Market
What is happening in property, dated and explained.
Victoria fast-tracks 15,000 homes while completions rise by seven
Victoria says its fast-track planning programme has approved more than 15,000 homes. On the same day, ABS figures showed the state finished just seven more homes than a year earlier.
Victoria bans rental application fees from Tuesday 13 October
Five rental rules start in Victoria on 13 October 2026: no application fees, two-yearly gas and electrical checks for every agreement, standards records and evidence for bond claims.
How Victoria regulates renting: 90 days' notice, bonds and valid reasons
Victoria's renting rules as Consumer Affairs Victoria states them in October 2026: rent increases and how to challenge one, bonds, pets, minimum standards and notices to vacate.
Bidding on a home in Western Australia: no conditions, no cooling-off
What Western Australia's Consumer Protection tells auction bidders: unconditional bids, a hidden reserve, declared vendor bids, a deposit at the close and no cooling-off period.
Western Australia's renting rules: rent rises, pets, bonds and notice
How renting works in Western Australia after the 2024 reforms: the rent bidding ban, one rent rise every 12 months, pets, small changes, the bond and the notice to leave.
Australia's capital city house rents stall at A$700 a week
Domain's September quarter figures, reported by the ABC, show capital city house rents flat and unit rents at a record, with Sydney and Canberra recording falls.
Australia final auction clearance rate falls to 45.4%, Melbourne week ahead
Cotality's final count for the long weekend puts the combined capitals at 45.4%, the lowest since July. Melbourne now lines up about 750 auctions for the week ahead.
Australia's foreign buyer ban to 2029: what can be bought and the fees
Foreign persons cannot buy established homes in Australia under a ban announced to run to 30 June 2029. What stays open to them, the 2026-27 application fees and how the vacancy fee works.
Australia's Housing Accord at two years: 124,000 homes behind pace
The UDIA counts 355,820 homes built in two years against 480,000 needed. The HIA's count of the gap is smaller, and New South Wales reports its best year in five.
Australia: KPMG says new-build spending up 20%, rebuilds down 32%
A KPMG Australia analysis published on 5 October 2026 finds four years of rising spending on new homes, a fall in knock-down rebuilds and A$56.2 billion spent on renovations.
Dubai Islands gets a shoreline contract and a new Bay Estate community
Nakheel has hired Mar Marine to upgrade 3 km of Island B's shoreline by late 2027, two days after a report on Bay Estate, a community of about 360 homes. What the sources say.
Singapore homes for foreign buyers: what needs LDAU approval
Foreign persons can buy a Singapore condominium unit freely, but a landed house needs government approval. What the list covers, how the application works and what conditions follow.
Singapore: Lucerne Grand 61% sold as The Serra Residences previews
City Developments sold 350 of 570 units at Lucerne Grand on its launch weekend, while Far East Organization opened the preview of a freehold Novena tower on land held since 2010.
Renting out a home in Singapore: HDB and private property rules
Who may let an HDB flat or its bedrooms, the three-month minimum stay in private homes, and the occupancy caps, including the eight-person relaxation and its two published end dates.
USA: FHA home loans to non-permanent residents fall to near zero
ICE data reported by HousingWire show non-permanent residents went from 5.8% of FHA purchase loans to about 0.1% after HUD's 2025 residency rule.
US: Freddie Mac auctions 1,968 delinquent loans, Fannie Mae opens bids
Freddie Mac named the winners of a US$428 million auction of deeply delinquent mortgages on 8 October, the day Fannie Mae put about 1,244 more loans up for bids.
US rents reach $1,932 in September as concessions spread: Zillow
Zillow's report of 6 October puts the typical US rent at $1,932, up 2.7% in a year, with concessions on 39.6% of listings. Two other reports show flatter rents.
Zillow: US home values slip in September as pending sales drop 8.5%
Zillow's September report puts the typical US home at US$366,913, down 0.5% in a month, while newly pending sales fell 8.5% on the year with mortgage rates at 7.28%.
Western Australia opens its A$250 million pre-sale guarantee
Developers in Western Australia can now apply for Keystart to underwrite up to half of an apartment or townhouse project's unsold homes. How the guarantee works.
Australia's home starts rise 7.0% in the June quarter, ABS data shows
ABS Building Activity figures for the June quarter 2026 show 52,201 homes started and 47,168 finished across Australia, with houses leading starts and other dwellings leading completions.