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...

Source: AVAA Australia’s collectables market is experiencing a period of strong growth and increasing maturity, with new data highlighting both its scale and complexity. The 2025 eBay Deloitte State of Collectables Report shows that collecting is now a mainstream activity, with around 7.6 million Australians participating and an estimated $16.8 billion in collectables held nationwide. From coins and toys through to antiques, trading cards and memorabilia, the breadth of the ...

Source: Linkedin Australia’s housing market is starting to cool. Monthly price growth has slowed, and in some markets, particularly Sydney, prices are now declining as higher interest rates and global uncertainty weigh on sentiment. At face value, this might suggest that affordability pressures are beginning to ease. However, this is not what the underlying data is showing. The key drivers of housing affordability are moving in the opposite direction, and point to conditions becoming ...

Source: CBP The NSW Land and Environment Court’s remitter decision in Goldmate confirms the proper approach to public purpose and causation in compulsory acquisition matters, with significant implications for landowners and acquiring authorities across the Western Sydney Aerotropolis. In brief The NSW Land and Environment Court has redetermined compensation for Goldmate following Goldmate's successful appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal in 2024. The decision completes a course corr...

Source: Ray White via Linkedin The economic fallout from the Middle East will not be evenly distributed across the global economy. Countries heavily reliant on imported energy,particularly across Europe and Asia, face the greatest risk as oil and gas prices rise. Australia sits in a more complex position. As a major exporter of LNG and coal, higher energy prices can lift national income and government revenues. But Australia also imports most of the fuel used domestically, meaning global en...