2026

Choosing between a new build and an established home is not just a style preference. It affects cost structure, warranty protection, and how much you can know about the property before you commit. With an established home, you can inspect the actual property, its condition, its layout in real life rather than on a plan, and its immediate surroundings before you buy. A building and pest inspection can...

The purchase price is only one part of what owning a property costs. Buyers who budget only for the price and the deposit are often surprised by the ongoing and upfront costs that come with it. Upfront costs typically include transfer (stamp) duty, conveyancing or solicitor fees, building and pest inspection fees, and loan-related costs such as lender's mortgage insurance if your deposit is below a certain...

A school catchment is a defined geographic area that determines which local state school a property is zoned for. In Queensland, catchment enrolment generally guarantees a place at your local state school, which is a significant factor for many family buyers. The tricky part is that catchment boundaries do not follow suburb lines, and they can change over time as school capacity and population shift. Two...

Buying property in Australia from overseas, or shortly after arriving, involves a few extra layers that a typical local buyer does not need to think about. Where you should start depends heavily on your residency and visa status, which affects what you are eligible to buy and what additional costs may apply. Broadly, requirements differ for Australian citizens living overseas, permanent residents,...

South East Queensland covers a lot of ground, from inner Brisbane to the Gold Coast hinterland, and the differences between regions are bigger than the phrase "South East Queensland" suggests. If you are moving from interstate or overseas, it is worth researching a few things before settling on an area: how far you would realistically need to commute, what the mix of housing types actually looks like in...

A planning overlay is a layer of extra rules that applies to a property in addition to its normal zoning, usually because of a specific risk or feature associated with the land, such as flooding, bushfire risk, heritage significance, or proximity to infrastructure. Overlays do not necessarily mean a property is unsafe or a poor choice. Large parts of South East Queensland sit within some form of flood or...

The property type you choose changes more than the layout. It affects ownership structure, ongoing costs, what you can change about the property, and how much land, if any, comes with it. A standalone house is generally freehold, meaning you own the building and the land it sits on outright, subject to any easements or covenants on the title. You are usually responsible for the full cost and...

An easement is a legal right for someone, often a utility provider, a council, or a neighbouring property owner, to use part of your land for a specific purpose, even though you own it. Common examples include a drainage easement that lets stormwater or sewer infrastructure run under part of your yard, a right of way that lets a neighbour access their property across a corner of yours, or an easement for...

Choosing a suburb before choosing a property can feel backwards if you are used to browsing listings first, but for a lot of buyers it is the more useful order to work in. Start with the things that will not change: how far you need to be from work, family or school, and what kind of commute you are actually willing to do regularly, not just in theory. From there, housing type and land size start to narrow...

A listing is a piece of marketing. That does not make it dishonest, but it does mean it is written to present a property in its best light, not to give you a balanced view of everything worth knowing. A few things worth checking beyond the listing itself: the property's planning and zoning status, any registered easements or covenants on the title, flood or bushfire overlay information where it applies,...