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Sydney was the strongest-performing major capital city housing market over the month of May, registering a nearly 2% rise in house prices to a median of $675,500, according to Residex. The Sydney market is in positive territory for the year ending May 2012, with growth of 1.2%.
The Sydney unit market registered a quarter percentage point fall in May, with prices up 1% for the year ending May 2012 to a median of $488,500. Sydney unit prices were up more than 5% for the year to May 2011.
Melbourne house prices were flat during May (to a median $558,500), while unit prices rose 1.5%.
Outside of the major capital cities, Darwin was the strongest housing market over May with a 3% gain to a median dwelling price of $504,500. The NT capital also registered the biggest jump in activity, with sales up 32% over the year to May period compared with the previous corresponding period.
Noticeably, Perth unit prices have made strong gains over the three months to May, up nearly 8% to a median of $412,000.
Overall Residex calculated a 1% rise in national house prices over May to a median of $429,500, with units unchanged at a median of $394,000.
Residex CEO John Edwards described the Australia-wide May results as pleasing, saying the trend shows that “markets have clearly moved to the positive and adjustments are now occurring at a lower rate”.
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<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/06/residexjune27.jpg"><img src="/images/stories/2012/06/residexjune27thumb.jpg"></a>
“The unit market does not appear as robust and supply issues are impacting on its recovery. Looking a little deeper, the result we are seeing is largely a consequence of the largest markets (Sydney and Melbourne) producing reasonable outcomes,” Edwards says.
Here’s a guide to how capital city houses and unit prices have fared:
Sydney
House prices rose 1.92% over May to a median of $675,500. They are up 2.74% for the quarter.
Unit prices fell 0.25% over May to a median of $488,500. They are up 1.1% for the quarter.
Melbourne
House prices fell 0.08% over May to a median of $558,500. They are down 0.05% for the quarter.
Unit prices rose 1.48% over May to a median of $435,000. They are up 2.58% for the quarter.
Brisbane
House prices fell 0.3% over May to a median of $422,500. They are up 0.07% for the quarter.
Unit prices were unchanged over May with a median value of $348,500. They are up 0.54% for the quarter.
Perth
House prices fell 1.81% over May to a median of $475,500. They are down 0.66% for the quarter.
Unit prices rose 2.47% over May to a median of $412,000. They are up 7.75% for the quarter.
Adelaide
House prices fell 0.16% over May to a median of $389,500. They are up 0.49% for the quarter.
Unit prices rose 1.47% over May to a median of $308,500. They are up 3.05% for the quarter.
Hobart
House prices fell 0.96% over May to a median of $364,000. They are down 4.02% for the quarter.
Unit prices fell 1.02% over May to a median of $257,500. They are down 0.9% for the quarter.
ACT
House prices fell 1.35% over May to a median of $525,500. They are down 1.3% for the quarter.
Unit prices rose 2.05% over May to a median of $427,500. They are up 3.39% for the quarter.
Darwin
House prices rose 3.14% over May to a median of $504,500. They are up 5.08% for the quarter.
Unit prices fell 0.66% over May to a median of $410,500. They are up 4.37% for the quarter.
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Sydney house prices up 2% in May as unit supply issues impact on national recovery: Residex

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Queensland will extend stamp duty concessions to a wider range of home buyers from July 1, as a batch of other state government handouts and concessions come to an end.
The Queensland state government will reinstate the transfer duty home concession scheme, which was abolished on August 1 last year, from July 1, 2012.
It will provide a concessional stamp duty rate of 1% up to a value of $350,000, with stamp duty charged at normal rates for the remaining value of the home purchase.
The buyer must occupy the home for a period of 12 months – an applicant may lose the concession if he sells or leases part or all of the home before moving in or within a year of moving in.
A separate stamp duty concession scheme remains in place for first-home buyers, who pay no duty on purchases up to $500,000, with a phasing-out rebate applicable for values up to $600,000. To qualify, the buyer must be eligible for the first-home buyer grant of $7,000.
NSW
The new financial year will also bring in the NSW government’s <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/the-25-things-investors-need-to-know-about-the-nsw-%245000-new-home-grant-scheme/2012061255077" target="_blank">new home grant scheme</a>, which will provide a $5,000 grant to buyers of new homes, whether off the plan or newly built, with a value up to $650,000 and to buyers of vacant land that is intended to be the site of a new home valued up to $450,000.
The scheme will replace the far more generous <a target="_blank" href="https://www.homebuyer.nsw.gov.au/newhomes.php">NSW government's home builders’ bonus</a>, which provides full exemption on stamp duty for new homes up to a value of $600,000 and vacant land up to $400,000.
Victoria
From July 1 two bonus schemes aimed at first-home buyers in Victoria will no longer be available – the $13,000 first-home bonus, which has run for three years, and the $6,500 regional bonus, which has run for two years.
These schemes will not be replaced.
Instead, first-home buyers will have to wait until January 1, 2013, when the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/sro/sronav.nsf/LinkView/C88211C9E07486F0CA2578B70001025018E490D796850F8ECA2575C1008187C7">existing 20% stamp duty discount first-home buyers spending less than $600,000 on a home purchase will be increased to 30%.</a>
The stamp duty discount will rise to 40% on January 1 2014 and to 50% on September 1 2014.
To qualify for the stamp duty discount, first-home buyers must also qualify for the federal $7,000 first-home owners’ grant.
South Australia
From July 1,the  <a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/fhog/bonus8000">first-home bonus grant of up to $8,000</a> available to first-home buyers who qualify for the federal $7,000 first-home owner grant will be reduced to $4,000 and will be fully abolished from July 1, 2013.
Stamp duty cuts have already been introduced for off-the-plan buyers in the Adelaide City Council area, including North Adelaide, aimed at encouraging higher-density inner-city living.
Between May 31, 2012, and June 30, 2014 the state government is offering a full stamp duty concession for off-the-plan apartments valued up to $500,000, providing a maximum concession of up to $21,330.
From July 1, 2014, to June, 30, 2016, there will be partial exemptions, meaning a concession of up to $15,000.
ACT
The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.revenue.act.gov.au/home_buyer_assistance/home_buyer_duty_concession/1_January_2012_-_30_June_2012">home buyer concession scheme (HBCS)</a> will end on June 30. The scheme provides stamp duty concessions on homes worth up to $470,000 and vacant land up to $260,000. To qualify, applicants must satisfy a combined income test for one year prior to the date of the grant starting from $120,000 for applicants with no children and up to $136,650 for applicants with five or more children.
No new schemes were introduced in the May 2011-12 ACT budget.
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Queensland to introduce owner-occupier stamp duty cuts from July 1 as other state schemes come to an end

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The Australian housing market is not in danger of collapsing, RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle has told delegates at an Adelaide mortgage conference today.
Debelle says there is no oversupply of housing in the country with households well able to manage their debt levels while mortgage arrears remain very low.
He played down concerns of US or Europe-style house price falls
"[Housing risk] is not something that keeps me awake at night," Debelle said while taking part in a panel discussion at the Mortgage &amp; Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) industry Leaders Panel Forum in Adelaide.
However, he did not express the same confidence in Europe saying a “day of reckoning” was coming for the eurozone, Reuters reported.
Debelle’s comments follow an<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/economy/current-rate-cut-cycle-not-aimed-at-creating-risky-new-housing-boom-glenn-stevens/2012060855045" target="_blank"> earlier June speech by RBA governor Glenn Stevens </a>in which he said the current interest rate cutting cycle was not aimed at boosting house prices or “re-igniting a boom in borrowing”
In a speech titled “The Glass half full” Stevens said one thing Australia should not do is “try to engineer a return to the boom” or create the wrong kind of confidence in the economy.
“The kind of confidence based on nothing more than expectations of ever-increasing housing prices, with the associated willingness to continue increasing leverage, on the assumption that this is a sure way to wealth, would not be the right kind,” he said.
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Housing market worries not keeping me up at night: RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle

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One of Canberra’s greenest office building projects is now 80% leased as demand grows for premium-grade office stock with high environmental ratings, according to Colliers. 
Just two floors out of the 10 in Nishi Commercial – part of developer the Molonglo Group’s mixed-use NewActon project – remain available for lease, with office tenants set to move across in November. 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/nishi5.jpg">
Office component
The building, billed as an end to “glass box” offices, has been designed by architecture practice Fender Katsalidis in conjunction with sustainable engineering firm Arup, the firm behind the iconic Beijing Olympic Water Cube and Gherkin building in London. 
The 21,700-square-metre Nishi building has been designed to meet five-star NABERS and six green star ratings and will fittingly become the headquarters for Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, which is its anchor tenant. 
Other tenants include law firm Clayton Utz and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 
It will feature the largest single-building solar panel installation (400 kW) on any commercial building in Australia and is classified as a Solar Farm under ACT Government legislation. 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/nishi4.jpg">
Residential component
“Leasing one floor at Nishi is the equivalent to planting 1,387 trees or equal to preserving 7,500 square metres of rain forest annually,” says Rupert Cullen, state director of real estate management at Colliers, which has been appointed as building manager. 
Other key sustainable features included mixed-mode air-conditioning, an under-floor displacement air handling system and a high-performance façade that optimises daylight penetration. 
In its latest Canberra CBD office research and forecast report, Colliers says that since  2007 there has been “tenant-driven interest in modern, environmentally savvy buildings, and this trend has grown to present day”. 
A-grade office space has grown to 39% of available stock, “changing the profile of the Canberra office market from one of low-quality building to one of high-quality buildings, attracting long-term tenants, creating security and good cashflow for investors”. 
Colliers says that due to a limited amounts of new stock coming to the market in the first half of 2012, “the once tenant-controlled market is shifting to favour landlords with premium space”. 
Net effective rents for A-grade stock have risen 3.4% in the last six months, with the A-grade CBD market vacancy rate falling from 11% to 7.6% over the past two years. 
Investors who hold A-grade stock in the CBD can expect yields of between 7.25% to 7.75%, with one square metre of office space renting for between $425 and $500. 
Colliers says that over the next six months just three buildings – providing an estimated 3,750 square metres of space – are expected to be delivered in the Canberra region.
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The Colliers report anticipates a pick-up in white collar employment growth from January next year, which will boost demand for office space.
Canberra, with a stable civil servant employer base, has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Australia, standing at just 3.8% for the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the ABS. 
This is 1.4 percentage points below the national unemployment rate of 5.3%.
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Canberra’s very green Nishi office block 80% leased as demand for premium office space rises: Colliers

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The current Melbourne housing market dynamics are working in the favour of aspiring home owners, with no short-term prospect of capital growth for investors, says property investment adviser Monique Sasson Wakelin.
Monique Sasson Wakelin advised June 28 that she actually said: “We will have relatively little if any capital growth in the property market probably for the next 12 months or so.”
However, she says the good news is that with Melbourne house prices down more than 8.4% over the 12 months to the end May (according to RP Data) and interest rates falling, affordability has improved, meaning aspiring buyers can get a foothold in the market.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it – you can’t have fabulous capital growth as an investor and high affordability as an aspiring home buyer.
“Take your pick. You will have one or the other at any given point in time.
“Investors will be treading water for some time, but the upside is that you are coming into a market that is very transparent and very affordable.
“It’s a question of balance, of weighing up the options,” she told ABC Radio.
However, Wakelin insisted a lack of capital growth did not mean the “sky is falling in” or that the “everything is going to fall apart”.
Her latest comments do though represent <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/inner-suburban-melbourne-market-in-recovery-mode-monique-sasson-wakelin/2012050854600">quite a shift from more upbeat comments made a month ago</a>.
In May she said the market was in “recovery mode”, with a perceptible shift in power from buyers to vendors.
In the interview she also said the current state of the market does not mean “sky is falling in and we’re all about to fall into the doom”
“We are not, the reality is if we look back a couple of years, we were all screaming black and blue that affordability was through the floor and nobody could get finance, let alone afford to buy anything reasonable in Melbourne, even in the outer suburbs. It was just horrendously difficult for anything,” she says.
“So the good news is that with lower interest rates and higher affordability we have a far better chance for those who want to get into the market, for whatever purpose be it for home buying or investment, now is the time they will be able to do that in a relatively affordable fashion,” she says.
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Melbourne a better market for aspiring buyers than investors: Monique Sasson Wakelin

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Nine months after being placed in administration, Wayne Ormond’s Refund Home Loans mortgage broking franchise has been sold to ASX-listed non-bank lender Homeloans Limited, administrators SV Partners have announced.
The <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/wayne-ormond-s-refund-home-loans-sold-to-non-bank-lender-homeloans-ltd/2012052354808">sale to Homeloans Ltd was foreshadowed by Property Observer in May.</a>
Homeloans Ltd will acquire the Refund mortgage book, distribution network and other selected assets of the business.
Fifty-four former Refund franchisees have commenced operating as Homeloans mortgage brokers and will also receive a “substantial amount of the commissions owing to them by the old Refund business”.
When placed in voluntary administration, Refund had total debts of around $10 million and around 250 mortgage brokers operating Australia wide.
Administrator, David Stimpson of SV Partners, said the sale to Homeloans Ltd was the best possible outcome for everyone involved.
“The completion of the sale will result in a substantial return to Refund’s franchisees as well as a 100% return to employees and the company’s financiers.
“The trade creditors will also receive a return, however it will be sometime before this return amount can be calculated,” he said.
“We appreciate that the administration has been tough for many people, however the final bid by Homeloans provided the best result for all stakeholders, including franchisees, employees and trade creditors. The sale also ensures that a substantial part of Refund’s business will continue, albeit under the Homeloans banner,” added Stimpson.
“This transaction fits perfectly with Homeloans’ strategy to expand through organic growth and acquisitions,” says Scott McWilliam, Homeloans’ general manager funding and investments.
“We are excited about this outcome, which is a mutually beneficial result both for former Refund franchisees who were seeking to align themselves with a respected brand, and for Homeloans, which is seeking to grow its distribution network. We look forward to working with these new loan writers, who are based around Australia.”
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Non-bank lender Homeloans Limited completes purchase of Refund Home Loans network and with 54 brokers signing up

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The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) expects no appreciation in the Melbourne housing market in the next few years, with a lack of demand for real property one of the reasons.
In his June 2012 State of the Victorian Property Market report, REIV spokesman Robert Larocca includes a graph that shows particularly low levels of first-home buyer demand for property, as well as a fall in the number in other buyers. The first-home buyer market is often seen as the springboard for growth elsewhere in the market.
First-home buyer numbers have fallen from a high of 4,595 a month in May 2009 to just 1,980 as of April 2012 – having hovered around the 2,000 mark since October 2010.
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“Low rates of economic growth in Victoria coupled with lower population growth and with almost no unmet demand underpin at best moderate growth in the medium term,” says Larocca.
The graph shows that from March 2009 to April 2009 there were more than 4,000 first-home buyers every month.
This was a time when the Victorian government’s first-home owners’ boost was available (in addition to the $7,000 federal first-home owners’ grant).
It offered an extra $14,000 for those who built a new home or bought a newly constructed dwelling and an extra $7,000 for those buying an existing home and ran from October 14, 2008 to September 30, 2009.
The boost halved from October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.
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No Melbourne house price growth for next few years as buyers disappear: REIV

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The Ray White Group has strengthened its ties with industry-owned listings website realestateview.com.au following the appointment of Dan White as a non-executive director.
Dan White, the CEO of the Ray White Group, is the company’s second boardroom representative at realestateview.com.au.
He joins Trevor Booth, director of Ray White Ballarat and president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), who is also a non-executive director at realestateview.com.au.
Dan White’s appointment follows Sam White, executive chairman of Ray White’s mortgage broking arm, the Loan Market Group, quitting the board of the REA Group in January after nearly nine years as non-executive director. The REA Group is publishers of realestate.com.au.
RealestateView.com.au is the third largest property portal in Australia, behind realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, reaching an audience of 1 million unique visitors a month.
It offers about 200,000 listings across the residential, commercial, business and holiday markets.
It is a joint venture between the REIV (which holds a 70% share) and a number of Victorian and national real estate agencies including Barry Plant and Buxton Real Estate.
The four members of realestateview.com.au board of directors are:
<ul>
<li>Enzo Raimondo, executive director (CEO of the REIV) </li>
<li>Neil Laws, chairman (branch manager Kerleys Coastal Real Estate)</li>
<li>Richard Henderson, non-executive director (CEO of R-CO)</li>
<li>John Piccolo, non-executive director (CEO of Woodards). </li>
</ul>
Laws, chairman of the board of realestateView.com.au, welcomed the appointment of Dan White, saying his commercial and professional experience would be “an invaluable addition to the board in particular as the business continues its national expansion”.
Dan White says he is excited to further strengthen Ray White Group’s relationship with realestateView.com.au.
“We have had a great association with realestateView.com.au. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and the executive team to achieve the best possible business outcomes for realestateView.com.au,” he says.
Dan White joined the Ray White Group in 2000 following approximately three years with Macquarie Bank’s Property Investment Management Division.
Prior to that, he spent two years in the taxation division of Arthur Andersen.
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Ray White Group CEO Dan White joins board of realestateView.com.au

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The perception that Melbourne is turning into a mini-Manhattan given the high-rise apartment projects in Docklands, the CBD and city fringe is untrue, according to the results of the 2011 census.
Apartments as a percentage of the total housing mix in greater Melbourne have in fact fallen as a dwelling type from 16.1% in 2006 to 15.3% in 2011 despite the total number of flats and units rising from 217,836 to 219,111 during this period.
Greater Melbourne dwelling structure
<table style="width: 470px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
 
</td>
<td valign="top" colspan="2" width="213">
2011
</td>
<td valign="top" colspan="2" width="260">
2006
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Separate house
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
1,039,342
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
72.6%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
971,782
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
71.9%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
165,486
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
11.6%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
154,163
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
11.4%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Flat, unit or apartment
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
219,111
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
15.3%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
217,836
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
16.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Other dwelling
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
6,159
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
0.4%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
7,459
</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
 
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
0.6%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Census 2006 and 2011 (ABS)
The 2011 census results also show that greater Sydney remains the apartment capital of Australia. More than a quarter of greater Sydney residents (25.8%) live in this type of dwelling, and this proportion is virtually unchanged from the previous survey.
According to the census, 11.7% of greater Brisbane residents live in flats, followed by Adelaide (10.4%) and Perth (9.1%).
Brisbane has the highest percentage of people living in detached houses at 79%, followed by Perth (78.6%) and Adelaide (77.2%).
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Melbourne not yet becoming Manhattan, with percentage of apartments falling: ABS census 2011

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The “stars are beginning to align” for the Sydney residential housing market, with median prices forecast to grow by a cumulative 17% over the next three year to reach a median of $750,000, according to a new report by BIS Shrapnel.
Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin house prices are expected to grow by at least 5% per year between now and 2015, while the “non-resource state” housing markets will continue struggle.
In percentage growth terms, Perth is expected to record the strongest capital growth appreciation over this period with its median house prices climbing 22% from $475,000 to $580,000 – more than 7% per year.
BIS Shrapnel also has strong growth expectations for Brisbane (20% rise to $515,000) and Darwin (15% to $620,000) but the outlook is poor for Melbourne, with house prices expected to rise just 3% to $557,000 by 2015.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/bisjune25.gif">
According to BIS Shrapnel senior manager Angie Zigomanis, author of the Residential Property Prospects, 2012 to 2015 report, a continued shortfall in new dwelling construction in Sydney to meet population growth will mean that rental growth will remain solid in the next two to three years.
 
“This deficiency will eventually encourage investors back into the Sydney market.
“Once there is evidence that prices have bottomed out and sentiment improves, the return of price growth will in turn promote further investor demand. After showing signs of a turnaround in 2012-13, price growth should pick up in 2013-14,” Zigomanis says.
BIS Shrapnel says the Perth market recovery will be driven by significantly improving affordability and accelerating population growth.
“Population growth is already accelerating as Perth also benefits from rising overseas and interstate migration and, combined with recent weak new dwelling construction, has resulted in vacancy rates tightening from 3.5% at June 2011, to 1.9% in March 2012.”
“With unemployment in the state already leading the nation at 3.8% in March 2012 and economic and income growth to continue to strengthen, the first stages of a turnaround should appear in 2012-13 before stronger price growth emerges in 2013-14 and 2014-15 as economic growth approaches a peak.”
Brisbane’s predicted strong house price growth is based on rental growth recovery (as vacancies tighten below 3%), improving affordability, recent interest rate reductions and a projected recovery in the state’s economy.
“Consequently, economic conditions are forecast to rapidly improve, with the ensuing employment and income growth to create a greater level of purchaser confidence,” says Zigomanis.
In contrast conditions are expected to remain tough in the non-resource states of Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT.
“These states all had the strongest bounce in construction after the global financial crisis, with the result being an erosion of their dwelling deficiency and/or an emerging excess of dwelling stock,” says BIS Shrapnel.
Melbourne faces headwinds from a subdued state economic environment in 2011-12 that has placed downward pressure on prices.
“With Melbourne’s dwelling deficiency being eroded, there is little upward pressure on prices,” says Zigomanis.
“We anticipate that prices will stabilise in 2012-13 due to the impact of lower interest rates and an improving outlook for the national economy. However, there will be little to support price growth in the city over the next three years and conditions will continue to remain tough,” he says.
“Non-resource states” will also face headwinds from underperforming economies.
“Economically, these states are also underperforming due to a fall-off in construction and a negative impact to industry from the high Australian dollar,” says Zigomanis. 
“The improvement in affordability from lower interest rates may stabilise house prices in this environment. 
“However, without any supply pressures, median house prices in Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra are forecast to show little change and decline in real terms over the next three years,” he says.
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Melbourne residential property market to struggle as ‘stars align’ for Sydney and resources states: BIS Shrapnel

<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.

&nbsp;

[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.

&nbsp;

[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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Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

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[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.

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Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

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

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

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

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

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

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

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