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For generations backyards, barbecues and big houses have been the norm for Australian home owners. But what of future generations?
Some demographers suggest we are so much in love with the idea of having big spaces to raise a family that it's impossible for us to change, despite the fact that Australia will likely have to absorb 2.3 million additional households over the next 15 years alone and we’re not sure we’re we are going to put all these people.
Sure, the baby boomers and many of their gen X offspring have found it hard to sacrifice sprawling McMansions in favour of smaller accommodation, but will gen Y be more inclined to embrace higher-density living?
A recent report from the <a href="https://www.grattan.edu.au/pub_page/090_report_cities" target="_blank">Grattan Institute</a> indicates a growing preference toward apartment-style accommodation in Australia.
The study, aptly entitled The Housing We'd Choose, found that Australians want more apartment-style housing and are moving away from detached housing.
It also found we’re not building enough of the type of accommodation more and more people want.
Not enough apartments to go around
In 1976, detached dwellings (houses) made up 78% of all accommodation; however by 2006 this had dropped marginally to 74%.
While 4% doesn't sound like a large reduction, it's interesting to note that many respondents indicated a preference for apartment living, with the issue being a lack of higher-density stock compared with the vast number of detached homes on the market.
The report suggests there are potentially thousands of tenants and home buyers out there who simply cannot find the type of accommodation they are seeking in the places they most want to live.
Author of the report Jane-Frances Kelly says there is an ever-increasing divide between the style of housing people want and what's available and that the construction industry needs to be more aware of our changing needs and place greater emphasis on affordable, higher-density options.
No longer the slums
Over the years our perception of townhouse and apartment living has changed.
Where once we saw medium- and high-density developments as “slums” intended for lower socio-economic classes, in the last 20 years or so apartment living has become the practical and trendy alternative, in particular sought after by young, upwardly mobile professionals.
“In short, many of the detached houses…are a legacy of a time when Sydney and Melbourne were different cities. Today's stock reflects attitudes formed and decisions made under different conditions, some of which no longer apply,” says Kelly.
So why aren’t we building more apartments?
Well, we are, in some locations.
The growth in apartment popularity has certainly influenced the Melbourne skyline of late, with a saturation of new stock hitting the market and more set to come on line in the next year or two.
In fact, I’m concerned that there will be an oversupply of apartments in the Melbourne CBD and that this will create a severe price correction in that market, especially as many have been bought by investors. Some who won’t be able to settle their purchase and others who won’t be able to find tenants at a time when we have fewer overseas students coming to Australia.
An oversupply of CBD and new near city apartments is also looming in Brisbane.
But in general the high cost of land, council restrictions, the resistance of communities, high development costs and difficulty obtaining funding is stifling new apartment development in many of our inner- and middle-ring suburbs.
Then of course there are the infrastructure constraints to consider – namely public transport access and the capacity for existing roads and public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, to handle the type of rapid growth in resident numbers that higher density housing would create.
Some lessons for investors
Let’s face it: as our population grows there's no doubt we will need to embrace the apartment culture.
This should not be a real problem, as fortunately our lifestyle preferences are changing, with many gen Ys prepared to trade a backyard for a balcony.
It’s no coincidence that over the last few years investors who owned well-located apartments have done well as capital growth and rental growth has often outpaced growth in detached housing.
But as always, you can’t just buy any apartment and hope it makes a good investment.
I’d steer clear of generic, off-the-plan, and in particular, CBD stock. Inherently these lack scarcity and will be more risky in the next few years due to the glut of similar developments coming on line.
Here’s my recommendation: you would do much better buying an established apartment in a highly sought-after, near city or bayside location where you'll find smaller, boutique-style apartments that are always in favour with buyers and tenants.
Sure they might need a bit of a facelift, but this is just a chance to add value to what already represents an asset with excellent potential for strong long-term growth. 
Michael Yardney is a director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/" target="_blank">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> who create wealth for their clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He is best-selling author, one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property and writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/" target="_blank">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Why apartments might be a better investment than houses

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Recently American economist Harry Dent spooked a lot of Australians when he predicted an economic tsunami that would take property prices back to levels we haven’t seen for over a decade. 
Others say that our resources boom and housing shortage will ensure that property values keep doubling every decade. 
Who’s right? 
It’s easy to sound smart in a property boom – you know what they say: “A rising tide lifts all ships.”  But you have to be very careful who you listen to at this stage of the property cycle. There are some interesting challenges ahead. 
If our economists are armed with all the research available in today’s information age, why can’t they agree on where are our property markets are heading? In fact, a better question would be: why do so many get it wrong? 
The simple answer is that market movements are far from an exact science. 
The fundamentals are easy to monitor. Things like population growth, supply and demand, employment levels, interest rates, affordability and inflationary pressures can be easily understood. However, one overriding factor that the experts have difficulty quantifying is investor sentiment. 
In a report earlier this year, AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver explained that people often suffer lapses of logic when investing and many of their investment decisions are driven by emotion. 
For example, we tend to extrapolate the present in the future. When things are booming we think the good times will never end and when the market mood is glum, we have difficulty seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. 
When the media reports falling property prices or an impending housing crash, many investors become scared and sit on the sidelines, believing the end of property is nigh and things will never improve, when in reality much of the risk has been removed from the market. 
Conversely, when property markets are booming and stories of investors seemingly making large gains overnight abound, people want to jump on the bandwagon and cash in, often at a time when the market is near its peak.
 
Other emotional traps include becoming overconfident, wishful thinking and ignoring information that conflicts with your current views. In other words, many investors create their own “reality.” 
Can you see how this type of activity, influenced by investor psychology, drives booms and busts? How the dominant investor mentality of the time helps drive the property cycle? 
Simply, when investors put on the brakes, housing values tend to stagnate or fall due to lack of demand. And when investors jump back into the market, demand rises and up go prices. 
Obviously one or two misguided investors won’t be able to influence property prices, but investor sentiment is contagious. People tend to want to do what others are doing - they follow the crowd because going against popular opinion is seen as risky. What if you make a mistake? What if the others are right and you are wrong? 
Oliver says this “collective behaviour” is magnified by: 
<ul>
<li>
Mass communication Now more than ever we are bombarded with messages from the media influencing how we think and feel about things. When we hear that real estate is doomed, all but a handful of sophisticated investors get scared out of the game. And when the media tells us housing markets are booming everyone wants a piece of the action.</li>
<li>
Pressure to conform If your friends or family are doing it, it must be right. Right? Human nature makes us reluctant to do the opposite of what our peers are doing. </li>
<li>
A major precipitating event The global financial crisis scared waves of investors out of the markets. On the other hand, the resource boom enticed thousands of investors into west coast housing markets to cash in on the resulting property boom. </li>
<li>
A general belief that grows and spreads When the belief that property values can only go up spreads through an uneducated new generation of investors they enter the market pushing prices up even further, perpetuating the belief and helping make it a reality! Similarly, when the crowd believes the market is going to crash, they steer clear, this gets reported in the media and the negative sentiment feeds on itself. </li>
</ul>
Oliver observes that these “lapses in logic” by individual investors and the magnification of such lapses by crowd psychology feeds property cycles and goes a long way in explaining why we see booms and slumps at different points in time. 
When investor sentiment is positive, the crowd jumps in feet first, pushes up demand and places upward pressure on prices – causing boom conditions. Conversely when sentiment is negative, the crowd backs off and frequently sells out of the game due to concerns that they’re about to lose everything – causing market slumps. 
What can an investor learn from this? 
<ol start="1">
<li>Our property markets are not only driven by fundamentals, but also by the often irrational and erratic behaviour of an unstable crowd of other investors. While the long-term performance of property is influenced by the fundamentals, its short-term performance is much more affected by market sentiment. </li>
<li>Booms never last forever, and neither do busts. Don’t be surprised when they come around, and don’t overreact. This will help you avoid being sucked into booms and spat out during busts.</li>
<li>Treat your property investments like a business and stick to a proven strategy to take the emotions out of your investment decisions.</li>
<li>Recognise that property is a long-term play and set up financial buffers to help you ride the property cycles. 
</li>
</ol>
Invest counter cyclically.
Warren Buffet once said: “We attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” 
This is also the investment strategy of many successful property investors. I’ve always been an advocate of counter-cyclical investing. I’m often sceptical of conventional wisdom – not because the crowd is always wrong but because the crowd is always late. 
Sure, it takes some courage to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing, but the results of your contrary behaviour will ultimately speak for themselves.
 
In the meantime successful investors will take a big-picture view, buy more well-located properties and see the value of their portfolio steadily increase.
Michael Yardney is a director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> who create wealth for their clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He is best-selling author, one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property and writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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The crowd is not always wrong, but it is almost always late

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Recent reports reveal that Australia has overtaken the US as titleholder for “home to the world's largest houses”. Large McMansions on expansive suburban blocks have long been held as the ideal “Great Australian Dream”, while smaller inner-city apartments copped a pretty bad rap as the cheap and nasty end of the property market.
However times are changing, with many home buyers and tenants forced to reflect on whether their priority is square footage and a big backyard in the burbs or getting into a property without breaking the budget.
Suddenly that one-bedroom apartment seems a lot more appealing.
While many developed countries have embraced the virtues of high-density accommodation clustered around major cities –  think New York, Paris, London and Tokyo –  here in Australia, our culture has been based on backyards, barbecues and wide-open family spaces.
Now though, a demographic shift is occurring, with more single-person households and childless couples choosing to live in and around our big cities where employment and lifestyle factors are big drawcards.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the number of one-person households will surge to between 3 million and 3.6 million by 2031, a dramatic shift when you consider that in 2006 only 1.9 million people lived alone.
This massive increase is due to factors including:
<ul>
<li>A forecast jump in the number of DINKS (Double Income No Kids). According to the ABS couple-only households are set to overtake the number of families with offspring in the next two or three years, and it's expected that DINKS will make up 60% of all couple-only households by 2031.</li>
<li>A rapidly growing population and continuing housing shortage in some of our major cities.</li>
<li>Ongoing affordability issues and increasing rental prices forcing many to rethink their size requirements. </li>
</ul>
Demand for one-bedroom apartments, which sceptics have long considered to be less desirable, is set to soar as many Australians adjust their ideals according to what they can afford. And one of the questions they'll be asking is: do I really need that extra bedroom? 
In the past singles and couples have, by and large, sought out two-bedroom apartments with the perception that they offer larger living spaces and the convenience of extra storage.  However, with median price tags for such real estate heading upwards of $500,000 and rents soaring over $500 per week in many desirable locations, the affordability barrier is encouraging many tenants, investors and home buyers to accept one-bedroom units as a viable alternative. 
Recognising this growing trend, developers are jumping on the bandwagon and including more one-bedroom units in their large-scale projects. But be wary –  the price of many of these new apartments is going up as their size is going down. 
So do one-bedroom apartments make good, affordable investments? Is there enough ongoing future demand from tenants and owner-occupiers alike to ensure they perform as long-term cash cows? 
The simple answer is yes. 
Why? Because affordability means more owner-occupies will be pushed into this type of real estate as they sacrifice size for location, thereby increasing demand and placing upward pressure on prices.  These apartments are often located closer to the city and major work nodes as well as universities and hospitals, in areas that generally have efficient transport connections, plenty of retail facilities and social amenity, all key elements high on the list of young buyers. 
In addition, tenants seeking rental accommodation in and around desirable lifestyle locations will look for affordable one-bedroom alternatives, meaning investors will have a large tenant pool to help pay the mortgage. 
Sure, one-bedroom accommodation caters to a narrow demographic of one- and two-person households, but the reality is this is a mismatch of the demand from this growing demographic and the relatively restricted supply of established one-bedroom apartments that are “investment grade” properties. I have to say that some of my best-performing investments over the last few years have been one-bedroom apartments. They attract a diverse range of tenants, including Gen Ys making the break from mum and dad; young professional couples, middle-aged singles as well as downsizing baby boomers. 
A few words of warning:
<ul>
<li>Small spaces can either be highly functional or incredibly pokey, meaning the design and layout of your apartment is critical. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Avoid studio apartments. They are too tiny, the banks don't like them and they are very hard to sell. Instead go for something that offers at least 50 square metres of indoor space and if you can manage a balcony and plenty of clever storage options, all the better. Off-street parking is a desired bonus, but not necessarily required if close to transport. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Steer clear of new and off-the-plan developments in our major capital cities. Especially in Melbourne and Brisbane, which both have a looming oversupply. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Avoid the large generic developments sold off the plan in the centre of major cities.  While these might seem shiny and new, they quickly lose their lustre when people realise they lack character and the timeless appeal that puts property in continuous strong demand.  Usually the majority of buyers in these soulless complexes are investors, while owner-occupiers – the true driving force behind real estate vlaues – tend to stay well away in preference of something more established or in a boutique block. </li>
</ul>
So next time you're shopping for an investment remember that it's not the size of the property that counts, it's the size of the profit you'll realise at the end of the day! 
Michael Yardney is a director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> who create wealth for their clients through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He is best-selling author, one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property and writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
Photo of one-bedroom apartment <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Apartment-Unit-Flat/NSW/Potts-Point/?adid=2009161817" target="_blank">403/15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, NSW</a>, which is for sale with price hopes of $560,000 plus.
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One-bedroom apartments set for a big future

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Our property markets are flat, and some investors are worried that the value of their properties is falling. Many are asking, “What will my property be worth next year?”. 
Each Monday they look at the auction clearance results and every month they check on median property values. While it’s not as bad as watching your shares fluctuate in value on a minute-by-minute basis, this short-term focus is unhealthy for investors who are generally in it for the long term. 
I think a better question to ask would be, “What will my property be worth in 10 years’ time?”
 
The scary thing for some is that there are commentators out there suggesting property values won’t rise for another decade. Just look at the financial mess the world has got itself into, they say. 
Then there are the overseas gurus who come and visit us predicting the world is about to go through an economic tsunami that will finally swamp Australian property, taking prices all the way back to where they were a decade ago. 
But there’s nothing new about these property pessimists – they’ve always been around, and they’ve always been wrong. Just look what happened to property values in the first decade of this millennium. 
I still clearly remember the turn of the century. While many were celebrating a new millennium, others had concerns. Some were worried that the millennium bug would melt down our computers and others were uneasy about our property markets. We were moving out of a difficult decade, which commenced with the “recession we had to have”, and there were concerns that property values could not increase any further. 
At the time we were paying less than $300,000 for an average house in Sydney; $245,000 in Melbourne; $144,000 in Brisbane; $149,000 in Perth; $188,000 in Darwin; $128,000 in Adelaide and $113,000 in Hobart. 
Fast forward 10 years or so and look at what we paying for the average house today! 
In many cities property prices have increased by more than 140%, despite a recession in 2001, the introduction of the GST, the dot.com stock market crash, going to war in Iraq, a change in government, periods of high interest rates and the world’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. 
I’m sure more Australians would have bought properties 10 years ago if they knew what would happen to values over the next decade.
 
Of course I don’t know what’s ahead in the next 10 years, but I do know that there will be just as many hurdles to jump over. 
Remember – obstacles are the scary things you see when you take your eyes off your goals. 
And while parts of the world are in economic turmoil, Australia’s main trading partners are experiencing boom times and the good news is that the fundamentals suggest the next 10 years are going to be just as good, if not better, for property than the last 10 years were. 
We are moving into a new economic cycle, driven by the mother of all resources booms. At the same time our population is still growing strongly and we need more dwellings for the same number of people because we are forming smaller households than before. However, we have a shortage of housing (in some areas), vacancy rates are low, rents are rising and the cost of new construction is escalating. 
Putting all this together means that property values are once again likely to rise significantly over the next decade. But if history repeats itself, and it will, during that time we will have another property boom, a further property slump and most likely another recession. 
To safely steer through the next decade to the point where their property values will have once again doubled, successful investors will need to disregard the “market noise” and not be intimidated by the small stuff, like interest rate increases, tax issues and the negative news in the media. 
Instead, they will need to focus on the big picture.Look at it this way – imagine you were a visitor from overseas and came to any of our capital cities10 years ago and returned again today – you would scarcely recognize the new landscape. 
What are our cities going to look like in 10 to 15 years’ time? 
The key drivers of how our property markets are going change will be population growth and the change in our lifestyle and housing preferences, so it’s really by analysing demographics, the study of populations, that we will understand what the future of the property markets hold for us. 
These issues are going to be far more important to the “big picture” than the changes in the interest rates or the cyclical economic fluctuations that we will endure, because these relatively secondary influences won’t change the momentum of the population that is growing with its very definite housing requirements. 
Economist Christopher Joye <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/start-spreading-the-news-australian-cities-must-become-more-like-manhattan-christopher-joye/2011090151384">recently</a> explained that Australia will likely have to absorb 2.3 million additional households over the next 15 years alone. BIS Shrapnel estimates that this translates into a new home building requirement of about 3 million properties once you account for demolitions and the historical share of unoccupied homes (e.g., holiday houses, etc). 
There is no doubt that this substantial increase in population will bring with it many social, political, infrastructure and environmental concerns. But it will also ensure that well-located properties will double in value just as they have over the last decade and the decade before that. And in fact the one before that also. 
At the same time there will be billions of dollars worth of activity in home extensions and alterations.  We will also require more shopping centers, nursing homes and hospital beds as well as schools and petrol stations. 
We can take the reassurance from these figures that over the next 10 years, conditions in our capital cities are likely to be even better than we experienced over the last 10 years and overall properties will increase in value by billions of dollars a year and they won’t care who owns them. 
It becomes even more fascinating when you consider that Melbourne and Sydney will each require about 40,000 new apartments over the next 10 years. This is equivalent to 200 high-rise buildings, each accommodating 200 apartments. Things will get interesting because while our community requests less urban sprawl, it also wants less high-rise living, so the idealistic preferences will have to give way to reality. 
It is likely that we will have more decentralised development in the future with the emergence of medium- to high-rise residential buildings in the suburbs rather than just in the inner-suburban areas.  These will occur around public transport terminals, railway stations and possibly conjunction with large shopping centers. We will also see the continuation of the trend of integrating housing medium residential development with existing strip shopping centers. 
It will be interesting to look back in 10 years’ time and see how things pan out. 
In the meantime successful investors will take a big picture view, buy more well-located properties and see the value of their portfolio steadily increase. 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Property prices likely to increase in next decade

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How do you like change? Change is not all that popular, is it? 
Most of us would prefer a predictable future in terms of our job security, for our businesses and for our investments. But currently we are experiencing a time of change and unfortunately these are all subject to the whims of the markets and the economy and therefore are not predictable. 
Successful investors not only adapt to change; they exploit it. 
While the majority of Australians will sit on the sidelines feeling sorry for themselves, successful investors are looking for and buying investment opportunities created by the change. That’s right, some people will thrive not just survive in these difficult times. 
While this may seem hard to believe given the amount of negative news bombarding us in the media, the truth is fortunes are always made in times of change. 
Over the next few years the gap between the rich and the average Australian is going to widen. It’s not because the rich will somehow be luckier than everyone else, it’s because they will be able to weather the economic storms better than most because they are financially fluent (they understand how money works.) 
What have you learned from the world economic crisis?
If we have learnt anything from the recent years of economic crisis, it’s that life will always provide you with challenges and obstacles to overcome. One of the big differences between successful investors and the average person is that successful people see these obstacles or setbacks as opportunities to grow and learn from, rather than insurmountable problems or personal failures. They persist through them, seeing them as challenges to overcome and strengthen their conviction as they move forward. 
There’s no denying that the world’s economic crisis is currently creating issues and glitches for our nation and our own personal finances. And this is unlikely to change in the short term. 
We’re experiencing a weakening of market confidence, a hiccup for our economy and a downturn in our property markets, but just like the GFC a few years ago, this is just part of the economic cycle and does not mean the end of capitalism or bankruptcy for Australia. 
The problem is that the media loves to play on our fears and keeps feeding us a slanted view with a bias towards the bad. 
I remember reading and hearing similar doom and gloom prognostications in the early ’70s, during the recession of the early ’80s, in the late ’80s after the stock market crash and again in the early ’90s during the recession we had to have. They said that the less than perfect financial situation back then spelt the end of capitalism, the “end of the world”, and that our property markets would collapse. In fact similar things were said in the early 2000s and again only three years ago when the GCF hit.
It didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen now. 
Let’s face it: the financial world around us is in turmoil. The news is full of stories of recession overseas, companies going bankrupt and even countries failing to pay their debts. 
There’s no denying that things are probably going to get worse before they get better. 
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting this because I’m a fearful person or because I think negatively – I’m not and I don’t. I understand and firmly believe that all progress comes from change. I believe destruction allows for creation – oftentimes of something bigger and better (if I didn’t subscribe to this theory I wouldn’t be a very good property developer, would I?) It’s part of the economic cycle. 
This is a time for cleaning up the excesses of the past and getting our financial houses in order to move on to the next stage of the economic cycle, which is the recovery phase. 
Things are never as bad as they seem
I’ve found that when things are bad people believe they’re going to be bad forever and when things are good people forget the bad times ever existed and think that things are going to remain good forever. 
Neither case is true! 
In fact during booms people are most confident when they should probably be the least confident, as things can’t continue travelling at breakneck speed and above average rates of growth. Similarly, during less prosperous times, things have to eventually turn around. Ironically, people have the least confidence when it’s more likely that things are going to improve...that is, when markets are near their lowest point. 
When prices of properties boomed, the way they did a few years ago, the charge is often led by people who have no real idea about what was going on or what they were doing. They saw something good and wanted to go along for the ride. In reality, the frenzied craze to make big bucks that coincides with a boom means we’re setting ourselves up for the inevitable fall. 
Conversely, when fear makes property values drop significantly below their intrinsic value, we’re unwittingly setting the stage for the next upturn. 
I realise times are tough and you may be having a difficult ride at the moment. But the fact is, this is the right time to educate yourself and get set to take advantage of the opportunities this stage of the cycle presents. Remember that when things are bad they’re never as bad as they seem and when they’re good they’re never as good as they seem. And in reality, it’s primarily human nature that dictates economic and/or market booms and busts. 
The tale of two vendors
Yes, the world’s financial markets are currently having a difficult time, but that doesn’t mean you as an individual, your business or your investment business can’t still prosper. Nothing illustrates this better than a story I heard many years ago about two friends, John and Phillip.  They both lived in the same town and owned and operated hotdog stands on different corners in the middle of the busy CBD. 
John’s hotdog business was going gangbusters. He stood by his stand and yelled to people walking past, “Buy a hotdog! Get your hotdogs here!” and sure enough, people bought his hotdogs. In fact they bought so many hotdogs that he increased his order for sausages and buns and eventually had to buy a bigger cart so he could serve more customers. 
One weekend his son, who was an economic student at university, told him, “Dad, don’t you watch television or read the papers? Don’t you know the world is in a recession and we’re having an economic meltdown? People are losing their jobs; we’re having the worst financial crisis we’ve had since the Great Depression.” 
John thought, “My son is smart, he goes to university, he knows all about economics, I guess he knows what he’s talking about.” 
So John reduced his order for sausages and buns and went back to using his old smaller stand. He stopped yelling out to people to buy his hotdogs, because surely they couldn’t afford them anymore and wouldn’t be interested. Not surprisingly, his sales dropped dramatically and the next weekend when John caught up with his son he said, “You’re right; we certainly are having a serious recession.” 
In the meantime Phillip, who owned the hotdog stand across the other side of town, and didn’t have a son who went to university, and didn’t bother reading the papers (and was blissfully ignorant of the recession or hard times people were experiencing), just kept buying more and more sausages and buns. He kept promoting his hotdogs to the passers by and not surprisingly, his hotdog business continued to grow bigger and bigger. 
So what am I doing now, in these confusing economic times? 
Well, I’m continuing to invest the same way I’ve always done. I’m still looking for investment opportunities and while others are sitting on the sidelines. 
I’m looking to buying more properties below their intrinsic value, so that if values fall further, I’m still protected. By the way I only buy properties in areas that have outperformed the averages in the long term and properties to which I can add value through renovations or redevelopment so that I can create my own capital growth. 
I’m currently involved in two property developments where I am manufacturing capital growth at a time of minimal capital growth. Then I’m keeping these properties as long term investments because I’ve acquired them at “wholesale.” 
Yes some investors will thrive, not just survive in these changing times. 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Smart investors know how to thrive in difficult times

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Both Sydney and Melbourne now have the dubious honour as two of the top 10 most expensive cities in which to live, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living 2011 Survey, conducted by the Economist Magazine’s Intelligence Unit.
And while some media outlets are having a field day with the negative implications such as the rising cost of living, more families struggling financially, households increasingly experiencing mortgage stress and so on, others suggest the Economist Intelligence Unit is an oxymoron and should be renamed. 
I know I’ve often disagreed with some of its assessments of Australian property, but I am happy to agree with a different report, their Global Liveability Survey, which anointed Melbourne as the world's most liveable city. 
One the best thing about winning the top spot is that Sydney must be envious, only ranking sixth, with Perth and Adelaide ranking joint eighth and Brisbane lagging the other Australian capitals ranking 21st. 
Back to being among the most expensive country to live in – first, let’s understand what was measured.
To measure the cost of living the EIU looked at “point of sale” prices for more than 160 everyday consumer items in 140 major cities around the world, and then ranked each city according to its cost of living.
According to this study, Sydney and Melbourne ranked sixth and seventh as the most expensive places to live, while Perth and Brisbane just failed to make top 10 status, coming in at 13th and 14th place. This is in stark contrast to a decade ago, when Sydney and Melbourne were ranked as the 71st and 80thmost expensive cities, and Perth was in the 91st position and Brisbane was 93rd.
There are two major reasons why a city’s cost-of-living index will change over time: exchange rate movements and price movement.
The report explains that the remarkable rise in the cost of living in Australian cities over the last decade came at a period in which the value of the Australian dollar has moved from around 50 US cents to passing parity with the US dollar.
Essentially, if the local currency strengthens or inflation pushes up the price of goods increase (both of which have occurred here since over the last decade), the relative cost of living will also rise. 
There’s no sugar coating it – the cost of living and property prices are expensive in Australia, but for a good reason when you consider our general economic wealth, our ever-expanding population and all the new development struggling to keep up with the escalating demand.
However, rather than focusing on the prospect of paying more for the Australian way of life (which, let's face it, won't change the price of our groceries or real estate), perhaps we should take a different perspective.
You probably believe in the adage you get what you pay for – right?
So doesn't it go without saying that if you want to live in what most people perceive as “the lucky country”, then you’re going to have to be prepared to pay for living in the best place on the planet!
In other words, we need to be prepared to pay more for our higher standard of living comes at a premium. For the privilege of enjoying our relatively clean environment, low unemployment, stable economy and larger homes clustered around major coastal cities.
Now while we might feel a little hard done by and, on occasions, whinge about the significant increase in house prices, rents and our grocery bills, consider the residents of those countries that came in last.
Would you really like to reside in the likes of Pakistan's Karachi, the cheapest place to live and work where the cost of living is less than one-third of that of Tokyo? Or what about the infamous Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, where poverty is rife and the rate of homelessness is through the roof?
Rounding out the bottom 10 on the cost of living index are cities dotted throughout the troubled Middle East and North Africa, with the low cost of living in these parts driven by a mix of weakened currencies, low levels of development and, in some cases, price controls and subsidies in staple goods.
For me, there is no question that we are indeed a very lucky country – many would even suggest we are “spoilt”. After all, we enjoy a glut of wide open spaces, comparatively clean beaches, jobs for those who want to work, homes with all of the modern conveniences we've come to expect, excellent investment opportunities there for the taking and a world leading economy.
At the end of the day, I guess you really do get what you pay for!
Oh, one last thought… 
If we are widely recognised as the most liveable country in what is fast becoming an increasingly inhospitable world, would-be residents will be beating a path to our door and we’ll end up with a big Australia after all. 
Where are we going to put all those people? 
Don’t get me wrong – I think we need a growing population to support our economy and replace our retiring Baby Boomer workforce. In the words of a famous past Prime Minister – we must populate or perish. 
In his <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/start-spreading-the-news-australian-cities-must-become-more-like-manhattan-christopher-joye/2011090151384">recent column</a>, Christopher Joye explained that Australia will likely have to absorb 2.3 million additional households over the next 15 years alone. BIS Shrapnel estimates that this translates into a new home building requirement of about 3 million properties once you account for demolitions and the historical share of unoccupied homes (e.g., holiday houses, etc). 
There is no doubt that this substantial increase in population will bring with it many social, political, infrastructure and environmental concerns. 
The fact is that our politicians must make some hard decisions and start investing in improving our infrastructure so we can have the sustainable growth that will ensure we remain the lucky country. 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Everyone wants to live in the world's most liveable city - so we need more housing

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The property doomsayers are at it again. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/us-economist-predicts-australian-housing-crash/2011081551170">Recently </a>economist Harry Dent warned that the Australian market is looking much the same way the Japanese market did before its crash in the 1980s, when values fell by as much as 60%.
Of course, he’s not the only one who is predicting a significant correction in our property prices. Others are suggesting years, maybe even a decade of flat property values.
Of course there is nothing new about this. For all the years I’ve been involved in property, and that’s fast getting close to 40 years quicker than I would like, there have been groups of people who were “sure” that our property markets would collapse. And they would often give what sounded like sound arguments to back up their forecasts.
But those pesky house prices refused to behave!
Sure they’d stall for a while, occasionally for a few years in a row. Sometimes they’d drop a little – especially in volatile holiday locations or regional and mining towns. But when you took the overall median price of Australian residential property it has never really collapsed (other than after the Second World War, but then it recovered quickly.)
What’s really happening?
According to <a target="_blank" title="RP Data" href="https://%20www.rpdata.com">RPData-Rismark’s Hedonic Index</a>, Australian median house price fell 0.9% or $4,7000 in the last quarter and dropped just 2% or $10,600 over the last 12 months.
This effectively means no real change in value, which is remarkable given the general lack of market confidence, the negative media our property market has received and the persistent warnings of the property doomsayers. Of course the Australian share market frequently falls more than this in a single day.
Yes, housing is expensive…
Now I’m not denying that housing is fairly expensive in Australia, but there are some good reasons for this:
<ul>
<li>Australia has the largest dwellings in the world, and they are of high quality. This may be extravagant, but it’s the way we choose to live. </li>
<li>More of us want to live in houses on large blocks of land and close to the CBD where there is a shortage of supply, while in other mature cities a larger proportion of the population live in apartments. </li>
<li>We tend to live in six or so coastal cities – around the world coastal cities have always attracted a premium in property values.</li>
<li>We like to live in the suburbs close to the CBD and the water because they’re better serviced by amenities, facilities and public transport than the outer suburbs.</li>
<li>There is a lack of affordable land at the fringes of our major cities due in part to significant development and infrastructure costs.</li>
</ul>
The fact is that the high cost of housing is one of the prices we have to pay for living in the best country in the world.
Importantly, despite relatively high levels of household debt in Australia, the households that hold this debt can still service mortgages. Less than 1% of mortgages are in arrears in Australia, which is internationally low.
And it is comforting to know that 75% of all household debt in Australia is held by the top two-fifths of income earners – those who can most afford it.
In a recent <a target="_blank" title="Christopher Joye" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/trends/economy/plenty-of-loose-change-keeps-aussie-house-prices-resilient-christopher-joye/2011081551165">blog </a>economist Christopher Joye explains that, contrary to popular belief, Australian housing has not really become less affordable over the years.
What about what happened overseas?
When the commentators make comparisons with the US markets, it’s the old story of comparing apples with oranges.
<ul>
<li>The US economy is in recession. The state of the Australian economy is the envy of most of the developed world.</li>
<li>The US housing crash was brought on by poor lending practices that allowed people to borrow more than they could afford to repay. Our banking system is sound here, as are our lending practices.</li>
<li>Americans built too many houses, leaving them with a huge oversupply. That’s not the same here, other than in a few selected areas such as the Gold Coast. But watch out… an oversupply is looming in the Melbourne and Brisbane CBDs.</li>
<li>There is huge unemployment in the US, yet here everyone who wants a job here can get one and our wages are rising.</li>
</ul>
What could cause our property markets to collapse?
 
The factors that could cause an Australian property market crash are:
<ol start="1">
<li>A recession – but I don’t know anyone who suggests we’ll be going into recession in the foreseeable future.</li>
<li>Massive unemployment meaning that people can’t afford to pay their mortgages – again this is unlikely in the near term.</li>
<li>A significant oversupply of properties – other than on the Gold Coast and in a number of our CBDs with a rash of off high rise projects being completed, we don’t have an oversupply of properties.</li>
<li>
High interest rates – the prospect of this has now been averted by the world’s financial turmoil. 
</li>
</ol>
 
Putting all this together, it is unlikely that a property crash is on the cards. 
While I have great confidence in the medium and long-term strength of our property markets, I recognise that despite sound fundamentals, market sentiment will cap property prices for some time to come. 
I can’t see a major change in market sentiment until a number of factors play out. We’ve lost confidence in our government, we’re concerned about the carbon tax and we’re unsure about the overseas economic turmoil. These issues won’t go away overnight. 
My recommendations: 
<ol start="1">
<li>
Don’t panic with all that’s happening in the world.</li>
<li>
Learn from history – every share market crash has been followed by a property boom in Australia </li>
<li>
Review your current property portfolio and your financial plans in light of what is going on around you.</li>
<li>
Refinance your property portfolio now if you can to top up your financial buffers. This will put more money in your kitty for any speed bumps that may come your way.</li>
<li>Take appropriate action <ol start="1">
<li>This may be to sell assets that will underperform in the new financial era, or it may be to buy more assets.</li>
<li>Set yourself and your family up to take advantage of the inflationary times ahead by owning properties that will grow in value at above average rates of capital growth.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Relax, house prices are not likely to crash

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As we look to what's ahead for 2012, Property Observer is republishing some of our most noteworthy stories of 2011.
 
All the talk of a resources boom which may last for decades has encouraged investors to look at buying property in mining towns chasing the next hot spot.
Only last week Chris, a builder from Tasmania, asked my opinion on investing in a mining town, saying he was chasing capital growth but was worried about the effect the new carbon tax may have on Australia's resource sector and the towns that rely on this booming industry for economic prosperity.
I advise him to steer clear of mining towns, and it has nothing to do with the controversial tax. There are a whole plethora of reasons why buying at the coalface should be avoided.
The first thing I asked Chris was “are you an investor or a speculator?” I explained that seeking out the next big boom location is not really investing.
To me, investing in property is all about generating strong long-term capital growth. To achieve this, investors must have a clearly defined investment plan that outlines their goals and how they intend to achieve them. Then they must do their due diligence and research locations that have a proven history of outperforming the averages and buy the type of property that will help them reach their goals.
Hot-spotting is almost the complete opposite to this sensible, not-so-sexy, tried and tested method of successfully building a property portfolio. It’s more about short-term speculation than long-term wealth creation.
When I asked Chris what type of people were buying properties in our mining towns he correctly said “investors” rather than owner-occupiers.
This helped me explain the reason for the underlying volatility in mining town property markets. I’d rather have a market underpinned by strong demand from a wide demographic of owner-occupiers and supported by a range of industries than a speculatively led investor market.
Just look what happened to property values in our mining towns during the aftermath the global financial crisis. Investors fled these more unpredictable property markets and prices crashed. In fact in many cases there there were no buyers for their properties. Some are still trying to sell their properties today!
If a local real estate market is predominantly driven by speculative investors who jump in feet first during a boom when prices are soaring, but just as quickly move on when the dust settles and sentiment changes, you’re in for a volatile ride.
Basically, when things are good they're very, very good, but when they are bad, they're rotten.
Without strong owner-occupier demand underpinning house prices and creating a pattern of steady, long-term capital growth, there really is limited true potential for a sound, secure long term investment.
And let's face it, owner-occupiers are not scrambling to snap up a home in Australia's remote outback where the majority of mining operations are located.
Then there's always the prospect of the town simply disappearing if the mining company decides to call it a day and move on to greener pastures. Given that the local economy in these resource driven locations is predominantly reliant on mining employees to sustain it, this would prove financially fatal for local businesses and most residents would be forced to pack up and relocate in order to survive. Of course no residents means no tenants and no income from what you may have once deemed a veritable goldmine! Pardon the pun.
If this isn't enough to convince die-hard speculators to stay away, perhaps the growing threat to the economic viability of mining towns – a breed of employees known as “fly-in-fly-out” workers – will set you straight. These highly paid workers set up residence in nearby urban centres or coastal regions, fly in on a weekly basis to perform their duties and reside in temporary accommodation camps, then fly home to spend their hefty paycheques in a more civilised setting.
Of course our mining boom and the resulting billions of dollars spent on resources infrastructure is boon to our economy. And I can understand the temptation to invest in towns that may appear to profit on the back of this boom. But I’ve seen these booms turn into speculative bubbles. Today’s hotspot could be tomorrow’s over-heated market!
Just look back a few years ago when the resources boom hit WA, and thousands of investors jumped on the bandwagon and bought into those mining towns that sprung up literally overnight. Of course, when the resources sector cooled off, many of these towns went from boom to bust as the main industry supporting the local economy slowed down.
Today many investors are still having issues trying to offload their underperforming properties in these towns.
For my money, real estate should be about long term growth and secure returns and these are easy to find in and around Australia's major capital cities – where our diverse economies have been evolving for hundreds of years. These areas are true property investment goldmines!
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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Warning to investors: Stay away from the coalface

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According to the latest survey of the world’s wealthy by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, there are now 192,900 high-net-worth individuals in Australia, up 11.1% from last year. To get onto this rich list you need to have more than $1 million of investable assets – not including your family home, collectible items and super.
The most startling statistic was our standing in the global wealth rankings of numbers of high-net-worth individuals. Australia rose one spot in 2010 to be ninth out of the 71 countries covered by the report. We’re now in front of many countries with vastly larger populations than Australia.
Another interesting statistic from the <a href="https://www.capgemini.com/services-and-solutions/by-industry/financial-services/solutions/wealth/worldwealthreport/" title="More about the report.">World Wealth Report</a> was that in 2010, a mere 103,000 people of the nearly 7 billion people on the planet controlled 36.1% of the world’s wealth. (This was up from 35.5% in 2009.)
North America had the largest number of so-called ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with 40,000 people worth more than $30 million. By the way, that’s one of the reasons I think the US will eventually work its way through its economic woes. It has more of the world’s high-net-worth individuals than any other country, and there is some smart collective wisdom among these people. They can’t all get it wrong – can they?
But last year was not just a good year for the really wealthy. It was also a good year for the merely rich.
The number of people around the globe with more than $1 million to invest was 10.9 million, up 8.3%, while the amount of money they had, $42.7 trillion, had risen by 9.7%. This was driven largely by the Asian region, including China and, to a lesser extent, Australia.
The report noted that the number of high-net-worth people in Asia, 3.3 million, surpassed the number in Europe, 3.1 million, for the first time. China ranks fourth behind the United States, Japan and Germany for the number of high-net-worth citizens.
Advice for everyone else:
This report also offers some practical insight for those of us who are not super-rich.
For one thing, the wealthiest people around the world put more money into the equities last year and plan to continue to do so. The percentage of assets allocated to equities increased from 29% to 33%, while allocations to fixed interest dropped from 31% to 29% and cash dropped from 17% to 14%.
Not surprisingly, they also invested in real estate. Dorus van den Biezenbos from Capgemini Australia explains: "We see the real estate market as a big contributor to the positive growth number of millionaires in Australia." 
Regardless of what they were investing in, the wealthy were spreading their investments round the world to reduce the risk from political, economic and financial uncertainty. But identifying that safe place is more difficult. The rich generally agreed that they were concerned about the American economy and the potential for political and economic unrest elsewhere.
Not surprisingly the World Wealth Report found that wealthy Asians were the only ones confident in investing in their own region. The report estimated that Asians would maintain the current percentage of their money invested in the region in 2012, while the wealthy in Europe, North America and Latin America indicated that they planned to reduce their allocations to their own regions.
With the rich getting richer yet many of us feeling poorer, knowing how the very rich think about their investments and diversification in an uncertain world can be useful to everyone else. Or it could provide some interesting gossip to share with friends. 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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The ranks of Australia's super-rich are growing, and they are investing in property

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Even before the events that led to Global Financial Crisis Mark 2 unfolded a few weeks ago, it seems that many Australians had bid farewell to the days of excessive, frivolous spending as a new era of conservatism took hold in an environment of global economic uncertainty. 
Let’s be honest, it wasn’t really that long ago that most of us were living beyond our means, chalking up credit card debt and treating the equity in our homes as an ATM as we became caught in the grip of mass consumerism. 
However, a survey by the Boston Consulting Group revealed that now one in two Australians plan to reduce discretionary spending over the next 12 months and saving their pennies – just like our parents did in the “good ol' days”. And I expect this trend will only become more apparent in the next few months. 
Of course this will reflect on their intention to buy property as either a home or investment, which will in turn impact on property prices. 
According to the survey almost half of us (48%) intend to pull in the purse strings in the coming year, as opposed to only 10% who plan to spend more and 42% who are happy to continue with their current rate of spending. And unfortunately things have taken have taken a turn for the worse economically since the survey was conducted. 
Interestingly, the Boston Consulting Group consumer sentiment report revealed that the only other two nations who were as reluctant to spend their hard-earned cash were the UK and Greece. 
While this increasing tendency to save rather than spend will lead to tougher times in the retail sector, overall it's good news for the economic health of the average Australian’s home budget, which will be in better shape to handle the speed bumps the economy will place in our way in the months ahead. 
One side effect of lower consumer spending will be to help keep inflation under control, which in turn will reduces the likelihood of interest rates rising in the near future, providing home owners and property investors with some breathing space as we head into uncertain economic times. 
However, the question remains – will this desire to save catch on and continue into the future, given our underlying love of spending? 
According to James Goth, leader of BCG’s consumer practice in Australia and New Zealand, the research highlights a shift in values from “conspicuous consumption to conscientious consumption… It’s not just about the hip pocket, it’s about it being ethical to not waste money and those that are spending up are doing so for ethical reasons rather than for status.” 
“The GFC has led to a shift in attitudes in spending and an element of that is a shift from carefree spending,” he says. 
This change in consumer sentiment is one of the reasons our property markets have slowed down, and this trend will put a lid on property price growth for the next few months. 
But the property markets haven’t come to a halt. People are still moving house because we’re still getting married, having babies, changing jobs or getting divorced. And savvy investors are still buying properties, but fewer people are doing so, and that’s reflecting in fewer property sales and flatter prices. 
It’s just the current stage of stage the property cycle and this too shall pass. But in the mean time, smart property investors with a long term focus are taking the opportunity to buy counter-cyclically. A proven property strategy that has created substantial property fortunes for savvy investors. 
The way I see it, as the economic woes around the world gather pace and the stock markets tumble it is likely that more investors will look for a safe haven for their money, and put it into property. After all, that’s what they did after the GFC in 2008, the tech wreck of 2001 and the great stock market crash of 1997. 
And there’s no denying that things are probably going to get worse before they get better. This is a time for cleaning up the excesses of the past and getting our financial houses in order to move on to the next stage of the economic cycle, which is the recovery phase. 
However, if history repeats itself, as it surely will, while the majority of Australians will sit on the sidelines feeling sorry for themselves, successful investors are looking for and buying investment opportunities created by the change. 
Michael Yardney is the director of <a href="https://www.metropole.com.au/">Metropole Property Investment Strategists</a> , a best-selling author and one of Australia's leading experts in wealth creation through property. He also writes the <a href="https://www.propertyupdate.com.au/">Property Investment Update</a> blog.
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While others tighten the purse strings, savvy investors are buying

Buyers considering a residence at boutique Gordon townhouse development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lume-gordon-43-47-dumaresq-street-gordon-nsw-2072">Lume</a>&nbsp;now have another reason to bring forward their decision.

For a limited time, purchasers of a residence at Lume will receive a BMW iX3 50 electric SUV, valued at more than $120,000, as part of their purchase. The offer is designed to add value for buyers while complementing the lifestyle envisioned for the architecturally designed Upper North Shore development.

Scott Timmins, Development Manager at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/winim">WINIM</a>, said the partnership was created to provide buyers with a compelling reason to act.

"In today's market, buyers need a compelling reason to act now, and the BMW partnership was designed to create that catalyst. We wanted to add genuine value for our future purchasers. Choosing the all-electric BMW iX3 50 also reflects the values behind LUME, forward-thinking design, innovation and a more sustainable way of living. It's a premium incentive that complements the lifestyle our buyers aspire to and rewards those who commit early."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374893]

Delivered by WINIM in partnership with Burtonwood Investment Partners, Lume comprises 14 architecturally designed two, three and four-bedroom townhomes created for families seeking the space of a freestanding house with the ease of modern, low-maintenance living.

The three-storey residences, designed by award-winning architecture practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, have been tailored for families and multi-generational living, featuring private internal lifts, flexible lower-level spaces, generous open-plan living and entertaining areas, media rooms, and landscaped outdoor spaces with custom outdoor kitchens.&nbsp;

Inside, engineered oak flooring, bespoke dining joinery with integrated wine fridges and backlit bars, sculptural porcelain bathrooms, Parisi freestanding baths and Astra Walker tapware create interiors that balance functionality with refined finishes.

Each townhome has been designed to combine generous internal spaces with sustainability initiatives such as EV charging infrastructure, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>'s landscaped communal areas, centred around a restored creek line and native planting, encourage residents to connect with nature and spend more time outdoors.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=269527]

Rothelowman's Gary Tsui said the architecture was conceived to respond carefully to its Upper North Shore setting.

"Our vision was to create elegant, uplifting homes that draw on and positively contribute to the local character through meticulously considered design and an interaction with the surroundings."

The communal landscape has been designed as more than an open space between homes. Arcadia's Ben Newell and Kate Phillips said the adjoining reserve provided an opportunity to create a distinctive natural retreat for residents.

"Just as waterways carve their way through Ku-ring-gai's landscape, a raised boardwalk weaves through the reserve, connecting the homes to this tranquil oasis."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374892]

Located just 300 metres from <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/gordon-nsw-2072">Gordon</a> Village and Gordon railway station, Lume offers convenient access to Sydney's CBD while placing residents close to some of the North Shore's leading schools, including Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College and Knox Grammar. Lane Cove National Park, Gordon Golf Club and a range of cafés and restaurants further reinforce the family-focused lifestyle on offer, with the BMW iX3 50 complementing everything from local trips around Gordon to weekend drives and city commutes.

Construction is underway with completion expected in mid-2027.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7354]

Joel Robinson

Boutique Gordon townhomes now come with a BMW iX3 50

Two apartments have sold for more than $10 million at EADE Byron Bay, setting some of the highest apartment prices ever achieved in the coastal town and underlining the growing appetite for luxury beachfront apartments in Australia's most popular coastal locations.

The $210 million project by Vitale Property Group has now secured more than $70 million in sales, led by residences that changed hands for $12.75 million and $11.75 million.

The record-breaking transactions reinforce the shift occurring in Byron Bay's premium property market, where affluent downsizers and lifestyle buyers are increasingly opting for high-end apartments over large beachfront homes.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/eade-byron-bay-29-shirley-street-byron-bay-nsw-2481">EADE Byron Bay</a> occupies a rare 6,000 sqm absolute beachfront site on the corner of Shirley and Milton Streets overlooking Main Beach and The Wreck surf break, just 350 metres from Byron Bay's town centre.

The 25-residence development is the first beachfront apartment project approved in Byron Bay in more than a decade and is currently under construction, with completion expected in May 2027.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359521]

The project has attracted a mix of local Byron Shire residents downsizing from larger homes, alongside interstate buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane seeking a permanent coastal lifestyle without compromising on space.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a> and with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/alexander-co">Alexander &amp; Co</a>, EADE comprises&nbsp;10 garden apartments ranging from 284 sqm to 622 sqm, nine with private pools, five full-floor apartments and 10 rooftop residences with private plunge pools, expansive outdoor entertaining areas and uninterrupted ocean views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359527]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/vitale-property-group">Vitale Property Group</a> Managing Partner Chris Vitale said the project's combination of scale, location and limited future supply was driving buyer demand.

"There isn't another beachfront holding in Byron Bay of this size and position that could be developed again," Vitale said.

"Buyers are responding to the scarcity and the irreplaceability of a site of this calibre and to floorplans they can't find elsewhere in the market.

"We are seeing buyers place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of the location. The sales achieved to date demonstrate that discerning purchasers recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay.

"Many are coming from larger homes in the Byron region, or from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are after the space, security and convenience, without the upkeep of a house."

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359523]

The Byron Bay project follows Vitale Property Group's delivery of the Mondrian Hotel and Private Residences at Burleigh Heads, with EADE continuing the developer's focus on luxury coastal developments.

Residents will have access to a resort-style swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, cold plunge pool, concierge services and dedicated workspaces, while the project is targeting an 8-Star Green Star rating.

EADE Byron Bay is being exclusively marketed by Projx Australia in conjunction with WHITEFOX Projects.

WHITEFOX National Projects Director Phillip Rand said demand had been driven predominantly by owner-occupiers.

"We are seeing buyers at EADE place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of this location," Rand says.

"The sales achieved to date demonstrate that purchasers at this level recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay."

Residences at EADE Byron Bay are currently priced between $4.75 million and $15.95 million.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145590]

Vitale breaks Byron Bay records with EADE sales flurry 

When buying an apartment, most people compare the big-ticket items first. Floorplans. Kitchens. Balcony size. Natural light. The view.

But there's one everyday consideration that often doesn't come up until after moving in: how parcels are delivered.

As online shopping has become part of everyday life, parcel deliveries have shifted from an occasional event to a regular occurrence. Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally.

For apartment residents, that can present a challenge.

If nobody is home to accept a delivery, parcels may be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in a building lobby or common area, or require building management to step in. In higher-density buildings, where dozens or even hundreds of residents may receive deliveries each day, parcel management has become an increasingly important part of everyday living.

That can create a range of frustrations. A missed delivery often means making time to collect a parcel elsewhere, while packages left unattended in foyers or mail areas can create clutter and increase the risk of theft. What seems like a minor inconvenience can quickly become a recurring issue for residents who shop online regularly.

It's one of those details that rarely features in a display suite but can have a noticeable impact once residents move in.

As a result, buyers are beginning to look beyond traditional apartment features and consider how a building supports day-to-day convenience, including whether there are secure options for receiving deliveries.

Australia Post's Parcel Lockers provide one solution.

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Rather than having a parcel delivered directly to an apartment, eligible deliveries can be sent to a nominated Parcel Locker. Once the parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN at a time that suits them.

The Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with installations at Post Offices, shopping centres, transport hubs and an increasing number of residential developments. By providing a secure collection point, Parcel Lockers help reduce missed deliveries and avoid parcels being left unattended in common areas.

For developers, parcel infrastructure is becoming another way to improve the resident experience. Rather than relying on concierge staff or leaving parcels in communal spaces, secure collection points help streamline deliveries while preserving the presentation and functionality of shared areas.

For buyers, it's a reminder that the best apartment features aren't always the most obvious.

A generous floorplan or quality finishes might help narrow the shortlist, but the conveniences that simplify everyday life, whether that's EV charging, secure bike storage or reliable parcel delivery, often become the features residents appreciate most once they're living there.

The apartment feature many buyers don't think about, until their first missed delivery

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hg-developments">HG Developments</a> is doubling down on Maud Street in Newstead, filing plans for a new apartment tower just a few doors down from its under-construction Aire Newstead development.

Recently submitted to Brisbane City Council, the proposal is for an 18-storey building designed by bureau^proberts, which has drawn heavily on Brisbane's subtropical design principles while referencing the suburb's industrial heritage.

A total of 64 apartments are planned for the amalgamated 1,518 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-21-maud-street-newstead-qld-4006">17–21 Maud Street</a>, a short walk from the Brisbane River and Newstead Riverwalk.

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"The building is defined by a series of vaulted motifs that reinterpret the arches, colonnades and layered facades evident throughout Newstead's historic built fabric," the Urban Design Report states.

"Combined with recessed glazing and generous balconies, these elements create a layered building envelope that provides shade, weather protection and opportunities for natural ventilation whilst establishing a distinctive architectural identity."

The proposal comprises 64 two, three and four-bedroom apartments across 18 residential levels, positioning it alongside a growing number of taller residential projects transforming Newstead's northern precinct. The tower incorporates extensive subtropical landscaping, with cascading planter boxes, deep planting at street level and a landscaped rooftop recreation area.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1d8140f4-8b98-45cd-b1b8-1efe8c8e266b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=VAZtbCoD44YCJ57N99fQCAKeSJx7ldZs" />

Bureau Proberts has prioritised passive environmental design throughout the project, with generous balconies, recessed glazing and operable façades helping reduce solar heat gain while maximising natural ventilation. River views become available from the upper levels, while the building has been orientated to capture prevailing breezes from both the Brisbane River and the west.

The architects say landscape is intended to be integral to the building rather than an applied element.

"Vertical greenery, cascading planter boxes and elevated gardens are woven throughout the architecture, softening the built form and strengthening the connection between residents and the subtropical environment."

"Through the integration of landscape, high-quality materials and passive design principles, the development delivers a refined residential address that celebrates Newstead's heritage character while contributing positively to Brisbane's evolving subtropical identity."

Newstead has remained one of Brisbane's most active apartment markets in recent years, with a number of developers continuing to back the inner-city suburb.

HG Developments is currently delivering the 40-apartment Aire Newstead at 25 Maud Street. Fortis recently launched the 65-apartment <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> on Kyabra Street, while builder-developer BPG and Don O'Rorke's Consolidated Properties are both expected to launch their respective Newstead projects before the end of the year.

HG Developments doubles down in Newstead with second Maud Street apartment development

Walk past a new apartment development promoting its sustainability credentials and it's easy to picture rooftop gardens, mature trees, landscaped courtyards and residents surrounded by nature.

But in many cases, that's not actually what those sustainability ratings guarantee.

Australia's leading environmental rating tools have played a significant role in improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of buildings. Yet despite their focus on reducing emissions, many don't require developers to include trees, biodiversity or meaningful green space.

In other words, a building can achieve one of the country's highest sustainability ratings while containing little more than concrete, glass and hard landscaping.

That disconnect has led to the emergence of a new movement across Australia's property industry: nature-based cities.

The concept goes beyond designing buildings that consume less energy. Instead, it encourages developers to treat nature as essential infrastructure, integrating biodiversity, tree canopy, living landscapes and green spaces into projects from the earliest stages of planning.

Research has consistently linked access to nature with better physical and mental health, cooler neighbourhoods, improved biodiversity, stronger climate resilience and more connected communities. As Australia's cities continue to become denser, advocates say those outcomes should be considered just as important as energy efficiency.

Nature Based Cities (NBC) was established in 2022 to help accelerate that shift.

Founded by Hamton Executive Chairman Paul Hameister OAM, the not-for-profit was created after research highlighted a significant gap in Australia's sustainability framework. While existing environmental rating tools rewarded energy performance and emissions reductions, they placed little emphasis on the inclusion of living landscapes.

"We've always wanted to do more, and we know other developers who want to do more, but the ESD rating tools just aren't there," Hameister says.

"In Australia, you can have a five-green-star rated building that's concrete and glass with not a blade of grass.

"The focus is on reducing emissions, which is laudable, but there hasn't been enough attention paid to protecting and re-establishing nature. We need both for the health of the environment and for communities."

Since its launch, NBC has developed independent design guidelines and accreditation frameworks that encourage developers to prioritise ecology, biodiversity, tree canopy, walkability and living landscapes alongside traditional sustainability measures. The organisation first focused on medium and high-density residential developments before recently expanding into precinct-scale communities and masterplanned neighbourhoods.

Jan Talacko, founder of sustainability consultancy Ark Resources and a member of the Nature Based Cities Advisory Council, says the initiative addresses an area that has largely been overlooked by the property industry.

"Throughout my 25 years of working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the property sector, I've always favoured a pragmatic approach to sustainable design which encourages initiatives that not only meet environmental expectations but also improve amenity," Talacko says.

"Whilst we are making steady progress in relation to energy and carbon emissions from buildings, there has been much less emphasis on encouraging biodiversity and tackling the urban heat island effect.

"The Nature Based Cities initiative responds to a gap in the suite of tools currently used by the property development sector, which don't provide sufficient incentive, or recognition, for the integration of landscaping and greenery."

For apartment buyers, the shift is also changing the questions worth asking.

Rather than assuming a sustainable building will naturally include abundant green space, buyers are increasingly being encouraged to look beyond environmental ratings and ask what nature is actually being delivered. How much tree canopy will the development create? Has biodiversity been considered? Are landscaped spaces designed for people as well as appearance?

As Australia's cities continue to grow upwards and outwards, the next generation of sustainability may not simply be measured by lower emissions, but by how successfully developments bring nature back into everyday urban life.

Michael Yardney

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