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Swimmer James Magnussen doesn't shy away from pressure, in the pool or in the property market.
He's re-listed his Ryde investment apartment on the same weekend he will be competing in the Olympic swimming trials in Adelaide.
The property is due to go to auction April 9, around the date he meets world number 1 Cameron McEvoy and star prodigy Kyle Chambers in their continuing 100 metre freestyle battle.
Magnussen will be up against it after finishing third in the recent NSW championship earlier this month after shoulder reconstruction surgery.
There are only two spots available for the 100 metre freestyle team for the Rio Olympics, but James is confident in his recovery.
"Preparation is going really well, very motivated and excited about the Olympic trials in two weeks," he told me.
"I'm feeling confident in my shoulder and am not impeded by it at all."
He is still in the running for the 4x100 metre relay with his 100 metre freestyle rivals and is expected to make the final four.
From lanes to listings, he has re-marketed his Ryde investment apartment after it failed at auction last November.
Magnussen Enterprises Pty Ltd paid $623,000 early last year for the three bedroom, 1960's red-brick walk up block unit.
Bought in original condition in the block of six, the Drummoyne based Magnussen, along with a builder mate, renovated the 88 sqm apartment to fill in time while he was in recovery from his shoulder.
The ­total refurbishment, including new open kitchen and bathroom, cost about $50,000.
But come auction day the bidding <a href="/expert-insights/buying/swimming-champion-james-magnussen-flip-yet-to-succeed-at-ryde-property">started and ended at $740,000</a>.
Now the Gladstone Ave unit, with district views, has been re-listed through John Paranchi of Hunters Hill McGrath who's had the The Hired Home stylists furnish what was previously an empty space.
They have a price guide of $750,000 to $800,000 suggesting investors are likely to yield $650 weekly rental tenants.
Magnussen does have an eagle eye for a good property deal as he spent $935,000 in 2012 on his own Drummoyne flat which was seemingly well bought as it had traded at $910,000 some five years earlier in 2007.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
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James Magnusson relists in Ryde

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An 1860's solid brick hotel, converted into a family home in Melbourne's Windsor fetched $4.85 million at weekend auction, almost $600,000 over reserve.
Bidding opened at $3.6 million with six bidders.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-prahran-121955482" target="_blank">Previously the Red Lion Hotel</a>, 39 Duke Street has tall ceilings and rich period features in its warehouse style contemporary living space.
The property has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a leafy atrium with indoor garden.
The most spectacular feature of the property is the 250 sqm secluded rooftop garden which has a large gas heated pool, sauna and orchard with views of the city skyline.
The property has been in the family for around 60 years and hasn't once been traded.
RT Edgar's expectation was for the property to fetch $3.5 million at its March 19 auction.
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Red Lion Hotel residence, Windsor fetches $4.85 million

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A 3553-hectare rural property portfolio near Yea in Victoria's Goulburn Valley is being sold via expressions of interest.
The portfolio has market expectations of between $18 million and $20 million.
Terangaville, a 1702-hectare landholding with a 1920s renovated homestead, is the biggest with Eaglehawk on 1635 hectares.
Doogallook (above) is the smallest at 216 hectares, once part of a vast sheep and cattle farm owned by John Cotton, an English naturalist who came to Australia from London in the 1840s.
Doogallook was put up for sale in last year with a $4 million-plus price tag, but failed to sell at auction.
In February, Doogallook Pastoral Company was placed in the hands of receivers Stewart McCallum and John Lindholm of Ferrier Hodgson.
The property, located about one hour from Melbourne, last traded 22 years ago when bought by the French family.
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Historic Doogallook, Terangaville and Eaglehawk farms for sale at Yea

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The Sydney based Gunn Agri Partners, headed by Macquarie Group's former chief operating officer in Brazil, Alan Hoppe, has secured the Central Queensland cattle station, Esmeralda in central Queensland.
It was listed at around $40 million.
Gunn Agri, trading as Cunningham Cattle Company and backed by Luxembourg funds, purchased the 406,000 hectares North of Richmond with 30,000 head of cattle. 
The deal follows Gunn Agri's purchase of a 36,000 hectare cattle aggregation near Roma in the Maranoa region of Queensland last December for about $11 million.
Gunn Agri counts among its directors the chairman of live export company Austrexx, Rick Trivett.
Ruralco Property's Troy Trevor and Peter MacPherson negotiated the deal.
There is also speculation the Gunn Agri Cattle Fund has made another major rural property acquisition, buying Goodar Station, north of Goondiwindi in Queensland, for about $20 million.
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Esmeralda, Queensland farm sells

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GUEST OBSERVERS
Is the rollout for Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) on track? Are we employing the right technology for the job? Will the NBN be fast enough to handle future demands?
The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network recently asked five of Australia’s leading academic experts to give their views on the state of the NBN.
Here, each of the experts gives a summary of their views as they presented them to the Committee, raising concerns about the current technology and suggesting there might be ways to improve the NBN rollout using new approaches being adopted overseas.
David Glance, University of Western Australia
The Senate Committee was brought up-to-date with contemporary answers to these questions. It was given examples of companies and countries that thought fibre to the node (FTTN) was an adequate implementation strategy, but have since changed to a fibre to the premises (FTTP) approach.
In the US for example, AT&amp;T last year abandoned fibre to the node and has switched to deploying fibre to the premises because of the speed and capacity limitations, and because 1 Gigabit per second (1 Gbps) is the “new normal”.
AT&amp;T is also now certain that 25 Mbps will not be adequate for most people, and in fact, won’t be what most people actually want to deploy in their homes or businesses. Households are already consuming multiple simultaneous media streams at whatever definition their network will support. Business, especially in an online innovation-led economy, is increasingly coming to rely on the presence of ultra-fast broadband.
Costs and technologies that make up those costs have also changed. In Australia, since the decision was made to switch to a fibre to the node implementation of the NBN, costs of implementing other solutions, including Fibre to the Pavement (Sidewalk) have come down. Technology solutions like G.Fast allow short lengths of copper to be used to a home and still deliver 1 Gbps speed.
With technology, especially in the time frame of the construction of the NBN, the rationale for a particular approach will change. In the case of the NBN, most of the answers to the usual questions have indeed changed, and continuing with a fibre to the node approach no longer makes any sense.
Mark A. Gregory, RMIT University
The NBN is a nation building project that has been hijacked by politics. As a result, the obsolete fibre to the node technology is being rolled to a large number of Australians.
The government should accept the weight of international evidence and move back to fibre to the premises (FTTP). There is an urgent need for a 20 to 30 year life-cycle costing analysis to be completed to provide an engineering cost benefit justification for the NBN technologies to be used in the rollout.
There is a need for a broad panel to be formed that includes academics, industry, consumer representatives and government to discuss the future of the NBN beyond 2020.
It is time for Australia to adopt a “universal access” regime, where everyone can connect reliably to digital services, including health and education and other government services, at all times. This is especially for the socially and economically disadvantaged, including the homeless and itinerant, to be provided with the means to access digital services.
For this reason, nbn Co should rollout a national wholesale Wi-Fi network to facilitate companies and local government offering free Wi-Fi similar to what is happening now through Telstra Air.
 
Rod Tucker, University of Melbourne
Since the days of dial-up modems, there has been a relentless growth in demand for higher broadband speeds. But the 2014 Vertigan report underestimated Australia’s future broadband needs by a factor of ten. Vertigan supported the Coalition’s game-changing shift from fibre to the premises (FTTP) to fibre to the node (FTTN).
Since Vertigan, a lot has happened in the broadband world. For example, the major US telco AT&amp;T has switched from FTTN to FTTP, arguing that demand is growing for speeds that FTTN cannot deliver. And rollouts of FTTP are accelerating in many countries. Australia is rapidly being left behind.
All of this points in one direction: Australia’s FTTN network will be obsolete by the time it is rolled out and will not be able to deliver the speeds that will be needed in the future.
Unlike FTTP and other technologies such as fibre to the distribution point (FTTdP), FTTN will be expensive to upgrade and a future owner of the FTTN network may not bother. Every way you look at it, FTTN is a bad idea.
The notion FTTP is much more expensive than FTTN turns out to be incorrect. The cost of rolling out FTTN is often understated and the cost of rolling out FTTP is overstated. New lower-cost FTTP construction techniques and cost increases for FTTN have changed the equation.
While public attention has generally focused on the fixed network in urban areas, people in rural and remote areas will use NBN’s satellites. Qantas also plans to use nbn’s satellites to provide video entertainment on its flights, sapping bandwidth from people on the ground. A third satellite will alleviate this problem.
My advice to the Senate Select Committee on the NBN is that the FTTN rollout should be abandoned before it is too late, and replaced with FTTP.
Arthur Lowery, Monash University
I have been in telecommunications for over 35 years now, and co-founded VPIsystems, a company that develops software tools for optimising and rolling-out telecommunications systems using multiple technologies, such as national broadband connectivity.
The goal of the NBN is laudable: to provide decent connectivity to everybody in Australia. I’m interested, as a taxpayer, in how this can be done in a cost efficient manner. One of my points is that a rollout is a longish-term endeavour, and maybe it should provide long-term employment for its skilled-up workforce.
Thus, when designing the rollout, a staged approach should be used. Because civil engineering is a large part of the cost, it is prudent to defer decommissioning existing infrastructure close to dwellings (which can support &gt; 1 Gbit/s, as it is short and not shared), and concentrate on the real bottlenecks nearer the exchanges.
This means “fibre-to-the-fence” (G.fast). The fact that many period Australian homes are being rapidly replaced also makes FTTP question somewhat academic. Of course, once fibre is at the gate, it’s relatively easy extend to any building in the future, if needs be.
Thas Nirmalathas, University of Melbourne
The rapid proliferation of connected devices is transforming connectivity between people, places and things and creating a networked society. This presents many opportunities for citizens, businesses, and governments through the advancement and use of connectivity.
The NBN presents Australia with an opportunity to provide the critical infrastructure for the networked society. It remains the essential launch pad for transformation of key industry sectors, for a data-driven economy, and for delivering greater social equity across the Australian society.
Global rankings of internet connectivity and speed show that Australia needs to improve its standing or risk being left behind by the current wave of innovation. Australia falls short particular on broadband subscriptions and faces a widening gap between peak and average speed of internet connections.
The NBN rollout provides an opportunity for Australia to increase bandwidth and capacity to support innovation. However, in order to meet growing demands to enable innovation the NBN rollout must improve.
The actual rollout rates is falling short of the original targets promised under the NBN. Despite a change in the technology mix and revised network architectural options recommended through the strategic reports, NBN deployment remains slow across both new and existing sites.
The NBN should plan for a third satellite without waiting for demand saturation. Machine-to-machine traffic arising from connected devices across many key sectors of relevance to regional Australia will demand cost-effective wireless access using satellite or other wireless alternatives such as those that could take advantage of optical fibre networks to provide improved wireless coverage and access.
David Glance, University of Western Australia; Arthur Lowery, Monash University; Mark A Gregory, RMIT University; Rod Tucker, University of Melbourne; Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas, University of Melbourne.
All are authors for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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Property 101: The state of the NBN

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Sydney passed its super Saturday auction test with flying colours, although there were some hits and misses.
Despite the spike in pre-Easter stock, vendors again secured a 70 percent plus success rate from the bumper near-900 listings.
Prices ranged from $380,000 at Yagoona to $5.71 million for a seven bedroom house at Strathfield.
The two bedroom Yagoona flat had four bidders, with the buyer "in two minds" as to move in or rent it out after a renovation, its Ray White selling agent Paul Chidiac said.
The Auburn Road flat last sold at $130,000 in 1992.
<a href="/images/2016/03/21/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-21%20at%209.23.21%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/03/21/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-21%20at%209.23.21%20AM.png" alt="">
Volumes are at around 20 percent less than last autumn, which is helping maintain the strong clearance rates.
Around $500 worth of property sold yesterday, compared to the $750 million on the busier pre-Easter weekend last year when the clearance rate was in the mid-80s.
But even the affordable stock doesn't always sell with a $450,000 top bid unsuccessful in securing a Chipping Norton flat.
Before auction sales included a bullish $4,722,000 pre-auction sale at Castlecrag, secured 10 days ago.
"We had a dutch auction occur, so we took the price on offer," its McGrath selling agent Peter Starr said.
There was a pre-auction $5.1 million result yesterday in Clovelly when well ahead of its April 9 auction, Alexander Phillips at Phillips Pantzer Donnelly secured a sale on near-oceanfront Eastbourne Avenue.
However Killara's top offering - an art deco 1930s Killara home with $5.5 million hopes - was pulled from auction, despite the fillip in the suburb mid-week with an upper north shore $12 million record sale.
It was last on offer 29 years ago.
Mosman was the busiest auction suburb, with around 20 offerings in the pre-Easter countdown, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
The burden triggered one Mosman auction to have no registered bidders.
At Rossmore there were 16 registered parties, but only three competed when a five ha two house property sold for $4.51 million through United Acreage Property Marketing.
Auctioneer Damien Cooley reported an 80 percent plus success rate, as the average number of registered bidders sat at four and rising.
Damien Cooley at Cooley Auctions said the bidding numbers were up on the three during December, but still below the five in early last year.
Cremorne, which was recently pinpointed in realestate.com.au’s top sellers’ unit market report, secured the sale of two of its three offerings. 
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.
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Super Saturday success, but cracks emerge in outer Sydney

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Killara couple Ken and Josie Demlakian, owners of engineering firm Demlakian Consulting, have finally sold the 1906 trophy home Ballernoo, after around 500 days on the market.
Holding their nerve secured an upper north shore record price, though perhaps short of their desired $13.5 million at an estimated $12 million.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-killara-118584723" target="_blank">Ballernoo</a>, a grand Federation estate comes with a championship-sized floodlit tennis court, golf driving range and heated pool and cabana, set over 4500 sqm.
There's 1000 sqm of living areas along with the nine bedroom and seven bathrooms.
The property features a domed music conservatory, billiards and games room, theatre room, gymnasium, home office, children's playroom and dance floor loggia.
Nestled deep in the hedged garden, inspired by the garden of Versailles, is one bedroom self-contained guesthouse, which is the estate’s former horseman’s cottage. 
Ballernoo is expected to have set the joint upper north shore record which was firstly held by Australian Ilmenite Resources owner Jerry Ren, who paid $11.5 million for his Warrawee mansion in 2010.
This was matched in 2012 when technology investor Daniel Petre sold his Springdale Road property to Anita Cunliffe, wife of UBS heads of investment banking Guy Fowler.
Ken, who likes to chance his hand at the poker table from time to time, paid $3.4 million for the home in 1999.
The property was sold through Glenn Curran of Curran Property Chatswood who was seeking $13.5 million, with the international buyer introduced by the international buyers agent Robert Klaric.
The dress circle address, 26 Wattle Street, was once the home of Sydney Stock Exchange vice chairman Clarence Degenhardt in the 1930s.
Ballernoo is likely to have eclipsed the high of $11.5 million set in 2012 when technology investor Daniel Petre sold his Springdale Road property to Anita Cunliffe, wife of UBS head of investment banking Guy Fowler.
The record had stood with Bremon at Warrawee at $11.5 million since 2010.
This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
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Killara's Ballernoo sold for Sydney upper north shore record $12 million 

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Footballers were busy with their property plays across Melbourne amid the bumper pre-Easter weekend auctions, while Sydney had mix of football, horse racing and similiarly strong auction success. 
Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy secured $1.71 million when <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/32-newry-street-carlton-north-vic-3054-2012622040" target="_blank">32 Newry Street, Carlton North</a> (above) sold through Hockingstuart. There had been a $1.4 million plus price range pre-auction on the two storey three bedroom, townhouse that was announced on the market at $1.54 million. It last sold at $1,015,000 in late 2007 when offloaded by then Essendon footballer Scott Camporeale.
Collingwood star Travis Cloke and his fiancee, Rebeccah Panozza sold two days before their scheduled weekend auction, accepting an offer of almost $3.1 million for the fully renovated, triple-storey Kew home, and almost simultanously buying a contemporary home on an eight ha rural property at Kangaroo Ground. The Pies forward had paid $2.5 million in 2013.
The former North Melbourne, turned Essendon recruit Nathan Grima’s Ascot Vale home fetched $1.73 million, some $100,000 over reserve. The four bedroom property at <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/204-the-parade-ascot-vale-vic-3032-2012612873" target="_blank">204 The Parade</a> had been renovated since bought for $735,000 in 2011. Grima and his wife Jacinta renovated and ­extended the property over 12 months and added a solar-heated pool.
<a href="/images/2016/03/21/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-21%20at%208.57.11%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/03/21/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-21%20at%208.57.11%20AM.png" alt="">
Richmond midfielder Bachar Houli had his three bedroom Altona North property at 1/9 First Avenue listed with $470,000-plus and secured $562,500 on the last AFL-free weekend before the formal season starts on Thursday night in the Carlton-Tigers game. Houli subdivided the block and also has the second home set for private treaty sale.
But A-League footballer, the Socceroo and Melbourne City defender Ivan Franjic failed to score with his Greenvale auction listing. Franjic, who played in his teenage years for the Melbourne Knights and St Albans Saints, placed a $1 million vendor bid when <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-greenvale-121966854" target="_blank">18 Casablanca Court </a>went to auction amid Melbourne's 1780 super Saturday stock.
Set across 2000 square metres, Franjic's four bedroom home with a four-car garage, tennis court and pool has been given a $1.1 million asking price through Nelson Alexander agent Stefan Stella.
Even Channel 9 and 3MMM sports reporter Seb Costello was among the mix with The Age reporting <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/2-colvin-grove-hawthorn-vic-3122-2012622009" target="_blank">2 Colvin Grove, Hawthorn</a> was almost knocked down to Costello, who had his mother, Tanya, rather than father, Peter, by his side at the auction of the 1890s cottage on a 215 sqm block. It sold at $1,077,000, just $500 above Seb Costello’s top offer. It last traded at $330,000 in 1999 when his dad, the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello introduced the capital gains tax discount. 
"I had a punt, but there was someone who was prepared to pay more than it was worth.....Mum came along, dad was overseas," Seb told 3MMM.
Melbourne's 1,784 auctions was the highest level since late November last year.
But the clearance rate rose to 72 percent, up from 68 percent last week when just 420 residential auctions were held given the long weekend break, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
Across Melbourne’s sub-regions, the inner region was the best on ground at 78 percent success followed by the North East with 74 percent and the inner east at 74.5 percent.
Melbourne’s inner region was also the busiest auction market with 390 auctions.
The priciest Sydney offering - with $7.6 million plus hopes at Rose Bay - was not among the city's overall 75 percent clearance rate.
There were four registered buyers, but no bids when <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-rose+bay-122002654" target="_blank">Lynton, the vacated 27 Kent Road trophy home</a> of the horse owner and breeder Frank Tagg had Lynton, went to auction yesterday.
The unrenovated yet grand 1912 Edwardian home was bought in 2007 for $8 million by Tagg, who made his name as a former Western Suburbs first-grade footballer.
The more recently retired Roosters footballer Braith Anasta missed out when a coastal Sydney apartment was sold by the film director, Dame Jane Campion.
She certainly scored when five of the 10 registered bidders competed for the Tamarama offering, selling her 241 sqm investment property for $2.55 million through Bethwyn Richards of McGrath. 
The recenty separated Braith Anasta attended the auction, with his mother, Kim who recently sold her home. They were the underbidders at $2,545,000 for the two level apartment bought by the film director in $1.2 million in 2001.
The busiest and most successful regions were North Sydney and Hornsby, both at 84 percent.
There was a low of 46 percent clearance rate in the South West.
One year ago, Sydney’s overall clearance rate was substantially stronger at 84 percent.
Brisbane auction volumes rose to their highest levels since 2014 with 280 held across the city, the second highest volume of auctions for the city on record.
Preliminary results show that auction clearance rates rose week-on-week, from 38 per cent the previous week to 55 percent.
A total of 144 Adelaide auctions with a 68 percent success rate.
It was 45 percent in Perth and the 76 percent in Canberra, was the nation's best result.
Prices ranged from $180,000 at Albion in Melbourne to $5.71 million for a seven bedroom house at Strathfield in Sydney.
The two bedroom 2/25 Ridley Street 1960s apartment price through Barry Plant Sunshine was just $10,000 up on its 2007 sale.
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Footballers star in Super Saturday auction success

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Juwai.com, China's biggest international real estate portal, is seeking an initial public offering as early as this year, according to Bloomberg.
The firm was raising funds from institutional investors and strategic partners before selling shares in a public offering at the end of the year or in early 2017, Juwai chief executive Charles Pittar said in Tokyo on Friday. 
Juwai, which is based in Hong Kong and Shanghai, has two million unique visitors per month and means "Living Abroad".
It connects Chinese buyers with brokers overseas through 2.5 million listings on its website.
The company was founded by Australians Andrew Taylor and Simon Henry. The Australian reported its investors have included Simon Clausen.
Last year, Juwai reported unique users were up nearly 70 percent to 2.5 million a month.
Its property listings more than doubled to 4.5 million across 60 countries. 
Juwai's users have a budget of $US2.6 million ($3.4 million) on average, the company's presentation materials say, though typically looking for homes ranging in price from $US500,000 to $US1.5 million.
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Juwai.com to float

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has promoted the benefits of a “30-minute city” in explaining his approach to cities and urban transport.
The opposition infrastructure spokesman, Anthony Albanese, notes he talked about this idea at the National Press Club in 2014.
The reality is that the 30-minute city is hardly a new idea in town planning, but it is good to see political leaders recognising its value and grappling with what it means. It’s likely to bring significant change to how we build our cities.
<h2>The urban time travel budget</h2>
People across the world, in every city and in all historical cities, have an average travel time budget of one hour – around 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. The historic walking city spread out only 2-4km across, the tram city about 10km and the steam train city about 20km, before the car city went 40-50km out. All were 30-minute cities.
Some people choose to live where they can have a much lower travel time and some choose much longer, especially in far outer suburbs. But the average is around 30 minutes for the journey to work.
Only when a city is becoming dysfunctional does the average start to blow out. Data shows this in Sydney outer areas in recent decades. When this happens people demand faster transit options. The real estate market trend is for people to move into areas where they can reduce travel times.
The 30-minute city concept has become very useful for town planning as it helps plan more strategically for where development should happen or not happen.
Although history suggests there is a strong market for living within the 30-minute city, the politics of land development usually interferes. Land owners on the urban fringe will always be looking to make squillions out of rezoning their land for suburbs rather than rural purposes. And there are always people who are ready to stop any density increases in their neighbourhood as the redevelopment market requires.
Why it is very important to see bipartisan support for the 30-minute city is that Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are already way out of kilter with this goal. Any city that has sprawled more than 50km will be unable to keep those suburbs within a 30-minute travel time budget – traffic congestion keeps average speeds in most cities below 40km/h. The average morning and evening commute in these four big cities is now more than 30 minutes.
All the strategic plans of these cities are therefore suggesting that redevelopment must be increased and assisted. Infrastructure can help density. As Turnbull says: If you invest in good transport infrastructure, then density gives greater amenity because there are more things to do, you’re closer to work, you’re closer to university.
The Tony Abbott era presented cities with very large road projects that would just increase urban sprawl. These projects ultimately would not have reduced travel times as they would not help create redevelopment.
So how do we help our cities achieve 30-minute travel times?
<h2>The urban package</h2>
Turnbull often refers to three factors that are emerging as the government’s urban package: urban rail, urban density and urban land value capture. These are the approaches that can be seen in cities globally.
1) Urban rail
Several speeches have indicated the Turnbull government is agnostic about the modes of transport it favours. Turnbull has said:
Coalition governments have been very reluctant to fund rail, support rail, (they) prefer to support road. My government will support transport infrastructure regardless of its mode. It depends on what makes most sense. And the reality is it will be a mixture of both (road and rail).
What is left of the road package from the Abbott government is being supported. Rural communities will put up their hands for more roads. But Turnbull’s overwhelming message (his consistent personal stance for decades) is that he likes new urban rail systems. He wants a fast rail link to Sydney’s second airport when it opens.
Before he was prime minister, Turnbull said the Gold Coast Light Rail was his favourite in the world. There was not much doubt he would fund its small extension for the Commonwealth Games. Most significantly, it showed urban rail was back on the federal agenda.
Cities across the country have thus been gearing up to put urban rail back into their priority plans. This is not just an Australian phenomenon; cities worldwide are finding new rail technology helps them create 30-minute cities.
2) Urban density
Turnbull has stressed that rail projects enable density in activity centres across the city. He understands how infrastructure is needed for “an integrated investment that creates amenity, value, liveability, affordability and economic growth" and that “communities need smart, well-designed, walkable density”.
In other words, cities need infrastructure and redevelopment that create activity centres where people can live and work within 30 minutes by foot, cycle, bus, car or train/tram. This is the agenda for all our big cities. It has been a big agenda for all state governments in the past decade: the need for strong urban centres that can compete with other global cities for private capital and jobs.
“Walkable density” … I think we will hear that many more times. So how do we achieve that?
3) Urban land value capture
We need to find ways to fund urban rail and urban activity centres together. We need transit-oriented development, but so often we get transit without the land development, or density without the transit.
The secret seems to be combining government and business to do both as one package. The private sector is necessary – after all, it does the land development in cities – but the approach globally is now to seek ways to have the private sector build both the land development and the transit.
The new mantra is to fund the integrated agenda through urban land value capture. This makes use of the fact that when urban rail is built it increases land value around stations.
This agenda has yet to be fully explained. As NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley said:
Our governments need to spell out what … [they] are doing when they talk about value capture. Walk into any pet store in the nation and the resident budgerigar is squawking on about value capture.
<h2>Transforming how cities develop</h2>
The CUSP Entrepreneur Rail Model explains the concept and takes it further. It redefines the core players away from transport planners and suggests land-development expertise should lead the exercise of rail building.
This offers a focused approach for urban areas ripe for intensification. The model shows how governments can best capture the value created from higher densities around new rail stations in direct partnership with the rail builders.
Private land development expertise is needed to recognise where the potential exists for significant accessibility-based land value increase. Private bids can therefore create opportunities to directly fund the railway. If governments can’t enable this process, then you don’t get the rail or the land development – they depend on each other.
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure Transport and Cities has been taking submissions on:
The role of transport connectivity in stimulating infrastructure and economic activity.
Our submission on the Entrepreneur Rail Model prompted two hours of questioning. One questioner said:
Your paper is about the reconceptualisation of the role of government agencies.
He is right.
The committee’s questions left little doubt that there is a mood for change in how we build our cities. As Torkel Patterson, from Central Japan Railways Company, said at a recent Sydney rail conference:
It’s not transportation, it’s transformation that we need.
There is serious debate across Australia about this. Most state governments have little room for more capital spending and are under pressure to provide urban rail.
But the approach that provides money for transport projects at will – treating Treasury like an ATM, as Turnbull says – and isn’t integrated with the 30-minute city redevelopment agenda, is not what we need in our cities.
If cities want help with urban rail, they will need the private sector to provide much of the funding, with outcomes that create the 30-minute centres we desperately need. They can do this only if the states develop a mechanism that enables redevelopment opportunities, their activity centres, to be the basis of integrated rail and land development. This is not what states have been doing. They must begin now.
If the 30-minute city goal can indeed guide urban rail investment, then we can unlock the necessary dense activity centres. This is the holy grail of town planning. Such a model is used in Japan, so can we make an Australian model work?
Our leaders' speeches on the 30-minute city should be a signal for intense activity by federal, state and local government agencies as well as private sector firms. Government processes and consortia will need to gear up to deliver this emerging agenda.
Peter Newman is professor of Sustainability, Curtin University and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-newman-1858" target="_blank">here.</a>
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 ‘The 30-minute city’: how do we put the political rhetoric into practice?

Buyers considering a residence at boutique Gordon townhouse development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lume-gordon-43-47-dumaresq-street-gordon-nsw-2072">Lume</a>&nbsp;now have another reason to bring forward their decision.

For a limited time, purchasers of a residence at Lume will receive a BMW iX3 50 electric SUV, valued at more than $120,000, as part of their purchase. The offer is designed to add value for buyers while complementing the lifestyle envisioned for the architecturally designed Upper North Shore development.

Scott Timmins, Development Manager at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/winim">WINIM</a>, said the partnership was created to provide buyers with a compelling reason to act.

"In today's market, buyers need a compelling reason to act now, and the BMW partnership was designed to create that catalyst. We wanted to add genuine value for our future purchasers. Choosing the all-electric BMW iX3 50 also reflects the values behind LUME, forward-thinking design, innovation and a more sustainable way of living. It's a premium incentive that complements the lifestyle our buyers aspire to and rewards those who commit early."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374893]

Delivered by WINIM in partnership with Burtonwood Investment Partners, Lume comprises 14 architecturally designed two, three and four-bedroom townhomes created for families seeking the space of a freestanding house with the ease of modern, low-maintenance living.

The three-storey residences, designed by award-winning architecture practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, have been tailored for families and multi-generational living, featuring private internal lifts, flexible lower-level spaces, generous open-plan living and entertaining areas, media rooms, and landscaped outdoor spaces with custom outdoor kitchens.&nbsp;

Inside, engineered oak flooring, bespoke dining joinery with integrated wine fridges and backlit bars, sculptural porcelain bathrooms, Parisi freestanding baths and Astra Walker tapware create interiors that balance functionality with refined finishes.

Each townhome has been designed to combine generous internal spaces with sustainability initiatives such as EV charging infrastructure, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>'s landscaped communal areas, centred around a restored creek line and native planting, encourage residents to connect with nature and spend more time outdoors.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=269527]

Rothelowman's Gary Tsui said the architecture was conceived to respond carefully to its Upper North Shore setting.

"Our vision was to create elegant, uplifting homes that draw on and positively contribute to the local character through meticulously considered design and an interaction with the surroundings."

The communal landscape has been designed as more than an open space between homes. Arcadia's Ben Newell and Kate Phillips said the adjoining reserve provided an opportunity to create a distinctive natural retreat for residents.

"Just as waterways carve their way through Ku-ring-gai's landscape, a raised boardwalk weaves through the reserve, connecting the homes to this tranquil oasis."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374892]

Located just 300 metres from <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/gordon-nsw-2072">Gordon</a> Village and Gordon railway station, Lume offers convenient access to Sydney's CBD while placing residents close to some of the North Shore's leading schools, including Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College and Knox Grammar. Lane Cove National Park, Gordon Golf Club and a range of cafés and restaurants further reinforce the family-focused lifestyle on offer, with the BMW iX3 50 complementing everything from local trips around Gordon to weekend drives and city commutes.

Construction is underway with completion expected in mid-2027.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7354]

Joel Robinson

Boutique Gordon townhomes now come with a BMW iX3 50

Two apartments have sold for more than $10 million at EADE Byron Bay, setting some of the highest apartment prices ever achieved in the coastal town and underlining the growing appetite for luxury beachfront apartments in Australia's most popular coastal locations.

The $210 million project by Vitale Property Group has now secured more than $70 million in sales, led by residences that changed hands for $12.75 million and $11.75 million.

The record-breaking transactions reinforce the shift occurring in Byron Bay's premium property market, where affluent downsizers and lifestyle buyers are increasingly opting for high-end apartments over large beachfront homes.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/eade-byron-bay-29-shirley-street-byron-bay-nsw-2481">EADE Byron Bay</a> occupies a rare 6,000 sqm absolute beachfront site on the corner of Shirley and Milton Streets overlooking Main Beach and The Wreck surf break, just 350 metres from Byron Bay's town centre.

The 25-residence development is the first beachfront apartment project approved in Byron Bay in more than a decade and is currently under construction, with completion expected in May 2027.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359521]

The project has attracted a mix of local Byron Shire residents downsizing from larger homes, alongside interstate buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane seeking a permanent coastal lifestyle without compromising on space.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a> and with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/alexander-co">Alexander &amp; Co</a>, EADE comprises&nbsp;10 garden apartments ranging from 284 sqm to 622 sqm, nine with private pools, five full-floor apartments and 10 rooftop residences with private plunge pools, expansive outdoor entertaining areas and uninterrupted ocean views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359527]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/vitale-property-group">Vitale Property Group</a> Managing Partner Chris Vitale said the project's combination of scale, location and limited future supply was driving buyer demand.

"There isn't another beachfront holding in Byron Bay of this size and position that could be developed again," Vitale said.

"Buyers are responding to the scarcity and the irreplaceability of a site of this calibre and to floorplans they can't find elsewhere in the market.

"We are seeing buyers place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of the location. The sales achieved to date demonstrate that discerning purchasers recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay.

"Many are coming from larger homes in the Byron region, or from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are after the space, security and convenience, without the upkeep of a house."

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359523]

The Byron Bay project follows Vitale Property Group's delivery of the Mondrian Hotel and Private Residences at Burleigh Heads, with EADE continuing the developer's focus on luxury coastal developments.

Residents will have access to a resort-style swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, cold plunge pool, concierge services and dedicated workspaces, while the project is targeting an 8-Star Green Star rating.

EADE Byron Bay is being exclusively marketed by Projx Australia in conjunction with WHITEFOX Projects.

WHITEFOX National Projects Director Phillip Rand said demand had been driven predominantly by owner-occupiers.

"We are seeing buyers at EADE place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of this location," Rand says.

"The sales achieved to date demonstrate that purchasers at this level recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay."

Residences at EADE Byron Bay are currently priced between $4.75 million and $15.95 million.

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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145590]

Vitale breaks Byron Bay records with EADE sales flurry 

When buying an apartment, most people compare the big-ticket items first. Floorplans. Kitchens. Balcony size. Natural light. The view.

But there's one everyday consideration that often doesn't come up until after moving in: how parcels are delivered.

As online shopping has become part of everyday life, parcel deliveries have shifted from an occasional event to a regular occurrence. Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally.

For apartment residents, that can present a challenge.

If nobody is home to accept a delivery, parcels may be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in a building lobby or common area, or require building management to step in. In higher-density buildings, where dozens or even hundreds of residents may receive deliveries each day, parcel management has become an increasingly important part of everyday living.

That can create a range of frustrations. A missed delivery often means making time to collect a parcel elsewhere, while packages left unattended in foyers or mail areas can create clutter and increase the risk of theft. What seems like a minor inconvenience can quickly become a recurring issue for residents who shop online regularly.

It's one of those details that rarely features in a display suite but can have a noticeable impact once residents move in.

As a result, buyers are beginning to look beyond traditional apartment features and consider how a building supports day-to-day convenience, including whether there are secure options for receiving deliveries.

Australia Post's Parcel Lockers provide one solution.

<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/CkF2oKmlACg?si=C50sDaoUUn2nuLmq" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than having a parcel delivered directly to an apartment, eligible deliveries can be sent to a nominated Parcel Locker. Once the parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN at a time that suits them.

The Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with installations at Post Offices, shopping centres, transport hubs and an increasing number of residential developments. By providing a secure collection point, Parcel Lockers help reduce missed deliveries and avoid parcels being left unattended in common areas.

For developers, parcel infrastructure is becoming another way to improve the resident experience. Rather than relying on concierge staff or leaving parcels in communal spaces, secure collection points help streamline deliveries while preserving the presentation and functionality of shared areas.

For buyers, it's a reminder that the best apartment features aren't always the most obvious.

A generous floorplan or quality finishes might help narrow the shortlist, but the conveniences that simplify everyday life, whether that's EV charging, secure bike storage or reliable parcel delivery, often become the features residents appreciate most once they're living there.

The apartment feature many buyers don't think about, until their first missed delivery

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hg-developments">HG Developments</a> is doubling down on Maud Street in Newstead, filing plans for a new apartment tower just a few doors down from its under-construction Aire Newstead development.

Recently submitted to Brisbane City Council, the proposal is for an 18-storey building designed by bureau^proberts, which has drawn heavily on Brisbane's subtropical design principles while referencing the suburb's industrial heritage.

A total of 64 apartments are planned for the amalgamated 1,518 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-21-maud-street-newstead-qld-4006">17–21 Maud Street</a>, a short walk from the Brisbane River and Newstead Riverwalk.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a400c7fd-bd15-48f8-a63b-10ede92efe00" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20bldg.png?VersionId=.0vPmjpbC7CNP7kqGWa6L7rGIwsNExaw" />

"The building is defined by a series of vaulted motifs that reinterpret the arches, colonnades and layered facades evident throughout Newstead's historic built fabric," the Urban Design Report states.

"Combined with recessed glazing and generous balconies, these elements create a layered building envelope that provides shade, weather protection and opportunities for natural ventilation whilst establishing a distinctive architectural identity."

The proposal comprises 64 two, three and four-bedroom apartments across 18 residential levels, positioning it alongside a growing number of taller residential projects transforming Newstead's northern precinct. The tower incorporates extensive subtropical landscaping, with cascading planter boxes, deep planting at street level and a landscaped rooftop recreation area.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1d8140f4-8b98-45cd-b1b8-1efe8c8e266b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=VAZtbCoD44YCJ57N99fQCAKeSJx7ldZs" />

Bureau Proberts has prioritised passive environmental design throughout the project, with generous balconies, recessed glazing and operable façades helping reduce solar heat gain while maximising natural ventilation. River views become available from the upper levels, while the building has been orientated to capture prevailing breezes from both the Brisbane River and the west.

The architects say landscape is intended to be integral to the building rather than an applied element.

"Vertical greenery, cascading planter boxes and elevated gardens are woven throughout the architecture, softening the built form and strengthening the connection between residents and the subtropical environment."

"Through the integration of landscape, high-quality materials and passive design principles, the development delivers a refined residential address that celebrates Newstead's heritage character while contributing positively to Brisbane's evolving subtropical identity."

Newstead has remained one of Brisbane's most active apartment markets in recent years, with a number of developers continuing to back the inner-city suburb.

HG Developments is currently delivering the 40-apartment Aire Newstead at 25 Maud Street. Fortis recently launched the 65-apartment <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> on Kyabra Street, while builder-developer BPG and Don O'Rorke's Consolidated Properties are both expected to launch their respective Newstead projects before the end of the year.

HG Developments doubles down in Newstead with second Maud Street apartment development

Walk past a new apartment development promoting its sustainability credentials and it's easy to picture rooftop gardens, mature trees, landscaped courtyards and residents surrounded by nature.

But in many cases, that's not actually what those sustainability ratings guarantee.

Australia's leading environmental rating tools have played a significant role in improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of buildings. Yet despite their focus on reducing emissions, many don't require developers to include trees, biodiversity or meaningful green space.

In other words, a building can achieve one of the country's highest sustainability ratings while containing little more than concrete, glass and hard landscaping.

That disconnect has led to the emergence of a new movement across Australia's property industry: nature-based cities.

The concept goes beyond designing buildings that consume less energy. Instead, it encourages developers to treat nature as essential infrastructure, integrating biodiversity, tree canopy, living landscapes and green spaces into projects from the earliest stages of planning.

Research has consistently linked access to nature with better physical and mental health, cooler neighbourhoods, improved biodiversity, stronger climate resilience and more connected communities. As Australia's cities continue to become denser, advocates say those outcomes should be considered just as important as energy efficiency.

Nature Based Cities (NBC) was established in 2022 to help accelerate that shift.

Founded by Hamton Executive Chairman Paul Hameister OAM, the not-for-profit was created after research highlighted a significant gap in Australia's sustainability framework. While existing environmental rating tools rewarded energy performance and emissions reductions, they placed little emphasis on the inclusion of living landscapes.

"We've always wanted to do more, and we know other developers who want to do more, but the ESD rating tools just aren't there," Hameister says.

"In Australia, you can have a five-green-star rated building that's concrete and glass with not a blade of grass.

"The focus is on reducing emissions, which is laudable, but there hasn't been enough attention paid to protecting and re-establishing nature. We need both for the health of the environment and for communities."

Since its launch, NBC has developed independent design guidelines and accreditation frameworks that encourage developers to prioritise ecology, biodiversity, tree canopy, walkability and living landscapes alongside traditional sustainability measures. The organisation first focused on medium and high-density residential developments before recently expanding into precinct-scale communities and masterplanned neighbourhoods.

Jan Talacko, founder of sustainability consultancy Ark Resources and a member of the Nature Based Cities Advisory Council, says the initiative addresses an area that has largely been overlooked by the property industry.

"Throughout my 25 years of working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the property sector, I've always favoured a pragmatic approach to sustainable design which encourages initiatives that not only meet environmental expectations but also improve amenity," Talacko says.

"Whilst we are making steady progress in relation to energy and carbon emissions from buildings, there has been much less emphasis on encouraging biodiversity and tackling the urban heat island effect.

"The Nature Based Cities initiative responds to a gap in the suite of tools currently used by the property development sector, which don't provide sufficient incentive, or recognition, for the integration of landscaping and greenery."

For apartment buyers, the shift is also changing the questions worth asking.

Rather than assuming a sustainable building will naturally include abundant green space, buyers are increasingly being encouraged to look beyond environmental ratings and ask what nature is actually being delivered. How much tree canopy will the development create? Has biodiversity been considered? Are landscaped spaces designed for people as well as appearance?

As Australia's cities continue to grow upwards and outwards, the next generation of sustainability may not simply be measured by lower emissions, but by how successfully developments bring nature back into everyday urban life.

Jonathan Chancellor

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