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Mount Macedon has been known for its beautiful 19th-century gardens since Melbourne's wealthy took to the location for their inland summer retreats.
Set at the southern end of Victoria's Great Dividing Range, just 60km from Melbourne, its gardens often come with extravagant homes.
Cameron Lodge, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-vic-mount+macedon-7993890" target="_blank">one of the earliest hill station gardens</a>, has been listed for spring sale through Abercromby's Armadale agent Jock Langley.
Dating back to the 1880s, Cameron Lodge sits on just over four hectares with Turritable Creek frontage. 
The estate features an original summer pavilion, a Temple of Winds, designed by Joan Anderson in 1932, along with Roman baths in its lower garden.
Closer to the home are topiary gardens along with a mod-grass tennis court and pool.
During their ownership, the current vendors sought to simplify the garden with a focus on the traditional English arts and crafts style. 
<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/2018/10/18/lodge2.jpg" alt="">
The property has a main house of three bedrooms, each with a marble ensuite, a three-bedroom guest lodge and a three-bedroom cottage.
The Indian colonial-style cottage surrounded by wide verandahs fetches over $700 a night on Stayz.
Owners through the decades have included used car salesman, Kevin Dennis Gowing, rag traders Michael and Michelle Hiatt, the pair behind women's fashion chain Living Doll, the tech entrepreneur Roger May, supermarket retailer Stuart Stoneman, and the consultant Alan Carroll, co-founder of Australian Ratings, the local subsidiary of international corporate ratings agency, Standard &amp; Poors.
Its most famous occupant was Meryl Streep, the actress who stayed for six months at $2500 a week, when accompanied by her husband, sculptor Don Gummer, and children while filming of Evil Angels, the Azaria Chamberlain film in 1987.
Originally named Rahiri, Cameron Lodge was built in 1886 by Edward Woods, who had his city base in St Kilda at the now demolished Glenmore.
It was a time when the marketing for the district was pitched as "everyone knows distance lends enchantment to the view."
In 1916 William Cameron, a director of British American Tobacco, renamed it Cameron Lodge. His city home with wife Katy was Hammerdale in St Kilda.
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Cameron, who died in 1949 aged 80, was from a family who'd emigrated from Scotland to Virginia in the United States, and began exporting tobacco to Australia in the 1860s.
The family company, which built tobacco factories in Sydney, on Beckett Street in Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane, joined with the Dixson Tobacco Co in 1903 to form the British-Australasian Tobacco Co Ltd. The Australian companies supplied 75 percent of the manufactured tobacco for Australia and India.
His southern tobacco baron father George, was a gallant Confederate soldier who'd distinguished himself in the 1864 battle for Petersburgh.
The expatriate son was responsible for the cross erected in 1934 as a memorial to soldiers at Mount Macedon.
As a depression employment initiative, Cameron, who'd lost his son in World War I, constructed the massive 21m cross at the eastern lookout as a tribute to those who'd died in the war. 
It was dedicated by the Premier, Sir Stanley Argyle to the glory of God and to the memory of Australia's gallant soldiers.
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Soon after pictures of the cross, set among elegant gardens with views back to the city, featured on railway promotion posters, tourist postcards and brochures.
The £10,000 cost of the cross, plus the roadway, was paid by Cameron.
Constructed of Wunderlich terracotta tiles, it was hit by lightning in 1975 and damaged in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires, which I saw when reporting for the Melbourne Herald. 
It was replaced in 1995 with the Grollo family key to its restoration.
The first European to climb the mountain was the NSW survey general Thomas Mitchell in 1836, who had king Philip II of Macedon in mind when naming it.
This article was first published in the Weekend Australian.
 
 
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Mount Macedon garden estate Cameron Lodge hits the market

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William Street, Paddington hasn't lost its lustre after fashion designer turned property investor Collette Dinnigan recently offloaded her former shop premises.
The mystery buyer has emerged as Patrick Johnson, the tailor to Sydney's well dressed business types and socialites.
Johnson will no doubt be busy this week at his exisiting nearby P.Johnson Tailors premises, fitting suits and shirts for racing lovers as they prepare to head to Royal Randwick for The Everest this Saturday.
P.Johnson Tailors also has stores in New York and London.
<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/2018/10/16/dinnigan1.jpg" alt="">
The expansionary P.Johnson Tailors was recently described in GQ as London's hottest new tailoring story.
Johnson will fit out the William Street space which had been trading as fashion designer Muchacho Clothing (above and below).
The shop will be Johnson's fourth across the country, and third in Sydney having established the company in 2008. 
Johnson's shuffled around his private residential property portfolio last year, swapping Darling Point for Taramara with his wife, interior designer Tamsin Johnson who also runs Tamsin Johnson Interiors.
Having spent $3.85 million in Tamarama, the designer couple sold their Yarranabbe Road apartment for $1,755,000.
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Ivan Bresic at Bresic Whitney Darlinghurst secured the shop sale after having a $1,625,000 guide. 
Dinnigan had owned the property since 1998 when she paid $625,000, but she had been renting out the space over recent times.
Her link to retail village dated back to 1992, her earliest days in fashion, when and living above the premises since 1992,.
<div>"It is a very emotional decision and certainly marks the end of an era," Dinnigan noted.</div>
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<div>"William Street was good to me and gave me the exposure I needed in the Australian market to build my brand.</div>
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<div>“It’s such a fantastic area for local artisans and up-and-coming designers and bespoke retailers.</div>
</div>
Jasmine Yarborough, the shoe making fiancé of breakfast television co-host Karl Stefanovic, has leased William Street space for her Mara &amp; Mine collection which she launched with best friend Tamara Ingham.
This article was first published in the Daily Telegraph.
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Socialite tailor Patrick Johnson buys Collette Dinnigan's William Street store

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The RBA has suggested relatively few borrowers have been constrained by the tightening in lending standards that had reduced maximum loan sizes to date.
It was because most borrowers took out a loan that was substantially smaller than the maximum loan that lenders were prepared to offer.
"Three-quarters of borrowers had taken out loans that were less than 80 per cent of their maximum borrowing capacity based on serviceability considerations," the latest RBA minutes noted.
The board suggested the two quantitative policy measures that had been implemented in previous years – namely, the investor and interest-only benchmarks – were judged to have been effective in reducing the specific risks they targeted.
"The rate of growth in lending to investors had declined and remained well below 10 per cent per annum, and the share of interest-only loans in new housing lending had fallen from around 40 per cent to 15 per cent.
"The share of interest-only loans in the stock of outstanding loans had also declined, in large part because lenders had increased interest rates on existing interest-only loans."
Members discussed quantitative analysis undertaken by Reserve Bank staff, which showed that the investor benchmark imposed in 2014 had led to a change in the composition of new lending for housing.
"In particular, the investor benchmark had resulted in lending to investors growing more slowly but lending to owner-occupiers growing more quickly, with no discernible change in new housing lending in aggregate at the time.
"Additional analysis indicated that over the preceding few years, the investor benchmark had resulted in slower growth of housing prices in locations with a high share of investors, relative to locations with a low share of investors.
"While slower growth in housing prices had not been the objective of the policy measures, members noted that the analysis suggested around two-thirds of the difference in growth in housing prices between these regions in recent years could be attributed to the prudential measures."
To read the full minutes click here.
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RBA detects slower growth of housing prices in investor localities compared with owner occupier suburbs

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Of all the capital cities, Perth remains the one with the weakest clearance rate.
The initial results came in at 13 percent of the homes listed for weekend auction.
Some 32 homes were taken to auction in Perth but only two were confirmed as sold in the 15 available auction results.
There were some 17 auction results still unavailable.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/10/15/CL%20OCT%2014%20AUCTIONS%201.JPG" alt="">
This compares to an overall clearance rate of 50 percent on the 1,850 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities this week.
Compared to last week, where the final auction clearance rate came in at 49.5 per cent across a slightly lower 1,817 auctions.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/10/15/CL%20OCT%2014%20AUCTIONS%203%20uncut.JPG" alt="">
In Perth <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-subiaco-129364294" target="_blank">10 Allora Avenue, Subiaco</a> (pictured above in title), did not sell despite the listing stating "MUST BE SOLD."
The four bedroom two bathroom house is set on a 309 sqm parcel and had no available asking price.
Last sold in 2015 for $1,475,000, the home has been on and off market since 2017 and was listed for rent at $1000 per week as recently as September.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/10/15/CL%20OCT%2014%20AUCTIONS%205.JPG" alt="">
Another home that was unsuccessful at auction in Perth this weekend is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-wa-highgate-129322870" target="_blank">24/288 Lord Street, Highgate</a> (pictured above).
The "brand new" two bedroom, 1 bathroom unit built in 2015 was asking for offers around $369,000.
Set on 85 sqm the apartment that previously held that space sold for $485,000 in 2013, making this asking price a drop of over $100,000.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/10/15/CL%20OCT%2014%20AUCTIONS%206.JPG" alt="">
Even one of the properties that sold couldn't be classified as a success, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-ascot-129333214" target="_blank">28 The Riverwalk, Ascot</a> (pictured above) was sold by the mortgagees for a loss.
The home sold for $900,000 a loss of $220,000 from its sale price of $1.12 million in 2007.
The four bedroom one bathroom house is set on a 495 sqm block and has been listed on and off since 2010.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/10/15/CL%20OCT%2014%20AUCTIONS%207.JPG" alt="">
The only other home to succeed in selling was a deceased estate located at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-wa-marangaroo-129344830" target="_blank">39 Mereworth Way, Marangaroo</a> (pictured above).
Set on 720 sqm, the three bedroom one bathroom home is zoned R20/40 and according to the listing has potential for 3 townhouse/units.
Last sold for $99,000 in 1989 the home was sold via an online auction.
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Perth agents secure just two sales in 13 percent weekend auction success rate

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Crown Group has revealed its latest development.
Mastery by Crown Group, is a collaboration between Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and award-winning local architect Koichi Takada, who has worked before with the developer.
The five-building development has its centrepiece the building by Kengo Kuma, an eye-catching 20-storey tower featuring a striking plant-filled, green exterior designed to emulate a stacked forest.
The remaining four buildings consist three buildings designed by Koichi Takada Architects and a building designed by Sydney-based architects Silvester Fuller.
Crown Group chairman and CEO Iwan Sunito said his vision for Mastery by Crown Group was for it to become a vibrant and diverse community.
He expects between 60 percent and 70 percent will be local buyers.
Located at <a href="https://apartments.masterybycrowngroup.com.au/?gclid=CjwKCAjw0oveBRAmEiwAzf6_rKofth171Thr3RCELoFuZSRybMmpbUPwoRRuj7c6wDlqAdNLuPMohRoCbKcQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">48 O’Dea Avenue Waterloo, Mastery by Crown Group</a> will comprise 384 luxury apartments.
There will be resort-style residents amenities including an infinity-edge cantilevered rooftop pool, gym and community room and a ground-floor retail precinct comprising a mix of restaurants, cafes and shops.
Crown Group will begin accepting expressions of interest later this week with apartment sales to begin November 17.
Construction is scheduled in various stages for completion by 2021.
<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/2018/10/15/masters3.jpg" alt="">
Since Sunito co-founded Crown Group with business partner Paul Sathio in 1996, Crown Group has since built a portfolio of projects under construction and in the pipeline worth $5 billion.
“With Mastery by Crown Group, we are creating a new urban hub,” Mr Sunito said.
It was a great coup to have both Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada collaborating on the project, Mr Sunito said.
“Kengo Kuma and Koichi Takada each have their own unique style and ethos and are true leaders in their field, renowned for their creativity,” Mr Sunito said.
Kengo Kuma founded Kengo Kuma and Associates, Inc. in his home nation Japan in 1990. Last year the company made its first foray into Australia designing The Darling Exchange, a six-storey public building in Darling Harbour followed by a 25-storey hotel in Sydney’s Circular Quay.
Kengo studied at Columbia University in New York City and made last year’s Dezeen Hot List.
The “stacked forest” apartment building at the heart of Mastery by Crown Group will be Kengo Kuma and Associates’ first residential project in Australia.
“Our intention is to give a warm and a natural atmosphere to the community with unique design strategies,” Mr Kuma said of the 19-storey residential tower.
“The upper volume of the tower seamlessly transforms into the lower part of the stepped terraces in order to create an intimacy between the building scale and the pedestrian scale on the street level.
“Eaves wrapping the façade are covered by sticks which give a warm impression of the wood to the façade.
“The entire façade becomes a vertical urban forest by having vegetation on each eave,” Mr Kuma added.
<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/2018/10/15/Masters2.jpg" alt="">
Japanese-born Sydney-based architect Koichi Takada has designed three of the five buildings at Mastery by Crown Group.
Takada began his career in Tokyo and moved to Sydney in 1997. His firm Koichi Takada Architects has won multiple awards for its residential, retail and hospitality designs.
“It is my honour to work alongside Kuma sensei, the Japanese master of architecture. It is a dream come true,” Mr Takada said.
“I drew on an idea of ‘green luxury,’ finding inspiration in nature. Each building is designed with a ‘human touch’ to express its organic and distinct architectural character.
“Responding to Kengo Kuma’s vision for the tallest of the five buildings, I am excited to design three low-rise buildings that create a dynamic architectural dialogue within the precinct,” Mr Takada added.
Mastery by Crown Group sits within the City of Sydney’s Green Square redevelopment precinct; 5km from Sydney’s CBD, 3km from UNSW and 7km from Sydney’s Airport.
With more than 40,000 jobs expected to be created in the Green Square area by 2030, the development will be home to hundreds of new Waterloo residents when completed in 2021.
For more information <a href="https://apartments.masterybycrowngroup.com.au/?gclid=CjwKCAjw0oveBRAmEiwAzf6_rKofth171Thr3RCELoFuZSRybMmpbUPwoRRuj7c6wDlqAdNLuPMohRoCbKcQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">click here.</a>
 
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Green luxury on offer as Crown seeks Mastery buyers 

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In property conveyancing, dates are essential terms in the contract.
Buyers and sellers regularly negotiate property settlement dates that work for them both.
And with just 80 days to Christmas, it is timely to consider how best to work around the calendar to secure a smooth sale.
Finding a private treaty buyer is taking around 40 days in Sydney, according to CoreLogic.
Then settlement typically takes place six weeks after contracts are exchanged, but this can be a point of discussion before the signature on the contract.
Whether it’s a sale by private treaty or by auction, once a contract has been signed, the settlement date is fixed.
A home purchase doesn't finish with signing the sales contract. In fact, the signing is the beginning of the most important process.
Of course, just because there's a date within the signed contract, doesn’t mean that the date isn't movable. But there could be consequences.
There are often issues that arise before actually taking possession of the property.
Around one in five property settlements in Australia is delayed by a median period of seven days, according to Property Exchange Australia (PEXA).
This delay has financial and emotional repercussions.
And the postponed settlements often create a knock on effect resulting in additional property settlement delays.
The proximity to Christmas, New Year and the school holidays heightens stress, so it warrants the earliest consideration of delayed settlement terms.
The seller and buyer need to agree to push back the move date before signing the contract.
I think it is actually a selling point to be flexible on settlements, possibly pushing the settlement well into 2019 as its offers the pre-Christmas buyer plenty of time to find the buyer of their home too.
Ofcourse, some buyers might have already sold and be keen for a quick settlement.
Either way, vendors need to be receptive to enhancing their sale prospects.
There will likely be some attendant issues, such as insurance, bank approvals, bridging finance and maybe deposit release.
Communication and common sense are needed in the formal and informal interactions between the buyer and seller, along with their estate agents, lenders and conveyancers.
I'm told Australia's most expensive house, Fairwater, which sold last month to tech entrepreneur Mike and Annie Cannon-Brookes ending the Fairfax family's 100 year plus hold on the exclusive beachfront, was done with delayed settlement terms.
They agreed on six month settlement terms.
Finding finance won't be an issue for the Atlassian billionaire, but vendors do need to be aware of looming problems if their buyer struggles to find purchasing funds in these straighten lending times.
On the formal front, in the event that a NSW purchaser is not in a position to settle on the settlement date, generally the vendor can charge penalty interest for each day that settlement is delayed and also issue a notice to complete, which gives the purchaser an additional 14 days to settle, thereby making time essential.
In the event that the purchaser is not able to settle by that date, the vendor may be able to terminate the contract and keep the purchaser’s deposit.
Changing minds isn't the go.
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Delayed settlement can boost the chances of finding the right buyer 

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An undisclosed major bank has a blacklist of 6700 apartment projects across Australia.
The projects are where buyers are either refused loans or are offered reduced loan to value ratios (LVR).
The list has been obtained by The Australian Financial Review from the mortgage broker, Home Loan Experts. The newspaper article only pinpointed a handful of effected projects.
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It reveals projects where buyers have either been denied loans or offered less funding are 19 Larkin Street in Camperdown in inner-city Sydney, Finbar's Aire apartments in West Perth and Meriton's developments on Main Beach on the Gold Coast and 1 Janoa Place in Chiswick, inner west Sydney.
Sydney-based Home Loan Experts noted "blacklisted" projects vary across the banks. 
Areas which are consistently "blacklisted" however include Wolli Creek and Zetland (above) in inner south Sydney and the Brisbane CBD given a potential oversupply of new units or the bank reaching maximum exposure of loans on a project, managing director Otto Dargan said. 
Earlier this year RiskWise declare Zetland as the riskiest off the plan suburb in 2018.
No Lending (Exposure Reached)
19 Larkin Street, Camperdown, NSW;
58 Cairds Avenue, Bankstown, NSW;
23 Mcintyre Street, Gordon, NSW;
10 Rosamond Road, Footscray, VIC.
Restricted Lending
29 Woodroffe Avenue, Main Beach, QLD, Maximum LVR: 70%; 
1 Janoa Place, Chiswick, NSW, Maximum LVR: 80%; 
Cromwell Road, South Yarra, VIC, LVR: 80%; 
275-277 The Esplanade, Cairns North, QLD, LVR: 70%; 
36 Griffith Street, New Farm, QLD, LVR: 90%; 
659 Murray Street, West Perth, QLD, LVR: 80%
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<div>A dense project is usually one which has more than 30 apartments, Dargan said.</div>
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Serviced apartments or converted hotels are always considered as high-risk lending.
Assisting borrowers who have been rejected by banks is now a constant challenge, Dargan added.
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Wolli Creek and Zetland apartment projects on "bank's blacklist" 

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Landlords in New South Wales will be limited to seeking rent renewal increases once a year under proposed state government legislation.
There will be no rental hike price restriction, just a 12 month period before any rent increase can be sought from existing occupants, as part of what Matt Kean, the Better Regulation Minister, heralded as "sweeping reform for tenants' rights".
Less frequent rent increases will certainly help tenants plan for their cost of living pressures.
But there will be some ramifications.
The restrictive new law, which is yet to be passed by parliament, could see some investors sell up and exit the market.
Others maybe be tempted to try the short-term accommodation market.
At a microeconomic level, some landlords will now insist on six month rental agreements, with the possibility of tenant turnover potentially allowing a higher rent.
Ofcourse, it is one thing for the investor landlord to seek rent increases, the other is the economic circumstances to be able to get it, and without losing weeks in an empty property.
On the macroeconomic front, prospective investors who will be calculating revised potential yields, are not going to spend as much to initially buy their investment property.
The cap on the timing of rental increases mimics the policy implemented by the Labor Government in Victoria, whose aim in a much broader reform package was to reposition investors as housing providers with responsibilities.
The historic primary aim of property investors has been wealth creation through finding and holding a property for the long term, without undue interference from government intervention.
With capital growth on investment property currently slowing across Sydney, the Berejiklian government proposal comes at a time when investors are sharply focused on their rental return.
And landlords don't need to be reminded they aren't that flash.
From rentvestors to experienced property investors, it was easy to overlook the significance of rental yields when Sydney property were rising with annualised 15% growth.
Rental markets remain relatively subdued across Sydney, partly due to an increase in rental supply accompanying the surge in apartment construction.
It is also because there has been a reduction in demand as first home buyer numbers have risen.
CoreLogic recently noted Sydney rents were down 0.9% over the past 12 months.
CoreLogic expect rental yields will continue to be sluggish.
The Sydney gross rental yield is tracking at 3.2%. 
It is 3.8% for apartments, and just 3% for houses. 
The national gross rental yield is tracking at 3.73%, lower than the decade average of 4.27%. Nationally it is 4.2% for apartments, and 3.6% for houses.
Slowing price growth, the conversion from interest only loans to principal and interest, and the prospect of interest rate rises could see tolerance from investors wear thin.
And the Sydney rental market vacancy rate is rising, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales.
The vacancy rates across the Sydney metropolitan sits at 2.8%, up from 2% this time last year, with inner Sydney at 2.7%, middle Sydney at 2.9% and outer Sydney at 2.7%. 
Tim Lawless at CoreLogic says the recovery in rental yields is likely to be drawn out.
This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph. 
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With capital growth evaporating across Australia, now is the time to focus on rental return

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The tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie Todd have bought Australia’s most expensive house, the harbourfront jewel, Fairwater at Double Bay.
The sale, possibly for close to $100 million, and likely to be in cash, ends more than a century of Fairfax family ownership on Seven Shillings Beach.
Despite the end of the boom, their purchase highlights the enduring popularity of premium harbourfront property, as old money passes the baton to new money.
It took just three weeks for the 1.12 hectare estate to sell, although there had been expectations of its listings since the death of Lady (Mary) Fairfax last September.
The current Sydney time on market has edged up this year to be taking 37 days to find buyers, among the 28,000 current offerings available for sale, according to CoreLogic.
Property developer Richard Sheinberg had been among those who'd been through.
“We are delighted with the purchase of Fairwater for our young family and look forward to continuing the legacy of this beautiful Sydney home,” Cannon-Brookes said. 
“We love the idea of raising our four young children in this historic property, filling the house and gardens with love and laughter through the years," the Cannon-Brookes said.
The price has not been revealed since its sale on Wednesday night, but it had been expected to fetch somewhere between the $71 million paid right next door and close to $100 million.
The sale coincided with a visit to Sydney from the United States by Cannon-Brookes who spends much of his time in San Francisco near Atlassian's US HQ.
The billionaire was always tipped to be its likely buyer, and not just because estate agents pinpointed his Kalamazoo, American-born wife as keen to secure an Australian trophy home.
His Atlassian business partner Scott Farquhar paid $71 million without any mortgage next-door for another Fairfax family home, Elaine which took three years to sell.
There was no formal website marketing for the home that dates back to 1881, but interested parties were being taken through the landmark home by Christie's International agent Ken Jacobs.
“Elaine and Fairwater are the golden girls of Sydney Harbour,” selling agent Ken Jacobs said earlier this month.
"To get over 11,000 square metre of land on Sydney Harbour is just unheard of, and it will be impossible to repreat that," Jacobs said.
"You'd have top buy 11 standard Point Piper sites to get to this size, so it's really just a one off.
"Internationally, to get a property as revered as this within five kilometers from the CBD and this landsize, and on a harbour, is just unheard of.
"It's very extraordinary for a property like this to still exist."
Almost like Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar's business exploits, Jacobs suggested Fairwater and Elaine complement each other.
"They add value to each other because you've basically got Australia's two best properties together. And they're both about to be revived to their former glory."
"They're both legacy properties," Jacobs said, adding that they're not on the radar of properties that continually turn over.
"They're ones that have just been there and maintain quite an amount of mystique.
"It was wonderful when Elaine came to the market, but with Fairwater, it takes it to another level because of the land size.
"It's an acre larger than Elaine and the grounds are just extraordinary.
"It may not come for another hundred years or more."
The Atlassian co-founders' wealth is pegged at a combined $6 billion after Atlassian was founded in 2002 using $10,000 in credit card debt.
The Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes was always on Jacob's radar as a prospective buyer.
He recently sold his Braelin, his Centennial Park trophy, for $16.5 million, and has looked at several trophy homes to purchase.
Last year the family even stayed at Barford in Bellevue Hill to test whether they liked it there on the hillside location.
The Cannon-Brookes had already spent a combined $16 million on two non-waterfront Double Bay houses. The acquisitive couple have spent more than $45 million worth of homes in the past six years including a second Southern Highlands weekender.
The Double Bay offering by the executors of the late LadyFairfax had been in the Fairfax media dynasty family since 1901 when Sir James Oswald Fairfax paid £5,350.
The two-storey, late Victorian mansion - which was designed by architect J. Horbury Hunt for stockbroker, Francis Joseph in 1881, is set on five sub-dividable blocks on exclusive Seven Shillings Beach. 
Elaine is a 6,900 square metre land holding, with Fairwater ranked as the largest privately-owned harbour side landholding, spanning 11,210 square metres.
"It is remarkable that an estate offering such rare and unrepeatable features still exists in Australia today; this opportunity will not come again," Jacobs said.
"It's not what you expect to find in Sydney.
"It's what you expect to find in Newport, Rhode Island for example, because of the grandness of the estate."
Coming without Opera House views, and just the top of the Bridge, the property was always likely to sell to locals rather than Chinese buyers who seek the postcard aspect. 
The top 10 sales across Australia include four sales in Point Piper, three in Vaucluse, one in Melbourne's Malvern and a Mosman Park compound in Perth, which when sold for $57.5 million in 2009, held the national price record.
There had only been one prior listing through to had the potential of securing $100 million, just around the corner.
It was in 2016 when Aussie John Symond listed his Point Piper trophy home with unconfirmed $100 million plus expectations.
His modern four level harbourfront home, set on 2685 square metres, was so vast, and then without vegetation, that it was nicknamed 'Aussie Stadium'.
The state government will secure $6.94 million stamp duty on the touted $100 million sale, and $14.9 million if the Cannon-Brookes are considered based overseas and subject to foreign buyer duty.
Lady Fairfax briefly contemplated gifting her mansion to the people of NSW. 
In 1996 Lady Fairfax announced a trust of seven was being established to oversee the estate. 
Lady Fairfax, who later declined to comment on her intended gift, moved into Fairwater with her husband, Sir Warwick in 1969.
During her decades the Fairwater grounds had been regularly opened for charitable fundraising occasions, including the East West Foundation, the Australia Ireland Fund, the Opera Foundation Australia (founded by Lady Fairfax) and the Cochlear Implant Centre, Sydney. 
At one dark stage in the Fairfax annuls, the mother of fallen media boss Warwick Fairfax, suggested after he lost the newspaper empire, that she might have had to sell part of the grounds to pay the land tax and its upkeep.
"Fairwater is safe but what is Fairwater without the garden, it's just another big old house," she said amid the 1990 company stockmarket turmoil.
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Fairfax's Fairwater sale reflects baton change from old media to new tech

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Thousands of potential Sydney upsizing vendors are not going anywhere this spring, being trapped in their current home with their current financing.
All due to tighter home loan lending restrictions that leaves them unable to negotiate the required funds to upsize.
Indeed many of these home owners would not be able to get the same existing loan amount if they tried, and not just because of weak income growth.
Stricter lending rules are a good thing, especially at a time of historically low interest rates, but they will continue to be a major brake on buyer potential to bid for property.
This means fewer offers from finance approved buyers which means the galloping price growth seen during the five year boom just won't happen.
The size of the imminent spring price falls will depend, in part, on just whether downsizing vendors seek to sell at a discount to recent values.
I think sales activity levels will remain subdued.
With very high household debt, these stricter lending criteria were introduced for good reason by the regulatory authorities over the past four years.
The unexpected royal commission into finance has extenuated the tightening by lenders.
Gone is the one size fits all approach which saw inflated amounts being lent to desirous home buyers.
Lenders now look thoroughly at the applicant's income and expenses - everything from utility bills, childcare, Netflix subscriptions, education, insurance, telephone and internet, groceries and medical, health and disability requirements. Even beauty treatments.
The regulator also now expects lenders to discount uncertain or variable income by at least 20%, including any rental income for investment properties.
Mozo finance commentator Steve Jovcevski suggests stay put home owners are also struggling to refinance their way into better mortgages. 
He nominated a couple with one dependent and a dual income of $120,000 who purchased a home in 2013, borrowing $800,000.
Their $4,295 monthly repayments leaves them $3,680 to manage their other expenses.
Fast forward five years, the couple now has a $129,000 combined salary and they've had another child.
They're still paying the same amount, have $734,600 left to pay off, and would like to refinance to closer to the 3.8% on offer rather than staying with their current 5% rate.
When they secured their 2013 loan, the bank used a poverty line index to estimate their costs ($3,276 per month) with a buffer of 1.5% to ensure the couple could meet their repayments if rates increase.
The bank now defines their actual expenses as being $4000 per month, and applies a 2% buffer.
Under the new criteria the refinancing couple can only borrow $680,000.
These home owners have been dubbed 'mortgage prisoners', unable to move to a more competitive mortgage deal, even if they’ve met every repayment, because they would not pass new affordability tests.
The banks would like to continue their loan growth, but for the penalties being handed out for breaches against their responsible lending obligations.
The best poised spring buyers are likely stumping up a near 20% deposit.
And have done a through spring clean of their finances, including getting rid of excess credit cards, which are a negative on their credit ranking.
Find a good mortgage broker too.
This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph. 
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New financing restrictions leading to 'mortgage prisoners'

<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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