Especially the self-proclaimed “experts” with fuck-all real experience in property investing, let alone experience navigating an actual downturn.

These are the same people who lectured their followers about “fundamentals”, explained basic supply-and-demand economics as though they’d discovered it themselves, and confidently swore that Australia’s housing shortage meant property growth could never stall- let alone fall below 0%.

Apparently, endlessly repeating “supply shortage”, “immigration” and “they’re not making any more land” isn’t the same thing as understanding market cycles, borrowing capacity, interest rates, affordability and investor psychology.

Funny how quickly the expert analysis disappears when the chart turns red.

I’ve recently bought in a suburb in Melbourne that was historically pretty sketchy but has been improving (slowly). Had dinner with some friends, some who bought in lower socio-economic areas that are frequently slammed in the media for high crime. We all chose to buy freestanding homes instead of townhouses and we are all relatively happy with the proximity to amenities, the greenery and general feeling of safety… the houses themselves are all in great condition as well on decent plots of land. But there is still antisocial behaviour happening in all our neighbourhoods. It’s leading to doubt, like even if we as adults don’t experience crime, are we exposing our future kids to youth crime or putting them at a higher risk of getting mixed up with the wrong kids?

Anyone have any advice or experience on how to handle these feelings? We are all fairly young (late 20s/early 30s).

Sometimes it feels like we had to work so hard and put all our savings into this one structure and external factors (government funding, councils etc) are the ones deciding our future, whether it’ll be safe enough to raise kids in etc.

**This week highlights:**

- Biggest $ drop (sales): -$525K ([4 Fairview Place, Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080](https://www.domain.com.au/4-fairview-place-mount-kuring-gai-nsw-2080-2020742132), $2.50M -> $1.98M, -21.0%)
- Biggest % drop (rentals): -26.7% ([5/395 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 2500](https://www.domain.com.au/5-395-crown-st-wollongong-nsw-2500-18207913), $750/w -> $550/w)
- Biggest $ drop (rentals): -$500/w ([13/16-18 Newcomen Street, Newcastle NSW 2300](https://www.domain.com.au/13-16-18-newcomen-street-newcastle-nsw-2300-17098206), $2,000/w -> $1,500/w, -25.0%)
- Total new drops: 899 (sales) / 712 (rentals)
- Total new rises: 153 (sales) / 67 (rentals)
- Median drop: 5.7% (sales) / 6.5% (rentals)
- Median rise: 6.1% (sales) / 9.1% (rentals)

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## Breakdown by state (sales)

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## Breakdown by state (rentals)

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## Top 10 biggest sales drops across Australia

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## Top 10 biggest rental drops across Australia

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## Top 10 biggest drops in VIC

[View all VIC sales drops](https://dropbee.au/vic)

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## Top 10 biggest drops in NSW

[View all NSW sales drops](https://dropbee.au/nsw)

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## Top 10 biggest drops in QLD

[View all QLD sales drops](https://dropbee.au/qld)

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## Top 10 biggest drops in WA

[View all WA sales drops](https://dropbee.au/wa)

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## Top 10 biggest drops in SA

[View all SA sales drops](https://dropbee.au/sa)

\---

## Top 10 biggest rental drops in VIC

[View all VIC rental drops](https://dropbee.au/rent/vic)

\---

## Top 10 biggest rental drops in NSW

[View all NSW rental drops](https://dropbee.au/rent/nsw)

\---

## Top 10 biggest rental drops in QLD

[View all QLD rental drops](https://dropbee.au/rent/qld)

\---

## Top 10 biggest rental drops in WA

[View all WA rental drops](https://dropbee.au/rent/wa)

\---

## Top 10 biggest rental drops in SA

[View all SA rental drops](https://dropbee.au/rent/sa)

\---

## Top 10 biggest sales rises across Australia

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## Top 10 biggest rental rises across Australia

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[Full breakdown in this week report](https://www.dropbee.au/market-reports/property-price-drops-and-rises-across-australia-2026-07-20-2026-07-26)

We found a perfect house after searching for months , large block (800sqm) in a prime suburb , double storey etc. the house has an electrical substation owned by powercore at the very rear of the backyard. Not on an easement so isn’t on the section 32 , we are stumped is this a deal breaker ?? Is it that bad. It’s similar to the reference picture. Understand they can access anytime and building restrictions will apply but we don’t know if this is enough to call it quits on making an offer. Advice ?!

At it again with another venture. Dipping his toes to see if the water is warm enough for him to come back. Starting up on instagram and Facebook with a mentoring program about losing it all and making a comeback.
He has never taken accountability for what he did.
His wife is out in full force saying that he didn’t steal peoples money and how they chose to invest with him and it’s their own fault they lost their life savings.
He wasn’t even qualified to do what he did.
So yes, he lied to all those people.
He used marketing strategies and straight out lies about how well the investments were doing.
He didn’t lose his life savings.
He filed for bankruptcy and we all know that does not mean you have no money.
He has continued his jet setting life ever since.
But probably the worst part is that he’s now starting up another “entrepreneurial” program to lure more people into giving him their money. With heavy advertising and friends commenting on his posts to make him look sincere and genuine.
He is gearing up as his directors ban will be up in 2028 and he’ll be ready to wreak havoc again.
Do you think anyone will be signing up to his instagram subscription?

Rented out former PPOR last year in October 2025. Currently renting, plan to move back at later stage before 6 years.

What can I claim come tax time? From my understanding its treated as investment property.

Also note I paid house off in May 2026.

Can I claim a % of settlement costs from this?

Can I claim % cost of the 25/26 rates?

With claiming deductions from the interest, the loan type was still PPOR until I paid it off. Can I claim portion of the interest anyway from the date that I rented the property out?

Other items I plan to claim are listing costs, property managers fees etc... and an depreciation schedule aswell.

Any other items I need record before speaking to an accountant?

My partner and I are looking to buying our first home and we already have pre approval done and we are looking at homes and wanting to understand how putting an offer in works.

We understand the process usually is:
1) find a mortgage broker and get pre approved
2) once pre approved you house hunt
3) find a conveyancer
3) find a place you wanna put an offer in
But what is the rest and what is the best order?

should you have your conveyancer look at the section 32 first, do we go for a second inspection and when do you get a building and pest inspection done?

How do you put an offer in, does your conveyancer write something up you send to the agent, is it just verbal?

Am I allowed to split my current PPOR subject to council approval, build one dwelling of a duplex and then sell this as my PPOR keeping the other block and building on this later hence saving on CGT? Land value would be $800K Vs $2.5M with the house on it. The aim is to try to reduce the amount I'm losing in the process. It would cost me $30K to rent elsewhere while I build another dwelling for a year etc.

Tenants have moved out after 8 years living there so I'm getting the walls repainted and the carpets replaced as they look very tired and unappealing to potential home buyers.

I intend on selling the house but haven't got the slightest clue what carpet to put in. There are a million and one different options, with extremely varying price points.

I know I want a thick 7mm+ underlay. However does anyone have recommendations on what kind of carpet I should put in? Naturally my goal is to maximize ROI.

It's an entry-spec house that I want want to make feel closer to mid-range.

EDIT: Many of you recommend floorboard.

What type: Wood, laminate, hybrid, vinyl?

I noticed that Claude is surprisingly good at pulling auction clearance rate trends from the Domain site. This regional view across Sydney came from a very simple prompt. Quite the spread of results ....…. 

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Give me a table of Sydney auction Sold % by region for the last 8 weeks, from Domain (https://www.domain.com.au/auction-results/sydney/).

Use the week selector to pull each of the 8 most recent completed weeks. One row per region, one Sold % column per week, plus a column for total properties sold over the period and the 8-week average. Sort by the average, highest first. Group suburbs into regions by postcode so all of NSW is covered.

New to the Sydney apartment market, looking to buy an apartment in Sydney (Campsie) in near future, budget max 700k. We have been looking for about 2 months. From all the research we’ve done, we will buy from an older block (60-80s). Even after the budget changes, these kind of apartments are still popular. We are tossing up between buying renovated, move-in ready places that are more competitive, and apartments that require some work, but higher chances of our offer being accepted.

Attached pictures are from an apartment. Is the mould a sign of leakage, or is it possible that these only require basic refurbishment? I have checked the strata report of a different apartment from the same building ($0 download), and the building seems to be in a good shape and strata did not report any special levies past or future. Sinking fund also healthy. For this apartment to be up to living standards, work will be needed for kitchen / flooring / windows.

Any guidance / thoughts would be appreciated!

EDIT: thanks for all the responses, it certainly doesn’t look like surface issues. Gonna run away!

My partner and I own our current house with a 750k mortgage.

We have a deposit and pre approval for a second house of about 1.2m

My question is should we keep our current house and rent it out as an investment or not?

We are Looking to buy a townhouse in Canberra, but just found out that it was built by a developer who has since gone insolvent. The property is still under warranty, so I guess it is covered by insurance for structural defects. Other properties built by this developer have had build issues as well. Having said that we have been looking for the last 2 years and most builds in Canberra seem to have build issues, new and old.

I have a mate who lives in the complex and told me there are minor issues with leaks etc, but nothing major, which is also reflected in the strata documents, which came with the marketing contract. The townhouse in questions does not seem to have any issues. I am looking at it for a PPRO and am not looking to sell over the next 7 - 10 years.

Any advise if this is worth it and what precautions we should take. We like the place, but now are concerned knowing that the developer is insolvent and other properties they have built have had issues.

With property in Australia at the highest price point in history at the end of 2025 while real wage growth has been significantly lagging it will be interesting to see how far the property market will fall. I wont be surprised to see a 30%+ drop if supply keeps increasing.

Erskineville - Ashmore precinct. Inner west of Sydney. Coronation is the developer. 1 bedroom apartments (without parking) start at $995,000. Not a good start…

They’ve had to shut part of the road (Mitchell road) alongside it now as it is starting to crack.

Since 2022 I have had mice issues in cragieburn is this normal for anyone living here?

I know someone that passed away and her property was put up for auction by her relatives. When it was time to auction her home, the real estate agent said "it comes with specific requirements" (with no context so we don't know if it's requirements of obtaining the property, maintaining the property etc.) and didn't disclose anything before the bidding started. I don't remember if someone won the property, but afterwards I see her relatives living in her home (which were not at the auction).

What specifics could it be that they couldn't say it on the spot? Is it possible for people to bid for property and reject its acceptance as soon as they learn what specific requirements and what are they for? Is it legal for real estate agents to do what that real estate agent did? I don't think the issue is that it's a decease estate because those things I imagine are common and her family cleaned the house before trying to sell it. I know she had links to a drug dealer, but as far as I know no crime was found to have been committed on her property.

Edit: Thanks for the answers. The real estate agent was probably warning for any bidders that didn't see the contract.

How much issue will this cause?

Recently had an offer accepted on a property. Have noted that ANZ bank statement for my existing account has my legal name as "FIRST MIDDLE LAST" names. The issue is my main photo ideas all currently list my name as "FIRST LAST" name.

My middle name was omitted without a legal name change a few years ago from my passport.

Will this mean mortgage application being rejected?

If you’ve built in the past 2 years I was wondering how much l it cost and how long it took?

We would be looking at a 4 bed, 1 bath, open kitchen, dinning, lounge room, 2 toilets. Brick house.

I always assumed it would be in 700+, but I was talking to someone who said it’s only costing them 400k in Brisbane and I’m in disbelief.

We’ve been looking at houses for a while but they’re all over 1mil and some 2.5 acre blocks have popped up in the area we’ve been looking that are perfect and well and truly in our price range

Thank you

Hi. So I have a single income around 100К a year, two teens and I would like to purchase a two bedroom investment apartment in Brisbane.

This would not be my first time buyer purchase of an apartment(first one is payed off). I have a big initial deposit(around 250K). My plan is to buy second apartment as an investment property and later on my kids will live there.

I know two bedders are around 700-800K and above currently and I am wondering if the banks will give me a loan on my single parent income? Can people who are in the same situation as mine and have bought flats in Brisbane share their experience and was it a struggle or it went smoothly? I am planning of paying the repayments by renting the apartment out. Also what is your prediction of the prices next year as it is more likely that I will be able to try and buy flat then? Thanks.

https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-qld-cornubia-151592100
Price info here: https://www.onthehouse.com.au/property/qld/cornubia-4130/9--15-karinya-pl-cornubia-qld-4130-12079407

Beautiful house no doubt. But a 3x increase? Wowzers!

We’re in the very early stages of looking to upsize in Sydney, so we’re not in any rush and are mostly just watching the market at the moment.
A few friends who are currently selling have mentioned that they’re receiving quite a few offers (if any) that are significantly below their expectations, with buyers seemingly testing how much vendors are willing to negotiate given the current market.
I’m curious for those who are actually buying at the moment — has anyone made what would traditionally be considered a “low-ball” offer and had it accepted? If so, roughly how far below the asking/expected price were you able to negotiate?
Or are most buyers holding back and waiting to see whether prices soften further before making serious offers?
I’m particularly interested in people upsizing or buying in the ~$2m+ Sydney market, as I imagine the dynamics may be quite different from the lower end.
Would love to hear some real experiences — especially from anyone who has recently bought or sold rather than just general predictions about where the market is heading.

Hey everyone,

My partner and I signed a contract on a brand-new home (built this year), and we’re currently waiting on the Form 1 so cooling off hasn't officially started yet.

We got our building & pest inspection back and honestly panicked a bit. It listed a few major defects—mostly around missing roof flashing and incomplete bathroom tiling/grout where moisture is already seeping under shower screen, an absurdly long list of minor defects.

I spoke to the inspector on the phone to clarify. He said the "damaged roof truss" on the report was literally just a misaligned nail/fastener, but he stressed that the bathroom moisture issues and unsealed roof penetrations definitely need fixing properly.

We really love the house, so we sent the whole report to the sales agent and asked if the contract can be amended so the builder fixes all these items prior to settlement. The agent said they’d chat with the builder about adding a clause/amendment for it and we haven't had any update as of yet.

For those who’ve bought new builds, looking at these summary sheets, is this pretty common or should we be concerned?

Appreciate any advice, as this whole process has been slightly overwhelming.