A report from Bloomberg on Australia. "Australia’s worst property slump in a generation has created some obvious losers. Investors who bought at the top of the market are underwater; homeowners looking to sell are having to slash prices and developers are struggling to offload apartments as projects started during the height of the boom near completion. But there are also some winners."

"The median dwelling value in Sydney dropped to A$789,339 ($560,430) in February, according to CoreLogic data, from as much as A$895,117 at the top of the boom. With interest rates still near record lows, and lending curbs knocking investors out of the market, first-home buyers are back in business."

"More first-time buyers getting on the property ladder is thinning the field of applicants for rental properties, just as a wave of new supply hits the market. Landlords are dropping rents and in some instances offering incentives such as a free pizza and case of beer to applicants willing to sign on the spot."

The Australian Financial Review. "Two trendy neighbouring suburbs close to Melbourne's CBD were the biggest victims of the property market downturn in 2018, with house prices in both suburbs falling almost 20 per cent over the year."

"In the hip suburb of St Kilda East, about 6 kilometres south-east of the CBD, house prices dropped 18 per cent in the 12 months ended December 31, Domain Group data shows. House prices two suburbs away in South Yarra fell 17.7 per cent. Citywide property values in Melbourne fell 7 per cent in 2018, with other inner city suburbs like Abbotsford (-17.1 per cent), Flemington (-16.8 per cent) and North Melbourne (-16.8 per cent) posting steep house price drops."

"'That sub-$1 million housing market had been an investor-driven market over the years, but [investors] have all but disappeared for all sorts of reasons,' said Jeremy Rosens, a director at Gary Peer Real Estate."

"In the upmarket suburbs of Toorak and Prahan, where there has been a lot of new development, apartment prices also fell by 11.7 per cent and 9.1 per cent respectively. 'There are a lot of new apartments in those suburbs, and anywhere where they have been new developments have been hit badly,' Emma Bloom, director at buyers' agency Morrell and Koren said."

"'Blackburn definitely is one of those areas where Chinese buyers had bought apartments and they just aren't buying like they used to,' Ms Bloom added."

"Mr Rosens said Prahan had become a very hip inner-city suburb where a lot of the apartments had previously been sold to investors. 'It has been one of the destination suburbs for middle-income earners from China and Malaysia who may have seen there as a great place to invest in Melbourne and now they aren't investing here, that market has disappeared,' Mr Rosens added."

The Herald Sun. "The Melbourne market downturn is showing 'no real sign' of stopping after 15 straight months of price falls. Plummeting prices had been at their worst across Melbourne’s most expensive regions, said CoreLogic’s Cameron Kusher."

"For houses, CoreLogic figures show the biggest annual declines were in affluent Kooyong (down 43.5 per cent to a $1.755 million median sale price in the year to November 30), Parkville (42.3 per cent to $1.475 million), St Kilda (34.2 per cent to $922,500) and Toorak (31.6 per cent to $3.35 million)."

From Nine Finance. "The impact of the softer housing market continues to be felt in Australia's busiest markets, with auction clearances and rental prices alike falling. Vendor discounts have been particularly steep in Sydney and Melbourne since the start of 2017."

"'The widening gap between seller and buyer price expectations reflects the fact there are fewer active buyers in the market and as a result vendors that are serious about selling may need to make some sizeable price adjustments in order to sell,' CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said."

"And in bad news for people looking to offload property, the trend is set to continue. 'With housing market conditions continuing to deteriorate, buyers thin on the ground and a high volume of stock listed for sale, it is reasonable to expect that over the coming months vendor discounting may increase further,' Mr Kusher said."

From ABC News. "A commercial builder has been suspended by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) over a string of substandard housing developments in Melbourne's suburbs. Emad Farag has been suspended as a domestic and commercial builder for three years."

"Residents at one apartment block built by Mr Farag said they had been forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars to fix defects which include leaking pipes and cracks in walls. Owners want government assistance and fear that their property sale values have plummeted. 'It's been an absolute nightmare, I wish we had never bought the place,' said apartment owner Ryan Staples ."