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The NSW Government’s unveiling of its 20-year vision for a thriving regional NSW spells good news for the property market, RiskWise Property Research CEO Doron Peleg said.
Peleg says anyone seeking long-term capital growth would be wise to investigate buying property in the region especially given an extra 185,000 new residents were expected, on top of the population growth already predicted, by 2038. 
The Government’s 20-year vision focuses on connectivity and water security to industry and community leaders in Bathurst in the State’s Central West and sets out a framework for investment that will guide the allocation of resources from the new $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund.
The goal is to promote regional development and job creation, unlocking the potential in the region by providing the infrastructure, the services and the support it needs to thrive. 
According to Premier Gladys Berejiklian, at the centre will be “a new generation of nation-building projects enabled by the $4.2 billion Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund” creating an additional 260,000 new jobs between now and 2038.
The vision also brings together the NSW Government’s long-term planning strategies including the Future Transport Strategy 2056 and the NSW State Infrastructure Strategy, with plans to attract an extra 185,000 new residents. 
Studies and planning works will also be undertaken for an inland port and investment precinct in Parkes, known as The Parkes National Logistics Hub, which is expected to attract major employers, drive local economies and create jobs across the Central West.
Peleg said population growth, job creation, an improved economy and good infrastructure would draw more people to the area and therefore increase demand for property.
"Also regional NSW has become a more attractive property destination," he said.
"While the Sydney market has cooled - and in some areas prices have actually dropped - the city is still ranked 9th in the world when it comes to poor housing affordability of family suitable units.
"The gap between the household income people need to buy a Sydney inner-city unit of just 105sqm, suitable for families, to the income they really have is so huge a household with the median income would really struggle to afford one.
"It comes down to undersupply of suitable dwellings that force the price up and make them completely unaffordable. But that is not the case in regional NSW where house sizes and blocks are more than adequate for a growing family."
For example, in Bathurst the median house price is $422,949 and for a unit $301,644 compared to Greater Sydney which has a median house price of $1,100,355 and a median unit price of $768,142.
Bathurst also enjoys a house price-to-income ratio of 6.2 which is well below that of Greater Sydney (at 12.1) and the rest of Australia (8.4).
In Parkes, the median house price is $251,353 and the unit price $227,832, with a house price-to-income ratio of 4.4.
Peleg said there was also an increasing trend of ‘mobile professionals’ who were prepared to work from home to maximise lifestyle and avoid the daily city commute.
"The bottomline is regional NSW is a great alternative location to Sydney for those looking for affordable housing with the long-term goal of solid capital growth," he concluded.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Solid capital growth possible for regional NSW property: RiskWise

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Spring fever in the ACT residential housing market is hitting, according to the lastest Herron Todd White (HTW) residential report.
The housing market in the ACT is somewhat driven by seasons as the winters are historically harsh. When winter begins, cold temperatures cause buyers to lose inspection motivation and as a result, sellers feel less inclined to list their properties.
The transition from winter to spring always occurs quickly in the ACT, with temperatures going from cold to warm in a short period of time.
"Once spring begins and the weather becomes warmer, buyers are motivated to inspect properties and the cycle picks up. The warm weather and blossoming of plants increases the marketability of properties. Houses generally look more spectacular and inviting to buyers," noted by the valuer. 
The spring cycle is typically short and usually begins in late August and stretches to November/early December. Given the employment profile of the ACT, December and January are quiet in the property market given that many employees choose this as the best time to take time off work, which results in lower market activity.
Overall housing market activity throughout winter 2018 has been steady to strong, which is expected to continue into the spring and summer.
A recent sale was a Forde four bedroom house situated at the base of Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve.
The single level residence at<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-act-forde-129061242" target="_blank"> 99 Blizzard Circuit</a> was sold at $745,000 on September 5 (picture above).
Built in 2012, the house comes with four bedrooms, multiple living areas, kitchen and established gardens.
It is close to Forde local schooling and shops. 
The valuation firm suggests that units in Canberra generally follow a different pattern to the housing market. Units usually don’t have as many marketable features that have an advantage in spring over winter.
The ACT still has an underlying problem with unit supply, so it is hard to judge the market activity increase from winter to spring.
Overall market activity over winter has been on a slight decline owing to the construction of multiple new residential complexes, which is expected to continue into the spring and summer.
<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/2018/9/6/franklyn%20.jpg" alt="">
A Franklin two bedroom apartment has been recently sold for $401,000 (pictured above).
Situated opposite parkland, the northeast oriented apartment at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-act-franklin-129048134" target="_blank">93/329 Flemington Road</a> comes with two bedrooms, open plan living and meals area, well-designed kitchen and large secure rear courtyard.
Additional features include the reverse cycle split system, family size laundry and linen cupboard to hallway.
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Canberra market about to be hit by spring fever: HTW residential

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Suburbs located in inner and middle rings of Adelaide are considered to be the best prospects for price growth in the December quarter, according to a Herron Todd White (HTW) recent residential report. 
Historically, the South Australian property market slows during the second and third quarters.
But the valuers latest report says the mid-year months are dreary.
It noted the state government has mapped the quarterly metropolitan house price from June 1998 which, with the exception of notable peaks and troughs, shows slight dips in the median price through the September quarter of the year with an uplift towards December.
The valuation firm noted that the effects of the banking royal commission have begun to be felt through the mid- portion of the year.
"The ability to borrow money has tightened," the report said.
"Agents report that purchasers are being priced out of properties that may have fallen into their price bracket 12 months ago.
"This could cause a doubling down on the September quarter results given the out-of-cycle market pressure.
"The tightening in lending will not be fully quantified until the results of the December 2018 and March 2019 metropolitan median price growth are revealed," HTW suggested.
Agents have reported a slowing in a number of key market indicators leading up to September.
Buyer enquiry has reduced while available stock is limited. Discussions with agents in the field indicate the slowing in these key indicators is a seasonal occurrence which forms part of the annual property cycle.
For properties going to auction, the winter months can pose a serious threat to the hammer falling, HTW noted.
"Fence sitting purchasers who are thinking of bidding can be spooked by a simple rain shower or the threat of looming dark clouds.
"The agent who thought they had ten registered bidders now has five."
Braving the wintry conditions were the vendors of <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-norwood-128841822" target="_blank">45 Gray Street, Norwood</a> (pictured above) who began advertising their three-bedroom, one-bathroom symmetrical cottage in July with an auction to be held in August.
A large crowd braved the cool weather to see the property sell under the hammer for $790,000.
Norwood is located approximately 3.5 kilometres east of the Adelaide CBD and consistently rated as South Australia’s most searched suburb.
The HTW valuer said" "Suburbs located within the inner and middle rings have been the best performers over the past 12 months.
"Suburbs located in these rings are considered to be the best prospects for price growth in the December quarter too.
"This sector provides options aplenty for first home buyers, downsizers, families and developers."
Within the inner ring, price pressure can be expected in the $600,000 to $900,000 range whilst the middle ring can expect pressure in the $300,000 to $600,000 range.
<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/2018/9/11/payneham%20.jpg" alt="">
Recently advertised in the inner ring is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-payneham-129092534" target="_blank">4 Marian Road, Payneham</a> (pictured above) which comprises a character four-bedroom, one-bathroom dwelling on a 1,100 square metre allotment.
This property has been listed for sale by auction with an asking price of $800,000.
Whilst in the middle ring, 12 Aberfeldy Avenue, Edwardstown comprises a three-bedroom, one-bathroom updated 1950s home on a 660 square metre allotment.
This property has been listed for sale by auction with an asking price of $439,000.
The outer ring continues to struggle with extended days on market with stagnant and in some cases negative growth.
Post-September and moving into the summer months we begin to see an increase in the listings surrounding beach side suburbs and coastal holiday destinations.
Coastal tourist towns of Victor Harbor, Pt Elliot and Goolwa south of the city on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Wallaroo, Moonta, Stansbury and Black Point north-west of the city on the Yorke Peninsula swell with holiday makers.
This provides the perfect opportunity to promote new listings as the market pool increases.
Properties which lend themselves to holiday makers and don’t achieve sale through the spring or summer months can be removed from the market during the middle portion of the year to avoid any perceived over exposure.
<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/2018/9/11/hayborough.jpg" alt="">
Recently sold in the beachside suburb of Hayborough approximately 80 kilometres south of the Adelaide CBD is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-hayborough-127231986" target="_blank">8 Olivers Parade</a> (pictured above).
The property provides six-bedrooms and three-bathrooms over two levels of living.
The dwelling provides unrestricted ocean and beach views and is situated on an allotment of approximately 1,200 square metres.
This property was advertised through the winter months before selling for $1.7 million.
<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/2018/9/11/black%20point%20.jpg" alt="">
Listed for sale approximately 170 kilometres north-west of the Adelaide CBD is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-black+point-126486366" target="_blank">124 Black Point Drive, Black Point</a> (pictured above).
This property comprises a three-bedroom shack with absolute beach frontage.
The property has been listed for sale with an asking price of $785,000.
Black Point is considered a blue-ribbon location with those properties situated on the northern side of Black Point Drive being some of the most sought after real estate on the peninsula.
This location has historically been tightly held with only a handful of transactions occurring annually.
This has changed in recent times with large areas of former reserve land being divided and sold as residential allotments.
"Market conditions within these semi-regional and regional costal townships remain stagnant," the HTW valuer noted.
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Adelaide inner and middle ring suburbs the best price growth prospects: HTW

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Jeannie loves her apartment. It has a separate bedroom, a small bathroom, and an open-plan kitchen, lounge and dining area. It’s compact, but sliding doors open onto a generous balcony to create a larger living space. Jeannie often takes her meals on the balcony, where she can sit surrounded by pot plants and enjoy a view across houses with leafy backyards.
Jeannie’s three-year-old apartment is one of 57 single-bedroom units in Caggara House, a five-storey affordable housing development. It’s in a quiet street in Brisbane’s Mount Gravatt, within easy reach of shops, a medical centre, cafes and public transport.
Jeannie has spent much of her life in public housing on Brisbane’s south side. She brought up her three children in a three-bedroom commission home in nearby Holland Park.
After they had all flown the nest she downsized to a two-bedroom townhouse in Annerley. “It was more central,” she says, “just five to ten minutes from the city, which was good when I was working on call as a casual.”
Eventually, though, getting up the stairs became a problem, and Jeannie felt a bit unsafe living at ground level. At Caggara House there is a security entrance, a lift to her third-floor apartment, and wide passageways and doorways, so it is both safe and easy to navigate for someone with limited mobility.
Caggara is split into two buildings with a landscaped garden in between to give the complex a “green lung”. There is a shared barbecue area, a communal laundry, and a common room for parties, meetings and exercise classes. The development has won prizes for an energy-efficient design that provides for both privacy and social interaction.
Yet the real innovation is in the concept — it provided well-located, high-quality housing for low-income residents aged 55 and over, while freeing up resources to add to Brisbane’s overall stock of affordable housing. This might sound like a magic pudding, too good to be true, but Caggara’s residents previously lived alone in state-owned houses that were too big for their needs. Those houses were worth about A$500,000 each. It cost a little more than half that much to build each of the units in Mount Gravatt.
In this way, an investment of A$15 million in Caggara freed up A$25 million worth of assets that could be put to better use, either by accommodating families on the waiting list for social housing or by being sold to raise capital for new buildings.
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Caggara House was created for former public housing tenants over the age of 55.
Community housing pioneers around the country
Caggara House is an initiative of the not-for-profit Brisbane Housing Company. It’s a provider of what is often called community housing, to distinguish it from the public housing supplied by state authorities (even though they serve a common client base of low-income tenants). Since it was set up in 2002, BHC has built 1,300 affordable rental dwellings and earned the same AA- credit rating as the Commonwealth Bank.
Housing First (previously the Port Phillip Housing Association) is another innovative community-housing provider. It has 1,200 dwellings scattered around Melbourne. And, like BHC, it forms strategic partnerships with private developers, other community organisations, and all tiers of government to build energy-efficient homes with low running costs.
In Sydney, affordable housing provider BlueCHP has a portfolio of 1,600 properties. In November 2017 it opened Macarthur Gardens, a mix of apartments clustered in three towers close to Macarthur Railway Station, Macarthur Square Shopping Centre, and Western Sydney University. BlueCHP manages 56 of the dwellings as below-market rentals for low-income households and is selling the other 45 to help finance the project.
Macarthur Gardens is the largest residential complex in Australia built from cross-laminated timber. BlueCHP was the first developer in New South Wales to use this cost-effective, environmentally friendly technology.
In theory, state housing authorities could innovate like the Brisbane Housing Company, Housing First and BlueCHP. In practice, this rarely happens. Governments tend to be overly cautious in a sector that is crying out for flexibility. David Cant, who was chief executive of BHC for its first 15 years, says: "Not-for-profits can take risks. They can work quicker and smarter."
Community housing providers also “know their residents and know their geography”, Cant adds.
Australia has a pressing need for more social and affordable housing. More than half of all low-income tenants in the private market spend at least 30% of their disposable income on rent (and often much more than that). This can lead them to skimp on essentials like food, heating, transport, health care and schoolbooks. In the long term this sort of rental stress can damage physical and mental health, stunt educational attainment, and limit opportunity.
Australia can learn from UK housing providers
Cant thinks the best way to reduce rental stress is to build up the community housing sector, even though it currently provides less than 1% of all Australian dwellings. He is confident this can be done, based on 25 years working in Britain.
Before the Thatcher government sold off council houses in the 1980s, local government was the largest and most established provider of low-cost rental dwellings in Britain. Today, housing associations are more significant: 170 individual housing associations own 2.49 million homes – more than 10% of all housing in Britain. Local government now accounts for just 7%.
Oona Goldsworthy, chief executive of the Bristol-based not-for-profit housing association United Communities, says the sector matured relatively quickly. On a visit to Australia to she told me: "Housing associations in the United Kingdom grew out of an ideological and political push that the state is not necessarily the best provider of housing."
The view was that smaller organisations that were closer to the community could do a better job. Goldsworthy says British housing associations were able to borrow proactively, capturing a relatively small amount of public subsidy and matching it with lending from other sources. That’s exactly the sort of agility that gives community housing an edge over public-sector providers in Australia.
In the 2017 federal budget, the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, announced two measures designed to enable not-for-profit associations to build more housing: the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation and an affordable housing bond aggregator. Together, they are designed to make it easier and cheaper for housing providers to borrow money by acting as a bridge between community-housing providers and superannuation funds.
While community organisations can and do borrow from banks, each loan must be separately negotiated. Super funds won’t deal one on one with individual providers in this way, so the NHFIC aims to offer them a standardised, rated investment product.
Since it has the backing of both Labor and the Greens, the NHFIC should survive any change of government. Yet the most important tool for repairing housing in Australia is still missing — a substantial amount of government money.
Cant, who was recently appointed to the NHFIC board, says poor people are generally reliable rent-payers because they know housing underpins the rest of their lives. Offered a deal along the lines of “be a good neighbour, pay your rent and you can stay here as long as you like”, they will grab it with both hands and enjoy a sense of pride and ownership that is indistinguishable from an owner-occupied home. Yet the rent they can afford to pay is not enough to cover the cost of building and maintaining community housing.
Cant says: "If you want to house people on lower incomes then you have to find a bit of a subsidy."
The holy grail of superannuation funds investing in affordable housing will not be achieved unless government tops up the rents paid by low-income households to generate an acceptable rate of return.
Piers Williamson is the chief executive of the Housing Finance Corporation — Britain’s equivalent to NHFIC — and has been advising the Australian government on setting up the NHFIC. He told the tenth National Housing Conference in Sydney that Britain’s affordable housing model was underpinned by £45 billion (A$75 billion) in grant money. “Grants are one of the things missing over here,” he said. “Subsidised housing requires a subsidy.”
Australia badly needs more rental accommodation that does not leave low-income tenants living in stress. The only proven way to increase the supply of social and affordable dwellings is to increase public investment in the sector — in other words, to spend more taxpayers’ dollars.
Why should wealthier Australians agree to subsidise the housing of poorer Australians through the tax system? For David Cant, social justice is reason enough. 
As a nation, we are sleepwalking into inequality. The settings we have got are dividing the community.
As housing inequality worsens it will touch more and more people. One day it could be an old friend, a sibling, a child, or a parent facing housing troubles. One day it could be you or me.
<hr>
This is an edited extract from <a href="https://www.textpublishing.com.au/books/no-place-like-home-repairing-australia-s-housing-crisis" target="_blank">No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis</a>, published by Text on September 17.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102840/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;">
Peter Mares, Adjunct Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
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/a-community-fix-for-the-affordable-housing-crisis-102840" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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A community fix for the affordable housing crisis: Peter Mares

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CBA, the nation's largest mortgage lender, is axing residential and commercial loans for self managed super funds (SMSF).
The bank will be withdrawing its SMSF lending product, SuperGear, from October 12.
Westpac Group, the nation's second largest mortgage lender, already pulled out of the sector in July.
But the Australian Financial Review said the move had shocked mortgage brokers and financial advisers. 
"We are seeing the writing on the wall for leveraged SMSFs," said Sally Tindall, director of research for RateCity, which monitors rates for financial service products. 
"This calls into question the viability of the leveraged SMSF sector."
"CBA has decided to withdraw its SMSF lending product that allows SMSF trusts to purchase both residentially and commercially secured properties," a spokesman said.
"This is part of our strategy to become a simpler, better bank.
"We are streamlining our product portfolio and have decided to discontinue SuperGear."
The bank said it will be writing to customers who hold a SuperGear loan outlining the changes.
It will continue to support existing loan accounts.
Regulators fear problems arising from SMSF investors leveraging their superannuation to invest in a single residential property because of the lack of diversification and increasing dangers of loss in a falling property market where it is difficult to find tenants. 
A key finding of the David Murray-led financial system inquiry in 2014 was that leverage should be banned in superannuation funds to mitigate the risk of financial instability.
The government rejected his advice.
Nearly $700 billion is held in SMSF funds by more than one million investors.
During the past four years the number of members investing in property has increased from about 3.6% to 6.9% of SMSF fund assets.
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Leveraged SMSF sector in doubt as CBA scraps SMSF lending

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The iProsperity Group (iPG) has sold the Park Regis Hotel in Sydney to the Yeh Group for $54.18 million.
The sale price represents a 23% increase on what iPG paid for it less than two years.
The 122-room Hotel stratum makes up 10 floors of the 45 level mixed-use tower at 27 Park Street, Sydney.
Recent refurbishments done through StayWell, are expected to lead to an increase in rates at the Sydney hotel.
In its recent 'Q1 2018 Hotel market analysis report', iPG predicted buoyancy in the hotel sector will continue for the remainder of the year, with Sydney to experience the highest activity levels and strongest ADRs.
Settlement is expected on October 31, 2018. 
The sale was handled by Gus Moors and Karen Wales of Colliers International.
"iPG have combined astute timing and sound business acumen to create substantial uplift in this asset over the period of Its ownership," said Moors.
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Sydney city's Park Regis sold by iPG for $54.18 million

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The former Redfern post office premises has been listed for sale.
The two storey, Victorian Italianate building at <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-offices-nsw-redfern-502959542" target="_blank">119 Redfern Street</a> is being sold by international architecture firm DKO, who paid $2.6 million for the property in 2014 when it was sold by Linc Energy founder Peter Bond.
He had paid $2,125,000 three years earlier when buying from celebrity publicist Max Markson.
Since the 2014 trade, the building has undergone a brand new refurbishment from DKO, and is now up for sale for around $5 million.
<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/2018/9/18/post2.jpg" alt="">
Built in 1882 by colonial architect James Barnet, the four and a half storey corner clock tower and post office included a telegraph office, parlour, drawing room, three bedrooms, kitchen, a servant's room, bathroom, scullery, washhouse, fuel shed and two stall stables. 
In 1880, £3000 was provided for the erection of the Redfern post office, and then the Public Works added a clock tower for an estimated extra £700.
The building has 480 square metres of internal space on its 330 square metre Redfern Street block. 
When it sold in 2014, there were some who were looking at possibly turning the landmark building into a home.
<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/2018/9/18/post3.jpg" alt="">
Colliers International are marketing the building that was sold by Australia Post in 2000 for $600,000.
Colliers agent Tony Crane, who sold the building to DKO, said to see a high quality renovation of a heritage building was rare.
"It’s extremely rare to see heritage buildings restored to this level while still retaining the original heritage façade," Crane said.
"Redfern has become a burgeoning hub for creative business and 119 Redfern Street is well suited to the area and for those who are looking beyond traditional, corporate space."
Earlier this year Redfern's popular Alchemy commercial spaces were listed for sale, however none of the five commercial spaces have yet to find a buyer.
The Alchemy, further down Redfern Street, comprises the busy restaurants Bart Jr, Fern St, Isaacs and Juan. Isaacs takes up two commercial spaces.
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Former Redfern post office for sale

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Aurora, a fully equipped cabin and home set on a 43 acre valley site, has been listed for sale.
Situated at 59 Beveridge Gully Road, Harrietville, it is close to the west branch of the Ovens River and about 1.7 kilometres west of the Great Alpine Road. 
Dickens Real Estate holds the listing for Aurora.
It has an asking price of $1,075,000.
Most of the 43 acres of freehold land have been cleared with a significant area planted as an agroforestry project with blackwoods as a potentially valuable furniture quality timber source on maturity.
The two level Aurora homestead is a four bedrooms, two bathrooms affair with area under roof of about 270 square metre and is fitted out for permanent or Airbnb type rental..
Mindful of any potential commercial or business potentials a significant underground power supply was brought to the property which with little further investment could be upgraded to a three-phase industrial supply.
<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/2018/9/13/Dickens%201.jpg" alt="">
The power supply extends to the farther reaches of the property to allow for expansion in all parts of the property including near the dam.
The vendor says he originally had in mind future commercial options of perhaps a tourism business, a restaurant, boutique vineyard, distillery or brewery including the construction of a cottage type or unit accommodation development which would complement the year-round tourist appeal of Harrietville and especially during the winter for the off-mountain stay skiers.
Additional building services include more than 300,000 litres of rainwater tank storage, a dam reticulated to the main facility area and a 200 square metre, three bay shed with roller doors.
Harrietville is 340 kilometres from Melbourne, a four hour commute from the city.
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Harrietville parcel with agroforestry project comes to market

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Over the June 2018 quarter, resales of residential properties in Perth created $876 million worth of resale profits which accounted for 5.6% of resale profits nationally, according to the latest Pain and Gain report from CoreLogic.
The report noted, Perth also created $109.8 million in loss making resales accounting for 23.4% of all losses nationally.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2018/9/18/CL%20PG%20PERTH%201.JPG" alt="">
The regions of the city with the fewest resales at a loss over the quarter were: Cottesloe, Fremantle and Bassendean, while the highest share of resale losses were in Peppermint Grove (based on only one sale), Perth and Kwinana.
Perth has continued to see values fall over the quarter and subsequently resale losses have also risen.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/9/18/CL%20PG%20PERTH%202.JPG" target="_blank">Click here to enlarge</a>
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Perth accounts for almost a quarter of all losses among Australian sellers: CoreLogic

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GUEST OBSERVATION
All humans have fundamental needs. These are physiological (food, drink, clothing, sleep), safety (emotional security, physical safety, health), love and belonging (friendships, community), esteem (respect, dignity) and self-actualisation (accomplishment, personal development).
For people living in Australia’s residential aged-care facilities, these needs are often not met.
Most residents do not feel they are loved or belong in the facility. Like aged-care resident Neda Borenstein, whose secret camera footage broadcast on ABC’s Four Corners showed her singing the Australian national anthem in bed while she waited more than three hours to be changed. “I’m just a number,” Neda told her carer when she finally returned to help her up.
Less than one-third of residents we interviewed said they were friends with another resident. This means most don’t have the social support associated with friendships. Most residents said they felt socially isolated, which is associated with poor well-being.
A 2016 study of residents’ lived experiences in an aged-care facility found many felt they had little dignity, autonomy or control. Outside of meal and structured activity times, people with dementia spend most of their time stationary, alone and doing very little or nothing.
One study looking at interactions between residents and their carers showed residents were alone 40% of the time they were observed. When staff were present, they mostly did not engage verbally, emotionally or physically with the resident.
Aged-care facilities can also feel psychologically unsafe to residents. Residents with dementia may be locked in secure units or physically restrained, using mechanisms such as bedrails or restraining belts.
Residents sometimes don’t get along. They might argue yell, swear, pinch, hit or push each other. We don’t have good data about how often resident-to-resident verbal and physical aggression happens, but it can result in injury and even death.
The consequences of unmet needs?
Residents can react negatively when their needs are not met. They become bored, sad, stressed, cranky, anxious, depressed, agitated, angry and violent.
In people with dementia, we used to call these reactions “behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia” (BPSD). But people with dementia have been pointing out these are normal human responses to neglect, not symptoms of dementia. Almost all (90%) aged-care residents display one or more of these negative reactions.
In many facilities, staff “manage” such reactions with the use of sedating antipsychotic medications. But clinical guidelines recommend looking at the reasons people may be reacting that way and addressing those before medication.
Half of nursing home residents have symptoms of depression, and a third have symptoms of anxiety. More than half of residents have been found in studies to behave in ways that might suggest they no longer wish to live. This includes refusing food or medication, one-third of residents having suicidal thoughts and a small number of nursing home residents actually taking their own lives.
Why does Australian aged care fail to meet fundamental human needs?
We might not be spending enough on aged care to enable providers to meet fundamental human needs. Australia spends about 1% of its GDP on long-term care – less than the OECD average of 1.5%.
Private investment in aged care is growing, as have residential aged care profits, but it’s a difficult industry in which to make money. Insufficient funding translates to insufficient staff and less skilled staff. Our funding system rewards dependency, and there are no funding incentives for providers to improve the psychological well-being of residents, or go beyond that to help them flourish.
People looking for a nursing home don’t have any independently provided information by which to compare quality or performance.
The National Quality Indicator Program – a program for measuring care in residential aged-care facilities that began in 2016 – was meant to provide information for people trying to compare facilities on clinical indicators of care quality.
But participation in the program is voluntary for providers. Neither quality of life nor emotional well-being indicators are included in the suite of quality indicators (even though one has been trialled and found to be suitable). We also don’t know if or when the data might be published.
What is needed?
We need a fundamental shift in community, government, service provider, staff and regulatory expectations of what residential aged care does. Our model of aged care is mainly about clinical care, while neglecting emotional care.
For instance, friendships are a unique social interaction that facilitate healthy ageing, but many residents told us that the social opportunities in their nursing home did not align with their expectations of friendship.
We need our model of care to be a model of a home. In a home everyone contributes, has a say in what happens in the home (such as the menu, interior design, routine and functions), is able to invite their friends to their home for a meal, and can leave during the day and come back at night. A home is a safe place, where people are loved and nurtured, and where they can be active and fulfilled.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103336/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;">
Lee-Fay Low, Associate Professor in Ageing and Health, University of Sydney
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/how-our-residential-aged-care-system-doesnt-care-about-older-peoples-emotional-needs-103336" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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How our residential aged-care system doesn’t care about older people’s emotional needs

An entity directed by HSN's Rafi Assouline and Rebel Property's Allen Linz has filed plans for an impressive new precinct in Woolloomooloo.

The major mixed-use development would transform a prominent William Street site into a new residential village anchored by affordable housing and a large public park.

The proposal, submitted as a State Significant Development Application, covers 164-172 and 174-194 William Street, a 6,398 sqm site between Forbes Street and Dowling Street on the southern edge of Woolloomooloo.

Designed by fjcstudio in collaboration with Bangawarra, Studio Bright and Tribe Studio Architects, the scheme would deliver 227 apartments across four residential buildings ranging in height up to 18 storeys, alongside retail space, public domain improvements and a new publicly accessible park.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0eb59b7c-914a-4a5c-b849-3a56749f5e93" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.18.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=mxM6EEqeoLjrCiTlCzTKTvzpKuh6kSkH" />

It's another design scheme for Rebel, who took <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-rebel-property-group-takes-woolloomooloo-precinct-to-nsw-government">concept plans to the NSW Gov late last year</a>.

The latest plans will be a mix of 167 build-to-sell apartments and 60 affordable apartments, with the affordable housing component representing 15 per cent of the project's gross floor area. The apartment mix includes 12 one-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom, 89 three-bedroom apartments and 13 penthouses, while the affordable housing component would comprise 42 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b3d4553-8a8c-4af5-aa8c-519ffb1e28c6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.12%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=_Yb6ibN7eDnOtQjCNDK2eviORa4qzgv." />

Rebel Property is seeking to take advantage of the NSW Government's infill affordable housing bonus provisions under the Housing SEPP, which provide additional floor space and height in exchange for the delivery of affordable housing for a minimum of 15 years. The planning pathway allows a 30 per cent increase in floor space ratio and building height where 15 per cent of the development is dedicated to affordable housing.

&nbsp;

At the centre of the development is a 1,356 sqm sunlit public park designed to become a new community gathering space at the gateway to Woolloomooloo. The park would be complemented by a network of pedestrian laneways connecting William Street with the surrounding streets, improving permeability through what is currently a largely impermeable block.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="257af931-a393-4007-8c6d-7219796df58d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=KAHy94GrhaReFsWTGDKfy39EDJ8gEEv4" />

The design team says the public domain has been heavily influenced by the site's topography and Aboriginal cultural heritage, drawing on the escarpments, gullies and landscape characteristics that historically defined the area before urbanisation. The landscape design has been developed in partnership with First Nations consultancy Bangawarra.

The project would be delivered across four separate buildings. The William Street East and William Street West buildings, designed by fjcstudio, would contain the majority of the apartments. Melbourne-based Studio Bright has designed the Forbes Street building, while Tribe Studio Architects is responsible for the Dowling Street building.

Rebel had secured approval for the concept plans late last year.

Joel Robinson

First look: HSN, Rebel, advances Woolloomooloo precinct plans

A locally heritage-listed furniture showroom on Water Street is set to become the centrepiece of a new mixed-use residential development as local developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/keylin-group">Keylin</a> seeks approval for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/lotus-on-water-street-290-water-street-fortitude-valley-qld-4006">Lotus on Water Street</a>, a 15-storey project on the Fortitude Valley side of Spring Hill.

The proposal spans 290 Water Street and 137-141 Warry Street, combining several properties into a 2,869 sqm site that sits between Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and the rapidly evolving Victoria Park precinct. Keylin's plans would deliver 132 apartments alongside new retail, hospitality and commercial space, while retaining and repurposing the historic Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom that fronts Water Street.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/jackson-teece">Jackson Teece</a>, Lotus on Water Street comprises a 12-storey residential tower rising above a three-storey podium and communal rooftop terrace. The development includes 76 apartments classified as multiple dwellings and a further 56 units proposed as short-term accommodation, designed to be flexibly used as either accommodation or permanent residences. The apartment mix comprises six one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom homes.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9822bb79-6c49-49c9-95ba-319e8c8d81c3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20front.png?VersionId=ioW8zbN4UVebbLetTFuv92t.HkdgfR5e" />

Residents would have access to an extensive rooftop recreation level spanning more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space. Plans include a pool, gym, sauna, infrared sauna, yoga area, library, private dining room, barbecue facilities and landscaped entertainment spaces, making the rooftop the project's largest shared amenity offering.

At street level, the proposal focuses on the adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings along Water Street, where 518 sqm of retail and commercial space is planned across shop, office and food and drink outlet uses. A permeable residential lobby would be positioned between the retained heritage buildings, creating a pedestrian connection between the historic streetscape and the new tower behind.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="269cf3e0-7d13-48bf-a318-05a00deb5c10" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20podium.png?VersionId=DLXmTCLsp6GOcLpQ0h.0z7wKCw59EhN_" />

The heritage retention strategy is central to the scheme. The development application notes that the Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom and adjoining heritage buildings will remain, with only non-significant structures on the site earmarked for removal under a previously issued Heritage Exemption Certificate. Levels one and two of the new podium are recessed behind the heritage façades to maintain their prominence within the streetscape.

Jackson Teece has drawn inspiration from the site's manufacturing history when designing the podium. The planning documents state that the façade incorporates perforated metal screening that references the woven and rattan furniture historically produced on the site. Cascading and climbing plants are integrated throughout the podium to soften the building's presentation and screen parking levels behind. The landscape strategy also informs the project's name, Lotus on Water Street, drawing on the historic Spring Hollow waterholes that once ran through Spring Hill and the blue water lilies associated with Meeanjin, Brisbane's traditional name.

The proposal also incorporates the neighbouring property at 141 Warry Street, currently occupied by a healthcare service. The existing building would remain, with nine dedicated parking spaces allocated within the new development to support its ongoing operation. In total, Lotus on Water Street proposes 117 car spaces, including 110 resident spaces and seven visitor bays, alongside 100 bicycle spaces.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="70cf07bc-4fd8-4e70-92dd-be8b21c4e4f0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20site.png?VersionId=txlxrJImM0Sm_vTzHVKh5DDUkyL_CiiA" />

The site sits within the Spring Hill East Precinct of the Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan and is positioned around 650 metres from both Fortitude Valley Station and Exhibition Station. It is also within walking distance of the King Street precinct, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston Quarter and Victoria Park, which is earmarked to become a major venue precinct ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Planning documents describe the location as a key gateway between Spring Hill and Fortitude Valley and highlight the area's increasing importance as new transport infrastructure and Olympic-related investment reshape Brisbane's inner north. The development team argues the project will contribute additional housing supply while activating a section of Water Street that has historically received less investment than other parts of the Valley.

Keylin has become increasingly active across Brisbane and southeast Queensland, assembling sites in strategic inner-city locations. They are currently selling and delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/oria-spring-hill-447-gregory-terrace-spring-hill-qld-4000">Oria Spring Hill</a>, just over 140 apartments due for completion in 2027.

Keylin plans heritage-led Lotus on Water Street apartment development in Fortitude Valley

Roseville is poised for a wave of new apartment development following the NSW Government's rezoning of land around Roseville Station under its Transport Oriented Development program.

The new planning controls have unlocked significant development potential within walking distance of the station, with a number of sites expected to be amalgamated and redeveloped in the coming years as developers seek to take advantage of the increased density allowances.

One of the more restrained developments in the precinct, and set among the first to be delivered having commenced well before the recent changes, is Hyecorp's Juliet. The boutique apartment project is already well under construction and remains on track to welcome residents by the end of the year, offering a markedly different proposition to many of the larger-scale developments now likely to emerge across the suburb.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278194]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet</a> will comprise just&nbsp;34 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments opposite Roseville Station. For Hyecorp, which has delivered projects across Sydney's Lower North Shore for more than three decades, Roseville presented a rare opportunity to address a growing gap in the market.

"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/roseville-nsw-2069">Roseville</a> has long been one of the North Shore's most tightly held and desirable suburbs, offering a unique combination of village charm, established greenery, excellent transport connections, and proximity to some of Sydney's best schools and lifestyle amenities," Hyecorp said.

"We recognised a growing demand from local homeowners seeking to downsize without leaving the community they have built their lives around. The location presented a rare opportunity to create homes that cater specifically to that buyer profile."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278196]

The six-level development has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pbd-architects">PBD Architects</a> as a collection of residences that feel more like homes than apartments. The brief centred generous floorplans, abundant natural light, quality finishes, and strong connections to outdoor space.

PBD Architects drew inspiration from Roseville's established garden suburb character, creating a building that sits comfortably within its surroundings rather than dominating them. The architecture incorporates natural materials, soft forms, layered landscaping, expansive balconies, and generous setbacks to strengthen the connection between residents and the suburb's leafy environment.

"The focus was on designing spacious, house-like residences for discerning owner-occupiers and downsizers who wanted to remain on the North Shore without compromising on comfort, privacy, or design," PBD said.&nbsp;

"Every apartment was to feel considered, timeless, and highly functional."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278195]

Inside, residences feature engineered timber flooring, stone kitchen benchtops and splashbacks, integrated Fisher &amp; Paykel appliances, ducted air conditioning, and large outdoor entertaining areas designed to take advantage of district and treetop views.

Residents will also have access to a rooftop barbecue and lounge area, alongside practical amenities including parcel lockers, EV charging capability, bicycle storage, a dog wash bay, and a basement car wash facility.

The majority of purchasers so far have been local owner-occupiers from Roseville, Lindfield, Chatswood, Killara, and the broader Upper North Shore, many of whom are transitioning from larger family homes.

"Buyers are looking for spacious, house-like apartments that allow them to downsize without feeling like they are sacrificing comfort or functionality," Hyecorp noted.

"They value large kitchens, generous living areas, ample storage, quality finishes, secure parking, lift access, and low-maintenance living."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278204]

Juliet sits directly opposite Roseville Train Station and within walking distance of Roseville Village, while Chatswood's retail and dining precinct is only minutes away. The development is also surrounded by some of Sydney's most established schools, including Roseville College, Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College, and Knox Grammar, as well as nearby parklands and golf courses.

Juliet is currently more than 75 per cent sold ahead of its anticipated completion in late 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7395]

Juliet to sit quietly amid Roseville apartment boom

Sherpa Property Group has unveiled the third instalment of its Flourish series, securing full approval for the two-tower, $500 million Flourish Soleira development in Palm Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-1150-1154-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> will rise from a prominent site in the commercial heart of Palm Beach, the long-time home of Cash Converters and a range of local retailers.

The project will introduce a new retail and dining precinct at ground level, beneath 286 apartments.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370959]

“We’re very committed to not only providing affordable residential offerings that are much needed in Palm Beach, but also delivering a vibrant new commercial heart that complements the extraordinary growth of the southern Gold Coast,” Sherpa Property Group founder Christie Leet said.

The development will sit under Sherpa's Flourish brand, which is aimed at providing a pathway into the beachside suburb for locals, first-home buyers and downsizers. In a move designed to assist first-home buyers entering the market, Sherpa has reserved all one and two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments exclusively for eligible first-home buyers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370964]

“Our vision through Flourish is to create a vibrant retail and lifestyle focal point within the Palm Beach centre zone, delivering thriving communities underpinned by lifestyle-rich locations,” Leet said.

“So far, Flourish has been an incredible success, and we hope to carry this momentum as we progress the next two Flourish projects in Palm Beach.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=371430]

Located across 1150-1164 Gold Coast Highway and 3 Sixth Avenue, the development will comprise two towers. The northern tower will deliver 154 apartments, while the southern tower will add a further 132 residences, helping address ongoing demand for new apartments in the tightly held coastal suburb.

Flourish Soleira will also feature the most extensive rooftop amenity offering ever delivered in Palm Beach.

The two towers will be connected by a skybridge, with residents gaining access to a rooftop recreation deck featuring a full-width swimming pool, hot and cold plunge pools, wellness spaces, a gymnasium, private dining facilities, massage treatment rooms, barbecue areas, a basketball court, golf simulator, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, sun lounges and extensive landscaping.

LPS Group is expected to start construction later this year.

Sherpa is already well advanced on construction of its debut Flourish project, Flourish Amargo, located just around the corner from Soleira. Meanwhile, Flourish Oasis, positioned opposite Amargo, recently commenced construction and has nearly sold out its collection of 47 apartments.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa unveils $500m mixed-use Palm Beach precinct, Flourish Soleira

Are mortgage holders set to get a reprieve from the RBA in 2026?

Big Four bank NAB believes so. They are now expecting the next move from the RBA to be a cut, rather than a hike, which they had pencilled in for August. They are unsure of the timing of the cut however, they note in their latest&nbsp;NAB Economics RBA Watch.

NAB Chief Economist, Dr Sally Auld, said recent data suggests the economy has lost momentum and the outlook for rates has shifted, noting that the broader economic backdrop has changed since earlier in the year.

“The next move in the cash rate is likely to be down, but the timing is uncertain," Dr Auld said.

"In February, growth was above trend, the economy was operating above capacity and there was uncertainty over the restrictiveness of rates. None of these conditions exist today,” she outlined.

Dr Auld said recent data pointed to softer momentum across the economy while acknowledging that at the same time, uncertainty remains a key feature of the outlook.

“Both Q1 GDP data and the NAB business survey suggest momentum in the economy has slowed, meaning that growth has likely peaked for the cycle. That said, we are cognisant there is still considerable uncertainty around the outlook, both with respect to activity and inflation.”

Dr Auld said inflation risks and labour market outcomes would be important to watch.

“On the prices side, we are still forecasting above target core inflation through to mid-2027. Margins will compress and weaker labour market outcomes are a risk.”

She said tighter financial conditions are expected to weigh on housing and activity.

“Tighter financial conditions will be reflected in a slowing in house price growth and housing credit growth. In summary, we have greater conviction that the next move in rates is down, but less conviction on the timing.”

Staff reporter

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