First-time investor here! I've just signed a contract on a $280k Melbourne CBD apartment, expecting $580-
$600/week rent.
My strategy was to buy something affordable that largely pays for itself, then purchase a capital-growth-focused property in 3-5 years.
However, after speaking with Graeme Holm, I'm second-guessing myself. His argument is that buying for yield over growth could limit my ability to build a portfolio. And tells me I'm making the biggest mistake as wealth is where Capital Gains is with being able to utilise the CGT by purchasing new builds for investments.
I'm also wondering whether rising construction costs and potentially restricted new apartment supply could eventually benefit existing Melbourne CBD apartments.
Has anyone successfully gone yield-first, growth-second? Did your first property help or hinder your next purchase?
Would especially love to hear from Melbourne CBD investors about their experiences with capital growth and rental demand.

$1.4M for a 3 bedroom house but they say the market is cooling down?

Hey all

Planning on buying a unit and i am curious as to how bad noise travels in fairly newish built apartments within the last 10 years?

Ive heard some horror stories online but it seems like people from the states complaining more.

I know you could have a bell end of a neighbour but generally speaking do the new ish builds have better sound controlling measures?

My wife and I are considering to build a new house and we found some houses in our neighbourhood and online which we really like, but we struggle to find out how this style is called.
Can you guys help us?

Sorry for the poor images, I don’t want to photograph neighbour’s houses to obviously 😅

A duplex my partner and I were interested in is three levels, with a seperate (no internal stairs) room, kitchen and bathroom downstairs. During the inspection we loved the place, but the downstairs area suspiciously didn’t seem like it lined up with the rest of the house. We found the development plans online, and confirmed the area was non habitable. My partner and I just heard back from a request from council, confirming that the lot has had no building approvals or amendments since the original development plan.

This afternoon, I contacted the agent to advise him that the downstairs area is not approved and is actually a non habitable space. He hasn’t responded yet.

The listing included detail such as calling the space a fully separated studio style accomodation and provided rental appraisals for the space (seperate from the two other floors).

What are the agents obligations with regards to changing the listing? I know there was another offer on contract, could they just accept the other offer without informing the buyer?

We are still interested in the property, just at a reduced price considering the approval issues. Curious to know if there is anything I have missed here or if there is any recommended next steps? We are first home buyers so a little unsure how to proceed.

Hi everyone,

We’re building a new home with a volume builder in Melbourne and have been quoted $36K for the staircase and glass balustrade for the design shown in the attached image.

We’re honestly scratching our heads trying to understand how it gets to $36K, as we were giving a verbal estimate at the time of initial quoting of about 12 to 15k. We are not after something super fancy. minimal 10mm glass, standard stairs (not floating etc..) so keen to hear from anyone who has recently built or upgraded their staircase.

The specs are:

• 10mm clear rebated glass
• Plaster Wall Balust on first floor is 5 meters.
• Glass fixed into a closed outer stringer
• Staircase and glass balustrade as per the attached design

I understand that such staircases and glass balustrades aren’t cheap, but $36K seems like a significant amount.

1. Is $36K a reasonable price for this type of staircase and glass balustrade through a volume builder, or does it sound excessive?
2. Has anyone priced a similar staircase directly through an independent staircase manufacturer or glazier? If so, what sort of pricing did you receive?
3. If we went with standard MDF stair treads with carpet, but kept the glass balustrade and handrail on the staircase and the glass balustrade around the first-floor landing, what sort of price range might we be looking at?
4. Has anyone successfully negotiated a staircase upgrade with their volume builder or had the work done separately? Are there any practical issues with doing this outside the builder's contract?

We’re not necessarily chasing the cheapest option, but we’d like to understand whether this is a fair price and where we could potentially save without compromising on the overall look.

Would really appreciate any recent quotes, experiences or advice, particularly from people who have built in Victoria.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking into buying my first home in Australia next year and am currently exploring my deposit options.
I previously transferred my KiwiSaver funds across to my Australian superannuation fund via the Trans-Tasman retirement savings portability scheme. I have a couple of questions about how these funds are treated:
1. FHSS Eligibility: Are transferred KiwiSaver funds counted as eligible contributions for the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme, or are they kept in a separate/locked tier within the Aussie super fund?
2. Withdrawal Percentage / Caps: If they can be used for a first home deposit through the FHSS scheme, is 100% of the transferred amount accessible, or are there specific caps or rules on how much of that transferred balance can be withdrawn?
Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully transferred their KiwiSaver across and used it to buy a property in Australia, or from brokers/financial professionals familiar with trans-Tasman super rules!

I guess no one would say yes to a stranger on the Internet but I’ve lost my RP data with my last company.

I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to spare it to me tonight even just to look up a couple of things and then change the password,

why would you do that? I could pay for it. I don’t know what.

Please

Thanks so much

Yes, we have some stairs. The view wasn’t available from the ground floor.
The Gold Coast. Where people pay good money to climb stairs in a gym, then look horrified if an apartment doesn’t have a lift. Ours doesn’t. We thought we’d clear that up early.
It’s a second-floor walk-up. Ground, one, two. Nobody’s asking you to summit Everest. There’s no base camp, and you won’t need a Sherpa.
Upstairs is a beautifully renovated, top-floor corner apartment overlooking Mudgeeraba Creek. High ceilings. Light and breezes from two sides. Privacy without accidental eye contact with someone eating cereal opposite.
In real estate speak, a “rare elevated penthouse-esque sanctuary”. We call it a lovely place to sit with a drink and be left alone.
Only one shared wall. No upstairs neighbour discovering a passion for furniture rearrangement at 5 am.
An actual, proper study.
Not a desk wedged beside the fridge. Not the second bedroom doing two jobs. A dedicated, separate space for working from home, running a business or studying. Your spare bedroom stays a spare bedroom. Your dining table becomes a dining table again. Revolutionary stuff.
Someone’s already done the hard work.
The apartment’s renovated. Unpack and get on with life without arguing about tiles or waiting for a tradie who can definitely start “next Thursday”.
The useful bits:
• Two generous bedrooms, separate study and two bathrooms, including the master ensuite.
• Two secure, side-by-side basement car spaces plus storage. No car shuffle. No shouting “can you move yours?”
• Pool, spa, clubhouse and barbecue facilities.
• Stairs. No lift breakdowns or lift servicing costs.
If a lift is essential, fair enough. If it isn’t, there’s a lot to love up here.
We could finish with “an enviable lifestyle opportunity for the discerning buyer”. But we won't—we're too busy enjoying the views.
Come for the inspection. Stay for the outlook. Tell your smartwatch you’ve been hiking for half a minute. We won’t tell anyone.

Heya, first home buyers here. Seen a dream place that’s just outside our price range (we’re hoping to find somewhere for under 640-650K).

This place is listed as 660-680K for auction next month.
I’m wondering if it’s even worth putting in a lowball offer? Or wait and see if the auction passes without buyers?

For context it’s a two bed apartment that was last sold for $660k in 2021 and given how much prices have fallen, I’m wondering what to do?

Any thoughts are appreciated, how much to offer always seems like a bit of a shot in the dark!

Edit: so a lot of people seem to be reading this right but they’re missing a crucial element while the market to recovers. It’s gonna be say,one year three year five years whatever. While you wait you’re also losing in ‘real terms’ because inflation still compounds while the property takes time to recover.

Can anyone recommend any property managers around western suburbs that aren’t charging an arm and a leg

Currently renting in Sydney, couldn’t afford to buy near where I’m living. Started to think ahead when kids move out or close to retirement age that it would be nice to have an own place to live in. It may be good to buy something during this down turn for the future.

With a budget of $1m for a 3 beds house , is it better to buy in NSW(e.g. Woy Woy or New Castle) or in Melbourne( outside of the inner areas) ?

Also any recommended outer areas to look at in Mel as I’m not familiar?

Cheers!

Looking for some unbiased opinions, experiences, anecdote or anything else you deem helpful on purchasing a property in NSW.

Currently trying to purchase a 1995 home in NSW. Agent has the property listed in the 1.2-1.3m range which is about 5-7% more than most comparable sales in the area. To avoid wasting time after exchange I’ve already done the due diligence and found that the waterproofing & tiles have failed in both bathrooms among about $25k worth of other maintenance that will be required immediately.

This is a project I am happy to undertake and have been quoted for the work. I have also discussed this with the agent prior to making a formal offer.

Ignoring buyers/sellers markets and all the other things that probably don’t matter to a vendor who is in no rush to sell and/or has a large amount of equity in their property… I offered 12% below bottom of the guide.

This is exactly what it would cost to rectify the issues mentioned. It also brings the property in line with comparable sales. The property has also sat for a few weeks with no other offers.

The agent has acted as though I was time wasting despite making it clear I was acting in good faith and willing to negotiate. The agent has essentially wished me luck and moved me on.

Having sold myself recently I appreciate the fact that the vendor can decide to accept, decline or completely ignore any offer they choose without reason, especially if it’s far below their expectations.

I also understand that sometimes these issues are things other buyers might be willing to overlook or even miss because of their failure to undertake a B&P.

I figure that it will either sit for several weeks leading up to Christmas and the vendor will adjust their expectations or someone will decide it’s worth top dollar to them and buy it at the guide.

I would however like to gauge if my approach is unreasonable and ask if I need a reality check as it’s a house I would ultimately like to purchase and I will adjust MY expectations if necessary moving forward.

I’m not looking for a steal but I’m also not willing to over encumber myself on a property requiring this much work.

Each to their own. Please don’t eat me alive. I mean well.

Hi folks, I'm looking for some advice on whether or not to sell my unfinished renovation.

Bought a house back in the early 2000's and lived there for about 14 years. Let the place get quite run down in that time. In about 2018 moved to somewhere closer to the city, and started renovations. Have failed at finishing said renovations.

1970's build, 3 bed, 1 bath, rendered brick veneer, land 640m2, car port only. House is on stumps with about 1m crawl space underneath.
Asbestos has been removed.
35min north of Brisbane, but still within BCC.

Current state of the house -
- New roof back in 2018, but there is a leak in the back eaves and corner caps on brick veneer are not sealed properly which could be related to the water in the eaves.
- New plumbing run, fixtures not installed, new toilet in and working. No hot water system.
- New electrical wiring done.
- Re-sheeting done, with insulation in the walls.
- Painting done
- New windows with security grills, and screen door.
- Electrical fit off is mostly done with kitchen appliances in. Light on back eaves needs replacing due to leak.
- Kitchen cabinetry done
- Fans installed in each room
- Rooms have built in wardrobes
- Backyard is enclosed with Colourbond fencing
- Hardwood floors need to be taken care of, sanded and sealed.
- Brick veneer is falling apart in places and has large cracks, render is falling off, lots of discolouration in the corners where I believe water is coming in through the caps.

There may be a bunch of other stuff that still needs to be done that I simply have not considered.

I am now very aware that I am not good at this.
It's this constant ball of stress sitting in the back of my head, but just far enough back that I am not forced to action it.
I think about engaging with builders or trades to finish things, but the few times I have managed to start that process they are unable to help, uninterested in the job, or just want to tell me about all the ways I have already done things wrong.

Property value online with none of the context above is 790-950
Very roughly how low can I expect that to drop based on the description above?
Is there an easy, virtually hands off, solution that I have not considered yet?

Also this is not a woe is me post. I am aware that I have put myself into this situation and adequately beat myself up about it already.
I am also aware that I am incredibly lucky to be in this situation at all, and that things could be worse.

Been looking at a few villas and townhosues around Melbourne lately and I think this part of the market is getting interesting again.

And just to clarify, when I say units I'm not talking about high-rise apartmnets. I'm talking about the older Melbourne-style villa/unit, maybe 4-8 on the block, usually 2 bedrooms, garage/car space and hopefully a bit of land. Plus townhouses.

Some of these have basically gone nowhere for years.

There are examples around Melbourne where units are selling for similar money to 5 or even 10 years ago, while houses in the same areas have become significantly more expesive.

Some of the data I've been looking at has units around the $500k-$550k mark in areas where houses can be $800k-$900k.

That's a pretty big diffrence.

So I ran a rough comparison between a $720k investment house and a $550k townhouse/villa.

For both I've assumed a 20% deposit, 6.5% interest-only loan, $540pw rent and no vacancy. I've used 6% for property managemnt, $120 a year for smoke alarm compliance and around 0.5% of the purchase price each year for maintenance.

Obviously these costs can vary quite a bit depending on the property and the investor. Particularly interest rates, rent, land tax, strata, insurance and maintenance. This is just using the same assumptions on both to compare them.

*For the townhouse example, building insurance is assumed to be included in the strata.

What got my attention wasn't really the purchase price difference. It was the holding cost.

Both are getting $540pw in this example.

But the house is costing roughly $1,795 a month out of pocket, while the townhouse/villa is around $924.

That's around $10,450 a year difference.

You've also got roughly $187k required upfront for the house versus $143k for the townhouse/villa, so about another $44k of your cash tied up from day one.

Obviously I'm not saying that automatically makes the townhouse the better investment.

The house may end up having better capital growth. That's the trade-off and probably where most of the debate will be.

But I think this is why investors are starting to look at this type of stock differently.

Interest rates are higher, land tax in Victoria has increased and the yield on a lot of houses isn't particularly exciting.

If I can get around 5% gross yield instead of 4%, borrow $136k less and have roughly $10k less coming out of my pocket every year, I think it's at least worth considering.

You still need to look at the location, land component, supply, floorplan, owners corp, sinking fund, maintenance history and whether there's going to be owner-occupier demand when you eventually sell it.

And obviously a townhouse with ridiculous strata or a big special levy coming isn't suddenly a good investment.

But there's another side to this which I actually find just as interesting.

First-home buyers and owner occupiers are looking at the same properties for completely different reasons.

Using the same $720k house vs $550k townhouse/villa example, here's what it could look like for someone buying as their own home.

For this one I've kept the 20% deposit and 6.5% rate, but changed the loan to 30-year principal & interest repayments.

Again, this is just an example. Deposit size, interest rate, loan structure and actual repaymnets will depend on the buyer.

But you're talking about roughly $34k less for the 20% deposit, borrowing $136k less and around $860 less going towards the mortgage every month.

That's more than $10k a year in repayment difference.

And I think this is where the conversation gets interesting for first-home buyers.

Higher interest rates have reduced borrowing capacities, but people haven't suddenly stopped wanting to live near work, family, schools, transport and everything else.

Someone might be able to buy a $720k house, but it could mean moving another 20-30km further out.

Or they could spend around $550k on a decent townhouse or older villa in an established suburb they actually want to live in.

Personally I think townhouses are probably the sweet spot for a lot of buyers at the moment, depending on the suburb and budget.

You can still get 2-3 bedrooms, garage, some outdoor space and something that feels much closer to living in a house.

Older villas can make sense too, particularly something with a bit of land, simple construction, decent floorplan and only a handful of properties on the block.

I'm still cautious with apartmnet buildings, particularly the larger developments where you're one of 100+ similar properties.

I'm definitely not saying villas and townhouses are suddenly going to outperform houses.

I just think the numbers are starting to make the decision a lot more interesting.

You've got investors looking at them because of yield and holding costs.

Then you've got first-home buyers and owner occupiers looking at the same properties because they can potentially borrow less, have lower repayments and still live in an area they actually want to live in.

Two completely different reasons, but both are pushing buyers towards similar stock.

Anyone else seeing this in Melbourne at the moment?

EDIT: rewrote for clarity

We’re looking for a rental in Melbourne at the moment but may be in a position to buy in eight or nine months.
There are no leases available for under 12 months on the Melbourne market, so we’ll need to sign on for a year and then break early if we find a property to buy.
I saw there are new laws coming into force in Victoria from June 2027 that put a cap on lease break charges, which is fantastic. However, I can’t find confirmation anywhere on if the law will apply to existing leases (e.g to leases signed prior to June 27), or only moving forwards (e.g to leases signed post June 2027). Does anyone know the answer please?