Property commentator Tom Panos has warned that falling house prices in Sydney and Melbourne could act like a "flu" spreading through the wider Australian real estate market, potentially dragging down values in other cities and regions. The warning highlights growing concern that weakness in the two largest and most closely watched property markets often signals broader trends for the national housing sector, making the issue significant for homeowners, buyers and investors across the country.

The article's underlying detail was not available in the supplied text, so specific figures on the scale of potential price falls could not be confirmed. In general terms, such warnings typically point to factors like affordability pressures, interest rates and buyer sentiment in Australia's two biggest cities as early indicators of where the rest of the market may be heading.