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Investment in the housing market has remained weak and at odds with housing demand fundamentals, the October minutes of the RBA monetary policy meeting have revealed.
The October 2 meeting minutes note that sentiment in the housing market is improving but also acknowledge the challenges faced by residential developers selling new houses in some areas, “given their prices relative to existing dwellings”.
At the meeting the RBA cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, just one rate cut off record lows.
“Dwelling investment remained at a low level in the June quarter, although there were signs of improving sentiment in the housing market more recently,” say the October minutes.
“Members noted that weak dwelling investment had been at odds with the fundamentals for housing demand, as evidenced by the relatively low vacancy rate, below-average mortgage rates and ongoing population growth.
“They observed that, in some areas, developers had difficulties selling new dwellings given their prices relative to existing dwellings." 
The RBA board also noted that the improvement in sentiment in the housing market had been accompanied by an increase in dwelling prices in recent months.
However, they also note that borrowers continue to deleverage, helped by the recent lowering of mortgage rates.
“Household credit had been growing a little more slowly than household incomes, with members discussing the desire of households to pay down their debts ahead of schedule, helped by the reductions in borrowing rates,” said the RBA.
The minutes indicate the decision to cut the cash rate was made mainly due to global concerns, with members noting that “recent indicators suggested that the pace of global growth had edged down”. The RBA says it had scope to cut rates  due to the inflation outlook being within its target range.
“At its previous meeting, the board had observed that the effects of earlier reductions in the cash rate were still working through the domestic economy, and that the outlook for inflation was consistent with the target over the next one to two years.
"Members concluded that the current assessment of the inflation outlook provided scope to adjust policy in response to the softer growth outlook. Therefore, at this meeting the Board judged that it was appropriate for the stance of monetary policy to be a little more accommodative, thereby providing some additional support to demand over the period ahead,” said the RBA board.
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Housing demand fundamentals in place but investment yet to pick up: RBA October minutes

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One Big Switch, the consumer discount advocacy company, has returned to its roots with a new mortgage awareness campaign targeting lenders who don’t pass on RBA cash rate cuts in full.
Called “Truth in Banking” and with the slogan "We mind the gap" it asks borrowers to enter in the details of their current mortgage including their lender, interest rate, amount owed and any fees they are charged.
A trademarked “Rate Gap calculator’ gives subscribers an indication of how much extra they have been paying to date and on a monthly basis, based on RBA cash rate movements and their lender’s response to them.
Subscribers can sign up over the next 17 days with the campaign attracting just under 3,400 participants at last count. Subscribers will then receive information about future discounting campaigns.
One Big Switch was founded by Harvard MBA graduate Paul Hunyor and former press secretary to Kevin Rudd Lachlan Harris in July 2011 with funding from venture capital fund MH Carnegie &amp; Co (MHC), founded by Mark Carnegie and advertising veteran John Singleton.
It launched with a campaign offering borrowers the opportunity to be part of a mortgage discount offering.
Around 40,000 borrowers  signed up to this campaign last year have refinanced through one of these lenders with 1,600 choosing to refinancing through non-bank lenders Resimac, FirstMac, Mortgage Ezy, Mortgage Point and IMB Building Society.
One Big Switch is seeking to sign on 25,000 mortgage holders to the new campaign, which runs until November 2.
A spokesperson for One Big Switch says the campaign is all about “transparency, creating awareness and consumer empowerment”.
"The purpose of the campaign is find 25,000 consumers to calculate the rate gap. The rate gap is the difference between RBA cash rate movements and rate movements by individual lenders.  
"Throughout the year One Big Switch members are offered discounts on many household bills, including their mortgage, but this campaign is not about discounted mortgages."
One Big Switch campaigns are being led by Christopher Zinn, former the head of communications at consumer watchdog Choice.
“The banks know exactly how their policies of not passing on the benefits of cash rate changes impacts on their bottom line in a positive way,” says Zinn.
"But the consumer, until now, has been largely oblivious of the negative effect  unless they had the will and technical skills to juggle all the numbers.
"This is one reason we have launched the ‘ We Mind the Gap’ campaign. To arm ordinary people with information they may need to make better decisions."
The latest campaign is being carried out in partnership with Channel 7 and being promoted via Channel 7 News, Sunrise and Today Tonight.
According to Strachan Taylor, head of mortgages at One Big Switch, a look back over the last 20 years reveals that banks have often not always passed RBA cash rate moves completely and immediately on.
“In fact over the last decade they have done so 55 times,” he says.
“Since 1990 the spread between the RBA cash rate and the general bank lending rate grew to 4.75% by mid-1993, and remained around 4% until late 1994, dropping to 3% in late 1994 and from mid-1995 rapidly fell to its minimum of 1.7% in 1999.”
He says the spread remained tight at around 1.8% until 2008 when the GFC hit, following which spreads once again quickly began to widen to 3.4% today.
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One Big Switch targets miserly mortgage lenders in new consumer awareness campaign

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Office leasing activity in the Melbourne CBD is at lowest level in a decade, but the current vacancy rate of 6.2% is not expected to blow out, with accountants KPMG and law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth among those seeking around 150,000 square metres of office space.
Savills recorded 190,487 square metres of space leased over the 12 months to September 2012 in central Melbourne (CBD, St Kilda Road, Southbank and Docklands) from leases greater than 1,000 square metres.
This is down 56% on the previous corresponding 12-month period and down on the five-year average of 438,495 square metres.
The hardest hit was the high-end premium office market, which experienced a total negative net absorption of 12,336 square metres for the year compared with grade A, which enjoyed a positive net absorption of 7,760 square metres and secondary grade office stock, which recorded a positive net absorption of 8,619 square metres.
This resulted an overall positive net absorption of 4,043 square metres - net absorption refers to the amount of space occupied at the end of a period of time minus the amount occupied at the beginning of that period, takes into consideration space vacated during the period.
The following graph prepared by Savills shows that the lowest vacancy rate remains for A-grade office stock (4.7% down from 5% ) while the vacancy rate for the most expensive premium grade stock has risen from 5.4% to 7.7%.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/10/savillsoct16.gif"><img src="/images/stories/2012/10/savillsoct16thumb.gif"></a>


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Despite the subdued leasing activity, significant tenancy requirements remain in the market, according to Savills.
Savills head of office leasing for Victoria Nicholas Farley says it is premature to talk about a vacancy rate blowout and predictions of a significant fall in rental levels when there is a good level of tenancy requirement and enquiry levels are trending upward.
"Public requirement for CBD office space is currently well above 150,000 square metres, including Corrs Chambers Westgarth (9,000 square metres), KPMG (25,000 to 30,000 square metres), and several other well-known tenants in the market for circa 6,000-square-metre requirements.”
"Add to that the fact that enquiry from the finance and insurance sector is well above its historical average, the property and business sector has its highest enquiry level for 10 years, and while the IT and technology sector has recorded an about average requirement, in terms of what its requirements have been over the last decade, it is now trending up."
The biggest leasing deal over the year to September was Suncorp leasing 15,500 square metres of space at 530 Collins Street, Melbourne’s largest premium office building, which is owned by the GPT Wholesale Office Fund.
Net effective rents now typically ranged from $340 to $437 per square metre per annum for A-grade quality stock, and between $205 to $287 per square metre per annum for secondary-grade buildings.
Net rents for premium grade range from $440 to $675 per square metre.
According to Savills,the Melbourne CBD office market contains 3,581,940 square metres of lettable space.
Of this, over half at 2,034,886 square metres is of prime (premium and A grade) quality, 849,431 square metres is grade-B quality and the balance (697,623 square metres) grade C and grade D.
Savills also notes that foreign investors continue to be attracted to Melbourne  office investments due to a range of newly built buildings  with long leases to quality tenants and the comparable stability of the region’s economic environment.
In the last six months the most significant transactions in central Melbourne were 525 Flinders Street ($54 million, purchased by AFIAA), 501 Swanston Street ($60 million, purchased by PDG) and 150 Collins Street currently under construction ($180 million, purchased by GPT).
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Melbourne CBD office leasing activity lowest in a decade but demand for space will prevent vacancy 'blowout': Savills

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Conglomerate Wesfarmers, the owner of Coles, has engaged investment banks to review its property strategy with a view to selling the freeholds of 25 shopping centres it owns worth $700 million.
This follows its main supermarket rival Woolworths considering selling down 69 shopping centres currently held on its own balance sheet into a new $1.4 billion A-REIT.
Both moves are aimed at allowing the supermarkets to focus on their core activity of retailing.
Coles is not contemplating a similar ASX-listed structure as Woolworths, but is considering a similar model used by shopping centre landlord Centro, which added around $1.1 billion to its coffers through property investment partnerships with the Perron Group and industry superfund ISPT.
It would remain property manager of the freehold stores with investors also able to invest in new store rollouts – around 10 new stores annually, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.
Coles is being advised by Simon Rooney, head of retail investments at Jones Lang LaSalle along with Nick Jacobson, head of real estate at Goldman Sachs, and John Perry, head of industrial and real estate at RBS.
Coles operates 744 supermarkets, 794 liquor outlets, 625 Coles Express stores and 92 hotels, but owns only a small percentage of these properties.
It leases 95% of its supermarket space.
Coles has been selling some of its smaller free-standing property holdings while properties featuring Coles as an anchor tenant have sold on strong yields.
In September, a 4,000 square metre corner bulky goods site on Ferntree Gully Road in Glen Waverley featuring a Coles Express service station sold under the hammer for $7 million through Burgess Rawson Melbourne. The site brings in annual rent of $413,000 a year, representing a gross yield of around 5.9%.
Wesfarmers has vast experience in the commercial property market growing the BWP Trust, which holds Bunnings Stores, into an externally run portfolio worth $1.3 billion. Wesfarmers has a 23% investment in the BWP Trust.
It also has experience divesting its property interests, selling a $230 million portfolio of stores to a Charter Hall Group and Telstra Super consortium.
Wesfarmers holds $2.6 billion worth of property assets on its balance sheet, according to June 30 annual accounts.
It acquired Coles in 2007, with Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder saying at the time it had not ruled out putting any property assets that it might inherit into a separate property trust.
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Wesfarmers considering selling off Coles freehold supermarkets to institutional investors

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Suncorp Insurance will occupy 785 square metres of new office space at Westfield’s Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Narre Warren at a gross rent of $320 per square metre on a five-year lease starting in October.
The lease agreement was negotiated by Leah Baxter of Colliers International.
Under the new structure of the business staff will operate from home, with Suncorp using the Narre Warren office space as a training hub.
The location within a shopping centre made the training hub accessible and convenient for staff.
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Suncorp leases new office space at Westfield Fountain Gate for training hub

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The most common commercial property assets that falls into the hands of receivers are development sites in regional Queensland, according to the September quarter update to the LandMark White forced sales monitor.
The monitor tracks all commercial properties that are listed for sale in the print media and counts any that are listed are labelled as a receiver or mortgagee sale as a forced sale.
According to LandMark White, vacant residential development sites in regional Queensland, which accounted for 8% of all recorded forced sales nationally.
Across all asset types, Queensland has accounted for nearly one out of every two (48%) forced commercial properties sales over the past 12 months to September.
Over the September quarter there were 151 commercial properties listed as forced sales, down marginally from 153 in the June quarter, with 43% of these properties located in Queensland.
This was above the national average of 39% over the September quarter.
Of the properties in New South Wales that were advertised in the September quarter, only 16% were distressed sales, compared with the annual figure of 24%.
In Victoria, the proportion of forced sales was only 11%, compared with 13% over the past 12 months.
LandMark White says it is unsurprising that Queensland has the largest share of forced sales over the past year.
Click to enlarge
<a href="/images/stories/2012/10/landmark.gif" rel="shadowbox" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="/images/stories/2012/10/landmarkthumb.gif"></a>
Recent distressed sales in Queensland include 388 hectares of waterfront land known as Clarkes Cove (pictured below) in Cape Gloucester in the Whitsundays, which sold for $2.55 million at the end of August through Christie Leet &amp; Rob Taylor of PRDnationwide in a mortgagee sale.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/clarkescove1.jpg">
The picturesque block of land is bounded by the Dryander National park on three sides and Pacific Ocean on the fourth side and had been targeted for development as a large-scale tourist facility with three resort hotels offering a total of 810 rooms.
It had an open market valuation of $2.98 million in February 1999.
Nationally, development sites accounted for 34% of the total in the September quarter, against an average of 32%, while sites with a holding income comprised 9% of the September results, against an annual average of 10%.
The second most common property type listed for forced sale were vacant residential development sites in regional NSW (5.2%) and third most prevalent were income producing retail properties in regional Queensland, which accounted for 5.1% of all forced sales over the past 12 months.
Across the broad commercial property sectors, office and retail property had the poorest results of the September quarter, as 18% of office and 31% of retail properties were forced sales.
The industrial property sector had the biggest improvement, falling to 19% from 35% in June, which was also below its 12-month average.
Over the 12-month period, 32% of forced sales were in NSW and only 8% in Victoria.
Since the series began 12 months ago, a total of 2,095 properties have been advertised for sale in the national press, and 27% (573) were specifically listed as being in the hands of mortgagees, receivers, or liquidators.
 
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Regional Queensland development sites top list of most distressed commercial assets: LandMark White

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Two-thirds of borrowers who have a mortgage with a bank believe they could be getting a better mortgage deal by refinancing with a new lender, according to research by Ernst &amp; Young.
However, many give up at the early stages of the mortgage application process or turn to a mortgage broker for help.
These were the key findings of a survey of 635 respondents across the  big four banks as well as regional banks carried out as part of Ernst &amp; Young’s customer experience series.
Research by Ratecity.com.au finds that <a href="/news">three of the four lenders to have passed on the full October rate cut are small lenders</a> led by bankmecu, which is offering a standard variable rate of 5.49% – 108 basis points lower than the lowest standard variable rate offered of the big four (NAB, 6.58%).
According to the Ernst &amp; Young survey, when applying for a mortgage, a third of customers give up at the "information gathering" stage because of "too much choice" and a lack of simple and clear information.
It also found that 60% of people who initiated the mortgage application process ended up finalising it and getting a mortgage, but the remaining 40% dropped off along the way.
“It sounds simple enough, but banks need to focus their efforts on that initial step – when customers first put their mortgage feelers out. They need to ensure the information available via all their channels is in plain English and provides real comparisons for customers, in other words it doesn’t require high levels of financial literacy to make sense of it,” says Ernst &amp; Young’s John Rolland
“We know Australians are time poor. They feel a lack of control over their lives and, as such, don’t like complex decision-making. This means they default to the simplest tools that help them in their everyday decisions.
“While choice is obviously a good thing for consumers, there is such a thing as ‘choice overload’ – even in banking when competition is a good thing.
“It’s a sign of our times that people looking for a mortgage are feeling overwhelmed by the vast array of mortgage products as well as the number of mortgage lenders, and don’t know where to start."
Another finding was that 80% of customers who embarked on the mortgage or switching process started without involving a broker or third party – significantly below the 42% share of the mortgage distribution market that brokers are estimated to hold.
This suggests that many borrowers choose to engage a mortgage broker after finding the application process to difficult or frustrating to do on their own.
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Two-thirds of borrowers open to switching lenders for better deal: Ernst & Young

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Australian-owned transport and logistics firm Australian Container Freight Services (ACFS) will pay $800,000 per annum net to lease an office/warehouse property at Tottenham in Melbourne’s western industrial precinct in a deal  negotiated by Savills Australia.
The 33-65 Paramount Road property comprises a 15,150-square-metre office/warehouse facility with a huge canopy, three recessed loading docks and a large concrete hardstand area.
The short-term leas deal was brokered by Savills industrial agents Greg Jensz  and Tim Casanelia.
"The facility will give the firm room to move as it manages its expansion in the nation’s transport and logistics capital. The location – five kilometres from Melbourne's port with excellent access to major arterials via Sunshine Road – was also a key consideration,’’ says Jensz.
ACFS will move from its current home at Port Melbourne.
 The lessor is a private Geelong-based investor.
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Transport group ACFS to lease 15,000-square-metre Melbourne warehouse at $800,000 per annum

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The practical completion of the Convesso and Serrata apartment projects in Victoria Harbour at Melbourne's Docklands helped push up Lend Lease apartment sales over 2012, but the overall residential outlook remains challenging with residential lot settlements down 10%.
Settlements on Victorian apartments rose from 351 to 523 over the 2012 financial year ending June 30, 2012, with the average price paid decreasing by 12% to $1.05 million.
Just 15 units remain available for purchase in Convesso, which features 220 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, one half of Lend Lease's flagship Convesso Concavo development.
Prices range from $530,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to more than $5 million for a 329 square metre three-bedroom marina home apartment.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/seven-sub-%24600000-units-left-in-newly-completed-docklands-development-serrata-as-june-30-deadline-draws-closer/2012061255046" target="_blank">Only seven remain available in Serrata</a>, a joint venture project with Japanese developer Sekisui House, featuring 83 two-bedroom apartments and 61 one-bedders, with one-bedders priced between $425,000 and $465,000.
Lend Lease also recorded strong sales at Silk and Antias at Jackson's Landing on the northern peninsula of Pyrmont, in inner Sydney.
“The current year includes a high proportion of mid-market apartments settled at Serrata and Antias,” added Lend Lease.
The developer settled 2,059 land lots in the year to June with a value of $461 million, down from 2,299 settlements in the previous financial year worth $497 million, with the average price per residential land lot increasing by 3% from $216,300 to $223,600. The company says this is "reflecting a change in the product mix compared to the prior year".
Lend Lease said the drop in settlements was principally the result of fewer settlements in Victoria and South Australia, “reflecting current market conditions and a number of projects approaching completion”.
Pre-sales (contracts that had not settled prior to June 30) totalled a further 1,369 units, with a combined value of $278 million.
Lend Lease has a pipeline of 70,500 units in its various residential projects, including joint venture projects.
The developer says “weak consumer sentiment continues to impact the residential market in Australia, resulting in lower enquiry levels, longer conversion times and lower trading levels”.
Lend Lease is looking to increase its presence in Western Australia, having being selected by the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) as the preferred proponent for the $1 billion Waterbank mixed-use redevelopment in Perth.
Lend Lease reported operating profit after tax of $507.2 million for the 2012 financial year, a 4.5% increase on the prior year.
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Docklands apartment sales help Lend Lease weather challenging residential market conditions

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The number of registered domestic builders declined for the fifth straight month in September to 14,414, the lowest number since September 2011, when there were 14,429 builders registered with the Victoria’s Building Commission.
Since May more 400 builders have not renewed their registrations.
The decline in the number of registered residential builders come on the back of  recently published ABS quarterly data showing that nearly 24,000 jobs have gone from the industry in the first six months of the year.
The total number of people employed in the industry has fallen from a peak of 197,800 in the December quarter to 173,900 in the three months to June 2012, with the building industry’s contribution to state employment having fallen from 6.9% to 6%.
The building industry has been hit with a spate of high-profile company collapses this year, including most recently Victorian-based New Dimension Homes, which entered into administration at the end of August, impacting about 50 home owners, and earlier this year the coll apes of Bina Construction, based in Caufield, and Australian Property and Construction, based in Mitcham.
Builders with a national presence that have collapsed include St Hilliers Construction, Kell &amp; Rigby and Reed Construction, with SmartCompany counting 80 building or construction firms entering administration, liquidation or being hit by winding-up notices in the month of March alone.
Victorian building industry employment ('000)
<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/buildingoct16.gif">
Source: ABS
Figures released by the Building Commission in August for the 2011-12 financial year reveal that the value of building permit activity dropped 4.5% to $23.2 from $24.3 billion recorded in the previous financial year.
Permits for the construction of houses fell 9.9% to $11.8 billion, while permits for the construction of apartments jumped from 17.6% to $4 billion.
The only region to record a notable rise in building approvals was inner Melbourne, the focus of most high-rise and high-density projects, with the value of approvals increasing 8.5% to $10.8 billion.
In outer Melbourne the value of permits fell 17.9% to $7.6 billion.
Photograph courtesy of <a href="https://www.propertybloom.com.au/index" target="_blank">Property Bloom.</a>
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Victorian registered builder numbers at 12-month low as 24,000 jobs go: Victorian Building Commission

<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.

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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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