When you think how long it took various state governments to change laws about pets in apartments and the ability for renters to have companion animals in their homes, it should come as no surprise that only now are we realising what a huge part pets played in people’s choice of homes.

Now it seems almost a third of downsizers are thinking of where their pets will be welcome – or not – according to this story.

Also in our roundup of the quirky, queer and quaint stories from LeftField Communications, there’s the couple who sold their lock-up garage for $100k over the reserve.

And there’s the discovery of how a young possum trapped in a cage on a roof has revealed the strict laws that exists about trapping and releasing the furry little fiends. All that and so much more in this week’s feed.

Huge decision our pets are making for us
There has been a major shift in priorities among Aussie downsizers, with pet-friendly amenities now ranking as a key factor in apartment selection. A national survey conducted by property developer Capital Corporation among Australian homeowners planning to downsize within the next five years revealed nearly one in three (31 per cent) consider pet-friendly features important when choosing their next home. Kaylee Cranley

Elderly couple sell 60-year-old Cronulla car garage for $105,000 over reserve
A lock-up coastal garage in Cronulla has been sold for a record-breaking price — almost three times its reserve.

Possum removal demand surges as Aussies face hefty fines
A shocking discovery on an elderly Victorian homeowner’s roof has sparked a stern $44,000 warning to Australians, as possum infestations skyrocket across the country, wreaking havoc in homes.

Supercars driver Chaz Mostert sells luxury Qld home
Supercars star Chaz Mostert has sold his luxury Queensland property, following a mammoth renovation.

South Yarra: Aspro heir’s French-style mansion lists for $11m-plus
The South Yarra home of late businessman and philanthropist Tony Nicholas has hit the market with a price guide of $11m-$12m.

AFL brothers Tom and Ed Langdon’s South Melbourne house hits market
AFL brothers Tom and Ed Langdon are lining up to kick another goal off the field, listing their South Melbourne house in one of the city’s most exclusive lifestyle pockets.

Aussie Olympian Edwin Flack’s former estate for sale in Berwick
A heritage estate once home to Australia’s first Olympian presents a golden opportunity for buyers in Berwick. The circa 1854 homestead ‘Burnbank’ has hit the market with $2.3m to $2.5m price hopes on land that was originally part of Edwin Flack’s former farm.

Carlton: Melbourne’s Little Italy still serving nostalgia, Aperol and city-edge living
Carlton mightn’t be the hotbed of transplanted Italians it once was, but it’s still lit by the flame of nostalgia.

Crows Nest community welcomes its new Metro era
Ever been told you look a bit like your dog? Pop Crows Nest Fest in your diary for October 19: the Canine Capers dog competition has prizes for categories including the best lookalike and the best biscuit catcher. (Fido, not you.)

US man finds extraordinary feature in abandoned woodland camp
It’s not every day you stumble upon a swimming pool in the middle of a national park. But that is exactly what has happened to US entrepreneur and influencer Cameron Jensen.

From living in car to multimillion-dollar pads: Inside homes of Sam Worthington
Before his big break in 2009’s Avatar, Sam Worthington was living in his car. The then 30-year-old Aussie actor had auctioned off all his possessions and moved out of his Sydney studio apartment.

Rebel Wilson’s booming property empire revealed
Actor Rebel Wilson, who celebrated her first wedding anniversary to fashion and jewellery designer Ramona Agruma midweek, has sold her Balmain investment property.

Mob mansions: Why notorious crime homes struggle to sell
Once symbols of power, wealth and infamy, mob-linked mansions are now struggling to find their place in the modern real estate market.

Kate Middleton’s bold plan for new home Forest Lodge revealed
Kate Middleton reportedly wants to live “off the grid” as her family moves into their new “forever home”.

Live like in a fairytale in this secret stone cottage in Victoria’s goldfields
If Hansel and Gretel came to Australia, this stone hut in the bush is where they would live. The tiny cottage is hidden in a secret valley south of Castlemaine in Victoria’s Goldfields.

You could get paid to move to a windswept island with more sheep than people
A remote Welsh island with more sheep than people is seeking a new tenant for the first time in 20 years. Ynys Enlli — known in English as Bardsey Island — is a tiny rocky outcrop in the Irish Sea.

Inside the incredible Melbourne home of the architect who made the NGV
When Matthew Danos first invited Georgia Geminder to his home during COVID lockdowns, he left out one small detail: it was the flat designed by Sir Roy Grounds — the Australian modernist architect behind the National Gallery of Victoria — for his family.

Dancing with the Stars pro’s $19m Sydney pad waltzes onto the market
The harbourfront Rose Bay pad of Dancing with the Stars’ Kym Johnson and her husband, Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank fame, has hit the market with a price guide of $19 million.

With building and budget blowouts, Grand Designs Australia reimagines what it actually means to be ‘grand’
For the 12th season of Grand Designs Australia, architecture professor Anthony Burke is seeing a shift. In the age of rapidly rising house prices and a cost-of-living crisis, the definition of what is a “grand design” is being reimagined.

It is Sydney’s prettiest car park, and it has a hidden secret
Built around a courtyard with swaying palms, Campbelltown’s new commuter car park has a secret. It is not the eerie whistling of wind in the facility’s brightly coloured panels, which Mayor Darcy Lound attributed to the ghost of 19th-century shopkeeper Fred Fisher, said to haunt the local creek.

Cattle family makes $20m bid for 111,000-hectare North Star station
The well-known Bassingthwaighte cattle-breeding family has put in an offer on North Star Pastoral’s Hodgson station in the Northern Territory’s Roper region and a deal could settle as soon as this week, industry sources said.

Jon Adgemis, the loss-making olive oil company, and the $625,000 loan
An Italian olive oil business half-owned by Jon Adgemis made no money over seven years and reported production valued at just €1, despite being lent hundreds of thousands of dollars by the bankrupt dealmaker.

Inside Heloise Pratt’s Toorak compound, on the market for $60m
AFR Weekend gets an exclusive tour of the Visy heiress’ Spanish-inspired mansion, which has remained largely a mystery — until now.

Redback Boots CEO lists Palm Beach pad for $17 million
The head of Redback Boots Co, which supplies the Australian army with footwear, has taken a haircut on his four-bedroom house in Sydney’s Palm Beach as he brings the Iluka Road property back to the market with a $17 million guide

Bulls, NBA legend Luc Longley lists William Bay sanctuary for $4.5m
Three-time NBA champion Luc Longley is selling his beloved beach house on Western Australia’s spectacular south coast near Denmark after 34 years.

Diane Keaton bought her ‘dream house’ in 2011. It was for sale months before her death
Diane Keaton surprised many when she listed her beloved Los Angeles estate for sale this year. The Oscar winner and architecture aficionado once described the property in Sullivan Canyon, in the affluent and prestigious neighbourhood of Brentwood, as her “dream home”.

Aussie basketball star Luc Longley lists beachfront estate for over $4.5 million
Pro basketballer Luc Longley is selling his coastal estate in Western Australia for offers over $4.5 million. Longley — who is over seven feet tall — was the first Australian to play for the NBA

Ruslan Kogan’s sister buys her third Toorak home for $9 million
Svetlana Kogan, the sister of online retailer Kogan.com founder Ruslan Kogan, has bought her third home in Toorak for $9 million, behind two joined properties she bought last year, bringing her total spending in the prestigious Melbourne suburb to $17.9 million.

What’s up, what’s down: Which restaurants gained (and lost) hats in the new SMH Good Food Guide
While talent flourishes in Sydney’s west and CBD, some of the restaurants in the city’s eastern suburbs lost a hat at the launch of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2026.

Real estate agent accused of sexually attacking three women at open homes
An award-winning real estate agent is fighting dozens of sexual offence charges against three women, including rapes and sexual touching while he was a senior sales executive at Ray White.

Scotty Cam’s Sawmill listed for sale for $1.1m
One of the great things about watching The Block is imagining what you would do instead of the contestants. Would you have put in a translucent amber resin statement bath, like Han and Can did? What about the controversial Pilates room that Britt and Taz went for?

The most expensive outback town in Australia, where rent costs the same as Point Piper and Toorak
For the princely rent of $1550 a week, where would you most like to live: Sydney’s boujie Paddington, its glorious Bondi Beach, its millionaires’ row Point Piper, Melbourne’s stately, blue-chip Toorak or … Baynton?

Glitzy Versace apartment with ‘lashings of gold’ up for grabs in Sydney
A harbourfront pad decked out in $4 million worth of Versace is for sale in Sydney. Nearly every wall and surface in the three-bedroom apartment gleams with 24-carat gold.

Man spends $5 million on waterfront house he didn’t mean to buy
A Sydney auction ended with a twist after a man spent over $5 million on a house he had never planned to buy. The property was one of two side-by-side houses that went under the hammer in Malabar in the Eastern Suburbs last month, the Australian Financial Review reported.

Forget the TV, this unusual home has a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from its living room
The television is likely to gather dust in the corner when the view from the living room window is Sydney Harbour and its majestic bridge, as is the case for those who live at 1/52B Military Road, North Bondi.

How Roseanne Barr turned fame into a property fortune
Comedian Roseanne Barr has added another chapter to her impressive real estate portfolio, selling her 46-acre ranch on Hawaii’s Big Island for $4m (US$2.6m) — $996313 (US$650,000) above its $3m (US$1.95m) asking price.

Inside property empires of the cast of Friends
It’s been over two decades since they handed back the keys to that iconic purple apartment, but the cast of Friends are still living large.

Maggie Tabberer’s typically stylish $4.5m luxury home for sale
The Bellevue Hill apartment of the late fashion, publishing, television and property icon Maggie Tabberer has been listed for auction on November 3.

Reece Robson’s post-season record breaker
Departing NQ Cowboys hooker Reece Robson and his partner Ellie Carmichael may already be settling into Sydney life, but they still managed to smash a Townsville sales record.

Craig Bellamy’s $3.5m play hints at Supercoach’s future
Craig Bellamy, the three-time Melbourne Storm NRL premiership-winning coach, has settled his luxury off the plan apartment purchase on the southern end of the Gold Coast. Bellamy and wife Wendy have bought an apartment at Coolangatta in the Rockpool Rainbow Bay complex for $3.55m.

Hollywood megastar Jessica Alba’s Aussie beach stay
Hollywood megastar Jessica Alba has landed in a coastal enclave at the southern end of the Gold Coast’s renowned holiday strip.

Jennifer Hawkins lists Central Coast $6 million nine-acre estate
Jennifer Hawkins is selling off a multi-million dollar English-style manor on the Central Coast, four years after securing the nine-acre property. Jade Lazarevic

This site near a Sydney metro station could be home to hundreds. Instead, 50 people will work there
A controversial project to build an energy-intensive data centre near transport hubs instead of rezoning the land for housing has been slammed as a sign of mismatched development priorities, which critics warn is proof of a “deeply troubling” trend sweeping Sydney.

Australia’s most pest infested cities and suburbs revealed. Is yours on the list?
As Australia heads into warmer months, the nation’s least welcome residents are stirring and for many households, the battle against pests is already ramping up.

Inside the property portfolio of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ host Sam Armytage
The first season of Channel Nine’s mature-age spin-off of The Bachelor is set to hit TV screens. The Golden Bachelor Australia is hosted by television veteran and journalist Samantha Armytage.

Time to Rethink: Fresh Bid to Unlock Prison’s Prime Site for Homes
Old prisons on what were once fringe city sites but are now prime locations are increasingly in the sights of government and developers keen to meet housing undersupplies.

Gold Coast disaster teams prepare for worse cyclones and potential tsunami
Disaster teams have identified 19 Gold Coast suburbs at risk of flooding as the city braces for more cyclones — and even the chance of a tsunami.

Caravan weight crackdown: Aussies risk $1.5k fines, licence points
For countless Australians, a caravan isn’t just a recreational vehicle; it’s a substantial property investment, a second home, or even a primary residence on wheels.

Barbara Corcoran sells NYC penthouse for $20.8m after one day on market
Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran sealed a sweet deal for her New York penthouse. The Shark Tank star made waves in May when her tailor-made Manhattan home went into contract after less than a day on the market, the New York Post reports.

Trump offers rare insight into Mar-a-Lago
Eric Trump has offered a rare insight into the world’s most famous home — the Trump family’s Florida compound Mar-a-Lago.

Inside Jackie O’s controversial $5m Clovelly mansion rebuild revealed
Henderson purchased the Clovelly block for $13.2m in March 2023, and since knocking down the previous property to make way for a luxury mansion with a pool, the $5m home rebuild has caused a stir in the Sydney eastern suburbs neighbourhood.

‘Rare’: NRL premiership coach’s $360k payout
The NRL head coach and his wife Joelle collected about $860,000 from the sale of their Bracken Ridge investment property, marking a solid uplift on their outlay five years earlier.

‘We’re an all-or-nothing town’: Gold Coast now has Australia’s highest rents
Once a cheaper, warmer and sandier utopia for Sydney and Melbourne migrants chasing a slice of paradise for a steal, Queensland’s Gold Coast has officially become Australia’s most expensive city in which to rent a house or unit, with 24 of its suburbs now costing at least $1000 a week.

$50 million Toorak 1920s mansion hits the market with no heritage listing
One of Melbourne’s most coveted blue-chip estates has finally come onto the market after 50 years in the same family.

Rural winery dreams: 8 Australian vineyards for sale now
It’s time to curate your rural dream, roll up your sleeves and marvel over your tannin-stained fingertips. Have you ever dreamed of opening your own cellar door or small-batch winery, or perhaps you are well-versed in the art and looking for a commercial-scale upgrade?

Inside a $300 million mega mansion with parking for 150 cars
One of the world’s most expensive houses has hit the market in Los Angeles. The compound sits on a private hilltop in Beverly Hills overlooking a vast kingdom of vineyards and rolling lawns.

Are The Block 2025 houses a good investment?
With price guides starting at $3 million, and claimable depreciation deductions of between $5.4 million and almost $6 million per house, The Block properties look like they could be excellent investments.

US homeowner finds stone with mysterious initials in backyard
A homeowner in the US has unearthed an eerie object hidden under a dense layer of brush in her garden. A fortnight ago, the owner was clearing the overgrown yard of her house in New England when she stumbled upon a tiny stone with three mysterious initials.

Rich lister Heloise Pratt lists Toorak house for $58m to $63m
When rich lister Heloise Pratt bought a Toorak home in 2021, the $22 million price tag turned heads. Now, she is selling another with even loftier price hopes of $58 million to $63 million.

Ex-Humm boss relists Sydney mansion for $18.5 million
Former chief executive of listed-fintech company Humm Group, Stuart Grimshaw and his wife, Annalise, have relisted their mansion in Sydney’s upper north shore with $18.5 million price hopes — a $2.5 million discount on the top end of its price guide when it was on the market in September last year.