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Property spruiker Rick Otton has listed his Bondi Beach semi for December auction.
It comes after his $18 million fine for misleading investors by the Federal Court for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, $12 million against Otton’s business We Buy Houses and $6 million against him personally.
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Mr Otton was also banned from managing corporations for 10 years in Australia.
It has been scheduled for <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-duplex+semi-detached-nsw-bondi+beach-129976134" target="_blank">a December 15 auction</a> with a $3.2 million to $3.5 million price guide.
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The four-bedroom Roscoe Street semi listed by by Di Baker, of Di Baker Prestige Properties was bought it in 2007 for $1.6 million through Adrian Bo at McGrath.
Records show it is the only NSW property held in Otton’s name.
It is held with Jane Otton.
There are two Westpac mortgages.
 
 
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Property spruiker Rick Otton lists Bondi Beach semi

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The long standing $15 million Potts Point apartment record has been topped twice in as many weeks.
First the penthouse atop the Ikon building sold for a suburb record $16 million when bought by audio king Peter Freedman, and now the Villard penthouse on Macleay Street has fetched $15.5 million.
The Villard apartment (pictured above and below), which sold in just two weeks on the market, had initial $16.5 million hopes through Jason Boon at Richardson &amp; Wrench.
It follows a string of penthouse sales over recent times including the Tara penthouse by Laing Estate Agents, the Oceana penthouse by Ray White.
There's also talk the Rockwall penthouse is being offered off market.  
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The Villard penthouse was listed by digital media chief executive Matthew Kapp, who co-founded Ozmota Ventures, who paid $4.69 million when he was buying from Tim Higgins of the Design Establishment furniture company in 2000.
The apartment has a rooftop magnesium swimming pool.
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Villard's most recent sale was when racehorse owner Max Whitby sold the sub-penthouse last month for $12.5 million.
The whole floor Villard <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-nsw-potts+point-129983598" target="_blank">three bedroom three bathroom apartment</a> has been offered recently as a $5000 a week rental through Ray White Double Bay.
It cost $6.6 million in 2012 when the three-bedroom sub-penthouse was bought by Whitby and his late wife, Jennifer from the Elizabeth Bay-bound retired car dealer Ray Harris and his wife Robyn.
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Villard Potts Point penthouse sells for $15.5 million 

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Bundarbo Station, the cattle farm of the late media executive Sam Chisholm in the NSW Hilltops Region, has been listed for sale by the executors of his estate.
The farm is located at Jugiong, a small community on the Murrumbidgee River, north west of Canberra.
The next buyer of Bundarbo, which comprises 160 hectares of rich alluvial river flat land, will only be its third owners since the pioneer settlement.
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The property was taken up in the 1840s by the well-known pastoral Osborne family, at that stage a holding of 65,000 acres, and was held in the family for 150 years until sold Sam Chisholm and wife, Sue.
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It is home to Hazeldean blood commercial Angus breeding herd comprising around 1,110 Angus breeders.
Despite being predominantly a beef cattle breeding and fatteninig holding in recent times, Bundarbo Station has also been run as a successful Merino sheep and prime lamb breeding property. 
Meares &amp; Associates Sydney agent Chris Meares is handling the marketing with $30 million plus price guidance.
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Meares said Chisholm had been a very keen supporter of rural Australia.
 "Sam always believed that every successful Australian should invest back in to the rural sector," he said.
"The sale of Bundarbo will create huge interest both here in Australia and overseas," Meares suggested.
"Over the past two to three years in particularly we have seen an increase in focus on the rural sector and agribusiness projects," Meares says.
Meares noted that agriculture is now a global product and there has been strong interest in investment in the sector from both offshore and local operators.
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"There remains to be an acute shortage of quality property for sale," Meares said.
"There is arguably no other property with the unique features of Bundarbo with its magnificent homestead and guest complex, nationally recognised gardens and a working property with size, scale and reputation – producing 1,000 plus cattle for sale annually."
Chisholm is best known for shaping the television industry landscape both locally and internationally, working at times for Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch.
This article was first published in the Saturday Telegraph.
 
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Late media boss Sam Chisholm's Bundarbo Station for sale

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A quarrel has erupted between the state’s peak estate agent organisation and the NSW government over the safety of deposits in trust funds following property sales.
The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales has accused the NSW Fair Trading department of “gross negligence” involving the audit requirements of trust accounts following the state’s largest fraud case.
They have demanded a parliamentary inquiry.
The Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Matt Kean said it was wrong for the REINSW to say there was had been any legislation which had left consumers exposed, adding that the REINSW did not understand its members’ legal obligations.
“Auditors are required to lodge reports where they identify a financial irregularity,” he said.
Estate agents and solicitors must safeguard buyer deposits in trust funds after any property sale.
But in recent times more estate agents have illegally dipped into their client deposits, sometimes to help keep businesses afloat, or meet their gambling addiction or fund a lavish lifestyle.
The state government guarantees the safe keeping of deposits and offers capped compensation.
“Four years ago, Fair Trading made the decision to remove the obligation for real estate agents to lodge their annual trust account audits in what it claimed removed “red tape,” Mr McKibbin said.
“Removing the obligation to lodge the audit with Fair Trading meant Fair Trading no longer had the administrative burden of reading the audit reports.”
It had created the situation of compensations now costing taxpayers “millions of dollars,” Mr McKibbin said.
A Maroubra real estate agent was sentenced earlier this month to an intensive correction order, which will see him perform 400 hours of community service work, after being found guilty of eight trust account withdrawals totalling more than $425,000 over an eight month period in 2014.
The issue flared when victims of a 2018 estate agency collapse initially found they would not be full compensated because the alleged fraud exceeded the maximum compensation offered by the Property Services Compensation Fund, which is funded by the real estate sector through a levy.
A seller was told a missing $560,000 deposit would not be fully compensated as it exceeded the $500,000 maximum compensation, and the 120 other clients who were owed a $3.6 million total found themselves being told they would share the $2 million compensation limit that applied for any one agency collapse.
McKibbon said Fair Trading has subsequently agreed to full compensation after lobbying by the institute.
“We expressed the view that the consumer’s loss in this case was in a large part attributable to Fair Trading and to refuse to compensate them was unconscionable. 
“Pleasingly we have received assurances from Fair Trading that they will now fully compensate.
“But it is the NSW tax payer that has come to the rescue.
“REINSW seeks to work cooperatively and constructively with a competent regulator and minister.
“Sadly neither currently exist,” McKibbin said.
Mr Kean said there were “serious questions over whether the REINSW was fit and proper to provide continuing professional development.”
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REINSW accuse NSW Fair Trading of gross negligence in trust fund bust up

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Melbourne-based property developer Caydon are using Black Friday, a day in the calendar usually earmarked for retailers to drop prices, to offer discounts on 100 apartments across its portfolio.
Caydon said its Black Friday sale was not a response to the weak off the plan apartment market.
Buyers will have the opportunity from 6am on Friday to book an appointment for the weekend and to then process the paperwork before the end of the year.
Caydon have unsold off the plan apartment stock in Cremorne, Flemington, Ivanhoe, Northcote, Moonee Ponds and Preston. 
They are offering discounts on one, two and three bedroom apartments in their off the plan Moonee Ponds apartment development Rise (above and below)
The one bedders start from $384,000, two bedrooms from $577,000 and three bedrooms from $936,000.
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Buyers of the Rise Skyhomes will have exclusive use of The Conservatory, a private skyhigh bar and outdoor deck.
In the 29 level development there will also be a tranquil pool and spa known as Stonewater, and Club Rise, a fully appointed gym with dedicated yoga section.
Rise will also include a private skyhigh bar and 
Rise sits in Caydon's masterplanned Mason Square precinct.
Caydon's international marketing director Steve Williams said the company had seen turnover increase 25 percent above last year and revenue growth had been even higher.
He said the Black Friday sale was an innovative approach to marketing property.
“The property market has not traditionally recognised or followed seasonal spending habits in line with the consumer retail calendar, so the prospect of making significant savings in every price bracket for new apartments has been virtually non-existent until now,” Williams told The Australian.
Caydon chief executive Joe Russo said the Black Friday initiative would provide an opportunity for buyers, noting it had becoming increasingly challenging for first-home buyers, downsizers and investors. 
Caydon will cut prices in eight Melbourne projects including a $100,838 discount for a three-bedroom apartment at The Malt District development in Cremorne.
Its website shows a three-bedroom apartment in the development priced at around $1.24 million.
Caydon says 57 per cent of Australians are expected to make a retail purchase in a store or online this Friday.
Over the year to date, Melbourne apartment prices have declined 1.5 percent, according to CoreLogic.
Capital Economics suggest the declines could reach eight percent this year.
Its chief economist Paul Dales has noted "units look much more vulnerable than single dwellings, while Melbourne appears to be the most exposed of the eight capital cities."
 
 
 
 
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Caydon's Black Friday discount apartment gimmick

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The Senate crossbencher Derryn Hinch has told The New Daily he was open to supporting Labor’s negative gearing changes.
But the Victorian politician appears to seek to take the grandfathering aspect further that the opposition policy.
"My view is that I would vote for the ALP changes if grandfathered, but I would limit negatively geared properties to two or three.”
Senior MPs doubt the Shorten-Bowen policy will pass the Senate if Labor wins the next election.
The policy survived subdued attacks at the last election.
A Labor frontbencher told The New Daily it will be a very difficult Senate. 
“We can announce a date, say July 1, 2019 but I don’t think we are going to get it through. We’ve got to get 39 votes.”
While the Labor Party remains strongly committed to the policy, there are calls for the ALP to delay the introduction while the housing market remains volatile in Sydney and Melbourne.
In recent weeks, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has ramped up the campaign over Labor’s negative gearing policy.
Labor also proposes reducing the capital gains discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent.
Shorten’s changes will “grandfather” existing property investors, which means the 1.3 million Australians who currently negatively gear can continue to do so.
“For yonks I resisted changing it. I own one negatively geared property,” Hinch said.
“Now I know of one senator who owns more than 20 negatively geared properties. Not what was intended.
“I agree that nurses and cops own such properties.
"My view is that I would vote for the ALP changes if grandfathered, but I would limit negatively geared properties to two or three.”
It is not the first time Hinch has raised the issue giving insights in his 2017 Budget in reply speech.
"I support negative gearing.
"I have declared in my pecuniary interest register that I have one heavily mortgaged negatively geared apartment, but I am open to legislation to limit the number of properties, residential or commercial, that a person can negatively gear. 
"I am increasingly being convinced of a limit of two or three such properties,' he said last year.
"It could help first-time buyers who are being swamped by investors, local and foreign, at every weekend auction."
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Senator Derryn Hinch says he'll seek even more restrictive negative gearing than Labor

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The former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano failed in his eleventh-hour, air headed attempt to block Nine’s bid for Fairfax Media.
Some 81 percent of the Fairfax shareholders voted for the merger.
There was no appearance by the Melbourne-based former chief executive at the Sydney meeting Monday morning.
There was just one question from the floor as to whether the chairman Nick Falloon had given consideration to the request to postpone the vote to give greater consideration to Catalano's Sunday night missive.
The 81 percent vote included the use of some 16 percent open proxy votes which were voted in favour of the merger by the chairman.
Catalano had <a href="/news/antony-catalano-eyes-domain-return">indicated he would buy up to 19.9 per cent of Fairfax</a> to then implement a Domain-led turnaround strategy for the ailing media group from a board seat.
Fairfax shareholders voted to push ahead with the $4 billion merger, which would mark the end of the 177-year-old publisher as a stand-alone company. 
The Fairfax board met early Monday and unanimously urged a vote for the merger.
The merger needed 75 percent of total votes cast, so Catalano may have succeeded with more time.
Overnight Catalano hit out at the Fairfax Nine merge plan, saying the current proposal did not apply a sufficient premium for control of Fairfax’s majority-owned digital real estate arm, Domain.
He said $740 million in value in the share takeover had been lost since the planned merger was announced in July.
Catalano's friend, the billionaire investor Alex Waislitz said he planned to vote his Fairfax shares against the merger. 
Share market activist Stephen Mayne tweeted the 11.4 percent of voted shares and 18.51 percent of voting shareholders was "more resistance than usual" in these scheme merger deals.
The combination of Nine and Fairfax's publishing assets will create a business with around $500 million in revenue.
Over the weekend a prominent member of the Fairfax family, John B Fairfax attacked the Nine takeover of Fairfax, saying the Fairfax newspaper company and name has more credibility than the commercial network associated with media moguls Kerry Packer and Alan Bond.
Last week the former prime minister Paul Keating said the ACCC’s approval of the Nine-Fairfax merger was a "truly appalling decision."
Catalano has flagged he could challenge the merger deal in court next week, Fairfax Media has reported.
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Antony Catalano fails in his air headed Domain return

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William Smart secured $7,905,000 when his Surry Hills home-office sold at its auction yesterday.
The listing came about because he is relocating his eponymous Smart Design Studio HQ to Alexandria.
It was bought by the Point Piper-based Rubicon Property Trust founder Gordon Fell, who is asking <a href="/news/point-piper-waterfront-routala-listed-for-55-million">$55 million for his Point Piper waterfront</a>, according to a subsequent report by the Wentworth Courier.
The Oxford Agency’s Steffan Ippolito had an ­$8 million guide, with bidding coming from three of the registered four bidders. Auctioneer Damien Cooley announced it as on the market at $7.47 million.
Smart and his partner John Adcock have lived above the award-winning studio for more than a ­decade, having bought the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-terrace-nsw-surry+hills-129567806" target="_blank">double-fronted Bourke St terrace</a> for $1.46 million in 2003 and then spending two years gutting it to create the commercial and ­residential space.
The top-level penthouse apartment has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a concealed study overlooking Bourke and Ridge Sts.
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Smart has been involved in inner-city boutique apartment projects for almost two decades.
Born in New Zealand and raised in rural Western Australia, one of Smart’s first design jobs was on the award-winning Olympic Park railway station.
For the prior five years he worked for Gersau Architecture, a small practice in the south of France, then with Foster and Partners in London.
The avowed modernist has received critical acclaim with awards including the AIA Robin Boyd Award and AIA Wilkinson Awards for Residential Architecture.
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Smart’s designs can be found across the inner city and the beach suburbs.
He previously lived at one of his earliest projects, a 40sqm Springfield Ave apartment in Kings Cross. As a first home buyer he paid $223,000 in 2002, selling for $478,000 in 2012. The residence featured in the book 50 Of The World’s Best Apartments.
Smart Design Studio was founded in 1997 and has more than 40 staff. Its ­portfolio has included masterplanned urban centres, multi-unit residential ­developments, and retail and commercial fit-outs, as well as private dwellings including the Kahlbetzer family home Mandalong House in Mosman.
He is best-known for his work on ­Indigo Slam, the Chippendale warehouse residence of Judith Neilson, the art-dealing founder of the White Rabbit Collection.
This article first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph.
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Architect William Smart secures $7,905,000 for Surry Hills home-office

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The former Domain chief executive Antony Catalano has launched an eleventh-hour attempt to block Nine’s bid for Fairfax Media, indicating he would buy up to 19.9 per cent of Fairfax to then implement a Domain-led turnaround strategy for the ailing media group from a board seat.
Fairfax shareholders meet today to vote on whether to push ahead with the $4 billion merger, which would mark the end of the 177-year-old publisher as a stand-alone company. 
The Fairfax board met early Monday and unanimously urged a vote for the merger.
The merger needs 75 percent of total votes cast.
Catalano hit out at the Fairfax plan, saying the current proposal did not apply a sufficient premium for control of Fairfax’s majority-owned digital real estate arm, Domain.
He said $740 million in value in the share takeover had been lost since the planned merger was announced in July.
Catalano's friend, the billionaire investor Alex Waislitz has said he planned to vote his Fairfax shares against the merger. 
“I’m not going to back the merger ... even though I can see there is some structural and ­strategic benefits to having the wider platform for products to be sold across, and also there are a lot of synergy benefits to it,” he told The Australian.
Mr Waislitz’s listed fund Thorney Opportunities and private fund Thorney Investment Group combined own more than 50 million Fairfax shares., about two per cent of the company.
“(Nine’s) Hugh Marks and the team there have done a good a job at Nine. However, I do think they have been clever at buying Fairfax at a very good price and with the recent fall in the share price Fairfax shareholders are missing out on a lot of value with the scheme going ahead,” he said.
The merged Fairfax will consist of Nine’s free-to-air television network, home to reality shows such as Married At First Sight and The Block, and digital business 9Now, plus Fairfax’s Australian and New Zealand mastheads, including the The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. 
In a letter sent to Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon last night, and obtained by The Australian, Catalano proposed acquiring an interest of up to 19.9 per cent in Fairfax Media “at a price superior to the intrinsic market-to-market value of (Nine’s proposal) of up to 65c per share”.
Shares in Fairfax closed on Friday at 61.6c.
“As the former CEO of ­Domain, I have a unique knowledge of that business, and accordingly believe that I could provide significant assistance in optimising its value for Fairfax shareholders, along with providing a strategy for the balance of Fairfax’s valuable assets,” Mr Catalano said.
He asked Mr Falloon to ­adjourn the shareholder meeting for at least two weeks to allow shareholders and the Fairfax board to properly consider his ­alternative proposal. 
“Through my inquiries, I understand that the general sentiment of Fairfax major shareholders is that the merger scheme (at current prices) is a disappointing outcome and that an alternative outcome is an option that could find considerable support that could see Fairfax shareholders achieve full value for their holding,” he said.
“I intend to then have Fairfax pursue a multi-pronged strategy to build and realise value for Fairfax shareholders. This strategy ­includes the divestiture of non-core assets, building the Domain franchises and pursuing asset sales with a suitable control premium not presently factored into the (Nine) scheme, with all proceeds to be returned to Fairfax shareholders as cash distributions or by way of share buybacks.’’ 
The former property reporter Catalano spent more than four years at the helm of Domain, but just two months fronting the publicly listed Domain company, quitting the digital real estate group in January.
Nine Entertainment has left the door open to sweeping up minority stakes in Domain after any merger with Fairfax Media.
 
 
 
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Antony Catalano eyes Domain return

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Strongbuild has collapsed into voluntary administration after the developer Frasers Property Australia cancelled a $45 million contract which left the builder unable to pay its bills.
The Strong family-owned company that employed 150 staff in three divisions was a prefabricated construction pioneer.
Administrator BRI Ferrier was appointed this morning to Strongbuild Manufacturing, Strongbuild Commercial and Strongbuild Propriety.
The company is owned by the Strong family from the New South Wales South Coast.
It had a turnover last year of $160 million, but had been suffering from a "lull" in work, BRI Ferrier administrator Brian Silvia advised. 
"They had a bit of a downturn in work before June and they were anticipating coming out of a bit of a lull with an order book of $120 million, and a major client pulled a contract two weeks out from the start date, which had a value of $45 million," Mr Silvia told The Australian Financial Review. 
"With the loss of the contract it meant the short-term future of the company was too bleak for the directors to be able to carry on."
Silvia said Strongbuild had made a claim against Frasers over the cancelled stage two $45 million contract for its Edmondson Park project in south-west Sydney of 104 townhouses. Frasers recently advised only three 1-bedroom townhomes remained following its recent launch.
A spokeswoman for Frasers told Fairfax Media it was a commercial matter and declined to comment. 
Some 1,800 homes were envisaged in the now stalled Frasers Property community.
Strongbuild managing director Adam Strong told The Fifth Estate that Frasers gave no reason for "reneging" on the arrangement, other to cite matters of  “convenience.”
Strong said 22 townhouses in stage one had already been successfully delivered by his company.
“We had a debt facility approved that would have been more than enough to get through this squeeze last week.
“And what’s happened is Frasers terminated a contract on Friday last week without allowing us to address any of their concerns," Adam Strong said.
The company had worked on the award winning Putney Hill project, an earlier Frasers Property community.
Putney Hill represented the Singaporean Frasers Property's first delivery of off-the-plan houses in Australia.
Frasers are set to face <a href="/news/frasers-property-australia-facing-residential-challenges-in-2019">residential challenges in 2019.</a>
Just 2,300 units are planned for completion and settlement in FY19 by Frasers Property Australia, compared to over 3,000 units settled during FY18.
They had success at Ed.Square, their mixed-use community in south west Sydney, when <a href="/expert-insights/investing/ed-square-poised-to-become-the-new-social-centrepiece-for-south-west-sydney">seeking commercial tenants earlier this year.</a>
 
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Frasers Property Edmondson Park works cancellation triggers Strongbuild voluntary administration

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/consolidated-properties">Consolidated Properties Group</a> (CPG) is approaching the launch of its latest Brisbane riverfront development, Castile, on the dress circle Skyring Terrace in Newstead.

VIP buyers are now being engaged, with a full public sales launch coming later this year.

Positioned as the final opportunity to secure a new absolute riverfront residence on the East bank of Newstead, Teneriffe or New Farm, Castile at 47 Skyring Terrace has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/woods-bagot">Woods Bagot</a> as a timeless addition to the Brisbane skyline.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150489 project_image_fid=371113]

The name Castile draws on themes of permanence, sophistication and legacy, reflecting a broader vision centred on enduring architecture and timelessness in the rarest of riverfront positions.&nbsp;

CPG Chairman and CEO Don O’Rorke said the project had been envisioned as a future Brisbane icon.&nbsp;

“With 47 metres of direct river frontage and never to be built out views, 47 Skyring Terrace is the definitive address on the Brisbane River,” O’Rorke said.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150489 project_image_fid=371114]

“Rather than following trend-based apartment design, Castile draws inspiration from Brisbane’s great heritage buildings, reinterpreting classical architecture into a contemporary riverfront landmark designed to stand proudly for the next 100 years,” he said.&nbsp;

The approved development will comprise 227 apartments across a 25-storey tower alongside a boutique six-storey riverfront building of just 12 residences.&nbsp;

Construction is scheduled to commence in September 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150489]

Joel Robinson

CPG unveils Castile Newstead ahead of upcoming sales launch

Australia’s online shopping habits have shifted dramatically over the last decade. As eCommerce volumes surged, so too did the frustrations that came with traditional parcel delivery: missed deliveries, long Post Office queues, parcel theft and the challenge of being home during business hours.

Australia Post’s Parcel Lockers emerged as one of the more practical responses to that changing consumer behaviour.

What started as a relatively niche delivery option has evolved into a nationwide network of more than 1,400 self-service Parcel Lockers positioned at train stations, shopping centres, supermarkets and Post Offices across the country. The system allows Australians to send, collect and return parcels 24 hours a day, fundamentally changing how many people interact with deliveries.

The appeal is relatively straightforward: flexibility.

Instead of waiting at home for a delivery driver or rushing to a Post Office before closing time, users can direct eligible parcels to a Parcel Locker location of their choice. Once the parcel arrives, Australia Post sends a notification with a collection code or QR access through the AusPost app, allowing customers to retrieve their package at any time within the collection window.

For apartment residents in particular, the system has become increasingly valuable.

Higher-density living has created logistical challenges around deliveries, especially in buildings without concierge services or secure parcel rooms. Missed deliveries are common, while parcel theft has become an increasing concern as online shopping volumes continue to rise.

Australia Post itself has repeatedly highlighted the growing issue of “porch pirates” during peak shopping periods, encouraging customers to use Parcel Lockers as a safer alternative to unattended home deliveries.

That security aspect is one of the key reasons the Australia Post Parcel Locker network has grown so rapidly.

Parcel Lockers are positioned as secure, monitored collection points that reduce the risk of theft while also improving delivery efficiency for Australia Post. Instead of multiple redelivery attempts, parcels can be consolidated into a single secure destination.

The Parcel Lockers themselves are free to use through a MyPost account and support a range of parcel sizes up to 16 kilograms and dimensions of approximately 35 x 44 x 61 centimetres.

Beyond receiving parcels, the system has increasingly become integrated into the broader eCommerce ecosystem.

Customers can now use Parcel Lockers to return online purchases, while retailers have embraced the model as a way to improve delivery success rates and reduce friction in the shopping process. Australia Post has actively expanded partnerships with major retailers and promoted Parcel Lockers as part of a broader out-of-home strategy.

The timing of that expansion aligns with broader changes in Australian shopping behaviour.

The acceleration of online retail during and after the pandemic placed enormous pressure on delivery infrastructure. Parcel volumes reached record highs, particularly during Black Friday and Christmas periods, with Australia Post delivering more than 100 million parcels during peak festive seasons.

That growth forced logistics providers to rethink the “last mile” of delivery, widely regarded as the most expensive and operationally difficult stage of the process.

Parcel Locker systems have increasingly been viewed as part of the long-term solution.

The concept itself is not unique to Australia. Parcel Locker networks have become common globally, particularly across Europe and Asia, where dense urban environments and apartment living create similar logistical challenges. But Australia’s geography and suburban sprawl made adoption slower initially.

Now, however, the convenience factor is driving mainstream usage.

For commuters, Parcel Lockers near train stations allow parcels to be collected on the way home from work. For apartment dwellers, they remove the uncertainty around access and missed deliveries.

The rise of the AusPost app has also streamlined the experience, centralising notifications, tracking and Parcel Locker access into a single platform. Australia Post has increasingly pushed customers toward app-based delivery management, partly as a way to combat phishing scams and fake delivery notifications, which have become more sophisticated in recent years.

The Parcel Locker model is also beginning to influence property development itself.

Parcel management has become a growing consideration in apartment building design, particularly as online shopping becomes embedded in everyday life. Many new residential developments are now incorporating dedicated parcel rooms or Parcel Locker systems into foyers and communal spaces.

For developers, parcel management is increasingly viewed as part of the broader resident amenity offering, alongside gyms, wellness spaces and communal work areas.

That reflects a wider evolution in how residential buildings are designed.

Apartment buyers are placing greater emphasis on convenience, security and operational functionality, particularly in higher-density urban environments. Parcel delivery, once considered a minor operational detail, has become an increasingly important part of that equation.

Australia Post’s Parcel Locker network sits at the centre of that behavioural shift.

What began as a simple alternative delivery option has evolved into a key piece of infrastructure supporting Australia’s growing eCommerce economy and changing urban lifestyles.

And as online shopping continues to expand, the role of Parcel Lockers is likely to become even more embedded in how Australians live, shop and receive goods.

How Australia Post Parcel Lockers changed parcel delivery convenience in Australia

Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Jonathan Chancellor

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