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Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has again weighed in on the value of the Australian dollar, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2013/sp-gov-211113">telling</a> a group of economists the bank is open to the idea of intervening to bring its value down.

With the Australian dollar having been plus or minus 10 cents from parity with the US dollar for most of the past six years, many of us may have forgotten that only a decade ago Australians were complaining about how stubbornly low it was.
At that time the exchange rate was only a little above 50 cents, and some pundits were predicting worse was to come. Imported goods and holidays were expensive, but of course the beneficiaries of this low exchange rate were exporters of goods, as well as service exporters in the education and tourism sectors in particular.
Movements in the Australian dollar since the floating of the exchange rate in 1983 have been volatile and unpredictable, so that there is in fact nothing particularly unusual about the past decade, as the chart below shows.
<img style="font-size: 0.8em;" width="470" src="https://c479107.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/35280/width668/byzdphds-1384405044.jpg">
Data: Reserve Bank of Australia
Most Australian companies now know how to deal with exchange rate volatility through using hedging, which allows companies to deal with uncertainty about future exchange rates. While volatility might seem to be undesirable, there is remarkably little empirical evidence that the kind of volatility in the exchange rate that we suffer in Australia has significant costs.
Despite this, the majority of economists, including those within the Reserve Bank and the Treasury view the current exchange rate as too high. My view is a fair value for the Australian dollar would be in the range of 70 to 80 US cents, and there has been little to suggest that this range has moved in the past decade. This range would enable the competitiveness required for an even balance of trade over a long period.
In the early 2000s I was arguing that the Australian dollar was significantly undervalued, and today the exchange rate is overvalued to the tune of at least 15%. However, the undervaluation of the Australian dollar lasted for several years, and the current overvaluation is likely to continue for at least the next year or two.
There is no doubt that exchange rates can be misaligned, sometimes for very long periods of time. The exchange rate is an asset price, and as with other asset prices there is reasonable debate about what constitutes fair value, and how to estimate this value.
Misalignments can be driven by a number of factors. The recent overvaluation of the Australian dollar has been largely to do with loose monetary policy in the United States, and also Europe and Japan. With Australia’s economy being relatively strong, and our interest rates remaining above those in the rest of the West, money has flowed into Australia and kept our exchange rate strong.
What can we do about it?
At the moment there are a number of countries that have floating exchange rates that are suffering from similar problems with overvaluation to those facing Australia. These include emerging economies such as Brazil, middle income countries such as South Korea, and richer countries such as Switzerland. Some of these countries have tried to stop appreciation of the exchange rate, with mixed success.
The first means of addressing an overvalued exchange rate is to fix the exchange rate. We could for example, ask the RBA to fix the exchange rate at 75 US cents.
This would require the RBA to buy and sell as many Asutralian dollars as the market required at this fixed rate. At the moment that would have the RBA dramatically increasing its holdings of US dollars, as the supply of US dollars to buy Australian dollars at that price would greatly exceed market demand. Many economists argue that fixed exchange rates are too inflexible and should not be considered.
My view is that fixing the exchange rate should not be completely ruled out, but the problem is that this limits flexibility at times when this is required, and in the case of Australia, why would we fix to the US dollar, when that currency is clearly in such a decline?
At the moment such a peg would require ultra low Australian interest rates, which would no doubt lead to problems such as further overheating in property and other asset markets.
A less extreme form of intervention by central banks involves them buying and selling currency to try to limit exchange rate movements. The RBA for example, sometimes “leans against” big movements in either direction of the Australian dollar. The problem with these interventions is that there is limited evidence of their effectiveness in having a lasting effect on the exchange rate. The reason for this is that the size of the foreign exchange market is huge, even relative to the size of central bank asset holdings.
In the latest survey, turnover in the Australian dollar averages around US$180 billion per day, a very large amount even for central banks to create a dent in. For example, the central bank in Switzerland began intervening to try to limit Swiss Franc appreciation in 2009, and in the subsequent four years these interventions had at best a minimal impact on the exchange rate.
Many countries have tried to limit exchange rate movements by imposing “capital controls.” These controls can take various forms, but the idea is to tax or put some other kind of constraint on foreign money coming into a country, with the aim being to reduce the value of a currency. China has had capital controls as part of its managed exchange rate system, and Chile and Malaysia have also imposed capital controls in recent years.
As with central bank intervention, the evidence on the effectiveness of capital controls in managing exchange rates is mixed. Capital controls can work in a strong economy, but in a country such as Australia that requires significant capital inflow each year, putting costs on these inflows runs the risk of putting off foreign investors. At a minimum that is likely to lead to much higher interest rates, along with running a risk of recession as a result.
Another way to try to limit exchange rate overvaluation is to loosen monetary policy. The Reserve Bank long ago decided that the prime objective for monetary policy was to keep inflation low and stable. Other objectives should be secondary, and should not interfere with this inflation focus. I would agree with this focus, and to cut interest rates to weaken the exchange rate at the current time would not be appropriate.
Are there other options? The IMF lists six types of exchange rate regimes, and classifies countries accordingly. Aside from floating exchange rate systems such as Australia’s, all of the other regimes involve forms of intervention or controls such as those above.
There is only one other possibility. We could of course apply for admission to the Euro, so as to give that system a boost, or adopt the US dollar. Currency unions are not always a bad idea, though they seem to be a bit out of fashion, and in the case of Australia the big question is who should we form a union with? The Europeans? The Americans? Maybe we should cosy up to the Kiwis?
There is no doubt that our overvalued exchange rate is costly. When the US, Japan and Europe unwind their unusually loose monetary policy there is little doubt that the AUD will weaken. Unfortunately in the meantime the best we can do is hope that those days come sooner rather than later.

<hr>
Mark Crosby is associate professor of economics at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mbs.edu/Pages/Default.aspx">Melbourne Business School</a>
This article was originally published at <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/intervene-or-wait-the-rba-faces-tricky-path-to-a-lower-dollar-20091">original article</a>.
 
<img width="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/20091/count.gif" height="1" alt="The Conversation">
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To intervene, or not to intervene? The RBA's dollar dilemma

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Currency liberalisation is coming, according to Chinese officials. Following the meeting of over 350 top Communist Party officials, known as the third plenum, China has given the signal that controls will eventually be eased. China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan says they will exit from normal FX intervention – and has gone so far as to say they will also expand the daily trading range.
For a long time there has been strong external pressure applied urging Chinese officials to relax currency controls. These not only keep China's currency, known as the yuan (CNY), artificially low, but also make international transactions difficult. So the comments have been welcomed by many.
Currency controls
At present the Chinese central bank (People's Bank of China) controls the currency by setting a daily fluctuation band, which is a maximum and minimum exchange rate at which conversion between the US dollar and the CNY can occur. So they allow it to trade “freely” within these prescribed limits. Since 2007 the bank has continued to not only raise the band but also to widen it. At present it sits at 1% (between the minimum and maximum rates).
It is likely that this trend will continue, with the band not only continuing to widen but also to be set higher. Eventually this will get to the point where the currency rarely reaches either end of the band, meaning the bank can then abandon these controls altogether.
How long will this take?
Although Chinese officials have a solid record of being very slow to reform, given their recent efforts to rebalance the domestic economy away from fixed investment towards personal consumption, we could see reform sooner than the 5-10 year timeline that many expect.
I wouldn’t be overly surprised to see a band in excess of 3% and further liberalisation of the capital controls within the next 2-3 years.
What does this mean for the Aussie dollar?
We have already seen the AUD decline over 20% against the CNY since April 2011, partly in anticipation of further CNY strength and AUD weakness.
I expect China's currency reforms will only serve to continue to weaken the Australian dollar, for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the demand for our currency that is currently held by many as a proxy to the performance of China will diminish. The thinking here is that if I can get money into and out of China freely at a true market determined exchange rate (like I can for the AUD) why wouldn’t I go direct to the source (CNY)? Hence those holding AUD instead of CNY would be likely to shift funds that way – out of AUD into CNY.
Secondly, re-shaping the Chinese economy away from such a heavily reliance on fixed investments such as roads and buildings will see a decline in demand for our resources. This would also lessen demand for AUD over time.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimvrondas" style="text-decoration: none; color: #000000; font-weight: bold;">
<hr>
Jim Vrondas</a> is chief currency and payment strategist, Asia-Pacific at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ozforex.com.au/">OzForex</a>,Australia's leading international money transfer service. OzForex's cutting edge technology powers foreign exchange services for 100,000 private and institutional clients across six continents, and the company is a key provider of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ozforex.com.au/news-commentary/daily">forex news</a>.
This article first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.SmartCompany.com.au">SmartCompany</a>.
 
 
 
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What does a liberalised Chinese currency mean for the Australian dollar?

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<div id="post-excerpt">
There’s a long history of public housing authorities ignoring the needs of residents. Much has improved, but some public agencies still take an implicitly paternalistic view of the interests of residents
</div>
<a target="_blank" href="https://sourceable.net/urban-focus-2013-national-architecture-awards-winners-revealed/"><img width="470" height="347" src="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/files/2013/11/McIntyre-Street-Award-winner.jpg"></a>
Photo: Social housing at 2 McIntyre Drive Altona - winner of the Frederick Romberg Award for Multiple Housing in the 2013 National Architecture Awards
Back in June <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/06/25/do-social-housing-tenants-get-the-buildings-theyd-choose/#comment-9094">I argued</a> there’s been a history of architects “innovating” with the aesthetics of social housing in ways they can’t easily do with private housing.
I was prompted by a new social housing complex for older disabled residents at 2 McIntyre Drive in the Melbourne residential and industrial suburb of Altona (see exhibit). At the time it had just won the Residential Architecture (Multiple Housing) category in this year’s Victorian Architecture Awards.
I’m revisiting the topic because two weeks ago the building was a winner at the Australian Institute of Architects 2013 National Architecture Awards. It won Australia’s highest architectural accolade in its class, <a target="_blank" href="https://sourceable.net/urban-focus-2013-national-architecture-awards-winners-revealed/">the Frederick Romberg Award</a> for Multiple Housing.
In my previous article (<a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/06/25/do-social-housing-tenants-get-the-buildings-theyd-choose/">Do social housing tenants get the housing they’d choose?</a>), I contended that 2 McIntyre Drive has a distinctive and particular industrial/warehouse “look”.
The design by MGS Architects might capture the character of a suburb that’s home to Toyota’s car manufacturing plant, but it’s a highly specific form that a private developer in my view would be unlikely to risk in the marketplace.
Private buyers can go elsewhere if they’re unhappy with the appearance of a building, so builders whose customers have a choice strive to understand what their buyers prefer.
Developers selling to sophisticated professionals in the inner city will sometimes take an aesthetic risk in an effort to differentiate their product, but they’re dealing with a very different market. I think they’d be much less likely to do that with dwellings aimed at the bottom end of the market or in suburban Altona.
There’s a long history of architects experimenting aesthetically with social housing. They’re aided by housing authorities, who usually employ architecturally trained personnel to prepare briefs and manage consulting architects.
They’ve been able to do it because the residents of social housing don’t usually get a say in the “look” of their buildings. Residents are often at a considerable remove from aesthetic decisions and in any event lack the power to go elsewhere that a private buyer has.
The obvious downside is residents mightn’t like the appearance of the buildings they’re assigned to. Some might argue that aesthetics is a trivial concern, but it’s an important consideration for private buyers and seemingly of immense importance to architects.
Another concern is that housing which has a highly distinctive but “market unfriendly” aesthetic might identify the residents as welfare recipients. This could lead to a loss of dignity for some residents and exacerbate problems with integration with the neighbourhood.
I’m not in any way criticising the functional efficiency or cost-effectiveness of 2 McIntyre Drive; I can’t possibly know how it stacks up in that regard. The issue I’m raising is about the appropriateness of elites imposing their aesthetic values on those with limited power.
Not unexpectedly, some architects (but not all) disagreed with my original article. My argument was variously described on Twitter as “nonsense”, “lacking rigour” and “tired”.
The most revealing though came from an evidently exasperated @taniadavidge, who said “It just makes me tired. Why bother trying to give people a better outcome aesthetically and spatially?”
And another from an apparently amazed @michael_zanardo who asked: “So the question is now whether the ‘look’ of the housing is ‘appropriate’ for its occupants?”
Two of the architects involved in designing 2 McIntyre Drive, <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/06/25/do-social-housing-tenants-get-the-buildings-theyd-choose/#comment-9088">Rob McGauran</a>and <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/06/25/do-social-housing-tenants-get-the-buildings-theyd-choose/#comment-9094">Eli Gianinni</a>, weighed in to the debate in comments on the original article. But they avoided the issue and offered red herrings instead, arguing that residents are satisfied with their accommodation.
Of course they are, but it has nothing to do with the appearance of the building!
As I noted previously, residents now have accommodation that’s purpose-designed for disabled residents; they have a brand new unit with mod cons; they get to live with others whose life situation is similar in important respects; they might finally have reasonable certainty of tenure; and for some it might be their first entry into subsidised social housing.
They get to live in a complex the architect’s say has been designed to function well in terms of over-looking, privacy, and access to open space. It’s also a quiet location, albeit a long way from services.
But those arguments are irrelevant to the issue I’m raising i.e. that the appearance of the building has little to do with the tastes of the residents and everything to do with the taste of artistic elites.
Contemporary social housing is a vast improvement on the “towers in the park” of the past. Back then architects and social reformers too often imposed their own ideas on residents who lacked the opportunity and resources to deal with them on fair terms.
Social housing authorities need to be conscious who they’re providing housing for; they need to put residents front and centre. They should work hard to avoid the paternalism of the past in all aspects of their operations.
 
<hr>
 Alan Davies is a transport and urban development consultant and blogger for <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/">The Urbanist</a>.
 
This article first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.Crikey.com.au">Crikey</a>.
 
 
 
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What kind of social housing do people really want?

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In a letter to a political ally in 1900, Theodore Roosevelt coined the phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. The corollary was that, without a big stick and preparedness to use it, one would go nowhere.
It’s a line that perhaps the Reserve Bank of Australia has been pondering in its comments around the persistently high Australian dollar.
After this month deciding to leave the cash rate unchanged, Governor Glenn Stevens noted the exchange rate was “still uncomfortably high. A lower level of the exchange rate is likely to be needed to achieve balanced growth in the economy.”
At times, the Bank has also signalled its views as to the size of the depreciation required to get back to a balanced growth path. Its <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/smp/" target="_blank">November Statement on Monetary Policy</a> opines that “a further depreciation similar in magnitude to that seen earlier this year could be expected to see growth return to trend, or even above trend, sooner than forecast”.
But Roosevelt’s advice also applies to monetary policy. The Reserve Bank has, advisedly, stopped well short of announcing prospective policy changes designed to lower the dollar. For announcements to have any significant effect, markets would need to be convinced that the Bank does, indeed have a big stick.
Such is not presently the case.
Since 1996, the objective of the RBA has been to keep consumer price inflation between 2-3%, on average, over the cycle. What established the credibility of this objective was not its announcement but a track record of achieving it. Having established credibility expectations of inflation don’t move very far outside the target range, especially in the medium term.
Setting the cash rate with an eye on the inflation target and to a lesser extent the level of economic activity leaves little room for intervention in foreign exchange markets, other than to smooth short run disorderly conditions.
Markets know this. They also know that the Reserve Bank and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are aware of the risk that lax bank lending standards and rising loan-to-valuation ratios might set off an unsustainable boom in housing prices. The standard policy intervention to lower the exchange rate – a cut in the cash rate and a concomitant expansion in the monetary base– would only increase this risk. But if this risk were controlled by restrictions on bank lending such as caps on loan-to-value ratios (as have recently been implemented in New Zealand) this might give the Reserve Bank more room to manoeuvre.
Even then, monetary expansion on the scale required to shift the exchange rate would have to confront the problem that most of the “high dollar problem” is due to monetary policy in the United States. Markets know that the Reserve Bank is unlikely to intervene while there is uncertainty about the stance of monetary policy in the United States.
Indeed, the policy of the US Federal Reserve provides an interesting example of where announcements of future policy do shift markets.
Faced with a situation where its equivalent of the cash rate cannot be cut any further, the Fed has adopted a policy of quantitative easing. QE itself is just the policy whereby the Fed purchases assets (government bonds) from the private sector, increasing the monetary base.
Because rates are already so low, this has no effect on the current short term interest rate, and the Fed has attempted to gain the use of an additional policy instrument by announcing the terms under which this unconventional policy will be continued.
To the extent that this “forward guidance” works, it is because markets expect future short term interest rates will be kept low by QE, and that keeps current long term interest rates low. As a side effect, forward guidance pushes down the US dollar on foreign exchange markets.
Because they are credible announcements about the path of future policy, any change in forward guidance, particularly as to when QE will be withdrawn, has an effect on longer term rates and on the relative returns on Australian and US bonds. An announcement of “tapering” QE would see the return on US bonds rise relative to Australian bonds, holdings of Australian bonds would become less attractive, and the Australian dollar would fall relative to the US.
Can policy announcements push the Australian dollar down? Yes. But the relevant announcements are those of the Federal Reserve, not the Reserve Bank.

<hr>
Graeme Wells is university associate, School of Economics and Finance at <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/" target="_blank">University of Tasmania</a>.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-tasmania"></a>
This article was originally published at <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/talking-the-dollar-down-does-jawboning-work-20254">original article</a>.
<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/20254/count.gif" width="1">
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Can policy announcements push the Australian dollar down?

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Let me declare myself unambiguously: I do not hate McMansions, just because they’re easy to hate.
For quite a few years now, anybody who writes about these oversized single family homes has consistently demonised them as not just individually ugly, ill-designed and unsustainable, but as the building blocks of isolated suburbs devoid of a sense of community.
In an otherwise admirable reminder of just how ingrained the aspiration for a freestanding house is in the Australian psyche and polity, Peter McNeil, professor of design history at Sydney’s University of Technology, Sydney <a href="https://theconversation.com/me-and-my-mcmansion-australians-and-their-homes-12179" target="_blank">wrote in February</a> on The Conversation:
"Apart from warehouse conversions and architect-designed homes, many Australian dwellings are McMansions that do not relate to the scale of the houses around them or have anything to do with their environment. It is possible that as in North America, we are retreating into our homes more and more, meeting lovers online, watching our video on home entertainment systems, cooking on industrial quality ovens and holding parties with enormous BBQs that would once have provided a catering company. Perhaps we need to think a bit more about whether we are part of communities and networks or if we are heading towards an atomised existence?"
That is mild compared to the vitriol of Fairfax writer <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/elizabeth-farrelly" target="_blank">Elizabeth Farrelly</a>, Australia’s only successful populist newspaper architecture critic.
Farrelly masks her unalloyed condemnation of McMansion design with a long-term, consistent, but remarkably axiomatic stance against their <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/11/08/1099781318531" target="_blank">over-consumption of land and resources</a>.
<img width="470" height="181" src="/images/stories/2013/11/19/mcmansion-one-Elana-Centor-flickr.jpg" alt="mcmansion-one-Elana-Centor-flickr">
Photo courtesy of Elana Centor/flickr
If there is no need for even a pretence of objectivity, the condemnation can be brutal. On the <a href="https://thingsboganslike.com" target="_blank">Things Bogans Like</a> website, entry <a href="https://thingsboganslike.com/2010/02/02/mcmansions/" target="_blank">#76 McMansions</a> concludes:
"In order to put a McMansion within reach of the financially impulsive bogan, builders take phenomenal amounts of shortcuts on the shoddily fitted out McMansion. Once the flashy silver oven breaks, and the paper thin feature wall cracks, it becomes clear that the housing estate is 10 years away from being a generic and unserviced bogan ghetto. It’s the great Australian dream come true."
What all this McMansion bashing has in common is a set of assumptions that are ill-founded.
The first is the convenient lie that McMansions are the opposite of architect-crafted paragons of good design. This is easiest dealt with by visiting somewhere like <a href="https://www.homeworld.com.au/kellyville/home">Homeworld Kellyville</a>, the display village north west of Sydney.
Talk to the sales people, and the names of some of our better known mid-career architects are volunteered as the designers of an unexpected number of models.
The second anomaly is that a surprising proportion of available project home models are of notably good design. They make the most of small sites, with great connections between informal living areas and well sheltered outdoor al fresco rooms.
They have a relatively low proportion of glass area compared to their floor area (typically 20% “glazing to floor ratios”) yet look light and airy. Most architect-designed houses often have double that proportion of glass, or more.
They often have good planning for the needs of parents and growing kids to spend time together, yet also get away from each other. They have admirably economical and practical construction, in materials no different to those employed for much more expensive houses.
True, some McMansions don’t have any of these worthy attributes, and all are too big.
The third inconvenient truth? Let’s ask <a href="https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/profile/patrick_troy" target="_blank">professor Patrick Troy</a>, a world expert on urban development and visiting professor at the University of New South Wales' City Futures Research Centre.
He <a href="https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/upload/FinalLandcomEnergyandWaterReport.pdf" target="_blank">pointed out in 2006</a> that, of the major dwelling types, free standing suburban houses are the lowest energy consumers per occupant and appear to consume less water per occupant than contemporary apartments. That is data.
Professor Troy also suggests that, if climate change ever forces us back to a higher degree of local food production, what we call “urban sprawl” may be actually more resilient as a form of urbanisation than the concrete jungles of urban consolidation.
In the end, I too come down on the side of the argument that suggests we have McMansions because they are a symbol of success, not because we actually need them. And the bad McMansions do spoil it for me, in spite of my admiration for the good ones.
But to be clear: I don’t hate them just because I’m supposed to.

<hr>
Steve King is senior lecturer in architecture at <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au" target="_blank">University of New South Wales</a>
This article was originally published at <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-demonising-mcmansions-19887">original article</a>.
 
<img width="1" height="1" alt="The Conversation" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/19887/count.gif">
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In defense of McMansions: They're not all bad

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With an early, devastating start to the bushfire season in <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydney-fires-caused-by-people-and-nature-19327" target="_parent">New South Wales</a> and Queensland, recent disasters in Victoria and Tasmania, and projections that current trends will continue under climate change, it is time to look beyond emergency responses and controlled burning. The calls for a broader perspective on bushfire management are <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-bushfire-risk-dont-forget-the-science-19065" target="_blank">mounting</a>.
Bushfire risk is both a spatial planning and an emergency management challenge. The majority of bushfires start close to the urban fringe. Most of the financial losses come from damage to private property and public infrastructure. If the object is to cost-effectively manage the risks to people, property and infrastructure, it is not enough to focus only on emergency management and disaster recovery.
<a href="https://www.nccarf.edu.au/publications/limp-leap-or-learn" target="_blank">Our research</a> shows that spatial planning, including conventional land use and a wider range of legal instruments, is a critical tool for adapting to climate change, particularly the increased frequency, intensity, and altered distribution of bushfires.
New standards for bushfire-prone areas
The <a href="https://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/" target="_blank">Royal Commission</a> into the 2009 Victorian bushfires recommended development be substantially restricted in areas of highest bushfire risk and that planning provisions give clear priority to the protection of human life.
A host of amendments to planning laws in Victoria were directed towards these recommendations. These provide important lessons for the rest of the country.
A key initiative was state-wide <a href="https://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/bushfire.jsp" target="_blank">bushfire hazard mapping</a>. This now forms a core part of all Victorian planning schemes. Land in bushfire-prone areas must undergo specific risk assessment during development assessment. Development can only proceed if the level of risk to human life, property, and community infrastructure is acceptable.
The assessment of what constitutes an “acceptable level of risk” is teased out in specific planning provisions. It generally involves a combination of defendable space and construction standards. These limit the amount of discretion available to development assessment agencies.
Development approvals in bushfire-prone areas must now include conditions requiring the maintenance of bushfire mitigation measures. These include construction standards, defendable space, water supply and access. In new subdivisions, construction standards and building envelope information must be included on the property title, to alert future owners of these requirements.
The emphasis on protecting human life should help in minimising risks. But land use planning for bushfire also needs to consider other priorities, such as native vegetation and biodiversity conservation. Achieving this balance will require local councils to have the courage to say no to development proposed for high risk, high conservation value areas, rather than managing risks through through vegetation removal.
Existing communities – is retreat the answer?
These changes account for new development, but what about people already living in bushfire prone areas?
Even where communities are destroyed, there is intense political pressure to commit to rebuilding in the same location. This is fine for areas where future risks can be managed effectively (without compromising other policy goals like conservation). But high risk areas may need other strategies. The Bushfires Commission recommended the government consider retreat for exceptionally high risk areas.
But the <a href="https://www.rdv.vic.gov.au/fire-recovery-unit/fru-news-room/voluntary-buy-back-community-consultation-process" target="_blank">property buyback scheme</a> that followed was voluntary and lacked strategic focus. The result was a lower concentration of properties in high risk areas. This arguably just spreads emergency resources more thinly.
Mandatory retreat policies are rare, and would probably be overkill as a response to fires. An alternative could be designating hazardous areas as “future acquisition”, as previously occurred in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne. This would give current owners the security to remain, but give local or state government the power to acquire land when the owners decide to leave.
Insurance can also <a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-and-flood-how-home-insurance-can-help-us-adapt-to-climate-change-17568" target="_blank">help shift development</a> to less risky areas. Governments need to harness this power to drive behavioural changes. Insurance policy pricing and coverage can send price signals about the riskiness of certain areas, and influence property choices.
Some policies require the property owner to rebuild in the same location following fire. But there are examples, such as floods and earthquakes, where insurers permit policyholders to apply their payout to rebuilding elsewhere.
Short of mandatory retreat policies, there are other ways of influencing the behaviour of property owners and buyers. For example, notations on a property’s title or similar information in sale contracts and rental agreements can indicate the bushfire attack level of the property’s construction. Similarly the number of times bushfire has affected the site can alert future occupants of the risks.
Levies on at-risk properties such as those applied in Victoria can also provide market signals about the full costs of living in certain locations, as well as raising the revenue required to support emergency services to these areas.
None of these tools may be popular with property owners who fear cuts to property value, or new imposts. But they are important complements to the current risk management strategies for bushfire-prone areas.
 
Jan McDonald is professor of environmental law at the <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au" target="_blank">University of Tasmania</a>.
Andrew Macintosh is associate professor  at the ANU College of Law and the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy at the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/" target="_blank">Australian National University</a>.
Anita Foerster is research fellow at the <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au" target="_blank">Univeristy of Tasmania</a>.
Jan, Andrew and Anita receive funding from the <a href="https://www.nccarf.edu.au/" target="_blank">National Climate Chanage Adaptation Research Facility</a>. 
This article was originally published at <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
 
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New building standards and policies required for bushfire prone areas

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Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey says raising Australia’s debt ceiling from $300 billion to $500 billion will stave off a United States-style debt crisis. After the government announced it would introduce legislation to raise the debt ceiling, the Labor opposition offered a compromise of a rise to $400 billion. Hockey says that’s inadequate, and matters are coming to a head as the government <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-13/carbon-mining-tax-parliament-legislation-tony-abbott/5087200">introduced legislation</a> to Parliament yesterday.
So what are the consequences of raising the debt ceiling in Australia and what should it be raised to? We asked the economists?—?who think much of the debate on this issue is a beat-up …
Steve Keen - Economics professor at University of Western Sydney:
We should be raising the debt ceiling. It’s sensible for the government to borrow money to finance part of expenditure, particularly if that involves infrastructure and development, which we’ve let wane badly in the last 20 years.
Putting a number on what we should raise the debt ceiling to is a bit like saying how many cards should there be in a playing deck. The government can issue as much money as it likes. The fact we have a numerical debt ceiling rather than one related to GDP is silly. There’s no real point where a government that issues its own currency has a debt ceiling, but if we have one it should be related to GDP rather than an absolute number, and it should be at least five times what it currently is.
It’s insane to worry about the government debt. The level of government debt is less than Australian credit card debt. There’s been a total beat-up of the debate in the last three years.
Michael Knox - Chief economist and director of strategy at Morgans:
Australia should raise its debt ceiling. We have around about four years before we get back to balancing the budget, so we need to borrow more money and we also need to finance the existing stock of debt which we have.
The amount by which the debt ceiling is raised shouldn’t be an issue. You’ve got the side of politics that wants to increase the debt ceiling and say they want to move towards a balanced budget in four years. Unless the other side wants to move towards a balanced budget earlier, there’s no rational reason not to increase the debt ceiling.
I can understand why this might happen in the US context, but I can’t understand why it is happening in the Australian context. The side of politics in the US that tried to limit the debt ceiling has done it in order to reduce government spending. In Australia you’ve got the side of politics that usually wants to increase spending trying to limit the increase of the debt ceiling. It’s inherently contradictory.
Frank Gelber - Chief economist at BIS Shrapnel:
This is a non-issue. We need to raise the debt ceiling. Now it’s in the political arena. The question is by how much. Do you raise it by $200 billion, or do you raise it by a little less so you have to discuss it again sooner?
I don’t have an opinion on how much the debt ceiling should be raised by, but we’re going to need the $500 billion eventually. The debt ceiling will be raised, 100 [billion] gives them years to raise it again if they need. The question is whether you have to justify every incremental raise. In practical terms I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference to our credit rating.
<hr>
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/">Crikey</a>.
 
 
 
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Economists debate: Should Joe Hockey increase the debt limit?

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The position of a retail store can make or break its success. For anyone considering embarking on a retail venture, or for existing retailers looking for a new site – where do you start in your search for the perfect space?
According to Colliers International, there is around 2.6 million square metres of retail space currently under construction or expected to be completed over the next five years. More retail space means more choice – but there’s no need to be confused by the options – there is a science behind selecting the position of a store that will give you the biggest chance of succeeding.
But what is that formula for success?
As Australia’s largest bakery franchise, which works both with, and on behalf of its franchisees to secure new sites, the Bakers Delight property team has years of experience in securing the best possible location to ensure its bakeries deliver the greatest potential for franchisees.
The methodology behind site selection is not just a matter of choosing between a local shopping strip or a shopping centre. Our stores do better in very specific circumstances and that knowledge is applied to ensure we’re located in the best possible position. Here are the three key areas to think about in crafting your own winning formula – from the macro through to the micro:
1. Macro-economics and demographics
The first question to ask is: what are the economic trends at play in the retail sector in general and what’s the broad economic profile of the area you’re considering?
It’s always worth staying across retail sector research – for example, the most recent Colliers International report states that across the retail categories, the highest individual sector returns were achieved by neighbourhood shopping centres (8.9%) for the year to March 2013. Statistics like these will be essential to your decision-making.
Then you need to consider the profile of the community. Is it already well-established or is there an opportunity for population growth due to housing developments in the area? Don’t just think about what’s there now, think about how this could change over the years and the opportunities and challenges that presents.
Now consider the demographic make-up of that community and does it match your likely customer base? Demographic profiles obviously include things like age, ethnicity and income, but it’s also worth thinking about demographics in terms of ‘life stages’ – as this is one of the biggest indicators of likely shopping habits.
Once you’ve established the bigger picture and know the broad economic and demographic profile of the area matches your strategy, look more closely at the position of the store within that community.
2. The middle macro mindset
Shopping centre or local shopping strip? This stage is all about the potential footfall from existing shoppers in the area – so it’s time to take a closer look at the surroundings. What other stores are close by, and most importantly, what mindset will shoppers be in when they’re in the area? Are the surrounding shops larger retail chains or smaller independents and what does that mean for your success?
Being surrounded by retailers that complement your products will increase your chances of footfall. For example, at Bakers Delight we know that being close to other ‘daily needs’ food retailers boosts our sales – shoppers will wander from the butcher, to the fishmonger to the bakery and the fruit and veg shop to stock up for the week. On the other hand, if the shopping centre or local shopping strip is more fashion focused, even if there are thousands of potential customers per day, they aren’t likely to be in the right mindset to buy our products and an accessories store, for example, would have much more success here.
3. The micro matters
Yes, the micro detail matters. Take a shopping centre, for example: the level the store is on, its proximity to an entrance, whether the centre’s architecture is linear or curved all have an impact on how many people pass by or walk in.
For example, in a curved shopping centre more people tend to walk on the inside not the outside of a curve. While shoppers themselves may not even realise they do this – there is a pattern to how they walk around and shop. A difference of 10 metres can make a huge difference. Have conversations with existing retailers in the area and learn from their experience. Try spending a few hours studying the shoppers in the area yourself and consider how things change at different times of day and on different days of the week.
In theory, there are no unlucky shopping centres – just retailers who haven’t done their research.

<hr>
Gerry Gerrard is the general manager of <a href="https://www.bakersdelight.com.au/?" target="_blank">Bakers Delight</a>. An Australian owned company, Bakers Delight has 700 bakeries employing more than 15,000 people, serving two million regular customers a week throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
This article first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.SmartCompany.com.au">SmartCompany</a>.
 
 
 
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Retail store locations: The science behind the choice

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Chinese real estate buyers have gone from being hardly there to being everywhere in the property markets. How are Australians adjusting to this new reality?  
Chinese are the biggest international buyers of property in Queensland. They are also number one nationwide, when ranked by growth and momentum.  
People in communities all over Australia have embraced this new reality with a minimum of xenophobic fuss. As an Australian, it makes me proud of my native country.  
Here’s one data point. Because I operate the Chinese international property portal Juwai.com, I receive emails from all over the country from people asking for advice on how to sell their homes to Chinese buyers.  
Not once has anyone written to ask me how to prevent a Chinese buyer from purchasing their home.  
Sure, there have been some angry comments in the media. But nothing happens in this country without angry comments in the media. The typical monthly Reserve Bank announcement on interest rates generates more controversy than the whole Chinese buying phenomenon.  
One reason Australians have embraced Chinese property buying is because most understand that – at some level – they benefit from it.  
Those Chinese real estate buyers who come here to live permanently increase the size of our economy.  
Chinese immigration, which accounts for some of the Chinese buyers, is a boon for Australia. The Wall Street Journal has reported that increases in migration from China in one year lead to a stronger property market three years later, in the form of better sales prices.  
And how about an extra $400 in your pocket. Government research estimates that an increase in immigration today could boost the economy enough to pay that much to every Australian, every year within 20 years. That could be a total economic boost to the Australian economy of $14 billion.  
Those who immigrate here are just a fraction of the overall group of Chinese property buyers. Many more are investors, or are seeking the Aussie lifestyle in a second home. Some are here for business, or are providing a home for their children to live in while attending Australian schools.  
China is the biggest source of international students in the Australian education market. Their fees provide valuable cash flows to Australian educational institutions. That keeps education less expensive for those of us who grow up here.  
All those students also help make education-related travel services are our country’s fourth biggest export in dollar terms — right after iron, coal and gold.  
That brings us to real estate. Every time an offshore Chinese investor buys a new apartment or home, she is in effect slipping money into your pockets. Offshore investors are channeled by Foreign Investment Review Board rules into new construction. By buying off-the-plan, they give developers the funding they need to build more and keep prices stable.  
All that construction also creates jobs. Residential building will add $63 billion to the economy this financial year - an increase of 5% over last year.  
And the Australian Bureau of Statistics says the construction industry is one of the nation’s biggest employers, and also pays more than the national average.  
Australia has embraced Chinese property buyers. I think it might be time you did, too. Go ahead. Give a Chinese real estate investor a hug.
 
<hr>
 Andrew Taylor is the founder and co-CEO of <a href="https://juwai.com/">Juwai.com</a>, the number-one Chinese real estate portal for property in Australia and around the world. Find out more about him at <a href="https://list.juwai.com/">list.juwai.com</a>.
 
 
 
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Australia is embracing Chinese investment in real estate

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The Reserve Bank of Australia has signalled the possibility of further rate cuts in its November monetary statement, saying economic growth prospects for 2013 remain below trend.
On Tuesday, the cash rate was left unchanged at 2.5%.
“Overall, the outlook for the global economy is much as it was a few months ago… The prospect of a pick-up in conditions in many advanced economies is likely to see growth for the world as a whole improve from a below-average pace in 2013 to around average in 2014,” the RBA says.
“It was appropriate to hold the cash rate steady, but not to close off the possibility of reducing it further, should that be needed to support economic activity consistent with the inflation target.”

<hr>
This article first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au">SmartCompany</a>.
 
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RBA says further cuts possible

<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.

&nbsp;

[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.

&nbsp;

[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.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

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

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[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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Jacob Robinson

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