<html><body>
Gav and Waz, one of the competing couples in the first series of Channel Nine’s The Block back in 2003, are coming back to the city from the Byron Bay hinterland.
Title Tattle gleans they have spent about $2.25 million on a poolside Potts Point apartment.
It had to be ground floor garden given their dog, Charlie is a priority. The Richardson and Wrench agent Jason Boon showed them the ground-floor apartment in Rockwall Gardens, which was then sold by the architect Deece Giles.The Jack Russell had apparently been in residence round the corner at the Diamant Hotel since they all left the 23 hectare farm.
The Designer Boys <a href="/news/nsw/designer-boys-gav-and-waz-list-charltons-their-byron-bay-hinterland-retreat-at-3-1-million-plus">recently sold Charltons</a>, through Nicolette van Wijngaarden at Unique Estates for $3 million to the Garnham family of Watsons Bay. It was a 120 year old farmhouse on a hillside block (pictured above), which they bought in 2007 for $610,000.
<img src="/images/stories/flagtitletat.jpg" alt="flagtitletat" width="25" height="34" style="font-size: 14px; margin: 5px; float: left;">
Meanwhile Dan Reilly and Dani Wales have secured $429,500 for their one-bedroom Ark, Richmond apartment which they moved into while debuting on The Block in 2012 renovating terraces in South Melbourne.
The reality TV celebrity couple - with the twitter handle <a href="https://twitter.com/DaniandDan" target="_blank">@DaniandDan</a> - had it listed through <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-richmond-115965119" target="_blank">Justine Harris of Hocking Stuart</a> with a $439,000 asking price.
They paid $420,000 off the plan in late 2010, settling in late 2011, just before they moved into the derelict Cameron Street, Richmond Block set.
Melbourne unit prices have recently come in at a $448,000 median, according to the latest RP Data-Rismark index with prices up 8.9% across Melbourne just in the past year. The RP Data median unit price in 2011 was around $424,000.
Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, the 114/253 Bridge Road apartment has open-plan living and dining along with an outdoor entertaining area.
<img src="/images/2014/04/04/richmond%20april%203%20one.jpg" alt="">
The current <a href="/news">Richmond</a> median unit price is around $522,500, up 3% over the past year. <a href="https://mail.privatemedia.com.au/owa/14.3.174.1/scripts/premium/UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank">There was a $525,000 median peak in 2011</a>.
Dani Wales runs the online magazine <a href="https://mail.privatemedia.com.au/owa/14.3.174.1/scripts/premium/redir.aspx?C=Zypvoq-Ft0-Zo--uD2WkVVUBMIcZI9EIgvcF3B5QsaRmMoZQ3xffbBvdZwi7mrZ-nA6Kk5sm-Ps.&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fthehome-journal.com%2f" target="_blank">The Home Journal</a>.
Dan Reilly works as a carpenter while studying to be a builder.
They bought a 114-year-old property in Seddon <a href="https://mail.privatemedia.com.au/owa/14.3.174.1/scripts/premium/UrlBlockedError.aspx" target="_blank" title="UrlBlockedError.aspx
Cmd+Click to follow link">in May last year</a> which needs renovating. It was secured for around $460,000 which was less than its previous $480,000 purchase in 2009.
<img src="/images/stories/flagtitletat.jpg" alt="flagtitletat" width="25" height="34">The filming of the next Block series in <a href="/news">Prahran</a> has begun. Title Tattle gleans there's a mystery former professional sports star among the contestants who are installing apartments in <a href="/news/the-block-shifting-to-high-street-prahran-after-objectors-fail-to-lodge-vcat-appeal">a former High Street office complex</a>.
<img src="/images/stories/flagtitletat.jpg" alt="flagtitletat" width="25" height="34">An apartment that took second place in the 2004 series of The Block goes to auction this month in <a href="/news">Manly</a>. It is the second time the two-bedroom pad in Manly has traded since it sold for $872,000 in front of the cameras on behalf of renovators Jason and Kirsten Johnson. Title Tattle recalls all four of the Whistler Street units sold after renovation for silly prices.
This apartment last sold at $882,000 in 2008, so it went up $10,000 in the first four years following its renovation. 
It's now a decade later and Chris Boys, director of strategy and solutions at Dun and Bradstreet, has hopes of more than $1 million. That's around 2% growth over the past six years. 
The Whistler Street block of four was the location for the second series of the popular TV show, won by Andrew Rochford and Jamie Nicholson. Now coming with updated finishes, the garden apartment goes to auction on April 12 through Jason Pantzer, of Philips Pantzer Donnelley.
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Gav and Waz from the Block spend $2.25 million on Potts Point apartment

<html><body>
Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan has spent $2.3 million on a contemporary five-bedroom house in Caringbah South.
The architecturally designed property overlooking Burraneer Bay was built on a 977 square metre block that traded for $1 million in 2008.
It sold through John Schwarzer, of Highland Property Agents, with auctioneer Damien Cooley taking a $2.2 opening bid last Monday.
Title Tattle recalls the house had been initially listed for 2011 auction without success, then relisted in March last year with $2 million plus hopes.
Flanagan, who also signed on with the club this week for another three years, has been suspended by the NRL following the ASADA investigation for its part in the 2011 supplements scandal.
Flanagan took over the lead coaching role from Ricky Stuart who after quitting the Parramatta Eels is now with the Canberra Raiders.
</body></html>

Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan spends $2.3 million in Caringbah South

<html><body>
Lazy K, with its replica of the ancient landmark Stonehenge, has been listed with a $5 million asking price in Western Australia’s Esperance.
Kim and Jillian Beale added the landmark in 2010 to their 430 hectare property.
The stones were quarried just across the road from the property.
The part-time celebrant and semi-retired farmers are set to become grey nomads, so the tourist attraction which has been seen by more than 25,000 visitors, has been listed for sale.
There are reportedly 66 replicas across the world of the original Stonehenge located on Salisbury Plain, England which draws more than a million visitors annually in England.
The Esperance monument used 1,200 cubic metres of Desert Brown granite in the 137 granite standing stones. The largest stones are 7 metres high and weigh around 58 tons.
<a href="https://www.eldersrealestate.com.au/office/esperance/rural/buy/property-grazing-wa-esperance-557423" target="_blank">Rob Johnstone of Elders has the listing</a>.
It comes with modern homestead is situated on the old coastal escarpment, with views to the ocean, Nature Park below, and the township of Esperance to the west.
Around 400 breeder cattle are carried on the property.
</body></html>

Esperance WA's Stonehenge replica for sale

<html><body>
There's 845 houses and units up for auction across Sydney this weekend.
But the pre-Easter crescendo will be a record 1,087 offerings on Saturday week, 12 April by Sydney vendors.
Australian Property Monitors research analyst Clinton McNabb has advised that this weekend's 845 offerings is some 88% higher than the same weekend last year. And next week's tally is 190% up!
The last Sydney record auction bonanza was the 970 offering on 14 December in the lead up to Christmas 2013.
So it will the busiest Sydney Saturday on record, with official records being compiled since Australian Property Monitors started keeping the data in the late 1980s when Sydney was only just beginning to take a shine to onsite auction with the lead from the trend setter Andrew Gibbons agency.
The long mooted possibility that Sydney will break the 1,000 auction barrier for the first time comes at a time when auction clearance rates remain at very strong levels on the back of buyer demand.
The initial Saturday figures from APM have been running at 80% for nine consecutive weeks, but typically revised down to a worthy 75% to 77% range after final results have been tallied.
Melbourne has 1,010 auctions this weekend according to APM, with 1,240 on 12 April. Last Saturday was its third above 1,000 this year, so that's no news for them.
And late last year Melbourne had three consecutive weekends with auction numbers over 1,300 from 30 November to 14 December.
It's not just auction activity, but the normally slower private treaty is turning over nicely nationally across the capital cities especially. 
While the resource-rich areas may have come off their peak, transaction numbers were still strong according to Ray White chairman Brian White whose offices exchanged contracts during March of a record $3.1 billion. Craig Pontey tells me from Ray White Double Bay that his office sold $119 million of it. 
Interestingly while much of the headline buzz has been around Sydney, Brian White noted Melbourne's upwards trajectory, with little correction since the 2009-2010 peaks, which was evident when RP Data-Rismark's latest figures came out earlier this week.
But every time the market builds up and then has time to pause comes with it the potential of a shift in market sentiment, either slowing or picking up.
I forecast the 2013-2014 Christmas break could trigger a market sentiment cooling - that was that house prices would rise at around half last year's 15% escalation - but I have to admit there's been no stopping the momentum from the early February offerings through to Easter.
Of course not all sales are stellar and some are still below where they were three or four years ago, but certainly there has been a remarkable increase in confidence and buying activity. So many auction reports of disappointed registered underbidders after interest rate cuts jet-fuelled the market that had been somewhat in hibernation following the global financial crisis.
Dr Andrew Wilson, the senior economist for Australian Property Monitors who was among the leading bullish forecasters over recent years when the market was full of naysayers, forecast 2014 price growth in Sydney would be about half last year with the bulk of it will happening in the first six months.
The most bullish convert was SQM Research's managing director Louis Christopher whose predictions was for price rises in Sydney of 15 to 20% and national increases.
So whatever the level of price growth, there's not much on the horizon to send prices backwards. Higher unemployment hasn't hurt yet.
Harry Triguboff says apartment prices in some areas <a href="/expert-insights/buying/prices-will-fall-if-chinese-buyers-withdraw-warns-harry-triguboff">would fall 10% to 15% if Chinese buyers stopped</a>.
Though I'd suggest not in the insular Sutherland Shire where former rugby league footballer and media personality <a href="/expert-insights/buying/one-saturday-in-sydney-s-south-one-development-80-million-of-sales">Darryl Brohman joined the weekend scrum purchasing </a><a href="/expert-insights/buying/one-saturday-in-sydney-s-south-one-development-80-million-of-sales">in Woolooware Bay</a>, the complex developed by Bluestone on land owned by the Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club.
It sold another $80 million worth of property on Saturday - with prices ranging from $485,000 for a one-bedroom, from $700,000 for a two-bedroom and from $1.01M for a three-bedroom apartment - following its successful exchange of over $100  million of property within eight hours at the beginning of February through Colliers. 
Of course something might always emerge from left field.
Indeed Rod Cornish, a division director of Macquarie Capital and a long-time follower of property cycles, told the AFR's Robert Harley today that "until we see rates rise to a tipping point level, we don’t see a downturn in prices.”
“We will get that, but I don’t think that is a 2014 story. We will not see the tipping point till 2015 or 2016,” Cornish estimates.
And for those who want something to do Easter Saturday, rather than suffer withdrawal symptoms?
Well there's the auction of the landmark Point Lonsdale cottage, Samarai, one of the most charming beachfront reserve property’s along the Victorian Coast.
Imagine all the sea changers who love the 1998 ABC series who will be wanting to snap it up.
The Ramsay family's Edwardian home (pictured below) is set on 1,100 square metres, last sold in the mid-1980s I seem to recollect when bought from the Wortley's for around $240,000. 
It's been offered <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/149-point-lonsdale-road-point-lonsdale/Property-Details-buy-residential-6827429" target="_blank">through Damian Cayzer at Kerleys Coastal Real Estate</a> who could easily expect $3.5 million plus.
<img src="/images/2014/04/03/point%20lonsdale%20april%203.jpg" alt="">
</body></html>

Pre-Easter auctions to crack the 1,000 Super Saturday offerings for first time in both Sydney and Melbourne

<html><body>
Ballarat's Lal Lal Estate, a 2,000-hectare merino wool property owned by the Fisken family for six generations, is being sold to the Chinese wool buying company, Tianyu.
The 168-year-old property, east of Ballarat, comes with 100 year old Edwardian homestead and granite stables built in 1858.
Tianyu was credited in 2009 as having the largest plant in China with annual wool scouring capacity of 27,000 tons and annual production of 12,000 tons of Australian wool tops. 
It's been sold by Geoff Fisken, the Wool Producers Australia (WPA) president.
Six generations ago Archibald Fisken was eleven when he arrived in Victoria from Scotland with his parents and uncle and aunt in the 1830s. Young Archibald’s father, also Archibald, brought a prefabricated iron house and 40 casks of oatmeal with him. He built the house at the top of Lonsdale Street. Archibald’s uncle, Peter Inglis, didn’t stay in Melbourne instead choosing to settle on a property he called Ingliston at Ballan on the Werribee River.
 Young Archibald went to live with his uncle and aunt and was tutored on the property. At the age of 19 Archibald was put in charge of the property which stretched all the way to Ballarat with what would become the Lal Lal property forming part of it. Archibald was thirty before he married, a sixteen year old named Charlotte McNamara from Sydney. A competent farmer by now his uncle gave him Lal Lal providing he never put his name on a promissory note. They lived in a small stone house on a lower section of the property.  Archibald and Charlotte had a son they called Archibald James who also worked on the property. 
<a href="https://www.ballarat.com/lal-lal-estate/index.htm" target="_blank">The family website</a> shows he married May Wanliss and it was Archibald James and May who built the present homestead in 1911.
Lal Lal is an Aboriginal name for water.
They had one child who was called Archibald Clyde Wanliss Fisken. He married Elspeth Cameron from Tasmania and they had four children, the first being name Archibald John. Archibald Clyde was educated at Geelong Grammar, then went to England and joined the Royal Artillery in World War I and awarded a Military Cross for bravery in France. He became the federal member for Ballarat and served one term. He was chairman of the Australian Meat Board for 10 years, served on Buninyong Shire Council and died in 1970 Archibald John met Patricia Falkiner and married in Melbourne in 1951 and lived at Lal Lal, they had four children David, Rena, Geoff and Anita. John managed the property until his death in 1989.  John and Patricia’s son Geoff now runs the Yendon property. He has been the Wool Producers Australia (WPA) president. The property runs cattle and 13,000 merino sheep and grows cereal and oilseed crops. Lal Lal Estate was also available for functions, conferences,media advertising, location photographic shoots and car rallies.
Tianyu’s Australian head of operations Peter Carey confirmed the company’s purchase to the local paper this week.
</body></html>

Ballarat's Lal Lal Edwardian homestead estate sold to Chinese wool buyers, Tianyu

<html><body>
Last spring's trophy listing on the upper north shore, Kooyong at Warrawee sold with the settlement price showing at $7.85 million through Christies International agent Darren Curtis.
Kooyong (pictured above) is the historic Warrawee mansion on 9,000 square metres that last traded for $6.35 million in late 2008 when bought by the chief financial officer of Sirius Minerals, Jason Murray, and his wife, Danni.
It has been bought by the Hitchcock-Gransier family who sold through LJ Hooker's Robert Ward for $4.1 million in Lindfield late last year, but who still own at Dee Why. It's Francois Hitchcock and Jackie Gransier.
Kooyong is estimated as still ranking as the area's largest estates, and unquestionably one of its most historically significant properties given<a href="https://radicalterrace.com/post/30809445267/kooyong-55-hastings-road-warrawee-sulman" target="_blank"> the 1895 mansion was designed by architect Sir John Sulman</a>. Kooyong, originally named Upton Grey, was built for the prominent flour milling industrialist Gillespie family, who lived there until 1917 when the property sold to William Henry Locke, the general manager of Royal Exchange Assurance of London, who renamed it Kooyong.
The sale is not however a suburb record which has stood as $11.5 million since 2010 when mining magnate Jerry Ren bought Bremon, the mansion once known as Pantugeul. Ren is the controlling shareholder in the privately owned Australian Oil and Gas, which has mining rights over close to 300,000 square kilometres - nearly a fifth of the Northern Territory. 
But Title Tattle is now aware there has apparently been a new suburb record in neighbouring Wahroonga of about $9.2 million. It's a house that likewise has had a name change over the years.
It's <a href="https://www.ourestates.com.au/properties.php?id=9394153" target="_blank">Wairimu the 1927 five-bedroom, 3228-square-metre Water Street home</a> (pictured below) with tennis court and pool. It was sold by the veteran expatriate television executive Steve Askew and his wife, Cressida after being listed for two years with $11 million hopes presumably on top of it having an amazing - and befitting - home cinema.
Our Estates agent Adam Regan secured the sale of the six-bedroom property with the buyer being a senior executive from an accounting firm in China.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/02/1.jpg" alt="">
The Wahroonga estate previously had traded in 2007 for $5.2 million, when it was bought some 18 months after its listing by the hotelier Courtney-O'Connor family.
It had traded in 1991 when the Courtney-O'Connor family bought it for $2.5 million.
Property Observer columnist Margie Blok says she knew the property originally as the Penman Residence, designed by Hugh Venables Vernon. It's also been known as Broadlands. And the Wairimu name stems from "wai" meaning "by the water" in Maori and rimu is a New Zealand tree.
The veteran television executive Askew was chief operating officer for News Corp Star TV in Asia, then turning his craft to co-producing movies with Jackie Chan and Andy Lau. The latest Wahroonga sale bettered a late 2013 spring sale on Burns Road through Christies agent Darren Curtis which briefly held the suburb record at $7.5 million.
In 1928, Locke sold Kooyong to barrister Horace Markell, QC, who owned it until the late 1940s when the Australian federal government bought it for the Department of Social Services as a rehabilitation centre.
In 1978, Kooyong was transferred to the CSIRO.
In 1986, shortly after the NSW government imposed an interim conservation order, the property sold for $2.3 million to Knox Grammar School.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/02/10.jpg" alt="">
Title Tattle recalls in 2001 Knox Grammar abandoned plans to develop it into a boarding school. There were sheep that grazed on the then prestigious 12,500 square metre property which Knox had been using in agricultural study classes.
For more than 10 years residents of Hastings Road and Pibrac Avenue led by Ian Londish had objected to any development, and while the school eventually won development approval in 1997, it decided after a spending priorities review that the boarding facilities could be provided elsewhere at a significantly lower cost.
When Knox sold the Hastings Road property to the Cahill family for $5.7 million in 2002 the grand house and its outbuildings were in a state of extreme disrepair.
Subsequently, two blocks of land were subdivided from the estate.
In December 2008, the Cahills then sold Kooyong for $6.35 million to Jason Murray, who is the chief financial officer of Sirius Minerals, and his interior designer wife, Danni.
The Murrays renovated even adding a private pub in one of the three outbuildings. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/02/4.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/02/5.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/02/6.jpg" alt="">
</body></html>

Warrawee and Wahroonga in upper north shore trophy home name change sales see-saw

<html><body>
Leading economists are getting hot under the collar over the future direction of Australian house prices.
Christopher Joye told his weekend Australian Financial Review readers that when residential prices do start sliding, it was not inconceivable that there could be "unprecedented 10 to 20% losses across the board."
The warning from the bull-turned bear caused the predictable kerfuffle with rival economist Stephen ‘The Kouk’ Koukoulas quickly offering Joye a bet.
$10,000 cash at risk, not the ascent of Mount Kosciuszko that Australia's chief doomsday economist, Steve Keen, undertook in 2009 after conceding defeat (well, partly anyway) in his gamble over house prices with the then Macquarie economist Rory Robertson. 
Keen honoured his bet regarding property price forecast falling by 40%, though even last month the specific details of that bet was still the subject of a <a href="/expert-insights/investing/clarifying-my-40-price-drop-call-and-the-factors-still-driving-housing-prices-up">defence by Stephen Keen</a> in the columns of Property Observer.
The Kouk suggested yesterday that while he too was clearly worried about the current run up in house prices and could envisage house prices faltering as the RBA moves to a monetary policy tightening cycle, "Chris' view of such large falls seems to be askew.""If house prices do fall 20% or more at any stage between now and the March quarter 2017, I will give him $10,000 in used, non-consecutive $100 notes," the Kouk blogged.
"If he is wrong, all he has to do is give me $1,000."The Kouk's offer was quickly declined with Joye's ensuing advisory that he wasn't actually predicting the 20% fall, rather just saying it is a risk.
The Kouk says walks to the Snowy Mountains or nude runs around Martin Place were not his bag, so he was open to suggestions on any alternative wager.
The issue Joye worries most about is that home value rises are outstripping incomes.
"Australian dwelling prices have jumped more than 10% over the year to March 2014.
"In Sydney and Melbourne, which make up 55% of the metropolitan population, home values leapt by 15% and 11%, respectively.
"Yet disposable incomes per capita only rose by 1.7% over 2013," Joye wrote.
Last week the RBA Governor Glenn Stevens repeated his regular warning that continuous house price growth were unsustainable, reminding everyone that prices can fall.
In a speech last week in Hong Kong, Glenn Stevens noted that dwelling prices nationwide have lifted 10% over the past year to 5% above their peak in 2010.
"We need to be alert to the possibility that the past year of strong rises in dwelling prices leads people to assume that this is the norm”.
All 33 economists tip rates will remain steady today, according to the Bloomberg survey. 
Just the one economic outfit, Market Economics Pty Ltd predicts a rate rise in May. That's Stephen Koukoulas.
</body></html>

No Mount Kosciuszko climbs but Chris Joye and Stephen 'The Kouk' Koukoulas in 20% price collapse stoush

<html><body>
Weetunga, the 1878 Fulham, Adelaide mansion built by the iconic South Australian White family, has been listed for sale for May 21 tender.
The renowned ornithologists and conservationists have listed the historic estate for the first time.
Weetunga is an aboriginal word for 'Place of Water'.
Samuel Albert White has a dedicated section of the Adelaide Museum recognising his significant contributions in the field.
“The property has never sold in its 135 year history,” says Patrick O'Flaherty, the Ray White Henley Beach listing agent.
Murray Chesser, the son-in-law of Samuel Albert White, has listed the heritage listed home that sits on a 5,113 square metre holding.
The main four bedroom residence at 14 Weetunga Street (pictured above) boasts beautiful period features, with minor extensions made to the kitchen and bathroom in the 1990s. 
A second 1980s three bedroom residence at 12 Weetunga Street (pictured below) is being offered with the main house.
<img src="/images/2014/04/01/17.jpg" alt="" style="line-height: 1.3em;">
The historic house was built for Samuel White, the son of pioneer John White. After the death of Samuel, his son Captain Samuel Albert White, who served in the Boer War and later became a big-game hunter in Africa, lived there. He continue his interest in ornithology often accompanied by his wife Ethel. After her death Captain White re-married with his second wife Muriel living at Weetunga until her 1991 death.
“The main residence also features servants quarters with two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, storeroom and parking for a further three cars,” says Mr O’Flaherty.
A conservation report for Weetunga is available prior to the tender closing May 21.
“Properties such as Weetunga are rare. The combination of the history, land size and grand scale makes this estate unrivaled in the area,” Mr O'Flaherty concludes.
</body></html>

White family list 1878 Adelaide mansion Weetunga

<html><body>
AMP Capital and Mirvac have lodged plans for its an upmarket apartment development on the former Coca-Cola headquarters site in Sydney’s Circular Quay.
The $100 million redevelopment, which will have an estimated $300 million value on conclusion, is located at 71-79 Macquarie Street, the last of the 1960s office blocks on the dress circle location. It was built by WD &amp; HO Wills who purchased the site in 1961.
Preliminary approval at concept stage was given in 2012 by the NSW government. The building will provide 109 residential/serviced apartments, six levels of basement car parking and new retail tenancies fronting East Circular Quay, Macquarie Street and the through site link.
With close proximity to Circular Quay, and the Cahill Expressway, Tzannes Architects won the design competition featuring four other leading Australian firms, FJMT; Bates Smart; HASSELL and Durbach Block Jaggers. 
The Alex Tzannes architect plans have only just gone on public exhibition, but <a href="https://71macquarie.mirvac.com" target="_blank">prospective buyer registration</a> is also now being sought by Mirvac in what is anticipated to be a popular rare opportunity to buy on the dress circle strip. There will be 47 luxury residences on the upper 10 levels of 71 Macquarie Street. The entrance level for the 62 serviced apartments and residences will be on level three.
There will be 65 one bedroom apartments, 17 two bedrooms, 25 three bedrooms and two penthouses. The total serviced apartment space allocation is 4475 square metres with 6487 square metre space devoted to the private prestige apartments.
AMP Capital has previously advised they see the million project as set to "revitalise an important part of Circular Quay”.
The development would “realise the original vision for the East Circular Quay precinct by completing the colonnade that extends along East Circular Quay from the Opera House”.
<img src="/images/2014/03/31/sydney-march-31-one.jpg" alt="">
Excavation of the site could reveal traces of Billy Blue's hut, according to the Godden Mackay Logan heritage report. He was the Jamaican-born ex-convict who was Governor Macquarie's watchman. The Stephenson and Turner-designed office block was built between 1964 and 1966 on former 1860s wool stores which were later used as NSW Lancers light horse squadron headquarters, garaging, and dance halls. 
<img src="/images/2014/03/31/sydney-march-31-two.jpg" alt="">
<a href="/news/as-residential-reigns-amp-finalising-east-circular-quay-office-block-redevelopment">It was two years ago when </a><a href="/news/as-residential-reigns-amp-finalising-east-circular-quay-office-block-redevelopment">the NSW government gave its provisional go-ahead</a> for the demolition of the former Coca-Cola headquarters, at 71-79 Macquarie Street in what will be the final phase of the East Circular Quay redevelopment. 
The tenants Coca-Cola Amatil moved from 71 Macquarie Street to North Sydney four years ago.
</body></html>

Buyers sought as AMP Capital-Mirvac Circular Quay Tzannes-design plans lodged

<html><body>
The Northern Territory's Legune Station has been listed with $60 million expectations.
Legune Station, on the Northern Territory side of the Western Australian border near Kununurra, was previously marketed with $70 million in 2008.
Oldtimers recall the Hooker Corporation sold it to the Malaysian Sabar state government in the early 1980s for $2 million.
It's last sale price details are not know however it was around 2000 when Legune’s ownership board became directed by a Queensland farming consortium headed by Brian McLean, Kenneth Cameron, Simon Hall and Peter Campbell.
The property neighbours the Ord irrigation project in Western Australia’s east Kimberley and comes with 180,000 hectare of grazing land capable of running 32,000 head along with 60,000 hectare of floodplain country and 55,000 megalitre dam.
Colliers International agents Rawdon Briggs and Thomas Warriner are marketing the property as a global opportunity on the doorstep of the Ord irrigation expansion area. 
Chinese groups such as Shanghai Zhongfu, developing the next stage of the ambitious Ord ­irrigation project, will be understandably targeted during the marketing.
It's being marketed as an "unmatched property and water offering with reliable rainfall."
Legune has had a great wet season for far, according to the station's Facebook page.
Advanced feasibility studies indicate Legune Station is capable of supporting Australia´s largest standalone aquaculture project.
<a href="https://rca.colliers.com.au/property-commercial+farming-wa-kununurra-501073139" target="_blank">Legune Station</a> has a reliable high average annual rainfall of 1,120 millimetres supported by 55 years of data. This wet season alone recorded over 1,400 millimetres.
Round one registration of interest close April 16.
Legune Station's current owners include the families behind Sunny Queen Farm who intend to focus on poultry and pig farming.
Legune consists of a vast floodplain system that normally dries out late in the dry season so in order to extend the amount of green feed available for cattle and to stop saltwater encroachment, the owners built large barrages – or bund walls – to retain the freshwater in 2006.
Henbury Station in the Northern Territory, formerly owned by R M Williams Agricultural, is on the market with PPB Advisory.
Herron Todd White's Northern ­Territory valuer Frank Peacocke has suggested the market had been improving with the sales of Riveren and Inverway, Maryfield, Mountain Valley and Killarney.
Killarney Station, which had been placed in receivership, sold last week to Jumback Pastoral for about $35 million. The 281,900 hectare property will now be run by the MacLachlan family.
HTW recently reported "continued strong momentum for live export cattle prices out of Darwin is underpinning the resurgence of interest in the Top End pastoral market."
"We are aware of a number of forward contracts for steers to Indonesia locked in at $2.30 per kilogram until the end of April 2014," the report noted.
"Many pastoralists we have spoken with are very happy with the improved cash flow and we have even heard of one long-time Top End cattleman actually framing his copy of an Indonesian steer contract which shows the record price he’s locked in at because he reckons “it’s a first and don’t know how long until it’s the last!"
"But make no mistake, vendors (nor purchasers) aren’t expecting values to rocket away with this increase in demand, and offers still show a significant difference between the market highs reached around 2009.
"But properties are now selling where they weren’t before.
"The interest mainly comprises local pastoralists who are looking for add-on blocks (again, with wet season access)," the HTW report said.
The Northern Territory/Kimberley pastoral property market was hit in 2011 by the introduction of the live export ban at a time Cape York Peninsula in particular had seen property values come back substantially from peak levels reached around 2007/2008.
</body></html>

Cattle in top end comeback? NT's Legune Station with 32,000 Brahman listed for sale

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/abadeen">Abadeen</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/perifa">PERIFA</a> have celebrated the topping out of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf,</a> marking a significant milestone in the delivery of one of Syd​ney's most anticipated waterfront communities.

Located on Sydney's harbourfront at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/putney-nsw-2112">Putney</a>, the project has now reached its highest structural point, with construction progressing strongly towards completion in 2027. 
&nbsp; 
The milestone was celebrated on-site with project partners Phoenix Property Investors, Mitsubishi Estate Asia, Versatile Construction, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, consultants and stakeholders, to recognise the collective effort behind the transformation of the historic waterfront site into a vibrant new residential, marina and lifestyle destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362240] 
&nbsp; 
<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> will deliver a mix of waterfront residences and terraces, complemented by a private 36-berth marina, waterfront dining opportunities and a revitalised foreshore designed to reconnect the community with the river's edge. 
&nbsp; 
Abadeen Executive Chairman and Founder Justin Brown said the project represented a rare opportunity to create the next chapter in Sydn​ey's long history of successful waterfront precincts. 
&nbsp; 
"Throughout Sydney, some of the city's most sought-after addresses have emerged from carefully considered waterfront precincts such as Woolloom​ooloo Wharf, Walsh Bay and Breakfast Point," Brown said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362566] 
&nbsp; 
"What makes these places so successful is that they become much more than residential developments," Brown said.

"They bring together homes, hospitality, marina facilities, public spaces and a strong sense of community in locations where future supply is incredibly limited."

Brown has long described absolute waterfront land in Sy​dney as "finite."

"Once these opportunities are developed, they are rarely replicated. That's why Syd​ney's waterfront precincts have consistently demonstrated strong demand and long-term value growth over many decades. 
&nbsp; 
"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> is one of the few remaining opportunities to secure a residence within a masterplanned waterfront community that combines direct water access, marina ownership opportunities and a genuine village lifestyle just moments from the Sy​dney CBD."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362564] 
&nbsp; 
PERIFA Founder and Managing Director Fabrizio Perilli said the project reflected a shared commitment to delivering exceptional places that create long-term value for residents and the broader community. 
&nbsp; 
"The topping out milestone is a significant achievement for the Versatile Group and a testament to the collaboration between all project partners, consultants and contractors involved," Perilli said. 
&nbsp; 
"Beyond the residences themselves, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> will establish a new waterfront destination that celebrates the history, character and lifestyle of this unique location while creating a lasting legacy for future generations."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=291195] 
&nbsp; 
Construction is being delivered by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/versatile">Versatile Construction</a>, with structural works now substantially complete across the precinct. Attention will progressively shift to the construction of the waterview terraces, apartment façades, services and interior fit-out works over the coming months. 
&nbsp; 
With limited residences and marina berths remaining, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> continues to attract strong interest from owner occupiers and downsizers seeking a premium waterfront lifestyle within close proximity to Putne​y Village, Rh​odes, Top Ry​de and the Syd​ney CBD. 
&nbsp; 
As one of the last opportunities to secure a residence within a new masterplanned waterfront community on Sy​dney Harbour, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> is expected to remain a highly sought-after address for years to come.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=13962]

Joel Robinson

Abadeen, PERIFA, top out Putney Wharf harbourfront precinct

Kew has long been regarded as one of Melbourne's premier residential suburbs. It's a location defined by its grand period homes, leafy streets and some of the city's most prestigious schools, yet it has often sat just outside the spotlight cast on neighbouring Hawthorn and Camberwell.

Increasingly, however, buyers are recognising that Kew offers much of what draws people to those suburbs, with a quieter residential setting, exceptional amenity and long-term owner-occupier appeal.

Within a few minutes' walk, residents can access Kew Junction, one of Melbourne's most established village centres. Cafés, bakeries, restaurants, supermarkets, boutique retailers and everyday services are all on the doorstep, with local favourites including Centonove, Adeney Milk Bar Cafe, and Frank &amp; Harri creating the type of walkable lifestyle that has become increasingly difficult to find in Melbourne's inner east. Beyond the immediate neighbourhood, Glenferrie Road's renowned shopping and dining precinct in Hawthorn and the retail, dining and entertainment offerings of Camberwell Junction are both just a short drive or tram ride away.

The suburb is equally well connected. Tram routes 48 and 109 provide direct access to the CBD, while High Street and Cotham Road connect residents to the wider inner east.&nbsp;Nearby access to the Eastern Freeway also places the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne Airport within easy reach, adding another layer of convenience for weekend travel.&nbsp;It's a rare combination of connectivity and tranquillity, where quiet residential streets sit just moments from some of Melbourne's most established shopping and lifestyle precincts.

For families, Kew remains one of Melbourne's most tightly held addresses. Carey Baptist Grammar School, Xavier College, Methodist Ladies' College, Trinity Grammar, Ruyton Girls' School and Genazzano FCJ College are all nearby, while the Yarra River parklands, walking trails and sporting clubs provide another layer of lifestyle appeal.

It's within this established pocket that developer Ricdanic is delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/wimba-ave-kew-9-11-wimba-avenue-kew-vic-3101">Wimba Ave</a>, a boutique collection of just 13 residences across two buildings named after its location on the tree-lined Wimba Avenue,&nbsp;within one of Kew's most prestigious pockets where homes have been known to sell up to and above $8 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=140755 project_image_fid=354809]

The residences prioritise the space that buyers are increasingly searching for but struggling to find in established suburbs. Living areas extend beyond five metres in width, ceiling heights range from three to five metres, and apartments open onto private gardens averaging around 125 sqm. Selected residences also feature balconies of approximately 60 sqm, while premium inclusions include Miele appliances, double-glazed windows, EV readiness, fully electric systems and a 7.2 NatHERS energy rating.

Architect Chris Idle says opportunities to deliver homes of this scale within established suburbs have become increasingly uncommon.

"There are very few opportunities to do these kinds of developments in leafy, established suburbs," he says. "To get this level of amenity, natural light, and architectural freedom in such a setting is extremely rare."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=140755 project_image_fid=366267]

The architecture draws on Kew's established character through the use of handmade Krause bricks, while landscaping by John Patrick introduces 23 plant species, including nine native varieties, creating an environment which focuses just as much on nature as it does the building.

Construction on Wimba Ave is well underway by renowned high-end builder Sinjen, with completion expected in late 2027. Prices start from $2.22 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=140755]

The enduring appeal of Kew's tree-lined streets and village lifestyle

"For me, it's the location." That was the first thing Chris pointed to when reflecting on why he and his wife Marita decided to purchase at Candela Ivanhoe, the under-construction new apartment development by Salter Brothers in the heart of the north-eastern M​elb​ourne​ suburb. ​

"We've lived here before… everything is here," Chris said.

"Our doctor is around the corner, there's dentists, pilates, everything we need, restaurants, fast food places, two train stations, Ivanhoe and Darebin, both in walking distance. You don't need anything else."

<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/X8K0Bozug7A?si=Puwc6vx_ZO0qQZF8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Just 10 kilometres from Melbo​urn​e's CBD, Ivanhoe combines direct city connectivity with the amenity of an established village community. Residents have access to highly regarded schools, expansive parklands, public transport, and a thriving retail and hospitality precinct centred around Upper Heidelberg Road, all within a neighbourhood that has retained its leafy character despite its proximity to the city.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/candela-ivanhoe-40-upper-heidelberg-road-ivanhoe-vic-3079">Candela Ivanhoe</a> sits within the heart of this established landscape, positioned just moments from Ivanhoe Village and within walking distance of many of the suburb's most sought-after amenities.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=364553]

From Candela, residents can access cafés, grocers, wine bars, restaurants and essential services on foot, while Ivanhoe Station and Darebin Station provide direct connectivity across Mel​bour​ne. The development is also surrounded by some of the suburb's best-known lifestyle destinations, including Pinkie, Laurent, Enni, Docasa and Woodfire Pizza e Cucina, alongside Ivanhoe Plaza, Woolworths, pharmacies and specialty retailers.

Green space is another defining feature of the suburb. Darebin Parklands, Ivanhoe Park, Nellie Ibbot Park and the Yarra River trail network provide extensive opportunities for recreation, while Ivanhoe Golf Course and Ivanhoe Tennis Club continue to underpin the area's long-established lifestyle appeal.

The suburb's education offering further strengthens demand. Ivanhoe Grammar School, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, Mary Immaculate Primary School and Ivanhoe Primary School have helped establish the area as one of Melbou​​rne's most sought-after schooling precincts, attracting families and downsizers alike who want to remain connected to the area.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=357510]

While location was the priority for Marita and Chris, the project itself also needed to meet their expectations.

"Whilst location was paramount, I was also looking at design of the environment and Candela ticked every box," Marita said.

"We're just thrilled with our choice."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=336455]

Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/salter-brothers">Salter Brothers</a>, Candela Ivanhoe has been designed to complement its village setting, with an emphasis on generous floorplans, natural light and practical everyday living.

Residents will have access to a range of shared amenities, including a communal rooftop garden and dedicated residential lounge, complemented by a ground-floor café and lifestyle wellbeing centre, helping foster the sense of community already emerging among future owners.

That approach has resonated strongly with the market. More than 90 per cent of purchasers at Candela Ivanhoe are owner-occupiers, with buyers ranging from downsizers and second-home buyers to young families and first home buyers, creating a genuinely multi-generational community of grandparents, parents and children. It reflects a broader shift across Melbo​​urne's apartment market, where buyers are increasingly prioritising neighbourhood quality, lifestyle amenity and long-term liveability.

Currently under construction by Ironside, Candela Ivanhoe comprises 58 apartments. Candela Ivanhoe is scheduled for completion in the coming months, and residents can move in from September. One to four bedroom residences, prices from $649,000 and limited opportunities remaining.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=342]

Location and lifestyle drive demand at Candela Ivanhoe

As apartment buyers increasingly look beyond the four walls of their residence, the quality and depth of shared amenity has become a defining factor in how developments are designed and experienced, particularly in the high-rise, new apartment development space.

In Southbank, where high-density living continues to evolve, developers are placing greater emphasis on creating environments that support wellbeing, connection, and convenience as part of everyday life.

That approach sits at the heart of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aura-at-melbourne-square-7-hoff-boulevard-southbank-vic-3006">AURA</a>, the latest residential tower in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/osk-property">OSK Property</a>’s $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct. Rising 67 storeys above Hoff Boulevard, the 673-apartment development has been conceived around what OSK describes as a “vertical wellness ecosystem”, a layered collection of amenities that extends throughout the building rather than being confined to a single podium level.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370263]

The amenity offering begins on the seventh level within the AURA Club, a dedicated resident hub focused on health, relaxation, and daily convenience. Here, residents will have access to an indoor swimming pool, cold plunge, spa, sauna, and steam room, alongside a fully equipped gym, reformer Pilates studio, and yoga room.

The wellness facilities are complemented by a range of spaces that acknowledge the changing ways people live and work. Work-from-home lounges and co-working areas sit alongside a library, music room, games room, cinema facilities, and open-air terrace spaces, providing residents with flexible environments that can adapt throughout the day.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367468]

Beyond the internal amenity, AURA introduces a series of Japanese-inspired gardens that form a quieter counterpoint to the tower’s social spaces.

Landscaped retreats feature curated outdoor dining, tranquil courtyard seating, fire pit, and a tea house pavilion. Rather than functioning as simple recreational areas, the gardens have been designed as places for reflection and informal gathering, drawing on principles of balance, nature, and calm that underpin the project's broader design philosophy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367810]

The social amenity continues to evolve as residents move higher through the building. Levels 49 and 50 house the Meridian Club, where a lounge bar, conservatory spaces, and private dining rooms take advantage of elevated city views. At the summit of the tower, the exclusive Cumulus Club spans Levels 66 and 67, offering additional lounges, private dining, and meditation and treatment rooms positioned above Melbourne’s skyline.

For OSK Property, the extensive amenity offering reflects a broader focus on wellbeing as a core component of apartment living rather than an added feature.

“Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness – its focus on social, physical and mental health culminate in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after Southbank,” says OSK Property CEO Chong Boon Woon.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367796]

AURA’s amenity strategy extends beyond the tower itself through its integration with the wider Melbourne Square precinct.

Residents will have direct access to Kennedy Park, Southbank’s 3,745 sqm landscaped public park, alongside a full-line Woolworths supermarket, childcare centre, hospitality venues, and approximately 1,600 sqm of additional retail planned within AURA’s lower levels. Together, these elements create a highly connected residential environment where daily needs, recreation, and wellness are woven into the fabric of the community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370253]

As Melbourne’s apartment market continues to mature, developments are increasingly judged by the lifestyle they provide beyond individual residences.

Through its combination of wellness facilities, landscaped retreats, social clubs, and precinct-wide amenity, AURA represents a shift toward a more comprehensive model of vertical living, one where shared spaces play as significant a role as the homes themselves.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151921]

AURA elevates amenity living at Melbourne Square

Builder-developer Scion is the latest to target Sydney's booming Hills Showground Metro precinct, filing plans for more than 100 apartments within walking distance of the station.

Scion has lodged a concurrent rezoning and State Significant Development Application for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/27-33-middleton-avenue-castle-hill-nsw-2154">27–33 Middleton Avenue</a>, where it plans to replace four existing homes with an 11 and 14-storey mixed-use development comprising 109 apartments, six affordable housing dwellings, and a ground-floor café.

Designed by BHK Architects, the proposal includes three levels of basement parking with 174 spaces, more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space, and extensive landscaping across the 3,791 sqm site.

The development has been designed as two buildings connected by a recessed wintergarden spine, with the 14-storey building positioned to the south and the 11-storey building to the north.

<img alt="Scion" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="64dc359d-736b-43b8-87a8-70a8285cab47" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-25%20at%208.47.01%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=PXh.m8id_aevBPHEckPf88wQ2RQThPos" />

The apartment mix has been weighted towards owner-occupiers, with 13 one-bedroom apartments, 55 two-bedroom residences, 31 three-bedroom apartments, six three-bedroom lofts, and four four-bedroom homes. Six apartments will be dedicated as affordable housing in line with the NSW Housing SEPP.

According to the Architectural Design Report by BKH, the proposal seeks to create "a place-responsive architecture" inspired by the natural landscape surrounding Cattai Creek, while strengthening the public domain through landscaping, active frontages and a neighbourhood café.

Atlas Urban, in its Urban Design Report, says the proposal takes a different approach to increasing density around Hills Showground Station by favouring a more slender, vertically articulated built form over a conventional mid-rise outcome. The report argues this allows for greater deep soil planting, improved solar access and a better public domain outcome, while still delivering additional housing close to rapid public transport.

The site sits around 500 metres from Hills Showground Metro Station, within a precinct earmarked for significant residential intensification following the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest line. Planning documents accompanying the application note that Greater Sydney's population has grown by more than one million people since planning for the precinct first began, reinforcing the need to accelerate housing delivery around existing transport infrastructure.

Scion is expanding its development pipeline which also includes <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/chatham-west-ryde-2-6-chatham-road-west-ryde-nsw-2114">Chatham in West Ryde</a>, 62 apartments which are approaching completion. They also have a State Significant Development Application with the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/96-anzac-avenue-west-ryde-nsw-2114">145 apartments on Anzac Avenue</a>, also in West Ryde.

Jonathan Chancellor

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News