CBRE Group’s investment management unit is close to making its entry into Australia’s direct property market, with the business eyeing the purchase of the South Wharf office tower in Melbourne in a deal worth about $145 million.

Foreign students with seemingly minimal money are buying plush mansions worth up to $5 million under laws that allow temporary residents to buy a property in Australia.

Property agents Hello Real Estate have launched a flat fee of $9990 for selling homes. Hello, which is based in Sydney but also operates in South Australia and Victoria, has done away with commission-based selling and will sell an apartment or a house for the same flat fee which includes an "independent valuation" and conveyancing.