Australian Property Review | Independent Commentary on Property, Rates & Policy

A $1.35bn mandate win is funding a hiring push, with ex-bank property lenders joining. Is private credit filling the gap banks left, or simply taking more risk?

Market Signals

Queensland rental vacancy rate stuck at 1% or less for 21 quarters

Only one of 50 Queensland rental markets is rated healthy. With investors thinning out, the squeeze has little room to ease.

Policy Watch

First home buyer price cap Melbourne: 18 suburbs now sit above $950k

Melbourne's $950,000 deposit-scheme ceiling was lifted in October, yet roughly 18 suburbs have already outrun it. The suburbs that miss out may be the very ones first buyers need.

Policy Watch

Downsizing housing supply: the case for moving older owners

Nearly nine in ten households over 55 have a spare bedroom, yet stamp duty and moving stress keep them put. Could reform free up more homes than builders can?

Policy Watch

First home buyer homes Victoria: 25,600 set aside, but can they be built?

A $2.5 billion federal deal ring-fences 25,600 homes for first-home buyers, but delivery depends on trades, finance and infrastructure.

Policy Watch

New build investor demand is weak even with tax breaks

Tax concessions were meant to pull investors toward new stock. The early signs suggest costs and finance matter more than the incentive.

Policy Watch

NSW rent cap bill promises $7,479 saving, but supply may pay

A Greens bill proposes a rent freeze and backpay for tenants. The harder question is whether it shrinks the rental pool it aims to protect.

Policy Watch

Negative gearing Australia: how it works after the 2026 budget

The 2026 budget changed who can still deduct rental losses from salary. The date you buy now matters more than the tax rate you pay.

Policy Watch

Australian auction clearance rates: what Victoria’s reserve rule hides

Victoria's reserve price disclosure rule was meant to open up auctions. If sellers are quietly leaving the auction format, the clearance rate may be telling us less than it appears to.

Policy Watch

First home guarantee scheme debt: the deposit saved is the smaller number

Borrowers using the expanded federal deposit scheme are carrying costs that outrun the upfront saving. The harder question is who the scheme really helps.

Policy Watch

Victoria underquoting laws: price guides now carry legal weight

Melbourne buyers can now see the number sellers want before the hammer falls. Whether that builds trust or thins out the auction calendar is the real test.

Policy Watch

SMSF commercial property gets a push as the residential loan door shuts

A ban on new super-fund borrowing for homes does not remove the demand. It points it at shops, offices and industrial units, with its own risks.

Rates & Credit

Private credit development finance: a lender cuts jobs as exposure bites

A private credit manager tied to a collapsed developer is trimming staff, and the question is what thinner lending capacity means for housing supply.

Rates & Credit

Australian retirees reverse mortgage growth is now funded by super

A $304m securitisation was bid at more than twice its size, so who is really lending to retirees against their homes?

Rates & Credit

Mortgage arrears warning: home loan complaints hit a record

Mortgage disputes rose 21% in a year, and the most common hardship complaint is silence from the lender. Does that signal trouble ahead?

Rates & Credit

Home loan arrears: why regional borrowers are carrying the risk

Mortgage strain is rising faster than last year, and it leans regional and middle-aged. The question is whether that stays a lender problem or turns into a price problem.

Rates & Credit

Credit union home lending hits a record $272m, led by refinancers

A police-sector mutual wrote $272m in home loans, mostly from borrowers switching lender. Can that run last if funding costs rise?

Rates & Credit

NAB job cuts: 2,500 roles go as the bank backs its own lending channels

The big four lender is trimming about 6% of staff while proprietary channels now write half its home loans. Brokers should ask what that means for them.

Rates & Credit

Cheapest variable home loan rate: 5.89% is now a three-way tie

A lowest rate shared by three lenders looks like competition. The 0.24-point average rise behind it says the cheap end is still moving.

Rates & Credit

Mortgage minimum repayment redraw rules: why $674 a month could appear

A lender switch in 2027 changes how minimum repayments treat redraw balances. For some borrowers, that gap runs into hundreds of dollars a month.

Market signals

Market Signals

Perth property market forecast: a flat 2028 is the base case

Perth prices are sliding, yet rental vacancy sits at 0.6 per cent. Which force wins decides whether this is a pause or a longer grind.

Market Signals

Property market bottom: is the ‘close to the bottom’ call credible?

A veteran agency chief says the correction is nearly over. The data providers show a much milder slide, and the gap matters for buyers.

Market Signals

Foreign buyers Australian property: $4.7bn approved, but down again

Overseas approvals fell for a second year, yet the bigger question is whether the money is adding homes or competing for them.

Market Signals

New home building starts face a double squeeze from sales and costs

Weak sales and stubborn build costs are hitting developers together. The 1.2 million homes target may be where it shows first.

Market Signals

Property downturn buying opportunity: who can act, who is exposed

A veteran says buyers hold the strongest hand in five years. Serviceability and further rate risk decide who can use it.

Market Signals

Non-bank development finance: why property funds are lending

A property fund moving into lending shows where the money is heading as banks pull back from development. The harder question is who carries the risk.

Market Signals

Mirvac housing downturn points to a supply gap ahead

Slower sales at one of the country's big developers are showing the downturn's depth. The bigger question is which projects never get built.

Investment Playbooks

Commercial property yields vs 15-year high rates: what the numbers say

A sponsored case says net leases let commercial assets absorb dearer debt. Does the maths hold once vacancy and valuation risk are priced in?

Investment Playbooks

Property concentration risk: one asset, one suburb, one bet

Property looks calm on a volatility chart, yet a ten-year gap from 24 to 119 per cent growth shows what hides inside the average.

Investment Playbooks

Private credit due diligence: six checks before you invest

A lender has defended its sector against critics, and regulators are watching closely. Investors and brokers still have to judge each fund on its own merits.

Investment Playbooks

Childcare property investment gets pickier as operators strain

Childcare centres still attract capital, but oversupply and thinner operator margins mean lease length no longer guarantees much. The question is which suburbs hold up.

Investment Playbooks

Commercial property income: is it a real alternative to housing?

Tax settings for residential investors change from 1 July 2027, and income assets are being pitched as the fix. The yield figures sound good, but the pitch leaves plenty unsaid.

Investment Playbooks

Build-to-rent hotel operators: do they lift yields or just shuffle supply?

A global hotel group is eyeing Australian rental housing. Whether hotel-style management adds homes or only moves tenants around is the open question.

Suburb Reviews

Adelaide property prices: five-year winners and the catch

Davoren Park tripled in five years. Whether that is scarcity or a late catch-up decides what happens next.

Suburb Reviews

Adelaide property market holds firm as national cycle turns

Six of Australia's ten strongest LGAs are in South Australia, but the same supply tightness driving performance now could amplify the fall when national headwinds arrive.

Suburb Reviews

Loan default risk jumps 18% in one Geelong suburb

Highton now ranks in Victoria's top 10 for mortgage stress volume. The question: was it regional prices or income squeeze?

Buying property with friends or siblings: the loan trade-offs

Pooling deposits can lift borrowing power and cut mortgage stress. Joint liability, tax and exit rules decide whether it holds up.

Capital gains tax valuation: renting part of your home can cost you

Earning income from a spare room, garage or granny flat can strip your main residence exemption, and a valuation on day one decides how much tax follows.

Property settlement scams: buyers miss fraud signs despite high awareness

Detection confidence dropped 10 percentage points in a year. Meanwhile, 99% failed to spot a fake email address in a controlled test.

Energy efficiency premium: what 7 million homes tell us about pricing power

Solar panels and better insulation are now shifting sale prices by measurable margins, but the data also shows where the premium stalls.

Capital gains tax valuation: why most investors lose $60,000 at settlement

One investor cut their tax bill by $60,000 with a five-year-old agent appraisal. Most miss this step entirely.

Second investment property: where serviceability replaces savings

Most investors clear the first deposit hurdle. Fewer realise the second purchase is gated by debt capacity, not capital.

Sydney property market slides to $1.66m as every capital city cools

A synchronised September-quarter drop has hit boom and steady markets alike. The harder question is how long it lasts.

Brisbane Airport industrial land release tests a tight market

A 30-hectare release lands as industrial vacancy sits at 3 per cent. Whether it eases the squeeze or just redirects demand is the open question.

Sydney property market: is ‘worse before better’ right?

Sydney values are down 8.6% from the February high, and one forecast says there is more to come. Rates, lending limits and tax will decide how far.

Pre-sale finance guarantee: new supply or faster supply?

NSW says its $1 billion scheme is fast-tracking almost 1300 homes. The harder question is how many would never have started without it.

Rent caps Australia: 80% back them, but what do they do?

A new poll says four in five Australians want rents capped or frozen. The harder question is who pays when supply tightens.

WA pre-sale scheme: a $250m backstop shifts risk, not the bank test

A $250m fund aims to help WA apartment developers reach construction finance. Whether it adds homes depends on who ends up carrying the risk.

Mortgage arrears risk rises as repayments hit 50.9% of income

Repayments now swallow more than half of family income, yet arrears remain low. The question is how long that holds as investors step back.

RBA rate hike risk grows as the bank frets over trust

A deputy governor says the August forecasts understate a fast-moving economy, and doubts about inflation are spreading. Borrowers must decide how much to trust the guidance.

RBA inflation rate hike risk grows after ‘materially worse’ warning

A senior RBA official says inflation has overshot the August forecasts. Borrowers who assumed the peak was close may need a new plan.

Brisbane luxury apartments: can boutique developments hold margins as construction costs climb?

A $130m Toowong riverside tower has sold $40m since launch, but with settlement risk rising across the broader apartment market, can boutique projects maintain pricing power that volume builders are losing?

Adelaide CBD Apartment Tower Clears Key Approval Test

A 95-home Franklin Street project has cleared a major hurdle, but approval is not the same as delivery.

The $150m Water Plant That Could Unlock 33,000 Homes

A $200m water plant could open the door to 33,000 homes, but the bigger prize may be Toowoomba’s case for rail.

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