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.

&nbsp;

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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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Joel Robinson

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]

The Walden pairs house-scale living with North Sydney connectivity

The ACT will become the first jurisdiction in Australia to abolish stamp duty for all first home buyers, with no income caps and no property price thresholds from 1 July.

The move, announced as part of the ACT Budget, completes a key election commitment from the Barr Government and removes what Chief Minister Andrew Barr described as one of the biggest barriers to entering the housing market. The reform forms part of the ACT's long-running transition away from transaction taxes and towards a broader-based property tax system.

"This budget marks a major milestone in our long-term tax reform program," Barr said, adding that the government had maintained a sustained focus on removing barriers to home ownership. He said stamp duty had long been one of the largest upfront hurdles facing buyers and that from July, "that barrier is gone" for first home buyers in the Territory.

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The changes come alongside a range of measures designed to encourage new housing supply, including support for the delivery of so-called "missing middle" housing such as terraces, townhouses and low-rise multi-unit developments.

The announcement has renewed debate around whether the ACT's approach could provide a blueprint for improving housing affordability nationally.

New research from OurTop10.com.au, conducted by Primara Research, suggests the Territory's decade-long reform agenda has produced outcomes unmatched elsewhere in Australia.

While stamp duty costs have increased by an average 67 per cent nationally over the past decade, the ACT has recorded growth of just 15 per cent, the lowest increase of any jurisdiction.

The Territory has also emerged as one of the strongest performers on housing delivery. Based on population-weighted housing targets, the ACT is sitting less than one per cent behind its target. Victoria is the next closest at seven per cent behind, while the national average sits 25 per cent below target. New South Wales is tracking 39 per cent behind.

The latest reform removes one of the final barriers facing first home buyers in Canberra.

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The average Australian home buyer currently pays $61,714 in stamp duty. In the ACT, that figure is $38,399 despite the Territory having the third-highest median house price in the country.

Until now, the ACT's first home buyer concession scheme only applied to purchases up to $1.02 million, around $51,000 below Canberra's median house price of $1.071 million. In practical terms, many first home buyers were unable to access the median-priced home without losing the concession.

From July, those restrictions disappear.

Every first home buyer in the ACT will pay no stamp duty, regardless of income or purchase price.

Canberra remains one of Australia's most expensive housing markets, with dwelling values increasing 82 per cent over the past decade. However, that growth ranks only 11th among Australia's 15 major housing markets, suggesting affordability pressures have been less severe than in many other parts of the country.

Simon Ma, CEO of OurTop10.com.au, said the latest reforms recognise that many first home buyers have simply outgrown thresholds set years ago.

"Many first home buyers aren't just looking for a way onto the ladder, they want a home their family can actually live in," Ma said.

"In a market where the median house price is over a million dollars, a concession scheme that cuts out at $1.02 million was never going to get them there.

"Removing the ceiling entirely means ACT first home buyers can now pursue the home they actually want, rather than limiting themselves to a price point designed for a very different market."

Whether other states follow remains to be seen. But at a time when most jurisdictions are struggling to improve affordability while also increasing housing supply, the ACT has quietly become the national test case for both.

15% stamp duty growth. Just 1% off the national housing target. Zero stamp duty for FHBs. Is the ACT the blueprint for the great Australian dream?

ACT abolishes stamp duty for first home buyers

A rooftop pool and spa overlooking the Brisbane CBD, private dining spaces, expansive landscaped gardens and a residents' lounge are set to crown <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/callista-on-park-west-end-49-mollison-street-west-end-qld-4101">Callista on Park</a>, the final residential building within Brisbane's West Village precinct.

The rooftop amenity collection has been designed as an extension of the lifestyle already established throughout West Village, providing residents with a series of indoor and outdoor spaces that capitalise on the building's elevated position above West End.

A swimming pool and heated spa form the centrepiece of the rooftop offering, surrounded by landscaped gardens developed through a collaboration between developer Sekisui House and ASPECT Studios. The design incorporates expansive lawn areas surrounded by English garden-inspired planting.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134800 project_image_fid=370648]

Residents will also have access to two barbecue and outdoor dining areas positioned to take advantage of views across Brisbane's skyline, neighbouring Mollison Park, and the surrounding inner-city landscape.

For larger gatherings, the rooftop includes a private dining room centred around a substantial stone island bench, complete with a full kitchen and a 10-seat dining table set beneath four-metre-high ceilings. The space has been designed to overlook both the rooftop gardens and the Brisbane CBD skyline.

A separate residents' lounge provides an additional indoor retreat connected to the broader rooftop amenity offering, creating another space for residents to work, relax or entertain guests.

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The attention to detail extends beyond the rooftop.

Upon arrival, residents will enter through a lobby featuring a bespoke ceiling light installation developed in collaboration between Sekisui House and Alcorn Middleton Architecture. The arrival experience is complemented by private resident mailboxes and carefully considered interior finishes designed to reflect the premium positioning of the building.

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The amenity offering forms part of Callista on Park, the final residential release within the decade-long transformation of the former Peters Ice Cream Factory site into West Village, one of Brisbane's most established mixed-use communities.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> and being delivered by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/hutchinson-builders">Hutchinson Builders</a>, Callista represents the most premium residential offering within the masterplanned precinct.

Construction is now entering its final stages, with scaffolding beginning to come down and completion expected in the first quarter of 2027.

Prices for the three-bedroom plus MPR apartments start from just over $2.6 million.

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Callista will mark the final opportunity to purchase within West Village, where residents have direct access to more than 35 retail, dining, wellness and medical operators including Harris Farm Markets, Woolworths, Function Well and Goodlife Health Clubs, Metro Arts, and a growing collection of restaurants and cafés.

Located just 800 metres from the Brisbane CBD, the precinct also places residents within walking distance of South Bank, West End's dining scene, riverfront parklands and major public transport connections.

For Sekisui House, which has delivered more than two million homes globally, Callista serves as the concluding piece of the West Village masterplan, bringing together the precinct's heritage character, parkland setting and emphasis on walkability in a final collection of larger-format residences.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134800]

Rooftop pool, private dining and skyline gardens to crown West Village's final apartment release, Callista on Park

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/wahroonga-nsw-2076">Wahroonga</a>’s enduring appeal has long been tied to its balance of bushland, established amenity, and access to some of Sydney’s most respected education and healthcare institutions.

Along Fox Valley Road, that combination is becoming increasingly sought after by buyers looking to remain connected to the Upper North Shore lifestyle while prioritising walkability, wellbeing, and convenience.

Developer Capital Corporation's initial vision of a 62-hectare site on Fox Valley Road was that they could create their own walkable community, bordered by&nbsp;more than 25 hectares of bushland and adjoining Coups Creek.

<img alt="Wahroonga" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b84917a1-0d75-49b9-888c-ddf7ebfd6692" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/NEW2026_Wahroonga_Walkway.gif?VersionId=Gk3_xi5ssYfalmwuQQ5umQakddceC31j" />

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-residences-at-wahroonga-estate-169-fox-valley-road-wahroonga-nsw-2076">The Residences at Wahroonga Estate</a> draws directly on the area’s natural landscape, with walking trails and green corridors linking into sections of Lane Cove National Park. The surrounding network of bushwalks, cycling tracks, and reserves reinforces the suburb’s long-standing reputation as one of Sydney’s most nature-oriented residential pockets, while still maintaining close ties to village retail and transport infrastructure.

The address places residents within minutes of Wahroonga and Turramurra villages, where cafés, local grocers, boutiques, and everyday services support a highly localised lifestyle. Popular nearby venues including The Fox Café and Breeze Valley Café provide easy options for morning coffee or casual dining, while longstanding retailers such as IGA Wahroonga Fresh and Novella Fine Books continue to anchor the area’s village character.

&nbsp;

<img alt="Wahroonga" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c4a950f7-4f05-4370-b360-b106359788e5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/2026_Wahroonga_Entry_Gates.gif?VersionId=7n5kh9ymu.azYEYDemJkPgiIAfSw44oj" />

Healthcare access remains one of the defining locational advantages of the estate. Sydney Adventist Hospital, known locally as The San, sits directly adjacent and is one of the largest and most respected private hospitals in New South Wales. The hospital precinct incorporates specialist medical services, radiology, physiotherapy, and outpatient care, contributing to growing buyer demand from downsizers and owner-occupiers seeking long-term convenience and peace of mind.

Research commissioned by Capital Corporation found that health and wellbeing considerations are increasingly influencing downsizing decisions, particularly among buyers wanting to remain within familiar neighbourhoods while accessing medical infrastructure more easily.

Education has also historically underpinned demand across Wahroonga and the broader Upper North Shore. The estate sits close to several of Sydney’s leading private and independent schools, including Knox Grammar, Abbotsleigh, Barker College, Pymble Ladies’ College, Ravenswood School for Girls, and Loreto Normanhurst. Co-educational options including Wahroonga Adventist School and Sydney Adventist School further strengthen the area’s appeal to established families looking for long-term schooling pathways within a tightly held catchment.

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Transport connectivity supports the suburb’s liveability without compromising its quieter residential character. Wahroonga and Turramurra train stations provide direct rail access into the Sydney CBD, while the nearby Pacific Highway and M1 motorway strengthen links across the North Shore and broader metropolitan area. At the same time, the heavily treed streetscape and low-density character continue to distinguish the precinct from more urbanised parts of Sydney.

The Residences at Wahroonga Estate forms the first stage of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/capital-corporation">Capital Corporation</a>’s broader masterplanned vision for the precinct, delivered alongside the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135247 project_image_fid=364995]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/group-gsa">GroupGSA</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/coco-republic-interior-design">Coco Republic</a>, the development integrates landscaped communal spaces including a pet-friendly Green Spine, resident lounge, BBQ pavilion, and direct bushland access, reinforcing the project’s focus on outdoor connection and community-based living.

Now under construction by Gold Star iCIRT-rated builder <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/dasco-australia">DASCO</a>, The Residences at Wahroonga Estate will deliver a collection of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments priced from $990,000, with completion anticipated in 2027.

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Capital Corporation to cater to Upper North Shore downsizers by creating walkable community at The Residences at Wahroonga Estate

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>

&nbsp;

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?

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

Mortgage relief? NAB forecasts RBA rate cut, not hike, after softer economic conditions

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Every time the Australian economy delivers a lacklustre growth data just like clockwork we start hearing that we can expect another correction in real estate prices as we are now fast tracking an inevitable recession – all a distinct possibility.
How quickly some forget that Australia has now successfully completed a record 24 years of consecutive economic growth. As is the case in Australia where real wages are down this is a global problem where I foresee that the household sector will struggle with the declining weak wage results. This is further evident with the data release this week identifying GDP growth for 2014/15 came in at 2.4% and nominal GDP growth at 1.8% for the 2014/15 financial year, which is the weakest growth in nominal GDP since 1961/62.
As a result of the wages decline what is even more alarming is when one examines stock levels we are witnessing the lowest ever levels despite a record low cash rate. For example, Mosman has 5,890 houses with just 63 on the market today which represents 1.069% of properties on the market and which is also quite common for the vast majority of Sydney suburbs.
Too many are sugar – coating the Sydney property market by focusing on the Sydney median house price, which keeps increasing, and not looking at the grass – roots property market by analysing individual niche market performances which paints an entirely different proposition. When you have individual property markets posting record low stock levels it’s hardly likely we will see significant price growth which is exactly what we are seeing today.
The reality being in Mosman is that presently we have 1.069% of vendors on the market with the remaining 98.931% of property owners not wanting to sell despite a record low cash rate that will almost certainly go lower in 2016. Much of the problem relates solely to job security where individual households are refusing to take on more debt which then has the markets flatlining.
Going on past market corrections which were brought about by unprecedented high turnover of properties by households which has not been the case in the majority of instances. We have seen unusual high turnover of properties by investors to the extent that we are now seeing parity being reached between tenants and investors in terms of rent. That’s good news for those renting given it appears that rental growth has peaked in Sydney where in some cases we are now seeing an oversupply of properties for rent.
This is a positive for the economy given the general rule of thumb is one – third rent, the next third own with a mortgage and the final third own with no mortgage. So it appears now that the Sydney investor market has peaked and we can now expect to see some tapering of prices as investors chase new market opportunities. Brisbane is the stand – out so we expect to see investors jumping all over that market from here on. In the perfect property world this is exactly how investor machinations should operate with Sydney and Melbourne peaking and entering re – calibration mode.
Another interesting thing to look out for is the Sydney vacancy rate which we expect to see grow significantly given the enormous investor movements across Sydney. We can also expect to see some investors flipping investment properties by taking their profits and then re – investing in the new growth markets where depending on when they bought into the market there have been very strong capital appreciation generated.
When the Australian economy produces a poor report card this then forces our elected politicians to concentrate on the much needed reforms that must be implemented as we are now twelve months out from the next Federal Election.
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 80
• Number of houses on the market last week – 65
• Number of houses on the market this week – 66
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 61
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 42
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 49
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 5
• Number of houses on the market last week – 4
• Number of houses on the market this week – 4
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 15
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 18
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 19
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 10
• Number of houses on the market last week – 2
•Number of houses on the market this week – 5
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 29
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 30
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 35
For this week’s sales in Cremorne real estate, Cremorne Point real estate, Mosman real estate, Beauty Point real estate, Clifton Gardens real estate, Balmoral real estate, Neutral Bay real estate, Cammeray real estate.
ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985.  He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000. 
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Why property markets just got a lot more interesting: Robert Simeon

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Across Australia’s combined capital cities, the final auction clearance rate was 73.2% last week, remaining virtually unchanged from the 73.4% over the previous week. 
The first week of spring resulted in 2,297 auctions being held across the combined capital cities, which was 21% higher than one year ago. This week, auction volumes are expected to increase further, with CoreLogic RP Data currently tracking 2,659 auctions, which is, again, significantly higher than one year ago (2,080).
Melbourne and Sydney will collectively host more than 2,200 auctions this week, with 1,180 Melbourne properties scheduled to go under the hammer and 1,084 in Sydney. Melbourne’s clearance rate fell to 75.1% last week, while across Sydney 76.9% of reported auctions were successful, while indicates an improvement on a week on week basis, but is lower than one year ago (80.1%).
All cities are expecting more auctions this week when compared to last week, while across Tasmania auctions volumes will remain steady, with 7 scheduled. The most substantial rise in scheduled auctions will be across Brisbane, up from 130 last week to 185 this week and Canberra 77 this week compared to 52 last week.
Adelaide has 91 auctions scheduled this week, while Perth has 36, both of which are similar to the same time last year.
The top three suburbs for the highest volume of auctions this week are all located in Victoria; Bentleigh East (20), Reservoir (19) and Richmond (18).
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Capital city clearance rates hold steady: CoreLogic RP Data's Shana Miller

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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released housing finance data for July 2015 earlier this week.
Throughout July, there was $32.8 billion worth of housing finance commitments. This figure was comprised of $19.2 billion worth of commitments to owner occupiers and $13.6 billion in commitments to investors. Over the month, the total value of housing finance commitments increased by 1.5% to be 15.0% higher year-on-year.
<a href="/images/2015/09/10/Chart-11.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/09/10/Chart-11.jpg" alt=""> 
At $19.2 billion, owner occupier housing finance commitments increased by 2.2% over the month and were 13.9% higher year-on-year. Breaking the $19.2 billion into its components: $1.6 billion was for construction of dwellings, $1.1 billion was for the purchase of new dwellings, $6.2 billion was for refinances of established dwellings and $10.2 billion was for the purchase of established dwellings. Over the month, commitments for the construction of dwellings fell -1.5%, purchase of new dwellings rose 8.4%, refinances rose 3.3% and purchase of established dwellings rose 1.5%.  
Over the past 12 months the refinance segment has been the key driver of growth in the owner occupier lending segment with commitments up 23.7%. In comparison, year-on-year changes have been recorded at -7.6% for construction of dwellings, 15.4% for purchase of new dwellings and 12.6% for purchase of established dwellings. Recently growth in the owner occupier lending segment has been lacklustre, driven largely by refinances however, the 13.9% year-on-year rise in owner occupier housing finance commitments excluding refinances is the largest rise since February 2014.
 
<a href="/images/2015/09/10/Chart-21.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/09/10/Chart-21.jpg" alt="">
Turning to the investment segment of housing finance commitments, this has over recent years been a significant driver of new demand. In July 2015, investor housing finance commitments rose by 0.5% to be 16.5% higher year-on-year. If we look at the $13.6 billion in investment housing commitments across its components, $1.1 billion was for construction of new investment dwellings and $12.5 billion was for established homes. 
Over the month, commitments for new construction rose 11.7% compared to a -0.4% fall in commitments for established homes. Year-on-year investor commitments for construction of new dwellings has increased by 81.5% compared to a 12.9% rise in the much larger segment for purchase of established investment homes.  The chart above shows the recent weakness in commitments for established homes and the ongoing rise in commitments for new construction.
It seems that there is a growing appetite for investment in off-the plan investment properties while demand for established investment stock is waning a little.  Despite the monthly rise in demand for investment lending, the rate of growth has started to ease as Australian authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) tweak their lending policies in line with policy updates from APRA aimed at slowing growth in the pace of total investor housing credit.
Housing credit data for July 2015 showed that growth in owner occupier credit is ramping up while investor credit demand is potentially slowing. This release of housing finance data appears to support that notion. The ADIs will be hoping that they can entice additional activity from the owner occupier segment over the coming months as there is likely to be a slowdown in lending to the investment segment.
Housing finance data is continuing to rise however, it appears that growth is starting to tilt away from investors towards the owner occupier segment. Although regulators such as the Reserve Bank and APRA will be glad to see that exuberance from investment borrowers may be slowing, they will be very keen to monitor and ensure that any pick-up from owner occupier borrowers is not as a result of a relaxing of lending standards.
Both the housing credit and housing finance data will be closely monitored over the coming months in order to see if this transition continues. Specifically we will be watching whether housing credit can continue to increase its rate of growth and if new commitments continue to tilt away from investors towards owner occupiers and what impact that may have on housing finance demand.
Cameron Kusher is research analyst for CoreLogic RP Data. You can contact him <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/cameron-kusher/" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Housing finance commitments rise in July: Cameron Kusher

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Some of you may remember a television advertisement that appeared many years ago that went like this – “So you think you’re a good driver? Try this quick quiz.”
In many ways this applies to the real estate industry and what some of us apply to working out just where our markets are headed. Just like a motor vehicle we constantly check the fuel gauge to see how much fuel is in the tank.
You can’t rely on many of the commentators given at best their analysis is weak and lacks clarity and confirmation, given a large proportion is at best guess work. So how do some real estate agents try to better understand how and where the market is headed? Simply we go straight to a major information data source that being the dominant home loan companies who finance the property markets.
This week, I spoke with Alex Nochar who is Managing Director of Shore Financial who are one of the biggest lenders in our market demographic. First question – how many millions of dollars of housing loans do you presently have on your books that are pre – approved and actively looking to buy? The answer just over $270 million. Second question – what is the pre – approved value for Mosman and the adjoining areas? That number is just over $80 million.
That does not include the many applications that are awaiting approval and being processed although what we do take from this is that this is just one individual lender and does not include the big banks and or private banks. We will be attempting in coming weeks to find out just how many millions of dollars there are in pre – approved loans for Mosman real estate.
This tells us that there is still plenty of growth in our markets although it is quite surprising that one never hears of this method of better understanding our property markets. Can you imagine what the figure would be for the total Sydney area and how interesting this would be if the total numbers for each real estate demographic market were published on a weekly basis?
There is no clear patterns emerging across Sydney given some are experiencing strong stock levels and many others weak stock levels. For example, over the last four years we are seeing housing stock numbers declining in Mosman. This week there are 56 houses on the market, this time last years there were 65 houses on the market, the same week in 2013 there were 77 houses on the market and the same week in 2012 there were 120 houses on the market. In 2012 Mosman recorded 33 weeks with more than one hundred houses on the market. In 2015 it is looking like we won’t crack one hundred houses on the market once – the highest number this year so far has been 84 back in March.
With interest we should be watching the stock market in China which has lost approximately 40 per cent in the last three months, where when we see stock market corrections money is then diverted into real estate. The latest Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) annual report showed that the total value of investment proposals in 2013/14 soared to $167.4 billion which is an increase of 23.4 per cent. No surprises to note that China is now the biggest player foreign based buyer of Australian real estate with foreign investment in commercial and residential real estate doubling from $37.5 billion to $74.6 billion.
Recently a research paper was released that Chinese purchases totaled just 2 per cent of all transactions in 2014 according to data from the FIRB. Well that’s interesting although the real story is what the Australian Taxation Office reveals once they have completed their forensic investigation into illegal overseas acquisitions. Those who acquired property illegally have until 1 November 2015 to come forward and avoid prosecution. It will be very interesting to see how many are prosecuted and the numbers of apartments and houses that come back onto the market. I’m predicting that this number will be significant and illegal purchases will be much higher than first envisaged. Watch this space!
I wouldn’t be overly concerned with the recent use of that ‘recession’ word given it’s hard to see this happening anytime soon. We know that to technically be in recession the next two quarters in real GDP will need to return two quarters of negative growth in GDP. The next quarter’s GDP results are out on December 2 and the next on March 2 – so let’s wait until then before we start using that “R” word.
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 65
• Number of houses on the market last week – 66
• Number of houses on the market this week – 56
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 47
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 47
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 49
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year –10
• Number of houses on the market last week – 4
• Number of houses on the market this week – 6
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 15
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 19
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 20
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 7
• Number of houses on the market last week – 5
•Number of houses on the market this week – 2
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 33
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 35
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 37
 
ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985.  He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000. 
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Property markets need more truth, less dare: Robert Simeon

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We receive lots of calls from property investors wanting to talk to us about developing. 
During our initial chat we discuss their goals and achievements to date with property. Usually we find that most people have at least one investment property, some have several. Some have built a house before but most haven’t. Then we discuss what property developing is like as an experience to see if they think it may suit them.
Property developing is not for everyone and I’ve found that you need to be somewhat flexible, have an open mind and be fairly non-controlling and decisive.  Without going into a Carl Jung type personality and psychological analysis, it can be hard to determine if a person is ready to embark on a development. But having entrepreneurial traits will help as things won’t always go to plan.
A good starting point is to ask yourself these questions: 
<ul>
<li>Do I understand what needs to be done?</li>
<li>Can I do what’s got to be done?</li>
<li>Do I have the necessary skills, resources, time, and team support?</li>
<li>Can I handle risk?</li>
<li>Can I create real value?</li>
</ul>
Property Bloom has managed many property developments over the years and as we've progressed, we’ve continually refined our process – with every development comes a new learning and we use this experience to improve what we do.  By doing this we’ve been able to save time, money and reduce a lot of the risk. 
Here's an example. The other day we reviewing plans for one of our projects and focussed turned to  the roof. We came up with a great look using various gables to break up the roof line.
Generally speaking, the more detail in the roof design, the more interesting but also the more expensive. We worked out if we used a more simple hip roof, the saving on trusses and roofing materials was substantial. We looked at a design with the hip roof and decided the money was best saved. The saving could be used in other areas that would actually add value like ducted air conditioning for instance.
If you are embarking on a development, due diligence is key. Find areas where there’s good demand and growth indicators with good infrastructure investment taking place.  This can indicate planned growth for the area. Then closely track what’s happening in the locations – fundamental research is just as, if not more important as statistical research to us.
Project managing your development involves dynamic relationships between several different parties. Building established and trusted relationships takes time. Your builder will be one of the most important people on your team so ensure they are efficient and build to the highest of standards. You should work closely with them to ensure all is running to schedule.
So if you find you are not set up to develop property and need a helping hand, then consider engaging a project manager who can help mitigate risk by using their tested methods, understanding of the cities and their suburbs they develop in, that can source good development sites and have a team of people  ready to get your development off the ground. Perhaps with a positive development experience under your belt, you'll be ready to tackle the next on your own.
Jo Chivers is chief executive officer of property development project managers <a href="https://www.propertybloom.com.au/about" target="_blank">Property Bloom</a>.
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Are you ready to be a property developer? Jo Chivers

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Let’s assume for a moment that the people raging about the alleged affordability crisis actually care about the issue and want to see solutions.
I say that because much of it is grandstanding by attention-seekers who really don’t give a damn.
The problem they face is that they’re never going to find a remedy, one that actually works, until they identify the real problems. 
So far the debate, for want of a better word, has focused on fighting phantoms. Everyone, it seems, has their pet theories about who’s to blame and is filling up the airways with angry demands that the culprits be dealt with. 
The problem is, no one can agree on who the villains really are.
Recently we had former federal minister and previous NSW premier, Bob Carr, stridently declaring that rising prices were all caused by migrants flooding into Australia. Apparently these people have more money than sense and rampage around our major cities paying way too much for houses, thereby pushing prices beyond the reach of our kiddies.
But the current Federal Government, after two long and expensive parliamentary inquiries into the affordability smokescreen, somehow came to the belief that it was all caused by foreign investors buying mansions when they’re supposed to be buying new dwellings. With appropriate sabre-rattling, the feds declared they were going to clamp down on the dastardly aliens, thereby creating a level playing field, thereby making homes cheaper for our kiddies, therefore affordability fixed. 
So they jolly well forced a handful of foreign buyers to sell back their mansions. There you go, problem solved. Houses cheaper right across Australia. 
Meanwhile, federal Labor has popped up and postulated that it’s not the fault of overseas migrants, despite one of their own declaring that it was, nor the fault of foreign investors breaking the rules. Labor has mandated that it’s the fault of our home-grown investors – not all of them mind you, just the ones who claim negative gearing tax benefits.
So Labor claims it can fix the (Sydney) affordability problem by removing the right to claim negative gearing tax benefits, except for new properties.
There are a few others, including a couple of obscure university activists who published a paper recently, who adhere to the theology that declares negative gearing the source of all evil in real estate, notwithstanding the laughable illogic of their arguments. 
Labor is also part of the camp, which is also populated by economists, that believes it’s the so-called capital gains concession that drives investors beyond reason to paying silly prices for things. 
But there’s yet another school of thought out there, often put forward by economists who think they know more about real estate than they actually do. They claim that it’s grants and stamp duty concessions given to first-home buyers that have forced up house prices, by empowering youngsters who would not otherwise be competing in the market. One sub-theory is that the price of houses rises by the amount of the government grant. 
So take your pick. According to various schools of thought, all of them expounded vehemently by zealots totally convinced of their validity, the villains who force up house prices are:- 
(1)  migrants,
(2)  foreign investors,
(3)  negatively-geared Australian investors,
(4)  all investors who benefit from the CGT concession, or
(5)  first-time buyers bolstered by government grants and stamp duty concessions. 
So who’s right? The answer, sadly, is: none of them! They’re all wrong!
And this is why there will never be any realistic solution to the alleged affordability crisis. Everyone who appears to care is out there chasing phantom targets.
You can’t devise a cure if you’ve mis-diagnosed the illness. 
The buying sector most responsible for prices rising over time is never mentioned in the “debate”. This buying sector is the biggest influence of housing markets because they’re the biggest in number - and they have both the financial capacity and the motivation to pay high prices to secure the homes they want.
They’re home-buyers other than first-time buyers – the next-time buyers. People relocating, upgrading, moving onward and upward. People who have owned homes for years and are seeking to move to bigger and better ones, armed with a strong financial position. 
The problem for those all worked up about affordability (which, essentially, is a Sydney issue, not a national one) is that it’s very hard to nobble them. They don’t receive government grants, they don’t claim negative gearing and they don’t pay CGT so they can’t benefit from the so-called concession. 
To show you what I mean, let’s examine some statistics about market share, as revealed by the NAB quarterly surveys.
Foreign investors, an easy target for politicians wanting to blame an unpopular minority with no political cost, are about 8 percent of buyers of established property.
Australian investors comprise 28 percent of buyers and first-time home buyers are 20 percent. 
The remainder of the market, around 43 percent of it, are those people who never get discussed in the “why prices rise” debate, the next-time buyers.
Given that foreign investors are only 8 percent of the market, it’s unreasonable to blame them for prices rising. You might well ask: what about the other 92 percent?
ATO data shows that a lot of Australian investors don’t claim negative-gearing tax deductions, as many own properties where the rent covers all costs. I am one of them.
My estimate is that about 15 percent of the market comprises negatively-geared Australian investors. According to Labor leader Bill Shorten, in his announcement of his tax policy, those 15 percent are solely responsible for all price rises over the past 30 years. If he truly believes that, he’s an idiot. Again you might well ask: but what about the other 85 percent? 
It’s not just about numbers of people in the market. It’s also about financial capacity and motivation. 
First-home buyers, with or without state government grants (only available now on new properties), are relatively few in number and are constrained by their tight budgets. They don’t pay silly prices for homes. 
Investors are a little more numerous but are still very much in the minority. And they are highly motivated to buy at the lowest possible prices. For investors, it’s all about the numbers, not about falling in love with a single property they just have to have. If they can’t get it at a price that stacks up as an investment, most will walk away – because there are a hundred others just around the corner. 
That leaves that anonymous bunch of people we call the next-time buyers. They’re remarkable for their ability to fly under the radar of media debate. No one ever talks about them. But they’re the most influential part of the market, by a wide margin. 
They’re not half the buying market, but they’re close to it. Because they’ve owned property for a while and built up equity, they’re financially strong. And they’re aspirational, so they’re highly motivated and will often pay whatever it takes (within reason, mostly) to secure that one property they must have.
They’re the sneaky bastards who force prices to rise. And there’s almost nothing politicians can do to stop them.
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Housing affordability debate focused on fighting phantoms: Terry Ryder

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Dear Margaret,
I bought an investment property in 2010 and was rented for 3 years before my family moved in. We are still residing at the said property.
My question is: If I sell the property, will I pay capital gains tax? I have read that if you bought an investment property but lived in it within the first six years, you are exempted.
Can you please explain this further?
Thanks a lot.
Maria
 
Hi Maria,
Capital Gains tax is very misunderstood, and the 6- year exemption even more so.  Many think, as do you, that you can live in a property sometime in that first 6 years to stop capital gains tax from accruing.  Others believe that you only have to move into an investment property for a while before you sell it in order to render it free from capital gains tax.
The tax office is not about to  let you off that easily!  Here are some important basics to know about Capital Gains tax: 
1.       Your own home is capital gains tax free as long as you are living in it.
2.       If you move out of your family home and rent it out, you can have a capital gains tax exemption for up to 6 years from the day you move out.  The conditions for this are that you don’t have another property which becomes your principal place of residence (as you can only have one exemption at a time) and you either move back into it, or sell it within that six years. This might apply if you moved elsewhere and rented with the intention of moving back some day.
3.       If your absence is longer than the 6 years you will have only a partial exemption for the six years.
4.       A property bought for the purposes of earning an income accrues capital gains tax from the moment you buy it.
5.       If you move into the property and it becomes your principal place of residence, then you still have a pro-rated capital gains tax liability for the time that it was a rental.  The purchase price will be your cost base, and the gain will be established from the sale price, and then pro- rated for days rented/days not rented. There are a range of adjustments which can be made to these figures, but they are many and you should check with your accountant to find out what they are. 
Moving into a former investment property cannot wipe your capital gains tax obligations in any circumstance. Equally if you move out of a family home and buy another one to live in, you must decide which property you want your principal place of residence exemption on – the former home or the new home.  If it is the former home, the new home you live in will attract CGT.  There are additional rules, such as the 6 month overlap rule – but this is where it gets complex and where advice from an accountant is paramount.
 
Have a property question?         <a href="mailto:news@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">Ask Margaret!</a>
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mlomas-KC9MUPZ6Ca

What's my capital gains tax on an investment property? Ask Margaret

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<div>The Labor Party's Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen had pledged to limit negative gearing to new properties only from 1 July 2017 in order to save the federal budget a highly questionable $32.1 billion over a decade. This always sounded suspect based upon my day-to-day experience in the market given that the overwhelming majority of property investors are only making at worst moderate net rental losses these days. Yes, investors have been considerably more active recently due to prevailing low interest rates, but remember the ratio of stock versus flow, while new investors have been generally able to borrow money at around just 4 percent, or somewhere close to it.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Unfortunately as I expected it transpires that the ALP have botched their numbers, and Labor will accordingly cop a good deal of heat on this point from the Coalition. Net rental losses halved
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The latest Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Taxation Statistics to 2013-14 show that the potential budget impact of negative gearing to taxpayers has crumbled by well over 50 per cent in only two years (and by considerably more from the peak), and of course there will be more declines to come for at least the next two tax years as well. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It is no shock to me to discover that net rental deductions have fallen by more than half in the two tax years to 2013-14, from $7.9 billion to just $3.7 billion. And recall that the cash rate has been cut several times further since 1 July 2013, from 2.75 per to only 2 percent, so there are yet further declines to net rental losses in the post. The latest statistics for financial year 2013-14 show that just under 1 million or exactly 60 percent of those claiming net rental losses have a taxable income of less than $80,000 (thereby paying tax at a highest marginal rate of only 32.5 percent or lower), while only 133,307 or 8 percent of those claiming are paying tax at the highest marginal rate. It is true to a point that middle aged and slightly older Aussies tend to negatively gear property around their peak earning years. This rings true from my experience and the experiences of my peers - none of us owned rental properties as students, or indeed for some time after that as we paid off student debts and saved initial deposits, but plenty do now we are in our late thirties. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Given that taxpayers across all taxable income brackets use negative gearing, after tax-effecting net rental losses of only $3.7 billion in financial year 2014 it is clear that as things stand such a move to limit negative gearing to new dwellings prospectively could only save a fraction of the amount claimed from the federal budget.</div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/21/NG.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/03/21/NG.jpg" alt="">
<div> </div>
<div>Remember that Labor is not proposing to scrap negative gearing, rather to grandfather existing arrangements and limit negative gearing to new dwellings. With a record 776,672 earning a profit for their rental properities, the total cost of negatively geared properties only fell by 12.5 percent to a four year low of $10.9 billion. And given that negative gearing losses are carried forward and taxes levied at a future date - or upon eventual sale in event of a capital gain - net rental losses are a timing difference only and the ALP projections are exposed as too optimistic. Further declines in the post  Realistically, then, the projected $32.1 billion of savings could only feasibly come from cranking up the rate of capital gains tax, itself a crappy tax - an inefficient tax insincerely marketed as a "discount", although in the case of property it is actually levied on top of fairly vicious stamp duties as well as rates/land taxes etc. Total capital gains reported by taxpayaers increased by 37 percent to $34.4 billion, largely thanks to fewer loss making transacions as the financial crisis fades into the rear-view mirror. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It is worth noting in passing that moves to restrict property investor activity and therefore lending would also result in lost levies from stamp duties and reduced company taxes on bank earnings, as well as putting downward pressure on superannuation balances via lower share prices.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>If this sounds harsh on Labor, recall that they were actually in government until 2013, so where were the sweeping policy changes then? Ironically, the ALP was in power for a six year stretch when scrapping negative gearing might actually have made a material difference to the budget, but alas that particular ship has now well and truly sailed. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Futures markets are pricing in a further 25 basis points cut to the cash rate by November 2016, suggesting that the ATO aggeregated statistics for net rental deductions could continue declining for at least another three tax years to come. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A potent combination of the existing negative gearing rules and low interest rates have encouraged record dwelling investment - and in turn a surge residential construction jobs - and at the same time have done an an sterling job of keeping capital city rents down as new supply comes online apace, encouraged by strong aggregate demand for property and an uplift in prices. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>And all of this is before the potential distortions of encouraging investors to speculate on considerably riskier new properties are even touched upon, let alone the concerning impact of increased public housing costs on the budget.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On the back of these slim pickings, and given that PM Turnbull has already batted changes to the capital gains tax to the fence, there is Buckley's chance of the Coalition proposing a similar move to the ALP in Opposition. Presumably this is for similar reasons that Labor took no such action when they weren't in Opposition - pollies actively deflating a housing market in the midst of a once-in-a-century terms of trade and resources investment bust? It seems like a remote possibility to me, but you can choose to believe whatever you want. The wrap All of this has been well known about for some time, of course: scrapping negative gearing was never going to be much of a boon for the budget. If negative gearing is going to be binned then it should be so on intergenerational grounds or because it represents iniquitous tax legislation, not based upon bogus claims of "billions" to be saved in the budget. Finally for today, spare a thought for the taxation figures above, the line items of which I have charted simply as the ATO present them, for they're doubtless set to once again be tortured mercilessly come Monday morning. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>. 
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
</div>
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Negative gearing set to stay: Pete Wargent

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<div>The December 2015 Residential Property Price Indexes figures confirmed the expected slowing in the final quarter of last year, although more timely private sector indices suggest that nationally prices began to rise again in the first quarter of 2016, perhaps by around +1.5 percent. Let's look through the macro trends from the 2015 figures in three concise parts. Part 1 - Market steadier in summer The total value  of dwelling stock increased only marginally to $5.9 trillion in the December quarter, rising by $482 billion or +8.9 per cent over the calendar year. This was broadly in line with capital city dwelling price growth of +8.7 per cent, plus a bit more reflecting the value of the new supply of new dwellings. The total value of dwelling stock has increased by a third or $1.5 trillion since December 2011, now tallying 3.5 times the size of nominal GDP. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/03/23/R4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div> <img src="/images/2016/03/23/R4.jpg" alt="">
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The weighted 8 capital city average indexes showed that both house and unit prices steadied in the last quarter of 2015, with house price growth (+9.3 per cent) outperforming the market attached dwellings (+6.7 per cent) over the course of the calendar year, a triumph for scarcity over affordability. </div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/23/R10.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/03/23/R10.jpg" alt=""></div>
 
<div>
Part 2 - City by city While Sydney showed the expected moderate final quarter correction and Darwin prices tumbled, Perth saw its prices increase by +0.5 per cent leading a number of commentators to call the bottom on Perth's market cycle and to project moderate gains for 2016. Melbourne prices rose by +1.6 per cent to record strong growth of +9.6 per cent for the year, second only to another immense calendar year for Sydney at +13.9 per cent. Canberra went on a tear with prices leaping by +2.8 per cent in the December quarter (for +6 per cent growth in 2015). while Hobart prices also spiked by +2.5 per cent for an annual result of +3.5 per cent, mirroring more timely reports from other private sector data providers.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The most steadily consistent performer has been Brisbane, notching up another solid +1.6 per cent increase for its 14th consecutive quarterly gain and a +4.2 per cent annual increase. Since June 2012 dwelling prices have increased steadily by +17.1 per cent in Brisbane. Adelaide has followed a very similar trajectory with somewhat more suppressed nominal price growth. </div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/23/R6.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a> <img src="/images/2016/03/23/R6.jpg" alt=""> 
<div>Over the past three years the total value of Australia's dwelling stock has increased by $1.33 trillion, with New South Wales (+$682 billion), Victoria (+$377 billion) and Queensland (+$143 billion) accounting for the bulk of the increase. </div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/23/R1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/03/23/R1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>Since December 2008 growth in property prices has been driven overwhelmingly by Sydney (+79.8 per cent) and Melbourne (+53.5 per cent), while Brisbane has recorded considerably less price growth (+22.1 per cent) over this timeframe. In fact since that time both Darwin and Canberra have fared better, although the Top End is now in correction mode.</div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/23/R2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge </a>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/03/23/R2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The ABS also now provides some interesting insights into the unstratified median price of established dwelling transfers, which also inferred a slowdown in Sydney house prices (in fact Sydney unit prices rose more than established house prices on this metric, jumping by +11.4 per cent to $685,000). This data series is most instructive in depicting just how far Sydney and Melbourne house price growth has outpaced that of its respective regional market counterparts. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/03/23/R3.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/03/23/R3.jpg" alt=""></div>
 
<div>There are myriad ways to look at house price data, some of which involve inflation adjustments and carefully selected data points, while others use hedonic regression analysis, but the simple long run data from March 2002 shows the median transfer price of established houses to be as follows:</div>
<ul>
<li>Sydney up from $365,000 to $910,000</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Melbourne up from $241,000 to $621,000 </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brisbane up from $185,000 to $499,800 </li>
</ul>
<div class="separator">At the state level the mean dwelling prices tell a broadly similar story to the capital city narrative for the past year, with New South Wales (+$76,300) and Victoria (+$56,100) once again recording the greatest gains in calendar year 2015, while the ACT (+$35,000) and Queensland (+$17,600) also saw notable increases.</div>
<a href="/images/2016/03/23/R7.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/03/23/R7.jpg" alt="">
 Part 3 - Supply response mixed 
<div>Finally, the data denoting the total number of dwellings at the state level shows how New South Wales added just +7,400 dwellings to its total stock in the December quarter. Nationally the total number of dwellings increased solidly by +162,900 or +1.7 per cent in 2015 to 9.62 million, having now increased by +578,600 or +6.4 per cent since December 2011. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
Over the past four years, while the less densely populated territories of the Northern Territory (+10.2 per cent) and the ACT have added substantially to their stock of dwellings in percentage terms, the same has not been true everywhere.  Of the most populous states Western Australia (+8.9 per cent) and Victoria (+7.8 per cent) have co-ordinated the most material supply response as a percentage of established dwellings. However, the percentage increases in Queensland (+6.8 per cent) and in particular New South Wales (+4.6 per cent) have been less marked, reflected in their respective shallower gradients in the below chart. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/03/23/R8.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/03/23/R8.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>This seems likely to in part to reflect stock obsolescence and demolition in the larger capital cities, where older dwellings are often pulled down in order to make way for new apartment developments. However, in some locations there does remain an elevated volume of apartment construction in the pipeline, which you can doubtless see for yourself if you frequent the inner city hubs.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The wrap</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Overall this historical data reflected already known market trends with the restraints on investor lending propitious in tapering price growth towards the end of the calendar year. At the macro level we can expect price growth nationally in 2016 to be lower than the +8.7 per cent seen in 2015, with investor lending have been successfully curbed and more supply due to come online. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>House price growth has resumed in 2016 in parts of Brisbane and Melbourne, Sydney's market has become a bona fide dichotomy, with many of the inner ring suburbs firing, but the outer ring now recording funereal auction results. Naturally at the sub-regional level results are far more mixed and trends more nuanced.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>. 
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
</div>
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Brisbane racks up 14th consecutive quarterly gain: Pete Wargent

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They say that when you point the finger of blame at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you. This is a particularly apt analogy for posturing politicians who are directing accusatory digits in various directions on the issue of housing affordability.
The Federal Government has scapegoated foreign investors. The Federal Opposition has targeted negatively-geared Australian investors. Both are wrong and both know it. Politicians know that the people most responsible for fuelling high housing costs are the pollies themselves.
That’s why their response to this issue is the classic tactic, made famous by Yes Minister, of holding lengthy inquiries, punctuated with frequent press conferences, while declining to take effective action, other than to blame unpopular minorities. Foreign investors are the perfect scapegoats because they don’t vote. 
Both foreign investors and negatively-geared Australian investors are small minorities in the real estate market and have little or no influence on the high costs of housing in this country. You could exterminate both species today and housing would still cost the same tomorrow.
The fundamental issue is the hideously high cost of creating residential land and building dwellings. And much of the blame for that rests at the feet of politicians at all levels of government.
So while politicians are busily pointing the affordability finger of blame at others, they might want to consider the high cost of producing home sites as a relevant issue, with themselves as the major problem. 
In our major cities, housing blocks have become smaller over time but the cost keeps rising. In Sydney, according to one set of recent figures, the median price for a home site is $410,000, up 20% in the past year. Melbourne’s median has risen 23.5%. In Perth, you pay $300,000 for a housing block. 
The average situation across the capital cities is a 466m2 block priced at $265,000. 
Another set of figures came recently from the Urban Development Institute of Australia. Its State of the Land report earlier this month found that in 2010 a typical Sydney block was 524m2 costing $293,250. Today the size has shrunk to 454m2  but the cost has jumped 50% to $440,725.
That’s the cost people face before building a house. 
Over 40% of the cost of new dwellings is the taxes and charges imposed by various levels of government. Numerous studies have been done on this issue and they all arrive at pretty much the same result.
It means that a house-and-land package priced at $500,000 could be sold for $300,000 if you removed all the politicians’ imposts that inflate the cost.
You can be sure that politicians won’t discuss this, not while they can grandstand about clamping down on allegedly rich investors who allegedly sort the tax system, while continuing to milk their favourite cash cow, the real estate industry.
Here’s an example of how government behaviour causes high land prices. In Canberra, the ACT Government drip-feeds land to the market in a way that ensures there’s always a shortage and prices are kept high. 
A recent auction of new blocks in Throsby resulted in the successful bidders paying, on average, $108,000 above the reserve prices. One 540m2 block sold for $536,500. Nine blocks of just 315m2 each sold for between $340,000 and $356,000. 
The Canberra Times reported: “The ACT Government’s method of releasing small parcels of around 100 blocks at auction has been strongly criticised by advocates of affordable housing who say it artificially inflates prices, pushing land out of the reach of all but the well-off.” 
This Canberra situation is a microcosm of a national problem, where the high cost of land underpins all affordability issues. 
Similar things happen in Darwin. In Darwin’s residential market there are big spikes in sales whenever a rare release of residential land takes place.
New development suburbs such as Muirhead in Darwin, and Zuccoli and Johnston in nearby Palmerston, have project releases which create sales spikes which distort the overall figures. For example, total residential sales in Muirhead have been 44, 16, 22, 155, 10, 4, 32, 131, 17 and 82 in consecutive quarters over the past three years. 
This is an unnatural sales pattern causes by staged releases in new projects. Releases of new product are rare and sought-after. The authorities drip-feed homes to the market, keeping prices high. 
In capital cities like Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, you can find plenty of suburbs where median prices of established housing are in the $300,000s and sometimes in the $200,000s. But you can’t in Canberra or Darwin. There are no cheap suburbs in these cities because of government manipulation of housing supply.
The developer lobby argues that similar things happen in the larger cities as well, hence the high cost of land in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, although the method is different. The groups that represent builders and developers argue that the core issue in the affordability debate is limited land supply.
Harley Dale, chief economist at the Housing Industry Association, has urged the Federal Government to show more leadership on housing supply and policy reform. Rather than tinkering with h policies, they should focus on increasing supply, he says.  Of course, it’s not quite as simple as increasing the supply of available land and all problems will be solved. Nor do I agree with the developer lobby’s favourite mantra that we have a major dwelling shortage.
We’re actually facing the opposite problem, a significant oversupply, in some sectors - the inner-city apartment markets. But we do have a shortage of affordable houses on land, created by limited supply, bureaucracy and politicians’ taxes and charges.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
hotspotting@gmail.com
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