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Prime CBD non-residential property such as offices and shopping centres have delivered rental yields of between 5% and 10% to investors consistently every year going back to 1986, according to AMP Capital.
However, as the graph below shows, capital gains tend to fluctuate.
The graph highlights the income and capital gains returns of the benchmark IPD Australian All Property Index since 1986.
The index tracks 1,629 direct property investments worth $136 billion.
Click to enlarge
<a href="/images/stories/2012/10/ampoct17.gif" rel="shadowbox" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/10/ampoct17thumb.gif"></a>
 
According to Damian Fitzpatrick, fund manager for property at AMP Capital, offices and shopping centres are a key part of a diversified portfolio because they can provide stable, reliable income streams.
“These investments can also provide a hedge against inflation due to regular rent reviews that are linked to the consumer price index (CPI).
“However there are still underlying risks in the sector, therefore portfolio diversification and experience in managing these assets are critical,” he says.
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Consistent rental returns on direct commercial property, but capital gains fluctuate: AMP

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There is a place for listed property trusts in an investment portfolio, but only in a supporting capacity, says research firm Morningstar in its latest A-REITs update.
Morningstar says the fundamentals of the sector are now once again “broadly aligned with the core principles of steady, sustainable income-focused returns with the scope for some capital upside”, making AREITs “more attractive on the basis of pure fundamentals”.
However, this increased attractiveness has yet to flow through to increased investor appetite, with A-REITs delivering annual income returns well below global REITs and infrastructure funds – but better than large-cap stocks.
Click to enlarge
<a href="/images/stories/2012/10/morningstar.gif" rel="shadowbox" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/10/morningstarthumb.gif"></a>
“Before investing in a dedicated A-REIT vehicle, investors and advisers should first assess the extent of any existing exposures,” says Mark Laidlaw, research analyst at Morningstar Australasia.
“We suggest an allocation of no more than 10% to Australian and global REIT strategies combined, although this will depend on individual needs, objectives, and risk profiles.
“Investors with a more income-focused orientation may look to prefer AREITs, while those seeking a greater growth profile may lean towards global property.
“Any listed property allocation should be considered a relatively defensive component of a broader Australian equities allocation, or housed within a broader global listed property sleeve,” he says.
In its analysis of the sector, Morningstar presents a mostly favourable picture of the sector and says most A-REITs have “cleaned up their business models” after being heavily leveraged and adopting riskier asset management endeavours pre-GFC.
Most A-REITs have returned to “reasonable payout ratios” – from paying out 100% of earnings around 2008 to paying around 80% of earnings currently.
This is much more sustainable, says Morningstar, “and leaves plenty of room to maintain the health of the properties and the trust”.
However, two structural shortcomings of  the A-REITs sector are the lack of diversification – a 47% retail assets allocation – and the concentration of the market in the hands of less than a dozen big developers.
More than 90% of the market capitalisation of the A-REIT sector is held by the top 10 stocks, with Westfield Group and its shopping centre spin-off Westfield Retail Trust accounting for around 40% of the pie.
The other major A-REITs are Stockland, Goodman Group, GPT, Centro, Mirvac, Dexus, Investa, Charter Hall Office REIT and Multiplex.
The sector could lean even more heavily towards retail if Woolworths goes ahead with plans to launch a $1.4 billion shopping centre trust holding around 70 Woolworths-owned and anchor tenanted centres.
Morningstar notes that some fund managers have broadened the range of stocks they invest in to include infrastructure and property-related stocks.
It warns, though, that any further reduction in sector constituents could critically impair fund managers' ability to build portfolios of investable stocks.
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Listed property trusts should only play a supporting role in an investment portfolio: Morningstar

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Cromwell Property Group has recorded a strong investor response to its Ipswich City Heart Trust. an unlisted single property trust comprising the $93 million Ipswich City Heart Building currently under construction in the Ipswich CBD.
More than 800 investors invested around $50,000 each in the trust, with the offer oversubscribed and closing early. 
The trust has raised around $50 million in total.
The nine-storey commercial office and retail building is being built at 117 Brisbane Street and will have the Queensland government’s Department of Public Works as the major tenant.
The trust is a seven-year investment distributing 8% per annum paid monthly to investors and offering capital growth potential and tax-deferred income.
The building is the first stage of ICON Ipswich, a $1 billion revitalisation project that will span four city blocks and deliver approximately 170,000 square metres of master-planned commercial, retail, residential and public space to deliver a “new generation” city centre.
The Department of Public Works will occupy 91% of the 15,600 square metres of office space. There will be an additional 2,134 square metres of retail space over the lower ground, ground and mezzanine levels.
Cromwell CEO Paul Weightman said the recent announcement of an increase in forecast trust distributions (from 7.75% to 8%) combined with falling official interest rates significantly boosted the rate of inflows.
Apart from the 8% annual return, Weightman said expectations of further falls in interest rates made the investment “extremely attractive to yield-conscious investors”.
“The strong response from investors proves the continuing appeal of simple, transparent, yield-based products underpinned by quality Australian commercial property assets,” he added.
Construction of the building commenced in January 2012 and is on target to be completed by September 2013.
“Given the level of inflows over the last two to three months, Cromwell is now focused on meeting this demand for quality direct property by bringing another similar opportunity to market over the next few months,” said Weightman.
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Investors rush to buy into Cromwell’s Ipswich City unlisted property trust

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Australia's largest charitable group, World Vision Australia, will pay around $85 per square metre net per annum to lease a 1,250-square-metre office and warehouse facility at Croydon South in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in a deal negotiated by Savills Australia.
The combined warehouse and office is located at the Merrindale Estate Business Park at 36 Research Drive on a 2,023-square-metre site zoned Industrial 1 with 18 on-site car spaces.
The leasing deal was brokered by Savills’ Notting Hill office executive Adrian Smith.
World Vision had taken a five-year lease with two, five-year renewal options and will move from former leased premises in Mulgrave. 
The lessor is a local private investor.
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Charity World Vision leases warehouse space in Croydon

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A local investor has acquired the warehouse premises of Classic Picture Framers in Clayton for $515,000, equating to yield of around 7%, in a private sale.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/classicframers.jpg">
The price is exclusive of GST.
Classic Picture Framers has a long-term lease on the property, which is situated at 49 Sarton Road in Melbourne's outer south-east.
It was marketed and sold by Ryan Amler of Ray White Commercial Oakleigh, who said he fielded over 25 enquiries about the property before completing the sale to the local investor.
RP Data records show the warehouse took just 32 days to sell, having been marketed at $540,000 plus GST.
 
“The property currently returns approximately $36,000 per annum, plus GST and outgoings, so the fact it had a long-established tenancy agreement that delivers a consistent and healthy yield meant interest would be high," says Amler.
The warehouse measures 450 square metres with a total land area of approximately 712 square metres.
“The size of the complex is advantageous, and the on-site parking and terrific street frontage to busy Sarton Road make it a prime location for a number of commercial uses,” says Amler.
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Investor picks up outer-Melbourne warehouse for $515,000 on 7% yield

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A Singapore developer has been called “a bit cheeky” and "a little bit arrogant" by Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle for selling apartments in proposed CBD skyscraper Melbourne Tower to Asian investors, despite not yet receiving planning approval from Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy.
CEL Australia, a subsidiary of Singapore-based developer Chip Eng Seng Corporation, is still awaiting a permit to build the 68-storey, 220-metre tower on the corner of Queen and Bourke streets.
Sydney developers have a greater reputation for the pre-approval sale practice, with half of the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/edwin-davey-flour-mill-rises-again-as-harbour-mill-as-investors-rush-to-secure-stamp-duty-exempted-units/2012052954887" target="_blank">apartments in the Ceerose's Harbour Mill </a>selling ahead of an expected approval in May. But NSW has a staged development process, and developers have pre-sold apartments with a fair degree of confidence of having the project approved.
Observers have noted that a 68-storey tower in the heart of the Melbourne CBD is another matter entirely.
The planning permit for the Melbourne Tower application features 581 apartments, 12 storeys of office space as well as retail and food services on the lower levels.
The skyscraper has been designed by local architects Elenberg Fraser, featuring thin undulating glass construction and would be just shorter than the iconic blue glass Rialto Tower, which rises to 250 metres at the Southern Cross station end of Collins Steet. The Eureka Tower on South Bank is Melbourne's tallest tower, rising to 297 metres.
<img style="margin: 5px; float: left;" src="/images/stories/2012/10/melbournetower1.jpg">
According to Fairfax, the apartments in the building are being “heavily marketed to Asian investors, particularly a newly wealthy generation of Chinese entrepreneurs and business people”.
The application for Melbourne Tower was submitted on March 29 and is currently listed as “under assessment”.
The site at 150 Queen Street currently houses the 1960s-built 14-level office building known as the Prudential Building, which was purchased for $25.5 million in September last year following a joint Savills and Colliers International campaign. It was sold by Charter Hall, which bought it for $32 million in September 2007, just before the commercial property market peaked.
Its development is opposed by the Melbourne City Council, with Doyle, currently in an election battle, labelling it “too big”.
“In the core of our city we do have tall buildings, but we don’t want canyons, and we need to think about the culture of the city.
“At the footpath level it needs to be something that is active and adds to culture of Melbourne,” he told the Ten Network.
Doyle called the move to sell apartments prior to approval as “not only a bit cheeky” but also "a little bit arrogant" though there is nothing illegal about doing it either in Singapore or Melbourne.
“I understand this is still at [Victorian planning] minister [Matthew Guy’s] desk.
“He has not said yes or no.” If Guy does say yes, Doyle said he could not fight the decision, as it is a ministerial decision.
Guy himself has also labelled the move to sell apartments in Melbourne Tower as "very cheeky".
''And that's very much an understatement – of someone to be selling off the plan to people on a tower that isn't approved," Guy told ABC Radio.
In a statement, CEL Australia said it has been “cooperating with the Department of Planning and Community Development in relation to the development approval for Tower Melbourne”.
CEL Australia corrected an earlier media release, which said it was co-operating directly with the minister's office.
Doyle says high-rise buildings need “human scale”.
“When you get mega-buildings you have to look at the context as a whole."
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Singapore developer 'cheeky' for selling unapproved Melbourne CBD high-rise project off the plan: Lord mayor

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Australand has slammed some of its biggest house-and-land competitors for offering incentives to entice buyers as the outlook for the Melbourne land market remains soft.
Land sales on Melbourne’s fringes have been in decline since the second half of 2009, falling from 16,000 sales in 2010 to just 6,000 for the first six months of 2012, according to the latest Melbourne communities report from Colliers International, which forecasts only modest growth ahead.
Median land prices fell by 9% over the six-month period, from $215,000 to $205,000, but recorded an increase of 7% year-on-year.
Developers have also been hurt by the withdrawal of the $13,000 Victorian government first-home buyer handout for the construction of new homes, which ended in June.
Australand general manager Rob Pradolin told Fairfax the current land market remained tough, with first-home buyers disappearing following the ending of the grant, but says rebates and incentives are causing hundreds of home owners to pay more stamp duty because the face value of contracts included those extras.
He says there is a lot of competition in the marketplace, with “developers under-cutting each other and offering significant incentives to make a sale”.
Pradolin says rebates are disguising the adjustment that has already occurred in the Melbourne land market and says it is about time developers face the facts, give a simple best price and move on.
Australand has eight land estates for sale on the Melbourne fringes including Casiana Grove in Cranbourne West, with land prices starting at $187,000 featuring 670 lots.
According to Colliers, 400 lots remain available for sale in this development.
Among those offering incentives is one of Australand’s biggest competitors, Stockland, which is offering a $10,000 cash rebate on selected lots.
The rebate is offered at Selandra Rise in Clyde North, the-top selling residential project over the second half of 2011, according to the same Colliers report.
Lend Lease is offering to pay back the value of stamp duty of the land component of the sale to be received as a cash-back upon settlement before December 7, 2012.
Another developer, Peet, was giving away Toyota cars up until October 14.
Other developers offering incentives include Intrapac, which is offering a $15,000 new home buyer grant at its Somerfield development at Keysborough in Melbourne’s south-east, which is available to all buyers.
“We’re extending the expired new home buyer hrant to include everyone,” says the Somerfield brochure.
Some of the promotions come with flashy, attention-grabbing signage.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/hotlots.jpg">
The Stockland offering is called the “Hot Lots Offer” complete with burning flame.
Other developer incentives have included cash rebates, stamp duty rebates, free fencing and landscaping.
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Flashy developer incentives push up cost – and attendant stamp duty – of Melbourne land packages: Australand

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<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/cbrelogo3.jpg">
CBRE Melbourne CBD retail specialist Zelman Ainsworth talks about the work he did on the retail leasing of the newly refurbished Hamer Hall in the Arts Centre, including concluding leases with a number of Australia’s biggest restaurateurs.
How long have you been in the industry?
Three years.
What’s happening in the area you specialise in?
I specialise in Melbourne CBD retail leasing. Retailing has generally been difficult over the last 24 months due to the competition from online retail and the newly adapted saving habits people are becoming accustom to. Although the Melbourne CBD retail market has proven to be resilient when compared to the suburban retail markets, this can be accredited to the limited retail vacancies in the Melbourne CBD and the success CBD retailers have been experiencing due to the large increase in CBD residents, office workers and visitors over the last five years.
<img style="margin: 5px; float: left;" src="/images/stories/2012/10/zelman.png">
Describe the most interesting property you have sold/leased:
I was fortunate enough to work on the retail leasing of the newly refurbished Hamer Hall in the Arts Centre. This high-profile project attracted interest from some of Australia’s biggest restaurateurs and chefs; it was a privilege to work with such great talent. We concluded a leasing deal with Frank Van Haandel for his new restaurant Trocadero and the Sydney-based Asian restaurant Sake. We will soon be announcing the last and final restaurant deal within the Hamer Hall, which will certainly be as high-profile and exciting as the first two leasing deals done.
What are the ingredients to being successful in your job?
Working hard and always be proactive, avoid taking any shortcuts and always do my absolute best. I always strive to give the best possible advice to clients. It helps to put myself in their shoes and think, 'What would I do if this was my property?'.
What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?
Working with creative and exciting retailers and restaurateurs and getting a clear understanding of their retail requirements and then going out to the market and helping  them make the right property decisions for their business. At the same time  achieving the best possible outcome for our clients’ retail properties.
Where would invest a spare $750,000?
Use it as a down payment to buy a retail property anywhere in the Melbourne CBD.
Which football team do you support?
Collingwood (maybe next year, boys).
What’s your favourite app or techno gadget?
Google Maps.
How do you use social media?
I use <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://au.linkedin.com/pub/zelman-ainsworth/21/30b/154" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.
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In profile: CBRE's Zelman Ainsworth, Melbourne CBD retail specialist

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There are a growing number of investors using their self-managed super funds (SMSFs) to purchase fast-food outlet premises, attracted by the opportunity to earn rental yields as high as 8%.
This follows a number of recent sales of fast-food outlets, including a Red Rooster on Murray Street in Colac that sold for $1.3 million with a yield 7.16%.
Burgess Rawson agent Jamie Perlinger, who sold the property,believed that the brand name played an important part in the sale, as well as the long lease term.
“It was two things, the brand and the 15-year term,” he tells Property Observer.
Other recent fast-food outlet sales include a 440-square-metre Hungry Jack’s in Corio, Geelong, which sold at auction in August for $1.9 million with a yield of 7.83%.  The Hungry Jack’s lease runs until 2017 with multiple renewal options and brings in rent of around $153,000 per annum.
A combined Subway and KFC outlet in Riverstone, NSW, measuring 778 square metres was also sold for $1.3 million, with a yield of 6.7%. Both fast-food outlets are on long leases bringing in net income of $88,000 per annum plus GST.
Both were marketed by Burgess Rawson.
“There has been a lot interest in properties between the $1 million and $2 million price bracket. A lot of investors are after that kind of price and have been interested in investing through their self-managed super funds,” says Perlinger, who believes that yield rates of between 7% and 7.5% on these properties would remain steady over the coming months.
A combined Red Rooster and Souvlaki Hut premises is currently on the market. It is at 40 Princes Highway, in the small town of Traralgon in Victoria.
The 372-square-metre premises is leased by the fast-food chain on 10-year lease with rent of around $178,000 per annum.
Traralgon is the retail capital of the Latrobe municipality, with a trade catchment in excess of 70,000 people.
The property is for sale by private treaty, with the listing held by Raoul Holderhead and Jamie Perlinger of Burgess Rawson in conjunction with Ted Addison and Matt Addison of Addison Real Estate.
It last sold for $2.46 million in October 2010 with estimated annual rent of $200,000 – a gross yield in excess of 8%.
Another two KFC premises have been listed for sale by Burgess Rawson, the KFC in Casino in NSW's Northern Rivers region and the KFC Mona Vale. Both are on long leases and will be auctioned on October 30 through Burgess Rawson the listings agents.
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Investors have a taste for high yields, long leases and brand names of fast-foods premises

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Australia is clearly not the only country in the Asia-Pacific region where rising property prices have been linked to a possible housing bubble – and downplayed, says CommSec chief economist Craig James.
Attending a Standard &amp; Poor's (S&amp;P) briefing to analysts today in Sydney, James tweeted:
<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=craigjamesoz&amp;src=typd"><img src="/images/stories/2012/10/jamestweet.jpg"></a>
Earlier CommSec tweeted that S&amp;P gave a "guardedly positive analysis of global bank system" adding that US banks are "85% through the working off problem loans".
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Tweet of the day: Hong Kong housing bubble risks downplayed by S&P, notes CommSec's Craig James

<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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

“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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]

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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

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.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

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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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Larry Schlesinger

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