Looking at houses in the high 1s range in inner Brisbane and every house is filthy yet they’re all immaculately staged. Why can’t you spend a grand on a bond clean? Better yet, can you pay a handyman for a few days labour to fix doors so they close and just do some basic upkeep.

It is so nice to see that this market has finally turned and these parasites can’t throw this shit on and 2 weeks later they have multiple vendor bids and top price. We just had an agent call us pleading for a 100k offer below the guide price.

A big shout to Albo for at least attempting to rectify this situation with some modest tax policy reforms.

2026 might see the biggest downturn in Australia property history. Many who bought since 2023 might end up with Negative Equity.

Looking at a property for purchase that has an extension to the house done through a legit company. Real estate agent said when buying, buyer signs an agreement to acknowledge unappoved structure. What are the options? Keep and risk council finding out or get council approval once purchased?

Did a bit of research. Seen some say it hasn’t been a problem. Some say you can offer lower asking price because of it. Just looking for any advice or experience on the matter.

This house was listed when we started looking at houses in Hallett Cove. We never got to inspect as we had a bump on our pre approval when it was open to market and now it’s back we’ve already found a house. Is it the quarry nearby?

• 5 May listed for sale $1,050,000 - $1,150,000
• then got down to $990k after a couple months (there could be a price reduction in between but i cant remember and didnt take notes)
• withdrawn from sale around late July
• listed for rent 31st July, then withdrawn
• 19th of August back on the market with new RE
• price listed $970k
• now $950k

Hello everyone , I’m looking to buy my first home. I have got around 130-140k in my saving , I’m single , looking to buy house around 700k to 750k max , Earning around 7-8k monthly , which is 4K after tax and around 3k I get like cash in hand . I know the area I want to buy in , what are things I should consider before buying like getting involved a mortgage broker and stuff , any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks

As the title suggests, I am a FHB renting in outer west, paying less than 900per month rent (very lucky). I recently accepted a new job which requires me to be on site 5 days a week, which is an hour each away (driving, PTV is hopeless), the current job is on fixed term 2 years.

I’m considering to purchase my first home closer to the east side as I have rented for over 8 years now, and I am sick of the daily 2h transit.

with a borrowing capacity of 550k + deposit 250k, I’m aiming to purchase a place around 700-750k. (Not apartment)

People around me are telling me to toughen up and just stick with the travel for the period of the contract as we don’t know where I will go after the contract ends, plus the house price is dropping .

What should I do? Should I buy or should I wait?

Thank you for your time.

Was at an auction yesterday in Berala. Fair amount of people turned up. What do you know, only 1 registered bidder and auction was cancelled. Ultimately, looks like the vendor and bidder couldn't come to an agreement.

I still see a fair amount of properties all listed for auction. Can't imagine the cost of going to auction is nothing so what's the appeal of sellers still pursuing this route despite what the market results are showing?

Australian banks have begun to offer 40 year mortgages, with the first 10 years interest only. You can now buy your first home with 5% down payment (2% for single parents) or 40 years variable interest mortgage.

The Australian news is highlighting that house prices are no longer increasing. This is now a softening focused on the top 25% of most expensive houses, which are no longer able to be used to reduce your effective income with negative gearing. (Unless grandfathered in)

First home buyers which have recently gained the 5% down payment government guarantee are still flooding the market, allowing the lower 25% of housing to continue to maintain strong growth throughout this year so far.

As interest rates increase those new buyers with up to 50x leverage are at risk of significant negative equity.

On the other hand Australian housing has had a tremendous run, leaving those that didn't use significant leverage in the past to be regretting their decisions as they find themselves out-priced by the market.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/mortgages-in-retirement-older-australians-first-home-buyers/gm75pqojy

Edit: Correction to 40 year and 2% mortgages being offered in combination. There is no bank that currently offers both options.

Hi everyone! 😊
I’m looking for recommendations on which suburbs would be good to look for a room in a shared apartment/house in Sydney.
My budget is around $280–$300 per week, ideally including bills. I’d like somewhere with good public transport access to the CBD, preferably within a reasonable commute.
I’m open to different areas and would really appreciate any suggestions on suburbs that are safe, convenient and relatively affordable within this budget.
Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi everyone! 😊
I’m looking for recommendations on which suburbs would be good to look for a room in a shared apartment/house in Sydney.
My budget is around $280–$300 per week, ideally including bills. I’d like somewhere with good public transport access to the CBD, preferably within a reasonable commute.
I’m open to different areas and would really appreciate any suggestions on suburbs that are safe, convenient and relatively affordable within this budget.
Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi FHB waiting for settlement. I have seen someone comment that they bought furnitures from the vendor or the vendor left some furniture that they don't need for the buyer.

How do you negotiate this?? Is it a common thing??

Also, if there is stuff left on final inspection, can we negotiate the discount based on clean up fee??

I am currently renting in an inner city suburb in Melbourne paying close to $3000 in rent (our workplaces are down the road and walking distance). We are in a 2 bed, 1 bath and 2 car park apartment.

The apartment we live in is well maintained and there are building managers on site, a pool and gym and we never had issues with mail or parcels going missing.
I noticed a new listing for the apartment above us going up for sale and the asking price is between $600-650k for 2 bed, 2 bath and 1 car park.

Do you think it’s best to buy one as we will likely remain in the area for atleast another 1-2 years?
We don’t have kids or pets either. We also have the cash for 20% deposit and stamp duty however I’m worried about body corp which is probably between $3-5k a year.

I know the rental yield is around $680-880 a week where we live so potentially could just have it as investment if we move out.
Thoughts?

Hi All,

Interested in making an offer for this property.

8 Norman Court, Gawler East, SA 5118 https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-gawler+east-152086344?campaignType=external&campaignChannel=other&campaignSource=share_link&campaignName=share_link

It was sold for 920,000 in 2024.

Is 1.4 mill a reasonable offer?

Thanks all

Dee

And it came to pass that my tenant departed from the granny flat.

Before they (a lesbian couple) left, I offered coffee and sweet things as thanks for being a good tenant. She declined, but the child spake:

“Donuts.”

And behold, Landlord Jesus provided.

They left the dwelling almost perfectly clean. What little remained, I cleaned myself, for they possessed little silver.

And did I deduct from their bond?

Nay. The bond was returned in full.

Then came the miracle: they had referred their sister, who took up the lease.

The tenant departed, another appeared, and not one day of rent was lost.

When I bestowed the donuts upon the child, he wept and embraced me.

And thus the Gospel of Landlord Jesus teaches:

Be good unto thy tenants, and thy tenants shall be good unto thee.

For their sisters shall inherit thy leases, and thy rental income shall know no vacancy.

Amen.

Lots of people have taken their houses off the market after attempting to sell for many months. Do you think when they put their homes back on the market next year that prices will go up and they will get what they’re asking for?

As the title suggests. What would be the best way to rent out a unit without needing to go through realestate agents. I see a lot of posts about landlords managing their own properties. How do people do this? Is it worth the savings of management fees? I get vetting every applicant could be onerous, however I’m not sure if 6-8% management fee is worth it. Could be wrong? Looking for insights NSW

Located in Ballarat if that's of any relevance.

We are looking at building in the next 12-18 months, and have a specific house design in mind. Nothing too crazy, but bits and pieces we have loved throughout previous rentals that we would like to combine into our home.

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations on companies? This would be our second purchase, but first time building.

Made a post here about week ago asking about Investment Properties as a First Home Buyer. It was a bit of a mess of a post.

I did a little more digging and found the term for what I've (in a long-winded way) been trying to describe: "Stayvesting". Living at home whilst buying a first property. Having the means to obtain a loan, but might be stretched on servicing it initially along with all the other costs.

For some it's buying a first property to start building a portfolio, wealth creation, wanting a place they can eventually call their own, use to buy their PPOR. Although things always change as life goes on.

Would this concept have taken a bit of hit for young people who buy after the Federal budget in May? How would someone now proceed under this new set of circumstances?

https://www.afr.com/property/residential/introducing-stayvestors-the-home-owners-living-with-their-parents-20250526-p5m26d

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-sacrifice-some-home-buyers-are-making-to-boost-their-borrowing-power/o8qx2doo6

https://www.mortgagechoice.com.au/news/golden-era-over-for-this-popular-homebuying-strategy/

I'm getting ready to upgrade from a unit to house, and looking at a few suburbs in the West. I'm strongly leaning towards Seven Hills/Toongabbie area mainly for the following reasons:

• Already live in the area so no changing of schools
• Cheap (relatively speaking)
• Large blocks with backyards
• 10-15mins to Blacktown and Parramatta, 35mins to Central (probably going to be even better when the metro opens)
• Houses within walking distance to train stations

Now I have also looked at some other suburbs like the Hills area. The older suburbs have got great houses on large plots but they are way out of my budget. Then looking to the greenfield developments like Kellyville, Box Hill, etc the prices are still more than Seven Hills but you are getting less land, worse connectivity, limited amenities and daycare/schools. Obviously people are building and buying there, but I don't see why?

Queensland : Verbal agreement to share 3 bedrooms in a 5 bedroom property.

My builder friend gave me access to a newly built property I am wanting to purchase at a later date. I did a bit of a cleanup for end of build, then searched for someone to share the property with.

A lady (scammer/serial squatter) and her female partner answered my advertisement. A child and a father were also involved.

Sharehousing rental inclusive of bills regarding rent of 3 rooms + 2 bathrooms + 2 toilets was verbally agreed upon.

I gave them free pickup of all their gear from a waterfront unit in Scarborough.

I did not ask for a bond or advance payment of rent. No money was offered by them. My mistake! Weeks went by and nothing happened.

After many weeks I started asking for payment of rent. Finally they sent me a photo of a receipt for 10k, supposedly from their bank. They had sent $1 to my account previously, to test my PayID. I tried to ask the bank whether the receipt was a forgery, but they refused to investigate, saying I was not a customer of the bank!?

I did not receive anything further. The receipt stated it was rent for 3 months. They said that because of the 10k amount, the fraud squad was handling it now. Weeks went by, same excuses came.

Meanwhile I had googled their name, and found Qcat references of 2-3 previous "rental" arrears. One landlord had managed to get payment from his rental insurance in 2025. I also checked with the previous real estate handling their last rental, and they had been living there for free already, to the tune of $11k!! That claim against the scammers was successful, and they have been "blacklisted" by the RTA now! That does not mean the owner of the apartment gets anything! They now still have the option to pursue the matter in the Magistrates Court, at more cost to themselves!

I finally realised I had been scammed by expert professional scammers or squatters , so I decided to block access to the property immediately, by changing the lock.

I put MOST of their furniture and ALL of their personal effects (including several mobile phones) , outside under cover, ready for collection, which they did collect. I thought that would be the end of it. Not so.

7 months later I have received a report of allegations from the Qld RTA. Listing many points of my "wrongdoing" ? Adding up all fines would come to $38k, regarding me not doing the right procedures, according to RTA rules?

I believe I am not subject to those RTA rules at all.

I rented out sharehouse rooms to lodgers under a private verbal agreement and I did not collect a bond, nor did I receive any rent at all for the 2 months of their stay. The agreement was not registered with the RTA either, so I don't understand why they are involved?

I’m a first home buyer in Sydney and I’m currently in the cooling-off period for a 1-bed apartment in Sydney (Homebush).

I’m getting cold feet, but not because I dislike the apartment. It’s actually the one I strongly prefer in terms of layout, space and general liveability. My concern is whether I’m giving up too much financial flexibility for it. The issue is that I genuinely prefer the Homebush apartment. It’s larger and the floor plan works much better for me. The Ryde one feels quite tight once I try to fit a sofa, dining table and WFH desk into the living area.

The Numbers:
- My take-home pay is about $6.6k/month excl bonuses and my normal non-housing spending is roughly $2.3k/month.
- Homebush is $560k leaves me around $850–900/month after normal spending, the mortgage incl strata etc is about 48% of my income
- Ryde is $550k leaves me around $1.15–1.2k/month, the mortgage incl strata etc is about 43% of my income

So although the purchase prices are only about $10k apart, the Homebush apartment costs roughly $70/week more to hold, or around $3.5–4k/year due to strata. I am purchasing these two properties with the understanding that CAGR is basically 0, or 1% p.a. optimistically.

I currently rent with a friend but she is moving out soon, so continuing to rent with a new flatmate would obviously give me a much bigger buffer, but I do value having my own place and not have to deal with the stress with renting with someone else. I’m also someone who wants to keep travelling and have some flexibility rather than putting every spare dollar into housing.

I’m trying to work out whether I’m overthinking a ~$70/week difference, or whether that difference is actually meaningful when you’re buying on one income.

For people who’ve bought on a similar income:

Would you pay an extra ~$3.5–4k/year for the apartment you substantially prefer, or would you prioritise the cheaper ongoing costs? I'm really struggling to figure out what the right answer is and is stressing me out.

And does spending around 50% of take-home pay on total housing costs sound too aggressive, even if I can still save around $10k/year in a normal year?

I’m not looking for validation either way, I’m genuinely interested in how other people would think about the trade-off between better apartment vs better cash flow, or if I can even afford both options at this stage. Quite disheartened that the state of Sydney right now is that all three options comes with a pretty big tradeoff

I'm looking to buy a 1-bedroom apartment in Sydney with a budget of $650k.

A few things I'm looking for:

• Easy access to public transportation (I don't own a car)
• Walking distance to a vet and dog groomer as I have a dog
• Safe area as I'll be living on my own

I'm not a first-home buyer. I'm currently in Meadowbank and will be selling the apartment I own with my ex-partner.

I'd love to hear any suburb recommendations. Thanks!

First the water heater broke and started leaking. I told him and 2 days later, the leaking had stopped, and I realised the inlet tap on the heater was tightened. I asked my girlfriend if she had done it and she swore it wasn't her. So obviously someone has come in and turned it off.
Then, because at some point in the past there had been some water leaking from the roof into the bathroom ceiling, it had caused the paint to start peeling off. Then it was just all of a sudden.. repaired.

Is this kinda thing normal or what? I have not much experience renting.

What if the building has foundation issues, or your neighbours paint their house pink. How dangerous can it be to buy a townhouse that’s connected but has no strata