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Only six out of 41 lenders have passed on the full 25 basis points October RBA cash rate cut to their borrowers, according to analysis by mortgage comparison website Ratecity.com.au
Half of them have passed on 20 basis points.
The six lenders that have passed on the full rate cut to date are: bankmecu, Gateway Credit Union, ING Direct, MyRate, UBank and Yellow Brick Road.
Bankmecu offers the lowest standard variable rate of the 41 lenders to have announced rate cuts, with a 5.49% offering, followed by non-bank lender Pacific Mortgage Corp (5.52%), NAB’s online brand UBank (5.57%) and non-bank lender State Custodians (5.64%).
The highest standard variable rate is 7.2% from Arab Bank Australia.
“On the savings front, UBank is the only institution to so far announce a rate drop to its online savings account, passing on the full 25 basis point cut. We’re expecting more institutions to drop their savings rates in the coming weeks,” says Ratecity.com.au spokesperson Michelle Hutchison. 
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="332"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Company
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
SVR change
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
New SVR
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
diff/month for $300K
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Adelaide Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.01%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.77
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
AMP Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.17%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.70%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$33.95
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Arab Bank Australia
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
7.20%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$40.77
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Bankmecu
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.49%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$47.33
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Bank of Melbourne
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.60%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.80
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Bank SA
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.18%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.67%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$35.91
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Bankwest
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.19%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.59%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$37.79
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Bendigo Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.19%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.71%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$37.98
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
BOQ
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.71%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.98
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Coastline Credit Union
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.79%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.37
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Commonwealth Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.60%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.80
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
CUA
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.05%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.84
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Gateway Credit Union
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.19%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$48.92
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Greater Building Society
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.15%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.25%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$29.37
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Heritage Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.34%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.36
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Homeloans
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.79%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.37
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
HomeSide Lending
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.61%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.82
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Hume Building Society
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.20%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.11
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
ING DIRECT
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.09%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$48.70
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Macarthur Credit Union
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.15%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.40%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$29.56
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Macquarie Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.65%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.88
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
ME Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.08%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.90
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
MyRate
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.92%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$48.32
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
MyState
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.21%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.59%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$41.78
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
nab
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.58%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.77
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Newcastle Permanent
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.25%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.20
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Pacific Mortgage Group
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.52%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$37.87
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Police Credit
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.19%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.09
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Police Credit Union
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.24%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.18
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
RAMS Home Loans
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.55%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$39.71
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
RESI Mortgage Corp
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.20%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.09%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$38.92
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
SCU
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.15%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.44%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$29.61
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
SGE Credit Union
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.18%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.27%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$35.29
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
St George Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.17%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.69%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$33.94
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
State Custodians
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.18%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.64%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$34.27
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Suncorp Bank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.19%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.69%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$37.94
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
UBank
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.57%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$47.52
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Unicredit-WA
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.15%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
5.70%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$28.62
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Westpac
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.18%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.71%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$35.97
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="116" nowrap valign="top">
Yellow Brick Road
</td>
<td width="68" nowrap valign="top">
-0.25%
</td>
<td width="66" nowrap valign="top">
6.19%
</td>
<td width="82" nowrap valign="top">
-$48.92
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 Source: Ratecity.com.au
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lschlesinger-FZcF9M3vE6

Just six out of 41 lenders have passed on full rate cut: Ratecity.com.au

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The Commonwealth Bank trimmed 30 basis points from its one-year fixed (down to 5.39%) and its four- and five-year fixed-rate loans (down to 5.69%) effective today and available to new customers, or customers looking to switch from variable to fixed-rate home loans.
The bank's benchmark three-year fixed rate and its two-year fixed rate was trimmed by 20 basis points to 5.39%.
Clive van Horen, general manager for home loans at the Commonwealth Bank, reminded borrowers that the major benefit of a fixed-rate home loan is that it "provides customers with more certainty, allowing them to lock in a great, low rate".
The bank passed on only 20 basis points of the RBA's 25-basis-point October rate cut with the reduced standard variable rate of 6.6% only taking effect today – 10 days after the RBA decision.
It said it had to balance the "needs of 1.8 million home loan borrowers with those of its 11 million depositors and its shareholders, who include 800,000 Australians who own its shares directly, and millions more Australians who own shares through pension funds".
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Commonwealth Bank cuts fixed rates by more than cash rate cut

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The NSW government’s $15,000 handout for first-home buyers purchasing a new property, including off-the-plan apartments, is 12 days old, and some developers are suggesting enormous spikes in inquiries and sales to this market segment.
While the $15,000 handout applies to purchases up to $650,000, first-home buyers can save $35,240 if they buy off the plan for less than $550,000, the upper limit to benefit from a maximum stamp duty concession of $20,240.
An upper price limit of $550,000 would restrict most Sydney first-home buyers to a one-bedroom inner-city apartment or possibly a two-bedroom unit further out – ruling out most first-home buyers with children. Two-bedroom apartments in Meriton's Eon Zetland project near Green Square start from $690,000.
Meriton, Australia’s biggest apartment builder, claims that first-home buyers numbers have shot up since the grant was introduced, from just 5% of the market to 45% of all Sydney metro sales – taking up the slack from declining Chinese buyers and investors.
Meriton does not provide any specific sales numbers in the published News Ltd article.
And while it does say the Chinese buyers have withdrawn from the market, it does not say what has happened to second- and third-home buyers and investors, who were able to access developer discounts and incentives aimed at keeping the market ticking over in the three-month period from July to October before the official government first-home buyer grant doubled from $7,000 to $15,000.
Possibly these market segments have dwindled as the developer incentives have disappeared.
CBRE is marketing DNA, a 119-apartment development in Camperdown ranging from studios to two-bedders on the corner of Pyrmont Bridge Road and Barr Street and being privately developed by Mark Mezrani.
Murray Wood, director of residential projects at CBRE, says DNA received over 1,000 enquiries in a week, with 70% of these coming from first-home buyers
The actual sales conversion data has not been released.


<hr class="system-pagebreak">
Not all developers are reporting an immediate jump in sales or enquiries from first-home buyers.
Japanese developer Sekisui House has reported no pick-up in inquiries for two NSW projects – The Waterfront at Wentworth Point and The Hermitage in Gledswood Hills in Sydney’s outer south-west.
The sales teams for these projects report that sales to first-home buyers at The Waterfront had been “very quiet leading up to the increased grant and stamp duty concessions”.
There is an expectation of a “significant increase” in first-home buyer enquiries for properties priced under $650,000, with Sekisui House having recently made some reviews of pricing to ensure maximum number of units fall below $650,000.
Sekisui has no product priced under $550,000 to take advantage of the maximum stamp duty concession.
Last week David Chittenden, director of residential in Sydney for Colliers International, said the wind had been taken out of the sales of the new first-home owner grant because developers were forced to offer incentives in the three-month vacuum between the $15,000 grant’s announcement and its commencement to all buyers to keep sales ticking over.
“Every developer tried to prop-up the market in this interim period,” Chittendon said.
“This has watered down the official grants because buyers have been conditioned to expect incentives and discounts.”
Mark Mendel, CEO of findinvestmentproperty.com.au, which claims a big spike in first-home buyer enquiries since the introduction of the $15,000 handout says a popular strategy among many of its clients is to purchase a property as a first home buyer and move in to it for six to 12 months before turning it into an investment and going to rent where they were previously.
“This allows people to get into the market without the burden of the additional costs of buying a property,” he says.
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Some NSW developers claim big first-home buyer rush, but is it hype or reality?

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Meriton boss Harry Triguboff says Chinese buyers are retreating from the market due to the high Australian dollar and uncertainty in China as its economy cools.
Triguboff says that in the last three months Chinese buying has subsided, replaced by first-home buyers taking advantage of new state government handouts.
The remarks were reported in a column by Business Spectator’s Robert Gottliebsen following a recent “yarn” with Triguboff.
In May this year Triguboff said Chinese investors had dwindled from 70% of his market to it being a 50-50 split with local buyers.
Triguboff’s latest remarks are in stark contrast to what he told Gottliebsen in February, that the Chinese had returned to inner-city apartment buying encouraged by the high rental yields on offer.
Over the past few years, Chinese owners and investors have account for around 75% of all Meriton apartment purchases.
In July, Triguboff told SBS that Chinese believed apartments in Australia were undervalued.
“They are long-term purchasers. They are not speculators," he said.
Despite the recent drop in demand, the Chinese remain a key market for Meriton, which has a dedicated Chinese site and also offers Meriton Property Finance for offshore buyers.
Meriton Apartments builds more than 1,000 units a year – recently it has shifted its attention to serviced apartments, holding back nearly half of the apartments in its 81-storey Infinity tower in the Brisbane CBD to be offered as serviced apartments.
This year it plans to complete more than 1,500 apartments, having acquired five development in Sydney with planning approval for 2,026 units.
The biggest site is on Thomas Street in Chatswood on Sydney’s north shore, with approval for 547 apartments.
Triguboff has close ties to China.
He was born in Darien, China, in 1933 and spent his early childhood in the Russian community of Tientsin (now Tianjin) south of Beijing.
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Chinese apartment buyers retreating from Australia: Harry Triguboff

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Aussie Home Loans boss John Symond has dismissed concerns of a property bubble building in Australia and says the housing market has reached 6.30 on the property clock and is on the road to recovery.
Speaking at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce function in Brisbane this week, Symond slammed the monetary policy decisions of the Reserve Bank, accusing the current board, led by RBA governor Glenn Stevens, of being “asleep at the wheel”.
“I am confident, notwithstanding a lot of hype from offshore analysts about a housing bubble, of Australia’s fundamentals,” Symond said in a speech reported by the Australian Financial Review.
Over the past few weeks newly appointed chairman of Swiss bank UBS Axel Weber has warned that Australia risked a future property bubble collapse while Patrick Winsbury, senior vice-president of Moody’s, has also expressed concerns about the effect lower interest rates could have on Australian property prices.
However, senior Australian figures have also warned of the risk of a housing bubble. They include Barry Brakey, head of property at the sovereign <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/low-interest-rates-could-lead-to-property-bubble-future-fund/2012100356967" target="_blank">Future Fund</a>, who said the overvaluing of Australian property was holding the fund back from investing more in Australia. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/anz-boss-adds-to-growing-list-warning-of-australian-housing-bubble-risk/2012100456996" target="_blank">Australian ANZ boss Phil Chronican</a> also told Fairfax radio station 3AW that one had to worry “when there is a lot of cheap money around that results in asset price inflation”.
Earlier this week <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/landlords/rising-rental-yields-to-draw-investors-back-into-housing-market-rba-deputy-governor-philip-lowe/2012100957062" target="_blank">RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe</a> told a Finsia seminar in Hobart that while the bank was not overly worried about relatively low interest rates reigniting a housing boom because household appetite for debt is relatively low, it would "continue to monitor the housing market closely”.
But Symond dismisses the threat of a housing bubble and says interest rates are too high.
He believes the housing market is a healthy state and the housing market has bottomed out.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
“If anything, I am just starting to feel the property clock for housing is at half past six, or about 28 minutes past the hour,” Symond says.
Symond says demand from Asia will help underpin the value of the Australian property market
“Don’t underestimate the impact of Asians buying our residential property. They send the kids to our universities, find out it’s a great country and buy a small apartment, then buy a house,” he said.
In his attack of the RBA, Symond said Australia had had a history of having very smart Reserve Bank governors “but in the last two years, I have got to tell you, I think the Reserve Bank has been asleep at the wheel”.
“They have left interest rates comparatively high. Well for the last 12 months, blind Freddy could see inflation was not a problem, so why has the RBA been holding off?”
The remarks are curious, since Glenn Stevens has been governor of the Reserve Bank for the past six years, replacing Ian Macfarlane in September 2006.
Stevens has also been lauded for the decisive action he took during the GFC, when the RBA cut the cash rate in 100-basis-point chunks to stimulate the economy.
Last weekend London’s Sunday Times reported that Stevens was on a shortlist to be the next governor of the Bank of England.
While suggestions that Stevens would take on the UK role if offered were quickly dismissed by Australian reports as unlikely, it does show that he is held in high regard beyond Australian borders.
Stevens is one of the highest paid central bank governors in the world, earning just under a $1 million a year – more than his opposite numbers at the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
The Bank of England role pays $480,000 a year.
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Recovering housing market at 6.30 on the property clock with no risk of a housing bubble: John Symond

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The rise in the unemployment to a 30-month high of 5.4% in September should cause the Reserve Bank to cut the cash rate again in either November or December but then hold firm over the first six months of 2013, according to HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham.
Bloxham says the jump in unemployment combined with weak growth in employment (+0.5% year-on-year) and aggregate hours worked (+0.3% year-on-year) means it is becoming clearer that labour demand has eased more than expected.
“A looser labour market should see less pressure on locally produced inflation and leave the RBA with a bit more room to move on monetary policy.
“We now expect the RBA will cut rates by a further 25 basis points before year-end,” Bloxham says.
However, a pick-up in the housing market off the back of previous rate cuts and China reaching the bottom of its current cyclical slowdown are two factors that would encourage the RBA end its current monetary policy easing cycle, says Bloxham.
“There are also signs that previous rate cuts are starting to support the economy," says Bloxham.
“Housing prices have lifted in the past few months and business credit has started to grow.
“Concerns that low interest rates may overly stimulate the housing market and see an excessive pick up in already high Australian housing prices may constrain the RBA’s willingness of cut rates too much further.
“We still think too much is priced in over the next year (85 basis points in rate cuts).
“Globally, we expect China’s cyclical slowdown to bottom in coming months and for growth to pick up in early 2013. The recent bounce in the iron spot price from lows of $86 a tonne in early September to $117 a tonne today may be a precursor to a further recovery in Chinese economic activity,” he says.
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Only one more rate cut left as RBA wary of overstimulating housing market: HSBC’s Paul Bloxham

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The latest job figures provide more complications for the Reserve Bank, says CommSec chief economist Craig James.
September ABS data shows the unemployment rate rose from 5.1% to 5.4% in September as the number of people entering the job market outpaced the number finding work.
The participation rate rose from a near six-year low of 65% to 65.2%.
At the same time employment rose by 14,500 in September after a revised loss of 9,100 jobs in August (previously  down 8,800). Economists had only expected 5,000 jobs to be added.
"A surge in both job growth and the unemployment rate in the same month makes it more difficult to know what the true situation is.
"But looking across a raft of indicators, the best appraisal is that the economy is in a holding pattern. As such, rate cuts still remain on the agenda, but the size of job growth in the latest month does make it harder for the Reserve Bank to justify a rate cut in November," he says.
Professional services firm Grant Thornton took a less ambiguous reading of the employment data, saying the "significant rise in the unemployment rate during September ... not only represents a deterioration in the Australian labour market, but also important rationale for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision last week, to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points".
"Any further weakening in employment trends over the next few months could easily jeopardise the income side of the Australian economy. This is something which has played an important part in underpinning the internationally stronger than average economic performances of recent times," says Grant Thornton.
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Jobs data complicates Melbourne Cup RBA cash rate call: Craig James

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Australia should not set a cap on loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) but borrowers must raise some kind of deposit when buying a home, says Luci Ellis, head of the RBA’s Financial Stability Department.
“People need to provide some deposit when they buy a home. It protects them if something goes wrong for them, like a job loss or illness, especially if it happens at the same time that housing prices are falling,” Ellis told the Capital Market Dysfunctionality Annual Conference in Sydney today.
Banks typically require a minimum deposit of between 5% and 10% - but higher deposits are needed to qualify for lower rate mortgages.
However, Ellis cautioned against a cap on loan-to-valuation ratios (LVRs) for mortgages, which could be varied from time to time, as has been adopted in some countries.
Ellis also said that a cap would have little impact on those buyers trading up, while squeezing first-home buyers out of the market.
And she cautioned that an LVR cap would not prevent boom-bust cycles in housing prices though she said it was prudent to have “some sort of limit to the leverage in collateralised loans such as mortgages”.
“The alternative would be the situation in the United Kingdom or the Netherlands, where one could borrow as much as 125% of valuation and, more importantly, where many people actually did so, not just a small fringe.
“I don't think that is good practice.”
She said setting an LVR cap below 100% might be sensible for the jurisdictions that have adopted such a policy, but not relevant in Australia where the prudential framework already “requires higher risk weights on high LVR loans, especially those that are not insured”.
Ellis says the evidence from overseas is that setting an LVR cap limits the increase in arrears rates that occurs when the bust comes.
“That is because the borrowers who get into difficulty are more likely to have some equity, even if prices fall. They can therefore sell rather than default.
“That's not a bad thing, but in the end our responsibility for financial stability is about protecting the real economy.
"Protecting the banks from the real economy is not the ultimate goal.”
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Borrowers must save for deposits when buying a home but loan-to-value ratios should not be capped: RBA’s Luci Ellis

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Rental yields should rise over the next two years, with rental growth forecast to significantly outpace house price growth over this period, according to the latest NAB quarterly residential property survey.
Property professionals surveyed by the bank expect rents to grow by 2.1% over the next 12 months and by 3.4% over the next two years, with rents growing in all states.
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However, nationally house prices are anticipated to grow by just 0.4% over the next year and 1.7% over the next two years.
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The September quarter survey suggests that the downward correction in national house prices may be slowing, with prices falling 0.7% in the third quarter following a 1.6% decline in the second quarter, with only WA managing minimal house price growth (0.1%).
Victoria remained the weakest market, with prices falling 1.1%, followed by Queensland (-0.8%), NSW (-0.6%) and SA/NT (-0.3%).
Overall sentiment about the residential property market improved over the quarter, with NAB’s Residential Property Index rising four points in the third quarter of 2012 following a fall of eight points in the previous quarter.
WA was the strongest state, registering a 41-point gain, over the quarter followed by Queensland (15 points up) and NSW (5 points) but sentiment remains negative in SA/NT (-7) and Victoria (-18).
These expectations are based on a survey of 250 respondents comprising of real estate agents/managers, property developers, owners/investors, asset/fund managers and valuers.


<hr class="system-pagebreak">
The report found that lower interest rates and rental growth are boosting local investor demand in the existing property market.
“Overall demand for existing property is strongest in the inner city and capital growth prospects best in the sub-$500,000 range.
“Buying activity is much more cautious in the prestige market, with capital growth expectations for that sector considered to be ‘poor’ in both the housing and apartment markets in all state markets,” says NAB.
The leasing market continued to grow in the September quarter, with low rental vacancies driving a 0.2% increase in national rents but below the 0.4% gain in the previous quarter.
The report notes "significant divergence among state rental markets" with rental market softest in Victoria, where rents fell 0.5% “as Melbourne continues to have the highest vacancy rates among the capital cities”
Rents also fell 0.4% in SA/NT, but increased in NSW (0.2%), Queensland (0.6%) and WA (1.1%), “where the continued influx of transient workers is keeping vacancies low”.
The expectation of 2.1% rental growth over the next 12 months is broadly unchanged from the 2.2% previous expectation, however the outlook is much weaker in WA, where rents are now tipped to grow by just 2.6%, compared with 5% previously over the next year and 3.6% over the next two years, down from 6.7% in the second quarter of 2012.
“It seems the negative impact of falling commodity prices and scrutiny surrounding the mining investment pipeline may have also impacted housing market sentiment in that state.
“In contrast, Victorian respondents are much more optimistic, with rents forecast to grow by 1.1% (-0.2% previously). The outlook for the other states is largely unchanged.
The survey also revealed that overseas buyers have emerged as “important players in the market for new developments”.
“Demand for new property is strongest for inner city low rise apartments and townhouses and inner city houses but only assessed as ‘fair’,” says NAB.
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Rent rises to outpace house price growth over next two years: NAB

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Stockland’s Selandra Rise residential community in Melbourne's south-east has been one of the most successful recent house-and-land projects in Melbourne, according to the latest Melbourne communities report from Colliers International.
The report, released this week, notes that Selandra Rise (pictured below) in<a href="/news"> Clyde North</a> managed around 150 sales over the second half of 2011.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/10/selandra1.jpg">
However, the overall outlook is for lower steady growth in residential land sales over the next few years, with a combination of reduced population growth, declining consumer sentiment and changes to government incentives having already led to a correction in demand for land in Melbourne’s residential communities.
"Lack of demand, a cautious consumer outlook and uncertainty in funding on the developer and purchaser side is likely to continue in the next 16 months,” says  Paul Wheate, Colliers International director for valuations.
Over the second half of 2011 residential lot sales in Melbourne’s fringe growth suburbs continued to decline falling by 21%.
Colliers International records less than 2,000 lots sales in the second half of 2011 compared with more than 3,500 in the same period two years ago.
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.
New home approvals are down to below 6,000 across the city for the first six months of the year, compared with nearly 14,000 in 2011 and close to 16,000 in 2010.
Wheate says that after a period of high demand and limited supply, the land market was returning to more sustainable long-term averages in terms of sales rates, driven largely by the increased supply of available stock and declining purchaser sentiment.
“After the highs of 2009 and 2010 we became used to unsustainable levels of activity,” he says.
“With the declines in demand that we are seeing, courtesy of reduced building approval figures, population growth, and negative consumer sentiment during 2012, we anticipate that vacant lot and house sales will remain at current levels for the short to medium term.“
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Colliers International research analyst Margaret Bowden anticipates that the current environment will lead to a further increase in the proportion of sales of land measuring between 350 square metres and 450 square metres, and will likely lead to a more affordable median price for both vacant lot and house sale prices over the next 16 months.
The trend to build more affordable houses on smaller lots has already been picked up Stockland, which has reduced its average lot size from 569 square metres to 510 square metres. The company has pushed up the price from $362 per square metre to $403 per square metre.
The Colliers International report notes that around 82,265 vacant lots were sold and settled in the municipalities of Hume, Cardinia, Casey, Whittlesea, Wyndham, and Melton between 2005 and 2011.
However, nearly 43,000 lots remain available for sale – more than half the number sold over the previous six-year period.
Many projects continue to sell well, led by Selandra Rise.
The development is located in the city of Casey, about 50 kilometres south-east of Melbourne and about 20 kilometres from Mornington Peninsula.
Three-bedroom house-and-land packages start from around $320,000 on blocks measuring 294 square metres.
In total, 750 out of the 1,200 blocks available at Selandra Rise have been sold since marketing commenced in 2010.
Other strong selling projects include Stockland’s Allura community (Truganina) and Lend Lease’s Atherstone community (South Melton) in the western region, which sold 120 and 105 each respectively, and Metro Property’s Orchard Grove (Doreen), which has sold about 100 lots since it began marketing in April 2011. This is equivalent to 57% of its total stock.
According to Colliers International, six new precinct structure plans (PSPs) were completed in June 2012.
These new development areas will add an estimated 37,782 lots to the growth corridors of Melbourne in the future. This brings the number of total proposed lots to 135,561.
The western corridor has the highest proportion of lots (36%) with completed PSPs in the supply pipeline, the majority of which are in the municipality of Melton (35,254 lots). This is followed by the south-eastern corridor, with 33%, and the northern corridor with 31%
<a href="/news">Wyndham </a>recorded the highest median price for vacant lots (excluding rebates) in Melbourne’s growth areas over the second half of 2011 with $237,750, followed by <a href="/news">Casey </a>($213,950), <a href="/news">Whittlesea </a>($211,000), <a href="/news">Hume </a>($195,000), <a href="/news">Melton </a>($175,500), and <a href="/news">Cardinia </a>($176,000).
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Stockland’s Selandra Rise tops Melbourne’s house-and-land sales but fewer sales forecast: Colliers

Camberwell Junction has long been the epicentre of amenity in Melbourne’s Boroondara region.

For nearly a century, it has drawn both locals and visitors, anchored by the Camberwell Sunday Market, which first operated in 1929 and quickly became a fixture of the suburb’s identity. Over time, the Junction evolved into one of Melbourne’s most established retail and lifestyle precincts, now comprising more than 400 stores and over 300 commercial businesses.

Despite that depth of amenity, one thing has remained notably limited: the supply of new apartments.

In a suburb defined by its heritage streetscapes and tightly held residential stock, new development opportunities have been scarce, particularly within the core of the Junction itself. That lack of supply has left a gap in the market for larger, design-led apartments suited to downsizers and owner-occupiers wanting to remain in the area.

Boutique developer Above Zero identified that gap when it secured a prime site on Burke Road, in the heart of Camberwell Junction.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368543]

The site has a long planning history. Various proposals have been put forward over more than a decade, many of which were knocked back by the City of Boroondara, with initial applications dating back to 2015. Above Zero acquired the site in 2022 and returned with a revised scheme, refining both the building’s height and its ground-level interface to better align with Council expectations.

That process has culminated in approval for Camberwell House.

The Cera Stribley-designed development will deliver 57 residences on a 1,950 sqm site within the Camberwell Activity Centre, placing it directly within one of Melbourne’s most established retail and transport hubs.

It is expected to be one of the only new apartment developments to launch in the Junction in recent years, reinforcing the rarity of new supply in the precinct. Currently, there are just a handful of projects on the market in Camberwell, underscoring the significance of a development of this scale and positioning.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368544]

Camberwell House has been conceived with a clear focus on larger-format apartments. The project will offer a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, alongside a limited number of penthouses, targeting owner-occupiers seeking scale rather than volume-driven product.

The building’s vertical presence will also set it apart.

Positioned on Burke Road, the development is set to become one of the taller buildings in its immediate context, allowing for elevated outlooks across Melbourne’s CBD skyline and toward the Dandenong Ranges. In a precinct characterised by lower-scale built form, that height provides a point of differentiation, particularly for buyers seeking outlook and natural light.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368568]

Architecture has been led by Cera Stribley, with interiors by GOLDEN and landscape design by Florian Wild. The design approach centres on material consistency and restraint, with residences oriented to maximise light, ventilation and connection to outdoor spaces.

Full-height glazing and generous terraces form a key part of that strategy, allowing apartments to extend beyond their internal footprint and engage with the surrounding environment.

Beyond the private residences, a significant component of the project is its amenity offering.

Above Zero has positioned Camberwell House as a “complete living environment”, incorporating a full floor dedicated to resident facilities. At the centre of that is a wellness zone, including a 12.5-metre lap pool, spa, sauna and treatment spaces, alongside a gym and recovery-focused amenities.

This level of amenity is more commonly associated with inner-city developments, rather than established middle-ring suburbs like Camberwell.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=4896 project_image_fid=368588]

Additional shared spaces include a private library lounge, dining and entertaining areas, and an indoor golf simulator. A self-contained guest suite has also been incorporated, allowing residents to accommodate visiting family or friends without impacting their primary living space.

The inclusion of these facilities reflects a broader shift in buyer expectations.

As more downsizers look to transition from larger family homes into apartments, there is increasing demand for developments that offer not just a residence, but a lifestyle. That includes access to wellness, social and entertaining spaces within the building itself, reducing the reliance on external amenity while still maintaining proximity to established precincts.

Camberwell House is positioned to benefit from both.

Its location places it within immediate walking distance of Camberwell Junction’s retail and dining offering, as well as public transport connections, including tram and train services. That combination of internal amenity and external convenience is central to its appeal.

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Jellis Craig Projects Director Stephen Bowtell is handling sales for the project and says Camberwell House offers a rare entry point into one of Melbourne’s most tightly held markets.

“Buyers are recognising that Camberwell House offers something they simply haven’t seen before in Boroondara,”&nbsp;Bowtell&nbsp;says.

“It combines a level of resident amenity and service typically associated with Melbourne’s premium inner-city developments, while being positioned right in the heart of Camberwell Junction.

“The response to the concierge offering has been particularly strong. Buyers appreciate not only the convenience, but also the sense of security and peace of mind that comes from having a dedicated presence in the building every day.

“When you combine that with the wellness facilities, the exceptional arrival experience, and panoramic views across both the CBD skyline and the Dandenong Ranges, it creates a lifestyle proposition that is genuinely unique within the local market.”
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=4896]

Joel Robinson

Above Zero launches Camberwell House in undersupplied Camberwell Junction precinct

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

CPG unveils Castile Newstead ahead of upcoming sales launch

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

How Australia Post Parcel Lockers changed parcel delivery convenience in Australia

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

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

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

Larry Schlesinger

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