What’s fake news and what’s just lazy journalism? I ask because the property news headline that stuck out for me in last week’s papers was a screamer on the front page of Saturday’s Daily Telegraph.

Apparently, Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ “bungled budget” has caused house values in 97 per cent of Sydney to fall. Heavens to Betsy!

But wait a minute.  Couldn’t that just as easily have read that Chalmers’ brilliant budget had made houses more affordable across all but 3% of the city?

It reminds me of the time former premier Nick Greiner said that if he walked on the water across Sydney harbour, the headline the next day would be “Greiner Can’t Swim!”

Back in the real world, real estate agents in Victoria are going to have to provide realistic price guides for auctions, buyers in Canberra would just like some idea of how much a property is going to cost and some first-home buyers are shying away from making the leap into ownership while others are staring down the barrel of negative equity if they bought when prices were high and interest rates were a bit lower.

All that and much more in just two days’ worth of the daily apartment news from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

The biggest change to Melbourne auctions in decades hits this weekend
The biggest change to Melbourne auctions in decades arrives this weekend, as Victoria’s new anti-underquoting laws face their first major test.

RBA leaves door open to more rate hikes as house prices slide
The Reserve Bank has left the door open to further rate rises beyond the current 15-year high, even as it acknowledges higher borrowing costs are driving a sharper-than-expected fall in house prices.

Melbourne auction clearance rates hold steady, while Sydney lags behind after four rate hikes
Sydney and Melbourne are posting contrasting auction results, with Melbourne’s clearance rate holding steady while Sydney lags, despite both cities facing the same headwinds from persistent high interest rates.

A record 82% of Australian home loans now rely on mortgage brokers. Why?
Australians are more reliant than ever on mortgage brokers, who arranged a record 81.6 per cent of all new and refinanced home loans in the June quarter, up from about 50 per cent a decade ago, as borrowers lean on intermediaries to navigate a complex rate market.

Gold Coast landmark penthouse slashed by $600,000 as owner says market worse than GFC
The owner of a penthouse atop the Gold Coast’s first super high-rise has cut the price by $600,000, describing the market as worse than the global financial crisis.

The Sydney apartment worth $55k per square metre
An apartment in Sydney’s east has sold for $21.5 million, working out to more than $55,000 a square metre.

Should ACT homes have mandatory price guides? Industry says no
Should ACT homes carry mandatory price guides? The industry says no, as buyers wrestle with listings that show no price or an unrealistic one, sometimes wasting mornings at auctions they never had a chance of winning.

ABC Online

Sydney’s Opal Tower officially declared defect-free eight years after mass evacuations
Sydney’s Opal Tower has been declared defect-free at a ceremony, eight years after cracks forced residents to evacuate on Christmas Eve 2018.

Realestate.com.au

First home buyers flee property market as loan demand drops for third straight month
First home buyers are continuing to retreat from the market, with their loan demand falling for a third straight month and running 22 per cent below a year ago.

More than 2 million families forced to choose between power bills and rent
More than 2.3 million households, or 23 per cent of Australians, have missed or delayed a bill in the past year to cover their mortgage or rent.

Victorian landlords face mandatory licences and three-strike bans
Victorian landlords would need a licence to rent out their homes under a new Greens policy pitched ahead of the state election.

One in 10 Victorian auctions in doubt as tough new laws start
About one in 10 Victorian homes scheduled for auction this weekend did not advertise their reserve price seven days ahead, a potential breach as the state’s new underquoting laws take full effect.

Ex-rentals make up 40 per cent of Melbourne listings after tax changes
Investors made up more than 40 per cent of newly listed homes for sale in Melbourne after the federal budget’s negative gearing and capital gains changes.

Income needed to buy Queensland home surges eight times faster than wage growth
Queenslanders need a pay rise of more than $30,000 just to keep pace with the property market, with the income required to buy a home rising about eight times faster than wages.

‘Almost $1m’: One-bedroom Brisbane riverfront apartment with no carpark fetches $955,000
A one-bedroom Brisbane riverfront apartment with no car park has sold for $955,000, showing what buyers will still pay in a falling market.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Deicorp Pushes Twice the Height Planned for Randwick Club Site
Deicorp’s 22-storey Randwick Club redevelopment is advancing through state assessment despite council plans to cap the site at 11 storeys.

Melbourne Landfill Rezoned for 1100 Homes After Decade-Long Fight
A former quarry and unregulated landfill in Melbourne’s south-east has been rezoned for 1,100 homes after a decade-long planning fight, despite council opposition and major remediation challenges.

Sunlight Rule Cruels Plans for Bondi Junction Apartment Tower
A plan to use affordable housing incentives for a 12-storey Bondi Junction apartment block has failed after the Land and Environment Court found it would overshadow the town centre’s only public green space.

Century-Old Substation to Anchor Ultimo’s Latest BtR Tower Plan
A decommissioned 1909 electrical substation would become a shop at the foot of a 15-storey build-to-rent tower at Ultimo under plans before the City of Sydney.

HYG Plots $200m Residential Skyscraper at Chatswood
HYG has lodged plans for a 54-storey residential tower at Chatswood on Sydney’s lower north shore.

Builders are Bailing: Small Contractor Exits Jump 58pc
Small builders are walking away from the sector faster than they can be replaced.

Apartments.com.au

Bassar Group starts construction on Avva Broadbeach apartments with Hutchinson Builders
Gold Coast developer Bassar Group has started construction on its $180 million AVVA Broadbeach tower ahead of presales, with Hutchinson Builders delivering the 32-storey project.

Realestate.com.au 

Rents hit record highs, but is the pressure finally easing?
Rents remain at record highs nationally, but growth has slowed and vacancies have edged up, giving tenants slightly more choice.

Aussies smash 6pc savings ceiling for first time since 2011
Australian savers have cracked the 6 per cent ceiling for the first time in 15 years, with one bank hitting 6.25 per cent on deposits, a welcome boost for would-be buyers trying to build a deposit as savings rates reach levels not seen since 2011.

Salary needed to buy average Australian home surges despite falling property prices
Falling prices since the May budget were meant to help buyers, but a monster pay rise is now the bare minimum needed to afford an average home.

‘Reality check’: Recent rate rise hits Sydney auctions
Even ocean views could not lure buyers across the line, with a two-bedroom Coogee unit passing in below $2 million as the latest rate rise dents confidence.

Penthouse smashes Rhodes apartment record
A four-bedroom penthouse has rewritten the Rhodes apartment record, selling for $6.35 million.

One in eight Victorian home sellers disclose auction reserves early
One in eight Victorian homes going to auction this weekend will do so with their reserve disclosed, a week before the rules require it.

‘Pretty much guaranteed’ Victorian auction pain to hit state budget
Victoria’s state budget has been flagged as a casualty of Melbourne’s struggling property market, with fears changes to auction rules could worsen the hit.

Historic Shafston House at Kangaroo Point to become ultra-luxury Capella riverfront project
The heritage-listed Shafston Estate at Kangaroo Point, established in 1851, is to become the ultra-luxury Capella Residences Brisbane.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Dealing with a downturn: young agents face their first housing slump
For a generation of young agents who have only ever known a rising market, this is their first real downturn.

How much households are spending on their mortgage, by state
Household spending on mortgage repayments is at or near its highest in more than 30 years across almost every state and territory, with NSW families the worst affected.

Prestige housing markets lead the downturn with double-digit declines
The top end is leading this downturn, with prestige markets posting double-digit falls.

Builders want NIMBY Mosman, Woollahra councils stripped of powers
Developers have singled out Woollahra and Mosman councils as obstructing NSW Labor’s plans to sharply lift housing density, and argue local governments should be stripped of their planning powers.

ASIC wants mortgage brokers to explain when lowest rate not offered
Mortgage brokers passed over the cheapest available loan in more than one in five recommendations, and the corporate regulator says many failed to adequately explain why.

Stamp duty revenue plunges as property downturn bites
Stamp duty revenue in NSW has plunged almost a quarter as the property slump deepens, with economists warning a prolonged downturn could leave state budgets $30 billion worse off over four years.

Relentless rate rises put mortgage burden at levels last seen in 1989
Households are just one more cash-rate rise away from mortgage repayments not seen since the late 1980s, when rates topped 15 per cent, a burden that threatens the Albanese government’s standing with voters.

‘Quite extraordinary’: Auction rate below 50pc for second week
The national auction clearance rate has stayed below 50 per cent for a second straight week, with listing volumes about a third lower than a year ago even in the usually busy spring season.

Why high interest rates aren’t hurting households like they used to
Households are supposed to be buckling, with rates at a 15-year high and repayments eating a near-record 10 per cent of income, yet nominal consumer spending has accelerated over the past year.

The Australian

Valuers and major banks tip capital city home prices to rebound from 2027
Property valuers and the major banks expect the downturn to bottom out within a year, with at least a third of the falls in the largest cities already behind us.

Spring home sellers face delays as unsold stock and listings jump
Nearly 277,000 homes are sitting unsold across the country, and the overhang threatens to deepen the downturn.

Property investors target high-yield suburbs as negative gearing ban triggers spring market slump
Property investors are chasing high-yielding suburbs to offset Labor’s tax changes, which have helped drive the market’s weakest spring since the pandemic lockdowns.

Housing construction now lower that it was under the Coalition, building figures show
Housing construction under Labor is averaging under 180,000 homes a year, below the almost 200,000 a year under the previous Coalition government and well short of the 260,000 needed to hit the 1.2 million target, the Coalition says.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Crackdown on lobbyists after explosive anti-corruption inquiry
Third-party lobbyists will be forced to disclose their links to local councils for the first time under a significant shake-up of NSW integrity laws.

Investor buys $666,000 pad in iconic Sydney building, adding to portfolio
An investor who already owned units in Pyrmont’s heritage Goldsbrough building paid $666,000 for another at auction on Saturday, beating a first-home hopeful, as Sydney’s auction clearance rate hit its lowest level this year.

‘Losing hope’: Why renting in Sydney is getting so much harder – for everyone
Renting in Sydney is getting harder for everyone, the SMH reports, profiling architect Sole Ferreyra, who moved from Melbourne expecting a 25 to 30 per cent premium but found similar apartments about 40 per cent dearer.

The Age

No developers, no profits – and still not enough: The hard truth about alternative housing
Nightingale co-founder Jeremy McLeod used a lecture at a Melbourne design school to undercut his own celebrated housing model, conceding it will not fix the housing crisis.

Build up or lock out: How Melbourne’s housing ‘success’ is set to divide voters
Melburnians can either accept apartment buildings around train stations or forever lock young people out of the middle and inner suburbs, Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has argued, framing the city’s housing choice in stark build-up-or-lock-out terms.

‘I’ve been applying for everything’: Melbourne rents at record highs
Melbourne unit rents have hit a record high, up $25 a week over the past year, adding pressure for tenants hunting an affordable home.

‘They’ve been praying endlessly’: Glimmer of hope for public housing tower residents
Public housing tower residents have been offered a reprieve by the Victorian opposition, which is pledging to pause the tower demolition program and repair buildings where possible.

The Brisbane Times

Property price dip could restrict Brisbane’s housing supply: minister
Slipping property prices could reduce the number of new homes built in Brisbane, Queensland’s housing minister has warned, echoing his leader’s criticism of the May budget’s federal tax changes, underlining the paradox of a downturn that may worsen the supply shortage.

The Daily Telegraph

Federal Coalition frontbencher will table a Bill that could save Victoria Barracks
The battle to save Sydney’s Victoria Barracks has reached federal parliament, with Liberal frontbencher James Paterson set to table a Bill to block its sale.

Property plunge is not on me, says Jim
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to take responsibility for falling house prices following Labor’s budget tax changes, as new figures show homeowners are now tens of thousands of dollars worse off.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Gold Coast council approves $200m surfboard-inspired high-rise tower in Surfers Paradise
The Gold Coast council has approved a $200 million, surfboard-inspired residential tower in Surfers Paradise, with an ageing fibro building on Surfers Paradise Boulevard set to be demolished to make way for it.

Tweed Coast Nissan site hits market for $20m with 11-storey tower plans
One of the largest remaining landholdings on the NSW-Queensland border, a Tweed Coast Nissan dealership site, has hit the market for $20 million with plans for an 11-storey tower, its future having nothing to do with cars.

The West Australian

Perth property market: The best investor suburbs of the year according to PropTrack analysis
Units in inner-city Leederville have proven Perth’s best residential property investment of the past year, with a rental yield of 5.8 per cent and 28 per cent annual median growth, according to new research.

State Government pockets $363m with land tax skyrocketing as block values jump while renters foot the bill
The WA state government will reap an extra $362 million, up 33 per cent, from land tax and the metropolitan region improvement tax this year as block values jump.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Woolooware unit block with no parking for residents approved under state policy
Nearby owners have lost a six-year battle to stop a residents-parking-free unit block being built next to Woolooware train station.

Eight-storey apartments plan for old flats site next to North Cronulla surf club
Five old low-rise blocks next to North Cronulla surf club and Dunningham Park will make way for an eight-storey apartment block under a long-expected planning proposal.

State losing community support over ‘crazy’ DA changes: councillor
A Bayside councillor has branded the state government’s move to end neighbour notifications for certain development applications crazy, warning it is costing the government community support.

Council says community backs Rockdale Masterplan but voices high-rise fears
Bayside Council says the community backs its Rockdale Centre Masterplan, with 70 per cent of respondents supporting it fully or in principle, though some voiced high-rise fears.

The Illawarra Mercury

Residents oppose ‘unacceptable’ Belmore Basin plan but council say it should be approved
Wollongong council staff have recommended approval of a seven-storey apartment complex on the site of the Boat Harbour Motel overlooking Belmore Basin, despite fierce opposition from some nearby residents.

What the hundreds of apartments proposed for Weerona College means for Wollongong
The Weerona College site in Wollongong could be demolished for six apartment blocks under plans now on public exhibition.

Crown Square tower too tall – even with height bonus
One of the four towers in Wollongong’s Crown Square development breaches the height limit even with a height bonus, and it is not the tallest.