<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVATION
As the property market continues to recover this spring, buyers and sellers are well advised to focus on five key areas that will largely shape the market’s performance. 
Leading into spring, the market conditions seemed to be improving week to week.  
The recovery to date has not been linear across market segments. Some niche markets such as inner-city houses have rebounded strongly whilst apartments in suburbia continue to struggle.
Generalised commentary such as ‘Sydney house prices’ won’t help a Birchgrove home buyer nor will ‘inner city apartments’ assist someone looking to downsize to a waterfront apartment. 
Stock levels/days on market – vendors benefited whilst buyers were left frustrated by the historically low stock levels over winter.
Market pessimists claimed the economic fundamentals were weak – but when there are more buyers than sellers, vendors hold the advantage regardless of the fundamentals.
Sometimes the market can play the other way – whereby the fundamentals are healthy but the market is over supplied with stock, giving buyers an advantage.
The recovery in Perth will look this way when their State economy shows strong improvement, the housing market will initially lag until excess stock levels are cleared. 
CoreLogic monthly index – normally, you would not suggest an index would influence the performance of a market. It is normally the other way around; the market shapes the index’s reading. 
The CoreLogic monthly index accurately tracked the downturn and has quickly become the most credible source of the market performance.
In recent months, the index has shown the market tracking positively which then feeds into buyer confidence.  
With money being cheap and readily available, buyer confidence is the final requirement for the market recovery to really take hold.
We have already seen many sales that suggest the market recovery is becoming more aggressive and reflective of early 2017. 
The CoreLogic monthly index is where many commentators, forecasters and buyers will take their cue. 
Rental market – the inner west rental market is falling, across the housing and apartment market. This is likely to impact the market in one of two ways.
Firstly, demand will be muted as investors are less likely to be interested in buying a rental property at a time of falling income.
Secondly, existing landlords may be tempted to sell by the higher sales prices on offer, at a time of lower rental returns. This could potentially add to stock levels (supply).
We have already seen this trend over winter as a disproportionally high number of landlords opted to sell rather than re-let their property as it became vacant.  
Bidders per property is without doubt the best metric to measure market depth. During the downturn, finding one fair and reasonable offer was a feat for vendors. This is why many properties were either ‘Prior to Auction’ or were simply ‘Withdrawn’.
When faced with an environment of one or no buyers, trying to engineer a competitive auction is optimistic. 
In recent times, the number of bidders has increased enormously. We are regularly seeing up to 5 or 6 bidders per property, highlighting depth in the market which will ultimately push prices higher. 
The apartment market has copped an absolute shellacking since the Opal Tower cracked last December.
Interestingly, buyers have still shown a propensity to purchase apartments, albeit with added caution.
If there is one common denominator in the high few profile instances of defects, it is high rise apartments less than 7 years old. This will inadvertently make older, established apartment blocks more appealing to home buyers.
A complete loss of buyer confidence in the apartment market would be catastrophic for the market and the economy. Hopefully this can be avoided.
PETER O'MALLEY is sales consultant with <a href="https://www.harrispartners.com.au/" target="_blank">Harris Partners Real Estate Agents</a> and has been successfully selling real estate in Sydney's Inner West since 2000.
</body></html>

pomalley-BdcQDjSqwv

Housing market conditions improving heading into the spring: Peter O’Malley

<html><body>
2013 will be remembered as the year the Sydney property market came back to life. After three tough years where prices went backwards, buyers were suddenly the ones on the back foot as a number of factors combined to create fierce buyer competition. The competition was most noticeable on inner city houses under $1.5 million and apartments under $700,000.
There are a number of factors that could be credited for causing such a stellar year in the property market. In reality, it was probably not one particular factor that caused the market rally, rather a number of factors combining to cause a perfect selling environment.
Interest rates hit an all time low during 2013 as the RBA cut the cash rate to 2.5% in August. This cycle of rate cuts has seen the cash rate go from 4.75% in November 2010 down to 2.5% within three years. Whilst there were other factors that assisted the housing market in 2013, nothing had the positive impact on property as the record low rates did. Commentary is split as to whether the next move in 2014 will be up or down though.
Unemployment held at reasonable levels throughout the year, peaking at 5.7%. This was lower than predicted and was a determining factor in supporting the property market. Low interest rates are not much good to someone whom is unemployed. Indeed, the weakest housing market in Australia is in Tasmania where unemployment is stuck above 8%. This proves that unemployment is a bigger determinant to the fortunes of the housing market than interest rates, a point that is often lost in commentary.
Self-managed super funds entered the market in dynamic fashion in 2013. As the returns on bank deposits went down, SMSFs went looking for risk. Many people have bought real estate now that their SMSFs can borrow against an asset. This added an influx of new buyers into the market competing with home buyers and traditional investors. More buyers entering the inner city market that already faces chronic supply issues helped pushed prices up. As prices went up, the sentiment toward property became more positive, creating a positive feedback loop.
Chinese buyers entered the Sydney market place in a big way in 2013. To see another sector of buyers enter the marketplace that was already experiencing near perfect conditions added further fuel to the market. Agents across Sydney reported amazing sale prices where Chinese buyers fixated on a particular location and just kept bidding the price up. The emergence of Chinese buyers entering the market place was no media beat up. One only had to witness an open house or two to realise the presence of strong Chinese buying.
The stock market’s performance is often under rated when it comes to the property market. The All Ordinaries begun the year at 4,664 and pushed up to over 5,200 by December 2013. In the middle of 2012, the All Ords was at 4,135, giving stock market investors a 30% return in 18 months. Whilst interest rates inspire many in the sub $1.5 million bracket to buy real estate, the prestige end of the market is more susceptible to the stock market performance. For the first time since 2007, the prestige end of the market came to life. Whilst many vendors of prestige properties actually sold for less than they had bought back in 2007, the mere fact that transactions were taking place was a positive sign.
Many were surprised to see the property market perform so well in 2013 in the face of a deteriorating economy, global uncertainty and increasing government debt. But perform well it did.
 
<hr>
 Peter O'Malley is sales consultant with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.harrispartners.com.au/" rel="nofollow">Harris Partners Real Estate Agents</a> and has been successfully selling real estate in Sydney's Inner West since 2000.
He is also the author of Real Estate Uncovered: A probing look behind the facade of Australia’s property world.
</body></html>

It was a very good year: 2013 in review

<html><body>
The internet is a game changer for the real estate industry. Fortunately, many developments have been positive for both home buyers and home sellers. Marketing costs have reduced while the quality of promotion per property has improved. Email has made communication with a critical mass of qualified buyers easier, quicker and cheaper than ever before. That’s the upside. Here’s the downside: the Internet never stops connecting the dots and it never forgets.
What that means is your property has an un-erasable digital footprint. A digital footprint is a databank of information collated over time on any property that has been advertised, sold or withdrawn from the market in the past. This includes information on every property on the market right now.
There are positives and negatives here for both buyers and sellers. And you need to know them. Every property listed in Australia is promoted on at least one of two major real estate websites realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. Both of these sites are either owned or controlled by large media companies.
These same media companies also have ownership or affiliations with the two main real estate data companies in Australia — RP Data and Australian Property Monitors. Both provide detailed information about the real estate market which is quoted and re-quoted in the media. While the accuracy of that information is quite good, the right to collect it and use it is somewhat controversial.
Very few people know these companies automatically share everything there is to know about the quarter of a million properties advertised every week in Australia. Whenever your property is put up for sale, auction or rent, the price and the name of the agent you are using and the date the online advertisement was uploaded is automatically recorded in that property’s history. If a property sells or not, if it is passed in at auction or withdrawn from the market, is also recorded. This is your property’s digital footprint — its ‘reputation’, there for anyone to see.
The downside is how that reputation may be perceived. All this public information is forming a ‘pseudo credit rating’ for your property. The less activity recorded against your property the better off you are because less information is gathered. However, when more activity (buying and selling or attempting to buy and sell) is recorded, the more likely people are to assume that something is wrong with your home.
Here’s one way your home could acquire a less than savoury reputation. The previous vendor overpriced the property and had a low motivation to sell. They experienced a lengthy campaign as they tried to find a buyer who would pay an above market price. The vendor may have even had multiple pricing strategies and used several different agents to obtain a sale. Unfortunately, this entire process was recorded against this property’s advertised history. By the time the vendor lowered their selling price to match the current market price, buyers had already tracked the property’s past advertising history. Under these circumstances, the vendor’s negotiating power was compromised.
And it is all there for potential buyers of your home to see when you’re ready to sell. Besides official real estate data records, a quick search on Google will also reveal:
• previous rental or sale ads
• development applications submitted to council
• reported events at the property such as rowdy parties, breakins, triple murders or the discovery of methamphetamine labs
• businesses that have been run from the property
• any previous publicity of any kind which the property may have attracted.
If the major Sunday papers turn up to do a story on your auction success or failure, potentially up to a million people can read about it online the next day.
And that is just the free information. You can also pay a fee to access the entire advertised history of a property or you could scour independent property analysts’ research on property histories.
Here’s an example of how everybody’s reputation precedes them in the internet age.
Gary and Denise finally found a perfect property in the chic inner west Sydney suburb of Leichhardt. It appeared to meet all their buying criteria and it was affordable. After a four month property search, they had finally found the one. However, before securing the property, Gary had a bit of a look around online. The property had sold four times in eight years. Rightly or wrongly, he concluded from this information alone that there was something amiss and passed on buying it. Gary may believe that knowing the transaction history of the home saved him from buying a lemon. The owner of the same home may also believe that the same information presented without any other context robbed him of finding a genuine buyer and negotiating a successful sale.
While information of itself is neutral, each end user will form their own opinion about what that information means to them. Buyers will always look for some advantage in negotiations if the respective property has a ‘tainted’ market history. It is crucial that homeowners are aware of this and ensure they don’t damage the reputation of their major asset.
Protecting the value of your property 
There are two important things you can do to avoid having your pricing and advertising history used against you. The first is to never include the address of your property when marketing it.
The second is to consider promoting the property without a published price. Early in your campaign, have the agent verbally quote your price expectation to buyers. If buyers think the price is incorrect, at least you won’t have to change your published pricing strategy later.
Another prudent marketing strategy is to only publish a price after you have received some genuine market feedback from fair-minded buyers. Promoting your property publicly with the wrong price, be it too high or too low, will put you at a major disadvantage.
Good or bad? 
Given the huge impact digital information now has on the property market, it begs the question: is the availability of all this information good or bad? The answer is: neither. The availability of information is here to stay and how people interpret it is not controlled. Buyers and sellers will form correct and incorrect conclusions from the same information according to the circumstances they find themselves in.
Often the digital footprint can help buyers make better choices yet many can also rush to conclusions without having the full picture.
Buyers will often form their offer on the basis of what the owner previously paid for the property and assess the general market growth (or deterioration) since that point in time. On one level, this seems logical for a buyer. As a seller, this process of determining value can seem unfair particularly if they happen to have paid below market value for the property.
If the seller has made substantial renovations since buying, all of these costs may not be reflected in the buyer’s offer.
None of this may be recorded in the digital footprint. This is exactly why both the buyer and the seller can’t rely on the Internet to be the font of all knowledge. So buyers: beware of a half-told truth. Sellers: beware of your home’s online reputation and do what you can to prevent misinterpretation.
Because the internet never forgets.
<hr>
 
<img style="float: left;" alt="real-estate-uncovered-book" height="193" width="200" src="/images/stories/2013/10/01/real-estate-uncovered-book.jpg">This is an exerpt from the book Real Estate Uncovered: A probing look behind the facade of Australia’s property world by Peter O'Malley and published by Authors First.
The book is on sale now.
Peter O'Malley is sales consultant with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.harrispartners.com.au/">Harris Partners Real Estate Agents</a> and has been successfully selling real estate in Sydney's Inner West since 2000.
</body></html>

Watch your tracks, the digital footprints your property leaves beind: Peter O'Malley

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

Joel Robinson

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-2" dir="auto">
<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-2" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:5a5ab36c-8dd3-454c-b456-c501f22f0eb4-0" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:5a5ab36c-8dd3-454c-b456-c501f22f0eb4-0" dir="auto">
The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
</section>
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Local Little Bay residents, along with buyers from premium postcodes across Sydney’s affluent Eastern Suburbs, have dominated purchases in developer-builder Urban Property Group’s first Eastern Suburbs apartment development, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a>.

The $250 million coastal project, one of the first new developments in the area in several years, has proven particularly popular with downsizers, especially those from Coogee and Bondi. One Double Bay downsizer paid $4.7 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, setting a new local apartment price record in the process.

Buyers have been attracted to the combination of coastal tranquillity, premium design and amenity-rich neighbourhood living. The walkable village setting, along with proximity to three of Sydney’s leading golf courses, New South Wales Golf Club, St Michael’s Golf Club and The Coast Golf Club, has also been a key drawcard.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352689]

Built across two low-rise buildings designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hill-thalis-architecture-urban-projects-pty-ltd">Hill Thalis</a> and set along a lush, landscaped green spine, designed by leading landscape architect <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>, ESTE Little Bay offers a collection of one, two, three and four-bedroom residences with interiors by Richards Stanisich.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> Sales Director, Tom McIvor said the response to ESTE has been "nothing short of extraordinary."

“Buyers have been quick to recognise ESTE as a rare opportunity to invest in a coastal sanctuary that offers both seclusion and connectivity to the heart of Sydney,” McIvor said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352687]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">SRM Residential</a> Senior Director, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">Clayton Ross</a> said the local market has responded incredibly well, driven by ESTE’s exceptional location and the rarity it offers.

“We’ve seen strong interest from a variety of buyer groups, all of whom are drawn to the exclusivity and quality of the build and construction by the 4.5-star iCIRT-rated builder / developer, Urban Property Group. There’s truly nothing else like it along Sydney’s coastline.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352690]

The project also includes robust buyer protections, including Resilience Insurance’s Latent Defects Insurance, providing 10 years of structural cover, and an independent iCIRT-rating of the developer.

“The iCIRT-rating adds another layer of confidence,” Ross added. “Buyers see it as a safeguard for their investment and their lifestyle.” A highlight of ESTE’s offering is its exclusive wellness amenities, including a heated rooftop infinity pool and outdoor heated spa, a state-of-the-art Technogym fitness centre, and a sauna.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a> is topped out and is on track to complete towards the end of 2026, with residents moving in before Christmas.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112343]

Peter O'Malley

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Peter O&#039;Malley