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A Perth real estate agent, Daniel Gonzalez, founder of Realty Lane, who sells northern beachfront mansions, has been charged with stealing a rival's open home signs.
Police confirmed to the West Australian newspaper that the 41-year-old agent was charged with stealing five open home signs in Sorrento in February and in North Beach in May.
He faced court last week.
<a href="https://www.realtylane.com.au" target="_blank">Realty Lane</a> founder Daniel Gonzalez stands charged with stealing home open signs set up by Ben Rudgeley — who once worked for Gonzales, but is now at Noble Avenue Real Estate.
Gonzalez was recognised in industry awards for selling more property by value than any other agent in 2018, his second year in the industry, selling 119 homes worth $132 million.
He was recognised as WA’s new leading agent on ranking 31st in Australia and 1st for WA for 2019 in the top 100 REB agent list.
His company recently expanded the business into Dalkeith.
The agency initially focused on the upmarket northern coastal areas of Trigg, North Beach, Marmion and Karrinyup.
He had started his own estate agency in 2017 with no prior experience.
He is featured in a real estate training video on YouTube called “Rockstar to million dollar real estate agent in two years.”
In the video, he expresses a spiritual take on sales, referencing a “real estate mother earth” who “keeps an eye on everything.”
He once described himself as “a hippie in a real estate costume.”
He appeared in Perth Magistrate’s Court last week.
Police advised the five counts of stealing home open signs were in Sorrento on February 23 and in North Beach on May 9 this year.
He has not entered a plea.
The case was adjourned until next month for legal advice, including what the signs might be worth.
Prosecutors have amended the value at $200 each initially but that was downsized to $20 each.
The police are looking for recompense for two of the signs — as the other three had been recovered.
 
 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Daniel Gonzalez, Top 100 REB Perth estate agent charged with stealing competitor's open home sign

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Two mortgagee homes in Strathfield South are being sold in one line, with the auction to take place June 27. 
Located at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-strathfield+south-133706610">2 Williams Street</a>, the two brick homes have an access gate between them. 
The three-bedrooms, two-bathroom front home is in original condition, offering a sunroom at the rear. 
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-06-04%20at%204.58.02%20pm.png" alt="">
Facing Water Street, the recently renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at the rear features a lock up garage or fourth bedroom, modern kitchen and a huge entertainment deck. 
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/Screen%20Shot%202020-06-04%20at%204.58.08%20pm.png" alt="">
Totaling 653 sqm, the two sites offer the flexibility to occupy or rent out now and develop later. 
The average sales price for Strathfield South is $1,218,250, according to CoreLogic data.
The listing is held by Ray White's Peter Tsekenis and Elia Economou. 
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Two Strathfield South homes on one title offered for mortgagee auction

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Dane Crawford, a former Colliers International real estate agent, has lodged a claim in the Federal Court seeking more than $743,000 in allegedly unpaid commissions.
Crawford resigned last year from their Newcastle office having headed the sales of its residential apartments division.
His statement of claim says he handed in his resignation based on representations that Colliers International made about his outstanding commissions.
He alleges the discussion before resigning concluded with an entitlement to half of the 50 per cent of gross commission on contracts that had been exchanged but not yet settled.
He said he went ahead with the resignation on this understanding, Nine Enertainment has reported.
The claim was lodged last month in the Fair Work division.
According to the claim, following Mr Crawford's resignation, Colliers advised him he was owed $297,500 in commissions.
Crawford claims this was an alleged breach of his contract which entitled him to a base salary and 50 per cent commission on revenue earned above $180,000 and 10 per cent on revenue below that amount.
<div>
His lawyer Mia Pantechis from Maurice Blackburn said Crawford was "a top performer who generated substantial revenue for Colliers."
"Crawford remains very disappointed in the way he was treated by Colliers,” she said.
</div>
<div>Crawford was now seeking to be paid his commission entitlements as well as damages and penalties.</div>
<div>
"As the matter is the subject of legal proceedings, the company will not be making any comments," a Colliers spokesman said.
It is being represented by Lander &amp; Rogers Lawyers.
Crawford was at Colliers after joining the agency in April 2015 having been at McGrath previously.
It was just as the residential apartment boom took off in Newcastle.
By mid-2018 10 cranes dotted the skyline around Newcastle, the highest number of cranes ever observed.
The then Colliers director of residential property marketing said the city was in “history-making mode.”
Along the way the agency secured press reports including one on the reported penthouse sale in the East End development for $6 million, smashing Newcastle’s previous apartment price record by more than $1.5 million.
He now is at Commercial Collective where he works with leading super funds, private developers and managed property funds with a speciality in high-density residential development marketing and advisory roles on CBD and city fringe projects. 
"Dane has lent his considerable expertise to more than $2.5 billion of projects including multi-stage developments, large masterplanned developments, mixed use projects and boutique projects," his website advises.
"Dane previously held the position of Director of Residential Project Marketing at a global real estate agency, with almost 1,000 transactions completed over his last three years."
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Colliers Newcastle faces $743,000 commission claim in Federal Court from Dane Crawford

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Sydney’s preliminary weekend success rate sat at 69.5 per cent, after 449 auctions, 46 withdrawals and 259 reported results.
It outdid Melbourne where Domain reported a 57 per cent clearance rate on Saturday from 272 reported results. There were 410 properties scheduled for auction, 37 of which were withdrawn.
Melbourne has the top reported result when $4.12 million was paid at a Marshall White auction of 33 Bangarra Road, Canterbury.
The five-bedroom, Federation-style home sold for $470,000 above the reserve as three bidders fought it out.
The property last sold for $521,000 in 1998.
Sydney's top sale was $3.8 million for the three bedroom 24 Flinton Street, Paddington (pictured below).
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/6/15/paddo.jpg" alt="">
It sold to an expatriate buyer at its reserve price.
The price guide had been $3.5 million.
The nation's cheapest sale was $256,000 for the one bedroom at 7/15 Navigator Street, Maribyrnong (pictured below).
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2020/6/15/maribyrnong.jpg" alt="">
The next cheapest was $261,000 on Brisbane's outskirts when a four bedroom home for 36 Nyanza Street, Woodbridge.
It last sold at $245,000 in 2007.
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Sydney remains the standout winter weekend auction capital city

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Auction attendance restrictions are soon to be eased further in Victoria.
The Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday that up to 50 people will be allowed at public auctions — up from 20 —  from midnight on June 21.
On-site real estate auctions were able to go ahead from mid-May but limited to 10 people, plus the minimum amount of people required to facilitate the sale and those selling the house.
On-site auctions had been banned since March, when restrictions began.
The lack of auctions saw buyer activity plummet in Melbourne, with online auctions struggling to replace their in-person counterparts.
 
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50 attendees allowed at Victorian onsite weekend auctions

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LJ Hooker has appointed KPMG to help restructure the group via a voluntary administration process.
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LJ Hooker chairman Janusz Hooker has sought out three KPMG accountants as administrators to five known LJ Hooker entities.
The appointments included LJX Pty Ltd which is the shareholder in the Lower North Shore AVNU agency, LJHA (LNS) Pty Ltd, which is not in administration, nor the LJHA (LNS) ultimate holding company, Austral Pty Ltd.
The appointments were made on Thursday.
It comes as LJ Hooker Group's directors reportedly seek to recapitalise the wider business with fresh funds, along with a wish to simplify it's operations and carry less debt.
<div id="endOfArticle" class="_3dNuq">
The AFR reported the goal of chairman and founding family member (Leslie) Janusz Hooker - who bought back into the family business in 2009 - and former Macquarie dealmaker Bryan Weir was to emerge from the process with a simpler corporate structure.
"Sources close to the group" advised the administration would not impact the real estate agent's core LJ Hooker franchise business, or its employees.
</div>
It was revealed by the AFR Street Talk column on Sunday.
Each of the entities was said to be a holding company - and not operating companies.
The five sit among 40 entities in the wider LJ Hooker Group.
<div id="endOfArticle" class="_3dNuq">
Documents filed with ASIC show Ryan Eagle, Philip Quinlan and Amanda Coneyworth were appointed administrators to entities including LJHRES which was set up in 2015 and LJHRES HOLDINGS which was set up in 2017.
LJX Labs and LJX Holdings have also had an administrator appointed.
After dumping plans for a $400m stockmarket float, Janusz Hooker, unveiled the LJX Lab in 2017.
The digital research and development vehicle was set to look to foster innovation by identifying, incubating and commercialising products in the prop-tech sector.
AVNU LNS chief performance officer Christine Mikhael resigned her directorship last Thursday from AVNU LNS.
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Janusz Hooker calls in KMPG administrators to restructure LJ Hooker

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GUEST OBSERVER
The COVID-19 pandemic has opened fault lines in social, economic and health-care policy in Australia. One area in which all three converge is homelessness.
It’s almost impossible to practise self-isolation and good hygiene if you’re living on the streets or moving from place to place. This puts homeless people at higher risk of both catching the disease and transmitting it to others.
At the beginning of the pandemic, governments recognised this problem and responded by <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-25/homeless-put-up-in-four-star-hotel-during-coronavirus/12176942">housing homeless people in hotels</a>.
But we need to act now to ensure these people aren’t forced back onto the streets as the pandemic recedes.
This is particularly important given we’re worried about the mental health fallout of the pandemic. Evidence shows homelessness and mental illness are inextricably linked.
Homelessness in Australia
The initiative to house the homeless in hotels has been targeted mostly at “rough sleepers”, of whom there are <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-25/homeless-put-up-in-four-star-hotel-during-coronavirus/12176942">more than 8,000</a> in Australia.
But people who sleep on the streets make up only a tiny proportion of the Australians <a href="https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/61102520832D348ECA257A6F0012AF91/%24File/2049055001_2012.pdf">we consider to be homeless</a>. Homeless people also include those living in unstable or substandard accommodation, for example.
In 2018-19 <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services">more than 290,000 Australians</a> – roughly 1.2% of the population – accessed specialist homelessness services.
So this is only a temporary solution to a national emergency, and addresses only the tip of the iceberg.
Mental illness and beyond
At least <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/specialist-homelessness-services">one in three</a> homeless people have a mental illness.
Homelessness is often a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft">consequence of mental illness</a>, especially of the more severe kinds that involve hallucinations, confusion, mood swings, depression and intense anxiety.
It’s also a consequence of family violence, which itself <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/07/domestic-abuse-victims-more-likely-to-suffer-mental-illness-study">increases the risk of poor mental health</a> in children and adults.
But homelessness can also be a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft">cause of mental illness</a>, through its associations with poverty, unemployment, emotional stress, food insecurity, discrimination, exploitation, loneliness and exposure to violence, crime and drugs.
The pandemic has momentarily lifted the cover on homelessness as a widespread and, so far, intractable social, economic and health problem.
It’s not only a reservoir of private suffering for those driven to the social margins through unstable or inadequate accommodation.
Homelessness also has <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/publications/homelessness-human-rights-issue">broad social impacts</a>, including lost productivity, adverse effects on young people’s health, education and well-being, and increased consumption of mental health services and criminal justice resources, among others.
 
Next steps
What will happen to the homeless people currently housed in hotels <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/advocates-call-for-long-term-solution-to-homelessness-in-sa/12194210">as the pandemic subsides</a>?
As catastrophic an event as COVID-19 has been, it has created a unique opportunity to improve the long-neglected and critically poor state of social housing in Australia.
The Community Housing Industry Association recently put forward a strong economic argument under the <a href="https://www.communityhousing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20200197-SHARP-Final-ReportSGS.pdf?x59559">Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program (SHARP) proposal</a> for national investment in building 30,000 social housing units and upgrading existing housing.
Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft">Productivity Commission draft report on mental illness</a> and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) have put forward robust recommendations concerning housing policy for people with mental illness.
The Productivity Commission and AHURI both advocate increased investment in low-cost, secure and good-quality accommodation, linked where necessary with suitable support services.
Many jurisdictions have excellent programs that help people with mental illness to live independently, such as the <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/services/Pages/hasi.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20Housing%20and%20Accommodation%20Support,way%20that%20they%20want%20to.">Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative</a> in NSW. But these need to be scaled up dramatically.
Affordable social housing combined with government transfer payments (such as pensions, Centrelink and disability payments) sufficient to meet basic living costs would be a major boon to mental health in this country.
Both the Productivity Commission and AHURI highlight <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft">bridging the gaps in social housing</a> could promote recovery from mental illness, enabling greater social participation and enhancing well-being. It’s likely this approach would also prevent many cases of mental illness before they take hold.
In the long term this would far exceed the benefits flowing from <a href="https://www.greghunt.com.au/covid-19-48-1-million-for-national-mental-health-and-wellbeing-pandemic-response-plan/">piecemeal handouts for clinical services</a>, which is the present norm in addressing the mental health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Home improvements or reducing homelessness?
Last week the Australian government announced <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-03/government-coronavirus-construction-stimulus-renovations-25k/12317786">HomeBuilder grants</a> of A$25,000 for owner-occupiers for certain works on their homes. This funding will be going to people who already have homes and can afford substantial renovations.
There is a strong case for making similar investments in housing the homeless, which would <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7492-8">substantially benefit the mental health</a> of our most disadvantaged citizens.
Now is the time for a nationally coordinated effort by federal and state governments to institute economic, social and health policies to address the nexus between homelessness and mental health, and the poverty that feeds into both.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/vaughan-j-carr-2977">Vaughan J Carr</a>, Professor of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales; Adjunct Professor, Monash University, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-jorm-15032">Anthony Jorm</a>, Professor emeritus, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-australia-really-wants-to-tackle-mental-health-after-coronavirus-we-must-take-action-on-homelessness-139840">original article</a>.
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If Australia wants to tackle mental health after coronavirus, we must fix homelessness

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GUEST OBSERVATION
<a href="https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder">HomeBuilder</a> is a good idea gone bad. It is possibly the most complex and least equitable program the government could have devised to deliver construction jobs.
It gives $25,000 to people who already own a home or already have enough money to buy one while delivering a minimal stimulus to extra construction. It isn’t a program to create jobs, it is a way of making people who are reasonably well off richer.
It does not address homelessness, precarious rental or any of the other pressing problems that are caused by our current housing mix.
It might build more nice decks for sipping Chardonnay (most already planned), it might deliver ritzy new bathrooms with imported taps or even new kitchens with the latest European appliances, but it won’t help those suffering housing stress.
Construction is Australia’s <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6291.0.55.003">third-biggest employer</a>, after retail and health care and social assistance. It employs one in every 11 Australians, and it generates other jobs in the building supplies industry and in design and engineering.
The Master Builders Association says construction is facing a decline of <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-03/government-coronavirus-construction-stimulus-renovations-25k/12317786">40%</a>, with potentially horrendous implications for employment.
The industry has three main components:
<ul>
<li>
residential – apartments and houses
</li>
<li>
commercial – including offices, airport terminals, retail, tourism, education and factories
</li>
<li>
engineering – including roads, railways and airport runways.
</li>
</ul>
Engineering construction is doing reasonably well.
Across the country, governments are delivering a veritable infrastructure <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/utopia">Utopia</a>. Continuing projects include the <a href="https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/melbourne-airport-rail">Tullamarine Airport Rail Link</a>, the second stage of the <a href="https://www.sydneymetro.info/citysouthwest/project-overview">Sydney Metro</a>, the <a href="https://northeastlink.vic.gov.au/">North East Link</a> motorway in Melbourne, the <a href="https://www.westconnex.com.au/">WestConnex</a> motorway in Sydney, the <a href="https://www.metronet.wa.gov.au/">Airport Metro</a> in Perth and <a href="https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/">Cross River Rail</a> in Brisbane.
All governments have to do is keep this pipeline going, which, by and large, they are doing.
On the other hand, commercial construction will be in deep trouble by the end of the year as current projects finish without new projects to replace them.
Outlook bleak, then COVID
The outlook for residential construction is desolate, although for some people with secure jobs working from home, COVID-19 appears to have ignited a mini home renovation boom.
Prior to COVID-19, commercial construction was <a href="https://www.masterbuilders.com.au/MediaLibraries/MB/Forecasts/Australia-Forecast_August-2019.pdf">forecast</a> to shrink from A$48.77 billion in 2020-11 to $41.3 billion in 2023-24.
Residential construction was forecast to bottom out in 2021-22 with only 168,000 dwelling starts, down from a peak of 233,872 starts in 2016-17.
Now, both forecasts will be slashed.
The tourism sector is dead, the education sector is near death and the multi-unit residential market, already badly impacted by confidence issues around <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-restore-public-confidence-in-apartments-rewrite-australias-building-codes-126678">construction quality</a>, is in terrible shape with many projects on hold.
Not big enough, not broad enough
The HomeBuilder scheme is not big enough or broad enough to do much to reignite residential construction. To be useful for jobs, it would need to deliver an extra 60,000 housing starts.
Given the only people who will benefit from the grant will be those some way down the track to either buying or building, it is hard to guess what the additional outcome will be, but it would be surprising if the scheme generated much additional activity.
Even if the full budget allocation of the scheme is taken up, it would fund only about 25,000 projects. Many would have gone ahead anyway.
Among the peculiarities of HomeBuilder are that it won’t work in much of Sydney where many houses are likely to be valued above the <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder">$1.5 million</a> limit and it won’t work in regional towns where the required spend will overcapitalise existing houses.
Complexities aplenty
It will encourage people to build in fridges, microwaves, coffee makers and washing machines (many of them tastefully European) to bump the contract price up above the <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder">$150,000</a> minimum.
It is a potential administrative nightmare for state governments that are already stretched administering existing emergency relief programs.
Who will establish that the value of an existing house is less than the $1.5 million upper limit? Will it be the value now in the middle of the COVID downturn or the value last year, or the value used to set local government rates?
Contracts are meant to be arms-length, but who will ensure the builder is not the cousin or the in-law of the owner, something that might be impossible to avoid in a small country town? If a garage is built on the side of a house, rather than as a separate structure, will it comply with the rules? And on and on and on.
Few extra homes
While these are legitimate questions, they ignore the big, central problem with the scheme: the opportunity to deliver a substantial program of social housing that would address real problems, including homelessness, has been missed.
And the government has done it in a way that will minimise the jobs created and maximise the wealth transfer to Australians who are relatively well off.
For a government that has mostly managed to do the right thing ever since COVID-19 hit, this has been a terrible policy clanger.
It will encourage everyone who cannot afford to buy a home, or who is homeless, to believe the government has forgotten them.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140162/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/geoff-hanmer-90647">Geoff Hanmer</a>, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-adelaide-1119">University of Adelaide</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homebuilder-might-be-the-most-complex-least-equitable-construction-jobs-program-ever-devised-140162">original article</a>.
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HomeBuilder might be the most-complex least-equitable construction jobs program ever devised

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GUEST OBSAERVATION
Australian economists narrowly back a wage freeze in the minimum wage case now before the <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-agreements/minimum-wages-conditions/annual-wage-reviews/annual-wage-review-2019-20#field-content-0-heading">Fair Work Commission</a>, a freeze that could flow through to millions of Australians on awards and affect the wages of millions more through the enterprise bargaining process.
The annual case is in its final stages after having begun before the coronavirus crisis and been extended to take account of its implications.
In its submission, the Australian government called for a “<a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/wage-reviews/2019-20/submissions/ausgov-sub-awr1920.pdf">cautious approach</a>”, prioritising the need to keep Australians in jobs and maintain the viability of businesses.
The minimum wage was last frozen in <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/afpc2009wagereview/documents/afpc2009wsd2.pdf">2009</a> amid concern about unemployment during the global financial crisis.
The Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation polled 42 of Australia’s leading economists in the fields of microeconomics, macroeconomics, economic modelling and public policy.
Among them were former and current government advisers, a former and current member of the Reserve Bank board, and a former head of the Australian Fair Pay Commission.
Each was asked whether they agreed, disagreed, or strongly agreed or strongly disagreed with this proposition:
A freeze in the minimum wage will support Australia’s economic recovery
Each was asked to rate the confidence they had in their opinion, and to provide reasons, which are published in full in The Conversation.
Half of those surveyed – 21 out of 42 – backed the proposition, seven of them “strongly”.
Nineteen disagreed, seven strongly. Two were undecided.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339992/original/file-20200605-176538-1b2nkb2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
The Conversation, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a>
The minimum adult wage is <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-and-agreements/minimum-wages-conditions/national-minimum-wage-orders">A$19.49 per hour</a>.
There was agreement among most of those surveyed that, in normal times, normal increases in the minimum wage have little impact on employment – a view backed by <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2018/sep/the-effect-of-minimum-wage-increases-on-wages-hours-worked-and-job-loss">Australian</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2009.00723.x">international</a> research.
But several of those surveyed pointed out that these are not normal times.
Bad times for employers…
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gigi-foster-194/articles">Gigi Foster</a> said many businesses were operating closer to the margin of profitability than ever before, and were likely to stay that way for many months.
<a href="https://esacentral.org.au/news/16047/rana-roy/?type_fr=369">Rana Roy</a> quoted one the pioneers of modern economics, <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Robinson">Joan Robinson</a>, as observing in 1962 that the misery of being exploited by capitalists was “nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all”.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-freebairn-90/articles">John Freebairn</a> argued that a freeze of labour costs, together with very low expected inflation, could provide a key element of certainty in the uncertain world facing households, businesses and governments.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/robert-breunig-167291/articles">Robert Breunig</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tony-makin-140508/articles">Tony Makin</a> suggested that with prices stable or possibly falling, a freeze in the minimum wage might cost workers little or nothing in terms of purchasing power.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/guay-lim-103128/articles">Guay Lim</a> and several others said if the government wanted the economic stimulus that would come from an increase in the minimum wage, it had other ways of bringing it about without making conditions more difficult for employers.
…and bad times for workers
Those supporting an increase saw it as a way to bolster consumer confidence and redress unusually weak worker bargaining power.
Wage growth before the coronavirus hit was historically low at <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6345.0">close to 2%</a>, an outcome so weak for so long that in <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/wage-reviews/2018-19/decisions/2019fwcfb3501.pdf">2018</a> and <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/wagereview2018/decisions/2018fwcfb3500-summary.pdf">2019</a> the Commission awarded much bigger increases in the minimum wage, arguing employers could afford them.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-morley-9918/articles">James Morley</a> was concerned that a freeze in the minimum wage would “mostly just lock in” inflation expectations that were already too low.
<a href="http://www.appliedeconomics.com.au/people/">Peter Abelson</a> said labour productivity rose with respect for workers and fell with disrespect. A wage freeze would disrespect workers.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/saul-eslake-665/articles">Saul Eslake</a> proposed a middle way, deferring a decision rather than granting no increase. He said the increase that was eventually granted should do no more than keep pace with inflation.
The economists were asked to rate their confidence in their responses on a scale of 1 to 10.
Unweighted for confidence, 45.3% of those surveyed opposed a wage freeze. When weighted for (relatively weak) confidence, opposition fell to 43.5%.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339993/original/file-20200605-176546-1u10d49.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">The Conversation, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a>
Unweighted for confidence, half of those surveyed supported the proposition that a freeze in the minimum wage would assist Australia’s economic recovery.
Weighted for confidence, support grew to 51.6%
The Fair Work Commission is required to complete its review by the <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/wage-reviews/2019-20/decisions/2020fwcfb1804.docx">end of this month</a>.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140163/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-martin-682709">Peter Martin</a>, Visiting Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/crawford-school-of-public-policy-australian-national-university-3292">Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University</a>.
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/economists-back-wage-freeze-21-19-in-new-economic-society-conversation-survey-140163">original article</a>.
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Australian economists narrowly backing wage freeze

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Last season’s bushfires directly <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/bushfiresupport/fathers-son-newlyweds-21-lives-lost-to-nsws-deadly-bushfires/news-story/0ba931abc7ce3f1bac820429873b75c2">killed 34 people</a> and devastated more than 8 million hectares of land along the south-eastern fringe of Australia.
A further <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/26/australias-summer-bushfire-smoke-killed-445-and-put-thousands-in-hospital-inquiry-hears">445 people</a> are estimated to have died from smoke-induced respiratory problems.
The burned landscape may take decades to recover, if it recovers at all.
While it’s become known colloquially as the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-16/bushfire-royal-commission-begins-into-australia-black-summer/12152680">Black Summer</a>, last year’s fire season actually began in winter in parts of Queensland. The first fires were <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-27/bushfire-outlook-queensland-2019/11251150">in June</a>.
So will the 2020 fire season kick off this month? And is last summer’s inferno what we should expect as a normal fire season? The answer to both questions is no. Let’s look at why.
Last fire season
First, let’s recap what led to last year’s early start to the fire season, and why the bushfires became so intense and extensive.
The fires were so severe because they incorporated five energy sources. The most obvious is fuel: live and dead plant material.
The other sources bushfires get their energy from include the terrain, weather, atmospheric instability and a lack of moisture in the environment such as in soil, timber in houses and large woody debris.
The <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-27/bushfire-outlook-queensland-2019/11251150">June fires</a> in Queensland resulted from a drought due to the lack of rain coming from the Indian Ocean. The drought combined with unusually hot dry winds from the north-west. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-28/queensland-bushfire-season-starts-earlier-lasts-longer/11456576">By August</a> the bushfires were burning all along the east coast of Australia and had become large and overwhelming.
Ahead of the fire season, environmental moisture was the lowest ever recorded in much of eastern Australia. This was due to the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/iod/">Indian Ocean Dipole</a> – the difference in sea surface temperature on either side of the ocean – which affects rainfall in Australia. The dipole was in positive mode, which brought drought. This meant the fire used less of its own energy to spread.
Fire weather conditions in south-eastern Australia were severe from August 2019 until March 2020. Temperatures reached <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/19/419c-australia-records-hottest-ever-day-one-day-after-previous-record">record highs</a> in places, relative humidity was low and winds were strong due to high-pressure systems tracking further north than normal.
High atmospheric instability, often associated with thunderstorms, enabled large fire plumes to develop as fires grew to several thousand hectares in size. This increased winds and dryness at ground level, rapidly escalating the damaging power and size of the fires.
Fuel levels were high because of the drying trend associated with climate change and a lack of low-intensity fires over the past couple of decades, which allowed fuel levels to build up.
What’s different now
Currently, at least two bushfire energy sources – fuels and drought – are at low levels.
Fuels are low because last season’s fires burnt through large tracts of landscape and it will take five to ten years for them to redevelop. The build-up will start with leaf litter, twigs and bark.
In forested areas, the initial flush of regrowth in understorey and overstorey will be live and moist. Gradually, leaves will turn over and dead litter will start to build up.
But there is little chance of areas severely burnt in 2019-20 carrying an intense fire for at least five years.
What’s also different this year to last is the moist conditions. Drought leading up to last fire season was severe (see below).
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340760/original/file-20200609-21201-quf46h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340760/original/file-20200609-21201-quf46h.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Rainfall Deficiencies: 36 months (February 1 2017 to January 31 2020). <a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/rain/index.jsp?colour=colour&amp;time=history%2Fnat%2F2017030120200229&amp;step=4&amp;map=drought&amp;period=36month&amp;area=nat">Australian Bureau of Meteorology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
Environmental moisture was the driest on record, or in the lowest 5% of records for much of south-east Australia.
But the current level of drought (see below) is much less pronounced.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340761/original/file-20200609-21208-1l3nwlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340761/original/file-20200609-21208-1l3nwlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Rainfall Deficiencies: 12 months (June 1 2019 to May 31 2020). <a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap/rain/index.jsp?colour=colour&amp;time=history%2Fnat%2F2019050120200430&amp;step=0&amp;map=drought&amp;period=12month&amp;area=nat">Australian Bureau of Meteorology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
A change in weather patterns brought good rains to eastern Australia from late February to April.
A turning point?
It’s too early to say conclusively how the fire season will pan out in 2020-21. But moister conditions due to a neutral Indian Ocean Dipole and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/ln-2010-12/SOI-what.shtml">Southern Oscillation Index</a> (which indicates the strength of any <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-el-nino-and-la-nina-27719">El Niño and La Niña</a> events), the lack of fuel, and more normal weather patterns (known as a positive <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/sam/">Southern Annular Mode</a>) mean there is little prospect of an early start to the season.
The likelihood of severe bushfires in south-east Australia later in the year and over summer is much reduced. This doesn’t mean there won’t be bushfires. But they’re not likely to be as extensive and severe as last fire season.
The reduced bushfire risk is likely to persist for the next three to five years.
 
But, in the longer term, climate change means <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/not-normal-climate-change-bushfire-web/">severe fire seasons are becoming more frequent</a>. If we simply try to suppress these fires, we will fail. We need a concerted effort to manage the bushfire risk. This should involve carefully planned and implemented prescribed fires, as well as planning and preparing for bushfires.
Last bushfire season should be a turning point for land management in Australia. Five inquiries into the last bushfire season are under way, including a <a href="https://naturaldisaster.royalcommission.gov.au/about">royal commission</a>, a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Finance_and_Public_Administration/Bushfirerecovery">Senate inquiry</a> and inquiries in <a href="https://www.safecom.sa.gov.au/site/independent_review_sa_201920_bushfires.jsp">South Australia</a>, <a href="https://www.igem.vic.gov.au/fire-season-inquiry">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/nsw-bushfire-inquiry">New South Wales</a>.
These inquiries must lead to change. We have a short window of opportunity to start managing fires in the landscape more sustainably. If we don’t, in a decade’s time we may see the Black Summer repeat itself.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139757/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kevin-tolhurst-184">Kevin Tolhurst</a>, Hon. Assoc. Prof., Fire Ecology and Management, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-12-months-since-the-last-bushfire-season-began-but-dont-expect-the-same-this-year-139757">original article</a>.
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12 months since the last bushfire season, don't expect the same this year

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.

A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.

Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.

From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.

The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]

Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.

A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.

Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

<main data-perf-region="main">
Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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