Real Estate

Trends and updates on property markets, including residential and commercial sectors.

Real Estate
Property prices tipped to hit record highs in Australia
Australian housing prices continue to rise, with Melbourne and Sydney leading the charge, spelling bad news for hopeful first home buyers but good news for sellers. For sellers, Cotality has revealed that 94.9% of property resales in the March 2025 quarter delivered a profit, with gross resale profits reaching A$31.7 billion. The research showed that the median nominal gain reached $305,000, a decline from the previous quarter’s $310,000. This marks the first decline since March 2023. According to Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, this reflects a housing market in transition to profitability, set to rise further following March's and February’s rate cuts, with signs of renewed momentum. “With rate reductions now flowing through to buyer demand and value growth, we expect stronger resale returns in the months ahead,” Owen said. “Profit-making resales closely followed home value trends, with profitability dipping slightly as prices softened late last year. But that pullback has already reversed.” Sellers also made slightly smaller losses this quarter. Of the 5.1% of home sales that resulted in a loss, the median was $44,000, down from $45,000 in the previous quarter. This was led by house sales, which out
Real Estate
'Longer to commit': Median house prices steady in NZ
Cautious confidence has returned to the New Zealand property market as the number of sales increases with a decline in the national median price and a slowdown in new listings. According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) report, the median price saw a year-on-year decline of 0.9%, settling at NZ$763,000. "The increase in the median days to sell reflects a market that, while more active in terms of transactions, is also characterised by greater buyer caution,” the RENIZ report said. "Purchasers are taking longer to commit, which local agents suggest could be due to a lack of buyer urgency and the fact that buyers have time to find a property that best suits them.” This was driven by a year-on-year decline of 3.5% in Auckland, reaching a median price of $975,000. Excluding Auckland, the median price remained stable at $689,000. Half of the 16 regions reported an increase in median prices compared to May last year, with Southland having a notable 10% increase to $495,000. Despite the noticeable increase, Southland was still popular with first-home buyers. “First home buyers were the most active buyer group in Southland, due to the affordability of properties and finance availability,” the report sa
Real Estate
WA Budget: Construction, housing given prominence
The Western Australian government has focused on public housing and construction ahead of its Budget on Thursday. A build-to-rent fund was announced, alongside a $210 million shared equity scheme which will provide up to 1000 loans. The Keystart scheme will lower both upfront purchase costs and ongoing mortgage payments. Modular homes are also leading the charge for affordable housing in the state, with Keystart also adding a new low deposit modular home product to the market. Both Keystart initiatives will kick off later this year. Earlier this month a boost to public housing was also announced, with an additional 1300 social homes to be added. This was the reaching of a goal set by the WA government two years ago, looking to bring a total of roughly 4,000 new social houses and repairs and refurbishments to existing dwellings. All these new homes are underscored by more investment into the building sector for the state, with the announcement of a $37.5 million funding boost yesterday. $25.2 million will be allocated towards expanding the Group Training Organisation Wage Subsidy Program, which will provide places for a further 225 apprentices or trainees. The remaining funds will be used for existing pro
Real Estate
A roundup of some of real estate's heavy hitters
Real estate is a tried and true investing method, containing some of the world's richest people as a result. Globally, the United States is home to several of the heavy hitters in real estate. Stephen Ross is CEO and chairman of Related Ross and owner of the Miami Dolphins football team, with Forbes reporting he has a total net worth of US$18.4 billion. Related Ross' real estate portfolio is focused on Florida, boasting hotels, luxury apartments, office spaces and more. Over on the West Coast is Donald Bren, chairman of Irvine Company, which reportedly has over 120 million square feet of office space, apartments and malls across California. Bren also owns the MetLife Building in New York, and has a net worth of US$18.9 billion. Closer to home, Harry Triguboff is the GOAT of Australian real estate. Owner of Meriton and with a net worth of over US$19 billion, Triguboff has reportedly built over 79,000 apartments and was one of the earliest developers who invested in apartments rather than just single-family homes. While Gina Rinehart is primarily known for her mining empire, she also has an expansive real estate portfolio, including the control of nearly 1.5 million hectares in Queensland under S Kidman & Co
Real Estate
DiCaprio's A$3.1m RV rivals fellow celeb's mobile digs
When on the set of films, Leonardo DiCaprio lives in style in his A$3.1 million motor home. The trailer was showcased by King Kong Production Vehicles in a Bloomberg video, who also make motorhomes for celebrities like Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. The RV comes fitted with a luxury shower that rivals those found in a resort. It reportedly costs A$83,558, and took two weeks to install. It also has seven televisions and a luxury wine bar. The RV also features two fireplaces, a large lounge, a kitchen covered in marble, an American-style fridge freezer and a large bedroom with a king-size bed and an ensuite with a shower big enough for two. When DiCaprio isn't using the motorhome, it is rented out for around A$10,5000 per week. DiCaprio’s RV rivals Will Smith’s movie trailer that went viral for being a two-storey masterpiece. Smith’s RV is reported to cost A$3.8 million with a large living space and 14 TVs spread across a 1,200 square foot area. Related contentDiCaprio's $1.5 million RV is like a five-star resort on wheels, it rivals Will Smith's

Real Estate
New property listings down from same time last year
New property listings have fallen 9.7% nationwide, compared to the same time last year. The latest REA Group Listings Report found that while March was stronger than it was in 2024, both April and May produced lower numbers than at the same time last year. Regional areas struggled more than the nation's capital cities, seeing no monthly change but an annual decline of over 13%. In capital city growth, Sydney led the charge with a 21.7% increase in new listings compared to April, but still 8.1% less than at the same time last year. Canberra and Darwin also fared better than the month previous, with increases of 24.7% and 21.4% respectively, but declining annually as well.Credit: REA GroupMelbourne saw the biggest drop in annual numbers, at 11.8% compared to May 2024. Adelaide and Perth were the only cities to see a positive number of listings year-on-year, sitting at 3% and 3.5%.
Real Estate
Dubai’s tokenised real estate sales hit US$399m in May
The Emirate recorded US$399 million in tokenised real estate transactions in May 2025, accounting for 17.4% of total property sales. This is as blockchain-based ownership gained traction. Dubai’s embrace of blockchain-powered real estate signals a broader shift toward digital property investment, positioning the city as a global leader in tokenised assets. Surging Tokenised Property Adoption Dubai’s real estate market saw $18.2 billion in total sales across 18,700 transactions, reflecting a 44% year-on-year value increase. Tokenisation, which enables fractional ownership via the blockchain, drives accessibility for investors and reshapes property ownership models. Regulatory Support and Market Expansion The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched the Prypco Mint platform, allowing investors to buy fractional shares of properties starting at AED2,000 (US$540). Regulatory updates from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) further support real estate tokenisation, ensuring legal clarity and investor protections. Future Growth and Market Impact Dubai’s government projects that tokenised assets could represent 7% of the real estate market by 2033, equivalent to $16 billion. While tokenisation enhances
Real Estate
Average residential dwelling prices surpasses $1m
The total value of Australian residential dwellings rose by A$130.7 billion or 1.2% in the March 2025 quarter to $11.4 trillion, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Of the total value of residential dwellings, A$10,918.9 billion was owned by households. ABS head of finance statistics, Dr Mish Tan, said average residential dwelling prices rose 0.7% to $1,0002,500 in the March quarter. This is the first time the average exceeds $1 million. “Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland were the main drivers of the rise, with Queensland reaching the second highest mean price in Australia, behind New South Wales,” Tan said. “Despite the quarterly rise in national dwelling value, annual growth in the March quarter slowed to 5.9%. “This was down from 9.5% in the March quarter 2024.” New South Wales currently has the highest mean residential dwelling prices at $1,245,900. Queensland also surpassed the Australian Capital Territory as the second highest value in the nation with an average price of $944,700. All states and territories experienced quarterly growth, with Queensland and South Australia having the most noticeable increases at 1.9% and 1.6% growth, respectively. The number of
Real Estate
Australia's luxury home prices up 73% since 2015
Luxury housing prices in Australia have risen 72.9% across the past decade, according to a Ray White report. Prices for luxury homes nationwide now begin at A$2.52 million. Sydney is the country’s most expensive luxury market, with the housing price threshold rising by 72.7% in the past 10 years to reach $4 million. “True luxury in real estate combines premium materials, architectural distinction, prime location, and limited availability,” said Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian. "As our data reveals, the concept of luxury continues to transform across Australia’s diverse regions, shaped by changing demographics, wealth distribution, and lifestyle preferences." Sunshine Coast luxury housing prices have grown the fastest of any area, up 133.2% to $2.4 million. Gold Coast prices have similarly increased by 128.1% to $2.6 million, while Brisbane’s rose by 115.8%. Perth’s three luxury suburbs are also all within Australia’s top 10 areas by price growth. The city overall posted a 10% rise in luxury housing prices in the last year, or 69.5% growth in the past decade. Melbourne’s luxury market, meanwhile, has seen slower growth of 47% since 2015. Its luxury housing threshold is now $2.49 million, and was the only m