API Australian Property News

ACT rent caps 'no red flag' for property investors

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Maria Edwards) — 2025-09-06T07:33:56-08:00

As governments across Australia grapple with the challenge of rising rents and tenant stress, the ACT has taken a distinctive approach to balancing tenant protection and investment certainty.

Since 2019, the Territory has applied a form of rent regulation—commonly referred to as a “rent cap”—which limits increases for existing tenancies.

For investors considering entry into the Canberra market, this system warrants a closer look—not as a deterrent, but as a manageable framework that still allows for consistent returns, flexibility and long-term stability.

How the ACT rent cap works

At its core, the ACT rent cap sets a limit on how much rent can be increased during an ongoing tenancy.

Specifically, landlords may only increase rent once every 12 months, and the increase must not exceed the ACT rental component of the CPI (Consumer Price Index) plus 10 per cent. This figure is published quarterly by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

For example, if the CPI rental component was 4 per cent, the maximum allowable rent increase would be 4.4 per cent (i.e., 4 per cent + 10 per cent of 4 per cent).

Importantly, this cap only applies to existing tenants—not between tenancies.

When a property becomes vacant, market rent resets. This gives investors flexibility to adjust pricing to reflect current demand and conditions, particularly in low-vacancy areas.

Exceptions and flexibility

The system also recognises that not all properties or circumstances are alike. Landlords can legally increase rent above the cap in two main ways:

by agreement:

If the tenant agrees in writing to a higher increase (often in exchange for additional improvements or amenity), the increase can proceed without formal review.

by tribunal application:

A landlord may apply to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) to approve a rent increase above the cap.

Approval may be granted where evidence shows that the current rent is significantly below market value, or where t…

Prices up $12,000 per month: Brisbane buyers urged to act fast as listings remain scarce

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Melinda Jennison) — 2025-09-05T05:48:50-08:00

August was Brisbane’s strongest month since May last year, with values accelerating and buyer activity lifting again.

Cotality’s Home Value Index shows Brisbane dwelling values up 1.2 per cent in August, 3.0 per cent over the quarter and 7.9 per cent annually, taking the city’s median dwelling value to $949,583.

To put the current pace of growth in context, a 1.2 per cent monthly rise is roughly $12,000 on a $1 million purchase price.

Brisbane was the top-performing capital city on monthly growth, and remained well ahead of the combined regionals’ pace. On a quarterly and annual basis Brisbane remained in the top three capital city markets for growth momentum.

Two policy settings are likely to add further demand in coming months.

First, from 1 October 2025 the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme opens to all first-home buyers (no income caps, higher price caps, unlimited places) with 5 per cent deposits and no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), which will shorten deposit-saving times and pull demand forward.

In Brisbane, that means purchasing up to $1,000,000 could require just a $50,000 deposit, plus costs. This will be a powerful catalyst at a time supply remains tight.

Second, the 25bp cash rate cut in August (to 3.60 per cent) has already improved borrowing capacity. There are expectations that further easing will depend on inflation and demand pressures, noting that heavy take-up of first-home assistance could temper the RBA’s path.

Construction is also busy on paper.

The latest CoreLogic Cordell data indicates $1.5 billion in Queensland projects in the pipeline, with around $700 million earmarked for new residential, and $321 million of residential projects commencing in July. Yet pipeline volume isn’t the same as fit-for-purpose supply.

On the ground, demand is strongest for well-located townhouses and boutique apartments, while much of the new product skews to high-rise at premium price points or to fringe-area land release. That gap keeps pressure o…

Push to phase out strata insurance commissions gathers steam

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-09-04T12:24:13-08:00

Momentum is building within the strata management sector to phase out insurance commissions paid to strata companies for taking out their policies.

The lack of transparency for those paying strata fees is behind the push to have the fees scrapped.

In New South Wales, where almost 1.5 million people live in strata residences, the Strata Community Association NSW (SCA NSW) announced what it described as a “milestone moment in strata”.

“Starting on 1 January 2026, SCA (NSW) members will begin a phased replacement of insurance commissions.”

From 1 January 2026, new SCA (NSW) standard management contracts issued by SCA (NSW) members will not include an option to accept commissions on insurance products and SCA (NSW) members using their own management contracts will also not offer the option.

Strata Community Association (SCA) NSW President Robert Anderson said the decision to make this phased transition in relation to insurance commissions was not made lightly or quickly.

“Undertaking this reform is about delivering transparency, trust, and showing leadership.

“For owners and committees, this reform will deliver transparency, accountability and pricing simplicity, while for managers and their businesses it will deliver certainty, business sustainability and improve trust and credibility with clients.

“Strata managing agents should be proud to talk about the value they bring to consumers and why they should be paid to carry out these critical tasks in relation to strata insurance, and this reform will deliver on that,” he said.

The SCA NSW decision follows ongoing scrutiny of strata insurance commissions and conflicted remuneration models, highlighted in the ABC’s Four Corners feature The Strata Trap (Sept 2024), and comes ahead of anticipated reviews by NSW Fair Trading and the NSW Productivity Commission.

Industry insiders expect regulators to consider whether strata insurance commissions should be banned entirely to reflect the fiduciary duty strata manager…

Investor lending, rising rents signal fresh housing market upswing

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Greg Devine) — 2025-09-03T11:15:49-08:00

Australia’s housing market is showing renewed momentum as investor lending accelerates, rents pick up, and the Reserve Bank openly acknowledges it expects property prices to climb further.

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal a sharp rise in loans to property investors during the June quarter, while separate data from property analytics firm Cotality shows annual rental growth has re-accelerated for the first time in more than two years.

At the same time, leaked Federal Treasury advice confirms the government has no plans to change investor tax breaks, including negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount, signalling continued policy stability for landlords and developers.

The ABS reported the number of new investor loans rose 3.5 per cent in the June quarter, compared with a modest 0.9 per cent lift for owner-occupiers. A total of 49,065 investor loans worth $32.9 billion were approved between April and June, while the average loan size increased to $674,259.

ABS Head of Finance Statistics, Dr Mish Tan, said the rebound followed two quarters of decline.

“While annual growth slowed to 0.8 per cent from 27 per cent in June 2024, the number of new investment loans remained historically high,” she said.

Investor activity rose in most jurisdictions, with the Northern Territory (+21.1 per cent) and Western Australia (+1.4 per cent) recording the largest percentage gains.

The surge comes after three RBA rate cuts this year, in February, May and August, which have increased borrowing capacity across households.

Domain Group estimates a dual-income household earning $150,000 can now borrow about $53,700 more than six months ago, a lift of 7 per cent.

RBA makes no secret of property price hikes

RBA Governor Michele Bullock has been explicit about the expected impact of lower rates on the housing market.

“As interest rates fall, activity in the housing market picks up,” she said after the central bank’s August cut.

“We wo…

WA's booming regional centres - and the mining town digging a hole

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Suzanne Brown) — 2025-09-02T12:54:54-08:00

Western Australia’s significant rent price growth, relatively low house prices and the potential for strong yields have caught the eye of investors in recent years.

While a lot of interest has focused on Perth, Western Australia’s regional areas have also attracted attention.

This month, REIWA has looked at the performance of the major regional centres over the past year.

Median house sale price growth

Over the past year Geraldton was the top performing regional centre for price growth, with its median house price rising 26.8 per cent to $520,000.

Looking back over the longer term, Port Hedland has experienced dramatic growth, with a 125.1 per cent increase in its median house price over five years. It was, however, the only regional centre to record a decline in the past year.

Median selling days

Houses are selling very quickly in all regions, with the exception of Port Hedland.

Esperance recorded the shortest time on market with a median of 11 days, followed by Albany with 12 days. Most regions have seen days on market decrease significantly over the past five years.

Median weekly rent

Regional rents have increased strongly over the past five years, with many regional centres coming off low bases following WA’s extended property market downturn. Broome, Port Hedland and Karratha have recorded the strongest growth

In addition to population growth, in many regional centres, demand from corporates and government departments seeking to house staff has boosted competition for private rental properties and helped drive price growth.

Karratha was the top performer in the year to June 2025, with its median rent increasing 30.0 per cent to $1,300 per week.

Houses are leasing in around two to three weeks in most regional centres, with Port Hedland the exception.

Esperance and Karratha recorded the fastest median leasing time at 15 days.

Rental yields

Rental yields increased in four regional centres over the past 12 months. Karratha currently offers the stron…

Three building inspection reports, three disturbingly different results

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anna Porter) — 2025-09-01T14:35:39-08:00

When three different building inspection reports were carried out on the same property, the results were vastly, and somewhat disturbingly, different.

With recent interest rate cuts and expanded first-home buyer incentives, many property markets are experiencing a surge in demand.

But this raises an important question—how are out-of-area buyers ensuring their due diligence is done properly, especially when much of it is outsourced and handled remotely?

Too often, we see purchasers relying solely on selling agents or a single pest and building inspector to guide their decision.

This leads to a critical issue: are all pest and building inspections created equal, or can the quality and findings vary significantly?

To put this to the test, we recently engaged three separate firms to carry out building inspections on the same property within the same week.

One inspector was recommended by the selling agent, while the other two were independent contacts we knew.

The results? The discrepancies between reports were startling—and a clear reminder of why buyers need to look beyond a single source of advice.

Three very different building reports

To ensure anonymity, we’ll refer to the inspections as Building Report 1, 2, and 3.

Reports two and three each identified significant moisture issues throughout the property, noting potential rising damp and recommending further investigation. Report 1—the one provided by the selling agent’s preferred inspector—downplayed the issue and stated the moisture was not a concern.

Initially, we relied on Report 1 based on the agent’s advice, however, its lack of detail prompted us to commission two independent reports.

Both confirmed what we suspected: a major problem.

Rising damp is not a minor issue—it can lead to mould growth, foul odours, timber and skirting board rot, and structural wall damage. It’s also notoriously expensive and difficult to fix.

While there were other minor inconsistencies between the reports, the treatm…

Perth, Brisbane propel national property prices to fastest gains in over a year

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-09-01T00:00:14-08:00

The Australian property market is seemingly irrepressible.

In the face of affordability constraints that have seen the Australia’s property market become the sixth most expensive in the world, August delivered the fastest pace of real estate price growth since May 2024.

Cotality’s national Home Value Index (HVI) rose 0.7 per cent over the past month, on the back of muted listings of homes for sale. Advertised supply levels remain about 20 per cent below average for this time of the year.

Sellers are licking their lips as the market heads into the spring selling season, a time of year when prices already get a boost as buyers emerge from their winter cocoons.

It’s again the mid-sized capitals where these buyers have been focusing their attention.

Brisbane (up 1.2 per cent for August/3.0 per cent for the quarter) and Perth (1.1 per cent/3.1er cent) recorded the highest monthly gains. Adelaide (0.9 per cent/2.1 per cent) wasn’t far behind with a 0.9 per cent lift in values. Darwin has also recorded solid gains, with a 1.0 per cent rise in August, taking values 10.8 per cent higher through the first eight months of the year, by far the highest year-to-date gain across the capital cities.

Research Director for Cotality, Tim Lawless, said there was once again a clear mismatch between available supply and demonstrated demand that was placing upwards pressure on housing values.

“We are starting to see the usual start of spring upswing in new listings coming to market, but from a low base,” Mr Lawless said.

“A pick up in the flow of stock coming to market through spring will be good news for buyers who generally have limited choice at the moment.”

Despite the gathering momentum in the market, he remained confident that a return to the pandemic-era boom in prices was unlikely.

Interest rates are falling but the official cash rate of 3.6 per cent is still vastly higher than the emergency rate of 0.1 per cent that kept mortgage rates to sublimely low levels.

The pace…

How everyday property investors can move beyond residential

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Scott O'Neill) — 2025-08-31T08:09:20-08:00

Australia’s residential property market has long been the go-to for so-called mum and dad investors seeking to build wealth and secure financial freedom.

But in 2025, a quiet revolution is underway: more and more everyday investors are ditching the traditional bricks-and-mortar playbook in favour of higher-yielding, more stable commercial property.

And it’s not just the professionals making the switch.

Residential yields are down

It’s no secret that residential yields in capital cities have been squeezed to the point of discomfort.

Soaring property prices, rising interest rates, and stagnant rental growth have seen average gross yields drop to 3 to 4 per cent, with net yields often languishing in the 1.5 to 2.5 per cent range once costs are factored in.

That’s hardly enough to cover the mortgage, let alone deliver real passive income.

By contrast, commercial properties are still offering net yields in the range of 6–8 per cent, with many regional and suburban assets delivering even higher returns.

For cash flow-conscious investors, the maths is simple: commercial properties aren’t just holding the line, they’re delivering strong, sustainable income even as economic uncertainty looms.

Dispelling myth commercial is only for the rich

One of the biggest shifts driving this trend is accessibility.

For years, commercial investing was seen as the domain of institutional players or ultra-wealthy individuals. But the education gap has narrowed, and quickly.

Thanks to the rise of online resources, property podcasts, commercial buyers agents, and investment communities, everyday Australians are learning how to enter the commercial market confidently.

Small warehouses, suburban shopfronts, and strata offices can cost the same or even less than a freestanding house in many capital cities, making the leap from residential to commercial far less daunting than it once seemed.

Better tenants, longer leases, fewer headaches

Ask any seasoned commercial investor and they…

Australian property market sixth most expensive in world - yet still relatively affordable

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-29T11:29:49-08:00

In raw dollar terms, Australia has the sixth most expensive property prices in the world but the news isn’t quite as grim as it might sound.

Based on the cost of a 100-square-metre apartment, Australia’s US$590,376 places it behind only fifth-placed Norway, Austria, Luxembourg, South Korea and the most expensive, Switzerland, where the average price reaches a staggering $1,641,618 (all prices in US dollars for comparative purposes; the AUD bought 65.3 US cents at time of writing).

Data compiled for a BestBrokers report into global real estate finance and property costs found that when it came to factoring in real wealth within the 67 countries analysed, Australians were better off than it first seemed.

Aussies buying property were contending with a market that by world standards was at the high end of the affordability scale.

The median annual wage in Australia is currently US$45,740 (around $3,812 per month), while the average price per square metre is $5,904. This means annual earnings cover 7.75 per cent of the property cost. It is worth noting the average Australian income is markedly higher than the median, skewed by a small proportion of very high incomes.

When it came to overall property affordability with costs and income factored in, annual wages cover 18.2 per cent of property prices in South Africa and 16.9 per cent in the United States, making them the two countries leading the global ranking.

Rounding out the top five were Finland, Bahrain and Denmark, while New Zealand was the eighth most affordable for the average income earner. The remainder of the most affordable countries for home buyers are predominantly large economies or wealthy nations with high GDPs.

It was a far more sobering housing affordability picture in some of the world’s most populous and rapidly developing nations, where property prices have surged far ahead of wage growth.

Australia has the 13th highest salary in the world, according to CEOWORLD Magazine but that is offset by…

Short-term rental taxes fail to deliver on housing promises

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anthony Klan) — 2025-08-29T05:06:07-08:00

The Victorian Government’s 7.5 per cent tax on short-term rentals has failed to deliver any meaningful improvement to the state’s rental supply, echoing similar failures internationally, experts say.

The “Airbnb tax” came into effect on 1 January 2025, yet since then, Melbourne’s rental shortage had become even worse, according to rental vacancy data from SQM Research.

“This policy hasn’t moved the dial,” said Ethan Brown, Asia Pacific general manager of property management software company Hospitable.

“It was introduced as a proposed solution to the state’s housing availability and affordability challenge and designed to push more homes into the long-term market,” Mr Brown told Australian Property Investor Magazine.

“In November 2024, Melbourne, a city of over five million people, had only 10,755 rental properties on the market, SQM Research data shows,” he said.

That represented a vacancy rate of just 2.0 per cent.

The 7.5 per cent levy is placed on owners of short-term rental accommodation, who must pay it to the State Government. Most redirect the amount to consumers. It was legislated as the Short Term Levy Bill 2024.

“Half a year later, there’s been no meaningful improvement. Melbourne’s vacancy rate dipped to 1.5 per cent in March and has barely budged since, sitting at 1.8 per cent in June,” Mr Brown said.

“For renters, it’s the same story: fierce competition, few options, and rising prices, with the city’s average weekly rent hitting $651.62 in July, up 2.8 per cent in the past year.

“Instead of freeing up homes, it has piled extra compliance and administrative work onto short-term rental hosts without benefiting the people it was supposed to help,” he said.

Lessons from New York

Professor Peter O’Connor of the University of South Australia — who has just completed a study into the experience overseas of curtailing short-term rentals — says the Victorian experience is “unsurprising”.

“In New York about two years ago they effectively banned short…

Capital gains tax: how one family slashed their property tax bill

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Matt Heron) — 2025-08-28T12:35:00-08:00

Australia’s property market, a powerhouse generating over $80 billion in taxes annually, demands savvy navigation of capital gains tax (CGT) rules.

For property investors, CGT can significantly erode profits, even with residents benefiting from a 50 per cent discount on assets held over 12 months. Non-residents face steeper rates.

In 2025, with the Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding rate rising to 15 per cent, strategic planning is more critical than ever.

The following case study showcases an Australian family who saved nearly $14,000 on their investment property sale through meticulous record-keeping.

By leveraging often-overlooked holding costs from non-income-producing years, they slashed their taxable capital gain, turning a complex tax obligation into a financial win.

Their journey, rooted in fastidiously utilising and adhering to Australian Taxation Office (ATO) rules, offers a blueprint for investors—whether local, expatriate, or international—seeking to maximise returns. From council rates to insurance premiums, every receipt counts.

Read on to discover how this family’s diligence transformed their tax outcome, providing practical lessons to boost your property investment strategy in Australia’s dynamic market.

The situation

Two parents purchased a property for $600,000 for their daughter to live in while studying.

First 5 years: Daughter lived in the property, no rent received.
Next 10 years: Property rented out as an investment.
After 15 years: Property sold for $1.2 million.

Because the property was never their own home, it did not qualify for the main residence CGT exemption.

The key issue

The parents paid about $15,000 per year in holding costs (loan interest, council rates, insurance, etc.).

In the first 5 years, these costs could not be deducted because no rent was received.
In the next 10 years, the same costs were deductible against rental income.

The ATO rules mean that non-deductible holding costs from the private…

Shock inflation rise puts dent in rate cut hopes

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-27T11:00:15-08:00

Inflation data released Wednesday (27 August) has put a major dent in interest rate cut expectations.

The monthly consumer price index leapt from 1.9 per cent in June to 2.8 per cent in July, belittling market predictions of a 2.3 per cent figure.

The data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will likely be the ammunition needed for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep the official cash rate on hold when it next meets on 30 September.

Its 12 August Monetary Policy Decision noted that the economic situation remained uncertain, “and monetary policy is well placed to respond decisively to international developments if they were to have material implications for activity and inflation in Australia”.

That response is now likely to be keeping rates on hold at 3.60 per cent.

The RBA had cut rates by 25 basis points in August, citing progress in cooling inflation and signs of economic strain due to global trade disputes.

A measure of core inflation, the ‘trimmed mean’, which reduces the impact of irregular or temporary price changes in the CPI, came in at an annual 2.7 per cent, up from 2.1 per cent in June. This is the measure the RBA aims to keep within the range of 2 to 3 per cent.

Michelle Marquardt, ABS Head of Prices Statistics, said the 2.8 per cent CPI figure is the highest annual inflation rate since July 2024, following several months of easing inflation.

The largest contributors to this rise were housing (+3.6 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.0 per cent), and alcohol and tobacco (+6.5 per cent). Rents rose 3.9 per cent in the 12 months to July, following a 4.2 per cent rise in the 12 months to June, the lowest since November 2022.

State governments ending rebates also led to a jump in the monthly inflation figures. The price of energy spiked 13.1 per cent in July despite prices falling by 6.3 per cent the year prior.

November now best hope of rate cut

Money market pricing now implies a less than 40 per cent chance of a fourth …

Investors driving spring property resurgence

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-27T00:00:53-08:00

Driven by a surge in investors returning to the market, recent cash rate cuts, boosted buyer confidence and spending power, property prices look set for a boost over a busy spring selling season.

This property market resurgence comes as Australian capital cities reclaim the price growth lead from the regions for the first time in nine months.

Over the three months to July, the Cotality capital city Home Value Index rose 1.8 per cent, while regional dwelling values increased by 1.7 per cent. Since bottoming out at -0.7 per cent in January, the capital’s quarterly trend has continued to gain momentum.

New data from Money.com.au has shown that investor lending is behind much the renewed heat in real estate markets around the country, while a lack of affordability is deterring others.

Investor lending rose 12 per cent in the year to June 2025, down from 19 per cent, but is still expanding at three times the pace of owner-occupier lending, which grew 4 per cent after easing from 6 per cent the previous year. First home buyer activity, meanwhile, flatlined with no annual growth.

Money.com.au’s Property Expert, Debbie Hays, on Tuesday (26 August) said investors are capitalising on falling rates and rising rental yields.

“The expectation is that growing investor activity will inject much-needed capital into the housing sector, boost rental supply, and support broader economic growth, particularly once the RBA moves back into a hold position with the cash rate, potentially sometime next year,” she said.

There were 324,972 owner occupier loans issued in the year to June 2025, up 4 per cent annually. Queensland recorded the strongest annual loan growth of all major states at 7 per cent, while Western Australia saw no annual growth for the first time since June 2024.

Loans for new dwellings recorded the steepest fall, falling by 1 per cent to a decline of 8 per cent in the year to June 2025. Construction loans also weakened sharply, with growth plunging from 9 per cen…

Boom times looming for Queensland's commercial property market

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Ronak Bhimjiani) — 2025-08-26T16:53:01-08:00

Queensland is currently experiencing an era of significant growth, driven by a diversified economy, substantial infrastructure investments, and strong population growth.

This trajectory is expected to foster sustained expansion across various sectors in the medium to long term, particularly within the state’s commercial real estate landscape.

Strong fundamentals signal sustained growth

Queensland’s economy benefits from strong rankings across key economic variables, positioning the state as one of the strongest performing nationally.

Furthermore, the state’s economic diversification agenda as well as current infrastructure pipeline projects will support growth over the medium to long run.

Export diversification creates economic resilience

Queensland’s export sector contributes significantly to the state’s economic output. It remains Australia’s second-largest merchandise exporter, with exports totalling $105.4 billion in FY 2023-24.

Furthermore, Queensland has an active diversification agenda, with emerging sectors such as international education, technology, and innovation expected to enhance overall economic performance in the long term.

Office market stability

Queensland’s appeal extends beyond traditional economic measures, with Brisbane ranking as Australia’s most stable CBD office market, as evidenced by vacancy rates that demonstrate lower volatility compared to other major markets.

Brisbane CBD white-collar employment has grown 12 per cent over the past decade, led by healthcare (85 per cent), finance and insurance (34 per cent), and education and training (33 per cent).

White-collar labour force diversification creates a resilient foundation for office market performance.

Retail sector supply-demand imbalance

The retail sector presents compelling investment opportunities.

Queensland recorded the strongest shopping centre retail turnover growth among major states, with a total increase of 22.9 per cent from 2019 to 2024, compared to 16.1 per…

The nuances of securing best home finance options on the Sunshine Coast

editor@apimagazine.com.au (API Contributor) — 2025-08-26T16:52:31-08:00

With property prices climbing and lending rules shifting, securing a home loan takes more than chasing the lowest rate. It’s about making informed choices that also protect your finances for the future.

The right mortgage broker helps you navigate policies, avoid mistakes and secure a strategy that fits your goals.

Building a strategic budget, beyond a deposit

Getting loan approval is only part of the picture. A sound budget considers how your repayments may shift under different circumstances, like changes to interest rates, income or property type.

Mortgage brokers compare repayments across scenarios such as deposit size, fixed versus variable rates, or home versus investment property. These comparisons use the client’s own figures to show how choices affect borrowing.

“People often forget to account for things like ongoing maintenance, potential interest rate increases, or even the occasional vacancy,” Adam Beetham, Founder of Timely Finance, said.

“Our role is to help clients understand what those mortgage repayments might look like, based purely on the loan side of things.”

Brokers also explain how borrowers use cash flow buffers. The amount will differ for each person, but the principle is the same: planning for unexpected costs creates a loan strategy that is more resilient.

Even the strongest budget can be undermined if a lender considers your chosen suburb to be high risk.

Why local market knowledge gives you leverage - especially with lenders

When it comes to property finance, location isn’t just about lifestyle on the Sunshine Coast; it directly affects your borrowing power.

What many don’t realise is that lenders assess suburbs differently based on perceived risk, which can influence everything from your maximum loan size to whether your application gets approved at all.

“Some lenders will flag a suburb as high-risk due to factors like oversupply or limited comparable sales, while others see it as business as usual,” Adam Kemp, mortgage broke…

Why has it been two decades since Australia had a balanced rental market?

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Terry Ryder) — 2025-08-24T07:15:06-08:00

The standard used by the residential property industry in Australia is that a balanced residential rental market is a vacancy rate of around 3 per cent.

At that level of vacancy, there is a good level of choice for tenants, and rents will tend to be stable.

If vacancies are above 3 per cent, that would tend to suggest oversupply. If vacancies are well below 3 per cent, then that indicates a shortage, and rents are likely to rise.

But here’s the interesting thing - Australia has not had a national vacancy rate of 3 per cent any time in the past 20 years.

The most recent figures put the national vacancy rate in July at 1.2 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent in June.

In other words, vacancies are getting lower and the upward pressure on rents continues.

Currently, five of the eight capital cities have vacancy rates below 1 per cent, as low as 0.5 per cent in Darwin, 0.6 per cent in Hobart and also well below 1 per cent in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

The question is, why have vacancies been so low for so long in Australia?

Why are our elected representatives, who claim to care about the housing crisis and promise to fix it, unable to deal with this situation? It is a situation whereby the people who need or choose to rent have limited choice in the market in most parts of Australia and have to pay increasingly high rents.

Ineffectual housing policies

Most of the ideas that governments of all levels and persuasions put forward to alleviate the pressure will have no effect.

Rent increase restrictions were popular for a while, as were councils restricting the amount of time owners can rent out their property for short-term and holiday accommodation.

Various councils charge higher rates for properties offered for short-term stays and the Victorian Government introduced a yearly $750 fee for short-term stay properties and none of these initiatives have done anything to change the status quo.

In fact, a survey of owners with properties listed on short-term accomm…

Everything you need to know about a pre-settlement inspection

editor@apimagazine.com.au () — 2025-08-23T11:07:08-08:00

Pre-settlement inspections are a legal right in most Australian states, and a broadly accepted activity in other states and territories.

The pre-settlement inspection, (also known as a final inspection) is the buyer’s opportunity to check the property is in the same condition as the date of sale before the settlement goes through.

Settlement denotes the legal assigning of the property from one ownership entity to another, and once settlement has occurred, a buyer has limited recourse to make any claims from the vendor.

The pre-settlement inspection should focus on four aspects:

the condition of the dwelling (internally and externally), allowing for standard wear and tear
the presence of all chattels (goods) as listed in the contract
the working order of the items that were operating at the time of sale
the house being clear of debris and belongings that are not fixtures.

While this seems straight-forward, planning for the possibilities must happen at the time of sale.

If items are damaged, missing or non-operational, the buyer must be able to prove to the legal representatives that the property has materially changed during the settlement period.

This is not always easy, but with some forward-planning, a buyer can mitigate the risks.

30 minutes to take stock

The first, and obvious task for the buyer is to capture the condition of the property in a record. This could be a series of photographs, a well-documented building and pest inspection report with photographs, or a walk-through video. It’s polite to request permission if photographing or taking videos, but most agents oblige if other buyers aren’t in the vicinity.

The second task involves the inclusion of chattels/goods in the contract particulars.

Standard terms include “all fixed floor coverings, window furnishings, light fittings and items of a permanent nature”, however these things aren’t always black and white.

A conveyancer once described the chattels to be documented as follows: “Imagi…

Show me the money: victims of Lion Property Group collapse speak out

editor@apimagazine.com.au () — 2025-08-22T04:58:13-08:00

The failure of the Lion Property Group has left in its wake hundreds of investors who thought they were dealing with a reputable enterprise with their financial futures now in tatters.

As the winding up of Lion Property Group and its associated companies begins, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is poised to assess a KPMG audit, while police investigations into potential criminal charges have gathered momentum.

KPMG, on Wednesday (20 August) appointed liquidator of the group, reported that $12 million remains unaccounted for, leaving investors grappling with an enduring threat that their capital is all but lost.

As has been reported in a series of API Magazine exclusive articles, the Supreme Court has ordered a forensic audit of the Melbourne-based asset managers’ businesses over fears Lion had been operating a Ponzi scheme.

At the centre of the allegations of criminal deceit are the Lion directors Garry Pesochinsky and John Sader, who created the group in 2018.

At the receiving end of their corporate demise are an estimated 600 investors, many of whom are regular ‘mum and dad’ investors who may struggle to ever overcome the loss of their outlay.

API Magazine spoke to five such victims of the $120 million collapse, each of whom is seeking justice for what they perceive as a largely avoidable financial catastrophe.

Steve Danzig of Brisbane said the behaviour of the two protagonists in the wake of the case going to court had been reprehensible.

“John Sader’s recent attempts disputing Supreme Court Justice Matthews’ ruling raise profound concerns about his judgment and the broader implications for stakeholders involved in the ongoing legal saga surrounding Lion Property Group.

“As a plaintiff, it is perplexing to witness Sader and his associate, Garry Pesochinsky, persisting in their defiance rather than accepting wrongdoing or offering a settlement after seven months of contentious litigation.”

Eagle Financial Solutions, which is …

Falling rates, rising confidence: what it means for property buyers

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Andrew Bell) — 2025-08-21T10:47:52-08:00

With spring on our doorstep, the days getting longer, and a touch more warmth in the air, all indications are that we’re heading into a very strong spring property season and a strong finish to 2025.

The latest GDP figures show that the Australian economy barely grew in the March quarter - up just 0.3 per cent for the year.

Growth was mainly driven by household spending on essentials like electricity and gas, which is not an encouraging way to see GDP boosted.

It was, however, pleasing to also see private sector investment rising, led by housing, construction, mining, and manufacturing. Overall, though, it wasn’t the best set of figures.

In terms of interest rates, it is quite usual that reductions are only made by the Reserve Bank as a necessary measure to stimulate economic activity.

With the latest GDP figures and further evidence that inflation is now relatively under control, there was no reason for the Reserve Bank to hold back on an interest rate cut.

While in the past year we’ve had some disappointing decisions from the central bank, it was pleasing this time to see the much-anticipated reduction come through.

The timing - at the beginning of the spring selling season - will undoubtedly stimulate greater buyer activity.

Australian housing affordability has recently improved for the first time in 12 months.

Average loan repayments now amount to 48 per cent of median family income, an improvement of 2 percentage points. That compares with a 1 per cent decline over the full year, which highlights just how much worse affordability was last year.

The latest quarterly improvement is the largest since March 2016. Housing affordability improved in all states and territories except the Northern Territory.

We can attribute this to two main factors: rising median family incomes, now $2,561 per week (1.1 per cent higher than last quarter and 4.0 per cent higher than last year); and interest rate cuts, which reduced the average monthly loan repayment by 2.9 pe…

Investors face $145 million in losses as ISG Fund Management folds amid fraud allegations

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anthony Klan) — 2025-08-20T11:26:00-08:00

Liquidators for a failed $145 million Brisbane funds management company — which had been trading while insolvent for over a year — have discovered the “destruction of books and records” and cases of “falsifying documentation”.

Olvera Advisors have been appointed liquidators to ISG Fund Management and its two schemes, the ISG Real Estate Equity Fund and the ISG Private Access Fund, as well as at least 24 other connected companies.

The entities — which collectively owe around 1,600 investors about $145 million —have been placed in liquidation in various stages over the past year, according to corporate filings.

In a notice to creditors, liquidators Olvera said they had alerted corporate regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) after discovering the alleged fraud.

“In…our Receivers’ Report, we outlined the limitations of books and records received,” the liquidator wrote.

“Since the Receivers’ Report we identified instances of destruction of books and records and falsifying documentation.

“We have notified ASIC of these incidents,” it states.

The group had raised “approximately $145 million” from investors since 2019.

No one has yet explained where the money went.

- Geoff Goldab, ISG investor

According to its since-deleted website, ISG Fund Management was founded in 2014 by its director Ben Godfrey and invested in “medium to large property projects and small-to-medium sized businesses”.

“As trusted custodians of our customers’ money we seek out lucrative business opportunities in which to invest, from medium to large property projects with strong fundamentals in quality locations, to small-to-medium sized businesses with strong prospects and a history of solid performance,” it states.

“Opening up high performing private sector investment opportunities to all investors was the vision of Ben Godfrey and Maree Hawcroft when they founded the organisation 2014.

“Our team has since grown to include a team of specialist financial profe…

Treating property management as a core part of investment strategy, not an afterthought

editor@apimagazine.com.au (George Kafantaris) — 2025-08-19T16:22:11-08:00

In property investment, the conversation usually starts (and ends) with the numbers.

What’s the purchase price? How much rent will it return? What’s the growth potential? All important questions, but they leave out one of the most critical drivers of investment performance: property management.

The truth is that property management is not a “set-and-forget” service. It’s a strategic lever that can make the difference between a strong, stable return and a slow destruction of value.

Yet, too many investors treat it like a box to tick after settlement, rather than a core part of their investment strategy.

Why property management should be front and centre

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that market conditions can shift quickly and unpredictably.

Interest rate changes, rental demand fluctuations, shifting tenant expectations. They all impact returns. How those challenges are handled depend entirely on the quality of your management.

Strong property management isn’t only collecting rent and arranging maintenance.

It’s also anticipating market changes, communicating effectively, and taking proactive steps to protect and grow the asset. It’s the difference between a property that keeps pace with the market and one that quietly underperforms.

The property parallel to corporate investing

In the share market, experienced investors often talk about “backing the jockey, not just the horse.”

They know that even the most promising business can stall under the wrong leadership and property is no different.

Your property manager is effectively the CEO of your investment. They control the day-to-day operations, make decisions that impact revenue and costs, and influence the overall tenant experience.

Poor property management can lead to unnecessary vacancies, compliance risks, and missed opportunities.

Great management can add long-term value well beyond the market average.

Making management part of the strategy

If you want to shift property…

Property prices, rents soar throughout regional Western Australia

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-19T13:01:55-08:00

Regional Western Australia, particularly the southern half of the state, is generating the sort of capital growth that belittles the rest of the country.

While the country’s combined regional markets have experienced annual price gains of 5.9 per cent and the national property market has climbed 3.7 per cent, Western Australian regional centres are delivering double-digit growth.

Among the hottest markets in Australia is Geraldton, which has seen house sales prices soar 26.8 per cent in 12 months, with Bunbury in the state’s south west not far behind at 21.3 per cent.

On Tuesday (19 August), REIWA’s Regional Spokesperson, Joe White, noted population growth and the constraints in the building industry had created a range of issues across all regional centres in the past few years.

“While growth may be slowing in some areas now, we’ve seen significant sale price growth in the past five years,” he said.

“This has made it much harder for first home buyers to enter the market, particularly in the very popular South West areas like Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River, where median prices are higher than the Perth median house sale price.

“In the regional rental markets, rising prices and low supply have created a situation I haven’t seen before in my 30 years in the industry.

“It’s challenging for anyone looking for a rental, but I’m deeply concerned for the more vulnerable in our society, for whom the private rental market has become unaffordable and social housing is unavailable.”

His concern for renters is borne out by some savage rent increases at either end of the state.

The mining hub of Karratha has seen rents explode over the past 12 months, rising 30 per cent to a median weekly rent of an eye-watering $1,300.

Emphasising the local factors at play, just 240 kilometres up the road, rents in the mining town of Port Hedland, while still high at $950pw, have not moved in the past year.

Albany in the south of the state also had rents that rose by almo…

This kiwi has learnt to fly high in Australian property market

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-18T16:42:51-08:00

The kiwi is synonymous with being flightless and burrowing down into a settled home and life.

Scott Townsend is a Kiwi but he clearly shares few traits with his native New Zealand’s iconic national symbol.

The builder by trade flew the coup at age 24 to Perth, and rather than digging in with one family home he has, along with his wife, amassed a property portfolio of 11 houses that have been subdivided, renovated, rebuilt and/or resold.

The portfolio is largely centred on Perth’s northern corridor and eastern suburbs but with a couple of additional properties in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

A focus on affordable and mid-priced houses with subdivision or renovation upside has been the hallmark of Mr Townsend’s real estate strategy.

His early career as a builder in New Zealand has played a part in that approach but he said there was still much to learn along the way to compiling this impressive portfolio.

“I left school at 16 and went straight into residential building where I completed my building apprenticeship and worked as a qualified builder for several years before moving to Perth, 14 years ago.

“I continued as a builder in Perth but lost the passion for it, with trades here being specialised into one aspect of the home, whereas in New Zealand we were building high-end homes and seeing the result from start to finish, which I enjoyed.

“After investing in our first few properties, I left the building game and started getting into property development.”

Location	Purchased	Price paid	Current value	Rental income
Heathridge, WA	2012	$514,000	$1,000,000	$750pw
Kingston, QLD	2014	$240,000 + flat $150,000	Sold for $460,000 in 2019.
Mountain Creek, QLD	2014	$335,000	$700,000	$630pw
Swan View, WA	2017	$305,000
	Demolition, subdivided and sold two blocks of land for $250,000 each.
Mount Lawley, WA	2019	$760,000
	Demolition built two townhouses, build price approx' $1m. Sold one during …

Don't expect a deluge of new homes to bring property prices down

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Miriam Sandkuhler) — 2025-08-18T12:15:18-08:00

Over the last three years, there has been an avalanche of talk about how to get Australia’s construction industry into shape so it can pump out more product and solve the housing affordability issue.

If you’ve been one of those investors concerned that the market could get swamped with new housing resulting in price falls, don’t be.

Not only is the promised surge in residential construction unlikely to materialise, even if it did, it wouldn’t have a big effect on house prices.

The ‘supply lie’

Within the industry, many of us have developed a cynical view on the housing debate, which has recently boiled down to simplistic and misleading terms.

The first of these is the idea that supply is all about building new homes as every migrant who comes to Australia needs a “roof over their head”.

Most migrants don’t need a new roof at all, with the majority of students staying on campus or at purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) and family reunification applicants moving in with relatives already here.

Secondly, you have to wonder if building more homes is the simple solution to the problem in the first place.

If residential construction was an Olympic sport, Australia would be up for a medal at every games.

This year, we would win silver with the gold going to Switzerland - another country with sky high home prices, high household debt and sections of the media blaming the affordability problem on migrants.

While migration does add to overall demand and construction does add to overall supply, that’s not the whole picture by a long shot.

For starters, we didn’t have anything like the problems with housing affordability in the 1950s to1970s. That’s despite this period also seeing high migration and home building at roughly the same rate as today.

Australia consistently builds more housing than the countries with whom we usually compare ourselves.

As this chart shows, our most recent construction boom came at a time of falling interest rates and a massive fe…

Could one stroke of the pen unlock $10 billion in housing investment?

editor@apimagazine.com.au () — 2025-08-17T11:50:01-08:00

In the midst of a housing crisis, a bureaucratic change to the way stamp duty is reported by superannuation funds could ultimately deliver 35,000 additional homes to Australians.

Regulatory watchdog ASIC is reviewing a stamp duty disclosure requirement that has raised concerns about how it is deterring the $4 trillion superannuation system from investing in the building of new housing.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the agency was responding to consultation at the recent investor roundtable convened by the Federal Government Treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

The innocuous-sounding regulation at the centre of what could be a seismic shift in Australia’s property market landscape is Regulatory Guide 97 Disclosing fees and costs in PDSs and periodic statements, otherwise known as RG 97.

Changing RG 97 won’t cost the Budget a cent, but it can help deliver 35,000 additional new homes.

- Mike Zorbas, Property Council of Australia

Mr Longo said concerns have been raised that the disclosure impacts performance test results and discourages investment in property by superannuation funds.

“This is exactly the sort of actionable idea to address regulatory issues ASIC is open to testing,” Mr Longo said.

“If the review finds appropriate changes will deliver benefits without undermining disclosures, then ASIC will act.

“We want to ensure red tape isn’t unnecessarily holding back investments.

“A significant portion of Australia's $4 trillion superannuation system already invests in property assets, but we have heard there is appetite for more and this review will allow us to look at the way our regulations govern the calculation of fee-adjusted returns and encourage transparency and investment in our economy.”

Mr Longo said the review would also consider whether class order relief should be given to bring consistency to how internally and externally managed private credit arrangements are disclosed.

“A change like that could encourage internal management, meaning lower costs for supe…

National office vacancy rate hits 30-year high

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-16T05:12:13-08:00

Office vacancy rates in Australia have hit a 30-year high as cities and non-CBD markets alike struggle to attract corporate tenants, lure people back to the white collar workplace and overcome a tide of new supply hitting the market.

The Australian CBD office vacancy rate crept up slightly from 13.7 to 14.3 per cent over the first six months of the year, to be at the highest level since the mid-1990s.

A continuing stream of new high-quality office supply is hitting the market, according to the Property Council of Australia, with more than 200,000sqm of supply added in the last six months, outstripping the positive levels of demand for office space.

Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said the slew of new office supply over the last few years is part of a refresh of office spaces in Australian cities as tenants demand higher quality spaces.

“The continuous supply of new high-quality office space in our CBDs is a response to businesses searching out great places for their employees to work in.

“Tenants are capitalising on opportunities to occupy premium buildings in prime CBD locations, with premium space continuing to see higher demand levels than lower-grade buildings.

“We have seen a year and a half of positive demand for office space, with more businesses taking up office space than leaving behind.

“Much of this demand is centred on Premium and A Grade buildings, with B, C and D grade office buildings experiencing negative demand over the last six months.”

Office buildings in Australia are graded in terms of quality, with Premium and A Grade considered ‘prime’, with B, C and D grades considered ‘secondary’ and of progressively lesser quality.

Vanessa Rader, Head of Research, Ray White Group, said office demand outside the CBD was taking the biggest hit.

“Australia’s non-CBD office markets are experiencing some of their most challenging periods on record, with several high-profile precincts recording vacancy rates that would have been unthinkable…

Housing crisis solution could rest upon property investors

editor@apimagazine.com.au (James Fitzgerald) — 2025-08-15T13:43:18-08:00

There’s a lot of noise at the moment about potential tax changes, particularly around negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT).

It’s unsurprising given that these topics seem to resurface at least once or twice a year.

Abolishing negative gearing or increasing CGT could cause one of the biggest house price booms in history. Having said that, there is little to no prospect of it happening.

It was just five years ago that Labor lost the unlosable federal election by going to the polls with a radical negative gearing policy change. The Greens suffered a similar rejection in the most recent election.

Why? Because the majority of Australians instinctively understand that it would be akin to throwing gasoline on the fire that is our housing crisis.

We aren’t even close to building the houses we need to be. Currently, we are building 160,000 homes per annum when we need to build 240,000 homes each year.

That’s the reason we have a housing and affordability crisis in the first place.

As much as 50 per cent of new houses are built by investors.

It’s also worth noting that three out of 10 houses in Australia are rentals, and almost all of them are owned by mum-and-dad property investors. In other words, nearly one in three Australians have a roof over their head thanks to mum-and-dad property investors.

While there is a view that abolishing negative gearing would see investors exiting or not entering the market and therefore lower demand and prices, that view ignores the basic fundamental of demand and supply.

If negative gearing were removed, we’d go from building 160,000 houses per annum to 110,000 houses per annum. With one of the fastest growing populations in the developed world, rents and property values would explode.

When issues around housing supply and affordability are discussed these days, the blame is often pinned on property investors, but the biggest misconception is that every property investor in Australia is wealthy and/or a high-income earner…

Perth's land supply crisis sparks urgent need to support infill development

editor@apimagazine.com.au () — 2025-08-14T13:14:24-08:00

As Perth’s population continues to grow and land supply tightens, concerns about housing supply and urban sprawl have remained at the forefront of the planning debate.

Nearly half of Perth’s suburbs could run out of land zoned for residential housing in as little as four years, according to data from Research4.

Perth’s north-east and south-west corridors are particularly vulnerable, while Perth’s south-east will be most resilient to expansion with up to 13 years of supply left in the pipeline.

With the rezoning process taking up to seven years, the need to rethink Perth’s housing plan for longevity has become more urgent than ever.

To experts, the key lies in creating smart and efficient urban infill processes. But with governmental red tape and community attitudes preventing many infill developments from going ahead, it’s not an easy solution.

According to the State Government, a reported 117,650 hectares of land in Perth’s metropolitan, Peel and Greater Bunbury regions were zoned for residential use at the end of 2023.

However, 77 per cent of this land has already been urbanised, leaving just a fraction of undeveloped land for Perth’s future.

Based on the average 20-year rate of development, land supply will run completely dry in the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions within the next 26 years.

If the government’s current infill and density targets are met, however, land supply has the potential to be stretched to another six decades, underscoring the importance of infill strategies in building Perth’s future.

The true cost of urban sprawl

It’s no secret that Perth takes the wooden spoon for having the worst urban sprawl problem in Australia.

With a city that stretches over 150km along our coastline, urban sprawl costs Western Australia an average of $2.5 billion a year.

A study lead by the Property Council of Australia estimates that the State Government could save up to $94.5 million for every 1,000 lots redeveloped in existing underutilised or decli…

The currency tax trap to avoid when selling overseas property as an Australian

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Matt Heron) — 2025-08-13T11:32:21-08:00

Effective tax planning is essential for any Australian tax resident with offshore assets, especially when selling property overseas.

Understanding how Australian tax rules apply, including the impact of currency exchange rates, residency status and local versus Australian reporting, can mean the difference between a well-managed outcome and an unexpected tax bill.

For returning expats or anyone holding international property, careful timing and planning are key.

It is not uncommon for Australian expats to assume that a property sold at a loss in a foreign currency will have no Australian tax consequence. After all, if the sale resulted in a financial loss, how could it possibly trigger a tax bill?

Unfortunately, under Australian tax law the reality can be very different and exchange rate movements often turn a loss into a taxable gain.

Example: UK property sold at a loss in GBP but a gain in AUD

Background

Purchased in 2018 for £680,000 while living in the UK.
Returned to Australia in July 2022 and became Australian tax residents.
Property valued at arrival: £700,000.
GBP–AUD rate at arrival: £1 = A$1.7857 (1 AUD = 0.56 GBP).
Cost base in AUD for tax purposes: A$1,250,000.

Sale

Sold in July 2025 for £650,000 in a depressed UK market.
Selling costs: £10,000.
GBP–AUD rate at sale: £1 = A$2.0833 (1 AUD = 0.48 GBP).

Currency Impact

	GBP Amount	GBP–AUD Rate	AUD Amount*
Cost base (arrival)	£700,000	1.7857%	A$1,250,000
Sale price	£650,000	2.0833%	A$1,354,166
Selling costs	£10,000	2.0833%	A$20,833
Net proceeds	-	-	A$1,333,333

Source: Australasian Taxation Services. Note: *approx amounts.

Capital gain calculation

Net proceeds: A$1,333,333 – cost base: A$1,250,000 = A$83,333 gain

Although in the UK the owners suffered a £30,000 capital loss, in Australia they made a taxable gain because the AUD had weakened significantly during their ownership as tax residents of Australia, inflating the value in Aus…

Major bank tips stunning turnaround in capital city property prices

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-12T18:17:52-08:00

One of the big four banks has released some stunning property price forecasts for the nation’s capital cities that flip the current situation on its head.

Melbourne’s sluggish property market is predicted to exceed all other cities in 2025 and 2026, while Darwin’s expected 14.3 per cent growth this year will slide to 2.4 per cent by the end of 2026.

Adelaide’s run among the top three alongside Perth and Brisbane over the past few years is also tipped to end, with only Canberra and Hobart having lower capital growth rates over the next couple of years.

They are among the forecasts released by ANZ in its Australian Housing Outlook report that will mark a massive transformation of the real estate market nationally.

The sustained reign of the three mid-sized capitals would give way to a return of the country’s two largest property markets, Sydney and Melbourne, as the powerhouses of the national market.

ANZ Research has upgraded its housing price forecasts and now expects capital city prices to rise 5.0 per cent in 2025, 5.8 per cent in 2026 and slowing to 4. 8 per cent the following year.

The report attributes its relatively modest annual price growth, although it would remain well above inflation, to the already high cost of property.

“We think affordability constraints will prevent a sharp upswing in price growth.

“Cheaper properties are recording stronger price growth, with those in the bottom price quartile up 5.7 per cent year-on-year in July versus 1.2 per cent for those in the top quartile.

“We expect Melbourne to experience an affordability-driven boost in 2026, while Adelaide may struggle given the 76 per cent rise in prices over the past five years.”

That affordability argument did not explain why Sydney prices were forecast to grow faster than all cities except Melbourne.

It was the decline in interest rates that was expected to propel those two markets. Both historically outperform other markets when interest rates are heading south.

“In previou…

Watchful RBA cuts interest rates but keeps eyes on global economic issues

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-12T13:20:18-08:00

Borrowers are breathing a sigh of relief that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) overcame its fears around economic uncertainties to lower interest rates by 0.25 per cent.

The decline in the rate of annual inflation proved too much to ignore at the RBA’s Tuesday meeting (12 August).

In cutting the rate from 3.85 to 3.60 per cent, the minutes of the RBA’s Monetary Policy Board Meeting noted that with underlying inflation continuing to decline back towards the midpoint of the 2–3 per cent range and labour market conditions easing slightly, a further easing of monetary policy was appropriate.

“This takes the decline in the cash rate since the beginning of the year to 75 basis points (but) the Board nevertheless remains cautious about the outlook, particularly given the heightened level of uncertainty about both aggregate demand and potential supply,” the minutes noted.

It added that monetary policy is well placed to respond decisively to international developments if they were to have material implications for activity and inflation in Australia.

Most economic observers are predicting at least one more interest rate cut before the year ends.

BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, was tipping the cash rate would land at 3.35 per cent as 2025 drew to a close but said inflationary risks had not necessarily been fully dispelled.

“We expect policymakers to prioritise keeping inflation below the upper bound of the target range while also managing risks to household finances and supporting economic growth.

“At the same time, renewed trade tariffs and a possible re-escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could generate fresh inflationary pressures.

“Such developments may prompt the RBA to pause its easing cycle or, in a more adverse scenario, consider reversing its policy stance,” the BMI commentary noted.

While the RBA has delivered some relief earlier this year, Compare the Market Economic Director, David Koch, said it was time to give people with a mortga…

Refinancing in Australia: a surge in 2025 and why timing still matters

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-11T12:30:30-08:00

As Australia heads deeper into 2025, refinancing is resurfacing as a powerful tool for home owners.

Over the past year more than 500,000 loans were refinanced, fuelled by a notable 33 per cent increase in internal refinancing where borrowers either negotiated better terms with their current lender or drew equity for other purposes.

In the March quarter alone, around 65,000 loans were switched between lenders — a 5.1 per cent rise on the previous quarter — marking the third straight quarterly increase.

Lenders are reacting with attractive offers: fixed home loan rates with some lenders have dipped below 5 per cent, while several institutions have trimmed both fixed and variable rates in anticipation of further Reserve Bank reductions.

Experts estimate that as many as 1.2 million Australians could substantially benefit from refinancing — potentially unlocking up to $1.2 billion in collective savings through lower rates and equity leverage.

Nevertheless, refinancing isn’t always the right decision.

Speaking to Australian Property Investor Magazine, Carolyn Xaftellis, Senior Mortgage Specialist at Specialist Mortgage, outlined five key scenarios in which borrowers may be better off remaining with their current mortgage.

1. Too soon in the loan’s life

In the early years, most mortgage repayments go towards interest, meaning the principal barely budges.

Refinancing too early effectively resets the clock, potentially extending the repayment horizon and negating interest savings. It can take many years before the rate advantage outweighs the lost principal repayment momentum.

To avoid extending your repayment timeline, you have two choices: maintain the same loan term; increase your repayments so the new loan is paid off on the same date as your current loan.

2. Steep break costs for fixed rate loans

Breaking a fixed rate loan early can be costly.

Lenders calculate break costs based on the interest margin they miss out on. For example, terminating a fixed loan …

The special ingredient that could be the golden ticket for Canberra property investors

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Maria Edwards) — 2025-08-10T04:18:22-08:00

Construction has officially commenced on the long‑awaited extension of Canberra’s light rail network from the city to Woden in the south.

This project marks the next chapter in the ACT Government’s public transport vision, following the completion of the northern line to Gungahlin in 2019 — a transformation that not only changed how Canberrans travel, but also delivered a notable uplift in property values along its route.

For investors, the new southern extension presents a unique opportunity to buy into suburbs that are likely to benefit from increased connectivity, enhanced infrastructure, and revitalised precincts.

If history is anything to go by, the period between project commencement and completion could be a fertile ground for capital growth.

The Northern Line effect

When the northern stage of Canberra’s light rail opened in 2019, property markets along the Gungahlin–City corridor responded with enthusiasm.

Median house prices in suburbs such as Franklin, Harrison and Gungahlin outperformed the broader Canberra market in the years immediately following, buoyed by buyer demand for improved transport links and lifestyle convenience.

Units and townhouses in these suburbs also saw increased interest from investors, with vacancy rates tightening as the improved transport connections attracted tenants who valued direct, reliable access to the city.

This ‘light rail premium’ was evident in both sales prices and rental yields.

Why the Southern Extension matters

The new extension, connecting the City to Woden, will link key employment, retail and residential hubs in the inner south and beyond.

This route will pass through some of Canberra’s most established and tightly‑held suburbs, where existing amenity and lifestyle appeal will now be bolstered by enhanced public transport.

ACT suburbs to watch

While final stop locations and surrounding development plans will shape the specifics, investors should keep a close eye on suburbs such as:

Deakin – a well‑…

Police to investigate secret report into Lion Property Group's 'blatant scam'

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anthony Klan) — 2025-08-08T14:10:18-08:00

Victorian Police will be handed a secret report into the $120 million collapse of luxury developer Lion Property Group, after it was wound up in court.

The move comes as lawyers for burned investors have labelled it a “blatant financial scam”, and lashed out at corporate regulator, the Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC), over its failure to act.

Michael Landy, Principal, Eagle Financial Solutions, is representing the group of investors who launched the wind-up action and was scathing in his assessment of the situation.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that ASIC failed to act sooner, despite having multiple opportunities to investigate and intervene,” he told API Magazine.

“Their inaction left everyday Australians defenceless against what we believe to be a blatant financial scam.”

The Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday (6 August) wound up Lion Property Group Pty Ltd and 25 related companies, having placed the group in provisional liquidation on 2 July.

Certain details about the activities of the group uncovered by provisional liquidators will be handed to the Victorian Police, following orders by Justice Matthews.

“We…believe there are further serious matters that require investigation, including potentially alarming personal conduct that may have contributed to these losses,” Mr Landy said after the hearing.

Lion directors John Sader and Garry Pesochinsky were on Wednesday (6 August) ordered to provide the location of all servers and hard drives used in connection with the company, and all email accounts, including passwords.

The pair have been given until Wednesday (13 August) to comply with the order.

Mr Sader and Mr Pesochinsky have denied any wrongdoing.

Investment refund prospects look bleak

Lion had luxury property development projects in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and spruiked “targeted returns” as high as 65 per cent on one of its projects.

The troubles facing the group were exclusively revealed by this publication…

Interest rates hold huge implications for rental, property markets

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Tim McKibbin) — 2025-08-08T10:20:00-08:00

Much has been written about the Reserve Bank’s decision last month to leave rates unchanged.

Most commentators think it was the wrong call. A mild spike in the unemployment rate following the rate decision has been interpreted by those commentators as proving their point.

Now we have the latest CPI data showing headline inflation at 0.7 per cent in the June quarter, and the annual rate down to 2.1 per cent, having eased to well within the RBA’s target band.

Attention thus turns to the RBA’s Board meeting on Tuesday (12 August) and whether a cut will be delivered. The signs point to yes, but they did last time too.

It will be good news for mortgage holders but not so much for those in the market to buy. Lower rates typically mean further upward pressure on prices, and prices are already at all-time highs. Those saving for a deposit will also see their bank account interest rates cut.

We also need to consider the shortage of property currently available. Let’s hope spring sees more vendors in the market.

Cotality’s Home Value Index shows Australian median dwelling prices have increased 2.3 per cent since the cash rate cut in February this year. In Sydney, values are up more than 2 per cent for the same period.

Another rate cut can be expected to have a similar impact on prices.

Rents can’t keep rising

At the same time, rents are growing too, but they are growing at a slowing rate. It’s on this point that the nature of the commentary on the rental market often ignores the human perspective.

Everyone acknowledges extremely tight rental supply as one of the defining factors of today’s housing market. For this reason, it seems, reports of easing rental growth appear to come as a surprise to many observers of the data.

Moderating rental price growth shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise though. Tenants, on the whole, are already stretched to their limits.

Consider average household sizes, which are on the rise, a point some have interpreted as a tempering in dema…

The Melbourne hotspots set to take off and suburbs best avoided

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-07T09:00:01-08:00

Melbourne’s bitter winter weather can deter the hardiest of souls from venturing outdoors, except perhaps to get to the MCG for a Wallabies or AFL game.

But the city’s prospective property buyers have been out in force and defying the usual seasonal lull in auction activity.

In a week that saw auction clearance rates around the country hit a 12-month high, it was Melbourne that was the busiest of all the capital city markets.

With 1,500 homes taken to auction in the past fortnight, the Victorian capital saw a 25 per cent jump in activity compared with the weeks prior. The preliminary clearance rate also held firm at 76 per cent 67 per cent over the past two weeks.

Before last weekend’s mild retreat, this had been the fifth time in six weeks the preliminary clearance rate for Melbourne held above 75 per cent and the 13th straight week of 70 per cent-plus early clearance rates.

Although Melbourne’s median house price rose just 1.6 per cent to almost $1,064,000 in the 12 months to June, according to the latest Domain House Price Report, seven suburbs achieved capital growth rates above 10 per cent.

Most of those were in suburbs poised to benefit from transport and infrastructure investment.

Aberfeldie led the way with 21.6 per cent increases for houses in 12 months, followed by Fairfield (18.8 per cent), Heidelberg (14.3), Box Hill (13.8), Carlton North (11.9), Brunswick West (11.4) and Canterbury (11.2).

It was similar result for unit prices, where eight suburbs clocked up annual gains exceeding 10 per cent.

Unit prices rose the most in Moorabbin, climbing 25.9 per cent to a median of $750,000. Next was Caulfield South, up 25.3 per cent to $799,000, and Fairfield, up 20.1 per cent to $587,000. Mentone (15.9 per cent), Clayton South (12.0), Albion (11.7), Preston (10.4) and Glen Waverley (10.0) rounded out the list.

Seth Winkles, Managing Partner, Investdoor, told API Magazine that while interest rates were propelling property prices higher nationally, there…

How strategic renovations can maximise property value, boost rental returns

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Bradley Beer) — 2025-08-06T11:22:30-08:00

Even though the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold the cash rate at 3.85 per cent in July 2025, demand for housing remains strong.

With affordability still a major challenge and limited supply across the country, more Australians, home owners and investors alike are turning to renovations as a practical way to get ahead.

Whether it’s upgrading a fixer-upper or modernising an older family home, smart improvements are helping people make the most of what their bank balance will allow.

Why renovation is back on the radar

Rather than wait out high prices or struggle to find new stock, many buyers and investors are choosing to add value through renovations.

It’s a flexible and cost-effective way to create more liveable, functional spaces and potentially unlock substantial capital growth.

KPMG’s 2025 Residential Property Market Outlook expects unit prices (including apartments and townhouses) to rise by 4.6 per cent in 2025 and 5.5 per cent in 2026.

This is helping to drive interest in properties with renovation potential, especially smaller dwellings, which remain a more affordable entry point into the market.

In the same analysis, KPMG’s data shows that national stand-alone home values are tipped to grow between 3 per cent and 4.6 per cent this year, driven by a few key factors:

Interest rates: While the RBA paused rate cuts in July, earlier reductions this year have already supported buyer activity. Many economists expect further cuts in the 2025–26 financial year. According to The Australian, the central bank’s decision to hold in July was seen as a temporary pause, not a change in direction, with rate relief still likely in the months ahead.
Low housing supply: With listings still well below average, competition for quality properties is pushing more people toward renovation as a way to secure or upgrade their home.
Positive market sentiment: Cotality reports that 65 per cent of real estate agents expect property prices to rise this year, w…

Brisbane's buoyant property market set for further gains in 2025

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Melinda Jennison) — 2025-08-05T12:42:00-08:00

July marked another chapter in Brisbane’s ongoing property market performance, with continued resilience in both house and unit values.

Despite the seasonal slowdown typical of the school holiday period, the city once again outperformed several of its capital city peers, highlighting its stability and long-term investment appeal.

According to Cotality, Brisbane’s dwelling values increased by 0.7 per cent in July, maintaining the same growth rate as June. This contributed to a quarterly rise of 2.3 per cent, up from 2.0 per cent the previous month, and an annual gain of 7.3 per cent.

This consistent growth places Brisbane among the top performers nationally, second only to Perth and Darwin on a monthly basis. Over a year, Brisbane’s market remains one of the strongest, outpacing Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

National data reveals a divergence between house and unit performance, with houses generally outperforming units across most capital cities.

Brisbane, however, continues to defy this trend, with unit values growing more strongly than houses.

The unit market saw a 1.1 per cent increase in July (up from 1.0 per cent in June), 3.2 per cent over the quarter, and a substantial 10.6 per cent annual growth.

This reflects heightened demand for more affordable and lower-maintenance properties, particularly in inner-city and well-serviced suburbs.

July also saw a continuation of the trend where lower-value dwellings, particularly those in the lower 25th percentile, recorded the strongest price growth.

Affordability remains a key driver in buyer behaviour, with first-home buyers and investors targeting entry-level stock. Properties in these segments are transacting faster than premium homes, despite the overall increase in days on market from 16 days a year ago to 25 days now.

Auction clearance rates in Brisbane are trending upward, signalling strong demand and an increasingly competitive market. These rising clearance rates are a leading indicator of further pr…

Granny flats: more than just a backyard project

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Belinda Botzolis) — 2025-08-04T08:53:14-08:00

Granny flats are having a moment.

Whether it’s the housing shortage, rising build costs or tighter borrowing conditions, more and more homeowners are exploring the idea of adding a second dwelling to their property.

But before jumping in, it’s important to see a granny flat for what it really is. This is not just a simple backyard addition. It is a strategic decision that needs to be carefully weighed up and thought through.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that building a granny flat will automatically boost your property’s value. This is not always the case.

In fact it can sometimes work against you.

Not everyone wants a granny flat sitting behind their home. For some buyers, think families with small kids, dogs or enthusiastic gardeners, it limits the use of outdoor space, creates privacy concerns or simply does not align with their lifestyle.

This can shrink your potential buyer pool and even reduce overall market appeal.

It is also worth remembering where most of your property’s value comes from.

The main house will always carry the majority of the value. Its layout, condition, design and street presence are what drive capital growth. A granny flat should be seen as a supporting structure to the main dwelling.

An additional property asset

That said, there are some strong benefits.

If you approach it with the right strategy, a granny flat can work hard for you. It can generate additional rental income, often between $400 and $650 per week depending on the location and quality of the build.

It can also provide space for a family member who needs to live nearby but independently. Or it can act as a stepping stone for adult children trying to save for their own home. I personally know quite a few friends and family that this has worked well for.

In today’s borrowing environment, adding a second dwelling to an existing block can also be a clever move.

Instead of trying to stretch your budget to buy a dual occupancy or duplex site, a granny flat all…

How could Sydney's $1.5m median house price possibly offer investor value? Apparently it can

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anthony Klan) — 2025-08-02T16:19:48-08:00

The median Sydney house price is now $1.5 million — $500,000 more than Brisbane, in second place — but the Harbour City still presents buying opportunities for investors able to navigate a two speed market.

A shortage of quality properties, a booming rental landscape and strong long-term fundamentals are underpinning the health of the city’s property market, according to experts.

“From an investor’s perspective, Sydney’s rental market is booming,” according to Deborah West, Buyers Agent Principal, SydneySlice.

“Vacancy rates remain below 1 per cent across much of the city, and rents have surged — driving yields higher, particularly in well-located apartment markets in the inner city and beachside suburbs.

“In Coogee, for example, weekly rents for two-bedroom apartments have jumped more than 20 per cent in the past year,” Ms West said.

Yet it was a “two-speed” market where buyers were “more discerning than ever”.

“On the ground, we’re seeing a highly segmented market,” Ms West told Australian Property Investor Magazine.

“A-grade, well-located properties, particularly family homes in lifestyle suburbs, continue to attract strong buyer competition, with many transacting swiftly off-market or achieving robust auction results.

“Properties with flaws — whether location, layout or condition — are struggling to meet price expectations or move quickly.”

High-density apartment precincts “with known or potential oversupply”, were among the areas to avoid, Ms West said.

“Areas such as parts of Parramatta, Homebush and Zetland have experienced heavy development, often with high investor ratios, elevated strata costs and lingering concerns around build quality,” she said.

“In parts of Homebush, entire buildings have experienced prolonged vacancies and investor churn due to high strata fees and defect concerns.”

Allen Habbouchi, principal of aussieproperty.com, likewise warned against areas at risk of high-density oversupply.

“I’d advise caution with high-density off-…

Perth, Darwin lead the way as property prices rise everywhere

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-08-01T00:00:30-08:00

Property prices in Australia have risen for the sixth consecutive month and are now increasing at more than triple the pace of inflation.

Capital city and regional property markets each rose 0.6 per cent in July, with capital city price escalation broadly following a pattern that has played out for a couple of years.

The mid-sized state capitals led the way, with the Perth market leaping 0.9 per cent to defy any claims that this red hot market was cooling, while Brisbane and Adelaide were both up 0.7 per cent.

Sydney (0.6 per cent) and Melbourne (0.4 per cent) followed but their annual growth rates are well below the three mid-sized capitals, according to the Cotality Home Value Index released Friday (1 August).

Darwin is the outlier, with the Northern Territory market flying high at 2.2 per cent for the month. It’s 8.5 per cent annual capital growth could well nudge 20 per cent if this pace of growth is extended. It has posted a 9.7 per cent gain through the first seven months of the year.

The national property market’s 7.4 per cent increase over the past 12 months compares to the consumer price index (CPI) inflation figure coming in this week at just 2.1 per cent.

Tim Lawless, Research Director, Cotality, said growth rates are holding a little above half a per cent from month to month since May as the opposing influence of low supply, falling interest rates and rising confidence run up against affordability constraints and lingering uncertainty.

He added that houses are outpacing units.

The difference between the national median house and unit value is at a record high, with a 32.3 per cent difference between the two broad housing types, or approximately $223,000 in dollar terms.

“The past three months have seen national house values rise by 1.9 per cent, adding approximately $16,700 to the median value,” Mr Lawless said.

“In comparison, unit values are up a smaller 1.4 per cent or roughly $9,700 on the median value.

“This may be because more expensive …

Buyers agents exploit market shifts in Adelaide

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anna Porter) — 2025-07-31T12:10:57-08:00

Adelaide has continued to perform as one of Australia’s most consistent and resilient property markets.

With a combination of affordability, tight rental conditions, and strong population growth, the city is attracting a wide mix of buyers — but who’s really dominating: investors or owner-occupiers?

With Adelaide offering relatively high rental yields and low vacancy rates (below 1 per cent), it continues to appeal to yield-focused investors. However, strong demand from owner-occupiers, particularly young families and upgraders, still dominates the market.

Buyers agents cutting corners

With cooling market conditions being felt across Adelaide, this is allowing many buyers agents (BA) in that market to exploit the conditions to get deals over the line quicker and with less buyer competition.

This can be an advantage to investors in many ways, with negotiation power sitting firmly with the buyer, but can also result in some downsides for investors using a BA.

Adelaide is seeing an emergence of buyer’s agent firms not wanting to carry the cost of dedicated staff in that market, as their volumes of investors have declined.

Having a buyers agent in that area or travelling back and forth from interstate is a cost to any business and this is a cost many firms will not absorb if they don’t have a good volume of buyers and investors to cover it.

This can result in the BA firm outsourcing their inspections to less qualified third parties on the ground, or using video walk throughs from the selling agent, instead of conducting their own thorough inspection.

This practice is commonplace in some BA firms, but it is certainly not best practice.

It can result in the investor having a property recommended that isn’t aligned to their individual needs and strategy, paying too much for the property as the BA negotiating hasn’t seen the property themselves, or there being information that is critical to the performance of the asset not being discovered prior to a sale being l…

Commercial property investing: single asset v multi-asset strategies

editor@apimagazine.com.au (API Contributor) — 2025-07-31T12:05:44-08:00

For commercial property syndication in Australia, the decision between multi-asset funds and single asset strategies is increasingly influenced by investor priorities such as diversification, liquidity and sector-specific exposure.

As the market evolves, investment managers and investors alike are considering the benefits and limitations of each approach.

Single asset strategies

Single asset commercial property funds concentrate on a sole property or a narrowly defined sector - such as retail, industrial or office.

These strategies offer investors targeted exposure to specific market segments, with a focused investment thesis and singular engagement on the asset’s performance.

Historically, single asset funds have delivered attractive returns, particularly in sectors like large-format retail and industrial sites.

These strategies do come with concentration risk, as performance is tied to the results of one investment. Liquidity is generally limited for those investors who wish to divest.

These funds are best suited to investors seeking control and sector expertise, but the ability to access capital can be constrained.

Multi-asset strategies

Multi-asset commercial property funds invest across a diversified portfolio of properties, sectors, and often geographies.

This built-in diversification reduces exposure to the risks associated with any single asset’s returns.

It also contributes to the smoothing of overall returns, offering investors a more stable and predictable income profile.

These funds typically include assets located in diverse and strategically selected areas, supporting both capital growth and sustainable income over time.

A key advantage of multi-asset strategies is greater liquidity.

These funds typically offer more frequent redemption options and capital access, making them attractive to investors who value flexibility. This liquidity feature is becoming increasingly important, especially amid economic uncertainty and a heightene…

Is Melbourne poised to see an early spring revival?

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Lloyd Edge) — 2025-07-30T13:41:33-08:00

It is well known that spring marks an increase in real estate activity and demand, while during the winter months we see lower sales volumes and buyer interest.

But what we are currently seeing in Melbourne is the market beginning to show signs that the spring buying season has started when looking at the results from late June 2025.

What has sparked Melbourne property activity?

Let’s start with the benefits Melbourne has seen from the two official Reserve Bank rate cuts - 0.25 percentage points in February and again in May.

This has significantly improved borrowing capacity for buyers and investors and has sparked renewed confidence in the markets.

It is expected that when mortgage rates edge down toward the mid‑5 per cent region by early 2026, demand will have really ramped up.

Auction clearance rates in Melbourne have climbed to 72 per cent (61 per cent this same time last year), signalling a competitive environment typically seen later in the cycle and in spring.

Why are property investors interested?

For the past few years, Melbourne has lagged behind the other major capitals.

However, since we’ve seen the rates easing in early 2025, investors are pivoting back to Melbourne’s inner and middle suburbs where rental markets are tightening, vacancy rates have fallen to around 1 per cent, and supply is limited.

Lenders are reporting investment lending growth currently is outpacing owner‑occupier borrowing across the country.

This reinforces that investors appreciate the resilience of Australian property markets and are flexible with their home ownership, with more and more young Australians turning to rentvesting, or buying their first property as an investment rather than a home.

Seasonal trends in Melbourne’s market

Typically, spring sparks buyer activity with prices peaking from September to November, as families aim to settle before summer, Christmas and the new school year.

Spring will bring a higher number of listings, auctions become more freque…

Scale of failed Lion Property Group's 'Ponzi scheme' unveiled by liquidators, Supreme Court

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Anthony Klan) — 2025-07-30T11:50:00-08:00

Melbourne’s failed Lion Property Group, which folded owing $120 million, had “ceased trading activities” before provisional liquidators were appointed and its offices have been “vacated”, the Victorian Supreme Court has heard.

An explosive report provided to the court by provisional liquidators KPMG states construction on the group’s string of projects, in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, “seems to have halted in 2024”.

The report, obtained by Australian Property Investor Magazine, also reveals Lion directors Garry Pesochinsky and John Sader created the group in 2018 from the assets of an earlier property development company they operated, called Investments Squared, which raised around $30 million from investors.

The report spells devastating news for Lion Property Group’s 600-odd investors, many of whom invested their life savings in the group that was allegedly operating as a “Ponzi” scheme.

According to provisional liquidator Emily Seeckts of KPMG, it appears just $4 million of $122 million raised from investors could potentially be recovered.

That’s before allowing for last minute secured creditors now holding mortgages over the group’s assets — including a lender of last resort with a claim of $440,000.

The Victorian Supreme Court last Friday heard Lion directors and founders Garry Pesochinsky and John Sader had recently taken out a loan from Bizcap, with lawyers for a group of investors warning assets of the company may be at risk if left in control of the pair.

On its website, Bizcap describes itself as “Australia’s most open-minded lender”, which offers “fast and flexible business loans of $5,000 to $5 million without up-front credit checks”.

API Magazine exclusively revealed the troubles facing Lion Property Group in late May, including that a group of embattled investors had launched legal action.

As reported on 28 May, the investors lodged legal wind-up applications against Lion Group and a string of related entities.

In response, the S…

No reprieve for new borrowers, as APRA keeps mortgage buffer rate unchanged

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Craig Francis) — 2025-07-30T10:26:15-08:00

The decision by Australia’s regulator of the Australian financial services industry to keep the mortgage serviceability buffer unchanged has elicited a mixed reception.

In keeping the current 3 per cent mortgage serviceability buffer, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has concluded that this level of borrower protection has not been restrictive on new credit to the household sector.

While borrowers struggle to meet the strict criteria of being able to service a loan 3 per cent higher than the lending rate, APRAS’s announcement noted that they took account of high levels of household debt and above-average total credit growth, which is expected to rise further as interest rates decline.

That interest rate cut should come on 12 August, when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) next meets. Official figures released Wednesday (30 July) showed that inflation had fallen to its lowest level since March 2021 and to the bottom end of the RBA’s preferred range. The CPI is now at 2.1 per cent (while the trimmed mean figure is at 2.7 per cent).

Ahead of the inflation news, APRA Chair John Lonsdale outlined what the regulator saw as the economic realities that justified the mortgage buffer decision, despite interest rates being expected to fall further in 2025.

“Lower inflation and interest rates have eased financial pressures on borrowers, labour market conditions remain tight, bank lending standards remain sound and non-performing loans remain low, however, the risk of economic shocks from the uncertain geopolitical environment is elevated,” he said.

“Over recent months, we have seen credit continuing to flow to different borrower segments, including to first-home buyers.

“Declines in inflation and interest rates have eased financial pressures on borrowers and increased borrowing capacity for new borrowers, and lending standards remain sound.

“Looking ahead, however, should interest rates fall significantly further while labour markets remain robust,…

Keystart changes improve access to low-cost loans

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Tanya Steinbeck) — 2025-07-29T11:12:52-08:00

As demand grows and affordability continues to decline, it is important that new home buyers understand the options available to support them in their home ownership journey.

Established in 1989 as an initiative of the WA Government, Keystart has helped over 100,000 people into home ownership by lowering the entry barriers faced by so many prospective buyers.

Offering low deposit home loans without the added burden of lenders mortgage insurance, Keystart has been a uniquely West Australian solution to the challenges of housing affordability and rising living costs.

In recent years, there has been a need for Keystart to evolve and look at more innovative approaches to the products and supports available to help more prospective home buyers into home ownership.

The housing landscape in WA has changed, with property prices increasing, housing supply pipelines constricting, and many people finding it increasingly difficult to get a foothold on the property ladder.

That’s why UDIA WA has been supportive of the recent changes to Keystart’s products and operations that have been announced, and subsequently put into action, in the last 12 months.

Expanding housing access where it's needed most

First, and importantly for any potential Keystart customers, income and property price thresholds were increased for the second time in a year in late 2024.

On top of increasing the thresholds, the Government confirmed that property price thresholds will be reviewed regularly against the annualised median house price, to ensure their loan options remain accessible as the property market fluctuates.

UDIA WA had long advocated for a review of these limits, and the indexation against median property prices, to ensure that more West Australians can access Keystart’s products and services.

If you are looking to access a Keystart Low Deposit Home Loan, the property price limit is $730,000 and the new income limits are $148,000 for singles and $218,000 for couples and families.

I…

Is a car parking spot a non-negotiable when buying inner suburban property?

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Cate Bakos) — 2025-07-28T11:00:01-08:00

“Car space on title?” is not a question that is asked in the country or the outer suburbs.

It is, however, common in the inner-ring and sometimes strikes in the middle-ring locations.

Most outer suburbanites would wonder why this is even a question. Where would the car be parked otherwise? And who would be OK with their car out in the street?

But this is a real conundrum for inner-ring inhabitants.

Our state capitals have small allotments that were founded in the 1800s. Back then, residents didn’t have cars. Small laneways were in existence for the night-can man to collect our toilet waste.

These days, many of these are cobblestone brick and they are narrow. We ask a lot of them to enable our cars to be housed in our garages built at the rear of our small terraces and Victorian cottages.

For plenty of these laneways, vehicle access is questionable at best. Turning circles are tight, and residents are often loathe to give up their available back yard space for a car. Navigating these little laneways can be a challenge too, particularly for those who choose large SUVs. Gone are the days of a Mini Minor, (or even a Morris Minor) representing the typical city car.

The move from two cars per household to one car per household is evident in these inner-ring suburbs now. Work from home arrangements and reliable public transport have facilitated this shift.

An awareness of environmental responsibility is another significant driver for inner-urbanites’ decisions to swap out two-car households for one-car living.

Those who have elected to utilise street parking face all kinds of unpopular challenges. Theft risk, malicious damage, exposure to horrible weather during the walk from car to home, neighbour disputes, and basic inconvenience are some of the immediate issues that come to mind when contemplating a home without a space on title for the car.

But for those who do opt for off-street parking, the financial consideration is real. The cost of a car space on title c…

Rush for Perth property leading to poor buying decisions

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Suzanne Brown) — 2025-07-27T04:34:42-08:00

The relative affordability of WA property and the potential for strong yields has made the state very attractive to investors – both local and interstate – over the past few years.

However, the market is highly competitive and the challenges of finding a property have seen more investors choose to use a buyers agent.

When engaging the services of a buyers agent, you would assume you are dealing with a qualified, licensed professional. That isn’t always the case.

The growing demand for buyers agents services has led to a rise in poorly trained and unlicensed operators, often based interstate and overseas, who promote themselves as buyers agents in WA.

You can usually find them spruiking their wares on investment-related Facebook pages. They have professional-looking websites and social media profiles and look like the real deal.

In June, the Real Estate Buyers Agent Association of Australia (REBAA) launched a campaign to warn consumers about the risks of working with underqualified buyers agents who lack fundamental skills in due diligence, pricing analysis and negotiation.

While newcomers to the industry are welcomed and encouraged, REBAA President Melinda Jennison said, “Many new buyers agents enter the industry with only a superficial understanding of its complexities, putting themselves, and the clients they are representing, at risk of making uneducated and costly decisions”.

REIWA supports these concerns. We are also concerned about the risk to investors of working with unlicensed buyers agents and have raised this issue with WA Consumer Protection.

REIWA has previously written about the importance of using a WA buyers agent if you are buying in WA. Aside from their knowledge of the local market and legislation, when you engage a WA buyers agent you also have the advantage of dealing with someone who is licensed under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978. This gives you peace of mind as well as protections under WA consumer law.

While I strongl…

Embodied carbon accountability is here, but is the construction sector ready?

editor@apimagazine.com.au (Niall McSweeney) — 2025-07-24T13:20:20-08:00

Embodied carbon accountability is no longer a concern on the far horizon – it’s a present-day mandate that will reshape how Australia’s construction sector approaches carbon-related decisions.

The launch of the NABERS Embodied Carbon rating tool, which includes a federally endorsed calculator and ruleset, signals a clear shift: the era of vague promises and green commitments is over. In place will come rigorous scrutiny into how embodied carbon is calculated, verified and penalised when measurements are found lacking.

Pressure is indeed mounting from multiple fronts.

To achieve a Green Star Building rating, projects must reduce upfront carbon by at least 10 per cent; for a 6-star rating, reductions must reach 20 per cent – and up to 40 per cent by 2030.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is also looking closely into greenwashing risks and misreporting of scope 3 emissions across supply chains. And the evolving Circular Economy Framework, alongside state and federal policies, will further shape how embodied carbon is disclosed, tracked, and managed across a building’s lifecycle.

Is the industry ready?

Based on the observations of our quantity surveyor team – not yet.

Building meaningful accountability and transparency for embodied carbon requires more than token adjustments. It demands a fundamental shift in how construction companies design, procure, and build for a low-emissions future.

Carbon still an afterthought

Despite a growing awareness around its importance in the built environment, embodied carbon remains an afterthought in most construction projects.

It’s not uncommon for teams to engage our quantity surveyors for embodied carbon calculations weeks before pricing a job – often after designs are finalised, materials selected and plans submitted.

At that point, meaningful change is difficult, impractical and costly, if not impossible.

The NABERS Embodied Carbon rating tool is designed to shift this mindset by placing upfr…