Source: API After a strong performance in the December quarter, economic growth moderated notably in the March quarter largely due to a decline in net exports. Otherwise, private investment in machinery and equipment—on the back of the data centre boom—gave the economy a boost. Household spending also remained solid in early 2026, but this will be tested in the coming months amid rising unemployment and falling real wages.  This Market Update provides a handy summary of the...

Source: AVAA Australia’s auctioneers and valuers are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny as digital platforms, artificial intelligence and online marketplaces rapidly reshape the way auctions and valuation services operate. In a major speech to the sector at the AVC26 Conference on 7 May 2026, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Deputy Chair, Mick Keogh, delivered a detailed warning about the growing compliance risks affecting auctioneers, valuers and online as...

Source: Cotality Squeezed by renewed RBA rate hikes and plunging consumer confidence, Australia's housing demand took a measurable hit in the March quarter. The latest ABS Lending Indicators reflect this shift showing weaker activity than in December last year. The total number of housing loan commitments fell by 6.2%, while the overall value of lending dropped by 3.8%. That said, both measures remained higher than March 2025, reflecting the tailwinds of the solid upswing in lending aft...

Source: Realestate.com.au Real estate investors have been urged to order an immediate independent valuation of their properties to avoid paying inflated tax charges in the wake of the government’s capital gains shake-up. Ordering a valuation could save the investors tens of thousands if they ever sold due to a detail buried in the federal budget released last week, an investment adviser claims. Rasti Vaibhav, a former finance worker turned investment adviser, said a valuation was nee...

Source: RayWhite The Federal Budget has confirmed a major shift in housing tax policy, with negative gearing to be limited to new builds and CGT changes designed to reduce the tax advantage of investing in property. The intent is clear: reduce investor competition for existing homes and redirect capital into new housing. But while this may be politically neat, the housing market is more complicated. Australia’s affordability problem is not simply the result of investors buying establis...

Source: REIQ Living alone is fast becoming a luxury few can afford, with more Queensland tenants banding together in co-tenancy arrangements as rental pressures persist across the state. The statewide vacancy rate dipped slightly to 0.9 per cent in the March Quarter 2026, down from 1.0 per cent in the previous three quarters, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s (REIQ) latest Residential Vacancy Rate Report. The REIQ classifies a ‘healthy’ vacancy rate a...

Source: AVAA Acting as an expert witness valuer in Australian courts involves applying specialised valuation expertise to assist the court in resolving complex questions of value that arise in litigation and dispute resolution. Engagement typically occurs through solicitors or barristers acting for a party, although instructions may also come from insurers, insolvency practitioners, accountants, or, in appropriate cases, by direct appointment of the court itself. An expert witness may be re...

Source: ABC News In short:
Since the Home Guarantee Scheme was expanded in October price growth has been significantly stronger for properties below the government's price caps. Cotality warns the scheme works against the goal of improving housing affordability by boosting demand without addressing supply. A housing minister spokesperson says the scheme helps "hundreds of thousands of first home buyers" while the government fixes a "supply problem generations in the...

Source: Australian Property Institute Property market momentum across Australia is expected to soften in Q2 2026, with the API Property Market Outlook Index sliding to 6.1 (from 7.1 in Q1 2026). The property industry has become less optimistic (or more cautious) with all key asset classes. Residential is no longer the brightest spot, with market expectations showing more resilience for industrial. The property industry is most cautious with office and retail, rating their outlook slightly ...

Source: Realestate.com.au Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have recorded auction clearance rates not seen since the early Covid pandemic sent global markets into turmoil, with buyers and sellers alike feeling the impact of the current flailing economy. The latest data from SQM Research found that Sydney’s clearance rate for last week was just 37.9 per cent, a 10 per cent decrease since mid-April last year. Low clearance rates have typically preceded falls in home prices in the past. S...