A report from the Australian Financial Review. "A group of 25 apartments in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville has hit the market following the collapse of its private developer GR Capital as the apartment market slowdown continues to claim casualties. In an all too familiar trend, receivers and managers Ferrier Hodgson were appointed to sell the unsold units at 'The One' tower in one line after GR Capital's private lender Everest Financial triggered the receivership."

"Colliers International's Matthew Meynell, James Cowan and Joseph Lin are managing the sale of the 25 residual apartments after recently completing another one-line sale of 61 apartments in Epping in Sydney's north to boutique investor Altis Property Partners."

"'When you look at the profile of developers getting into difficulty, they are typically offshore developers without a proven track record in the local market,' Mr Meynell said. 'APRA’s tighter banking regulations, China's restriction of direct investment into residential real estate and higher stock levels are also factors contributing to the challenges some of these developers face.'"

The West Australian. "House prices in Perth are the same as in April 2006, with a median of $436,000, according to RP Data Core Logic. Its latest report says that since prices peaked, Perth is down 19.2 per cent and regional WA has fallen 32.5 per cent. 'In Perth values were previously this low in April 2006 and values haven’t been this low across regional WA since July 2005,' the report said."

The New Zealand Herald. "More than one-in-three Auckland suburbs have defied the market slowdown and risen in value, according to the latest OneRoof housing market figures. But the city is also home to some of the country's biggest house price drops, with some suburbs dipping out of the $1 million club."

"Nine out of 10 of the nation's biggest fallers in median house values are in Auckland, including the country's wealthiest neighbourhood, Herne Bay, which slipped 12 per cent to $2.19m. Just under 20 per cent of Auckland suburbs experienced value drops of more than 5 per cent and seven suburbs - Kumeu, Whitford, Albany, Herne Bay, Pukekohe East, Ti Point and Sunnynook - suffered double-digit slumps."

"Sunnynook's median value was $1.14 million a year ago, but is now $995,000. However, that's still up from three years ago when the suburb's value was $720,000. Kumeu on the city's north western fringe is New Zealand's biggest faller, dropping 18 per cent on a year ago (from $1.455m to $1.195m), while Albany is down more than 12 per cent, off $140,000 from its high of $1.145m last year."

"OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said the swings in median values reflected the change in the sorts of properties now selling."

"Some of the suburbs that had taken a hit in the North Shore were some of the fastest rising in previous years, and particularly popular with overseas investors, said James Wilson, head of valuation at OneRoof's data partners Valocity. 'They had higher value because of that coastal influence, good housing stock and proximity to good schools, they grew faster and reached higher price points,' Wilson said. 'But now there's anecdotal evidence that in a generally less heated market, they're also seeing the 'double whammy' of fewer foreign buyers.'"