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GUEST OBSERVATION
Business leaders in health and consumer discretionary sectors are feeling less positive about the year ahead because consumers are feeling the pain in the hip pocket, according to our analysis of the outlook of leaders of Australia’s ASX 200 companies. The threat of changes in regulation also features in business leaders’ fears.
Roughly four out of five Australian workers earn their living from private businesses. So we should care about how Australian business leaders are feeling about the future of their businesses, because it’s our future.
The consumer discretionary sector encompasses industries that tend to be the most sensitive to economic cycles. They include businesses that produce goods like cars, clothes and leisure equipment but also services like hotels, restaurants and media.
Business sentiment in the consumer discretionary sector fell in March 2018 relative to the 2017 September business reporting season - from 0.19 to 0.13; and also compared with March 2017 but by a smaller magnitude.
Companies with lower than average sentiment for the year ahead included retailer Myer (0.05) – no surprise given the ongoing weak performance and takeover speculation; and Nine Entertainment (-0.03), facing ongoing cost pressures from digital media competition. Also less positive were Skycity Entertainment Group (0.01) and Webjet (-0.02).
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208860/original/file-20180305-65541-t4bhgu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208860/original/file-20180305-65541-t4bhgu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The Conversation, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-ND</a>
Tighter household budgets bad for business
The glum business sentiment is in sectors related to consumer spending. A decline in consumer spending could be because household finances are under pressure from slow income growth and wealth.
Slow household income growth is driven by slow wage growth. The wage price index grew by 2% over the past year, and less on a per hour basis, which means it is barely keeping up with consumer prices. The second factor is the slowing growth in household net wealth due to a slow down in house prices and financial assets.
Similarly, another consumer sentiment index in Australia declined 2.3% from January to February – the first decline in three months. Part of this may be due to the volatility in global share markets that occurred in the survey week in early February.
This volatility is widely expected to continue and weakening sentiment in the consumer discretionary sector may reflect ongoing uncertainty in household financial wealth.
Health and consumer spending sectors wary of regulation
Our analysis shows business sentiment in the health care sector dropped from 0.18 to 0.07 September 2017 to March 2018 and by a smaller magnitude since March 2017. This could reflect business leaders’ ongoing concern about the sustainability of the current health system.
Health business with lower than average sentiment for the year ahead include generic drugs supplier Mayne Pharma (0.01), infection control company Nanosonics (-0.03) and private hospital group Healthscope (0.04).
Private health insurance premiums have increased at nearly twice the growth rate of wages over the past. According to a recent survey, 44% of Australians believe the current mix of public and private health systems will not be around in 15 years, and 52% lack confidence that the current public hospital system will still be around in 15 years.
Government regulation is a recurrent theme in business leaders’ statements. For example, diagnostic imaging company Primary Health Care notes in its report: “…funding pressures will remain for the industry…Australia is at an important juncture in the delivery of health-care services.”
The private health care funding system is regulated to within an inch of its life in the desperate attempt to shore up its viability. For example, the Private Health Insurance Rebate, Lifetime Health Cover and the Medicare Levy Surcharge are all measures designed to force healthy young people and high income earners to subsidise the health care of others.
But this regulation is not working, judging by declining proportion of young people with private health insurance and the need to increase premiums so dramatically.
We also see regulation mentioned in the reports for the consumer discretionary sector. For example David Attenborough, the managing director and CEO of gambling entertainment giant Tabcorp said:
“Tabcorp is well placed to compete in the evolving regulatory landscape. This includes the introduction of point of consumption taxes, and restrictions on credit betting, advertising, inducements and live betting.”
The placement Attenborough refers to may have something to do with the proposed merger with lottery retailer Tatts Group, after shareholders and the Australian Competition Tribunal approved the move.
However gambling regulation continues to be politically charged as we saw in the fight over pokies in pubs and clubs during the Tasmanian state election and are seeing in South Australian state election race.
Overall business sentiment not looking bad
Overall business sentiment is roughly the same as at March 2017 and 2016. Some sectors are higher, such as telecommunication services (up from 0.05 to 0.08), materials (up from 0.07 to 0.11) and information technology (up from 0.13 to 0.23). This is offsetting the weaker sentiment about the year ahead in consumer discretionary, health care and energy.
The overall sentiment level continues to be positive at 0.08.
Ongoing strong employment growth over the past two years is a likely indicator of this positive sentiment. Overall employment growth of 3.3% in the past 12 months is about double the growth in the working age population, and the Reserve Bank expects it to continue to grow faster than the working age population to the end of 2019.
Our analysis also looks at the subjectivity in the statements these businesses make. There’s no significant change in the subjectivity scores compared with last year. This means no increase or decrease in confidence or uncertainty around the sentiment levels.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92737/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">It will be interesting to see whether sentiment changes over the next six months to the September business results, given the destabilising effects of a range of factors just starting to play out. These factors include stock market volatility, the announcement of US tariff increases, company tax cuts and the probably interest rate rises.
Ross Guest, Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith University
Ben Hachey, Honorary Associate, School of Information Technologies, University of Sydney
Leonardo dos Santos Pinheiro, PhD candidate, Artificial Intelligence, Macquarie University
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/face-value-business-leaders-nervous-about-consumers-spending-less-and-regulation-92737" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Business leaders nervous about consumers spending less and regulation

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Located in the Brisbane State High School catchment and situated just 1 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD, a top floor 94 square metre Zen, South Brisbane apartment has been sold by mortgagees for $385,000.
It was sold by Aaron Woolard and Anissa Lamond from Place Real Estate.
Its sale price was way less than the $494,000 paid in 2008 and its initial 2006 sale at $445,000.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-apartment-qld-south+brisbane-126858186" target="_blank">The 34/11 Manning Street apartment </a>comes with two bedrooms, well-designed kitchen and secure parking for two vehicles and visitor parking. 
The complex also provides access to a swimming pool and convenient lift.
GOMA, South Bank TAFE and QUT are all within close distance.
According to CoreLogic, the suburb's median unit price sits on $542,500.
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Top floor Zen, South Brisbane apartment sold by mortgagee

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GUEST OBSERVER
The nature of the centrepiece of the Australian housing system – owner occupation – is quietly undergoing a profound transformation. Once taken for granted by the mainstream, home ownership is increasingly precarious. At the margins, which are wide, it is as if a whole new form of tenure has emerged.
Whatever the drivers, significant and lasting shifts are shaking the foundations of home ownership. The effects are far-reaching and could undermine both the financial and wider well-being of all Australian households.
Over the course of 100 years, Australians became accustomed to smooth housing pathways from leaving the parental home to owning their house outright. However, not only did the 2008-09 global financial crisis (GFC) underline the risk of dropping out along the way, but more recent Australian evidence has shown that the old pathways have been displaced by more uncertain routes that waver between owning and renting.
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey indicates that, during the first decade of the new millennium, 1.9 million spells of home ownership ended with a move into renting (one-fifth of all home ownership spells that were ongoing in that period). It also shows that among those who dropped out, nearly two-thirds had returned to owning by 2010. Astonishingly, some 7% “churned” in and out of ownership more than once. Many households no longer either own or rent; they hover between sectors in a “third” way.
The drivers of this transformation include an ongoing imperative to own, vying with the factors that oppose this – rising divorce rates, soaring house prices, growing mortgage debt, insecure employment and other circumstances that make it difficult to meet home ownership’s outlays.
Those who use the family home as an “ATM” are at added risk. This relatively new way of juggling mortgage payments, savings and pressing spending needs makes some styles of owner occupation more marginal – as the tendency is to borrow up, rather than pay down, mortgage debts over the life course.
A retirement incomes system under threat
Since its inception, the means-tested age pension system has been set at a low fixed amount. Retired Australians could nevertheless get by provided they achieved outright home ownership soon enough. The low housing costs associated with outright ownership in older age were effectively a central plank of Australian social policy.
This worked well from the 1950s for nearly half a century. But now growing numbers of people retire with a mortgage debt overhang or as lifetime renters grappling with the costs of insecure private rental tenancies.
Moreover, developments in the Australian housing system could undermine a second retirement incomes pillar – the superannuation guarantee. An important goal of the superannuation guarantee is financial independence in old age. But if superannuation pay-outs are used to repay mortgage debts on retirement, reliance on age pensions will grow rather than recede.
A shrinking asset base for welfare
Home ownership is retreating at a time when income inequalities are the highest in nearly seven decades and governments are eyeing housing wealth as an asset base for welfare.
Such policy interest is not surprising. Housing wealth dominates the asset portfolios of the majority of Australian households, boosted by soaring house prices. If home owners can be encouraged or even compelled to draw on their housing assets to fund spending needs in retirement, this will ease fiscal pressures in an era of population ageing.
However, the welfare role of home ownership is already important in the earlier stages of life cycles. Financial products are increasingly being used to release housing equity in pre-retirement years. This adds to the debt overhang as retirement age approaches. It also increases exposure to credit and investment risks that could undermine stability in housing markets.
A gender equity issue
A commonly overlooked angle relates to gender equity. Australian women own less wealth than men, and they also hold more housing-centric asset portfolios.
Estimates from the 2014 HILDA Survey wealth module show that the family home makes up nearly half of the total assets owned by single women, compared to 39% for single men. Women are also more likely to sell their family home to pay for financial emergencies.
Hence, women are more exposed to housing market instability associated with precarious home ownership. Single women are especially vulnerable to investment risk when they seek to realise their assets.
A neglected economic lever
Housing and mortgage markets played a central role in the GFC. Today, it is widely agreed that resilient housing and mortgage markets are important for overall economic and financial stability. There are also concerns that the post-GFC debt overhang is a drag on economic growth.
However, the policy stance in the wake of the GFC has been “business as usual”. There has been very little real innovation in the world of housing finance or mortgage contract design in recent years. This might change if housing were steered from the periphery to a more central place in national economic debates.
Forward-looking policy response is needed
Growing numbers of Australians clearly face an uncertain future in a changing housing system. The traditional tenure divide has been displaced by unprecedented fluidity as people juggle with costs, benefits, assets and debts “in between” renting and owning.
This expanding arena is strangely neglected by policy instruments and financial products. Politicians cling to an outdated vision of linear housing careers that does little to meet the needs of “at risk” home owners, locked-out renters, or churners caught between the two.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91664/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">The hazards of a destabilising home ownership sector are wide-ranging, rippling well beyond the realm of housing. Part of the answer is a new drive for sustainability, based on a housing system for Australia that is more inclusive and less tenure-bound.
Rachel Ong, Professor of Economics, School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University
Gavin Wood, Emeritus Professor of Housing and Housing Studies, RMIT University
Susan Smith, Honorary Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/home-ownership-foundations-are-being-shaken-and-the-impacts-will-be-felt-far-and-wide-91664" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Home ownership foundations are being shaken, and the impacts will be felt far and wide

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The besieged administrator of collapsed auction house Mossgreen is seeking court orders to justify its controversial $353 collection levy.
Mossgreen clients and buyers were advised it would continue to hold onto the artwork and collectibles subject to court orders.
BDO has also extended the time for payment of the levy and collection of items from March 10 to March 29.  
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<div>
The Australian Financial Review reported ASIC made initial inquiries to BDO about the imposition of the levy after complaints from clients.
<h2>A BDO spokeswoman confirmed BDO was "in dialogue with ASIC".</h2>
<h2>"ASIC has not raised any concerns in relation to the administrators' conduct," she said.</h2>
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<div>
"The court will be asked to make directions and orders in relation to the rights and entitlements of creditors and other stakeholders in goods and funds held by Mossgreen.
"Directions will also be sought in respect of the levy that the administrators have charged," she said.
There were 4322 lots remaining, with the levy set to raise a total of $1.5 million.
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<div>If the court decides the levy is excessive, BDO will refund any difference between the levy and the administrators' reasonable costs, the spokeswoman said.</div>
<div>
BDO administrator James White said the amount of the levy was "not negotiable" as "shortfalls risk further losses to the company and its creditors".
He said the costs include wages, rent, security, insurance, legal fees and administrators' time costs and disbursements.
Clients are frustrated about the levy as it is often more than the value of the item.
Creditors have been concerned at the likely costs in seeking various legal judgements too.
</div>
<div>The Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs Marlene Kairouz said would be consulting with the Commonwealth about whether regulations need tightening.</div>
<div>Clients who consigned multiple items are being billed thousands of dollars.</div>
<div>
<div>
"I think it's highway robbery," Tom Lowenstein, the high-profile accountant who helps manage the affairs of artist Charles Blackman told the AFR.
Blackman handed 25 drawings to Mossgreen last year for an auction that was due to occur this month.
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<div>Some 4000 Mossgreen clients whose goods were auctioned are owed $6.8 million.</div>
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Mossgreen administration costs rise as court judgements sought

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GUEST OBSERVER
So much of Australia’s history and success is built on immigration. Migrants have benefited incumbent Australians by raising incomes, increasing innovation, contributing to government budgets, smoothing over population ageing and diversifying our social fabric. But it is also true that immigration is affecting house prices and rents.
Australian governments are squandering the gains from migration with poor housing and infrastructure policies. Our new report, Housing affordability: re-imagining the Australian dream, shows what’s at stake. Unless the states reform their planning systems to allow more housing to be built, the Commonwealth should consider tapping the brakes on Australia’s migrant intake.
Immigration has increased housing demand
Australia’s migration policy is its de-facto population policy. The population is growing by about 350,000 a year. More than half of this is due to immigration.
Since 2005, net overseas migration – which includes the increase in temporary migrants – has averaged 200,000 people per year, up from 100,000 in the previous decade. It is predicted to be around 240,000 per year over the next few years.
Immigrants are more likely to move to Australia’s big cities than existing residents, which increases demand for scarce urban housing. In 2011, 86% of immigrants lived in major cities, compared to 65% of the Australian-born population.
Chart 1. Migration has jumped, and so have capital city populations
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208204/original/file-20180228-36677-18v4x0p.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">Grattan Institute, Author provided
Not surprisingly, several studies have found that migration increases house prices, especially when there are constraints on building enough new homes.
The pick-up in immigration coincides with Australia’s most recent housing price boom. Sydney and Melbourne are taking more migrants than ever. Australian house prices have increased 50% in the past five years, and by 70% in Sydney.
Chart 2: Net overseas migration into NSW and Victoria is at record levels
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208207/original/file-20180228-36674-1htxzby.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Grattan Institute (Data source: ABS 3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics), Author provided
Of course immigration isn’t the only factor driving up house prices and rents. Housing also costs more because incomes rose, interest rates fell and banks made it easier to get a loan. But adding 2 million migrants in the past decade has clearly increased how many new homes are needed.
We haven’t built enough homes
Housing demand from immigration shouldn’t lead to higher prices if enough dwellings are built quickly and at low cost. In post-war Australia, record rates of home building matched rapid population growth. House prices barely moved.
But over the last decade, home building did not keep pace with increases in demand, and prices rose. Through the 1990s, Australian cities built about 800 new homes for every extra 1,000 people. They built half as many over the past eight years.
We estimate somewhere between 450 and 550 more new homes are needed for each 1,000 new residents, after accounting for demolitions. And because more families are breaking up and the population is ageing, more homes are needed to accommodate households with fewer members.
The imbalance between demand and supply has consequences. Younger and poorer households are paying more for housing, and owning a home depends more on who your parents are, a big change from the early 1980s.
Chart 3: Housing construction lagged population in the last decade, but has picked up
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208209/original/file-20180228-36706-uqc0wa.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Grattan Institute, Author provided
Only in the past couple of years has construction started to match population growth, especially in Sydney. It’s no coincidence that Sydney house prices have finally moderated in the past six months.
But the backlog of a decade of undersupply remains. Development at today’s record rates is the bare minimum needed to meet record population growth built into Sydney’s and Melbourne’s housing supply targets over the next 40 years.
Chart 4: Strong housing construction will need to be maintained to meet city plan housing targets
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208433/original/file-20180301-152569-jezm0a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Grattan Institute
So what should governments do?
Building more housing will improve affordability the most – but slowly. Even at current record construction rates, new housing increases the stock of dwellings by only 2% each year. But building an extra 50,000 homes a year nationwide for a decade would lead to national house prices between 5% and 20% lower than otherwise. Do it for longer and prices will fall even further.
State governments need to fix planning rules to allow more housing to be built in inner and middle-ring suburbs. More small-scale urban infill projects should be allowed without council planning approval. And state governments should allow denser development “as of right” along key transport corridors. The Commonwealth can help with financial incentives for these reforms.
But the politics of planning in our major cities is fraught. Most people in established middle suburbs already own their houses. Prospective residents who don’t already live there can’t vote in council elections, and their interests are largely unrepresented.
If we want to maintain current migration levels, along with their economic, social and budgetary benefits, we need to do better at planning to allow more housing to be built.
What does this mean for the migrant intake?
The Australian government should develop a population policy, as the Productivity Commission recommended. It should articulate the appropriate level of migration given its economic, budgetary and social benefits and costs. This should include how it affects the Australian community living with the reality of land use planning policy – and contrasting this with the effect of optimal planning policy.
If planning and infrastructure policies don’t improve, the government should consider cutting the migration intake. This would reduce demand for housing, but would also reduce the incomes of existing residents.
The best policy is probably to continue with Australia’s demand-driven, relatively high-skill migration and to build enough homes for the growing population. But Australia is in a world of third-best policy: rapid migration and restricted housing supply are imposing big costs on people who don’t already own their homes. If the states are not going to reform planning rules to increase the number of homes built, then the Australian government should consider whether reducing migration is the lesser evil.
Any reduction should be modest and targeted at the parts of the migration program that provide the smallest benefit to Australian residents and migrants themselves. Balancing these interests is difficult, because each part of the program has different economic, social and budgetary costs and benefits.
Cutting back family reunion visas would have substantial social costs. Limiting skilled migration would hurt the economy and many businesses. Restricting growth in international students would reduce universities’ incomes.
There are also broader costs to cutting the migrant intake. It would hit the Commonwealth budget in the short term. Most migrants are of working age and pay full rates of personal income tax. And many temporary migrants, such as 457 visa holders, can’t draw on a range of government services and benefits, including welfare and Medicare. More importantly, cutting back on younger, skilled migrants is likely to hurt the budget and the economy in the long term.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92502/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">But there is no point denying that housing affordability is worse because of a combination of rapid immigration and poor planning policy. Rather than tackling these issues, much of the debate has focused on policies that are unlikely to make a real difference. Unless governments own up to the real problems, and start explaining the policy changes that will make a real difference, Australia’s housing affordability woes are likely to get worse.
John Daley, Chief Executive Officer, Grattan Institute 
Brendan Coates, Fellow, Grattan Institute
Trent Wiltshire, Associate, Grattan Institute
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-migration-affects-housing-affordability-92502" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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How migration affects housing affordability: Grattan Institute

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GUEST OBSERVER
The real estate sector has been a key driver of China’s economic growth in recent years, helping to support the economy during the transition away from growth led by investment in heavy industry towards domestic consumption.
However, this growth has also built a sizeable debt burden which will have to be carefully managed in coming years to avoid a major downturn. 
This is the first of two parts looking into the real estate sector. This part provides a high level view of the importance of the sector and recent trends, while part two will look at the risks related to the sector going forward.
PROPERTY SECTOR A CORE COMPONENT OF CHINA’S ECONOMY
<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/2018/3/1/CORELOGIC%201.jpg" alt="">
Private ownership of real estate has a short history in China. Prior to the period of opening up that commenced in 1978, all property was state-owned. Two decades of gradual reforms saw the introduction of ‘commodity houses’ in 1998 – private properties that could be bought and sold at market prices. Chinese residents embraced home ownership – with surveys conducted by Peking University showing that around 90% of households own their home.
The property sector is a critical part of China’s economy, and has been a major driver of growth over the past decade. In 2017, the broad sector (accounting for construction and real estate services) comprised 13.2% of China’s economy – compared with 10.8% a decade earlier, highlighting above average growth over this period. The IMF estimates that when combined with upstream and downstream demand (including cement and steel, along with furniture, electronics and automobiles), real estate drives around a quarter of the Chinese economy.
Similarly, investment in real estate (as a share of GDP) rose sharply from the start of the century – peaking at almost 15% of GDP in 2014, before easing back to 13.3% in 2017. The residential sector accounts for over two-thirds of this total. The trend over this period was supported by the mass migration of Chinese residents from rural areas to cities, as well as a substantial improvement in the quality of housing for existing urban residents.
Property a major part of the economy 
<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/2018/3/1/CORELOGIC%202.jpg" alt="">
Real estate’s importance to the financial sector has also increased in recent years. Outstanding loans to real estate have rapidly increased over the past decade – from around RMB 4.8 trillion to over RMB 32 trillion in Q4 2017. This increase has outpaced lending growth to other sectors as well as the broader economy– with real estate lending (as a percentage of GDP) increasing from 18% a decade ago to around 39% at the end of last year. Although this share is not particularly high when compared with advanced economies – particularly Australia (where it is around 90% of GDP) and the United States – its rapid growth poses some concern.
The key contributor to the increase in real estate lending has been residential mortgages – with the mortgage share of total real estate lending rising to 74% in December 2017, up from 63% in December 2007. In addition, the property sector has lured funds from the shadow banking sector (although data on this sector is patchy at best). In Q3 2017, around 10% of funds from the trust sector (one component of shadow banking) were invested in real estate. 
Property loans have grown rapidly 
<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/2018/3/1/CORELOGIC%203.jpg" alt="">
Finally, the sector has been extremely important to government balance sheets – with land sales a major source of revenue for the often highly indebted local governments. In 2016, land sales accounted for almost 26% of the total – although this share varies widely across the country. Governments also benefit from tax revenue from the real estate sector – although at present there are no residential property taxes. The sector is also been a major employer – around 27 million people were employed in construction in 2016, with a further 4 million in real estate management, which together accounts for almost 18% of urban employment (and with it income tax revenue). 
Land sales still a major source of funding 
This implies that there are various bodies – both state and private – that benefit from continued growth in construction and property development, despite growing concerns around oversupply once again. This incentive to continue to expand increases risks around China’s economy. 
RECENT TRENDS IN PROPERTY 
China’s previous residential property cycle peaked in April 2014 – following a period of domestic and international concern around potential price bubbles and overbuilding (particularly in so-called ghost cities). Aggregate prices for 70 major cities fell over the next twelve months before the recovery commenced (led by the largest Tier 1 cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou).
During this period, there was a substantial slowdown in investment in the real estate sector – with the rate of growth down from around 15% yoy (on a three month moving average basis) to -0.6% yoy (3mma) by November 2015. This resulted in a drop in construction activity, with residential starts (measured in square metres of floor space) falling considerably between February 2014 and January 2016. These weaker conditions flowed through into the next link in the chain – local government revenues from land sales fell 24% in 2015 on weaker demand from developers. 
PROPERTY PRICES BY TIER - Vast disparities between China’s cities 
<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/2018/3/1/CORELOGIC%204.jpg" alt="">
However, investment in real estate recovered in 2016 – as easing property purchase restrictions allied to a credit boom, fiscal stimulus and poor performance in other asset classes supported a fresh surge in property demand and construction activity. Much of the attention was focussed on the extraordinary price increases in tier 1 cities – by September 2016, prices in these locations were 40% above their April 2014 peak – however these cities accounted for just 8% of real estate investment in 2016 (IMF). The majority of investment (59%) occurred in smaller tier 3 and 4 cities (where prices in December 2017 were only 4.0% above the previous peak), where concerns around oversupply have been higher.
This growth provided a major boost to China’s economy in 2016 – at a time where fears of a hard landing were elevated. In real terms, real estate and construction grew by 8.6% and 7.2% respectively in 2016, well above the rest of the economy. 
Growing fears around overheating property markets have seen a tightening in property policies since this time– including higher down payments, restrictions on finance and tighter eligibility for purchases – however these policies have varied across the country. Prices stabilised in tier 1 cities and growth slowed substantially in tier 2 ones. As a result, the strong growth in construction starts and property sales in the first half of 2017 slowed considerably in the second half.
CONCLUSIONS 
We anticipate the slowing trends generally exhibited across the property sector in late 2017 will extend into this year. Slowing sales and softer price trends should flow through into weaker construction activity – which would have downstream effects for steel and cement demand (along with Australian iron ore) and local government revenues (with land sales likely to fall as well). 
Gerard Burg is senior economist - Asia Group Economics at National Australia Bank.
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China's property sector slowing amid growing fears of overheated market: NAB's Gerard Burg

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The former Mr Fluffy, ACT asbestos land blocks that went under the hammer last Thursday in the first mass auction of the year, mostly failed to sell.
Allhomes reported at least 100 people attended the auction of the blocks remediated by the ACT government.
The auction came two days after a Canberra family revealed they'd uncovered bricks that tested positive for loose-fill asbestos on a $1.6 million block they'd bought at auction last year which has since had delayed work costs.
The first 21 blocks auctioned off saw more than 80% passed in, The Canberra Times reported.
Properties included a 2099 square metre block in Arthur Circle, Forrest which was passed in at $2.2 million.
Colliers International auctioneer Dan McAlpine read disclaimers that preceded the auction including a clause that stated: "By participating in the auction, registrants warrant that they have made their own inquiries regarding the land, its value and its suitability for development and have not bid on reliance on the material included in the auction documentation."
But there was no mention of the risk of residual contamination.
Suburban Land ACT auctions hosted by Colliers International are scheduled for March, April and May, which will see about 200 parcels of land offered.
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Canberra auction clearance rate down as Mr Fluffy blocks still possibly contaminated 

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A timber-framed South Australian home has been sold by the mortgagee for $90,000.
It was sold by Denise Borrillo from Ray White in February. It was listed at $99,000 for 72 days.
The 1960s home had last sold for $159,000 in 2006.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https:/www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-bordertown-127078814">Located at 68 Ramsay Terrace</a>, it comes with three bedrooms. open plan kitchen, and lounge with polished floors.
It sits on a 1270 square metre block.
The suburb's median house price sits on $168,000 according to CoreLogic.
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Big loss as Bordertown, SA home sold by mortgagee

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Weekend auction results saw the $110,000 sale of a deconsecrated church in central Victoria.
The property at <a id="LPlnk938245" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-tarnagulla-127515190" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">57 Stanley Street, Tarnagulla</a> was the 1911-built St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church.
The imposing brick property - suitable for residential conversion or artist's studio - was auctioned by Maryborough Ballarat Real Estate, then the furniture contents got sold off.
Located 180 kms northwest of Melbourne, the former congregation, and auction attendees, was made up mostly of people from Tarnagulla, together with nearby Newbridge, Laanecoorie and Murphys Creek.
"Many in attendance, one bidder congratulations, an absolute bargain," selling agent Kate Ashton told her social media followers.
Back in Melbourne's east, it seems the sellers of a $9.01 million Hawthorn home were blessed with good fortune.
Their sale of a six-bedroom mansion on Scotch Hill topped weekend auction results (above and below).
With competition from five bidders, the home at <a id="LPlnk726987" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-hawthorn-127488690" target="_blank">42 Berkeley Street</a> was announced on the market at $8.675 million.
It came with tennis court and indoor pool.
<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/2018/3/5/hawt2.jpg" alt="">
It sold to a family from Carnegie, Marshall White agent Chris Barrett told The Herald Sun.
Buyers had been advised an $8 million to $8.8 million price guide on the house on 1400 sqm which last sold in 2010 at $6.05 million.
Sydney's top sale when a four bedroom Longueville house fetched $7.41 million.
The three level <a id="LPlnk960881" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-longueville-127473906" target="_blank">65 Arabella Street</a> non-habourfront property (below) with water and bridge views had the two bidders.
<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/2018/3/5/long.jpg" alt="">
Mosman went close when $7.2 million was secured by the businessman Malcolm Coutts, former CEO of Ronald McDonald House, and wife Melissa.
Its price expectations were reportedly about $8 million for <a id="LPlnk799174" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-nsw-mosman-127474938" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Mandalong Road mansion</a> auctioned through Richardson &amp; Wrench Mosman agent Kirsty Freyer.
The nation's cheapest weekend result was a three bedroom townhouse south of Brisbane.
The <a id="LPlnk904598" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-townhouse-qld-mount+warren+park-127394698" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5/15 Lane Court Mount Warren Park</a> property fetched $180,000, less than its last $290,000 sale price in 2010.
It was a mortgagee sale in a gated estate near Beenleigh.
CoreLogic reported national auction markets soften over the past week, recording a preliminary clearance rate of 65.9 per cent.
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/3/5/corelogic.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
<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/2018/3/5/corelogic.jpg" alt="">
There were 2,980 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities this week, while last week, 3,313 auctions were held and the final clearance rate came in at 66.8 per cent.
Over the same week last year, auction volumes were slightly lower with 2,907 homes going under the hammer across the combined capital cities, with the clearance rate was a stronger 74.6 per cent. 
"Units outperformed the house market this week with 67.6 per cent of units selling at auction, while 65.1 per cent of houses sold across the combined capital cities," Kevin Brogan, auction analyst at CoreLogic noted.
Brogan noted the greatest gap was in pricey Sydney, where 70.9 per cent of apartments sold compared with 64.7 per cent of houses.
There were 1,044 auctions held in Sydney over the past week returning a preliminary auction clearance rate of 66.9 per cent, compared to 65.1 per cent across 1,259 last week, and 76 per cent across 950 auctions one year ago. Of the 785 weekend offerings the tally sat at around 62 percent.
The Sydney region with the highest preliminary clearance rate was the eastern suburbs at 77 percent from 142 results. 
The Northern Beaches dropped back to 69 percent after two weeks above 80 percent.
Of the regions with more than 20 sales collected, the South West again returned the lowest preliminary clearance rate at 45 percent, Brogan noted. 
In Melbourne, Australia’s largest auction market, a preliminary auction clearance rate of 67.3 per cent was recorded across 1,523 auctions this week, down from 70.6 per cent across 1,606 auctions last week.
"One year ago, the clearance rate was a stronger 78.4 per cent across 1,459 auctions," Brogan advised.
In Melbourne, houses held the stronger market with 67.7 per cent finding buyers compared to a 66.5 per cent rate for apartments.
There was <a id="LPlnk202" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-williamstown-127393002" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a $4.75 million Williamstown sale</a> with waters views from its 970 sqm Esplanade position (below).
The home had a pre-auction price estimate of $3.8 million to $4.1 million. 
It was marketed as having subdivision redevelopment potential by selling agent Leigh Melbourne at Greg Hocking Elly Partners.
Canberra was the best performing capital in terms of clearance rate with a 70.8 per cent success rate.
Canberra's top sales included $2.1 million in Griffith (below).
The <a id="LPlnk732104" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/act/sale-residential/4-grant-crescent-griffith-canberra/1317485933011" target="_blank">4 Grant Crescent home</a> was marketed as "beautiful Old Canberra home of charm and comfort."
<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/2018/3/5/canb.jpg" alt="">
Its land value was $1.1 million.
It features entry hall, spacious lounge with high battened ceilings, open fireplace, large functional kitchen, and sunny family room with wonderful garden outlook from its many windows. 
It had three good sized bedrooms and a study.
A modern townhouse at Kingston designed by the Sydney architects Marchese Partners fetched $2.8 million.
The three bedroom offering at <a id="LPlnk746158" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-act-kingston-127542130" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">84 Dawes Street </a>was built seven years ago.
Adelaide was next strongest weekend auction capital city at 68 percent.
A three bedroom brick house in Ottoway was Adelaide's cheapest sale.
The <a id="LPlnk659734" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-sa-ottoway-127470970" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">88 May Terrace home</a>, some 20 minutes north of the CBD, fetched $335,000.
There were just a handful of Tasmanian weekend auctions.
Sales included a Newstead three bedroom, two bathroom home for $406,500.
The <a id="LPlnk566437" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-newstead-127528610" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5 Barrington Court home</a> on a 718 sqm block was built in 1966.
"It would have been a very special home in its time, with quality features including the original parquetry flooring throughout the entry, hallway, and formal living room," the Launceston selling agent Jo Oliver noted.
 
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Clearance rates soften slightly from last week, down eight percent from last year

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Guest Observer
Building an extra 50,000 homes a year for a decade could leave Australian house prices 5 to 20 per cent lower than they would be otherwise, and stem rising public anxiety about housing affordability.
Within living memory, Australia was a place where housing costs were manageable, and people of all ages and incomes had a reasonable chance to own a home with good access to jobs. But home ownership rates are falling among all Australians younger than 65, especially those with lower incomes. Owning a home increasingly depends on who your parents are, a big change from 35 years ago when home ownership rates were high for all levels of income. Those on low incomes – increasingly renters – are spending more of their income on housing.
It’s been a perfect storm of rising incomes and falling interest rates, rapid migration, tax and welfare settings feeding demand, and planning rules restricting supply. As a result, house prices have more than doubled in real terms over the past 20 years. The strains are most acute in Sydney and Melbourne. Since 2012, house prices have risen 50 per cent in Melbourne, and 70 per cent in Sydney.
Development in middle suburbs has increased in recent years, especially in Sydney. But today’s record level of housing construction is the bare minimum needed to meet record levels of population growth driven by migration. Meanwhile a decade of accumulated shortages are forcing younger people to set up their own homes later in life.
To build more homes, State governments should fix planning rules to allow more homes to be built in inner and middle-ring suburbs of our largest cities. More small-scale urban infill projects should be allowed without council planning approval.
State governments should also allow denser development ‘as of right’ along key transport corridors. They should swap stamp duties for general property taxes. And state land taxes on investment property should be flat rate with no tax-free threshold, to encourage more institutional investors likely to provide longer-term tenancies.
The Commonwealth government can improve housing affordability somewhat – and immediately – by reducing demand. It should reduce the capital gains tax discount to 25 per cent; abolish negative gearing; and include owner-occupied housing in the Age Pension assets test. And unless the states are prepared to reform their planning systems, the Commonwealth should consider tapping the brakes on Australia’s migrant intake.
It took neglectful governments two decades to create the current housing affordability mess. They preferred the easy choices that merely appear to address the problem. The politics of reform are fraught because most voters own a home or an investment property, and mistrust any change that might dent the price of their assets. But if governments keep pretending there are easy answers, housing affordability will just get worse. Older people will not be able to downsize in the suburb where they live, and our children won’t be able to buy their own home.
<a href="https://grattan.edu.au/podcast/housing-affordability-re-imagining-the-australian-dream/" target="_blank">Listen to a podcast with John Daley and Brendan Coates discussing the report</a>
John Daley has been the Chief Executive of the Grattan Institute since it was founded nine years ago.
He can be <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/people/bio/john-daley/" target="_blank">contacted here.</a>
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50,000 new homes a year for a decade could leave house prices 20 percent lower: Grattan Institute

The Gold Coast economy has grown by 25 per cent since 2020/21 to surpass $55 billion, but perhaps the more significant story is what sits behind the headline number.

For decades, the Gold Coast has been viewed through the lens of tourism, lifestyle and population growth. The latest State of the City Report suggests that perception is increasingly out of step with reality.

Released by Invest Gold Coast, the report ranks the Gold Coast as Australia's largest non-capital city economy and, perhaps more notably, second nationally behind Sydney for Economic Complexity, a measure that assesses the diversity and sophistication of an economy.

It's a result that places the Gold Coast ahead of Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, highlighting the extent to which the city's economic base has broadened beyond its traditional industries.

Today, the Gold Coast supports more than 350,000 jobs, is home to over 83,000 businesses and generates $19 billion in annual exports. Manufacturing now accounts for 62 per cent of international export growth, while sectors including health, education, advanced manufacturing, technology and professional services are becoming increasingly important contributors to the local economy.

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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the report confirmed the city's evolution into one of Australia's most significant economies.

"The Gold Coast economy continues to grow at an incredible pace. This is no surprise to those of us who have watched the evolution up close," Mayor Tate said.

"As one of the most entrepreneurial, investment driven and opportunity focused economies in the country our ambition has been realised and possibilities are endless.

"The Gold Coast has built a reputation as the city that says yes. We say yes to investment, yes to opportunity and yes to people who want to build something.

"It's this mindset helping us drive major growth across health, advanced manufacturing, screen production, marine, technology and the knowledge economy."

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While population growth has been one of the defining stories of the past decade, the report points to a broader economic transformation taking place.

The city's knowledge economy now contributes $7.9 billion annually and supports around 31,000 jobs, while the health and wellbeing sector contributes $5.2 billion and employs more than 42,000 people. Together, the six priority sectors identified in the report account for almost $24 billion in economic output and more than 145,000 jobs.

One of the strongest examples is the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct at Southport. The 200-hectare precinct now contains more than $5 billion worth of health, education, research and innovation infrastructure and supports over 16,000 jobs.

The report also highlights the growing role of advanced manufacturing, particularly in aerospace, defence and modular construction.

Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies recently became the first Australian commercial company to attempt an orbital launch, while companies including Modscape and ModnPods are helping establish the Yatala-Stapylton corridor as one of Australia's fastest-growing advanced manufacturing hubs.

The city's entrepreneurial culture is also translating into business growth.

Since 2019/20, the number of businesses operating on the Gold Coast has increased by 22 per cent, while firms employing more than 200 people have grown by 80 per cent. The report suggests the next challenge is converting more local start-ups and medium-sized businesses into nationally significant companies.

Development activity remains another key indicator of confidence.

There are currently more than $23 billion worth of major projects underway across the Gold Coast, supported by a record 75 active cranes, a figure that now exceeds Brisbane and represents a 150 per cent increase since 2016.

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Importantly, the report notes the next phase of investment will need to extend beyond residential development.

While 93 per cent of crane activity is currently tied to housing, Invest Gold Coast argues future investment will increasingly need to focus on cultural, civic, infrastructure and industry-enabling projects that strengthen the city's long-term economic resilience.

Invest Gold Coast Chair Will Hodgman said the city was now benefiting from years of economic diversification.

"What is happening on the Gold Coast is the result of the city's economic base broadening, fuelled by industries with long-term, high-growth potential," Mr Hodgman said.

"This is no longer a secondary Australian economy, the Gold Coast is becoming a globally connected city with deeper capability across health, knowledge and creative industries, advanced manufacturing, technology and exports."

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Looking ahead, the Gold Coast's population is projected to exceed one million residents by 2046.

For a city that was once largely defined by tourism and lifestyle, the latest figures suggest the Gold Coast is becoming something more significant, one of Australia's most diverse and economically sophisticated urban economies, and increasingly one that national and international investors can no longer afford to overlook.

Joel Robinson

75 cranes, $23 billion pipeline and a $55 billion economy: Inside the Gold Coast economic boom

Ron Bakir's Homecorp has sold more than 75 per cent of the apartments in its wellness-driven Florence Residences in Surfers Paradise following its first weekend release.

The <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/florence-residences-24-monte-carlo-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">26-storey project on Monte Carlo Avenue</a>, which commenced construction earlier this year, has seen a flurry of buyers secure their slice of the Gold Coast's latest wellbeing-focused offering in one of the nation's most competitive property markets.

Since the pandemic, the Gold Coast's population has grown by more than 11 per cent, a rate approximately four times faster than Sydney's, driven largely by lifestyle changes and interstate migration. While buyer activity has moderated in some markets nationally, demand for newly built dwellings on the Gold Coast continues to gain momentum as purchasers increasingly prioritise lifestyle, amenity, wellbeing, liveability and long-term investment potential.

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Homecorp CEO Ron Bakir says buyers today are looking for more than just a home.

"What we are seeing is a shift in how people define value in property," Bakir says.

"What attracts residents to new developments is a desire for more than just a residence. They are looking for a place that complements their lifestyle, supports their wellbeing and reflects the way they want to live into the future.

"Lifestyle, longevity, proactive health, wellbeing, connection and a sense of community are increasingly shaping purchasing decisions, particularly on the Gold Coast, where these factors continue to be a major drawcard."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150414 project_image_fid=372744]

Bakir says Homecorp is responding to this shift through an approach that places greater emphasis on design, amenity and experience working together to create places that feel considered, connected and enduring in value.

Inspired by Eastern European design, Florence Residences will comprise 120 apartments alongside a private residents-only wellness club featuring a resort-style rooftop pool, hot and cold plunge pools, a spa retreat, contemporary gymnasium, and a spacious yoga and Pilates studio.

The development will also feature a residents-only lounge with private dining facilities and a rooftop bar, premium outdoor entertaining areas, a hotel-style lobby lounge, generous bike parking, and pet-friendly amenities including a heated dog wash.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150414 project_image_fid=372742]

A limited number of apartments remain available, with an exclusive collection of four-bedroom sub-penthouses set to be released in the coming months.

Florence is one of the latest additions to Homecorp's expanding multi-billion-dollar property portfolio, which also includes plans for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/homecorp-lodges-plans-for-260-million-moroccan-bathhouse-inspired-tower-in-budds-beach">$260 million development in Budds Beach</a> tailored to the growing wellness market.

A development application has been lodged for a 27-storey, 156-residence tower at 8–10 Acacia Avenue and 25–27 Oak Avenue, featuring a residents-only Moroccan spa-inspired sanctuary.

Apartments at Florence Residences are priced from $1,249,000, with construction expected to be completed by late 2027.

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Buyers rush to Homecorp's Florence Residences as Gold Coast wellness trend gains momentum

The NSW Government has expanded its $1 billion Pre-sale Finance Guarantee program, broadening access for affordable housing providers and smaller residential developments as it seeks to accelerate housing delivery across the state.

The Minns Government says the program has already helped bring forward more than 600 homes across Sydney and regional NSW since launching in September 2025, with similar models now adopted in South Australia and Western Australia.

The latest changes, announced by Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully, are designed to improve access to finance for projects that have planning approval but are struggling to secure funding.

Among the key changes is an expansion of support for community housing providers. The program will now support up to 100 per cent affordable housing projects valued at up to $30 million when delivered by not-for-profit providers, while support for larger affordable housing developments will increase for projects worth up to $80 million.

The government says the changes will help accelerate the delivery of housing for low-income workers, older people, people living with disability, and those at risk of homelessness, while reducing reliance on direct grants or subsidised loans to bridge funding gaps.

The eligibility criteria for smaller residential developments have also been broadened. The previous $5 million minimum project value threshold has been removed and replaced with a requirement that projects deliver at least four homes.

Support has also increased for projects delivering fewer than 20 homes, with the guarantee now able to cover up to 75 per cent of dwellings in a development, capped at $30 million per project.

The changes are expected to particularly benefit smaller-scale and regional developments, which often face greater challenges meeting pre-sale requirements imposed by lenders.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the scheme demonstrates how government can use its balance sheet to stimulate housing supply without relying solely on taxpayer-funded grants.

"The Pre-sale Finance Guarantee shows how this Government is using its balance sheet to reduce risk and unlock private investment, enabling new homes to move from design to construction faster," Mookhey said.

"This landmark reform allows us to deliver homes for working families at a lower cost to taxpayers, while also maintaining strong financial discipline."

Planning Minister Paul Scully said the program had already proven effective in bringing stalled projects to market.

"The Pre-sale Finance Guarantee has already proven it can unlock stalled projects and accelerate housing delivery by giving lenders the confidence they need to back good developments," Scully said.

"These changes will allow more affordable housing and smaller developments to access support so more homes can be built faster where communities need them most."

Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the expansion would help community housing providers overcome financing barriers that often delay projects.

"We know community housing providers are ready to build more homes, too often they're held back by barriers to finance," Jackson said.

"Expanding the Pre-sale Finance Guarantee helps remove those barriers so more affordable homes can get off the ground sooner."

The announcement was welcomed by the Property Council of Australia, which has long advocated for measures aimed at improving project feasibility and access to finance.

Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson described the expansion as a practical intervention that addresses one of the most immediate constraints on housing delivery.

"This is exactly the kind of practical intervention we need right now, focused on getting projects out of the ground, not just approved," Stevenson said.

"It builds on a model the Property Council has worked closely with government to develop following calls for such a scheme ahead of last year's NSW Budget, so it's great to see it being expanded."

Stevenson said the reforms would help unlock projects that are ready to proceed but have been delayed by financing challenges. However, she noted that broader feasibility issues remain a significant barrier to increasing housing supply.

"The biggest challenge in NSW housing today is delivery. Too many projects have planning approval but are simply not financially viable to proceed under current settings," she said.

Speaking at the Property Council's NSW Housing Summit, Housing Minister Rose Jackson acknowledged that feasibility and financing pressures continue to constrain housing delivery, while reaffirming the government's commitment to work with industry on solutions.

Stevenson said the government's recognition of those challenges was encouraging ahead of next week's state budget.

"It's positive to see the government clearly recognising that feasibility pressures are now a binding constraint on supply," she said.

"With the Budget just days away, the focus must be on backing delivery, making sure projects stack up, finance can flow, and more homes can move from approval to construction."

The expanded Pre-sale Finance Guarantee forms part of the NSW Government's broader housing agenda, which also includes planning reforms, the NSW Housing Pattern Book, and a series of rezonings intended to increase housing capacity across the state.

NSW expands Pre-sale Finance Guarantee to unlock more affordable and regional housing

Design-led developer-builder Lowe Living has unveiled its latest residential development, Jardin House, marking its first foray into Melbourne's blue-chip City of Boroondara.

Located a short walk from Camberwell Junction, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/jardin-house-by-lowe-living-camberwell-335-camberwell-road-camberwell-vic-3124">Jardin House</a> has been designed to appeal to affluent local downsizers and established families seeking a low-maintenance alternative to the large homes that have long defined Camberwell and surrounding suburbs.

The project will comprise a collection of two and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 92 sqm to 280 sqm, alongside a limited number of penthouse residences featuring rooftop terraces spanning more than 100 sqm, with optional private pools.

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Lowe Living Co-Founder and Managing Director Tim Lowe said Camberwell represented a natural next step for the developer as it expands into some of Melbourne's most tightly held residential markets.

"Jardin House is an important project for our team as it marks the next evolution of our portfolio into different well-established blue-chip pockets of Melbourne," Lowe said.

"Camberwell, with its incredible walkability, family-led neighbourhood feel and superb access to education and transport, makes it a natural choice for us."

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Designed by Tristan Wong Architects, with interiors by Hecker Guthrie and landscaping by Acre, the development takes inspiration from the Art Deco architecture that remains a defining feature of many of Camberwell's established streets.

A curved facade, arched openings, textured brickwork and sculpted forms reference the suburb's architectural heritage, while extensive landscaping softens the building's presence and creates a strong connection to the surrounding tree-lined streetscape.

The project will be set behind a secure gated entrance, with residents arriving through landscaped gardens designed to create a transition between the public realm and private residences.

Inside, the residences feature natural stone and timber finishes, full-height glazing, Miele appliances and generous open-plan living areas designed for long-term owner occupation.

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While the apartments themselves have been designed to attract discerning owner-occupiers, it is the amenity offering that sets Jardin House apart from many other boutique projects currently launching across Melbourne.

The centrepiece is a 350 sqm private bathhouse curated in partnership with Aurora Spa &amp; Bathhouse founder Lyndall Mitchell.

The wellness precinct includes mineral pools, hydrotherapy experiences, a Himalayan salt room, sauna, steam room, cold plunge pools and dedicated relaxation spaces, creating what Lowe Living describes as a private wellness retreat exclusively for residents.

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The collaboration follows Lowe Living's recent partnership with Aurora at Maison Savoy in Brighton, although Jardin House is the first project to incorporate both indoor and outdoor wellness experiences.

Emma Lowe, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Lowe Living, said wellness was becoming an increasingly important consideration for apartment buyers.

"Collaborating with Lyndall Mitchell from Aurora Spa &amp; Bathhouse for a second time is an intentional nod to creating residences that are more than just homes, but a way to enrich the lives of our residents through wellness and longevity," Lowe said.

The amenity offering is complemented by a Technogym fitness studio, residents' lounge, private dining spaces and concierge services.

The launch comes as developers increasingly target Melbourne's established eastern suburbs, where rising land values, ageing housing stock and growing downsizer demand are creating opportunities for boutique apartment projects.

Lowe said the company expects significant generational wealth transfer across suburbs such as Camberwell in coming years, creating further demand for luxury apartment living.

"Camberwell is a blue-chip suburb where homes regularly transact for multiple millions of dollars," he said.

"The generational change of wealth in these locations expected in the coming years is significant, so we see an opportunity to create exclusive residences that appeal to older families and downsizers in order to meet this demand."

Apartments at Jardin house start from $1,195,000. The project forms part of Lowe Living's near-$1 billion portfolio of new developments across Melbourne.

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Lowe Living launches Jardin House in Camberwell

As <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/north-sydney-nsw-2060">North Sydney</a> continues its transition from a commercial centre into a more layered residential and lifestyle precinct, a new generation of apartment developments is reshaping expectations around scale, amenity, and long-term liveability.

Improved transport connections through the Victoria Cross Metro, continued investment in dining and public spaces, and a constrained supply of new luxury apartments have sharpened demand for homes that combine proximity to the CBD with the privacy and outlook traditionally associated with harbourside houses.

At 177 Walker Street, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aland">ALAND</a>’s new apartment development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-walden-north-sydney-177-walker-street-north-sydney-nsw-2060">The Walden</a> enters the market with a distinctly residential approach to high-rise living. The 30-level tower will deliver 161 residences, ranging from one-bedroom apartments through to sub-penthouses and a full-floor penthouse, all oriented to capture uninterrupted views across Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, and out toward the Pacific Ocean.

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Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, the project takes advantage of the site’s natural topography and elevated position above the harbour. Rather than relying on density alone, the architecture focuses on outlook, orientation, and spatial flow, with every apartment occupying a corner position to maximise natural light and cross ventilation.

Rothelowman says the site itself shaped much of the architectural response.

“The site has a long history in terms of its inevitable transformation and when we came in, we took inspiration from the idea of reestablishing a sense of the site’s natural terrain and fall. Our scheme aims to integrate with the terrain and the landscape, using the undulating site to slowly reveal glimpses and views of the harbour. The rotation of the tower off grid means every apartment has a view and is naturally cross ventilated. The building's colour palette is quintessentially Sydney, with bronze and sandstone and a luminescent green colour in the glass, making it very earthy and grounded in its location.”

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Inside the residences, the emphasis moves toward larger-format living typically associated with standalone homes. Kitchens sit at the centre of the apartments, connecting directly to open-plan dining and living areas before extending outward into expansive winter gardens and balconies. Calacatta marble, bespoke joinery, integrated appliances, and custom metal detailing are used throughout, while three distinct interior palettes, Terrace, Opera, and Harbour, allow buyers to personalise the spaces without compromising the architectural consistency of the project.

The larger residences place particular attention on separation between entertaining and private zones. In many apartments, master suites occupy the outer corners of the floorplates, allowing bedrooms to benefit from floor-to-ceiling glazing and harbour outlooks independent of the living spaces. Dressing rooms and ensuites continue the material palette through fluted detailing, freestanding baths, and layered stone finishes.

Rothelowman says the design intent centred on creating homes that feel enduring rather than transient.

“Our philosophy is all about the way people live in these spaces, and we wanted to create homes that reflect the quality of life in this unique Sydney location. The apartments showcase expansive living spaces that are generous, sophisticated, and bold, with the ability to connect with views throughout each apartment.”

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A separate four-storey amenity building known as The Pavilion expands the residential offering beyond the apartments themselves. Positioned alongside the tower, the building consolidates wellness, recreation, and social spaces into a dedicated resident retreat. Facilities include a 20-metre rooftop pool and sundeck, sauna, spa, ice bath, wellness studio, gymnasium, concierge service, wine cellar, residents’ lounge, private dining spaces, and dedicated co-working areas with meeting rooms and boardroom facilities.

The amenity mix reflects the buyer profile emerging in North Sydney, where owner-occupiers and downsizers are increasingly prioritising convenience, apartment scale, and long-term usability over purely investment-driven decisions.

The Walden also represents a significant milestone for ALAND, marking the company’s first major move into Sydney’s inner-city luxury apartment market after more than two decades delivering large-scale residential communities across Greater Sydney. Founder Andrew Hrsto says the Walker Street site stood apart because of both its positioning and its rarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134323 project_image_fid=6390]

“As a company, we had been searching for a site in one of Sydney’s blue-chip locations, spanning the Eastern Suburbs, the Sydney CBD and the North Shore, and when we had the opportunity to purchase this site, we immediately recognised that it could be something iconic.”

At launch, The Walden recorded more than $103 million in sales, with buyers drawn to the project’s harbour positioning, apartment scale, and proximity to the Metro, which now connects North Sydney to Barangaroo in three minutes and Martin Place in five.

ALAND has commenced construction, and is expecting a completion date in 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134323]

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