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How much is Australia's land worth?
The answer is about $5.8 trillion, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for the 2017 financial year. That's well over three times the level of Australia's GDP of around $1.7 trillion. 
And, at just under $4.8 trillion, about 83% of that dollar value related to land zoned for residential use (up from just 63% in 1989, when the data series commences). 
Of course, the ABS figures are quite rightly presented in current prices, and do not attempt to account for the twin impacts of inflation and Australia's significant population growth.
Nevertheless, the figures do show why individual or 'Mum and Dad' investors are drawn towards residential property over commercial investments. Since the population is growing and everyone needs somewhere to live, there is more competition for residential land - especially in the big capital cities - and therefore values have risen over the long term. 
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QH9E-VQgAo/WfLhvwfBnyI/AAAAAAAAmxI/eC1q7mb78y0iivUZ83qiXmDg1yj_rzIZQCEwYBhgL/s1600/A2.jpg"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9QH9E-VQgAo/WfLhvwfBnyI/AAAAAAAAmxI/eC1q7mb78y0iivUZ83qiXmDg1yj_rzIZQCEwYBhgL/s640/A2.jpg" width="640" height="388" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1353"></a>
At the state level, the strong five-year uplift in residential land values has mainly been driven by New South Wales and Victoria.
Again, these are also the states generating the bulk of economic activity and population growth, so that's to be expected to some extent.
But even accounting for population growth, the uplift in nominal land values was once again huge during the 2017 financial year, with total residential land values rising by about 16% in each of the most populous states. 
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C68DjaHVkhk/WfLhwJAaEYI/AAAAAAAAmxM/RF8bXaqae-M_ITh3mZ0Sf5rE4rygnwX5wCLcBGAs/s1600/A1.jpg"><img src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C68DjaHVkhk/WfLhwJAaEYI/AAAAAAAAmxM/RF8bXaqae-M_ITh3mZ0Sf5rE4rygnwX5wCLcBGAs/s640/A1.jpg" width="640" height="378" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1395"></a>
As you can see in the above chart, the value of land zoned for housing has all but increased by a lazy couple of trillion dollars through this cycle to date.
In Victoria the total value of residential land sits at about $1.3 trillion, and in New South Wales the figure is now approaching $2 trillion. 
The total value of residential land in both states has comfortably more than doubled since 2009. 
On the other hand, one jurisdiction has seen the total value of its residential land in decline since the 2014 financial year as the resources boom years faded: the Northern Territory. 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

How much is Australia's land worth? Pete Wargent

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Reserve Bank of Australia could join the likes of Estonia and Lebanon in creating a cryptocurrency based on the Australian dollar, to reap the benefits of technology like the blockchain but with more stability than other well known currencies like Bitcoin.
The RBA has already been approached by interested startups to create this new digital currency, known as the “DAD” or Digital Australian Dollar.
In contrast with other cryptocurrencies a state-backed digital currency has the advantage of being backed by the government as in fiat currency, but at the same time has the technological advantages shared by other cryptocurrencies.
A digital Australian dollar could remove the role of middlemen and create a cheaper electronic currency system, while at the same time enabling the government to fully regulate the system.
It would also allow transactions to settle faster (several minutes to an hour) than the traditional banking system (several hours to several days), especially in a situation where an international payment is involved.
The difference between a digital Australian dollar and Bitcoin
We already use the Australian dollar in a digital form, for example paying via your smartphone. But banks are essential in this system, moving money on our behalf.
When using a cryptocurrency, you interact with a system like the blockchain, an online ledger that records transactions, directly. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum are examples of cryptocurrency that use the blockchain in this way. These currencies are created by the community that use them and are accepted and trusted within the community.
However, since the community runs the system, the price of the cryptocurrency solely depends on the market mechanism. When the demand increases, the price increases, but when the demand decreases, the price also decreases. While it might create an opportunity for speculators to gain profit from trading, it also creates risk for the cryptocurrency holders.
In comparison to cryptocurrency, the digital Australian dollar might be well managed that the price volatility could be reduced significantly. The government holds the capability of increasing or decreasing the money supply in the system. This power can be used to stabilise the market supply of the new digital currency.
The blockchain technology also reduces the fee for every payment made. This is made possible by removing the role of banks or other intermediary parties charging fees for their services. However, a small transaction fee still needs to be introduced to protect the system from being flooded by adversaries with insignificant transactions.
The characteristics of cryptocurrency itself might limit its usage to daily transactions. As the pioneer of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was created to become a payment system, but the users gain incentive by simply saving their cryptocurrency and not using them to purchase goods or services.
They believe the future price of the cryptocurrency is higher than the current price and thus does not make a good medium of exchange nor a store of value. There is no guarantee that the cryptocurrency will hold any value in the future. Since there is nothing to back up the value, users will lose their wealth when the community no longer acknowledges the value of cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency might also jeopardise the local government’s effort of implementing regulations to minimise illegal activities. Perpetrators create cryptocurrency transactions easily without being detected by the government’s financial monitoring system.
The privacy features of cryptocurrency also make it hard for law enforcement agencies to determine the actors behind illegal activities. Although most governments in the world have enforced the coin exchange services to identify their users, the operation of the cryptocurrency is beyond their reach.
There are other state-backed digital currencies
The idea of creating a national cryptocurrency is not new. Estonia has explored ways to create Estcoin, following an initiative on the blockchain-based residency registration called e-Residency. Lebanon’s central bank has also started to examine the possibility of creating one.
Despite the efforts of those central banks, several questions must first be addressed before launching the real product to the public. The user’s financial data could be exposed since the blockchain will make all transactions created in the system transparent.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86621/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Consumer protection is also a concern since all transactions made in the blockchain are permanent without the possibility of being reversed. Without firm solutions to those problems, the digital Australian dollar will not satisfy all requirements to be the next groundbreaking innovation for the country’s financial system.
Dimaz Wijaya, PhD Student, Monash University
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-rba-would-want-to-create-a-digital-australian-dollar-86621" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Why the RBA would want to create a digital Australian dollar: Dimaz Wijaya

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GUEST OBSERVER
It’s March 2018. A massive storm has hit Sydney’s northern beaches. Luckily no one is hurt, but the floodwaters take days to drain away and the economic impact is serious.
Reporters will tell the story over and over again: how much damage this torrential rain did. But where have we heard that before? Well, the list includes: both Queensland and New South Wales this year, Sydney in 2016, Gold Coast in 2015, Bundaberg in 2013, Queensland in 2012 and Brisbane in 2011.
We are starting to understand we will be hit by ever-increasing storms and floods. The risk is especially high in years when La Nina makes her appearance.
We also know good urban design can reduce the impacts.
Measures to soften the blow
Sydney’s Green Grid is planned to increase the resilience of the city and its residents against flooding and other climate impacts. The grid is designed to connect hydrological and ecological systems or, better, to reconnect these systems to boost their capacity to deal with sudden and severe impacts.
Spaces need to be created in the city for storing water during and directly after a flood. This will stop water from drowning people, flooding houses or destroying public property. These storages can take the form of water squares, temporary storage on ovals or parking areas, basins or gardens on rooftops, and swales along roads.
These measures are well known to be effective and together form an urban sponge system. All we need to do is to create more of these places to increase the capacity to take up water, then release it when safe to do so.
In every city certain areas play a crucial role in increasing, or not decreasing, water-storage capacity. These areas are on the edge of the waterscape and the cityscape. Increasing water storage here prevents bigger problems elsewhere.
What this means for Marrickville
If these places become built-up and can no longer effectively store floodwaters, the impact downstream is disastrous. Carrington Road in Sydney’s Marrickville is a prime example. This inner-city area flooded in 2012, leaving cars floating, houses flooded and people’s belongings lost or ruined.
The analysis and the facts are clear, even neatly mapped out by the New South Wales state government. No misunderstanding there. The safest option is not to build up this area.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192763/original/file-20171101-13406-1i4u642.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
The flood-prone zone in Marrickville. NSW government, 2015
However, if Sydney wants to become a global city, we need to get used to urban environments with higher densities – these have all kinds of advantages. Immediate benefits include better public transport, higher level of amenities and proximity to a dynamic economic environment which generates jobs for the local population. Higher density also prevents occupation of green spaces outside the city and unnecessarily long commuting times for people housed even further away from the city.
This means no densification of existing neighbourhoods is a poor option. However, a proposal to build 20 buildings with 2,600 units in the flood-prone zone in Marrickville has raised eyebrows.
The local council is opposing the “monstrous” scale of the development. The state Labor opposition has joined the battle against this “mega-apartment project”.
But much of the opposition is not for the right reasons. The Inner West Council’s Carrington Road area planning proposal seems to prioritise density over flood risk. When the Cooks River overflows again, as it will, the floods will be even more severe.
Planning should be aiming to create a symbiotic situation, in which a higher-density development and flood mitigation are complementary. The challenge is to marry two seemingly contrasting ambitions: to increase density and yet not increase the vulnerability to floods.
Well-structured density makes all the difference
To achieve this, the first consideration would be to see the area as a flood reservoir where water can temporarily be stored. If this reservoir is then also used to clean rain runoff and grey water from the apartment buildings, it would function as a green space, water treatment and flood remediation space all at once.
What if one large natural wetland could be created, which could capture the water from the Cook River during a flood, but could also clean the rain and grey water from the buildings? The new buildings would not have to suffer from hazards such as flooding because the site design has anticipated the risk.
As an example, imagine a Borneo-Sporenburg type of setting in which the water space surrounds the built-up area. Even with mostly low-rise housing, the development could still reach a high density of around 150 dwellings per hectare.
Applied to Carrington Road, this would imply around 1,200 dwellings can be built in a low-rise setting. Adding two internal superblocks to this development would create another 500 units and only one high-rise building (instead of 20) would then be needed to make it to 2,600 dwellings in the whole development.
The new neighbourhood could form a very sustainable, almost circular system in which waste water, waste heat and waste materials could all be reused for the apartments and dwellings, and in the wetland reservoir. This way the wetland becomes an attractive green space for residents to use. It’s then a green space that not only accommodates the eventual flood, but also regulates the temperature of the urban environment, creating cooler places in summer.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86608/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">An interesting milieu could emerge here. If the buildings were built on stilts and lifted above the reservoir, wildlife, ecology and water could exist undisturbed under and around the buildings. The result would be a flexible infill development that preserves green and public space, and which is ready for extreme weather or climate conditions.
Rob Roggema, Professor of Sustainable Urban Environments, University of Technology Sydney
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-in-a-flood-zone-heres-a-way-to-do-it-and-reduce-the-risks-86608" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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How to reduce the risks higher density in a flood zone: Rob Roggema

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GUEST OBSERVER
We know what makes for healthy and liveable communities, which in turn produces massive payoffs. But we often lack comprehensive policies and frameworks to deliver on the promise. In producing Australia’s first baseline measure of liveability across our capital cities, we found none of them perform well across all the key indicators.
<a href="https://cur.org.au/project/national-liveability-report/" target="_blank">Our report</a> considers seven domains of a city’s liveability that also promote health and wellbeing:
<ul>
<li>
walkability
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<li>
public transport
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<li>
public open space
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<li>
housing affordability
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<li>
employment
</li>
<li>
food environment
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<li>
alcohol environment.
</li>
</ul>
When it comes to delivering liveability, the evidence of geographical inequities within and between cities is widespread. Outer suburban areas are clearly less well served than inner-city suburbs.
To highlight just how much work needs to be done, and what’s at stake if we don’t get it right, we delve here into three key domains: walkability, public transport, and housing affordability.
Walkability
Walkability is the foundation for achieving liveable, healthy cities. But our analysis of Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney reveals a mismatch between the aspiration of walkable communities and the policies needed to achieve this.
This was particularly evident when considering dwelling density. State policies in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane all include a density standard for suburban development of 15 dwellings per hectare. This is a low policy ambition that will perpetuate urban sprawl.
Perth has a more ambitious target for new suburban development – 26 dwellings per hectare – while Brisbane’s target for “urban” development is 30 per hectare.
These latter targets – still low by international standards – are more consistent with the evidence on the density needed to create walkable neighbourhoods, with more shops, services and public transport.
But despite state governments setting very modest density targets, there is little evidence that even these policies are being implemented.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190334/original/file-20171016-27711-lt587m.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/190334/original/file-20171016-27711-lt587m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Author provided
Only Perth and Melbourne appear to have measurable policies and targets for increasing access to local destinations. However, only a minority of dwellings in both cities (less than 10% and 40% respectively) meet their state government targets.
This is important: local destinations are essential for walkable neighbourhoods.
The final element that makes neighbourhoods walkable is the design of the street network. More connected street networks, like grid-patterned networks, increases proximity to local destinations and provides residents with alternative routes.
We found that all cities except Sydney have measurable spatial policy targets to increase street connectivity (block and/or lot size), but few have street connectivity targets.
Public transport
Policies and targets that combine proximity (having a public transport stop within 400 metres) with frequent service (at least every 30 minutes) are a better indicator for healthy, liveable communities.
When this more ambitious target was applied, we found around 36% of dwellings in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney have this level of access. The proportion is 18% in Perth and between 11% and 13% in Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart. In Darwin, only 4% of dwellings have this level of access.
Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney show a clear pattern of better access to nearby and frequent public transport in areas closer to the city centre.
Fewer areas in smaller cities such as Canberra, Darwin and Hobart have access to public transport comparable to that of larger cities. The spatial pattern of access is less clear, though in Adelaide and Hobart public transport access is higher closer to the inner city.
Residents of some cities face greater public transport access barriers than others. But these results show the majority of dwellings in the capital cities do not have access to nearby and frequent public transport services during weekday work hours.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190332/original/file-20171016-27721-q9ro43.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/190332/original/file-20171016-27721-q9ro43.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Author provided
Proximity targets are easier to achieve. However, other Australian cities could consider following New South Wales’ lead by adopting more ambitious public transport targets. These should combine proximity with frequent services, with short-, medium- and long-term targets for achieving these more ambitious goals.
Housing affordability
We identified no state-specific measurable spatial policy standards for improving housing affordability, availability or quality.
With such a major policy gap, we assessed housing affordability using the only two national liveability indicators found to be associated with health and wellbeing: the 30/40 measure of housing affordability, and the proportion of households renting.
The <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/glossary/glossary-items/housing-affordability-stress-3040-indicator-or-ratio-approach" target="_blank">30/40 indicator</a> identifies households as being in housing affordability stress when a household’s income is in the bottom 40% of Australia’s income distribution and it uses more than 30% of its income to pay for housing.
Using the 30/40 indicator (based on the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0" target="_blank">2011 Census</a>), more than one-third of lower-income households in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin and Perth appear to be experiencing housing affordability stress. Sydney had the highest percentage (38%), closely followed by Brisbane (37%). Fewer lower-income households in Canberra (31%) appeared to be encountering housing affordability stress based on the 30/40 indicator.
The proportion of households renting varies significantly between cities. It’s highest in Darwin, where 43% are renting.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190335/original/file-20171016-27705-oi28i7.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/190335/original/file-20171016-27705-oi28i7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Author provided
In Sydney and Brisbane, and to a lesser extent in Melbourne, housing affordability stress appears to spread across much of the city.
Low-density housing on the urban fringe is sometimes seen as a policy solution to housing affordability problems. However, we found the suburbs with the highest housing affordability stress were located toward the urban fringe.
Given that outer suburbs have poor access to public transport and are less likely to be walkable, these are the areas most at risk of mortgage stress, given high household spending on private car use. Suburban expansion without considering these other factors is unlikely to relieve the housing affordability stress these households experience.
We need comprehensive, integrated planning to ensure they have access to walkable communities, public transport, cycling infrastructure and local jobs to reduce their car dependence.
How to make our cities more liveable
All three levels of government share the goal of increasing the liveability of our cities. But our study identified only a limited number of measurable spatial policy standards that could be used to assess progress toward achieving this goal.
Our research has shown it is possible to create spatial indicators that will allow urban policies to be benchmarked and monitored over time, and for the level of implementation to be assessed. This could assist in assessing progress and in determining the highest priorities for local, state and federal investment.
And if linked to desirable results (such as use of active and public transport, shorter commuting times, less traffic congestion, and better health), these indicators could provide an early warning of unintended outcomes that require policy adjustment.
We discovered that Australia urgently needs integrated and comprehensive urban policies that will better shape cities that foster health and wellbeing for all residents. Walkable urbanism, even on the city fringe, must underpin healthy liveable cities.
This will require leadership from all levels of government, as well as the development industry which delivers suburban development.
Billie Giles-Corti, Director, Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform and Director, Healthy Liveable Cities Group, RMIT University
Jonathan Arundel, Senior Research Fellow, Healthy Liveable Cities Group, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-by-city-analysis-shows-our-capitals-arent-liveable-for-many-residents-85676" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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City-by-city analysis shows our capitals aren’t liveable for many residents: RMIT

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GUEST OBSERVER
Governments at all levels invest a lot in greening Australian suburbs. Yet, in a <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/help-hub/the-research-hub/detail/?id=4059">recent report</a>, we show that the greening efforts of most of our metropolitan local governments are actually going backwards.
This is a puzzle, as greening has clear environmental and economic benefits. The environmental benefits are obvious and relatively easy to count. For private home owners, numerous studies have linked greening to a range of economic benefits from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013231400081X">energy savings</a> to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916303585">higher house prices</a>.
So how do we explain the loss of green cover?
How we tracked the changes
Our research aimed to assess urban greening efforts and what accounts for the gains and losses.
Based on <a href="https://canopy.itreetools.org/">i-Tree</a>, a well-known method for sampling urban vegetation distributions and associated land covers, we compared 2016-17 figures with an early assessment that ranged from <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/news/2014/08/where-are-all-the-trees/">2008 to 2013</a> to examine changes in vegetation cover by local government area.
The report shows that large variation exists nationally in the growth and loss of tree canopy. Losses and gains can often be explained, however, by the changing nature of urban vegetation as neighbourhoods are transformed over time.
For example, in the graph highlighting the extent of tree canopy cover change for metropolitan local governments, Glenorchy in Tasmania shows the greatest tree canopy loss between 2008 and 2015 (more than 15 percentage points). Yet a gain in shrub area of more than 12% largely offset this canopy loss.
Similarly, Armadale in Western Australia gained more than 12% of tree canopy cover between 2011 and 2015 but lost more than 15% of shrub cover.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187683/original/file-20170926-13681-19lexk.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/187683/original/file-20170926-13681-19lexk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Loss of canopy from 2008-2013 to 2016 for all 139 metropolitan local government areas. (To see more detail in the report itself, go to <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/help-hub/the-research-hub/detail/?id=4059" target="_blank">Where should all the trees go?</a>)
Metropolitan local governments in Australia are very diverse in size and land use. The largest in our study, Cairns Regional Council in Queensland, is 1,500 times the area of the smallest, Peppermint Grove in inner-city Perth.
Some local government areas are dominated by non-urban land uses. This means natural processes such as bushfires, drought and forest regrowth are going to significantly affect greening efforts. Others are going to be affected by urban densification and housing growth.
Understanding greening efforts as a function of canopy loss alone is problematic for some local governments. Instead, a more appropriate measure may be the total change in urban greenery (canopy, shrubs and turf) between the two study periods. These results show that 54 out of the 139 local governments (39%) studied had suffered statistically significant losses in total green space.
Added up across Australia’s major metropolitan regions, this amounts to vegetation loss of 2.6% in our urban environments. This doesn’t like sound much, but it is equivalent to 1,586 square kilometres – a larger area than the City of Brisbane.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187688/original/file-20170926-10403-pow3qw.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/187688/original/file-20170926-10403-pow3qw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Loss of total green space (canopy, shrubs and turf) from all 139 metropolitan local government areas. Red indicates a statistically significant loss to 95% certainty.
What explains this decline?
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186122/original/file-20170915-8984-1xgw968.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/186122/original/file-20170915-8984-1xgw968.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
New developments across Perth show densification in selected locations. WA Land Information Authority (2016)/Alex Saunders (2017)
The location of many of the local government areas suffering more than 5% loss in green space provides clues to the types of processes driving this loss. For example, Newcastle in New South Wales lost 8.5% of its green space during our study period largely due to losses in grass cover as a result of greenfield development.
Yet, in inner-city Ashfield, the infill development of once-vegetated lands continues apace, with grass-to-hard-surface conversions accounting for most of its 7.3% loss of green space.
In some cases, local government areas are undergoing losses in a similar location. For example, the areas with the greatest losses in green space across Perth lie in a band that stretches from inland Melville to coastal East Fremantle. In these locations, the traditional Aussie backyard is losing ground to densification and infill.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185078/original/file-20170907-14552-1fj1m9h.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/185078/original/file-20170907-14552-1fj1m9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
An example of changes in Melville, suburban Perth, between 2011 and 2017. Google Maps
How do our cities compare?
In recent years, interest in benchmarking exercises such as these has increased internationally. In the US in 2012, David Nowak and others examined the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866711000999" target="_blank">growth and decline in vegetation cover</a> for 20 cities using the i-Tree methodology. US cities showed significant variability in combined tree and shrub canopy cover (54% for Atlanta to 10% in Denver).
The good news is that Greater Melbourne and Adelaide, both with 24% tree and shrub cover, perform better than the lowest values for the US cities. And Hobart’s shrub and tree cover of 57% is higher than Atlanta’s.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186124/original/file-20170915-8998-15aodkr.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/186124/original/file-20170915-8998-15aodkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Benchmarks for land cover in Australian capital cities 2016-17. Where should all the trees go?/Marco Amati
Yet within Australian cities the variability is pronounced. Canopy covers range from 77% (Yarra Ranges, Vic) to 3% (Wyndham, Vic).
The US urban forest is also subject to natural forces like Australia’s. New Orleans lost the largest amount of canopy cover (10%) as the study period included the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185081/original/file-20170907-14552-ipwn2y.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/185081/original/file-20170907-14552-ipwn2y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
 In the 1940s even cement companies were friends of the backyard. Source: The Australian Home Beautiful, October 1943
Yet, when considering the downward trend in greening, it is the historical comparison that is the most striking. The backyard was once an icon of the lifestyle enjoyed by generations of Australians growing up after the second world war.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83354/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">If the downward trend in green cover continues, should the Australian backyard be red-listed as a threatened species?
Marco Amati, Associate Professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University.
Alex Saunders, GIS Specialist, Centre for the Built Environment and Health, University of Western Australia.
Bryan Boruff, Senior Lecturer, School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia.
Drew Devereux, Research Scientist, Data 61, CSIRO.
Kath Phelan, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University.
Peter Caccetta, Research Scientist, CSIRO
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-investing-heavily-in-urban-greening-so-how-are-our-cities-doing-83354">original article</a>.
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Why are our urban greening efforts going backwards?

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GUEST OBSERVER
Two current global trends are set to make life rather uncomfortable for cities: climate change and the unprecedented rate of urbanisation.
This combination of extreme weather – often involving sudden deluges of water – and high population density will test even the best sewage infrastructure we have today. In the face of such pressures, how adaptable are our sewage systems?
Colonial heritage in our sewage systems
Sewage systems worldwide commonly consist of flush toilets and pipes that rely on a steady supply of water to transport and deposit bodily waste, either to a wastewater treatment plant or, failing that, simply downstream in the nearest river or straight into the ocean.
Many urbanites around the globe are using sewage systems based on a colonial-era template. Initially implemented to cure London’s “Great Stink” of 1858, when a hot summer combined with the excrement-filled River Thames to create an unbearable stench, sewer systems were public health interventions designed to remove pathogens and “miasmatic” offences associated with bodily waste.
They were first transplanted off Britain’s shores in the reconstruction of Paris from 1850–70, and since then have become embedded culture-specific notions of hygiene and sanitation around the globe.
Such colonial infrastructure is now proving increasingly problematic in the face of human-driven global trends (broadly referred to as the Anthropocene).
Using water to flush waste
A paradox of climate change is that there seems to be both more and less water. In South Asia, for example, at least 1.6 billion people struggle to find drinking water despite an abundance of water generally.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177976/original/file-20170712-19681-1mjtidi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
A woman siphoning water from a leaky pipe into a bucket on the side of the road during summer. Author provided
For residents of Darjeeling, India, where I am currently conducting my PhD fieldwork, this paradox is very real. Monsoons in Darjeeling last from June through August, sometimes longer, and rain falls frequently throughout the rest of the year. On the face of it, Darjeeling should have plenty of water, but in fact it faces increasingly acute shortages during the summer months from April to June.
The town’s water and waste infrastructure was built by the British in the 1930s, for what was then a population of 10,000. Its population now hovers around the 150,000 mark, and surges to more than 200,000 during peak tourist season from March to May. Despite this, there has been little to no official maintenance or upgrade since Indian independence in 1947.
In town, signs that urbanisation has outpaced infrastructure capacity are everywhere. An impressive number of pipes move water to and from the population. Along with electricity wires, these pipes traverse the city along increasingly bizarre and precarious routes. Ad hoc retrofit attempts to meet rising demand appear to be band-aid solutions and, because the pipes leak, often exacerbate contamination.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178026/original/file-20170713-19681-1qpyt4u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
 A typical open sewer in Darjeeling. Note the pipes on either side are water pipes taking drinking water to homes. Author provided
Darjeeling is instructive because it is a landscape struggling with inadequate infrastructure amid a rapidly urbanising population. In such a landscape, fresh water can be contaminated by sewage outflows, largely because the system is completely dependent on water to function.
Such over-reliance underpins another paradox: modern sewerage systems require water to work and yet, if not context-sensitive nor managed appropriately, can dirty vital waterways.
Closer to home
Australia is not immune to such problems. Our changing climate means we too face more severe droughts along with heavier rainfall events. Under these conditions, our sewage systems are under increasing stress.
Earlier this year Melbourne experienced summer flash floods which strained the city’s sewage systems, contaminating three public beaches. In February a heavy downpour in Western Australia caused concern over sewage contamination in the Swan River.
Such experiences are not isolated, and are likely to increase in incidence across the world. They provide important lessons and act as a catalyst for rethinking our relationship to water and waste, particularly amid concerns over water scarcity and extreme weather conditions in southern Australia.
Alternative futures
Many social scientists are now researching alternative forms of infrastructure that are contextually relevant, embedded in community values, and adaptable to current environmental challenges.
These alternative forms include moves to re-examine our relationship with waste in farming, use dry composting toilets, and install public bio-toilets along India’s main railway corridors.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78095/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">As for my home town of Adelaide, the capital of the driest state on the driest inhabited continent on Earth, should we really continue to use water to flush bodily waste?
Matt Barlow works at University of Adelaide.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/finally-facing-our-water-loo-its-time-to-decolonise-sewerage-systems-78095" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Decolonising our sewerage systems: Matt Barlow

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Westpac Group hopes to thwart "liar loans" by introducing stringent tests on residential property borrowers' existing and future capacity to meet repayments.
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Mortgage brokers' onus of proof will be switched from establishing whether a loan is suitable for a client to making a declaration as to why it is "not unsuitable".
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There are concerns lenders and brokers, paid by commission linked to the size of the loan, have overestimated borrower incomes and underestimated expenses.
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<a href="https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/liar-loans-hit-500b-mortgagors-are-more-stretched-than-banks-believe-ubs-20170911-gyew5j">Investment bank UBS estimated recently there are about $500 billion</a> "liar loans", which could cause problems when rates rise from record lows.
<a href="https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/banks-face-margin-squeeze-as-borrowers-forced-out-of-interestonly-loans-20171016-gz1ury">The tough new lending changes </a>from November 14 will apply to Westpac and Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and St George Bank.
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"Westpac is committed to responsible lending and meeting our conduct obligations," a bank spokesman told Fairfax Media.
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"The questions are designed to help understand your client's motivations and align the product to their requirements."
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"The declarations are there to prompt [a mortgage broker] to explain the implications of product choice and their features so a client can make more informed decisions."
 Clients will even be quizzed on having dependents with special needs that might require long-term spending on care and treatment.
It will apply to eight types of loans including fixed interest, interest only, loans for refinancing and debt construction and mixed purpose.
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<div>Questions will cover clients' foreseeable changes, but also special circumstances, such as those approaching retirement age during the loan term.</div>
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"Liar loan" crackdown by Westpac, St George, BankSA, BoM loan applicants

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<div>The final auction clearance rates for last weekend have been released.</div>
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<div>They show Sydney's clearance rate begins with a '5' for the first time since late 2015, CoreLogic analyst Cameron Kusher noted.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ausbiz?src=hash" data-query-source="hashtag_click"> </a>
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<div>Sydney's revised success rate was put at 58.3 percent.</div>
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<div>Canberra edged ahead of Melbourne which is still above 70 percent.</div>
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Sydney's spring clearance rate slips into the 50s, while Canberra soars

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Just 220 auctions are scheduled for this weekend in Melbourne, according to the REIV.
Craigieburn is the busiest location with seven auctions.
Its offering include a <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-craigieburn-126608662" target="_blank">four bedroom house</a> (above) with $500,000 to $550,000 hopes.
A clearance rate of 73 per cent was recorded last weekend compared to 74 per cent prior weekend and 78 per cent this weekend last year. 
There were 1,788 auctions reported to the REIV, with 1,300 selling and 488 being passed in, 226 of those on a vendor bid.
The REIV collected 95% of auction results last week with a total of 1,860 results including 43 withdrawn and 29 postponed.
 
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Craigieburn tops subdued Melbourne auction weekend

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The Block judge Shaynna Blaze’s Ringwood North family home of 15 years has been listed with price hopes of $1.19 million $1.29 million. 
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She raised her family at the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-ringwood+north-126752098" target="_blank">two-level property</a> in Melbourne's outer east, which has been listed through Fletchers Ringwoo agent Robin Waterbury.
<img src="https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/aaa424b01fb6473f3b7380281c3b6dcc" alt="Black and grey details stand out in a bright environment." width="650" height="366">
The four-bedroom house on 700sq m features three open-plan living areas, timber floors, new carpets, an updated kitchen and bathrooms, covered outdoor area with gas fireplace and landscaped backyard.
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<div class="image-wrapper">Offers are due by November 21.</div>
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<div class="image-wrapper">It has been many years since the children moved out.</div>
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She now lives in Hawthorn.
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Shaynna Blaze lists Ringwood North home

Article summary

<ul data-end="785" data-start="311">
	<li data-end="459" data-section-id="5hbcyr" data-start="311">Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at Skye Kangaroo Point, headlined by a two-storey sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm.</li>
	<li data-end="561" data-section-id="1p7lq8n" data-start="460">Early buyer interest suggests the residences could set a new Queensland apartment price record.</li>
	<li data-end="667" data-section-id="1y70z0l" data-start="562">The collection includes four move-in ready penthouses and the highly customised Skye One residence.</li>
	<li data-end="785" data-section-id="yvm0y1" data-start="668">The release caps one of Bri​sbane's most ambitious luxury apartment developments overlooking the Brisbane River.</li>
</ul>

<hr data-end="790" data-start="787" />
Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/skye-residences-by-pikos-kangaroo-point-8-river-terrace-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">Skye by Pikos</a> development in Kangaroo Point, with early buyer interest indicating the flagship residences could eclipse every apartment sale previously recorded in Queensland.

The collection crowns the luxury riverfront development with five residences, including four completed penthouses and Skye One, a two-level sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm that will be tailored to its eventual owner.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374075]

Wanting to offer a fully customisable home, Pikos is offering Skye One as a blank canvas, allowing the buyer to work alongside the developer's design team to customise the home's layout, finishes and internal spaces.

The residence will feature a 247 sqm private rooftop terrace with its own swimming pool, sauna, steam room, outdoor kitchen and multiple entertaining areas overlooking the Brisbane River and CBD skyline.

The remaining four penthouses have been completed and are ready for immediate occupation, each offering four bedrooms, expansive open-plan living areas, soaring ceilings and private lift access.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374059]

One of the defining features throughout the project is its use of Roman Classic Travertine, with more than 20,000 sqm of the natural stone imported from Italy after being personally selected by Pikos Group Founder and Executive Director Pedro Pikos, interior designer Julie Williamson and third-generation stone specialist Mario Caucci.

Pikos said the penthouse collection represented the culmination of the company's long-term vision for Skye.

"True legacy isn't measured by what we build today, but by what endures tomorrow," Pikos said.

"Our ambition is to create places that become more valuable with time, enrich the lives of generations, and stand as timeless landmarks long after we've stepped away."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374060]

Williamson said the interiors were inspired by the natural character of Kangaroo Point and the Brisbane River rather than international design trends.

"Materiality tells the story of a place," Williamson said.

"We looked to the movement of the Brisbane River, the texture of the cliff face and the warmth of the surrounding landscape to create interiors that feel understated, enduring and unmistakably Brisbane."

Positioned above the Kangaroo Point cliffs, Skye places residents within walking distance of Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank and James Street while offering uninterrupted river and city views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=90059]

Joel Robinson

Brisbane's next apartment price record? Pikos unveils Skye's exclusive penthouse collection

Article summary

<ul data-end="888" data-start="289">
	<li data-end="442" data-section-id="8tsh6o" data-start="289">DVB Projects is preparing to launch its second Gold Coast apartment development, with demolition now underway at 137 Old Burleigh Road, Broadbeach.</li>
	<li data-end="573" data-section-id="1nyxl3e" data-start="443">The 34-level tower will comprise just 49 ultra-luxury residences, including half-floor, full-floor and penthouse apartments.</li>
	<li data-end="717" data-section-id="oiyimj" data-start="574">The launch follows strong demand at DVB's nearby Sea Glass project, which is more than 50 per cent sold and currently under construction.</li>
	<li data-end="888" data-section-id="epk9o9" data-start="718">The development adds to the transformation of Old Burleigh Road, with premium beachfront apartment projects continuing to reshape the tightly held Broadbeach strip.</li>
</ul>

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/dvb-projects">DVB Projects</a> is preparing to launch its second Gold Coast apartment development, with demolition now underway on the Broadbeach site as the Sydney developer moves closer to bringing the ultra-luxury project to market.

The 34-level tower at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/137-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">137 Old Burleigh Road</a> will comprise just 49 residences, ranging from half-floor apartments through to full-floor homes and a penthouse. The launch follows the strong sales performance of DVB's nearby Sea Glass development. More than half of the apartments at Sea Glass, on the other side of Broadbeach, have been snapped up, well ahead of its late 2027 completion

<img alt="DVB Projects to commence demolition on $320m Broadbeach luxury tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2944b4be-c84e-4b54-8dc1-c712e76704c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/E02_Exterior_Street%20Level%20Entrance.jpg?VersionId=YoNig7pRdrE3HCue7sUj78LzJteeQf3H" />

The start of demolition at 137 Old Burleigh Road signals DVB Projects’ underlying confidence in the Gold Coast’s luxury beachside apartment sector.

“We see the Gold Coast as one of the most compelling lifestyle markets in Australia, particularly at the premium end where demand continues to deepen,” said Dean Brown, Managing Director of DVB.&nbsp;

“This project has been carefully designed to respond to that demand - delivering large-format residences with a level of quality, privacy and amenity that is still relatively rare in the apartment market on the beachside."

Brown says the site itself is "exceptional."

"Old Burleigh Road is one of the most tightly held beachfront strips, and opportunities to deliver a project of this scale and calibre in this location are extremely limited.”

<img alt="DVB Projects to commence demolition on $320m Broadbeach luxury tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="398f377a-c037-455e-9250-0c5e0d84c35b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/I12_FF%20Balcony.jpg?VersionId=NwOiRWGMubR1c8wthuEfggklcja7al9." />

The project will comprise 40 half-floor residences of approximately 260 sqm, alongside eight full-floor residences spanning around 524 sqm.

A single penthouse will crown the building, featuring a private pool, barbecue area, indoor gym and dedicated entertaining spaces.

Residents will have access to a resort-style suite of amenities, including a 20-metre pool with daybeds, a gymnasium, hot and cold plunge pools, a sauna, and private residents’ lounge and dining facilities.

<img alt="DVB Projects to commence demolition on $320m Broadbeach luxury tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1642bb0-9a66-4427-a022-dfc0988c6287" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/A02_Pool%20to%20View.jpg?VersionId=c0IXPyn_Gp_Kn3XCwzMrqIVkAdCEwVXP" />

Sales agent Todd Matheson, of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/pezet-matheson">Pezet Matheson</a>, which is marketing both 137 Old Burleigh Road and Sea Glass, said 137 Old Burleigh Road would address a clear gap in the market for genuine luxury products.

“There are very few opportunities on the Gold Coast where buyers can secure a residence of this size and quality in a new building,” Matheson said.

“What we’re seeing is a growing cohort of downsizers and interstate buyers who still want space - they’re not willing to compromise on living area, entertaining or finishes.

“This project has been designed with that buyer in mind. It offers the scale of a home, combined with the convenience and security of apartment living, in one of the coast’s most desirable positions.”

<img alt="DVB Projects to commence demolition on $320m Broadbeach luxury tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="59aae0ca-5639-4320-8aca-d0bf60f48e43" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/E01_Exterior%20Hero.jpg?VersionId=DS8Zfy2WtgUEtdfe0TEUuf1W1GfcZq8S" />

Located on a 1,156 sqm site one block from the beachfront, the development will replace an ageing walk-up building and is expected to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the Old Burleigh Road strip into one of the Gold Coast’s most prestigious residential corridors.

With the development moving into the delivery phase, 137 Old Burleigh Road is slated to hit the market later this year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145141]

DVB Projects to launch second Broadbeach apartment tower as demolition commences

A proposal to redevelop one of North Sydney's ageing commercial buildings has taken another step forward, with plans for a 38-storey mixed-use tower adding momentum to the long-awaited transformation of the Alfred Street precinct.

Now on public exhibition through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority-led State Significant Development pathway, the proposal for 271-273 Alfred Street would replace an underutilised commercial building with 95 apartments, ground-floor retail, commercial space and affordable housing. The proposal was submitted by&nbsp;Tara Shore Pty Ltd, acting for the John Taylor Family Trust.

While the project will deliver much-needed housing on the southern edge of the North Sydney CBD, it also represents another piece of a broader precinct that has spent years in planning limbo.

<img alt="First look: New public domain vision underpins 95-apartment North Sydney tower on Alfred Street" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7e1ce1b4-38df-48ab-992f-386814d86308" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Alfred%20St%20da%20podium.png?VersionId=sC_h6w.A9VEoB98qsqowPlIoz__sBZBt" />

Despite its proximity to both North Sydney Station and the Victoria Cross Metro, redevelopment of Alfred Street has progressed slowly over the past decade as broader planning controls, zoning and building heights remained unresolved. The introduction of the Housing Delivery Authority pathway has provided a new avenue for projects to progress, allowing rezoning and development assessment to occur concurrently and unlocking sites that have long been earmarked for renewal.

Designed by Office of Cortese &amp; Gilder, the proposal seeks to do more than replace an ageing office building. The architects have positioned the project as the first stage of a wider public domain vision that would improve pedestrian connectivity and create a more cohesive mixed-use precinct as neighbouring sites are redeveloped over time.

The proposal includes a widened Alfred Street setback, new street trees, landscaping and outdoor seating, along with a landscaped through-site pedestrian link connecting Alfred Street with Little Alfred Street. The connection is intended to become the first section of a future east-west pedestrian network extending across the precinct.

<img alt="First look: New public domain vision underpins 95-apartment North Sydney tower on Alfred Street" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8ea39ac3-46ad-4562-b4a0-b862e91c2dda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Alfred%20St%20da%20site.png?VersionId=K7umCd21KpetEFuVfsPlnJKhUOsmTTdV" />

The mixed-use tower would comprise retail space at ground level, commercial uses on level two and apartments from level three upwards.

In total, the development would deliver 95 apartments, including nine one-bedroom, 28 two-bedroom, 56 three-bedroom and two four-bedroom residences. Twenty-one apartments, representing 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area, would be secured as affordable housing and managed by a registered community housing provider for at least 15 years.

Nine basement levels would provide 133 resident car spaces, seven motorcycle spaces and 111 bicycle spaces.

According to the Architecture and Urban Design Report, the public domain strategy is designed to transform what is currently an inward-facing commercial edge into a more active and connected pedestrian environment, creating a stronger relationship between the commercial core and surrounding residential neighbourhoods.

Office of Cortese &amp; Gilder has also prepared a broader public domain framework spanning neighbouring properties between 263 and 283 Alfred Street, arguing that a coordinated approach to redevelopment will deliver better public spaces, improved tower separation and a more connected streetscape as the precinct evolves.

The proposal comes at a time where North Sydney is slated for future residential growth. Commercial developer FiveX has residential plans for the neighbouring site at 275 Alfred Street. They've proposed a 39-storey mixed-use tower with 184 apartments, while Freecity was recently approved for nearly 300 apartments across a 51-storey building on Walker Street.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-freecity-gets-green-light-for-mixed-use-apartment-and-hotel-tower-in-north-sydney">First look: Freecity gets green light for mixed-use apartment and hotel tower in North Sydney</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-plans-39-storey-residential-tower-in-booming-north-sydney">First look: Fivex plans 39-storey residential tower in booming North Sydney</a>

&nbsp;

Alfred Street the latest North Sydney pocket to be transformed by residential development

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=269527]

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7354]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359521]

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359527]

<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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[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359523]

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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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145590]

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