guidance is heading.

The house prices data has turned

Sydney led the falls with a 1.4% drop in July. Melbourne was close behind at 1.2%, whereas Brisbane slipped 0.6% and Adelaide gave up 0.2%.

Perth managed a 0.1% gain, though that is a long way from the pace it set last year.

What changed in July was the breadth of the weakness.

Cotality head of research Gerard Burg pointed to the gap opening up between buyers and sellers.

There remains a mismatch between the pricing expectations of buyers and sellers.

Annual figures still look strong across the smaller capitals, but annual numbers are a rear-view mirror indicator and the monthly data is what tells you where the market is heading next.

Why rate rises finally bit

The Reserve Bank has lifted the cash rate three times this year.

It held at 4.35% on 11 August, but left the door open to more.

The Board noted that headline inflation “is still too high” and is likely to stay elevated for some time.

The data backs that up. The ABS reported that CPI rose 3.8% over the year to June, with the trimmed mean at 3.6%.

Higher rates do two things to housing, cutting how much buyers can borrow while lifting the cost of carrying the debt they already hold.

KPMG now forecasts house prices nationally to fall 1.1% across 2026 before recovering 3.4% in 2027.

Sydney houses are tipped to fall 4.4% and Melbourne houses 5.0%.

KPMG chief economist Dr Brendan Rynne was direct about the cause.

Three consecutive interest rate rises have also reduced borrowing capacity, while changes to property investment taxation have weakened investor confidence.

What falling house prices mean for ASX property shares

Not every ASX property share is exposed in the same way.

The listed sector blends residential developers, commercial landlords and funds managers, and falling house prices hit each of those business models very differently.

Developers feel it first, through slower sales and thinner margins on completed stock.

Landlords are better insulated, because commercial and industrial rents answer to a different set of drivers.

Much of the damage may already be done, too.

ASX 200 real estate stocks tumbled through the first half of 2026 as the rate outlook soured.

Goodman, Mirvac and Stockland: three very different exposures

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) is the least exposed of the trio.

The company owns virtually no residential property.

Its growth story is industrial space and data centres, with a portfolio valued at $87.1 billion in May.

Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) sits at the other end of the spectrum, because as a residential developer its shares sank to their lowest level since 2015 in April.

Stockland (ASX: SGP) lands somewhere in between.

The company’s residential communities arm is directly exposed to weaker prices, while land lease communities and a new data centre joint venture provide some ballast against the cycle.

Stockland maintained FY26 guidance at its third-quarter update in April.

All three report FY26 results within the next week, according to the Foolish reporting calendar.

Foolish takeaway

Falling house prices are not automatically bad news for ASX property shares.

Much of the pessimism is already reflected in share prices after a difficult 2026 for the sector.

What matters now is what management teams say about the year ahead.

Mirvac, Goodman and Stockland will each put a number on that within days, and those guidance statements will tell investors all they need to know about the future of ASX property shares.

The post Rate rises have finally caught house prices. What does that means for ASX property shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Mirvac Group FY26 earnings: Operating profit and distributions rise
• Goodman Group secures 20-year data centre lease at Tsukuba Tech Central in Japan
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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goodman Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.