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Everything published in Agents Estate, newest first.

Prices & trends

Australian home values fall 1.1% in September, a sixth monthly drop

Cotality's Home Value Index puts national home values 5.2% below their March peak after a sixth straight monthly fall, with Darwin the only capital to rise.

10 min read
Tax & duty

Australia's main residence CGT exemption: the 6-year and 6-month rules

How the ATO applies the capital gains tax exemption on an Australian home: moving in, owning two homes for six months, renting out a former home for six years, and letting part of it.

19 min read
Finance & lending

Australia: RBA finds under 1% of mortgage borrowers in negative equity

The Reserve Bank's October Financial Stability Review says home prices are falling and risks are elevated, yet most Australian mortgage holders still have room to cope.

9 min read
Regulation

California's CRMLS sues Compass over listing rules as Austin MLS says no

A California multiple listing service has asked a federal court to declare its Clear Cooperation rules lawful, and Austin's Unlock MLS has refused the same Compass demand.

11 min read
Contracts & disclosure

Connecticut's private-listings law takes effect: public exposure first

Connecticut's Senate Bill 340, now Public Act 26-23, took effect on 1 October 2026. A home must be listed publicly by the time it is first publicly marketed, unless the owner opts out.

12 min read
Foreign buyers

Where foreigners can own property in Dubai, and the golden visa

Dubai law lets non-UAE nationals own property only in designated areas. What the rules say, how a purchase is registered, and what official pages say about the golden visa.

21 min read
Prices & trends

Dubai home sales fall 47% by value in the third quarter of 2026

Consultancy Cavendish Maxwell counts AED 72.6 billion of Dubai residential sales across about 34,000 deals from July to September 2026, with value and volume well below a year earlier.

10 min read
Auctioneers

How Dubai property auctions are licensed, supervised and paid for

Who may organise a property auction in Dubai, what the Land Department checks and charges, how a forced sale reaches the auction room, and what one company's terms ask of a bidder.

21 min read
Settlement & closing

Transferring a ready property in Dubai: the steps and the full cost

How a completed home changes hands at the Dubai Land Department: the 4% registration fee, the fixed charges, the documents, the two routes and worked examples of the bill.

19 min read
Agents

Dubai plans a real estate degree with a pathway into brokerage

Dubai Land Department and the University of Dubai are building a real estate degree with brokerage training around it, days after the department's careers push for Emirati graduates.

10 min read
Rentals

Dubai rent increases, Ejari and eviction notices: how the rules work

How Dubai caps a rent rise at renewal with five index bands, what registering a lease in Ejari costs and involves, and what the tenancy law says about notices to leave.

20 min read
Selling

Dubai service charges: who approves them and what sellers must clear

How Dubai's jointly owned property law defines service charges, who approves and holds them, and what the lien over a unit means for an owner who wants to sell.

17 min read
Regulation

Dubai sets building rules and permitted areas for shared housing

Dubai Municipality's guide of 7 October sets 5 square metres per person, a permit for every shared building and more than 44 permitted areas. Sources differ on when the law began.

11 min read
New developments

Melbourne's Preston Market plan: 900 apartments, eight towers

A master plan for Preston Market in Melbourne's north keeps 81 per cent of the market and adds about 900 apartments. Public feedback to the Victorian government closes on 14 October.

11 min read
Commissions

How an agent's commission is set and earned in New South Wales

No scale fixes a selling agent's commission in New South Wales. The agency agreement sets it, and NSW Fair Trading's rules decide when it is earned, disclosed or lost.

18 min read
Buying

New South Wales: what to check before you exchange on a home

Building and pest inspections, strata records, the section 184 certificate and the cooling-off period: what each check covers for a buyer in New South Wales, and what it leaves out.

18 min read
Foreign buyers

New South Wales surcharge purchaser duty: the 9% and the 200-day tests

Revenue NSW charges foreign persons a 9% surcharge on homes bought in New South Wales. How foreign status is tested, what the 200-day rules require and when the duty is due.

20 min read
Agencies

New South Wales underquoting rules: what an agency must record

How New South Wales defines underquoting, what a selling agency has to write down and keep, the penalties in force, and what the two stages of the 2026 Act change.

18 min read
Regulation

NSW agents query Centrepay rent fee as card surcharge ban begins

Australia's ban on card surcharges began on 1 October 2026. The same day, REINSW asked the NSW Government about a A$0.99 fee on rent paid through Centrepay.

10 min read
Rentals

NSW's first End of Tenancy Survey: renters end 85% of leases

New South Wales has published the first results of its mandatory End of Tenancy Survey. More than 275,000 responses show who ends a lease in the state, and why.

10 min read