<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/smith-by-valli-collingwood-224-228-smith-street-collingwood-vic-3066">Smith Collingwood</a> is a new boutique apartment development bringing a refined, design-led approach to one of Melbourne’s most established inner-city neighbourhoods.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pandolfini-architects">Pandolfini Architects</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/lisa-buxton-interiors">Lisa Buxton</a>, Smith by Valli sits on iconic Smith Street and comprises just 22 residences tailored toward owner-occupiers seeking a more considered style of apartment living.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=140747 project_image_fid=367540]

The design of Smith focuses on a north-facing orientation across all residences, a relatively uncommon feature in dense inner-Melbourne settings. Each apartment has been planned to maximise natural light and outlook, alongside a material palette defined by warm tones, custom joinery, and a full suite of Gaggenau appliances.

The development comprises a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, with pricing currently ranging from just under $1 million to around $4.85 million for the premium penthouse-level residences, reflecting growing demand for luxury owner-occupier product in Melbourne’s inner urban market.

Residents will also have access to a private rooftop garden designed as an elevated retreat above the city, &nbsp;featuring curated landscaping, veggie boxes, intimate seating areas and spaces for relaxed gatherings. Sustainability has also been integrated into the project through a 7-star energy rating and two secure bicycle facilities for every residence.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=140747 project_image_fid=367529]

Smith by Valli sits in the heart of one of Melbourne’s most established retail and hospitality strips, within walking distance of venues such as Falco Bakery, Carnation Canteen and Alimentari, alongside parks and everyday services. With a Walk Score of 99, the location reinforces the project’s positioning toward buyers prioritising walkability and access over car dependency.

With only a limited number of residences, Smith reflects growing demand for smaller, highly curated apartment developments that prioritise design quality, liveability, and connection to neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=140747]

Joel Robinson

Smith by Valli delivers a refined collection of luxury residences to Melbourne’s inner north

<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/developers/far-east-consortium">Far East Consortium</a>’s 640 Bourke Street stands as a testament to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">Melbourne</a>’s ability to bridge its storied past with a bold vision for the future.&nbsp;

Rising above the heritage-listed Eliza Tinsley building, the development reflects a broader shift toward adaptive reuse in the city, where historical assets are retained and reinterpreted as part of new residential development.

Designed by <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/640-bourke-street-melbourne-640-bourke-street-melbourne-vic-3000">640 Bourke Street</a> incorporates the Eliza Tinsley building as its foundation, housing a grand gallery and lobby space that serve as both a functional and symbolic centrepiece. The heritage façade informs the tower’s design, creating a connection between Melbourne’s past and its contemporary skyline.

"It's a significant asset and wants to be celebrated and experienced by all residents every single time they go in and out of the building," Rothelowman Principal Stuart Marsland said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=509 project_image_fid=365684]

Above this historic base, the 68-storey tower will deliver just over 600 residences, a notable reduction from earlier schemes, reflecting a deliberate move toward larger-format apartments and a stronger owner-occupier focus.

Unlike traditional CBD developments that prioritised investor stock, 640 Bourke Street has been repositioned to respond to changing buyer expectations.

"The discussion was all around making 640 Bourke Street the best residence to live in, to be much more focused on the people in the building rather than people looking at the building," Marsland explained.&nbsp;

This shift is evident in the development’s interiors, which emphasise practical luxury with spacious layouts, high ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows framing sweeping views of Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay.&nbsp;

“What it's meant for 640 Bourke is we've actually reduced the number of apartments. We've increased the overall size of the apartments. We don't have any studios in here, and what that does for a project is it elevates it," Lauren Sheldon, Far East Consortium’s Director of Sales and Marketing, said.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=509 project_image_fid=365687]

Rothelowman Associate Jun Chang added, "We were given the opportunity to be more generous. The apartments became bigger and squarer than any other apartments which had been designed in the CBD before that."&nbsp;

Amenities spanning more than 3,000 sqm across multiple levels further reinforce this focus on resident experience. These include a pool, gym, co-working areas, and a range of hospitality-inspired spaces such as a whisky lounge, library, and private dining rooms, many drawing reference from traditional bathhouses and Melbourne’s laneway culture.

"We wanted to make both the pool and the gym area to be absolutely destinational, and when you traverse across to these spaces, there is a gentle familiarity to the beautiful notions of the hammams and the Roman baths, a gentle nod to history," Chang noted.

At street level, the project contributes to the ongoing transformation of the western CBD, with upgrades to Langs Lane and the introduction of retail, hospitality, and gallery spaces designed to activate the precinct and strengthen its connection to the surrounding city fabric.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=509 project_image_fid=365689]

The location places residents within walking distance of Southern Cross Station, Flagstaff Gardens, Queen Victoria Market, and the Docklands waterfront, positioning the development within a rapidly evolving inner-city neighbourhood.

"We believe it's the best site left in the city of Melbourne," Craig Williams, Executive Director at Far East Consortium, said.&nbsp;

640 Bourke Street is Far East Consortium’s 14th building in Melbourne’s western CBD.

"A very elegant designed building. It's going to be a Melbourne statement for many, many years to come."

One-bedroom apartments are priced from around $640,000, with 640 Bourke Street targeting completion in 2029.

Renders shown are Artist's Impressions correct as of May 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=509]

Heritage-led design anchors Far East Consortium’s 640 Bourke St, Melbourne

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD Group</a> has set a new residential price record in Queensland with the $30 million sale of the penthouse at its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/one-burleigh-88-the-esplanade-burleigh-heads-qld-4220">ONE Burleigh</a> development in Burleigh Heads.

The sale equates to around $37,500 per sqm.

The two-level, 800 sqm penthouse, featuring five bedrooms, five bathrooms, five car spaces, and a private infinity pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean, was acquired by a Gold Coast-based entrepreneur, highlighting continued demand for ultra-premium beachfront product.

Selling agent Freddie Tehle of PRD Burleigh Heads said the result reflects tightening supply of high-quality, large-format apartments in Burleigh.

“There’s very limited opportunity to secure this level of scale and absolute beachfront position in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/burleigh-heads-qld-4220">Burleigh Heads</a>,” Tehle said.

“Buyers are increasingly seeking apartments that genuinely replace a standalone home, and this penthouse delivers that with its size, privacy, and direct ocean frontage.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=146358 project_image_fid=323057]

The sale comes as construction progresses on ONE Burleigh, a boutique development of 17 full-floor residences at 88 The Esplanade, scheduled for completion in early 2027.

Developed by MAYD Group and designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/mas-architecture-studio">MAS Architecture</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/sici-design">Sici Design</a>, the project has been positioned as a collection of house-sized beachfront apartments, each occupying an entire floor with around 381 sqm of internal and external living space.

When construction commenced, MAYD director Todd Mould pointed to the long-term resilience of premium coastal real estate as a key driver behind the project.

“Real estate, particularly at the premium end, remains one of the most resilient and proven long-term investment avenues,” Mould said.

“Our ambition is that anyone who buys a MAYD-built product can genuinely feel the care, craftsmanship and commitment we bring to every detail.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=146358 project_image_fid=323055]

Each residence has been configured with four bedrooms, multiple living zones, a private office, and expansive ocean-facing terraces. Interiors draw on a restrained material palette, including travertine stone, timber joinery, and integrated premium appliances.

Interior designer Sici Design said the approach was to reflect the project’s coastal setting through both materiality and spatial planning.

“ONE Burleigh is our vision of luxury living, designed to bring the essence of Burleigh Heads' vibrant coastal beauty into an unparalleled residential experience.”

Residents will have access to a suite of wellness-focused amenities, including pools, sauna facilities, and dedicated relaxation spaces, reflecting a broader shift toward lifestyle-driven apartment design on the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=146358 project_image_fid=323052]

The project occupies a southern Esplanade site with uninterrupted beachfront frontage, an increasingly rare offering in Burleigh Heads, free from the Norfolk Pines that line much of the coastline and often limit direct ocean outlook.

Mould said the design intent was to balance that outlook with a sense of retreat.

“Living at ONE Burleigh is about how your day naturally unfolds, morning light across the ocean, coffee on the balcony, and being in Burleigh but elevated above the noise.”

The result further reinforces Burleigh Heads’ emergence as one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held and supply-constrained beachfront markets, where boutique, owner-occupier-focused developments are increasingly setting new price benchmarks.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=146358]

MAYD Group sets Queensland record with $30 million penthouse sale at ONE Burleigh in Burleigh Heads

Apartment developers in the Gold Coast are finding new, creative ways to differentiate themselves from competing projects, as new supply starts to flow through up and down the Coast.

Developer BIG Projects brought in the renowned Sydney-based design studio YSG Studio to craft the interiors for The Frederick, BIG Projects' new Mermaid Beach project and YSG Studio's first move into the multi-residential development space.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110588 project_image_fid=5346]

It was a strategic move for BIG Projects to bring in a Sydney eye to the development.

“Our role is to give our design partners the space and freedom to explore,” says Matt Barrett, Director of BIG Projects.

“We wanted YSG Studio to capture the essence of Nobby’s, to design a building that embraces life, light and connection, while creating a genuine sense of place.”

There are only 39 apartments in The Frederick, including a striking beach house, just 100 metres from the booming Nobby Beach precinct.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110588 project_image_fid=5347]

Yasmine Ghoniem, Director of YSG Studio, says their vision&nbsp;for The Frederick "reinvents coastal living."

“Nobby’s has such an iconic energy, it’s one of those rare pockets of the Gold Coast where the community, the beach, and the streets all feel connected,” Ghoniem says.

"Responding to the neighbouring coastline, soothing curves add a relaxing regional overlay, while unique detailing really sets it apart. It’s a place that feels lived in from the moment you step inside.”

A standout feature of The Frederick is its rooftop terrace, an uncommon inclusion for a boutique, low-rise building, where amenity is typically concentrated at ground level.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110588 project_image_fid=5360]

Positioned to capture panoramic views from the hinterland to the ocean, the rooftop has been designed as a series of intimate zones. It includes a pool, sauna, sun decks, workspaces and dedicated entertaining areas.

“The rooftop was conceived as a collection of spaces where residents can unwind and connect, an extension of the Nobby’s lifestyle,” Barrett says.

Architecture for the project was led by Plus Studio, with landscape design by LDG Landscape Architecture.

SRQ Projects Director Nick Clydsdale, who is handling sales at The Frederick, says the majority of enquiry is coming from South East QLD and Victorian buyers who have been actively searching between Broadbeach and Mermaid Beach for some time.

"They’ve reviewed a number of projects, however this one has stood out for its unique detailing and compelling design,"&nbsp;Clydsdale says.

Site demolition is slated for this month, with construction commencing soon after. BIG Projects is targeting a late 2027 completion.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=110588]

Sydney’s YSG Studio makes Gold Coast multi-residential debut with BIG Projects at The Frederick

Melbourne-based property developer ALTA Property has this week achieved planning approval for the adaptive re-use of a former commercial tower into a $200 million, 169-apartment project at 10 Queens Road, one of the last developable sites along the Albert Park Lake-fronting boulevard.&nbsp;

Set within one of Melbourne’s most sought-after precincts and designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fraser-partners-0">Fraser and Partners</a>, the illustrious building will offer unparalleled views across Albert Park Lake, Port Phillip Bay and Melbourne CBD.&nbsp;

The mix of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom residences will be complemented by a ground-floor amenity featuring private dining, a lounge bar, gym and wellness spaces, co-working, outdoor communal gardens, and retail.&nbsp;

The 17-storey building is a masterclass in adaptive re-use, with the existing commercial building’s façade, shell and internal structure to be retained, before high-end residences are built from the ground up in a newly built Albert Park facing addition to the building.&nbsp;

Sitting atop the building will be two 320+sqm penthouses with private rooftop terraces, which are expected to be priced between $9 - $11 million.&nbsp;

<img alt="ALTA Property achieves permit approval for $200 million Queens Road tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa11211b-5581-43f9-940c-fc84d30a0e61" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/C_04.png?VersionId=Yhf5p_1EgGDu_zOIMFgvA8Ug8j3sTFQs" />

Architecturally, the building will feature a curved, geometric façade that celebrates and elevates the existing structure, with warm, muted tones which were selected to extend the materiality of the existing building rather than contrast it.&nbsp;

Interiors will bring together three metre high ceilings with waffle concrete in some spaces, natural timber, granite and Australian materials, culminating in crafted, generous and considered spaces that are defined by authenticity.&nbsp;

The adaptive re-use means that the Queens Road project will be a sustainability led, high-quality finished product, with a 62% saving in carbon emissions by re-using the existing structure rather than knocking it down and rebuilding.&nbsp;

ALTA Property was launched by Nigel Givoni in 2023, bringing over 25 years of experience in multi level residential delivery.&nbsp;

Melbourne’s property market growth is currently led by apartments. According to RPM VIC Apartments &amp; Townhomes Market Report (April 2026), units are outpacing houses, especially in the middle ring suburbs where median prices hit $757,500 – a four-year high that represents 2.9 percent growth quarter-on-quarter.&nbsp;

<img alt="ALTA Property achieves permit approval for $200 million Queens Road tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="647e13d7-b4bc-433a-9bc9-fe3c3dd4f2ec" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/V_06.png?VersionId=ou4NUCWUgA3NAy.6CQJlEdKX50j3dOk6" />

For ALTA Property Founder Nigel Givoni, this performance speaks to the confidence he has in the Melbourne market.&nbsp;

“Queens Road represents a rare opportunity to continue to shape our presence in the Melbourne market.,"&nbsp;Givoni says.

"With a considered project team and a premier site along one of the city’s most sought-after boulevards, we look forward to contributing to the fabric of this established address.

“Other Australian markets are getting a lot of attention, but I believe the depth of value in Melbourne is being overlooked. The fundamentals are strong, population growth is steady and, based on our preliminary conversations with a leading builder, construction costs are beginning to normalise, creating further opportunity."

Givoni says the project is a&nbsp;highly considered example of adaptive re-use, delivering quality, high-end residences, premium hotel-inspired amenities and an architecturally striking façade, all achieved without the need to remove the existing structure.

"We are really looking forward to the market’s response,” he said.&nbsp;

ALTA Property to deliver $200 million Queens Road apartment tower

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

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

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Caltex Australia has put 25 properties to market in the first tranche of a 50 property divestment strategy. 
The 25 service station/convenience store properties include 16 in New South Wales, seven in Victoria, one in WA, and one on the Gold Coast.
Caltex chief development officer, David Bridger, confirmed the strategic release of the first tranche of the sale of 50 freehold metropolitan sites was aimed at the apartment and mixed use market. 
The properties will be sold through CBRE and Stonebridge with purchasers having options to buy individual sites, sites in any combination or the offering as a whole. 
Locations include Surfers Paradise, Bondi, Mascot, Box Hill, and Perth.
CBRE Director Investments, Mark Wizel said the portfolio offered an opportunity for apartment, mixed use, retail, hotel and build-to-rent developers. 
"These sites are being offered at a time of strong ongoing demand for low to medium rise apartments which are now in short supply, due to the lack of development site opportunities within metro areas, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney," Wizel said. 
"The fact that the bulk of the sites are extremely well located to transport, schools and town centres make them ideal for apartments but for the same reasons they are also well suited to a range of other uses."
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/9/9/Caltex%20Brunswick%20East.jpg" alt="">
He said the offering had also come at a time when developers were looking to the suburbs for well-located low/medium rise opportunities. 
"Coincidentally those type of projects are ones which the banks are now much more amenable to providing funding for," Wizel said. 
He said market drivers such as the improving domestic residential clearance rate, low interest rates, and ongoing population growth would also be top of mind for prospective purchasers. 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/9/9/Caltex%20Clayton-2.jpg" alt="">
Recent CBRE research revealed an almost 30% rise in Asian buyer’s total spending from $880 million in 2017/2018 to $1.135 billion over the 2018/2019 financial year in Melbourne alone with nearly 80% of investment sales since June 1/2019 involving Asia-based investors. 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Caltex puts 25 development sites on the market

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EXPERT OBSERVER
Sydney’s Inner West Council has a new policy that it is reported means “residents will no longer need to seek council approval to prune or remove trees within three metres of an existing home or structure”.
Hold on, don’t reach for that chainsaw yet, because <a href="http://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Green-Infrastructure-vital-step-brilliant-Australian-cities.pdf" target="_blank">research shows</a> good green infrastructure – trees, green roofs and walls – can add value to your home.
 
Green infrastructure offers significant, economic, social and environmental benefits. Urban greening is particularly important in dense urban areas like Sydney’s Inner West. Among its benefits, green infrastructure:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-bushland-improves-our-health-and-why-planners-need-to-listen-72876" target="_blank">improves air quality</a></li>
<li>provides <a href="https://theconversation.com/many-people-feel-lonely-in-the-city-but-perhaps-third-places-can-help-with-that-92847" target="_blank">space for social interaction</a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-just-drains-recreating-living-streams-through-the-suburbs-83345" target="_blank">manages stormwater</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-cities-warmer-than-the-countryside-53160" target="_blank">reduces the urban heat island effect</a></li>
<li>provides space for <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-cities-can-help-feed-the-world-without-costing-the-earth-112186" target="_blank">urban food production</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-small-patch-of-bush-over-your-back-fence-might-be-key-to-a-species-survival-108672" target="_blank">improves biodiversity</a>.</li>
</ul>
Some of these benefits accrue to owners/occupiers, whereas others provide wider societal benefits.
A <a href="http://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Green-Infrastructure-vital-step-brilliant-Australian-cities.pdf" target="_blank">2017 study</a> focusing on three Sydney suburbs found a 10% increase in street tree canopy could increase property values by A$50,000 on average. And the shading effect of trees can <a href="http://www.gallagherstudio.com.au/blacktown-cool-streets-pilot-project" target="_blank">reduce energy bills by up to A$800 a year in Sydney</a>. So retaining your green infrastructure – your trees, that is – can deliver direct financial gains.
On a larger scale, a <a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/121458/1/Ghosh_Yung-Full-paper-Ecocity-Summit-2017-Final.pdf" target="_blank">collaborative project</a> with Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited compared carbon and economic benefits from urban trees considering different landuses along sections of two roads in Sydney. Higher benefits were recorded for the Pacific Highway, with 106 trees per hectare and 58.6% residential land use, compared to Parramatta Road, with 70 trees per hectare and 15.8% residential.
For the Pacific Highway section, total carbon storage and the structural value of trees (the cost of replacing a tree with a similar tree) were estimated at A$1.64 million and A$640 million respectively. Trees were also valuable for carbon sequestration and removing air pollution.
Tree species, age, health and density, as well as land use, are key indicators for financial and wider ecosystem benefits. Specifically, urban trees in private yards in residential areas are vital in providing individual landowner and collective government/non-government benefits.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Take away the trees close to these houses in Marrickville, in Sydney’s Inner West, and how much would be left? <a class="source" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henson_Park" target="_blank">Graeme Bartlett/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA</a>
<h2>Challenges of growth</h2>
As populations grow, cities increase density, with less green infrastructure. The loss of greenery affects the natural environment and both human and non-human well-being.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Tree canopy cover across Greater Sydney plummets closer to the city centre. <a class="source" href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/sustainability/city-its-landscape/urban-tree-canopy-cover-increased" target="_blank">© State of New South Wales through the Greater Sydney Commission. Data: SPOT5 Woody Extent and Foliage Projective Cover (FPH) 5-10m, 2011, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage</a>
Trees and other green infrastructure reduce some impacts of urban density. However, policies, government incentives and national priorities can produce progress in urban greening or lead to setbacks. In the case of the Inner West Council, for instance, the inability to fund monitoring of changes in tree cover could lead to reductions at the very time when we <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/sustainability/city-its-landscape/urban-tree-canopy-cover-increased" target="_blank">need more canopy cover</a>.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753" target="_blank">Key concerns</a> include installation and maintenance costs of green infrastructure (trees, green roofs and walls) in property development, and tree root damage. Knowledge and skills are needed to maintain green infrastructure. As a result, developers often consider other options more feasible.
In the short and long term, multiple performance benefits and economic and environmental values are needed to establish the viability of green infrastructure.
<h2>Learning from Stockholm</h2>
Stockholm shares many issues found in Australian cities. Stockholm houses over 20% of Sweden’s inhabitants, is increasing in density and redeveloping land to house a growing population. Aiming to be fossil-free by 2050, Stockholm acknowledges the built environment’s role in limiting climate change and its impacts.
In a research project we intend to use <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/virtual-reality-5439" target="_blank">virtual reality</a> (VR) and <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/electroencephalogram-eeg" target="_blank">electroencephalogram</a> (EEG) technology to assess perceptions of green infrastructure and reactions to it in various spaces.
Our project combines VR with EEG hardware, which measures human reactions to stimuli, to learn how people perceive and value green infrastructure in residential development.
<h2>Identifying all the value of green infrastructure</h2>
The many benefits of green infrastructure are both tangible and non-tangible. Economic benefits include:
<ul>
<li>those that directly benefit owners, occupants or investors – stormwater, increased property values and energy savings</li>
<li>other financial impacts – greenhouse gas savings, market-based savings and community benefits.</li>
</ul>
The various approaches to evaluating net value present a challenge in quantifying the value of green infrastructure. The most common – cost-benefit analysis, triple bottom line, life cycle assessment and life cycle costing – are all inadequate for evaluating trade-offs between economic and environmental performance. Conventional cost-benefit analysis is insufficient for investment analysis, as it doesn’t include environmental costs and benefits.
This is salient for green infrastructure, as owners/investors incur substantial direct costs, whereas various shareholders share the value. Perhaps, in recognition of the shared value, a range of subsidies could be adopted to compensate investors. Discounted rates anyone?
Recent efforts to evaluate the business case for green infrastructure include attempts to identify and quantify the creation of economic, environment and community/social value. However, an approach that includes a more comprehensive set of value drivers is needed to do this. This is the gap we aim to fill.
The results of experiments using VR and EEG technology and semi-structured interviews will provide a comprehensive understanding of green infrastructure. This will be correlated with capital and rental values to determine various degrees of willingness to pay.
With this knowledge, property developers in Sweden and Australia will be able to make a more informed and holistic business case for increasing green infrastructure for more liveable, healthy cities.
Maybe we can then persuade more people, including those in the Inner West, to hang onto their trees and leave the chainsaws in the garage.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122710/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sara-wilkinson-14186">Sara Wilkinson</a>, Associate Professor, School of the Built Environment, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936" target="_blank">University of Technology Sydney</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/agnieszka-zalejska-jonsson-823679" target="_blank">Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson</a>, Researcher, Division of Building and Real Estate Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/kth-royal-institute-of-technology-3258" target="_blank">KTH Royal Institute of Technology</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sumita-ghosh-485400" target="_blank">Sumita Ghosh</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of the Built Environment, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936" target="_blank">University of Technology Sydney</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-can-add-50-000-value-to-a-sydney-house-so-you-might-want-to-put-down-that-chainsaw-122710" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Trees can add $50,000 value to a Sydney house, so you might want to put down that chainsaw

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EXPERT OBSERVER
<div>Some blessed relief for housing investors as the number of interest-only loans was finally off the lows in the June 2019 quarter. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Following changes to serviceability rules further increases should hopefully be observed in the second half of 2019. </div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4O4lsCRwf3w/XXihJfNIBtI/AAAAAAAAxvI/VFB74vQ0fLkVPLfJdrzacn1_6lJS14RKQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/APRA3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4O4lsCRwf3w/XXihJfNIBtI/AAAAAAAAxvI/VFB74vQ0fLkVPLfJdrzacn1_6lJS14RKQCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/APRA3.jpg" width="640" height="380" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1360"></a></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The stock of interest-only loans continued to decline sharply to 21.8 per cent of total mortgages, however - comfortably the lowest share on record - having been at 39 per cent of the stock of outstanding mortgages by value as recently as early 2017. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This shows how dramatically effective the interest rate differential was in lending and borrowing behaviours, alongside caps and certain other restrictions. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Despite all the hype, there have been comparatively few signs of forced selling to date, with most borrowers managing the transition comfortably. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>In fact, new stock listings have remained exceptionally low. </div>
 
<div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbdYgMvXRC0/XXihJBDCpMI/AAAAAAAAxvE/_ggtTS4Uevoc2v0bCDK5FXu4nIDb4s5lgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/APRA1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbdYgMvXRC0/XXihJBDCpMI/AAAAAAAAxvE/_ggtTS4Uevoc2v0bCDK5FXu4nIDb4s5lgCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/APRA1.jpg" width="640" height="360" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1431"></a></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>There has been an impact on consumption, though, and NAB now forecasts three further interest rate cuts over the next nine months, as indeed does ANZ. In fact, NAB also sees a chance of unconventional measures on top of these cuts. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Of the remaining interest-only loans Westpac retains the largest stock.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Finally, the 5-year squeeze on higher-LVR lending has finally eased a little, with the majors steadily writing more loans at 80-90 per cent LVRs, which is also a relief to see.</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kP14s7e2XO0/XXihJTZDa1I/AAAAAAAAxvA/xt8bOFD1EI4ph6UQAGgzC_czyaFZF6CYwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/APRA2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kP14s7e2XO0/XXihJTZDa1I/AAAAAAAAxvA/xt8bOFD1EI4ph6UQAGgzC_czyaFZF6CYwCNcBGAsYHQ/s640/APRA2.jpg" width="640" height="368" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1397"></a></div>
Non-banks wrote a fair chunk of the loans at above 90 per cent LVRs, but there have been fewer exceptions reported as a share of total lending.
<div>Brink of crisis</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Overall, there are some tentative signs that banks are somewhat more willing and able to write mortgages, half a decade after the prudential tightening began. Investment lending is now only about half of what it was at the peak, and some loosening is welcomed to allow first homebuyers an opportunity to buy, with prices also lower over the past two years. Moreover, the banking Royal Commission brought Australia to the brink of a recession and a related banking crisis. At the last count monthly building approvals have crashed to 12,944 (with unit approvals down 44 per cent year-on-year), which is a diabolical leading indicator for activity in the economy, while credit growth is also dreadfully weak. Despite these atrocious numbers, there's often a palpable complacency evident in the housing market commentary. A banking crisis can still be averted, but only if banks can get some credit flowing again...and soon. </div>
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Has the interest-only cliff almost been negotiated? Pete Wargent

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CBRE's hiring of one of the country’s top-billing agents, Simon Rooney, from rival JLL, has caused turmoil in its Melbourne office.
CBRE has reportedly drafted rules that ensures Rooney gets the trophy listings priced at more than $75 million in any of its state offices.
"This is apparently causing the biggest stir in Melbourne," a Nine Entertainment website has reported, in a highly unusual gossipy foray into the world of commercial property sales.
"The team led by indefatigable upstart Mark Wizel has been barred from competing for listings valued over $75 million," the article in The Age suggested.
The website advised "fireworks inside CBRE’s offices" had been expected ever since the CBRE announced it had secured one of the country’s top-billing agents, Simon Rooney, from JLL.
It added Rooney was unchallenged when inside JLL. 
He started at CBRE on August 1, after offers from rival groups, including Cushman &amp; Wakefield, becoming executive managing director, retail investments at CBRE.
Wizel's title was CBRE's National Director of Retail Investments. Wizel (top) claims to be "a household name" in his linked profile.
Rooney's last listing as JLL’s Head of Retail Investments was being exclusively appointed on behalf of the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) to sell a 100% freehold interest in Beenleigh Marketplace in Brisbane.
Rooney left Jones Lang LaSalle after a 25-year stint in which he dominated the retail property sector brokering $20 billion in property deals over the past decade.
He was a top earner for JLL locally and ranked in its top three globally.
Wizel reportedly didn’t respond to calls from Nine Entertainment and a CBRE head office spokeswoman advised he was working "collaboratively" with the rest of retail team, including Wizel.
<div class="_1665V undefined">
As rivals the two have worked together on listings in the past including the landmark Brand Smart Premium Outlet Centre in Nunawading.
Meanwhile residential developer ID Land is has listed the Truganina Central Shopping Centre development site in Melbourne’s west through CBRE’s Justin Dowers, Mark Wizel and Kevin Tong.
It is being marketed as representing the first Melbourne metropolitan shopping centre site offering for 2019. The 2.2ha master planned site is earmarked for a full-line Coles supermarket and a range of specialty shops with commercial facilities, providing a total lettable area of 7,390 sqm. 
</div>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Mark Wizel and Simon Rooney in collaborative $75 million plus listings stoush

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A Hardware Lane freehold retail building has been listed for sale.
The two level space at <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-retail-vic-melbourne-503314554" target="_blank">60 Hardware Lane</a> is currently home to Italian restaurant Il Nostro Posto and French day spa Le Beau Monde.
It was once the workshop of master jeweller Gary Bradley, who had paid $175,000 in 1984 for what was then a printing works.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/9/11/60%20Hardware%20Lane%201.jpg" alt="">
It currently returns a total net income of $139,921 per annum across its 200 sqm of net lettable area.
CBRE Victoria agents Julian White, Nathan Mufale, Alex Brierley and Chao Zhang are marketing the 1872 built property which goes under the hammer October 3.
It is expected to fetch over $4 million.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/9/11/60%20Hardware%20Lane%202.jpg" alt="">
They suggest the block will benefit from an increase in foot traffic given the nearby developments of the new HQ of NAB, a 67 level mixed-use development on Lonsdale Street and a 55 level commercial building at 435 Bourke Street.
The last Hardware Lane sale came four years ago when Campari House, the four level block at 21-25 Hardware Lane, sold at auction for $8.1 million. 
It sold for a record $45,505 per sqm.
 
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Rare Hardware Lane, Melbourne listing

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The most obvious reason for wage stagnation is the decline in unionisation over the past three decades. But you won’t hear that from government economists. 
Wages growth for Australian workers is among the worst in the industrialised world. For more than <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2019/jun/pdf/wages-growth-by-pay-setting-method.pdf" target="_blank">a third</a> of workers on individual contracts, wages aren’t growing at all.
This is odd, given Australia is in a “<a href="/news">record</a>” 28th year of economic growth with apparently <a href="/news">low unemployment</a> and a supposedly <a href="http://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/speeches/budget-speech-2019-20" target="_blank">strong economy</a>.
Government economists have floated a range of reasons, from blaming workers not changing jobs enough to caps on public-service salaries. But the most obvious factor is the loss of worker power due to the decline in unionisation over the past three decades.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288130/original/file-20190815-136208-8bizez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288130/original/file-20190815-136208-8bizez.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a> 
Looking for alternative answers
Low wage growth is a problem in most industrialised countries, but since 2013 Australia’s nominal wage growth has been less than half the OECD average, <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/wages-crisis" target="_blank">according to Jim Stanford</a> at the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work.
Last year Stanford co-edited a book on <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/wages-crisis" target="_blank">the wages crisis in Australia</a>, to which I contributed. In the book’s third chapter, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-kinsella-420480" target="_blank">Stephen Kinsella</a> and John Howe declare “the erosion of workers’ rights is the most consequential, and actionable, factor behind the stagnation of wages in Australia”.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291398/original/file-20190909-175714-1v8zsnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291398/original/file-20190909-175714-1v8zsnh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Percentage of workforce covered by collective agreements. OECD Database on Union Coverage
But some government economists seem to be struggling to recognise this.
In July, a deputy secretary of Treasury instead pointed to the problem of workers not <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/111952-whats-driving-low-wages-growth-in-australia/" target="_blank">switching jobs enough</a> as warranting “further attention”.
It was as if, somehow, workers had collectively but separately decided not to apply for higher paying jobs, and this was a cause rather than an effect of lower worker power.
Last month the Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, told the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics that <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-gov-2019-08-09" target="_blank">caps on public-sector wage increases</a> were part of the problem. This suggests the bank recognises there is an institutional element to the issue, though low wage growth is not just a public-sector problem.
Reserve blank
In April, the Reserve Bank <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/2019/" target="_blank">held a conference</a> on low wages growth.
One of the papers, by staff in the Reserve Bank’s Economic Research Department, <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2019/pdf/rdp2019-02.pdf" target="_blank">found</a> that union membership declines “are unlikely to account for much of the recent low wages growth”.
This finding was odd, because for decades economists have been <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001979398203500306" target="_blank">writing about</a> how <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1803398.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A5929b5c17d3b431fedbb6fe8909fdc00" target="_blank">unions have raised wages</a>, and how union decline is a factor in <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0003122411414817" target="_blank">rising inequality</a>.
In the past, Reserve Bank officials have complained that unions were too effective. In 1997, for example, the bank’s deputy governor worried about there being “<a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/1997/sp-dg-050997" target="_blank">excessive wage demands</a>”.
The paper from the bank’s Economic Research Department is based on analysing statistics from the federal government’s Workplace Agreements Database. It’s a very good database, but it does not contain data on union density (membership as a proportion of employment). So it cannot be used to test if declining union density is affecting wage outcomes.
Union density is <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2296441.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A9304cd89d9549e806cbf33cc19465ec" target="_blank">far from being</a> a perfect measure of union power, but it is better than the proxies the paper uses.
In lieu of considering union density, the paper bases its conclusion on finding there has been no decline in the share of enterprise agreements negotiated with union involvement. It also finds wages in union agreements have continued to grow faster than wages in non-union agreements.
Neither of these findings proves wage stagnation is unconnected to declining union density. They only show that employees have even less bargaining power when they aren’t unionised.
We need stronger evidence than this to overturn decades of research showing unions raised wages.
Labour market monopsony
That said, the decline in union density is not the only issue. Changes to industrial relations laws have also made it harder for unions to obtain wage increases. Modelling the effects of such things is even harder for economists.
Research overseas points to local labour markets being <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w23108.pdf" target="_blank">increasingly dominated</a> by a small number of employers. The US National Bureau of Economic Research suggests wages in more concentrated labour markets are <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w24147.pdf" target="_blank">17% lower</a> than wages in less concentrated labour markets.
Tacit or explicit agreements between employers to not poach workers, and “non-compete” clauses being forced on even <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-case-against-non-competes/">low-skilled workers</a>, also shift power from employees to employers.
As the late Princeton University economist Alan Krueger <a href="https://www.kansascityfed.org/%7E/media/files/publicat/sympos/2018/papersandhandouts/824180824kruegerremarks.pdf?la=en" target="_blank">pointed out last year</a>, monopsony power – the power of buyers (employers) when there are only a few – has probably always existed in labour markets “but the forces that traditionally counterbalanced monopsony power and boosted worker bargaining power have eroded in recent decades”.
So yes, there are a number of reasons why workers have less power, and why wages growth is weaker, than in the past. Among them, though, we cannot ignore the critical fall in union bargaining power.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122041/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
David Peetz, Professor of Employment Relations, Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith University.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-an-obvious-reason-wages-arent-growing-but-you-wont-hear-it-from-treasury-or-the-reserve-bank-122041" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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There’s an obvious reason wages aren’t growing, but you won’t hear it from Treasury or the Reserve Bank: David Peetz

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
We’ve entered out 29th year of uninterpreted economic growth. Continued good fortune will require harder decisions.
Official figures released Wednesday show the Australian economy growing at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-weve-the-weakest-economy-since-the-global-financial-crisis-with-few-clear-ways-out-122942" target="_blank">slowest pace since the financial crisis</a>.
GDP growth was only 0.5% for the June quarter, meaning that in the past year output grew by a feeble 1.4%.
The figures weren’t a surprise, but they do contain a message about what can go wrong.
Australia has enjoyed 28 years of uninterrupted economic growth, in part due to good management, in part due to good luck, and in part due to happy accidents of timing.
Good management
Credit has to be paid to the economic reforms of the Hawke-Keating era. Labor doesn’t talk about that legacy much these days, but it was a remarkable period of transformation.
From floating the Australian dollar and financial deregulation to the accord with trade unions, tariff reductions, and privatisation of state-owned enterprises, Hawke and Keating opened Australia to the world, and the world to Australia.
Without those reforms the Australian economy would look more like those of Italy, Spain, or Portugal.
And although John Howard was no pushover as a politician, he deserves credit for voting for economic reforms he believed in, even if Labor got the credit for implementing them.
It is worth remembering that there was a time, not so long ago, when politicians put country before party.
Good luck
We’ve also had some pretty good luck as a country. The most obvious piece of luck has been the economic awakening of China.
To have a billion people on our doorstep rapidly and radically transitioning from subsistence farming to sophisticated manufacturing and commerce, hungry for natural resources, sure helped.
Perhaps less obvious has been the rising importance of globally relevant cities around the world.
In his wonderful book, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/0143120549" target="_blank">The Triumph of the City</a>, Harvard economics professor Ed Glaeser chronicles how, as he puts it, “cities magnify humanity’s strengths”.
Modern cities, thanks in part to information technology, spur innovation like never before. They bring talent together, serve as a cradle for entrepreneurship, and provide a vehicle for socioeconomic mobility.
Australia, as a highly urbanised country with two globally relevant cities in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as several other very important cities, has benefited from the triumph of the city more than most countries.
Great timing
But perhaps the greatest piece of good luck we’ve had was timing.
We now know that we live in a low-growth, low-inflation world, known as a secular-stagnation world. Former US Treasury Secretary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYpVzBbQIX0" target="_blank">Larry Summers</a> says we might have been in one for many years but failed to notice.
In Summers’s telling, secular stagnation was masked in the United States by a massive housing bubble. In Australia it was masked by a housing bubble and a once-in-a century mining boom.
But more to the point, as housing and mining waxed and waned – as these things tend to do – one always seemed to be doing well just as the other was struggling, as the following chart shows:
Helpfully out of sync. Growth in mining output and property prices
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291063/original/file-20190905-175714-1kro0v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291063/original/file-20190905-175714-1kro0v6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
Source: ABS
So, not only have we had a “China boom”, we’ve also had a “China hedge”: a source of economic growth not fully synced with, and at times offsetting, housing booms and busts.
What’s next?
In eulogising his brother Robert, <a href="https://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk" target="_blank">Edward Kennedy quoted from a speech</a> his brother gave in South Africa in 1966, in which he said:
"Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny."
There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.
The same might be said of Australia.
We want to believe our national destiny will be shaped by good work, rather than good luck.
For that to be the case, we will need to have some hard discussions about the what government can and should do in the new low growth, low inflation secular-stagnation world.
Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vital-signs-sure-economic-growth-is-low-but-think-about-whats-gone-right-122973" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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rh-YsoTT2xMuQ

Sure, economic growth is low, but think about what’s gone right: Richard Holden

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The Melbourne-based Impact Investment Group has decided to offload the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay.
JLL Hotels &amp; Hospitality Group has been exclusively appointed with expectations of a $100 million plus sale.
The ‘Beachie’, as it is often referred to, was built in the 1990s by long-time local John Cornell.
Located with over 100 metres frontage overlooking Byron’s Main Beach, the hotel spans a 4,585 sqm area and includes 25 newly-appointed luxury boutique hotel rooms and swimming pool.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2019/9/10/Byron%20Bay%20Beach%20Hotel%203.JPG" alt="">
It also features a large pub with extensive beer gardens, restaurant, function spaces and bottle shop.
The business has been owned and run since 2007 by Melbourne restauranteurs and hospitality figures John and Lisa van Haandel.
The opportunity to operate the icon is now available for only the second time since it was built.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2019/9/10/Byron%20Bay%20Beach%20Hotel%202.JPG" alt="">
The campaign will be managed by JLL’s National Director John Musca, supported by JLL boutique accommodation specialist Tom Gibson and Queensland Vice-President Tom Gleeson.
National and international expressions of interest will be sought with the process likely to start in October and conclude in November.
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Beach Hotel in Byron Bay listed with $100 million expectations

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The heritage-listed former home of Prahran’s renowned Jacques Reymond restaurant has been listed for sale.
Reymond, who owns <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/property/78-williams-road-prahran-vic-3181-2015612121" target="_blank">the Victorian mansion at 78 Williams Road</a>, closed the doors of his restaurant in 2013 after a number of decades.
He entertained the likes of Elton John, Kylie and Danni Minogue, Michael Schumacher and Cliff Richard.
It became Woodland House, the two-hatted fine dining restaurant ran by Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland, in 2014.
They bought out Reymond, who was their mentor, but were forced to appoint liquidators earlier this year.
In the 1980s it was home to highly regarded restaurant Allison's.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2019/9/11/Jacques%20Reymond%20PRAHRAN%202.jpg" alt="">
Colliers International’s Guy Wells, Ben Baines and Alex Browne are marketing the 1,010 sqm property with a $4.1 million to $4.51 million guide.
The grand gold-rush era property was originally constructed as one of two identical residences in the 1880s as a wedding gift to the owner's daughter. The Reymond family paid $1 million back in 1993.
The neighbouring property is a four bedroom home with formal dining room, living room and ground floor kitchen area.
“Offering rich history and endless charm, this is a rare opportunity to acquire one of Melbourne’s most recognizable buildings and influence the next chapter of this iconic property’s outstanding story," Wells said.
“The property, with its heritage façade, expansive rooms, abundant natural light and high quality improvements, offers a wide range of potential future uses.
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Wells suggested 78 Williams would suit a conversion back to a grand residential property with its high ceilings, large land holding and surrounding proximity to prestigious schools, major arterials, parklands and retail amenity.
Wells also suggested the building could suit medical offices, as well as having the potential to be converted in to heritage apartments within the existing envelope.
 
 
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Former Prahran home of award-winning Jacques Reymond restaurant hits the market

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A premium commercial space on Woollahra's pricey Queen Street has sold this morning under the hammer for $15.1 million.
The street level of <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-retail-nsw-woollahra-503298542" target="_blank">80-82 Queen Street</a> is occupied by linen store Polite Society and kitchen supply store The Bay Tree.
Jocelyn Petroni &amp; Roth Architects take both of the first level office tenancies. The current net income $477,000 per annum (approx).
It was sold by Pozetu Pty Ltd, directed by Sam Ballas, the polo playing property developer.
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The building, spanning three street frontages on 405 sqm, is bound by Queen Street at the front, Halls Lane at the side and Smith Street at the rear. 
Ray White Woollahra agent Ben Vaughan sold the property in conjunction with Confidence Property's Bryce Ibrahim.
There were eight registered parties, although only two got to bid after the opening $12 million offer. A caveat on the title was subsequently registered by Backas Pty Ltd, a company directed the Maple-Brown family, founders of Rockend.
Down the road a <a href="/expert-insights/investing/gutted-queen-street-woollahra-shop-listed-for-sale">gutted shop at 148 Queen</a>, along with 146, sold a week before its scheduled Savills auction for around $5.6 million in conjunction with Raine &amp; Horne Double Bay's Peter Starr.
It had previously been the home of the DeCosti seafood shop.
 
 
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