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The unexpected rise in the unemployment rate in March may spur the Reserve Bank to begin cutting rates again, but not immediately, says Macquarie senior economist Brian Redican.
The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to a two-and-a-half year high of 5.6% in March.
Redican attributed to the rise in unemployment – 36,000 jobs were lost over the month – to a weakening in the jobs market possibly due to a slowdown in mining investment.
He told AAP the March figures would be added the “column suggesting further rate cuts may be needed”.
However, he said the <a href="tags/rba" target="_blank">RBA</a> was unlikely to cut the cash rate on one set of numbers alone.
Redican says the cash could fall as low as 2%.
The most recent Bloomberg survey of economists has Macquarie Bank tipping a cash rate of 2% by the end of the year, with a rate cut pencilled in for May.
HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham says the labour force survey can be very volatile with the past couple of months “a clear example of this” and also points out that the ABS is 95% confidence the unemployment rate was between 5.4% and 5.8%.
Bloxham says the trend numbers “probably give a clearer read”.
“They showed that employment rose by 12,600 jobs in March, the unemployment rate was steady at 5.5% and the participation rate was steady at 65.1%,” he says.
“Overall, the labour market remains loose, with an unemployment rate above our full employment estimates of around 5.0%.
“This leaves the RBA with scope to cut rates if they need to. But the question is: will they need to?
“Other indicators suggest that the rate cuts they have already delivered are having many of the desired effects.
“Retail sales rose strongly in January and February. Consumer sentiment rose sharply in February/March and, although it retraced a little in April, is still above average. Housing prices have been rising solidly in recent months. The housing construction upturn has continued,” he says.
Bloxham says a loose labour market does provide the RBA with scope to ease further if it needs to, but does not believe the RBA will need to.
“We expect some tightening of the labour market in coming months as the interest-rate sensitive sectors gain pace.”
ANZ's economics team agreed with Bloxham.
“[The March unemployment figures] firmly suggest that the RBA will be in no rush to dispose of its easing bias,” says ANZ in an economic note.
“We and the Bank have been looking for the unemployment rate to rise slowly and the trend labour force data clearly show this.
“As a result, the figures are also unlikely to be enough to result in the RBA acting on its easing bias for the time being. The low level of capacity utilisation in <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place> suggests that an improvement in the unemployment rate is not expected in the near term.”
“The RBA has communicated that they expect the labour market to weaken, with the unemployment rate rising modestly over 2013.  The March employment data is in line with this view.  We expect that the cash rate will remain on hold in May and over 2013,” said CBA economist Michael Workman.
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RBA likely to resume rate cuts sometime in 2013 after unemployment rise: Macquarie’s Brian Redican

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The battle for the wallets of Australia’s DIY enthusiasts continues to rise with Woolworths reporting a 37% rise in sales from its growing chain of Masters stores in its latest sales update.
Home improvement sales lifted from $211 million in the third quarter of 2012 (the 13-week period to March 31) to $290 million in the third quarter of 2013.
Launched in 2011 in direct competition to Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings (which also own Coles), there are now 29 Masters stores trading following the opening of four new stores over the March quarter.
Masters, a joint venture between Woolworths and US home improvement chain Lowe’s, plans to expand by between 15 and 20 new stores a year "for the foreseeable future".
“The February ‘Trade Month’ proved to be a great success, with many new trade members signing up to the Masters’ program,” said Melinda Smith, director of Masters.
The success of Masters was also noted by Woolworths CEO Grant O’Brien, who said that "while conditions in the trade segment remain challenging, we continue to be pleased by the progress of this business.”
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/diy-battle-heats-up-with-woolworths-to-build-masters-store-in-marsden-park/2013040360133">Last week Property Observer reported</a> that Woolworths had securing a site at the Sydney Business Park (pictured below) in Sydney's north-west for a new Masters Home Improvement store, where it will go head-to-head with arch-rival Wesfarmers, which has also secured a site in the business park for a Bunnings DIY store.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/04/mastersapril12one.jpg" width="470" height="311" alt="mastersapril12one">
Yesterday, the premises of <a href="/news">Bunnings in Sale</a> were bought by a Melbourne family for $6.36 million on a yield of 7.5%, after being passed in at auction earlier in the day.
Last year Woolworths and Wesfarmers traded blows over a research report written consultancy Madison Cross on Masters with the report referred to the ACCC as being potentially "misleading".
"A Madison Cross report being circulated to brokers and media by a consultant associated with Bunnings is further evidence of a dirty tricks campaign being waged against the Masters Home Improvement business," said Woolworths in a statement in September last year. "Since opening its first store in September last year, Masters is providing much-needed competition in the destination home improvement sector against Bunnings who hold a market-dominant position. "Masters has created healthy competition, is winning market share and enjoying strong customer support. It appears this report is designed to generate negative, ill-informed commentary about Masters.  "This report is incorrect in its assumptions and its projections, and can only be viewed as an attempt to damage the credibility of the Masters’ business strategy." 
Despite the jump in sales, Woolworths has some way to go to catch up with Wesfarmers.
The Bunnings network currently comprises 211 warehouses, 63 smaller format stores, 36 trade centres and four frame and truss plants operating across Australia and New Zealand.
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Battle between Masters and Bunnings heats up for home improvement market as Masters sales rocket 37%

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The Melbourne housing market is expected to pick up this year, with strong auction  clearance rates and increased buyer activity, according to the latest market report from Australian Property Monitors (APM). 
This is despite there being a big backlog of properties listed for sale and properties taking more than a month longer than in the past to sell.
The latest report shows that average days on market in Melbourne increased from 102 days a year ago to 112 days as of February 2013 – well above the long-term average of 73 days. 
According to <a target="_blank" href="?option=com_googlesearch_cse&amp;q=APM">APM</a>, there are 42,000 properties listed for sale in Melbourne, nearly 4% less than a year ago, but still 27.5% higher than the long-term trend. 
However, the average discount required to sell a property has reduced from 7.3% to long-term average of 6.5%. 
Auction clearance rates are also significantly higher than over the same period 12 months ago, increasing from 61% to 68%, above the long-term trend of 63%. 
APM says properties in middle-ring, mid-price range suburbs are back in demand. 
“Listing numbers are also on the rise in Melbourne as sellers engage a market increasingly buoyed by a growing sense of optimism,” says APM.
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Growing sense of optimism buoys Melbourne property market: APM

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The unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 5.6% in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today. 
This is the highest unemployment rate since 2009, but follows 74,000 jobs being created in February.
Analysts had forecast the jobless rate to be unchanged in March.
CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian says the March figures would be confusing for anyone "wondering what was the true state of the labour market".
"A stellar 74,000 jobs were created in February (which incidentally marked the best job creation in 13 years) followed by over 36,000 jobs lost in March and the unemployment rate has reached a three-and-a-half-year high.
"Such volatile swings in employment across two months certainly make it difficult to pick a trend. Clearly the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
"The more smoothed trend measures on employment, suggest that modest consistent employment gains are the defining feature of the current employment landscape.
"In fact in trend terms employment has consistently grown by between 9,000-17,000 jobs over the past six month. The job market is healthy but becalmed, and consistent with the performance of the broader economy," he says.
In its March update, the ABS reported the number of people employed decreased by 36,100 to 11,592,700.
Both part-time and full-time employment decreased, part-time employment down 28,700 people to 3,481,500 and full-time employment, down 7,400 to 8,111,300 people.
The decrease in total employment was mainly driven by decreases in male part-time and female full-time employment. The number of people unemployed increased by 25,900 people to 686,900 in March, the ABS reported. The ABS reported a seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate decrease of 0.2 percentage points to 65.1% in March.
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Unemployment rate rises 0.2% in March to 5.6%, highest since 2009

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House prices are forecast to rise by 3.6% over the next two years to March 2015 led by WA and a rebounding Victoria, according to the latest NAB quarterly residential property survey.
Capital growth expectations in the next year are strongest in the sub-$500,000 price range, but improvements are forecast across all price levels, says Alan Oster, chief economist at NAB, who compiled the report alongside senior economist Robert De Iure and head analyst Dean Pearson.
Sentiment about the property market improved strongly over the March quarter with the index rising sharply to 35 points from in 8 points in the December 2012 quarter.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/04/nabapril11onethumb.gif" width="470" height="274" alt="nabapril11onethumb">
WA was the stand-out in terms of sentiment with its index rising from +41 points to +71 points, but there was also a strong turnaround in Victoria, with its index from -15 to +34.
Sentiment was also stronger in NSW (rising from +13 to +38 points) and South Australia/NT (-20 to +28 points).
Queensland was the only state not to register an improvement in sentiment, with its index falling slightly from +15 to +14, replacing SA/NT as weakest state.
The results of the index are based on a survey of around 300 property professionals, principally estate agents, property owners and investors.
 
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House prices recovered in the first quarter of the year to be up 0.4%, following a fall of 0.6% over the December 2012 quarter, according to NAB modelling.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/04/nabapril11twothumb.gif" width="470" height="277" alt="nabapril11twothumb">
NAB expects house price growth to accelerate and rise 2.2% in the next year and be up 3.6% by the end of the March quarter of 2015.
However, state outlooks differ strongly with optimism highest in WA, where a 3.8% gain in house prices is forecast over the next 12 months followed by Victoria (2.4%) and NSW (2.2%).
Expectations are weakest in Queensland (1.3%).
Over the next two years, WA will remain the strongest performer (5.4%) with Victoria (3.8%) the next best.
“House price falls in Melbourne were among the heaviest in this downturn, but Victorians are now the most optimistic (after WA) with regards house price growth in the next 2 years, which are tipped to grow 3.8% (1.9% forecast previously),” says Oster.
“In NSW, property professionals see prices rising 3.5% (1.8% previously).
“Expectations were also scaled up in SA/NT to 2.8% (1.5% in December 2012 quarter) and Queensland to 2.7% (2.2% in December 2012 quarter).”
NAB modelling indicates capital city house prices will grow 1.7% through the year to March 2014 and 2.4% in the year to March 2015.
As with the state outlook, the capital city outlook varies strongly.
Price growth is strongest in Perth - up 4.2% in the year to March 2014 and 3.7% to March 2015 - and weakest in Adelaide (0.0% and 1.2%) and Melbourne (1.1% and 1.6%) the weakest markets.
“Owner occupiers are the main players in new property market, but investors - Australian and foreign - are also growing,” says Oster.
Oster notes a marked improvement in demand apparent for all types of new property but that overall demand still “relatively weak”.
He says the inner city is the most preferred location for new buyers.
Participants in new property market are still citing tight credit and affordability as “significant” constraints on new development but less so than in the December 2012 quarter.
“Improved affordability drew more first-home buyers into the existing property market in the first quarter of 2013, especially in WA.
“Stronger demand for existing property was also noted in all locations and for all property types with demand strongest for inner city and middle/outer ring houses.
“Employment security remains the biggest impediment for buyers of existing property in all states except WA, where a lack of stock is the biggest concern,” he says.
 
 
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House prices to rise 3.6% over next two years as sentiment rebounds broadly: NAB index

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An investor has paid $1.41 million at auction yesterday for the 491 square metre premises of the Commonwealth Bank on a corner site in the Swan Hill CBD in the Murray River region.
Before bidding began at the Burgess Rawson auction, the auctioneer David Scholes highlighted that the Swan Hill premises were “bookended” by two ATMs in a region with a booming economy led by agriculture, viticulture and tourism.
The Commonwealth Bank has renewed its lease for a further three years until 2016 paying rent of a round $102,533 per annum, but with no further renewal terms.
However, Scholes said the bank was keen to remain in the building, which it has tenanted for many years and which was recently upgraded.
Scholes said there might also be opportunities to strata the two-storey building should the Commonwealth Bank not sign a new lease.
Bidding started at $1.2 million with a handful of bidders competing for the property in the River Room at Crown Casino.
The winning bid of $1.41 million reflected a yield in excess of 7%.
Vendors may have been motivated by Scholes’ earlier remark that “banks are making so much money, I think your rent is secure”.
The property was marketed by Raoul Holderhead and Jamie Perlinger from Burgess Rawson.
The bank premises formed part of a Burgess Rawson portfolio auction.
Earlier the premises of the <a target="_blank" href="/news">ANZ Bank in Korumburra</a> sold for $462,000 on a yield of 5.2%.
Another bank branch, the NAB outlet on Sydney Road in Kilmore, bringing in annual rent of around $39,000, sold for $800,000 to local investor after it was passed-in on a vendor bid of $820,000 – a yield of around 5%.
Bidding started at $500,000.
Ahead of bidding Scholes disclosed the bank had not yet renewed its lease, which expires in September this year.
A head of agreement is in place to renew the lease, but has not yet been finalised.
The buyer can rescind the contract if the lease is not renewed.
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Bank tenants prove popular as Commonwealth Bank in Swan Hill fetch $1.41 million at auction

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A Melbourne-based private family has bought the premises of Bunnings in the Gippsland town of Sale from hardware family Dahlsens, after it was passed in yesterday at auction. 
Dahlsens, a regional Victorian <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dahlsens.com.au/history/history">hardware chain dating back to 1877</a>, had operated a hardware store on the premises in Sale since 1974 before selling the business to Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings in November last year. 
J.C. Dahlsens Investments acquired the building premises in 2003. 
Former BRW rich lister John Dahlsen, a fifth generation Dahlsen, is the chairman of the hardware chain started when John Christian Dahlsen opened of timber yard business in 1877 after travelling to Gippsland in search of gold.
He remained involved in gold mining for 40 years while establishing the hardware chain, which today comprises more than two dozen stores across regional Victoria. 
A sale price of $6.36 million was negotiated soon after the Burgess Rawson portfolio auction at a packed River Room at Crown Casino. 
Burgess Rawson director Billy Holderhead says the yield of 7.5%, based on annual rent of around $478,000, was the “sharpest for a Bunnings freehold since April 2011”.
The most recent Bunnings sale was the store in Bairnsdale, which sold for $8.2 million in January on a yield of 7.62%. 
The Bunnings in Echuca sold for $8.55 million in November last year on a yield of 7.89%.
Bidding for the 4,700 square metre building on Macarthur Street in Sale started at $6 million and was passed in on a vendor bid of $6.25 million. 
The building stands on an 8,200 square metre island site zoned business 1, integrated with the Mirvac Shopping Centre anchored by Coles, Woolworths and Target, with 44 on-title car space and an additional 61 car spaces bordering the building. 
The property comprises three buildings – a retail centre with in-store café, a separate drive through trade centre constructed in 2003 and a separate materials storage building, all that remains of the original structure operated by Dahlsens Hardware Stores before Bunnings purchased the business in November last year.  
Bunnings has just signed a new long-term terminated in 2022 with renewal options until 2042. 
The investor memorandum notes that the tenant can request that the landlord spend $1 million during the term of the lease in exchange for paying an upgrade rent equivalent to 7.5% of the cost of works. 
Sale, 200 kilometres east of Melbourne, is the commercial and administrative centre of Gippsland catchment trade population of around 31,000. 
Recently it has become established as the principle transfer space for offshore oil and gas operations in the Bass Strait. 
Sale is in Wellington Shire with a population of around 44,000 and 3,000 businesses. 
Six out of 12 properties that formed part of the Burgess Rawson portfolio auction in Melbourne yesterday sold at auction including the <a target="_blank" href="/news">KFC in Mentone</a>, a <a target="_blank" href="/news">Midas store</a> in Balwyn and an <a target="_blank" href="/news">ANZ Branch</a> in Korumburra. 
A travel agency shop on Waltham Street in Sandringham sold for $525,500 after the vendor withdrew a $530,000 vendor bid and accepted the lower  top bid.
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Melbourne family buys Sale Bunnings premises owned by Dahlsen family on 7.5% yield 

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The impact of lower interest rates on the established housing market have been noted by RBA assistant governor Christopher Kent in a speech made at the Bloomberg Australia Economic Summit this week.
Kent also highlighted the RBA’s expectation of a pick-up in non-mining investment, including dwelling investment, with mining investment likely to peak this year, but with a degree of uncertainty about how this recovery would take shape.
“As you all know, there has been a significant easing in monetary policy, starting in late 2011,” said Kent.
“There are signs that the low level of interest rates is having some of the expected effects and these are likely to have further to run.
“The effects are clearly evident in the established housing market and, as I have discussed at some length recently, this should help to underpin further moderate growth in dwelling construction,” he said.
He presented the following chart showing the recent improvement in housing affordability and the deleveraging of households in favour of higher savings since the GFC.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2013/04/kentapril11one.gif"><img src="/images/stories/2013/04/kentapril11onethumb.gif"></a>
Kent’s speech examined the outlook for business investment in Australia and considered the outlook for mining-related investment and non-mining related investment.
“Non-residential building activity remains relatively subdued, but prospects are that investment in building and structures outside of the resources sector will pick up gradually.
“The current growth of the population – at around 1.7% annually – will provide some support for demand.
“Not only does population growth add to the demand for new goods and services, it also gradually eats into any existing spare capacity that might be hanging over some industries and provides an impetus for investment in new capacity,” Kent said.
Kent warned that the peak in resources investment “is now close” and that once it has passed, the decline in mining investment would weigh on economic growth.
He said non-mining business investment was “currently at relatively low levels as a share of GDP” and “relatively low as a share of nominal GDP” but that it has been growing in real terms over the past two years.
“So far during the current episode, the growth of non-mining business investment has been less than it was during the early 2000s and mid 1990s, but more than it was during the financial crisis and the early 1990s recession.
“Our forecasts in the February statement on monetary policy (SMP) embodied moderate growth in non-mining business investment, which would, if it comes to pass, place the current episode in between these four earlier episodes.
Kent concluded by highlighting the RBA’s expectation of a “gradual recovery in non-mining business investment and further moderate growth of dwelling investment” but warned that the profile for non-mining business investment remains “uncertain, including because of the high level of the exchange rate”.
“The profile for mining investment also remains uncertain, though it appears that the peak in mining investment is likely to occur this year. Pulling all of this together suggests that growth for the economy as a whole will be a little below trend this year and then pick up gradually through next year,” he said.
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Effects of lower interest rates clearly evident in housing market: Christopher Kent

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Dalgon Pty Ltd, formerly trading as Acton West and now trading as Acton Cottesloe has pleaded guilty to 27 charges of failing to lodge security bond money with the Bond Administrator ‘as soon as practicable’ as required under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act.
Western Australia's consumer protection department has said the company was ordered to pay court costs of $275.
Consumer Protection has warned real estate agents, property managers and landlords about late bond lodgements following the fine issued by the Perth Magistrates Court.
Consumer Protection told the court that the bond money totalling almost $60,000 was collected between February and November 2011 from 27 tenants who had rented properties in various suburbs including <a target="_blank" href="/news">Mosman Park</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/news">Nedlands</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/news">Cottesloe</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/news">Claremont</a>, <a target="_blank" href="/news">Wembley Downs</a> and <a target="_blank" href="/news">Maylands</a>.
At the time of the offences, the agency was required to either lodge the bonds with the Bond Administrator (administered by Consumer Protection) or in a separate tenancy bond trust account with an authorised financial institution, as soon as practicable.
From 1 July this year, all bonds must be lodged only with the Bond Administrator.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said, in the Acton case, bonds were being lodged with the Bond Administrator one to three months after collection and the agency had been previously warned.
“For real estate agents, there should be no reason why bonds cannot be lodged the following business day,” Driscoll says.
“Consumer Protection will take action against agents or landlords who retain these funds for an unreasonable amount of time and fail to comply with the law.”
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Perth estate agency Acton Cottesloe fined $10,000 for late bond lodgement

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Two Asian investors have battled heartily for the premises of the KFC restaurant in Mentone in Melbourne’s southeast, but not before a sub-lease issue relating to the neighbouring Hungry Jacks eatery created some confusion among a packed room of bidders at Crown Casino.
The <a href="https://melbourne.burgessrawson.com.au/pol/property/search.asp?f_propertyID=1974963&amp;xsl=3546&amp;f_st=2&amp;f_ct=2&amp;f_ps=2&amp;tmpl=auction_detail" target="_blank">restaurant premises</a> eventually sold for $3.505 million equating to a gross yield of around 6.5% based on rent of around $227,167 per annum.
Bidding started at $2.8 million with a handful of bidders competing but eventually became a contest between two Asian buyers with $5,000 increases in the final stages of bidding.
Earlier the auction of the restaurant, listed third as part of a Burgess Rawson portfolio auction of 12 properties, was pushed back to later in proceedings due to clarification sought over the contractual arrangement with Hungry Jacks.
Bidding resumed later in the morning after auctioneer David Scholes read out a statement from the vendor’s lawyers that Hungry Jacks has agreed free use of about half a dozen car parks and the driveway that form part of the KFC premises until 2018, when Hungry Jacks' lease expires.
The KFC Mentone stands along the Nepean Highway and is the flagship store of Southern Restaurants which owns 50 KFC restaurants and 14 Pizza Huts in Australia.
Southern Restaurants has a brand new 10 year lease to 2023 with four further five year renewal options and has operated a KFC on the site for around 20 years.
The 258-square-metre restaurant stands on a 2,360 square metre site and was recently upgraded at a cost of $350,000.
Nearby is the Thrift Park Shopping Centre anchored by Woolworths Supermarket, which sold for $29.5 million in 2011.
The KFC premises were marketed by Jamie Perlinger and Billy Holderhead of Burgess Rawson.
Another KFC premises at Karingal near Frankston, also tenanted by Southern Restaurants, was passed-in at $2.95 million.
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Flagship KFC Mentone premises bought by Asian investor for $3.505 million 

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

Joel Robinson

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

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

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

Larry Schlesinger

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