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It seems a distant memory, but the property market entered 2020 with much anticipation and optimism coming off a strong end to 2019, according to the November report from Herron Todd White.
The Melbourne North auction results at the start of the year are in complete contrast to the past few months in Victoria. There were 1123 auctions on 22 February compared to just 33 on 12 October, highlighting the change in market conditions since the start of the year (source: Corelogic,2020).
That being said, properties have still been selling albeit not in the numbers recorded prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. The decrease in number of listings has resulted in less prestige properties hitting the market but that lack of stock has also helped to keep prices steady with buyers fighting over the limited number of properties.
Homes in the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne are well known for their Victorian period architecture. 16 Rushall Crescent, Fitzroy North (pictured) is no exception. This property sold for $3.675 million on 15 June. This house has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and one car space. The front of the house has been restored with period fixtures and features moving into a rear extension which ties in modern and state of the art designs. The sale occurred between the first and second lockdowns with a high number of potential buyers resulting in a sale in 21 days. The sale showed that the market was still achieving good results in uncertain times mainly due to the lack of stock and the number of willing and able buyers remaining active in the market.
One of the more unique sales in the inner northern suburbs was 69 Fitzgibbon Street, Parkville. This 1889 heritage registered polychrome brick building was and still is the Parkville post office. The property includes five bedrooms, one bathroom and three car spaces. The post office still operates on a lease worth almost $31,000 annually. The building marketed as a once in a lifetime opportunity saw high interest initially and sold in 30 days for $4.04 million on 22 February. The historical significance, late 1800s neo gothic architecture and the fact that it still operates as a post office certainly makes this one of the more unique sales in Victoria during 2020.
A new prestige listing further north at 252 Woodland Street, Strathmore, is currently listed on the market and asking for between $4.25 million and $4.55 million. This ultra-modern home has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a seven-car basement carpark. The open floor plan and combination of large indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces accompanied by high end fixtures and fittings will be sure to gain interest in a market which is still seeing low numbers of stock due to the Coronavirus lockdowns.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

North Melbourne prestige market stock remains low: HTW

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Western Melbourne’s higher end property can be found right in the heart of its inner western suburbs such as Moonee Ponds, Essendon, Ascot Vale, Altona North, Yarraville and Williamstown, according to the Novemeber report from Herron Todd White
They found the housing market for high end property has seen a decrease in volume this year compared to 2019 with COVID being a major factor.
The majority of sales for prestige properties in this area occurred at the start of the year prior to the start of the pandemic and any form of restrictions being put in place. With a crippled economy and very uncertain times for many people, the demand or desire for lavish homes from both investors and owner-occupiers took a decline. This was combined with a limited number of buyers as no overseas investors were allowed into the country due to the heavy travel restrictions in place since March.
Supply for high end property has not been as prevalent this year as in the past however we may see more properties being listed in the coming months. One reason is that people cannot physically inspect properties at this point in time so sellers have held off placing their properties on the market until restrictions are lifted and potential buyers are allowed to physically inspect again in an attempt to achieve a higher sale price.
Another reason could be that if people are now finding that they can no longer afford to pay their mortgage due to the pandemic’s effect, there will be a flood of supply of higher end properties in an effort to avoid the bank taking the property as a mortgagee in possession. Overall there has been little change in value for this type of property as there has been no volume.
The market is dominated by owner-occupiers leaving very little rental spaces available. With no investors the market for high entry real estate has been devoured by homeowners. One sale that stands out in this area is 9 Forbes Street in Essendon (pictured) which sold for $3.61 million in June this year. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom, four-car garage house was originally built in the 1920s. Keeping its original facade, an extension took place in 2016. The house features a pool, large open living areas and American oak floorboards.
On the market for a price of $2.99 million is 5 Morton Street in Essendon. Among the fourbedroom, three-bathroom luxurious home’s features are an underground garage for six cars, large fitting room and master ensuite, indoor and outdoor entertaining area, home theatre, pool and elevator. The home was listed in August this year.
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Western Melbourne prestige property volume decreases: HTW

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Being a regional area, the Coffs Coast realistically sees the prestige market as starting at the $1 million mark which is predominantly driven by out of town buyers, according to the November report from valuation firm Herron Todd White.
HTW found that the largely discretionary type buyer to whom prestige property greater than $1 million appeals can be greatly impacted by changed economic conditions. Plus this market is also heavily influenced by the performance of the capital city markets as these areas traditionally provide the majority of buyers for prestige housing on the Coffs Coast.
Market conditions have continued to swell for properties over $1 million in recent years as confirmed by the increased sales numbers for both beachside and rural residential properties over $1 million, however the majority of sales occur within the $1 million to $1.5 million price bracket.
However, the higher the value, the thinner the market and historically there have been very limited sales over $2 million.
"Sale volumes for prestige beachside property in the Coffs Harbour region (encompassing the beachside suburbs and townships including Coffs Harbour, Korora, Sapphire Beach, Emerald Beach, Sawtell, Woolgoolga, Safety Beach, Arrawarra Headland, Moonee Beach, Boambee and Mullaway) show a total of 11 sales recorded over $2 million since 2007 and we recently cracked the $3 million mark for 147 Edinburgh Street, Coffs Harbour at $3.25 million (multi level, architectual dwelling with ocean and harbour views located within the sought-after Jetty precinct)," according to HTW Property Valuer Grant Oxenford.
"Notwithstanding this figure, we are now experiencing a spike in the prestige market which has been fuelled by the COVID pandemic."
"The changing face of the way we live and work plus the willingness of city dwellers to relocate to regional areas to escape COVID restrictions has created a definite increase in demand."
"The majority of this prestige activity has been in the rural residential sector with notable sales including 1-9 Tidal Crescent, Moonee Beach for $2.4 million (five dwellings set on 1.22 hectares with extensive estuary views), 123-125 Featherstones Road, Sherwood for $2.4 million (five dwellings on 70 hectares with extensive infrastructure), 606 Valery Road, Valery for $2.1 million (two dwellings on 51 hectares, fully renovated and landscaped) plus the most recent transaction which has broken all records for rural residential property at $3.3 million for 110 North Island Loop Road, Upper Orara (prestige architectural dwelling with second original cottage set on 42 hectares)," he added.
The rural township of Bellingen (35 kilometres south-west of Coffs Harbour) has been a historically strong performer with the 'out-of-town' market and has seen four rural residential sales in excess of $1.5 million within the past four months.
It is interesting to note that the majority of the properties mentioned above have been marketed for in excess of 12 months and in some cases three years which is also an indicator of the traditional thinness of this market and the recent increase in demand as a result of the COVID pandemic.
Mr Oxenford said, "the question one must ask is whether these values are sustainable or is this a bubble created by a false market driven by the pandemic. The answer to that is not simple and without a crystal ball, no one really knows, other than to comment that this is not a normal property cycle."
"As a result of the market primarily being driven by out of town buyers, personal preferences, presentation and motivation of both the purchasers and vendors will impact the ultimate sale price and can result in wider market parameters than those experienced for lower priced properties."
"At this point in time, we can only hang on and enjoy the ride; great if you are a seller, not so good for the buyers," he concluded.
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Coffs Harbour prestige market seeing pandemic spike: HTW

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Raise your hand if you’ve ever travelled for weeks or months as a backpacker on a limited daily budget. Keep your hand up if you were made welcome in the places you visited on your <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249631253_The_big_'OE'_Young_New_Zealand_travellers_as_secular_pilgrims">OE</a>, enjoyed chance encounters and experienced the generosity of strangers.
And did those experiences leave a lifelong affection for the places you visited and people you met? If the answer is yes, then we need to consider what might happen in New Zealand were Tourism Minister Stuart Nash’s latest ideas to become policy.
To recap, Nash told the Tourism Summit in Wellington last week the industry should move away from catering for low-spending backpackers and instead <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/18/new-zealand-tourism-looks-past-backpackers-in-favour-of-high-net-worth-individuals">target the rich</a>. This would solve two problems: the environmental damage allegedly caused by freedom campers (including using <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/defecating-freedom-campers-cause-a-big-stink-at-otagos-smaills-beach/IQXG2C6HLDTFJCH3JOIFA4UBSM/">nature as their toilet</a>), and the pressure of too many visitors in general.
Nash was right to say we cannot return to the pre-COVID normal when the border reopens and the tourism recovery begins. Overcapacity, strained infrastructure and environmental impacts meant <a href="https://www.pce.parliament.nz/our-work/news-insights/media-release-pristine-popular-imperilled">growing community resistance</a> was reaching a tipping point.
But do we really want to banish backpackers and position New Zealand as expensive and exclusive — the Switzerland of the South Pacific? There are five reasons this approach would be a mistake.
1. Big spenders are big polluters
Lower-budget travellers generally stay much longer than the average. They usually make a higher aggregate economic contribution than those whose daily spend is high but who pass through quickly.
Does New Zealand really want only the uber-rich to experience our natural wonders, when flying business class, travelling by cruise ship and hiring helicopters are the most environmentally damaging ways to do so?
 
If we were to consider the wider social, economic and environmental impacts of discrete tourism markets, we would be banishing the <a href="http://www.physics.otago.ac.nz/space/cruise_ship_EnergyPol.pdf">cruise industry</a> first, not backpackers.
2. Backpackers bring many benefits
Because they stay longer, backpackers can bring wider benefits to our society, economy and environment. They tend to be more dispersed, bringing economic development and employment opportunities to regional communities.
Also, their travel behaviours tend to align more with the concept of <a href="https://pureadvantage.org/news/2020/07/31/regenerative-tourism-opportunity-for-tourism-recovery/">regenerative tourism</a>. Backpackers are more likely to be conscious of their carbon footprint, engage in beach cleanups, plant trees and involve themselves in conservation projects.
They are a seasonal labour force, too, as has been shown by critical <a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/horticulture/no-change-seasonal-worker-shortage">labour shortages</a> in rural and regional economies due to border closures.
3. The importance of diverse tourism
Backpackers and freedom campers support small regional tourism businesses, attractions and local services that would not survive without them. Backpacker hostels, home-stays, camping grounds and other low-budget accommodation subsectors would be at risk, as would many small and medium tourism businesses.
During crises it is important that tourism destinations have a broad portfolio of markets. This ensures resilience and mitigates potential economic impacts from periodic disruptions to global tourism. Furthermore, as the mayor of Queenstown has <a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/caution-urged-over-tourist-van-ban">observed</a>, today’s backpackers return in future as high-end visitors.
4. Tackling climate change and overconsumption
Social tourism refers to the principle that opportunities to engage occasionally in leisure and tourism are important for personal well-being and an inclusive society. It is a form of tourism based on an <a href="https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/8zz55/what-is-social-tourism">ethic of social inclusion</a>, as opposed to exclusion based on wealth.
By contrast, the carbon-intense lifestyles and sense of entitlement of the super-wealthy are major barriers to climate action.
Our tourism policies should not celebrate and encourage over-consumption, which works against shifting attitudes towards less carbon-intensive and more sustainable travel.
5. Damage to our international reputation
Do we really want to be perceived as exclusionary and elitist? A colleague based at a university in the Netherlands, for example, reported a social media backlash:
Everyone is complaining about the news that Kiwis do not want to have us anymore and they are only interested in tourists who fly business class and hire a helicopter around Franz Josef.
Similarly, the policy can look petty. A <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/new-zealand-vows-crackdown-on-defecating-backpackers/articleshow/79277723.cms">story</a> headlined “New Zealand vows crackdown on defecating backpackers” in the Times of India reported the New Zealand government’s promise “to take action against backpackers relieving themselves at natural beauty spots as part of post-coronavirus tourism plans”.
The post-COVID challenge
Should New Zealand’s post-coronavirus tourism rebuild really be perceived as revolving around the defecations of low-budget tourists? While there have been cases of disgusting behaviour, this problem can be actively managed.
Non-self-contained campervans could be required to park overnight in fully serviced camping grounds for a nominal fee. New Zealanders should not bear the costs of tourism, anyway. Local councils transfer the costs of freedom camping to ratepayers when they provide “free” overnight parking and toilet facilities — putting rate-paying local camping grounds out of business.
 
Above all, our tourism rebuild should be closely aligned with what makes New Zealand unique. First and foremost, it should be founded on the Māori principles of <a href="https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&amp;phrase=&amp;proverb=&amp;loan=&amp;histLoanWords=&amp;keywords=kaitiakitanga">kaitiakitanga</a> and <a href="https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?keywords=manaakitanga">manaakitanga</a> — a mutual responsibility to care for the land and culture, as expressed in the <a href="https://tiakinewzealand.com/">Tiaki Promise</a> charter.
This would honestly reflect the ideals of generations of Kiwis who have set off on their own OEs to experience the world. If we consider this a birthright, is it fair that we deny the same to others who want to visit us?<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150639/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/james-higham-134567">James Higham</a>, Professor of Tourism, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-tucker-1180720">Hazel Tucker</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</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/5-reasons-why-banishing-backpackers-and-targeting-wealthy-tourists-would-be-a-mistake-for-nz-150639">original article</a>.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-higham-134567">James Higham</a> &amp; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hazel-tucker-1180720">Hazel Tucker</a>
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5 reasons why banishing backpackers and targeting wealthy tourists would be a mistake for NZ

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The idea of moving to the country has <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-10/post-covid-19-pandemic-simpler-life-migration/12229082">gained momentum</a> through the COVID-19 pandemic. Many workplaces have introduced <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-management-resistance-overcome-working-from-home-may-be-here-to-stay-144850">new policies on working from home</a> that give employees the flexibility needed to make the switch.
Lockdowns have shown many just how cramped and uncomfortable life can be when you cannot escape to the usual activities that get you out of the house. And if everything is closed, what is the point of being in the city and paying a higher rent or mortgage anyway? The Reserve Bank has <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2020/sep/the-rental-market-and-covid-19">noted rents have gone down</a> and vacancy rates have gone up in major cities.
At the same time, some real estate agents have <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-15/australians-seek-regional-affordability-house-prices-coronavirus/12242252">noticed an upturn</a> in interest in renting or buying rural and regional properties. The <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/these-are-the-best-performing-property-markets-in-australia-domain-house-price-report-1000315/">demand in some regional areas</a> has pushed up prices by <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/where-regional-australian-house-prices-moved-the-most-domain-house-price-report-1000799/">as much as 30%</a> in the year to October. It seems many are already making the switch to country living.
It sounds idyllic. Escape the rat race, have space to grow veggies and let the kids play outside. You won’t have to commute any more, and you might even be able to buy a house in the country at a time when city prices remain out of reach for many. You could be living the dream.
Find a place that matches your values
So how do you know if this is right for you, or a disaster waiting to happen?
In <a href="https://eprints.usq.edu.au/34713/">my research</a> with people who moved to the country, I found successful moves came down to how closely aligned people’s values were with the attributes of the place they moved to. For example, some people value space and quiet more than bustle and activity. If they found these attributes in their new home, then they were able to craft a new life that was deeply satisfying.
When you look through the pages of a glossy magazine such as Country Style, you might find yourself yearning for the lifestyle it depicts – the grassy fields, the peaceful but quirky homes filled with flea-market finds, the home-grown abundance and the happy, contented people. These are long-held and highly regarded values that many hold dear.
The roots of these ideals are deep. Representations of the country as a rural idyll, a place to escape to, are centuries older than our <a href="https://theconversation.com/imagining-your-own-seachange-how-media-inspire-our-great-escapes-105207">current media</a>.
Epicurus (340BC to 270BC) moved from the centre of Athens to the countryside just outside so he could grow vegetables and live simply. Virgil’s (70BC to 19BC) Eclogues emphasised a rural idyll, as did much later painters such as John Constable and Eugene von Guérard. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1845) is an oft-quoted classic about an urban dweller moving to a rural place to live a better life (albeit temporarily in his case).
Early Australian writers such as A.B. “Banjo” Paterson and Henry Lawson took up this nostalgic ideal in the fledgling colony. So did artists such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Condor when they travelled to then-rural Heidelberg, now part of Melbourne, to paint the uniquely Australian countryside.
More recently, we have seen Peter Mayle’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_in_Provence">A Year in Provence</a> (1991) sketch a romantic picture of city dwellers moving to rural France. And there are popular television series such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Life_(1975_TV_series)">The Good Life</a> (1975-77), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaChange">Seachange</a> (1998-2000, 2019), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Cottage_Australia">River Cottage Australia</a> (2013-16) and most recently <a href="https://tvtonight.com.au/2020/10/escape-from-the-city-reaches-final-episode">Escape from the City</a>.
Beware the gap between depictions and reality
We know the media are a powerful factor in helping us develop and share our identity and personal narratives. We respond to television shows, books and magazines that we are interested in by becoming their audience. We might share values, goals, ideas or even similar stories with the media we watch. We then, consciously or unconsciously, learn from or adopt those ideas and values in a process of socialisation that shows us how we might live a better life.
Media are only a representation, however. A multitude of factors, not least of which are sales and advertising revenues, go into the process of decision-making as images and stories are crafted for the various outlets. There can be a tendency for media to adopt stereotypes as a shorthand form of communication, but these do not necessarily reflect the reality they purport to depict.
This might seem obvious, but it is all too easy to accept these images as truth when we are inclined towards that viewpoint anyway.
Do you value the things that make a rural place what it is, whether that is peacefulness, an absence of people, vistas of rolling hills, or the community of a small country town? If you do, there’s a good chance a move to the country will enable you to live more closely in line with your values and so be a successful one.
If, on the other hand, you value city-style living, which includes attractions, shops, events and being close to services, you might want to reassess whether a seachange or treechange is right for you.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-wallis-568028">Rachael Wallis</a>, Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-queensland-1069">University of Southern Queensland</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/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-in-lockdown-but-is-moving-to-the-country-right-for-you-148807">original article</a>.
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It seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?

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GUEST OBSERVATION
In tax as in many endeavours, it’s easy to work out how things should be; harder to work out how to get there.
In NSW, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet wants to replace the one-off stamp duty on real estate transactions with an annual <a href="https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/NSW%20TSY%20TF%20-%20Glossy.pdf">land tax</a>.
In the long run, this one single reform could produce the biggest possible gains of any tax reform, state or federal.
This graph from the federal treasury’s 2015 <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/c2015-rethink-dp-TWP_combined-online.pdf">tax discussion paper</a> makes the point.
It says the “marginal excess burden” (damage) done by real estate conveyancing taxes amounts to 70 cents for each dollar raised.
It means people and businesses change addresses less often than they should. Households live further away from their work than they would like to, are reluctant to move to where there is better work, and spend money extending houses instead of moving to better ones.
Businesses resist changing property location and type when changes in markets and costs suggest they should.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370724/original/file-20201123-19-16bujkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370724/original/file-20201123-19-16bujkx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
<a class="source" href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/c2015-rethink-dp-TWP_combined-online.pdf">Tax discussion paper, Australian Treasury March 2015</a>
In contrast, the treasury found the marginal excess burden of land tax was negative. By that it means every dollar raised actually makes things better off by making land more likely to be used for its best purpose and making land less likely to be not used at all.
Swapping the worst tax the treasury modelled for the best tax it modelled ought to have a huge economic payoff for use of property, for productivity and for living standards.
It’d also be fairer.
The NSW <a href="https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-10/FFR%20Final%20Report%20-%20200828%20%281%29.pdf">Thodey Review</a> of federal financial relations commissioned by Treasurer Perrottet notes that 26% of owner-occupiers have remained in the same property for at least 20 years.
Most of these long-term same property owners have benefited “not only from the services provided by the state over that time, but also from a once-in-a-generation land price windfall”.
In exchange for these gains, they have contributed very little towards essential services and critical infrastructure via property taxation. Others who have moved more often than the average to find a job, to be closer to schools, or to match housing size to changes in their family situation have picked up the tab.
Thodey also identifies other reasons for making the switch. Land tax revenue is more stable and predictable than revenue that soars and dives at times when people are buying or are not buying properties.
How you get there matters
The Australian Capital Territory is well on the way.
In 2012-13 it began a <a href="https://www.allhomes.com.au/news/cbr-how-act-home-owners-are-affected-by-the-act-tax-reform-program-new-report-982274/">20-year transition</a>. Stamp duty and insurance duty are being wound back (for everyone) and replaced by <a href="/news">increases to general rates on land</a>.
The transition is roughly revenue-neutral.
NSW is proposing a different approach. It is considering asking new buyers to “<a href="https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-11/NSW%20Treasury%20property%20tax%20proposal%20Consultation%20Paper.pdf">opt in</a>” to an annual land tax in return for escaping stamp duty. Once a buyer has opted in, future buyers of that property won’t be able to opt out. They will pay land tax instead of stamp duty.
It’ll mean no property owner, new or old, need be a loser in the first instance.
But it will stretch out the transition and involve very large reductions in revenue for years to come, with smaller but still-substantial losses over decades.
As an illustration, assume that in year one, rather than paying $100 of stamp duty, the buyer chooses to pay a much smaller annual land tax.
NSW is going the long way
On average about 5% of properties change hands each year, meaning on average each is transferred once every 20 years. That means that to be revenue neutral in the long term the annual land tax should be set at 5% of the stamp duty.
If all the buyers in the first year switch over to land tax, the government will lose 95% of the money it would have got from stamp duty in that year.
With the passing of time and a larger share of owners paying land tax the shortfall will get smaller. But even after a decade, it might be as much as 50%.
Some buyers will never opt-in
And the voluntary opt in will give buyers who expect to hold a property for longer than average, for more than 20 years, an incentive to turn down the offer of land tax and pay (the lesser) stamp duty as before; while those who expect a short stay will opt for the (lesser) land tax.
This entirely rational behaviour will further reduce government revenue, aggravate the inequity of the system we’ve got, lock some owners into the properties they already own in order to avoid paying for government services, and postpone the benefits of moving to a system in which tax doesn’t distort the use of land.
It’s easy to see why Perrottet has gone for a voluntary switchover.
There are better ways to avoid double taxation
Without some sort of concession, recent buyers would find themselves taxed twice, once through stamp duty and then again through annual land taxes.
The ACT’s 20-year transition is one way to get around the problem.
Despite concerns, it has <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/submissions/nsw-should-swap-stamp-duties-for-a-broad-based-property-tax/">proved popular enough</a>.
Eight years in, the ACT Labor government has just won it’s <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/politics/act-votes-will-labor-secure-a-sixth-term/news-story/fb16a95da53cb48cc31f1591b54abd66">sixth consecutive election</a>.
A quicker way of realising the gains from switching while reducing double taxation would be to introduce land tax immediately and give recent buyers a partial credit for the stamp duty they’ve paid.
As an example, stamp duty paid in the past one, two, three, four and five years could receive a credit of 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%, respectively.
It would cost revenue over the transition period, but not as much as the opt in arrangement proposed by the NSW treasurer, and after that short period the switch would be revenue-neutral. Importantly, it would reap the full efficiency benefits from day one, and ensure everyone paid the tax they should.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150629/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/john-freebairn-90">John Freebairn</a>, Professor, Department of Economics, <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/axing-stamp-duty-is-a-great-idea-but-nsw-is-going-about-it-the-wrong-way-150629">original article</a>.
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Axing stamp duty is a great idea, but NSW is going about it the wrong way

Steady decline in average mortgage interest rate to continue: RBA's Guy Debelle

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Rooville, a solid pale-brick home sitting on 6.5ha bushland in Lyonville, Victoria hit the market with $1.85 million to $2 million hopes.
It is now seeking $1.65 million - $1.78 million after several months of marketing.
The postmodern style home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-lyonville-134378954" target="_blank">121 Frith Mill Road </a>features curved roof line, exposed internal timber pillars and exposed brick walls. 
The home offers centrally located open plan kitchen and lounge/dining with Ned Kelly woodier heater. 
<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/2020/9/14/lyonville%202.jpg" alt="">
The master suite with ensuite opens onto an east-facing deck with lake views. 
At the opposite end of the house, there are two additional bedrooms, bathroom and laundry or wet room.
There is a lakeside studio with loft bedroom and kitchenette. 
<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/2020/9/14/lyonville%203.jpg" alt="">
Additional features of Rooville include triple carport, woodshed, vegetable garden with berries and rainwater tanks. 
It is located close to the popular tourist towns of Daylesford, Trentham, Kyneton and Woodend. 
Kim McQueen and Robert Broadhurst of McQueen Broadhurst Real Estate Kyneton &amp; Dylesford have the listing. 
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Lyonville trophy home on 6.5 ha bushland has listing price cut

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A renovated Queenslander in Kalinga, Queensland has gone under offer after hitting the market in xxx with $2.1 million hopes. 
The five bedroom, three bathroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-kalinga-134360750" target="_blank">148 Kent Road</a> is surrounded by the leafy streets of Kent Road.
Last traded for $390,000 back in 2000, the 1905 built Queenslander has three main living areas, a study, large kitchen, alfresco entertainment area and swimming pool. 
<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/2020/9/14/kalinga%202.jpg" alt="">
Nestled on a large 810sqm block, the home also features polished timber floors, pressed metal ceilings and space for four cars. 
<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/2020/9/14/kalinga%203.jpg" alt="">
Located only 8km from the Brisbane CBD, it is close to major shopping precincts, trial station and Brisbane Airport. 
Tyson Clarke of Queensland Sotheby's International Realty Brisbane marketed the home
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Kalinga renovated Queenslander under offer

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Camas, a 4ha property with open gardens in Dural, NSW has been offered for the first time in 53 years.
Surrounded by sweeping lawns, rose and vegetable gardens, the two storey double brick home is situated at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-dural-134438406" target="_blank">465 Glaston Road</a>. 
The family home comprises six bedrooms, two verandahs, and multiple dining and living areas with views of the surrounding gardens. 
<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/2020/9/28/dural%202.jpg" alt="">
It also features high ceilings, marble fireplace and the use of Australian Cedar throughout the home.
The home is situated only moments to local shops, schools, playing fields and 40 minutes to Sydney CBD.
<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/2020/9/28/dural%203.jpg" alt="">
The property offers the buyer potential with the option of subdividing into two parcels (STC).
Kate Lumby and Will Hampson of Lumby Hampson Dural have the listing.  
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Camas, Dural trophy home listed for the first time in 53 years

National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.

The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.

Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]

Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.

Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.

“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.

He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.

“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.

“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.

Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.

Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.

Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.

The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]

Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more internation and domestic flights.

Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.

Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

Joel Robinson

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.

The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.

The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" />

According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”

The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.

The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.

Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.

“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.

The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.

The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" />

The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.

“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.

According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.

“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.

“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”

The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.

Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.

&nbsp;

The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" />

St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.

Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.

The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.

More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.

First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-5" data-turn="user" data-turn-id="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" data-turn-id-container="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" dir="auto">Time &amp; Place’s plans to transform the former David Jones factory building in Surry Hills into a mixed-use residential precinct have gone on exhibition through the NSW Government’s In-fill Affordable Housing pathway.</section>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" dir="auto">
The Marlborough House proposal, lodged for the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marlborough-house-47-97-marlborough-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010">47-97 Marlborough Street</a> site, would see the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed warehouse building alongside the construction of new residential additions and a separate apartment building on the northern portion of the site.

The proposal seeks approval for 172 apartments across three buildings, including 15 per cent affordable housing managed by a community housing provider for at least 15 years from occupation.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d1d3c2a-bf13-47d6-a335-7c01102cdee1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=cjMYrbR.BLUlWH4dar0RVDDo0bG.u2YT" />

Interior view from the Northern Building Penthouse overlooking the park

&nbsp;

The redevelopment is planned for the prominent 3,413 sqm site bounded by Marlborough Street, Goodlet Street and Lansdowne Street, directly opposite Eddie Ward Park and around 200 metres from the Surry Hills light rail stop.

Time &amp; Place acquired the former David Jones building in 2024, marking the first time the property had changed hands in around 50 years.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal centres around the adaptive reuse of the former David Jones factory, originally constructed between 1913 and 1935 in the Inter-War Chicagoesque architectural style.

Wardle noted in its Architectural Design Report that the building “occupies a significant place in the industrial and cultural history of Surry Hills” and at its peak was “the largest department store manufacturing facility in Australia, employing over 800 people and fuelling the growth of Sydney’s fashion and retail industries.”

The practice said the project positions itself “not as an isolated intervention, but as a contributor to the civic, social, and architectural grain of the precinct.”

The proposal would deliver 75 apartments within the retained southern heritage building, 59 apartments within the central addition, and a further 38 apartments within the new northern building fronting Lansdowne Street.

Planning documents show the scheme would comprise a mix of heritage apartments, new-build apartments, townhouses and penthouses.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="57758518-40a3-4b83-958c-d06e96a2cffa" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.42%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=VerlX9ST5xgBi8.1_YRsqdWTJeT6ygjs" />Interior View of the Heritage Building Apartment

The development would also include a ground-floor retail tenancy on the corner of Marlborough and Lansdowne streets, rooftop communal open space, a landscaped pedestrian link along the western edge of the site, and basement parking accessed from Lansdowne Street via a car stacker system.

&nbsp;

The scheme emerged from a competitive design process run by Urbis, with Wardle ultimately selected as the winning architect ahead of FJC Studio, TZG, Architectus and Wilkinson Eyre.

The Design Integrity Panel later described several aspects of the Wardle scheme as fundamental to the project, including “the stepped character of the new addition to the north of the site”, the landscaped western pedestrian link, and the “garden arrival” experience separating the original Marlborough House from the heritage addition.

Wardle’s design heavily references the site’s industrial and heritage history, while also responding to the surrounding Surry Hills streetscape.

The Architectural Design Report describes Surry Hills as “a finely grained neighbourhood with beautiful and expressive brickworks throughout the suburb,” with the proposal introducing a material palette intended to sit comfortably alongside the existing warehouse fabric and neighbouring terraces.

The report also outlines the project’s relationship with Eddie Ward Park and the broader landscape context of the area.

“Marlborough House occupies a site of deep cultural memory and the neighbouring Eddie Ward Park is of local ecological significance, where natural systems, topography, and stories have long shaped human experience,” Wardle noted in the report.

The architects said the proposal sought to “rebind built form to Country” through landscape, materiality and the adaptive reuse of the heritage structure.

<img alt="Marlborough House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ae3f2f9-c85f-477a-a6f8-b43f6cb97c41" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.53%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=B.qUCLqRvJOR.n9CvYcTpaknIX9LuqKZ" />

The project is also being progressed under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions, allowing developments that include affordable housing to access additional height and floor space incentives.

Under the plans, 2,593 sqm of the project’s floor space would be dedicated to affordable housing, slightly exceeding the required 15 per cent threshold.

In its Design Excellence Strategy, Urbis said the project aimed to “sensitively adapt and enhance the heritage-listed building on site through alterations and additions that preserve its historical significance” while delivering “high-quality market and infill affordable housing development in Surry Hills.”

Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/south-melbourne-vic-3205">South Melbourne</a>, and have future projects, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-wilmot-173-burke-road-28-hope-street-glen-iris-vic-3146">The Wilmot</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>, the redevelopment of the Northcote Plaza, and another tower in South Melbourne.

The developer broke into Sydney just a few years ago with Two Tides in Manly. They have another project nearby, which is at the ultra-luxury end of the market on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach.

It is also continuing to work through the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-time-place-settles-on-design-for-the-chimes-potts-point-redevelopment">redevelopment of The Chimes building</a> on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as a project on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Mosman's Redan Street</a>.
</section>

First look: Time & Place unveils Marlborough House redevelopment designs for former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills

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

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

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

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