Real Estate in Australia
Find a House to Buy or Rent in Australia

Australia real estate is quite similar to New Zealand but Australia is so much bigger. Like New Zealand there are positives and negatives to each city and each suburb and it is important to do research before you leave New Zealand and when you get there before you make any fixed arrangements.

It is highly recommend to give yourself some time to find which suburb suits you and your family best before you buy or rent any real estate in Australian and sign into a fixed term agreement.

Editors Note:"When we first moved to Australia we moved to the Gold Coast. After moving from Broadbeach to Surfers Central, then to Main Beach, we finally decided that Brisbane would be better for work, so we moved up there.

Lucky we had family to stay with for three months while we got to know Brisbane. We ended up living in Bulimba, which had everything we were looking for. The only way we found out about Bulimba was from a Taxi driver after we had been there for six weeks.

TALK TO EVERYONE and find out from people who have lived in the city the pros and cons of the different suburbs. It helps to know what type of suburb you like to live in and to give yourself time to do the research."

Short Term Living Options

While you are still deciding which Australian suburb you want to live in and waiting for your furniture to arrive, there are a few short term living options.

Family or Friends

The best and cheapest option, as not only will you get cheaper board you will also be able to discuss different suburbs with them as you are exploring.

Rent a Hotel, Motel or Hostel

Most short term Australian rental accommodations will give a special rate for a fixed term stay of five weeks or more. You will need to contact each place directly (Google search) but the rate will end up close to what renting will be without having to sign into anything long term and give you time to explore your new city and suburbs.

Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites)

On Craigslist you can find a lot of different housing options including: apartments / housing, housing swap, housing wanted, office / commercial, parking / storage, real estate for sale, rooms / shared, sublets / temporary and vacation rentals.

The listings cover Australian cities including: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney, Tasmania and Wollongong.

Finding an Australian Home to Rent

The Australian rental market is very competitive, especially in the main cities. Most Australian rentals will require you to submit a tenancy application, accompanied with the following documents, so it is best to have all the information ready to go:

  • Your last 3 months bank statements
  • A written reference from your previous landlord
  • Your previous landlord's contact information
  • Proof that your last bond was repaid in full (or an explanation as to why it wasn't)

The best place to look for rentals is on the internet. However, all the best properties are snapped up quickly so there isn't much point in seriously looking until you are two weeks away from being ready to move in. Below are some rental websites:

House's and apartments come furnished or unfurnished and are generally for a fixed term of six months to a year.

Editors Note:"We found realestate.com.au the best as it had all the major listings in one place. We didn't have all the documentation ready when we first started applying for rentals and we missed out on a couple. Once we got reference letters from our previous landlords and proof that we were great tenants, we applied for four places and got the option of two.

Apply for anything you might be interested in, as the rental market is very competitive."

Bond and Rent in Advance

It is normal for landlords to request between 2-4 weeks rent as bond and 2-4 weeks rent in advance. This means that you will need to be prepared to front up with somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks rent before moving into your new place. Your bond with be lodged with the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA) and returned to you minus the cost of any damages when you leave.

Finding Real Estate to Buy in Australia

Buying a home (real estate) in Australia is very similar to New Zealand. Below are the main websites for real estate listings in Australia:

You can research median house prices on the Australian Property Monitors (APM) website by following the below link:
http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/

If you have any questions please ask them using the comments field below and we will get back to you asap.

Add Comment (2)