<html><body><div class="m_-3085050596466269693gmail-heading">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH bkL">
<div class="no">
<div class="nH bkK nn">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH ar4 z">
<div class="aeI">
<div class="AO">
<div id=":4" class="Tm aeJ">
<div id=":2" class="aeF">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH g">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH bkL">
<div class="no">
<div class="nH bkK nn">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH ar4 z">
<div class="aeI">
<div class="AO">
<div id=":4" class="Tm aeJ">
<div id=":2" class="aeF">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH g">
The Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew and her fiancee, writer Neil Varcoe are soon accepting guests at their farm at Glen Alice, west of the Blue Mountains.
The past year has been a busy time for the couple of six years, having renovating their 1890s farm house, Warramba along with resting and rejuvenating the land. 
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/19/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-19%20at%2010.49.35%20AM.png" alt="">
They paid $430,000 for the charming 19th century sandstone cottage through Mudgee agent Peter Druitt.
It's been since redesigned with the help of one of Edwina's school friends, Felicity Slattery from Melbourne's Studio Esteta.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/19/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-19%20at%2010.50.57%20AM.png" alt="">
They have the <a href="https://www.warramba.com.au" target="_blank">farm stay website</a> up and running, with plans to build a farm stay cabin over summer.
The couple have also teamed up with events company Under Sky to offer a glamping experience.
Her Channel Seven colleagues haven't been up to the retreat yet, however they'll be their for Bartholomew and Varcoe's nuptials next year.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/19/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-19%20at%2010.51.56%20AM.png" alt="">
The property is just outside Lithgow where Varcoe grew up, some 225 kilometres from Sydney in the Central Tablelands.
The home was restored by a previous owner with a stonemason using sandstone from the same quarry on the Huntington estate that the original stone was drawn from.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/19/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-19%20at%2010.53.35%20AM.png" alt="">
Neil and Edwina have welcomed a fold of Scottish Highland Cattle — the oldest registered breed in the world - who have been named Billy Connolly; Ewan McGregor; Susan Boyle; Annie Lennox, Tilda Swinton and Shirley Manson.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/19/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-19%20at%2010.52.39%20AM.png" alt="">
"We get down there every spare minute we have."
Bartholomew said they get to the farm whenever possible from their Sydney base, a recently purchase Dulwich Hill home.
They settled on the 1870s terrace earlier this year, just before they announced their engagement.
Spending around $1.5 million, the three bedroom home is another doer-upper, according to Edwina.
It takes three hours to get to the farm.
"It would be too far for some people but we absolutely love it.
"We rarely turn the radio on and just use the time to catch up."
Kangaroos, wombats, goannas, birds — including the endangered Regent Honeyeater — frequent the farm.
Bartholomew began her career in the TV industry when she won a Sunrise intern competition where she progressed from making coffee to producing the show.
She covered the Beijing Olympics for the Seven Network (and reported for Seven News) before signing on as Sunrise's Sydney correspondent replacing Simon Reeve.
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Renovations underway at Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew's farm stay

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83959/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Airbnb and empty house phenomena and their presumed links to housing and rental prices have attracted considerable media and political attention.
The ABC points to the “dark side” of Airbnb and its effect on long-term rental prices. Empty houses are being linked to higher housing prices and to foreign investment, most often Chinese investment. The Australian headlines that “China buyers raise ghost town fears”.
The Commonwealth and state governments are seeking to regulate the phenomena. It is questionable whether they should and even whether they understand the data and trends.
<h2>The Airbnb question</h2>
Airbnb involves renting an entire home, a room or a shared room. Short-term rental of an entire house or flat that is available all year is equivalent to reducing long-term rental options.
Airbnb poses a possible threat to rental affordability. The income Airbnb generates in areas of cities popular with tourists causes owners of rental properties to withdraw these from the long-term rental market. It also causes investors to acquire property and enter the Airbnb market, and to increase the cost of long-term rental. 
This may create a ripple effect as relatively high-income households are displaced to adjacent neighbourhoods. The scale of Airbnb impacts on rents, displacement of long-term renters and neighbourhood fragmentation has led cities such as Barcelona, New York and Amsterdam to attempt to ban, or strictly regulate, the extent and location of Airbnb. 
Should similar effects be anticipated in parts of Australian cities that are popular with tourists? Data on Airbnb accommodation in Melbourne and Sydney as of December 2016 are:
<ul>
<li>
Melbourne: 12,174 listings, of which 57% are for entire homes
</li>
<li>
Sydney: 24,078 listings, of which 61% are for entire homes.
</li>
</ul>
Reportedly, "The number of Airbnb properties potentially removed from Sydney’s permanent rental market with an average vacancy rate of around 3% amounts to approximately half of the available rental properties."
The scale of the Airbnb phenomenon is increasing. So, too, is the company’s influence, with its membership of the Committee for Sydney and its status as a source of Qantas Frequent Flyer points. 
Government may well have to consider regulating Airbnb. The question is whether Airbnb is best managed by state government, or metropolitan or local government. 
For example, the Victorian government has designated the Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and St Kilda for Airbnb development. Why should this be a state decision? Might the residents of already costly rental Fitzroy and St Kilda have their own views?
<h2>The empty housing question</h2>
On the night of the 2016 Census, 1,089,165 dwellings were empty – 11.2% of all Australian dwellings. It’s widely assumed that these empty dwellings, by not contributing to housing supply, increase house prices.
Supposing that this is the case and presuming that foreign investors contribute significantly to the empty house phenomenon, the Australian government’s 2017-18 budget introduced a levy on foreign investors who leave properties vacant for more than six months.
Not solely blaming foreign investors and also looking at domestic speculative investment, the State of Victoria has introduced a vacant residential property tax. This “is intended to encourage these owners to make their property available for purchase or rent … [but] will only apply to vacant properties located in the inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne”.
However, empty house data should be seen in context: over the previous 35 years, between 9.2% and 11.2% of houses were empty. Vacancy rates have changed little over this time. Almost two-thirds of empty dwellings on census night are holiday houses or dwellings where owners were absent. Among the capital cities, only in metropolitan Perth did the empty dwelling rate exceed 10%.
SGS Economics and Planning estimates about 110,000 of the vacant dwellings – 10.6% of the total – were available for short and long-term rental. This small proportion available for rent, amounting to 1.2% of Australia’s houses, would probably not attract media and political attention.
Nonetheless, foreign investment in housing is a global phenomenon that focuses on specific cities, such as Vancouver, New York, Miami, London, Paris, Auckland and Sydney. Blaming foreign investors for its 107,000 empty dwellings, the Parisian government “tripled the current 20% extrathat non-resident owners have to pay in council tax, or taxe d’habitation, to 60%”.
Vancouver imposed a 15% tax on foreign investment in housing. Following this, “the number of foreign buyers dropped by 80%. That helped dampen house-price inflation there but pushed up demand in nearby Victoria.”
<h2>What level of government should manage these issues?</h2>
It is unclear whether Sydney and Melbourne will come to have a level of empty dwellings that warrants federal and state attention. Should this be required, the question is which tier of government can best manage the phenomenon.
It is difficult to argue that taxes should be applied at federal and state levels because foreign investment, property speculation and Airbnb affect some cities and not others. They affect some suburbs and not others. 
For example, due in part to “a soft residential property market” and “lower land values”, tax revenue for Western Australia is in its third year of decline. The state government and Perth homeowners might welcome foreign investment and Airbnb to sustain tax revenue and house prices.
Would a metropolitan government, learning from metropolitan interventions elsewhere, not be better placed to manage the effects of Airbnb and empty houses?
Cities around the world are seeking to manage these phenomena and sharing experiences of how best to do this. In Australia, though, the Commonwealth and state governments presume to know best.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-tomlinson-10016" target="_blank">Richard Tomlinson</a> is Professor of Urban Planning, University of Melbourne and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
</body></html>

Airbnb and empty houses: who’s responsible for managing the impacts on our cities?

<html><body>
Of the 720 results from a recent weekend's scheduled auctions, around 220 had sold prior to auction, CoreLogic calculated. 
That was higher than the 160 passed in and not that far off the 284 houses and units sold under the hammer. There were over 50 withdrawn from auction, reasons unknown.
The number of vendors accepting pre-auction offers has risen dramatically in recent weeks.
The decision can typically be put down to one of two reasons.
The first scenario is that the sellers got an offer too good to be true, and this is still happening a bit.
But the more likely scenario in many markets across Sydney is that the anxious buyers have taken their estate agent's advice to accept the best, and possibly only offer, that had emerged during the first few weeks of the auction marketing campaign.
More often than not these offers come from frustrated, but increasingly savvy, long-standers in the market who have done their due diligence, and perhaps know the market better than any rookie, or overly optimistic, listing agent.
In a rising market, it’s often to the buyers' advantage to secure the property without the competition of others, though most often the vendor will go through to auction.
But in a softening market it is possible playing your cards right might entice the vendor to sell early to your likely advantage. 
Auction clearance rates have deteriorated in most suburbs during winter.
Those peaks of 80 percent plus this time last year are long gone, with the recent results sitting in the high 60s.
Some agents are telling their vendors to hold their nerve, to wait until after auction when hopefully more buyers have passed the tougher loan requirements that are certainly a brake on the market.
Negotiating on any property sale or purchase is about balancing the actual and perceived risks and rewards.
Agent John McGrath's says the tip for buying prior to auction starts by simply telling the agent you’re interested and ask if the vendor will sell privately.
Letting the agent know you have pre-approved finance is important. Advise also that you are happy to waive the cooling off period.
Then offer a price that is still some distance from your maxed out, walk-away figure. Vendors will assume your first offer isn’t your best so leave wiggle room. Even cheekily sign a contract and a cheque at your nominated offer as that will certainly prompt the vendors to think harder than just an oral offer.
There is always the prospect your pre-auction offer may be rejected, and then be used by the agent as a price floor on auction day. On the other hand in a flat market it may emerge there is no another buyer.
There is always the risk of paying more than you needed to whether its is buying pre-auction, under the hammer or post-auction.
But beware focusing purely on the reward of securing a lower price might raise the risk that another buyer trumps you - and you miss out on the house you love.
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
</body></html>

Number of vendors accepting pre-auction offers has risen dramatically

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVER
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
The Federal Treasurer, Scott Morrison’s, draft legislation to assist with housing affordability for Australians is a positive move.
The key initiative is to enable investors to obtain a 60% capital gains discount for investment in affordable rental housing. 
This will encourage Managed Investment Trusts (MITs) to invest in affordable housing as a quality investment product with a positive rate of return.
The Treasurer has restricted MITs to only acquiring affordable housing and therefore eliminating investment in general residential property. The Urban Taskforce believes this is a good policy to encourage additional investment in affordable housing.
Affordable housing and housing affordability are complex issues. There are many more initiatives required by various levels of government to make a serious impact on housing affordability. Importantly these initiatives must have to provide sufficient incentives to the private sector development industry to generate enough take-up to make a real impact on the provision of more affordable housing.
The Urban Taskforce has proposed a modification to the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy for Affordable Rental Housing 2009 that could lead to a large supply of affordable housing. 
The current SEPP does not have sufficient incentive for private developers to take up the provision of affordable homes. What is needed is a 20% floor space uplift to provide 20% of a housing project as affordable homes over a 10 year period. 
We estimate that this could add 40,000 affordable rental dwellings over a 10 year period.
Initiatives that provide incentives to invest in, or develop, affordable housing will ensure a long-term, sustainable supply of affordable housing. Mechanisms that deter investment – such as affordable housing levies, taxes, or mandatory targets, only increase the cost of housing production and deter supply. 
The Urban Taskforce is willing to work proactively with all levels of government on mechanisms to encourage supply and investment.
CHRIS JOHNSON is chief executive officer of property development industry group Urban Taskforce and can be contacted <a href="https://www.urbantaskforce.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=97&amp;Itemid=126#.Vdaart55dFI" target="_blank">here</a>.
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>

Federal Treasurer’s affordable housing initiatives a positive move: Chris Johnson

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83144/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Housing for people with disability is being transformed from grants-based funding to a market-based system where people with disabilities control their own funding.
This market has the potential to grow in size by around A$5 billion over the next five years in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
PwC and the Summer Foundation recently released a paper called NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation: Pathway to a mature market. The paper provides a vision of a mature, properly functioning disability housing market and outlines the pathway to reach it. 
<h2>The importance of getting this market to work</h2>
Creating housing is one of the most important tasks for the NDIS. It’s especially important for the young people living in aged care and the adults with disability living with ageing parents. 
More than 6,200 young people are living in aged care, with 2,000 young people entering aged care annually. In some parts of the country, young people occupy more than 20% of all aged care places. 
The NDIS has the resources and mandate to fix this problem through the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) payment policy. The NDIS has an annual recurrent budget of $700 million for SDA. This housing funding is designed only for people under 65 with very high disability support needs. This equates to around 6% of NDIS participants – 28,000 people.  
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-15%20at%209.41.12%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-15%20at%209.41.12%20AM.png" alt="">
The SDA policy is ambitious. The value of all SDA properties across Australia is expected to total around $11.5 billion. The breakdown would be:
<ul>
<li>
$2.5 billion to create housing for the 6,000 young people in aged care;
</li>
<li>
$2.5 billion to create housing for others with unmet needs for SDA; and
</li>
<li>
$6.5 billion to replace, refurbish and manage disability housing stock that existed prior to the NDIS. 
</li>
</ul>
<h2>How this market works</h2>
The PwC and Summer Foundation paper provides a vision for how this market will operate once it is mature. 
The report shows how funding for housing provided directly to people with disability creates a user-driven market. People with disability will be empowered to decide where they live and who they live with. 
NDIS participants with high support needs will receive annual funding to pay for the cost of their housing. The SDA payment is calculated based on the dwelling’s location, size and level of accessibility. The housing payments are designed to cover the costs incurred in providing the bricks and mortar and offer a return on investment at market rates (5-12%).
Critically, the provider bears the vacancy risk should they fail to find a tenant – only when the dwelling is occupied are SDA payments made. In this competitive SDA market, housing providers will compete to deliver the best outcomes for tenants, which include being close to shops and transport.
<h2>Progress over the past year</h2>
The government and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), which oversees the NDIS, have done a tremendous job in setting up this new funding stream. The new SDA rules under the NDIS Act took effect in March 2017. We are moving from policy design to implementation. 
We now need to make sure that this well-funded and well-designed SDA payment delivers new housing on the ground. 
The market is responding, with NDIS housing being built in cities across Australia. Large retail banks and superannuation funds are reviewing SDA transactions. Large developers are including SDA builds in some new developments. 
Summer Housing (Summer Foundation’s sister entity) opened ten new SDA apartments in the Hunter Region of New South Wales in mid-2016. Contracts were recently signed for another ten apartments designed for people with disability throughout a 77-apartment development built by Grocon in Fairfield, Melbourne. 
Summer Housing aims to build 300 apartments through SDA – meeting the needs of less than 5% of all young people in aged care. 
<h2>What will it take to meet the need more quickly?</h2>
Over the next five years, 16,000 new or refurbished SDA places are needed. Around 650-700 new SDA places were created or commissioned in the past 12 months. Only 250-300 of these are for unmet demand. The remaining 400 are to rebuild existing, outdated government disability housing stock. 
The market needs to reach scale more quickly. The NDIA and government need to listen to and actively steward this fledgling market. 
The government sector can do three things to accelerate progress toward a mature market: 
<ol>
<li>
The federal government can provide certainty to the market about how long these prices are guaranteed for and how any price reviews occur. 
</li>
<li>
The NDIA can provide regular and good-quality information on demand for SDA. 
</li>
<li>
Local and state governments can mandate targets for SDA in major developments.
</li>
</ol>
Beyond these actions, there is the potential to link SDA with the federal government’s commitment to support a strong Social Impact Investing market in Australia. Social impact investments generate measurable social outcomes, while delivering a financial return to the investor. 
Robust evaluation and evidence-based decision-making are integral to social impact investing. The NDIS approach will provide solid evidence that well-located housing with accessible design and technology will increase the quality of life and independence of NDIS participants, thereby reducing the NDIS’s lifetime care costs and liability. 
The SDA market has the potential to demonstrate how government can leverage large amounts of capital from superannuation to fund other forms of affordable housing.
<h2>Laying the foundation for a revolution</h2>
For people with the highest levels of disability, the NDIS housing payment will bridge the gap between what people with disability can reasonably afford and the cost of building highly accessible housing. 
This policy lays the foundation for developing the range and scale of housing needed to resolve the issue of young people in nursing homes in Australia. 
The next step is for government to work with stakeholders in the market — including investors and the housing sector — to create the revolution in housing that Australians with a disability and their families have been waiting for.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/di-winkler-8828" target="_blank">Di Winkler</a> is Adjunct Associate Professor, La Trobe University.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/george-taleporos-287224" target="_blank">George Taleporos</a> is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-bosher-255941" target="_blank">Luke Bo'sher</a> is Fulbright Scholar, New York University.
All are authors for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
</body></html>

 How the NDIS is using the market to create housing for people with disability

<html><body>
<div id="lightbox0">GUEST OBSERVER</div>
As Hurricane Harvey made landfall north of Corpus Christi, this Category 4 hurricane left devastation in its wake.
CoreLogic estimates that the total residential insured and uninsured flood loss for Hurricane Harvey is between $25 billion and $37 billion.
In the days before making landfall, the hurricane rapidly intensified, transforming itself from a small tropical storm of little concern, to now, what we consider to be one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the United States.
Yet, the real characteristic that sets Hurricane Harvey apart from other hurricanes is the unprecedented flooding that resulted, with record setting rainfall reaching upwards of 50 inches in a single location.
Subsequently, the enormous geographic breadth of the flood area is beyond comparison to any recent hurricane or flood event in the U.S. CoreLogic analysis estimates that 70 percent of the flood damage from Hurricane Harvey is uninsured, highlighting an insurance gap that leaves many of those impacted uninsured.  
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-15%20at%209.01.22%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-15%20at%209.01.22%20AM.png" alt="">
Naturally occurring catastrophic events can be tipping-point events, where a failure in one area can quickly cascade into interconnected failures.
We cannot control the timing of low-probability catastrophes (and the rare occurrence of more than one event in a short period, such as Hurricane Irma on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, making landfall in the continental United States) of this severity but can improve our ability to respond, and subsequently rebuild.
Having a comprehensive and granular understanding of risk powered by data and analytics is critical to that. We look to do this through improvements gained largely though the maintenance of better insurance exposure data sets, and the introduction and acceptance of catastrophe risk loss models that can simulate the occurrence of large catastrophic events.
In 1992 when Hurricane Andrew made landfall, it took months for the government and insurance industry to accurately quantify the losses from this event and this delay increased the losses in both financial and human terms. However, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the loss severity was rapidly assessed, quickly putting into motion large scale government and private restoration efforts.
In short, as bad as the effects were from Hurricane Katrina, they could have been significantly worse.
The widespread flooding from Hurricane Harvey, caused by storm surge and inland flooding, highlights the challenge of flood risk to properties in the United States.
Since we cannot influence the timing and severity of natural catastrophes, we need to focus on resilience – our collective ability to rebuild and restart businesses and lives.
Insurance is an important part of our resilience because insurance provides the funds necessary to restore the damage to capital from these events. Hurricane risk modeling became accepted after Hurricane Andrew highlighted weaknesses in our ability to respond to large urban catastrophes, and this adoption has led to faster restoration of lives and livelihoods after hurricanes.
Flood risk modeling is a much more complex data and analytic challenge than hurricane risk modeling, but the greater availability of location data sets and grid computing in 2017 have improved our ability to respond to flood disasters.
If we characterize the last phase of risk resilience improvement as the era of catastrophe modeling data and analytics, the next era will be known as the era of big data and grid-computing analytics. And one where we began to actively manage flood risk in the United States.
CoreLogic's Tom Larsen can be contacted <a href="https://www.corelogic.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>.
</body></html>

70 percent of the flood damage from Hurricane Harvey is uninsured

<html><body>
Property ownership is taxing.
It emerged last week that the pop star Guy Sebastian has put at risk his Los Angeles investment apartment after overlooking his US land tax obligations.
He could be in danger of losing the two bedroom 1960s condo after being delinquent in paying the taxes for the past seven years.
The US authorities are going to sell it on October 22, unless he pays up. Official records show he has been in default since 2011.
The former Australian Idol advised it had come about inadvertently after the bills had been redirected to Olympian Ian Thorpe's US nearby pad, as he had been briefly staying at Thorpe's place.
But all these land tax notices went unnoticed, and then Thorpe sold the house, so the letters never got back to Sebastian.
He also was naively unaware he had to pay land tax on the US property which cost $268,500 in 2010.
"I didn’t know you had to pay land tax for an apartment," he told Kyle and Jackie O's radio show.
There is nothing set and forget about property investment, here in Sydney, elsewhere in Australia or overseas.
Indeed there are onerous administrative burdens that come with ownership, for own occupation and especially for investment.
And property is increasingly becoming a revenue jackpot for governments. 
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released data revealing that 48.7% of local and state government taxation revenue comes from property taxes.
The data showed these two levels of government collect a record $40 billion annually in taxes from property buyers and owners.
By comparison, they collected $21 billion in taxes from employers.
With home values beginning to rise in mid-2012, taxes such as land tax, municipal rates and stamp duty on conveyances have all been on the increase.
Of the $40 billion in national property related tax revenue, some 40% came from municipal rates and 36% came from stamp duties on conveyances. Land tax was the other sizeable contributor to taxing accounting for 17% of revenue.
Property related tax revenue is only collected by these two levels of government on those who own properties. While our family homes are generally exempt from Federal tax, if you rent out part or all of it you must include the income in your tax return and you may have to pay capital gains tax when you sell it.
Replacing stamp duty with a blanket land tax would be unpopular but I see it as inevitable. 
Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic RP Data’s senior research analyst, has calculated a blanket land tax to cover just the $16 billion in stamp duty revenue, would see every residential dwelling having to pay $1,700 annually based on the ABS estimate of around 9.4 million residential dwellings. 
The issue of course is that governments are always looking to constantly grow their revenues. And property is seemingly the easiest of pickings given the perceived wealth benefits enjoyed through the decades of ownership.
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph. 
</body></html>

Nothing set and forget about property investment

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78097/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The latest statistics show Australia's population growth in the last decade has been significantly higher than in other developed countries.
Population growth has profound impacts on Australian life, and sorting myths from facts can be difficult. This is the second article in our series, Is Australia Full?, which aims to help inform a wide-ranging and often emotive debate.
Population change has long been a topic of public debate in Australia, periodically escalating into controversy.
It is inextricably linked to debates about immigration levels, labour force needs, capital city congestion and housing costs, refugee intakes, economic growth in country areas and northern Australia, the “big versus smaller” Australia debate, and environmental pressures.
Views about the rate of population growth in Australia are numerous and mixed. At one end of the spectrum are those who are vehemently opposed to further population increases; at the other end are supporters of substantially higher population growth and a “very big” Australia.
Logically, population debates usually quote Australia’s demographic statistics. But there is value in comparing our population growth in the international context.
<h2>Average growth rates compared globally</h2>
Although growth rates have fluctuated considerably from year to year, statistics just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that Australia’s population grew by 3.75 million between 2006 and 2016. This indicates an average annual growth rate of 1.7%.
As the chart below shows, this was quite high compared to other countries and global regions. Over the decade, other English-speaking countries such as New Zealand, Canada and the US all experienced growth rates lower than Australia’s. The world’s more developed countries in aggregate grew by an annual average of 0.3%.
The world’s population as a whole increased by an average of 1.2% per year.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/07/05/6%20july%20expert.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/07/05/6%20july%20expert.jpg" width="700" height="571">
According to the UN Population Division, Australia ranked 90th out of 233 countries in terms of population growth rate over the decade. The countries or territories with higher growth rates were mostly less developed countries, particularly in Africa, and the oil-rich Gulf states. The only developed countries with faster rates of growth were Singapore, Luxembourg and Israel.
<h2>Why Australia’s population growth rate is higher</h2>
There are two main reasons for Australia’s high growth.
Net overseas migration (immigration minus emigration) is one major factor. It has been generating a little over half (56%) of population growth in recent years.
Demand for immigration – to settle permanently, work in Australia, or study here for a few years – is high, and there are many opportunities for people to move to Australia. In the 2015-16 financial year about 190,000 visas were granted to migrants and 19,000 for humanitarian and refugee entry. Temporary migrants included 311,000 student visas, 215,000 working holidaymaker visas and 86,000 temporary work (skilled) 457 visas.
Over the last five years, ABS figures show that immigration has averaged about 480,000 per year and emigration about 280,000. This puts annual net overseas migration at around 200,000.
This is high in international terms. UN Population Division data for the 2010-15 periodreveals Australia had the 17th-highest rate of net overseas migration of any country.
But it is not just overseas migration driving Australia’s population growth. High natural increase (the number of births minus the number of deaths) also makes a substantial contribution. Natural increase has been responsible for a little under half (44%) of population growth in recent years (about 157,000 per year).
Australia has a relatively healthy fertility rate, which lately has averaged almost 1.9 babies per woman. We also enjoy one of the highest life expectancies in the world.
This combination of an extended history of net overseas migration gains, a long baby boom and a healthy fertility rate has resulted in Australia being less advanced in the population ageing transition than many other developed countries.
In particular, relatively large numbers of people are in the peak childbearing ages. This means that even if migration fell immediately to zero the population would still increase. Demographers call this age structure effect “population momentum”.
<h2>Whether Australia’s population is growing too fast</h2>
While Australia’s population growth rate is high in a global context, this does not necessarily mean its population is growing too fast. It all depends on your point of view.
It is important to stress that the overall population growth rate is just one aspect of Australia’s demography. A more comprehensive debate about the nation’s demographic trajectory should consider a broad range of issues, such as:
<ul>
<li>
population age structure (the numbers of people in different age groups);
</li>
<li>
the health and wellbeing of a rapidly growing population at the highest ages;
</li>
<li>
population distribution across the country;
</li>
<li>
economic growth and development;
</li>
<li>
the contributions of temporary workers and overseas students;
</li>
<li>
appropriate infrastructure for the needs of the population; and
</li>
<li>
environmental management and per-capita carbon emissions.
</li>
</ul>
Progress on issues such as healthy ageing, economic development,and environmental management depend on appropriate strategies to deal with these challenges. Total population numbers will often be relevant to the discussion, but they are only part of the equation.
Tom Wilson is a Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tom-wilson-1717" target="_blank">here</a>.
</body></html>

How babies and migrants have contributed to Australia’s population growth: Tom Wilson

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82440/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
One of the biggest turnoffs for US investment and workers is also the biggest pet peeve for locals – housing affordability. 
Our research finds lifestyle factors are what makes Australia stand out from other international destinations. 
We combined 13 in-depth case studies of firms with strong ties between the United States and Australia, a survey of business attitudes on foreign investment, and rigorous economic analysis in our research into the A$1.47 trillion two-way US-Australia investment relationship (A$860 billion of which is US investments in Australia). 
Australia undoubtedly benefits from its world-class universities, low sovereign risk and good governance. It also benefits from its strategic position as a gateway to important Asian markets with an internationally mobile workforce. 
Yet as innovative and business-friendly as Australia has become in its short history, what makes Australia stand out to international workers is its quality of life.
We found this not only attracts highly skilled and internationally mobile individuals, but it also makes Australia a compelling place for them to settle. Families are drawn to Australia’s good health system, strong schools, low crime rates and unblemished physical environment. These “lifestyle dividends” have been enormous for Australia.
Hard to find a home
The two cities that by most measures attract the majority of foreign talent – Sydney and Melbourne – maintain exorbitant housing prices. This makes the desirable Australian lifestyle unattainable for even highly skilled and highly paid talent. 
A prominent international housing affordability index recently released listed Sydney as the second-least-affordable major housing market in the world. The city’s median house price of $1,077,000 is 12.2 times median household income of $88,000. Melbourne was only slightly better as the sixth-least-affordable housing market, with a multiple of 9.5 times median household income.
Some of the most attractive areas for workers relocating from overseas, such as coastal areas in Sydney near to the central business district, are the most expensive. Given the geographic size of cities like Sydney and Melbourne, living further away from these areas may not only be less attractive in terms of amenities, but also involve substantial commuting times. That represents a significant decrease in the quality of life.
There’s significant policy debate in Australia about how best to resolve the housing affordability crisis. The fixes include a combination of increasing housing supply (for example, through land releases and zoning changes) and reducing demand-side drivers (such as negative gearing).
We found that it’s not just public policy on housing affordability that’s affecting investment. The urban environment – ranging from infrastructure and public transport to school systems and cultural attractions – will also face increasing pressure given projected population increases in Sydney and Melbourne.
Innovators have families
For many of Australia’s most remarkable success stories in innovative technology, from Atlassian to Google Maps, what attracted the talent here in the first place is not Australia’s innovative environment as much as their appreciation of Australia’s attractive quality of life, particularly for young families.
One of the businesses we looked at was Amazon Web Services (AWS), the innovative cloud computing division of Amazon.com. It’s responsible for up to a third of global web traffic through its on-demand virtual computing and hosting platforms for businesses, governments and individuals. 
Managers at AWS believe that the best locations attract the best employees, which in turn helps attract and retain the best customers. Given Australia’s desirable and family-friendly environment, as well as reputation for early adoption of new technology, Australia encourages this valuable chain reaction.
Attracting one tech giant to Australia also helps other companies. AWS, along with its roughly 1,000 well-paid Australian employees, has helped local companies, like software company Atlassian and online marketplace Freelancer.com, globalise more quickly. 
It gave them dramatically more computing power and server capabilities in a cloud format at a fraction of the price of traditional onsite facilities. It’s paid for on a “pay as you go” basis rather than having to guess and buy all IT capacity upfront for a few years ahead.
The government has made it clear it wants an innovation-focused high-skills-based economy. It has laudably embraced an innovation policy while other governments (notably in the US) have not. 
It should realise, however, that innovation policies cannot be divorced from other public policies – particularly the sort that ensure that Australian cities are great yet affordable places to live and work. 
Ultimately, such policies will be critical for attracting and maintaining increasingly mobile human and financial capital to Australia – the sort that has paid off handsomely for Australia’s economy.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jared-mondschein-400243" target="_blank">Jared Mondschein</a> is Research Associate, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
</body></html>

Our lifestyle, not our innovation, attracts US investment to Australia

<html><body>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/83443/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Sydney “lockout laws” have created significant debate about whether crime is being reduced, if it is being pushed into surrounding areas, and what the impacts are on local residents.
My research with Georgia Perks found that, despite reports of increased violence in these areas surrounding the lockout zone, the benefit outweighs the costs for local residents.
Our analysis of rental prices shows a small decline immediately after the lockout laws came into effect in February 2014. Since then, rents in these areas have outstripped other comparable areas in Sydney. 
This shows that residents of areas affected by the lockout are benefiting from new entertainment hubs and a nightlife economy that have sprung up since the lockout laws took effect.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.52.38%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.52.38%20AM.png" alt="">
<h2>The impact of the lockout laws on crime</h2>
The lockout law prohibits people entering hotels, registered clubs, nightclubs and karaoke bars after 1.30am in several areas of Sydney’s CBD (also called the Sydney Entertainment Precinct). These venues also have to stop serving alcohol after 3am. 
This law is a type of “geographically targeted crime control”. This means it targets “hot spots”, rather than the root cause of the crime.
If we are simply concerned about crime reduction, there are now several studies that show the lockout laws have substantially reduced the amount of alcohol-related violence and injuries in the targeted areas.
Restrictions on alcohol access have also been shown to work elsewhere, notably in Western Australia, Newcastle, and Queensland. Outside of Australia, this has been shown to work in the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
So there is sufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of restrictions like the lockout laws in reducing crime in the targeted areas. But the research also shows increased violence in neighbouring areas, suggesting crime has moved. 
An important question is whether increased nightlife in these surrounding areas outweighs the cost of increased crime, and what is more important to local residents. 
<h2>Weighing up the lockout laws</h2>
A standard way to quantify the pros and cons of a policy like the lockout laws to local residents, and to weigh up factors such as crime and added entertainment venues, is to look at housing market data. 
When they make their decisions, potential buyers and sellers take into account information such as local crime and amenities (schools, entertainment venues, etc). Market prices then reflect this information and decision-making. If the average price in an area increases that means the value of living in that area has increased, taking all factors into consideration.
Using this logic, we studied rental prices in areas surrounding the target areas for the lockout laws. More data is available on rental prices in the short run than house prices, so it is useful to study the immediate market response to new policies. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.55.04%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.55.04%20AM.png" alt="">
We collected prices both before and after the lockout law took effect, and compared areas in Sydney that have entertainment venues such as Newtown and Pyrmont (the “displacement area”) with areas that don’t, such as Alexandria, Chippendale, and Rozelle (the “control area”).
Our results show that there was a relatively small drop in rental prices of smaller dwellings (most likely to be on the main roads surrounding entertainment venues) in areas neighbouring the lockout, but this effect was weak and short-lived. This indicates that the market responded negatively to the increased crime being displaced from lockout areas, but this sentiment dissipated quickly.
On the other hand, we observe a greater, positive effect for larger dwellings. These are most likely to be off the main roads, having some separation from the noise and lights of the entertainment hubs but still near the nightlife. This phenomenon persisted throughout our study period, as shown in the following chart. 
The trend in the displacement area outweighed the trend in the control area. This difference after the implementation of the laws is statistically significant.
Overall our research strengthens the idea that the lockout laws are effective in controlling alcohol-fuelled crime and violence. Data show that crime and violence in displacement areas increased by a much smaller amount than the reduction in the lockout areas. This means residents in the displacement areas are actually better off due to new access to entertainment venues and the nightlife economy. 
However, this is not a full endorsement of the lockout laws. Neither our research nor earlier studies have investigated the business side of the lockout laws and the impact on the nightlife economy. There are likely to be forgone profits and lost jobs in targeted areas, as well as extra profits and new job opportunities in the displacement areas.
Similarly, we should study the gains and losses of non-resident late-night partygoers. The loss of nightlife and live entertainment culture in the target area was continuously highlighted in the debate. 
These concern have influenced a recent relaxation in the lockout laws for establishments that provide “genuine live entertainment”. Is this the right decision? We have a strong evidence of the effectiveness of the Sydney lockout laws in crime prevention. What we need is further evidence of the effects on these other groups.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/shiko-maruyama-405538" target="_blank">Shiko Maruyama</a> is Associate Professor of Economics, University of Technology Sydney and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
</body></html>

Are residents better off under the Sydney ‘lockout laws’?

One of North Sydney's best-known commercial buildings could become hundreds of new homes, with insurance giant Zurich Australia lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to transform 5 Blue Street into a mixed-use residential development above North Sydney Station.

Rather than demolishing the existing building and starting again, Zurich is proposing an adaptive reuse project that would convert the landmark office building into a 15-level residential development delivering 62 apartments, 86 affordable co-living dwellings, activated retail and significant upgrades to the Blue Street Plaza.

The proposal reflects a growing trend of commercial property owners repositioning ageing office assets into residential housing as Sydney grapples with housing supply shortages and changing workplace demand.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0bba7d12-06dc-4375-aad7-238c94b21ac5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.42.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=NJl5oLAEBDGuPmY3RnyliKODjMc8lvRh" />

Located directly above North Sydney Metro and train station, the 3,051 sqm site occupies one of the most strategically positioned parcels of land on Sydney's Lower North Shore.

Designed by fjcstudio, the proposal seeks to retain and adapt much of the existing structure while creating a contemporary residential address that better connects with the public domain surrounding North Sydney Station.

The application proposes two basement levels, ground floor retail, affordable co-living accommodation across the podium levels, and apartments above, while preserving and enhancing the publicly accessible Blue Street Plaza.

Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.

The proposal includes 62 build-to-sell apartments comprising 12 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom apartments and two premium penthouses. It also incorporates 86 affordable co-living dwellings, which would be managed in perpetuity by a Community Housing Provider.

That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.

The proposal has been lodged concurrently with a rezoning application, with Zurich arguing the site is ideally positioned to support additional housing given its immediate proximity to public transport, employment and services.

"The proposal aims to respond to the housing challenges facing Sydney through the delivery of diverse housing types in a highly accessible location," the design report by fjcstudio states. It also seeks to improve pedestrian amenity through upgrades to Blue Street Plaza while creating a high-performing residential building that responds to the surrounding context.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36082e15-c636-4481-bb68-5a5f6443fe39" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.41.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=5P6VD.fvmqjQfIG3TWWMRXxQWiQBjeFB" />

Rather than replacing the commercial building, fjcstudio has developed a design that works with the existing structural framework above the rail corridor, an approach that significantly reduces demolition while allowing the site to be repositioned as a mixed-use residential precinct.

The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.

The building has been designed as a slender tower rising above a clearly defined podium, with vertically expressed façades intended to reduce the perceived bulk while reinforcing North Sydney's emerging skyline.

According to fjcstudio, the architectural language responds directly to the surrounding commercial towers while maintaining a finer grain expression more closely aligned with the neighbouring Lavender Bay streetscape.

The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.

A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.

The existing public space has long served as one of the primary pedestrian connections between North Sydney Station, Greenwood Plaza and Blue Street, yet its role is expected to become even more important following the opening of Sydney Metro.

Zurich's proposal seeks to strengthen that role by improving landscaping, introducing new retail frontages, enhancing pedestrian permeability and creating more active edges throughout the day and evening.

Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.

Landscape design has been integrated throughout the podium and public realm, softening what is currently one of the most heavily urbanised parts of North Sydney.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.

Large framed openings along the western elevation maximise harbour outlooks, while the eastern apartments have been angled towards the south-east to improve privacy from neighbouring development.

The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.

Since the completion of Victoria Cross Metro Station, developers have increasingly shifted their attention towards residential projects capable of leveraging the area's unparalleled transport connectivity.

&nbsp;

FiveX recently lodged plans for a 61-storey, 490-apartment tower that would become one of the tallest residential buildings in North Sydney if approved.

Aqualand continues to expand its Lower North Shore presence following the completion of AURA on Walker Street and its recent St Leonards and Roseville proposals.

Developers are also progressing projects throughout Walker Street, Miller Street and the Victoria Cross precinct as demand for well-located owner-occupier apartments continues to strengthen.

Joel Robinson

First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station

Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.

The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.

The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.

<img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" />

The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;

PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.

Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.

The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.

Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.

Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.

Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.

Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a>

Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]

It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]

The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.

Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.

At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.

The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]

Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.

"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]

The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.

The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.

Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.

The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.

The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

Otello launches wellness-focused Flowe Bowden with Adelaide-first mass timber apartment design

Not all apartment amenities are immediately visible.

Swimming pools, gyms, rooftop terraces and residents' lounges have long featured on buyers' wishlists, but as the way Australians live has changed, so too have the features that make apartment living more convenient.

Increasingly, buyers are placing value on the practical aspects of day-to-day life. Fast internet, EV charging, secure bike storage, flexible workspaces and parcel management are becoming just as relevant as lifestyle amenities, reflecting changing habits and expectations.

Online shopping has been one of the biggest drivers of that shift.

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally, making parcel deliveries a routine part of everyday life rather than an occasional convenience.

For apartment residents, however, receiving those deliveries isn't always straightforward.

Without someone home to accept a parcel, deliveries can be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in building foyers or common areas, or require building management to temporarily store packages. As apartment living continues to grow across Australia's cities, parcel management has become an increasingly important consideration for both residents and developers.

Australia Post's Parcel Locker network is one response to that shift.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPZ9j5FRdsQ?si=Qztc1dNP3ZvEIUhb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than relying on home delivery, eligible parcels can be directed to a nominated Parcel Locker, where they're securely stored until collected. Once a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can retrieve it using a one-time code or QR code at a time that suits them.

The network has expanded to more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with Parcel Lockers positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and, increasingly, within or alongside residential developments.

That growing presence reflects a broader change in how apartment buildings are being planned.

Developers are increasingly considering the operational side of apartment living alongside traditional lifestyle amenities. Just as secure mailrooms, bicycle storage and EV charging have become more common inclusions, parcel management is emerging as another feature that supports everyday convenience.

It also helps preserve the arrival experience within a building. Carefully designed lobbies and communal spaces can quickly become cluttered when deliveries accumulate, while secure parcel solutions reduce the likelihood of missed deliveries or parcels being left unattended.

For buyers comparing apartments, these everyday details are becoming part of the decision-making process.

Location, floorplans and finishes remain fundamental, but the features that simplify daily life are carrying greater weight than they once did. As online shopping continues to shape consumer behaviour, secure parcel delivery is increasingly becoming another amenity worth looking for.

Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

Inca Property Group has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Dawn, a 53-apartment oceanfront development overlooking Mona Vale Beach.

The proposal, at 35-39 Darley Street East, would replace an existing 18-apartment strata building with a new owner-occupier-focused development comprising 53 two and three-bedroom apartments, including nine affordable built-to-rent residences delivered under the State's infill affordable housing scheme.

Positioned on a 2,679 sqm elevated site around 280 metres from Mona Vale Beach, the development has been designed to maximise panoramic ocean views while responding to the site's sloping topography.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/inca-property-group">Inca Property Group</a> Managing Director Josh Thompson said the State Significant pathway provided greater certainty for projects of this scale.

"This State Significant pathway gives the team real certainty to progress <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/dawn-35-39-darley-street-east-mona-vale-nsw-2103">Dawn</a> through to completion," Thompson said.

"It allows us to acquire a one-off site, design it carefully and deliver the right offering for the suburb, assessed by the NSW Government's planning department."

The project is one of the first developments in the area to be assessed under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy, with the site sitting on the edge of the policy's designated inner area.

The proposal includes three basement levels providing 124 car spaces, alongside a range of resident amenities including a swimming pool, gym, sauna, wellness facilities and private plunge pools for selected ground-floor and penthouse apartments.

<img alt="Dawn" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fc1a1daf-0ce4-4f12-9076-b1fa553c7a91" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-21%20at%208.42.11%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4GZ9h.gpNkTljbxyAET8Jfhv51XUamDm" />

Thompson said Dawn had been designed specifically for owner-occupiers and downsizers, a buyer profile that has driven demand across Inca's recent Upper North Shore developments.

"The majority of buyers in our recent North Shore projects have been downsizers, and we are learning exactly what this market is looking for. Beyond the location itself, we have included resort-style amenities to deliver a genuine lifestyle offering," Thompson said.

Located within walking distance of Mona Vale Beach, the town centre, Mona Vale Golf Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club, Dawn represents Inca's first Northern Beaches project following the sell-out of Tara on Park in Waitara and Ellis Residences, currently under construction in St Ives.

Construction will be undertaken by Inca's in-house construction arm, GOP Constructions.

Dawn is the latest major apartment proposal for Mona Vale, with the suburb emerging as one of the key beneficiaries of the NSW Government's new Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy.

New developer One Living, led by industry veteran Joseph Scuderi, recently secured a site on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, where it is planning around 140 apartments.

IPM is also planning its third project in Mona Vale, significantly increasing the scale of its previous developments with an 82-apartment proposal at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/159-167-darley-street-west-mona-vale-nsw-2103">159-167 Darley Street West</a>, opposite Bayview Golf Course and less than 800 metres from Mona Vale town centre.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/one-living-enters-sydneys-new-apartment-market-with-northern-beaches-site-acquisition">One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-ipm-plans-third-mona-vale-project">First look: IPM plans third Mona Vale project</a>

Jonathan Chancellor

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News