<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

James Magnusson relists in Ryde

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Red Lion Hotel residence, Windsor fetches $4.85 million

<html><body><div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
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.
</div></body></html>

Historic Doogallook, Terangaville and Eaglehawk farms for sale at Yea

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Esmeralda, Queensland farm sells

<html><body>
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>.
</body></html>

Property 101: The state of the NBN

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Super Saturday success, but cracks emerge in outer Sydney

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Killara's Ballernoo sold for Sydney upper north shore record $12 million 

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Footballers star in Super Saturday auction success

<html><body>
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.
</body></html>

Juwai.com to float

<html><body>
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>
</body></html>

 ‘The 30-minute city’: how do we put the political rhetoric into practice?

An entity directed by HSN's Rafi Assouline and Rebel Property's Allen Linz has filed plans for an impressive new precinct in Woolloomooloo.

The major mixed-use development would transform a prominent William Street site into a new residential village anchored by affordable housing and a large public park.

The proposal, submitted as a State Significant Development Application, covers 164-172 and 174-194 William Street, a 6,398 sqm site between Forbes Street and Dowling Street on the southern edge of Woolloomooloo.

Designed by fjcstudio in collaboration with Bangawarra, Studio Bright and Tribe Studio Architects, the scheme would deliver 227 apartments across four residential buildings ranging in height up to 18 storeys, alongside retail space, public domain improvements and a new publicly accessible park.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0eb59b7c-914a-4a5c-b849-3a56749f5e93" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.18.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=mxM6EEqeoLjrCiTlCzTKTvzpKuh6kSkH" />

It's another design scheme for Rebel, who took <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-rebel-property-group-takes-woolloomooloo-precinct-to-nsw-government">concept plans to the NSW Gov late last year</a>.

The latest plans will be a mix of 167 build-to-sell apartments and 60 affordable apartments, with the affordable housing component representing 15 per cent of the project's gross floor area. The apartment mix includes 12 one-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom, 89 three-bedroom apartments and 13 penthouses, while the affordable housing component would comprise 42 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b3d4553-8a8c-4af5-aa8c-519ffb1e28c6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.12%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=_Yb6ibN7eDnOtQjCNDK2eviORa4qzgv." />

Rebel Property is seeking to take advantage of the NSW Government's infill affordable housing bonus provisions under the Housing SEPP, which provide additional floor space and height in exchange for the delivery of affordable housing for a minimum of 15 years. The planning pathway allows a 30 per cent increase in floor space ratio and building height where 15 per cent of the development is dedicated to affordable housing.

&nbsp;

At the centre of the development is a 1,356 sqm sunlit public park designed to become a new community gathering space at the gateway to Woolloomooloo. The park would be complemented by a network of pedestrian laneways connecting William Street with the surrounding streets, improving permeability through what is currently a largely impermeable block.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="257af931-a393-4007-8c6d-7219796df58d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=KAHy94GrhaReFsWTGDKfy39EDJ8gEEv4" />

The design team says the public domain has been heavily influenced by the site's topography and Aboriginal cultural heritage, drawing on the escarpments, gullies and landscape characteristics that historically defined the area before urbanisation. The landscape design has been developed in partnership with First Nations consultancy Bangawarra.

The project would be delivered across four separate buildings. The William Street East and William Street West buildings, designed by fjcstudio, would contain the majority of the apartments. Melbourne-based Studio Bright has designed the Forbes Street building, while Tribe Studio Architects is responsible for the Dowling Street building.

Rebel had secured approval for the concept plans late last year.

Joel Robinson

First look: HSN, Rebel, advances Woolloomooloo precinct plans

A locally heritage-listed furniture showroom on Water Street is set to become the centrepiece of a new mixed-use residential development as local developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/keylin-group">Keylin</a> seeks approval for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/lotus-on-water-street-290-water-street-fortitude-valley-qld-4006">Lotus on Water Street</a>, a 15-storey project on the Fortitude Valley side of Spring Hill.

The proposal spans 290 Water Street and 137-141 Warry Street, combining several properties into a 2,869 sqm site that sits between Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and the rapidly evolving Victoria Park precinct. Keylin's plans would deliver 132 apartments alongside new retail, hospitality and commercial space, while retaining and repurposing the historic Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom that fronts Water Street.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/jackson-teece">Jackson Teece</a>, Lotus on Water Street comprises a 12-storey residential tower rising above a three-storey podium and communal rooftop terrace. The development includes 76 apartments classified as multiple dwellings and a further 56 units proposed as short-term accommodation, designed to be flexibly used as either accommodation or permanent residences. The apartment mix comprises six one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom homes.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9822bb79-6c49-49c9-95ba-319e8c8d81c3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20front.png?VersionId=ioW8zbN4UVebbLetTFuv92t.HkdgfR5e" />

Residents would have access to an extensive rooftop recreation level spanning more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space. Plans include a pool, gym, sauna, infrared sauna, yoga area, library, private dining room, barbecue facilities and landscaped entertainment spaces, making the rooftop the project's largest shared amenity offering.

At street level, the proposal focuses on the adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings along Water Street, where 518 sqm of retail and commercial space is planned across shop, office and food and drink outlet uses. A permeable residential lobby would be positioned between the retained heritage buildings, creating a pedestrian connection between the historic streetscape and the new tower behind.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="269cf3e0-7d13-48bf-a318-05a00deb5c10" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20podium.png?VersionId=DLXmTCLsp6GOcLpQ0h.0z7wKCw59EhN_" />

The heritage retention strategy is central to the scheme. The development application notes that the Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom and adjoining heritage buildings will remain, with only non-significant structures on the site earmarked for removal under a previously issued Heritage Exemption Certificate. Levels one and two of the new podium are recessed behind the heritage façades to maintain their prominence within the streetscape.

Jackson Teece has drawn inspiration from the site's manufacturing history when designing the podium. The planning documents state that the façade incorporates perforated metal screening that references the woven and rattan furniture historically produced on the site. Cascading and climbing plants are integrated throughout the podium to soften the building's presentation and screen parking levels behind. The landscape strategy also informs the project's name, Lotus on Water Street, drawing on the historic Spring Hollow waterholes that once ran through Spring Hill and the blue water lilies associated with Meeanjin, Brisbane's traditional name.

The proposal also incorporates the neighbouring property at 141 Warry Street, currently occupied by a healthcare service. The existing building would remain, with nine dedicated parking spaces allocated within the new development to support its ongoing operation. In total, Lotus on Water Street proposes 117 car spaces, including 110 resident spaces and seven visitor bays, alongside 100 bicycle spaces.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="70cf07bc-4fd8-4e70-92dd-be8b21c4e4f0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20site.png?VersionId=txlxrJImM0Sm_vTzHVKh5DDUkyL_CiiA" />

The site sits within the Spring Hill East Precinct of the Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan and is positioned around 650 metres from both Fortitude Valley Station and Exhibition Station. It is also within walking distance of the King Street precinct, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston Quarter and Victoria Park, which is earmarked to become a major venue precinct ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Planning documents describe the location as a key gateway between Spring Hill and Fortitude Valley and highlight the area's increasing importance as new transport infrastructure and Olympic-related investment reshape Brisbane's inner north. The development team argues the project will contribute additional housing supply while activating a section of Water Street that has historically received less investment than other parts of the Valley.

Keylin has become increasingly active across Brisbane and southeast Queensland, assembling sites in strategic inner-city locations. They are currently selling and delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/oria-spring-hill-447-gregory-terrace-spring-hill-qld-4000">Oria Spring Hill</a>, just over 140 apartments due for completion in 2027.

Keylin plans heritage-led Lotus on Water Street apartment development in Fortitude Valley

Roseville is poised for a wave of new apartment development following the NSW Government's rezoning of land around Roseville Station under its Transport Oriented Development program.

The new planning controls have unlocked significant development potential within walking distance of the station, with a number of sites expected to be amalgamated and redeveloped in the coming years as developers seek to take advantage of the increased density allowances.

One of the more restrained developments in the precinct, and set among the first to be delivered having commenced well before the recent changes, is Hyecorp's Juliet. The boutique apartment project is already well under construction and remains on track to welcome residents by the end of the year, offering a markedly different proposition to many of the larger-scale developments now likely to emerge across the suburb.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278194]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet</a> will comprise just&nbsp;34 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments opposite Roseville Station. For Hyecorp, which has delivered projects across Sydney's Lower North Shore for more than three decades, Roseville presented a rare opportunity to address a growing gap in the market.

"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/roseville-nsw-2069">Roseville</a> has long been one of the North Shore's most tightly held and desirable suburbs, offering a unique combination of village charm, established greenery, excellent transport connections, and proximity to some of Sydney's best schools and lifestyle amenities," Hyecorp said.

"We recognised a growing demand from local homeowners seeking to downsize without leaving the community they have built their lives around. The location presented a rare opportunity to create homes that cater specifically to that buyer profile."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278196]

The six-level development has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pbd-architects">PBD Architects</a> as a collection of residences that feel more like homes than apartments. The brief centred generous floorplans, abundant natural light, quality finishes, and strong connections to outdoor space.

PBD Architects drew inspiration from Roseville's established garden suburb character, creating a building that sits comfortably within its surroundings rather than dominating them. The architecture incorporates natural materials, soft forms, layered landscaping, expansive balconies, and generous setbacks to strengthen the connection between residents and the suburb's leafy environment.

"The focus was on designing spacious, house-like residences for discerning owner-occupiers and downsizers who wanted to remain on the North Shore without compromising on comfort, privacy, or design," PBD said.&nbsp;

"Every apartment was to feel considered, timeless, and highly functional."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278195]

Inside, residences feature engineered timber flooring, stone kitchen benchtops and splashbacks, integrated Fisher &amp; Paykel appliances, ducted air conditioning, and large outdoor entertaining areas designed to take advantage of district and treetop views.

Residents will also have access to a rooftop barbecue and lounge area, alongside practical amenities including parcel lockers, EV charging capability, bicycle storage, a dog wash bay, and a basement car wash facility.

The majority of purchasers so far have been local owner-occupiers from Roseville, Lindfield, Chatswood, Killara, and the broader Upper North Shore, many of whom are transitioning from larger family homes.

"Buyers are looking for spacious, house-like apartments that allow them to downsize without feeling like they are sacrificing comfort or functionality," Hyecorp noted.

"They value large kitchens, generous living areas, ample storage, quality finishes, secure parking, lift access, and low-maintenance living."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278204]

Juliet sits directly opposite Roseville Train Station and within walking distance of Roseville Village, while Chatswood's retail and dining precinct is only minutes away. The development is also surrounded by some of Sydney's most established schools, including Roseville College, Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College, and Knox Grammar, as well as nearby parklands and golf courses.

Juliet is currently more than 75 per cent sold ahead of its anticipated completion in late 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7395]

Juliet to sit quietly amid Roseville apartment boom

Sherpa Property Group has unveiled the third instalment of its Flourish series, securing full approval for the two-tower, $500 million Flourish Soleira development in Palm Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-1150-1154-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> will rise from a prominent site in the commercial heart of Palm Beach, the long-time home of Cash Converters and a range of local retailers.

The project will introduce a new retail and dining precinct at ground level, beneath 286 apartments.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370959]

“We’re very committed to not only providing affordable residential offerings that are much needed in Palm Beach, but also delivering a vibrant new commercial heart that complements the extraordinary growth of the southern Gold Coast,” Sherpa Property Group founder Christie Leet said.

The development will sit under Sherpa's Flourish brand, which is aimed at providing a pathway into the beachside suburb for locals, first-home buyers and downsizers. In a move designed to assist first-home buyers entering the market, Sherpa has reserved all one and two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments exclusively for eligible first-home buyers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370964]

“Our vision through Flourish is to create a vibrant retail and lifestyle focal point within the Palm Beach centre zone, delivering thriving communities underpinned by lifestyle-rich locations,” Leet said.

“So far, Flourish has been an incredible success, and we hope to carry this momentum as we progress the next two Flourish projects in Palm Beach.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=371430]

Located across 1150-1164 Gold Coast Highway and 3 Sixth Avenue, the development will comprise two towers. The northern tower will deliver 154 apartments, while the southern tower will add a further 132 residences, helping address ongoing demand for new apartments in the tightly held coastal suburb.

Flourish Soleira will also feature the most extensive rooftop amenity offering ever delivered in Palm Beach.

The two towers will be connected by a skybridge, with residents gaining access to a rooftop recreation deck featuring a full-width swimming pool, hot and cold plunge pools, wellness spaces, a gymnasium, private dining facilities, massage treatment rooms, barbecue areas, a basketball court, golf simulator, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, sun lounges and extensive landscaping.

LPS Group is expected to start construction later this year.

Sherpa is already well advanced on construction of its debut Flourish project, Flourish Amargo, located just around the corner from Soleira. Meanwhile, Flourish Oasis, positioned opposite Amargo, recently commenced construction and has nearly sold out its collection of 47 apartments.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa unveils $500m mixed-use Palm Beach precinct, Flourish Soleira

Are mortgage holders set to get a reprieve from the RBA in 2026?

Big Four bank NAB believes so. They are now expecting the next move from the RBA to be a cut, rather than a hike, which they had pencilled in for August. They are unsure of the timing of the cut however, they note in their latest&nbsp;NAB Economics RBA Watch.

NAB Chief Economist, Dr Sally Auld, said recent data suggests the economy has lost momentum and the outlook for rates has shifted, noting that the broader economic backdrop has changed since earlier in the year.

“The next move in the cash rate is likely to be down, but the timing is uncertain," Dr Auld said.

"In February, growth was above trend, the economy was operating above capacity and there was uncertainty over the restrictiveness of rates. None of these conditions exist today,” she outlined.

Dr Auld said recent data pointed to softer momentum across the economy while acknowledging that at the same time, uncertainty remains a key feature of the outlook.

“Both Q1 GDP data and the NAB business survey suggest momentum in the economy has slowed, meaning that growth has likely peaked for the cycle. That said, we are cognisant there is still considerable uncertainty around the outlook, both with respect to activity and inflation.”

Dr Auld said inflation risks and labour market outcomes would be important to watch.

“On the prices side, we are still forecasting above target core inflation through to mid-2027. Margins will compress and weaker labour market outcomes are a risk.”

She said tighter financial conditions are expected to weigh on housing and activity.

“Tighter financial conditions will be reflected in a slowing in house price growth and housing credit growth. In summary, we have greater conviction that the next move in rates is down, but less conviction on the timing.”

Jonathan Chancellor

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News