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The property clock is a simple broad brush means to suggest where property markets are - and what direction prices are moving in.
The latest property clock - this time on units across Australia - has been published by valuers Herron odd White. Perth is at 3'oclock.
<a href="/images/2015/06/24/propertyclockunits.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/06/24/propertyclockunits.png" alt="" width="895" height="847">
 
Click here to see the <a href="/expert-insights/buying/sydney-melbourne-and-brisbane-on-the-june-2015-property-clock">Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane June 2015 property clock</a>. 
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Perth in decline on the June 2015 national property clock

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The Block television personality Shelley Craft and her estate agent husband, Christian Sergiacomi, have sold their Byron Bay hinterland home, The Rise at a loss.
<a href="https://www.byronbaypropertysales.com.au/listing-71213-The-Rise" target="_blank">The tropical five bedroom, three bathroom hideaway </a>on 6,100 square metres at Ewingsdale in the hinterland fetched $1.5 million when settlement details emerged earlier this year.
It has been home to The Block co-presenter and husband, known as Serge, who has been a cameraman on The Block, since they bought it in 2010 for $1.61 million.
The five-bedroon Ewingsdale offering has around 290 square metres floor space.
Jeremy Bennett, of Byron Bay Property Sales has it listed at $1.5 million plus.
The upgrading couple spent $2.05 million on an 8,050 square metre property at neighbouring McLeods Shoot, a substantial discount as it had been initially listed for sale at $3.5 million-plus in 2010.
The couple built on the property which was long owned by the McGettigan pioneering family who who first settled in Byron Bay in 1882.
 
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Byron Bay's bounceback queried after Shelley Craft takes a loss

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Vino Del Mar, the 1936 Spanish Mission home in Clifton Gardens, has been sold.
No price disclosure, but the last price guidance had been around $4.5 million for the house above Chowder Bay beach.
Its interiors feature soaring ceilings, timber beams, wrought-iron chandeliers, polished tallow-wood floors, solid timber doors and classical french windows.
Its stone-flagged terraces and mosaic-tiled pool are a touch of old Hollywood glamour.
The Morella Road house on 700 square metres was one of five designed by architect Allan Stafford after he returned to Sydney from California.
It was built for George Eckblade, managing director of Wrigley's Australia, and his wife, Helen.
Stafford had just returned from California where he was inspired by Spanish colonial architecture featuring white-washed stucco walls and terracotta roof tiles.
Originally named El Antonio, the house was a labour of love for the Eckblades taking some seven years to complete.
Title Tattle first recalls its being sold in 1988 for $875,000 when bought from barrister Edward St John QC and wife Valerie. St John, who died in 1994, was the maverick federal member for Warringah elected in 1966 against Jim McClelland, beaten in 1969 by the Michael Mackellar, having quit the Liberal Party several months earlier in a dispute over prime minister John Gorton's suitability to lead the country. Michael Mackellar died just earlier this year. 
It had been the St Johns' home since paying 16,000 pounds in 1960.
Not sure just when it got its name, Vino Del Mar but Vino Del Mar's latest vendors were the Molloys' who listed <a href="https://www.belleproperty.com/selling/NSW/North-Shore-~-Lower/Mosman/House/8P2570-30a-morella-road-mosman-nsw-2088" target="_blank">through Belle Property's Tim Foote and Mark Jackson</a> after just two years.
They bought for $4.5 million from the cinematographer Peter Menzies jnr and his producer-business manager wife, Denise Heffley Menzies, who were always reminded of Chateau Marmont hotel in the Hollywood Hills.
They had bought the property for $4,021,000 in 2008 from retired television commercial producer Maggie Lewis and her husband, Graeme Walker who returned to New Zealand.
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Vino Del Mar, the Clifton Gardens Spanish Mission home sells again

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The widening cracks in Australia’s housing system can no longer be concealed. The extraordinary recent debate has laid bare both the depth of public concern and the vacuum of coherent policy to promote housing affordability. The community is clamouring for leadership and change.
Especially as it affects our major cities, housing unaffordability is not just a problem for those priced out of a decent place to live. It also damages the efficiency of the entire urban economy as lower paid workers are forced further from jobs, adding to costly traffic congestion and pushing up unemployment.
There have recently been some positive developments at the state level, such as Western Australia’s ten year commitment to supply 20,000 affordable homes for low and moderate income earners. Meanwhile, following South Australia’s lead, Victoria plans to mandate affordable housing targets for developments on public land. And in March the NSW State Premier announced a fund to generate $1bn in affordable housing investment.
But although welcome, these initiatives will not turn the affordability problem around while tax settings continue to support existing homeowners and investors at the expense of first time buyers and renters. Moreover, apart from a brief interruption 2008-2012, the Commonwealth has been steadily winding back its explicit housing role for more than 20 years.
The post of housing minister was deleted in 2013, and just last month Government senators dismissed calls for renewed Commonwealth housing policy leadership recommended by the Senate’s extensive (2013-2015)  <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Affordable_housing_2013" target="_blank">Affordable Housing Inquiry</a>. This complacency cannot go unchallenged.
Challenging the 'best left to market' mantra
The mantra adopted by Australian governments since the 1980s that housing provision is “best left to the market” will not wash. Government intervention already influences the housing market on a huge scale, especially through tax concessions to existing property owners, such as negative gearing. Unfortunately, these interventions largely contribute to the housing unaffordability problem rather than its solution.
But first we need to define what exactly constitutes the housing affordability challenge. In reality, it’s not a single problem, but several interrelated issues and any strategic housing plan must specifically address each of these.
Firstly, there is the problem faced by aspiring first home buyers contending with house prices escalating ahead of income growth in hot urban housing markets. The intensification of this issue is clear from the reduced home ownership rate among young adults from 53% in 1990 to just 34% in 2011 – a decline only minimally offset by the entry of well-off young households into the housing market as first-time investors.
Secondly, there is the problem of unaffordability in the private rental market affecting tenants able to keep arrears at bay only by going without basic essentials, or by tolerating unacceptable conditions such as overcrowding or disrepair. <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/ahuri_51018_fr" target="_blank">Newly published research</a> shows that, by 2011, more than half of Australia’s low income tenants – nearly 400,000 households – were in this way being pushed into poverty by unaffordable rents.
Thirdly, there is the long-term decline in public housing and the public finance affordability challenge posed by the need to tackle this. In NSW, for example, <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/publications/performance-audit-reports/2013-reports/making-the-best-use-of-public-housing" target="_blank">30-40% of all public housing is officially sub-standard</a>.
Why the 'build more houses' approach won't work
A factor underlying all these issues is the long-running tendency of housing construction numbers to lag behind household growth. But while action to maximise supply is unquestionably part of the required strategy, it is a lazy fallacy to claim that the solution is simply to ‘build more homes’.
Even if you could somehow double new construction in (say) 2016, this would expand overall supply of properties being put up for sale in that year only very slightly. More importantly, the growing inequality in the way housing is occupied (more and more second homes and underutilised homes) blunts any potential impact of extra supply in moderating house prices. Re-balancing demand and supply must surely therefore involve countering inefficient housing occupancy by re-tuning tax and social security settings.
Where maximising housing supply can directly ease housing unaffordability is through expanding the stock of affordable rental housing for lower income earners. Not-for-profit community housing providers - the entities best placed to help here - have expanded fast in recent years. But their potential remains constrained by the cost and terms of loan finance and by their ability to secure development sites.
Housing is different to other investment assets
Fundamentally, one of the reasons we’ve ended up in our current predicament is that the prime function of housing has transitioned from “usable facility” to “tradeable commodity and investment asset”. Policies designed to promote home ownership and rental housing provision have morphed into subsidies expanding property asset values.
Along with pro-speculative tax settings, this changed perception about the primary purpose of housing has inflated the entire urban property market. The OECD rates Australia as <a href="https://www.oecd.org/eco/outlook/focusonhouseprices.htm" target="_blank">the fourth or fifth most “over-valued” housing market in the developed world</a>. Property values have become detached from economic fundamentals; a longer term problem exaggerated by the boom of the past three years. As well as pushing prices beyond the reach of first home buyers, this also undermines possible market-based solutions by swelling land values which damage rental yields, undermining the scope for affordable housing. Moreover, this places Australia among those economies which, in OECD-speak, are “most vulnerable to a price correction”.
While moderated property prices could benefit national welfare, no one wants to trigger a price crash. Rather, governments need to face up to the challenge of managing a “soft landing” by phasing out the tax system’s economically and socially unjustifiable market distortions and re-directing housing subsidies to progressive effect.
A 10-point plan for improved housing affordability
Underpinned by a decade’s research on fixing Australia’s housing problems, we therefore propose the following priority actions for Commonwealth, State and Territory governments acting in concert:
<ul>
<li>
Moderate speculative investment in housing by a phased reduction of <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/ahuri_judith_yates_research_paper" target="_blank">existing tax incentives favouring rental investors</a> (concessional treatment of negative gearing and capital gains tax liability)
</li>
<li>
Redirect the additional tax receipts accruing from reduced concessions to support provision of affordable rental housing at a range of price points and to offer appropriate incentives for prospective home buyers with limited means.
</li>
<li>
By developing structured financing arrangements (such as housing supply bonds backed by a government guarantee), actively engage with the super funds and other institutional players who have shown interest in investing in rental housing.
</li>
<li>
Replace stamp duty (an inefficient tax on mobility) with a broad-based property value tax (a healthy incentive to fully utilise property assets)
</li>
<li>
Expand availability of more affordable hybrid ‘partial ownership’ tenures such as shared equity – to provide ‘another rung on the ladder’
</li>
<li>
Implement the Henry Tax Review recommendations on enhancing Rent Assistance to improve affordability for low income tenants especially in the capital city housing markets where rising rents have far outstripped the value of RA payments.
</li>
<li>
Reduce urban land price gradients (<a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/download/ahuri_51003_pp" target="_blank">compounding housing inequity and economic segregation</a>) by improving mass transit infrastructure and encouraging targeted regional development to redirect growth
</li>
<li>
Continue to <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/downloads/publications/EvRevReports/AHURI_Final_Report_No191_Quantifying_planning_system_performance_and_Australia_s_housing_reform_agenda_an_investigative_panel.pdf" target="_blank">simplify landuse planning</a> processes to facilitate housing supply while retaining scope for community involvement and proper controls on inappropriate development
</li>
<li>
Require local authorities to develop local housing needs assessments and equip them with the means to secure mandated affordable housing targets within private housing development projects over a certain size
</li>
<li>
Develop a costed and funded plan for existing public housing to see it upgraded to a decent standard and placed on a firm financial footing within 10 years.
</li>
</ul>
While not every interest group would endorse all of our proposals, most are widely supported by policymakers, academics and advocacy communities, as well as throughout the affordable housing industry. As the Senate Inquiry demonstrated beyond doubt, an increasingly dysfunctional housing system is exacting a growing toll on national welfare. This a policy area crying out for responsible bipartisan reform.
Bill Randolph is Director, City Futures, Infrastructure in the Built Environment at UNSW Australia
Judith Yates is Honorary Associate Professor at University of Sydney
Michael Darcy is Director of Urban Research Centre at University of Western Sydney
Nicole Gurran is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at University of Sydney
Peter Phibbs is Chair of Urban Planning and Policy at University of Sydney
Vivienne Milligan is Chair of City Futures Research Centre, Housing Policy and Practice at UNSW Australia
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Tackling housing unaffordability: a 10-point national plan

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GUEST OBSERVATION
In recent weeks, there have been signs sentiment may be changing around the contentious policy of negative gearing.
There are well-rehearsed arguments on both sides. Critics argue that the deduction of property losses from other sources of income (such as wages) is a tax shelter that imposes an unfair burden on other taxpayers. Defenders of the policy suggest that it is used by prudent savers to “get ahead”, and by high income individuals to lower unduly high tax burdens that blunt work incentives.
However, these arguments are tax policy concerns since taxpayers can negatively gear other financial investments such as shares. There are housing policy specific issues that instead warrant a focus on housing; three deserve particular attention.
The first is a familiar refrain. Given a fixed supply of land, negative gearing advantages property investors who are better able to out-bid other land users. Part of the tax break gets shifted into higher land and housing prices; some other users of land – first home buyers, for example – are “crowded-out”.
But a second reason, related to so-called tax “clientele effects” has been rarely mentioned. It is a more nuanced influence, yet it is important to an understanding of the supply side effects of reform in this area.
The Australian private rental housing stock is relatively large by international standards and mostly held by “mum and dad” investors. There are not enough high tax bracket investors willing and able to hold all the housing in this tenure. Lower tax bracket investors must be enticed into the market. These investors are often retirees looking for secure, regular flows of income, and are attracted to those segments of the market where rental yields are relatively high.
On the other hand, the appeal of property investment to the high tax bracket investor is that they can negatively gear the asset’s acquisition, yet an important part of the returns (capital gains) are lightly taxed compared to other types of investment income. The consequence is that high tax bracket investors crowd into segments of the market offering high capital growth but low rental yields. Low tax bracket investors concentrate in segments offering high rental yields but lower capital growth.
The removal of negative gearing is then likely to have supply side impacts that are not as straightforward as has been suggested in some of the media commentary. To be sure some high tax bracket investors will withdraw and as price pressures ease and rental markets tighten, rental yields will rise.
But those higher rental yields will prompt some growth in the number of low tax bracket investors, and especially so in today’s low interest rate environment. As low tax bracket investors face tighter borrowing constraints, the overall supply side impact will be negative. But it will not be the collapse in supply that some fear.
The third reason for change with respect to negative gearing and housing is perhaps the most important in the current context. The share of investment property loans in total debt has tripled from one-tenth to three-tenths in a little over two decades. Investors now take up a higher share of the value of new loans than do first home buyers.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, investment housing accounted for 40% of the total value of housing finance commitments in April 2015. Of the dwellings that secured housing finance commitments within the owner occupation sector, only 15% was attributable to first home buyers. The presence of housing investors on such a large scale is a potential source of instability, especially if highly geared.
In their seminal research, the late Professor John Quigley and his colleague Karl Case note that when markets slump home owner behaviour differs from that of other investors.
They can “consume” the housing they have bought – by enjoying the surroundings and the comforts of home – and provided mortgage payments are met, they are invariably willing to “sit out” the slump. This can be an important source of stability in housing markets.
But property investors have not bought a dwelling to live in it. When prices slump some if not many will cut their losses and seek a safe haven for their capital elsewhere, especially if they are highly geared. Our research finds that negatively geared investors are more likely to terminate rental leases than equity-oriented investors. The former are also prone to churn in and out of rental investments as they refinance to preserve tax shelter benefits.
When large numbers of indebted investors come to bank on continued house price gains, and low interest rates, the resilience of housing markets is undermined. Phasing out negative gearing should be a priority for a housing policy fit for the 21st century.
Rachel Ong is Principal Research Fellow, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre at Curtin University. She can be contacted <a href="https://business.curtin.edu.au/research/centres-institutions/bankwest-curtin-economics-centre/staff.cfm/Rachel.Ong" target="_blank">here</a>. 
Gavin Wood is Professor of Housing at RMIT University. He can be contacted <a href="https://www1.rmit.edu.au/staff/wood_gavin" target="_blank">here</a>.
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The real reasons negative gearing on housing should be phased out

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GUEST OBSERVER
The NSW government handed down its first <a href="https://www.budget.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">budget</a> after the March state election, promising new infrastructure, jobs, housing developments and four more years of back-to-back budget surpluses.
The budget papers <a href="/news">said</a> the NSW government would deliver “an underlying $713 million surplus in 2015-16 and strong surpluses in each of the following three years.”
The budget sets aside $591 million for new schools, hospitals upgrades and light rail projects in Sydney, and $400 million to accelerate land release and housing development.
The transport infrastructure goodies are welcome, and targeted to support commercial and residential development in growth areas like the harbour side Barangaroo precinct and the North West.
Yet, with the booming housing market alone delivering in excess of $5 billion to the state’s revenue in 2014-15, big project spending is easy. Enacting reform that reduces the state’s reliance on property taxes is hard.
<h2>Missed opportunity for reform</h2>
Gladys Berejiklian’s first budget as NSW Treasurer misses an opportunity to make bold and much needed economic reform in a touchy area: stamp duty.
Killing off stamp duty would be a bold but ultimately good reform.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has shown stamp duty reform is possible. The SA government has moved to abolish stamp duty on commercial property transactions by 2018. It will also immediately stop charging stamp duty on the non-property part of business transfers.
Scrapping stamp duty has subsequently been supported by the Property Council of Australia. But with federal grant money falling and stamp duty receipts growing as a proportion of budget revenue, the NSW government’s addiction to it will continue.
<h2>Bad news for prospective homeowners</h2>
The planned budget surpluses through to 2019 rely on the hot housing market persisting, with revenue from stamp duty forecast to continue to grow through to 2019. So, unfortunately for current and prospective homeowners in NSW, the budget’s increasing reliance on stamp duty revenue means the government has no interest in reform that will cut off this source of funds through lower property prices.
While there are budget measures that target increasing the total supply of property in NSW and particularly growth centres in and around Sydney, there will be little change to the “effective” supply of property without a reconsideration of property taxes.
Effective supply is the part of the market that is actually available for purchase. All else equal, restricting effective supply drives higher prices.
As a tax charged on every real estate transaction, stamp duty acts as a drag on the real estate market that lowers the effective supply. Notwithstanding the current bubble-like atmosphere, stamp duty discourages housing turnover, reducing the efficiency of the way property assets are distributed, as well as the broader economy by limiting labour force mobility.
Someone selling a house in Sydney at the median price would currently have to pay over $35,000 in stamp duty; enough to dissuade many homeowners looking to move from selling altogether - including those wishing to downsize - and penalising those who need to move, such as for work or because of divorce.
The government has offered an <a href="/news">increased commitment</a> to the Housing Acceleration Fund towards the provision of infrastructure and planning to facilitate housing development in target areas and plans for 664,000 new dwellings in greater metropolitan Sydney over next 15 years, but these measures alone will have little impact on prices.
Rethinking stamp duty
A key risk to the state’s forward budget now is the possibility that property prices and turnover go down. It’s hard to remember, but house prices can and do fall.
It would have been refreshing to see the NSW government demonstrate leadership by taking an innovative approach to property taxes that achieves a good outcome for those left behind in the current boom while the opportunity is available.
Rather than abolish stamp duty altogether, the government could consider a “stratified” reform that applies the duty differently depending on an individual’s existing housing investment. Remove it when the homeowner is selling one property to move to another. Apply it when the seller has multiple properties. Scale it to match the size of the property portfolio. Add a premium when the property is vacant. There are many possible permutations – determine the right balance and the revenue source is still there while the efficiency and accessibility of the market for those looking to enter it improves.
As an example, a tiered stamp duty system operates in Singapore. The Singaporean system charges an <a href="https://www.iras.gov.sg/IRASHome/Other-Taxes/Stamp-Duty-for-Property/Working-out-your-Stamp-Duty/Buying-or-Acquiring-Property/What-is-the-Duty-that-I-Need-to-Pay-as-a-Buyer-or-Transferee-of-Residential-Property/Additional-Buyer-s-Stamp-Duty--ABSD-/" target="_blank">Additional Buyers Stamp Duty</a> based on the residency status and number of properties owned by the buyer.
State and federal leaders are meeting at a July retreat hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Perhaps there, NSW Premier Mike Baird will learn from his South Australian counterpart that reforming stamp duty is not the end of the world.
Danika Wright is a finance lecturer at the University of Sydney. She can be contacted <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/business/staff/danikaw" target="_blank">here</a>.
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New infrastructure but a missed chance to fix stamp duty

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GUEST OBSERVER
The NSW government yesterday handed down its first <a href="https://www.budget.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">budget</a> after the March state election, promising new infrastructure, jobs, housing developments and four more years of back-to-back budget surpluses.
The budget papers <a href="/news">said</a> the NSW government would deliver “an underlying $713 million surplus in 2015-16 and strong surpluses in each of the following three years.”
The budget sets aside $591 million for new schools, hospitals upgrades and light rail projects in Sydney, and $400 million to accelerate land release and housing development.
The transport infrastructure goodies are welcome, and targeted to support commercial and residential development in growth areas like the harbour side Barangaroo precinct and the North West.
Yet, with the booming housing market alone delivering in excess of $5 billion to the state’s revenue in 2014-15, big project spending is easy. Enacting reform that reduces the state’s reliance on property taxes is hard.
Missed opportunity for reform
Gladys Berejiklian’s first budget as NSW Treasurer misses an opportunity to make bold and much needed economic reform in a touchy area: stamp duty.
As I’ve written<a href="https://theconversation.com/killing-off-stamp-duty-a-good-policy-that-no-politician-supports-38536"> </a>previously, killing off stamp duty would be a bold but ultimately good reform.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has shown stamp duty reform is possible. The SA government has moved to abolish stamp duty on commercial property transactions by 2018. It will also immediately stop charging stamp duty on the non-property part of business transfers.
Scrapping stamp duty has subsequently been supported by the Property Council of Australia. But with federal grant money falling and stamp duty receipts growing as a proportion of budget revenue, the NSW government’s addiction to it will continue.
<h2>Bad news for prospective homeowners</h2>
The planned budget surpluses through to 2019 rely on the hot housing market persisting, with revenue from stamp duty forecast to continue to grow through to 2019. So, unfortunately for current and prospective homeowners in NSW, the budget’s increasing reliance on stamp duty revenue means the government has no interest in reform that will cut off this source of funds through lower property prices.
While there are budget measures that target increasing the total supply of property in NSW and particularly growth centres in and around Sydney, there will be little change to the “effective” supply of property without a reconsideration of property taxes.
Effective supply is the part of the market that is actually available for purchase. All else equal, restricting effective supply drives higher prices.
As a tax charged on every real estate transaction, stamp duty acts as a drag on the real estate market that lowers the effective supply. Notwithstanding the current bubble-like atmosphere, stamp duty discourages housing turnover, reducing the efficiency of the way property assets are distributed, as well as the broader economy by limiting labour force mobility.
Someone selling a house in Sydney at the median price would currently have to pay over $35,000 in stamp duty; enough to dissuade many homeowners looking to move from selling altogether - including those wishing to downsize - and penalising those who need to move, such as for work or because of divorce.
The government has offered an <a href="/news">increased commitment</a> to the Housing Acceleration Fund towards the provision of infrastructure and planning to facilitate housing development in target areas and plans for 664,000 new dwellings in greater metropolitan Sydney over next 15 years, but these measures alone will have little impact on prices.
Rethinking stamp duty
A key risk to the state’s forward budget now is the possibility that property prices and turnover go down. It’s hard to remember, but house prices can and do fall.
It would have been refreshing to see the NSW government demonstrate leadership by taking an innovative approach to property taxes that achieves a good outcome for those left behind in the current boom while the opportunity is available.
Rather than abolish stamp duty altogether, the government could consider a “stratified” reform that applies the duty differently depending on an individual’s existing housing investment. Remove it when the homeowner is selling one property to move to another. Apply it when the seller has multiple properties. Scale it to match the size of the property portfolio. Add a premium when the property is vacant. There are many possible permutations – determine the right balance and the revenue source is still there while the efficiency and accessibility of the market for those looking to enter it improves.
As an example, a tiered stamp duty system operates in Singapore. The Singaporean system charges an <a href="https://www.iras.gov.sg/IRASHome/Other-Taxes/Stamp-Duty-for-Property/Working-out-your-Stamp-Duty/Buying-or-Acquiring-Property/What-is-the-Duty-that-I-Need-to-Pay-as-a-Buyer-or-Transferee-of-Residential-Property/Additional-Buyer-s-Stamp-Duty--ABSD-/" target="_blank">Additional Buyers Stamp Duty</a> based on the residency status and number of properties owned by the buyer.
State and federal leaders are meeting at a July retreat hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Perhaps there, NSW Premier Mike Baird will learn from his South Australian counterpart that reforming stamp duty is not the end of the world.
Danika Wright is Lecturer in Finance at University of Sydney. She can be contacted <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/business/staff/danikaw" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Killing off NSW stamp duty would be bold but good: NSW budget commentary

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Some 6.7% of resold homes across Perth in the March 2015 quarter were sold for less than the previous purchased price.
The compared to 5.5% the previous quarter and 4.4% a year earlier, according the CoreLogic RP Data pain gain report. 
The 6.7% of resales at a loss is the highest for the city since February 2013. 
The East Fremantle and Peppermint Grove council areas recorded no resales at a loss over the quarter while Belmont (1.7%) and Gosnells recorded less than 2% at a loss. 
But the highest proportion of loss-making resales occurred in the Perth (23.8%), Cottesloe (22.2%) and Mandurah (18.6%) council areas. 
<a href="/images/2015/06/23/700_pain7.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/06/23/700_pain7.jpg" alt="">
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Perth, Cottesloe and Mandurah top WA's biggest property sale losers: CoreLogic RP Data

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The latest <a href="/expert-insights/buying/6-5-quarterly-increase-in-melbourne-housing-values-led-by-inner-20km-suburbs-valuer-general">Victorian Property Sales Report</a> - covering the December 2014 quarter - has been released this month and found the median house price for Sorrento increasing by 19.5% for the December quarter. 
The report sampled median house prices from ten towns, with six of the towns increasing in median house prices from the September 2014 to December 2014 quarters. 
<a href="/images/2015/06/18/seaside_vic_towns.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/06/18/seaside_vic_towns.jpg" alt="">
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Sorrento leads in median seaside price increase

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GUEST OBSERVER
Housing affordability continues to be an issue of importance to voters, with a recent Fairfax-Ipsos poll showing 69% of Australian capital city residents disagree that housing is affordable for prospective first home buyers.
Different countries have adopted varying approaches to improve access to affordable housing - with governments playing a central role in ensuring people are adequately sheltered, as well as being encouraged to buy housing where possible. In many countries there is an underlying desire by households to own their own home, although renting is the norm in others.
In each case there are specific and sometimes unique-to-that-country approaches that have helped address the issue of affordability. Here’s five.
Government intervenes in the rental market
In some countries there is a general culture of renting for accessing accommodation, rather than assuming all households should achieve home ownership. At times, renting is cheaper than buying. In Germany most households (54.1%) are renters due to the long-term intervention in the marketplace by the government, as well as the accepted culture that renting is suitable over the long-term. In Berlin a total of 84.4% of all households rent. Providing this amount of rental accommodation is a major challenge without substantial government intervention and/or provision of housing.
<img src="/images/2015/06/22/image-20150619-32105-131fh8.png" alt="">
 
For example, in Germany a housing allowance was paid to approximately 783,000 households in 2012, equating to 1.9% of all private households. However most of this funding was allocated to single person households (57%) unable to compete in the open housing market with multiple income households.
 
<img src="/images/2015/06/22/image-20150619-32098-10z2v9x.png" alt="">
Other countries have acknowledged the gap between (a) the maximum amount of rent a tenant can pay and (b) the minimum level of rent a landlord will charge. For example in the US, this gap is bridged by the widespread use of a voucher system which subsidies the payment of rent to private landlords. This system is funded by the US government and ensures tenants can access a minimum quality of affordable housing.
Government provides affordable housing
In Singapore there is a high level of government intervention in the market with the <a href="https://www.hdb.gov.sg/" target="_blank">HDB (Housing and Development Board)</a>providing approximately 80% of all housing in the country. Approximately 90% of households in Singapore own their own home and there are also grants for first time buyers and second time buyers in Singapore.
In Hong Kong about 29.7% of residents live in <a href="https://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/policy/housing/policy/lths/index.htm">PRH (public rental housing)</a> provided by the Hong Kong government. In Scotland a large proportion of the supply of affordable housing is undertaken by housing associations and local authorities. This collectively equates to about quarter of total housing accommodation in the market. However the recent trend for many countries, including Australia, has been the provision of less direct housing by governments.
<img src="/images/2015/06/22/image-20150619-32112-1chk2lk.png" alt="">
Cities embrace higher density living
There are numerous examples of global cities making better use of limited inner-city land supply by encouraging higher density living in high rise units or condominiums, especially in Asian cities including Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. The provision of affordable housing for purchase or renting is therefore more likely to be achieved in these circumstances due to minimal land use and higher densities. However high-rise living is not commonly accepted in many European cities or in locations with a resistance due to cultural preferences for detached housing.
Public transport allows residents to commute to less expensive housing
The main driver of where a household lives is the need to be close to their workplace. As more affordable housing is usually located away from the central business district, households can buy cheaper homes but the trade-off is additional commuting time to work. When this extended commuting time (e.g. up to 2 hours each way) is combined with improved transport infrastructure such as in Japan, it is possible to access affordable housing in outlying satellite towns and cities where land is more affordable. Therefore governments which improve road and public transport infrastructure also increase access to affordable housing.
 
<img src="/images/2015/06/22/image-20150618-23259-gg7sqj.png" alt="">
Multiple person households are encouraged
Lower demand can be achieved by limiting population levels and underlying demand for housing. But while this may not be an option for many governments, another option is to encourage multiple person households which otherwise would remain as single person households. According to the ABS (2012) in 1911 the average persons per household was 4.5, decreasing to 2.7 persons per household by 1991.
List of countries by number of households
<img src="/images/2015/06/22/image-20150619-21446-109hpsk.png" alt="">
Richard Reed is Chair in Property and Real Estate, Deakin University. He can be contacted <a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/profiles/richard-reed" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Five reasons housing is more affordable overseas

The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Joel Robinson

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

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>

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 

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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.
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

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