Buyers considering a residence at boutique Gordon townhouse development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lume-gordon-43-47-dumaresq-street-gordon-nsw-2072">Lume</a>&nbsp;now have another reason to bring forward their decision.

For a limited time, purchasers of a residence at Lume will receive a BMW iX3 50 electric SUV, valued at more than $120,000, as part of their purchase. The offer is designed to add value for buyers while complementing the lifestyle envisioned for the architecturally designed Upper North Shore development.

Scott Timmins, Development Manager at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/winim">WINIM</a>, said the partnership was created to provide buyers with a compelling reason to act.

"In today's market, buyers need a compelling reason to act now, and the BMW partnership was designed to create that catalyst. We wanted to add genuine value for our future purchasers. Choosing the all-electric BMW iX3 50 also reflects the values behind LUME, forward-thinking design, innovation and a more sustainable way of living. It's a premium incentive that complements the lifestyle our buyers aspire to and rewards those who commit early."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374893]

Delivered by WINIM in partnership with Burtonwood Investment Partners, Lume comprises 14 architecturally designed two, three and four-bedroom townhomes created for families seeking the space of a freestanding house with the ease of modern, low-maintenance living.

The three-storey residences, designed by award-winning architecture practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, have been tailored for families and multi-generational living, featuring private internal lifts, flexible lower-level spaces, generous open-plan living and entertaining areas, media rooms, and landscaped outdoor spaces with custom outdoor kitchens.&nbsp;

Inside, engineered oak flooring, bespoke dining joinery with integrated wine fridges and backlit bars, sculptural porcelain bathrooms, Parisi freestanding baths and Astra Walker tapware create interiors that balance functionality with refined finishes.

Each townhome has been designed to combine generous internal spaces with sustainability initiatives such as EV charging infrastructure, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>'s landscaped communal areas, centred around a restored creek line and native planting, encourage residents to connect with nature and spend more time outdoors.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=269527]

Rothelowman's Gary Tsui said the architecture was conceived to respond carefully to its Upper North Shore setting.

"Our vision was to create elegant, uplifting homes that draw on and positively contribute to the local character through meticulously considered design and an interaction with the surroundings."

The communal landscape has been designed as more than an open space between homes. Arcadia's Ben Newell and Kate Phillips said the adjoining reserve provided an opportunity to create a distinctive natural retreat for residents.

"Just as waterways carve their way through Ku-ring-gai's landscape, a raised boardwalk weaves through the reserve, connecting the homes to this tranquil oasis."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7354 project_image_fid=374892]

Located just 300 metres from <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/gordon-nsw-2072">Gordon</a> Village and Gordon railway station, Lume offers convenient access to Sydney's CBD while placing residents close to some of the North Shore's leading schools, including Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College and Knox Grammar. Lane Cove National Park, Gordon Golf Club and a range of cafés and restaurants further reinforce the family-focused lifestyle on offer, with the BMW iX3 50 complementing everything from local trips around Gordon to weekend drives and city commutes.

Construction is underway with completion expected in mid-2027.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7354]

Joel Robinson

Boutique Gordon townhomes now come with a BMW iX3 50

Two apartments have sold for more than $10 million at EADE Byron Bay, setting some of the highest apartment prices ever achieved in the coastal town and underlining the growing appetite for luxury beachfront apartments in Australia's most popular coastal locations.

The $210 million project by Vitale Property Group has now secured more than $70 million in sales, led by residences that changed hands for $12.75 million and $11.75 million.

The record-breaking transactions reinforce the shift occurring in Byron Bay's premium property market, where affluent downsizers and lifestyle buyers are increasingly opting for high-end apartments over large beachfront homes.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/eade-byron-bay-29-shirley-street-byron-bay-nsw-2481">EADE Byron Bay</a> occupies a rare 6,000 sqm absolute beachfront site on the corner of Shirley and Milton Streets overlooking Main Beach and The Wreck surf break, just 350 metres from Byron Bay's town centre.

The 25-residence development is the first beachfront apartment project approved in Byron Bay in more than a decade and is currently under construction, with completion expected in May 2027.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359521]

The project has attracted a mix of local Byron Shire residents downsizing from larger homes, alongside interstate buyers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane seeking a permanent coastal lifestyle without compromising on space.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a> and with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/alexander-co">Alexander &amp; Co</a>, EADE comprises&nbsp;10 garden apartments ranging from 284 sqm to 622 sqm, nine with private pools, five full-floor apartments and 10 rooftop residences with private plunge pools, expansive outdoor entertaining areas and uninterrupted ocean views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359527]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/vitale-property-group">Vitale Property Group</a> Managing Partner Chris Vitale said the project's combination of scale, location and limited future supply was driving buyer demand.

"There isn't another beachfront holding in Byron Bay of this size and position that could be developed again," Vitale said.

"Buyers are responding to the scarcity and the irreplaceability of a site of this calibre and to floorplans they can't find elsewhere in the market.

"We are seeing buyers place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of the location. The sales achieved to date demonstrate that discerning purchasers recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay.

"Many are coming from larger homes in the Byron region, or from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and are after the space, security and convenience, without the upkeep of a house."

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145590 project_image_fid=359523]

The Byron Bay project follows Vitale Property Group's delivery of the Mondrian Hotel and Private Residences at Burleigh Heads, with EADE continuing the developer's focus on luxury coastal developments.

Residents will have access to a resort-style swimming pool, gymnasium, sauna, cold plunge pool, concierge services and dedicated workspaces, while the project is targeting an 8-Star Green Star rating.

EADE Byron Bay is being exclusively marketed by Projx Australia in conjunction with WHITEFOX Projects.

WHITEFOX National Projects Director Phillip Rand said demand had been driven predominantly by owner-occupiers.

"We are seeing buyers at EADE place significant value on quality, space, design, resort-style amenities and the rarity of this location," Rand says.

"The sales achieved to date demonstrate that purchasers at this level recognise the long-term significance of what is being created at EADE Byron Bay."

Residences at EADE Byron Bay are currently priced between $4.75 million and $15.95 million.

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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145590]

Vitale breaks Byron Bay records with EADE sales flurry 

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

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

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

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

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

What does it really mean for a building to be 'green'?

Sydney’s property market is known for high prices, competitive bidding, and mounting pressure on first home buyers. But change is on the horizon.

From late 2025, eligible first home buyers in New South Wales will have access to a new federal government initiative aimed at addressing affordability: the Help to Buy Scheme.&nbsp;

<h2>What is the Help to Buy Scheme?</h2>

The program introduces a shared equity model intended to reduce the upfront cost of entering the property market, particularly in high-demand urban areas such as Sydney.

The scheme operates under a shared ownership structure in which the federal government takes an equity stake of up to 40 per cent for new homes, or 30 per cent for existing dwellings. This arrangement allows eligible buyers to significantly reduce their loan size and avoid the added cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Under this model, purchasers can enter the property market with as little as a two per cent deposit, well below the traditional 10 to 20 per cent usually required. The government’s contribution is not a loan but a co-ownership stake in the property. As such, there is no interest or rent charged on its portion.

Because the government’s equity combined with the buyer’s deposit typically meets or exceeds the 20 per cent threshold, LMI does not apply. The remaining balance, generally between 60 and 70 per cent of the property’s value, is financed through a standard home loan with a participating lender.

The government's equity in the property remains in place until the buyer chooses to repay it voluntarily or until the property is sold. Buyers can buy back the government’s share over time, in increments of at least five per cent, depending on their financial situation.

There is no fixed repayment timeline, but the amount to be repaid will be based on the property's market value at the time of repayment, not the original purchase price.

<h2>How do you qualify for the&nbsp;Help to Buy Scheme?</h2>

To qualify for the Help to Buy Scheme, applicants must meet the following conditions:

<ul>
	<li>Be an Australian citizen at least 18 years of age.</li>
	<li>Be a first-home buyer who does not currently own property.</li>
	<li>Intend to live in the property as their primary residence.</li>
	<li>Earn less than $100,000 per year for individuals, or $160,000 for couples.</li>
	<li>Purchase a property within the regional price caps, currently $950,000 in Sydney, though this is expected to rise to approximately $1.3 million ahead of the program’s launch.</li>
</ul>

While the Help to Buy Scheme does not solve affordability challenges across the board, it does offer a more accessible pathway for a defined segment of the market, particularly younger buyers with moderate incomes who have been priced out of traditional lending routes.

The scheme is expected to commence in NSW in late 2025, as part of a national rollout.

Under the new model, purchasers can enter the property market with as little as a two per cent deposit, well below the traditional 10 to 20 per cent usually required

Help to Buy Scheme: What first home buyers in NSW need to know

The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) is a government initiative designed to help eligible first-time home buyers by offering financial assistance towards the purchase or construction of a new home.

While the FHOG is a nationwide program, it is administered separately by each state and territory, meaning the eligibility criteria, grant amounts, and property requirements can vary depending on your location. This means that the amount available and the conditions attached to the grant will differ, so it is important to check the specific guidelines for your state or territory.

It’s important to note that the FHOG is just one of several incentives available to first home buyers. In most states and territories, the grant is not linked to stamp duty exemptions or concessions, with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The FHOG is typically a one-off payment, reducing the overall cost of purchasing or building a new home before any stamp duty concessions are applied.

Below, we provide a breakdown of the First Home Owner Grants available across Australia, outlining the specific details for each state and territory.

<h2>New South Wales First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes valued up to $600,000. For land purchases and owner-builders, the threshold extends to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Benefits: Provides full stamp duty exemption for homes valued up to $800,000, with concessions available for properties up to $1 million.

<h2>Victoria South Wales First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Provides a $10,000 grant for first-home buyers purchasing or building new homes valued up to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Benefits: Offers full stamp duty exemption for properties up to $600,000, with concessions available up to $750,000.

<h2>Queensland First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers $30,000 for contracts signed between 20 November 2023 and 30 June 2025. The FHOG applies to new homes valued up to $750,000.

Stamp Duty Concessions: Provides additional concessions for properties valued up to $800,000.

<h2>Western Australia First Home Owner Grant</h2>

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First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes valued up to $750,000 in the southern regions and up to $1 million in the northern regions.

Stamp Duty Concessions: Available for homes valued up to $600,000 for transactions entered into on or after 9 May 2024.

<h2>Australian Capital Territory First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Replaced by the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, offering full stamp duty concessions for eligible buyers.

<h2>South Australia First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Provides up to $15,000 for new homes, including houses, apartments, and townhouses. As of 6 June 2024, there is no property value cap for eligibility.

Stamp Duty Relief: Available for new homes and vacant land purchases.

<h2>Tasmania First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: Offers a $10,000 grant for new homes and off the plan purchases.

Stamp Duty Exemption: Between 18 February 2024 and 30 June 2026, first home buyers of established homes valued up to $750,000 receive a full exemption on property transfer duty.

<h2>Northern Territory First Home Owner Grant</h2>

First Home Owner Grant: The Northern Territory provides a $10,000 grant for new homes only. Additional government grants and concessions are available for first home buyers.

Stamp Duty Exemption: The only stamp duty exemption available to property buyers is the House and Land Package Exemption (HLPE).

Eligibility criteria and application processes differ across states. Prospective buyers should refer to their respective state revenue offices for full details on grant availability, conditions, and additional concessions.

Every First Home Owner Grant for new property by state

In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable architecture and environmentally conscious design, systems and ratings in place can help determine the energy efficiency of residential buildings in Australia.

Australia has multiple building rating systems that evaluate energy efficiency and sustainability in existing and new building designs.

Some systems assess individual building components, while others provide an overall rating for the entire structure.

A rating system ensures that homes are comfortable and energy-efficient, whether you are buying, renovating, or building.

NatHERS (Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme) is a common way for new homes to meet energy efficiency requirements.

As new developments continue to shape the urban environment, understanding NatHERS ratings becomes essential for developers and homeowners. This article delves into the concept of NatHERS ratings, their significance, and how they contribute to creating energy-efficient homes.

<h2>What is NatHERS?</h2>

NatHERS is a national initiative implemented by the Australian government to promote energy efficiency in residential buildings. The scheme aims to provide a standardised method for assessing the thermal performance of homes, considering factors such as insulation, orientation, ventilation, and building materials.&nbsp;

NatHERS ratings are the most common way new homes meet the National Construction Code's (NCC's) minimum energy efficiency requirements.&nbsp;

NatHERS assessments provide thermal and whole-home ratings for new homes, townhouses, and apartments.

The rating helps evaluate the energy performance of buildings, guides homeowners and developers to make informed decisions about the energy efficiency of their properties, and encourages the construction of more sustainable, comfortable, and cost-effective homes.

<h2>How NatHERS Ratings Work</h2>

NatHERS ratings are determined through four accredited software tools (AccuRate, BERS Pro, FirstRate5, HERO) using a calculation engine CSIRO developed to predict building temperature based on various factors.

The tools can model complex effects of building mass, insulation, window size, and other elements.

The outcome is a star rating that reflects the building's overall thermal efficiency, indicating how well it can maintain a comfortable indoor temperature without excessive reliance on heating or cooling systems.

The star rating scale ranges from 0 to 10, with a 6-star rating being the minimum requirement for compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC).&nbsp;

Achieving a higher star rating demonstrates a commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability, as the building is better equipped to minimise its environmental impact and reduce long-term energy costs.

Anyone can use NatHERS tools, but accredited assessors can provide certified ratings and professional advice.

<h2>Benefits of Higher NatHERS Ratings</h2>

Energy Efficiency: Buildings with higher NatHERS ratings are more energy-efficient, requiring less heating and cooling energy. This reduces the structure's carbon footprint and lowers occupants' energy bills.

Cost Savings: Homes with higher NatHERS ratings are generally more energy-efficient, resulting in reduced energy consumption for heating and cooling. This translates to lower energy bills for homeowners, making sustainable living environmentally friendly and economically viable in the long run.

Environmental Impact: Lower energy consumption directly translates to a reduced environmental impact. Buildings with higher NatHERS ratings contribute to the overall goal of mitigating climate change by lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating and cooling systems.

Improved Comfort: Buildings with high NatHERS ratings offer better thermal comfort to occupants. Proper insulation, well-designed ventilation, and optimal orientation maintain a consistent and comfortable indoor temperature, providing occupants with a more enjoyable and healthier space.

Market Value and Desirability: Higher NatHERS ratings can enhance the market value of a property. As energy efficiency becomes a more significant consideration for homebuyers, a well-rated building may attract a premium price and stand out in the real estate market.

Compliance with Building Codes: NatHERS ratings are a vital component of the National Construction Code (NCC), and compliance with these ratings is often a mandatory requirement for new developments. Local councils and planning authorities may set minimum energy efficiency standards that must be met to obtain development approval.

The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is a crucial initiative shaping the future of energy-efficient, resilient, and cost-effective homes. With its recent upgrades, NatHERS has evolved into a world-leading tool for the building sector, supporting the global commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Staff Writer

What is a NatHERS rating in new off the plan apartment developments?

Mixed-use developments have gained significant popularity across Australia in recent years due to their unique blend of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.

Unlike traditional single-purpose developments, mixed-use projects offer a harmonious integration of various functions within a single locale.

Residential units seamlessly coexist with commercial establishments, retail outlets, dining venues, entertainment hubs, and recreational facilities, with the combination not only enhances convenience but also fosters a vibrant lifestyle and a sense of community.

<h3>Convenience and accessibility</h3>

Mixed-use developments are designed with convenience in mind. They often integrate residential units with commercial spaces, retail outlets, restaurants, and recreational facilities, creating a self-contained community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=114215 project_image_fid=204874]

The proximity allows residents to enjoy the convenience of having essential amenities and services within walking distance. Whether it's grabbing a cup of coffee, going grocery shopping, or accessing healthcare services, everything is conveniently located, saving residents time and effort.

<h3>Vibrant lifestyle and community</h3>

One of the major advantages of mixed-use developments is the vibrant lifestyle they offer. With a diverse range of amenities and communal spaces, residents have ample opportunities to interact, socialise, and build a sense of community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=107714 project_image_fid=214122]

The presence of parks, community centres, and shared spaces fosters a lively atmosphere, encouraging residents to engage in various activities and events. The vibrant lifestyle within these developments creates a unique sense of belonging and camaraderie among the residents.

<h3>Potential for higher rental yields and property value appreciation</h3>

Mixed-use developments tend to attract a broad range of tenants and buyers due to their versatile nature. This high demand can result in higher rental yields for investors and potentially lead to property value appreciation over time.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139989 project_image_fid=212887]

The integration of commercial and retail spaces attracts businesses, which can provide a stable rental income stream. Additionally, the popularity of mixed-use developments often drives up property values, making them a potentially lucrative investment in the long term.

<h3>Enhanced security and maintenance</h3>

Mixed-use developments typically have comprehensive security measures in place. With controlled access points, CCTV surveillance, and professional security staff, residents can enjoy enhanced safety and peace of mind.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108019 project_image_fid=212658]

Additionally, these developments often have dedicated maintenance teams responsible for the upkeep of common areas, landscaping, and infrastructure. This ensures that the overall appearance and functionality of the development are well-maintained, creating a pleasant living environment for residents.

<h3>Live-work-play balance</h3>

One of the key attractions of mixed-use developments is the ability to achieve a desirable live-work-play balance. The integration of residential and commercial spaces allows residents to live closer to their workplaces, reducing commuting time and improving work-life balance.

The proximity to various amenities and recreational facilities encourages an active and healthy lifestyle. Residents can easily access fitness centres, parks, restaurants, and entertainment options, all within the same development, leading to a more fulfilling and convenient way of life.

alisonwarters@gmail.com

The top five reasons to buy in a mixed-use development

When buying a property, everyone needs to be aware of the additional costs that come as part of the buying process.

Often the largest outlay, after the deposit which goes to the bank, is stamp duty.

<h2 style="line-height: 1.38;">What is Stamp Duty?</h2>

Stamp duty is an extra tax to pay the government when you buy land, a property, and other certain assets.

It happens when the legal ownership is transferred. It can also be known as property transfer duty or transfer duty.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C32BWkB5--c" title="YouTube video player" width="660"></iframe>

<h2>Who pays Stamp Duty?</h2>

In some circumstances, you may get an exemption. For some states, you won’t have to pay for stamp duty if you are a first home buyer or a pensioner for houses under a particular price. There are also stamp duty concessions, where you may be entitled to a discount.

<h2>How much does Stamp Duty cost?</h2>

Each state has different rules which affect how much you need to pay. These rules can affect the rate you pay, and the timeframe you will need to pay in. Before you buy land or a property, make sure you check the up-to-date information for your state’s stamp duty.

You can use a free stamp duty calculator online to see approximately how much you’ll need to pay. Find out if you’re eligible for an exemption by enquiring on a project via Urban!

Overall, the stamp duty you need to pay will depend on:

<ul>
	<li aria-level="1">How much your land/property is worth</li>
	<li aria-level="1">Where your land/property is located</li>
	<li aria-level="1">What type of land/property it is</li>
</ul>

Want to find out more? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@UrbanAustralia?utm_source=YouTube&amp;utm_medium=Video&amp;utm_campaign=Subscribe&amp;utm_id=Subscribe">Subscribe to our YouTube channel</a> for more property videos.

Ellen Walker

Off-the-plan property explained: What is stamp duty?

Prominent New Zealand apartment and hotel operator, <a href="/developers/safari-group">Safari Group</a>, is offering up a prime investment opportunity for Australians to purchase off the plan in one of the world’s most popular ski destinations.

They recently took to market Mountain Oak Queenstown Apartments, in the growing precinct of Remarkables Park in Frankton, near the airport and at the foot of The Remarkables - the mountain range the locals like to call “The Remarks”.&nbsp;

Sydney investors have shown interest in the one, two and three-bedroom apartments that secure high-season occupancy six months over the year, primarily over summer and winter months.

They average 90 per cent occupancy across their portfolio over January, February, March, August, November and December, while shoulder season months of April, July, September and October are still occupied 70 per cent of the time, with the growing appeal of Queenstown becoming not just a hotspot for the snow, but a lifestyle destination.

Even in the low seasons of May and June, occupancy levels reach around 40 per cent.

<img alt="Safari Group’s Mountain Oak Apartments brings new investment potential to Queenstown" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_auto/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Ext_Cam15_Sunny.jpg?VersionId=SJAROUM_1s.Tr5ciMk4EEj5oAt_Vewmv" />

Safari’s Safari Hotels arm can also manage the holiday letting for an investor, from the listing on holiday accommodation websites such as Airbnb and Booking.com to the cleaning and maintenance of the investment. They’ve been in the short stay management business for 15 years and offer 24/7 support for investors, an important convenience benefit for any overseas investor

Another major drawcard for Australians is that New Zealand doesn’t have a stamp duty policy - so the entry price of NZ$639,000 (AU$586,000), is all that is payable on completion.

<img alt="Safari Group’s Mountain Oak Apartments brings new investment potential to Queenstown" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/313_Livingv2_WEB.jpg?VersionId=nV229fM0ZeYpoxOrX372HyGjfwY_LR8c" />

Safari is starting construction of the 141 apartments in Q2 this year, with a two-year build estimated to complete in mid-to-late 2027.<img alt="" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" height="15" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXczFpFAb7WuA6f4f9TtKWcqXyNwR8qqtakWv352ERkpqNlP3KwIo8YKxw67jZNHfpjEGIZGv5MQTbnvLZwNt8iu9IVdOrswOjCvBZ4zhSoOOLrpt6etVEZTN1gkBho0r_R72zdHNA?key=yq3daOanqHSb88QFd8jGYKdb" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" />​

The apartments will feature modern amenities and contemporary designs with expansive windows capturing sweeping views of The Remarkables mountain range.&nbsp;

Interiors are equipped with modern finishes, premium appliances, and secure electronic key-locked doors, ensuring a comfortable living experience for residents and guests alike.

With its strategic location near Coronet Peak and Cardrona Alpine Resort, as well as key retail and dining precincts such as Market Street, Five Mile Shopping Centre, and Remarkables Market, Mountain Oak offers a strong proposition for investors seeking high rental yields and capital appreciation in one of New Zealand’s most sought-after locations.&nbsp;

Queenstown’s sustained demand for visitor accommodation and rental properties is underpinned by a shortage of housing options, attracting both local and international buyers.

Safari Group offers low-touch investment proposition in Queenstown’s popular ski fields district

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As excitement builds for the Bathurst 1000, Holden has beaten Ford in a marketing campaign to sell five house and land packages in Windaroo on the outskirts of Brisbane.
Go View estate agent Danny Kumar offered buyers the choice of a Holden Commodore Series 2 V6 or a Ford XR6 valued at about $36,000 to those who snapped up the first five house and land packages (below) being built by CJ Homes listed at $399,000.
<img src="/images/stories/carhouse.jpg">
All five buyers picked the Holden over the Ford.
Kumar tells Property Observer he came up with the idea of offering the new cars in an effort to “do something different” and stimulate interest in the properties.
“We got a lot of enquiries,” he says.
Kumar cut his commission in half and chipped in a third of the price of the car (the builder and developer put in a third each) and he says he is more than happy to keep going with the promotion.
“I will be talking to the builder. If he can afford to do it, we will continue with the promotion.”
Kumar is part of a growing international trend among estate agents and vendors to offer incentives as diverse as alcohol, groceries and international flights to entice buyers in lacklustre property markets.
Robert Roach, a vendor in Benalla in regional Victoria, is offering a new $16,000 Mitsubishi Colt in an effort to find a buyer for a three-bedroom Californian Bungalow that has an asking price of $389,000 and has been on the market for six months (below).
<img src="/images/stories/carhouse2.jpg">
It is being marketed by Glenn Chibnall from LJ Hooker Benalla, who says the owner added the car to the sale to create more interest in a “steady” market awash with listings.
“We are hopeful of a sale… It is a buyers’ market.”
Roach says he hopes the car will help the sale over the line.
He negotiated the deal with the local Mitsubishi dealership and says the owner will get the car as soon as the house is sold.
“It’s a nice little car.”
Roach, who is retired, restored the house as a hobby, but says he can’t wait 12 months to sell the house.
“You can have the best product in the world but if no one knows about, it won’t do you any good,” says Roach, who honed his marketing skills as a butcher.
In Calgary, Canada estate agent Robyn Moser of MaxWell South Star Realty is offering C$1,000 worth of beer to buyers who snap up this four-bedroom house (below) asking C$349,000 in Coventry Hills, a suburb in city’s northwest.
<img src="/images/stories/carhouse3.jpg">
According to the Calgary Herald, she came up with the idea after reading about a Chicago vendor who offered beer to prospective buyers and saw a 300% increase in home showings as result.
In the UK, Bournemouth-based developer McCarthy and Stone is offering a year's free Waitrose groceries to potential buyers of a retirement property in a complex it has developed in Oadby, Leicestershire.
Other incentives that have been offered in the English Midlands include a luxury Mercedes car, a holiday, season tickets for either the Leicester Tigers Rugby Club or Leicester City Football Club and gym memberships.
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lschlesinger-FZcF9M3vE6

Holden beats Ford as vendors throw in freebies in hopes of driving sales

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As we look to what's ahead for 2012, Property Observer is republishing some of our most noteworthy stories of 2011.
 
Who’d have thought – one little word, five little letters, and so much power – the power of green.  Put the word “green” into a search engine and you’ll get a bucket load of topics in return – green loans, green guides, green rebates, green grants, green energy, green cars…green, green, green.  So what does this all mean?  Is it real, or are we dealing with a whole load of spin that begets greenwashing?
There are many products on the market claiming to be green and some of those can be tested, but when it comes to property, for example, there is no real measure or standard.  This means that anyone can call their house “green”, “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, or whatever environmental catch-word comes to mind, as we do not yet have a legal definition as to what makes a green house.  There is the six-star energy minimum that many new buildings must adhere to, but does that make a property green?  Add a water tank, a pool cover and a few solar panels – is that green?  The reality seems to be that green more often means money for those purveyors of the colour rather than savings for those who buy into it.
A widely touted study by environmental marketing company TerraChoice has found that 95% of green-marketed products use misleading claims, while only 5% of the 5,300 products examined were free from some form of greenwashing.  The number of green claims is increasing by leaps and bounds, with 73% more green-identified products on the market today than a year ago.
Unfortunately, many home buyers don’t want to pay for the privilege of buying a green dwelling.   This is especially the case for investors.  Many like the idea – either out of some misguided guilt or erroneous desire to do something good for the environment – but they think that the developer or the government should pay for their “green”.  The most optimistic studies show that the average buyer will pay up to $15,000 more for a new green dwelling, which, and here’s the rub, will pay back that premium in terms of reduced energy and water costs within two to three years of purchase.  Impossible.
And to add further salt to the wound, these buyers are prepared to pay about 2% more for a green residence, yet the true cost of all the green goodies is closer between 5% and 8%.  Another nail in the housing affordability coffin.
As Christopher Zinn, of consumer advocacy group Choice, says:  “Wherever you see the words ‘eco’ or ‘green’ or ‘natural’, you need to get out a very accurate ruler.  It could mean anything and nothing.”
For mine, it may be time to bring in some new colours in response to most “greenwash” claims – “blackball” and “redline” come to mind.  Better still, Senator Barnaby Joyce summed it up earlier this year when he quipped: “If you really want to piss someone off right now, mention climate change.”
Michael Matusik is the director of independent property advisory Matusik Property Insights. Matusik has helped over 500 new residential developments come to fruition and writes the weekly  <a title="Matusik's Missive" target="_blank" href="https://matusikmissive.wordpress.com/">Matusik's Missive</a>.
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michaelmatusik-49YzLvdmNv

Green claims making investors see red

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As the rental market changes and the demand for properties reduces in some parts of the country, there must be consideration given to both the price and the presentation of the property. 
Price is always important for most investors, but what is sometimes overlooked is how much money an owner looses during a vacancy period when owners refuse to listen to the property manager and review (and reduce) the asking rent of the property. 
If the property is being marketed at $400 per week and has been vacant for four weeks with minimal enquiry or applications, isn’t it a smarter choice to reduce the asking rent to $380 per week.  As an owner of investment properties I know the $20 per week may feel like a loss, but isn’t it better to receive $380 per week rather than zero per week? 
The rental market changes from month to month , year to year and from suburb to suburb. So while you may have received $400 per week last year and the neighbour’s property is achieving a rent of $410 per week most owners would assume that their property MUST be worth between those two figures. 
Right? 
Well, no. 
It’s actually irrelevant what you achieved last year or what the house next door is achieving or because of CPI you believe you should receive a 5% rent increase this year.  What is important is what the market is doing today and what the market is telling you your property is worth today. 
We always want to believe our property is worth more.  However, when the market changes both the owner and property managers need to work together and change with it.  Together they must face the truth and yes it may hurt a little but again I ask you – isn’t some money better than no money? 
So what should you do? 
Here are some ideas:
<ul>
<li>Review your asking rent within 72 hours after the property is placed on the market and continue to review the asking rent at least once a week.</li>
<li>Have a minimum of five photographs as part of your marketing (and make sure they are current and correct).</li>
<li>Look at what demographic is best suited for your property and sell those features within your marketing description. </li>
<li>If you cannot inspect the property, ask your property manager to email you some current photographs.  Then you need to ask yourself what you can do to make your property stand out.</li>
<li>What improvements can you do? </li>
<li>Could the property do with a fresh coat of paint?  What about a feature wall?  How is the carpet?  Do the window coverings need updating? </li>
<li>What about the garden – when was the last time the lawns were cut or tided up? </li>
</ul>
So remember, be proactive and good luck!
Leah Calnan is the director of <a href="https://www.metropm.com.au/" title="Metro Property Management homepage" target="_blank">Metro Property Management</a> in Victoria and is the chairwoman of the REIV Property Management Chapter.
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leahcalnan-pwE6GD6KY9

You must meet the current rental market, or your property will sit empty

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The following article goes through the issues an investor needs to understand when purchasing a property with debt within super.  It is important to appreciate that as a specific property is being purchased the investor must use a self-managed super fund (SMSF) and not their retail and or industry fund, as they need to have control to make this sort of specific investment. The SMSF should also have a company as trustee.
On September 24, 2007 the federal government introduced new legislation to allow superannuation funds to borrow under certain conditions.
The ATO issued additional guidelines on July 7, 2010 explaining what the borrowing arrangements apply to, including the definition of what constitutes an asset and how a loan structure needs to be set up and administered. There were a number of significant items in the July 7, 2010 guidelines, three being that (a) you had to hold the property outside of the SMSF in a holding trust with a company as trustee; (b) you could not do a renovation on a property “held” in the SMSF that was subject to a loan; and (c) you cannot replace an asset which has been destroyed, say by a natural disaster.
The July 2010 guidelines defined an asset to be a single acquirable asset (SAA). The interpretation of a SAA by the ATO significantly restricts what asset can be purchased and how it is managed. This guideline meant that a renovation (with cash or borrowed funds) was not allowable if the property was secured with debt, as the renovation changed the asset and as such, it was no longer the same asset that was originally purchased i.e., the property. This ATO position is in part the genesis of much of the industry concerns about the guidelines.
On September 14 2011 the ATO released additional draft guidelines in answer to industry concerns.  The new guidelines, among other things, now allow renovation if non-borrowed funds are used. This is a major improvement to the legislative interpretation for property investors. This means that the SMSF can do a renovation with cash resources within the fund.
The position on borrowings is now much clearer, but there are many areas that are not.  Any investors contemplating purchasing a property in super with debt needs to get specific advice, including whether the actual property being considered fits within the borrowing rules.
The super fund deed must also be reviewed to ensure it allows for borrowings, and the documentation needs to be carefully prepared so as to not inadvertently trigger double stamp duties and capital gains tax liabilities when the loan is paid off.
The borrowing must be limited recourse, which means that no other super fund asset can be used as security; the super fund member can go guarantor on the loan or give other non-super fund assets as security if required.
The SMSF can use debt to purchase any non-prohibited asset. The principle exclusion is a residential property off a member or associate of the SMSF member. The SMSF can however purchase business real property off a member.
The latest guidelines also clarify where debt can be used in relation to the property. Debt can obviously be used to acquire the property. Debt can also be used to do repairs, maintenance and to capitalise interest.
The property
Difficulties arise when looking at off-the-plan and house-and-land packages. It is allowable for the SMSF to use its cash resources to pay a deposit, and on completion of the construction borrow the remaining balance less any additional amounts from the SMSF to finalise the purchase. If land is purchased first (cash and or debt) with a second contract to build, the original asset being the land cannot be built on using debt.
Repairs and maintenance
If the property was originally acquired by the SMSF using a borrowing arrangement, additional borrowings are permitted for repairs and maintenance. However, if the property is not subject to a loan then new borrowings for repairs and maintenance are not permitted.
The draft ruling notes that an asset may be bought in a state in which a part of the asset is defective, damaged or suffering some deterioration of what would be considered to be its normal level of functional efficiency. Accordingly, the Tax Office says a restoration of that part of the asset to its functional efficiency would be a repair (and not an improvement) for limited recourse borrowing purposes.
Renovations
Investors looking at buying a "renovator's dream" need to be cautious, as the ATO states that a substantial renovation of a rundown property would improve the functional efficiency of the asset as well as substantially improving its value and therefore would amount to an improvement for which borrowings under the limited recourse borrowing rules would be prohibited.
While you cannot borrow to improve a single acquirable asset that is the subject of the limited recourse borrowing, the ATO in its latest ruling confirms its thinking that funds from within the SMSF can be used to improve the property. Caution is required in that the improvements cannot result in the property becoming a different asset. This will limit the type and size of any renovation
Please note that the September 14 guidelines are only in draft form, so investors will need to seek specific advice as to its use, and keep a watchful eye on any final ruling by the ATO.
Ken Raiss is a certified accountant and director of <a title="Chan &amp; Naylor " href="https://www.chan-naylor.com.au/" target="_self">Chan &amp; Naylor</a> national accounting firm. Ken’s experience lies in working with large publically listed multi-national companies, which gives Ken excellent insight into international market trends. Ken specialises in educating “mum and dad” property investors and small business owners with advice on wealth creation, asset protection, taxation, superannuation and compliance. Ken will also presenting at <a href="https://www.chan-naylor.com.au/shop/event/buying-property-with-your-smsf/" target="_blank">The Echoice Buying Property with your SMSF Workshop in Sydney</a>. Ken and other experts will talk about how to substantially improve your superannuation.
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kenraiss-JsVyb3YKka

Issues an investor needs to understand when buying property in a SMSF

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The RBA has waded into the affordability debate. This is one of the reasons I love the Reserve Bank of <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place>. Actually, truth be known, we have a bit of a “love-hate” relationship. 
On some days I am the bank’s firmest, and only, supporter; a case in point being the in equal parts flawed, jejune and disgraceful media and political criticisms of the compensation of top RBA executives, which I have repeatedly <a target="_blank" href="https://christopherjoye.blogspot.com/2011/09/knee-capping-aussie-central-banks">railed against</a>. 
On others the bank doubtless finds me rather frustrating, such as when I suggest that there is discord among its board, or that the RBA is failing to properly fulfil its financial stability duties by holding Australian banks to account on the unnecessary risks they occasionally expose taxpayers to. 
Today is one of those better moments in our union. Today I am able to objectively shower the bank with praise. Why? Because it has just released a historic <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2011/2011-03">study</a> with far-reaching consequences for our understanding of how <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place>’s $3.6 trillion housing market works, and, more significantly, what specific policy measures might be implemented to cut the cost of securing well-located shelter. 
On a more technical level, the study’s three authors — Mariano Kulish, Anthony Richards, who is head of the RBA’s economic analysis department, and Christian Gillitzer (hereafter “Richards et al”) — have furnished numerous theoretical, empirical and general policy insights into the impacts of changes in infrastructure investment, zoning ordinances, frictions in the supply of new dwellings, and population growth on house prices, urban densities, land prices, and a city’s size, among other things. 
Described differently, they have presented a range of “counterfactuals” that tell us what our big cities might look like were we to vary existing urban planning and infrastructure policies. 
Unsurprisingly, Richards et al find that the “supply-side” of <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place>’s housing market matters a great deal when it comes to determining housing costs. While I will discuss their individual results in a subsequent column, today it suffices to highlight their conclusion: 
“While demand-side factors, especially changes in the cost and availability of finance, have clearly been very important in explaining developments in the Australian housing market over the past two decades, our results lend support to other [supply-side] work pointing to the role of structural factors in influencing housing market outcomes. There is a growing body of international evidence on the role of supply-side constraints in limiting construction and driving up prices... The evidence for <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place> presented in Section 4 is also consistent with various supply-side aspects boosting the cost of housing." 
As a more personally interesting aside, Richards et al quite emphatically affirm (and cite) the arguments and analysis first tendered in my <a href="https://mrcltd.org.au/research/home-ownership/volume_1.pdf">2003 Menzies Research Centre report</a> on the demand- and supply-sides of Australia’s housing market, which was commissioned by the Prime Minister at the time. They also subtly overturn previous RBA orthodoxy on this hotly contested subject, which resisted my 2003 supply-side thesis in favour of demand-side explanations for changes in housing costs over time. 
I would submit that Richard et al’s contributions will emerge as the definitive body of work that future generations of policymakers will rely upon when trying to make the case for greater public infrastructure investment, higher urban densities, speedier approval processes, reduced rigidities on supply-side delivery, and when explaining how we can cost-effectively accommodate a larger population without automatically inflating prices. 
No other government agency could have unilaterally manufactured a study of this kind. No organisation has the human capital to yield unsolicited research of this quality in an area so far removed from its official mandate. No department would dare wade so directly and publicly into such a contentious policy realm without the imprimatur of its political masters. 
For the avoidance of doubt, the RBA is telling us that politicians across the country are culpable for the housing costs that prevail today. There are, furthermore, tractable policy solutions to the affordability problems that exist, but weak-willed officials have mostly avoided them. 
(One gripe I have is that the RBA does not approach the arguably more germane question of banking regulation with the same gusto. Where is the RBA-stimulated debate on the UK Vickers’ prescriptions, for example?) 
A question that naturally springs to mind is: why on earth did Australia’s central bank, which is ostensibly responsible for monetary policy, go to the trouble of publishing such time-consuming research on how to improve housing affordability?* The intellectual genesis of the Richards et al paper is, therefore, worth dwelling on. 
About a decade ago the RBA developed a finer appreciation for the hazardous linkages between asset prices, credit growth and financial instability. 
Itrecognised that rapid asset price appreciation could be both driven by, and insidiously feed back into, credit growth. That is, an economy could be struck by a period of interconnected asset price and credit growth that is divorced from more fundamental factors. 
One might describe this as an “asset price-credit spiral”, which is the financial stability analogue of the “wage-price” spirals that have traditionally given inflation-focused central bankers the willies. 
Crucially, if these cycles cause prices to move materially away from their intrinsic values, they can result in highly distorted consumption and investment decisions (e.g., overinvestment in risky — sub-prime — loans and assets like commercial and residential real estate), the eventual reversal of which — via the “bursting” of the so-called bubble — can have toxic implications for the health of the wider economy. 
Here I am talking about plummeting collateral values in concert with rocketing default rates crystallising catastrophic bank losses, which, at the limit, can precipitate institutional failures in the absence of substantial taxpayer support (such as government guarantees of bank deposits, which, in Australia, account for around 60% of total bank funding, and of wholesale bank debts, which make up the remainder). 
The RBA concluded that it may, as “a policy of least regret”, have to employ its very blunt interest rate instrument (both in terms of the direction and timing of its effects) against the more extreme iterations of these interwoven asset price and credit cycles in order to mitigate their serious risks. 
For the policy wonks out there, the “house view” on this subject is perhaps best encapsulated in <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2011/jun/8">this recent article</a> by eminent Columbia University Professor Frederic Mishkin, which was released in the RBA’s June Quarter Bulletin. 
With this background in mind, the Richards et al study is really about acknowledging the limitations of what the RBA’s monetary policies are actually capable of achieving. It is implicitly saying that the bank would very much like to avoid the socially and politically challenging exercise of hiking rates in a low inflation environment simply to throw sand in the wheels of asset price bubbles. It is about formally quantifying the very meaningful economic relationships that prevail between federal and state government policies on urban planning, land usage. and infrastructure investment, and the prices that consumers are ultimately compelled to pay in the housing market. It is all but leading the political horses to water in canvassing a menu of constructive policy solutions that could help build more productive, efficient and lower-cost urban environments in the decades to come. 
For this brave work, the RBA deserves its dues. 
*I was, in fact, made aware that this research was coming down the pipeline since RP Data-Rismark supplied much of the data used in it. I had also briefly discussed some of these issues with the authors given my previous work in the field.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and works with <a target="_blank" title="Rismark International" href="https://www.rismark.com.au/">Rismark International</a>. Rismark and RP Data provide house price analytics products, and solutions that enable investors to go long and/or short the housing market. The above article is not investment advice.
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chrisjoye-JYhJsTrNRC

RBA wades into affordability debate: Christopher Joye

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This Woolloomooloo motor mechanic workshop’s humble appearance belies its noteworthy company ownership.
Until last month the inner-city Sydney workshop – and a nearby warehouse – were within the real estate portfolio of the billionaire Lowy family’s international property conglomerate, the Westfield Holdings group.
The 215-square-metre workshop was sold for $1.3 million and the 400-square-metre two-level warehouse fetched $2,675,000 through Ray White Commercial Eastern Suburbs agents Grant Whiteman and Stephen McMorrow.
The Lowy family has a preference to hold onto its assets - the two properties were purchased in the early 1970s – the warehouse costing just $350,000 when bought through a company named Eastfield Pty Ltd.
Frank Lowy and John Saunders were the business partners, creating Westfield Development Corporation through the development of a shopping centre at Blacktown in Sydney's western suburbs.
Over 30 years, Lowy and Saunders developed shopping centres across Australia and the United States until Saunders sold his interests in 1987, and then the Lowy family expanded the company’s reach to New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Lowy and Saunders had built the company headquarters at 100 William Street, Sydney,  just around the corner from the two recently sold Woolloomooloo properties.
In the early 1970s the precinct was emerging as a development hotspot evidenced in 1972 when Sid Londish spent about $20 million buying Woolloomooloo terrace slums and proposed a $400 million redevelopment.
By 1974 after two years of green bans, Londish’s backers withdrew, forcing Londish’s company Regional Holdings to abandon the ambitious project.
Londish had an earlier association with Woolloomooloo with the Londish family's Woolloomooloo engineering workshop, which they closed two years after Prime Minister Robert Menzies scrapped the engineering depreciation allowance in 1950.
Westfield is due to vacate 100 William Street, East Sydney in the next 12 months to 18 months, with plans to move into new offices at its $2.68 billion Westfield Sydney complex on Pitt Street Mall.
Westfield's main lease in east Sydney expired at the end of June this year. 
Westfield Towers was sold to the Kah Motor Company in 1996 by the Commonwealth Funds Management for $31.98 million, adding to its $22 million purchase in 1993 of the Boulevard Hotel next door.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Lowy family makes $1.3 million in Woolloomooloo garage sale

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Bill Morris, principal the Midwood Report, has slammed both the federal government and the Queensland state government for not doing enough to support the state struggling tourism operators.
Speaking to Property Observer, he says funding efforts have been directed almost entirely at the booming mining sector despite 30% of Queensland’s 115,000 registered companies being in the tourism industry.
Morris says tourism operators deserve either a tax break or a GST rebate to compensate for the historically high Australian dollar.
According to the August Midwood Report, areas heavily dependent on overseas tourists have suffered big drops in revenue when comparing the March quarter of 2011 with the March quarter of 2010.
Accommodation takings for Whitsunday Island resorts are down 16% compared to the same time last year, while the Great Barrier Reef islands and adjacent mainland areas (including the likes of Port Douglas) are down 21% over this time period.
Gold Coast takings are down 4% while on the Sunshine Coast they are down 8%. Earnings in Cairns have dropped 1%.
Gold Coast visitor numbers were impacted heavily by the natural disasters of January and February this year as well as by the grounding of Tiger Airways and the general decline in overseas visitors to Australia.
<img src="/images/stories/queenslandtourism.gif">
In the March 2011 quarter the average occupancy rate for hotels, motels and serviced apartments combined was 66.9%, the lowest for over a decade.
While room rates increased by 1% compared with the previous corresponding period, further discounting is expected to impact the results for the next two quarters, the report warns.
The August Midwood report provides commentary on the Australian-Chinese tourism summits held in Cairns and Sydney in June and which will be followed up by a summit in January.
The summit highlighted that Queensland tourism remains heavily dependent on Chinese tourism with the state receiving around 42% of all Chinese visitors to Australia, but only 5% arriving directly.
As a consequence, the Midwood report calls for more direct air access from the Chinese mainland.
Despite the high Australian dollar and natural disasters, the Gold Coast experienced 10% growth in Chinese visitors. Brisbane welcomed 28% more Chinese visitors, with state figures up 25% for the year to June 2011.</body></html>

Queensland tourism industry needs government help: Midwood

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Debt is an essential component of A-REIT balance sheets. An A-REIT can increase its returns by employing debt secured against the value of its underlying real estate, a technique known as leverage or gearing. The effective management of debt is an essential skill in the effective management of an A-REIT.
Until the onset of the GFC, the use of gearing was stimulated by the relatively low cost and availability of debt capital, which enabled an increase in A-REIT earnings by acquiring positively geared property. However, excessive levels of gearing magnified the steep decline in asset values during the GFC.
In 2006, the A-REIT sector, as represented by the S&amp;P/ASX 300 A-REIT Index, was geared to 37%. This figure is now a more conservative 30%, lowered by a combination of asset sales and recapitalisation of balance sheets through the raising of new equity capital. The interest coverage ratio, or the ratio of income to interest payable on debt, has increased from 3.1 times in 2006 to a relatively healthy 3.9 times today, in line with the lower level of debt employed in the sector.
A-REITs tend to split their debt between fixed-rate and floating-rate facilities. The current average is 69% fixed, giving some degree of interest rate certainty. Much of this debt comes from the banking sector which holds about 50% of all A-REIT debt, public markets holding a further 40% and private lenders which holds the balance.
A-REITs range widely in their use of gearing. Goodman Group employs a gearing level of 36% while Westfield Group also carries relatively high gearing of 40%. Both these groups incorporate significant development operations. Others, such as GPT and Westfield Retail Trust, carry more conservative gearing of just 23% and 21% respectively.
Gearing must be appropriately structured and managed, and set in a portfolio that can sustain it. The consequences of excessive gearing can be disastrous, as demonstrated by A-REITs such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/industry-news/centro-says-it-must-restructure-or-fail/2011082951331">Centro, which crashed after being unable to refinance the debt it had amassed to fund acquisitions.</a>
Mark Wist is senior asset consultant at <a target="_blank" title="Atchison Consultants" href="https://www.atchison.com.au/">Atchison Consultants</a>.
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The place for debt in A-REITs

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The RBA has issued a series of charts that give insight into the Australian housing market.
The housing loans approvals chart indicates just how subdued the first-home buyers’ market has been ever since the end of the bonus boost that followed the global financial crisis.
<img src="/images/stories/rbaoct51.gif">
Investors don’t have much presence either.
The number of home upgraders didn’t slip as much as other market segments after the GFC, and appear to be keeping the listings ticking over with purchasers.
The next chart indicates how all the capital cities prices have eased over recent times, although Sydney and Canberra have been the most resilient.
<img src="/images/stories/rbaoct52.gif"> 
The next chart shows our net worth including dwellings, financial assets and liabilities.
 <img src="/images/stories/rbaoct53.gif">
The elephant in the room is household indebtedness.
<img src="/images/stories/rbaoct54.gif">
But we have been recently shown as capable of saving more. 
<img src="/images/stories/rbaoct55.gif">
Taking the five charts into account, overall you’d have to conclude we aren’t too badly off.
The full set of RBA charts is available on <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/chart-pack/household-sector" target="_blank">the RBA's website</a>.
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RBA charts show overall we're not too badly off

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At time of writing, the world has come through one of its greatest financial crises on record, and some say there is more to come. For now, we have landed at a place we have never really been before where, like the butterfly effect, our global markets respond instantly to murmurs being heard half a world away.
Technology is the culprit and also the reason why the outcome is so hard to determine. History is simply not repeating itself, and so we, as reluctant players in the drama, must strap ourselves in, hang on for the ride and hope that it comes to an end before we suffer any real damage.
Australia hasn’t been immune to the GFC, and property investors in some markets are feeling the pinch. While-ever we have such uncertainty around the economy, we can also never be sure about interest rates.
You may be using this uncertainty as an excuse not to invest. If your personal cash flows are truly that tight, then I would agree that now may not be the time. While I’m quite confident that rates won’t move too far, and while each interest rate movement can be somewhat offset by an additional tax deduction and probably even an increase in rent, I never recommend that anyone buy property if they are struggling financially.
If, on the other hand, you feel that you can manage through these unstable times, or you are an investor who currently owns property that has had a blow to its cash flow because of interest rate increases, here are some tips that may help.
Claim your deductions now
This is obvious to a lot of investors, but many people still like to wait till the end of the year to make their deductible claims so that they can get a lump sum of money back. This makes no sense. The Tax Office will not pay interest to you for the privilege of holding your money for the year.
You, on the other hand, can save interest by using the tax you can get back from your deductions to make additional repayments into your loan, offsetting interest and adding a small amount to your cash flows.
To do this, you have to obtain an Income Tax Withholding Variation (ITWV) form, from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). You can even download one of these from www.ato.gov.au. Using this form, you must estimate the income you are to receive from your property, the expenses you will have throughout the year, and also the amount of depreciation you will be able to claim on the building, fixtures, fittings and furniture. For those who have held their property for some time, this information is easy to obtain, especially if you have been diligent with tracking your expenses and income. Those who have only just purchased will need to obtain past figures from the agent, or make as close an estimation as they can.
Depreciation is easy – simply have a depreciation schedule prepared by a reputable quantity surveyor, and you will have the exact figures for each year, for the entire life of the allowable depreciation.
Once you have completed the form and lodged it, it will be assessed and your employer will be advised of how much to reduce your tax to be withheld. The amount will be based on how much you have already paid for the financial year, and so it is important that you complete a new form at the start of each financial year.
If you are worried that you will over- or under-estimate, and so incur a penalty from the tax office for doing so, don’t be. As long as you keep track of your income and expenses, you should be able to tell within around two months of the end of the financial year how close you have been. If you are more than 10 per cent out either way, there will still be time to lodge another form rectifying this, prior to the year coming to an end.
Receiving your tax breaks weekly in your pay could provide an extra $40 or $50 a week to you, and this could mean the difference between being able to manage the costs, or having to sell up.
Adding value
This is a method that I am not quick to recommend, as in many cases the cost to add value has no marked effect on the ability to increase rent. However, if you decide to explore this option, there are some things you must do. Firstly, work out exactly how you intend to add value, and establish if it is an action which is likely to impact on your yield. For example, a property in a tropical climate may be more in demand and command a higher rent return if you install an air conditioner, whereas such an improvement may mean little to someone who rents property in Melbourne or Adelaide. The   addition of a bedroom could be the solution if your property is in an area where people demand property with more bedrooms than you currently have, but where your property is typical of the average home and already satisfies demand nicely, it may not be worth it. Aesthetic enhancements such as gardens, new paint and carpets or an upgraded kitchen may add an appeal that brings more tenants, but may not impact greatly on how much they will pay.
Be guided by your property manager in this regard, and then do a cost benefit analysis. For example, a new kitchen may cost $10,000, which at 8.5% interest will cost an extra $850 a year in interest on your loan. You would need to achieve an extra $17 a week in rent to pay for this. Alternatively, an air conditioner may only cost $2,000, or $170 a year, but could add $10 to the weekly rent return of a property in far north Queensland, and additional tax breaks when you depreciate that air conditioner.
Remember, if you are a long-term property investor, you are not looking to add value to achieve a higher sales price – you are after more rent. While adding value may give you a higher valuation which allows you to leverage into more property, if cash flow is your problem today you are probably not in a position to buy more property anyway, and so the ability to increase value becomes a moot point for the short term.
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Increase rents and have shorter-term leases
This may sound like I am stating the obvious, but I often meet many investors who are either too busy to keep their eye on market rent, are relying on their property manager to suggest rental increases, or do not want to upset what they perceive as a good tenant by increasing the rent.
Many parts of Australia are in the midst of great pressure on rent returns. For some years now, values have increased in unprecedented amounts in many areas, and rental yields have been left behind. After a period of sustained values growth, rental yields will also follow and experience a wave of pressure. If you add to that our current housing affordability crisis, and our alarming undersupply of housing, a fact which is being exacerbated by the inability of developers to access funding to build, then it is clear that pretty soon, people will be almost fighting in the streets to rent a property. It is likely that the current rent you are asking on your property is already out of date and an increase is easily achievable.
In addition, under such circumstances, be sure to keep all of your leases short term, usually around six months only. During these times when there are more tenants available than properties to house them, it is crucial that you keep up with the market. Locking a tenant into a longer term lease, no matter how good you perceive them to be, will mean that you will miss out on the frequent opportunity to increase rents and so ease your own cash flow issues.
For those of you who feel a responsibility toward a good tenant who you have had for years, now is not the time to be overly benevolent. By all means, allow them some privileges, but don’t charge under-market rent. Times are tough and keeping rents so low that you experience cash flow problems could mean that it becomes a case of you or the tenant – and it will most likely be you.
There are a lot of good tenants around at the moment, and your job in this world is not to be worrying about cash flow management for your tenant.
Spend less
Start in your own back yard. Examine your budgets and see where you can make cuts. It is during tough economic times that those who stick with budgeting and investing become the most successful. In the olden days, where positive cash flow property was abundant, investing in property was easy.
You could buy anywhere and do well, and many properties were positive cash flow, meaning that you had no commitment from your own pocket. Now that the yields are down, property investing has once again become difficult and only those with a desire to get ahead will see the opportunities which presently abound.
If, on the other hand, your cash flow is so tight that you are not able to meet your current commitments, then it could be time to sell. Be aware that to do so you will need to have a reasonable expectation of what you can achieve as a sales price, and you will be exiting a market which many others are exiting at the same time. Selling will be difficult unless you are prepared to take a lower price than anyone else. If you do manage to sell, and you exit the investment with cash left over, use it to immediately reduce your other commitments, so the time at which you can reinvest comes sooner. Resist the temptation to reward yourself with a holiday or new car and make your commitment to achieve a better financial situation complete by minimising debt wherever possible.
For those determined to stay in the market, remember you may be now facing a temporary period of low cash flows on property and it is time for you to make some sacrifices if you wish to be successful over the long term.
Tighten your belt and increase your commitment to your future financial security. Do anything you can to avoid selling because the situation is already easing every day andyou do not want to look back and wish you had tried harder to hang on to an asset which may have one day provided a comfortable future for you.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel on Your Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. This article is an excerpt from her latest book, Investing In the Right Property Now. For more information about the book, <a target="_blank" title="Investing in the right property now" href="https://majorstreet.com.au/53/investing-in-the-right-proeprty-now/">click here</a>.
Margaret will be speaking at the <a href="https://www.homebuyershow.com.au/special-offers/property-observer-offer/" target="_blank">Melbourne Home Buyer and Property Investor Show</a>. For free tickets, <a href="https://www.homebuyershow.com.au/special-offers/property-observer-offer/" target="_blank">click </a><a href="https://www.homebuyershow.com.au/special-offers/property-observer-offer/" target="_blank">here</a>.
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