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The restructuring of the Centro Retail Australia property portfolio continues with the shopping centre landlord announcing that it has acquired the Centro Tormino, about 8 kilometres south of Coffs Harbour for $65.5 million from one of its investment syndicates.
The sale was concluded on December 14 and was in line with the June 2012 independent valuation of the centre and 8.3% above the highest offer received for the Centre during the most recent March 2012 sale campaign.
It follows Centro selling its Surfers Paradise Mall for $162.5 million to a Challenger institutional investor syndicate.
Centro Tormino formed part of the Centro MCS 16.
The 21,000 square metre mall was acquired for $25 million in September 2006 on a yield of 10.28% with Coles and Woolworths as the anchor tenants and 35 speciality stores.
The syndicate has not made any distributions to investors since July 2008 and its senior debt facility was due to expire in December last year.
In his update to investors, Gerard Condon, executive general manager of syndicates, says the sale to Centro Retail Australia saved the syndicate approximately $650,000 in sale agents commission.
He also said that any alternative strategies were likely to take more time to complete and incur further transaction costs with no guarantee of improved value for syndicate investors.
Investors are forecast to receive a final syndicate net asset backing of $0.44 per unit.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Centro is considering purchasing another single-asset fund, MCS 27 which holds the $91 million Sunshine Marketplace in Melbourne, as its debt facility reaches term.
Centro is currently acquiring key syndicate assets and disposing of those it deems non-core as part of its restructure plan agreed with lenders in December 2011.
Other assets it has acquired include the Centro Dianella in Perth and full-ownership of the $570 million Bankstown shopping centre in NSW.
Centro will rebrand to Federation Centres at its EGM on January 22, subject to shareholder approval.
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Centro buys Coffs Harbour mall from syndicate for $65.5 million

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Forget about a fifth banking pillar emerging and a mortgage discount war in 2013.
The big four banks’ dominance of the mortgage market is set to strengthen this year with regional banks, non-bank lenders and mutual lenders continuing to clutch at their coat-tails.
According to Morningstar analyst David Ellis, the major banks are only going to get stronger in 2013 and the last thing they want is a mortgage war to impact on their “highly profitable oligopoly”,
The possibility of a mortgage war was raised by Business Spectator columnist Robert Gottliebsen in a recent article in The Australian titled "The rate discount that will change banking".
Gottliebsen claimed that because lenders like <a target="_blank" href="/news">Yellow Brick Road now have access to cheaper funding from Macquarie Bank</a>, banks will be forced to match discounted offers in the market place and that a mortgage war will erupt.
Ellis says quite the opposite that, while net interest margins are under pressure, a combination of loan repricing, better conditions in wholesale funding markets, the major banks’ strong competitive position and improving funding mix will provide upside to margins.
“We expect major bank pricing decisions to remain rational, as there is no desire for a home loan price war to upset the highly profitable oligopoly," he says.
In a slow-growth housing market, likely to persist until 2015, Ellis says the major banks managed outstanding housing credit growing of 5.9% to the end of October compared to the 4.7% for the total market, continuing to take market share from non-banks.
According to Ellis the major risk to earnings growth for the major banks is a sharp deterioration in credit quality growth, particularly if the economy slides into recession, “but we rank this a low possibility”.
“We do not see any material loan loss risks in the residential portfolios of the major banks and at this early stage of the 2013 financial year, overall credit quality remains sound,” he says.
And while the outlook for the major banks in the current environment of low loan growth, benign bad debts and strong profitability is strong with Ellis expecting them to generate approximately 50–75 basis points bps in internal capital each year, “providing a growing surplus for capital management initiatives” the outlook is murkier for other lenders.
“Regional banks, building societies and non-bank lenders relying on securitisation as a major funding source will struggle to raise cost effective funds, crimping profitability,” he says.
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The mortgage loans war we won’t have in 2013: Morningstar

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Headline inflation rose just 0.2 % in the December quarter to an annual rate of 2.2% for 2012, according to ABS data released today.
This was below expectations of a 0.5% rise in headline inflation over the quarter to an annualised rate of 2.5%, according to an AAP survey of 15 economists.
Core or underlying inflation, watched most closely by the RBA, rose by a lower than expected 0.5% over the quarter to an annualised rate of 2.2%.
This is at the bottom end of the RBA's target inflation band of 2% to 3% and the lower than expected core reading will weigh into discussions about a possible rate cut in February.
However, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/rba-likely-to-avoid-february-rate-cut-with-home-prices-up-13-since-start-of-year-craig-james/2013012258935?utm_source=po&amp;utm_medium=aida&amp;utm_campaign=news" target="_blank">CommSec economist Craig James </a>says strong house price growth over January (up 1.3% over the first three weeks of the year) is likely to stay the RBA's hand in February.
"The latest data keeps the door open to a rate cut should it become necessary," says James.
"Financial markets see a 36% chance of a rate cut. CommSec believes that the Reserve Bank will leave interest rates unchanged in February.
James says the December quarter data indicates that "inflation is not an issue at present, meaning that rates can stay lower for longer".
"Inflation is well and truly contained and the Reserve Bank certainly has the scope to cut interest rates interest rates in February if it believes it is necessary. The low inflation result removes any lasting hurdle for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates over the next few months," he says.
The Aussie dollar was unchanged at US105.55 cents.
The ABS figures show that the housing group rose 4.4% in the December quarter with rises in all categories.The main contributors to the rise were rents (+0.8%), maintenance and repair of the dwelling (+0.5%) and new dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers (+0.1%).
The most significant price rises in the December quarter 2012 were for domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+6.2%) and automotive fuel (+2.6%).
The most significant offsetting price falls were for vegetables (–5.7%), audio, visual and computing equipment (–4.3%) and pharmaceutical products (–3.5%).
NAB and ANZ had forecast a core inflation reading of around 0.7% for the quarter equating to an annualised rate of 2.4% to 2.5%.
According to NAB, a low core reading of 0.6% or below for the quarter is needed to sway the RBA to cut the cash rate in February rather than March.
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RBA interest rate watch: Inflation up 0.2% in December quarter, below expectations

<html><body>Take the common example of an Australian expatriate who buys a home back in Australia while still resident of another country, including for tax purposes. In this case study, the house will be rented until the expat eventually returns to Australia, when it will become the family’s home. The capital gains tax (CGT) treatment when the home is eventually sold will be influenced by the length of time when the property was not the expat’s main Australian residence. (Main residences are exempt from Australian CGT).What would be this expat’s CGT position if he or she were to own the property for, say, 10 years and it was his or her Australian home for only the final two of those years? Joe Galea, property tax partner for accountants Deloitte in Sydney, says a fifth of any net capital gain should be taxable. The capital gain or loss is calculated by offsetting the so-called “cost base” against its sale price. (Very broadly, the cost base comprises the cost of buying and selling the property after allowing for any capital depreciation.) For more tips for Australian expats buying back home this summer, <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-20-top-tips-for-australian-expats-thinking-of-buying-homes-this-summer" target="_blank">download our free eBook.</a></body></html>

Understand potential capital gains tax implications: Tips for expat Australian property buyers

<html><body>A Sydney-based online real estate start-up has taken an unusual approach to website development by crowdsourcing ideas from the public over the functionality and concept of its offering. Housenet.com.au, which launched in September, bills itself as the only social media network for property in Australia. Aimed at both the real estate industry and consumers, the site allows people to buy, sell and interact with other. The business has a free basic level but users can pay a fee to subscribe and add new features or promote their listings. Darren Moffatt, Housenet’s founder who previously launched Express Mortgage Market, says that he wants to “democratise” the process of website development. “We want to include site members, but also other people, maybe social media nerds, who have ideas,” he says. “Like every start-up, we’re in an evolving process. We have learned the last three months that people like the site and it’s easy to use, but the experience needs to be localised, which we are looking to do.” “We want to cast a wide net, not caught in groupthink. We are a big believer with wisdom of crowds, [and we are] very happy to dump our ideas if better.” In return for providing suggestions that get taken up, users will receive free Housenet lifetime premium membership and free advertising on the site. “Everyday users will bring practical responses, such as ‘I don’t like where this button is’ but we are trying to go beyond that and attract lateral thinkers to give them the opportunity to shape a site from the ground up,” he says. “To date, the stuff has been practical, but we’re looking for more conceptual stuff. It’s not every day a new social media site launches.” “It’s very much an experiment. We’ll suck it and see. It is a little scary, frankly, about letting go of some control.” “If you’re in a start-up and you’re building a community, this is the way to go. Feedback is common, but we’re putting that approach on steroids and saying anyone can have a say. There are risks to that, but I think it’s worth it.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.startupsmart.com.au/" target="_blank">StartupSmart.</a></body></html>

Real estate listings website Housenet.com.au crowdsources its design

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Proactive borrowers with home loans in excess of $500,000 and a strong equity position are well placed to negotiate substantial discounts off their current home loan rate if they’re willing to putting in the leg work, say mortgage brokers.
The issue of negotiating mortgage discounts has risen to prominence once again with the launch of Mark Bouris’s Yellow Brick Road’s 115-basis-point discount campaign and other substantial rate discounts offerings aimed at new borrowers or those refinancing.
Business Spectator’s Robert Gottliebsen wrote recently of a mortgage and deposit war erupting on the back of Yellow Brick Road accessing cheap funding from Macquarie Bank and a new TV promotion – set to coincide with Mark Bouris hosting Celebrity Apprentice – “to inform borrowers that they can reduce their mortgage rate by 0.3%”.
According to Gottliebsen, all borrowers have to then do is take this home loan approval with them to their incumbent lender and demand a rate cut and if you are with certain banks you will get it – the result a mortgage discount war and the banks returning to overseas markets to access cheap funding.
Yellow Brick Road declined to comment on its upcoming campaign, which Property Observer understands won't kick off until at least after Easter given Channel Nine's program scheduling, suggesting Gottliebsen may have jumped the gun on the campaign. YBR did say that its current 115-basis-point offer had been extended to the end of February.
“We’ll continue to use our relationships with Macquarie and [Channel] Nine to build and promote great offers to the public and deliver them via our national network of branches,” a spokesperson for YBR said.
Property Observer discussions with mortgage brokers indicate that Gottliebsen is more or less on the money – lenders are prepared to offer a discount if there is a risk of losing a good borrower, especially one with a big loan, but warn that getting multiple home loan approvals can damage your credit rating if you don't take them up.
Smartline mortgage broker Michael Daniels says negotiating a discount can definitely be done provided the client is prepared to do a fair bit of work.
“Clients are apathetic, but there definitely are discounts out there,” he says, arguing that competition is fierce between the four major banks.
However, he says banks will not just provide a discount if you tell them you can get a cheaper rate online.
“The first phase would be an email from a broker confirming the offer that they can make.
“This is more of a pricing email than an approval, but it is assumed that the broker would only be quoting a loan that they are confident would be approved,” he says.
“If this does not work, then a full submission will need to be made to show the current bank that their client is now a genuine flight risk,” he says.
This should do the trick, but if it does not, he says borrowers can, with the help of their broker, secure a discharge authority from an alternative lender (offering a lower rate), which is required to get a mortgage off title.
Daniels says this worked with a client who believed he was paying a mortgage rate 20 basis points higher than he should.
An initial letter from Daniels to the bank, secured the borrower a five-basis-point discount, but it was only when he the client presented the lender with a discharge authority notice that the bank wilted and gave him what he wanted.
“That’s when the bank knows you’re serious and when their client retention teams are likely to takeover,” says Daniels.
However, he says in most cases an email from a broker should suffice to get the attention of your bank manager.
Mortgage Choice head of corporate affairs Belinda Williamson agrees that there is competitive tension between lenders at the moment.
“As you probably know, in terms of funding costs it is generally more beneficial for a lender to keep an existing borrower by offering an incentive to stay than it is to attract a new customer. “More incentives are likely to be offered to borrowers who have a high loan amount ($500k+) and a low LVR (under 80%). However, it still does come down to lenders' policies,” she says. Depending on the borrower, their loan type and lender, Williamson says it may be possible to get discounts of up to one percentage point off the standard variable rate. “It is definitely worth anyone's while to enquire and do their best to negotiate. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive,” she says.
Williamson says that even though basic variable rate borrowers already have the advantage of receiving the lender’s lowest interest rate that can also try to negotiate.
She says borrowers don’t need to get loan approval with another lender to negotiate a better rate with their existing lender and adds that borrowers should be mindful that multiple loan applications can impact their credit rating and hence their ability to borrow in the near future.
“There are other tools that borrowers can use to negotiate a better loan deal before going to the extent of apply for a loan offer from another lender (hence, adding a notch to their credit record) for the sake of price matching.
“For example, a borrower could ask their mortgage broker to use their lender relationships to do the negotiating for them or to shop around for ‘cheaper’, better suited loan.
“A borrower could also use lenders’ marketing material to negotiate based on an advertised rate. In any case it is important that the borrower is negotiating based on similar loan products,’ she says.
Don Nicolussi, a mortgage broker with Home Loan Warehouse, says pricing or interest rate is a very important consideration “but as brokers we are constantly on the look-out for innovation and flexibility in the area of lending policy and product options”.
“As brokers we welcome competition in the banking sector if it means more options and favourable pricing for our clients in the long term.
“That is, a strong industry with the right number of lenders,” he says.
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Big mortgage + big deposit = big rate discount possibilities: mortgage brokers

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Economist Steve Keen has delivered a damning verdict on the impact of first-home owner grants, saying they only serve to drive up property prices and push first-home owners out of the property market. 


The embattled economics professor and columnist, currently in a legal dispute with his academic institution the University of Western Sydney, says the new doubled $15,000 first-home owner grants being offered by the NSW and Queensland state governments – labelled builders’ grant by Ray White boss Brian White – aren’t as damaging as the previous broader grant to buyers of existing properties.

Keen labelled the recent accusation levelled by acting NSW opposition leader Linda Burney that Premier Barry O’Farrell had abandoned first-home buyers by cutting the grant for existing home and removing stamp duty concessions (unless you buy or build a new home) as “bollocks”.

“First-home buyers weren’t locked out by the ending of the first home vendors’ grant: they were locked out by the impossibly high prices that this grant has helped generate over the 30 years since it was first invented,” says Keen.

Keen says former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s doubling and tripling of the first-home owner grant from 2008 to 2010 caused the last spike in house prices, with the real beneficiaries those vendors who sold their first homes to first-home buyers – hence why Keen calls it the "‘first-home vendors’ grant" – and the banks that took the extra deposit and heaped first-home buyers with “initially three and ultimately over 10 times as much more debt”.

“The grant should be abolished, and governments should keep their hands out of asset markets.

“The O’Farrell government is still in there with its grant to purchasers of new properties, but that isn’t as damaging as the broader grant to buyers of existing properties as well.

“In that sense, I applaud the O’Farrell government for limiting the damage done to first-home buyers – and indeed the economy – by the grant,” he says in a column for Business Spectator.

Keen says the purpose of the first-home owners grant has never been to give first home buyers a helping hand, but has “always been used as a way of giving the economy the economic equivalent of a steroid injection”.

“First-home buyers have instead been the sacrificial lambs of an asset-price-inflation route to apparent national prosperity,” says Keen.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
Keen says former prime minister Bob Hawke was the first to use a first-home buyers grant after he beat Malcom Fraser at the 1983 election, not to help first-home buyers but as a way of “reviving the housing market and perhaps the economy”.

He says it worked a treat, and allowed Paul Keating to claim the mantle of greatest treasurer ever.

But, Keen says, the grant also “supercharged house price rises”.

According to Keen, every time the government has introduced a first-home owner grant, the effect has been the same and can be observed by looking at house price before and after its introduction.

He says without government-injected stimulus, house prices have risen more or less in line with inflation, but have diverged noticeably to deliver real growth on the back of first-home owner grants.

“This is when the myth that house prices always rise took hold in the Australian psyche – without the awareness that this was not a natural phenomenon like sunrise, but took not only rising leverage from the banks, but also active intervention in the property market by both state and federal governments.

Keen is currently embroiled in a Fair Work Commission dispute with the University of Western Sydney over delays in processing his voluntary redundancy while at the same time facing a corruption watchdog enquiry after telling his economics students he could not fail any of them because they would not be able to re-sit exams due to the university no longer offering an Economics degree course.

A tribunal hearing involving Keen and UWS began yesterday in Sydney while UWS has already referred the matter to ICAC.

Keen tweeted that it was confidential hearing at the request of the university.

Keen explained what he told his students in an interview with ABC News radio yesterday.

“I told the students that I would not fail anyone given the circumstances that their subject was quite possibly being abolished and they were told about it two weeks before the exam for that subject would take place and of course if they failed, there wouldn't necessarily be a subject there for them to repeat the following year and I certainly wouldn't be teaching it so in that situation I just couldn't see how I could fail anybody.

He says he “probably overstepped the mark”, but claims UWS has “blown the matter out of proportion as part of a battle over the cuts to economics”.

Keen says he has been invited to two universities in London to apply for professorships and has also applied to his alma mater, the University of Sydney, for the professorship of political economy.
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State handouts turned first-home owners into “sacrificial lambs”: Steve Keen

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In what could signal a better year for retail property on the Gold Coast, diversified financial services group Challenger has bought the Centro Surfers Paradise Mall for $162.5 million.
The sale price is 1.6% above the June 30 2012 book value and follows a number of unsuccessful sales campaigns dating back to April 2010.
Challenger has acquired the centre alongside institutional investors having previously been a lender to the Centro-managed investor syndicate MCS 11, which held the asset.
The centre had attracted the interest of billionaires John Van Lieshout and John Gandel.
The sale was negotiated by retail specialist Simon Rooney of Jones Lang LaSalle, who said “a range of investors are now targeting quality retail assets with strong growth outlooks.
 Rooney says investors are "particularly attracted to Queensland’s positive economic growth forecast, high rate of population growth and strong international tourism sector, which will support a recovery in the Gold Coast retail market"
Centro Surfers Paradise is the dominant retail complex in Surfers Paradise occupying some 2.6 hectares on Cavill Avenue with more than 100m of frontage to the Esplanade overlooking the main Surfers Paradise beach.
The mall was first listed for sale in April 2010, but failed to achieve what Centro considered a reasonable price “in excess of $150 million”.
It was remarketed for sale in November 2011 but Centro could not negotiate a sale despite receiving a number of offers.
Centro purchased the mall for $88 million in 2006 on a yield of 10% with Woolworths as the anchor tenant along with 112 speciality tenants and over 21,000 square metres of gross lettable space.
Investors are forecast to receive a final syndicate net asset backing (NAB) of $1.63 for every $1.00 of original equity invested.
Centro Retail Australia will continue to manage the centre, which according to the Australian Financial Review has “substantial development upside”.
Centro Retail Australia is the restructured entity that emerged after Centro ran into deep financial trouble on the back of the GFC.
Subject to shareholder approval later this month, it will change its name to Federation Centres.
Centro Retail Australia owns 41 shopping centres and has assets worth $6.6 billion
It also manages a further 43 shopping centres on behalf of unlisted property syndicates.
 
 
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Challenger acquires Centro Surfers Paradise Mall for $162.5 million

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There are just over two weeks to go until the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee meets for the first time in 2013 on February 5 to deliberate on the cash rate.
It currently stands at 3%, with the lowest advertised variable rate on offer being 4.99% from lender Easy Street, owned and operated by Sydney-based Community First Credit Union.
The lowest three-year fixed fixed-rates also start from 4.99%, offered by non-bank lender homeloanHQ, with loans underwritten by a major bank.
Economists are suggesting that the RBA may wait until March to begin cutting rates, but will take a closer look at the December quarter inflation result to be released by the ABS on Wednesday.
With annual inflation expected to track well within the RBA’s annual target band of 2% to 3%, a<a target="_blank" href="/news"> low quarterly inflation reading </a>may give the RBA the green light to cut rates – depending on its assessment on other factors such as unemployment, mortgage growth and retail spending.
AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver, who expects at least three rate cuts this year, points out that there was only bright note in December economic data – a record number of car sales.
Overall, he says, “the Australian economy remains sub-par, particularly so given that the RBA started cutting interest rates over a year ago”.
Regardless of what the RBA decides to do, astute borrowers will be examining their current mortgage and lender with expectations that rates will fall further this year.
These are the lowest advertised mortgage rates based on listings by <a href="https://www.ratecity.com.au/" target="_blank">ratecity.com.au</a>, <a href="https://mozo.com.au/" target="_blank">Mozo.com.au</a>,  <a href="https://www.infochoice.com.au/" target="_blank">infochoice.com.au</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.homeloanfinder.com.au/">homeloanfinder.com.au</a> as of January 21:
Where the headline rate is the same, the lender with the lowest comparison rate gets preference.
Lowest variable rate offerings:
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="134" valign="top">
Provider
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top">
Loan name
</td>
<td width="97" valign="top">
Rate
</td>
<td width="116" valign="top">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="134" valign="top">
Easy Street
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top">
Honeymoon Home Loan Special
</td>
<td width="97" valign="top">
4.99%
</td>
<td width="116" valign="top">
5.77%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="134" valign="top">
Nationwide Mortgage
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top">
True Saver Home Loan
</td>
<td width="97" valign="top">
5.17%
</td>
<td width="116" valign="top">
5.18%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="134" valign="top">
Mortgage View
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top">
Mortgage View Pro Pack, New Year Special
</td>
<td width="97" valign="top">
5.17%
</td>
<td width="116" valign="top">
5.19%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Lowest one-year fixed-rate offerings
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="137" valign="top">
Provider
</td>
<td width="123" valign="top">
Loan name
</td>
<td width="95" valign="top">
Rate
</td>
<td width="114" valign="top">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137" valign="top">
Greater Building Society
</td>
<td width="123" valign="top">
Fixed Rate Ultimate Home Loans
</td>
<td width="95" valign="top">
4.99%
</td>
<td width="114" valign="top">
5.80%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137" valign="top">
Newcastle Permanent
</td>
<td width="123" valign="top">
Fixed Rate Home Loan
</td>
<td width="95" valign="top">
4.99%
</td>
<td width="114" valign="top">
5.98%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="137" valign="top">
Hunter United
</td>
<td width="123" valign="top">
Fixed Rate Home Loan
</td>
<td width="95" valign="top">
4.99%
</td>
<td width="114" valign="top">
5.98%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Lowest three-year fixed-rate offerings
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="131" valign="top">
Provider
</td>
<td width="131" valign="top">
Loan name
</td>
<td width="96" valign="top">
Rate
</td>
<td width="111" valign="top">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="131" valign="top">
homeloanHQ
</td>
<td width="131" valign="top">
Rate Lock Home Loan
</td>
<td width="96" valign="top">
4.99%
</td>
<td width="111" valign="top">
5.53%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="131" valign="top">
Resi
</td>
<td width="131" valign="top">
Flexi Fix Plus 75
</td>
<td width="96" valign="top">
5.09%
</td>
<td width="111" valign="top">
5.80%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="131" valign="top">
UBank
</td>
<td width="131" valign="top">
UHomeLoan for refinancing - Fixed Rate Loan
</td>
<td width="96" valign="top">
5.13%
</td>
<td width="111" valign="top">
5.26%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
*A comparison rate includes both the interest rate and the fees and charges relating to a loan, combined into a single percentage figure.
For information on refinancing, watch our free webinar <a target="_blank" href="/news">The Do's and Don’ts of Refinancing Your Existing Home Loan ... and How to Avoid Unnecessary Hurdles</a>.
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The cheapest home loan offerings in the lead-up to February RBA decision

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Hopes of a recovery in demand for tourist accommodation in 2013 on the Gold Coast have been dealt a blow, with young Australians increasingly shunning it as a holiday destination, according to the latest Roy Morgan survey.
Based on a survey sample of 22,000 Australians aged under 30 taken just before the key Christmas holiday period, Roy Morgan found that 4.1 million Australians (22%) want to take a holiday in Melbourne within the next two years, compared with 3.3 million (18%) who would choose the surf, sun and sandy sequins of the Gold Coast.
Also reflecting the rise of big city-based holidays, Sydney is now almost equal third with the Sunshine Coast as a favoured destination, with 2.2 million Australians (12%) choosing Sydney and 2.3 million the Sunshine Coast (12%).
Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road rounds out the top five, with 2 million (11%) wanting to visit.
Reflecting the devastating impact of the GFC on tourism-dependent locations, the Gold Coast was the top tourist destination in Australia from 2001 to late 2007, before Melbourne overtook it in late 2008.
Since then Melbourne’s tourism star has risen and continues to rise while the Gold Coast has continued to decline with both its holiday accommodation market and overall property market slumping.
The November quarter Midwood Report tallied just 19 high-rise apartment sales on the Gold Coast over the November quarter, a 70% plunge from sales figure a year ago, with 705 new high-rise apartments still available for purchase and receivers appointed to high-rise developments Oracle and Soul among others.
Top 5 domestic holiday destinations Australians would like to visit in next two years
<img alt="roymorgan" height="216" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/01/roymorgan.gif">
Source: Roy Morgan
Commenting on the latest results, Jane Ianniello, international director of tourism, travel &amp; leisure at Roy Morgan Research, says beach destinations such as the Gold and Sunshine coasts have suffered in popularity over the past decade due to increased competition from short-haul overseas beach destinations such as Bali, Fiji and Thailand.
She says Melbourne is only domestic holiday destinations to have increased in preference over past decade.
“Australians under 30 are particularly attracted to it, with 28% saying they would like to take a holiday there in the next two years. The shopping, dining, nightlife, and special events all appeal to this younger age group. “Sydney has regained popularity as a holiday destination over the past three years after suffering a large drop in preference after the Cronulla riots in December 2005. A guide to the top 10 destinations for 2013 by accommodation booking website hostelworld.com ranks Taipei, Taiwan, as the top destination following a rise in tourist numbers in 2012 and the opportunity to view the city from one of the world’s tallest buildings (Taipei 101), along with "gloriously tasty and extremely affordable food and more”.
Porto, Portugal, the "city of bridges", ranks second for being “visually stunning”, followed by Christchurch, New Zealand – the closest to an Australian destination, as it rises from earthquake disasters.
The others in the Hostelworld top 10 are Amsterdam, San Diego, Rio De Janeiro, Budapest, Tokyo,  Girona (Spain) and Cape Town. 
 
 
 
 
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Younger Australians increasingly prefer holidaying in Melbourne over the Gold Coast: Roy Morgan

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.

A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.

Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.

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“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.

From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.

The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.

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Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.

A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.

Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.

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Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

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Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

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Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

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The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

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Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

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Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

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Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

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Larry Schlesinger

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