Apartment buyers in New South Wales are set to gain a decade of insurance-backed protection against major building defects, after the NSW Parliament passed the Fair Trading and Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2026.&nbsp;

The Bill establishes decennial defect insurance, known in the market as Latent Defects Insurance (LDI), as an alternative to the existing two-year strata building bond. It cleared the Legislative Council with amendments on Tuesday evening (August 4, 2026), with the Legislative Assembly agreeing to those amendments shortly after.

Under the reform, eligible developers can satisfy their statutory bond obligation by taking out an approved decennial-style policy that gives owners 10 years of cover for major structural defects from completion, claimable directly, without first having to pursue developers or builders through costly legal action.&nbsp;

The change forms the final tranche of amendments arising from the 2021 statutory review of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and related legislation.

Resilience Insurance, which originated the cover in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022, welcomed the passage and credited the NSW Government for delivering it.

“This is protection apartment buyers have needed for a long time, and the credit for delivering it belongs to the NSW Government,”&nbsp;said Corey Nugent, CEO of Resilience Insurance.

“Minister Chanthivong and his team have shown real leadership in replacing an outdated two-year bond with cover that matches the lifespan of the buildings people are buying into. Reform like this is what good, evidence-based regulation looks like.”

Resilience has delivered LDI in NSW since 2022, protecting thousands of apartments, giving the State, and now the country, real-world evidence of how decade-long, no-fault protection works in practice.

The reform also places NSW within a wider national shift.

NSW is the third jurisdiction to put decennial cover into law. The ACT legislated for it in 2024, with the scheme taking effect in late 2025, and Victoria passed its own framework on 17 June. Between them, the three cover the majority of Australia's apartment market.

The reform commences once the legislation is proclaimed, which is expected in the coming weeks. From that point, developers of Class 2 residential apartment buildings can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial policy in place of the bond.

Buyers who purchased into projects that took out the cover early are among the first in the country to take keys to apartments carrying decade-long structural protection.

“With the legislation passed, the focus now turns to making it work for buyers,”&nbsp;Nugent said.

“There are already thousands of apartments in NSW covered by this insurance, bought by developers who moved early. The question every buyer should be asking in a display suite is a simple one: does this building come with 10-year defect cover, and who stands behind it?&nbsp;

“We look forward to working with the Government and the Building Commission in coming weeks as the framework moves to implementation, and to sharing what we have learned over the past four years so the protection reaches owners as smoothly and quickly as possible.”

Other states are working through their own reform programs. Western Australia has indicated that decennial cover is within consideration a later stage of its reform sequence, and Queensland has been examining the settings as it looks at the development pipeline ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

Resilience Insurance acknowledges the NSW Government’s continued focus on strengthening consumer protection while supporting housing delivery across the State.

Fast Facts: What the reform means

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Proven at scale:&nbsp;Decennial cover has operated in NSW since 2022, protecting thousand of apartments.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">10 years of cover:&nbsp;Protection for major structural defects runs for a decade from completion, claimable directly and with no legal action required.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">An alternative to the bond:&nbsp;Eligible developers can meet their statutory obligation with an approved decennial-style policy in place of the 2% strata building bond.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Part of a national shift:&nbsp;The ACT has had decennial provisions in force since 2025 and Victoria passed its framework in June. NSW now joins them.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">No-fault, first resort:&nbsp;Owners corporations claim directly from the insurer without first having to establish who is liable for the defect.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost-competitive:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the 2% bond while offering broader, longer protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market position:&nbsp;Resilience originated LDI in Australia and has delivered it in NSW since 2022.</li>
</ul>

Fast Facts: What is Resilience LDI?

<ul style="color:#222222; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:small; font-style:normal; font-variant-ligatures:normal; font-weight:400; text-align:start; white-space:normal; background-color:#ffffff; text-decoration-thickness:initial; text-decoration-style:initial; text-decoration-color:initial">
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Resilience Latent Defects Insurance (LDI):&nbsp;Covers major structural defects for 10 years from completion.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Consumer-first:&nbsp;Direct claim access, no need for lengthy legal action.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Cost advantage:&nbsp;At approximately 1.8% of build cost, LDI is typically priced below the traditional 2% Strata Bond while offering broader protection.</li>
	<li style="margin-left:15px; font-family:Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:#000000">Market leader:&nbsp;&nbsp;Resilience Insurance originated LDI in Australia and is the national market leader.</li>
</ul>

Joel Robinson

NSW parliament passes 10-year defect insurance laws for new apartment buyers

Builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mcnab-developments">McNab</a> has wasted little time reshaping one of South Brisbane's most significant undeveloped apartment sites after acquiring the property earlier this year.&nbsp;

McNab has lodged plans to scrap an existing approval for two 30-storey towers and instead deliver a single 28-storey residential building, preserving part of the site for a future development opportunity.

The proposal, lodged over <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-peel-street-south-brisbane-qld-4101">64 Peel Street and 9 Cordelia Street</a>, is for a residential-led mixed-use development comprising 124 apartments above a landscaped podium, alongside a boundary realignment that preserves part of the land for a future residential project.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="743bf564-3f8f-45fc-b8d3-bbf18f5b628f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20Peel%20st%20podium.png?VersionId=EhCxGrVn_VFH3qTbKnI4WppGwaMnOn0t" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hayball">Hayball</a>, the development will deliver 119 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments across 23 residential levels. A five-level podium will accommodate 135 car spaces, while the ground floor will include a 66 sqm commercial tenancy, an activated residential lobby with work-from-home spaces, and a publicly accessible landscaped plaza linking Cordelia and Peel streets.&nbsp;

Communal amenities will span Level 6 and the rooftop, including indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, a swimming pool, barbecue facilities, kitchen and dining areas, lawn space, sauna, steam room and yoga facilities.

The application also proposes a boundary realignment to create a standalone 1,290 sqm development lot while retaining an adjacent parcel for future redevelopment, allowing the balance of the site to contribute additional housing over time.

Hayball said the architecture has been shaped by the site's elevated corner position at the intersection of Peel and Cordelia streets and Brisbane's subtropical climate.

The design incorporates generous landscaped setbacks, a masonry podium wrapped with planting, large north-facing balconies, and a slender tower profile intended to maximise natural light, cross ventilation and long-range views. The rooftop has been conceived as a wellness-focused retreat overlooking Brisbane, with amenities positioned to capture views towards Mount Coot-tha and the CBD.

<img alt="First look: McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c5f99e84-6ad8-4a87-82d1-869685b754d2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/mcnab%20tower%20perspective.png?VersionId=Gw0IuJaSAlk.tvGBxInhZOcQAdIB..2b" />

The planning submission positions the proposal as a response to both changing market conditions and Brisbane's Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning reforms.

McNab acquired the site after the previous approval was granted, with the existing scheme no longer reflecting current residential market demands, economic conditions, construction challenges, construction efficiencies or the quality of development outcome now being pursued, the planning report noted.

McNab continues to expand its residential development pipeline across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The developer recently launched The Tannery in West End, securing more than 60 per cent of apartments before the project's public release. It is also delivering Elements Budds Beach in Surfers Paradise and Lucia Highgate Hill, an eight-apartment boutique development overlooking the Brisbane River.

McNab resets decade-old South Brisbane approval with 124-apartment tower

A steeply sloping Bellevue Hill site is set to accommodate a new mid-rise apartment development, with plans lodged for 20 homes that respond to the site's dramatic topography.

The proposal for the consolidated land at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/138a-140-bellevue-road-bellevue-hill-nsw-2023">138A-140 Bellevue Road</a> has been designed by Sydney architecture practice Common Office, which has used the site’s substantial fall to distribute the building’s scale and unlock 20 apartments without presenting the full height to the street.&nbsp;

“The unique design strategy leverages the site’s substantial topographical fall to facilitate increased density, presenting a seven-storey profile to Bellevue Road while rising to 10 storeys at the rear,” Common Office said in its architectural design report.

The apartment mix spans one, two, three- and four-bedroom residences. Four two-bedroom apartments are designated as affordable housing, while the plans also include two adaptable dwellings. The mix is majority three-beds, with the typical three-bed apartment offering around 144 sqm internally, with balconies of around 15 sqm.

The affordable housing component represents 15 per cent of the residential floor area and allows the project to access additional height and floor space under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions. The site also falls within the inner area of the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy because it is within 400 metres walking distance of Double Bay Town Centre.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1230d0f-3bfa-4a11-abaf-0928c66ef345" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da.png?VersionId=dZeMK3P.OutGjN8ycjsxm8uNsj_QFWQv" />

Common Office has arranged the building around a masonry podium and a lighter upper volume, drawing on two recurring elements of Bellevue Hill’s established architecture: sandstone bases and the vertical proportions of local Inter-war Art Deco apartment buildings.

“The proposal is governed by a holistic design language that reconciles the solid horizontal masonry of the neighbourhood’s podiums with the elegant verticality of its Art Deco heritage,” the architect said.

“The building maintains a consistent rhythmic logic utilising deep recesses and a sophisticated material transition to break down the 10-storey scale into a series of articulated, human-scale volumes.”

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0147f503-1af1-4d51-97fb-c2f1cba63a9d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20bldg.png?VersionId=GoW7q3NlK67OpnePXhk7zvklrlKb72Qc" />

Large-format sandstone tiles will define the lower levels, establishing a robust base that negotiates the change in elevation from Bellevue Road. Above, red-tinted precast concrete frames, recessed balconies, anodised aluminium screens and expanded metal details will create a more vertically expressed façade. Integrated planter beds will introduce greenery across balcony edges and recessed sections of the building.

The elongated northern façade has been divided into three recessed vertical masses to reduce its perceived length. Triangular window elements and metal privacy screens reference the geometry of nearby Art Deco buildings while controlling overlooking toward surrounding homes. The southern elevation will incorporate further privacy screening, landscaped edges and deep balconies to maintain light and ventilation.

<img alt="First Look: Plans lodged for topography-led affordable housing project in Bellevue Hill" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e8679cf1-18bc-4447-8a0f-0052b94ab83c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Bellevue%20da%20rooftop.png?VersionId=5SQqQqRFf76rvE2p1TbxJSweMN70AIbc" />

Private and communal landscaping is distributed throughout the development. A landscaped garden apartment is positioned within the lower portion of the site, while a communal terrace on Level 5 will include a central timber deck, barbecue facilities, resident planting plots and areas for outdoor dining and informal gatherings.

Common Office described the terrace as an elevated sanctuary designed to capture district views and sunlight. Its planting strategy incorporates endemic species associated with the Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, extending the landscape vertically through the building and providing habitat for local flora and fauna.

A second communal outdoor area is proposed at roof level, with built-in seating, paved gathering areas and perimeter planting.

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction. Positive Investment Enterprise is delivering the 16-apartment Kew Palm House on Birriga Road, while Chanine Developments is also under construction at Florian, a 36-apartment project on Banksia Road.

&nbsp;

Bellevue Hill is enjoying renewed momentum in the new apartment market, with several boutique developments recently launched and currently under construction.

First Look: Apartment development pitched for Bellevue Hill, Double Bay fringe

South Brisbane's apartment pipeline continues to build momentum, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/trk-property-group">TRK Property Group</a> lodging plans for a 161-apartment tower on Montague Road as developers accelerate investment across the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

The proposal for 176–186 Montague Road would replace an existing office building with a 20-storey residential tower designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, adding to a growing pipeline of high-density projects reshaping one of Brisbane's fastest-evolving inner-city precincts.

The project has been conceived as a "living building", featuring a flowing tower form, extensive vertical landscaping, and generous communal spaces that respond to the evolving Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct.

TRK Property Group Development Director Matt Kan said the project reflected the confidence developers have in South Brisbane's long-term future.

"South Brisbane is entering an incredibly exciting period, and we see Montague Road sitting right at the heart of that evolution," Kan said.

"With the former Visy site directly opposite us and significant investment planned throughout the broader Kurilpa precinct, there is a real sense of momentum around this part of the city and what it will become over the coming years.

"For TRK, this is an opportunity to be part of that next chapter and deliver a project that responds to where the precinct is heading, while contributing to the continued evolution of Brisbane's river edge."

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="590fe1ad-f892-4446-a679-80e33a16d029" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20tower%20facade.png?VersionId=uOJStrcKpyHFcPE1w6_9SMAFzVMCcZll" />

The scheme includes a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, incorporating multi-purpose rooms in selected residences to provide additional flexibility for home offices or expanded living areas. The proposed mix comprises 15 one-bedroom, 13 one-bedroom plus MPR, 73 two-bedroom, 26 two-bedroom plus MPR, 30 three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom apartments.

Rather than adopting a conventional rectilinear tower, COX Architecture has developed a sculpted form inspired by the movement of the Brisbane River.

"The proposal has been designed by COX Architecture as a 'living building' that responds to the site's riverine setting, floodplain history and evolving urban context within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct," the planning report states.

"The architectural form draws from the fluid nature of the Brisbane River, with a curved and undulating tower form that creates a varied architectural edge and avoids a conventional rectilinear tower expression."

The podium has also been designed as an architectural feature rather than a conventional parking structure, with cascading planting, screening and natural-toned materials softening its appearance. Resident parking is elevated above ground level to address the site's flood constraints, while habitable apartments sit above flood planning levels. Upper-level communal facilities are designed to accommodate shelter-in-place arrangements during major flood events.

<img alt="First look: TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="01fa15d0-90df-46c7-9555-7941fc45373c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/TRK%20podium.png?VersionId=mHyua.w1pHGBt9qEdWzrlsv.leztUCwO" />

Communal amenity is a major focus of the proposal. Around 1,815 sqm of shared resident space is proposed across the ground floor, level 19 and the rooftop, including co-working areas, indoor and outdoor recreation spaces, wellness facilities, dining and gathering areas, lawn spaces, a rooftop pool and spa, and extensive landscaping. At street level, a landscaped forecourt and approximately 345 sqm of publicly accessible open space along Montague Road are intended to improve the pedestrian experience while activating the building's frontage.

The development will provide 163 car spaces, including 152 resident bays and 11 visitor spaces, together with 144 bicycle spaces incorporating resident storage, visitor parking, bicycle maintenance facilities and e-mobility charging infrastructure.

The site sits within one of Brisbane's fastest-changing inner-city precincts, less than two kilometres from the CBD and within easy reach of South Bank, West End, the Queensland Cultural Centre and extensive public transport connections. The Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct planning framework is encouraging higher-density residential development to help meet Brisbane's housing supply targets while supporting walkable, transit-oriented neighbourhoods.

TRK Property joins South Brisbane apartment surge with Montague Road tower plans

Article summary

<ul data-end="785" data-start="311">
	<li data-end="459" data-section-id="5hbcyr" data-start="311">Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at Skye Kangaroo Point, headlined by a two-storey sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm.</li>
	<li data-end="561" data-section-id="1p7lq8n" data-start="460">Early buyer interest suggests the residences could set a new Queensland apartment price record.</li>
	<li data-end="667" data-section-id="1y70z0l" data-start="562">The collection includes four move-in ready penthouses and the highly customised Skye One residence.</li>
	<li data-end="785" data-section-id="yvm0y1" data-start="668">The release caps one of Bri​sbane's most ambitious luxury apartment developments overlooking the Brisbane River.</li>
</ul>

<hr data-end="790" data-start="787" />
Pikos Group has released the five-penthouse collection at its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/skye-residences-by-pikos-kangaroo-point-8-river-terrace-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">Skye by Pikos</a> development in Kangaroo Point, with early buyer interest indicating the flagship residences could eclipse every apartment sale previously recorded in Queensland.

The collection crowns the luxury riverfront development with five residences, including four completed penthouses and Skye One, a two-level sky home spanning more than 1,000 sqm that will be tailored to its eventual owner.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374075]

Wanting to offer a fully customisable home, Pikos is offering Skye One as a blank canvas, allowing the buyer to work alongside the developer's design team to customise the home's layout, finishes and internal spaces.

The residence will feature a 247 sqm private rooftop terrace with its own swimming pool, sauna, steam room, outdoor kitchen and multiple entertaining areas overlooking the Brisbane River and CBD skyline.

The remaining four penthouses have been completed and are ready for immediate occupation, each offering four bedrooms, expansive open-plan living areas, soaring ceilings and private lift access.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374059]

One of the defining features throughout the project is its use of Roman Classic Travertine, with more than 20,000 sqm of the natural stone imported from Italy after being personally selected by Pikos Group Founder and Executive Director Pedro Pikos, interior designer Julie Williamson and third-generation stone specialist Mario Caucci.

Pikos said the penthouse collection represented the culmination of the company's long-term vision for Skye.

"True legacy isn't measured by what we build today, but by what endures tomorrow," Pikos said.

"Our ambition is to create places that become more valuable with time, enrich the lives of generations, and stand as timeless landmarks long after we've stepped away."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=90059 project_image_fid=374060]

Williamson said the interiors were inspired by the natural character of Kangaroo Point and the Brisbane River rather than international design trends.

"Materiality tells the story of a place," Williamson said.

"We looked to the movement of the Brisbane River, the texture of the cliff face and the warmth of the surrounding landscape to create interiors that feel understated, enduring and unmistakably Brisbane."

Positioned above the Kangaroo Point cliffs, Skye places residents within walking distance of Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank and James Street while offering uninterrupted river and city views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=90059]

Brisbane's next apartment price record? Pikos unveils Skye's exclusive penthouse collection

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

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

<html><body>
The perception that Melbourne is turning into a mini-Manhattan given the high-rise apartment projects in Docklands, the CBD and city fringe is untrue, according to the results of the 2011 census.
Apartments as a percentage of the total housing mix in greater Melbourne have in fact fallen as a dwelling type from 16.1% in 2006 to 15.3% in 2011 despite the total number of flats and units rising from 217,836 to 219,111 during this period.
Greater Melbourne dwelling structure
<table style="width: 470px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
 
</td>
<td valign="top" colspan="2" width="213">
2011
</td>
<td valign="top" colspan="2" width="260">
2006
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Separate house
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
1,039,342
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
72.6%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
971,782
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
71.9%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Semi-detached, row or terrace house, townhouse etc
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
165,486
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
11.6%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
154,163
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
11.4%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Flat, unit or apartment
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
219,111
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
15.3%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
217,836
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
16.1%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="143">
Other dwelling
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
6,159
</td>
<td valign="top" width="107">
0.4%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="142">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tbody><tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
7,459
</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
 
</td>
<td valign="top" width="118">
0.6%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Census 2006 and 2011 (ABS)
The 2011 census results also show that greater Sydney remains the apartment capital of Australia. More than a quarter of greater Sydney residents (25.8%) live in this type of dwelling, and this proportion is virtually unchanged from the previous survey.
According to the census, 11.7% of greater Brisbane residents live in flats, followed by Adelaide (10.4%) and Perth (9.1%).
Brisbane has the highest percentage of people living in detached houses at 79%, followed by Perth (78.6%) and Adelaide (77.2%).
</body></html>

lschlesinger-FZcF9M3vE6

Melbourne not yet becoming Manhattan, with percentage of apartments falling: ABS census 2011

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The “stars are beginning to align” for the Sydney residential housing market, with median prices forecast to grow by a cumulative 17% over the next three year to reach a median of $750,000, according to a new report by BIS Shrapnel.
Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin house prices are expected to grow by at least 5% per year between now and 2015, while the “non-resource state” housing markets will continue struggle.
In percentage growth terms, Perth is expected to record the strongest capital growth appreciation over this period with its median house prices climbing 22% from $475,000 to $580,000 – more than 7% per year.
BIS Shrapnel also has strong growth expectations for Brisbane (20% rise to $515,000) and Darwin (15% to $620,000) but the outlook is poor for Melbourne, with house prices expected to rise just 3% to $557,000 by 2015.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/bisjune25.gif">
According to BIS Shrapnel senior manager Angie Zigomanis, author of the Residential Property Prospects, 2012 to 2015 report, a continued shortfall in new dwelling construction in Sydney to meet population growth will mean that rental growth will remain solid in the next two to three years.
 
“This deficiency will eventually encourage investors back into the Sydney market.
“Once there is evidence that prices have bottomed out and sentiment improves, the return of price growth will in turn promote further investor demand. After showing signs of a turnaround in 2012-13, price growth should pick up in 2013-14,” Zigomanis says.
BIS Shrapnel says the Perth market recovery will be driven by significantly improving affordability and accelerating population growth.
“Population growth is already accelerating as Perth also benefits from rising overseas and interstate migration and, combined with recent weak new dwelling construction, has resulted in vacancy rates tightening from 3.5% at June 2011, to 1.9% in March 2012.”
“With unemployment in the state already leading the nation at 3.8% in March 2012 and economic and income growth to continue to strengthen, the first stages of a turnaround should appear in 2012-13 before stronger price growth emerges in 2013-14 and 2014-15 as economic growth approaches a peak.”
Brisbane’s predicted strong house price growth is based on rental growth recovery (as vacancies tighten below 3%), improving affordability, recent interest rate reductions and a projected recovery in the state’s economy.
“Consequently, economic conditions are forecast to rapidly improve, with the ensuing employment and income growth to create a greater level of purchaser confidence,” says Zigomanis.
In contrast conditions are expected to remain tough in the non-resource states of Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT.
“These states all had the strongest bounce in construction after the global financial crisis, with the result being an erosion of their dwelling deficiency and/or an emerging excess of dwelling stock,” says BIS Shrapnel.
Melbourne faces headwinds from a subdued state economic environment in 2011-12 that has placed downward pressure on prices.
“With Melbourne’s dwelling deficiency being eroded, there is little upward pressure on prices,” says Zigomanis.
“We anticipate that prices will stabilise in 2012-13 due to the impact of lower interest rates and an improving outlook for the national economy. However, there will be little to support price growth in the city over the next three years and conditions will continue to remain tough,” he says.
“Non-resource states” will also face headwinds from underperforming economies.
“Economically, these states are also underperforming due to a fall-off in construction and a negative impact to industry from the high Australian dollar,” says Zigomanis. 
“The improvement in affordability from lower interest rates may stabilise house prices in this environment. 
“However, without any supply pressures, median house prices in Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra are forecast to show little change and decline in real terms over the next three years,” he says.
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Melbourne residential property market to struggle as ‘stars align’ for Sydney and resources states: BIS Shrapnel

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Another landmark Australian CBD hotel has been acquired by an Asian property group, with Hong Kong-listed Shangri-La Asia paying $352 million to fully own the Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel in The Rocks.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/shangri-la_hotel.jpg" width="470">
The acquisition of the leasehold property follows the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/leisure/malaysian-reit-pays-%24415-million-for-marriott-five-star-hotel-portfolio/2012061455118" target="_blank">Malaysia-listed Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust, paying $415 million</a> earlier this month for a portfolio of three five-star Marriott hotels – the Sydney Harbour Marriott, the Brisbane Marriott and the Melbourne Marriott.
Asian buyers have accounted for 93% of all hotel sales this year.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/shangri3.jpg">
The transaction, which is due to be completed by no later than July 31 consists of $330 million for the hotel and $22.4 million for for its net current assets (mostly cash).
Audited results for the year ending March 31 show the hotel made an after tax profit of $3.25 million.
Shangri-La Asia is owned by the billionaire Kuok family, which has interests in property, manufacturing and media via a substantial shareholding in the South China Morning Post and a stake in Hong Kong television group Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB).
Shangri-La Asia has managed the hotel for the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore since 2003.
The price paid for the Shangri-La Sydney is well above the $249 million paid for the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay – both hotels have 563 rooms – with the sale price surprising the Sydney hotel market, reported the Australian Financial Review.
The 36-storey Shangri-La Sydney stands on Cumberland Street in The Rocks, with spectacular views across the harbour taking in the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/shangri4.jpg">
The sale price equates to $626,000 per room.
The hotel stands on land that is owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, which sold a 99-year leasehold over the site in 1988.
Sydney hotel occupancy rates are <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/leisure/hotel-occupancy-rates-to-reach-68-by-2014-with-perth-hotels-forecast-to-outperform-sydney-deloitte/2012052254785" target="_blank">forecast to rise to 88% by the end 2014</a>, a rise of only 2% from current levels, according to the Deloitte Access Economics Tourism &amp; Hotel Outlook report.
Shangri-La Asian operates 16 hotels globally with a collective 5,600 rooms.
Shangri-La Hotels are in Vancouver, New Delhi, Oman, Manila, Abu Dhabi (two hotels), Dubai (two hotels), Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur (in Malaysia), Taipei and Tainan (in Taiwan); and Beijing, Changzhou.
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Sydney Shangri-La Hotel sells to Hong Kong Shangri-La Asia group for record $352 million

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The latest report by the federal government’s National Housing Supply Council provides one indication of the current state of the Victorian residential property market. 
Over the last two years the council’s estimated gap between underlying supply and demand has reduced from a revised 18,000 in 2009 to just 10,000 in 2011. 
This shows that supply and demand are very close to being in balance in Victoria and is one reason why pressure on house prices has eased. 
While the market is also affected by a range of other factors – the rate of economic growth, unemployment, interest rates and levels of consumer confidence – if there is a shortage of stock, this also results in pressure on prices.
The strong price growth between 2005 and 2010 was, in part, due to high levels of population growth and a shortage of supply.
The report now shows that the gap between the underlying demand and supply has eased, primarily because the number of new homes being constructed has increased. Dwelling completion data from the ABS shows that in the two years to the 2011 December quarter, 30% homes were built than in the preceding two years.
On current projections, it does not appear that Victoria will face a critical undersupply of housing stock in the medium term.
The council’s report also highlighted the lack of affordable housing, particularly in the rental market. Rents continue to increase at a time when there is very little growth in overall house prices.
The latest projections from the council need to be considered by the state government as it plans for new land releases and the city’s growth over the next decade.
Enzo Raimondo is CEO of the <a href="https://www.reiv.com.au/" target="_blank">Real Estate Institute of Victoria</a>.
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enzoraimond-7fvRFHPR52

Increased supply eases pressure on Victorian house prices

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Telstra is suing the owners of 447 Collins Street after being forced to vacate office space from the building, which shed part of its marble façade in January.
Parts of the Suncorp building remain inaccessible after a two-metre marble panel fell off the building plummeted into the forecourt in late January.
Telstra is seeking nearly $500,000 from Industry Super Property Trust, saying it spent $304,642 on temporary leases and wages for staff unable to work after the telco was forced to move 462 staff out of their offices in the 1960s-built building. Telstra is also claiming an extra $170,000 for the costs it took to speed up the refurbishment of new offices.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/marble5.jpg">
Telstra was leasing three levels of the building before access was cut off.  Telstra already had plans to move into a new building in Latrobe Street.
Building owner the Industry Super Property Trust will not be renewing leases, and tenants will be leaving over the next year, with Suncorp the last to leave in mid-2013.
Meanwhile, the ground-floor tenants are still awaiting a final compensation figures from ISPT.
“We just want them to pay out enough to set up another shop, that’s all we want,” one shop owner told Property Observer.
“Every week they pay us a little bit, but they are still deciding on a final figure. But it’s already been a long time.
“We haven’t heard anything from them. They were supposed to call back, but they haven’t.”
Another shop owner gave the same story.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/marble2.jpg">
“Everybody is hard-hit, of course. But we still don’t know what’s happening.”
ISPT chief executive Daryl Browning says the company currently plans on keeping the building.
“At this stage the intention is to keep the building,'' Browning told Fairfax.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/marble3.jpg">
“The floors that are vacated will not be reoccupied because the work that would be needed on the facade is likely to be disruptive to tenants. The certainty is it would be easier to conduct the work with an empty building, whatever the work may be.”
Since 2006 ISPT has had approval to build a Buchan Group-designed 11-storey office block and a two-storey restaurant on the site. The permit was extended in September 2011 and is due to expire in December 2015. However, the building was recommended for heritage protection in July 2011 by Melbourne City Council.
ISPT has contested the decision, arguing “the condition of the existing building means it is not feasible to retain the existing building in its current form”, according to a December Melbourne City Council document.
The inclusion in a heritage overlay would affect future approvals if ISPT were to allow the current approval for plans to lapse.
Blockades remain in place around the building, with 40% of the façade clamped on to prevent more falling. All panels from the Flinders Lane side of the building have been removed.
The blockades still restrict access to the building, effectively stopping any street traffic from entering the ground-floor businesses.
The Godfrey &amp; Spowers-designed building was cordoned off in January after a two-metre-by-one-metre marble panel became dislodged and plummeted into the courtyard – a popular lunchspot for nearby office workers. No one was injured.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/marble4.jpg">
The panel, one of a reported 1,200 that coated the building, likely fell due to a combination of age and weather, according to a Melbourne City Council spokesperson.
“The panels are fixed to the building using a combination of mechanical fixings to support the load and an adhesive to keep the panel in position,” the spokesperson told Property Observer at the time.
“It appears that over time the adhesive has permitted sufficient movement so as to allow the panel to move beyond the safe limit of the mechanical support.”
ISPT is one of the largest property funds in Australia, managing $7 billion worth of investments. In Melbourne it owns 500 Bourke Street, Casselden Place, 114 William Street, Melbourne GPO, 474 St Kilda Road and 50 Lonsdale Street.
ISPT bought 447 Collins Street for $81 million from AXA in November 2004.
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awalsh-7Ub9EypybQ

Telstra to sue Collins Street office building owner after falling marble forced tenants out

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Dean Crowe is the managing director of retail coffee shop chain Coffee Guru. It’s been a hard year for retail, but Crowe has managed to turn his chain into a strong group of franchises, turning over $2.8 million a year.
Part of the reason Crowe has been so successful is his ability to negotiate good rent deals with landlords, even when they’re being picky. He says it’s all about his approach, which relies on setting deals in small groups of locations, which he claims can reap a better result.
<h3>So how’s business been?</h3>
It’s good. We’re not breaking any records, but it’s still good.
<h3>You’ve done a bit of rebranding lately. What was the motivation for that?</h3>
Well, we wanted to get into franchised coffee stores and we felt they were all starting to look the same. We wanted a point of difference in our product, and not only in the way we appear but also in the way customers can perceive who we are.
With us being new in the market, many of the larger chains are trying to formulate a growth strategy based on what other people have done. We’re trying to stay away from that.
<h3>Last year you did $2.8 million. Are you looking at improving on that?</h3>
I’d have to confirm and check, but I know it’s going to be at least that for this year, I’m just not sure of the growth rate. It will be at least that figure.
<h3>Has the rental market tightened on you in the past year or so?</h3>
It has been [tighter]. There’s a perception that things are tightening up a little bit, and that’s true, they are, but we still haven’t seen the same reductions in rent. We feel like landlords are recognising the situation is hard right now, but publicly listed landlords are just doing business as per usual and expecting there will be a high amount of churn with their tenancies.
<h3>So landlords are negotiating?</h3>
They’re negotiating, yes. They’re talking.
<h3>What are these types of discussions like now?</h3>
In a negotiation like this, the bottom line comes in fairly quickly. And if you’re not willing to go to that bottom line, then that changes the nature of the discussion.
You’ve got your publicly listed companies like Westfield, and not so much Centro, but other ones, and they’re really looking at their per square metre rate. If you can’t reach that, then they’re just as happy to leave the site vacant for another few months.
Whereas in smaller properties, and with private landlords, they can’t really afford to leave their sites vacant.
<h3>Is there a shift in mentality you’ve seen on the part of landlords, compared to the past few years?</h3>
There definitely isn’t an arrogance there, or at least there’s not anymore, in terms of how the leases are approached. Because you don’t have retailers climbing over each other with franchisees in tow, we’re finding that landlords are actually approaching us first.
<h3>So what happens in a normal lease negotiation, and how is it different to what you’re doing?</h3>
What may happen with a normal leasing agent is that they’ll have 20 or 30 sites on the radar, and then negotiate with landlords on conditions. But if they don’t find a franchisee for those sites, there’s no legal obligation to move forward.
What we do instead is just focus on five to 10 sites, agree on general terms for those. However, we’ll have actively sought out franchisees and then we’ll come back and negotiate on that point. So we actually have a person involved in the business.
There has been a tightening of credit, too. We’re finding we’re able to tailor deals for the circumstances of our individual franchisees.
<h3>So can you give an example?</h3>
There was one particular site we were able to get a $50,000 contribution amortised into the lease, and we’re only paying back $28,000 over seven years. By focusing on a small amount of deals, we’re able to get well-tailored deals.
<h3>Why is it exactly you’re able to get these types of deals?</h3>
Because we’re able to go to the landlord and say we have a particular person, we have a particular site, and given them the person’s business experience, we can show that they are qualified to go forward. So we can say we’re not willing to give a certain amount of money for some things.
<h3>So you’re finding the franchisee, then the site.</h3>
We are. But it is because we are only focusing on a handful of sites, we won’t have 20 sites on our radar in the hope we’ll get a franchisee loaded in. We’ll aim for five. We’ll put some advertising out there but we won’t fully commit until we have someone.
<h3>Talk about your approach in these types of meetings. Are you forceful, polite or aggressive?</h3>
I think you have to be relatively transparent, because a good lease is a good lease, and any lease has value. We’ve just made it personal by showing that we have a person ready to go into these locations, and that will make the landlord more motivated to put us in there.
At the end of the day, they have just as much invested in the place as we do.
<h3>It’s obviously getting you results.</h3>
We’ve been getting at or below-market rent, but reasonable contributions, and we’re relaying that back to the franchisee; that’s allowing us to get these types of deals.
<h3>So for other retailers worrying about rents, what advice would you give them?</h3>
In this current environment, you need to be patient: Wait your time for the right deal.
This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/index.php" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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pmcstafford-pr9eMARWoN

How Coffee Guru boss Dean Crowe negotiates better rents with retail landlords

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Two out of the three commercial towers to be built at Lend Lease’s $6 billion Barangaroo South Sydney CBD harbourside project are more than 70% leased following agreements with Westpac and KPMG. 
Westpac has entered into an agreement with Lend Lease to take approximately 70% of the commercial floor space in the first tower to be constructed at development site. 
The bank will take 60,000 square metres in the Barangaroo building currently known as “C4” and expects to occupy the building from 2015. 
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/barangaroo1.jpg">
Lend Lease has also entered into a lease agreement with accounting firm KPMG in the second tower, which is conditional on funding, which combined with Lend Lease’s own commitment to move its offices to the second tower will take up over 75% of commercial floor space. 
KPMG currently leases about 28,000 square metres in the KPMG Centre at 10 Shelley Street at King Street Wharf. 
KPMG is also expected to commence its move into the second tower in 2015. 
The lease agreements, which cover over 120,000 square metres of office space, represent Australia’s largest ever commercial leasing commitment for a single development. 
The lease agreements were foreshadowed by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Carolyn Cummins in September 2010. 
Westpac currently has offices in nine sites across Sydney’s CBD, and the new site will enable the group to consolidate into two locations – its existing head office at 275 Kent Street and the new Barangaroo building. 
The bank also announced that Lend Lease has agreed to purchase two Westpac-owned buildings at 182 George Street and 33-35 Pitt Street. 
"Bringing our Sydney CBD teams together in the landmark Barangaroo development and our nearby Westpac Place headquarters will enable our employees to benefit from an attractive, highly efficient and collaborative working environment in a vibrant financial services centre,” says Westpac CEO Gail Kelly. 
“This development will also be Australia's first large-scale carbon neutral community, which is important to Westpac given our position as a global leader in sustainability,” says Kelly. 
Commenting on the lease agreements, Lend Lease Group CEO and managing director Steve McCann says its ability to attract leading tenants like Westpac and KPMG “reflects the quality of what we are building at Barangaroo South”. 
“Today we have announced Australia’s largest ever commercial leasing commitment for a single development. 
“Our original assessment required only one commercial tower to be delivered in the first phase of the project, so we are very pleased to have leased two towers concurrently. 
“We are currently in detailed discussions with capital partners for the funding and development of the commercial towers at Barangaroo South. 
“The investors are engaged in exclusive due diligence before entering into binding commitments. In line with the Group’s strategy of investing alongside capital partners, Lend Lease intends to invest 25% of the equity in the first two towers.” 
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
“Construction works at Barangaroo South continue to progress well with the perimeter retention wall now complete and piling for the first commercial tower underway,” says McCann.
Barangaroo South will have about 330,000 square metres of office space upon completion.
There are plans for three commercial building known as C3 (49 storeys), C4 (42 storeys) and C5 (39 storeys), which are due to be completed in 2015 and 2016.
Colliers International alongside Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ Australia have been appointed to assist Lend Lease on managing tenant interest and leasing at Barangaroo. 
DTZ international director of leasing John Hickey says demand from tenants has been incredibly strong and that pre-commitment leasing announcements and recent development approvals “will give a shot in the arm to the Sydney office leasing market”. 
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Australian head of leasing Kevin George says momentum in the Sydney office leasing market will now build following more certainty around the delivery of space in the 2015 timeframe, when Barangaroo South is completed. 
“We expect a surge of activity from medium to smaller tenants now that it is known who the anchor tenants for the first two towers of the development will be,” he says. 
“The interest in the Barangaroo development since the bid phase has been exceptional and we expect the completion in 2015 will coincide with an uptick in the financial services sector. 
Deloitte Access Economics projects that the finance and insurance sector in the Sydney CBD will grow by 1.9% in 2014 and 3.8% in 2015. 
“Already there are about 170,000 people employed in NSW’s finance and insurance services sector, representing over 40% of that industry in Australia,” says George. Mark Lacey, national director of office leasing at Colliers International, describes Barangaroo as a unique project combining a CBD location with parklands and waterfront access. 
“The compelling reasons why organisations will locate to Barangaroo are the large floor plates, the sustainability features of the precinct, the incredible amount of amenity that is being created for staff including retail and leisure activities around the waterfront and the new transport connections,” he says. 
“Tenants at Barangaroo will benefit in a way that is not possible elsewhere in the Sydney CBD by having this amenity on the doorstep of their work environment.”
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Westpac and KPMG to take up more than 70% in two of Lend Lease’s Barangaroo South towers 

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Have the RBA’s relentless rate cuts had any impact on Australia’s housing market? Today we are going to find out.
One of the important benefits of the new “daily” RP Data-Rismark house price index suite is that we get very timely updates on the current market pulse. I am going to use these indices to look at the performance of both the national market and some of the individual capital cities. Before I do, a word on the underlying data.
When analysts think about house price data they typically do so from two perspectives. The first asks the question: what is happening to “actual” prices; that is, the prices that home owners transact at. The second queries how house price movements compare to similar periods over time; more specifically, this approach seeks to strip out the strong “seasonality” that house prices display at various points during the year.
Both techniques have their merits. Indeed, analysts should always be mindful of the two. On the one hand, there is an argument that we do not normally “seasonally adjust” asset price (or financial market) data, such as stocks, bonds, or commercial property prices. So if you want to measure actual or realised investment returns, you must use the raw housing data.
On the other hand, analysts also want to understand whether current market dynamics are unusually strong or weak. For example, Australian house prices normally fall in the month of December. Accordingly, price declines in December do not actually signal a deteriorating market. This is just what usually happens when the market shuts down over the Christmas break. By seasonally adjusting the December data, we can arrive at more sophisticated conclusions as to the market dynamics at that particular juncture.
In Australia, the housing market becomes seasonally weak during the winter months of May through August, inclusive. With this observation in mind, I will leverage off the raw house price indices for today’s purposes.
In my first chart, I have illustrated the national, eight capital city, “all dwellings”, index. This shows us the change in the value of the housing stock, including both detached homes and units, across all the capital cities on a value-weighted basis. And we can identify four distinct market phases in the year-to-date.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/06/june221.gif"><img src="/images/stories/2012/06/june221thumb.gif"></a>
Over the month of January national dwelling values declined by about 1%. They then fully recovered this loss over the seasonally robust months of February and March. Indeed, homes values continued grinding out gains through to the 15th of April.
Now recall that the RBA cut rates in November and December. Yet the banks unilaterally jacked rates back up in February by 10 to 15 basis points, and one of the major banks, ANZ, hiked by another 15 basis points in the middle of April.
So before the May rate cuts, Australian borrowers had been effectively subject to an interest rate increase over the first four months of the year, which arguably did much to diminish the impact of the December relief.
As we can see from the chart above, Australian home values weakened noticeably from mid-April through to the end of May. This is not overly surprising. While the RBA cut rates by a super-sized 50 basis points on 1 May, the major banks did not respond until the end of the second week of the month. And many lenders delayed the introduction of the actual rate reductions until the end of the month.
Rightly or wrongly, the RBA followed up the May cuts with a third in June. And we can see in the chart that it was at this time – or, more exactly, at the end of May – that Australian home values started grinding out capital gains again. The fact that house prices have been rising in June is especially encouraging given the typically adverse seasonality that grips during the winter period.
What about the individual capital cities? My second chart displays the index data for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Perth.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2012/06/june222.gif"><img src="/images/stories/2012/06/june222thumb.gif"></a>
There are probably three things to take away from this. First, far and away the worst performer has been Melbourne, which as our second largest city, has been dragging down the national numbers. There are, however, some tentative signs that Melbourne values are stabilising.
The second point of note is that all cities included in the chart, and notably Brisbane and the Gold Coast, have recorded synchronous recoveries since in or around the end of May. As I have highlighted before, Sydney’s market led the charge, reacting most quickly to the May rate cuts.
Crucially, home values in the Gold Coast, Sydney and Canberra are all higher than they were at the end of 2011. Brisbane and Perth home values are down very slightly, while Melbourne is evidently still digesting the extraordinary 35% growth in capital values over 2009 and 2010. In the year-to-date Melbourne values are down a chunky 5%, although they have started inflating again in June.
Rismark’s latest forecasts for the national housing market imply that home values will be broadly flat over 2012, albeit with some cross-sectional diversity. Rents, in contrast, are expected to rise at a healthy pace, which means that yields should also continue to increase.
There are grounds for optimism over the remainder of the year. Today borrowers can avail themselves of historically very low mortgage rates: lenders like UBank are offering 5.62% per annum variable rate loans, while you can fix your rate for three years at just 5.75% per annum.
As I have demonstrated in previous columns, the vast bulk of the overall losses in Australia’s housing market since the start of 2011 have been concentrated in the “luxury” segments. This is in turn being driven by the permanent downward shift in the earnings expectations of financial services employees, who benefited from 20 years of extraordinary growth prior to the onset of the GFC.
This dynamic is akin to a company that suddenly downgrades its future cashflow projections – the stock price will fall accordingly. In the ultra-luxury $3 million-plus markets, participants are witnessing very steep valuation adjustments. Eventually asset prices in these areas will find a base. 
Yet the median home owner in Australia is buying a property worth about $400,000 while more than 80% of all sales are for dwellings priced less than $700,000. Across the mass housing market, capital losses since January 2011 have been very modest at less than 3%.
Christopher Joye is a leading financial economist and a director of <a href="https://www.ybr.com.au/savings/index.cfm" target="_blank">Yellow Brick Road Funds Management</a> and Rismark. The author may have an economic interest in any of the items discussed in this article. These are the author’s personal views and do not represent the opinions of any other individual or institution. This material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, investment advice or recommendations.
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chrisjoye-JYhJsTrNRC

Interest rate cuts starting to stimulate house prices: Christopher Joye 

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Queensland had a bigger shift towards homes with four or more bedrooms than any other state in Australia from 2006 to 2011.
According to census data, homes with four or more bedrooms now represent 34.4% of dwellings in Queensland, up from 31% in 2006.
The proportion of three-bedroom homes in Queensland dropped from 45% to 42.1%.
The average number of bedrooms in Queensland is now 3.2.
Western Australia has the highest average number of bedrooms at 3.3, unchanged from 2006, though the proportion of homes with four or more bedrooms did rise by 2.2 percentage points.
One-bedroom homes are becoming popular in across Australia, with NSW recording the biggest increase, from 5.2% to 5.6%.
Across Australia, homes with four or more bedrooms account for 30.3% of dwellings, up from 28.1%, and the average number of bedrooms is 3.1, up from three.
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="width: 470px;"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="350">
<a title="Counts the number of bedrooms in each occupied private dwelling, including caravans in caravan parks." target="_blank" href="https://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2901.0Chapter44102011">Number of bedrooms</a> 
</td>
<td width="110">
Queensland
</td>
<td width="40">
%
</td>
<td width="110">
2006
</td>
<td width="40">
%
</td>
<td width="110">
Australia
</td>
<td width="40">
%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
Occupied private dwellings
</td>
<td colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
None (includes bedsitters)
</td>
<td>
8,676
</td>
<td>
0.6
</td>
<td>
7,630
</td>
<td>
0.5
</td>
<td>
42,160
</td>
<td>
0.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
1 bedroom
</td>
<td>
64,983
</td>
<td>
4.2
</td>
<td>
55,834
</td>
<td>
4.0
</td>
<td>
363,129
</td>
<td>
4.7
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
2 bedrooms
</td>
<td>
260,607
</td>
<td>
16.8
</td>
<td>
241,392
</td>
<td>
17.3
</td>
<td>
1,481,577
</td>
<td>
19.1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
3 bedrooms
</td>
<td>
651,208
</td>
<td>
42.1
</td>
<td>
626,657
</td>
<td>
45.0
</td>
<td>
3,379,930
</td>
<td>
43.6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
4 or more bedrooms
</td>
<td>
532,756
</td>
<td>
34.4
</td>
<td>
431,408
</td>
<td>
31.0
</td>
<td>
2,350,132
</td>
<td>
30.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
Number of bedrooms not stated
</td>
<td>
29,075
</td>
<td>
1.9
</td>
<td>
28,715
</td>
<td>
2.1
</td>
<td>
143,394
</td>
<td>
1.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350"></td>
<td>
 
</td>
<td>
 
</td>
<td>
 
</td>
<td>
 
</td>
<td>
 
</td>
<td>
 
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
Average number of bedrooms per dwelling
</td>
<td>
3.2
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
<td>
3.1
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
<td>
3.1
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="350">
Average number of people per household
</td>
<td>
2.6
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
<td>
2.6
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
<td>
2.6
</td>
<td>
--
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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Queenslanders moving into bigger homes: ABS 2011 census

<html><body>
As we and our loved ones get older, a time will come when we will need to make a decision regarding assistance living (i.e. hostel or nursing home). The costs for such accommodation are increasing and depending on a formal assessment by ACAT (ages care assessment team) these cost could either be an initial lump sum (hostel accommodation) or significant daily costs (nursing home). Hence, you need not only awareness and understanding of your options, but it is critical to plan in advance before making such decisions.
<img src="/images/stories/2012/06/chanjune22.gif">
Trends within Australia - Ageing Population 
<ul>
<li>By 2051, more than 25% of the population will be aged over 65* </li>
<li>The number of people over 85 expected to more than quadruple to approximately 1.8 million**</li>
<li>June 2006 estimated^^:</li>
</ul>
–      72,600 people were in high-level aged care services (Nursing Homes)
–      14,400 people were in low-level care (Hostels)
–      80,000 people were in mixed high/low facilities 
* Access Economics, 2001. Population Ageing and the Economy, research paper commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, ACT.
**Treasury’s Australia 2050: Future Challenges (2010 Intergenerational Report).
^^ Aged Care Commissioner, 2009. 
Productivity Commission Report (released 28 June 2011)
“Over 1 million older Australians receive aged care services. The range and quality of these services have improved over past decades, but more needs to be done. Future challenges include the increasing numbers and expectations of older people, a relative fall in the number of informal carers, and the need for more workers. By 2050, over 3.5 million Australians are expected to use aged care services each year.” 
 
 
Ages care issues
 
When faced with making such decisions either for yourself or for loved ones, it is important to plan and consider the following issues;
 
<ul>
<li>Maximising Centrelink entitlements – age pension</li>
<li>Strategies to minimising aged care costs</li>
<li>Funding gaps /  protecting assets – What to do with the family home</li>
<li>Estate planning</li>
<li>Taking into account flexibility</li>
</ul>
The five steps to entry into aged care 
Step 1 - Assessing eligibility (ACAT)
Step 2 - Finding an aged care home that’s suitable
Step 3 - Work with a specialist adviser to discuss strategies when working out accommodation cost
Step 4 - Applying for entry
Step 5 - Moving into a home
 
 
Summary
 
Age care planning is complicated, but essential to achieve the best financial outcome. Things to consider are wide and varied like Centrelink entitlements, funding of the Aged Care costs, protecting assets, should the primary place of residence be retained or sold? All this plus the emotional challenges can take its toll, so again, the better the planning before hand and by following the five step process above, you stand a much better chance in making the twilight years of a loved one as pleasant as possible.
David Hasib is director of <a href="https://www.chan-naylor.com.au/financial-planning/?FrontendLogin=00BDCF5DC83F6808C47AEBFF8485E62A&amp;uuid=841DE940-A7B7-A2F5-95E0F0E96F220737">Chan &amp; Naylor Financial Planning</a>
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