You may not like what the government has done to the property market but you have to acknowledge that if the plan was to put a brake on house prices, it is working. Property prices across Australia are down an average of five percent over the last year, according to the latest figures from Domain.

As the stories below illustrate, the ripple effects of Canberra’s policies on negative gearing and capital gains tax, allied to various state government moves on rents, lagging housing approvals, and the real threat of even more interest rate rises, have been profound.

A lot of people will be very unhappy with how this is playing out.  That doesn’t make the decisions wrong but it will mean a testing time for the Labor Party at the next election.

Among those feeling the pain are people who invested in residential property, which for years has been a goose laying golden eggs and now, as interest rates rise, is more of an albatross around some of the more extended investors’ necks.

According to one story linked below, self-managed super funds are moving away from residential to commercial properties, as a result.

It’s not just the CGT. Policies that give tenants more rights – such as the end of no-fault evictions, limits on rent rises and even default permission to keep pets – have created dismay among landlords.

However, renters aren’t immune from bad news. As investors flee the sector, fewer properties are available, supply is as tight as ever and rents are rising. 

Resident home owners who bought when the market was high may be feeling trapped if they were planning to trade up or downsize at some point in the near future, although downward pressures apply to vendors as well as buyers.

We may be overly fond on this website of talking about the swings and roundabouts of the sector.  However, looking at today’s curated roundup of apartment news from Leftfield Communications, these days it more like a slippery-dip.

Free Reads

Domain

The Melbourne suburbs buyers won’t quit, even in a downturn: The most searched neighbourhoods revealed
The Melbourne neighbourhoods buyers refuse to quit, even in a downturn, have been revealed.

The home office trap that could cost Aussies thousands when they sell
Homeowners could face a nasty surprise at sale time, with a hidden tax rule potentially carving thousands from their profit.

ABC Online

Queensland government stands by target to build 1 million homes in 20 years
After two years in office, Queensland’s LNP government is standing by its promise to build 1 million homes by 2044, though Master Builders says finding the workforce is the biggest challenge.

Renters forming larger and multi-family households to cover rising costs
Extended families and friends are teaming up to improve their chances of securing a rental as tight supply pushes prices higher, with experts warning the cohort is being left behind.

Major Bathla lender La Trobe sells $31.2m loan as private credit firms seek to recover funds
La Trobe Financial has sold its senior loan facility tied to a Bathla Group development to investors through a fund managed by 360 Capital.

Realestate.com.au

Sydney houses under $1m to vanish in 2030s as $2m prices become norm
Sydney houses priced under $1 million are headed for the endangered list, with new modelling suggesting such deals will be almost entirely phased out by the 2030s.

Rate rises prompt Aussies to choose DIY over moving
With the RBA’s latest rise taking the cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent, many Australians weighing a move are instead staying put and sprucing up what they have.

Aussies can’t afford $20 hike to weekly rent or mortgage
A mere $20-a-week rise in rent or mortgage payments would force three in four Australians to cut back, with some unable to afford food, medication or bills.

SMSF residential borrowing banned as property investors pivot to commercial real estate
Residential property is now largely off the table for people buying through a Self Managed Super Fund.

Gated St Kilda street lists luxury townhouses for up to $1.8m
A St Kilda street once gated overnight to curb sex-work traffic is now home to million-dollar townhouses, including one with a car turntable.

Spyre secures $8.2m unconditional apartment sale at completed Arc Residences in Toowong
A buyer has paid $8.2 million for a luxury apartment in Brisbane, waiving the cooling-off period to make the deal immediately unconditional.

Interest rates driving SA property hesitation more than any other state
South Australians are putting off major property decisions more than anyone else in the country, with interest-rate uncertainty the biggest deterrent.

First-home buyer debt at record high after federal deposit scheme expansion
The Albanese government’s flagship housing policy has pushed first-home buyers into pricier loans and saddled them with lifetime costs that outweigh the upfront savings.

Almost 500,000 mortgage holders plan to refinance as interest rates reach 15-year high
Nearly half a million Australian mortgage holders plan to refinance as the cash rate sits at a 15-year high.

Molti lists luxury $17.5 million Heirloom penthouse in Brisbane’s Kangaroo Point
A two-level penthouse with a rooftop pool has hit the Brisbane market with a guide above $17.5 million.

Four in five Australians support rent caps as median prices hit record highs
Four in five Australians support rent freezes or caps, with an unlikely alliance forming between the Silent Generation and Gen Z.

Australian economic misery hits post-pandemic high as rate hikes and inflation bite
Australians are feeling economic “misery” at post-pandemic levels, according to new analysis of the real impact of rate rises and a stalling jobs market.

‘Nowhere safe to go’: Plea for women’s housing following World Homeless Day
Days after her 75th birthday, Isla arrived at Women’s Community Shelter’s Beecroft House carrying the weight of years in insecure and difficult living situations.

‘Consider exposure’: Hidden danger lurking in Aus homes
A hidden danger may be flowing through Australian homes every day, with most people unaware of what is in their water.

Victoria’s new auction laws spark ‘chaos’ and confusion
Victoria’s new auction laws have been panned as confusing and as reducing transparency for buyers in their first weekend in force.

Melbourne auction market worst in years as new laws hit
Victoria’s new auction laws take effect amid the worst October auction market in years.

$5.4bn apartment crisis: 10,000 homes shelved across Brisbane and Gold Coast
More than 10,000 badly needed apartments across Brisbane and the Gold Coast have been put on hold, with new figures exposing a $5.4 billion development backlog threatening to deepen the region’s housing shortage.

Culture Kings founder Simon Beard takes Glitter Strip penthouse to auction
Culture Kings founder Simon Beard is taking his beachfront Gold Coast penthouse to auction, admitting he regrets knocking back a strong offer when it was last for sale two years ago.

Construction starts on Adelaide apartments One Four Four Hutt
Construction has begun on a boutique apartment and retail development in the heart of Adelaide following strong interest.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Spyre Lifts Covers on 48-Storey Highrise for Glitter Strip Enclave
Spyre Group has revived its ambitions for the Gold Coast skyline at Main Beach.

Blue Earth Wins Green Light for Tower in Pentridge Prison Precinct
Blue Earth Group has won approval for a 252-apartment scheme at Melbourne’s former Pentridge Prison, expanding its plans for a vacant tower site under Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program\.

EG Funds Targets Tricky Sydney Site With $138m Housing Play
EG Funds Management has filed plans for a $138 million residential scheme in Sydney’s north, using NSW’s Housing Development Authority pathway to redevelop a long-vacant office site on a steep, forested block.

Anthony John Group Reworks Brisbane’s East Village Masterplan
Brisbane developer Anthony John Group has reworked the masterplan for its $1.5 billion East Village precinct in the inner east, substantially increasing density.

Stockland Buyer Enquiries Plunge 71pc as Housing Demand Cools
Stockland’s masterplanned-community inquiries have fallen almost three-quarters over the year as housing demand cools nationally, with net sales also down 29 per cent.

Rogerscorp Plots 100-Home Hope Island Scheme with Resort Twist
Brisbane-based developer Rogerscorp is making a major play in the northern Gold Coast growth corridor, filing plans for a 101-townhouse masterplanned community at Hope Island.

Mirvac’s $336m Green Square BtR Towers on Show for Second Time
The $336 million third stage of Mirvac’s Green Square precinct is back on show after first-round submissions prompted a rethink of its retail tenancies.

Metrics Learns Fate of Triple-Tower Precinct at North Melbourne
Metrics Credit Partners has won approval for a $504 million, 939-apartment precinct in Melbourne’s inner north.

Sydney Apartment Projects Win State Backing to Clear Pre-Sale Hurdle
Two Sydney apartment projects have secured state backing to help unlock construction, with guarantees covering apartments at Moorebank and Kingsford.

Palm Beach ‘Vertical Duplex’ Stacks Two Homes Across Six Storeys
Plans for a boutique six-storey “vertical duplex” have been pitched for the Gold Coast’s exclusive Jefferson Lane strip at Palm Beach.

Opal Tower’s $50m Fix Comes Full Circle After Eight-Year Saga
Sydney’s Opal Tower has been officially declared defect-free almost eight years after cracking concrete forced the evacuation of 392 apartments on Christmas Eve 2018.

Second Stage of Historic Wollongong Coke Works Precinct Waved Ahead
Legacy Property has won approval for Stage 2 of its redevelopment of the heritage-listed Corrimal Coke Works in Wollongong, as it tops out the first stage.

ACT Developer Swaps Townhouses for Five Times as Many Homes
Core Developments wants to build more than five times as many homes at a Canberra site after its original townhouse plan struggled to secure pre-sales.

Apartments.com.au

Anthony John Group unveils $1.5 billion East Village masterplan for Cannon Hill
“East Village is the era-defining precinct Brisbane’s inner east has been waiting for,” is the pitch from Anthony John Group, which has lodged a revised $1.5 billion masterplan for its Cannon Hill precinct.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

AirTrunk’s Khuda expands Mosman foothold for lux project in $18m deal
AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda is expanding his luxury apartment plans in the coveted Balmoral Slopes of Sydney’s Mosman, adding a neighbouring home to a corner site he bought last year.

Mortgage holders rush to refinance amid rising rates, property slump
Borrowers are refinancing their home loans at a pace not seen since the fixed-rate cliff of 2023, according to the country’s largest broker group, Loan Market, as rising rates push home owners to shop around.

New reserve price rule takes a toll on Victoria’s auction market
The number of auction listings in Melbourne has plunged despite the traditionally busy spring season, as nervous sellers grapple with a new law requiring reserve prices to be disclosed at least seven days ahead.

Stockland buyer inquiries sink to seven-year low in property downturn
Stockland’s new housing inquiries have fallen to their lowest in at least seven years, as higher interest rates, rising construction costs and economic uncertainty combine to stifle buyer demand.

Housing Australia chair doubles as super lobby chief
The head of Housing Australia is facing scrutiny over her dual role leading the superannuation sector’s peak lobby group, whose members have won billions of dollars in housing fund contracts.

Kokoda races to fund $1.4b Brisbane luxe project amid cost squeeze
Soaring costs have forced Kokoda Property Group to hunt for new funding to build its $1.4 billion luxury apartment project in Brisbane, a high-profile inner-city development that was due to start two years ago.

Mining boss seeking $85m for Barangaroo penthouse with sky garden
A two-storey penthouse atop a luxury Barangaroo tower has hit the market with an $85 million guide, the first super-prime apartment offered since the national downturn began.

The Australian

Rising building material costs threaten Albanese government pledge to deliver 1.2 million homes
Soaring fuel prices are pushing up the cost of moving construction materials, making homes dearer to build and renovate and piling pressure on the Albanese government’s pledge of 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade.

Property tycoons slam Jim Chalmers’ tax rewrite as lending for new homes collapses
Labor’s plan to steer property investors into new stock to ease the affordability crisis is struggling, with mortgages on new homes down 10 per cent since January, prompting a leading developer to call for Jim Chalmers’ tax changes to be repealed.

The Sydney Morning Herald

The architects fighting to design a ‘distinctly Sydney’ waterfront suburb
International architects who have reshaped former industrial waterfronts in London, Stockholm and Copenhagen are among six teams shortlisted to design Sydney’s newest harbourside suburb, Bays West.

The Age

How Victoria’s anti-underquoting laws are helping sellers and buyers
After one weekend of compulsory reserve-price disclosure, examples are already emerging of how Victoria’s new anti-underquoting laws help sellers as well as buyers.

Council bites back as bulldozed VicRoads site slated for up to 16 storeys
The former VicRoads headquarters will make way for up to 630 homes in towers as tall as 16 storeys under a contentious state government plan that has been rebuked by the local council.

Meet the Melbourne home sellers who are already publishing their reserves
Graeme Pollock was happy when his agent suggested advertising the reserve price before auctioning his Gladstone Park house, mindful of his daughter’s own frustration in the property market.

The Daily Telegraph

Macquarie Park twin towers proposal reveals 550 apartments near metro station
Residents of a northern Sydney suburb can have their say on a developer’s plan for two residential towers delivering 550 apartments near a metro station.

The Herald Sun

Victorians are being forced to make new homes fully electric. A builder has warned it costs $15k more
One of Victoria’s biggest home builders has warned that a rule forcing new homes to be fully electric is adding $15,000 to buyers’ costs and that the state must change course, as the Coalition vows to scrap the policy if it wins in November.

The Courier Mail

$1.5 billion Cannon Hill lifestyle project to transform city’s eastside
Brisbane’s inner-east skyline is set for a dramatic $1.5 billion transformation under eight-stage plans for a lifestyle precinct anchored by a 25-storey tower at Cannon Hill.

Judge’s swipe as billionaire acquitted of criminal planning charges
A Queensland billionaire has been acquitted of 11 criminal planning charges brought against him and his company, after a judge found the state planning department’s investigation was flawed.

The Adelaide Advertiser

New Dawn Developments gearing up for $120m luxury tower
Developers have unveiled new designs for a $120 million luxury apartment tower in the Adelaide CBD, with construction set to begin early next year.

Gawler Council unveils draft plan for multistorey buildings as local population booms
Gawler Council has unveiled a draft plan for taller buildings, upgraded infrastructure and hundreds of new homes as the town prepares for its population to pass 50,000.

The West Australian
Housing Industry Australia warns State Government: 4700 skilled migrant places not enough
The Cook Government has secured 4700 places under the Albanese Government’s skilled migration program, but the housing industry says it is nowhere near enough to keep building WA.

Perth property slump sees 20,000 homes’ value fall less than sale price, 13,000 homeowners in negative equity
About 20,000 West Australians have seen their home values fall since they bought or refinanced, with two-thirds likely in negative equity, according to independent analyst Gavin Hegney.

The Pearl: Plans for $180 million South Perth apartment complex collapse amid second liquidation
Plans for a $180 million apartment tower in South Perth have collapsed after the project’s second developer went into liquidation, leaving contractors more than $1 million out of pocket.

Baby boomers get ahead of cooling housing market to make use of super tax breaks
Baby boomers keen to cash in before WA’s cooling market gathers pace are maximising senior-friendly rules, including superannuation downsizer provisions that can turn sale proceeds into tax-free income.

Elizabeth Quay buildings: CFMEU in lukewarm rebuke of payment fights at EQWest towers
WA’s CFMEU branch has offered only tepid criticism of the contractual battles at Elizabeth Quay after reportedly calling developer Victor Goh a “hero” at a rally.

WA housing crisis: New survey shows one in five West Australians fear becoming homeless
About one in five West Australians fear being unable to pay the rent if costs keep rising over the next year, a new survey by advocacy group Everybody’s Home finds.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Dark days ahead? Residents face winter sunlight loss under double-sized tower plan
A 24-storey, 789-unit development is proposed for a key site at the western gateway to the Hurstville CBD, raising fears of winter sunlight loss for nearby residents.

Cronulla penthouses fetch millions in prime coastal market
A two-level penthouse in a new development opposite The Wall at North Cronulla has sold for $13.3 million.

The Illawarra Mercury

‘We don’t want this’: Shellharbour residents plot next move on controversial rezoning
Residents caught in the proposed Shellharbour rezoning are being urged to have their say, with a community meeting set for October 28 at The Shellharbour Club.

If we don’t build it, they won’t come: Wollongong needs apartments to solve worker shortage
The rise of apartment towers in Wollongong is a good sign for the local economy.

The Wollongong motel that will be knocked down for new apartments
A seven-storey apartment complex will be built on the site of an existing motel overlooking Belmore Basin, despite fierce opposition from nearby residents.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Mark Hammel defends Gold Coast City Plan timeline amid councillor push to delay
Gold Coast Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel says the new City Plan remains on track for adoption in late 2027 despite growing councillor resistance over building heights.

Older Australians can access home equity to fund retirement without selling their property
Millions of older Australians own homes worth more than $1 million yet struggle to cover everyday costs, setting out the options for tapping that wealth, through reverse mortgages and equity-release schemes, without having to sell.