A report from the Herald Sun in Australia. "Melbourne’s mansions are bearing the brunt of the property market correction. Sales among the city’s most elite addresses — the top end of Toorak — have come to an 'absolute stop,' according to industry insiders. And new CoreLogic figures show the top 25 per cent of the city’s houses — those above $1.011 million — have lost a median $170,000 (14.4 per cent) in the past year. By comparison, a middle-range house in the city — valued at about $730,000 — has lost about $95,000 (11.5 per cent)."

"Top-end buyer’s advocate David Morrell said the city’s elite home market — houses above $5 million — was seeing fewer sales and listings now than during the global financial crisis. 'Winter isn’t coming, winter is here,' Mr Morrell said. 'There wouldn’t even be a handful of sales a week. It’s just come to an absolute stop.'"

From Nestegg. "A lack of confidence and the banks clamping down have been thought of as reasons why acquiring finance is so difficult for property investors lately, but according to the Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) chief economist, Tim Reardon, foreign investors leaving Australia’s property market also has played a considerable role."

"Mr Reardon said data from HIA Economics and the RBA have pointed to lending to investors to drop down to its lowest level ever. The explanation for this, the chief economist said, was not just because of declining confidence in the market or banks restricting access to finance, but because of foreign investors leaving the market."

"Over the last two years, Mr Reardon said data from the Foreign Investment Review Board saw foreign investment decline from $30 billion to $12 billion, with the vast majority of that sourced from China."

"'What we know is state government certainly acted to restrict foreign investors in the market,' he said. 'Punitive rates of stamp duty have certainly had an impact, differential exchange rates may have had an impact, falling house prices in Sydney and Melbourne may have had an impact. But if we look at the rest of the world, Toronto has seen the same thing, London has seen the same thing, in fact, they’ve seen bigger reductions in foreign investor activity in residential homes than we’ve seen.'"

From the Australian Financial Review. "Property prices in Darwin are now back to the same level they were in 2007, with anyone who bought a home in the Northern Territory capital in the last 12 years potentially out of the money. An exclusive analysis by CoreLogic for The Australian Financial Review shows a meteoric rise in dwelling values between 2002 and 2011 before prices began to fall. The market then peaked again in May 2014 and prices have been sliding since."

"While the recent downturn in Sydney and Melbourne has affected a larger number of home owners due to the sheer population across the two biggest capital cities, the steep and prolonged fall in Darwin's property market to coincide with the mining downturn has left the buyers of as many as 32,155 properties underwater, potentially leaving every single household in the city affected."

"It's the unit market that has suffered the most in Darwin with values down 41 per cent since their peak. House values have dropped 20.5 per cent. If a buyer purchased an apartment for $500,000, close to the median value in 2014, it would now be worth as little as $295,000."

"'Darwin was heavily popular with investors in its growth phase, particularly in the apartment sector, and if you look at the data – how many units were built in the lead-up to 2013 – there was a spectacular level of supply,' said Tim Lawless, CoreLogic's head of research."

The Courier Mail. "The housing market in the Queensland capital is set to hit a new level of luxury with the addition of an $8.8 million mansion complete with luxury car and free wine. The four-storey home at, 15 Towers St, Ascot, is being built by Zephyr Industries and has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a seven-car garage — perfect for the buyer’s new bright green Lamborghini Huracan LP 580."

"Zephyr Industries director Brayden Larkin said the design of the property was a culmination of ideas. 'I had a few beers and got creative,' Mr Larkin said."

From ABC.net. "We all know landlords and real estate agents aren't afraid to jack up prices to 'keep up with the market.' But when the market reverses, and rental prices drop because of over-supply or economic factors, why shouldn't you be able to ask for a reduction? We started looking around and noticed that similar places to ours in Sydney's inner city were being advertised by up to $100 less than they were a year before."

"When I floated the idea of asking for a cut, we were all pretty nervous. Some of my friends called me crazy and told me not to do it, worried we would be kicked out. In the end we decided to ask for $65 a week off. That's a cut of just over $20 each for three housemates, and well under the 12 per cent drop in rental prices in our area."

"At first they asked us to meet them halfway, which we refused. Then they asked if we would sign a longer 18 month lease, but we said we weren't comfortable doing that either. In the end, it was good news for us. We got the full $65 a week reduction we asked for. And now all of those friends who called me crazy are now emailing their agents and doing deals."