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GUEST OBSERVER
Car affordability is at record highs, and Aussie consumers have responded, taking out loans totalling almost $6 billion over the past year to be used cars. Lending for used cars hasn’t been as high for 12 years. 
Budding owners of new homes remain active – loans to buy blocks of land hit $7.6 billion over the year to July, up 21 per cent on a year ago. The home building boom has legs.
The petrol price continues to drift higher. The terminal gate price is 3 cents a litre higher than a month ago and up almost 9 cents a litre from June lows. The good news is that a stronger Aussie dollar is serving to restrain the cost of imported oil, and thus local pump prices. Consumers are already upset about the cost of bills like electricity and gas bills, as well as higher medical and education fees. A lift in petrol prices could further restrain consumer spending.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.11.12%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%208.11.12%20AM.png" alt="">
What do the figures show?
Petrol prices
According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 0.1 cents to 126.8 cents a litre in the past week. The metropolitan petrol price was flat at 126.5 cents per litre while the regional price rose by 0.3 cents to 127.5 cents per litre.
Average unleaded petrol prices across states and territories over the past week were: Sydney (up by 18.7 cents to 134.0 c/l), Melbourne (down by 6.7 cents to 122.1 c/l), Brisbane (down by 8.6 cents to 125.1 c/l), Adelaide (down by 15.4 cents to 118.8 c/l), Perth (up by 1.1 cents to 127.0 c/l), Darwin (unchanged at 128.2 c/l), Canberra (up by 0.4 cents to 127.8 c/l) and Hobart (up by 0.1 cents to 135.9 c/l). 
The national average Australian price of diesel petrol was unchanged at 126.7 cents per litre. The metropolitan price fell by 0.1 cent to 126.5 c/l, while the regional average price rose 0.1 cents to 126.8 c/l. 
Today, the national average wholesale (terminal gate) unleaded petrol price stands at 116.2 cents a litre, up by 1.5 cents a litre over the week. The terminal gate diesel price stands at 113.10 cents a litre, up 0.8 cents.
Last week the key Singapore gasoline price rose by US95 cents or 1.4 per cent to US$71.20 a barrel. In Australian dollar terms the Singapore gasoline price fell by 87 cents or 1.0 per cent due to a stronger Aussie dollar to $87.67 a barrel or 55.14 cents a litre.
MotorMouth records the following average retail prices for capital cities today: Sydney 132.4c; Melbourne 119.0c; Brisbane 120.5c; Adelaide 114.9c; Perth 116.7c; Canberra 128.3c; Darwin 128.0c; Hobart 135.8c.
Lending Finance:
Total new lending commitments (housing, personal, commercial and lease finance) fell from 7-month highs in July, down 3.8 per cent. Commitments had risen by 8.3 per cent in June. Commitments are still up 4.5 per cent over the year.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.12.21%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%208.12.21%20AM.png" alt="">
In trend terms, lending rose 0.6 per cent in July to a 21-month high.
All housing finance rose by 0.8 per cent in July with construction and purchase up 0.9 per cent and alterations and additions down 3.5 per cent.
Commercial finance fell by 6.3 per cent in July after rising by 13.4 per cent in June. Within commercial commitments, fixed lending fell by 5.4 per cent while revolving credit fell by 9.7 per cent. Commercial loans are up 7.4 per cent on a year ago. 
Personal finance commitments were flat in July after rising by 1.5 per cent in June – the first gain in six months. Fixed lending rose by 3.6 per cent while revolving credit fell by 5.6 per cent. Personal loans are down 15.5 per cent on a year ago. In trend terms personal loans are at 141⁄2-year lows (lowest since December 2002).
Lease finance fell by 7.2 per cent in July to stand 15.1 per cent higher over the year.
China inflation:
Chinese consumer prices rose 1.8 per cent in the year to August (forecast 1.6 per cent), up from 1.4 per cent in July. Annual growth in non-food prices lifted from 2.0 per cent to 2.3 per cent. But food prices fell 0.2 per cent on the year. 
In August, non-food prices rose by 0.2 per cent while food prices rose by 0.5 per cent.
Chinese producer price inflation rose to a 4-month high of 6.3 per cent in the year to August (forecast 5.6 per cent), up from 5.5 per cent in July. Most sectors reported higher annual growth of prices, especially extraction (up 18.2 per cent) and raw materials (up 11.0 per cent).
What is the importance of the economic data?
Weekly figures on petrol prices are compiled by ORIMA Research on behalf of the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP). National average retail prices are calculated as the weighted average of each State/Territory's metropolitan and non-metropolitan retail petrol prices, with the weights based on the number of registered petrol vehicles in each of these regions. AIP data for retail petrol prices is based on available market data supplied by MotorMouth.
  Lending Finance is released monthly by the Bureau of Statistics and contains figures on new housing, personal, commercial and lease finance commitments. The importance of the data lies in what it reveals about the appropriateness of interest rate settings, confidence and spending levels in the economy.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/12/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-12%20at%208.13.21%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%208.13.21%20AM.png" alt="">
 China’s National Bureau of Statistics releases its monthly economic statistics around mid-month. Quarterly GDP data is released around the 19th of January, April, July and October. China’s Customs Office releases trade data, and the People’s Bank of China releases financial statistics, around the 10th of each month. China is Australia’s largest trading partner and changes in the Chinese economic have major implications for the Aussie economy.
What are the implications for interest rates and investors?
There is nothing in the latest data to suggest that interest rates will need to change any time soon. CommSec expects rates to remain on hold over 2017. 
Both used and new cars are keenly sought by private, business and government buyers. In terms of private buyers, loans to buy used cars were at 12-year highs over the past year.
 Petrol prices are set to creep higher – a negative development for retailers.
  China’s economy is in solid shape, causing inflation to creep higher. The strength of China’s economy is positive for Aussie exporters. 
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<div class="column">Craig James is the chief economist at <a href="https://www.comsec.com.au/default.aspx" target="_blank">CommSec</a>.</div>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Loans to buy cars and land soar: Craig James

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The Drummoyne-based activist investor Matthew Donnellan emerged yesterday as lining up to potentially acquire a 15 percent stake in McGrath this Friday.
The shares are being mostly offered to the market by former McGrath agents and senior executives.
The stock has been offered through Wilson, seemingly volunteering Donnellan as the likely raider.
The press advised the 47-year old Donnellan had once acquired a similar stake in then struggling pub owner, Lantern Hotel Group, "before forcing out the management and instigating a turnaround in its strategy that delivered strong returns to investors through an asset sell down."
The 14.66 percent stake would make the former Allphones CEO sit as the second biggest shareholder behind founder John McGrath.
The press were tipped off that Donnellan was "an admirer of the McGrath business and brand, but not the performance of its board."
"I don't own any shares in McGrath so I have nothing to say at this stage," Donnellan oddly told the press.
The 14.66 per cent combined stake in McGrath was created by the shares of former McGrath director of sales Matt Lahood, Geoff Lucas the former McGrath chief operating officer who has since moved to artisan bakery group Sonoma, and former agents Ben Collier, Stephen Chen, the Leichhardt agent Shad Hassen and Brad Gillespie, along with a remaining McGrath agent Bethwyn Richards.
The shares floated at $2.10 in the initial public offering in late 2015.
The block trade, which is being handled by stockbroker Wilsons, will be available for purchase from Friday when 46.3 per cent of shares in the company come out of escrow.
A document filed to the Australian Stock Exchange said each of the parties intended to act in a "co-ordinated manner in relation to any sale of their shares in McGrath Limited".
What they hold
Geoff Lucas 6.7 million shares
Bethwyn Richards 2.78 million
Shad Hassen 2.78 million
Steven Chen 2.78 million
Matt Lahood 2.78 million
Ben Collier 2.78 million
Brad Gillespie 760,000 shares
The rival real estate agents - now at The Agency - hope selling the shares as a block could achieve a premium price.
McGrath CEO Cameron Judson advised McGrath remained a "a long-term holder of stock" but didn't advise further on any future purchasing or privatisation plans.
McGrath shares closed down 2 percent at 77 cents on Wednesday, and this morning was trading at 78 cents.
In 2016 Donnelley paid $8.05 million through Ward Partners for his Drummoyne harbour front house which had been marketed with $6.5 million hopes.
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McGrath rebels join forces to sell 14 percent stake

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One of the reasons some of the price growth has eased across the Sydney residential property market is that banks won't lend as much.
They have been offering home buyers reduced loan amount approvals for some time now.
So when buyers turn up at open for inspections and auctions this spring, they are likely to have less in their pocket that perhaps they would have had this time last year.
It is something that vendors need to heed as banks have cut tens of thousands of dollars off the maximum amounts they will lend prospective home buyers.
Its their attempt to dampen risks in the housing market.
The average borrowing capacity for a hypothetical typical owner occupier customer sits now around $570,000, down $110,000 from $680,000 two years ago. 
The borrowing capacity of a hypothetical property investor customer has come back by $70,000.
The banks have firstly tweaked their lending mechanisms with tighter living expense assumptions.
Secondly the banks haven't been as accepting of exisiting income sources at face value, now applying calculations to reflect a little more uncertainty.
And thirdly the banks have also opted for more conservative interest rate buffers, in anticipation of rates going up at some stage.
We know this because an anonymous mortgage shopping study was recently conducted by Macquarie analyst Victor German who had his team posed as potential bank customers shopping for home loans.
They went to the ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, St George, Bankwest, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Bank of Queensland and Suncorp.
German’s team told each bank they were a first-home buyer considering an owner-occupier or investment loan in interviews with the banks on the phone and in branches.
The analysts told bank representatives they were earning $105,000, had general living expenses of $1200 a month, were spending $1300 a month on rent, and had no dependents and a clear credit history. 
Based upon that criteria, the study found that major banks were willing to lend 14 per cent to 19 per cent less to owner-occupiers, and 12 per cent to 26 per cent less to investors, compared to two years ago.
Macquarie, which has conducted the mystery shopping exercise for three years, expects a "further tightening in borrowing limits."
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has likewise conducted its hypothetical borrower exercises. Indeed its 2014 serviceability assessments were used to call for lending standards to be tightened. 
Before the lending crackdown commenced three years ago, strong competition between lenders had eroded standards, albeit at the margins, to levels that lacked "common sense," the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority suggested in late 2015.
Lenders are now applying "at least minimum haircuts on uncertain income sources, and some have gone further to apply larger discounts to rental or other income," APRA's general manager Heidi Richards said last year.
This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
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Banks won't lend as much

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GUEST OBSERVER
New weights could lower the pace of headline inflation by up to 0.4ppt (–0.3ppt core) by end 2018.
Every five years or so the ABS revises the weights in the CPI based on its detailed household expenditure survey. This brings the CPI up-to-date with the latest spending patterns associated with changing technology and individual preferences as well as correcting a substitution bias that emerges over time as spending tends to rise (fall) for items where relative prices have declined (risen).
There is also a drift in the share of the expenditure classes in the CPI towards those that are rising more rapidly and away from the expenditure classes where prices are falling. 
The ABS has estimated that historically, this substitution bias is worth around ¼ of a percentage point on the annual rate of inflation at each re-weighting. 
The ABS is set to re-weight the CPI (the 17th CPI) with the release of the 2017 December Quarter CPI. However, we concur with a recent comment from RBA that looking at the historical impact of re-weighting the CPI may not provide a reliable guide to the upcoming re-weighting. 
Using our bottom-up approach for forecasting inflation out to 2018 and applying our estimate of the revision to the weights we find that our headline inflation forecast is 0.4ppt lower by the December quarter 2018 compared to our existing forecast. We also found that the re-weighting lowers our core inflation forecast by 0.3ppt. 
A big part of this revision to our forecast is due to the lowering of the weight for tobacco in the CPI from our implicit estimate for December 2017 (before re-weighting) of 4.2% to 2.5%. At the 2011 reweighting tobacco’s weight was 2.3%.
As our revised weights are estimated from the best information we have on hand we will do another update post the release of the latest Household Expenditure Survey. However, as we can’t fully replicate the ABS’s methodology will not complete a formal review of our forecasts until the ABS releases the new weights.   
Until then what we can say is that the downside risk to the inflation outlook is somewhat greater than the historical estimate of 0.2ppt and could be as large as 0.4ppt.
Justin Smirk is ‎senior economist, Westpac Group and can be contacted <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/about-westpac/westpac-group/">here</a>.
 
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Upcoming CPI re-weighting to lower inflation: Justin Smirk

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82069/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
There’s been a lot of talk about apartment living of late.
Whether it’s millennials who can’t afford to buy a house, downsizers making a lifestyle change, owner-occupiers struggling to get defective buildings fixed, or foreign investors buying into new development, there’s no shortage of opinions and interest. 
Except for one group: lower-income and vulnerable residents.
In Greater Sydney, the latest census data show that almost one in five households (17%) living in apartments and townhouses have weekly household incomes of less than A$649. 
Among this group the largest sub-group (36%) live in private rental housing. That’s more than 72,000 households living on $649 or less per week in a housing market where average weekly rents for apartments are $550. 
Our research for Shelter NSW identifies multiple challenges such households face. 
<h2>Why does this matter?</h2>
It matters because some things about apartment and townhouse living are fundamentally different to living in a house. These differences have particular impacts on lower-income and vulnerable people living in higher-density housing.
The significant differences include:
<ul>
<li>
You live closer to your neighbours, so it’s more likely you’ll see, hear or meet them.
</li>
<li>
You share services and spaces with neighbours, from gardens to laundries to lifts.
</li>
<li>
You have to co-operate with other residents and owners to manage and pay for building operation and upkeep. 
</li>
</ul>
If you live in a private apartment building then the fact that a large proportion of apartments are sold to investors and rented out will likely have three key impacts on you:
<ul>
<li>Developers often cater for investors when designing new apartment buildings, so you will likely find a limited variation in apartment designs and sizes available.</li>
<li>Resident turnover in your building may be high, as private renters move more frequently.</li>
<li>Tensions between owner-occupiers and investor-owners may result in disagreements and disputes over budgeting and maintenance.</li>
</ul>
While these unique aspects of higher-density living can be tricky for anyone, they present particular challenges for lower-income and vulnerable residents. They tend to have less choice about their living arrangements, so they can’t up and move to better-designed, constructed and managed properties if things aren’t working out.
<h2>Building flaws affects some residents in particular</h2>
Poor building quality is one of the major issues in high-density development in Australia. The problems relate to design, defects and maintenance. 
The design issues include noise disturbances as a result of poor design, inadequate solar access and cross ventilation, the availability and flexibility of shared spaces, and safety and security considerations. 
Another issue is design that fails to help meet the needs of particular groups (such as people with a disability, and families with children). 
Beyond design, the construction quality of higher-density developments is a major issue in Australia. Key concerns include the quantity and severity of building defects, as well as the difficulties owners face having defects fixed.
Among the problems are quality of workmanship, management of construction, private certification, limited warranties and the often-prohibitive cost of legal action. 
As with poor design, lower-income households are particularly susceptible to construction issues. This is because there are more incentives to cut corners when constructing more affordable housing. Examples include rushing jobs, hiring cheaper but less experienced tradespeople, or using substandard materials. 
Once residents move in, negotiating to fix defects is particularly difficult for private renters, as they typically must go through the real estate agent or landlord. This means renters may be stuck with unsatisfactory living conditions. 
Lower-income renters are also likely to be over-represented in poorly maintained buildings, as these are usually cheaper to rent. Compared to a detached house, maintenance in higher-density properties is complicated by the complexity of the buildings themselves and the governance structures. 
As a result, required maintenance work is often not carried out, or is reactive rather than proactive. This is especially true in buildings occupied by lower-income renters with no direct recourse to the strata committee. They often cannot afford to move and may fear retaliatory rent increases if they report maintenance issues.
 
<h2>Social relations can be challenging</h2>
Neighbour disputes happen everywhere, but evidence suggests disputes are more common in areas with more lower-income and vulnerable residents and with more apartments. 
Common causes of neighbour conflict in higher-density housing reflect different expectations about noise levels, parking practices, or spending on maintenance and improvements. 
Neighbour disputes can have significant impacts on health. This potentially counteracts the health benefits associated with the walkable nature of many higher-density neighbourhoods.
When disputes arise, the number of stakeholders involved complicates efforts to find a resolution. They might include renters, resident owners, investor owners, building managers, strata managers and strata committee members. 
Research with strata residents in New South Wales shows residents find formal dispute resolution mechanisms complex and slow. Most disputes are resolved informally. 
Lower-income residents, and renters in particular, are likely to have less influence over the outcomes of such processes.
Fostering positive neighbour relations can be more difficult where resident turnover is high, such as in buildings dominated by private renters. It is also more difficult in poorly designed buildings without quality shared spaces.
<h2>New norm promotes inequity</h2>
Apartment living is the new norm in Australia. As the nursery rhyme says, when it’s good it’s very, very good, but when it’s bad it’s horrid. If these homes are poorly designed, poorly built, poorly maintained or poorly managed, they are poor places to live.
The market-led housing model that underpins Australia’s compact city policies has meant that people with less money get a poorer product. Few planners or politicians have adequately acknowledged these inequities. 
The reasons why we got here will be considered in tomorrow’s piece in this series.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-easthope-175163" target="_blank">Hazel Easthope</a> is Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-crommelin-15376" target="_blank">Laura Crommelin</a> is Research Associate, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laurence-troy-2403" target="_blank">Laurence Troy</a> is Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW.
All are authors for The Conversation.
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This is why apartment living is different for the poor

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The RBA cash rate decision came out at 2.30pm today - and rates were held again.
The bank's last move saw it go to 1.5 percent at the August 2016 meeting, so rates have been held steady for 13 meetings.
It is not the longest run of steady rates as there were 16 meetings (inclusive) between their August 2013 meeting and December 2014 where they held at 2.5 percent. There was another run of 16 meetings between July 2002 and October 2003 where rates were held at 4.75 percent.
The board noted conditions in the housing market continue to vary considerably around the country.
"Housing prices have been rising briskly in some markets, although there are signs that conditions are easing, especially in Sydney.
"In some other markets, prices are declining. In the eastern capital cities, a considerable additional supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years."
It noted rent increases remain low in most cities. Investors in residential property are facing higher interest rates.
"There has also been some tightening of credit conditions following supervisory measures to address the risks associated with high and rising levels of household indebtedness.
"Growth in housing debt has been outpacing the slow growth in household incomes."
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless commented the ongoing evidence of slower housing market conditions were likely one of the key topics of conversation for the RBA when they held the cash rate at the historically low level of 1.5% in September. 
CoreLogic home value figures released last Friday confirmed that the pace of capital gains has slowed in Sydney and Melbourne. 
These are the two housing markets that have caused the most concern for policy makers because of the previously high rates of capital gain that had been running since early 2012, coupled with record high levels of household debt and high concentrations of investment.
With growth conditions across the housing sector moving back to a more sustainable level of growth, the likelihood of a cash rate hike in 2017 appears highly unlikely, Lawless said. 
Record high household debt remains a key concern for policy makers.
Furthermore, wages growth is continually subdued, he noted. 
With the household debt to income ratio tracking at 190%, households have become more sensitive than ever to the cost of debt and the RBA will likely be very mindful of the capacity for Australian households to service their debt without a broader dent on household consumption. 
Mortgage rates are already pushing higher for investors and interest only borrowers, which is likely a key contributor to the slower housing market conditions in Sydney and Melbourne. 
Importantly, mortgage rates for owner occupiers are generally unchanged, and for some products have actually fallen over recent months. 
Lawless said the hold decision will be welcome in markets outside of Sydney and Melbourne where growth conditions have generally been mild to negative and the macro prudential conditions being imposed nationally due to the strength of these two cities is generally seen as a negative for other housing markets across the country.
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Housing prices easing - especially Sydney - so another hold at September 2017 RBA meeting

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GUEST OBSERVER
Insurance bonds offer the simplicity of creating lasting inheritances and inter-generational wealth transfers.
As you can structure insurance bonds with vesting dates out to a child’s 25th birthday, it can be a simple and cost-effective way to create lasting inheritances as well as use them to achieve inter-generational wealth transfers.
An insurance bond can play an important role in arranging an estate’s affairs with certainty, and importantly you can use the bond either outside, or in conjunction with normal Will and legal estate arrangements.
For instance, with an automatically investing bond:
• Parents in blended family situations and in second marriages might make financial provision outside of their Will for the children of a previous marriage or relationship; and
• Grandparents might use them to prevent potential conflicts and inequities between classes of beneficiaries (e.g. children vs. grandchildren) that might be difficult to handle under their Will.
Also important is that prior to its vesting, the bond owner retains full ownership and control just in case there is a change of mind about the child, or a change in the bond owner’s financial situation. This includes being able to make full or partial withdrawals for the owner’s personal use.
An insurance bond can be used in estate planning to achieve similar inter-generational wealth transfer objectives instead of creating a testamentary trust under a Will.
Importantly, this can be done with the bond directly vesting in favour of the Nominated Child irrespective of the death of the person who has established the bond such as a parent or grandparent.
An insurance bond is subject to the Life Act. If a parent or grandparent dies during the bond’s accumulation stage, then their personal legal representative must hold the bond in trust for the Nominated Child until the vesting age, or until the child’s prior death.
Over the period the bond is held in trust under the Life Act - similar to how a testamentary trust typically works – the bond can only be operated for the maintenance or benefit of the Nominated Child.
To achieve similar outcomes using a testamentary trust not only requires creating the trust under your Will, but also appointing a willing and “investment-competent” trustee to act, and sometimes for many years.
Setting up a trust can also be impracticable for smaller dollar bequests, and trust structures also entail annual administration and tax reporting costs and can be inflexible to access and costly to unwind.
Investment bonds are a low maintenance investment with tax and cost-effectiveness, and operates in a “Set-and-Forget” tax environment (nil tax return requirements unless withdrawal made in first 10 years).
Richard Atkinson is head of IFA product at <a href="https://www.austocklife.com" target="_blank">Austock</a>.
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A solution for smooth wealth transfer between the generations

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With renting increasingly the new normal for many, an innovative fintech company has come up with a way to reduce the pesky rental bond payment.
The product, called Trustbond and created by the startup Traity, lets tenants avoid paying a traditional bond and instead pay a premium, which is a proportion of the rent paid for the term of the lease.
The innovative fintech company has partnered with landlord insurance specialist Terri Scheer Insurance to launch Trustbond.
Trustbond provides security to landlord without freezing the savings of tenants in a rental bond using world-first technology that "will ensure trustworthy Australians save thousands of dollars."
A traditional bond is a large sum that is tied up for the duration of the lease while Trustbond will allows tenant to pay a relatively small fee upfront to cover the protection their landlord required.
The Trustbond system will also allow estate agents and landlords to determine a person’s suitability as a tenant while providing landlords with the same level of protection as a traditional cash bond.
Trustbond is being launched initially in South Australia and it is expected will roll out to other states in the coming months. In NSW around 80,000 residential rental bonds, totalling $1.31 billion are held by the NSW Rental Bond Board.
The new product is marketed as a five step process:
<ul>
<li>Go to <a href="https://www.trustbond.com" target="_blank">www.trustbond.com</a>
</li>
<li>Prove you are a trustworthy tenant by building your reputation profile</li>
<li>Replace the cash bond with a Trustbond</li>
<li>Share the Trustbond with your real estate agent or landlord for their agreement</li>
<li>Keep your cash in your pocket for when you need it most</li>
</ul>
Trustbond measures trustworthiness using online data including networks, ratings and reviews from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Airbnb, eBay and Uber to determine a tenant’s TrustScore.
Once eligibility has been established, the tenant pays an upfront fee that is a percentage of what a conventional rental bond would cost.
As a traditional cash bond might require a tenant to pay $2000, with Trustbond, the tenant might pay around $250 that still covers their landlord for the $2000, freeing up $1750 for the tenant.
The most recent census data revealed the trend towards renting as Australians renting increased from 29.6 to 30.9 per cent in 2016.
The inspiration for Trustbond came from the Traity CEO, Juan Cartagena's own experience of renting property.
As a new resident of the United States with no local rental or employment history, landlords were requesting rental cash bonds of up to $14,000.
He was untrusted as a foreigner, and his landlords requested very expensive bonds as they did not have enough information to trust him.
“Trustbond recognises a person’s digital profile as an asset, putting money back in tenants’ pockets to spend on the things that matter to them,” Traity executive Will Soutar, said.
“It allows people who may have an unconventional working life, such as freelancing, or who have no rental history, greater access to the property rental market.
“In addition to the financial incentives, Trustbond is a better way for tenants to show who they really are.
“It’s a way to build stronger relationships between tenants, landlords and property managers based on trust.”
Terri Scheer Insurance executive manager, Ms Carolyn Parrella, said there were key incentives for landlords to choose tenants who are eligible for Trustbond.
“Trustbond is based on the premise that good online citizens will also be good tenants. Only tenants with a high TrustScore are eligible,” Ms Parrella said.
“Trustbond gives landlords and property managers the ability to rate and review tenants.
“This encourages tenants to be responsible and motivates them to take care of their landlord’s property, in order to keep their TrustScore high.
“Landlords who use Trustbond can save time with automatic verification and screening, fill their properties faster by appealing to a broader pool of tenants and make better decisions for tenant selection.
“These benefits can be achieved with the same level of protection as a conventional cash bond.
“Trustbond covers the same breaches of a tenancy agreement including unpaid rent, damage, broken leases and associated costs, without the need to go to a tribunal.
“We want to take the stress out of investing for landlords, support tenants to feel trusted and remove barriers to entry for renting,” Ms Parrella said.
Visit <a href="https://www.trustbond.com" target="_blank">www.trustbond.com </a>to check your TrustScore and Trustbond eligibility.
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Costly rental bond outlay foregone in fintech Trustbond revolution 

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82207/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Workers aren’t being compensated as much as they should be for precarious work in casual positions. 
One in four Australian employees today is a casual worker. Among younger workers (15-24 year olds) the numbers are higher still: more than half of them are casuals.
These jobs come without some of the benefits of permanent employment, such as paid annual holiday leave and sick leave. In exchange for giving up these entitlements, casual workers are supposed to receive a higher hourly rate of pay – known as a casual “loading”. 
But the costs of casual work are now outweighing the benefits in wages.
Costs and benefits of casual work
Casual jobs offer flexibility, but also come with costs. For workers, apart from missing out on paid leave, there are other compromises: less predictable working hours and earnings, and the prospect of dismissal without notice. Uncertainty about their future employment can hinder casual workers in other ways, such as making family arrangements, getting a mortgage, and juggling education with work. 
Not surprisingly, casual workers have lower expectations about keeping their current job. For example the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found 19% expect to leave their job within 12 months, compared to 7% of other workers. Casuals are also much less likely to get work-related training, which limits their opportunities for skills development.
The employers of casual workers also face higher costs. High staff turnover adds to recruitment costs. But perhaps the main cost is the “loading” that casual workers are supposed to be paid on top of their ordinary hourly wage. 
Australia’s system of minimum wage awards specifies a casual loading of 25%. So, a casual worker paid under an award should get 25% more for each hour than another worker doing the same job on a permanent basis. In enterprise agreements, the casual loading varies by sector, but tends to be between 15 and 25%.
The practice of paying a casual loading developed for two reasons. One was to provide some compensation for workers missing out on paid leave. The other, quite different, motivation was to make casual employment more expensive and discourage excessive use of it. However this disincentive has not prevented the casual sector of the workforce from growing substantially.
Casual jobs aren’t much better paid
One approach in determining whether casual workers are paid more is simply to compare the hourly wages of casual and “non-casual” (permanent and fixed-term) employees in the same occupations. This can be done using data from the 2016 ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. 
We compared median hourly wages for adult non-managerial employees, based on their ordinary earnings and hours of work (i.e. excluding overtime payments). If the median wage for casuals is higher than for non-casuals, there is a casual premium. If the median casual wage is lower, there is a penalty.
The 10 occupations below accounted for over half of all adult casual workers in 2016. In most of these occupations, there is a modest casual wage premium - in the order of 4-5%.
The size of the typical casual wage premium is much smaller, in most cases, than the loadings written into awards and agreements. Only one occupation (school teachers) has a premium (22%) in line with what might be expected.
Three of the 10 largest casual occupations actually penalise this sort of work. And overall for these 10 occupations there is a casual wage penalty of 5%. This method of analysis suggests that few casual workers enjoy substantially higher wages as a trade-off for paid leave.
Taking a closer look involves controlling for a wider range of differences between casual and non-casual workers. One major Australian study in 2005 compared wages after taking account of many factors other than occupation, including age, education, job location, and employer size. 
All else equal, it found that part-time, casual workers do receive an hourly wage premium over full-time, permanent workers. The premium is worth around 10%, on average, for men and between 4 and 7% for women.
These results imply that most casual workers (who are in part-time positions) can expect to receive higher hourly wages than comparable employees in full-time, permanent positions. However, the value of the benefit is again found to be less than would be expected, given the larger casual loadings mentioned in awards and agreements. 
It seems that while there is some short-term financial benefit to being a casual worker, this advantage is worth less in practice than on paper.
A recent study, using 14 years of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), finds no evidence of any long-term pay benefit for casual workers. 
The study’s authors estimate that, among men, there is an average casual wage penalty of 10% - the opposite of what we should see if casual loadings fully offset the foregone leave and insecurity of casual jobs. Among female casual workers, there is also a wage penalty, but this is smaller, at around 4%. 
This study also finds that the size of the negative casual wage effect tends to reduce over time for individual workers, bringing them closer to equality with permanent workers. But very few casual workers out-earn permanent workers in the long-term.
Inferior jobs, but fewer alternatives
The evidence on hourly wage differences leads us to conclude that casual workers are not being adequately compensated for the lack of paid leave, or for other forms of insecurity they face. This makes casual jobs a less appealing option for workers.
This does not mean that all casual workers dislike their jobs – indeed, many are satisfied. But a clear-eyed look at what these jobs pay suggests their benefits are skewed in favour of employers.
Despite this, the choice for many workers - especially young jobseekers - is increasingly between a casual job or no job at all. Half of employed 15-24 year olds are in casual jobs. 
In a labour market characterised by high underemployment and intensifying job competition, young people with little or no work experience are understandably willing to make some sacrifices to get a start in the workforce. The option of “holding out” for a permanent job looks increasingly risky as these opportunities dwindle.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joshua-healy-104950" target="_blank">Joshua Healy </a>is Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Workplace Leadership, University of Melbourne.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/daniel-nicholson-315854" target="_blank">Daniel Nicholson</a> is Research Assistant, Industrial Relations, University of Melbourne.
Both are authors for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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The costs of a casual job are now outweighing any pay benefits

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82641/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
It might feel like the depths of winter for some capitals, but Australian fire services are preparing for an early start to the bushfire season.
Sydney has been covered with smoke from hazard reduction burns, and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service has forecast a “horrific” season.
Predicting the severity of a bushfire season isn’t easy, and – much like the near-annual announcements of the “worst flu season on record” – repeated warnings can diminish their urgency. 
However, new modelling that combines Bureau of Meteorology data with NASA satellite imaging has found that record-setting July warmth and low rainfall have created conditions very similar to 2013, when highly destructive bushfires burned across NSW and Victoria. 
Crucially, this research has found we’re approaching a crucial dryness threshold, past which fires are historically far more dangerous. 
How to measure bushfire fuel
On September 10, 2013 several bushfires in Sydney’s West caused havoc well before the official start of the bushfire season. These were a precursor to fires that destroyed more than 200 properties a month later. Warm, dry winter weather had dried out the fuels in Sydney’s forests and bush reserves beyond “normal” levels for the time of year. 
The timing and severity of those preseason fires were a reminder that the region’s forests are flammable all year round; they can burn whenever the fuel they contain dries out past a certain threshold.
In most forests, there is an abundance of fuel in the form of leaf litter, dead twigs, branches and logs, lower vegetation such as shrubs and grasses, as well as higher foliage and branches. 
The flammability of all these different kinds of fuel depends largely on their moisture content. Leaf litter and fine dead branches on the soil surface can dry out in a matter of days, whereas logs may take weeks or months to lose their moisture. The moisture content of shrubs and tree canopies varies depending on the amount of water in the soil, so they reflect the overall rainfall and temperatures across a whole season. 
The flammability of an entire forest is therefore a complex calculation of all these different kinds of fuel (both alive and dead) and their different moisture levels. 
<h2>Mapping Sydney’s forests</h2>
In a recent collaborative study, we combined data from a Bureau of Meteorology project that maps water availability levels across Australia with satellite imagery to develop new tools for mapping and monitoring moisture levels of different fuels in forests and woodlands.
We checked these tools by modelling fuel moisture levels during fires in NSW, Victoria and the ACT between 2000 and 2014, and comparing our predictions to historical bushfires. 
Our research has identified critical dryness thresholds associated with significant increases in fire area. Rather than a gradual increase in flammability as forests dry out, when dead fuel moisture drops below 15% subsequent bushfires are larger. Another jump occurs when dead fuel moisture levels fall below 10%. We found similar thresholds in growing plants, although their moisture content is measured differently.
These dryness thresholds are pivotal, because they may represent the breakdown of moist natural barriers in landscapes that prevent fires from spreading. Understanding these mechanisms makes it possible to predict fire risk much more accurately. 
As part of this project we compared the fuel moisture in Sydney Basin’s forested areas in 2013 and 2017. As shown in the chart below, currently the live fuel moisture level is tracking well below the 2013 values, and is approaching a crucial threshold (indicated by the dotted line).
The moisture content of dead fuel has been more variable, but it has also dipped below the 2013 curve and, if warm dry weather continues, could reach critical levels before the end of August. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/04/file-20170818-30746-mamyaa.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/04/file-20170818-30746-mamyaa.png" alt="">
<div class="enlarge_hint"> </div>
The median predicted dead fuel moisture content and live fuel moisture content in forest areas of the Sydney Basin Bioregion in 2013 and 2017. Black dashed horizontal lines indicate fuel moisture threshold values. The start dates of major fires in 2013 are indicated by orange vertical lines. Author provided
In another worrying sign, mapping shows critically dry live fuel is much more abundant in 2017 than it was in 2013. 
<div class="enlarge_hint"><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/04/file-20170818-30746-8mxntc.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="enlarge_hint"><img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/09/04/file-20170818-30746-8mxntc.png" alt=""></div>
Remotely sensed live fuel moisture content in forest areas of the Sydney Basin Bioregion in July 2013 (left) and July 2017 (right).Author provided
It’s clear that much of the Sydney Basin is dangerously primed for major bushfires, at least until it receives major rainfall. Forecasts for windy but largely dry weather in coming weeks may exacerbate this problem. 
These new insights into landscape-scale fuel dryness provide a powerful indicator of what might be expected. They also build our capacity for week by week monitoring of fire potential. 
Preparation by both fire management authorities and exposed homeowners is now an immediate priority, to cope with the strong likelihood of an early and severe fire season.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthias-boer-1493" target="_blank">Matthias Boer</a> is Associate Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-helene-nolan-179005" target="_blank">Rachael Helene Nolan</a> is Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Technology Sydney.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ross-bradstock-1495" target="_blank">Ross Bradstock</a> is Professor, Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, University of Wollongong.
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Dry winter primes Sydney Basin for early start of bushfire season

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.

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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.

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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> 
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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

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