I've been around property for quite a few years and one thing I've noticed is that most buyers know about the obvious stuff; building & pest, contract, finance etc.

It's the less obvious things that seem to catch people out.

Things like flood/bushfire risk, easements, what's actually around the property, road noise, power infrastructure, block configuration, nearby commercial properties, future development etc.

I've slowly built up my own checklist of things I like to look at when assessing a property, mainly because I've realised you don't know what you don't know when you're buying.

Curious what everyone else checks that they think most buyers overlook?

What have you found that has either saved you from buying a bad property or made you think twice about one?

For all this talk of a downturn in prices, I don’t see many apartments on the market, nor do I notice any significant decrease in prices.

Is this due to investors living up to their name by keeping a tight grip on their little units?

I’m seeing a lot of these lately. The Silent generation aged in place rather than downsizing and usually pass their homes to their boomer or older genX children who likely are already home owners. As the downturn continues, I wonder if we’ll see a lot more of them at genuinely more realistic prices. The first one is my dad’s house currently on the market (unfortunately not left to me); cork tiles, brown shag pile carpet… it was a 60s classic.

Property data firm Cotality has released its monthly national Home Value Index (HVI) showing a 0.9 per cent fall in August.

This marks the fifth straight month that Australian property prices have slipped.

The data also shows the nation's housing downturn has accelerated, as most suburbs recorded weaker auction results in the final month of winter.

The country's median property value is now 3.6 per cent below the record high in March.

Sydney continued to lead the pace of declines, with home values down 1.4 per cent in August to be 7.1 per cent below peak levels recorded in February.

"The combination of a sharp drop in demand and higher than average advertised stock levels are weighing more heavily on Australia's largest housing market,"

Prices in Melbourne and Canberra both fell 1.1 per cent, while Brisbane dropped 1 per cent.

The other mid-sized capitals were not far behind, with Adelaide and Perth home values dropping 0.8 per cent in August.

Trend expected to continue

Independent economist Alan Oster pointed to some large geographical differences across the national housing market.

"If you go to Perth, they're still going at an annualised rate of 20 per cent," Mr Oster said.

"If you're in Sydney and Melbourne, they're sort of going backwards at around 7 to 8 per cent.

"I suspect those sorts of trends will continue for a while."

The national property market has been hit by several headwinds in recent months, including three Reserve Bank interest rate hikes, and the federal government's decision to restrict negative gearing and increase capital gains tax.

Cotality said more expensive houses continue to record larger declines.

Mr Lawless said the latest figures show the downturn was no longer confined to select markets or higher-value segments.

"What started as a more concentrated easing across higher-value segments has now become a much more generalised softening, with the vast majority of capital city suburbs recording some level of decline,"

Fewer people inspecting houses

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said "uncertainty" was the dominant theme in the housing market.

The real estate agency tracks about 13,000 open homes each week.

"We can see that buyer activity is particularly low," she said.

"Last year, we were seeing on average around four people attending open homes. This year, it's sitting at around two people."

Ms Conisbee said fewer properties were coming to market.

"Even though buyer activity is slow, it's leading to very few sellers coming out," she said.

"It may sound like bad news, but it does show that we're not really seeing distress amongst owners."

Read the full article at abc.net.au.

Good morning everyone,

I am part of a 15 apartment body corporate. Up to now I have been involved with the body corporate and helping out as the secretary. I only bought this apartment 2 years ago being 27yo currently and one of 3 owner- occupiers with the rest being renters/investers.

The issue is that 3 apartments are currently for sale in the building, 2 of them being the other members of the body corporate - the Chairman and Treasurer. These people are much more experienced with body corporate issues - and are in their 40s and 60s. One is wanting to start a family and the other is moving to a retirement village.

Since last year, we have had multiple issues from water ingress into a few of the apartments. This is due to a mixture of issues stemming from structural defects - which was done through a official engineer. We have tried to get the builder to fix it - due to building still being under warranty. However we have made no progress with them and now we have submitted a claim under the QBCC awaiting response and investigation. Currently we have a 6 month insurance but the insurance company is pressuring us to resolve these issues NOW or they will just cut off our insurance.

Now that the other members of the body corporate are leaving all responsibilities fall to me, and I do not have capacity to look after all issues or even the experience or knowledge to fix these issues. I work full time and am the carer part time for my father who has had a stroke.

Question is - should I just sell my apartment now (even though 3 other apartments are being listed currently) or wait 6 months and sell then when it calms down?

Or should I tough it out and work on sorting out these issues with the body corporate with no support at all? Are there any resources or help with understanding this type of issues or guides?

I feel like I am drowning and so alone in all this, with no one to help. i just don't know what to do at all. Has anyone had the same experience and offer advice? What path to take or things I must do? I am stressed out of my mind.

Hi everyone,
My partner and I are currently torn between staying put in our current home or proceeding with a contract to move to a larger property. We’re in the cooling-off period and driving ourselves crazy trying to weigh up the financials vs. lifestyle.

Here is the situation:
Option A: Staying in our current home
Property/Block: 350 sqm subdivided, narrow/long block. Low maintenance, but virtually no usable outdoor space.

Pros & Cons: The orientation isn't great, so it lacks natural light inside. However, it's located in a quite nice suburb.

Financials: Remaining mortgage is $570k (repayments are manageable). Staying means zero hassle, no transaction costs, and keeping our existing low debt.

Option B: Moving to the new property
Property/Block: 730 sqm, nice rectangular block. Beautifully renovated older home with lots of character, lovely skylights, and tons of natural light.

Outdoor/Features: Comes with a small pool, shed, studio, greenhouse, BBQ and a lovely landscaped backyard. Perfect for enjoying outdoor living and for our dog.

Cons: Located on a main road. And around 10 more minutes to city. It has double-glazed windows, but some traffic noise is inevitable. Bedrooms are a bit small and lack built-in wardrobes.

Financials: Moving will increase our total mortgage to ~$700k (an extra $100k+ in debt) plus we'll have to absorb all the buying/selling costs (stamp duty, agent fees, etc.).

While our household income can technically service the higher mortgage, taking on more debt in today's high-interest rate environment is giving us a massive headache.

Additionally, the new house has its own set of flaws—it's an older property, and we're quite worried about ongoing maintenance and potential hidden costs eating into our budget down the track.

Would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives. Thanks!

Investors and Owners just cannot get enough of the New Western Sydney Airport as they rush in, in droves, in herds, and in masses, to buy up all the property around this New Western Sydney Airport which is active at all hours showing massive capacity for generating new growth in this huge potential growth corridor. Australian redditors, in particular, are massively hyped for what they are saying is "blue chip property" in Western Sydney that is set to see massive year-over-year growth from 2026 through to 2030 and beyond.

Six months ago, popular redditor stated, "Smart buy. Penrith is gonna go bananas when the airport opens. Whole new ball game coming to Western Sydney", "International airport destined to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere with a major city centre being planned around it. The area has a million things going for it for anyone who cares to pay attention.", and another "1 mil for a block of land in one of Australia's fastest growing urban centres." and they're out-dated already, Australian redditors are saying 1 mil is too low - they're pushing 1.5 to 1.8 now and set to increase even further!

Planning on moving to an already established property, and wanted to know if there is a service/maintenance I can request from a plumber that will assist in cleaning the pipes and clearing any drains.

I’m trying to understand how far this strategy can realistically go.

Say you’re buying Melbourne unit investment properties around $300k–$400k that consistently achieve 7%+ rental yields. Because the purchase price is relatively low and the rental income is high, the rent should contribute strongly to servicing the new debt and not requiring any contributions from my salary.

All these buyer agents are advertising this is how they’re building portfolios and it doesn’t really make sense. Why shouldn’t I be buying all the Melbourne apartments then since it supposedly means unlimited borrowing power.

My question is: if each additional property has a strong enough rental yield, does the bank effectively keep saying yes to the next property because the rental income keeps increasing my borrowing capacity?

Please somebody guide me and let me know whether buying these 300k units in metro Melbourne is the way to go to really build a property portfolio.

Hi everyone

We’re considering pulling the trigger and buying a new apartment and selling the one we live in.

We’re planning on buying first (it’s a new build so no stamp duty is part of the incentive to do it now).

If it all goes to plan, we’ll end up with a small 200-280k mortgage.

Buuuut. That requires selling our existing apartment and around 30k of costs. And the market is really low now and predicted to fall further.

I know there is wisdom in buying when the market is low and accepting a low sale price… but this dip feels different this time around.

The other half of this is we have a great financial position now and love where we live…and this place would be an upgrade in location and ammenities… but same size apartment.

Ultimately we could do it mortgage free, but that would me exiting some shares and reducing that position (and associated tax burdens)

So, I’m after redditors wisdom - Is this just a little dip/correction or does it have further to go (as predicted in the press… another 5/6% drop coming at least!

Thnx for any and all advice.

We work 3 days in the city and live in the outer suburbs. Right now commute is 1.5 hours one way. So 3 hours each day. Due to personal and family reasons, we cant move our PPOR.

We are considering purchasing an apartment in the city to stay in for the 3 nights we work in the city and rent it out on weekends.

For context, I have a chronic pain condition (considered one of the top 10 most painful conditions) and the commute is figuritively and literally killing me. I could consider disability payments but I earn quite well and also I worked really hard to get to where I am and I love my career. Being in the city would help me heaps with networking.

No kids and dont intend on having them. Not rich but would comfortably be able to afford mortgage of the apartment with it being rented out on weekends. Can also afford deposite and stamps.

What financial and other implications do we need to consider?

Our current rent is $690pw for a 3 bed 1 bath house. We’re not renewing our lease as the landlord is going to increase the rent to $890pw. We’ve been renting here for solid 3 years. I had a look at same rental house condition in our area and everyone is leasing about the same price.

What to do?? I have 2 kids and we may need to relocate far away from Brisbane city council to Logan council… and kids may have to change schools to schools….

House prices are falling but rents are increasing…. But the problem is it’s not about the price going up or down anymore it’s the mental psychological and physical toll we face. The government isn’t helping nobody either your a landlord or a renter, everyone’s taking the big L !

I’ve posted a few times regarding floor plans and I appreciate everyone’s advice ☺️ we have our final floor plans and have two designs to choose from - please let me know which one you’d choose and why! 🙏🏻

PLEASE NOTE - this is our first home, we have no kids yet, it’s a budget build as we need to stay under a 750k house and land cap 😅 I know they aren’t perfect - but we’re pretty happy with what we’ve been able to do to stay in the budget!

Thanks everyone 🥹

Buying a 17yo house in QLD. Pest & building reports came back mostly clean (no termites, no structural issues), but both flagged:

• Wood rot near the walk-in robe, backing onto the ensuite wall
• Water stains on ceiling/AC vents and roof void ducting

No moisture detected on the day, listed as "minor" and "previous." Attaching photos from the reports.

Is this normal for a house this age, or should I push for a plumber/further inspection before signing (or walk away)?

Suggestions please?

Early 20s about to sell my house and make a decent profit thinking about living in a rental 2x1 apartment on the coast as I don’t need a full house for the next few years and buying another property to have as investment still leaving me with cash to invest elsewhere and build a portfolio up til I’m ready to settle in a home and location I want in the later years . Sounds like a good plan on paper open to any thought and info cheers

Hi all,

Looking for any lived experience with negotiating after a B&P returned some unexpected results.

We are the buyers - the issue can be remediated (unsure of cost right now), and while it is "major defect" as we can walk away, we are willing to go ahead at the right price to allow us to fix it.

I am asking what people have found to be the most successful process to follow as a buyer? Don't want to look opportunistic, but also don't want to be walked over. Go via the REA? Or straight to their lawyer?

I know we need to provide the report, which would 'force' them to 'disclose', so I think we have some power but don't want to look like we are abusing it. Acting in good faith here.

Thank you

Hey,

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who bought a house using VHF and have gone through the annual reviews and repayments.

I bought my house in March, 2024 and have since completed two annual reviews. And I have crossed the eligibility threshold by few thousand dollars in these two consecutive reviews, which means I will need to start the repayments to SRO.

I received a courtesy call from SRO immediately after completing the first review in April 2025. The person said that I will need to start repaying them if I cross the threshold next year. And with the latest review in April 2026, I did cross the threshold and I was expecting to hear from them about an evaluation/repayments or something, but nothing yet.

Can you please advise and share your experience if you have gone through this process and the timeline? I’m just a bit hesitant about reaching out to SRO, and put myself in the spot.

I’m aware that their property evaluations always result in more value than what the market is actually paying for similar properties, and I also get that’s their way of making money out of this whole scheme. Considering this and the current situation with property values, just trying to find out whether I should have received the evaluation notice in this 6 months if not for the dropping property value.

Thank you!

Looking for suggestions.

We bought our place (3 bedroom, 2 bath house) in a fast moving suburb in Sydney, for $830k a few years back. We recently had our property appraised by 2 separate REAs with an intent to sell, at $970k.

Numbers for consideration:
Loan balance: $520k
Loan funds: $35k
Offset: $130k

Monthly combined salary, after tax: $17k
Monthly expenses are about $6000-7000 for a family of 5.

Our new house budget is approximately $1.3M to $1.4M.

Similar properties in the area get about $650-$750 per week in rent.

Could we comfortably rent out our place and buy a new one? Or should we consider selling to buy? What would the pros and cons be?

There’s something about this whole CGT reform (scam) that doesn’t sit right with me, and last night's over-dinner conversation with other industry professionals has reignited my frustrations.

Does anyone else see the fishiness with the budget night's tax changes interacting with timing, valuations, and market movements?? Let’s say you bought a property for $900K before the new rules were announced. Then the market falls. Already, I've seen markets across Brisbane fall by up to $100K.

And now let's say you get a valuation on this property come mid next year. Before then, it will likely go down to $700K. So, by the date the CGT changes come into play (1st July 2027), you've lost $200K in equity.

After this, assume the market miraculously starts ticking up again, to a point where, come end 2027, your property is worth $900K again. Back to square one, but now, you will have to pay FULL tax on that $200K 'profit' because the laws have changed since then.

Conveniently for anyone BUT everyday Australians, property markets don't move neatly around budget announcements, legislation commencement dates and tax assessment periods.

They move on interest rates, supply, demand, migration, credit availability, construction costs, jobs, population growth and investor sentiment. And heck, every now and then they move simply because people panic.

So, when a government changes the rules at any given point in time, the date you happened to own the asset starts to matter enormously. It's important to ask who really carries the risk when policy lands on top of a market nobody can time, because the person on the other side of that transaction usually isn't a tycoon with twelve properties. It's more likely a nurse, a teacher, a young couple or a small business owner who bought one home, held it for years and thought they were doing the responsible thing by building a bit of security.

Personally, I'm tired of watching this get flattened into a 'property investors are greedy' versus 'the government is out to get us' rhetoric. Property owners and investors aren't the enemy. First home buyers certainly aren't the enemy. Neither is the market, or the people just trying to make sense of this mess. We're all sitting inside the same set of economic forces, just copping their blows from different angles.

So yeah, I'm pretty filthy about it all too.

Have just received Building and Pest conducted today for property purchased - Major defects listed on the report in regard to water leakage and moisture throughout bathroom - Is this considered a “major structural defect” to terminate purchase?

Hi everyone, given that we're expecting some pretty hot weather this summer, I’d like to get AC installed. For context:

• I'm in a small 6 unit strata building in Sydney, and currently no units have AC.
• Our building is on a corner block and my unit faces two streets.
• The building has no balconies for external condensers.
• I’m 1 of 2 members on a v quiet/inactive strata committee.
• Our by-laws don’t mention AC specifically, but do cover common property, external appearance and noise.
• I wanted to put together quotes, plans, drawings etc. and submit a proposal to strata management, but AC installers have told me to check with strata first as some buildings simply don’t allow AC.

My questions are:

1. What’s the best approach to maximise my chance of approval? 
2. If the other owner on the strata committee is happy for me to install AC in my unit, can the strata management company overrule that? Who ultimately has authority to approve it?
3. What have other people’s experiences been getting AC installed when no other units in the building have it?

Apologies if these questions are obvious! I’m new to strata living and this is my first property.

We all know the tricks

Looking at relocating interstate to regional Vic. Interested to see if there’s anyone with first hand or on the ground insight into this area. It has seemed more resilient to price drops than Melbourne so far but there does seem to be some decent downwards pressure on pricing recently.

Not seeing many new listings at the moment but I understand winter is a slow period. Should we expect a surge in new listings now it’s spring or will the downturn keep sellers off the market?

Does anyone have sources for information/analysis specifically for this area?