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Vendors in Tasmania are set to face higher disclosure requirements when selling their homes under a new set of draft rules being proposed by the Tasmanian government.
The draft Residential Property Transactions Bill 2012 seeks to repeal the 2005 “vendor statement” requirement, which was found after public consultation to be “impossible” to implement, and replace it with a new set of draft requirements.
The new requirements include that vendors provide sellers with third-party documents such as title documents, plans and a section 337 council certificate as well as giving consumers the option to obtain a building inspection report.
The draft rules also give the purchaser the right to rescind a contract in the private treaty sales of residential property during a cooling-off period of five business days after the contract date.
The new draft rules were compiled with the assistance of the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania and the Law Society of Tasmania.
Public consultation carried out by the Tasmania’s Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading (CAFT) in 2010 identified “a number of significant problems” with the vendor statement approach, including that “the property information available to a purchaser would be dependent on the knowledge and memory of the vendor and how long the vendor had owned the property”.
The public consultation also identified that the “vendor statement would require a vendor to make an assessment as to the condition of the property, and to make judgements in relation to matters concerning the legality of building work” and would expose vendors to the risk of legal claims if they “incorrectly answered a question required by the vendor statement in relation to a technical matter”.
In explaining the need for the new rules, CAFT says “there is general support for the view that the principle of 'buyer beware' no longer serves the interests of purchasers”.
“Further it is commonly accepted that purchasers should have the right to access relevant information when deciding whether to purchase a residential property,” says CAFT.
Introducing the bill, Minister for Consumer Protection Nick McKim said the new legislation focused on providing better information to consumers about illegal building works. 
“The draft legislation released today has been developed through collaboration between government and the real estate and legal professions,” he says. 
“I would like to thank the Law Society of Tasmania and the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania for their valuable input to this process. 
“Following the public consultation process I will be moving to finalise the bill and obtain cabinet approval with a view to introducing the legislation into the Parliament before the winter recess. 
“Tasmanian consumers have waited many years for the introduction of vendor disclosure, and I am committed to seeing this regime implemented,” he says. 
The government seeking public comment by June 12, 2012.
 
 
 
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Tasmanian vendors to face higher disclosure requirements 

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Following Friday’s decision by ANZ to reduce its variable rate by 0.37 percentage points to 7.05% as part of its monthly independent rate decision, just two lenders – both credit unions – have passed on the full 50-basis-point May 1 rate cut to borrowers.
<a href="https://www.unicredit.com.au/" target="_blank">Unicredit WA</a>, which primarily provides loans to staff of WA’s four public universities (and according to its website “was born out of the chemistry department at the University of Western Australia in 1964”), has lowered its standard variable interest rates half a percentage point to 6.1%, making it one of the lowest in the market with<a href="https://www.queenslanders.org.au/"> Queensland Credit Union</a> not far behind at 6.15%
The other lender to pass on the full rate cut is New South Wales-based <a href="https://www.pcu.com.au/" target="_blank">Police Credit Union</a>, which has dropped its Police Value Variable Home Loan to 6.24%.
Borrowers at one of the larger credit unions, Credit Union of Australia (CUA) will perhaps feel the most aggrieved after it passed on only a 25-basis-point cut to 6.47% – half of the official RBA rate cut. However, CUA still has a standard variable rate significantly lower than the major banks.
Of the bigger lenders, ING Direct is offering the lowest standard variable rate of 6.44%.
Here’s a guide to some of the standard variable mortgage rates currently on offer from banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders, starting with the cheapest:
All rates correct as of 9am, May 14.
6.10%
The standard variable bank rate of Unicredit WA
6.15%
The standard variable bank rate of the Queensland Credit Union
6.24%
The standard variable bank rate of Police Credit Union
6.37%
The standard variable bank rate of State Custodians
6.42%
The standard variable bank rate of ING Direct (Mortgage Simplifier) 
6.44%
The standard variable bank rate of ME Bank 
6.47% 
The standard variable bank rate of CUA
6.64%
The standard variable bank rate of Yellow Brick Road 
6.66%
The standard variable bank rate of Newcastle Permanent
6.85%
The standard variable bank rate of Cairns Penny Savings &amp; Loan
6.98%
The standard variable bank rate of People's Choice Credit Union
6.98%
The standard variable bank rate of Bankwest
6.99% 
The standard variable bank rate of Bank of Melbourne
6.99% 
The standard variable bank rate of NAB
7.01% 
The standard variable bank rate of Commonwealth Bank 
7.04% 
The standard variable bank rate of St.George Bank 
7.04% 
The standard variable bank rate of BankSA 
7.05%
The standard variable bank rate of ANZ
7.05%
The standard variable bank rate of HSBC
7.06%
The standard variable bank rate of Aussie Home Loans
7.07%
The standard variable bank rate of AMP 
7.08%
The standard variable bank rate of Bank of Suncorp  
7.09%
The standard variable bank rate of Westpac
7.10%
The standard variable bank rate of Bendigo Bank 
7.11%
The standard variable bank rate of Bank of Queensland 
7.62%
The standard variable bank rate of Citibank (unchanged) 
 
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Just two lenders pass on full rate cut: May 2012 to standard variable mortgage rates

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Today's expected RBA interest rate cut will once again be followed by speculation about what ANZ will do when it makes its independent interest rate decision 10 days later on Friday, May 11.
Since making the decision to go it alone, following the December 0.25-percentage-point rate cut, ANZ has been on a public relations crusade to explain and justify why it should make its own interest rate call independently of the RBA and why it has needed to raise interest rates twice (by six basis points each time) since December without prompting from the RBA.
Last week ANZ Australia CEO Phil Chronican wrote an entire column in the Fairfax media explaining why the bank needed to go it alone on interest rate announcements, including highlighting the fact that less expensive funding had matured and was replaced with “more expensive funding reflecting the current conditions in global markets”.
Chronican acknowledged “for most people this sounds complex” and that “many people have strong views about these decisions”, but he said it was “difficult to have an informed public debate about these issues when people of influence in the community are not aware of key facts or are willing to misrepresent them”.
While Chronican may be correct about ANZ’s funding position being misrepresented by “people of influence”, what is clear is that his attempt to explain the bank’s position is falling on deaf ears, with the bank taking all the heat each time interest rate announcements are made by the RBA.
Perhaps Fairfax business columnist Adele Ferguson said it best when she said the decision by ANZ to lift rates independently by six basis points on April 13 made it stand out “like a shag on a rock” after the other major banks did nothing.
Indeed, ANZ appears to be making few friends, regardless of how hard it tries to explain itself or how many colourful charts it includes in its monthly interest rate review statements.
Research carried out by social media monitoring company sentimentmetrics.com.au has found that negative sentiment towards ANZ went from 12% in the four weeks prior to its interest rate announcement to 19% following the announcement.
The public relations problems faced by ANZ were highlighted, somewhat tongue-in-cheek by Marcus Padley, founder of the Marcus Today stock market newsletter, who said the bank was getting “a lot of flak for no upside”.
“Every second Thursday of the month (before the Friday announcement), the ANZ board must be saying, ‘What are we doing here again?’” Padley said on the ABC’s Inside Business program.
“ANZ is the second cheapest of the major banks, but you would think they are nastiest bank out there,” he added.
Padley reckons the ANZ independent meeting on the second Friday of every month won’t last.
“It’s a seasonal thing to do with the GFC. Once everything relaxes, they’ll fall back in line with the RBA.”
Inside Business host Alan Kohler said the bank might be raising interest rates just to keep the public informed that it is making independent rate calls – certainly not a reminder that will be welcomed by any borrowers.
Also speaking on the same program, Crikey founder and Australian Shareholders' Association director Stephen Mayne said ANZ might get better PR if it announced an independent rate cut.
Nobody is likely to be holding their breath on that one.
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ANZ interest rates calls independent of the RBA a public relations disaster that won’t last

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Five out of six Queensland 7-Eleven service stations have sold at auction, continuing the strong appeal of the combination petrol station and retail store assets.
Prices ranged from $1.5 million for a 2,365-square-metre 7-Eleven service station in the north Brisbane coastal suburb of Sandgate to $2.35 million paid for a 3,700-square-metre service station in Springwood, south of Brisbane.
Yields ranged from 5.67% to 7.73%, similar to the 5.75% to 7.7% yields achieved following the recent successful auction of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/retail/self-funded-retirees-continue-to-snap-up-nsw-7-elevens-service-stations-drawn-by-high-yields/2012032754031">10 NSW 7-Elevens</a>, where prices ranged from $2.2 million to $3.9 million.
All Queensland properties sold with new 15-year leases with three options of five-year renewals and guaranteed 4% annual rent increases.
The Queensland properties were marketed by Sam Hatcher and Ben McGrath from Jones Lang LaSalle.
Two of the properties – Woodridge and Springwood – sold at below the estimated taxable land value.
McGrath says this means land tax might be a bit high on these two sites due to their large land area. The Woodridge site measures over 5,000 square metres and the Springwood site over 3,700 square metres – the two largest properties among the batch of six.
Figures released by the Queensland Valuer-General show that Logan City (where the Woodridge service station is located) has experienced an 8.9% decline in industrial land values to a median of $380,000 while industrial land values in the Scenic Rim Shire, where the Springwood service station is located, have increased by 11.1% to a median of $250,000.
 
<table style="width: 470px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Location
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
Address
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
Size
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
Annual Rent
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
Estimated rateable land value
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
Sale price
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
Yield
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Woodridge
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
1 Kingston Road
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
5,072 sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$136,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$2 million
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
$1.87m
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
5.67%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Springwood
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
53 Springwood Road
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
3,702 sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$170,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$2.4 million
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
$2.35m
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
5.70%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Marsden
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
79 Chambers Flat Road
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
3,500sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$170,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$1 million
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
$2.05
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
7.68%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Sandgate
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
86 Rainbow Street
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
1,248sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$120,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$640,000
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
$1.5m
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
7.25%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Strathpine
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
273 Gympie Road
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
2,365sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$175,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$920,000
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
$2.23m
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
7.73%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="90" valign="top">
Nambour
</td>
<td width="94" valign="top">
922 Nambour Connection Road
</td>
<td width="85" valign="top">
1,821sqm
</td>
<td width="84" valign="top">
$190,000
</td>
<td width="83" valign="top">
$270,000
</td>
<td width="101" valign="top">
Still available
</td>
<td width="69" valign="top">
--
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 
Last year about $90 million worth of 7-Elevens were sold in and around Sydney and Melbourne.
Investors paid <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/retail/sales-of-7-elevens-during-2011-secure-investors-yields-of-between-4.6-and-8.5/2011112752554">between$1.6 million for a 1,900-square-metre service station in Bayswater East in Melbourne up to $4.6 million for a 2,824-square-metre site in Turramurra</a> in 2011.
 
 
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Five out of six Queensland-based 7-Eleven service station sell as one further Melbourne store listed with $2.5 million hopes

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An application to ban commission-only payments to real estate agents and prohibit the deduction of things like superannuation and advertising costs from commission payments could have a crippling effect on the industry, the Real Estate Employers’ Federation of NSW (REEF) has warned.
A copy of the latest REEF employer guide obtained by Property Observer warns that the real estate industry is “under threat from union activity” and says it is “preparing itself for perhaps the biggest industrial challenge of recent times”.
REEF highlights an application by the Real Estate Salesperson’s Association of South Australia (RESA), a trade union representing property sales consultants, to change the current system of real estate industry awards – the minimum wages paid to real estate industry employees.
The application was filed by RESA to Fair Work Australia as part of the employee watchdog’s required two-year review of the 2010 modern awards.
RESA is seeking two key changes:
<ul>
<li>To have the current debit-credit commission system be dismantled, prohibiting employers from debiting things like advertising and marketing and superannuation payments from an employee’s commissions; and 
</li>
<li>Abolishing commission-only employment by requiring a “wage safety net” for all salespeople.</li>
</ul>
“As members would be well aware, the debit-credit commission structure is simply a method of calculating a salesperson’s productivity and hence his/her entitlement to commission,” reads the REEF newsletter.
“It is a remuneration arrangement that has existed for 40 years.
“If RESA’s application succeeds, the industry will be forced to reconsider existing incentive arrangements. This might include how much sales commission an employer is prepared to share with individual salespeople.”
On the second proposal to implement a wage safety net, REEF says this would mean that “if a commission-only salesperson does not earn by way of commission over a 12-month period the minimum amounts that have to be paid to a salaried salesperson (around $40,000), the employer would have to make up the shortfall”.
“RESA’s application will completely undermine the fundamental principles of commission-only employment… We see no reason for it being removed from the award as proposed by RESA,” says REEF
Greg Paterson, executive director of REEF, says if the application is successful it will have a major impact on how salespeople are remunerated.
“They will earn less and their commission split will be less,” he tells Property Observer.
“If the application is successful people could lose their jobs because employers won’t be able to afford to keep salespeople on.
“Or they will have to renegotiate lower payments with them,” he says.
The proposed rule changes will affect the vast bulk of those working in the industry – those who are directly employed by an estate agency – but won’t affect contractors.
Paterson says REEF, which has 1,500 members, along with other employer bodies, will strongly oppose the application put forward by RESA.
“We are not sure exactly how the hearing will be undertaken, but people will be required to present evidence.
“RESA will argue in favour of the application and we will strongly oppose the application,” he says.
No hearing date has been set, but Paterson expects an announcement very soon.
Robert Simeon, a director at Richardson &amp; Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay, says the changes will have the most damaging effect on salespeople.
“Principles will no longer have recourse to recover advertising costs from estate agents’ commission, so will demand they pay the costs upfront.
“In some expensive suburbs advertising can cost between $15,000 and $25,000.
“Many agents will lose their jobs,” he says.
A spokesperson for Fair Work Australia says a timetable for will be released shortly as well as details of how the review process will be handled.
A decision on changes to the awards system is expected this year.
Property Observer contacted RESA for a comment but had not heard back from the union at the time of publication.
 
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Jobs and pay under threat from proposed union changes to real estate commission system: Industry body

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Before yesterday the last time the RBA reduced interest rates by 50 points or more was in February 2009, when it trimmed the cash rate by 100 basis points t0 3.25%.
The February 2009 rate cut was the fourth in a series of successive big rate cuts following the GFC, during which the central bank cut a cumulative 375 basis points from the cash rate of 7% in August 2008.
An even longer series of big rate cuts occurred in the early 1990s following the 1991 recession.
There have been nine smaller interest rate cuts of 25 basis points over the last 22 years.
Over this time the RBA has cut rates 35 times and raised them 27 times.
Here’s a rundown of when rate cuts of 50 basis points or more have taken place:
100 basis points
February 2009 – cash rate down to 3.25%
100 basis points
December 2008 - cash rate down to 4.25%
75 basis points
November 2008 - cash rate down to 5.25%
100 basis points
October 2008 - cash rate down to 6%
50 basis points
April 2001 - cash rate down to 5%
50 basis points
February 2001 - cash rate down to 5.75%
50 basis points
July 1997 - cash rate down to 5.00%
50 basis points
May 1997 - cash rate down to 5.5%
50 basis points
December 1996 - cash rate down to 6%
50 basis points
November 1996 - cash rate down to 6.5%
50 basis points
July 1996 - cash rate down to 7%
50 basis points
July 1993 - cash rate down to 4.75%
50 basis points
March 1993 - cash rate down to 5.25%
75 basis points
July 1992 - cash rate down to 5.75%
100 basis points
May 1992 - cash rate down to 6.5%
100 basis points
January 1992 - cash rate down to 7.5%
100 basis points
November 1991 - cash rate down to 8.5%
100 basis points
September 1991 - cash rate down to 9.5%
100 basis points
May 1991 - cash rate down to 10.5%
50 basis points
April 1991 - cash rate down to 11.5%
100 basis points
December 1990 - cash rate down to 12%
100 basis points
October 1990 - cash rate down to 13%
100 basis points
August 1990 - cash rate down to 14%
100 - 150 basis points
April 1990 - cash rate down to 15% to % 15.5%
50 basis points
February 1990 - cash rate down to 16.5% to % 17%
50- 100 basis points
Jan 1990 - cash rate down to 17.00% to % 17.5%
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The RBA’s biggest interest rate cuts: a timeline since 1990

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Melbourne’s property market has staged a surprise turnaround in the March quarter, with the median house price up 1.6% to $529,00, while Sydney has met most analysts’ expectations of incremental growth of 1.4% to $641,000, according to the latest house price report from Australian Property Monitors (APM).
The improvement in the Melbourne house price was helped by a revision to the December quarter data from a median of $538,000 to $521,000. Sydney's December median house price was revised down from $637,000 to $632,000
Australia’s two biggest cities were the strongest mainland performers during the quarter as house prices increased nationally by 0.9% on the back of increased buyer and seller confidence at the start of 2012.
There was a small increase in Perth house prices of 0.1% over the quarter to a median of $531,000 following a similar increase in the December quarter.  The Perth December quarter house price was revised up from $522,000 to $530,000.
There were small house price decreases of 0.3% in Brisbane ($433,000) and Adelaide ($437,000), with the Queensland capital remaining the most affordable of the mainland capital cities – registering a median house price below Adelaide for the second successive quarter.
The Brisbane December quarter median house price was revised up from $426,000 to $434,000.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/apmapril27.gif"><img src="/images/stories/apmapril27thumb.gif"></a>
“The Perth, Brisbane and Sydney markets remain the best prospects for growth over 2012, and although Melbourne’s performance has been encouraging so far this year, this may prove to be short-lived if the Victorian economy continues to deteriorate,” says Dr Andrew Wilson, senior economist at APM.
He attributed the improvement in median house prices in most capital cities over the March quarter to “increased buyer activity together with rising auction clearance”.
Wilson says the first three months of data are positive signs for most Australian housing markets, “with the likelihood that buyer and seller confidence will continue to rise in 2012 after a subdued 2011”.
Over the past 12 months, Sydney has been the strongest mainland housing market with prices down 0.9% while Brisbane (4.1%) just shades Adelaide (3.9%) for the weakest performing markets over this period.
Sydney is also benefiting from a return of investor activity.
Wilson says ABS housing finance figures show that NSW is the only state to be tracking higher on investor loan activity than in 2010, “an impressive early result for confidence in that market”.
Among the smaller capital cities Darwin experienced a strong bounce in house prices which rose 6% to $629,000 – only $12,000 less than the median Sydney house price. The Darwin December quarter house price was revised up from $579,000 to $593,000.
House prices rose in Canberra (0.9%) and Hobart (1%) over the quarter.
Unit prices remained virtually flat with just 0.1% growth, with Sydney also the standout performer with prices up 2.5% to $462,000. The Sydney December quarter unit price was revised up from $449,000 to $451,000.
The Brisbane and Adelaide unit markets were particularly weak, with quarterly declines of 5.4% and 5% respectively, dragging down Brisbane’s median unit price to $339,000 and Adelaide’s to $286,000. The Brisbane December quarter unit price was revised up from $354,000 to $358,000. 
Melbourne unit prices continued to fall, with prices down 2.1% to $389,000. Melbourne unit prices are down 5.1% year-on-year. The Melbourne December quarter unit price was revised down from $400,000 to $389,000.
The more volatile Hobart unit market increased by an impressive 11% to $275,000 over the quarter, following no change in prices in the December quarter and a decline in the September quarter.The Hobart December quarter unit price was revised up from $226,000 to $247,000.
Click to enlarge
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The weakest unit market over the past 12 months has been Brisbane, with unit prices down 8.8% followed by Adelaide with a decline of 6.6%.
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Sun breaking through property gloom as Melbourne and Sydney markets show signs of revival: APM 

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Being within walking distance of trains, buses, shops, schools and restaurants is being promoted as a key feature of new inner-city residential development Bravo in Melbourne at the same time as real estate group Harcourts has begun including walkability maps with all its residential listings. 
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/carlton-parkside-project-bravo-sells-24-apartments-in-first-three-weeks/2012042054370">Bravo, a 118-apartment project to be built over 11 levels by Vaughan Construction</a>, achieved a “walk score” of 97 out of 100 based on its location at 103 Pelham Street in Carlton on the northern edge of the Melbourne CBD. 
Bravo achieved its “walker’s paradise” rating on Walk Score, a US-based website that ranks properties and suburbs from zero (car-dependent) to 100 (walker's paradise) based on their walking distances from a diverse set of nearby amenities. 
“Certain categories are weighted more heavily than others to reflect destinations associated with more walking trips. In addition, road connectivity metrics such as intersection density and average block length are factored into the score,” explains Walk Score. 
It doesn’t include the suburb's distance from the city centre in its overall score, only the local neighbourhood. 
Rankings are compiled from a variety of data sources such as <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/" target="_blank">Open Street Map</a>, local business listings, and public data sources such as parks and schools. 
The default Australian categories are restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, shopping centres, schools, parks, bookstores, pubs, entertainment venues, banks, post offices, hospitals, fitness centres, bike shops and childcare facilities. 
Home buyers can also add their own categories, for example pharmacies, optometrists and golf courses. 
Michael McNamara from valuation firm Herron Todd White say a walkable address could potentially attract a 20% premium to price, and he expects walk scores to be used more in the future.
He says walkability has become a much greater factor because NSW, Queensland and Victorian state governments are not investing in public infrastructure such as new high-speed train lines.
This means that people placing a premium around being close to public transport and to villages where they can go out for a meal or coffee.
“All of our cities are being clogged with excessive traffic… A trip from the northern beaches to the Sydney CBD can take over an hour, and that’s considered a normal commute,” he tells Property Observer.
McNamara says walk scores will have particurlar value to “villages” such the inner west of Sydney, Melbourne’s inner-urban areas and places like Paddington in Brisbane. 
He expects walk scores will be particularly appealing to those marketing projects off the plan to mainland Chinese buyers who won’t know much about the surrounding suburbs. 
But, he says, they do have their limitations. 
“They don’t provide an understanding of the brand of the suburb. 
“Carlton may have a walk score of 97, but it does not tell you that Lygon Street is just up the road or that is has charming period homes. 
“The walk score does not give you the flavour, nor does it tell you that Carlton was once a working-class suburb that has become gentrified.” 
To use the site home buyers simply type in the address of the property they are interest in and the website compiles the ranking and walking distance from amenities and services.
The sought-after inner-city Melbourne suburbs of Prahran and South Yarra have a perfect score of 100, with schools, shops, grocery stories and cafes all within 200 metres.
<img src="/images/stories/walkprahran.jpg">
Typing in 103 Pelham Street, Carlton into Walk Score shows that the proposed Bravo development is a short walk from numerous restaurants and coffee shops; 230 metres from the Forza Italia shopping centre; 330 metres from Melbourne Business School; 420 metres from Deakin University; within half a kilometre of numerous banks and close to parks, bookstores, pubs and hotels.
Australian addresses do not show distances to public transport connections (this is due to a data issue with local public transport providers) though the location of nearby tram and train stations can be clearly seen on the map.
Bravo’s marketing material explains that it is “only a two-minute walk to 10 different tram routes and only a 12-minute walk to Parliament Station”.
<img src="/images/stories/bravowalk.jpg">
“Bravo’s vicinity to the restaurants, cafes and boutiques of Lygon Street creates an opportunity for residents to live effortlessly and luxuriously,” says Ann Lau, associate director at Hayball, the architecture and design firm behind the project.
“Carlton has a strong identity and community spirit therefore it was important to reflect this by democratising the views with communal rooftop gardens. Vegetable patches and barbecues provide an extension of private outdoor space, as well as encouraging sustainable choices and a community-focused lifestyle,” she says.
The Walk Score system is also being used by real estate group Harcourts Australia, which is incorporating Walk Score Neighbourhood Maps with all its listings.
 
The maps don’t provide a Walk Score ranking but show distances to the nearest restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, shopping centres and schools.
 
The mapping program also has a feature called “Where do you commute?”, which allows you to type in any address find out the recommended route, distance, approximate driving and walking time from that property.
 
The mapping function has been incorporated into all public, office and sales consultant websites in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Gregg Toyama, head of eBusiness for Harcourts International, says buyers are always craving more localized information surrounding a property listing.
“How many times have you heard someone say, ‘How far away is the local school’ when discussing a property?
“Now buyers can see that information along with a range of other points of interest, such as transport hubs, doctors, restaurants and much more all within a property listing,” he says.
According to Ben Rossiter from Victoria Walks, a walking-for-transport health promotion charity, Walk Scores are being used more often in medium-density real estate suburbs.
"It gives people a really good idea of what is close by. The most highly walkable communities have a variety of services and facilities relevant to everyday life, all within walking distance — things like schools, shops, parks, cafes and movie theatres," Rossiter told Fairfax Media last year.
"Walking is becoming increasingly important to people when they're deciding where they want to live. The choice might be more about having high walkability than it is about having a bigger backyard."
Walk Score generates more than 6 million scores each day.
It is a division of Seattle software company Front Seat and launched in July 2007.
Front Seat was founded by Mike Mathieu, former general manager of msn.com, the Microsoft search engine.
 
 
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Walkability appeal growing as Carlton apartment project Bravo promotes high ‘walk score’ 

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Canberra house prices fell sharply in the second half of 2011, though the market performed better than Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
SQM Research director Louis Christopher expects Canberra house prices to fall further in 2012.
“There will be no major recovery in house prices in 2012. Stock levels are rising, though they are not as high other cities,” he says.
<img src="/images/stories/clockcanberrahouses.jpg">
Time: 5.30
The Canberra market is heavily reliant on demand for housing from civil servants, and Christopher warns that if the government tries to get the budget back in surplus by cutting back the civil service this could be bad news for the property market.
Century 21 chairman Charles Tarbey similarly observes that “the uncertainty of the Labor government’s position could see the property market [in Canberra] stagnate for some time”.
Population: 358,000
Median house price: $555,000
House price growth in February 2012: 2%
Annual house price growth to December 2011: -2.5%
Annual house price growth to July 2011: 3.8%
Rental yield: 5.8%
 
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Canberra house market at 5.30 amid uncertainty: Experts

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The steep decline in Perth house price until mid-2011 slowed noticeably in the second half of the year, and property analysts are in agreement that the market is bottoming out and close to rebounding.

Century 21’s Charles Tarbey says supply and demand in the Perth residential market are starting to meet.  

“Although there has been a large median price drop, this is not reflected in activity.  There are still many cashed-up investors looking for properties,” he says.

Louis Christopher describes Perth as being “on the verge of a recovery”.

“The market has changed a lot. Stock has peaked, vacancy rates are tightening, and things are fairly positive,” he says.

Property valuer WBP believes Perth is already beginning to turn around due to the supply of houses falling and an increase in demand from first-home buyers.
<img src="/images/stories/clockperthhouses.jpg">
Time: Six o'clock
“Investors are slowly returning to the market, and there has been a recent increase in the median rental price being achieved.

“Yields have continued to increase as prices fell in the December quarter,” says WBP.

Preliminary data from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia’s February 2012 survey show the quarterly vacancy rate (for both houses and units) for the three months to February 2012 sits at 2.5%.
Population: 1.7 million
Median house price: $460,000
House price growth in February 2012: -1.8%
Annual house price growth to December 2011: -4.3%
Annual house price growth to July 2011: -7.1%
Rental yield: 4.2%
To find out where your capital city's house or unit market is on the property clock, <a href="http://propertyobserver.com.au/ebooks/free-ebook-australias-autumn-2012-property-clock" target="_blank">download our free eBook.</a>
 
 
 
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Perth house market bottoming out at six o'clock: Experts

<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.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

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

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

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

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

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

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Larry Schlesinger

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