Whether it more people having to move in with their parents, buyers facing negative equity as house prices fall, a short-term rental (read, Airbnb) register proposed for South Australia, or how energy efficiencies could save tenants, most of the property news stories are about people struggling to afford places to live.

Well, that’s apart from the stories about new luxury apartments that only sports stars, crypto-currency billionaires, property developers and drug dealers can afford. 

There’s even talk of a Spanish-style rent strike in Victoria, a state hit hard by its “come on down” open slather welcome to Airbnb. They’re all in the property news from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

The great Australian housing squeeze is bringing families back together
With a fifth rate rise this year looming, more Australian families are choosing to live together.

Low-deposit first-home buyers squeezed as suburb drops deepen
A steep fall in house prices has left thousands of first-home buyers across the country owing more than their homes are worth.

Melbourne ranks number one for enquiries from potential buyers in five states
There is an upside to Melbourne’s cooling market: its pull on interstate buyers.

Cash rate at 15-year-high, and Aussie home loans more than double 2011 levels
The average Australian home loan was just $288,300 in 2011, the last time rates sat at their current 4.6 per cent peak, meaning borrowers now owe more than twice as much.

ABC Online

Short-stay accommodation providers have mixed response to SA register plan
South Australia is set to join NSW and WA with a register for short-stay accommodation.

Realestate.com.au

Most Australians want further drops in home prices, data shows
Most Australians want home prices to fall further, as cost-of-living and affordability pressures push ownership out of reach for many.

Energy efficiency standards could save NSW renters $1000 a year and increase landlord returns
Minimum energy efficiency standards for rentals could be a win-win, lifting property values for investors while cutting tenants’ bills.

Fortis’s $67m Sydney sales surge over two weeks
Luxury apartment developer Fortis has booked more than $67 million in sales in just two weeks, defying the slump.

Aussie renters union warns rental strikes are looming amid cost pain
Victorian renters are weighing industrial action against landlords, including Spanish-style rent strikes, amid concern that rents are outpacing wages.

Modern mortgage holders face worse financial stress than 1990s peak as loan sizes surge
New data debunks the long-running argument over which generation had it harder, finding today’s mortgage holders face worse financial stress than the 1990s peak.

Two homes, one block: Surrey Hills property hits market at $2.3m
A Surrey Hills property offers more than meets the eye, with two separate residences on one 916-square-metre block listed at $2.3 million.

Queensland is Australia’s biggest housing black spot state thanks to missed approval targets
Queensland has claimed the unwanted title of Australia’s biggest housing blackspot state, running about 30,000 homes behind demand.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

VCAT Knocks Back Council Haircut on Fitzroy Apartment Block
A tribunal has knocked back a council’s attempt to trim the height of a Fitzroy apartment block.

Monaco’s $500m Miami Beachfront Apartments Hit the Market
Sixteen years after a single unit owner blocked Sunland Group’s $40 million bid for a Miami beachfront resort, a $500 million apartment project is rising on the same Gold Coast site.

Penthouse, Wine Cellar Greenlit for Units Plan at WA’s Affluent Mosman Park
Perth western-suburbs specialist Fabric Property has won unanimous approval for a two-storey penthouse and lower-ground wine cellar atop its 10-storey apartment project in riverside Mosman Park.

Extra Time Sought for AUKUS Homes in WA Naval Boomtown Rockingham
Among the first ripples of a forecast wave of housing demand in the naval city of Rockingham, a developer says the federal government has agreed to lease apartments in his stalled $20 million project.

Year-Long Wait Ends as $17.5m Heirloom Penthouse Hits the Market
After more than a year off the market, the top apartment at Molti’s Heirloom building in Kangaroo Point is for sale, with the developer seeking $17.5 million.

Green Light for Melbourne Tower After Decade of False Starts
A 62-storey mixed-use tower has finally won planning approval for a long-troubled Power Street site in Southbank, after a decade of approved designs that never went ahead.

State Approves $167m Apartment Scheme on Gosford CBD Fringe
The NSW planning department has approved a $167 million mixed-use scheme at North Gosford, clearing the way for 249 apartments.

Tangcheng’s 22-Storey Return to SA as Owner Eyes Retirement
Tangcheng Development, which left South Australia early last decade, has returned with approval for a 22-storey Adelaide tower as its owner relocates from China to retire in the Adelaide Hills.

Two-Tower Co-Living Scheme to Transform West Perth’s Hay Street
Hay Street in West Perth has been earmarked for a two-tower co-living scheme across the road from a heritage-listed social housing complex.

Leftfield Plots Fast-Track Apartments for South Yarra
Plans by Leftfield Property to turn three Victorian homes into a five-storey apartment building at South Yarra are on exhibition, Urban Developer reports..

Eight-Tower Plan Lodged in Decade-Long Preston Market Saga
Preston Market’s owners, the Medich family, have lodged a plan for about 900 apartments in eight towers, arguing housing is the only way to pay for the market’s renewal.

Apartments.com.au

First look: Arada secures approval for 33-storey Campsie apartment tower as Sydney pipeline grows
Arada Australia has won approval for its first major Campsie project.

HLA Group wins approval for Glasswing apartment tower in Brisbane’s inner west
Melbourne developer HLA Group has cleared a major hurdle in its push into Brisbane, securing approval for its butterfly-inspired Glasswing tower in Taringa.

IFM to bring apartments into recut plans for 150 Elizabeth Precinct above Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall
IFM Real Estate Fiduciary has lodged plans to recast Brisbane’s Wintergarden precinct as a mixed-use city destination, replacing its retail focus with two towers combining apartments, hotel accommodation, commercial space and retail.

Lanevick approved for new Gladesville apartment development
Sydney developer Lanevick has won approval for its return to the apartment market with a Studio Johnston-designed project in Gladesville.

First look: Final stage of Habitat Byron Bay approved for 78 apartments
The final stage of one of Byron Bay’s best-known mixed-use precincts has been approved for 78 apartments, nearly a decade after the first stage opened.

Gallery Group, Vitale Group, join forces for new 44-storey Surf Parade apartment tower
Gallery Group and fellow Gold Coast developer Vitale Group have joined forces on a 44-storey tower at 205-211 Surf Parade, the largest residential scheme yet proposed for the site.

First look: Deicorp files plans for new Randwick apartment tower as suburb’s high-rise shift gathers pace
Randwick’s long-standing low-rise profile faces further change, with major Sydney builder-developer Deicorp entering the suburb.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Bathla’s investors grapple with unexpected bills, and wayward cranes
The NSW government has begun pursuing retirees who lent money to Bathla projects for unpaid land tax, an unwelcome surprise for investors introduced to the schemes through suburban lawyers.

The most painful housing market plunge is here. And it’s not prices
Falling house prices have become a national obsession, but the AFR’s Chanticleer argues the more painful plunge is happening elsewhere: in the volume of sales.

Hefty fines, forced land sales in FIRB crackdown on foreign buyers
Foreign investors who sit on vacant land could face penalties topping $100 million as the Foreign Investment Review Board intensifies its pursuit of overseas buyers who refuse to develop homes or apartments.

More than 25pc of homes on the market sit unsold for six months
More than a quarter of homes listed for sale nationally have sat unsold for six months or more, as a run of rate rises and the Albanese government’s changes to property tax concessions slow transactions to a crawl.

Hotel giant Accor checks into rental housing market
Global hotels giant Accor is moving into Australia’s rental housing sector, from build-to-rent to student accommodation, striking a white-label deal with developer Freecity to operate properties across a $7 billion pipeline.

Europe’s housing crisis rings alarm bells for the rest of us
Evictions and soaring rents are the symptom rather than the cause of Europe’s housing crisis.

The Australian

Banks avoid Bathla apartments as RBA says system remains safe
Reserve Bank of Australia staff have blamed the collapse of western Sydney developer Bathla on excessive risk-taking and high leverage, while judging that the wider $213 billion private credit sector is not at systemic risk.

Australian home sales plunge 17.4pc in massive blow to state budgets
The pace of home sales has slowed 17.4 per cent nationally, a dismal start to the usually busy spring selling season and a blow to state governments that rely on stamp duty.

Property slump hits half of Sydney, threatens highly leveraged first-home buyers
Almost half of greater Sydney’s suburbs, and more than 40 per cent across Melbourne, have seen price falls of more than 5 per cent, leaving first-home buyers who entered on low deposits facing the prospect of negative equity.

Labor deposit scheme backfires as falling property prices trap more than 1000 young buyers
More than 1000 young buyers who used the Albanese government’s expanded 5 per cent deposit scheme since last October have slipped into negative equity, a number growing quickly as prices fall at their fastest in 40 years.

Rising mortgage costs from rate hikes outpace falling home prices
Falling home values have brought little relief to buyers, with many afraid to catch a falling knife if rates rise again.

The Sydney Morning Herald

The Sydney suburb that fought 150 new units – and ended up with 130
Residents of a world-renowned model Australian suburb have won the first round of their fight against a twin-tower development, trimming it from 150 units to 130, but fear they may yet lose the war.

Forty-four new homes, 332 objections: Why older units will be razed for luxury Paddington apartments
The Minns government has approved an $85 million luxury apartment complex on Oxford Street, Paddington, over objections from hundreds of residents, the local MP and Woollahra Council that it would deliver fewer relatively affordable homes.

Inner west art deco apartment sells for $900k to Bondi couple
A two-bedroom art deco apartment on a corner block in Summer Hill sold to a young Bondi family for $900,000 on Saturday.

The Sydney suburbs where property owners are selling in distress
At least one in 20 sellers in some pockets of Sydney are selling in urgency or distress, and experts warn that could rise as repayments jump and prices weaken.

Downsizing retirees splash $40m in one day on Elizabeth Bay units
Two Elizabeth Bay apartments worth a combined $40 million sold in a single day to two downsizing parties from Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Surcharge ban will leave some renters in the lurch
Tenants who rely on credit cards to pay rent could be pushed into arrears, advocates warn, after a major rental payment platform blocked the method in response to a new ban on card surcharge fees.

The Daily Telegraph

5 Blue St: Zurich lodges plans for 14-storey North Sydney apartment tower at commercial site
A proposal to convert an old North Sydney commercial building into a 14-storey apartment tower at 5 Blue Street is being pitched as a less disruptive, more sustainable way to deliver housing sooner.

Luxury $8.6m apartment block proposed for Beach Rd, Batemans Bay despite exceeding height limits
A vacant lot facing a famous South Coast marina could become a luxury $8.6 million apartment block at Beach Road, Batemans Bay.

The Courier Mail

Brisbane City Council approves 397-room high rise with zero car parks for residents
Brisbane City Council has approved a 397-apartment riverside high-rise with zero car parks allocated to residents.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Gold Coast developer brothers target 500 new homes as $168m Broadwater project launches
The Nikiforides brothers, who nearly lost everything in the GFC, have returned with a $168 million Broadwater project targeting 500 new homes, and this time they are building it for their own children.

The West Australian

Former WA premier Mark McGowan joins board of property developer Built
Property developer Built has appointed former WA premier Mark McGowan to its board as it pushes into new construction methods aimed at easing the housing supply crisis.

West Village at Karrinyup: WA’s most expensive tower finally commences construction after years-long delay
Construction on Blackburne’s $500 million West Village tower at Karrinyup will finally begin on Monday, about four years after some buyers signed contracts.

The Age

Five years and $10,000 later: Why upgrading Melbourne apartments is proving impossible
Inner-city residents Carla Campbell-Redl and Ying-Lan Dann want to electrify their 1960s North Melbourne apartment block and move off gas, but the seemingly simple goal has proved anything but.

The Melbourne suburbs where property owners are selling in distress
Home sellers in pockets of Melbourne are cutting prices and flagging they must sell, with experts warning distressed listings will rise as the downturn continues.

First home buyers nab architectural Collingwood apartment for $1,106,000
First-home buyers paid $1,106,000 for an architectural Collingwood apartment at auction on Melbourne’s first weekend under new reserve disclosure laws.

The Herald Sun

‘Toothless tiger’: Nick Reece calls for strata reform after watchdog prosecutes zero cases
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece has branded the strata watchdog a toothless tiger after it prosecuted zero cases, and is pushing for reform.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Shock at 16 storey tower proposal for heart of Narwee
A proposed 16-storey tower in the heart of Narwee has sparked resident pushback, prompting local Tanja Grifa to launch a Save Narwee campaign.

Single dad finds permanent home in Rockdale’s $72 million affordable housing block
For single dad Peter Joseph, the opening of a new affordable housing block in Rockdale means a permanent home for his two preschool children.

The Illawarra Mercury

High-rise developments could see Wollongong blow right past its housing target
The pace of high-rise development could see Wollongong blow past its state-set target of 9,200 new homes by 2029.

Now you see it, now you don’t: CBD mega towers latest threat to escarpment vistas
Wollongong’s CBD mega towers are the latest threat to prized escarpment views.