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The past decade of strong capital growth has resulted in properties in Inner West Sydney with large land allotments experiencing greatly declining yields, according to a recent Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report. 
This applies in particular to properties with poor improvements where the value is predominantly underpinned by the land content.
The valuation firm took a look at the rental yields across the country to dissect where to find the best returns in residential markets. 
"Investors in suburbs where this is the case typically rely on capital growth as an investment strategy, rather than the yield they are likely to receive," the valuation firm said. 
Taking the suburb of Drummoyne, if yields are of utmost importance, the unit sector is predominantly a better investment, with close proximity to infrastructure along with all the other usual drivers of yield in this sector.
Drummoyne land values have risen dramatically over recent years, with consequently decreasing yields, so investors either have to accept this or get creative. 
This creativity has been in the form of utilising the current improvements to increase the rental income received.
According to the HTW report, a great example of this was a property recently advertised in Drummoyne.
The land area was 920 square metres and the residence was an original circa 1920 bungalow in average overall condition.
The main dwelling was accessed at street level, providing three-bedroom plus one-bathroom accommodation and appreciating restricted water views, currently renting for $750 per week.
A second area of occupancy had been built below the main dwelling and accessed from a separate entry via the side pathway, comprising a modern three-bedroom plus one-bathroom accommodation, currently renting for $550 per week.
At the rear of the property was a circa 1970 high clearance garage, accessed via the rear lane.
This garage had been converted into a large two-bedroom plus one-bathroom modern flat, appreciating water views and a single off-street car space, renting for $700 per week.
Although there was some cost in the capital improvement of the property, the utilisation of separate areas of occupancy has significantly increased the rental income.
The current passing rent for the combined occupancies is $2,000 per week, equating to a yield of 4.6% (the value of the property is approximately $2.25 million).
"This yield may not set any investment records, but it is a dramatic improvement on what other properties are yielding in the area, relying on a single occupancy rental income," the valuation firm said. 
"It allows investors to reduce their holding costs for such a property, while waiting for capital appreciation, or alternatively while Development Approvals are sought for future development."
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Inner West Sydney properties with large land allotments experience declining yields: HTW residential 

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GUEST OBSERVATION
A <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&amp;sid=0088" target="_blank">private member’s bill</a>, moved by Labor MP Josh Burns, recently called on the Australian government “to help build more affordable homes” in response to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-soars-in-our-biggest-cities-driven-by-rising-inequality-since-2001-117833" target="_blank">growing homelessness crisis</a>. A premise of the bill is that a lack of social housing is a major cause of homelessness and increasing the supply is a key element of solving the problem. The government’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&amp;sid=0086" target="_blank">response</a> was that one solution is to encourage social housing tenants to find paid work, so they can move into private rental housing.
The problem with this argument is it overlooks the major barriers to entering the private rental market for low-income households. It also does not excuse the failure to invest adequately in building more social housing.
There is certainly a shortage of social housing. About 140,600 applicants were on the waiting list for public housing and 8,800 households were wait-listed for state-owned-and-managed Indigenous housing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists#pg4" target="_blank">as at June 30 2018</a>. Another 38,300 applicants were waiting for mainstream community housing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2018/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists" target="_blank">as at June 30 2017</a> (the most recent publicly <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists#pg4" target="_blank">available data</a>). Together, these tenure types comprise most of Australia’s social housing.
These figures exclude people temporarily suspended from waiting lists (e.g. social housing applicants in New South Wales who take up <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/policies/rent-choice-policy" target="_blank">Rent Choice private rental assistance</a>), who need social housing but <a href="https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/women-on-temporary-visas-vulnerable-to-family-violence2" target="_blank">are ineligible</a> and others not on waiting lists but still in need, such as <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306" target="_blank">rough sleepers and very low-income households in housing stress</a>.
Tenure in social housing was once effectively <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/316" target="_blank">unlimited</a> provided tenants paid their rent and maintained their property. But waiting list pressures have led to a new approach. In his response to the private member’s bill, the assistant minister for community housing, homelessness and community services, Luke Howarth, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&amp;sid=0086" target="_blank">argued</a>:
"There needs to be more responsibility […] from state governments to help people who are able to get back into the workplace to then move on from social housing so that it will provide a flow-through effect for people currently on the waiting list."
Market realities
Howarth’s argument is consistent with much state and territory policy. For example, the NSW <a href="http://www.socialhousing.nsw.gov.au/?a=348442" target="_blank">Future Directions policy</a> explicitly commits to “upskilling” tenants to enable them to live in private rental housing.
Tacitly overlooked in such “pathways” policies are the barriers to entering private rental. Across Australia <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/our-work/research-reports/the-rental-affordability-snapshot" target="_blank">less than 26%</a> of private rental properties are affordable for households on a minimum wage. Less than 4% are affordable and appropriate for households on income support.
<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/tip-of-the-iceberg-complaints-alleging-discrimination-in-rental-market-rise-20170716-gxac9d/" target="_blank">Prejudice</a> and <a href="https://www.sheltersa.asn.au/site/wp-content/uploads/190430-Shelter-SA-Research-Report-on-Racial-Discrimination-in-Private-Rental-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">discrimination</a> against tenants perceived to pose a greater risk to landlords’ investments make access even more difficult.
Low-income households in the private rental market also face insecure tenure. “No-grounds terminations” are permitted in all states and territories except Tasmania and, from July 1 2020, Victoria (except at the end of the first fixed term).
Under “no grounds” termination, landlords can evict tenants for no stated reason at the end of a fixed-term lease and at any time on a periodic lease. Fear of retaliatory eviction makes it <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters/private-renters.pdf" target="_blank">less likely tenants will assert their legal rights</a>.
Employment as a pathway
Even if private rental access and affordability were certain, many social housing tenants are not in a position to undertake employment. In 2017–18, about <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/summary" target="_blank">398,900 households were in social housing in Australia</a>. Many of them relied on the disability support pension (21%) or the age pension (19%) as their main source of income.
Long-standing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists" target="_blank">targeting</a> of social housing to greatest need means tenants are disproportionately likely to have low educational qualifications and limited marketable skills. They face considerable employment challenges, not the least of which is <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/166" target="_blank">stigmatisation</a>.
It is also worth considering what “employment” realistically looks like for social housing tenants seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce. It’s likely to be as <a href="https://theconversation.com/labour-in-vain-casualisation-presents-a-precarious-future-for-workers-8181" target="_blank">casualised labour</a> in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-might-not-take-over-the-world-but-it-is-still-normalising-job-insecurity-127234" target="_blank">gig economy</a>.
As social policy researchers Greg Marston and Catherine McDonald have <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/ben/2007/00000015/00000003/art00003" target="_blank">argued</a>, we cannot assume exiting welfare for the labour market leads automatically to social and economic security. Precarious, intermittent, low-wage employment does not offer a sound basis for sustaining a private tenancy.
Of course, social housing tenants should be supported to find work and to move out of social housing if they want to. But the evidence would suggest tenant choice is not the motivation here. Rather than creating “pathways” as a way of managing social housing waiting lists, governments would have greater impact on the housing crisis if they invested much more in social housing.
Between 2011 and 2016, <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/site/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LaunchHousing_AHM2018_Report.pdf" target="_blank">government spending on social housing decreased 7%</a>, from A$1.42 billion to A$1.32 billion. This has contributed to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960" target="_blank">backlog of 433,000 dwellings</a> in Australia’s social housing supply. That’s predicted to grow to a shortage of 727,000 dwellings by 2036.
In addition to providing <a href="https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/documents/522/Modelling_costs_of_housing_provision_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">more social and affordable</a> housing, governments must act on the systemic problems in the private rental market. This includes developing <a href="https://everybodyshome.com.au/our-campaign/a-better-deal-for-renters/" target="_blank">nationally consistent tenancy legislation</a> to provide more protection for tenants, including against no-grounds evictions, and providing the resources to properly enforce such laws.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128006/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Chris Hartley, Research Fellow (Housing and Homelessness) at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW.
Kathleen Flanagan, Research Fellow &amp; Deputy Director, HACRU, University of Tasmania.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-simple-as-finding-a-job-getting-people-out-of-social-housing-is-much-more-complex-than-that-128006" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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As simple as finding a job? Getting people out of social housing is much more complex than that

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The residential market throughout the Ballina Shire began the 2019 year somewhat slowly.
It came after heated market conditions throughout 2016, 2017 and early 2018, according to the December 2019 report from Herron Todd White (HTW). 
The valuation firm found that while market conditions were comparatively slow, no noticeable falls in value levels were experienced.
In the second half of 2019 there was a moderate increase in market activity, however local agents still report that listings need to be priced appropriately for any interest to be generated.
"The prestige market in the sought after coastal locations of Lennox Head, Skennars Head and East Ballina as well as the sought after rural localities towards the north of the Shire remain strong which can be partly attributed to the recent upswing in the Sydney and Melbourne markets," HTW said. 
"Local agents report limited stock available for sale across this market segment, creating some upward pressure on value levels, however again listings need to be priced appropriately."
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Ballina Shire residential property market strengthened in late 2019: HTW Residential

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At the beginning of 2019, Herron Todd White (HTW) forecast that the wider Sydney market would continue to weaken up until the state and federal elections, with a plateau post-election if other economic indicators remained the same.
In their December report, the property valuation firm found their predictions were accurate regarding the elections being a line in the sand.
What they didn’t predict however was the outcome of the federal election, which meant the well publicised changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax didn’t eventuate.
"It is likely that the market had already factored in these taxation changes, which meant that the election result kick started a more positive sentiment," HTW said.
"Agents anecdotally reported to us that within weeks of the election, their phones were once again ringing hot with renewed interest from both vendors and purchasers.
"Since then, an easing of APRA policy for residential mortgage lending along with three interest rates cuts has prompted a surge in activity in the first home buyer and upgrader markets."
HTW advised this has resulted in a much quicker than anticipated rebound in values in a number of areas, particularly those that experienced larger declines during the downturn.
"Given the above, we have marked ourselves a seven out of ten in regard to our start of year predictions."
The market recovery appears to be in full swing with CoreLogic reporting 5.71% growth in the most recent quarter across the Sydney metro area.
"However, it is important to note that year-on-year, RP Data is still recording a 1.58% loss to the median value," the report noted.
Interestingly, on a year-on-year basis (across the Sydney metro area) units are outperforming houses at +1.29% and -2.45% respectively.
The new unit market is probably seeing more of a mixed recovery with pockets of oversupply along New South Wales with well publicised issues around significant building defects and flammable cladding concerns.
The report noted it is almost 12 months since the Opal Tower was evacuated due to significant building issues.
Since then a number of other unit complexes, including Mascot Towers, have been identified as having significant building issues.
In addition to the building defects, approximately 444 complexes have been identified as having non-compliant cladding.
Settlement valuations were still a concern for a number of new unit complexes with values coming in lower than the off the plan prices agreed upon in a stronger market.
"Many of the units we were valuing in 2019 were purchased off the plan at around the peak of the market," the HTW valuers noted.
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Sydney's quicker than expected price rebound was 2019 highlight: HTW Residential

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Former Double Bay estate agent Ryan Watsford has been sentenced to four years in jail for his part in an alleged drug smuggling operation.
Watsford had been an estate agent during the events which are alleged to have taken place between 2016 and 2017.
The Sunday Telegraph reported he used his industry knowledge and industry mates to find empty houses in Sydney's eastern suburbs which were then used in the mail shipment of more than 580g of cocaine by a US drug syndicate.
One of the empty houses was the <a href="/news/rose-bay-trophy-villa-tivoli-sold-to-entrepreneur-john-szangolies">waterfront Rose Bay mansion which was being bought by the restaurateur John Szangolies</a>, who had paid $16.8 million to the Bartley family with plans on knocking it down.
Watsford has been sentenced to a maximum eight years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of four years.
The smuggling ring was accused of attempting to bring in 800 kg of MDMA and millions cigarettes in to Australia.
Police found a photo of three US Postal Service receipts relating to packages that had been sent to three Sydney address; 26 Tivoli Ave, Rose Bay, 51 Towns Rd, Vaucluse, and 22 Chisholm St, Darlinghurst.
The Rose Bay trophy, Villa Tivoli, had been listed with more than $20 million hopes by the family of racing identity "Melbourne Mick" Bartley.
It was sold in March 2016, with settlement scheduled for July 2016. Neither the vendors or buyers, the Bartley and Szangolies family, knew that their home had been pinpointed for the purpose of the clandestine postal delivery.
Watsford had directly called the owner of the Tivoli Ave property in early July who advised him when she'd be moving out within six days, ie ahead of the July 16 settlement by the new owner.
According to documents tendered in the Downing Centre District Court, eight packages containing 985g of cocaine were sent to “Hayes Alan” at 26 Tivoli Ave, Rose Bay.
Australian Federal Police intercepted the packages of cocaine on July 13, 2016, at the Australia Post facility at Alexandria.
The parcels were delivered July 15 when Watsford dropped off another member of the syndicate to collect the delivery from the postman. The US pickup guy was immediately arrested.
On June 27, 2016, police had previously intercepted a phone call where Watsford asked another Double Bay estate if the agency was holding any vacant properties, the court documents show.
The agent, who isn’t accused of any wrongdoing or knowledge of Watsford’s plan, advised on the property at 51 Towns Rd, Vaucluse.
The Sunday Telegraph's Brenden Hills coverage recently took out the Scoop Of The Year at the News Awards 2019 for his reporting work.
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Former estate agent Ryan Watsford sentenced to four years jail

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GUEST OBSERVATION
For the thousand or so farmers in Canberra in the past week venting their anger at the federal government, it’s the<a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6522046/convoy-calls-to-can-murray-darling-plan/" target="_blank"> Murray-Darling Basin Plan to blame</a> for destroying their livelihoods and forcing them off the land.
We can’t comment directly on their claims about the basin plan. But our research, looking at the years 1991 to 2011, suggests little association between the amount of water extracted from the Murray-Darling river system for irrigation and total farmer numbers.
That’s not to say there aren’t fewer farms in the basin now than a decade ago – there are – but our analysis points to the more important drivers being the longer-term influences of changing climate, economics and demographics.
Indeed our study predicts another 0.5℃ increase in temperature by 2041 will halve the current number of farmers in the basin.
Hostility to water recovery
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283224/original/file-20190709-51312-1bmd1r9.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/283224/original/file-20190709-51312-1bmd1r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The waters of the northern basin run to the Darling River and the waters of the southern basin run to the Murray River. <a class="source" href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/discover-basin/landscape/geography" target="_blank">MDBA</a>
Over many decades state governments in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia licensed to farmers more entitlements to water than the river system could sustain. The basis of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, enacted in 2012, was to rectify this through buying back about a quarter of all water licences to ensure an environmental flow.
A water entitlement, despite its name, does not guarantee a licence holder a certain amount of water. That depends on the water available, and that is determined by the states, which make allocations to each type of licence based on its type of security and current conditions.
With drought, farmers have seen their allocations severely cut back, sometimes to nothing. And partly because they see there’s still water in the River Murray, some are <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2019/12/03/farmers-drought-protest-canberra/" target="_blank">very angry</a>.
Hostility to water recovery in fact predates the plan’s enactment, to when the federal government began buying back water entitlements in 2008. The Commonwealth now holds about 20% of water entitlements across the basin. More than two-thirds of these licences were recovered between <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-023039" target="_blank">2008 and 2012</a>.
Lack of correlation
Our research thus covers the period of most significant water buybacks. It also covers the period of the Millennium Drought, from 2001 to 2009, when the amount of water extracted from the river system dropped by about 70%.
Yet we see little evidence reduced water extractions led to more farmers exiting the industry.
As a very broad overview of the situation, the following graph illustrates the lack of correlation between measured water extraction in the Murray-Darling Basin and decreasing farmer numbers.
<hr>
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306067/original/file-20191210-95111-mzuk3r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
<hr>
Water extractions have varied significantly between years, with a big decline over the decade of the 2000s even while farmers’ need for irrigated water increased due to lack of rain. La Niña brought record rains in 2010-11. The current drought across the basin took grip from about 2017.
Yet farmer numbers have declined at a relative steady rate. Within the basin in the time-period we modelled, they fell from about 90,000 in 1991 to 70,000 in 2011. This can be seen as part of a wider trend, with total farmer numbers in the four basin states falling from more than 230,000 in 1976 to barely 100,000 in 2016.
It might be argued that because irrigated farms make up only a quarter of all farms, the overall numbers might mask a greater correlation between water extractions and decline in irrigated farms. While the specific impacts on irrigation farming in recent years warrant further study, there’s no signal in our data pointing to extractions making a discernible contribution to farmer numbers throughout the basin.
Modelling farmer movement
Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-019-02601-8" target="_blank">findings</a> are based on a specialised data set of population and agricultural census information from <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/23d04985e1786824ca25720b0002bb18!OpenDocument" target="_blank">statistical local areas</a> from 1991 to 2011. We used climate risk measures from 1961 onwards.
The following infographic shows the exit pattern of farmers by local area between 1991 and 2011.
We included as many climate, economic, farming, water and socio-demographic characteristics as possible to capture historical farmer movements and create a model able to predict movements based on variables such as average temperature.
Need for a multifaceted response
Overall our modelling results suggests the most significant and largest influences on farmer exit are rising temperatures and increased drought risk, followed by the economic factors that have have been reducing the proportion of the population engaged in farming for more than a century.
Declining commodity prices, higher unemployment and urbanisation are strongly associated with farmer exit. Urbanisation, for example, has made it attractive for farmers on city fringes to sell their land to property developers and exit the industry.
Research suggests irrigators in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016717302000?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">psychological distress</a> are more likely to want the basin plan suspended. Our research suggests their distress is probably not primarily driven by the federal government buying water entitlements from licence holders who sold them willingly. Water recovery and the basin plan is simply an easier focal point of blame than the longer-term trends making the farming lifestyle less viable.
Nothing will be gained by focusing on short-term “fixes” at the cost of longer-term environmental harm. The problems facing all farmers cannot be addressed in isolation from longer-term global climate and economic trends.
As a society we have to decide what we value: do we want to see such a mass exodus of farmers from the land in the face of a drying climate? If not, future policy for the Basin must consider the real long-term drivers of farm exit and take a multi-faceted approach to climate change, water, land, drought and rural development.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128048/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of Adelaide.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-its-climate-and-economic-change-driving-farmers-out-128048" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Don’t blame the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. It’s climate and economic change driving farmers out

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Seabird, the Mornington Peninsula weekender of embattled bikie lawyer John Voitin has been sold.
Voitin built the property in 2000 after paying $150,000 for the 1,235 square metre block in 1999.
The four bedroom, architect-designed home features a limestone open fireplace that adjoins a sunroom with wet bar.
Glass walls open to the pavilion style entertainment deck which meets the tennis court in the private garden.
A bikie taskforce police raided his former business in 2018.
This article first appeared in The Weekend Australian. 
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Portsea weekender of bikie lawyer John Voitin sells

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A contemporary home in Rose Bay with views over Sydney Harbour has hit the market. 
The five-storey home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-rose+bay-132567066" target="_blank">871 New South Wales Road</a> is wrapped in a series of outdoor entertaining spaces.
Brad Pillinger and Michael Paroulakis of Pillinger Double Bay have the listing.
The home offers 650 square metres of internal living space including five bedrooms, five bathrooms, glass-framed living and dining, custom island kitchen and home cinema. 
<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/2019/12/2/rose%20bay%202.jpg" alt="">
Outdoor features view-swept terrace, heated plunge pool, sky deck and terraced gardens with custom water features. 
Other highlights include lift access to all levels, internal access to double garage, inbuilt surround sound and camera surveillance system. 
<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/2019/12/2/rose%20bay%201.jpg" alt="">
Surrounded by some of Sydney's finest schools, the home is just 400 metres to Rose Bay Beach, Royal Sydney Gold course and a short walk to waterfront dining and the ferry.
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Rose Bay trophy home with panoramic Sydney Harbour views listed 

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APRA's MySuper heat map, released yesterday, has highlighted the best and worst super funds. People with less than $10,000 in their superannuation accounts are losing as much as 4.4 percent of their savings to annual fees charged by fund administrators, new data from the prudential regulator shows.
<a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/mysuper-product-heatmap" target="_blank">The heat map</a> also shows the large lead the large industry super funds have over their retail counterparts when it comes to outcomes.
AMIST, Energy Super, First State Super, HESTA, Media Super, MTAA Super, Super, Sunsuper, Equipsuper, UniSuper, Cbus and Vision Super were given strong ratings across all rating categories.
But the nation's largest fund, the $167 billion AustralianSuper copped a red mark, given its administration fees it charges to members with account balances of $10,000 or less.
Well ranked corporate superannuation products included Brookfield Australia MySuper, Macquarie Group MySuper and Woolworths Group MySuper.
The benchmarks judged investment performance, fees and costs and the sustainability of member outcomes.
The heatmap - which is colour coded so that red denotes lower performance and higher fees - provides an assessment of MySuper products, which are meant to be low cost and simple superannuation options.
Among the worst performers were BEST Superannuation at 3.79 per cent, First Super at 1.78 per cent, the Pitcher Retirement Plan at 1.73 per cent, IAG and NRMA at 1.59 per cent and the AMP Retirement Trust at 1.54 per cent.
Among the worst performers on five-year net investment returns per annum, were Pitcher Retirement at 5.85 per cent, Energy Industries Super with 6.19 per cent and Maritime Super at 6.23 per cent.
Two products offered by Mine Super, a fund run for miners by unions and employers, were among the worst performance.
The Financial Services Council warned that the MySuper heatmap should not be used to rank superannuation products.
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The best and worst super funds: APRA

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Philip Lowe, Governor of the RBA said in a speech on Tuesday that Australia was seeing a further shift away from cash and cheques.
The RBA recently undertook the latest wave of our three-yearly consumer payments survey and cheque use in Australia has been in sharp decline for some time as seen in the graph below.
<img src="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/images/sp-gov-2019-12-10-graph07.gif" alt="Graph 7: Cheque Payments per Capita" width="" height="">
They found that over the past year, the number of cheques written has fallen by another 19% and the value of cheques written has fallen by more than 30%, as the real estate industry has continued to shift to electronic property settlements, highlighted in the graph above.
"At some point it will be appropriate to wind up the cheque system, and that point is getting closer," Lowe said.
"Before this happens, though, it is important that alternative payment methods are available for those who rely on cheques.
"Using the NPP infrastructure for new payment solutions is likely to help here."
Lowe said that, as expected, there has been a further trend decline in the use of cash, with cash now accounting for just around a quarter of day-to-day transactions, and most of these are for small-value payments.
"I forecast that this trend will continue," he concluded. 
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RBA boss questions future of cheques for home purchases

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

Joel Robinson

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Local Little Bay residents, along with buyers from premium postcodes across Sydney’s affluent Eastern Suburbs, have dominated purchases in developer-builder Urban Property Group’s first Eastern Suburbs apartment development, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a>.

The $250 million coastal project, one of the first new developments in the area in several years, has proven particularly popular with downsizers, especially those from Coogee and Bondi. One Double Bay downsizer paid $4.7 million for a four-bedroom penthouse, setting a new local apartment price record in the process.

Buyers have been attracted to the combination of coastal tranquillity, premium design and amenity-rich neighbourhood living. The walkable village setting, along with proximity to three of Sydney’s leading golf courses, New South Wales Golf Club, St Michael’s Golf Club and The Coast Golf Club, has also been a key drawcard.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352689]

Built across two low-rise buildings designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hill-thalis-architecture-urban-projects-pty-ltd">Hill Thalis</a> and set along a lush, landscaped green spine, designed by leading landscape architect <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>, ESTE Little Bay offers a collection of one, two, three and four-bedroom residences with interiors by Richards Stanisich.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> Sales Director, Tom McIvor said the response to ESTE has been "nothing short of extraordinary."

“Buyers have been quick to recognise ESTE as a rare opportunity to invest in a coastal sanctuary that offers both seclusion and connectivity to the heart of Sydney,” McIvor said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352687]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">SRM Residential</a> Senior Director, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/srm-residential">Clayton Ross</a> said the local market has responded incredibly well, driven by ESTE’s exceptional location and the rarity it offers.

“We’ve seen strong interest from a variety of buyer groups, all of whom are drawn to the exclusivity and quality of the build and construction by the 4.5-star iCIRT-rated builder / developer, Urban Property Group. There’s truly nothing else like it along Sydney’s coastline.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112343 project_image_fid=352690]

The project also includes robust buyer protections, including Resilience Insurance’s Latent Defects Insurance, providing 10 years of structural cover, and an independent iCIRT-rating of the developer.

“The iCIRT-rating adds another layer of confidence,” Ross added. “Buyers see it as a safeguard for their investment and their lifestyle.” A highlight of ESTE’s offering is its exclusive wellness amenities, including a heated rooftop infinity pool and outdoor heated spa, a state-of-the-art Technogym fitness centre, and a sauna.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/este-little-bay-jennifer-street-little-bay-nsw-2036">ESTE Little Bay</a> is topped out and is on track to complete towards the end of 2026, with residents moving in before Christmas.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112343]

Staff reporter

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