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Regional areas have outperformed capital cities in the year to March, according to ANZ.
"Despite being lower in annual growth terms, regional house prices have been more stable than capital city house prices, which have seen larger price falls across all major states and territories," notes the Australian Housing Chartbook.
"Across states/territories and regions, house price growth has continued to differ, reflecting varying economic performance across Australian industries.
"NSW regional house prices were the strongest across states and territories in the year to March 2012, with the central inland regions of Orange and Dubbo showing the greatest house price growth," notes the report.
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<a title="Click to enlarge" href="/images/stories/2012/07/anzjuly91.jpg" rel="shadowbox"><img src="/images/stories/2012/07/anzjuly91thumb.jpg"></a>
 
Source RP Data, Rismark, ANZ
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Orange leads NSW regional house growth, with Hastings and Richmond-Tweed languishing: ANZ

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The Melbourne and Sydney properties features in auction tipping competition Property Tycoon sold under the hammer this weekend, but only just.
For those who want to have a harmless punt, there's now a tipping website, <a style="font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.propertytycoon.com.au/" target="_blank">www.propertytycoon.com.au</a>, where punters can guess auction five results in Melbourne and Sydney, with no outlay. It's mostly about testing your market knowledge with a small cash prize as a sweetener.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/youngman.jpg">
The auction at 4 Youngman Street, Preston (pictured above), was attended by around 50 people but only three declared their intention to call the property home.
With the exception of the successful bidder, who was very quick to respond to any challenger bids, it was tough for the auctioneer to drag out bids from the other punters.
The auction stalled at $630,000 when he referred the bid to the owner but was instructed to go out and get more money. Bidding commenced again before stopping at $653,000 and more instructions were sought. On this occasion the owner gave him the all clear to announce the property on the market. Unfortunately for the owner this did not entice any more bidding, and the property was knocked down.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/gilpin.jpg">
In Sydney the two-storey Victorian terrace at 9 Gilpin Street, Camperdown (pictured above), also just fell across the line, selling for $2,000 above the vendor’s reserve.
Three buyers registered their intention to put their hand up at the auction but when the action started only two were prepared to do so. But it only takes two to make an auction, and happily for the vendor the two buyers passed the $1.05 million reserve before bidding stopped at $1,052,000.
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Auction tipping competition properties manage to just get over the line

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353 Lakedge Avenue, Berkeley Vale, NSW, 2261
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/lakedge.jpg">
With lake views, this three-bedroom house has been rented to the same tenant for the past six years. The lease is expired. The current tenants are paying $350 per week in rent, and listing agent Peter Moran of Property Central says market rent for the house would be about $400 per week. The light and airy property is close to schools, shops and a lakeside walking track
Moran <a href="https://www.propertycentral.com.au/index.cfm?pagecall=property&amp;propertyID=2069954" target="_blank">is marketing the property</a> with price hopes of $349,000 plus, and if it sells for that price that would secure an investor a gross rental yield of 5.2% at its current rent, below the indicative gross rental yield for Berkeley Vale houses of 5.7%, according to RP Data. At $400 per week it would secure an investor a gross rental yield of $6%. 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 $3,000 and over five years to be $7,000.
The median house price in Berkeley Vale fell 5.2% in the past year and rose 3.2% in the past five years, according to RP Data.
The property will be open for inspection Satuday, July 7 at 1.3opm and will go to auction Saturday, July 14 at 2.30pm.
For more information about prices and yields in Berkeley Vale, see the RP Data suburb page.
For another investment prospect open for inspection this weekend, see page 2.
 
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1/32 Roberts Road, Airport West, VIC, 3042
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/robertsrd.jpg" width="470">
This two-bedroom villa unit is currently rented on a month-to-month lease at $1,040 per month, which listing agent David Gigliotti of Moonee Valley Real Estate says is about market rent for the area. The property is close to shops and transport and has a carport and a rear courtyard.
Gigliotti<a target="_blank" href="https://agents.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/cs/run.pl?_t=Details&amp;_c=MOQAVO&amp;id=110897343&amp;code=54693313&amp;time=1341556385&amp;f=0&amp;p=4&amp;tot=21&amp;t=res"> is marketing the property</a> with price hopes of $260,000 plus, and if it sells for $260,000 that would secure an investor a gross rental yield of 4.8%, above the indicative gross rental yield of 4.1% for Airport West 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.
The median unit price in Airport West  fell 5.1% in the past year, according to RP Data.
<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 $10,000.
The property will be open for inspection Saturday, July 7 at 10.45am and will go to auction Saturday, August 4 at 11am.
For more about prices and yields in Airport West, see the RP Data suburb page.
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Friday form guide: Yields of up to 6% in Berkeley Vale

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There were 1,059 residential sales in Perth this week, with 22 of them in East Perth.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/reiwajuly5.jpg">
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East Perth WA's top-selling residential suburb this week: REIWA

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Dim the lights, don the snuggie and pass the chocolate; Downton Abbey is back.
Amid all the mooning over Matthew and Mary, viewers may not have noticed that Downton Abbey is actually about property law. Like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the central dilemma of the series is the existence of a <a target="_blank" href="https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Fee+Tail">fee tail</a>.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/downton1.jpg">
The fee tail stipulates that Grantham Estate cannot be left to beautiful, intelligent, spoilt Mary, but must pass to the nearest male relative, Matthew, a Manchester solicitor. Arguably worse than Austen’s odious Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice.
Fee tails served an important purpose for a feudal system in which status and wealth were largely determined by accident of birth. Leaving land by will with an entail ensured it would pass down a specific line of descendants and not be dissipated among people unrelated by blood. In the event that a particular line of descendants stopped, the land would revert to the original donor’s family.
Fee tails suited a feudal system of land ownership, but they did not suit emerging or fully fledged capitalist democracies.
First, fee tails were economically stultifying. The interest was effectively only an interest for the life of the current entail holder and thus (invariably) he could not raise money with it, sell it or lease it for longer than his life. Not surprisingly, tenants didn’t like to invest in leases that abruptly ended when their landlord fell off his perch.
Judges and lawyers waged a war of attrition against fee tails for centuries, developing ingenious legal devices to defeat them.
On a micro level, this would give the current holder the economic freedom to deal with his land as he pleased; on a macro level, it forced land out of the hands of families and on to the emerging, free land market. The Dowager Countess engages Matthew to investigate one of these legal devices, although we can be confident that she was not interested in facilitating the onward march of modern capitalism whose values are so antithetical to her own.
Second, fee tails were not just at odds with economic freedom but personal freedom and autonomy; at the risk of understatement, values that had been gaining traction for some time. In the 17th century, the English middle classes had fought hard to free themselves, and most importantly their property, from the arbitrary interference of monarchs. In the 19th century John Stuart Mill wrote eloquently about the necessary limit of government and social power over the individual; so long as people caused no harm to others, they were free to act as they pleased. This concept underpins modern land law (as long as you don’t live in strata, but that’s another story).
As an early 20th century aristocrat, Lord Grantham’s autonomy is not threatened by the government or monarch, but it is by his own ancestors. The fee tail allowed long-dead ancestors to determine land-use and disposition for generations to come. It is an example of “dead-hand control”, the nemesis of modern property law.
There is a delicious irony in the Dowager Countess and Mary’s frustration with Lord Grantham’s inability to freely determine to whom he leaves the land.
Personal freedom is a concept they have learned from the despised middle classes, the very people they are trying to keep the land from. Further, while they would like autonomy and agency for themselves, unlike the politically progressive Lady Sybil, it is not something they want to extend to their own housemaids or chauffeur.
Lord Grantham is at least consistent in his social theory. He does not want his chauffeur to have control of his own life, but neither does he want it for himself. He believes he is the temporary caretaker of his land, not its absolute owner in any modern sense.
The fee tail dilemma is a metaphor for a family trapped between two worlds. The dying world of an aristocracy with its roots in a feudal system and the new world of the capitalist, democratic state. Fittingly, fee tails were abolished in most common law jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, by the 1920s.
Of course the fee tail dilemma is also a metaphor for the all important dilemma of love. Should Mary marry in the tradition of her ancestors, for money, status and wealth or should she embrace the values of the modern world, exercise her personal freedom and marry for love?
We’ll all have to get back to the sofa and snuggie to find out.
Cathy Sherry is a senior lecturer in the faculty of law at the University of New South Wales.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://theconversation.edu.au/">TheConversation</a>.
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Downton Abbey a melodrama about property law – and frocks, intrigue and Matthew and Mary

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The amount of vendor discounting required to secure residential property sales peaked mid- to late last year, a "chill chart" released by Australian Property Monitors shows.
In Sydney, the average discount required in June 2012 was 6.7%, compared with 7.1% in August 2011. However, this is still higher than the average discount Sydney vendors had to offer in June 2010, which was 5.9%.
Melbourne discounting peaked in November 2011 at 8.1%, whereas in June 2012 Melbourne vendors offered discounts of 6.9% off initial price hopes to secure sales. Melbourne's average discount was 5.4% in June 2010. 
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The required discounting for Brisbane property hovered around 10.7% from June to September 2011, with the average discount in June 2012 at 8.4%. 
Adelaide vendors offered an average discount of 8.6% in September 2011, but in June 2012 that had fallen to 7.7%. However, the previous month the average discount required was 8.1% in Adelaide, not at its 2011 peak but still in the "red zone", according to APM. 
Perth vendors offered discounts as deep as 10.6% in August 2011, but June 2012's average discount for the WA capital was 7.3%. This is still up on the 6.4% average discount in June 2010. 
The average discount required in Canberra hit a peak of 6% in June 2011 and was not far off that in June 2012, at 5.5%. However, these "red" percentages for Canberra are still at or below "green" figures for other capitals, as Canberra vendors in general do not have to sweeten the deal as much as those in other cities.
Darwin's average discount for dwelling sales hit 10% in June 2011 and was at a much lower 5.8% in June 2012. This is only marginally up from the 5.4% average discount in June 2010.
Hobart's average discount has crept up in recent months, to be at 10.3% in June 2012. This is not as high as the 10.8% average discount in August 2011, but higher than the 8.4% and 8.5% in some months between August last year and June this year. In June 2010 the average vendor discount in Hobart was 6.6%.  
 
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Discounts required to secure residential property sales peaked in mid to late 2011: APM chill chart

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The inner-Brisbane suburb to Teneriffe is the most crowded suburb in Queensland, according to RP Data. The suburb, which covers less than a square kilometre, has 4,699 people or a density of 6,518 people per square kilometre.
The office-dominated Brisbane City has the lowest population density in Brisbane, at a roomy 3,965 people per square kilometre.
Mermaid Beach is shown to have the highest population density on the Gold Coast, at 3,743 people per square kilometre, but the figures are based on permanent residents. As other areas of the Gold Coast have more temporary residents and are not reported in the statistics, Mermaid Beach with its single-familyhomes has come out ahead of more high-rise area.
"Mermaid Beach is mainly permanent and full of young children and families, that's why the figures there were the highest," property analyst Kerrie Young told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldcoast.com.au/index">Gold Coast Bulletin.</a>
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Teneriffe the most crowded Brisbane suburb, with Mermaid Beach taking the Gold Coast mantle: RP Data

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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/3point7percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Melbourne in June, according to RP Data.
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/4point3percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Adelaide, in June, according to RP Data.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/4point4percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Sydney in June, according to RP Data.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/4point4percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Perth in June, according to RP Data.
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/4point6percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Brisbane in June, according to RP Data.
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/4point6percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Canberra in June, according to RP Data.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/5point1percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Hobart in June, according to RP Data.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/6point1percent.gif">
The median rental yield for houses in Darwin in June, according to RP Data.
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Capital city house yield by the numbers, with Melbourne landlords securing the lowest return: RP Data

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The Reserve Bank of Australia should keep the official cash rate steady at 3.5%, according to the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) shadow board, which gives its views ahead of the decision by central bank’s actual board.

The <a href="https://cbe.anu.edu.au/college/schools-centres/cama/pro-pol/" target="_blank">shadow board</a> is made up of <a href="https://cbe.anu.edu.au/college/schools-centres/cama/pro-pol/" target="_blank">influential economists from the private sector and academia</a>.
They were asked to rank their preferred outcomes for the cash rate. Keeping the interest rate unchanged at 3.5% was given a 65% weighting, well above the next most popular, an increase to 3.75%, with a 19% weighting.
Support for a cut in the cash rate of 25 basis points or more received a 16% weighting.
Professors Warwick McKibbin and Jeffrey Sheen were the strongest proponents of higher rates this month, with both indicating a most preferred outcome of 3.75%.
In the longer term, the CAMA shadow board see the risks to rates as equally balanced.
The probability that rates should be higher in 12 months is approximately equal to the probability that rates should be lower.
The comments by individual shadow board members can be obtained from the <a href="https://cbe.anu.edu.au/college/schools-centres/cama/pro-pol/" target="_blank">CAMA website</a> and are reported below.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/07/cama.gif">
Paul Bloxham, Chief Economist (Australia and New Zealand), HSBC Bank Australia Ltd:
“I would recommend the RBA stay on hold this month. Having cut rates by a total of 75 basis points in the past two months, the RBA should now sit still to assess the impact that these rate cuts have had on the economy. Local conditions still look to be fairly solid, with employment growing strongly in May and GDP for Q1 an upside surprise.
“There is a clearly a risk that things have slowed down since then, with business and consumer surveys weakening, and the downside risks from abroad rising. But some part of this risk has already been accounted for in last month’s cut. Rates are now clearly stimulatory. With the AUD no longer appreciating, upside risks to inflation are also building. A discussion about cutting this month could be had around global risks, but I would not recommend a cut this month, having just gone last month.
“There are also risks due to the China slowdown, though these seem much less concerning at this point than those emanating from Europe.”
Saul Eslake, Chief Economist, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Australia
“Noting that last month’s decision to cut rates was "finely balanced” (according to the minutes), and since then we’ve had the second Greek elections (the outcome of which has lowered the near-term probability of a disorderly Greek exit from the euro), and much stronger Q1 GDP and May labour force survey data, I think there’s zero chance that the RBA Board should do anything other than leave rates on hold at this week’s meeting. 
“The six-month view (and my 12-month view) reflects a view that there are (broadly speaking) two plausible monetary policy scenarios – one, with 80% probability, that there isn’t another major global financial shock, and that the Australian economy slows from its Q1 pace (with unemployment riding towards 6%), prompting one (or possibly two) 25 basis points reductions in the cash rate; and a second, with 20% probability, that there is another major global financial shock, prompting a more aggressive easing from the RBA.”
James Morley, Professor, University of New South Wales, CAMA:
Slow adjustment back to neutral, but always ready for quick response to unusual developments in inflation or financial conditions: 
“After cuts in the policy rate over the past few months, monetary policy is currently in an accommodative stance. This provides some insurance against any possible deterioration in the domestic economy or spillovers from continuing problems in the rest of the world. However, in the absence of a full-blown financial crisis in the Eurozone, the main focus of policy should be on the appropriate timing to return to a more neutral stance over the next six to twelve months. This timing will depend in part on the inflation outlook, with the current outlook allowing for a fairly gradual adjustment. 
“As always, monetary policy should be ready to respond immediately to a new global financial crisis. But it should not do so pre-emptively unless the likelihood of a full-blown crisis rises substantially before the next policy meeting.”
Jeffrey Sheen, Professor and Head of Department of Economics, Macquarie University, Editor, The Economic Record, CAMA: 
“The cash rate was cut last month, which was a move that I did not support, but does constrain what I recommend now. Since then, the March quarter national accounts data have come out, showing real GDP growth at 4.3%, well above normal. 
“This may well be revised downward later, but not by enough to justify any further pessimism about the overall Australian economy. The source of expenditure growth was not only (mining) investment, but also consumption, which broadens the base for the recovery. In addition, employment growth (particularly, full-time) in May was positive, as was participation (which actually meant unemployment rose a little, but is still very low). 
Though the trend growth and level of productivity remains a concern, this is not something monetary policy can properly address. Global risks have declined following the outcome of the Greek election, and then the agreement by European leaders to allow direct recapitalisation of troubled banks and to encourage stimulus policies as well as a closer economic union in the longer run. Disaster would seem to be averted, but its hard to see ailing Europe as anything but the new Japan in the medium term."
This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.edu.au/" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>
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The RBA should keep rates on hold: CAMA shadow board

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The Victorian auction clearance rate has eased from 62% in May to 56% in June, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. The highest clearance rates in June (for suburbs where there were 20 or more auctions) were in Glen Iris, Armadale, Malvern, Toorak and Brunswick.
The current Victorian auction clearance rate of 56% is about the same as it was in October 2008, with the clearance rate peaking at a high of 87% in mid-2009 and early 2010. 
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/07/reivjuly2.jpg"><img src="/images/stories/2012/07/reivjuly2thumb.jpg"></a>
Source: <a href="https://www.reiv.com.au/Property-Research/Housing-Indicators.aspx" target="_blank">REIV</a>
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Victorian auction clearance rate has trended downwards since March 2010: REIV

<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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

“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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]

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.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

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.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

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.

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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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

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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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Cassidy Knowlton

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