Aussie Real Estate Podcast
Luxury Rentals, Sydney vs Melbourne Prices, and the Rise of Female Real Estate Agents
13 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are the current trends in the luxury rental market?
It's the Real Estate Podcast, brought to you by ANZ Home Loans for financial well-beings. Hey, it's the Real Estate Breakfast all across Australia for our 2026 year, and it's the middle of our working week. A slow week if you are back to work, a fast week if you are on holiday. Yes, weird how that works. But it's based on the enjoyment factor, working for the man or the woman versus fun.
I know that probably doesn't help you start your job off this morning. I can hear the resentment in your voice saying thanks. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser is quietly signalling patience on interest rates.
While markets jumped in November inflation data and speculated for a February hike, Hauser has stressed that the Reserve Bank of Australia looks to one to two years ahead, not quarter by quarter. This is interesting. Even he says a slight December quarter inflation uptick doesn't panic the bank.
And with forecasts already assuming inflation above 3% into this year, higher rate expectations could offset small misses, giving the RBA room to wait. Do you, this is a question, buy that from the deputy? Do you go along with what he is saying?
Because the RBA has in the past reacted to market movement quickly, swiftly, and the relaxed comments from the deputy seem out of step with the way that Michelle Bullock operates. What do you think? Leave us a voice message. We've got that facility for you now, or you can leave us an email.
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Chapter 2: How do Sydney and Melbourne compare in luxury rental prices?
The email address is myrealestatepodcast at gmail.com, where we've got the summer series that is coming up next. More analysis, trends, and talking points with the best of 2025 next. You're listening to the Summer Series on The Real Estate Podcast. They do look for these striking four-bedroom homes. Everything is there and they're quite happy to outlay some of this coin right up to $2,500 a week.
Correct. Yeah. So a couple of my properties are our prestige properties. One of them that I mentioned in the article, they're paying $26.50 per week. That landlord literally thought of everything. He wanted the tenants just to basically bring their clothing and their personal belongings and virtually relax. So they work from home and they work around Australia, these tenants.
So it's very convenient for them. Now, tell us a little bit about the investors, because this is interesting. A lot of investors are buying into Noosa Noosaville and they're then renting out the property. They're travelling off overseas, are they, for 12 months and then coming back? Yeah. Yep.
So I've got a couple of landlords at the moment that they've sold their property, let's say within the Sunshine Coast region or any other area around Australia. And they've decided to travel for 12 months overseas or, you know, around Australia.
Chapter 3: What factors are influencing buyer sentiment in Sydney and Melbourne?
And then they're renting their properties out for that period with the option with a possible extension to tenants within the region. Is that something that you've kind of noticed since post-COVID where people are coming in, they're doing that and they're taking off overseas?
Most definitely because there's so many people with their work options now that could do work from home and work remotely so they're still working as such when they're travelling because everything's just on a computer or a laptop now. Yeah and I think it
is really hard because people make decisions at a point in time in their life and potentially they're not forward thinking to how that will impact them later, especially, you know, you take Hex as an example and you're thinking about going to uni and being educated and that potentially doesn't flow through to how that's going to affect a loan process in five years, perhaps.
So I think understanding how that's going to impact you financially back to that education piece is really important, but there are quite a few different factors in that as well. So I think having some advice and some guidance around those things is very important. Yeah, that's a good point that you actually raised there in terms of the HECS and the education part.
I think a lot of people might be thinking, well, the banks will sort of look upon my degree rather favourably because I'm going to be able to get out there in the world. I'm going to be able to earn some really good money. But of course, banks don't care about any of that. All they care about is serviceability and whether you can actually pay the mortgage. Yeah, that's 100% right.
And I think the scary thing is, especially with HECS, is that is potentially a debt or a liability that is going to stay with people for some time because until you're making very decent money, that tends to go up and not down.
And there are other factors in that, but that is definitely something that we're seeing affect people more so over the last 12 months or 18 months than what it did potentially three or four years ago. Rebecca, lenders, as I mentioned, assess mortgage applications differently these days because people need to keep pace of what they need to satisfy a lender.
So perhaps just enlighten our listeners from the other side of the fence, and that is from the lender's side. The lenders and what factors are most important in their decision-making? Yes.
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Chapter 4: How are female real estate agents impacting the market?
So I would say, as you touched on, obviously lots of lenders, lots of different criteria, but there are some key main points that all lenders will look at. And that's kind of coming down to credit score or the health of your credit score, income stability, or how you're going to show that that is something that you've got and is ongoing.
Obviously balancing that income with expenses or what are your ongoing liabilities and how are they factored in. And the other one would be deposit or security. What's your skin in the game as a consumer? And how are you going to show the bank that you're not a liability? Yeah, I mean, it's just a no-brainer, isn't it?
And I think what people are surprised with by the sound of it when they do come from Sydney is just the amount of property that they are getting with the ability to spend more, but they are sort of settling many of them in that $700,000 to $800,000 market. Is that a fair comment?
Absolutely. And I think our Sydney buyers also come with a little bit more gusto when it comes to competitive bidding and also negotiation. Because as much as our Melbourne buyers may not want to pay the extra, the Sydney people see it as fantastic value when they compare to back home. We're really closing those deals in spades with the Sydney people coming across to Melbourne to relocate.
I guess that you're seeing it from the locals on the ground because the locals probably don't have as much enthusiasm and gas in the tank as much as the Sydney ones. Just coming back to that point where they see the value and they're probably quite aggressive and they knock out a lot of these local buyers as a result.
That's exactly right. We're finding that dealing with the Sydney buyers, the negotiation process is a lot better because they are seeing the value. Where you compare with your Melbourne buyers, they're getting knocked out by these Sydney investors. Again, when they compare back home, it's just fantastic value.
I mean, we're 35 minutes out of the city, 35 minutes down to Geelong and the surf coast, and you're buying a four-bedroom family home for a median sale price of $700,000.
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Chapter 5: What challenges are investors facing in the current market?
We are talking to Rhys Beckley from Barry Plant in Werribee there in Melbourne. Seems like a lot of Sydney buyers have decided to quit the market. And yes, if you have a look at that price between the two markets, as I mentioned, $595,000. It is an awful lot of money that you are saving and getting a bit of land, getting a double income.
garage, as we talked about, and space to sort of move around in. Now, Rhys, I just wanted to talk to you about the property tax. Now, what's been happening over the last couple of months with Victoria's new land tax? They say it could drive landlords out of the state, some commentators are saying. So what are you sort of seeing on the ground?
Look, we are seeing some of our landlords partly due to the land tax and also due to just general, I suppose, living expenses potentially look to pull out of the market. But at the same token, we're also seeing those interstate investors. So it's not just Sydney-siders coming in to relocate. They're also looking at our real estate for an investment to become a landlord.
And that's got to do a huge amount with our affordability. So when you weigh up the affordability to enter the market versus what they're seeing in Sydney, obviously, we are still getting great demand through our investor marketplace.
Now, for those people that are tuned in, why Werribee? Here you go. Here's your chance, Rhys. Why should people buy in Werribee? What has Werribee got going for itself?
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Chapter 6: How does the new land tax in Victoria affect landlords?
Well, look, Werribee itself, it's a huge growth corridor. You know, I think I mentioned before, it's one of the fastest growing areas in Victoria at the moment, the city of Wyndham as a whole. But when you look at where it's located, we are 35 minutes to Melbourne CBD.
And then if you head the other direction, we're 35 minutes to Geelong and the Surf Coast with all the beaches down at Bells Beach in Torquay. So it's a fantastic location. It's very young, community-based, a lot of young families, a lot of diversity. It's a very vibrant community and the affordability certainly helps to set up your family.
Powerful up-to-date news every morning from 6am. Know your property with us. Of course, we have, Lyndall, a lot of men listening this morning, so I have to ask you the question. What is it that separates the boys from the girls when it comes to real estate agents?
Well, look, everybody's different, but I do believe that the attention to detail that women bring to a sale does make it stand out, especially in a market such as this where it is tough and you really have to put a lot of time into marketing a home and presenting it properly. I think our communication is next level and I think we drop the ego a little bit too.
Yeah, I've said this before, and that is it's all about being authentic. The more authentic you are, the more engagement you will have with people on social media. It's kind of the same with podcasting. You know, if we're trying to do something which isn't authentic. People are going to switch off in a really quick hurry.
Now, I want to get to the real estate because I mentioned Newcastle's median house price point, $865,000. The apartments too, I think it's around that $690,000, maybe slightly less than that.
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Chapter 7: What are the advantages of buying property in Werribee?
So the apartment market, what's been happening in that space?
The apartment market has still stayed quite strong. We have seen a lot of new developments, especially in the last 10 years in Newcastle. Yeah, the apartments really vary. You know, you might have a one bedroom studio for $600,000 or a penthouse sold for over $10 million in Newcastle last year. So it's completely broad, but majority of it is very affordable.
The rentals in Newcastle are also incredibly strong. So we do see investors jumping into that market a fair bit, but you have a lot of water views from majority of the apartments, whether it's an ocean view or a harbour view. So they are very appealing and I believe very affordable as well.
Linda, what are some of the biggest driving points that have people moving into your area? Why don't you list those off for us this morning?
There's so many. First of all, we have the incredible coastline. Our beaches are spectacular. They really are. really are great for surfing too. We have the university, which is only 15 minutes from the beach. We have John Hunter Hospital and the private hospital, which is a really renowned hospital in New South Wales and Australia.
But we also have Williamtown Airport, which is 25 minutes from the heart of Newcastle. So it really delivers this broad lifestyle without the hustle and bustle of Sydney.
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Chapter 8: What is the outlook for luxury properties in Newcastle?
Everything's five minutes in Newey. It's amazing.
And tell us a little bit about the competition in terms of Sydney. There's so much competition, isn't there? But you go two hours drive into Newcastle and I think you can just sort of take your foot off the accelerator a little bit. Take your time, you know, to choose. There's a little bit more breathing space, isn't there?
Definitely, Craig, I agree with that. I think, you know, in Sydney, I haven't worked in the Sydney market for many, many years, but your average turnout at, say, a one-bedroom apartment could be 20 or 30 groups. Well, we would average somewhere between, you know, four and eight. So there's not this fierce competition where you really have to make a decision. You can take a little bit more time.
You but other times they don't. So because our population isn't as broad as Sydney, then it gives you a little bit more breathing room when you are house hunting.
Let's talk about the luxury comparable market to Sydney, because I think a lot of people would find that somewhat surprising that you are almost into that luxury Sydney market price point.
Yeah, I do hear it all the time when people will come up for homes, like beautiful luxury homes from Sydney expecting they're going to be a lot cheaper, but the luxury part of the market is not cheap. You know, we broke the record last year with a sale for over $11 million and, you know, just listed another one for over $10 million. I just spoke about an apartment sale
That sold for over $10 million. So we still do pull some very strong prices, especially with those coastal homes. There are some amazing, amazing homes in your Merriweathers and your Bar Beach in Newcastle.
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