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Average Australian households have seen their incomes rise by at least $5000 more than their expenses every year since 1988, according to a report released on Saturday.
Combined, this means disposable incomes for the average household have increased a whopping 65% since 1988. More than 15% of this growth has come since the global financial crisis.
This picture of a nation in rude financial health comes from a <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/storage/NATSEM-Household-Budget-Report.pdf">report</a> by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra.
The inaugural report found that though incomes hadn’t risen as fast since 2008 as they had in the earlier part of that decade, cost of living pressures had slowed, meaning households saw their incomes rise while their expenses stayed about the same.
While expenses like utilities, health and education rose strongly over the period, lower interest rates meant mortgage pressure decreased markedly, as did many other aspects of household expenditure.
This is a surprising outcome, given cost of living has been much discussed in this election campaign. Policies like the carbon tax, which contributed to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard losing the support of her party room, were feared to have a detrimental effect on what were perceived to be already high cost-of-living pressures.
In fact, the amount of disposal income left over to households after subtracting the cost of living increases grew at 2.6% a year since 2007, which is the exact amount it had grown under the Howard government. Between 2007 and 2010, household expenses grew by 3.3% a year while incomes rose close to 6% a year, while from 2010 to June 2013, cost of living rose 1.6% a year while incomes rose 4.2%.
Increases in the cost of living have been “benign”, according to the report, but they have disproportionately hit renters and those on low incomes. Those on high incomes have generally seen their costs of living stay the same.
The report’s author, Ben Phillips, said cost of living has been an election issue for decades, and the influence of the narrative often has little to do with reality.
“Politicians have been talking about it for a long time. I suppose it really hits the buttons of voters.
“But the problem is that the discussion usually complete ignores the prices of things outside electricity, petrol and food, and completely ignores things like rising incomes.
“We all notice when prices go up. It annoys people. Income growth, however, isn’t as visible.”
It’s the first time the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling has released what is to be a quarterly report. Phillips says that it follows on from similar research the centre did in May 2012.
“We had an unprecedented level of interest in that data,” he says. “I had government departments and journalists calling me almost on a daily basis asking about it. Many wanted updated figures, so it became pretty clear there was a need for this sort of thing to be done regularly.”
The Household Budget Report combines Australian Bureau of Statistics data on household expenditure for different types of households with separate ABS data on income growth across different categories. It uses these two data sets to see how different types of households have seen their income grow relative to their expenditure.
The ABS currently has a similar, but far more limited measure intended to help governments assess income support measures. The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling’s report differs in that it applies the same methodology to all types of households, and not just those on government assistance.
 
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 This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
 
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mrobin-TVRYiru7si

What cost of living crisis? Australian households have more money to spare than ever

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Regional and suburban Australia has trumped the nation’s largest central business districts and population centres in the second annual Google eTown awards.
Google this morning revealed the state winners of its awards, which reward the cities, suburbs and towns where local small businesses make the best use of the internet.
The tech giant used its own internal data, as well as insight from a survey commissioned from research firm Ipsos and sent to local small businesses, to identify the digital marketing methods small businesses in the area were using to grow their business.
The winners of the awards were smaller cities or suburbs of major cities, where local councils and businesses had made a concerted effort to bridge the tyranny of distance and compete with the central cities using the online tools available to them.
Last year, Google Australia’s head of local business Claire Hatton said the winners had higher population densities.
“Now though, it’s about the town’s real assets – its small business owners and employees.”
The winners show the importance of local councils taking a lead, Hatton says.
“Many of the winning towns and cities had a council that was very active in education – in helping people understand the digital opportunities.
“A good example of that was Port Phillip’s council, who ran business development programs as well as an online portal for small businesses.
“And a lot of the councils themselves have really invested in digital and see it as a competitive advantage. Holdfast Bay, for example, has invested in a dedicated role for the council’s social media.”
Port Phillip, located in Melbourne’s South, was the Victorian winner. Port Phillip mayor Amanda Stevens says she isn’t surprised her community was singled out for its web-savvy.
“The City of Port Phillip has run extensive business development programmes and launched an online portal to support local businesses to grow. We also know from our research that businesses are most interested in training in marketing and having an online presence, so we also hold regular events with digital innovation thought-leaders to bring that knowledge to the area,” said Mayor Stevens.
“Port Phillip also has one of the most highly-educated communities. Couple that with our biggest age group being 25-34 year olds, and you have a young community thoroughly engaged in new ideas and technology.”
One of the businesses in Port Phillip is RPS The Board Store, a specialist wind and kite-surfing store that’s been operating in the area for 23 years.
Its owner, Andrew McCredie, said that digital marketing and sales channels meant he could get his equipment to a far wider range of sport enthusiasts than ever before. “We find that customers conduct a lot of research before they come into the store, so when we have sales or a new product we’ll start targeted search marketing and make sure everything is up and ready online.
“Recently we sold a snowboard 10 minutes after posting it online, as that particular customer had been waiting for someone to stock it locally.”
For small business owners, the awards emphasise the importance of becoming digitally-savvy, Hatton says.
“Small businesses have a real competitive advantage now that the internet is there.
“But consumers are still ahead of business. Small businesses need to understand that this day, having a digital presence is like having a phone.
“Whether you’re a boutique hotel, beautician or surf school, if you’re not online you’re missing out on a direct line to thousands of potential customers.”
The state-by-state winners: 
<ul style="margin: 20px 0px 20px 15px; padding: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; left: 20px;">
Cockburn, WA
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Darwin, NT
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Port Phillip, VIC
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Holdfast Bay, SA
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; left: 20px;">
Launceston, Tasmania
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; left: 20px;">
North Sydney, NSW
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; left: 20px;">
South Canberra, ACT
</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; left: 20px;">
Sunshine Coast, Qld
</li>
</ul>
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" rel="nofollow">SmartCompany</a>.
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Google's top suburbs for local business internet savvy

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The Australian Taxation Office plans to clamp down on self-managed super fund trustees who move their assets around before selling them to avoid capital gains tax.
In a draft ruling issued last week, and open for public comment until September 4, the ATO said that from July 2014, SMSF trustees will have to obtain an actuarial certificate to claim the pension income-tax exemption, or entirely segregate their SMSF fund assets into those that are in the accumulation phase and those that bear liability for their current pension.
Failure to do so could result in the ATO pursuing them under tax avoidance provisions.
Currently, SMSF assets used to pay out pensions are tax-exempt, whereas assets that don’t currently have any pension liability still incur capital gains tax.
The ATO also flagged its concern about trustees moving assets from the accumulation to the pension stage before selling them to avoid capital gains tax.
“If an asset is purported to be segregated [i.e. claimed to be in the pension phase and thus tax-exempt] shortly before disposal, and then disposed of in circumstances where a capital gain is claimed to be exempt income, it will be a question of…whether it was invested or otherwise being dealt with for the sole purpose of enabling the fund to discharge liabilities in respect of superannuation income stream benefits,” the ATO’s draft ruling stated.
The ruling will have broad implications, as most self-managed super funds both distribute pensions and accumulate superannuation, AMP SMSF head of policy and technical Peter Burgesssaid. This can be for multiple members or for the same member if they are still working past the age where they get access to their super.
“What the ATO talked about is if you want your fund to be treated as a segregated fund, you have to ensure that your assets are entirely segregated,” he says.
“They used examples where you could have a property within a self-managed super fund and say a certain proportion of that property is tax-exempt as it’s in the pension stage and the rest is within the accumulation stage, and try to treat the fund as segregated.
“The ATO says they don’t think that suffices. You need to make sure that if it’s a property, it either sits entirely within the pension pool, or you treat it as an unsegregated fund, in which case you need an actuarial certificate to determine which parts are tax exempt and which parts are not. None of this business where you say it’s segregated when it’s not to avoid the cost of an actuarial certificate.”
The ATO is obviously also concerned about individuals wanting to use the tax-free provisions surrounding pension assets to avoid capital gains tax, Burgess says, “which they would do by transferring an asset from the accumulation part of the portfolio to the pension part and then selling it shortly after”.
However, Burgess said the ATO did not define what “shortly after” meant, and so it remains unclear how long an asset must be held so as to not flag alarm bells with the taxman.
Aside from property, other assets likely to be affected by the change are things like joint bank accounts.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/">SmartCompany</a>.
 
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ATO set to clamp down on SMSF trustees who move assets to avoid capital gains tax

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The unemployment rate in June ticked up to 5.7% from 5.5% the month before, according to figures released this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
This is slightly higher than had been expected, with an AAP survey of 14 economists having tipped a 0.1% rise to 5.6%.
The economy added 14,800 new part-time positions in June, but lost 4,400 full-time jobs. The participation rate (those in jobs or currently looking for employment) rose to 65.3% from 65.2%, suggesting some of the increase in unemployment could be due to more people actively looking for jobs than during the previous month.
On Monday, an ANZ monthly survey of job advertisements found they had fallen for the fourth consecutive month during June, adding a 1.8% fall to the 2.5% fall in May. Job advertisements are 19% below the level they were at a year ago.
Unemployment is one of the key measures looked at by the RBA when it decides whether to cut official rates.
Just before the unemployment figures were released, Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said the pressure remains on the RBA to cut rates further in its August meeting.
“The fact that inflationary expectations remain well anchored suggests they have ample scope to do so should they decide it is necessary,” he said.
Stocks up after positive comments from Fed chair
The Australian sharemarket was up 1.03% at 10.20 this morning, after the minutes of the latest United States Fed meeting reassured American markets overnight..
The benchmark S&amp;P/ASX200 index rose 49.9 points or 1% to 4,951.3 at 12.00 AEST, while in the United States the Dow Jones Industrial average fell 8.7 points or 0.1% to 15,291.
“Bernanke’s statements following the release of the minutes provided confidence after he reassured that the Fed won’t automatically increase interest rates after the unemployment target rate is reached,” says Miguel Audencial, a sales trader at CMC Markets.
“The reaction of the market was positive with the US stock futures rising after hours. I would expect this boost to flow through the Australian and other Asian markets today as well,”
Leading the gains were energy traders, buoyed by strong gains in the price of crude oil overnight.
Hiring managers budget for 3-5% salary increase as unemployment rate edges up
Three in four (74%) hiring managers are bracing for annual salary increases of 3-5%, according to a survey of 1,800 Australian hiring managers released yesterday by recruitment consultancy Michael Page.
The survey also found salary concerns to be the leading reason for employees leaving a business, according to 30% of those surveyed. Another 28% nominated gaining more experience as the key reason employees jumped ship, while 13% said employees left for better promotion opportunities.
For the year to February 28, salaries rose 3.5%, according to data collected by Hays Group. This is above the inflation rate, which for the year to the end of February stood at 2.5%.
“Unemployment is still comparatively low and some sectors and job functions continue to have skill shortages,” Hays Group noted in its report, adding that this put talented employees in a good position to negotiate.
This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Unemployment climbs to 5.7%

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Sarah Curran is the entrepreneur behind online fashion retail dynamo my-wardrobe.com. Seven years ago, the then French-based Curran sold her house to fund the start-up of her company.
Now, my-wardrobe.com is on target to hit £20 million ($33 million) in sales this year, which is up 40% on the year before. The company has offices in London and Nottingham, as well as in Sydney, New York and Norway, and employs close to 100 staff.
Curran was interviewed from Istanbul, where she was a keynote speaker at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneurship Network conference.
My passion for keeping connected with the customer comes from having originally had my boutique in North London. When I launched my-wardrobe, I really wanted to retain that personal element. Online, you’re faceless, and it’s very easy for a customer not to relate with you and to shop without that emotional touchpoint. That’s been a real challenge, but I love a challenge. It was an opportunity to solve the problem.
The way we do it is we have our events, which we host in every territory where we have an office. They’re a way of letting a customer see the trends of the season, and of allowing the customer to feel part of the community. They’ve proved very successful.
It’s not about selling on the night. I remember when we did our first one in London. A woman came up to me and said it was really amazing that she didn’t feel pressured to buy something. I said: ‘It’s not about shopping.’ It’s about seeing the trends and thinking about how to wear them, and about being connected to the my-wardrobe brand.
In growing the business, our biggest challenge has been marketing. We didn’t have the cash to invest in customer acquisition. We grew organically. Once we get a customer, our retention is extremely high. We’re sitting at 65%, most sit on 30-40%. We do invest heavily in our team that supports customers and makes sure they’re loyal to us. We just didn’t have the cash to get more of them.
Events and partnerships helped with that. That’s how we started our relationship with Dell. We partnered with people who were much bigger than us, but not in fashion. We thought about the brands our customers were engaged with, in terms of beauty, lifestyle, health and technology. We used partnerships to bring us new audiences.
Australia is our second largest market. Our Australian customers have a higher average order, and they spend more time browsing. Our statistics are very high and very positive with regards to the Australian market.
I don’t believe in just going into a territory, taking market share, and not giving back. Having an office in Australia, and participating in things like the Melbourne Fashion Festival, are our way of adding value. We believe in doing things like finding and selling new Australian designers. The relationship has to go both ways. I’m not comfortable otherwise. It’s a moral obligation.
All our customer sales girls come from a fashion background. All have been trained on the key products and seasons, as well as the new designers. Those sorts of things are really important.
We think it’s important to be flexible about how we show a product online. So when you go to a product, you can scroll and see it in different ways. No other site does that. It was important for me to make the item as relevant to as many people as possible. So, a woman might say, ‘oh, I’d wear it like that instead’.
Myriam Robin travelled to Istanbul as a guest of Dell, which paid for her flights and accommodation.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/">SmartCompany</a>.
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How to grow a business when you can't afford marketing: my-wardrobe.com's Sarah Curran

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The world’s wealthiest have recouped the losses incurred in the 2008 banking crisis, and are now richer and more numerous than ever.
Today there are more than 103,000 of what wealth watchers call ‘ultra-high-net-worth-individuals’, usually referred to as UHNWIs. To rank as an UHNWI, you need at least $30 million in assets. On top of that, there were 12 million high net-worth individuals worldwide, defined as those with $1 million in investable assets. There were 9% more high net-worth individuals this year than last.
Those figures are from an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.capgemini.com/thought-leadership/world-wealth-report-2013-from-capgemini-and-rbc-wealth-management" rel="nofollow">annual wealth report</a> released last week by RBC Wealth Management and consulting firm Capgemini. The ranks of the world’s wealthiest grew strongly last year, following on from another healthy rise in 2011, when the numbers of the super-wealthy first hit pre-crisis levels.
The United States has had a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/economy/056123-dollar-plummets-and-sharemarket-drops-20-billion-what-does-the-us-fed-s-decision-to-end-economic-stimulus-mean-a-smartcompany-q-and-a">run of positive economic figures in recent months</a>, and the report unearths another. The number of high net-worth individuals in North America increased 11.5% in 2012 to hit 3.73 million. This put North America back on top as the continent of millionaires, eclipsing the Asia-Pacific, which grew 9.4% to boast 3.68 million millionaires, of which 207,000 live in Australia.
The report was prepared for wealth managers, so it looked in some detail at the investment preferences of the world’s richest. It surveyed 4000 global high net-worth individuals about how they like to invest their money and unearthed an interesting paradox.
Leverage and risk are how entrepreneurs get wealthy. But the wealthy people surveyed for the report showed a clear bias towards conservative asset allocation, putting nearly 30% of their wealth into cash and deposits.
This aversion to risk applied across all ages and wealth levels, and, the authors write, suggests a low level of trust in financial markets.
Japanese millionaires were the most likely to leave their wealth in cash, while North American investors favoured equities (putting nearly 30% of their money into the stock market). Australia’s millionaires put more of their wealth than the global average into property, which is unsurprising, given <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://leadingcompany.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/rich-tales-the-four-secrets-behind-how-the-brw-rich-200-made-their-fortunes/201305264301" rel="nofollow">a quarter of the people on the Rich List got there through property investments</a>.
A preference for cash wasn’t the only sign of caution those surveyed displayed. Even when they did invest in shares and property, most of the millionaires said they invested around 80% of their assets in their home country, as opposed to seeking out wherever in the world they could get the greatest return.
“Given recent market rallies, there is little doubt that the high allocation to more stable assets has likely caused some HNWIs to miss opportunities for wealth growth,” the report states.
“However, this is often a conscious decision as some HNWIs willingly forego returns in exchange for the safety of capital. As the global economy stabilizes and markets expand, HNWIs seeking growth will have the potential to put more of their wealth to more productive use.”
This is interesting because global interest rates are low. Low interest rates mean low returns for cash deposits, meaning investors would do well to pivot out of cash, as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/sponsored/055505-search-for-value-the-top-underrated-investment-opportunities-of-2013-4">many wealth management advisers say</a>.
It’s good advice. But it seems that for one reason or another, the world’s richest are favouring far more conservative investment strategies than the ones we’re normally advised to pursue.
Maybe they figure that once they’ve hit the jackpot, there’s little to be gained in jeopardising that. Or, perhaps, they’re still cautious about the global economy.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/">SmartCompany</a>.
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The world's wealthiest have bounced back from the GFC, but have become risk averse: Myriam Robin

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Reading through the stories of the 200 richest people in Australia, as ranked by BRW last week, it quickly becomes clear that no two fortunes are the same.
But there are commonalities in how Australia’s 200 richest people got that way.
The men on the rich list (<a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/055293-rich-tales-why-our-female-entrepreneurs-aren-t-fabulously-wealthy" target="_blank">all but 14 are men</a>) worked long and took risks to get there. They chose strategic industries and saw their fortunes rise with global trends. They bet on economics as well as on themselves.
Want to join the Rich List? Here’s how to do it:
1. Start a business
The majority of the names on the Rich 200 are there because they started and led a business to national and global success.
But not just any business. Certain industries stand out.
For all we wring our hands about the future of retail, plenty of the fortunes on the Rich List were made off businesses that did just that. In fact, 27 out of the 200 made their fortune in retail.
Another area that can make you a fortune if you do it right is technology. As <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/055691-brw-rich-200-list-revealed-atlassian-founders-join-fellow-smart50-alumni-gabby-and-hezi-leibovich" target="_blank">we revealed last Thursday</a>, there are four Smart50 winners on the list, and all of them made their fortune in IT.
There are <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/051844-five-ways-to-go-from-the-smart50-to-the-rich-list-5" target="_blank">a few reasons</a> why tech businesses make so many people rich. For one, your running expenses are likely to be relatively lower, giving you strong margins if your model is sound. Not to mention technology businesses can be scaled up relatively quickly, which makes them ripe for growth and economies of scale.
And when sold, technology businesses can command multiples far in excess of many other industries, landing their founders in the money even if the business itself isn’t making much money yet.
2. Failing that, invest in property
It’s not just a successful business that can make you rich. A full quarter (52 out of 200) made their wealth in property.
In Australia, this figure hasn't budged much for the last 30 years. No other single investment has been as likely to deliver steady returns over the past three decades.
3. Go it alone
Many businesses are founded by groups of two or more people. To get around the difficulties of separating out jointly held fortunes, the BRW list can consider cofounders and families to hold a fortune jointly. You’d think that, given this is the case, there would be plenty of duos and trios on the list.
But this isn’t the case. There may be benefits to working with a cofounder, but when it comes to making a lot of money, the experiences of the Rich Listers suggests you’re better off going alone.
In the 2013 list, there are a few families, but no cofounders. Atlassian cofounders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are both on the list, but with separate entries, holding $250 million apiece.
4. All work no play makes you very, very rich
At an age when most Australians are looking forward to retirement, plenty of people on the list are still signing deals and making money. For example, 86-year-old Len Ainsworth could have been happy resting with one company, Aristocrat. But <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://leadingcompany.smartcompany.com.au/leadership/a-year-in-the-life-of-australia-s-richest-why-james-packer-wins/201212173323" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in his 80s he built another</a> – Ainsworth Game Technology – whose shares rose 400% last year.
The average Rich Lister is 65 years old, but far off retirement. Plenty of them aren’t the type to relax and smell the roses anyway. For example, Glencore Xstrata chief Ivan Glasenberg (fifth on the list with $5.61 billion) recently said that his staff “don’t do” work-life balance. Instead, he said, they were all rich.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/">SmartCompany</a>.
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Four secrets behind the fortunes of the BRW Rich 200: Myriam Robin

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Switzerland. The home of good cheese and better chocolate, accurate watches, and, for as long as anyone can remember, the place the wealthy parked their money, with no one asking where it came from.
But with the rise of Asia and with a new cohort of Rich Listers, that’s all changing, according to a report released last week by private banking research group WealthInsight.
The Family Office briefing is a yearly report the research group produces looking at where the world’s most exclusive wealth management firms, who control $US19.3 trillion, are putting their money. In 2011, the report said, Switzerland had 34% of that pie, but that share is shrinking.
Singapore is one of the main beneficiaries. In 2000, the city-state had just $50 billion of the money of the world’s top wealth managers. In 2011, the figure was $550 billion, and WealthInsight expects it will continue to grow.
For Australians, this perhaps isn’t so surprising. Rich Listers have been moving to Singapore for years. It makes sense their money would follow them. Mining speculator Nathan Tinkler moved to Singapore last year. He joined Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and the 17% of Singapore’s population that have a net worth over $1 million (the highest rate in the world).
Saverin said his move wasn’t about tax. Nathan Tinkler’s PR guy said something similar. But as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/wealth/050225-nathan-tinkler-and-the-billionaire-singapore-sprint">this SmartCompany story said at the time</a>, that’s all a bit rich.
Singapore’s income tax rate is capped at 20% for those earning income over $250,000. Corporate tax is capped at 17%. There’s no capital gains tax, no estate (‘death’) taxes for passing on wealth to the next generation, and that’s before you count all the tax incentives given to ‘angel investors’ and the like. Switzerland, on the other hand, will <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/tax-hike-for-switzerlands-rich-foreigners/story-e6frfkur-1226582381414">raise taxes on foreigners</a> from 2016.
Rich Listers usually have to live most of the year somewhere to be able to claim they should be taxed under its laws. For many of the world’s rising billionaires, Singapore is simply closer to home.
It’s a nice place too, the millionaires said when the Economist Intelligence Unit asked them last year where they liked to be when abroad. It was the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.rikvin.com/blog/singapore-preferred-rich-mobile/">most popular destination in Asia</a>, chosen by almost a third (31%) of the millionaires surveyed, eclipsing Hong Kong, which was chosen by 24%.
In February, the Hurun Report, a Chinese luxury magazine started by ex-Forbes researcher Rupert Hoogewerf, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jb6rXlw5ejXtyygXAtY3nXqulPLw?docId=CNG.35c1755a38f1d8d285b55d8f38343648.591">wrote that</a> of the world’s 1453 billionaires, 608 of them were Asia. Only 324 were from Europe, while America can boast 440.
Proximity with Singapore is a bonus for Australia’s Rich Listers too. With a few exceptions like Swiss-based Ivan Glasenberg, our 32 billionaires travel more to Asia than they do to Europe.
Switzerland’s reputation as a safe place to park your money can’t have been helped by the spate of arrests by US authorities of those who use it for tax evasion.
A few years back, Swiss financial adviser Beda Singenberger <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/u-s-tax-cheats-picked-off-after-adviser-mails-it-in">accidentally mailed a list of US clients he’d helped avoid their taxes</a> to someone who passed the list onto US authorities. Those authorities now seem to be systematically going after the people on the list one by one.
And from 2009, fearing lawsuits, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-14/news/37713520_1_bank-wegelin-patrick-odier-ponzi-scheme">Swiss banks began agreeing</a> to open their books to authorities investigating laundering and tax evasion, eroding their reputation for privacy.
Coupled with recent crackdowns in places like Luxembourg and the Caribbean, this all makes Singapore look even more attractive as a home for the wealthy and their millions. This must make the money-movers in Zurich very nervous.
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/">SmartCompany</a>.
Image of Singapore courtesy of Flickr.
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Rich turn to Asia as exclusive wealth management firms park money in Singapore

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The International Monetary Fund expects Australia will grow at a slightly lower pace in 2013 than it did in 2012, predicting total growth of 3%, followed by 3.3% in 2014. Last year, the Australian economy grew at 3.6%.
China is projected to grow at 8% this year, up from last year’s 7.8% growth, while India is also expected to accelerate, rising to 5.7% growth from 4% last year.
‘‘We are in a better place but ... we’re not out of the woods,’’ IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard reportedly said at a media conference when releasing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/pdf/text.pdf" rel="nofollow">the IMF’s quarterly World Economic Outlook.</a>
Tom Taylor, the head of international economics at NAB, says the report is largely good news as it shows the IMF thinks the global economy has hit its low-point.
“Most of the world’s growth for the past few years has been occurring in places outside the developed, advanced economies,” he said.
“The IMF report envisages a gradual pickup in global economic growth, coming from an acceleration in the big advanced economies, like the United States and Japan, and an ending of the recession in the eurozone.”
“Across the big advanced economies, we can see growth is expected to accelerate… and that’s pretty consistent with [NAB’s] own views.”
The United States is expected to grow at 1.9% in 2013, down from 2.2% in 2012, before accelerating to 3% in 2014. Estimates for Japan have been dramatically revised upwards to 1.6% in 2013, after the government announced a large program of monetary easing earlier this month. January’s IMF outlook report had expected Japan to grow at just 0.4% in 2013.
The IMF expects world growth to grow at 3.3% this year and then 4% in 2014.
However, Taylor said, the report also highlights risks that hang over the global economy.
“The first of these is the eurozone, where we’ve been reminded recently of the dangers given the problems in Cyprus,” he said.
“The second one is the concerns over the US budget. So far this year, that’s turned out better than it might have, but are still concerns.”
This article originally appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" rel="nofollow">SmartCompany</a>.
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Australia's growth to slow slightly in 2013: IMF

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The CEO of Aussie Home Loans, Stephen Porges, has resigned from his position to “pursue other interests” just one month after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia bought 80% of the mortgage broker.
Porges led the company through the global financial crisis after becoming chief executive in August 2008 and worked closely with chairman and founder John Symond.
However, Symond told The Australian that Porges felt he wasn’t the person to take the company “to the next stage”.
“There is going to be a lot more reporting, just on governance, being a big public company,” Symonds said.
The chairman added that he was down to “two or three” potential replacement CEOs, and that the decision on who to appoint would be his. This is despite reports that CBA will now appoint four of the six directors on the board of Aussie Home Loans.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://leadingcompany.smartcompany.com.au/leadership-styles/the-ceo-seat-aussie-group-s-stephen-porges/201302203731">In a profile two months ago</a>, Porges stressed the broker’s continued independence.
“There was some confusion at the start from both staff and partners as to whether we’d simply become a CBA shop. It is, however, absolutely 100% business as usual.
“Having a very solid partner behind us that understands and values what we do – that is, providing in every situation the right product for the customer, for their unique situation, irrespective of the provider – simply means we’ll be a stronger competitor.
“Standing up for the consumer always has been, and will continue to be, in Aussie’s DNA.
“Customers have given us their trust. We’re very aware of that and the responsibility that brings. I’d hope that we’re judged on how we’ve performed with customers in the past and how we’ll continue to do so in the future.”
Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission assumed CBA would control Aussie Home Loans in its ruling on the matter. However, it allowed the purchase, given that the mortgage broker only had a 6% market share and there were other distribution channels for rival banks.
This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Stephen Porges not the right person for Aussie Home Loans' next stage: John Symond

Apartment buyers in New South Wales are set to gain a decade of insurance-backed protection against major building defects, after the NSW Parliament passed the Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.&nbsp;

The Bill establishes decennial defect insurance, known in the market as Latent Defects Insurance (LDI), as an alternative to the existing two-year strata building bond. It cleared the Legislative Council with amendments on Tuesday evening (August 4, 2026), with the Legislative Assembly agreeing to those amendments shortly after.

Under the reform, eligible developers can satisfy their statutory bond obligation by taking out an approved decennial-style policy that gives owners 10 years of cover for major structural defects from completion, claimable directly, without first having to pursue developers or builders through costly legal action.&nbsp;

The change forms the final tranche of amendments arising from the 2021 statutory review of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and related legislation.

Resilience Insurance, which originated the cover in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022, welcomed the passage and credited the NSW Government for delivering it.

“This is protection apartment buyers have needed for a long time, and the credit for delivering it belongs to the NSW Government,”&nbsp;said Corey Nugent, CEO of Resilience Insurance.

“Minister Chanthivong and his team have shown real leadership in replacing an outdated two-year bond with cover that matches the lifespan of the buildings people are buying into. Reform like this is what good, evidence-based regulation looks like.”

Resilience has delivered LDI in NSW since 2022, protecting thousands of apartments, giving the State, and now the country, real-world evidence of how decade-long, no-fault protection works in practice.

The reform also places NSW within a wider national shift.

NSW is the third jurisdiction to put decennial cover into law. The ACT legislated for it in 2024, with the scheme taking effect in late 2025, and Victoria passed its own framework on 17 June. Between them, the three cover the majority of Australia's apartment market.

The reform commences once the legislation is proclaimed, which is expected in the coming weeks. From that point, developers of Class 2 residential apartment buildings can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial policy in place of the bond.

Buyers who purchased into projects that took out the cover early are among the first in the country to take keys to apartments carrying decade-long structural protection.

“With the legislation passed, the focus now turns to making it work for buyers,”&nbsp;Nugent said.

“There are already thousands of apartments in NSW covered by this insurance, bought by developers who moved early. The question every buyer should be asking in a display suite is a simple one: does this building come with 10-year defect cover, and who stands behind it?&nbsp;

“We look forward to working with the Government and the Building Commission in coming weeks as the framework moves to implementation, and to sharing what we have learned over the past four years so the protection reaches owners as smoothly and quickly as possible.”

Other states are working through their own reform programs. Western Australia has indicated that decennial cover is within consideration a later stage of its reform sequence, and Queensland has been examining the settings as it looks at the development pipeline ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

Resilience Insurance acknowledges the NSW Government’s continued focus on strengthening consumer protection while supporting housing delivery across the State.

Fast Facts: What the reform means

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Proven at scale:&nbsp;Decennial cover has operated in NSW since 2022, protecting thousand of apartments.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">10 years of cover:&nbsp;Protection for major structural defects runs for a decade from completion, claimable directly and with no legal action required.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">An alternative to the bond:&nbsp;Eligible developers can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial-style policy in place of the 2% strata building bond.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Part of a national shift:&nbsp;The ACT has had decennial provisions in force since 2025 and Victoria passed its framework in June. NSW now joins them.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">No-fault, first resort:&nbsp;Owners corporations claim directly from the insurer without first having to establish who is liable for the defect.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost-competitive:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the 2% bond while offering broader, longer protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market position:&nbsp;Resilience originated LDI in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022.</li>
</ul>

Fast Facts: What is Resilience LDI?

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Resilience Latent Defects Insurance (LDI):&nbsp;Covers major structural defects for 10 years from completion.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Consumer-first:&nbsp;Direct claim access, no need for lengthy legal action.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost advantage:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the traditional 2% Strata Bond while offering broader protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market leader:&nbsp;&nbsp;Resilience Insurance originated LDI in Australia and is the national market leader.</li>
</ul>

Joel Robinson

NSW parliament passes 10-year defect insurance laws for new apartment buyers

Builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mcnab-developments">McNab</a> has wasted little time reshaping one of South Brisbane's most significant undeveloped apartment sites after acquiring the property earlier this year.&nbsp;

McNab has lodged plans to scrap an existing approval for two 30-storey towers and instead deliver a single 28-storey residential building, preserving part of the site for a future development opportunity.

The proposal, lodged over <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-peel-street-south-brisbane-qld-4101">64 Peel Street and 9 Cordelia Street</a>, is for a residential-led mixed-use development comprising 124 apartments above a landscaped podium, alongside a boundary realignment that preserves part of the land for a future residential project.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="743bf564-3f8f-45fc-b8d3-bbf18f5b628f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20Peel%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=EhCxGrVn_VFH3qTbKnI4WppGwaMnOn0t" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a>, the development will deliver 119 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments across 23 residential levels. A five-level podium will accommodate 135 car spaces, while the ground floor will include a 66 sqm commercial tenancy, an activated residential lobby with work-from-home spaces, and a publicly accessible landscaped plaza linking Cordelia and Peel streets.&nbsp;

Communal amenities will span Level 6 and the rooftop, including indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, a swimming pool, barbecue facilities, kitchen and dining areas, lawn space, sauna, steam room and yoga facilities.

The application also proposes a boundary realignment to create a standalone 1,290 sqm development lot while retaining an adjacent parcel for future redevelopment, allowing the balance of the site to contribute additional housing over time.

Hayball said the architecture has been shaped by the site's elevated corner position at the intersection of Peel and Cordelia streets and Brisbane's subtropical climate.

The design incorporates generous landscaped setbacks, a masonry podium wrapped with planting, large north-facing balconies, and a slender tower profile intended to maximise natural light, cross ventilation and long-range views. The rooftop has been conceived as a wellness-focused retreat overlooking Brisbane, with amenities positioned to capture views towards Mount Coot-tha and the CBD.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c5f99e84-6ad8-4a87-82d1-869685b754d2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20tower%20perspective.png?VersionId=Gw0IuJaSAlk.tvGBxInhZOcQAdIB..2b" />

The planning submission positions the proposal as a response to both changing market conditions and Brisbane's Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning reforms.

McNab acquired the site after the previous approval was granted, with the existing scheme no longer reflecting current residential market demands, economic conditions, construction challenges, construction efficiencies or the quality of development outcome now being pursued, the planning report noted.

McNab continues to expand its residential development pipeline across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The developer recently launched The Tannery in West End, securing more than 60 per cent of apartments before the project's public release. It is also delivering Elements Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise and Lucia Highgate Hill, an eight-apartment boutique development overlooking the Brisbane River.

McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower

A steeply sloping Bellevue Hill site is set to accommodate a new mid-rise apartment development, with plans lodged for 20 homes that respond to the site's dramatic topography.

The proposal for the consolidated land at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/138a-140-bellevue-road-bellevue-hill-nsw-2023">138A-140 Bellevue Road</a> has been designed by Sydney architecture practice Common Office, which has used the site’s substantial fall to distribute the building’s scale and unlock 20 apartments without presenting the full height to the street.&nbsp;

“The unique design strategy leverages the site’s substantial topographical fall to facilitate increased density, presenting a seven-storey profile to Bellevue Road while rising to 10 storeys at the rear,” Common Office said in its architectural design report.

The apartment mix spans one, two, three- and four-bedroom residences. Four two-bedroom apartments are designated as affordable housing, while the plans also include two adaptable dwellings. The mix is majority three-beds, with the typical three-bed apartment offering around 144 sqm internally, with balconies of around 15 sqm.

The affordable housing component represents 15 per cent of the residential floor area and allows the project to access additional height and floor space under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions. The site also falls within the inner area of the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy because it is within 400 metres walking distance of Double Bay Town Centre.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1230d0f-3bfa-4a11-abaf-0928c66ef345" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da.png?VersionId=dZeMK3P.OutGjN8ycjsxm8uNsj_QFWQv" />

Common Office has arranged the building around a masonry podium and a lighter upper volume, drawing on two recurring elements of Bellevue Hill’s established architecture: sandstone bases and the vertical proportions of local Inter-war Art Deco apartment buildings.

“The proposal is governed by a holistic design language that reconciles the solid horizontal masonry of the neighbourhood’s podiums with the elegant verticality of its Art Deco heritage,” the architect said.

“The building maintains a consistent rhythmic logic utilising deep recesses and a sophisticated material transition to break down the 10-storey scale into a series of articulated, human-scale volumes.”

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0147f503-1af1-4d51-97fb-c2f1cba63a9d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20bldg.png?VersionId=GoW7q3NlK67OpnePXhk7zvklrlKb72Qc" />

Large-format sandstone tiles will define the lower levels, establishing a robust base that negotiates the change in elevation from Bellevue Road. Above, red-tinted precast concrete frames, recessed balconies, anodised aluminium screens and expanded metal details will create a more vertically expressed façade. Integrated planter beds will introduce greenery across balcony edges and recessed sections of the building.

The elongated northern façade has been divided into three recessed vertical masses to reduce its perceived length. Triangular window elements and metal privacy screens reference the geometry of nearby Art Deco buildings while controlling overlooking toward surrounding homes. The southern elevation will incorporate further privacy screening, landscaped edges and deep balconies to maintain light and ventilation.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e8679cf1-18bc-4447-8a0f-0052b94ab83c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da%20rooftop.png?VersionId=5SQqQqRFf76rvE2p1TbxJSweMN70AIbc" />

Private and communal landscaping is distributed throughout the development. A landscaped garden apartment is positioned within the lower portion of the site, while a communal terrace on Level 5 will include a central timber deck, barbecue facilities, resident planting plots and areas for outdoor dining and informal gatherings.

Common Office described the terrace as an elevated sanctuary designed to capture district views and sunlight. Its planting strategy incorporates endemic species associated with the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, extending the landscape vertically through the building and providing habitat for local flora and fauna.

A second communal outdoor area is proposed at roof level, with built-in seating, paved gathering areas and perimeter planting.

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction. Positive Investment Enterprise is delivering the 16-apartment Kew Palm House on Birriga Road, while Chanine Developments is also under construction at Florian, a 36-apartment project on Banksia Road.

&nbsp;

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction.

First Look: Apartment development pitched for Bellevue Hill, Double Bay fringe

South Brisbane's apartment pipeline continues to build momentum, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/trk-property-group">TRK Property Group</a> lodging plans for a 161-apartment tower on Montague Road as developers accelerate investment across the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

The proposal for 176–186 Montague Road would replace an existing office building with a 20-storey residential tower designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, adding to a growing pipeline of high-density projects reshaping one of Brisbane's fastest-evolving inner-city precincts.

The project has been conceived as a "living building", featuring a flowing tower form, extensive vertical landscaping, and generous communal spaces that respond to the evolving Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

TRK Property Group Development Director Matt Kan said the project reflected the confidence developers have in South Brisbane's long-term future.

"South Brisbane is entering an incredibly exciting period, and we see Montague Road sitting right at the heart of that evolution," Kan said.

"With the former Visy site directly opposite us and significant investment planned throughout the broader Kurilpa precinct, there is a real sense of momentum around this part of the city and what it will become over the coming years.

"For TRK, this is an opportunity to be part of that next chapter and deliver a project that responds to where the precinct is heading, while contributing to the continued evolution of Brisbane's river edge."

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="590fe1ad-f892-4446-a679-80e33a16d029" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20tower%20facade.png?VersionId=uOJStrcKpyHFcPE1w6_9SMAFzVMCcZll" />

The scheme includes a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, incorporating multi-purpose rooms in selected residences to provide additional flexibility for home offices or expanded living areas. The proposed mix comprises 15 one-bedroom, 13 one-bedroom plus MPR, 73 two-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom plus MPR, 30 three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom apartments.

Rather than adopting a conventional rectilinear tower, COX Architecture has developed a sculpted form inspired by the movement of the Brisbane River.

"The proposal has been designed by COX Architecture as a 'living building' that responds to the site's riverine setting, floodplain history and evolving urban context within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct," the planning report states.

"The architectural form draws from the fluid nature of the Brisbane River, with a curved and undulating tower form that creates a varied architectural edge and avoids a conventional rectilinear tower expression."

The podium has also been designed as an architectural feature rather than a conventional parking structure, with cascading planting, screening and natural-toned materials softening its appearance. Resident parking is elevated above ground level to address the site's flood constraints, while habitable apartments sit above flood planning levels. Upper-level communal facilities are designed to accommodate shelter-in-place arrangements during major flood events.

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="01fa15d0-90df-46c7-9555-7941fc45373c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20podium.png?VersionId=mHyua.w1pHGBt9qEdWzrlsv.leztUCwO" />

Communal amenity is a major focus of the proposal. Around 1,815 sqm of shared resident space is proposed across the ground floor, level 19 and the rooftop, including co-working areas, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, wellness facilities, dining and gathering areas, lawn spaces, a rooftop pool and spa, and extensive landscaping. At street level, a landscaped forecourt and approximately 345 sqm of publicly accessible open space along Montague Road are intended to improve the pedestrian experience while activating the building's frontage.

The development will provide 163 car spaces, including 152 resident bays and 11 visitor spaces, together with 144 bicycle spaces incorporating resident storage, visitor parking, bicycle maintenance facilities and e-mobility charging infrastructure.

The site sits within one of Brisbane's fastest-changing inner-city precincts, less than two kilometres from the CBD and within easy reach of South Bank, West End, the Queensland Cultural Centre and extensive public transport connections. The Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning framework is encouraging higher-density residential development to help meet Brisbane's housing supply targets while supporting walkable, transit-oriented neighbourhoods.

TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans

Article summary

<ul data-end="785" data-start="311">
	<li data-end="459" data-section-id="5hbcyr" data-start="311">Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at Skye Kangaroo Point, headlined by a two-storey sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm.</li>
	<li data-end="561" data-section-id="1p7lq8n" data-start="460">Early buyer interest suggests the residences could set a new Queensland apartment price record.</li>
	<li data-end="667" data-section-id="1y70z0l" data-start="562">The collection includes four move-in ready penthouses and the highly customised Skye One residence.</li>
	<li data-end="785" data-section-id="yvm0y1" data-start="668">The release caps one of Bri​sbane's most ambitious luxury apartment developments overlooking the Brisbane River.</li>
</ul>

<hr data-end="790" data-start="787" />
Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/skye-residences-by-pikos-kangaroo-point-8-river-terrace-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">Skye by Pikos</a> development in Kangaroo Point, with early buyer interest indicating the flagship residences could eclipse every apartment sale previously recorded in Queensland.

The collection crowns the luxury riverfront development with five residences, including four completed penthouses and Skye One, a two-level sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm that will be tailored to its eventual owner.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374075]

Wanting to offer a fully customisable home, Pikos is offering Skye One as a blank canvas, allowing the buyer to work alongside the developer's design team to customise the home's layout, finishes and internal spaces.

The residence will feature a 247 sqm private rooftop terrace with its own swimming pool, sauna, steam room, outdoor kitchen and multiple entertaining areas overlooking the Brisbane River and CBD skyline.

The remaining four penthouses have been completed and are ready for immediate occupation, each offering four bedrooms, expansive open-plan living areas, soaring ceilings and private lift access.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374059]

One of the defining features throughout the project is its use of Roman Classic Travertine, with more than 20,000 sqm of the natural stone imported from Italy after being personally selected by Pikos Group Founder and Executive Director Pedro Pikos, interior designer Julie Williamson and third-generation stone specialist Mario Caucci.

Pikos said the penthouse collection represented the culmination of the company's long-term vision for Skye.

"True legacy isn't measured by what we build today, but by what endures tomorrow," Pikos said.

"Our ambition is to create places that become more valuable with time, enrich the lives of generations, and stand as timeless landmarks long after we've stepped away."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374060]

Williamson said the interiors were inspired by the natural character of Kangaroo Point and the Brisbane River rather than international design trends.

"Materiality tells the story of a place," Williamson said.

"We looked to the movement of the Brisbane River, the texture of the cliff face and the warmth of the surrounding landscape to create interiors that feel understated, enduring and unmistakably Brisbane."

Positioned above the Kangaroo Point cliffs, Skye places residents within walking distance of Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank and James Street while offering uninterrupted river and city views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=90059]

Myriam Robin

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