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Residential pockets within the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne historically yield high sale and rental prices, according to the July Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm took a look at how a budget of $700,000 could be invested in property markets across the nation. 
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The report suggests suburbs such as Richmond, South Yarra, Toorak, Camberwell, Hawthorn and Kew all have high median residential house prices and equally high median prices for apartments.
The areas of the eastern suburbs that would be best suited for someone with a budget of $700,000 begin further down the Lilydale train line, near places such as Ringwood, Warrandyte, Mitcham and Doncaster.
"These areas have a good mix of established residential housing, emerging housing markets seen in land developments such as the Tullamore Estate in Doncaster and new single or multi-unit dwelling developments taking place in various suburbs across the eastern suburbs," the valuation firm said. 
A two bedroom townhouse located near Doncaster Westfield has recently been sold for $641,000.
The townhouse at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-townhouse-vic-doncaster-133861270" target="_blank">14/9-13 Wetherby Road </a>(pictured below) comprises two bedrooms, study, lounge and meals zones and courtyard. 
It also features kitchen with breakfast bar, second toilet, ducted heating and evaporative cooling. 
<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/2020/8/10/doncaster%201.jpg" alt="">
Some comparisons of median house prices in eastern suburbs are shown below.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/8/10/east%20mel.jpg" target="_blank">Click here </a>to enlarge:
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Source: HTW
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Mooroolbark is a very suitable suburb in which to invest for someone with a budget of $700,000, the report noted. 
 The suburb is situated close to major shopping centres with Eastland a short drive away, access to public transport commuting into the city and the market that is available in Mooroolbark.
A current listing is a three bedroom Mooroolbark house priced at $590,000 to $640,000.
The home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-mooroolbark-133958610" target="_blank">30 Winyard Drive</a> (pictured below) comprises three bedrooms, lounge, dining area, galley kitchen and central bathroom. 
It is situated within a short stroll to train station, shops and eateries. 
<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/2020/8/10/mooroolbark.jpg" alt="">
The varying quality of homes in the area makes it possible for investors to either buy and renovate, buy and knockdown or purchase an established home ready to move into or rent out to tenants. 
"We are of the opinion that these outer eastern suburbs are a great location to invest in property, whilst being affordable and having opportunities to construct new dwellings, renovate older homes or purchase a home suitable for living," the valuation firm said. 
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What a lazy $700,000 can buy in eastern Melbourne: HTW residential 

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High rise apartments in the Melbourne city and fringe areas will suffer the largest price fall as a result of the Coronavirus, according to the latest Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm presented an 'investor playbook' of real estate performance within each service area this month. 
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"The past few months have also impacted the rental market as high rates of unemployment have led to many young people exiting the rental market and moving back in with parents, downsizing or sharing rentals to save money," the valuation firm said. 
 This has greatly reduced housing demand, which has caused a spike in vacancy rates, leaving investors nervous about what’s to come. 
With immigration coming to a halt as well as a sharp decline in international students, investors will be feeling the pain over the next 12 to 24 months, the report noted. 
"We are also seeing quite a number of nomination sales in the CBD market, as many investors are desperate to find a new purchaser to take over their property. 
"Investors are doing this now as they had originally purchased these apartments 12 to 18 months ago and pre-committed to contracts, but with lending environments changing since then, they are unable to settle on their apartments, leaving some with no choice but to forfeit their deposits," the valuation firm said. 
A new two bedroom apartment in Melbourne CBD was sold for $630,000 in July. 
The apartment at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-vic-melbourne-131936738" target="_blank">3102/135 A'Beckett Street</a> (pictured below) comprises two bedrooms, two bathrooms and open living area. 
It was last sold in 2014 for $635,000.
<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/2020/8/10/melbourne.jpg" alt="">
A two bedroom Melbourne CBD apartment with water views has been listed for rent with a price guide of $650 per week.
The <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-melbourne-427127838" target="_blank">4907/605 Lonsdale Street </a>apartment (pictured below) comes with open plan ring area, modern kitchen, large balcony and European laundry. 
It is located opposite the South Cross Railway Station. 
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Melbourne CBD high rise apartments to suffer largest price falls: HTW residential 

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Agents within Sydney inner city/east are reporting only a slight drop in listing numbers for owner occupier type properties, with an increase in off market activity within this market segment, according to the latest Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm presented an 'investor playbook' of real estate performance within each service area this month. 
"However, investor activity appears to have dropped sharply, particularly in more homogenous medium and high density areas such as Haymarket, Zetland and Forest Lodge. This is largely driven by declines in rental demand pushing rents lower and therefore reducing overall returns," the valuation firm said. 
According to SQM Research residential vacancy rates for Zetland peaked in May at a record high of 6.0 per cent and have slightly reduced to 5.7 per cent throughout June. 
A similar trend can be seen at Mascot with vacancy rates peaking in June at 7.4 per cent as per SQM Research. Across the city within the inner west suburb of Pyrmont house rents fell by 11.8 per cent over the past year (Domain).
The report notes the sharp reduction in rental demand within these locations is resulting in lower rents and extended vacancy periods, this ultimately has a negative effect on sale prices given that investors are concerned about rental returns and also whether there will be any upside capital growth in the next few years.
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A recent sale of a two-bedroom apartment at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-nsw-mascot-132917998" target="_blank">612/149-161 O’Riordan Street, Mascot</a> (pictured below) is a good example of this.
 
<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/2020/8/10/mascot%202.jpg" alt="">
Previously sold during April 2016 for $800,000 and has recently been sold during July by the same agency for $790,000. 
This result demonstrates how investment grade properties within certain high-density locations are performing subpar when compared to owner occupier style properties such as freestanding homes or larger modern townhouse/terraces within the surrounding area, the report noted. 
Current asking rents for two- bedroom units within the building range from $600 to$700 per week.
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"Based on what we are seeing, and information from local real estate agents, it appears that more first homebuyers are entering the market which does help increase demand for some of the investment style apartments, however there is still an oversupply of apartments advertised for sale and lease within these locations such as Zetland and Mascot," the valuation firm said. 
Going forward it seems unlikely that this trend will significantly improve in the near future particularly while the impacts of COVID-19 are at play.
There are currently opportunities to purchase investment properties at prices similar or even lower than what they were sold for over the last few years, however this is assuming that someone can tolerate the reduced rental income and ‘ride out the storm’ until the market starts to recover.
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"On a positive note this region of Sydney is always going to benefit from proximity to the CBD, good infrastructure and various services and amenities which make the inner suburbs of Sydney a popular place to live and invest in property," the valuation firm said. 
The area is already well serviced for public transport, however the future Metro West and Metro City &amp; Southwest lines will provide additional transport options for some of these inner ring suburbs.
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"As always we believe that the strongest investment properties over the long-term will be those that are well-positioned, quality-built/designed, lower density developments and freestanding/semi- detached dwellings or the older properties that have renovation upside." 
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Sydney sees sharp drop in investor activity: HTW residential 

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The past month has seen the southern highlands property market go from strength to strength, according to the July Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
The valuation firm took a look at how a budget of $700,000 could be invested in property markets across the nation. 
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The report notes a lack of stock due to vendors’ unwillingness to put their properties to market in uncertain times coupled with extremely strong interest from Sydney buyers has resulted in a strong surge in sales numbers as well as prices in the local region. 
"We had predicted this over the longer term, however it has been very evident over the past four weeks and the next few months should be interesting as we see life return to normal and the market potentially inundated with new listings," the valuation firm said. 
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A lazy $700,000 in the Southern Highlands is quickly becoming non-existent largely thanks to the above mentioned continual exodus from Sydney.
 This certainly doesn’t mean you can’t find anything for less than $700,000 in the region, however these days a brand new traditional family home in the three main suburbs of Bowral, Mittagong and Moss Vale are all above that price point, the report noted. 
The best performing suburb at this price point would either be Moss Vale or Mittagong, both of which have slightly older homes still popping up sub $700,000 and even sub $600,000 in the case of Moss Vale.
A four bedroom house in Mittagong has recently been sold for $685,000.
The home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-mittagong-133955806" target="_blank">5 Waverley Parade </a>(pictured below) comes with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and garden. 
It also features ceiling fan, timber floorboards and external laundry with toilet. 
<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/2020/8/3/mittagong.jpg" alt="">
 
A current offering is a four bedroom house in Moss Vale priced at $695,000.
The family home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-moss+vale-132123446" target="_blank">14 Napper Close</a> (pictured below) boasts open plan kitchen, dining and living area, four bedrooms, media room and backyard. 
It is situated close to Moss Vale Town centre and local schools. 
<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/2020/8/3/moss%20vale%202.jpg" alt="">
 
Typically rental returns are good and again off the back of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, enquiry levels from Sydney have been strong, resulting in improved rental returns to that of the past 24 months.
"We expect this price point to continue to perform strongly over the next few years, as working from home becomes a more common practice. In turn, this should result in more first home buyers looking in the area due to its good proximity to Sydney should they need to travel to a place of work a couple of days per week," the valuation firm said. 
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What a lazy $700,000 can buy in Southern Highlands: HTW residential  

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Auction numbers and new listings in Sydney property market continue to remain fairly strong for this time of year, according to the latest Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report.  
The valuation firm presented a "investor playbook" of real estate performance within each service area. 
The report notes the last few weeks has seen an increasing number of COVID-19 community transmissions in Melbourne and then Sydney. 
"Whilst, at the time of writing, Sydney has not seen a return to the lockdowns experienced in March and April, there is no doubt consumer confidence is again starting to decline as a result of an apparent ‘second wave’," the valuation firm said. 
Home values across Sydney have continued to decline over the past month, dropping by 0.9% over that time according to CoreLogic. 
Whilst values are still up by 2.8% since the beginning of 2020, if the current trend continues, it would mean prices falling a further 5 to 6% by the end of the year, the report noted. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/8/10/sydney%201%20.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: 
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"Auction numbers and new listings continue to remain fairly strong for this time of year, although auction clearance rates have eased to around 60% over the past few weeks," the valuation firm said. 
The clearance rate at in the same period last year was above 70%, although with a lower number of auctions, as the market began its recovery at the time.
"And now onto the property investors playbook," the valuation firm continued. 
The residential property investor market has had some significant hurdles placed in front of it in recent years.
 Tougher lender and regulatory requirements around investor loans, and the threat of removal of negative gearing and capital gains tax allowances prior to the federal election in May last year, significantly reduced the number of investors looking to get into the market, the report noted. 
As these lending restrictions eased and the threat to tax allowances was extinguished, the investor market began to recover along with the wider market as prices started to rise.
That recovery has now come to an abrupt halt as a result of COVID-19, as asking rents have fallen sharply, while vacancy rates have climbed, across many parts of Sydney.
According to CoreLogic, across the financial year to June, Sydney dwellings saw an average 16.7% return with 13.3% of that through capital growth.
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Houses enjoyed a 17.7% return with 14.5% capital growth, while units had a 14.7% return with 10.6% of that being capital growth.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/8/10/sydney%202.png" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: 
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However with prices now falling and rental yields also under downward pressure, returns in the current financial year are likely to be significantly leaner.
As can be seen from the table below, vacancy rates in the Inner and Middle ring suburbs have been particularly hard hit since March, while the Outer suburbs have continued to see a tightening vacancy rate, the report noted. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2020/8/10/sydney%203.png" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge: 
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The Inner ring suburbs have seen an increasing supply of properties, particularly units, as previous holiday-stay properties were switched over to the long term rental market, and new unit completions have continued to hit the market. 
New unit completions are also impacting supply in some middle ring suburbs.
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The report notes demand levels are not increasing at the same levels as supply as immigration has been stopped and is likely to be impacted for some time to come. 
Demand from international students has also dropped dramatically as a result of COVD-19.
"With values at the lower end of the market holding up better than other price points, and vacancy rates continuing to tighten in the outer ring, Western Sydney is looking like the best place for investors for returns in the short to medium term."
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Sydney home values continues to decline: HTW residential 

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Over the past two weeks, storms pummelling the New South Wales coast have left beachfront homes at Wamberal on the verge of collapse. It’s stark proof of the risks climate change and sea level rise pose to coastal areas.
Our new research published today puts a potential price on the future destruction. Coastal land affected by flooding – including high tides and extreme seas – could increase by 48% by 2100. Exposed human population and assets are also estimated to increase by about half in that time.
Under a scenario of high greenhouse gas emissions and no flood defences, the cost of asset damage could equate up to 20% of the global economy in 2100.
Without a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, or a huge investment in sea walls and other structures, it’s clear coastal erosion will devastate the global economy and much of the world’s population.
In Australia, we predict the areas to be worst-affected by flooding are concentrated in the north and northeast of the continent, including around Darwin and Townsville.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350326/original/file-20200730-23-rmfjij.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Man cleans up after Townsville flood"> 
A clean-up after flooding last year in Townsville, an Australian city highly exposed to future sea level rise. Dan Peled/AAP
<h2>Our exposed coasts</h2>
Sea levels are rising at an increasing rate for <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel" target="_blank">two main reasons</a>. As global temperatures increase, glaciers and ice sheets melt. At the same time, the oceans absorb heat from the atmosphere, causing the water to expand. Seas are rising by about 3-4 millimetres a year and the rate is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/" target="_blank">expected</a> to accelerate.
These higher sea levels, combined with potentially more extreme weather under climate change, will bring damaging flooding to coasts. Our study set out to determine the extent of flooding, how many people this would affect and the economic damage caused.
We combined data on global sea levels during extreme storms with projections of sea level rises under moderate and high-end greenhouse gas emission scenarios. We used the data to model extreme sea levels that may occur by 2100.
We combined this model with topographic data (showing the shape and features of the land surface) to identify areas at risk of coastal flooding. We then estimated the population and assets at risk from flooding, using data on global population distribution and gross domestic product in affected areas.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350322/original/file-20200730-29-eqrhbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Homes at Collaroy in Sydney damaged by storm surge">
Many coastal homes, such as these at Sydney’s Collaroy beach, are exposed to storm surge damage. David Moir/AAP
<h2>Alarming findings</h2>
So what did we find? One outstanding result is that due to sea level rise, what is now considered a once-a-century extreme sea level event could occur as frequently as every ten years or less for most coastal locations.
Under a scenario of high greenhouse gas emissions and assuming no flood defences, such as sea walls, we estimate that the land area affected by coastal flooding could increase by 48% by 2100.
This could mean by 2100, the global population exposed to coastal flooding could be up to 287 million (4.1% of the world’s population).
Under the same scenario, coastal assets such as buildings, roads and other infrastructure worth up to US$14.2 trillion (A$19.82 trillion) could be threatened by flooding.
This equates to 20% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2100. However this worst-case scenario assumes no flood defences are in place globally. This is unlikely, as sea walls and other structures have already been built in some coastal locations.
In Australia, areas where coastal flooding might be extensive include the Northern Territory, and the northern coasts of Queensland and Western Australia.
Elsewhere, extensive coastal flooding is also projected in: - southeast China - Bangladesh, and India’s states of West Bengal and Gujurat - US states of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland - northwest Europe including the UK, northern France and northern Germany.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350319/original/file-20200730-35-19xjvnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="A woman struggles through floodwaters in Bangladesh">Bangladesh is among the nations most exposed to coastal flooding this century. SOPA
<h2>Keeping the sea at bay</h2>
Our large-scale global analysis has some limitations, and our results at specific locations might differ from local findings. But we believe our analysis provides a basis for more detailed investigations of climate change impacts at the most vulnerable coastal locations.
It’s clear the world must ramp up measures to adapt to coastal flooding and offset associated social and economic impacts.
This adaptation will include building and enhancing coastal protection structures such as dykes or sea walls. It will also include coastal retreat – allowing low-lying coastal areas to flood, and moving human development inland to safer ground. It will also require deploying coastal warning systems and increasing flooding preparedness of coastal communities. This will require careful long-term planning.
All this might seem challenging – and it is. But done correctly, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.pnas.org/content/111/9/3292" target="_blank">coastal adaptation</a> can protect hundreds of millions of people and save the global economy billions of dollars this century.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ebru-kirezci-1140869" target="_blank">Ebru Kirezci</a>, PhD candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722" target="_blank">University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-young-807759" target="_blank">Ian Young</a>, Kernot Professor of Engineering, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722" target="_blank">University of Melbourne</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/unwelcome-sea-change-new-research-finds-coastal-flooding-may-cost-up-to-20-of-global-economy-by-2100-143599" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Research finds coastal flooding may cost up to 20% of global economy by 2100

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We are entering an era of profound change in how we work, learn, socialise and live with COVID-19.
Many people will adjust to this new world order and work remotely at home if they don’t have to attend an office or other workplace. This, in turn, will create an opportunity to adapt unused buildings, which were needed for the previous economy, for the new ways of living and working. Buildings could be transformed or redeployed through adaptive reuse for much-needed housing.
We already have the technology and the capacity to work and live remotely from an office or institution, if we choose to.
For some people, working-from-home models have become the norm during the enforced COVID-19 isolation periods of 2020. Many of them are likely to choose alternative work patterns as an ongoing model in preference to daily <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-12/jobs-boom-in-cbds-leaves-a-long-commute/11198142" target="_blank">commuting to the traditional central office</a> in busy cities.
If we approach figures like those of earlier recessions, employment will fall even <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-todays-economic-statement-143088" target="_blank">more dramatically than it has already</a>. Reduced trade will slow the economy for many years. The burgeoning numbers of unemployed and low-income citizens will find it difficult to find affordable homes.
The people who suffer most during this period, the “new poor”, will struggle to pay for even basic housing, let alone homes that provide space for occupants to work and live at home. Public and subsidised housing will have to fill the gap.
<h2>Silver linings to the COVID cloud</h2>
Some positives are appearing from this new world order.
Some professions will find themselves comfortably working away from the traditional workplace. They will be able to manage work and family more easily.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.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/349494/original/file-20200727-23-tkty56.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="Apartment block converted from former telephone exchange and post office building at 118 Russell Street, Melbourne."></a>
The building that formerly housed a telephone exchange and post office at 118 Russell Street, Melbourne, has been converted into apartments. Author provided
As well as offices becoming redundant, delivery services like Amazon, Deliveroo and Uber Eats might replace many traditional retail outlets, including shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. Many buildings housing such businesses might not reopen.
Buildings that are no longer fit for purpose, or not required in a new detached working environment, could be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theo_Van_der_Voordt2/publication/235289905_A_new_life_Conversion_of_vacant_office_buildings_into_housing/links/00b49515082bc04d42000000/A-new-life-Conversion-of-vacant-office-buildings-into-housing.pdf" target="_blank">repurposed as housing</a>. Empty <a href="https://ggwash.org/view/61871/abandoned-office-buildings-can-become-new-housing" target="_blank">office blocks</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-30/a-case-for-turning-empty-malls-into-housing" target="_blank">shops and stores</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrosowsky/2020/06/22/how-does-a-pre-pandemic-building-inventory-serve-a-post-pandemic-university-whats-next-for-campus-spaces/#7a625eb61da4" target="_blank">unused teaching facilities</a> could all be recycled for social and community low-cost rental housing.
Of course we will need to retain many resources, such as distribution warehouses, places of worship, hospitals, childcare centre, kindergartens and primary schools, laboratories, workshops, manufacturing factories, prisons, bakeries, farmers markets, personal health and hygiene salons – for hair, massage, wellness and mental health. Other places such as transport hubs, sporting facilities, theatres, tourist accommodation, cafes, bars and restaurants will be maintained too.
But underused office buildings will not be needed as offices. They can become part of the new model for blended home-and-work operations.
Families who have experimented with shared responsibilities during COVID-19 lockdowns may continue this routine as a new “normal” and select <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/adaptive-reuse" target="_blank">newly adapted old buildings</a> for accommodation.
<h2>Commercial buildings can be easily converted</h2>
One advantage of reusing a commercial building is the relative openness of its plan. New living areas can be planned and fitted into the office open space, using simple lightweight partition walls.
Usually large open office spaces surround a service core. The core contains lifts, plumbing, ducts and risers, fire stairs, bathrooms and equipment.
Wet areas such as kitchens, bathrooms and laundries would be located against the core. Here they can be connected easily to the building services and systems.
Commercial buildings are usually solid constructions. They are built to last, so their recycled concrete, steel and glass suits reclamation.
These buildings are generally spacious, with a floor-to-ceiling height of about three metres (not the miserable norm of cheap apartments, which is less than 2.5 metres).
It is even possible for some old office building floors to have part of their outside walls removed and refitted inside the floor slabs, which creates open-space balconies and gardens.
The environment would benefit too
As a byproduct of repurposing old buildings, we’d benefit the environment. Re-use conserves natural resources and minimises the need for new materials. That’s because these adapted buildings are effectively <a href="https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A48305aea-75d8-4285-aa5d-0056fe5305d0" target="_blank">already half built</a>.
Building construction, maintenance and use produce about a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318754386_From_leaders_to_majority_a_frontrunner_paradox_in_built-environment_climate_governance_experimentation" target="_blank">quarter of Australia’s emissions</a>. Maybe the world could largely meet its <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement" target="_blank">Paris Agreement</a> emission-reduction targets before 2030 by making better use of existing buildings as well as increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy’s market share.
COVID-19 might eventually be eliminated, but the impacts will roll on for many years. A long-term benefit of this disaster could be a focus on no longer needing to duplicate so much space to live and work in. The result would be reducing consumption of building materials as the world tightens its environmental belt.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142897/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/norman-day-228477" target="_blank">Norman Day</a>, Lecturer in Architecture, Practice and Design, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767" target="_blank">Swinburne University of Technology</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/unused-buildings-will-make-good-housing-in-the-world-of-covid-19-142897" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Unused buildings will make good housing in the world of COVID-19

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The world’s wealthiest people will transfer US$15.4 trillion in assets to their heirs in the next decade, according to a recent report.
Published by specialist data analysts Wealth-X, the report focused on the richest 0.1% (those with net assets worth over US$5 million), but it’s a similar story for the more modestly wealthy baby boomers.
With New Zealand’s average national <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/117903021/house-prices-shoot-ahead-again-as-majority-of-kiwis-say-ownership-unachievable" target="_blank">house price</a> now over $700,000, the heirs of home-owning boomers (as well as people born before 1945 whose significant wealth is often overlooked) will receive a currently untaxed bonanza.
Ignoring this unprecedented transfer of wealth from people who no longer need it to people who haven’t earned it would be absurd. But equitable tax policy must first overcome political timidity and rhetoric.
As New Zealand’s election approaches, forward-thinking politicians should take heart from Sinn Féin winning a majority in the 2019 Irish election on the promise of making the country’s tax system <a href="https://www.sinnfein.ie/a-fair-tax-system" target="_blank">radically more equitable</a>.
While a capital gains tax (CGT) is <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-will-not-implement-capital-gains-tax" target="_blank">off the table</a> for now, tax arrangements are never set in stone and voters can be open to change.
<h2>Taxing inheritance is nothing new</h2>
New Zealand first taxed inter-generational capital transfers in 1866. However, the rate of estate duty was reduced to zero in 1993 and gift duty was scrapped in 2011. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2439053" target="_blank">According</a> to tax law specialist Michael Littlewood:
These taxes for many years enjoyed broad political support. Indeed, it was widely regarded as obvious that a significant part – perhaps as much as 50% or so – of every large estate ought to go to the state.
Taxing a person’s wealth when they no longer need it, provided a reasonable exemption is made to support dependants, has been usual since Roman times. In the modern era, inter-generational wealth was seen as eminently taxable, too. Indeed, progressive tax rates were applied to estate taxes before they were first used for income taxes.
In 1979 Australia became the first developed country to abolish estate duty (at both state and federal levels). As analysts Sam Reinhardt and Lee Steel <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-winter-2006/a-brief-history-of-australias-tax-system" target="_blank">pointed out</a>, support for estate taxes had declined despite “various tax review committees recommending refinements to improve the equity, efficiency and simplicity of the tax”.
<h2>Politics gets in the way</h2>
In New Zealand, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University’s 2010 <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/sacl/centres-and-institutes/cagtr/pdf/tax-report-website.pdf" target="_blank">tax working group</a> didn’t consider reintroducing an estate tax or retaining the gift duty then in force. It argued that reforms in the late 1980s had “improved the efficiency and equity of the tax system”.
Certainly, stamp duty is an unlamented tax – although many jurisdictions try to use it to cool overheated housing markets. But it’s not clear why the working group considered estate taxes inefficient or inequitable.
Unfortunately, the <a href="https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/resources/terms-reference-tax-working-group" target="_blank">terms of reference</a> of the next tax working group, established by the Labour-led government after the 2017 election, specifically excluded an inheritance tax. While there were good theoretical reasons for such a tax, group member Geof Nightingale <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/106050956/inheritance-tax-good-economics-and-the-politics-may-be-better-than-they-seem" target="_blank">said</a>, it “breaks down at the politics”:
Inheritance taxes are intensely disliked, so if you haven’t got one it’s very hard to put one in.
The arguments against estate taxes are well rehearsed – usually accompanied by emotive references to “death taxes”. But, in the long term, the current ideological opposition to taxing inter-generational wealth transfers may prove to be an anomaly.
One simple reason for reviving the debate about such a tax is demographic: baby boomers, the wealthiest generation that has ever lived, will increasingly start dying during the 2020s.
Tax policymakers cannot ignore the opportunity – arguably the moral imperative – of taxing and redistributing those transfers.
<h2>Millennials and Gen X will be the winners</h2>
There remain three challenges to achieving a fairer tax based on inter-generational wealth.
First, the application of tax needs to shift from the deceased to the living. In other words, we need to focus on the recipient of the wealth transfer. Ireland’s <a href="https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/capital-acquisitions-tax/cat-collector-general-district-guidelines.pdf" target="_blank">capital acquisitions tax</a> (CAT) applies a flat rate of 33% to accumulated gifts and inheritances over the relevant threshold.
Unlike a CGT, which can be perceived as penalising business owners, a CAT targets unearned windfalls from an accident of birth. This should make a CAT more politically acceptable than a CGT.
Second, the younger generations most critical of baby boomers’ “unfair” acquisition of wealth (Gen X and millennials) must accept that taxing this unprecedented transfer of wealth will promote both inter- and intra-generational fairness.
If we don’t tax and redistribute these transfers, wealth inequalities will be exacerbated and entrenched among future generations.
And finally, arguments in favour of a more equitable system have to overcome the rhetoric of “death taxes”. As far back as the 1960s, Canada’s Royal Commission on Taxation did this by popularising the idea that “<a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-commission-on-taxation" target="_blank">a buck is a buck</a>”, no matter how it is earned.
In other words, if you have the money you can pay tax, whether that money comes from labour, investment or inheritance.
So far, only the Greens are proposing any <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300044327/the-crucial-feature-of-the-greens-wealth-tax-that-would-exempt-most-family-homes" target="_blank">tax on wealth</a> as part of their election policy offering. But with the generational clock ticking, it’s maybe time for New Zealand to think about getting a CAT.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143604/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/jonathan-barrett-129387" target="_blank">Jonathan Barrett</a>, Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/te-herenga-waka-victoria-university-of-wellington-1200" target="_blank">Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-a-capital-gains-tax-what-new-zealand-needs-is-a-tax-on-inherited-wealth-143604" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Forget a capital gains tax – what New Zealand needs is a tax on inherited wealth

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One of the many things COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on is the way many of us work.
Those fortunate enough to be able to work from home have been able to adapt to this new reality – and it certainly has been “new”.
Perhaps the biggest question for both employers and employees is whether working from home has led to a decrease in productivity.
The fact major companies such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/technology/facebook-remote-work-coronavirus" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/05/13/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-tells-employees-they-can-work-from-home-forever-before-you-celebrate-theres-a-catch/#765a70652e91" target="_blank">Twitter</a> have said they will allow many employees to work from home permanently suggests work in some sectors can be done more efficiently outside a formal workplace.
At a minimum, time saved from commuting and greater flexibility to multitask other elements of one’s life are positives from working from home. Lack of social interaction and the inevitable distractions in most home environments are negatives.
The degree and extent of increased productivity from working at home remains to be seen. It will depend on the way in which working in a team has evolved in a remote environment using online tools like Slack and Zoom.
The big question is how the nature of collaboration has changed under COVID.
<h2>Studying 3 million people</h2>
Thanks to <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27612" target="_blank">a fascinating analysis</a> by researchers from the Harvard Business School and New York University, we are beginning to get the first systematic evidence on how the nature of work has changed for those working from home during COVID-19.
The authors gathered aggregated meeting and email meta-data for 3,143,270 people working for 21,478 companies in 16 cities in Europe, the United States and Israel where government-mandated lockdowns were imposed in March.
As the authors put it:
<blockquote>
These lockdowns established a clear break point after which we could infer that people were working from home. The earliest lockdown in our data occurred on March 8, 2020, in Milan, Italy, and the latest lockdown occurred on March 25, 2020, in Washington, DC.
</blockquote>
To explore changes in worker behaviour, their analysis compares meeting and email data during the lockdown periods (typically a month long) with data for the eight weeks prior and the eight weeks after lockdowns ended.
The data they used came from “an information technology services provider that licenses digital communications solutions to organisations around the world”.
This meta-data indicates the actual behaviour of employees in real organisations. So it’s more robust than, say, a survey asking people what they did. Survey respondents might not remember accurately, or might not tell the truth, and those that respond may not be a representative sample.
In short, the meta-data enables the authors to draw detailed and interesting conclusions that survey data would allow.
It’s the detail of a paper like this that is, in a sense, the whole point. But the bottom line is this. Lockdowns have reduced the amount of time most workers spend in meetings, but increased their working hours.
<h2>Time in meetings</h2>
Their results show the number of meetings attended by workers increased, on average, by 12.9% during lockdown – with the average number of attendees per meeting increasing by 13.5%.
Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on meetings
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351458/original/file-20200806-22-173asvd.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/351458/original/file-20200806-22-173asvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on meetings."></a>
<a class="source" href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27612" target="_blank">NBER Working Paper No. 27612, July 2020</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND</a>
But the average length of meetings fell by 20.1%, with the net effect being that people spent 11.5% less time in meetings.
In European cities such as Brussels, Oslo and Zurich, meeting length declined sharply and continued to fall in the month after the beginning of the lockdown. In the US cities of Chicago, New York and Washington DC, length of meetings declined less.
Email and working hours
There was, also, a significant and seemingly durable increase in working hours, based on the number of hours between the first and last email sent or meeting attended by an individual in a day.
On average, the length of the average workday increased by 48.5 minutes.
Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on email
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351460/original/file-20200806-14-1x9tdkp.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/351460/original/file-20200806-14-1x9tdkp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on email."></a>
<a class="source" href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27612" target="_blank">NBER Working Paper No. 27612, July 2020</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND</a>
Longer workdays were common across the 16 cities during lockdowns. When restrictions were lifted, average hours returned closer to pre-lockdown levels in all but three cities – San Jose, Rome and New York City.
<h2>The evolving nature of work</h2>
It is perhaps too early to draw strong conclusions about these changing patterns of communication. But there are some intriguing possibilities.
Larger meetings may be needed to get “everyone on the same page” and create what economists call “common knowledge”. This may be both easier to do in phone or video conferences, and also more important in the absence of face-to-face communication.
Consistent with this, electronic communications extending beyond normal work hours seems like an inevitable consequence, albeit a negative one for work-life balance, particularly for people with caring responsibilities.
The nature of work was evolving before COVID-19, and it will continue to do so as many parts of the world continue with various forms of physical distancing.
Documenting the nature of that evolution, as well as the implications for productivity, workplace culture, and time outside of work will continue to be informed by remarkable data of the kind the authors analysed.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143894/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/richard-holden-118107" target="_blank">Richard Holden</a>, Professor of Economics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414" target="_blank">UNSW</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-shorter-meetings-but-longer-days-how-covid-19-has-changed-the-way-we-work-143894" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Shorter meetings but longer days – how COVID-19 has changed the way we work

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They’re at it again, pushing lower company tax as a way to resuscitate the economy.
The arguments were well ventilated at the time the government pushed for company tax cuts, failed to get support in the Senate, and then abandoned them in favour of personal income tax cuts in the leadup to the last election, declaring “we’re not coming back to the company tax cuts”.
The new argument is that they’ll help get us out of recession, but in the same sense that Leo Tolstoy observed that while all happy families resemble each other, each unhappy family is unhappy <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-Tolstoy/Anna-Karenina" target="_blank">in its own way</a>, each recession is different.
This recession is the result of the forced hibernation of large parts of the economy in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
<h2>This recession is about households</h2>
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350383/original/file-20200730-17-14n6v9d.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/350383/original/file-20200730-17-14n6v9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The first priority will be household spending.
When the time is right, it will be households that hold the key to reversing the effects of hibernation.
Australian households account for 60 cents in every dollar spent in the Australian economy, and they accounted for a disproportionate share of the fall in GDP in the first half of 2020.
With shops and cafes shut, the need for investment in new facilities is low.
The first step to recovery has to be reopening the businesses that exist and are closed or are operating well below capacity.
This means getting households spending, supported by stimulus.
<h2>Company tax cuts benefit foreigners</h2>
Our modelling in 2018 showed that while a company tax cut would stimulate investment and economic activity, in both the short run and the long run the benefits would accrue to <a href="https://www.copsmodels.com/elecpapr/g-287.htm" target="_blank">foreign investors</a> rather than to Australians.
In theory, all investors should respond positively to a lower company tax rate, but under Australia’s system of <a href="https://theconversation.com/words-that-matter-whats-a-franking-credit-whats-dividend-imputation-and-whats-retiree-tax-111423" target="_blank">dividend imputation</a> local investors are shielded from company tax, meaning the cuts matter most for those overseas.
Those overseas investors would be likely to invest more in Australia after a company tax cut, boosting Australia’s capital stock (buildings and equipment) making workers more valuable, pushing up wages. 
While sold as a plus, higher wages would make it harder for locally-owned businesses. Our modelling found the biggest losers would be in the retail, <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-business-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-it-but-smes-lose-from-a-company-tax-cut-57965" target="_blank">health care and education industries</a>.
With foreign investors paying less tax, the local population would bear the consequences of spending cuts or higher taxes, broadly negating the benefit of higher wage growth.
<h2>COVID makes the case weaker</h2>
As well, much of the company tax cut would be ‘wasted’ providing a windfall gain to foreign investors already in Australia.
The case for a company tax cut is now weaker, not stronger, than it was in 2018.
Budget deficits will reach new highs in 2019-20 and 2020-21. It is the right policy for the circumstances we are in, but it will leave future governments with difficult decisions about budget repair.
When the economy is strong enough, taxpayers could face deficit repair levies, bracket creep, new taxes, and the broader application of existing ones.
It is for this reason that the <a href="https://www.imf.org/%7E/media/Files/Publications/covid19-special-notes/special-series-on-covid-19-tax-law-design-considerations-when-implementing-responses.ashx" target="_blank">International Monetary Fund</a> warned against knee-jerk tax changes during the crisis and said:
a premium should be placed on measures that move the tax system in desirable directions – specifically: refrain from tax holidays; keep environmental taxes; do not cut corporate income tax rates
If the company tax rate was to be cut now, it would be difficult later to restore it to where it was when it was needed.
The smaller tax contribution by foreign investors would mean more of the adjustment would fall on us.
<h2>And investors may well find us increasingly attractive</h2>
Another fresh reason to be cautious about a cut in company tax is that Australia’s relative attractiveness as an investment destination might well improve.
We have suffered, but most of the world has suffered the same or worse.
Deciding where to invest their next dollars, investors might well form the view that our response to the pandemic has been better than those of other destinations such as the United States, Britain and Brazil.
One of the benefits of being a peaceful, well-managed resource-rich Western democracy is that when things are bad elsewhere foreign investors look here.
We might continue to find (as we have in the past) that we get all the foreign investment we can handle with our company tax rate as it is.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143622/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/janine-dixon-11006" target="_blank">Janine Dixon</a>, Economist at Centre of Policy Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175" target="_blank">Victoria University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jason-nassios-318488" target="_blank">Jason Nassios</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Policy Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175" target="_blank">Victoria University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/post-covid-therell-be-less-of-a-reason-to-cut-company-tax-than-before-143622" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Post-COVID, there’ll be less of a reason to cut company tax than before

<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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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