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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/75609/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Those who value “multiculturalism” and “access to the city” as key markers of a vibrant, progressive city will find these attributes in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray.
Yet, at the same time, they will find them under threat through the forces of gentrification. These are the same forces that have, through time, transformed former “slums” such as Carlton, Fitzroy, Abbotsford and Richmond into “blue-ribbon” suburbs of Melbourne.
It is, inevitably, Footscray’s turn because of its proximity to the CBD. Many outside stakeholders have aspirations and conceptualised visions for the suburb.
These emerged at the turn of the millennium, when the Melbourne 2030 plan and its subsequent updates envisioned a new “central activity area” in Footscray.
A suburb in transition
In response to the metropolitan plans, substantial changes have been made to the council’s planning framework. New schemes allow for developments up to 25 storeys high along the banks of the Maribyrnong River and over the Footscray Market site.
With public investment to match, further catalysts of urban renewal were the substantial upgrade of Footscray railway station and other investments to polish the public realm.
Following the script of urban intensification, apartments have mushroomed in and around the suburb – with developers and investors colluding to rewrite and perpetuate new narratives.
In a tacit attempt to dilute Footcray’s shadier reputation, the suburb has been reimagined as the next “St Kilda” or “Fitzroy”. This has helped to raise unit prices and attract different types of residents and businesses.
These market-led models of urban development and renewal discount Footscray’s existing socio-physical and cultural landscape. The result is exclusionary, culturally homogeneous places and spaces. These reflect the fundamental top-down global and cultural drivers of the city in the race to climb (or, in Melbourne’s case, retain) liveability rankings.
On the contrary, multiculturalism is essentially a bottom-up phenomenon: ethnic enclaves form organically in the process of migrants settling down and “accessing the city” economically, socially and culturally. This is something that cannot be planned nor designed, but can be assisted.
In fact, Footscray has been an exemplar of this practice. The suburb’s absorption of immigrants has given rise to distinct Vietnamese, South Asian and Horn of African commercial precincts.
Improvement or displacement?
Formal agents of change (politicians, administrators, planners, designers) seem to view this urban condition as a temporary, transitional state to be eventually “improved”. They are often narrowly focused on physical and economic benchmarks.
The changes are compounded by a contemporary housing affordability crisis. Footscray has been attracting a local migration of first-home buyers and “hipsters” searching for more affordable properties and rent.
One might argue that this is a recipe for a multiculturalism where differences co-exist – or at least are juxtaposed. That might be true, if only the local white gentrification culture does not displace the minority cultures and socio-economic groups, as is happening to newer outer centres such as Sunshine and Broadmeadows.
Footscray’s beating heart
Critically, many may not realise the tenuous vulnerability of the place.
Last December, Footscray lost one of its most substantial cultural institutions, when the Little Saigon Market burnt down due to an electrical fault. Befitting current development trends, there are now plans for the site to become a 12-storey “mixed use” apartment building.
Both Footscray Market and Little Saigon Market are the key urban centres that sustain the commercial, culinary and cultural life of the suburb. However, Footscray Market is wholly owned by an individual – and there has been a proposal to replace it with a ubiquitous “mixed use” tower-on-podium development. This would (and still could) hasten the demise of Footscray’s distinctive character.
This is in stark contrast to the hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market and other markets. Established during the European colonisation and migration period, these have accrued heritage status. This arguably implies that Footscray’s markets are “minority markets” for lesser sub-cultures.
Significantly, in Footscray, multiculturalism and access to the city are lived experiences. The spatial and social implications are reflected in the ways buildings are used and goods are sold on the street.
A walk along Leeds Street reveals the finest scale of commercial practice by individual vendors. They hand-carry or push their cultural-specific wares on shopping trolleys – tactics to camouflage their subversive practices in busy pedestrian areas.
A different story
What we advocate for here is that there are alternatives to the ubiquitous developer-driven urbanisation; these make it possible to carefully consider the local communities directly affected by developments.
The City of Melbourne’s complex negotiations between developers and key stakeholders at Queen Victoria Market offers a potential local model. There’s no reason this model could not be carefully applied and extended to Footscray’s markets.
Complementing the markets, Footscray’s small and fine-scaled businesses should be recognised as alternative models of urban vibrancy and participative, socioeconomic resilience.
These are highly interrelated practices, which help mitigate socio-economic inequity, while meaningfully contributing to and showcasing Melbourne’s multiculturalism.
Sidh Sintusingha is senior lecturer in Landscape Architecture, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sidh-sintusingha-352893" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Footscray: When a suburb's turn for gentrification comes

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GUEST OBSERVER
One of the most commonly asked questions when buying residential real estate is: what should I look for when purchasing a property to live in?
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is about a property that makes you feel at home, however there are some crucial elements you may want to consider when taking the plunge into property ownership.
Golden Age Development Group has noticed that when it comes to house hunting, everyone looks for something different. Affordability is often top criterion for most home buyers, however location, in a suburb with low crime rates and good proximity to schools, public transport and shops is perhaps the most important factor to consider. Location is vital both from a liveability point of view and also from a property appreciation point of view.  
Property located in suburbs with low crime rates, ample amenity, good infrastructure and public transport will appreciate much faster than those that are not. They are also likely to offer a much better quality of life. 
It’s also worth looking what plans are in place in terms of future development and infrastructure. If you purchase in a location with growth potential, this is likely to be reflected in the capital growth of your property.
A great example of a livable suburb with significant potential is Sydney’s Macquarie Park. Only 12km’s north-west of the CBD, Macquarie Park has benefitted greatly from recent infrastructure upgrades to its roads and public transport. It’s also home to a world-class university, hospital, several community parks and the largest suburban shopping centre in NSW. It is also home a thriving business centre, on track to becoming the nation’s fourth largest CBD, occupying over 200 hectares of previously industrial land.
Property in Macquarie Park is also likely to enjoy strong capital growth with significant infrastructure upgrades such as new roads and the expansion of the railway network servicing the area. 
Macquarie Park is a business precinct on the rise. Located just 12km north-west of the CBD, the area has quickly become Sydney's second largest business district, and is home to major global brands including Microsoft, Macquarie University, Foxtel, Oracle and Fujitsu. With well over 45,000 jobs (approx) located in Macquarie Park, this number is set to double in the next 20 years.
Macquarie Park is starved of residential accommodation – you have the university with 40,000 students and there’s been very little residential development in this area. As a result there’s a serious lack of rental accommodation.
This is why we have chosen Macquarie Park as the home of Golden Age’s premier Sydney project, Park One.  Located at 80 Waterloo Rd, Park One is just it is 100 metres to Macquarie Centre, 200 metres to Macquarie University, 300 metres to Macquarie Park CBD and 400 metres to Macquarie University station, meaning residents will have almost everything they need within a few minutes walk.
When it comes to deciding whether a location is right for you, it’s worth considering:
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Whether the property is in close proximity to your work and social network</li>
<li>Access to services you regularly use. This may include public transport, schools, day care, universities, medical centres, hospitals, community centres and shopping centres</li>
<li>Proximity to parks, beaches, town centres, cultural destinations, dining and bar precincts and nightlife, depending on your interests.</li>
</ul>
To get an idea on whether the suburb you’re looking to buy in is right for you, try spending time treading the footpath. If possible, visit the suburb at different hours for a snapshot of daily life. 
Remember, no location is perfect, and your home is very much what you make of it. But if you choose a property in a location with ample amenity, good growth potential and close proximity to transport there’s a good chance you could enjoy a great lifestyle and financial prosperity for years to come.
Dandan Zhao is marketing and sales director, <a href="https://www.goldenagegroup.com.au" target="_blank">Golden Age</a>.
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What to look for when buying a property to live in

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/76944/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The government shouldn't cave to WA's calls for a change to the way GST is divvied out. The current system has served Australia well.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has acceded to pressure from his Western Australian colleagues in announcing another review of the way GST is divided up among the states and territories. But the current system shouldn’t be tossed aside just because the WA government was unable to control its spending.
Australia has long gone much further than other federations in seeking to “equalise” the way state and territory governments provide public services to their citizens. That’s one of the principal reasons why the disparity in living standards between Tasmania (Australia’s poorest state) and WA (our richest), is a lot less than that between, say, Mississippi and Massachusetts in the United States or even Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bavaria in Germany.
The Grants Commission was established in 1933, this is the body that decides how much GST revenue the states get in our current system. Since its establishment right up until the year 2000, WA has been the main beneficiary of “horizontal fiscal equalisation”(HFE).
That’s the principle that GST is assigned by. It assumes each state and territory should be making an equal effort to raise revenue from its own sources and by being equally efficient in its spending, to provide the same range and quality of public services as every other state or territory.
However, since the early 2000s, WA has become Australia’s richest state. This is the result not of any particular effort on the part of successive WA state governments, but rather of China’s almost insatiable appetite for the iron ore with which WA has been uncommonly endowed.
Over the five years to 2014-15, WA’s per capita gross product (what it produced) averaged almost 50 percent above that of Australia as a whole. This is a margin without precedent in Australia’s history.
This enabled WA to raise far more revenue per head of population than it, or any other part of Australia, had been able to in the past. This is also why in recent years WA’s share of the revenue from the GST has fallen to such a low level, relative to its share of Australia’s population.
Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, WA’s share of the revenue from the GST fell by about A$2 billion, from A$3.8 billion to A$1.8 billion. But its revenue from mineral royalties rose by almost A$3 billion over the same period, from A$1.2 billion to A$4.1 billion.
Despite the sharp decline in its share of GST revenues, the WA government’s total revenue per head of population in 2015-16 was just A$67 (or 0.7 percent) below the average for all states and territories. By contrast, by 2015-16 the WA government was spending over A$1,000 (or 10.5 percent) more per head of population on “operating expenses”, than the average of all states and territories.
WA’s present fiscal woes are the result not of a flawed system of distributing revenue from the GST among the states and territories, but rather of its inability to control its own spending.
Although an equal per capita distribution of GST revenues has become commonly used as a benchmark by government for assessing redistribution, it’s never been generally accepted that GST revenues should be distributed on an equal per capita basis.
Neither the federal government, nor the states and territories, allocate their spending programs on an equal per capita basis. Nor do they collect revenue in that way. There is no reason why an equal per capita distribution of GST revenues should be regarded as some kind of desirable norm.
As you can see in the chart below, if you did allocate GST in equal per capita, according to my calculations Queensland, the North Territory, South Australia and Tasmania would lose millions. But it would give Victoria, NSW and WA more of the GST revenue.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/04/4.05%20graph.jpg" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12.16px;">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/2017/05/04/4.05%20graph.jpg" width="600" height="223">
It would be akin to reducing the top rate of personal income tax, paid by those earning more than $180,000 per annum and raising the bottom rate, paid by those earning less than $37,000 per annum, to the same figure.
Allocating GST per capita like this is not based on need or any policy and is quite abitrary.
The questions in the terms of reference, that the Treasurer has given to the Productivity Commission, were answered almost five years ago by a similar inquiry. This was conducted by former NSW Premier Nick Greiner and former Victorian Premier John Brumby, together with Adelaide businessman Bruce Carter.
Even though these state premiers had voiced the same concerns as the current government about the way GST is distributed, their inquiry recommended against any radical changes. They found many of concerns about the current system turned out to be overstated.
And, contrary to the Treasurer’s insinuation that “the current approach of horizontal fiscal equalisation creates disincentives for reform”, the previous inquiry concluded there was not enough evidence of efficiency losses in the economy.
I doubt that the Productivity Commission will find differently. There is room, to be sure, to make the Grants Commission’s procedures less complex and more transparent. But the principle which has underpinned the Grants Commission’s recommendations for more than 80 years has served Australia well, and shouldn’t be tossed aside merely to salve the self-inflicted wounds of Australia’s richest state.
 
Saul Eslake is vice-chancellor’s Fellow, University of Tasmania and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/saul-eslake-665" target="_blank">here</a>.
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WA’s economic mismanagement is not a reason to review how the GST is carved up: Saul Eslake

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GUEST OBSERVER
Whether or not the government removes the ability of self managed super funds (SMSFs) to borrow to purchase property or other investments, the implications for investors are relatively minor.
With rare exceptions, borrowing to purchase assets outside super is far simpler and more tax-effective than borrowing in an SMSF.
Even ignoring the strict regulations governing limited recourse borrowing by an SMSF, the maximum tax benefit from deductions including borrowing costs, depreciation allowances and other expenses is the superannuation fund tax rate of 15 per cent. In pension funds there’s no tax benefit.
In personal names, the tax benefit ranges from 34.5 percent to 49 percent, providing a much larger benefit from borrowing, especially to purchase low-yielding property assets.
Complicating matters for SMSF property purchasers, regulations prohibit related party transactions except in the case of business rental property. In practical terms, the restriction on related party use reduces the tenancy options, preventing use of the property by owners or their children.
No such limitations apply to the use of negative-geared personally owned properties which can be used as a future personal residence by the owner or children. Even after the regulator’s tightening of individual investment borrowing, providing the collateral and obtaining a high loan-to-valuation ratio is much easier than borrowing in an SMSF.
The low 15 percent superannuation tax rate increases the attractions of owning high-yielding assets in super funds instead of in personal names. Property assets generating low current income and steady or even spectacular capital gains are better suited to personal portfolios, especially for longer-term investors.
In superannuation, any capital gains tax rate on gains realised after 12 months is only 10 per cent compared with up to 24.5 percent on gains realised in personal names. Given that capital gains tax is only payable when assets are sold, this advantage is most significant when assets are bought and sold regularly.
Property investments are generally held for longer, particularly compared with shares. For this reason, as well as the higher annual income including franking credits, borrowing to purchase shares in a super fund can help reduce capital gains tax bills.
Borrowing to purchase investments increases the risk of losses if the investments perform poorly. Investors need to be cautious when contemplating gearing their portfolios. Losses generated in superannuation and pension funds are difficult to recover as are losses in personal names. The one consolation for personal investors is the greater value of carry-forwarded capital losses as an offset to future capital gains.
Considering all the above factors, borrowing in an SMSF has major drawbacks.
Daryl Dixon is executive chairman of Dixon Advisory and can be contacted <a href="https://www.dixon.com.au" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Borrowing to purchase investments increases the risk of losses

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/75201/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The concentration of disadvantaged people in certain parts of cities is almost always seen as undesirable by urban researchers and policymakers. But is this always the case?
Our research demonstrates that it isn’t. Concentrations of people who are often classified as “disadvantaged” – namely newly arrived humanitarian refugees and their families – can have significant positive outcomes. This is because such “gateway suburbs”, while housing large numbers of disadvantaged people, are not disadvantaged places.
As part of a broader research project, we chose two suburbs that were identified as disadvantaged and characterised by high numbers of immigrants. We spoke with residents and local service providers about their experiences, place changes over time and current settlement opportunities for newly arriving migrants. The suburbs we chose were Auburn in Sydney and Springvale in Melbourne.
Auburn and Springvale may have high concentrations of disadvantaged people, as defined by Australian Bureau of Statistics data (in terms of income, employment and language proficiency in particular). But they are not disadvantaged places.
These suburbs are well serviced by public transport and are within reasonable commuting distance of their cities’ CBDs. They have a plethora of social and community services, along with a good selection of shops and services catering to the local community.
Historically, these suburbs have been major hubs for providing resources and support to new and established migrant communities.
A bottom-up community structure
In both suburbs, the presence of “first-wave” migrant groups during years of intensive manufacturing after the second world war, and the immigration encouraged to support this, promoted the development of migrant support services. Government subsidised some of these. Many grew more organically through community relationships and support needs.
With the decline of manufacturing from the late 1970s and changing immigration policies, government support has retracted in these areas. This has been accompanied by a winding back of government support for housing and a rapidly changing housing market.
The legacy of these areas has meant that both Auburn and Springvale continue to have high degrees of amenity and social and economic infrastructure. This includes a high concentration of grassroots community groups. These provide support to recent immigrants in general and refugees in particular.
These are good places to live. But there are signs this is changing.
Broader changes in urban housing markets and migration policies, and economic and labour market restructuring, are beginning to undermine the benefits for immigrants settling in these areas. Increasingly unaffordable housing, reduced employment opportunities in low-skilled jobs and the erosion of government support for newly arrived immigrants mean migrants are at risk of greater disadvantage than in the past.
In particular, housing costs are increasing rapidly in Auburn and Springvale. While private market housing has successfully housed new migrants in the past, this is no longer the case. Many migrants can no longer afford to live in these areas, except in overcrowded or otherwise unsatisfactory living conditions.
Rental stock is in bad disrepair. Refugees and recent arrivals go into these houses and real estate agents are slow to act on people living in substandard conditions and are reluctant to do anything about it. – Springvale interviewee
Today, the choice new migrants face is whether to live in unsatisfactory conditions in these areas, or to move to more affordable areas with fewer facilities and support services.
If similar processes are at play in other migrant gateway suburbs, and we suspect they are, this has important implications for Australia’s ability to continue its role as an immigrant destination country.
In the context of recent shifts in Australian immigration policy away from humanitarian and family migrants and towards skilled and student migrants, this is perhaps not a government priority. But it should be.
Left to fend for yourself
Far from being something to celebrate, that new “disadvantaged” migrants are finding it increasingly difficult to live together in places like Auburn and Springvale is something we should be worried about.
As they are pushed out into more dispersed areas with more insecure housing, recent arrivals are also pushed away from areas with the services and amenities that might help them leave the ranks of the “disadvantaged” and become the “new Australians” who have, until recently at least, been much celebrated.
We have been replacing housing, employment and migrant settlement policy supports with a fend-for-yourself “good luck!” approach in an unaffordable housing market.
In a market dominated by more than 95 percent private ownership or rental, this poses new risks for those choosing Australia as their home. It introduces further complexity for organisations trying to support successful integration as they work across dispersed locations.
Ultimately, these developments create the risk that Australian society will miss out on the enduring cultural, social and economic contributions made by migrants who choose to call Australia home.
Hazel Easthope is<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-easthope-175163"> </a>senior research fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-easthope-175163" target="_blank">here</a>.
Wendy Stone is associate professor; Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Swinburne University of Technology and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/wendy-stone-9804" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
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New to Australia? Good luck! Migrants can no longer afford ‘gateway’ suburbs

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Anthony Millet, chief executive officer of BRICKX, says when it comes to investing in real estate we need to shift our mindsets.
"Property investment is possible without ever handing over the keys to the front door," he says.
It is an acknowledgement that the cost of housing within Sydney has well and truly moved away from the simple cost of land and building fundamentals, with a shortage of supply and unprecedented demand driving the market.  
With the Federal Budget due next month, housing affordability has emerged as a red hot issue.
"I don’t envy the Treasurer because it’s a complex issue with no quick fix," Millet told me.
"Changes to negative gearing, a superannuation plan for first home buyers, unlocking Government land for housing, a review of foreign property investment, public and social housing grants and the list of potential solutions goes on."
Millet is behind the innovative private enterprise scheme where owning a fractional share in a house or apartment is possible without the need to own the entire property. It has been taken up over the past few months by some 3300 plus participants.
BrickX buys properties in blue chip suburbs and divides the acquisition price into 10,000 shares, or ‘bricks,’ available to the public currently priced between $100 to $150.
In the past, fractional ownership has been a method where unrelated parties share in ownership of a high-value tangible asset, usually a jet, yacht and sometimes piece of resort real estate in paradise. 
BrickX offers premium residential suburb access with seven properties so far in Melbourne and Sydney, including Bondi Beach, Annandale and Mosman. There are plans to own in all capital cities, then its is likely they will consider regional centres.
Fifty percent of its customers are under the age of 35 and around three quarters had not invested in or owned real estate before. It has accordingly been described as the Uber of property investing, the newest way to keep up with the rising property market.
BrickX investors earn rental income from their proportion of the investment. They can also make capital gains by selling their bricks. 
The online platform, launched last September, offers a valuable insight into the world of property, and no doubt its pluses and minuses, and ups and downs. 
Those $100 bricks allow young savers an option other than a savings account while making progress towards to ultimate goal of home ownership.
Millet is keen on the debate moving on from housing affordability to housing accessibility in part because he says the so-called solving affordability solutions often actually equates to seeing house prices coming down. 
"With 65 percent of this nation’s wealth tied up in residential property, to the majority, it’s not in their interests for house prices to fall." 
 This article first appeared in the Daily Telegraph.
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Real estate investment mindshift needed: BRICKX

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/76776/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">GUEST OBSERVER
Crane-spotters rejoice. The 10th Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Crane Index® is public. And the news is, well, rather illuminating.
Operating since 2012, the Australian RLB Crane Index® tracks the number of tower cranes in key cities in Australia. Based on the theory that cranes in the sky indicate major project construction, the index gives a simple insight into the construction sector’s health within Australia.
So, what does the 10th edition tell us?
The most obvious message is that if cranes were the only thing that mattered in the competition between the capitals, Sydney would win hands down. Sydney’s skylines are home to more than 50 percent of Australia’s cranes. Melbourne has 22 percent and Brisbane 12 percent, with the remaining 10 percent divvied up between other major cities across the country. While the overall number of cranes in Australia has declined slightly, the index in Sydney and Melbourne continues to rise.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.31.09%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.31.09%20AM.png" alt="">
Most cranes are used to construct apartments
But it’s not just the number of these soaring splendours of the sky that is of interest to those keeping an eye on cities. There have also been shifts in the number of cranes dedicated to sector.
The vast majority of cranes (about 84 percent) are used on residential sites – ie. the construction of apartments. Commercial projects come in a pitiful second with 5 percent of crane activity. Other sectors, including health, education, infrastructure and recreation projects, make cameo appearances to make up the remaining 11 percent.
The distribution of cranes amongst project types, however, and the shift in this distribution, is different from city to city. All cities apart from the east coast powerhouses of Sydney and Melbourne experienced a decrease in cranes on residential projects. And the increase in cranes building apartments in Sydney (34) far outstrips any increase in Melbourne (13).
Cranes cluster in Melbourne but spread all over Sydney
Another interesting insight from the index is the geographical dispersal of cranes across cities. The index report contains heat maps showing hot spots for crane activity. Again, the difference in the dispersal of cranes across Sydney compared to Melbourne is particularly telling.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.33.11%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.33.11%20AM.png" alt=""> 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.34.24%20AM.png" target="_blank"> Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/05/03/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-03%20at%208.34.24%20AM.png" alt="">
While Sydney’s 292 residential cranes are scattered throughout the entire metropolitan area, Melbourne’s 122 long-armed navvies are more concentrated in its inner urban core.
Why the increases in cranes dedicated to residential construction in Sydney and Melbourne? And why the differences in dispersal versus concentration between the two cities?
The larger apartment blocks which require cranes are expensive to construct – the square-metre rates are at least double the rates of lower-density dwellings. For these larger projects to be feasible, they need to be in a neighbourhood where the price of the finished apartment is still less than the price of a separate dwelling – ie. areas with a higher median house price.
Previously, this situation did not apply to many suburbs. However, the most recent surge in housing prices in Sydney has pushed up prices, rendering high-rise construction feasible in many more areas. This has extended not only the prevalence of high-rise, but also their footprint across the city.
Of course, the price surge has also been experienced in Melbourne, but to a lesser degree and in a more concentrated manner, with Melbourne’s pricier suburbs sticking closely to the inner urban core.
A second reason for the increase and dispersion in Sydney is that many of these larger projects are now approved by Sydney planning panels, rather than by local government. The majority of members of these panels are experts appointed by the planning minister. Hence they avoid the anti-densification tradition that lingers in some local government areas, again enabling approval and construction of high-rise throughout the suburbs.
The RLB crane index is therefore not just a source of fascination for urban crane-spotters. Although it isn’t exactly rigorous evidence of city morphology over time, it’s interesting to look sideways from traditional indices for novel expressions of change.
Jennifer Kent is<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-kent-13822"> </a>research fellow, University of Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-kent-13822" target="_blank">here</a>.
Peter Phibbs is chair of Urban Planning and Policy, University of Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-phibbs-27130" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
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Crane-spotting: a way to tell which Australian cities are growing and where

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Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent.
There has been a broad-based pick-up in the global economy since last year. Labour markets have tightened further in many countries and forecasts for global growth have been revised up. Above-trend growth is expected in a number of advanced economies, although uncertainties remain. In China, growth is being supported by increased spending on infrastructure and property construction, with the high level of debt continuing to present a medium-term risk. The improvement in the global economy has contributed to higher commodity prices, which are providing a significant boost to Australia’s national income. Australia’s terms of trade have increased, although some reversal of this is occurring.
Headline inflation rates have moved higher in most countries, partly reflecting the higher commodity prices. Core inflation remains low. Long-term bond yields are higher than last year, although in a historical context they remain low. Interest rates have increased in the United States and there is no longer an expectation of additional monetary easing in other major economies. Financial markets have been functioning effectively.
The Bank’s forecasts for the Australian economy are little changed. Growth is expected to increase gradually over the next couple of years to a little above 3 per cent. The economy is continuing its transition following the end of the mining investment boom, with the drag from the decline in mining investment coming to an end and exports of resources picking up. Growth in consumption is expected to remain moderate and broadly in line with incomes. Non-mining investment remains low as a share of GDP and a stronger pick-up would be welcome.
Indicators of the labour market remain mixed. The unemployment rate has moved a little higher over recent months, but employment growth has been a little stronger. The various forward-looking indicators still point to continued growth in employment over the period ahead. The unemployment rate is expected to decline gradually over time. Wage growth remains slow and this is likely to remain the case for a while yet.
The outlook continues to be supported by the low level of interest rates. Lenders have announced increases in mortgage rates, particularly those paid by investors and on interest-only loans. The depreciation of the exchange rate since 2013 has also assisted the economy in its transition following the mining investment boom. An appreciating exchange rate would complicate this adjustment.
Inflation picked up to above 2 per cent in the March quarter in line with the Bank’s expectations. In underlying terms, inflation is running at around 1¾ per cent, a little higher than last year. A gradual further increase in underlying inflation is expected as the economy strengthens.
Conditions in the housing market continue to vary considerably around the country. Prices have been rising briskly in some markets and declining in others. In the eastern capital cities, a considerable additional supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years. Rent increases are the slowest for two decades. Growth in housing debt has outpaced the slow growth in household incomes. The recently announced supervisory measures should help address the risks associated with high and rising levels of indebtedness.
Taking account of the available information, the Board judged that holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time.
 
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Watch the additional east coast capital city apartment supply: RBA Governor Philip Lowe's May 2017 statement

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GUEST OBSERVER
Australian inflation is back in the RBA’s target range.
Employment has increased, and so have house and share prices. Internationally, President Trump’s first 100 days in office continue to raise eyebrows and put policy makers and economists on edge.
Domestically, the federal budget takes centre stage. In an attempt to balance all these competing forces, the RBA Shadow Board remains convinced that the cash rate should remain at its current level. It attaches a 57 percent probability that this is the appropriate setting. The confidence attached to a required rate cut equals 3%, while the confidence in a required rate hike equals 40 percent.
Inflation in the March quarter rose to 2.1 percent, back within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official target range of 2-3 percent.
Worryingly, Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remains at 5.9 percent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, full-time employment rose by nearly 75,000 and the labour force participation rate edged up from 64.56 percent to 64.78 percent.
There is no new data on wages growth, which remains subdued. The Aussie dollar, relative to the US dollar, continues to be range-bound, most recently trading around 75 US¢ mark. Yields on Australian 10-year government bonds dropped slightly, from 2.7 percent to 2.58 percent. Domestic share prices followed global stock markets upward.
International news is dominated by electoral uncertainty and geostrategic posturing. In particular, the sabre-rattling by the leaders of North Korea and US are cause for concern. An intensification of this conflict will likely unsettle global financial markets, with implications for the Australian market also.
Domestically, the housing crisis is attracting increasing attention, with the Treasurer acknowledging that the crisis extends not only to mortgagees but also to renters.
The big unknown is this month’s budget. It will likely include a housing package yet big reforms such as changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions are off the table. The government’s announcement to fast-track last year’s $50 billion infrastructure plan will generate a sizeable fiscal stimulus.
The Shadow Board’s preference to keep the interest rate on hold has strengthened slightly, from 54 percent in April to 57 percent. It attaches an unchanged probability of 3 percent that a rate cut is appropriate and a 40 percent probability (43 percent in April) that a rate rise, to 1.75 percent or higher, is appropriate.
The probabilities at longer horizons are as follows: 6 months out, the estimated probability that the cash rate should remain at 1.50 percent equals 23 percent, three percentage points up from the previous round.
The estimated need for an interest rate decrease has fallen for the second time in a row, from 6 percent to 4 percent, while the probability attached to a required increase equals 73 percent (74 percent in April).
A year out, the Shadow Board members’ confidence that the cash rate should be held steady equals 17 percent (16 percent in the previous month), while the confidence in a required cash rate decrease remains unchanged at 4 percent and in a required cash rate increase dropped 81 percent to 79 percent.
For more information <a href="https://cama.crawford.anu.edu.au" target="_blank">click here.</a>
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No need for pre-budget rate change: Shadow RBA

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/75859/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Solving the affordable housing crisis is a high priority for state governments around Australia.
This is understandable given the hyper-inflated property markets in many Australian capital cities. Rising concerns that interest rates will increase over coming years also fuel the unaffordability fires.
Proposed solutions to this crisis often focus on opening up new greenfield areas of land in the outer suburbs to develop lower-cost housing. Hence the solution to the affordable housing process is often thought to lie in creating housing with a low purchase price. This approach incentivises developers and housing suppliers to keep the price of new housing stock as low as possible.
This leads to houses that are more costly to own and maintain. Construction savings on features such as insulation, passive solar design, and heating and cooling systems mean such houses have high energy demands. That, in turn, means ongoing living costs such as the cost of air conditioning remain high for the life of the house.
Such houses are also constructed to the minimum standards dictated by the building codes. Poorer design and lower-quality materials can lead to large deferred maintenance costs and lower resilience to natural hazards.
In addition, housing in the outer suburbs has poorer prospects for capital growth, effectively trapping poorer households on the fringes of our cities. The residents of these suburbs also generally face higher transport costs to get to work and services.
Exposed to future risks
We are, in effect, encouraging new home owners to take on larger future risks and costs just so they can buy a house. This keeps government happy by increasing the number of new home owners – a proxy for affordable housing.
But this approach ignores the issue that home owners increasingly cannot afford to continue to own a home, not just buy one.
Increasingly, the first cost-saving action for struggling home owners is to be uninsured or underinsured. About 14% per cent of people have no home or contents insurance whatsoever.
Of those who are insured, many know they are not adequately covered. Back in 2012 it was identified that around one-quarter of home owners and renters had no insurance cover for house contents. Other estimates suggest that nearly one-third of households in Australia remain uninsured. Other studies more recently concluded that 41% of tenants do not have contents insurance.
Events like the recent Cyclone Debbie remind us just how exposed many families are to natural hazards, including physical damage to assets and the associated emotional hardship.
In many cases, families have been financially wiped out as a result of their lack of insurance coverage. These families then go back onto the long waiting list for affordable social housing.
Therefore, by defining affordable housing in terms of only purchase price of housing and number of new home owners, we are dramatically understating the problem of housing affordability.
By facilitating families to invest in houses that require high energy demands to be liveable, and which are located in areas increasingly exposed to natural hazards while households are uninsured or underinsured, we are simply mismanaging the affordable housing challenge.
Reframing affordability
A key action that can be taken is to frame housing affordability in terms of whole-of-ownership-life costs. This means we move away from defining affordable housing in terms of the initial capital cost and instead consider the total cost of owning a house over the term of ownership.
This approach explicitly encapsulates the risks of under-insurance and higher interest rates.
This is the approach used when funding infrastructure and major utilities assets. When planning major infrastructure, cost-benefit analyses must now consider the whole-of-life costs. This is to account for enthusiastic infrastructure advocates deferring costs through to increased maintenance obligations so the capital costs remains low, and hence the project becomes more attractive.
It’s the same for housing development. Therefore, the same approach needs to be adopted for home ownership.
Mark Gibbs is chair, Green Cross Australia, Queensland University of Technology and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/mark-gibbs-199704" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Affordable housing is not just about the purchase price

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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