A report from ABC News in Australia. "Buyers who locked in a purchase a year or two ago, when the market was booming, are now struggling to secure the sale. It is a scenario mortgage broker Luke Camilleri is starting to see regularly. 'The most recent one that comes to mind is probably about six weeks ago in western Sydney,' he said. 'They bought about three or four years ago and the valuation came in quite low.'"

"The young couple initially agreed to buy their two-bedroom apartment for $680,000. But when the bank came to value the property upon completion, it did not value it that highly and so would not lend them as much as they needed. They had to find an extra $54,000, on top of their deposit and stamp duty."

"Mr Camilleri said, in the end, the buyers 'had to get creative' to find the extra cash. He said having these tough conversations with buyers is not easy."

"'To someone who it's their biggest investment, or their biggest life purchase, to have someone on the other end of the phone saying, 'There's a problem, it doesn't stack up in the evaluation', you can imagine what runs through their minds and it's quite stressful,' he said."

"Investor Stephen Kendon bought a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney's inner-west two years ago. The father of four owns his home and another investment property in Sydney. In May this year, his existing lender pre-approved his finance for the $725,000 unit."

"But two months later, his formal application was rejected. 'We had some abnormal expenses and they were looking at that as if they were standard expenses, but they weren't,' he said. 'They were treating our expenses almost double to what they were.'"

"In the end, he was able to secure a loan with another provider, but his experience shows the banks are increasing their scrutiny. Mr Sapounas expects stricter conditions to remain for the next couple of years."

"'I think we've got another year or two at least before we see the market find its footing,' he predicted. 'At the moment it's like catching a falling knife. No-one wants to be out there catching a falling knife.'"

The Australian Financial Review. "Apartment buyers in what will be Australia's third tallest building, Brisbane's 92-storey Skytower, are scrambling to find top-up funds after valuations ordered by banks dropped by as much as 25 per cent. The developers, led by AMP Capital and Billbergia, have hired lawyers Norton Rose Fulbright to pressure the valuers to upgrade the new valuations for the apartments which they say are not fair."

"The banks' willingness to lend for apartments has been crimped by APRA caps on lending and the bank royal commission. They are now cracking down on the valuations of newly built apartments where they were once willing to lend."

"Now that the construction of the Brisbane Skytower is nearly complete, property valuation firms have been engaged by banks as part of their lending policies to reassess the apartments now due to settle from their off-the-plan valuation."

"The tower, which will rise 270 metres and add another 1128 apartments to the market, included one and two bedroom apartments starting from $425,000 in the low rise through to the 'skyrise' part of the tower where apartment prices started from $595,000. If the valuations come in lower, then banks lend less and the buyer has to stump up more equity to make up for the original purchase price."

"The two valuation firms which have been redacted from the letters declined to comment on the grilling they received. However, sources told the Financial Review that the comparisons were legitimate given the quality of the apartments. Some apartments in other developments in the inner city area of Brisbane have sold this year at losses of as much as 27.6 per cent compared with their original off-the-plan purchase."

"Some developers have complained that banks have pressured valuers to be severe on values to help excuse them from lending their original approved amount."

"The chief executive of the peak body for valuers in Australia, the Australian Property Institute's Amelia Hodge, defended the valuers on Wednesday, saying their methodology is professional and should be independent of the developers."

"'We are alarmed that some developers may be setting a very dangerous precedent, in a market clearly shifting, by explicitly threatening legal action if they do not value in accordance with the developer's requirements,' Ms Hodge said."

"'It is clear that the property market is undergoing a cyclical correction, impacted further by matters raised during the course of the royal banking commission and the tightening of credit, particularly in off-the-plan contracts executed some time ago across several Australian centre.'"

From Domain News. "Sydney’s auction market has had its worst start to the spring selling season since the global financial crisis, new data shows. With less than half of all properties up for auction selling under the hammer over September, Sydney recorded a clearance rate of 48.2 per cent."

"It is the third time the clearance rate has dropped below 50 per cent this year, according to Domain data released on Wednesday, which excludes January auction results due to low sales volumes."

"'It’s the worst start to spring in a decade,' said Domain senior data analyst Nicola Powell. 'The lower clearance rate goes along with other indicators we’ve been seeing. Prices have been deteriorating, days on market and price discounting are tracking higher and stock levels are rising.'"