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The former Kew home of the longest serving prime minister Sir Robert Menzies has been snapped up pre-auction having been listed with $4.5 million hopes. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.jelliscraig.com.au/property-details-74-Charles-Street-Kew/376402">Talgai, the 1890s property on leafy Charles Street</a>, played home to the Menzies family in the early 1920's.  
Their time in the five bedroom, three bathroom property was brief however as by 1924 the family had moved into their newly built Grange Road, Culdares, a reference to the eponymous Scottish seat of the Menzies clan.  
Jellis Craig agents Campbell Ward and Richard Winneke secured the sale of Talgai which last sold in 1985 for $322,000 when bought by the Curtin family.  
The property, which was rented from the printer and engraver, Charles Shugg, was where Bob and Pattie's second son, Robert was born. 
Winneke has also sold other Melbourne houses lived in by Menzies – in nearby Howard Street and in Reid Street in Balwyn. 
After his 1966 retirement, Sir Robert and Dame Patti Menzies famously lived at Haverbrack Avenue, Malvern. Witty Menzies dubbed Haverbrack Avenue "have a look avenue" on taking up residence.
This article was first published in the Weekend Australian Mansion Australia property section.
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 Former Kew home of Sir Robert Menzies sold pre-auction

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Melbourne had the nation's cheapest result when a South Yarra flat fetched $260,800 at weekend auction.
The one bedroom <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-south+yarra-122585466" target="_blank">Punt Road offering</a> last traded at $32,500 in 1983.
Williams Batters had offered a $240,000 to $260,000 price guidance on the apartment that had been rented in 2013 at $280 a week.
 The median price for a unit in South Yarra is $573,185, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
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Melbourne's cheapest sale in South Yarra

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The nation's priciest weekend auction result was when an Elizabeth Bay harbourfront apartment - five doors along from the Boomerang trophy home offering - fetched $7 million.
It last sold in 1997 at $3.6 million off the plan through estate agent Martin Schiller. There were just the two bidders for the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-elizabeth+bay-122567054" target="_blank">240 sq m, three-bedroom apartment</a> which sold through McGrath agent Peter Starr at its reserve price. The strata levies sit at $48,000 annually given the full time concierge in the boutique block.
Melbourne's top weekend result was $5.11 million when a <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/real-estate/14-monomeath-avenue-canterbury-vic/property-details-buy-residential-10181423/" target="_blank">Monomeath Road, Canterbury home</a> was sold through Jellis Craig.
Bonbret, a five bedroom 1910 Edwardian home (below) sat on a 1,021 sqm garden lot which last sold in 2007 at $2.99 million.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2016/05/30/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-30%20at%209.36.57%20AM.png" alt="" width="618" height="426">
There was a big Brighton sale too - but it was a record price paid for a bathing box on Dendy Beach.
The bidding for <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-brighton-122566182" target="_blank">bathing box 44</a> (below) kicked off at $275,000, which was just $20,000 short of the prior record set in February.
Two competing locals saw bathing box 44 sell at $307,000, having last sold four decades ago.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2016/05/30/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-30%20at%209.39.25%20AM.png" alt="">
According to CoreLogic RP Data, as the property market moves towards its traditional winter hibernation, Melbourne was by far the busiest capital city auction market this week.
Some 1,157 auctions were held, up from 843 last week, but lower than one year ago when 1,248 went under the hammer.
The success rate for the city remained stead at 70 per cent, but well down on the 80 per cent last May.
Performance was somewhat varied with clearance rates ranging from as high as 78 per cent in the outer East across 77 auctions to as low as 65 per cent in the South East across 121 auctions.
Melbourne had the nation's cheapest result when a <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-south+yarra-122585466" target="_blank">South Yarra flat</a> (below) fetched $260,800. The one bedroom Punt Road offering last traded at $32,500 in 1983. Williams Batters had offered a $240,000 to $260,000 price guidance on the apartment that had been rented in 2013 at $280 a week.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2016/05/30/Screen%20Shot%202016-05-30%20at%209.42.17%20AM.png" alt="">
Sydney was again the strongest capital city with a 75 percent clearance rate based on 773 auctions held across the city, with 615 results reported so far. In comparison, last year there was an 85 percent from the 1,149 auctions.
Sydney has maintained a relatively strong mid-70s clearance rate since mid-February this year.
Strong sub regions this week included the Eastern Suburbs at 91 percent across 116 auctions and North Sydney and Hornsby at 83 percent across 114 auctions.
Brisbane had 190 auctions this week, up from 131 last week, but lower than the 213 one year ago. Preliminary results show a clearance rate of 40.2 percent across the city, compared to 50.9 percent last week and 48.0 percent at the same time last year.
The preliminary clearance rate for Adelaide was 52.6 percent this week with 122 auctions held, down from 68.8 percent last week across 92 auctions. At the same time last year, there was less auction activity (92) and a higher success rate (67.4 percent).
There were 107 Canberra auctions this week, the busiest week since March with a 64 percent success rate, down from 67 percent last week and 68 percent one year ago. 
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$7 million Elizabeth Bay offering tops weekend sales

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Property Council heralded the federal government’s proposal to introduce UK-style City Deals as part of a new Smart Cities Plan as:
"a real innovation in policy [that will] break down the barriers between federal, state and local government – and make all of them partners in economic growth."
Our evidence from the UK experience suggests there are pros and cons in both City Deals and Devolution Deals.
<h2>The pros and cons</h2>
These deals have emerged as the preferred methods of formulating public policy and resource allocation in UK decentralisation. This kind of explicitly “informal governance” is novel and innovative.
“Deal-making” is good at providing a channel for local authorities to talk to central government. It empowers local actors, encourages strategic thinking, promotes innovation and stimulates governance reform.
But the process is marked by problems. These include:
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capacity nationally and centrally limited by budget austerity;
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lack of transparency;
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highly uneven resource allocation;
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slippage from announcement to implementation; and
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limited evaluation of progress to date.
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As the process has matured with each new round of deal-making, common elements have emerged alongside more bespoke and particular dimensions. But participants are fatigued by the centrally orchestrated deal-making process and episodic timetable, are unclear about the criteria for assessing proposals and uncertain about where it is heading next – and to what ends.
Those negotiating the deals have experienced the paradox that central government is dominating this chapter of decentralisation.
<h2>What Australia might expect</h2>
Unpacking some of these issues may help us understand the rationale behind Australia’s interest in City Deals.
First, against a background of rising public debt, City Deals are said to represent an attempt by the federal government to introduce a new approach to investing in urban infrastructure. However, Australia’s net debt-to-GDP ratio (19 percent) remains a fraction of the UK’s, which is nearly 83 percent.
Clues as to what is expected of City Deals were evident in the press release launching the Smart Cities Plan. The government said the plan will:
"draw on the Commonwealth’s co-ordination capacity and the strength of its balance sheet at a time of historically low interest rates, to get the best infrastructure projects off the ground."
The government’s fiscal position can be used in various ways – either through direct borrowing or de-risking private investment. The City Deal approach’s logic suggests that, in return for “drawing upon” federal capacity, states and local government will be asked to agree mechanisms that ensure local areas prioritise infrastructure projects that deliver growth.
Despite the rhetoric surrounding innovative funding and financing, such concepts have proved difficult to implement in the UK. Instead, emasculated local authorities, facing continued budgetary pressures, have sought long-term (up to 30 years) grant funding from the national government.
For its part, the UK government has also found grants easier to manage than complex earn-back arrangements of the kind devised initially in the Greater Manchester City Deal.
Second, if City Deals are introduced in Australia, then individual agreements will be negotiated between three tiers of government. The experience of the newer City Deals in Scotland (Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness) and Wales (Cardiff) – involving UK government, devolved administrations and local authorities more akin to a federal-type situation – may be more instructive for Australian policymakers.
Like the UK, Australia’s national government is proposing to incentivise actions and accountabilities at the sub-national level.
The UK government has dangled the carrot of long-term grant funding to “encourage” local authorities to establish statutory governance partnerships across city regions.
City Deals in Australia may be part of a similar drive for local government reform. This reflects arguments that direct funding of local government by federal government creates efficiencies, and that new investment in local infrastructure requires effective cross-border local government collaboration.
Finally, statements that the City Deals have been instrumental in the “renaissance of Greater Manchester and Glasgow” should be treated with great caution. UK City Deals and Devolution Deals are still at an early stage. Monitoring and evaluation of their impact remains in its infancy.
Ultimately, City Deals may prove successful in Australia and the UK. But, at this initial stage, adopting the model without careful scrutiny and analysis feels more like taking a punt than backing a certainty.
Peter O'Brien is research associate, Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), Newcastle University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-obrien-97345" target="_blank">here</a>.
Andy Pike is professor of Local and Regional Development, Newcastle University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andy-pike-130682" target="_blank">here</a>.
John Tomaney is professor of Urban and Regional Planning, UCL and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-tomaney-148821" target="_blank">here</a>.
All are authors for The Conversation.
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Deal or no deal: are UK-style City Deals a good bet for Australia?

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Bloomberg has reported on the waning interest Chinese buyers have in Australian property.
<div class="inline-media__unlinked-image"><a href="/images/2016/05/30/488x-1.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
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It has noted in the first four months of the year, visits by potential buyers to realestate.com.au listings in New South Wales state from China declined 25 percent over the same period last year.
Views of properties in Victoria fell 8.9 percent, Bloomberg noted.
Listings in Western Australia saw the biggest drop of 35 percent, according to the portal, which is the nation’s biggest property website.
After many months where developers have failed to secure sellouts, Lendlease sold all 391 apartments of its third and final stage of its Darling Square apartments on Saturday.
The Sydney CBD sales secured around $460 million during a a four-hour period.
The apartments were priced between $630,000 and $3.5 million through CBRE. 
Many were "seasoned property buyers" who have some equity behind them.
The absence of foreign buyers was noticeable compared to the first and second stage sellouts in 2014 and 2015, the Australian Financial Review noted.
The first stage sellout in 2014 by Lend Lease secured the off the plan sellout of all 357 Sydney apartments, with revenue estimates as high as $650 million.
About 25 percent of apartments were sold to offshore ­buyers, the proximity to UTS encouraging purchasing by Chinese families.
Set on the doorstep of Darling Harbour, Haymarket, Chinatown and Ultimo, the initial Darling Square prices ranged from $700,000 for a 50-square-metre, one-bedroom ­apartment to $3.5 million for a 130-square-metre sky home.
This is not to say the Chinese buyers aren't there.
At weekend auction a Monomeath Avenue, Canterbury offering with pool on 1021square metres attracted five registered bidders, who pushed the price well over its reserve of $4.8 million to sell at $5.11 million.  
"There was a lot of Chinese interest, in fact all but the winning bidder were Chinese," selling agent Tom Ryan from Jellis Craig told The Australian Financial Review.
"It was almost as if they were a bit reluctant to buy it - the Chinese are still in the market but they don't seem to be as explosive," he said.
 
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Waning Chinese buying interest in Australian property browsing

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An article by the Fairfax Media Domain executive editor on Australia's richest man, the property developer Harry Triguboff has been taken down from the Sydney Morning Herald Domain website.
But not before several thousand shares after its brief Saturday posting.
The article about a hospital attendance was uploaded <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/execute_search?text=triguboff&amp;ss=smh.com.au%2Fexecute_search.html" target="_blank">at around 7am Saturday morning</a>.  
Only a cached version is accessible.
The now unpublished Domain article, which came with two seemingly surreptitious waiting room photos of the billioniare, was headlined:
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<h1>Australia’s richest person, Harry Triguboff is in public hospital waiting room</h1>
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<div><img src="https://static.domain.com.au/domainblog/uploads/2016/05/27211336/2_gp63to.jpg" alt="Australia's richest person, Harry Triguboff, at St Vincents on Friday morning." width="750" height="421"></div>
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<div>The removed article noted just days after being named the nation’s richest person that the property developer Harry Triguboff was "mixing with the hoi polloi at St Vincents (sic) Emergency. </div>
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<div>"Emerging from his Mercedes, with the aid of an aluminium stick, Triguboff, 83, who has built more apartments in Australia than anyone else, walked slowly through the doors."</div>
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<img src="https://static.domain.com.au/domainblog/uploads/2016/05/27211336/3_gp6a30.jpg" alt="Harry Triguboff has no plans to retire and will celebrate his top dog status on the Rich List with his many employees next week." width="353" height="465" style="font-size: 12.16px; line-height: 1.3em;">
“I’m just returning this boot, and I need to have some X-rays,” the article said he told the triage nurse in the Friday morning attendance.
He’d tripped over his little black four-month-old poodle, Susie, a week ago, and broken his toe.
“She was just playing,” he advised.
The SMH article author, Stephen Nicholls noted, "in the X-ray waiting room, I congratulated him on making it to the top of BRW’s list."
Triguboff topped the Fairfax Media's 2016 BRW Rich 200 list for the first time with $10.62 billion in wealth.
“Yes thank you, I’ve never been number one,” he said, again grinning broadly, the article noted.
“I’ve been number three a couple of times.”
What now for him, <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DakGh3FCYtcJ:www.domain.com.au/news/australias-richest-person-harry-triguboff-is-in-public-hospital-waiting-room-20160527-gp6238/+&amp;cd=4&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=au" target="_blank">Nicholls said he asked?</a>
"Any plans to retire? “Retire – what would I do?” he said, adding he’s “now got so much money, I don’t know what to do with it all”.
The Australian's Margin Call business gossip column had written of Harry's busted foot mid-last week illustrated with a <a href="https://nicholsoncartoons.com.au/2016-05-26-harry-triguboff-broke-his-foot-is-the-week-before-announcement-of-australias-richest-person-cartoon" target="_blank">Nicholson cartoon</a>.
*Jonathan Chancellor was the SMH property editor from 1986 to 2011, and has been a News Corp Australia property columnist since 2015.
 
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SMH Domain unpublishes article on Harry Triguboff's broken toe

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The pioneering former Oxford Street fashion retailer Robby Ingham and his wife Sarah have yet to sell their Tamarama home.
The five bedroom home has point blank ocean vista and views back to beach given its position above the iconic coastal walk.
The garden on the 440 sqm double block features a sheltered entertaining area, gym and 25 metre lap pool that spans the block.
<a href="https://www.goodyer.com.au/1P3163" target="_blank">The Gaerloch Ave property</a> was withdrawn from its scheduled May 21 auction through Pauline Goodyer of Goodyer Real Estate with an inaccurate subsequent Fairfax Media report that it had been sold.
"It offers a resort-inspired lifestyle," Goodyer said.
More than $12 million is being sort.
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Tamarama trophy home still for sale

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GUEST OBSERVER
Cash interest rates are at 1.75 percent - a historic low in Australia. This low rate means that it is an opportune time to invest in property and the number of investments acquirable is maximised.
However, interest rates are an issue of contention in popular media. There has been much speculation about why they are so low, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to reduce them for this month, and whether interest rates are likely to go up or down next. 
A common question that we are asked is how will an increased interest rate affect my investment property? To understand this, it’s vital to understand what drives interest rates to rise and fall. In short, interest rates respond to a growth, or decline, in the economy. 
For example, a number of investors that I speak to are afraid of history repeating itself, and I’m often reminded of the late eighties, when interest rates were up at 17 per cent. 
This is a significantly higher rate than what we are seeing today, however the median house price grew 50 per cent when interest rates were at that level (between 1987-1989). 
This was a time of extreme inflation and economic growth for Australia, pushing up property prices, but also wages. 
Applying this to 2016, the RBA explains their choice to leave interest rates at historic lows using a few different points. 
It is suggested by the RBA that the global economy is growing at a slower pace than predicted, commodity prices have declined, financial markets remain volatile, and inflation is low. 
These conditions lead to the RBA to their decision, stating that monetary policy must remain accommodative, and low interest rates support demand. 
As demonstrated, the national and global economy has a direct effect on interest rates in Australia, but what happens to your investment if they go up? Investors are often concerned that an increase in interest rates will mean that they will no longer be able to afford to hold their investment property. 
Fortunately, this is not true. As mentioned, interest rates typically move in response to a growth in the economy. This leads to an increase of property values, wages, and rental income. 
Further to this, higher interest rates lead to more advantageous tax benefits becoming available. If the value of your investment property grows significantly, substantial equity is created, in turn increasing your borrowing capacity and number of properties acquirable. 
It is difficult to predict what will happen next, however a fear of increasing interest rates should not deter you from investing in a property. If you’ve been thinking about investing for some time, today’s low interest rates are likely to maximise your success. 
Michael Beresford is director, OpenCorp and can be contacted <a href="https://www.opencorp.com.au" target="_blank">here</a>.
  
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Ambiguous interest rates and their effect on your investments

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The conflict between urbanites and wildlife recently developed a new battleground: the small coastal New South Wales town of Batemans Bay, where the exceptional flowering of spotted gums has attracted a huge influx of grey-headed flying-foxes from across Australia’s southeast.
In response to intense and highly publicised community concern, federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has announced he will seek an immediate National Interest Exemption to facilitate dispersal of these bats – a move that risks undermining legal protections afforded to this and other threatened species.
Similar conflicts are occurring elsewhere in NSW, such as the Hunter region, where some unscrupulous members of the public lit a fire in a flying-fox roost at Cessnock.
With the ongoing expansion of the human urban footprint, animals are increasingly confronted with urban environments. Human encroachment into natural habitats generally negatively affects biodiversity. However, urban landscapes can present wildlife with an irresistible lure of reliable food supplies and other resources. While urban wildlife can provide a range of benefits to health and wellbeing, it can also be cause for frustration and conflict.
Urban human-wildlife conflict is a growing area of management concern and scientific research. But the research suggests that the current strategies for addressing NSW’s conflicts between humans and flying-foxes might not have the intended results.
<h2>Ruling the urban roost</h2>
Australian flying-foxes are becoming more urbanised, and the noise, smell and droppings from their roosts can have huge impacts on local residents.
A fundamental problem underlying current approaches to urban roosts is a lack of understanding of the extraordinary mobility of flying-foxes. They are some of the most mobile animals in Australia, with movements that range from foraging trips of up to 120 km in a single night to long-distance nomadism covering thousands of kilometres in a single year.
While roosts can remain active for decades, they are more like backpacker hostels than stable households, housing a constantly changing clientele that comes to visit local attractions. Roosts are connected into large networks through which flying-foxes move in response to changes in local food resources.
This explains the sudden influx in places such as Batemans Bay where preferred food suddenly becomes abundant. But it also highlights the importance of a national approach to flying-fox management and conservation.
Intense local flowerings of Eucalypts, such as spotted gums, produce copious amounts of nectar and pollen, which attract large numbers of flying-foxes and other species for several weeks. When a relatively small local flying-fox population that is tolerated by its human neighbours suddenly increases tenfold, it can place severe pressure on the local community.
Despite their transient nature, these influxes are often wrongly interpreted as population explosions, leading to calls for culling. In comparison, more humane tactics – such as using loud noise or vegetation removal to disperse the flying-foxes – can seem like a more balanced response. But does dispersal actually work?
<h2>Shifting the problem elsewhere</h2>
There is now ample evidence to show that dispersals are extremely costly and can exacerbate the very human-wildlife conflict that they aim to resolve.
Most dispersals result in the flying-foxes returning the original roost as soon as the dispersal program ends, because naïve new individuals continue to arrive from elsewhere. Overcoming this can take months or years of repeated daily dispersal.
Other dispersals result in flying-foxes establishing new roosts a few hundred metres away, typically within the same urban environment in locations that we cannot control. This risks shifting the problem to previously unaffected members of a community and to other communities nearby. 
While flying-foxes are often portrayed as noisy pests, they serve our economic interest by providing irreplaceable pollination and seed-dispersal services for free. What’s more, those same bats that annoy people during the day work tirelessly at night to maintain the health of our fragmented forests and natural ecosystems.
So it is in our national interest to manage conflict at urban roosts, by using approaches that balance community concerns with environmental consideration.
To be considered “successful”, a dispersal should permanently reduce conflict to a level that is acceptable to the community without causing significant harm to the animals. However, dispersals are currently implemented at the local council level with little or no monitoring of the impacts in or outside the immediately affected area. This makes it hard to assess whether they have been successful.
For example, it is not uncommon for flowering to cease and flying-fox numbers to decline naturally during the period of active dispersal. This gives the community a false sense that a permanent solution has been achieved, when in fact the issues will recur the next time the trees blossom. There is thus an urgent need for urban roosts to be managed with properly defined and applied criteria for success.
<h2>Evidence-based management</h2>
Unfortunately, lack of research effort directed at “ugly” and “less popular” Australian animals means that very few evidence-based management tools are available to deal with contentious roosts.
Research targeting a few key areas would greatly help efforts to improve urban roost management. For instance, we do not know how flying-foxes choose their roost sites, which leaves us unable to design “carrot solutions” by creating more attractive roost sites elsewhere.
Intensive tree-flowering events are relatively infrequent and hard to predict. This means that it is difficult to prepare communities for a sudden influx of flying-foxes.
Furthermore, the acceptability of various flying-fox management options differs between sections of the community, so it is difficult to find optimal solutions. Social scientists are currently trying to help identify priority areas that promote long-term viability of flying-foxes while also easing conflict with humans.
Local, state and federal governments continue to allocate considerable funds for dispersal responses, even though such actions are high-risk activities for local communities and are unlikely to provide long-term solutions. We argue strongly that targeted research is needed to better inform land managers and affected communities of flying-fox ecology and provide them with low-cost, low-risk, evidence-based tools for dealing with urban roosts.
Flying-foxes don’t care about legislative borders, and state-based responsibility for wildlife management leads to discontinuity in approaches between jurisdictions. While flying-foxes are being monitored at the national scale, this initiative needs to be combined with a uniform federal approach for managing flying-foxes in our human landscapes. Otherwise, conflicts such as those faced by the residents of Batemans Bay will continue unabated.
Justin Welbergen is senior lecturer in Animal Ecology, Western Sydney University and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justin-welbergen-19618" target="_blank">here</a>.
Peggy Eby is adjunct senior lecturer, Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peggy-eby-269776" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
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Not in my backyard? How to live alongside flying-foxes in urban Australia

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/57114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has unleashed the hounds on Labor’s proposed reforms to negative gearing.
The REIA’s campaign, Negative Gearing Affects Everyone, follows the lead of the Property Council, which describes the Australian housing market as a “house of cards”, with the REIA stressing how “fragile” the Australian economy is. You might be tempted to dismiss this as propaganda from people who exaggerate for a living, but evidence is mounting of instability close to the REIA’s home: the off-the-plan apartment sector.
An array of forces are converging to give the multi-unit house of cards a shove. Over the past couple of years apartment development has boomed. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows building approvals for new flats, units and apartments reached a huge peak last year. It has stepped down in the most recent quarter, but is still very high.
<a href="/images/2016/05/27/image-20160525-25213-knw2ks.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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<h4>ABS, 8731.0 Building approvals, Table 6</h4>
You can see this development in the skylines of our cities, especially in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra – and in the RLB Crane Index. RLB counts a total of almost 650 cranes engaged in construction in our capital cities, and says more than 80% of these are on residential projects.
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<h4>RLB Crane Index, 8th Edition</h4>
This coming supply is reflected in CoreLogic’s projections for new units hitting the market. It estimates that sales for more than 92,000 new units will be settled in the next 12 months, only slightly less than last year’s total number of sales of new and established units. The year after, a further 139,000 new units sales are due to be settled, substantially more than total sales (new and established) last year.
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<h4>Source: CoreLogic</h4>
<h2>Dampeners on demand</h2>
But for all this supply, it appears there may be much less demand than anticipated, particularly from the foreign investors who did so much to stoke the boom. Evidence for this includes:
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Over the last six months the Chinese government has tightened controls over currency exchange by its citizens. This has restricted their capacity to buy – and repay loans to buy – property in Australia and elsewhere. This in turn has led to…
</li>
<li>
Credit restrictions by Australian banks. Last month each of the Big Four banks restricted how much they’ll lend to foreign buyers (lower loan-to-valuation ratios), with Westpac withdrawing altogether. This month, Macquarie has pulled its horns in.
</li>
<li>
The Victorian government has doubled the stamp duty payable by foreigners – it’s now 7 percent of the property purchase price. The NSW government is reported to be considering doing something similar; it is also introducing checks for residency and Foreign Investment Review Board approvals as a condition for conveyance of property titles, and the FIRB is now charging $5,000 for applications.
</li>
</ul>
Foreign demand for new dwellings (as gauged by the NAB’s Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey) was already down over the first quarter of the year, before the credit restrictions cut in. Now the media are reporting that Chinese demand for apartments has “fallen off dramatically”: Meriton says the number of Chinese buyers of its apartments halved in the last month.
As those cranes in the sky indicate, there’s a lot of people out there – foreign and local – who’ve paid deposits and entered into contracts to pay boom-era prices on completion of their units. When they go to the bank to borrow the balance, they may find that, between lower loan-to-valuation ratios and lower valuations, they are caught short. Some might make up the difference by selling another property, but many of those settlements projected by CoreLogic may not settle at all.
The result: deposits forfeited, unsold units dumped on the market – accelerating the bust – and possibly, at least for buyers who are actually in the jurisdiction, the threat of being sued by developers for the loss of the contracted higher price.
<h2>So what might policymakers do?</h2>
Faced with such a calamity, why won’t our politicians do something to shore up demand for all these newly constructed rental properties? Oh wait….
This is precisely what Labor’s proposed negative-gearing reform promises do, by allowing rental losses to be set against non-rental income only where the property is newly built. Under Treasurer Bowen, Australia’s dedicated army of negative gearers would be given new direction and purpose, switching from the established dwelling market into the new-built market deserted by foreign buyers. Furthermore, because no-one after the first purchaser can call a dwelling new (and hence get the same preferential treatment on their gearing), they may be inclined to hang on to their properties even as demand looks weak.
We should still expect such a reform to reduce total investor demand for housing, and hence reduce house prices overall. These are both good things. But it may also help cushion what might otherwise be a drastic and painful collapse in the new-build sector.
Both the REIA and the Coalition government talk about Australia’s “transitioning” economy. They should consider negative-gearing reform as a measure for transitioning out of our presently fragile, property-bubble-led economy.
Chris Martin is research fellow, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW Australia and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-martin-203935" target="_blank">here</a>.
</body></html>

Might Labor’s negative-gearing policy yet save the housing market?

Apartment buildings are increasingly being designed around how people actually live day to day, not just how they want a building to look.

For buyers, that shift is showing up in practical inclusions that respond to changing habits. Work-from-home spaces, EV charging, wellness amenities, secure bike storage and parcel management are becoming part of the broader apartment conversation, reflecting a move toward buildings that reduce friction in everyday life.

Online shopping has become one of the clearest examples of that change.

Australians spent a record $82.6 billion online in 2025, with nearly one in four retail dollars now spent online. That has made parcel delivery a regular part of apartment living, rather than an occasional inconvenience.

For apartment residents, however, the delivery process can be less straightforward than it is for detached homes. Parcels may be left in lobbies, redirected to Post Offices, missed entirely, or placed under the responsibility of building managers and concierge teams.

That is why secure parcel infrastructure is increasingly being considered alongside more familiar apartment amenities.

<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/-VjjLwoViX0?si=A3k7ws9NX35Uac7_" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Australia Post Parcel Lockers offer one way to address the issue. When a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS, then collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN. The parcel is kept secure, accessible and removed from common areas.

The broader Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations across Australia, positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and other accessible locations.

For new apartment projects, the relevance is clear. A building’s amenity offering is no longer only about lifestyle spaces, but also about convenience, security and functionality.

As buyer expectations evolve, secure parcel delivery is becoming part of the same design conversation as flexible working, sustainable transport and resident wellbeing.

It is one less thing for residents to worry about, and another example of apartment design adapting to the way Australians now live.

Joel Robinson

Apartment design is adapting to the way Australians shop

While school holidays and trips to Europe tend to define the winter property market, there's been no cold snap at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-walden-north-sydney-177-walker-street-north-sydney-nsw-2060">The Walden</a> in North Sydney.

Developer-builder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aland">ALAND</a> sold more than $35 million worth of apartments throughout June, including a $6.8 million apartment that now ranks among the highest apartment sales ever recorded in North Sydney.

SRM Residential agent Ben Stewart said buyer demand throughout June reflected a mix of improving market confidence and longer-term thinking from owner-occupiers.

"We're seeing strong demand from owner-occupiers who are taking a longer-term view," Stewart said.

"Many recognise the opportunity to secure an apartment in an iconic building and premium location while values remain attractive. They may initially lease the property, but the intention is to eventually move in themselves, rather than purchasing purely as an investment."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=367129]

Located at 177 Walker Street, The Walden will deliver 161 one, two, three and four-bedroom residences across a 30-storey tower designed by Rothelowman. Every apartment occupies a corner position, maximising natural light, cross ventilation and views across Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, Sydney Heads and the northern districts.

Rather than a traditional balcony, the residences feature winter gardens that seamlessly extend the open plan living areas, creating versatile spaces for relaxing or entertaining throughout the year. Floor-to-ceiling glazing draws in natural light while showcasing sweeping views from the building's elevated Walker Street position.

Every apartment features high-end Calacatta marble, bespoke joinery, and fully integrated appliances.

The larger residences have been planned with distinct entertaining and private zones, with many master suites positioned on corners to capture natural light and harbour views. Walk-in dressing rooms, freestanding baths and refined stone finishes reinforce the house-like feel that has resonated with downsizers and owner-occupiers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6393]

Rothelowman Principal Ben Pomroy said the project was designed to make the most of its unique position overlooking the harbour.

"The Walden is a celebration of all things beautiful, curated for those who expect nothing less than exceptional," Pomroy says.

"Meticulously designed entertaining spaces and light-filled living areas that capitalise on capturing the natural beauty of Sydney's iconic harbour."

Residents will also have exclusive access to The Pavilion, a dedicated amenity building featuring a rooftop pool, wellness studio, gymnasium, sauna, concierge service, residents' lounge, private dining spaces and work-from-home facilities.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6402]

The project marks ALAND's first major luxury apartment development in Sydney's inner-city market after more than two decades delivering residential communities across Greater Sydney.

Founder and CEO Andrew Hrsto previously said the rarity of the Walker Street site made it an opportunity the company could not overlook.

"This is a rare opportunity to bring a truly exceptional project to life in one of Sydney's most iconic locations, and to showcase our craftsmanship and design expertise at a world-class level," Hrsto said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6383]

The Walden has been introduced to the market at a time when demand for living in North Sydney is at an all-time high. Billions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure, including the recently opened Victoria Cross Metro station, located just 300 metres from The Walden, providing residents with direct access to the Sydney CBD in just minutes.

Private investment has also transformed the area through the arrival of new retail and dining destinations, elevating the lifestyle offering in what was once considered primarily a commercial precinct rather than an aspirational residential address.

The Walden is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134323]

ALAND records $35 million in sales in North Sydney as The Walden bucks quiet winter selling season

The long-awaited redevelopment of the former Eastlakes Shopping Centre site has reached a major milestone, with Conquest's plans for a new mixed-use precinct officially placed on public exhibition.

The State Significant Development Application would transform the 1.7-hectare site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/19a-evans-avenue-eastlakes-nsw-2018">19A Evans Avenue</a> into one of Sydney's largest urban renewal projects, delivering 736 apartments above a new shopping centre anchored by Woolworths, alongside specialty retail, dining, commercial space and new public open spaces.

The public exhibition marks the next chapter for the project after <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/conquest">Conquest</a> acquired the stalled Stage Two development from Crown Group, who completed the first stage across the road prior to their voluntary liquidation.

<img alt="First look: Conquest unveils plans for 736-home Eastlakes Shopping Centre redevelopment" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5fca22c5-d1ed-4e2c-8801-03f7df1eafc8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/eastland%20podium.png?VersionId=uomwr41nF8CmLUZRDcu3mHQechlbxucS" />

&nbsp;

Designed by DKO Architecture, the proposal comprises four residential buildings ranging from 14 to 18 storeys above a two-level retail podium. The development would deliver 736 apartments, including 74 affordable homes, 215 Build-to-Rent apartments and 521 market residences. Provision has also been made for dual-key apartments, which could increase the total number of dwellings to 877.

At ground level, the shopping centre has been designed as the suburb's new meeting place, anchored by a full-line Woolworths and complemented by a curated mix of fresh food retailers, cafés, restaurants, health services and everyday convenience shopping. Generous pedestrian links and landscaped public spaces will connect the retail precinct through to Jack Mundey Reserve, creating a more walkable and connected neighbourhood.

Conquest CEO Michael Akkawi said the redevelopment was about far more than replacing a shopping centre.

"Eastlakes has been overlooked for too long, and this is the community’s moment. We are building a shopping centre and homes, a genuine heart for the suburb, and we genuinely want locals to help shape it."

"We enrich communities through the creation of homes, places, and experiences designed for life, built to last, and owner for generations. That starts with listening, so we warmly encourage everyone with a connection to Eastlakes to view the plans and share their thoughts."

<img alt="First look: Conquest unveils plans for 736-home Eastlakes Shopping Centre redevelopment" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="22f6fb20-54fb-4bd7-8a92-48fafdd00608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/eastland.png?VersionId=cugp7s9hrMHGJJdYzkeAkrFoQgnF4GXf" />

DKO said the design had been shaped by the site's landscape setting and surrounding open space.

"Our vision for the site embraces its unique Bidjigal identity by blending the residential living with generous landscaping and a material palette inspired by the Bidjigal locality, and celebrating the panoramic views to Botany Bay and the wetlands reserves."

"Taking cues from Country, we seek to harmonise built form with the landscape and lightly touch the earth. By reconnecting, retaining and regenerating existing ecology, and weaving in natural elements, we can deepen our connection to Country."

The landscape strategy extends across the podium and rooftops, incorporating communal gardens, children's play areas, lawns, community gardens, family gathering spaces and extensive tree planting. New landscaped links will also strengthen the connection between the precinct and Jack Mundey Reserve, while publicly accessible open spaces have been integrated throughout the development.

The proposal builds on Conquest's broader placemaking strategy for the site. Through an ongoing partnership, local artist Joe Rashbrook has been appointed Urban Art Curator, working alongside young residents to transform the project's site hoardings into a public art gallery that allows the community to engage with the redevelopment before construction is complete.

Conquest has rapidly expanded its development pipeline since acquiring the Eastlakes site, with more than $6 billion worth of mixed-use projects now in planning across Sydney, including Stanmore, Castlecrag and Waterloo.

Conquest CEO Michael Akkawi said the redevelopment was about far more than replacing a shopping centre.

First look: ‘Far more than replacing a shopping centre’ as Conquest unveils 736-home Eastlakes redevelopment

Abadeen has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for one of Mosman's largest apartment developments in recent years, seeking approval to transform the former Honeysuckle Garden and Midas site on Military Road into a 100-apartment mixed-use development.

The SSDA, lodged with investment partner Phoenix Property Investors, proposes around $230 million worth of new housing on the prominent <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/494-516-military-road-mosman-nsw-2088">494-516 Military Road</a> site.

The proposal comes as Mosman Council continues to progress its recently endorsed Masterplan, which identifies the precinct for increased housing density while maintaining the suburb's established character.

Designed by DKO Architecture, the development would comprise 100 apartments above ground-floor retail, with a rooftop wellness precinct including a gym, sauna, entertaining areas and landscaped communal spaces.

Rather than pushing to the full 12-storey height identified in Council's Masterplan, the proposal ranges between five and nine storeys, stepping down towards Hale Road. A tenth level would accommodate resident amenities rather than additional apartments.

The project has been designed to appeal to a broad range of buyers, from first home buyers and young professionals through to families and local downsizers looking to remain on the Lower North Shore.

<img alt="Mosman" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5dada03f-5b4c-43ba-ba62-2868add31440" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-27%20at%209.57.55%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=7LBy0B.Jo8_iWAFJsClcV7Q3UnXrv49r" />

Abadeen Executive Chairman Justin Brown said the apartments had been designed as genuine long-term homes rather than investor-focused stock.

"The apartments have been designed as genuine long-term homes, with efficient floorplans that maximise usable living areas, generous storage, natural light and strong connections between indoor and outdoor spaces," Brown says."

"We've focused on creating homes for a broad range of buyers, from first home buyers and growing families through to downsizers who want to remain in Mosman."

The rooftop wellness offering forms a key part of the proposal, with residents set to have access to a gym, sauna, outdoor entertaining spaces, communal dining areas, landscaped gardens and a multi-use recreation court overlooking Sydney Harbour.

<img alt="Mosman" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d37c2d6b-583a-4a0f-b7a9-9f46b893d2f4" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-27%20at%209.58.06%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=FPoa5FCm2RtzjhAh2w5FTWJbV6GHfY8D" />

DKO drew heavily on the site's natural and cultural history, undertaking a Connecting with Country process with local Aboriginal Elders to inform the architectural and landscape design.

Senior Associate Matthew Ritchard said the design sought to create a building that responded to both the site's landscape and its cultural significance.

"The architectural language of the project is a deep expression of Connecting with Country, where the materiality and colour palette serve as a bridge between the site's geological history and its future as a residential sanctuary."

The proposal also retains the site's established blue gum tree as the centrepiece of the communal landscaped gardens, while introducing activated retail fronting Military Road to strengthen the connection between Mosman and Cremorne villages.

If approved, the project would deliver 100 new homes within walking distance of shops, public transport, schools and local amenities, adding to the limited pipeline of new apartments on the Lower North Shore.

<h2>Project Snapshot</h2>

Project: Honeysuckle Garden Redevelopment

Address: 494-516 Military Road, Mosman

Developer: Abadeen and Phoenix Property Investors

Architect: DKO Architecture

Lead Architect: Matthew Ritchard

Value: $230 million

Residences: 100 apartments

Key features:

<ul>
	<li>
	Ground-floor retail
	</li>
	<li>
	Rooftop wellness precinct
	</li>
	<li>
	Gym and sauna
	</li>
	<li>
	Outdoor entertaining and BBQ areas
	</li>
	<li>
	Landscaped communal gardens
	</li>
	<li>
	Multi-use recreation court
	</li>
	<li>
	Retained mature blue gum tree
	</li>
	<li>
	Connecting with Country design process
	</li>
	<li>
	Harbour, CBD and Balmoral views from upper-level apartments
	</li>
</ul>

Abadeen Executive Chairman Justin Brown said the apartments had been designed as genuine long-term homes rather than investor-focused stock

First look: Abadeen plans 100 apartments on former Honeysuckle Garden site in Mosman

The wave of apartment proposals sweeping through Mosman shows no signs of slowing, with another major residential development lodged through the NSW Government's State Significant Development pathway.

Developer First Quadrant Properties, which recently completed Willoughby Grounds and has several projects in planning across the North Shore, has unveiled plans for a 63-apartment development on Ourimbah Road, adding to the growing pipeline of projects reshaping one of Sydney's most tightly held harbour suburbs.

The proposal would consolidate nine properties at 40-56 Ourimbah Road into a part eight, part nine-storey apartment building, continuing the momentum created by the NSW Government's accelerated planning pathways that have seen several significant developments emerge across Mosman over the past 12 months.

Designed by Doroch Architects, the project would deliver 63 apartments, resident wellness facilities including a gym, pool and sauna, landscaped communal spaces and basement parking, while using recessed upper levels, generous setbacks and extensive planting to reduce the perceived scale of the building.

<img alt="First look: First Quadrant Properties eyes nine-storey Mosman apartment project under State Significant pathway" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="32ee68e4-141e-4a10-8f83-48e961a5e71e" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ourimbah%20Road%2C%20Mosman%20a.png?VersionId=CUeILFc6APlwXPc.iplElbxHvREKwjig" />

Doroch Architects said the building had been designed to reinforce Mosman's established character.

"The building's aesthetic is grounded in the existing residential character of Ourimbah Road and the broader Mosman context," the architect noted in the planning documents submitted to the NSW Government.

The design adopts a contemporary material palette of natural stone, textured concrete and brown concave metal cladding, complemented by integrated planters and deep balconies. The podium incorporates softened curved concrete forms, while increased setbacks have been provided adjacent to the heritage-listed property at 60 Ourimbah Road to create a more sympathetic transition.

The site sits around 330 metres from Mosman Town Centre, placing it within the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy area, where increased residential density is being encouraged close to shops, transport and services.

The proposal follows a string of major apartment projects lodged or declared State Significant in Mosman in recent months, including Abadeen's 100-apartment Honeysuckle Garden redevelopment on Military Road and several other developments across Awaba Street, Redan Street and Muston Street from the likes of Time &amp; Place, HELM and Prosker Property.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Time &amp; Place to take on Mosman apartment market</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-abadeen-plans-100-apartments-on-former-honeysuckle-garden-site-in-mosman">First look: Abadeen plans 100 apartments on former Honeysuckle Garden site in Mosman</a>

Jonathan Chancellor

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