44 banks pass on the RBA hike as prices fall a seventh month

1. 01 rates

   44 banks pass on RBA hike, with warnings of a pricier 2027

   Forty-four banks have now passed the Reserve Bank's latest rate rise through to mortgage customers, according to realestate.com.au, with no cuts currently in prospect. Borrowers have been warned to budget for a more expensive 2027 rather than a cheaper one.

   For anyone on a variable loan, this is the second hit in a row to monthly repayments with no offsetting relief in sight. It also tightens borrowing capacity for buyers still in the market, and it is the backdrop to everything else happening to prices and listings right now.

   Read the full story at REA Group →
2. 02 prices

   Prices down seven months straight, 4.3pc below the March peak

   National home prices have fallen for seven consecutive months and now sit 4.3 per cent below their March peak, with properties also taking longer to sell, realestate.com.au reports. One economist quoted in the report expects the softness to continue while interest rates stay high.

   Longer selling times matter as much as the headline fall. Vendors who priced to the March market are now discounting or sitting, and buyers have more room to negotiate than at any point this year. That said, the further decline is a forecast, not a done deal.

   Read the full story at REA Group →
3. 03 notable sale

   Coogee oceanfront house sells for $26.5m, a suburb record

   An oceanfront home at Coogee that appeared in an Australian mini-series has sold for $26.5m ahead of its scheduled auction, setting a new suburb record, realestate.com.au reports.

   The result is a reminder that the top of the Sydney market is not moving in step with the national index. Trophy waterfront stock remains scarce enough that a pre-auction offer can still clear a suburb record while values elsewhere slide.

   Read the full story at REA Group →
4. 04 other

   WA buyer loses close to $200,000 in settlement funds scam

   A Western Australian buyer has lost almost $200,000 after scammers intercepted communications with a mortgage broker and redirected settlement funds, Real Estate Business reports.

   Payment redirection fraud targets the single moment in a transaction when a large sum moves on emailed instructions. The practical defence has not changed: confirm account details by phone on a number you already hold, not one supplied in the email, before any settlement transfer leaves the account.

   Read the full story at Real Estate Business →
5. 05 policy

   Two in three want negative gearing and CGT changes reversed

   New research reported by Metropole finds about two in three Australians want the government's negative gearing and capital gains tax changes wound back, and that a notable share say they would vote for a party promising to do it.

   The reforms were pitched at affordability for younger buyers. Metropole's reading is that they have instead become a political liability, which matters for investors weighing whether the current settings are durable or likely to be traded away at the next election.

   Read the full story at Metropole →
6. 06 rentals

   Victorian rental provider fined $20k over unlimited-access leases

   A Victorian provider of rental accommodation for vulnerable people must pay $20,000 and rebuild its practices after an investigation found its tenancy agreements gave it unlimited access to renters' homes, Real Estate Business reports.

   Entry rights are set by statute, and a lease clause cannot sign them away. The outcome is a marker for anyone managing rooming, supported or community housing stock that standard-form agreements carried over from elsewhere will not survive scrutiny.

   Read the full story at Real Estate Business →
7. 07 supply

   Builder fined $150,000 after 30-tonne wall falls on neighbour's house

   A South Australian construction company has been fined $150,000 after a 30-tonne wall collapsed onto a neighbouring house, injuring a mother and her baby, the ABC reports.

   For owners living next to a build, it is a reminder that site risk does not stop at the boundary fence, and for builders it puts a number on the cost of getting temporary structural support wrong.

   Read the full story at ABC →
8. 08 policy

   Metropole questions Treasury's '$2 a week' rent estimate

   Treasury told renters in Budget Paper No. 1 that the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes were "likely to have a small impact on rents", putting the expected increase at under $2 a week for a typical household. Metropole argues the modelling underweights how landlords and tenants actually respond once the rules change.

   This is a contested reading rather than a settled finding, but it is the number that will be thrown around in every rent debate between now and the next election. Investors and renters alike should treat both the Treasury figure and the critique as estimates.

   Read the full story at Metropole →
9. 09 lending

   What lenders want to see from self-employed borrowers

   InfoChoice has set out how lenders assess self-employed applicants, covering the income evidence required and the difference between full documentation and alternative documentation loans.

   With banks passing on the latest rate rise, serviceability assessments are tighter and the paperwork gap between a PAYG and a self-employed application is more consequential. Contractors and business owners planning to buy should have their income records in order well before they approach a lender.

   Read the full story at InfoChoice Group →
10. 10 other

    Metropole makes the case for putting idle home equity to work

    In its latest Market Room segment, Metropole argues most Australian homeowners hold substantial equity they never use, largely because they are unsure how to access it or what to do with it, and questions the default advice to simply pay the loan down. It is a commentary piece rather than a research finding, and the usual caution applies: drawing on equity raises debt against the family home at a point when lenders have just lifted variable rates.

    Read the full story at Metropole →

This brief is compiled automatically from Australian news sources and reviewed before publication. Each item links to the original reporting, which remains the work of the publisher credited. General information only — not financial or investment advice.