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Developers are repurposing Parramatta residential sites to meet an increasing demand for high quality commercial developments, according to new analysis from Deloitte of the Parramatta development market.
Their inaugural Parramatta Crane Survey revealed an unprecedented level of construction in Parramatta, identifying 39 developments.
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The report concluded that the "most exciting prospect is that the long term prosperity of Parramatta as a more ‘liveable’ city is being enabled through higher urban amenity." 
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Across these developments, the survey discovered: 
* 92,000sqm of office floor space currently under construction
*  Zero vacancy rate for A-Grade office space with total vacancy rate at 4.3% compared to 5.9% in the Sydney CBD 
*  Apartment construction is slowing with only 1,100 DA approved apartments in the pipeline - 63% less volume than currently under construction 
*  By 2020, 857 new hotel rooms will have been built across four projects. 
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The survey author and Deloitte Western Sydney’s Real Estate Leader, David Hagger, noted that the shift of momentum towards commercial development will continue to attract higher paid jobs to Parramatta.
“The Parramatta Square development alone could house over 20,000 workers, with around 10,000 more expected across the rest of the city.
"Many of these will be public servants, with the NSW Government being the anchor tenant after making the largest pre-lease commitment we have ever seen.
"Importantly, we are also seeing an influx of private sector companies, including the high profile move by NAB to make Parramatta its second home, with a number of other businesses now circling for space in the remaining repurposed commercial building on Parramatta Square,” said Hagger.
Ongoing investment and rising job numbers should in turn continue to underpin growth in the residential market, he suggests.
The survey reveals that there are currently 2,707 apartments under construction in the Parramatta CBD, due for completion between 2018 and 2019.
With a further 4,865 apartments proposed across 12 projects, a potential ‘flood’ of the market has been predicted by some commentators, but according to Hagger, however, the survey indicates a different outcome.
“We see the market entering a cooling phase.
"There are only 1,110 apartments with DA approval in the pipeline, providing a short-term supply of approximately 2-3 years, indicating lower risk of oversupply."
He suggested developers are adjusting to changing market conditions - including limits on lending by banks, increases in stamp duty and land taxes and restrictions by Chinese regulators on outbound investments in real estate - and also note a clear shift towards commercial development.
"The pool of proposed apartments does represent a significant potential supply.
"However, these are not yet committed. 
The Deloitte Real Estate team undertook research on the number of developments underway in the Parramatta Central Business District and is accurate to the best of their knowledge as at 30 September 2017.
It has been recently revealed that Lang Walker has scrapped his high rise residential project instead building offices.
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"From where I sit, I won't be comfortable tackling a tall residential tower in Parramatta ... maybe in two years' time," the AFR quoted Walker Corporation executive chairman Lang Walker saying.
"Banks are very reluctant to lend to this area ... it will cool for a couple of years and it will come back up. But it's not a doomsday scenario at the moment."
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<div>Walker attributes his decision to the huge supply in both Parramatta and Camelia, an industrial suburb near Parramatta, now a brownfields precinct for high density living.</div>
This week Singapore-listed property developer CWG has sold The Peak, its 45 storey Parramatta residential project site at 14-20 Parkes Street for $40 million.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Parramatta residential construction slows in shift back to offices: Deloitte

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Australia's top weekend auction sale was on the waterfront at Birchgrove on Sydney Harbour. 
The<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-birchgrove-126924754" target="_blank"> grand 1900s residence</a> (above and below), Clevedon fetched $7,225,000 when the four bedroom Wharf Road offering with art nouveau finishes, was auctioned through Belle Property.
There were four registered bidders.
It sits on a 692sqm parcel taking in views including Balls Head and the Harbour Bridge. There was a self-contained boatshed along with a mooring for a 30ft vessel, with an application lodged to increase permission to 50ft.
It last sold in 1997 at $2.025 million.
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Melbourne's Malvern was next priciest as $6.6 million was paid for <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-malvern-126962542" target="_blank">6 Moorakyne Avenue</a> (bottom) at its Jellis Craig auction. It was an English-style family residence, renovated by Nicholas Day over a decade ago. It had sold at $3.6 million in 2006.
The nation's cheapest result was when $187,500 secured <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-townhouse-qld-mount+warren+park-126917262" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a three bedroom townhouse at Mount Warren Park</a>, near Brisbane's Logan. It was a mortgagee offering which had sold at $251,000 in 2009.
CoreLogic auction analyst Kevin Brogan noted that Geelong, Victoria's second largest city, posted the strongest clearance rate for any market, of 83 percent.
Geelong's sales included a <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-vic-geelong-126911098" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two bedroom apartment</a> at $1.17 million overlooking Eastern Beach.
Capital city auction volumes remained high with 3,353 homes taken to auction over the week.
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There was an overall preliminary clearance rate of 63.1 per cent, but it's likely to be lower after final results.
The final clearance rate for the prior week was 60.3 percent across the capitals, the lowest this year, ands the lowest reading since late 2015.
Melbourne's clearance rates have been tracking below 70 per cent across for five consecutive week, as volumes across the city have been consistently higher.
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The weekend volumes in Melbourne reached their second highest level this year at 1,837 offerings.
Melbourne's weekend results included the history-making yachtsman Jesse Martin whose <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-emerald-126999874" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dandenong Ranges family home</a> sold post-auction.
Martin, who became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo in 1999, expected $1.2 million to $1.32 million for the Emerald home.
But the modern main residence that incorporates the site’s original two bedroom 1800s cottage on the 4024 square metre property fetched $1.15 million, the Herald Sun noted. 
One year ago there were 1,685 Melbourne auctions held, with a notably higher clearance rate (78.4 per cent). The Inner region of Melbourne had the highest number of auctions this week (304), with a preliminary clearance rate of 67.3 per cent.
The strongest Melbourne clearance rate was recorded across the North West region, where 74.4 per cent of the 182 auctions held sold. 
Sydney’s clearance rates, which have tracked around the mid-high 50 per cent range over seven consecutive weeks, came in at 58.7 per cent across a total of 990 auctions held, increasing on last week’s final clearance rate of 56.2 per cent when 1,143 auctions were held.
Over the same week last year, 1,163 auctions were held across Sydney and a clearance rate of 73.7 per cent was recorded. Domain put the prior week's revised result at 52 percent.
Across the smaller markets, Canberra recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate this week, while Brisbane returned the lowest again.
In Canberra, 106 auctions were held this week, and of the 84 reported results, 66.7 per cent were successful. Last week, only 102 auctions were held and the clearance rate was a higher 71.6 per cent. This time last year, results were similar with 118 auctions held and a clearance rate of 60.8 per cent.
Canberra prices ranged up to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/act/sale-residential/5-butler-place-campbell-canberra/1317459709911" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$1.6 million at Campbell</a>.
There were 183 Brisbane homes taken to auction, with 131 results reported so far. The preliminary clearance rate for the city is 46.6 per cent, up from 42.8 per cent last week and higher than one year ago, when 43.5 per cent of the 206 properties taken to auction were successful. 
Brisbane sales included <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-ascot-114528031" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a $3.355 million newly built Queenslander in Ascot</a>. The block had sold at $1.3 million in 2014 before its construction.
The now demolished cottage featured in the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson movie, San Andreas, The Courier Mail noted.
A total of 163 Adelaide homes were taken to auction this week, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 65 per cent across 120 results, up from 59.1 per cent last week when 144 auctions were held across the city.
Adelaide cheapest price was <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-highbury-127011518" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-size: 12.16px;">$349,000 at Highbury</a>, with views back to the city It had traded at $300,000 in 2007.
It was marketed as an opportunity to renovate the split level home or develop the 614 sqm land.
Perth’s clearance rate of 46.7 per cent across 62 auctions was up from the previous weekend, when 50 auctions were held and a clearance rate of 32.6 per cent was recorded. Over the same weekend last December, the clearance rate was 20 per cent from 76 auctions.
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Sydney's weekend auction clearance rate falling away fast into the very lows 50s

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The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria has begun civil proceedings against estate agency Hoskins (Maroondah) Pty Ltd (ACN: 095 367 712), in the Federal Court of Australia, for alleged contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in relation to property sales on Melbourne's north east outskirts.
Consumer Affairs Victoria will allege that during 2015 and 2016, Hoskins advertised properties for sale at prices much lower than it believed they would actually sell for.
The alleged conduct relates to 26 residential properties located in Croydon, Croydon Hills, Croydon North, Mooroolbark, Park Orchards, Ringwood, Ringwood North, Warranwood and Wonga Park.
Consumer Affairs Victoria will also allege Hoskins misled two vendors it was acting for, by telling them their properties would sell for much less than it believed they would sell for, in order to claim ‘incentive commissions’ from the vendors when the properties sold at a much higher price. Such conduct, it is alleged, was also unconscionable.
The department will allege that, at various times throughout 2015-16, the company:
<ul>
<li>engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct towards potential property purchasers and two vendors who were clients of Hoskins</li>
<li>made false or misleading representations to potential property purchasers and two vendors who were clients of Hoskins</li>
<li>engaged in unconscionable conduct towards two vendors who were clients of Hoskins.</li>
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CAV will allege that Hoskins (Maroondah):
<ul>
<li>advertised 26 properties for sale at prices lower than the company believed they would actually sell for</li>
<li>misled two vendors it was acting for, by telling them their properties would sell for much less than the company believed they would - in order to claim ‘incentive commissions’ when the properties sold at a much higher price.</li>
</ul>
CAV will also allege that the company’s director, Brent Robert Peters, 43, of Croydon Hills, aided and abetted the company’s conduct. With over a decade in real estate, Brent Peters achieved Top 10 salesperson in his first year in real estate in 2001 and was recently named No. 1 salesperson out of the Hoskins network of 55 offices.
With 12 sales, Brent Peters won Croydon Hills Agent of the Year, in the RateMyAgent Agent of the Year Awards 2017. RateMyAgent is the largest independent review site in Australia and claims to be "trusted by agents and customers."
CAV is seeking orders that the company:
<ul>
<li>pays a financial penalty, plus legal costs</li>
<li>be restrained from repeating this conduct in the future</li>
<li>implements a compliance program to educate its staff about their ACL obligations to ensure no further contraventions of the relevant provisions occur</li>
<li>refund two vendors a total of around $25,000</li>
<li>publish details of any court orders on its website and display it in its office.</li>
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Victorian Consumer Affairs accusing Hoskins agency of unconscionable incentive commission scheme

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Parkside Beach House, the luxury Sorrento home, is one of the finest in the Mornington Peninsula.
Created by Cera Stribley architects and built by 2ic Construction, the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-sorrento-127001266" target="_blank">striking holiday home</a> was inspired by the iconic Mornington bathing boxes synyonymous with the area.
The entry to the luxury designer home is through a gallery entrance with curved timber-lined walls leading to the ground floor living zone, complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own kitchen and living space.
<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/2017/12/15/park2.jpg" alt="" style="font-size: 12.16px;">
Upstairs there's a further four bedrooms, another kitchen and a theatre room.
A heated swimming pool and spa is accompanied by a poolside precinct set in the landscaped gardens on the 1267 sqm elevated parcel.
Peninsula Sotheby's agents Rob Curtain and Danielle Vains are asking $3.8 million.
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Sorrento's Parkside Beach House listed

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The renowned Morningside property fronting the picturesque Goulburn River in Nagambie, one of Australia’s most successful thoroughbred breeding properties is back on the market.
It has been listed through Pat Rice &amp; Hawkins.
<a href="https://morningsidepastoral.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Morningside</a>, the 362ha holding has bred, trained or educated over 35 Group 1 winners, including two Melbourne Cups, having been developed by equine veterinary expert Dr Bill Burns.
The two Melbourne Cup winners were Efficient and Shocking.
There is a four-bedroom homestead is surrounded by sweeping lawns overlooking an ornamental lake at the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-cropping-vic-wahring-7938698" target="_blank">233 Morningside Road, Wahring property.</a>
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Its improvements including stables, undercover day yards, cattle yards, horse conditioner, machinery and hay shedding complete the purpose-built infrastructure.
There is 6km of Goulburn River frontage.
The property has also been used as the home of the Shadai Farm Wagyu stud, which exports beef through Europe, China, Japan and North and South America.
In 1989 he acquired the Morningside property and in the mid 1990s obtained some of the first Wagyu genetics in Australia and founded Shadai Wagyu.
It was initially listed in 2015.
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Morningside, Nagambie thoroughbred stud and wagyu farm relisted 

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Set across the road from one of Perth’s most popular beaches, the three-level property at 90 West Coast Drive, Sorrento was built in 2010.
The <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-sorrento-126991218" target="_blank">five-bedroom</a>, five-bathroom property which comes with a six-person lift, has been listed by Jenny Hughes, from Realmark Coastal.
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She said the owners live in Perth and use it as their holiday home.
The home last sold for $4.5 million in 2011.
The property is on the market with an asking price from $4.25 million.
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Sorrento weekender listed by Perth family

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Set on a 797 square metre corner block, Cooby Cottage, the vacated Coolbellup house has been sold by mortgagees for $465,000.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-wa-coolbellup-126687534" target="_blank">The 36 Hartley Street house</a> last sold at $395,000 in 2009.
The 1960s cottage came with three bedrooms, open plan kitchen, meals and living area, separated renovated bathroom with bathtub, separate laundry and WC, additional lounge or games room running onto the large entertaining patio and back garden.
Murdoch University, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch Train Station and Fremantle are all a short car trip away.
 
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Cooby Cottage, Coolbellup, WA sold by mortgagee

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GUEST OBSERVER
The 30% of Australians who live outside a capital city are experiencing a period of rapid change. A new era of food and crop production prosperity is being driven by technological disruption and farm business consolidation. This is occurring alongside ballooning unemployment, poorer health outcomes, and social dislocation in regional communities. We need to find long-lasting solutions to this disparity.
Last financial year, agriculture was the largest contributor to Australia’s GDP growth and the fastest-growing sector in the nation. Meanwhile, in October 2017, youth unemployment in outback Queensland hit 59.2% at a time when employment rates in inner Brisbane for 15-24 year-olds were hovering at 6%. Youth unemployment sits around the 20% mark in many regional areas across Australia.
The challenges facing regional Australia will not be solved by a single new mine, a quick job-creation scheme, or a flurry of bus tickets to the city. Instead, we need sustainable solutions that give regional Australians the chance to leave welfare behind, transform their job prospects and contribute to society as skilled workers. The best first step would be to give regional Australians better access to tertiary education.
A problem for everyone
The majority of Australia’s 40 universities operate regional campuses. From Broome to Burnie to Bundaberg, 25 Australian universities have them. There are 68 regional campuses in total, located in every state and territory, with the exception of the ACT. Most of these campuses undertake research in areas like precision agriculture, organics, aquaculture, medicinal cannabis production, plant genetics and plant science. They’re building expertise relevant to our agriculture-driven economic prosperity. Yet the people living around those campuses don’t all benefit from them.
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Australia’s regional campuses educate 20% of the nation’s tertiary students – more than 280,000 people. They could enrol many more, but proposed federal government policies would shut the door on many promising students. For example, proposals to make students pay for enabling places would act as a strong disincentive to take up study in the first place.
The goal of providing university access to 40% of the population has largely been met in metropolitan centres. But most regional areas are well below that participation target. Often, they are barely halfway there.
Since budget loadings, benefitting all regional campuses, were introduced in 2004, reviews have recommended extra funding for students enrolled at a regional university. This was proposed in recognition of the extra costs of delivering appropriate learning and teaching and the need to deliver career opportunities to regional people. These loadings were applied but have been successively wound back since that time.
The whittling away of regional loadings means such universities are at a substantial disadvantage. The current tertiary funding formula is too uniform. Students receive the same base level of funding for their degree in almost every case. This may suit a university with 50,000 students in a capital city. But it simply doesn’t cover the cost of many courses on much smaller campuses outside urban areas.
Regional universities also find it hard to attract international students, who provide important additional revenue to many metropolitan universities.
These factors mean it’s essential to prioritise the promise of economic sustainability and opportunity over the notion of higher education policy equality. Regional students merit more specific, targeted support across a range of degrees.
A new regional deal
A new approach to regional higher education would address many of these problems. Based on our research at Southern Cross University, I’ve suggested such an approach to the current federal government review into regional, rural and remote education. It would include:
<ul>
<li>
10,000 Commonwealth supported enabling places for regional Australians, distributed according to regional need and demand
</li>
<li>
$50 million per year for four years to help all 25 universities with regional campuses catch up
</li>
<li>
a new regional loading, in recognition of the higher costs of regional education delivery.
</li>
</ul>
As the Regional Universities Network (the RUN group) has advocated, regional university campuses need a new policy approach. Only regional universities can provide education at a reasonable cost without forcing people to face the upheaval of moving hundreds of kilometres, leaving family members behind and competing in the unaffordable housing markets of Sydney and Melbourne.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88537/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Local start-ups, local businesses, local health providers, and local arts performers all deserve a chance to thrive. A new funding approach will empower regional campuses to create more opportunities for the people they serve. It will help reduce inter-generational welfare dependence among a significant cohort of families, and bring additional income into communities. It will enable regional universities to educate more teachers, nurses, engineers and small business-people to work productively in their own backyards. Above all, it will translate that talent in the backyard to the front yard and then to the rest of the world.
Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor, Southern Cross University
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-approach-to-regional-higher-education-is-essential-to-our-economic-future-88537" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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A new approach to regional higher education is essential to our economic future: Adam Shoemaker

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GUEST OBSERVER
When Katherine Hunt’s dad asked her whether or not he should invest in Bitcoin, alarm bells rang, first she thought “he’s a musician”.
Hunt is a lecturer in accounting at the Griffith Business School, and as someone who knows the five stages of a bubble and crash, she was worried when it seemed everyone was thinking they needed to “get in on” Bitcoin.
“The stock market is a manifestation of the psychology of everyone who is investing, so of course there is going to be these crazy stages,” Hunt says.
There is a boom, as momentum behind a new stock or asset speeds up and the media starts to cover it, fuelling its price rise.
Then the euphoria sets in, the value of the asset skyrockets and people start to make a profit. But looming around the corner is the panic.
Investors feel the last phase of a crash far more than they do the elation of the price rising, Hunt says. Panic breeds more panic and the price falls.
Hunt is seeing this pattern play out with the stocks of the more well known gig economy businesses like Airbnb and Uber. These businesses now enjoy the privilege of being the only, or one of a few of their kind, in the marketplace. But Hunt says this can’t last.
“In an open market that’s not the case at all, there’s always going to be competition and these companies will fall. It’s just probably that they’ll fall in 30 or 40 years, not necessarily tomorrow,” she says.
Of course this is all easier to see in hindsight.
Remembering the global financial crisis
John Crosby, now a senior lecturer in finance at the University of Technology Sydney, was once working as an investment banker at Lloyds of London in 2007 when he noticed a news story on losses financial services company HSBC was reporting from its subprime mortgages.
“I thought, that could be quite bad,” Crosby recalls.
At the time volatility was low and it seemed like everything was going along fine. But Crosby overheard a coworker who looked after the banks’ various branches asking people to move any sums to deposit to London.
“That wasn’t normal right? It was perfectly normal that you did business with anybody you wanted to, unless there was a real credit risk issue with the bank,” he says.
Crosby realises now that his coworker knew other banks were carrying toxic debt that would eventually kick off the global financial crisis.
When it came to 2008 the real problems became clear and it was more of a question of which bank would fall next, he says.
“People were way too complacent before the crisis and then during the crisis it’s one of blind panic, thinking everyday things are going to get worse. Whereas in reality there was light at the end of the tunnel,” Crosby says.
By then Crosby was working at financial services company UBS and thousands of people were being laid off. In 2009 the company decided to hire half of those employees back.
Past theories about what causes crashes
The benefit of hindsight also shows what sort of speculation leads to market crashes. Before crashes were well understood, economists had to grapple with what they thought might be causing a crash.
In the 19th century, economist William Stanley Jevons believed that sunspots (hyperactive radiation on the sun) could be the key to understanding crashes.
“He was interested to find out that the cycle of sunspots was very similar…as the trade cycle back on earth,” says Simon Ville, a professor of economic and business history at the University of Wollongong.
Of course this theory was later discredited, but there have been bubbles over some very ordinary assets in the past.
Ville explains that tulips were at the centre of the first market bubble and crash in recorded history. Tulips became high fashion in the Netherlands, in the early 17th century, but because it took a while for these plants to grow it was very much like the future markets we see today in modern finance.
“That inevitably creates a sense of uncertainty and a sense of speculation, ‘what are you actually buying? Will you get the full value of what you’re paying for?’,” Ville says.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88688/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Of course people started paying more and more for tulips, until it took someone’s life savings to buy one bulb. Ultimately there was a point where euphoria turned to panic and the climate changed from optimism to pessimism. This is when the price crashed, and the bubble burst.
Callum Halliday, Editorial Intern, The Conversation.
Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Editorial intern, The Conversation. 
Jenni Henderson, Section Editor: Business + Economy, The Conversation.
Josh Nicholas, Deputy Editor: Business + Economy, The Conversation.
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happened-to-the-price-of-bitcoin-the-truth-behind-big-bubbles-and-crashes-88688" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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What happened to the price of Bitcoin? The truth behind big bubbles and crashes

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A three bedroom home set on a 509 square metre block with dual occupancy potential at Doveton has sold for $447,000 by the mortgagee.
The <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-doveton-126841670" target="_blank">Lauren Avenue home </a>came with separate lounge, kitchen with adjoining meals and updated bathroom. 
It last sold at $183,000 in 2007.
Doveton's median house price for three bedrooms is $462,000.
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Doveton fibro sold by mortgagee for $447,000

Buyers considering a residence at boutique Gordon townhouse development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lume-gordon-43-47-dumaresq-street-gordon-nsw-2072">Lume</a>&nbsp;now have another reason to bring forward their decision.

For a limited time, purchasers of a residence at Lume will receive a BMW iX3 50 electric SUV, valued at more than $120,000, as part of their purchase. The offer is designed to add value for buyers while complementing the lifestyle envisioned for the architecturally designed Upper North Shore development.

Scott Timmins, Development Manager at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/winim">WINIM</a>, said the partnership was created to provide buyers with a compelling reason to act.

"In today's market, buyers need a compelling reason to act now, and the BMW partnership was designed to create that catalyst. We wanted to add genuine value for our future purchasers. Choosing the all-electric BMW iX3 50 also reflects the values behind LUME, forward-thinking design, innovation and a more sustainable way of living. It's a premium incentive that complements the lifestyle our buyers aspire to and rewards those who commit early."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374893]

Delivered by WINIM in partnership with Burtonwood Investment Partners, Lume comprises 14 architecturally designed two, three and four-bedroom townhomes created for families seeking the space of a freestanding house with the ease of modern, low-maintenance living.

The three-storey residences, designed by award-winning architecture practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, have been tailored for families and multi-generational living, featuring private internal lifts, flexible lower-level spaces, generous open-plan living and entertaining areas, media rooms, and landscaped outdoor spaces with custom outdoor kitchens.&nbsp;

Inside, engineered oak flooring, bespoke dining joinery with integrated wine fridges and backlit bars, sculptural porcelain bathrooms, Parisi freestanding baths and Astra Walker tapware create interiors that balance functionality with refined finishes.

Each townhome has been designed to combine generous internal spaces with sustainability initiatives such as EV charging infrastructure, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>'s landscaped communal areas, centred around a restored creek line and native planting, encourage residents to connect with nature and spend more time outdoors.

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Rothelowman's Gary Tsui said the architecture was conceived to respond carefully to its Upper North Shore setting.

"Our vision was to create elegant, uplifting homes that draw on and positively contribute to the local character through meticulously considered design and an interaction with the surroundings."

The communal landscape has been designed as more than an open space between homes. Arcadia's Ben Newell and Kate Phillips said the adjoining reserve provided an opportunity to create a distinctive natural retreat for residents.

"Just as waterways carve their way through Ku-ring-gai's landscape, a raised boardwalk weaves through the reserve, connecting the homes to this tranquil oasis."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374892]

Located just 300 metres from <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/gordon-nsw-2072">Gordon</a> Village and Gordon railway station, Lume offers convenient access to Sydney's CBD while placing residents close to some of the North Shore's leading schools, including Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College and Knox Grammar. Lane Cove National Park, Gordon Golf Club and a range of cafés and restaurants further reinforce the family-focused lifestyle on offer, with the BMW iX3 50 complementing everything from local trips around Gordon to weekend drives and city commutes.

Construction is underway with completion expected in mid-2027.

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Joel Robinson

Boutique Gordon townhomes now come with a BMW iX3 50

Two apartments have sold for more than $10 million at EADE Byron Bay, setting some of the highest apartment prices ever achieved in the coastal town and underlining the growing appetite for luxury beachfront apartments in Australia's most popular coastal locations.

The $210 million project by Vitale Property Group has now secured more than $70 million in sales, led by residences that changed hands for $12.75 million and $11.75 million.

The record-breaking transactions reinforce the shift occurring in Byron Bay's premium property market, where affluent downsizers and lifestyle buyers are increasingly opting for high-end apartments over large beachfront homes.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/eade-byron-bay-29-shirley-street-byron-bay-nsw-2481">EADE Byron Bay</a> occupies a rare 6,000 sqm absolute beachfront site on the corner of Shirley and Milton Streets overlooking Main Beach and The Wreck surf break, just 350 metres from Byron Bay's town centre.

The 25-residence development is the first beachfront apartment project approved in Byron Bay in more than a decade and is currently under construction, with completion expected in May 2027.

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The project has attracted a mix of local Byron Shire residents downsizing from larger homes, alongside interstate buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane seeking a permanent coastal lifestyle without compromising on space.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a> and with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/alexander-co">Alexander &amp; Co</a>, EADE comprises&nbsp;10 garden apartments ranging from 284 sqm to 622 sqm, nine with private pools, five full-floor apartments and 10 rooftop residences with private plunge pools, expansive outdoor entertaining areas and uninterrupted ocean views.

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<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/vitale-property-group">Vitale Property Group</a> Managing Partner Chris Vitale said the project's combination of scale, location and limited future supply was driving buyer demand.

"There isn't another beachfront holding in Byron Bay of this size and position that could be developed again," Vitale said.

"Buyers are responding to the scarcity and the irreplaceability of a site of this calibre and to floorplans they can't find elsewhere in the market.

"We are seeing buyers place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of the location. The sales achieved to date demonstrate that discerning purchasers recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay.

"Many are coming from larger homes in the Byron region, or from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are after the space, security and convenience, without the upkeep of a house."

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The Byron Bay project follows Vitale Property Group's delivery of the Mondrian Hotel and Private Residences at Burleigh Heads, with EADE continuing the developer's focus on luxury coastal developments.

Residents will have access to a resort-style swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, cold plunge pool, concierge services and dedicated workspaces, while the project is targeting an 8-Star Green Star rating.

EADE Byron Bay is being exclusively marketed by Projx Australia in conjunction with WHITEFOX Projects.

WHITEFOX National Projects Director Phillip Rand said demand had been driven predominantly by owner-occupiers.

"We are seeing buyers at EADE place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of this location," Rand says.

"The sales achieved to date demonstrate that purchasers at this level recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay."

Residences at EADE Byron Bay are currently priced between $4.75 million and $15.95 million.

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Vitale breaks Byron Bay records with EADE sales flurry 

When buying an apartment, most people compare the big-ticket items first. Floorplans. Kitchens. Balcony size. Natural light. The view.

But there's one everyday consideration that often doesn't come up until after moving in: how parcels are delivered.

As online shopping has become part of everyday life, parcel deliveries have shifted from an occasional event to a regular occurrence. Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally.

For apartment residents, that can present a challenge.

If nobody is home to accept a delivery, parcels may be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in a building lobby or common area, or require building management to step in. In higher-density buildings, where dozens or even hundreds of residents may receive deliveries each day, parcel management has become an increasingly important part of everyday living.

That can create a range of frustrations. A missed delivery often means making time to collect a parcel elsewhere, while packages left unattended in foyers or mail areas can create clutter and increase the risk of theft. What seems like a minor inconvenience can quickly become a recurring issue for residents who shop online regularly.

It's one of those details that rarely features in a display suite but can have a noticeable impact once residents move in.

As a result, buyers are beginning to look beyond traditional apartment features and consider how a building supports day-to-day convenience, including whether there are secure options for receiving deliveries.

Australia Post's Parcel Lockers provide one solution.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CkF2oKmlACg?si=C50sDaoUUn2nuLmq" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Rather than having a parcel delivered directly to an apartment, eligible deliveries can be sent to a nominated Parcel Locker. Once the parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can collect it using a QR code or one-time PIN at a time that suits them.

The Parcel Locker network now includes more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with installations at Post Offices, shopping centres, transport hubs and an increasing number of residential developments. By providing a secure collection point, Parcel Lockers help reduce missed deliveries and avoid parcels being left unattended in common areas.

For developers, parcel infrastructure is becoming another way to improve the resident experience. Rather than relying on concierge staff or leaving parcels in communal spaces, secure collection points help streamline deliveries while preserving the presentation and functionality of shared areas.

For buyers, it's a reminder that the best apartment features aren't always the most obvious.

A generous floorplan or quality finishes might help narrow the shortlist, but the conveniences that simplify everyday life, whether that's EV charging, secure bike storage or reliable parcel delivery, often become the features residents appreciate most once they're living there.

The apartment feature many buyers don't think about, until their first missed delivery

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hg-developments">HG Developments</a> is doubling down on Maud Street in Newstead, filing plans for a new apartment tower just a few doors down from its under-construction Aire Newstead development.

Recently submitted to Brisbane City Council, the proposal is for an 18-storey building designed by bureau^proberts, which has drawn heavily on Brisbane's subtropical design principles while referencing the suburb's industrial heritage.

A total of 64 apartments are planned for the amalgamated 1,518 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-21-maud-street-newstead-qld-4006">17–21 Maud Street</a>, a short walk from the Brisbane River and Newstead Riverwalk.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a400c7fd-bd15-48f8-a63b-10ede92efe00" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20bldg.png?VersionId=.0vPmjpbC7CNP7kqGWa6L7rGIwsNExaw" />

"The building is defined by a series of vaulted motifs that reinterpret the arches, colonnades and layered facades evident throughout Newstead's historic built fabric," the Urban Design Report states.

"Combined with recessed glazing and generous balconies, these elements create a layered building envelope that provides shade, weather protection and opportunities for natural ventilation whilst establishing a distinctive architectural identity."

The proposal comprises 64 two, three and four-bedroom apartments across 18 residential levels, positioning it alongside a growing number of taller residential projects transforming Newstead's northern precinct. The tower incorporates extensive subtropical landscaping, with cascading planter boxes, deep planting at street level and a landscaped rooftop recreation area.

<img alt="First look: HG Developments plans 18-storey subtropical apartment tower for Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1d8140f4-8b98-45cd-b1b8-1efe8c8e266b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Maud%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=VAZtbCoD44YCJ57N99fQCAKeSJx7ldZs" />

Bureau Proberts has prioritised passive environmental design throughout the project, with generous balconies, recessed glazing and operable façades helping reduce solar heat gain while maximising natural ventilation. River views become available from the upper levels, while the building has been orientated to capture prevailing breezes from both the Brisbane River and the west.

The architects say landscape is intended to be integral to the building rather than an applied element.

"Vertical greenery, cascading planter boxes and elevated gardens are woven throughout the architecture, softening the built form and strengthening the connection between residents and the subtropical environment."

"Through the integration of landscape, high-quality materials and passive design principles, the development delivers a refined residential address that celebrates Newstead's heritage character while contributing positively to Brisbane's evolving subtropical identity."

Newstead has remained one of Brisbane's most active apartment markets in recent years, with a number of developers continuing to back the inner-city suburb.

HG Developments is currently delivering the 40-apartment Aire Newstead at 25 Maud Street. Fortis recently launched the 65-apartment <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> on Kyabra Street, while builder-developer BPG and Don O'Rorke's Consolidated Properties are both expected to launch their respective Newstead projects before the end of the year.

HG Developments doubles down in Newstead with second Maud Street apartment development

Walk past a new apartment development promoting its sustainability credentials and it's easy to picture rooftop gardens, mature trees, landscaped courtyards and residents surrounded by nature.

But in many cases, that's not actually what those sustainability ratings guarantee.

Australia's leading environmental rating tools have played a significant role in improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of buildings. Yet despite their focus on reducing emissions, many don't require developers to include trees, biodiversity or meaningful green space.

In other words, a building can achieve one of the country's highest sustainability ratings while containing little more than concrete, glass and hard landscaping.

That disconnect has led to the emergence of a new movement across Australia's property industry: nature-based cities.

The concept goes beyond designing buildings that consume less energy. Instead, it encourages developers to treat nature as essential infrastructure, integrating biodiversity, tree canopy, living landscapes and green spaces into projects from the earliest stages of planning.

Research has consistently linked access to nature with better physical and mental health, cooler neighbourhoods, improved biodiversity, stronger climate resilience and more connected communities. As Australia's cities continue to become denser, advocates say those outcomes should be considered just as important as energy efficiency.

Nature Based Cities (NBC) was established in 2022 to help accelerate that shift.

Founded by Hamton Executive Chairman Paul Hameister OAM, the not-for-profit was created after research highlighted a significant gap in Australia's sustainability framework. While existing environmental rating tools rewarded energy performance and emissions reductions, they placed little emphasis on the inclusion of living landscapes.

"We've always wanted to do more, and we know other developers who want to do more, but the ESD rating tools just aren't there," Hameister says.

"In Australia, you can have a five-green-star rated building that's concrete and glass with not a blade of grass.

"The focus is on reducing emissions, which is laudable, but there hasn't been enough attention paid to protecting and re-establishing nature. We need both for the health of the environment and for communities."

Since its launch, NBC has developed independent design guidelines and accreditation frameworks that encourage developers to prioritise ecology, biodiversity, tree canopy, walkability and living landscapes alongside traditional sustainability measures. The organisation first focused on medium and high-density residential developments before recently expanding into precinct-scale communities and masterplanned neighbourhoods.

Jan Talacko, founder of sustainability consultancy Ark Resources and a member of the Nature Based Cities Advisory Council, says the initiative addresses an area that has largely been overlooked by the property industry.

"Throughout my 25 years of working collaboratively with all stakeholders in the property sector, I've always favoured a pragmatic approach to sustainable design which encourages initiatives that not only meet environmental expectations but also improve amenity," Talacko says.

"Whilst we are making steady progress in relation to energy and carbon emissions from buildings, there has been much less emphasis on encouraging biodiversity and tackling the urban heat island effect.

"The Nature Based Cities initiative responds to a gap in the suite of tools currently used by the property development sector, which don't provide sufficient incentive, or recognition, for the integration of landscaping and greenery."

For apartment buyers, the shift is also changing the questions worth asking.

Rather than assuming a sustainable building will naturally include abundant green space, buyers are increasingly being encouraged to look beyond environmental ratings and ask what nature is actually being delivered. How much tree canopy will the development create? Has biodiversity been considered? Are landscaped spaces designed for people as well as appearance?

As Australia's cities continue to grow upwards and outwards, the next generation of sustainability may not simply be measured by lower emissions, but by how successfully developments bring nature back into everyday urban life.

Staff reporter

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