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There were 660 sales in Perth this week, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. This is down from 715 sales during the same week last year.
The most actively traded suburb was <a href="/news">Rockingham</a>, south of the river, which has a median house price of $375,000 and a median unit price of $289,000, according to RP Data.
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Perth sales down 8% on same week last year: REIWA

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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Perth in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $470 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units  rose in regional Queensland in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $390 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in regional NSW in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $345 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in regional WA in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $375 per week.
 
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in regional South Australia in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $225 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Sydney in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $520 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Brisbane in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $400 per week.
 
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Melbourne in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $410 per week.
 
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in the Northern Territory in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $495 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Darwin in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $505 per week.
 
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in regional Tasmania in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $245 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in ACT in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $485 per week.
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/9point26percent.gif">
The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Hobart in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $295 per week.
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in regional Victoria in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $275 per week.
 
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The amount by which the median weekly asking rent for units rose in Adelaide in the past year, according to Residex. The median unit asking rent is $295 per week.
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Perth unit rents up 31% in past year, but Adelaide landlords secure just 5% rise: Residex state-by-state analysis

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A two-bedroom beachfront home in Forresters Beach, NSW, has sold for $1.2 million, or $800,000 less than its original asking price, after spending 720 days on the market, according to SQM Research.
The property at 6 South Scenic Road (pictured) was first on SQM's list of the 10 most discounted homes in Australia for a number of months, having had its asking price reduced from $2 million to $1.1 million plus.  McGrath agents Steve Dudley and Jennifer DeLuca secured a bit more than the lower estimate.
"This has left room for another central coast property to take its place as number one – with 451 Old Pacific Highway, Mooney Mooney Creek, 2083, being bumped up to the top position after only debuting on our list last week," says SQM Research director Louis Christopher.
The central coast of NSW continues to dominate the list, with no properties from NT, SA or Victoria discounted enough to make the list. 
"Number three on the list – 38 Iluka Road, Palm Beach – was originally advertised as going to auction with offers of over $4.75 million," Christopher notes.
"It appears that perhaps the vendors did not receive a high enough offer as the house has now been advertised as 'for sale' with 'offers over $5 million'. This asking price is still a massive $3 million less than the original asking price, so it will be interesting to see if it attracts any serious buyer interest."
1 <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Rural/NSW/Mooney-Mooney-Creek/?adid=2008808903" target="_blank">451 Old Pacific Highway, Mooney Mooney Creek, NSW, 2083</a>
<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Forresters-Beach/?adid=2008587390" target="_blank"></a>Days on the market: 588 Initial asking price: $1.55 million Current asking price: $895,000 Reduction: 42%
2
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Palm-Beach/?adid=2008878601">38 Iluka Road, Palm Beach, NSW, 2108</a>
Days on the market: 553 Initial asking price: $8 million Current asking price $5 million Reduction: 38%
3
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-tas-taranna-106879142">5756 Arthur Highway, Taranna, Tasmania, 7180</a>
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-livestock-qld-caboolture-7262420"></a>Days on the market: 713 Initial asking price: $499000 Current asking price: $299,000 Reduction: 40%
4
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-livestock-qld-caboolture-7262420" target="_blank">19 Lychee Drive, Caboolture, Queensland, 4510</a>
Days on the market: 853 Initial asking price: $949,000 Current asking price: $586,000 Reduction: 38%
5
<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Greendale/?adid=2008766488" target="_parent">202 Wolstenholme Avenue, Greendale, NSW, 2745</a>
Days on the market: 615 Initial asking price: $2.95 million Current asking price: $1.85 million Reduction: 37%
6
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-two+rocks-106211228" target="_blank">15 Gretel Two Rocks 6037</a>
Days on the market: 1,001 Initial asking price: $1.1 million Current asking price: $690,000 Reduction: 36%
7
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-white+beach-106479093" target="_blank">588 White Beach Road, White Beach, Tasmania, 7184</a>
Days on the market: 853 Initial asking price: $780,000 Current asking price: $499,000 Reduction: 36%
8
<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Townhouse/NSW/Magenta/?adid=2007217761" target="_blank">1302 Birkdale Place, Magenta, NSW, 2261</a>
Days on the market: 1,558 Initial asking price: $700,000 Current asking price: $450,000 Reduction: 36%
9
<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/House/NSW/Gorokan/?adid=2008670949" target="_blank">323 The Corso, Gorokan, NSW, 2263 </a>
Days on the market: 679 Initial asking price: $680,000 Current asking price: $440,000 Reduction: 35%
10
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-armadale-105464925" target="_blank">99 Lowanna Way, Armadale, WA, 6112</a>
Days on market: 1,270 Initial asking price: $1.85 million Current asking price: $1.2 million Reduction: 35%
 
SQM Research also offers a list of the <a title="SQM Research" href="https://www.sqmresearch.com.au/top100bargains.php" target="_blank">Top 100 Biggest Bargains in Australia </a>for sale.
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Forresters Beach property sells for $800,000 less than original asking price after two years on the market: SQM

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Americans Jonathan and Beth Hankins found what they thought to be a bargain foreclosed in the US state of Oregon for $36,000. 
Soon after, their two-year-old son developed health ailments, and the couple discovered they had unknowingly purchased a drug lab and the house was contaminated by methamphetamine, as the Huffington Post noted.
<a href="https://twitter.com/HuffingtonPost" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/huffpotweet.jpg"></a>
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What happens with a home buyer unknowingly buys a former meth lab: Tweet of the day

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"A good job, like where you get like heaps of money. I’d be like a decent mum, like a husband with no violence and everything, so it could be a happy family, you know, but like that would never happen…"
Jessica, a 12-year-old from Claymore in Sydney’s south west, is not optimistic about her future. Monday’s Four Corners documentary <a target="_blank" href="https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2012/09/20/3594298.htm">Growing Up Poor in Modern Australia</a> asked why more wasn’t being done to break the cycle of disadvantage for the children of Australia’s most disadvantaged suburbs. The report focused on five families from Claymore, in south-west Sydney.
A suburb of 3,300 residents, Claymore was built as a public housing estate by Housing NSW in the 1970s. By 2011, it was <a href="https://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/SSC10536?opendocument&amp;navpos=220">one of Australia’s poorest suburbs</a>, with a median household income of $588 per week, around half the national average. It was also one of the youngest, with 40% of residents aged under 15, compared to 19% for Australia. But Claymore is not unique. <a href="https://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/File/Report12_07_Deprivation_and_exclusion_in_Australia.pdf">Concentrations of inter-generational disadvantage</a> have developed in public housing estates in all of Australia’s capital cities.
<h2>Where does disadvantage come from?</h2>
Australia’s public housing has not always been associated with disadvantage.
The Commonwealth established a Housing Commission in 1943, recommending a national target of 80,000 publicly built dwellings per year. The aspiration was to provide workers’ housing to support Australia’s industrial development.
Most of this housing was initially built in large estates on the edge of our cities. In NSW, large estates were built in the 1960s, such as Mount Druitt, with 32,000 people in 8,000 properties. This golden era of mass public housing had come to an end when Claymore was completed in the 1970s.
By 1978, the Commonwealth had greatly reduced the amount of funding for building and maintaining public housing. The result of dwindling funds was a shift in the role of public housing, from a mainstream option to marginal sector with a highly disadvantaged tenant base. By 2006, around 90% of tenants were either on welfare benefits or experiencing some other form of social deprivation.
<h2>A market solution?</h2>
Faced with ageing housing stock, disadvantaged tenants, and growing waiting lists, Australia’s government housing agencies have turned to the private market.
By offering housing vouchers in the form of Commonwealth rent assistance, they have looked to private landlords to house many of Australia’s poorest people. And they have looked to private property developers to fund the renewal of their housing estates through policies branded as “social mix”.
Social mix solutions have been pursued since the 1980s in Australia. They can be achieved by selling public housing dwellings to tenants or on the private market, or by building new privately-owned dwellings in the neighbourhood in partnership with a property developer.
The latter strategy has been the most popular. As the Four Corners documentary showed, such a project was underway in Claymore, with almost all of the existing public dwellings earmarked for demolition. These would be replaced with 1,300 new dwellings. About 70% of them would be sold to private buyers with the remainder returned to public housing tenants.
 
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<h2>Who benefits, at whose cost?</h2>
The <a href="https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/37384/">benefits of these social mix policies</a> – by reducing concentrations of public housing – are said to be wide ranging, delivering improvements in the economy, social welfare and health. These include a more vibrant local economy, reduced anti-social behaviour and less stigma. However, the evidence for these claimed benefits is less than convincing.
The economic benefits for government receive less attention, but are arguably much more significant. By getting private property developers to partially fund the redevelopment of their decaying housing stock, housing agencies can get a return on their only real asset – land – and address an overwhelming maintenance backlog.
At Bonnyrigg in Sydney for example, the $733 million redevelopment of the public housing estate by Becton (a private developer) and Housing NSW has replaced 833 public housing dwellings with 2,330 new dwellings. Only 699 of the new dwellings have been retained as public housing. The development has been rebranded as “<a target="_blank" href="https://newleafbonnyrigg.com.au/">Newleaf</a>”.
Social mix solutions, while attractive to government, impose costs on the tenants of public housing. In Claymore, only 99 houses have been demolished to date and the project is has now stalled after a change of state government. As reported on Four Corners, “residents now say maintenance on their homes has almost ceased and there are houses all over the suburb boarded up and empty”.
Research has also pointed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0811114022000005898">unintended negative consequences</a> of social mix policy. Moving residents temporarily or permanently out of their neighbourhood during redevelopment can be disruptive to social networks and children’s schooling. Reducing public housing supply at a time where public housing waiting lists are at record levels (56,000 in NSW and 37,000 in VIC) also comes at a large social cost, with high-needs households pushed into the under-regulated private rental market.
<h2>A non-market solution</h2>
The stagnation of public housing funding has led to concentrations of some of our most vulnerable people in Australia’s outer-suburbs, as illustrated by the children of Claymore. Social mix policies that break up these concentrations of housing may only relocate this disadvantage, rather than address it.
A non-market alternative is to inject funds into the ailing public housing sector. If public housing numbers were increased through significant investment, the selection criteria could be broadened to allow a much wider base of tenants. This would start to “normalise” public housing, returning it to its original intent as a mainstream affordable option for Australians.
For governments struggling to just maintain existing levels of public housing stock however, harvesting land value by allowing private market development of their assets seems to be the only solution – whatever the cost.
Lucy Groenhart is a research fellow in urban policy at <a href="https://www.rmit.edu.au/" target="_blank">RMIT</a>.
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How public housing became associated with social disadvantage

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6/383 Maroubra Road, Maroubra, NSW 2035
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Currently tenanted at $500 a week to a tenant on an expired lease, this Maroubra unit was set for auction this weekend but sold on Thursday for $500,000 to an owner-occupier. The two-bedroom unit in the Aurora building is within easy walking distance of Maroubra Beach and has expansive water views.
Richardson &amp; Wrench selling agent Lloyd Allen gave pre-sale price hopes of $450,000 plus. If the buyer decides to rent it out, at its current rent it would secure a gross rental yield of 5.2%, above the indicative gross rental yield for Maroubra units, according to RP Data. The gross rental yield does not consider the costs of maintaining the property, including council rates and other fees such as water bills and managing agent fees.
<a href="https://calc.washingtonbrown.com.au/wbdcalculator/calculator.aspx?RID=HPCAZOPTTT" target="_blank">Washington Brown</a> estimates the first-year tax depreciation deduction to be $4,000 and over five years to be $9,000.
The median house price in Maroubra rose 1.4% in the past year and 27.8% in the past five years, according to RP Data.
For more information about prices and yields in <a href="/news">Maroubra, see the RP Data suburb page.</a>
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Friday form guide: No investment yields, as Maroubra property sells to owner-occupier

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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/industry-news/social-media-not-for-all-as-agents-abandon-twitter/2012092356725"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/1percentto3percent.gif"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/industry-news/social-media-not-for-all-as-agents-abandon-twitter/2012092356725">percentage of Real Estate Institute of Victoria members who endorse Twitter</a> as a way to connect with potential vendors and buyers. “Online is … clearly having an impact, but that does not extend to social media,” says REIV chief Enzo Raimondo.
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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/house-prices-to-surge-15-by-late-2013-as-rates-fall-100-basis-points-australian-financial-reviews-david-bassanese/2012092456754"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/15percent.gif"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/house-prices-to-surge-15-by-late-2013-as-rates-fall-100-basis-points-australian-financial-reviews-david-bassanese/2012092456754">increase in Australian house prices by late 2013</a> predicted by Australian Financial Revieweconomic writer David Bassanese. Bassanese, a 20-year economics veteran, also expects interest rates to fall by 100 basis points over the next 12 months – taking the cash rate to 2.5%.
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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/rural/lexington-tom-wills-childhood-home-ground-at-moyston-for-sale/2012092456753"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/5mplus.gif"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/rural/lexington-tom-wills-childhood-home-ground-at-moyston-for-sale/2012092456753">price hopes for Lexington, at Moyston near Ararat</a>, the childhood home of Tom Wills, the inventor of the Australian rules game. The property was established in 1840 by Horatio Wills, whose son, Tom, inspired by a game he played with the local indigenous children, is credited as inventing the country's most popular sporting competition.
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<a target="_blank" href="/news"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/20m.gif"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="/news">price hopes businessman Simon Tripp has for Jabulisa</a>, his impressive 6.9-hectare Sydney northern beaches acreage. The Tripps have reportedly spent millions of dollars developing Jabulisa, described as the "ultimate family resort".
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/7point44percent.gif">
The increase in house prices in the central western NSW town of Mudgee, a hotspot for mining, agriculture and tourism, in the past year, according to Residex. Mudgee was the best-performing house market of NSW for the year. 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/970k.gif">
 Brownlow medalist Jobe Watson's vendor bid for his three-bedroom Albert Park investment cottage, which lingers unsold on the market after its September 1 auction.
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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/australian-house-prices-could-rise-7-in-2013-if-eurozone-holds-together-sqm-research/2012092556806"><img src="/images/stories/2012/09/7percent.gif"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/australian-house-prices-could-rise-7-in-2013-if-eurozone-holds-together-sqm-research/2012092556806">amount by which Australian house prices could rise in 2013</a>, according to SQM Research, provided that the eurozone holds together and the RBA does not make dramatic interest rate cuts.
 
 
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The 7 must-know numbers of the week, starting with the few agents who value Twitter

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There were 802 residential property sales in Perth for the week ending September 26, up 23% on the same week last year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. The most actively traded suburb was Subiaco, with 18 sales.
REIWA says the number of listings, 10,048, is the lowest since 2010.
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Perth residential property listings at two-year low: REIWA

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High land prices have all but killed the Australian housing industry.
Lower housing starts has led to lower GST revenues (house construction attracts full GST), and lower stamp duty receipts are crippling state budgets and cruelling the chances of low and middle income earners to get a start in the housing market.
What has caused this slump in housing starts? Land prices.
Raw land for new housing developments should be close to its agricultural value – in other words, around $10,000 per hectare. But land released for residential development fetches up to $1 million per hectare – 100 times the agricultural price.
Government land management agencies and private land developers may well argue a lot of land has been released for residential development, but clearly it is not enough.
Only when urban growth boundaries are removed will we know a piece of land’s true value. It will then be a trade-off between price and distance. People may be prepared to travel another 10 or 15 minutes by car (10 to 20 kilometres) to get a cheaper block.
To highlight the “‘X’ years supply of land available” argument, I heard a state bureaucrat say recently that the government had released enough land for 15 years’ supply. I raised my hand and asked “15 years’ supply – at what price?” He didn’t know what I meant. I said “at $200,000 a block it may well take 15 years to sell. So why don’t you double the price and then you’ll have 30 years’ supply?”
These points highlight the fact that, as with most central planning, housing planning is based on a fundamental flaw – that price does not matter. But as we know, price does matter. Imagine the demand for housing if land was $100,000 per block cheaper. Think LCD, LED and plasma TVs over the past five years.
Australia does not have, and never has had, a housing affordability problem, it has a land affordability problem. The cost of building a new house has hardly moved in 20 years. Land prices however have skyrocketed. By restricting the amount of land available on the urban fringes of our cities, state governments have sent the price of entry-level housing through the roof.
The reasons state governments give for these restrictions all centre on urban planning. They have persisted with their policies of urban densification (squeezing more and more people into existing suburbs), an idea that has failed all over the world.
 
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Whether it’s traffic congestion, air pollution, the destruction of bio-diversity or the unsustainable pressure on electricity, water, sewage or stormwater infrastructure, urban densification has been a disaster. The evidence is overwhelming; urban densification is not good for the environment, it does not save water, it does not lead to a reduction in motor vehicle use, it does not result in nicer neighbourhoods, it does not stem the loss of agricultural land, it does not save on infrastructure costs for government and, worst of all, it puts home ownership out of the reach of those on low and middle incomes.
State governments use urban planning laws to restrict the amount of fringe land available and then drip feed it through their land management agencies to a land- starved housing industry at inflated prices. Hmmm. After a change of state government a few years ago, a former cabinet minister was asked why her government didn’t release more land to kick-start the housing industry. She replied: “We needed the money.” So much for urban planning.
And of course land developers with massive land banks on their books urge state governments to maintain the scarcity to maintain the ‘value’ of the developers’ inventory. Developers would be better off if they supported the removal of urban growth boundaries and allowed more broadacre land to come onto the market, which they could buy at greatly reduced prices. With land prices significantly lower than they are today it wouldn’t take long for the industry to recover. Until land prices fall, there will be no recovery.
The Australian housing industry is building 40,000 fewer homes a year than it should be. That’s more than $10 billion worth of work a year the industry is missing out on. That’s a lot of bricks, concrete, timber, tiles, steel and, of course, labour.
Governments and industry associations have known for years this was coming but just played footsies with each other – read US economist George Stigler’s book Regulatory Capture to understand how and why this happens.
Australia’s economy has been seriously distorted due to a massive over-investment in household debt. We have a housing industry on its knees. Getting all this back into alignment with reality will take time, but it is a realignment that is necessary.
We cannot continue to deny the next generation a home of their own merely to satisfy the indulgences of urban planners and state government treasury officials.
Bob Day AO is managing director of national home builder <a href="https://www.homeaustralia.com.au/" target="_blank">Home Australia</a>
This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/" target="_blank">Business Spectator.</a>
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High land prices are killing the housing construction industry: Bob Day

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The median unit price in regional Tasmania in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.41% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/226500.gif">
The median unit price in regional South Australia in August, according to Residex. This is down 3.02% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/255000.gif">
The median unit price in Hobart in August, according to Residex. This is down 2.2% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/258000.gif">
The median unit price in regional Victoria in August, according to Residex. This is up 0.01% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/299000.gif">
The median unit price in regional NSW in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.14% from last month.
 
<hr>
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/301500.gif">
The median unit price in Adelaide in August, according to Residex. This is up 0.13% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/306000.gif">
The median unit price in regional Western Australia in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.78% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/311000.gif">
The median unit price in regional Queensland in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.17% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/350500.gif">
The median unit price in Brisbane in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.49% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/393500.gif">
The median unit price in regional Northern Territory in August, according to Residex. This is up 1.74% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/411500.gif">
The median unit price in Darwin in August, according to Residex. This is up 0.93% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/414000.gif">
The median unit price in ACT in August, according to Residex. This is down 2.66% from last month.
 
<hr>
 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/421500.gif">
The median unit price in Perth in August, according to Residex. This is down 2.16% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/496000.gif">
The median unit price in Sydney in August, according to Residex. This is up 1.69% from last month.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/09/401500.gif">
The median unit price Australia-wide in August, according to Residex. This is down 0.06% from last month.
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Australian unit prices flat in August: Residex state-by-state analysis

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.

A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.

Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.

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“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.

From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.

The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.

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Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.

A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.

Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.

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Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

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Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

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Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

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The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

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Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

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Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

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Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

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Cassidy Knowlton

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