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Melbourne-based startup Easy Inspect has developed a platform that allows property buyers to share the cost of inspection reports with other interested buyers.
<a href="https://easyinspect.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Easy Inspect</a> conducts structural and pest inspection reports on behalf of potential buyers interested in residential properties that are up for auction. Currently, the service is limited to the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area, but the startup is looking to expand to Sydney later in the year.
Once a house is on auction, buyers have six weeks to register their interest in the property following advertising rotations. Founder Michael Stafford said that his aim is to make inspections more affordable and easier for home buyers.
“Most people tend to conduct pre-purchase inspections separately and spend between $550 - $600 per inspection. We want to put the power in the hands of buyers and offer a standard factor rate of $185,” he says.
“The cost depends on the model of the house. For instance, a unit’s inspection report may be less than $185. Additionally, if there are less than 3 buyers up until one week before the final auction is due, then we try to figure out a cost that could be slightly higher. Auctions are expensive and can be a rushed process so we try to help the buyers.
“For most people, this is the biggest investment they will make and where they invest their life savings into. The costs are high and inspections may be difficult to organise. If they lose out on auctions repeatedly, they decide to forgo inspections completely and that is a massive danger.”
Stafford says that he works with registered contractors to carry out inspections, who have a minimum of $10 million in insurance. He’s funding the startup himself and is not currently looking for investment.
“There are hundreds, if not thousands of competitors out there but no one follows the same model as we do,” he says.
“Buyers can feel safe when they use our app, the turnover time is very quick and our inspections are a third of the price if buyers went to individual firms to get their properties inspected.”
He hopes to tie up with mortgage brokers and real estate agents in the future to spread the service.
“We did our public beta testing and have a couple of sample test reports. Our PR launch will start this week and we hope first time home buyers will be ready to get on-board,” he says.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.startupsmart.com.au/" target="_blank">StartUpSmart</a>.
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Property inspection reports cheaper with a crowd

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GUEST OBSERVATION
In cities across the country, the promotion of higher residential densities in certain areas has become an orthodox part of urban planning. Consolidation, as opposed to sprawl, is seen as a way to accommodate the apparent inevitability of larger cities in a more sustainable, economical, and healthy way.
But the advantages are not always entirely clear-cut. There is still debate, for example, over whether high density automatically <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-carbon-devil-in-the-detail-on-urban-density-4226" target="_blank">cuts greenhouse emissions</a> and is <a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-settle-this-inner-city-living-is-more-sustainable-13135" target="_blank">generally more sustainable</a>.
One of the other great touted benefits of high-density living is that it frees people from cars and gets them active. But is there a direct link between higher-density neighbourhoods and health?
Heart health and density
We do know there is a relationship between the built environment and behaviours beneficial to health. Physical activity is one such behaviour, and when done regularly can reduce cardiovascular disease-related deaths <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Blueprint-for-an-active-Australia-Second-edition.pdf" target="_blank">by up to 35%</a>.
Recognising this link, the Heart Foundation has <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Blueprint-for-an-active-Australia-Second-edition.pdf" target="_blank">long advocated</a> for walkable neighbourhoods with mixed land use and densities, connected streets, quality open spaces, and access to public transport.
It takes many factors to create a “walkable neighbourhood”. But how does residential density specifically influence opportunities for physical activity? <a href="https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/programs/healthy-built-environments-program/literature-review" target="_blank">Our research</a> concludes that the effect of density on active living is incredibly complex. To unpick it, let’s look at how urban planning more generally can influence physical activity.
Good planning and active people
One way to influence activity is to encourage people to use “active transport”, including <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/active-living/Documents/Built-environment-position-statement.pdf" target="_blank">walking</a>, cycling, and public transport. Good planning can help make these options safe, comfortable and accessible.
Another key aspect is distance. Grid-like street networks with short blocks can make travel routes more direct, but if destinations, like work and home, are too far apart, most people won’t walk or ride between them.
Finally, we need to make sure that people have somewhere to walk and cycle to, and places to engage in more structured physical activity. This normally means mixed-use zoning so that residential areas are interspersed with shops, services, schools and green open spaces.
All this means that higher housing density alone will not make people more or less active. There is, however, <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Heart_Foundation_%20Does_density_matter_FINAL2014.pdf" target="_blank">certainly a relationship</a> between higher-density built environments and physical activity.
On the surface, a certain amount of density might be quite good for you. This is related to the concept of “critical mass” – the aspects of the built environment that can encourage healthier habits often require people, and sometimes a lot of people, to make them viable. Public transport networks, walking and cycling infrastructure, well-maintained green spaces and small neighbourhood shopping centres all need people to make them work. Of course, they are also easier to provide when less land is taken up by homes.
But it’s not quite as simple as that. While living in low-density areas <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Heart_Foundation_Low_density_Report_FINAL2014.pdf">is linked to lower levels of physical activity</a>, there is also evidence that too much density is associated with negative health outcomes, particularly in terms of mental health. Higher-density can breed stress and social isolation, often associated with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829206000785">depression and anxiety disorders</a>.
Badly constructed or poorly located higher-density housing can also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350606003015">cause problems</a> through poor ventilation and insulation, lack of sunlight, insufficient public and private open space, and exposure to pollutants or intrusive noise.
These issues can lead to respiratory health problems, as well as isolation, fear of crime, and community dislocation. They can very quickly erode or prevent the development of the healthy aspects of higher-density living, including regular physical activity.
So what makes density work?
There are potential health benefits associated with higher-density living, but these benefits depend on several other variables. A <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/active-living/Documents/Increasing-density-in-Australia-Evidence-Review-2012.pdf">review</a> commissioned by the Heart Foundation identified three key factors.
First is the quality of infrastructure in the surrounding neighbourhood and region. Higher-density housing needs to be situated among public transport networks, jobs, schools, shops, services, open space and active transport infrastructure.
Second is the quality of construction and management of the homes themselves. It has been far too easy in Australia to provide higher-density housing that is poorly sited, badly built, and ineptly managed. It is also far too easy to forget that density means diversity – it includes detached and semi-detached housing, townhouses, low- and mid-rise apartment buildings, as well as high-rise.
Third is the social and cultural make-up of the community that is living in higher-density places. We mentioned that healthy built environments need people to make them work, and people are sometimes frustratingly brilliant in their diversity. Indeed, success depends on the capacity of new and existing communities to adapt to different ways of living, working, travelling and socialising. This makes it difficult to make realistic generalisations about the impact of density on human health.
What we do know is that vulnerable populations will be more susceptible to any negative impacts of higher density.
There is <a href="https://geronj.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/5/601.short">evidence</a>, for example, that high-rise living in particular is associated with lower levels of satisfaction and a poorer sense of community in older adults. The needs of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494402902562">children</a> in higher-density housing also deserve special attention.
The issue is a <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/active-living/built-environment/Pages/Density-and-Health.aspx">complex one</a>. There are potential health benefits on offer from urban densification, but also the possibility of unintended consequences that can quickly undermine them. As Australia’s cities become increasingly crowded, we will need to watch carefully to know whether we are getting it right.
Jennifer Kent is a research fellow at University of Sydney.
This article was co-authored by Michelle Daley, senior manager, active living, at the National Heart Foundation of Australia.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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Higher-density living can make us healthier, but not on its own

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House prices are soaring in comparison to incomes, making life difficult for many and threatening to undermine national economic performance. Western Australia has devised an innovative policy solution.
Using a shared equity model, the Shared Home Ownership scheme allows low-earning prospective homeowners who meet certain criteria to purchase a property by sharing up to 30% of the capital cost with the Department of Housing and borrow the rest with a SharedStart loan through state mortgage lender KeyStart Home Loans.
The loan is directly linked to a major construction expressions of interest project that means the department is able to procure newly built, affordable dwellings in bulk from the market at discounted rates. The discount to market prices gained by the department become its equity share in the portfolio of properties.
In recognition of its achievements, the Department of Housing won the overall award at the 2014 WA Premier’s Awards for Public Sector Excellence and the “Developing the Economy” award for the scheme.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given Australians’ obsession with home ownership, <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p70394" target="_blank">previous research conducted</a> with potential purchasers of shared equity homes showed focus group participants had two primary motivations that would impact on their interest in such schemes: wanting the security of having a place of their own on the one hand, and desiring asset accumulation on the other.
So unlike other shared ownership models where the government retains a permanent interest in the property, stunting the resident’s opportunities for wealth formation but ensuring long-term affordability is maintained, WA’s Shared Home Ownership scheme encourages the resident to eventually buy out the department’s share, offering a path to full home ownership.
Interest rates are set higher than the lowest variable market rate so that, while repayments will be lower for the period that the homebuyer owns only 70-80% of the property, they will be incentivised to refinance with a private institution once they buy out the department’s share.
So far the program has helped deliver home ownership to over 700 low-income households, many of whom would not have been able to do so otherwise. Though such a program cannot be targeted at the lowest socio-economic groups, as it still relies on a regular income to pay off a mortgage, it lowers barriers to entry for those making below-median incomes.
The program was developed “in response to an increased demand for affordable housing as rents became unaffordable in Western Australia”, says Adrian Warner, acting director of strategy and policy at the Department of Housing.
“In the March quarter of 2014, the median rent reached $460 in Perth, while the median house price increased to $540,000, up from $525,000 in the previous quarter,” he said.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22441" src="https://www.themandarin.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/graph.png" alt="graph" width="504" height="405">
The program has been praised for its benefits to prospective purchasers, government and the wider community, he said:
<ul>
<li>Purchasers only need to borrow 70-80% of the property value;</li>
<li>The equity component is not dependent on a government grant or debt;</li>
<li>The supply of entry-level housing is increased;</li>
<li>It supports local industry and creates value for the economy — over $650 million in economic activity to date;</li>
<li>First home buyers require only a 2% or $2000 deposit;</li>
<li>No lender’s mortgage insurance or monthly account keeping fees.</li>
</ul>
According to figures provided by the Department of Housing, to date, SharedStart has delivered:
<ul>
<li>$149 million of direct construction activity;</li>
<li>$112 million of induced activity by suppliers;</li>
<li>1491 jobs supported;</li>
<li>722 households into home ownership;</li>
<li>Total economic benefit to the state of $465 million.</li>
</ul>
{qtube vid:=9w3-JRBmeis}
Return for households and government
A <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/syn91" target="_blank">report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute</a> in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers found the program was not only achieving its intended outcomes, but had generated significant returns for households, government and industry. AHURI found that the department’s practice of acquiring new homes had helped increase housing supply:
“The shared equity EOI initiative increased the overall supply of low-cost dwellings through its EOI procurement process. This distinguishes the EOI initiative from shared equity schemes that are linked to existing dwellings and therefore do not achieve an increase in the overall supply of dwellings …
“There was agreement amongst all stakeholders interviewed that the shared equity EOI initiative has been highly effective in increasing the supply of lower-cost housing. For example, a peak body representative described the effectiveness in relation to increasing lower-cost housing supply as ‘outstanding’ and a senior Keystart representative commented that the scheme has been highly effective in terms of providing low-cost properties, which were under $300,000 in several circumstances.
Resident satisfaction with housing affordability was very high:
“… the majority of respondents (87.4%) agreed or strongly agreed that their mortgage payments were affordable; and the majority of respondents (74.9%) agreed or strongly agreed that their home was affordable to run (e.g. in terms of utility bills).”
And the program has done well helping lower income people move into their own housing:
“The scheme was successful in providing home ownership opportunities to members of the targeted client groups. This included: eight public housing tenants who moved into home ownership via the shared equity EOI scheme; 188 survey respondents who were first home owners and 198 survey respondents who reported that they would never have been able to buy a home from the private market without the shared equity EOI scheme; six survey respondents who reported having a disability; and nine respondents who reported living with a person with a disability; 58 survey respondents who were single home owners with one child or more; and 42 survey respondents who were key workers [nurse, teacher, police etc].”
The program has encouraged more interest among developers for building one- and two-bedroom housing, something traditionally seen as more risky.
The report found that the typical expectation of housing assistance is that it is a form of subsidy to households that generates significant costs to government. “Instead,” said Warner, “this form of assistance makes a sustained, substantial difference to the financial wellbeing of lower-income households whilst also delivering a positive rate of return for government. Through this process, value has been created for government in the form of embedded equity stock.
“These initial equity shares had an estimated value of $58 million by September 2013 for 722 properties ($80,729 per property). These equity shares were created without capital expenditure by the department.
“Due to the nature of the SharedStart scheme, as house prices increase so will the value of equity shares held by the department. Additionally, the scheme ensures that the portfolio maintains a strong asset base as government sells down other state assets.”
The scheme is part of the government’s Affordable Housing Strategy 2010-2020, which sets a target of at least 20,000 new affordable homes by 2020.
“The government passed the halfway mark on its target just three years into the strategy,” said Warner. “Over 17,000 new affordable housing opportunities have been created since January 2010, on schedule to exceed the target of 20,000 by 2020.”
<a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/publications/projects/p80088">Research from 2003 showed</a> shared equity to be a more effective policy option than the First Home Owners Grant at assisting low-income earners into housing. According to modelling, shared equity would have a greater impact on home ownership rates, is more likely to be taken up by lower income households, and is less likely to simply bring forward home purchase decisions.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/" target="_blank">The Mandarin</a>.
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How WA is tackling the housing affordability crisis

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Chinese New Year falls later than usual this year, so the journeys of Asian residents coming to Australia to visit family and friends have only just begun for the year.
No doubt property purchasing will ensue - and with the dollar hovering at around 78 US cents, why wouldn’t it?
Our contrarian commentators, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, agree that the well established patterns of the Chinese buying property in Australia will continue during 2015, while noting that a buyer from China topped the 2014 residential sale prices in Sydney with the $39 million sale of Point Piper’s Villa Del Mare by Golden Fast Foods Pty Ltd.
The Golden Fast Foods Pty Ltd paper trail <a href="/news/guangzhou-evergrandes-chinese-billionaire-owner-xu-jiayin-tipped-as-villa-del-mare-point-piper-buyer">led to the Chinese billionaire, </a><a href="/news/guangzhou-evergrandes-chinese-billionaire-owner-xu-jiayin-tipped-as-villa-del-mare-point-piper-buyer">Xu Jiayin</a>, chairman of Evergrande, an integrated corporation specialised in residential building, cultural tourism, FMCG, agriculture, dairy, livestock farming and sport industry with 460 billion yuan worth of total assets and 80 thousand employees. Sky tracking websites showed that Xu Jaiyin, aged 56, was in Australia around the time of the early October 2014 sale, having arrived with a team of 25 in his private Airbus A319.
It was the second year running a buyer from China purchased the top-priced Sydney property. In 2013 Point Piper’s Altona topped the Sydney house price sale list following its $52 million sale to the Huang family through Alison Coopes.  
While our commentators concur on the continuing trend of Chinese buying Australian real estate, they disagree on the animal name of the 2105 Chinese lunar year beginning on 19 February.
HE SAID:<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/jc-silhouette-5.jpg" alt="jc-silhouette-5" width="130" height="195" style="float: right;">
It’s year of the sheep (which is what Qantas is calling it). Enough said.
<img src="/images/2015/02/18/qantas-feb-18-one.png" alt="">
<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/mb-silhouette-4.jpg" alt="mb-silhouette-4" width="130" height="195" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
It’s year of the goat. The airline Cathay Pacific sent an email referring to the year of the goat – and they should know.
<img src="/images/2015/02/18/goat%20feb%2018%20one.jpg" alt="">
Many China websites, <a href="https://www.timeoutshanghai.com/feature/1011/Chinese-New-Year-in-Shanghai-2015" target="_blank">including Time Out Shanghai</a>, also refer to the 2015 Spring Festival holiday for Chinese New Year of the Goat.
No doubt Jonathan, the billionaire spotter, envisages a high-faluting merino with ultra fine wool – perhaps of Haddon Rig pedigree. Sometimes he really gets my goat, but on this occasion I won’t let him.
 
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Year of the Goat/Sheep: He Said/She Said

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The extent to which the Abbott government’s woes have effects in the real world of Australian lives was on display in last week’s January unemployment numbers from the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6202.0?OpenDocument" target="_blank">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a> (ABS).
First, the good news: the number of aggregate hours worked in January was up a lot — 0.5% seasonally adjusted. And part-time employment rose nearly 16,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted.
But nationally, unemployment rose 0.3 points to 6.4%, the highest in over 12 years. That more than reversed the surprise fall in December to 6.1% from 6.2% in November. In trend terms, unemployment remained steady at 6.3%. Participation was steady at 64.8%, seasonally adjusted, so the big rise in unemployment was not due to participation. It was driven by a fall of 28,000 in full-time jobs.
There was a 0.3 point rise in unemployment in NSW to 6.3%, where participation dropped 0.1 of a point. It dropped the same in Victoria, where unemployment rose to 6.6% from 6.5%. In Queensland, the final legacy of the Newman government was a 0.3 point rise in unemployment to 6.5%, off the same small fall in participation as in NSW and Queensland. South Australia saw a big rise in unemployment, from 6.6% to 7.3%, but the numbers in smaller states are always more volatile, and it was accompanied by a 0.7 point jump in participation. Western Australia recorded a fall of 0.3 points to 5.9% unemployment, off another 0.1% fall in participation, while unemployment was flat in Tasmania at 6.6%.
Overall, the numbers show that, as forecast, the jobs market slowed at the start of 2015 after a strong finish to 2014. That strong quarter coincided with problems around the accuracy of the ABS jobs data. But in a note with the release, the ABS made it clear those recent problems had no impact on the January figures:
“The increase in unemployment in January 2015 in original and seasonally adjusted terms has not been caused by the recent changes to the ABS supplementary survey program.
“Historically, the ABS had not conducted supplementary surveys in the December and January months, and no supplementary surveys were conducted in December 2014 and January 2015.”
It continued:
“The increase in unemployment in original terms is due to:
<ul>
<li>a net increase in unemployment in persons who responded to the labour force survey in both December and January (the ‘matched sample’),</li>
<li>a contribution from the incoming rotation group compared to the group it replaced, and</li>
<li>a contribution from persons who responded in December but not in January and vice versa.”</li>
</ul>
“Overall response rates for both December and January were in the ABS’s target range of 93% to 95%,” the ABS added. Adding to the need for caution about the jobs data was the number of jobs added to the economy in December being revised upwards from 37,400 to 42,300. A downward revision would add to any feeling the jobs data for January was showing a weakening demand for labour.
The overall result bears out the RBA’s obvious concerns about the fragile state of growth in the economy. And the concerns of the rest of us that the Abbott government doesn’t have the wherewithal to address it.
This story originally appeared on <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2015/02/12/unemployment-lurches-up-while-government-navel-gazes/">Crikey</a>.
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Unemployment lurches up while government navel-gazes

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The RBA’s decision is good news for home owners as they can pay off their mortgage quicker than expected.
It’s also a positive move for those looking to enter the market.
But these buyers need to keep in mind that shrinking rates will drive more competition, which may cause property prices to rise.
Particularly in Melbourne’s inner north where supply is limited, suburbs such as Carlton, Princess Hill, Brunswick East and North Melbourne have experienced growth of 18.97%, 14.87%, 12.9% and 17.3% for houses respectively over the past 12 months without interest rate cuts.
It will be interesting to see how upper pressure on asset prices and more competition will impact these already bustling, low supply areas.
Rob Elsom is director of <a href="https://www.hockingstuart.com.au/" target="_blank">hockingstuart </a>Brunswick, Carlton, North Melbourne and Northcote.
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Rate cuts will benefit Melbourne's inner north market: Rob Elsom

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GUEST OBSERVATION
You know Australia’s in trouble when the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates.
Last week, the central bank did precisely that, in belated recognition of the <a href="https://www.afr.com/p/national/national_income_recession_already_2sLhoU9EtfoC0g0M5xvujI" target="_blank">income recession</a> that has struck. Gross domestic income (GDI) fell by 0.3% in the June quarter of 2014, followed by a further 0.4% slump in the September quarter.
The RBA has cut its 2015 GDP growth estimate as well, by 0.25%, predicting a 1.75%–2.75% range.
In 2012, I <a href="https://theconversation.com/buckle-up-australia-recession-is-coming-7950" target="_blank">predicted</a> an Australian recession, albeit as a “delayed tsunami” effect of the global financial crisis of 2008–12. However, some <a href="https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/economist-expects-recession-2015-034208840" target="_blank">bank economists</a> since late last year have <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-17/australia-out-of-luck-odds-of-recession-rise/5972732" target="_blank">declared</a> there is a recession in the making in 2015.
Welcome to the post-industrial economy. Fortress Australia is long gone; the automotive industry is evanescing before our eyes; while textiles, footwear and clothing barely exist on these shores.
Steel, once the linchpin of Australia’s heavy industries, is a shadow of its former self. Battered by fierce competition from China and India, Australian steel tonnage output didn’t even crack the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/271979/the-largest-steel-producers-worldwide-ranked-by-production-volume/" target="_blank">top 20 world rankings</a> in 2013.
As everyone knows, the main game in Western Australia and Queensland is mining, mining and mining. Meanwhile, the sucker-fish, located predominantly in Sydney and Melbourne, comprising the <a href="https://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/fire-sector" target="_blank">finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) industries</a>, gorge themselves on the vast swathes of export dollars produced by coal and iron ore.
But for how long?
From hero to zero?
Throughout the last 12 years, Australia has produced world-beating results. Australia’s <a href="https://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp" target="_blank">GDP doubled between 2007 and 2013</a>. It is the world’s 12th-ranked economy, a remarkable feat for a population comprising a mere 24 million people (and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_Australia" target="_blank">20.7 million cats</a>, apparently). Nationally, unemployment is low. In 2013 and 2014, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/property-makes-australians-the-world8217s-richest-says-credit-suisse-20141014-1163ip" target="_blank">Australians were the world’s richest</a>, thanks to the property boom, with every man, woman and child worth an average of $A258,000.
And oil prices are so low that they’re better than any tax cut any miserly government could ever give you in its wildest dreams.
Everything’s going swimmingly, isn’t it? Where’s the party?
But Australia is also facing an <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/doing-more-with-less-as-incomes-shrink-20141205-120so4" target="_blank">income recession</a>. Real <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/real-wages-growth-worst-in-17-years-20140521-38p5j" target="_blank">household disposable income</a> is <a href="https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/commentary/article/falling-real-wages" target="_blank">falling</a>, exacerbated by the tumbling Australian dollar. Ominously, the world may be about to experience a Great Deflation.
Agriculture and manufacturing – the mainstays of Australian employment from federation until the 1990s – have been displaced by service sector industries. These largely feed off the revenues of a resources sector whose exports dwarf all others. But even iron ore export prices have halved in the past year, and there could be <a href="https://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/could-iron-ore-drop-to-%24us30-a-tonne" target="_blank">worse to come</a>. There is not much point in Australia boosting its iron ore output if no one wants to buy it. Just ask the Soviets what they did with their surplus steel. Komrade (they dumped it in the west, to save you looking it up).
Unfortunately for us, we like to party hard and we didn’t invest all the enormous benefits of the boom in the terms of trade during the 2000s. We spent it on tax breaks. Which we then spent. On property. And Chinese consumer goods.
And speaking of being dwarfed, Australia’s Future Fund – designed to fund public service pensions and the odd politician – is paltry by comparison with <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-09/all-norwegians-become-millionaire-shareholders-in-world27s-big/5191480" target="_blank">Norway’s</a>, which ranks third in the world with almost US$1 trillion in assets.
By contrast, Australia ranks 13th globally (as it does in most things, except cricket), with a mere <a href="https://www.futurefund.gov.au/" target="_blank">A$109 billion</a> at its disposal. Or about 2.1 years of Commonwealth deficits, roughly.
Article continues on the next page. Please click below.
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The Great Deflation
This week, China reported its <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-inflation-drops-to-five-year-low-in-january-1423533186" target="_blank">inflation figures</a> and the numbers are troubling. Year-on-year domestic demand has weakened considerably. Moreover, in January, the US economy saw its consumer-price index (CPI) fall to its lowest level since bottoming out during the Great Recession of 2009.
Deflation means prices are down. One type of deflation can be positive, as it emerges from gains in technology, efficiency and scale, coupled with cheaper labour and energy.
But too much of the wrong kind of deflation – where inflation is negative – leads to long-term unemployment, reduced demand and low, zero or negative growth. Exhibit A: Japan. <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL1N0VJ0BN20150210?pageNumber=2&amp;amp;virtualBrandChannel=0" target="_blank">Two decades of deflation</a>.
The main reason price deflation is occurring is due to weak demand. This is due partly to a reduction in the gross money supply, and partly as a by-product of lower wages.
Money supply evaporated – temporarily – as credit markets froze in 2008. As governments poured liquidity back into financial markets in 2008–09, credit cautiously returned, but growth was non-existent or hesitant throughout most of the developed world. Millions of jobs vanished during the Great Recession, and the jobs that eventually returned <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/30/british-wage-slump-post-financial-crisis-uk" target="_blank">paid much less</a> than they had just a few years earlier.
In fact, the US has reportedly regained all the jobs it lost during the recession. With one hitch: these jobs pay <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-income-inequality-20140812-story">23% less</a>.
Now, this scenario has some resonance in Australia. The 2007–13 period saw Australian wages rise much faster than their OECD counterparts. But in 2014, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-19/abs-figures-show-annual-wages-growth-slowest-on-record/5269480" target="_blank">wages hit a brick wall</a>, barely matching inflation. Yes, even miners saw lower wage growth. And, judging by their trade magazines, neither white-collar nor blue-collar resources industry workers are too optimistic about the future.
Oh Eurozone crisis: we’ve missed you most of all
If you thought the IMF and European Central Bank (ECB) had muddled successfully through the 2011–12 eurozone crisis, think again. Exhibit B: The ECB’s January 2015 quantitative easing program, injecting €60 billion per month into the eurozone economy.
Sounds impressive. But it isn’t. What it will do is simply refinance the banking sector, which is now beginning to pay back the three-year Longer-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) funds it borrowed during the crisis. Over 500 eurozone banks accepted more than €1 trillion during the crisis.
Now the ECB’s LTROs are maturing. As of January 2015, banks were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/16/ecb-policy-idUSL6N0UU3V720150116" target="_blank">due to repay up to €196 billion</a> on LTROs by the end of February. But they still owe nearly €900 billion.
Consequently, the ECB’s QE program will only keep liquidity flowing back to the banking sector, as it replaces old LTROs with new QE.
The elephant in the room is not Greece. It’s inflation – or lack of it, to be precise. Eurozone inflation is running at -0.2%, a far cry from its 2% target. Not to put too fine a point on it, but -0.2% is not inflation. I’ve met inflation. And that’s not inflation.
The clear objective of the ECB’s €1.2 trillion QE program is to reflate the eurozone economies and ensure sufficient bank liquidity. But it also has a secondary objective: currency manipulation. 18 months of the Federal Reserve’s QE 3, which concluded in late 2014, injected $US85 billion per month into the American economy, pumping up its GDP growth figures, manipulating its currency and, coincidentally, depreciating China’s massive stash of US bonds.
How has the ECB responded to this? By engaging in its own currency manipulation scheme. This has sent the euro <a href="https://au.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=EURUSD%3DX#symbol=EURUSD=X;range=1y" target="_blank">below US$1.15</a>, a far cry from its US$1.45 rate of mid-2011. With the euro closer to parity with the US dollar, eurozone global exports can at least remain competitive.
Why does any of this matter to Australia? First, the EU is Australia’s largest source of foreign direct investment. Second, the currency power-play between New York, Tokyo and Frankfurt has hurt Australian productivity and exports, even as the Reserve Bank <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/australia-accused-of-manipulating-australian-dollar-to-save-iron-ore-miners-20150204-135jzu" target="_blank">tries to play</a> this poker game as well. Although the dizzy heights of an above-parity Australian dollar are a long-forgotten dream, currency depreciation in Europe, North America and Asia has contributed to the loss of Australian industries, such as the automotive sector. Equally, the Australian dollar, even at US$0.70, is not competitive enough to substitute for a lack of productivity.
The ducks are all lined up. A perfect storm approaches.
Welcome to capitalism. We hope you enjoy your stay.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/37355/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Remy Davison is Jean Monnet Chair in Politics and Economics at Monash University.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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You know Australia’s in trouble when the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates: Remy Davison

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Following the recent cut in interest rates, we can see that there will be a pickup in residential construction particularly in Melbourne, Sydney and to a lesser extent in Brisbane, that will feed the appetite of the property investor who makes up more than 50% of the purchase of these apartments.
We think that self-managed super funds, as well as mum and dad investors, will be heightened with the fall in interest rates. Affordable housing, lower interest rates and higher job confidence will tempt first home buyers.
The concern is that outside of Sydney the economic indicators are not as strong, which permeates into confidence.
We are of the opinion that although interest rates have been lowered, it will not push another increase in property prices above circa 4% on the back of home purchasers being mindful of the price.
From the rental point of view we expect to see vacancy rates in the major capital cities to tick up as more of the investor stock comes on the market, which means a good opportunity for tenants.
As far as the government looking to regulate property investment, we don’t think this will take place as the major economic driver is the construction boom, which the government will not wish to disrupt.
We will see a multi-tiered market with Sydney continuing to grow with strong economic conditions coupled with job security to a lesser extent in Brisbane and in Melbourne.
Concern lies with Perth where there is a declining state economy due to job losses in the mining industry and the housing marketing beginning wane.
Malcolm Gunning is the president of the <a href="https://www.reinsw.com.au/imis15_Prod/web" target="_blank">REINSW </a>and the principal of <a href="https://gunningcommercial.com.au/" target="_blank">Gunning Commercial</a>.
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Outside of Sydney the economic indicators are not as strong: Malcolm Gunning

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The OECD’s <a href="https://www.oecd.org/economy/growth/going-for-growth-australia-2015.pdf" target="_blank">Going for Growth report</a> released this week is a good reminder of why Tony Abbott wants to be remembered as “the infrastructure Prime Minister”.
The OECD argues addressing infrastructure service shortfalls will help productivity performance and sustainable growth, and in the 2014-15 Australian federal budget, <a href="https://www.budget.gov.au/2014-15/content/glossy/infrastructure/html/index.htm" target="_blank">spending on infrastructure</a> was planned to increase substantially, compared to the last budget of the Rudd government.
The focus carried through to the Brisbane G20 meeting. It saw a commitment to use infrastructure spending, along with other measures such as free trade agreements, as a lever to improve productivity and help deliver the additional 2% of GDP growth over five years targeted by the G20.
How is Australia performing?
Australian contributions to the G20 target, in terms of infrastructure investment, are outlined in the <a href="https://g20.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/g20_comprehensive_growth_strategy_australia.pdf" target="_blank">Comprehensive Growth Strategy</a>.
Two proposals are highlighted. First, there is a commitment  “to achieve better project prioritisation, selection and coordination by providing greater transparency through cost benefit analysis of major projects and improving the operation of Infrastructure Australia (the body that assesses major infrastructure projects). Rigorous appraisal processes will help ensure that high-quality projects that create the most benefit will be prioritised.”
Things have not started well. For example, The 2014-15 budget provides funding for 36 major named infrastructure projects but, as a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201415/Infrastructure">report</a> by the Australian Parliamentary Library notes, only four have been assessed by Infrastructure Australia, and only seven appear anywhere on the priority list.
Sydney’s WestConnex motorway is one of the infrastructure projects named in the budget but not prioritised by Infrastructure Australia. The federal commitment comprises a grant of A$1.5 billion to the New South Wales government, and a A$2 billion concessional loan. In December 2014 the New South Wales Auditor-General reported that the government’s Major Projects Assurance Framework had not been implemented and that, as a consequence, there were deficiencies in the analysis of the risks, cost and benefits of the project. Clearly this falls short of the G20 commitment.
Asset recycling
The second proposal is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/asset-recycling-no-dream-for-hockey-but-efficiency-boost-likely-28802">asset recycling initiative</a>. State governments that sell assets will receive 15% of the net sale proceeds as a grant from the Commonwealth, provided the funds are reinvested in infrastructure. Proposals must pass evaluation and approval before 1 July 2016, with construction to commence before 1 July 2019.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this week <a href="https://www.afr.com/p/national/accc_warns_on_asset_recycling_XfHInVjskCpfCIfCm5AdEP" target="_blank">flagged concerns</a> about the scheme, warning of the risk of governments taking action that could lessen competition due to the lure of incentive payments.
At A$5 billion, the initiative accounts for only 10% of federal infrastructure spending commitments over the next ten years. However, the government forecast the incentives it provides will leverage an additional A$33 billion of infrastructure investment, making a major contribution to the proposed boost in infrastructure spending.
Asset privatisation was a central issue in the recent Queensland election. Of the estimated A$37 billion proceeds from the sale of energy and port assets, the Newman government proposed to allocate A$3.4 billion to a “cost of living” fund and A$25 billion to pay off state debt. New infrastructure investment of A$8.6 billion would attract a Commonwealth recycling incentive of A$1.3 billion, making A$9.9 billion in total.
Queensland voters rejected these proposals. Should the same result emerge from the New South Wales election next month the asset recycling initiative will effectively lapse.
An alternative approach
Where investment in long-lived productive infrastructure is involved, attaching the label <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/prime-minister-tony-abbotts-speech-from-the-national-press-club-in-canberra-on-february-2/story-fni0cx12-1227204983604?nk=2ddb61facd9133e0d55d3bac5bbf4287" target="_blank">“intergenerational theft”</a> to government borrowing is clearly misleading – the generations who benefit from the investment also service the debt.
If the asset recycling initiative fails to meet its targets, alternatives are possible. The first requirement would be to live up to the commitment made to the G20 for stringent and transparent project evaluation by Infrastructure Australia. Second, think carefully about ways to improve efficiency in state-owned assets. Then, given that the yield on 21-year bonds is currently less than 3%, the government could pursue its infrastructure agenda by borrowing long-term and investing through the states in the same way as in the past.
Implementation of this strategy would require a more mature political discussion about fiscal deficits, debt, and long-lived infrastructure. Relying on slogans like “debt and deficit disaster” is unlikely to achieve positive outcomes.
Graeme Wells University Associate, School of Economics and Finance at University of Tasmania
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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PM’s infrastructure plan failing growth and cost-benefit goals: Graeme Wells

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The national CBD office market is off to a strong start in 2015 on the back of a busy 2014 which saw demand for space on the rise.
While the national vacancy rate has risen slightly to 11.2% from the 10.6% recorded at the last count in August last year, the shift is minimal and we expect it to remain business as usual within Australia’s business community going forward in 2015.
We are coming off the back of a strong finish to 2014, with enquiry levels and leasing deal volumes on the rise. According to Colliers International data, enquiry for the December 2014 quarter was up 75% compared to the December 2013 quarter. The greatest demand was for space 3,000sq m and above, with this market up a record 173% on the December 2013 quarter.
For the full calendar year, Australian business enquired about 2,256,814 square metres of office space in 2014 compared to 1,813,540 square metres of office space in 2013, a national increase of 24%, pointing to improving business confidence.
Looking further afield, our Colliers International counterparts in the US are reporting positive signs of growth which reflect an increase in confidence that will flow on to Australian markets. Job growth drove office demand in both the U.S. and Canada through the first three quarters of
2014 and the outlook for 2015 is for a continuation of this growth.
Employment grew year on year in both countries, with the US on track to create the most jobs in 2014 since 1999. Office employment surpassed 30 million jobs for the first time in September 2014 and now stands about 727,000 positions more than the pre-recession peak in July 2007.
Our colleagues expect the economic recovery to continue at a similar pace through 2015. IHS Global Insight projects an addition of nearly 2.5 million jobs in 2014, increasing slightly to nearly 2.6 million jobs in 2015. This would amount to four consecutive years of net job gains exceeding 2 million — the longest such stretch since the 1997-2000 period. This is great news from a global economic perspective and for our local office markets, given the strong influence of US markets on the rest of the world.
The economic outlook for Australia for 2015 is also promising.
We concur with Deloitte Access Economics’ forecast for continued growth in white collar employment in the years ahead, which is good news for Australia’s office markets.
<img src="/images/2015/02/05/colliers-feb-5-one.png" alt=""> 
White collar employment forecasts indicate that business services and financial services will show strong demand for office space over 1,000 square metres, pointing to strong short term demand for larger, open plan workplace environments and less decentralisation of employees occurring.
Tenants returning to CBD markets was an emerging trend in 2014, and is anticipated to continue as corporates seek central locations, close to amenities to house their administration staff.
According to Deloitte Access Economics’ respected White Collar Employment forecasts, the top five growing office sectors that will lead tenant demand nationally in 2015 will be business services, IT&amp;T, financial services, health and accommodation services.
Based on the net growth in jobs for these sectors, of between 10,000 to 14,000 employees, over 150,000 square meters of space will be required to meet space demand.”
Simon Hunt is managing director of office leasing at <a href="https://www.colliers.com.au/" target="_blank">Colliers International</a>.
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CBD office market off to a strong start to the year: Simon Hunt

Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

Joel Robinson

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

IN BRIEF

<ul>
	<li>
	Just three double-storey Sky Homes sit at the top of The Waterline, each with its own private marina berth and rooftop terrace.
	</li>
	<li>
	Construction on The Waterline is complete, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.
	</li>
	<li>
	Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and are priced from $3.65 million.
	</li>
</ul>

<hr />
Lewis Land has opened the first completed sky home for inspection at Harbour Shores, giving buyers their first opportunity to step inside one of just three double-storey residences crowning The Waterline.

Each sky home comes with its own private marina berth, rooftop terrace and Broadwater views, combining the scale of a larger home with direct access to the boating lifestyle that underpins the wider <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/harbour-shores-biggera-waters-564-oxley-drive-biggera-waters-qld-4216">Harbour Shores</a> masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366708]

Lewis Land Head of Development Michael Long said the inclusion of a berth with every Sky Home had become increasingly valuable as marina access across the Gold Coast tightened.

“Marina berths are becoming increasingly difficult to secure across the Gold Coast, so including one with every Sky Home makes this a genuinely rare offering,” Long said.

“The private 70-berth marina will accommodate boats up to 12 metres in length and is positioned just 2.5 kilometres from the Broadwater, placing the open ocean only 15 minutes away.

“Being able to step out of your home onto your boat is a rare luxury, and it’s something residents here can look forward to when it opens later this year.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366709]

The display opening comes as construction completes on The Waterline, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.

The three Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and each feature three bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive kitchens with butler's pantries and large balconies taking in the Broadwater outlook.

Each residence also has three secure basement car spaces and additional storage.

“This is the first opportunity the Gold Coast has had to step into Harbour Shores and see, touch and feel what we’re bringing to life here,” Long said.

“There are only three Sky Homes within The Waterline, ranging in size from 282sqm to 367sqm, with each residence featuring three large bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive custom-built kitchens with butler’s pantry, and large balconies capturing Broadwater views.”

<img alt="Harbour Shores" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bab65e10-4fab-45e1-92d8-fc56e2ab98ff" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-25%20at%202.00.16%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=XT8q76LsPkw3cYTsvN3JfFDaPLud90PN" />

Residents of The Waterline will have access to a private pool, along with Harbour Shores' wider collection of amenity including a lagoon pool, social clubhouse, tennis court, gym, yoga facilities and sauna.

Lewis Land partnered with Studio Collective to furnish the completed display, with the interiors designed to demonstrate how the residences could function as permanent homes rather than simply as show apartments.

Studio Collective Director Melissa Park said the surrounding waterways informed the interiors, but in a more restrained way than a traditional coastal scheme.

“We drew inspiration from the canals and coastal surrounds, but our approach was to interpret that subtly through layered materials and a grounded palette of earthy tones, rather than literal coastal references,” Park said.

“We introduced hero moments of green and teal to reference the surrounding waterways, while mirrored elements help reflect natural light.

“The result is a residence that feels elevated yet comfortable, somewhere buyers can genuinely imagine themselves living, entertaining and unwinding.”

Sky Homes are priced from $3.65 million.

Lewis Land is also offering private marina berths with The Residences, its limited collection of three and four-bedroom villas positioned directly along the Harbour Shores waterfront boardwalk.

Three-bedroom villas are priced from $2.99 million, while four-bedroom residences start from $3.19 million.

Harbour Shores is being marketed by Colliers International.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=113271]

Lewis Land opens sky home display as The Waterline completes at Harbour Shores

St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia has filed plans for a major mixed-use housing precinct on the southern edge of the North Sydney CBD, adding another significant proposal to a pocket around North Sydn​ey Station that is quickly becoming one of the LGA's busiest development zones.

The State Significant Development Application covers a 5,990 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/1-19-mackenzie-street-lavender-bay-nsw-2060">1-19 MacKenzie Street and 211 Blues Point Road in Lavender Bay</a>, immediately south of Nor​th Sydney Station and between the commercial core and the lower-rise Lavender Bay Heritage Conservation Area.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal would deliver a new residential tower comprising 88 build-to-sell apartments and 19 affordable apartments, alongside a separate co-living building with 57 rooms and a building manager's studio.

It would also see the significant restoration and upgrade of St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the adaptive reuse of the former school building, new parish facilities, retail, a new public square and around 1,000 sqm of publicly accessible open space.

<img alt="Vinnies North Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d5dd7f87-a617-463e-b577-17541e01f0e9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.13%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4R8TsFN3P_LrrXO2HswTOIrx2blil8lh" />

The project is seeking a concurrent rezoning of the site to R4 High Density Residential and an increase in the maximum building height to allow a tower reaching RL120, or up to 20 storeys. The proposal was progressed through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The build-to-sell component will be weighted toward larger apartments, with just six one-bedroom apartments compared with 31 two-beds, 43 three-beds and eight four-bedroom residences.

The 19 affordable apartments will comprise two studios, 15 one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments, taking the total apartment component to 107 residences before the 58 co-living rooms are included.

<img alt="Vnnies" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7d568ca5-cb90-4e18-96c6-d9795dba0c56" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=GY2R5M9VtQh0EKy1vajaea19PSLOPuRD" />

Wardle's design for the Vinnies site has sought to negotiate that emerging high-rise context while retaining the lower-scale character of MacKenzie Street and the adjoining heritage conservation area.

The main building adopts a three-storey podium and tower arrangement, with the podium aligned to the ridgeline and front setback of St Francis Xavier Church.&nbsp;Wardle has designed the podium with colonnades, seating, recessed entries and active ground-floor frontages, with sandstone-toned precast concrete and face brick referencing the materiality of the existing church.

The tower then steps back eight metres to the south and six metres to the north before rising in a sculpted form comprising four interlocking quadrants. Wardle has also introduced rounded forms and chamfered corners to reduce the tower's perceived bulk and improve view sharing with neighbouring development sites.

Resident facilities and outdoor areas are planned at the separation between the podium and tower at Level 3, oriented toward Sydney Harbour and the CBD skyline.

The tower itself will feature a glass reinforced concrete facade, with recessed balconies and deep reveals used both to provide shading and privacy and frame views toward the harbour and city. The lower levels take a different architectural approach, using brick and sandstone-toned finishes intended to establish a stronger relationship with St Francis Xavier Church. The Church itself will be conserved and upgraded for its continued use, while the former school building will be adaptively reused as part of the co-living component.

<img alt="Lavendar Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2d4418ad-90aa-4d49-af93-c80b140aea80" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.09.47%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Kv4gzbsACaGvZSRuaqcfGC54jEJRXIDJ" />

&nbsp;

The proposal adds to an increasingly concentrated pipeline of residential development around Blue Street, MacKenzie Street and Lavender Bay.

Just west of the site, Central Element lodged plans earlier this year for one of the most significant residential developments proposed in Lavender Bay in recent years.

Central Element's SJB-designed scheme at 64-66 Lavender Street and 3-7 Middlemiss Street would deliver 163 apartments across two towers rising 23 and 32 storeys, replacing five existing apartment buildings containing 32 homes. The project also forms part of the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-central-element-reveals-lavender-bay-apartment-plans?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">First look: Central Element reveals Lavender Bay apartment plans</a>

Immediately around North Sy​dney Station, another two significant proposals have emerged at 5 and 15 Blue Street.

Zurich Australian Insurance Properties is seeking to adaptively reuse its longstanding commercial building at 5 Blue Street, directly above North Sydney Station, rather than demolishing the structure.

Its SSDA proposes converting the building into a 14-storey mixed-use development with 62 apartments and 86 co-living rooms, together with ground-floor retail and a major refurbishment of Blue Street Plaza. The application is currently at the Response to Submissions stage.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-zurich-targets-north-sydney-office-conversion-with-148-unit-proposal-above-metro-station">First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station</a>

&nbsp;

First look: Vinnies files for 20-storey Lavender Bay apartment tower as North Sydney housing pocket heats up

When the opportunity arose for South Australian developer Palumbo to return to Kent Town, where it had previously delivered East Park Apartments and the East 
Rundle Apartments, it wasn't one the longstanding developer-builder was going to pass up.

The decision was quickly vindicated, with more than 30 apartments sold within the first month of launching <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/royal-apartments-kent-town-2-8-north-terrace-kent-town-sa-5067">Royal Apartments</a> to the market.

The 206-apartment development, which will bring significant new supply to Adelaide's tightly held eastern city fringe, also gives <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/palumbo">Palumbo</a> the opportunity to bring new life to one of Kent Town's most recognisable watering holes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376073]

Royal Apartments incorporates the historic Royal Hotel, a venue Palumbo Managing Director Daniel Palumbo said has a longstanding connection with the local community.

"Everyone in the area has history with the Royal Hotel," Palumbo told Apartments.com.au.

"It was quite an active pub and social gathering place for locals. We want to bring it back to its former glory."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376072]

The wider development will comprise two residential towers alongside the restored hotel, sitting on North Terrace opposite the Adelaide Park Lands.

For Palumbo, the project also marks a return to familiar territory.

The developer completed East Park Apartments next door more than a decade ago and jumped at the opportunity to develop in Kent Town again when the Royal Hotel site became available.

"The opportunity emerged, and we moved to secure the site," Palumbo said.

"We were approached by the previous landowner, who said they had extensive commitments in Sydney and weren't in a position to deliver the project.

"We took over the site and within six months recut the design scheme to be more in keeping with the type of development we want to bring to Adelaide.

"Now we're on the market and those changes have really resonated with local buyers."

That has translated into a strong start to sales, with 33 apartments transacting in the project's first 35 days.

Palumbo said the early purchaser profile had been consistent with the group's traditional focus on owner-occupiers rather than investor-led apartment stock.

"Local owner-occupiers have always been our market," he said.

"There are always some investors, but we've never developed what would be called traditional development stock. Owner-occupiers are very much our market."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376068]

The buyer mix has been diverse so far, with downsizers and younger professionals both accounting for a significant portion of early sales.

South Australia's current stamp duty settings, which allow&nbsp;eligible homeowners in South Australia aged 60 savings of up to $103,830 on stamp duty when they downsize to a new property valued at up to $2 million,&nbsp;have helped encourage downsizer activity, while younger buyers in their late 20s and early 30s have been attracted to the opportunity to live immediately outside the CBD while still being able to walk into the city.



Location has been a major part of the proposition for both buyer cohorts.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376075]

Royal Apartments sits on North Terrace directly opposite the Adelaide Park Lands, with residents able to walk through the parklands toward the East End, Rundle Street and Rundle Mall.

Apartments have been positioned to capture views across the parklands, Adelaide skyline, Botanic Gardens and Adelaide Hills.

Palumbo believes the scarcity of developable land along this section of the Park Lands makes the site particularly difficult to replicate.

"There's very few allotments on that side that can be developed," he said.

"If this location was in New York and you were sitting on Central Park, you'd be talking about a $60 million apartments."

Royal Apartments will offer a broad mix of residences, ranging from one-bedroom apartments through to four-bedroom sub-penthouses and penthouses.

Current listings include one-bedroom apartments from $680,000, while larger three and four-bedroom residences are priced around $2.5 million.

Residents will have access to a swimming pool, gym, barbecue and recreation areas, residents' lounge and dining space, and a communal deck.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376067]

The apartments will feature generous balconies, while secure parking, bicycle storage and storage cages will also be provided.

A porte-cochère-style arrival and drop-off area has also resonated with buyers, particularly those attracted to being able to walk into the CBD during the day while retaining secure vehicle access at home.

Palumbo is acting as developer, architect and builder on Royal Apartments, continuing the vertically integrated model it has used across its South Australian portfolio.

The group was also behind the $150 million Sofitel Adelaide, the 251-room five-star hotel and residential tower which opened in 2021.

Palumbo said Royal's launch had come at an interesting time for the broader Adelaide apartment market.

Buyer confidence had initially been impacted by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Budget and broader economic conditions, but Palumbo believes sentiment is beginning to improve against a backdrop of significant investment flowing into South Australia.

He pointed to increased activity across defence and resources, including Olympic Dam, as potential long-term drivers of the state's economy and housing market.

"Money is starting to flow into Adeliade, significant amounts as Adelaide bucks the trend of the rest of the country.," Palumbo said.

"There's a lot of activity in the economy over the next decade. I think more investment will come into this market."

Early works on Royal Apartments are expected to commence this year, with major construction activity and cranes anticipated on site from early next year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6109]

Palumbo's return to Kent Town strikes early chord with buyers

Go-to builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/graya">GRAYA</a> is continuing to bulk out its already impressive and diverse apartment portfolio across South East Queensland. Their latest milestone is securing development approval for Silk, its boutique riverfront apartment development in St Lucia.

The approval clears&nbsp;the way for the team to begin construction planning for the 22-residence project.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/silk-st-lucia-16-18-sandford-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">Silk</a> will rise 15 levels from an 810 sqm site at 16-18 Sandford Street, occupying a prominent bend of the Brisbane River with a prized northern aspect across Orleigh Park toward the Brisbane CBD.

The approved scheme will comprise 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences, continuing GRAYA's move into larger-format apartment developments targeting Brisbane's prestige owner-occupier market.

The project has been designed around the site's broad river frontage and dual-direction views, with GRAYA prioritising larger residences, privacy and outlook over apartment yield.

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa5c2349-f96c-4914-a812-1f2cd6827af8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=WY0vEU_7vYjeRJKQHiCwFdMxu8PvFh52" />

GRAYA Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Rob Gray said the project had been shaped around local homeowners wanting to remain in St Lucia without maintaining a traditional family home.

"St Lucia is one of those suburbs people do not want to leave," Gray said.

"They know the river, the trees, UQ, the golf course, Toowong and Indooroopilly, and that familiarity is hard to replace.

"True riverfront opportunities here are exceptionally scarce. What we have designed at Silk is a way to stay in the suburb people love, with the scale and privacy of a private home and far less to maintain.

"This is not typical apartment product. It is a proper home on the river, and that is exactly what this market has been missing."

The approval comes as new apartment development continues to increase across the St Lucia and neighbouring Toowong corridor, although direct riverfront sites remain considerably more tightly held.

GRAYA Co-founder and Managing Director Andrew Gray said securing the approval had removed a significant element of development risk from Silk.

"Genuine riverfront sites of this quality in St Lucia are not something that comes up regularly," Gray said.

"The approval removes a substantial layer of execution risk, and the location underwrites demand in a way very few inner-city sites can.

"The fundamentals here are as strong as anything we have assessed in Brisbane."

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0f3d734-65e1-48e8-8ed3-2e0715ffcdd9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sOLSs_jdHkXLWbBKzRyayf5BfTb2vPsD" />

Silk will see GRAYA return to a stretch of the Brisbane River where it already has recent construction experience. The vertically integrated group recently completed ARC in neighbouring Toowong as builder for developer Spyre, delivering the riverfront project on a constrained site.

GRAYA will take a different role at Silk, controlling the project from design and development through construction and aftercare under its vertically integrated model.

The development will include a gym and resident leisure areas at ground level, integrated with the river's edge.

Silk joins a growing pipeline for GRAYA across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which includes Enclave, The Gallery, Coral and Ripple.

The developer-builder has also recently lodged plans for its largest project to date, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-silo-19-chester-street-newstead-qld-4006">The Silo</a>, a proposed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/graya-buys-frasers-newstead-site-plans-the-silo-between-james-street-and-gasworks-precincts">$700 million mixed-use development</a> in Brisbane's James Street precinct.

Silk is expected to predominantly target local owner-occupiers and prestige buyers seeking a permanent riverfront home in Brisbane's inner west.

Registrations of interest are now open, with further details on the project and construction program to be released as it progresses.

<hr />
<h2>SILK PROJECT FACTS</h2>

Developer-builder: GRAYA

Project: Silk

Location: 16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia

Apartments: 22

Built form: 15 levels

Site: 810 sqm riverfront holding

Mix: 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences

Status: Development approved

Next step: Construction planning underway

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152168]

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