Australian Property

The tsunami of auction activity is beginning to weigh on home values in Melbourne and Sydney.

The Grattan Institute argues that NSW could make 1 million additional homes feasible to build by copying Victoria’s planning rules that allow terraces and three‑storey apartments “as of right” across most residential zones.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has attacked the proposed reduction in the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, arguing that: Reducing the CGT discount (from 50% to 25%) would push landlords to raise rents to compensate for lower after‑tax capital gains.

The ABC reported that only half of the 22,000 homes approved for construction in Western Sydney are proceeding to construction because there are not enough buyers able or willing to pay enough to cover construction costs.

Australia’s housing affordability has never been worse.

Since the COVID-19 lockdowns began in Australia in March 2020, housing prices in the country’s largest cities have grown at dramatically different rates.

Australia’s auction market has continued to fade following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate hike this month. According to Cotality, the national preliminary auction clearance rate declined to 68.0%, down from 70.7% last weekend (revised to 63.3% on final numbers) and 73.7% two weeks ago (revised to 66.1% on final numbers).

In 2019, Four Corners aired a story titled Cracking Up, which revealed systemic issues with construction quality across the nation’s apartment market.

Will Hamilton, the CEO and founder of Hamilton Wealth Partners, is the latest commentator to warn of dire impacts on Australia’s rental market if the federal government reduces the capital gains tax (CGT) discount or limits negative gearing.

Build Skills Australia’s recent report claimed that there aren’t enough tradespeople to meet Labor’s target of building 1.2 million homes over five years, which is currently tracking 27% below target.

In a social media post late last year, Housing Minister Clare O’Neil claimed: “Why is housing so tough right now?

There is an immigration cult in Canberra.

The 2024-25 annual national accounts from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that the total value of residential land increased by 7.0% over the financial year to a record $8.3 trillion.

With less than five weeks to go until the South Australian election, the Opposition Liberal Party has announced a stamp duty concession to help older homeowners downsize.

The Australian Treasury set aside $35.7 million in contingent liabilities for defaults under the federal government’s 5% deposit scheme for home buyers in the mid-year budget update in December.

The latest interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has failed to dampen enthusiasm in the housing market.

The ‘Yes in My Backyard’ (YIMBY) movement has long argued that the solution to Australia’s crisis lies in upzoning our cities to permit high-rise apartments in more locations. YIMBYs often point to the Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP), implemented in 2016, which allowed the upzoning of approximately three-quarters of Auckland’s residential land area.

A number of prominent Chinese economists have argued in favor of loosening restrictions on the movement of money into and out of the country.

I reported on Thursday on the record lift in mortgage commitments for first home buyers in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by the Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit scheme, which came into effect on October 1, 2025.