The rules are aimed at protecting a successful bidder being gazumped by a late bid or post-auction offer, made after a property has been sold.

An embarrassing technical glitch in realestate.com.au's email servers meant real-estate agents did not receive queries from prospective home buyers for up to two months.

The glitch was discovered on Thursday last week after agents received a slew of email queries from realestate.com.au that were up to eight weeks old.

EVERY time there is an analysis of Australia's population growth hotspots, the focus rarely shifts from southeast Queensland, the outermost suburbs of large capital cities, and parts of the eastern seaboard and the southwest coast.

To be perfectly frank, I am sick of these places hogging the limelight. Move over, Mandurah, give others a go, Gold Coast, ease up, Dardanup, take a holiday, Hervey Bay. What about Tasmania's growth hotspots?

Yes, Tasmania.

Most experienced investors understand that even a few weeks’ annual vacancy usually means a lower net income than if the property had been rented at 95 percent of market value for the whole year. So if maximising income from rental property investment comes from keeping their properties occupied, why do some landlords expect to rent their properties for 110% of market value?

The answer to this question no doubt varies but such landlords sacrifice weeks of rent and create dissatisfied tenants who move on when they find a better value option, thereby creating a cycle of higher turnover and greater vacancy.

The ultimate price of a big home.
 
by Neil Jenman

It won't be long before a television program takes us live to the scene of a home eviction. It will be the property equivalent of a public execution.

Here's what happens at an eviction…

A date and a time is set for the eviction. About half an hour before the set time, uniformed officers (sheriffs) arrive; sometimes the police are there (especially if a struggle is expected). A locksmith turns up.

If all goes smoothly, a few minutes before the appointed time, a family will emerge from the home – a father, a mother and one or two children; perhaps, also, a baby.

Okay, that's enough, you get the picture – and it's something you never want to let happen to you or anyone you know.

So, how can you avoid the saddest sale of all?