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Breaking stories, regulatory changes, market data, and major developments across Australian and New Zealand real estate.

HIA chief economist, Tim Reardon, says Australia will build more homes despite policy changes. Image: Supplied
Industry News

HIA tips home prices to turn positive again from early 2027

Population growth and household formation are outpacing new supply, and HIA's chief economist expects that shortage, not a construction rebound, to drive the next phase of price growth.

Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Melbourne and Perth regional markets far outpace their capitals

New Ray White research shows regional growth near capital cities still tracks the capital city cycle, leaving Sydney…

Mike Zorbas. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

‘In the middle of a housing crisis’: Property Council demands rethink on Capital Gains and Negative Gearing overhaul

Treasury's own forecasts on the CGT and negative gearing changes have principals and investors watching how the detailed…

RBA September rate hike sealed as strong spending and wage rises fuel inflation reality. Image: Lois
Industry News

What rising rates mean for real estate agents this spring

Higher mortgage repayments during peak leasing months could shift some owners' cash flow and tenant affordability conversations, according…

Anne Flaherty, senior economist at realestate.com.au said rental vacancy rates rose nationally to 1.5% in July. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Vacancies climb to four-year high as renter instability persists

Rental stock improved in July for the first time in years, but new research shows tenant families –…

Major Aussie home builder collapses into administration, blaming tax changes and soft market. Image: Lois
Industry News

Bathla Group collapses into administration owing $3 billion

The western Sydney home builder's collapse leaves roughly 15,000 properties under construction and puts agents managing off-the-plan settlements…

Industry News

Council to give agencies over a year to fix lockbox habits

Sydney's Lord Mayor says the lead time before enforcement is designed to let real estate businesses arrange different…

Housing Australia announced new funding initiatives designed to accelerate residential construction and increase the supply of social and affordable housing across the country. Image: Lois
Industry News

Housing Australia fast-tracks 1,000 shovel-ready affordable homes

A new funding stream opens in September for well-located, low-density projects that can move from planning to construction…

Nerida Conisbee on why this downturn is unlikely to become a GFC-style crash. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Why this downturn is unlikely to become another GFC

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee models what it would take to match the Global Financial Crisis and…

Hotspotting Managing Director Tim Graham warns that “cheap doesn’t mean investable”. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Why cheap and investable are not the same suburb

Hotspotting's managing director explains the fundamentals separating genuine growth prospects from suburbs that are simply low priced, across…

realestate.com.au senior Economic Analyst Megan Lieu reports on the top suburbs where buyers can find the largest share of homes with a $1M or below budget. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

The suburbs where $1 million still buys a house

New realestate.com.au data shows a median price is just the midpoint of a suburb's market, and buyers chasing…

The average Australian borrower now dedicates 38 per cent of their take-home pay to home loans. Image: Lois
Industry News

Nearly a third of borrowers hand over half their pay

Finder's 2026 Home Loan Report finds 29 per cent of mortgage holders now spend more than half their…

Industry News

Ripple Wu brings Box Hill team to Jellis Craig

The merger adds a new Box Hill office to the Jellis Craig Whitehorse hub alongside its existing Blackburn…

The Queensland Government has committed $146m to fast-track more than 18,900 Gold Coast homes amid warnings the city has a chronic land shortage. Image: Deposit Photos
Industry News

$146m to fast-track 18,900 Gold Coast homesites

Queensland's Residential Activation Fund will pay for roads, power, water and a sewage plant upgrade across Coomera, Pimpama,…

Home purchases by foreign investors down 22%. Image: Lois
Industry News

What the new foreign buyer rules mean for your market

Extended purchase bans, tripled FIRB fees and a 30% capital gains tax rate are reshaping offshore demand, with…

Barfoot & Thompson Managing Director Peter Thompson speaking at a lectern branded Summit 26 in Auckland
Industry News

Winning is just the beginning for Barfoot & Thompson

Seven months after a history-making trifecta at the International Property Awards, New Zealand's largest family-owned real estate company…

Industry News

How much rents would need to rise to save investment property returns

Ray White modelling suggests a 30 per cent rent increase could remove the need for any price correction…

Cracks in the foundation: Labor shortages, material bottlenecks, and missed government targets squeeze Australia's residential construction sector. Image: Lois
Industry News

Political theatre: why the housing accord target is a ‘fairy tale’

The finance commentator Alan Kohler says Australia is building 100,000-plus homes short of its national target each year,…

Calvin Chan. Image: Supplied
Industry News

Calvin Chan joins Raine & Horne Green Square as associate partner

The promotion brings the agency's top-selling Zetland agent into a leadership role, according to Raine & Horne Green…

Propertyology Head of Research Simon Pressley warns that inner-city density and local amenities have failed to deliver capital growth for Melbourne apartment owners over the past decade. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Regional Victorian house values soar as inner-Melbourne drops and REIV demands auction rule pause

Towns like Bright, Mildura and Bendigo posted growth of 90 to 146 per cent over ten years, far…

Ray White Group economist Atom Go Tian, whose analysis highlights Teneriffe becoming Queensland's first $5 million suburb. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Teneriffe becomes Queensland’s first $5 million suburb

The Brisbane enclave's median house price soared 48.6 per cent in a year, joining an exclusive club previously…

Regional housing values hold firm against capital city falls as city buyers flock to non-metropolitan hubs in search of affordability. Image: Deposit Photos/Lois
Industry News

Affordable regional hubs cushion Australian property downturn as capital city exodus hits record high

Net migration from capital cities to the regions hit an all-time high in the March quarter, with Sydney…

Canstar Data Insights Director Sally Tindall. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Investor retreat wipes $5.4 billion off new lending as borrowing capacity squeezes capital cities

ABS figures show new mortgage lending fell for a second straight quarter, with investors leading the pullback after…

PropTrack Economist Luc Redman says strong entry-level demand has protected most low-deposit buyers from negative equity. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Regional first-home buyers under 5% deposit scheme post double-digit equity gains

Fewer than 0.2% of the 48,000 households using the expanded scheme sit in negative equity, with outback Queensland…

In Geraldton, WA, the demand for housing has driven median house prices to $660,000 following five years of steady population growth. Image: Deposit Photos
Industry News

Geraldton’s $380,000 real estate boom powered by population and economic revival

Once facing severe demographic decline, the Mid West hub leads regional Western Australia with historic house price growth…

Greater Darwin in the Northern Territory, is the top-performing region in a national index for scheme-eligible first-home buyers. Image: Lois
Industry News

Darwin and Geelong take top spots for 5% deposit first-home buyers

Led by Zuccoli, Top End suburbs outperform major capitals on affordability, capital growth, and rapid sales turnover.

Long-term renters are increasingly treating leased properties as permanent homes, driving demand for modular and multi-use furnishings as homeownership falls to a 30-year low of 62.7 per cent nationwide. Image: Lois
Industry News

Renting for life is now the plan, not the fallback, for many tenants

Modelling cited in the report suggests almost half of younger Australian households will still be renting privately past…

Cotality's Gerard Burg says five years of surging property prices will help protect homeowners in mid-sized capitals from severe value drops. Photo: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Mid-sized capitals hold deep buffer against price falls

New Cotality modelling shows Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide could absorb a 20% fall in values without erasing five…

1.3 million new residents, 800,000 homes: Inside the Minns Government's 20-year Sydney blueprint. Image: Lois
Industry News

Councils to lock in 30-year housing blueprint pipeline under Sydney masterplan

The finalised Sydney Plan maps housing growth to the city's east and jobs growth to the west, giving…

REA Group economist Megan Lieu expects affordable sub-$1 million suburbs to remain resilient as buyers adapt to lower borrowing capacities. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Where rate pressure is sending buyer demand right now

New REA Group figures reveal enquiry growth of up to 245 per cent in regional and fringe suburbs,…

Major banks have revised their Greater Sydney property forecasts downward for 2026 amid tighter borrowing conditions, though long-term fundamentals are expected to pave the way for market stabilisation in 2027. Image: Lois
Industry News

Major banks reveal incoming price drop timelines

The market has reacted faster than expected to negative gearing and capital gains tax changes, but a recovery…

Local market expert Matthew Makin (Director, Woodards Sunbury & Macedon Ranges) has seen buyer demand for family homes with backyard space push local annual growth to 4.3 per cent, significantly outperforming the broader Melbourne market. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

Sunbury emerges as one of Melbourne’s stand-out growth suburbs amid auction rebound

While Melbourne dwelling values fell 2.8 per cent over the year, Sunbury grew 4.3 per cent as buyers…

Money.com.au Property Expert Nick Burgess outlines how SMSF investors are shifting their strategy toward commercial real estate and external holdings following the August 10 ban on new residential borrowing inside super funds. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

SMSF investors pivot to commercial real estate and personal portfolios as residential borrowing ban kicks off

As new residential borrowing restrictions take effect, SMSF trustees shift focus to commercial assets and external portfolios to…

"Statistics explain what is happening. People explain why." - Harcourts Australia CEO Adrian Knowles on the upcoming National Census. Image: Supplied/Lois
Industry News

What the census really tells us about Australia’s housing market

Behind shifts in homeownership, mortgages, and multi-generational living, the upcoming count reveals the personal human decisions driving the…

"Australia’s inflation and housing policies are now working against each other." said Nerida Conisbee, Ray White Group Chief Economist
Industry News

House prices are falling, so why is housing getting more expensive?

Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee says rising rents, construction costs and electricity prices are keeping housing…