A report from the Herald Sun in Australia. "Home values have peaked and begun to fall in every Melbourne SA3 region, with the declines tipped to continue into the new year. New CoreLogic figures show the drops range from just 0.6 per cent in the Sunbury region through to a substantial 14.5 per cent in Stonnington East, with the city’s well-heeled suburbs generally falling the furthest."

"' This shows the declines in the market, although their still biggest at the top end, have become more broad,' said CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher. 'I wouldn’t say any of the regions have bottomed out — most will continue to see falls next year.'"

"As well as in Stonnington East, double-figure drops from peak were recorded in Boroondara (13 per cent), Whitehorse West (12.7 per cent), Bayside (11.8 per cent), and Manningham West (10.8 per cent)."

"Mr Kusher said the significant falls at the top of the Melbourne market were 'being driven by the fact there’s not as much demand for that kind of housing.' 'People aspire to live in those affluent areas, but the reality is, once the market turns there’s less demand for those areas because credit is hard to come by,' he said."

"Real Estate Institute of Victoria senior vice president Leah Calnan said a price correction was inevitable following Melbourne’s recent boom. ' When we look back to 2016-17, some suburbs were seeing growth of 20 per cent per quarter. That was never going to be sustainable,' she said."

The Sydney Morning Herald. " Listed real estate agencies McGrath and The Agency have felt the cooling winds of the flat residential market, with staff departures and a delay in new acquisitions as experts warn the housing market correction has further to go."

"The staff changes and delays come as the year ahead looms as a tough one for the residential market. According to Sarah Harding, partner, head of residential, Australia at Knight Frank, the Sydney and Melbourne residential markets were well into market correction mode following three years of significant capital growth. "

"'The prestige end of the market has continued to sell at a slower rate although some high prices are still being achieved on a rate per square metre,' said Daniel Cashen, from Knight Frank in Victoria. ' In the next 12 months, we expect there to be fewer projects launched than we’ve seen in recent years and developers will need to reset their expectations while the market corrects itself.'"

The Daily Telegraph. " Renters will be among the biggest winners from the sluggish real estate market next year, with landlords set to struggle, according to the head of one of Sydney’s largest real estate groups. Starr Partners chief executive Douglas Driscoll said tenants could expect a good year, with housing supply up — particularly for units."

"'Apartment development has been high over the last three to five years and half these properties were snapped up by investors,' he said. ' Renters have more choice … landlords need to be ultra-realistic with the prices they set.'"

"SQM managing director Louis Christopher said Sydney was becoming a renters’ market. 'The rise in vacancy rates across cities is expected in November as the year winds up … but we are also seeing an emerging oversupply of rental accommodation,' Mr Christopher said. 'Bargaining power (is) moving to tenants as some landlords struggle to fill their rental properties.'"

"Another issue for all buyers would be finance. Banks may become more prudent and low-ball buyers on valuations, limiting their borrowing capacity, Mr Driscoll said. 'We are already seeing many off-the-plan apartments that were bought 12-18 months ago now worth five to 10 per cent less than the original purchase price.