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HIA and RP Data have released a list of the top 10 most expensive regional markets for vacant land.
<table style="width: 470px;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
Rank
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Region
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
Median lot price
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
1
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Richmond-Tweed (NSW)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$238,250
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
2
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Sunshine Coast (QLD)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$237,500
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
3
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Gold Coast (QLD)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$225,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
4
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Illawarra (NSW)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$220,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
5
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Barwon (VIC)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$189,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
6
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Fitzroy (QLD)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$180,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
7
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
South Eastern (WA)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$179,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
8
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Hunter (NSW)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$178,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
9
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Mackay (QLD)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$172,000
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="54" valign="top">
10
</td>
<td width="356" valign="top">
Mid-North Coast (NSW)
</td>
<td width="205" valign="top">
$170,000
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 
Source: HIA and RP Data
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Top 10 most expensive regional markets for vacant land: HIA- RP Data

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The number of properties on the market in Melbourne in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 43% from 33,865 in December 2010.
 
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The number of properties on the market in Sydney in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 23% from 27,956 in December 2010.
 
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The number of properties on the market in Brisbane in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 3% from 28, 389 in December 2010.
 
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The number of properties on the market in Perth in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 1% from19,292 in December 2010.
 
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The number of properties on the market in Adelaide in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 26% from 14,242 in December 2010.
 
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<img style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial;" src="/images/stories/4689.gif"> 
The number of properties on the market in Hobart in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 52% from 3,090 in December 2010.
 
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The number of properties on the market in Canberra in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is up 21% from 1,578 in December 2010.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/1542.gif">
The number of properties on the market in Darwin in December 2011, according to SQM Research. This is down 1% from 1,554 in December 2010.
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How much property is on the market in your capital city? A state-by-state analysis

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No one is more despised by Melbourne's property tycoons than Bill Oliver. In Victoria's $25 billion construction game, the stubbled Scotsman can shut down rogue building sites in a flash and, builders say, hold their projects to ransom.
Each working day in bleak city, Oliver guides his 30,000-strong army of Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union workers towards the industrial promised land -- a world of bolstered wages, expanded rights and far-reaching political influence. While his mainstream union rivals seem content to take the low road, Oliver and crew are always on hand to extract cash and conditions from tight-fisted employers who'd really prefer a new Lexus.
Just look at the enterprise agreement Oliver negotiated in 2007 for those working on the controversial, and still unfinished, $24 billion Wonthaggi desalination plant. It, more than any other wage deal in the last 20 years, signalled the return of militant union power to Victoria.
"Industrially, there's no one that can match Bill," one senior Victorian Labor MP says. "He's the master of his domain and all the big decisions go through him."
Already dominant on the thousands of construction sites scattered across Melbourne's sprawl, the desal deal showed how the union's aggressive tactics could still prevail on projects of state importance, even while the broader labour movement suffered massive membership declines.
The mere mention of Bill Oliver's name sends right wing critics into fits of apoplexy. They contrast the "20%" lower cost of building a project like the EastLink toll road (using labour provided by Cesar Melhem's more moderate Australian Workers Union) with the CFMEU's strong-arm tactics on sites like the Westgate Bridge, Royal Children's Hospital and Epping Market.
But as Oliver explains, he regularly cops criticism "for getting good deals for our members ... but that's our job. I am not paid by the business lobby or [Ted] Baillieu. I am paid by members of this union, and it's my job to represent their interests and get the best deal I can."
And he denies he is personally powerful: "No! The only power I have is because of the strength of the members, the dedication of the delegates and the union as a whole. Any power I have is not about me ... but about the collective strength. These may seem old fashioned concepts, but they are still true, nevertheless. That's the whole idea of a union: strength in numbers."
Regular sparring partner Brian Welch of the Master Builders Association begs to differ. He says under Oliver's reign building costs in Victoria are once again 30% higher than other states, with multi-million dollar fines levelled by the ABCC failing to make an impact.
Welch -- who reluctantly signed off on wage increases worth 20% over four years last June -- says simply: "Ignore Oliver at your peril".
"Does that mean that he's powerful? Well, any building site can be affected significantly and as a consequence that makes them an influence that you would not wish to ignore," Welch says. "Bill's the head of that union. If he says that he's upset with a particular builder or specialist contractor then they're very upset because he holds their business in his hands."
ALP affiliation has also delivered the CFMEU leverage, with Oliver throwing his weight around and often threatening to vote with the party's rebel Right to exert preselection pressure on the dominant Socialist Left and forces pledged to Stephen Conroy and Bill Shorten.
(In 2009, in the wake of deal cut between those two outfits, Oliver was allegedly a player in a side agreement that delivered to his members, rather than his rivals, thousands of coveted jobs on the desal plant in exchange for his preselection heft. The MPs and unions involved strenuously denied any such agreement was ever reached).
The bearded enforcer says spats with less aggressive unions like Melhem's AWU are unavoidable, especially when they try to undercut his wages and conditions. "Unlike some other unions in the industry, it's no secret that we get better deals," he says. "Despite rumours that it's our charm and good looks that win people over, the truth is that we fight hard for our members."
He's certainly not shy about countering continual media criticism, issuing this fiery retort late last year to a run of Herald Sun hatchets that tried to implicate the union in AFL ticket scams and other nefarious behaviour.
It's been a familiar theme ever since the days in the early 1970s when Oliver started working as a shipwright and shop steward on Glasgow's Charlie Connell shipyards at age 20. Halfway through completing his papers to travel to Australia, a group of radical workers, led by Jimmy Reid, occupied the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, thwarting the Tory government's plans to shut them down. After the struggle, Oliver's papers came through and he ended up in Melbourne, working again as a shipwright and carpenter before joining the Building Workers Industrial Union as a full-time organiser in 1986.
He was elevated to the CFMEU's leadership in 1993 as assistant secretary to Martin Kingham following the BWIU's merger with the Builders Labourers Federation. He played a key role in the 1998 waterfront dispute and leading thousands of unionists to testify before the Cole Royal Commission and succeeded Kingham when his comrade transferred to the CFMEU's national office in 2009.
His greatest triumphs have been felt inside Fair Work. Last year's landmark four-year enterprise deal delivered 20% wage increases, double overtime pay and a hefty $750 a week living away from home allowance.
The self-described "principled, practical, tenacious and tough" operator says there is no silver bullet and definitely nothing illegal in his robust approach to vigorous employer relations. Stories of bikies and bad behaviour are legion but Oliver says he's basically just a figurehead for years of collective struggle.
"We are continuing to build on a tradition of militancy in this union that has been part of the Victorian industrial scene for the last 40 years. Our members have struggled long and hard to make a dangerous and dirty industry safe and rewarding for them...Our industrial strength has not happened overnight."
And if you're a commercial player in the building industry it won't be disappearing for a while either.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thepowerindex.com.au/">The Power Index</a>.
 
 
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Victorian builders accuse Bill Oliver of holding them to ransom

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Self-made millionaire John Symond wants to boost broker numbers, pick up more assets and build a financial advice service at Aussie Group, the home loan group he flogged to Commonwealth Bank during the global financial crisis.
Symond has told the Australian Financial Review that Aussie Group "has to diversity our revenue stream. Nearly all of new loans are being written by the four major banks or their subsidiaries."
"We have to write more mortgages but also have to generate a lot more non-mortgage revenue by leveraging the Aussie consumer brand."
The comments come as Aussie Group reports a 39% increase in net profit to $52 million, with a loan book of more than $40 billion.
Despite predicting the housing market faces another weak year, Symond's expansion plans include boosting broker numbers to more than 1,000 by the end of 2012, and recruiting dozens of wealth managers, the paper reports.
The Aussie Home Loans founder now serves as executive chairman of the mortgage broker and financial services group Aussie Group, after selling a 33% stake of the business to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2008.
East &amp; Partners principal analyst Paul Dowling says Aussie isn't alone in casting a wide net for growth.
"Intermediaries like Aussie have got to start adding value," Dowling says.
"Their pitch, 'We'll save you money by shopping around', that's where it's started and stopped."
He adds that with flat mortgage demand, and small pricing variants between the dominant majors, it's likely to be another difficult year for mortgage brokers.
The mortgage broker market – dominated by Aussie Group, Mortgage Choice and AFG – is tipped by IBISWorld to grow by 0.5% in the year to June.
Dowling adds that Commonwealth Bank of Australia would be gunning for Aussie to become another wealth management channel.
"Symond has always been precious about the relationship with CommBank, but that's they're going to want their pound of flesh."
Just as Aussie Home Loans stole market share by focusing on the lower end of the market, the report says the financial advice business will also focus on the majority of Australians who do not seek financial advice.
Symond has also made headlines this week by tipping that the Government will bring back the first home buyers boost to stimulate the property market ahead of next year's election.
"Probably my cynical self says six to 12 months ahead of the next election, it would not surprise me that the government might stimulate housing by helping first home buyers and they may possibly introduce a bonus or a boost to the first home owner's grant," Symond said.
Symond added that for first home buyers, "all the ducks [are] lining up – lower price values, lower interest rates, makes it easier to save and easier to get into home ownership."
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/index.php">SmartCompany</a>.
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John Symond's Aussie Group eyes more brokers after posting 40% profit jump

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There was more than a frisson of excitement when British chef – and global television celebrity – Rick Stein announced in 2009 that he would be opening a seafood restaurant in Mollymook.
Local real estate agents and savvy investors in the laid-back coastal settlement were well aware of the celebrity chef’s track record in the UK where he’d transformed a Cornish fishing village into a magnet for wealthy Brits looking for that idyllic holiday home.
His colonisation of Padstow is so complete that locals have renamed the village “Padstein”, but the success of the Seafood Restaurant and his other ventures also boosted real estate prices. Every well-heeled Londoner wanted a cottage in Padstow.
Although he arrived on the NSW south coast with similar fanfare, promising to revive Mollymook’s gastronomic fortunes, opinion is divided about whether the urbane English chef has done anything to pep up the appetite for residential property on the coast.
Carmel Timmins from Bella Coast Property says that Stein’s arrival may have improved bookings at Bannisters, the boutique hotel with which the restaurant is associated, but has done nothing to bolster real estate prices in Mollymook.
“It would be great for Rick Stein to have worked his little magic down here and see the price of property go through the roof but it hasn’t happened,” she says.
“Everybody had impression that Rick Stein was going to change the world. They thought ‘Oh, Rick Stein is here so I’m going to get big money for my property’. But a good feed isn’t necessarily going to entice someone to spend a $1 million on a holiday house.”
Other agents strongly disagree, arguing that the “Stein effect” has turned Mollymook into an international gourmet destination. They say the fact that Stein and his Australian wife, Sarah, have bought a number of properties in Mollymook has definitely attracted other wealthy buyers, often from overseas.
Ben Pryde from Raine &amp; Horne Ulladulla says it is now a common sight to see people arriving from Sydney by private helicopter – something that would inconceivable a few years ago.
“A lot of wealthier people have been coming here since Rick Stein became involved,” he says. “Their helicopters fly into Milton and there’s a courtesy car waiting to pick them up. They’re either here just for the day or staying overnight at Bannisters and then flying back next day. That happens regularly.”
Pryde says that the launch of Bannisters with Stein’s much-publicised involvement has certainly given Mollymook an international profile, but that the impact on local real estate prices has, for a number of obvious reasons, been far less spectacular than Padstow in the 1980s and 1990s.
“I think it will take a longer than it did in the UK. I know prices skyrocketed over there [in Padstow]. It will take place but in Mollymook we’re still battling the state of the economy at the moment and people are a little more cautious,” he says.
“But the market is still bubbling along down here. There’s so much doom and gloom in Sydney, but we’re not experiencing that to the same degree. We’re getting quite a lot of sales away.”
Kevin Cooper from Ray White Surfside Properties is another Stein supporter, saying that the presence of the celebrity chef has helped bolster the sale of property in the $1 million-plus range by attracting a new wave of international clients.
The agency recently sold a house on Beach Road, Mollymook for just over $1 million. The buyers, from Singapore, were actually staying at Rick Stein’s house while they looked at property in the area – the couple is now looking for second investment property to buy.
“I believe that Rick Stein owning that restaurant has assisted me in selling that particular property,” he says. “Mollymook is a funny place. You’ve only got to get a couple of people of well known stature purchasing on the beach and that sets a bench mark.”
But Cooper concedes that people buying a more modest property in Mollymook or nearby Milton are probably unaffected by the presence of such a foodie celebrity in their midst.
“Let’s face it, the majority of people can’t afford to eat there,” he said. “But I do believe that Rick Stein being here has an impact on the higher end and it certainly hasn’t hurt the area. I certainly think that there’ll be some positives in the future when market trends start to change.”
No amount of stardust can camouflage the fact that real estate prices along the south coast have taken a pasting over the past two years. The median price for a house in Mollymook is now $410,000. Demand for property continues to be weak – severely impacting the re-sale value of glamourous, waterfront properties.
Overall, agents blame the impact of increased land tax and the continuing uncertainty about the state government’s coastal management plan for Shoalhaven for depressing property prices on the south coast, rather than worries about the global economy.
Ben Pryde says that land tax has particularly impacted on retirees and people who have inherited family-owned property in and around Mollymook. This has been compounded by uncertainly about the impact of the coastal management plan.
“For a lot of people entering retirement age the land tax suddenly became too much to bear, so they had to sell,” he says. “As far as the coastal management plan, there was a big fear campaign in the media which didn’t help.”
The coastal management plan seeks to protect coastal communities from storm and flood damage associated with global warming and an associated increase in ocean levels – predicted to be as much as 40 centimetres by 2050.
Many people are naturally concerned that the new regulations will prevent them from redeveloping attractive waterfront sites, but a spokesman for Shoalhaven City Council says these fears are largely unfounded.
“In the main these new design regulations can easily be incorporated into a DA,” he says. “As it stands only a handful of properties will not be eligible for redevelopment.”
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Mollymook keeps its fingers crossed for a taste of the 'Rick Stein effect' on property prices

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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/economy/when-harry-met-steve-a-bears-breakfast/2011091551566" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/40percent.jpg"></a>
The amount by which economist Steve Keen thinks Australian property prices will fall from their peak in the next 10 to 15 years. In October Keen said he expected prices to drop 20% by the end of 2013. We're sure discussions about house prices were on the agenda <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/economy/when-harry-met-steve-a-bears-breakfast/2011091551566" target="_blank">when the hometown doomsayer met noted American demographic analyst Harry Dent for breakfast in Sydney</a> in September. Both have similar views on the direction of Australia’s property market. Dent predicts the world will experience a second, deeper downturn, starting in the first half of next year in Europe, and spreading to the United States, China and eventually Australia. It was a true bears' breakfast, with not a bull in sight. 
 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/house-prices-will-be-55-higher-in-a-decade-christopher-joye/2011082551288"><img src="/images/stories/55percent.jpg"></a>
 
On the other hand, Keen's longtime sparring partner, economist Christopher Joye, has just about the opposite prediction. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/house-prices-will-be-55-higher-in-a-decade-christopher-joye/2011082551288" target="_blank">Joye says that house prices will be 55% higher in a decade</a>, a figure he came to based on a survey of 21 leading economists. While the current leverage in the household system cannot realistically increase much further, it is sustainable, he says.
 
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<img src="/images/stories/8point5m.jpg">  The amount that South Korean-backed <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/nicole-kidman-now-has-cockatoo-coal-as-her-near-neighbours-after-mining-giant-pays-record-price-for-sutton-forest/2011111552361" target="_blank">Cockatoo Coal mining company paid for a Sutton Forest property</a> near Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's peaceful NSW retreat in October. The company bought the 425-hectare holding through shelf company Aurelius Rural, to ensure the secrecy of its strategic purchase. Locals say Urban and Kidman's peace and quiet may be at an end. "It will directly affect their (Bunya Hill) property, as coal-filled trucks would be passing all day long and maybe through the night on their way to Wollongong for export," local Greg Barnsley has suggested. At least Bunya Hill itself was given a reprieve, as Cockatoo Coal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/nicole-kidman-s-highlands-retreat-given-reprieve-%E2%80%93-for-now-%E2%80%93-as-coal-company-shifts-exploratory-holes/2011062850631">decided to relocate its drill holes</a> meant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/new-south-wales/coal-mine-anxiety-for-nicole-kidman-s-sutton-forest-property/2011062150555">for the perimeter of Urban and Kidman's property</a> to 200 metres away. 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/domenic-alveros-smallest-house-in-surry-hills-rises-to-win-international-prize/2011110352199" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/42sqm.jpg"></a>
The <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/domenic-alveros-smallest-house-in-surry-hills-rises-to-win-international-prize/2011110352199" target="_blank">lot size of Surry Hills' smallest house</a>. Architect Domenic Alvaro conceived of the house after buying three car spaces on a corner in Surry Hills and building a five-storey house above it. It comes with a floor space of 220 square metres. The house, known as Small House, was awarded the World House of the Year at the prestigious 2011 World Architectural Festival award ceremony in Barcelona in early November. 
 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/australian-capital-territory/of-15000-suburbs-21-rise-to-the-top-as-worth-a-look-for-investors/2011072750933" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/21.jpg"></a>
 
The number of suburbs that appear on both Australian Property Investor and Your Investment Property magazines' <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/australian-capital-territory/of-15000-suburbs-21-rise-to-the-top-as-worth-a-look-for-investors/2011072750933" target="_blank">lists of top 100 suburbs for property investors</a>. Alphabetically they start with<a style="font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" href="/news" title="Ainslie" target="_blank">Ainslie </a>in the ACT and end with Warrnambool in Victoria. The lists represents the shared outlook of some two dozen or more of the property industry talking heads. The YIP top 100 was made up of 25 suburbs in Sydney, 12 from Melbourne, seven from Perth, eight from Adelaide, five from Canberra, three from Hobart, two from Darwin and 26 from regional areas. In the API list, 17 out of the 100 hotspots are within a few kilometres of the Melbourne CBD.
 
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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/western-australia/absentee-investor-alert-nigerian-scammers-sell-%24410000-house-they-didnt-own/2011081751195"><img src="/images/stories/410k.jpg"></a>
The sale price of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/western-australia/absentee-investor-alert-nigerian-scammers-sell-%24410000-house-they-didnt-own/2011081751195">Western Australian house sold by Nigerian scammers</a> in April. The scam? The vendors were not actually the owners of the house. The snappily sold house (the marketing said “FIRST TO SEE WILL GRAB IT!”) was done so without the knowledge of the landlord owner, who has since complained to the fraud police. The unknowing buyer has also complained to police as being caught in the scam. But you can't say the scammers were out-and-out liars – the marketing did say "LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING!" 
 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/bank-s-blacklist-bans-finance-for-373-buildings/2011091251504" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/373.jpg"></a>
The number of buildings on an <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/bank-s-blacklist-bans-finance-for-373-buildings/2011091251504" target="_blank">unnamed bank's "blacklist" that surfaced in September</a>. The blacklist names buildings for which the unnamed bank bars or severely restricts intending purchasers from obtaining finance. The list also includes projects in the federal government's National Rental Affordability Scheme. NAB, ANZ and Westpac all denied having a "blacklist", and the Commonwealth Bank said although it had a "watch list" it also did not have a "blacklist".
 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/investor-club-couple-prepared-to-meet-gold-coast-property-price-reality/2011091451546" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/391k.jpg"></a>
 
The sale price achieved for a Queensland property at the centre of a legal dispute between a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/queensland-property-investors-sue-over-what-they-say-is-inflated-price/2011082651304" target="_blank">WA couple and investment advisory service The Investors Club</a>. Hugh Wilson and Marilee Coombs are suing The Investors Club and two employees after they were convinced to purchase a unit that they claim they later discovered was grossly overpriced.  The property <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/investor-club-couple-prepared-to-meet-gold-coast-property-price-reality/2011091451546" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">reputedly cost $630,000</a> when the couple bought it in 2007, but official records show a public sale price of $905,000. Two attempts at mediation between the parties failed, and the case is listed for trial.
 
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<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/auctions/deceptive-toorak-auction-aftermath-and-the-silver-mercedes-that-almost-got-away/2011102152024"><img src="/images/stories/2point7m.jpg"></a>
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/auctions/deceptive-toorak-auction-aftermath-and-the-silver-mercedes-that-almost-got-away/2011102152024">price Dr Chris Moss and his wife, Andrea John, paid for a Toorak property</a>. RT Edgar agent Greg Herman told them he had received a bid of $2.6 million from an underbidder named "Tom", who wore a pink shirt and drove a silver Mercedes. Unluckily for Herman, John flagged down a silver Merc and asked its driver, who happened to be named Tom Kartel, what he had bid for the property. Kartel said he had made no such bid. Justice Tim Ginnane found that the agent had been deceptive and had fabricated an underbid in order to achieve a higher sales price. But for that silver Mercedes, Moss and John probably would have paid the $2.7 million and gotten on with things, but as things turned out, the court found in their favour and they were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/plastic-surgeon-wins-court-case-against-deceptive-toorak-estate-agent/2011102052011" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">awarded the $200,000 difference.</a>
 
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<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/property-developer-warren-anderson-goes-quietly-this-time-departing-fernhill-after-three-decades/2011112452520" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/2point8m.jpg"></a>
The price once swashbuckling Western Australian property developer – whose fortune was estimated at $190 million by BRW in 1989 – paid for his beloved Fernhill, the western Sydney rural estate <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/property-developer-warren-anderson-goes-quietly-this-time-departing-fernhill-after-three-decades/2011112452520" target="_blank">he was forced to vacate in November</a>. Anderson had been seeking to overturn bankruptcy proceedings against him but lost his bid the day after he left Fernhill – rendering him <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/warren-anderson-homeless-and-bankrupt/2011112552549" target="_blank">bankrupt and homeless in the selfsame week</a>. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/fax-of-the-case-gives-warren-anderson-reprieve/2011090651440" target="_blank">An errant fax</a> had given Anderson a reprieve in his bankruptcy case, but in the end the Perth federal magistrate’s court rejected<a style="font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/western-australia/warren-anderson-seeks-to-overturn-bankruptcy-and-stay-put/2011081251141" target="_blank"> his request to have the bankruptcy annulled</a> after creditors owed more than $39 million blocked the attempt.
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The top 10 property numbers of the year

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<table width="360" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
Postcode
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
Suburb
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
Average discount on vendor’s asking price for house sales
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3114
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">PARK ORCHARDS</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
17.7%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3142
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">TOORAK</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
13.4%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3168
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">CLAYTON</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
12.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3148
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">CHADSTONE</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
12%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3019
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">BRAYBROOK</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11.8%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3090
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">PLENTY</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11.6%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3130
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">BLACKBURN</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3179
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">SCORESBY</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3189
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">MOORABBIN</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
3188
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="140">
<a target="_blank" href="/news">HAMPTON</a>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
11%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: RP Data
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Top 10 Melbourne suburbs with the highest average discount for house prices: RP Data

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Long-term strategic planning has always been one of my passions. To me, thinking ahead, being observant, asking questions and working out where the world is going, whether it be economically or socially, are basic, vital skills.
Take Dubai for instance. I first went there in the early 1990s and driving around at night, the first observation I made and the first question I asked myself was: “Why are only 20% of the lights on in all the residential buildings?” Talking to people who lived there, I soon discovered most residential properties were empty because they had been bought as second homes by wealthy people who lived in other parts of the Arab world in case of problems in their own countries, as a hedge against revolution, or as a place to keep a mistress. I left without wanting to invest in Dubai.
I have always believed that no one should ever invest in anything unless the fundamentals are right. If the people who pay the rent or borrow the money to purchase a property cannot afford to keep up repayments, then a property investment fails. After a global financial crisis, the concept of keeping vacant real estate as an inventory item, as the sheiks of Dubai did or as the Chinese and Russians tried to do, is doomed to end in tears.
In the mid-2000s, a decade after my first visit there, Dubai was obviously becoming really powerful as an international growth centre; a destination with a low tax rate that was attractive to wealthy Westerners, Russians, Indians and Middle Easterners alike. If you came from a country that was politically unstable, Dubai was potentially a future safe place to call home, and there were plenty of wealthy people from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Georgia – the list goes on and on – keen to purchase real estate there. Dubai was seen as a safe haven within the Middle East and appeared to be safe from terrorists. It had a world-class airline and had become a major global strategic and business hub. But as I watched Dubai grow and grow, I realised within a few years it was all a giant bubble that one day, sooner or later, was going to burst. And the reason it was always going to burst was because when you analysed what was going on, the situation in the early 2000s was no different from the early 1990s; the majority of residential properties were unoccupied. Whole projects were being purchased by absentee foreign owners, then locked up and left vacant. The outlandish boom in real estate prices could not possibly last as there was nowhere near enough demand either locally, or eventually internationally, to keep it going.
The model widely used in Dubai to create value was a pyramid scheme. The owners of a piece of land, who invariably had government connections, would design the largest, flashiest apartment building they could and sell a percentage of the units off the plan at a perceived below-market price to associates, who were effectively sub-underwriters. Everyone was told the second release of sales once the building was finished would be at a higher price, to create the panicky sense of “I must buy now”. The first round of purchasers would then sell out some of their stock at a higher price than they had paid, but below the next release price, and so it went on. Foreigners would end up owning some of the apartments but the rich local families held most of the stock as inventory at inflated prices. But real estate should never be held vacant as inventory, because vacant property depreciates and costs money to hold, particularly when you borrow against it to buy shares that ultimately collapse, as many of the wealthy in Dubai found out in the GFC. Ultimately the Dubai boom, like so many others, was predicated on nothing more than hot air; people just talking the market up and up and up. All the apartments and houses were getting dearer and dearer, but there were no tenants to give investors an economic return. The result was that in the last purchasing wave, just before the GFC hit, Dubai was turned into a virtual investment ghost town, the only people who could still afford to buy there being a shrinking pool of Russian and Middle Eastern billionaires.
Realising 10 years ago that Dubai would eventually collapse, I continually warned my more eager colleagues not to invest there. But a lot of people who should know better – not least because they are responsible for investing other people’s money – simply do not understand basic market fundamentals. They just read analysts’ reports or, even worse, newspapers, and believe the hype. They simply believe what they are told. When it came to investing in Dubai’s thousands of new apartments, they never checked who was living in or renting them. It is a bit of economics, but mainly it is a lot of common sense. Succeeding in business ultimately comes down to asking oneself one simple question: “Why is this so?” — because everything works on fundamentals of supply, demand and access to debt. You can distort the fundamentals for 10 or 20 years but ultimately, everything works on fundamentals.
Continued page 2
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
I have seen many real estate bubbles in my 30-year real estate career. Excluding the current disasters in Ireland and Spain, the worrying overbuilding in China and the USA’s sub-prime debt-driven disaster, the two classic collapses are Japan in the 1990s and Dubai post the GFC.
Japan’s collapse is staggering. I can recall in my many trips to Japan in the late 1980s, while being continually reminded of the Japanese superiority in all aspects of life, including real estate, that the value of real estate in Tokyo alone was worth more than all the real estate in the USA. This is most certainly not the case today, even in the post-GFC quagmire US real estate finds itself in. The Japanese market had bubbled to such extent that purchasers would eagerly take 100-year mortgages, to be paid off over three generations, to buy a basic property. Sustainable? The Japanese thought they were just smarter than the rest of the world because they were worth more; a classic case of hubris, or pride coming before a fall.
One of the golden rules of life is: “There is no correlation between wealth and being smart. If you are wealthy and you think that is because you are just smarter than everyone else, look out.” For the Japanese, it seemed as though values would never stop rising, as they had done ever since that country’s reconstruction by the US after the end of World War II. Debt was cheap, and values always went up. The Japanese had a similar philosophy to a few of my well-known associates at Macquarie who, pre-GFC, and with debt so cheap, made famous the phrase: “Let’s gear the bejesus out of it”.
The Japanese bubble burst in the late 1980s with tremendous consequences. Real estate values fell 60%, and 20 years later are still down 60%. There is no longer a belief in Japan that everything goes up in value; rather a fear values will fall even further. The Japanese collapse coincided with an ageing population, a demographic trend that initially boosted consumer confidence as spending peaked. Few foresaw the economic stagnation that an aged population would eventually bring.
The Japanese fear of permitting immigration has created many economic problems, although it has at least helped the many elderly citizens of that country who need jobs and continue to have to work well into their old age to pay off mortgages on houses worth less than the debt on them.
I can recall in the 1970s that the Asian language Australians were all being advised to learn was not Chinese or Korean but Japanese. Japan, we were all told, would be the dominant force in our region during our working lives.
Learning Chinese was not on anyone’s radar at that time. In fact, learning to speak Chinese was about as popular an option for most Australians as becoming a banker.
My first desire to use a walking stick occurred in Japan. One evening I was drinking with a few Japanese friends, quaffing sake in rather large quantities. When I woke the next morning, I had great difficulty in moving my legs as freely as the day before. As the alcohol left my body, the loss of mobility did not. I struggled along unaided for a few days until I returned home and purchased my first walking stick. At first I did not use it every day, but always took it with me on my frequent travels.
I found travelling with a disability in Japan a mixture of goodwill and bad design. The people were wonderful, always wanting to help, and the transport system worked very well, but the infrastructure and building design failed miserably. Supposedly disabled-access hotel rooms with a step or two were not uncommon. In my early visits to Japan with Macquarie associates, travelling without a translator, we would often sit in meetings that were scheduled to be in English. My fellow travelling companion at the time, Gus Kuiters, noted after a series of meetings how rude the Japanese were as they would talk for 10 minutes or so amongst themselves in Japanese as if we were not in the room before finally returning to the conversation in English. We talked about this to a Canadian associate who spoke French. He told us that when he and some other French-speaking Canadians travelled to Japan, the same thing happened. So, as the Japanese spoke amongst themselves in Japanese, they would speak French amongst themselves. He said this would enrage the Japanese, who would demand to know what was being said.
These trips were long and tedious, knocking on the doors of companies investing in or thinking of investing in Australia. On a subsequent trip with Gus, we encountered the same rudeness. So I said to Gus: “Let’s speak another language”, to which the obvious response was: “We don’t know another language.” To which I replied (with retrospective apologies to Aboriginal brothers and sisters): “Yes we do, we know Aboriginal”. So we decided that the next time we were confronted with this treatment, we would speak ‘Aboriginal’. The conversation went something like this.
I would say: “Cabramatta Wagga Wagga Coolangatta Kakadu”, to which Gus would reply: “Jabiru Gunnedah Gundagai”. We had compiled a list of about 100 Australian towns and places with Aboriginal names. These names, strung together, sound very fluent. We had a lot of fun with this. The Japanese would stop talking and start listening, and as usual begin writing down every word that was said — or tried to in this case. Then they would ask what language we were speaking and we would say Aboriginal. I had visions of some poor Japanese analyst being given the job of researching ‘Aboriginal language’ after this meeting. We really did come from the land Down Under.
The Japanese and Koreans made more bad international real estate business decisions than I have seen anywhere else in my career. The size of their losses in Australia in the early 1990s was unbelievable, developing complex projects in obscure locations and with overcapitalisation on an absurd scale. All justified by so-called ‘long term vision’: a vision to spread their capital around the world and build icons that would not provide a meaningful return on capital for 20 years. At first I thought these were just stupid business decisions. I was perplexed as to why, after financing building projects that in retrospect were worth 10% of their original cost, the ‘80 still walking Japanese banks would appoint the same consultants who presided over this mess in the first place to work them out of the problem. The pieces of this puzzle were only to fall into place when assets began changing hands.
We had financed an Australian company that had purchased one of many distressed Japanese-built assets in Queensland. The head of this company told me that when they took possession of the property, they had found boxes and boxes of documents relating to its construction, among which were many interesting invoices. He drew my attention to the pavers we were standing on; good-quality Queensland pavers worth about $10 a metre at the time. He told me they found an invoice for six times this amount on a letterhead of an agent based in another state, supposedly to import these tiles from Europe. I asked more questions and found more and more examples of this sort of thing. They were not stupid, just corrupt.
I discussed this with a senior executive of one of the Japanese real estate financing banks who had realised there was no future in working in the real estate area for a Japanese bank for the next 20 years and had decided to venture out on his own. He told me very frankly that levels of corruption in project financing were so widespread that we would all have to wait at least two decades, until the senior management of that era retired, before there could be any reform.
Two decades on, real estate in Japan is still bleak and would be even bleaker if real values were reflected in company balance sheets. But in this case, as in any country where more people die each year than are born or immigrate, there are many other pressing issues. Simply, as cities shrink, values fall.
Bill Moss is a former executive director of Macquarie Bank. He has written a book about his life with muscular dystrophy called<a href="https://www.stillwalking.com.au/" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.stillwalking.com.au/" target="_blank">Still Walking</a>, of which this is an excerpt. All proceeds from sales of the book go to the <a href="https://www.fshdglobal.org/" target="_blank">FSHD Global Research Foundation</a> and <a href="https://www.fightingchance.org.au/" target="_blank">Fighting Chance</a>. 
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How to spot a housing bubble: Bill Moss

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<table width="426" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
Postcode
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
Suburb
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
Average discount on vendor’s asking price for house sales
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4068
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
CHELMER
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
23.5%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4106
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
ROCKLEA
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
23%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4184
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
RUSSELL ISLAND
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
22.6%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4184
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
COOCHIEMUDLO ISLAND
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
22.5%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4183
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
POINT LOOKOUT
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
22.2%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4006
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
NEWSTEAD
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
19.7%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4184
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
MACLEAY ISLAND
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
19.7%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4105
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
TENNYSON
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
19.5%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4169
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
KANGAROO POINT
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
18.9%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="69">
4000
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="151">
SPRING HILL
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="206">
18.7%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 
Source: RP Data
 
 
 
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Top 10 Brisbane suburbs with the highest average discount for house prices: RP Data

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{yoogallery src=[images/stories/december22stamford]}
Prestige buyers have snapped up apartments in The Rocks’ latest luxury development, with only four of 122 apartments – plus the two penthouses – remaining in The Stamford Residences, which is now complete.
The development, by Stamford Property Services, includes high-end extras like a 24-hour concierge, 18-metre indoor pool and gymnasium.
The larger of the two three-storey penthouses  has four bedrooms (the master bedroom alone is 90 square metres), two terraces and 468 square metres of internal space, including a kitchenette, butler’s pantry and bar in the master suite. It is accessed by its own private lift and has its own internal lift in addition to the sweeping nine-metre-high staircase.  It comes with a $16.1 million price tag.
The smaller penthouse has 412 square metres of internal space and also includes two terraces. It has $13.4 million price expectations.
“The two penthouses offer an abundance of space rarely found in the CBD,” said Ron Keir of architects Kann Finch. “With an exclusive entry on level 28, they provide a sense of privacy and separation from the surrounding environment, while full-size windows allow occupants to reconnect with the surroundings.”
“The quality of the finishes is, of course, exemplary, and the ambience is assured through its classic understated style. Every appointment has been carefully considered to help make the penthouses bespoke homes,” Keir says.
Colliers is marketing the penthouses, along with the four remaining apartments.
The Stamford Residences and its attached townhouse complex, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/five-grand-terraces-built-within-heritage-reynell-development/2011061050463">The Reynell Terraces</a>, represent<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/inner-sydney-running-out-of-space-for-off-the-plan-developments/2011110352209"> the last developments to be built in Sydney’s northern precinct</a> (stretching south from the Harbour foreshore to Market Street and east to Macquarie Street) until 2015.
“People appreciate that this is the last high-rise building in Sydney’s most sought-after precinct,” says Colin Griffin, director of residential project marketing for Colliers International. “It is a finite resource that will appreciate in value at the highest rate.”
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Only a handful of apartments remain in The Rocks' prestige Stamford Residences

A mix of Gold Coast locals, fly-in, fly-out purchasers from Sydney and Melbourne, and Brisbane-based families has driven early sales success at Broadbeach's newest apartment tower, Lumara.

The 26-level project, a joint venture between builder-developer 5Point Projects and Bourke Projects, comprises just 37 luxury residences and is attracting a buyer profile that is looking for exclusivity, above the most amenity-rich suburb on the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=364156]

Jamie Bourke, Director of Bourke Projects, says every buyer secured so far intends to use Lumara as a lock-up-and-leave residence, combining holiday use with the ability to work remotely when required.

“The size of the apartments, both half- and full-floor options, and the different zones within the floorplans, lends itself perfectly to dedicated home office setups and multi-generational family holidays,” Bourke says.

That flexibility has become a key drawcard for affluent buyers seeking a second residence on the Gold Coast without sacrificing the ability to conduct business away from their primary home base.

The absence of holiday letting within the building has also resonated strongly with purchasers.

“This type of buyer doesn't need to generate holiday rental income,” Bourke says. “They're paying for exclusivity, privacy and certainty around who their neighbours are.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=366491]

The strong demand comes amid broader shifts in the high-end apartment market following the Federal Budget announcements in May.

“We were already seeing strong enquiry from high-net-worth buyers, but that has only accelerated since the policy changes,” Bourke says.

“A lot of those buyers are looking to place more capital into premium lifestyle assets rather than investment-grade stock that has been targeted by the Federal Government.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=366486]

Designed by Cottee Parker, Lumara adopts a slender, sculpted form with an emphasis on natural materials suited to its beachfront setting. The architectural approach draws on coastal influences, with a palette of stone, timber and concrete selected for durability and the ability to weather over time.

Apartments are limited to three and four-bedroom configurations, with a maximum of two residences per floor through the mid-levels and a selection of full-floor and dual-level homes in the upper levels. All apartments are oriented to the north to maximise natural light, cross-ventilation and views across the ocean, city skyline and hinterland.

A two-level amenity offering is positioned high within the building on levels 20 and 21, conceived as a sky wellness retreat. Facilities include a magnesium pool, spa, sauna and steam rooms, alongside more social spaces such as a private dining room, resident lounge, workspaces and outdoor barbecue areas integrated with landscaped greenery.

The uppermost levels are reserved for larger-format residences, including several full-floor homes and a dual-level penthouse with its own private wellness features and recreational spaces.

&nbsp;

To give buyers confidence, 5Point and Bourke commenced construction ahead of the apartments launching to the market, a sure-fire way to prove they mean business, and the building will be delivered. They are targeting a 2028 completion date.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150454]

Joel Robinson

Locals, interstate holiday makers, drive early sales at Lumara, Broadbeach's newest luxury apartment tower

Often when it comes to purchasing property, the biggest barrier to entry is the deposit. Buyers of established homes typically aim for a 20 per cent deposit to avoid the added cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance, while most property transactions require around a 10 per cent deposit when contracts are exchanged.

The off-the-plan market works differently, with buyers typically paying a deposit during construction and settling the balance upon completion. As completion approaches at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/fabbrica-fitzroy-369-gore-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">Fabbrica Fitzroy</a>, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/pace-development-group">Pace</a> is making it easier for buyers to secure a residence through a deposit-matching incentive. Purchasers need only contribute a five per cent deposit*, with Pace matching the remaining five per cent.

The offer comes as Pace unveils a completed display apartment and townhouse, now available for inspection by appointment ahead of the project's Spring completion.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371009]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/winwood-mckenzie-architecture">Winwood Mckenzie</a> and landscaping by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/acre">Acre</a>, Fabbrica draws on Fitzroy’s industrial and manufacturing history, incorporating references to the former Argyle Shirt Factory and Life Savers Confectionery Company that once occupied the site.

The development comprises 85 residences, spanning low-maintenance apartments through to larger-format townhouses with private street access and double lock-up garages, a relatively uncommon offering in Fitzroy’s higher-density apartment market.

Pace says the project has been designed to appeal to buyers seeking inner-city convenience without sacrificing space, flexibility, or amenity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371016]

Inside the residences, Winwood Mckenzie has focused on adaptable layouts and integrated detailing, with features including custom joinery, and concealed storage solutions. The material palette leans into warm, tactile finishes intended to complement the building’s industrial architectural language.

Fabbrica’s rooftop amenity is a key part of the project offering. Spanning around 800 sqm, the communal rooftop includes a private dining room, communal kitchen, lounge spaces, work-from-home zones, and outdoor dining areas overlooking the Melbourne CBD skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371017]

Landscape architecture studio Acre has introduced a layered rooftop garden designed to soften the urban setting while creating a more communal environment for residents.

The Fitzroy location also positions residents within walking distance of Brunswick Street, Smith Street, parks, cafés, galleries, and public transport, while remaining only minutes from Melbourne’s CBD. The project has an enviable Walk Score of 96.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371025]

Pace, which is also delivering the project as builder, has developed more than 100 projects across Melbourne over the past three decades. The vertically integrated approach has become increasingly common among developers seeking greater control over construction delivery amid broader market pressures affecting the apartment sector.

The strikingly contemporary Gore Street development is now around 70 per cent complete, with purchasers expected to move into their new homes in Spring 2026. A limited number of residences remain available under the current deposit match offer.

*Conditions apply in relation to the deposit match offer.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=139552]

Pace offers five per cent deposit match at Fabbrica Fitzroy ahead of Spring completion

Sydney developer Hyecorp's roots on the Lower North Shore stretch back three generations, and that deep understanding of the market continues to shape where and how it develops today.

From high-rise towers to boutique apartment projects, the family-run developer has built its reputation by focusing on a part of Sydney it knows intimately. Founded by Michael Abolakian in the early 1990s, Hyecorp is now led by his sons Stephen, Troy and Patrick.

Stephen Abolakian, joint managing director alongside Troy, has spent more than two decades in the business, overseeing development, planning, finance, marketing and sales.

Abolakian says the developer's disciplined focus on where it chooses to operate has been, and continues to be, one of Hyecorp's greatest strengths.

“We know the buyer profile exceptionally well,” Abolakian says.

“The demographics between places like Willoughby, Chatswood, St Leonards and Roseville are very similar. There are nuances between suburbs and projects, but culturally and from a buyer perspective, there’s a strong overlap.”

That buyer has historically been overwhelmingly owner-occupier driven.

Unlike many Sydney apartment developers that have traditionally relied heavily on investor demand, Hyecorp’s projects have typically attracted downsizers, upsizers, rightsizers and family owner-occupiers seeking long-term homes rather than short-term investments.

“Historically, investors have been a much smaller portion of our demand profile,” Abolakian says.

“We design for owner-occupiers. We don’t design for yield, we design for comfort, amenity, family living and long-term usability.”

That philosophy extends well beyond apartment layouts.

From landscaping and communal gardens to shared amenities and circulation spaces, Hyecorp’s developments are designed around how people actually live, something Abolakian believes has become increasingly important in Sydney’s apartment market.

“There was probably a period where having an approved project in market was enough,” he says.

“There wasn’t as much competition and if you built it, buyers would come. That’s no longer the case.”

“There’s more supply in the pipeline now, particularly with TOD precincts and low and mid-rise reforms opening up opportunities across Sydney. Buyers have more choice, so if you get the product wrong, they’ll simply go elsewhere.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110379 project_image_fid=311393]

The shift has forced developers to become more sophisticated in how they approach apartment design, particularly as owner-occupier expectations continue to rise.

For Hyecorp, that means thinking beyond who the buyer is today and designing for who they may become in five or 10 years' time.

“People buying now often aren’t moving in for several years,” Abolakian says.

“You might have a young couple buying today, but by the time they move in they may have children, older children, or changing lifestyle needs. You’ve got to think about how families evolve.”

That thinking also shapes Hyecorp’s approach to amenity, which positions wellness at the forefront.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149594 project_image_fid=362634]

While resort-style facilities have become increasingly common marketing tools across Sydney apartment developments, Abolakian says the challenge is ensuring amenities are genuinely usable and appropriate for the scale of the project.

“If amenities are done right, they can materially improve the living experience,” he says, adding however that if you&nbsp;overdo it or get it wrong, you can end up with facilities nobody uses that simply create ongoing strata costs.”

That balance is something Hyecorp is aiming to strike with projects like Roseville Avenue, one of the group's upcoming Lower North Shore developments, which Abolakian describes as bringing a resort-style living experience into a metropolitan setting.

“It’s about creating something that feels special without being excessive,” he says.

“Good gardens, quality apartments, thoughtful amenity. Creating that resort feeling in a metro location.”

<img alt="Hyecorp" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="13c4c0f3-b1b7-44cf-9344-0b3d1d07797a" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-02%20at%2012.14.57%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=9OLWjyj2bYkDV35F78WJnyMSPfc2bJ2z" />

The focus on owner-occupier product comes as Sydney’s apartment market continues to navigate a difficult development environment.&nbsp;For Hyecorp, maintaining an in-house operating model across construction, sales, marketing and development management has become increasingly important in navigating that environment.

“We’ve always believed in keeping a lot of the process in-house,” Abolakian says.

“It creates efficiencies, but it also creates quality control. You can make faster decisions and ensure the end product stays aligned with the original vision.”

Despite the challenges, Abolakian believes demand for quality owner-occupier apartments across Sydney remains strong beneath the surface, particularly across established Lower North Shore suburbs where downsizers continue to seek new housing options close to existing communities.

“There are definitely people waiting,” he says.

“Once some of the broader uncertainty settles, whether that’s the global environment or some of the local economic noise, I think the right projects will perform very strongly.”

Hyecorp currently has three residential developments on the market across Sydney’s Lower North Shore.&nbsp;Audrey, St Leonards, positioned opposite Newlands Park, is nearing completion and preparing to welcome its first residents, with the project now almost sold out.

Hyecorp has also recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/celine-chatswood-37-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">Celine Chatswood</a>, an architectural tower, while continuing to deliver&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet Roseville</a>, a more boutique scale of development with just 34 apartments.

Why Hyecorp continues to back Sydney's Lower North Shore apartment market

South East Queensland’s apartment market is entering a new phase defined by rising prices, constrained affordability, and mounting pressure on the construction pipeline, according to RPM Group’s latest SEQ Apartments &amp; Townhomes Market Report.

The May 2026 report highlights a widening divide between what buyers can afford and what developers can viably deliver, with detached house prices continuing to push more buyers toward apartments across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast.

RPM says Brisbane’s median house price has reached around $1.5 million, accelerating the shift toward higher-density housing as buyers are increasingly priced out of the detached market.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135094 project_image_fid=356540]

Median unit prices rose across all three major SEQ markets in the March quarter. Brisbane City recorded the strongest annual growth, with median unit prices climbing 21 per cent to $862,000, while the Gold Coast reached the highest overall median at $950,000, up 17 per cent year-on-year. The Sunshine Coast followed at $870,000, representing annual growth of nine per cent.

RPM noted the affordability gap between houses and units remains significant, with detached homes commanding premiums of 67 per cent in Brisbane and 68 per cent on the Gold Coast relative to apartments.

The report suggests this price disparity is increasingly consolidating buyer demand within the apartment market, particularly among downsizers and owner-occupiers.

“Demand is real. Supply is moving. But they’re operating on different timelines and the gap between what’s being built and what buyers can afford is the defining tension in this market right now,” RPM Queensland and NSW Managing Directors Peter Neale and Clinton Trezise said in the report.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150787 project_image_fid=366230]

While approvals and commencements are strengthening, RPM argues the delivery pipeline remains constrained by construction costs, labour shortages, and extended build timelines.

Apartment approvals across Queensland increased 86 per cent over the year to February 2026, reaching 12,682 approvals, the highest level recorded since 2016. Brisbane overtook the Gold Coast as the state’s most active apartment approval market, with nearly 5,000 apartments approved over the past 12 months.

Unit commencements also strengthened considerably, rising 48 per cent year-on-year to 5,453 commencements in the December 2025 quarter, the highest level since 2018.

However, RPM’s research found apartment delivery timeframes have expanded sharply compared to the previous cycle. Projects are now averaging around 30 months from approval to completion, compared to roughly 20 months a decade ago.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=143932 project_image_fid=367515]

The number of units under construction has climbed to approximately 31,530 dwellings, nearing the previous 2016 peak, though projects are remaining in the pipeline for considerably longer.

Construction costs continue to weigh heavily on feasibility. RPM found the average apartment construction cost in Greater Brisbane reached $630,000 per dwelling in 2025, exceeding both Sydney and Melbourne. Coastal Queensland markets, including the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, were even higher at an average of $817,418 per apartment due to the prevalence of larger premium product.

The report also points to increasing pressure from Olympic-related infrastructure spending ahead of Brisbane 2032, with labour competition expected to intensify over the next several years.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370960]

ANZ Associate Director of Property Daniel Gradwell said the underlying demand drivers across South East Queensland remain strong, supported by interstate migration, downsizers, and population growth.

“The challenge is bringing enough supply to market to meet that demand, and nothing on the horizon makes that straightforward,” Gradwell said.

RPM’s analysis found the affordability challenge is becoming more pronounced in the new apartment market itself, with only three per cent of surveyed new apartments priced below $1 million.

Instead, the market is increasingly concentrated in higher price brackets, with the most common new apartment price band across SEQ sitting between $1.5 million and $1.75 million. Around half of all new apartment stock surveyed is priced below $2 million.

The report suggests developers are not necessarily avoiding lower price points by choice, but because current construction economics make delivering affordable apartments increasingly difficult at scale.

Rental conditions also remain tight across the region. Median rents for one-bedroom apartments rose 12 per cent in Brisbane over the past year to $580 per week, while Gold Coast one-bedroom rents increased nine per cent to $630.

Despite rising rents, RPM noted bond lodgements have generally trended downward over the past five years, indicating more apartments are being absorbed by owner-occupiers rather than retained as investor-held rental stock.

Looking ahead, RPM expects projects targeting the mid-market owner-occupier segment between $1.25 million and $2 million to remain the most viable part of the market, while premium projects in highly constrained coastal or riverfront locations continue to attract demand.

“Construction costs are rewriting the feasibility rulebook across Greater Brisbane, and with little relief in sight, only projects in the right price band, right location, and with presales secured early will make it through,” the report concludes.

SEQ apartment demand outpacing affordable supply as construction timelines stretch: RPM

Camberwell Junction has long been the epicentre of amenity in Melbourne’s Boroondara region.

For nearly a century, it has drawn both locals and visitors, anchored by the Camberwell Sunday Market, which first operated in 1929 and quickly became a fixture of the suburb’s identity. Over time, the Junction evolved into one of Melbourne’s most established retail and lifestyle precincts, now comprising more than 400 stores and over 300 commercial businesses.

Despite that depth of amenity, one thing has remained notably limited: the supply of new apartments.

In a suburb defined by its heritage streetscapes and tightly held residential stock, new development opportunities have been scarce, particularly within the core of the Junction itself. That lack of supply has left a gap in the market for larger, design-led apartments suited to downsizers and owner-occupiers wanting to remain in the area.

Boutique developer Above Zero identified that gap when it secured a prime site on Burke Road, in the heart of Camberwell Junction.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368543]

The site has a long planning history. Various proposals have been put forward over more than a decade, many of which were knocked back by the City of Boroondara, with initial applications dating back to 2015. Above Zero acquired the site in 2022 and returned with a revised scheme, refining both the building’s height and its ground-level interface to better align with Council expectations.

That process has culminated in approval for Camberwell House.

The Cera Stribley-designed development will deliver 57 residences on a 1,950 sqm site within the Camberwell Activity Centre, placing it directly within one of Melbourne’s most established retail and transport hubs.

It is expected to be one of the only new apartment developments to launch in the Junction in recent years, reinforcing the rarity of new supply in the precinct. Currently, there are just a handful of projects on the market in Camberwell, underscoring the significance of a development of this scale and positioning.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368544]

Camberwell House has been conceived with a clear focus on larger-format apartments. The project will offer a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, alongside a limited number of penthouses, targeting owner-occupiers seeking scale rather than volume-driven product.

The building’s vertical presence will also set it apart.

Positioned on Burke Road, the development is set to become one of the taller buildings in its immediate context, allowing for elevated outlooks across Melbourne’s CBD skyline and toward the Dandenong Ranges. In a precinct characterised by lower-scale built form, that height provides a point of differentiation, particularly for buyers seeking outlook and natural light.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368568]

Architecture has been led by Cera Stribley, with interiors by GOLDEN and landscape design by Florian Wild. The design approach centres on material consistency and restraint, with residences oriented to maximise light, ventilation and connection to outdoor spaces.

Full-height glazing and generous terraces form a key part of that strategy, allowing apartments to extend beyond their internal footprint and engage with the surrounding environment.

Beyond the private residences, a significant component of the project is its amenity offering.

Above Zero has positioned Camberwell House as a “complete living environment”, incorporating a full floor dedicated to resident facilities. At the centre of that is a wellness zone, including a 12.5-metre lap pool, spa, sauna and treatment spaces, alongside a gym and recovery-focused amenities.

This level of amenity is more commonly associated with inner-city developments, rather than established middle-ring suburbs like Camberwell.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368588]

Additional shared spaces include a private library lounge, dining and entertaining areas, and an indoor golf simulator. A self-contained guest suite has also been incorporated, allowing residents to accommodate visiting family or friends without impacting their primary living space.

The inclusion of these facilities reflects a broader shift in buyer expectations.

As more downsizers look to transition from larger family homes into apartments, there is increasing demand for developments that offer not just a residence, but a lifestyle. That includes access to wellness, social and entertaining spaces within the building itself, reducing the reliance on external amenity while still maintaining proximity to established precincts.

Camberwell House is positioned to benefit from both.

Its location places it within immediate walking distance of Camberwell Junction’s retail and dining offering, as well as public transport connections, including tram and train services. That combination of internal amenity and external convenience is central to its appeal.

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-150" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:55d7c6ac-8e6d-4881-ad49-0ed9bf66d1cc-74" dir="auto">
Jellis Craig Projects Director Stephen Bowtell is handling sales for the project and says Camberwell House offers a rare entry point into one of Melbourne’s most tightly held markets.

“Buyers are recognising that Camberwell House offers something they simply haven’t seen before in Boroondara,”&nbsp;Bowtell&nbsp;says.

“It combines a level of resident amenity and service typically associated with Melbourne’s premium inner-city developments, while being positioned right in the heart of Camberwell Junction.

“The response to the concierge offering has been particularly strong. Buyers appreciate not only the convenience, but also the sense of security and peace of mind that comes from having a dedicated presence in the building every day.

“When you combine that with the wellness facilities, the exceptional arrival experience, and panoramic views across both the CBD skyline and the Dandenong Ranges, it creates a lifestyle proposition that is genuinely unique within the local market.”
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=4896]

Cassidy Knowlton

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