South East Queensland developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/gardner-vaughan-group">Gardner Vaughan Group</a>’s entry into the Gold Coast apartment market has progressed from pipeline to market, with its Chevron Island project Bronze on Chevron now formally available to purchase ahead of a planned 2029 completion.

The 119-apartment development on Mawarra Street marks the Brisbane-headquartered builder-developer’s first residential play in the Gold Coast, following its expansion south from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bronze-on-chevron-8-mawarra-street-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Bronze on Chevron</a> comprises a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom residences, with pricing starting from just over $1.5 million. The project is being delivered under Gardner Vaughan’s fully integrated model, with the group acting as both developer and builder, a structure it has consistently applied across its South East Queensland portfolio.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=107520 project_image_fid=367182]

Architecture has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cottee-parker-architects">Cottee Parker</a>, with landscape architecture by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/jeremy-ferrier-landscape-design">Jeremy Ferrier</a>. The building presents as a single-tower scheme, with a focus on maximising outlook across both the Surfers Paradise skyline and the Nerang River.

Apartments have been planned with open-plan living zones extending to generous balconies, a response to the site’s dual-aspect positioning between river and ocean. Interiors follow a restrained coastal palette, with two colour schemes offered, and an emphasis on natural light and cross-ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=107520 project_image_fid=367181]

Resident amenity is concentrated across more than 1,250 sqm and includes a resort-style pool, gym, yoga lawn and rooftop entertaining areas. A function space with catering facilities forms part of the upper-level offering, alongside north- and south-facing outdoor areas.

Ground level will incorporate two retail tenancies, intended to extend the existing village character of the surrounding streets.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=107520 project_image_fid=367200]

The project sits within walking distance of Thomas Drive’s established dining strip, while maintaining proximity to <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Surfers Paradise</a> beach and broader Gold Coast amenity. The location, positioned on Chevron Island between the river and coastline, has increasingly attracted mid- to high-density development in recent years as the precinct evolves beyond its low-rise origins.

Gardner Vaughan’s move into the Gold Coast was first signalled in 2025, with the group identifying the region as a natural extension of its operations. Chief Executive Officer Simon Betteridge described the expansion as both “strategic and natural”, citing demand for well-designed apartments in lifestyle-driven markets.

Construction is expected to complete in early 2029.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=107520]

Joel Robinson

Gardner Vaughan brings Bronze on Chevron to market as Gold Coast debut

One of the penthouses at Lily Lane, the latest stage of Carrington Place by Ellipse Property, has set a new local apartment price record.

The four-bedroom residence, purchased by a local downsizer, sold for $5.75 million—around 75 per cent higher than the previous record of $3.3 million.

Over 40 per cent of the first release of apartments at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/lily-lane-at-carrington-place-castle-hill-32-carrington-road-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Lily Lane</a> have already been snapped up just six weeks since it launched to the market.

&nbsp;

Located at 32 Carrington Road, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/castle-hill-nsw-2154">Castle Hill</a> and designed by award-winning architects <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ptw">PTW</a>, Lily Lane is directly opposite the Hills Showground Metro station. It offers a total 213 units over two 12-storey towers - a mix of 67 one-bedroom, 100 two-bedroom and 46 three-bedroom apartments - with a ground-floor retail offering.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151821 project_image_fid=368352]

Blake Schulze, National Director – Residential at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/colliers">Colliers</a>, says around 44 per cent of buyers are&nbsp;owner occupiers, with 35 per cent being investors and 21 per cent first homebuyers.

“Developments of this calibre are very rare in the Hills District, and Lily Lane’s sales success demonstrates the depth of demand for over-sized apartments that genuinely compete with freestanding homes," Schulze says.

"We are seeing particular demand from downsizers who want to remain in the area but transition into spacious, high-quality apartment living."

On the penthouse sale, it says it shows buyers&nbsp;are prepared to pay a premium for scale, quality, and direct access to the Metro.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151821 project_image_fid=368351]

One-bedroom apartments are sized from 50-72 sqm with prices starting at $745,000, while two-bedrooms are priced from $990,000 with sizes from 75 to 132 square metres. Three-bedroom floorplans are sized between 97 and 182 sqm,, with prices starting at $1,395,000.&nbsp;

The three remaining penthouses, spanning up to 262 sqm, are priced from $2.9 million.

Over 75 per cent of apartments include dedicated studies, multipurpose rooms or family rooms, with select layouts offering walk-in pantries and laundries. Apartments are appointed with premium Miele appliances including ovens, washing machines, dryers, gas cooktops and dishwashers, while larger residences also incorporate integrated Miele microwaves, Fisher &amp; Paykel integrated refrigerators and five-burner Miele cooktops.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151821 project_image_fid=360285]

Lily Lane will be constructed by award-winning iCIRT-rated builder <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/decode">Decode Group</a>, with construction to commence in mid-2026 and expected to complete early 2029.

Carrington Place comprises more than 800 apartments and is being delivered across multiple stages, with completion expected in 2032. Integrated with neighbouring bushland, the project will feature over 20,000 sq, of outdoor recreational area, including a one-kilometre boardwalk to Fred Caterson Reserve.&nbsp;

The Hills Showground Metro Station is just a two-minute walk away, offering fast connectivity to Sydney’s CBD, North Sydney, Chatswood, Macquarie Park and Norwest Business Park.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151821]

Ellipse sets Castle Hill apartment record with $5.75 million Lily Lane penthouse sale

Fresh off completing its Delano Crows Nest development, Lindsay Bennelong has lodged plans for its next project, this time turning its attention to the beach.

The developer, founded by Clarendon Homes founder Peter Campbell, is proposing a 37-apartment scheme at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-25-ashburner-street-manly-nsw-2095">17-25 Ashburner Street</a>, Manly, positioned between the southern end of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/manly-nsw-2095">Manly</a> Beach and East Manly Cove.

Lindsay Bennelong called on local architecture firm Platform Architects to design the new building, given their success on The Finn, Lindsay Bennelong's current luxury apartment project on North Steyne.&nbsp;

According to the Design Verification Statement by Bridie Gough of Platform Architects, the proposal “relates to the current context but also the desired future character of taller buildings suitable to the new planning controls.”

The site has been identified as a Low to Mid-Rise Housing (LMR) location, given its position within 400 metres of the Manly Town Centre E1 Business Zone. The LMR controls are intended to unlock additional housing supply in well-located areas close to public transport, allowing developers to seek increased height limits to support greater density.

“The proposal seeks to provide this increased level of housing whilst being respectful of some of the smaller scale buildings also nearby,” the statement reads.

Lindsay Bennelong Development Director Leigh Manser said the project has been carefully aligned with the intent of the LMR controls. The proposal will significantly increase housing yield on the site, replacing four houses and 10 apartments, comprising 25 bedrooms, with 37 new apartments delivering a total of 94 bedrooms.

“Sydney is in a severe undersupply, and delivering more dwellings and more bedrooms than what currently exists is exactly what the LMR policy is designed to activate,” Manser said, noting that nine of the apartments will be allocated as affordable housing for frontline workers.

“We have already commenced discussions with our community housing provider to determine the rental levels that frontline workers can realistically afford in this location,” he said. “These will need to sit well below the standard affordable housing benchmark of 20 per cent below market rent, and that has been factored into our feasibility and pricing.”

<img alt="Manly" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ad03000f-19f9-48b4-b27d-e85ca800a1da" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-30%20at%208.41.59%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=a.txHwCZgbCInlQ6QXbIrI.umvW1T.r8" />

The design of the building incorporates a wave-like indentation running through the façade, referencing the nearby coastline and anchoring the building within its local context.

The&nbsp;Design Verification Statement says careful consideration has been given to the articulation of the building, ensuring the bulk is broken down to a more human scale through a defined four-storey podium."

The scheme includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

“The design ensures a high level of amenity, with apartments offering generous private open space, many with expansive views, and all with comfortable proportions."

<img alt="Bennelong" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6a7f2812-72a1-4959-84b0-997e8cd88aed" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-30%20at%2010.15.50%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6iMxU3MkXmHVHAoNhYBjnqgka8CUZNbk" />

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/lindsay-bennelong-developments">Lindsay Bennelong</a>&nbsp;is currently developing Finn Manly, just three full-floor luxury apartments on North Steyne. They recently welcomed residents to its 81-unit Delano Crows Nest development, a&nbsp;carefully scaled infill project designed to bridge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/crows-nest-nsw-2065">Crows Nest</a>’s lively village centre with its surrounding heritage streets.

Designed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ajc-architects">AJC Architects</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/delano-crows-nest-27-57-falcon-street-crows-nest-nsw-2065">Delano</a>&nbsp;is arranged across three low-rise buildings, incorporating a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments alongside a limited number of townhomes addressing Hayberry Lane. The architectural approach draws on the area’s Art Deco lineage, reinterpreted through contemporary detailing and framed by landscaped communal gardens.

The developer also has a development site in Maroubra.

First look: Lindsay Bennelong's new Manly apartment development revealed

Fifty-nine residences across 37 levels. No more than two per floor. With 80 per cent now sold, what remains at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/madeline-by-mosaic-broadbeach-22-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">Madeline by Mosaic</a> is a short list.

Madeline was always conceived at a scale that sits outside the normal register of Gold Coast apartment living. The residences are half- and full-floor configurations, with the largest spanning more than 400 sqm, dimensions that place them closer to the penthouse end of the market regardless of where they sit in the building.

That scale is the organising principle of everything else: how the floorplans are laid out, how the materials read, how the connection between inside and outside works.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=355941]

The interiors were developed in collaboration with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fraser-partners-0">Fraser &amp; Partners</a>, the architecture practice&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mosaic-property-group">Mosaic</a> brought in as design partner for the first time on this project. The palette runs to natural stone, textured timbers, and soft metallics, materials chosen as much for their tactile quality as their appearance.

Light cleverly shifts across surfaces through the day, and the design is explicit about wanting that to be noticed. Full-height glazing runs across the primary living areas, and where the building faces east toward the ocean, those walls of glass are doing real work: framing a view corridor that the site's position directly opposite Broadbeach State School's playing fields keeps permanently open.

That outlook is the site's most consequential asset. In a suburb where new towers continue to rise, a protected view line is genuinely rare, and the Mary Avenue address secures it. Residents at Madeline will look out over open parkland rather than the rear of another building, a distinction that becomes more meaningful with each new development approved nearby.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=355939]

The private outdoor spaces are sized to match the residences themselves. Terraces on the upper levels frame uninterrupted ocean panoramas, and the planning ensures that living areas extend into those outdoor zones rather than treating them as separate attachments. The flow between the two is part of the design intent, not an afterthought.

Inside, the finish specification reflects the same approach. Rich stone benchtops, warm timber joinery, bespoke hardware, each element specified to hold up over time rather than read as a moment in a particular trend cycle.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=3409]

Beyond the residences, the amenity offering extends that register. A lap pool and sun deck anchor the outdoor space, alongside a magnesium pool, cold plunge, steam room, and sauna.

A commercial-grade gymnasium, residents' lounge, library, and boardroom round out a programme that functions more like a private members club than a standard building amenity floor.

Construction has commenced under Mosaic's in-house building arm, with completion scheduled for late 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150135]

Madeline by Mosaic delivers penthouse-level living across every apartment

Developer Fortezza Group is the latest to take its new apartment development, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-belvedere-5-7-church-street-nelson-bay-nsw-2315">The Belvedere in Nelson Bay</a>, to the NSW Government.

Fortezza, predominantly a South East Queensland developer, is the latest to apply for State Significant Development&nbsp; status through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority, a pathway becoming favoured by developers to speed up the approval process.

They are planning 57 two- and three-bedroom apartments across 5-7 Church Street and 42 Donald Street, near d'Albora Nelson Bay Marina. The diverse apartment mix has sizes from just over 80 sqm to the largest three-bedroom penthouses that reach nearly 200 sqm.

<img alt="Fortezza" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="090360e1-66d7-43ad-b686-aba81f173bf2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-29%20at%2010.22.40%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=DMqF96eBZolqSAAAcugX0l66ueWng66m" />

Fortezza calls the project a "piece of Istria in Nelson Bay,"&nbsp;referring to the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea, shared by Croatia (90%), Slovenia, and Italy, which is known for its Roman history, Venetian-style coastal towns and inland hilltop villages.

They say the The Belvedere is strategically positioned at the apex of Nelson Bay, offering unrivalled views of the ocean, the bay and captivating topography of the area.

"Our commitment to maintaining the integrity of every view and sight line has been relentless," Fortezza Group says.

"Through extensive modelling and analysis, we ensure that each apartment enjoys the natural beauty of Nelson Bay, regardless of future developments. Each design element is carefully curated to harmonise with our European heritage, drawing profound inspiration from the Roman architectural marvels in Istria. The arches, the cascades of greenery and the stonework that define our project pay homage to the structures that once exemplified Roman grandeur."

Residents will have access to a pool, communal green spaces, an office and a coffee shop.

First look: Fortezza Group takes The Belvedere, Nelson Bay apartment development, to NSW Government

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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Positive sentiment among those in the property market has reached an all-time high, since ME Bank first started its quarterly property sentiment report in 2019.

According to the report, conducted in January, Aussie property investors recorded a 15 per cent increase in positive sentiment over the quarter, with buoyed sentiment supported by expectations for residential property price increases, higher levels of market activity and government incentives.

The rise in positive sentiment was reported across all states and territories, with 72 per cent of those ‘looking to buy’ noting that stimulus measures have made buying or investing more attractive to them.

Combined with the current record-low interest rates, investing in a property is becoming an attractive option. As a result, ME’s head of home loans Claudio Mazzarella said to expect to see property investors back in full force this year.

<h2>Expectations for rising property prices</h2>

Property owners are less concerned about ‘COVID-19 impacting the value of their property’ according to ME’s report.

77 per cent of survey participants indicated they ME’s report ’expect to see property prices bounce back’ this year and 54 per cent of property owners and buyers predicted ‘prices will go up’.

“It’s clear from our latest Report that most Australians anticipate a strong uptick in residential property prices. The data also shows a general increase in people’s sense of wealth and financial confidence as a result of these price movements”, Mazzarella said.

With property <a href="/expert-insights/buying/first-home-buyer-trends-will-2021-be-the-renaissance-of-the-suburbs" target="_blank">experts recommending first home buyers take advantage</a> of the remaining months of the HomeBuilder grant and government incentives, first home buyers may need to get in now.

“The flip side to higher property prices is that it will make it harder for first home buyers to get their foot in the door. It will be important for new entrants in the property market to do their research,” said Mazzarella.

Raised level of activity is expected to continue over the coming months as 78 per cent of report respondents ‘expect there will be more residential real estate activity this season to make up for last year’.

Queensland reported the highest level of positivity in Australia, with 56 per cent in metro areas and 58 per cent in the regions. 
 

<h2>New off-the-plan apartments you can secure in Queensland</h2>

1. Cabana, Palm Beach 
Address: 1 Nineteenth Avenue, Palm Beach QLD 4221 
Three-bedroom apartments from $2,325,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=84861]

Cabana offers a collection of 34 apartments, delivered by Ignite Projects and designed by Plus Architecture. 

Fringed with coconut palms and offering views over Palm Beach and the Gold Coast hinterland, Cabana boasts an exclusive residential living experience 
 

2. Chevron One, Surfers Paradise 
Address: 36-44 Stanhill Drive, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 
Two-bedroom apartments from $705,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515]

Delivered by Bensons Property Group, Chevron One rises 41 levels, boasting views of the famous waterways and beaches of Surfers Paradise. 

Designed by Marchese Partners, the residence features an outdoor lagoon pool, residents' lounge and kitchens designed by renowned chef, Shannon Bennett.  
 

3. Miles Residences, Kirra Point 
Address: Corner Miles Street and Marine Paradise, Kirra QLD 4225 
Two-bedroom apartments from $795,000

[smartcode_project:default project_id=27575]

Designed by Woods Bagot, Miles Residences offer a collection of architecturally designed one, two and three-bedroom apartments, many with an additional multi-purpose room. 

The residence, delivered by the KTQ Group, is framed by Norfolk pines and situated upon Australia's rare north-facing beaches. 
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According to ME Bank's quarterly property sentiment report, Aussie property investors recorded a 15 per cent increase in positive sentiment over the quarter

max.kwok_55688

Is now the time to buy? Positive sentiment at an all-time high among property investors

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It’s a great time to be a landlord in Australia. With rare exceptions, vacancies are ultra low, rents are rising and there’s massive momentum behind prices.

A nationwide property boom is under way (with the big city inner-ring unit markets the exception) and the curious thing is that investors haven’t been joining the party. 

The growth we saw in most markets in 2020 was driven by owner-occupiers, with first-home buyers leading the charge and other home buyers, especially lifestyle-seekers, prominent as well.

Investors were sitting on the fence, worried firstly about the September Cliff which failed to materialise and now apparently concerned about a potential March Cliff.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=600]

They’ve been waiting to see what would happen, before making decisions. And here’s what has happened while they’ve been fence-sitting – the new data from Domain shows that all capital cities had house price growth ranging from solid to strong in 2020, as did most of regional Australia. There was particularly notable uplift in the December Quarter.

This confirms earlier data from CoreLogic and both confirm the anecdotal evidence from the coal-face of markets which shows properties receiving multiple offers and selling for more than the asking prices, often before being formally listed.

Other research shows that rents have been rising in many parts of Australia, on the back of vacancy rates so low that it constitutes a national rental crisis.

So the hesitant investors have missed the first phase of the national property boom.

If they’d bought a year ago in many parts of Australia, their properties would now be worth 10%, 15% or 20% more than they paid.

For those who bought in sexy lifestyle locations like Byron Bay and the upmarket areas of the Sunshine Coast, a $1 million investment a year ago would now be worth around $1.3 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=84861]

If you’d bought a $400,000 property in Bendigo 12 months ago, it would likely now be worth around $460,000 (based on the median price data).

So it’s time for investors to stop procrastinating and get busy. And the latest ABS data on loans indicates that, at last, investors are starting to get involved.

This, in fact, is typical investor behaviour. Investors don’t lead property cycles, they react to them. They stampede into the market when they hear there’s a boom happening.

So I expect a big surge of activity from investors in 2021. There are too many good reasons to become buyers of well-located real estate and make it available to a hungry rental market.

The uplift in investor buyers will add further energy to the momentum already happening in markets across the nation.

It will make a national property boom that much more certain.

Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au

ryder@hotspotting.com.au

twitter.com/hotspotting
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The hesitant investors have missed the first phase of the national property boom.



terryryder

It’s time for real estate investors to stop procrastinating and get busy: Hotspotting's Terry Ryder

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EXPERT INSIGHT

The Aussie housing market is buoyant as the lifestyle stampede from the big cities to regional areas continues during the pandemic. Home prices advanced at the beginning of 2021, supported by record-low mortgage rates, the HomeBuilder grant scheme, the improving labour market, low advertised housing inventory and a pick up in home sales. In fact, CoreLogic estimates that “the number of national home sales over the past three months was 23.9 per cent higher than the equivalent three month period from a year ago.” The lift in sales volumes is consistent with an almost 50 per cent surge in owner-occupier housing loan approvals over the six months to November 2020. And CoreLogic preliminary national auction clearance rates hit 81.1 per cent last weekend.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515]

Home prices remain divergent across Australia. The smaller and relatively ‘Covid-19 free’ housing markets of Darwin (+2.3 per cent), Hobart (+1.6 per cent), Perth (+1.6 per cent) and Canberra (+1.2 per cent) outperformed big cities: Sydney and Melbourne (both +0.4 per cent) in January. 

But it’s regional Australian housing markets – benefiting from remote working arrangements, internal migration, closed borders and better affordability – that are going gangbusters during the pandemic. Regional home prices climbed by 1.58 per cent in January after December’s 1.63 per cent gain – the biggest lift in 17 years. Regional home prices surged 7.9 per cent in the year to January – the strongest annual growth rate in 16 years. CoreLogic data also shows that in 46 of the 88 SA4 regions, home prices were at record highs to begin 2021.

Australia’s manufacturing sector is expanding at the fastest pace in over four years with new order inflows hitting 4-year highs. In fact AiGroup reported that Aussie factories are benefitting from “disruptions to global supply chains,” which “have led more customers to purchase from Australian manufacturers.” And “demand from customers in the agriculture, mining, medical and home building sectors” has been particularly strong as Australia’s post-pandemic recovery gains momentum. 

What do the figures show?

The CoreLogic Home Value Index of national home prices rose by 0.9 per cent in January to be 3.0 per cent higher over the year. 

In capital cities, prices rose by 0.7 per cent to be up 1.7 per cent over the year. House prices climbed 0.9 per cent and apartment prices rose by 0.1 per cent. House prices were up 2.4 per cent on a year ago, but prices of apartments decreased by 0.1 per cent.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=600]

In regional areas, home prices jumped 1.6 per cent with house prices up 1.7 per cent and apartment prices up by 1.2 per cent. Regional home prices were up 7.9 per cent on the year with houses lifting 8.2 per cent and apartments up 6.2 per cent.  

The average Australian capital city house price (median price) in January was $709,017 and the average unit price was $574,565.

Home prices were higher in all eight capital cities in January: Sydney (+0.4 per cent); Melbourne (+0.4 per cent); Brisbane (+0.9 per cent); Adelaide (+0.9 per cent); Perth (+1.6 per cent); Hobart (+1.6 per cent); Darwin (+2.3 per cent); Canberra (+1.2 per cent).

Home prices were higher than a year ago in seven of the eight capital cities in January: Sydney (+2.0 per cent); Melbourne (-2.1 per cent); Brisbane (+4.0 per cent); Adelaide (+6.5 per cent); Perth (+3.4 per cent); Hobart (+6.8 per cent); Darwin (+11.4 per cent); Canberra (+8.5 per cent).

Total returns on national dwellings rose by 6.6 per cent in the year to January with houses up 7.2 per cent and units up by 4.8 per cent on a year earlier. In contrast, the S&amp;P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index fell by 0.7 per cent over the year to January. 

<img alt="" height="732" src="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/46_record_regions.jpg" width="354">

What are the implications for investors?

Australia’s property market is strong, driven by a pandemic-led recovery in house prices across regional Australia and smaller capital cities. But it’s not all good news with annual apartment prices turning negative in January amid oversupply and reduced demand for inner city living in the pandemic.

More modest gains in home prices are being recorded in Sydney and Melbourne as both contend with disruptions from virus flare ups, higher pandemic job losses, border closures, slowing population growth and a weaker unit market. In fact, prices fell slightly in Sydney – City and Inner South (-0.3 per cent), Sydney – Inner West (-0.1 per cent) and Melbourne – Inner East (-0.03 per cent) in January.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=22699]

And the rental market is incredibly weak in Australia’s two most populous cities with rents down 7.8 per cent in Melbourne and 5.6 per cent in Sydney over the year to January. The recovery in inner city rentals remains highly dependent on employer return-to-work directives, continued virus suppression and the job market recovery. But the upside is that rental affordability has improved for younger local students returning to university campuses in the next month. 

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) Group economists expect national home prices to lift by around 8.0 per cent in 2021.  However disparities within the housing market are expected to linger with stronger demand for detached housing relative to units and townhouses.  

Ryan Felsman is a Senior Economist at CommSec
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Home prices hit record highs in 46 Australian regions: CommSec's Ryan Felsman

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Some holiday home buyers are overlooking five key strategies which can turn their costly lifestyle investment into a money-making asset.

Australians invariably get caught up in the holiday romance of buying a ‘weekender’ and some will act on impulse while on vacation.

Often investors reason that by renting to holidaymakers when they aren’t using it, the asset’s maintenance and holding costs will be covered, but that’s rarely the case. Instead, holiday home buyers must seek maximum rental income and depreciation benefits to make the investment viable.

Most are buying emotionally and discover that higher-than-normal vacancies make their investment returns marginal at best. But smart investors know there are moves which can turn the numbers around.

Home property managers have five key rent boosters that also deliver great depreciation benefits.

There are a few things that boost your home’s appeal with holiday makers which not only maximise rental income, but also deliver excellent tax depreciation benefits. This means, come the end of the financial year, you’ll have more upside in your tax return thanks to your holiday home. 
 

1. Climate control

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_612232358.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="385" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_612232358.jpg?itok=Kj3zRE-n" width="580"></a>

Ensuring your holiday home is airconditioned is essential for attracting holiday makers. Vacationers will spend plenty of time relaxing at your short-stay, and they’ll want their comfort levels to be spot on.

Guaranteeing your home has split system air-conditioning and insulation not only helps improve the holiday experience for renters, but delivers tax benefits too.

The deductions available when you install a new split system represent 20 per cent of the cost of the asset within the first full year of claim. So, spending $3500 on a split system will equate to $700 worth of deductions in year one. 
 

2. Pet appeal

Holiday homes that are pet friendly command a premium, as pet owners look to take their ‘fur-babies’ on holiday which saves on the cost and stress of kennelling. But improvements which help create pet-friendly rentals also provide depreciation benefits.

Think boundary fencing, hardwood floors, pet proof landscaping. Even items such as an external doghouse can be depreciated. 
 

3. Outdoor entertaining

Holidays are built for family barbeques and lounging in a shady spot. The addition of a roofed outdoor relaxation and entertainment area will drive holiday makers to your home. They are also filled with depreciation opportunities such as ceiling fans, built in barbeques and benchtops.

For example, a relatively modest spend of around $4000 would both elevate your property’s rental earning potential, and deliver over $1000 in tax deductions in the first year after installation:

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2021-01-19_at_4.31.29_pm.png" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="192" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/screen_shot_2021-01-19_at_4.31.29_pm.png?itok=gu0O4Lb4" width="580"></a>

4. Pools

<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_254911351.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/s3/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/shutterstock_254911351.jpg?itok=3rHjgwIo" width="580"></a>

Even when near a beachside holiday spot, there’s no denying the appeal of a pool when holidaying.

If you’ve been fortunate to buy a home with a pool, don’t forget to claim depreciation benefits on the fencing and filtration system. 
 

5. Wifi and entertainment

Providing unlimited Wifi has become pretty much mandatory for holiday homes.

Access to streaming services, scrolling through websites on local hotspots or checking in on updated weather alerts and surf conditions make web access a must. Simple elements such as supplying a television can improve your tax deductions.

For example, televisions have an eight-year effective life, so under the diminishing value method, a $2000 TV will provide $500 in deductions in the first full year of claim.

While depreciation rules for computer equipment are currently found within the commercial sections of the tax legislation, it’s likely that computer equipment will become a residential plant and equipment item in time. Either way, routers and range extenders will always attract deductions.
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Anyone who has impulse bought a holiday home over Christmas must get serious about making it profitable

Five ways to turn holiday home investment duds into diamonds

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EXPERT INSIGHT

The data on rents published by Domain illustrates that this is a great time to be a landlord – in most locations across Australia. You might have a different view if you own an investment property in the inner-city areas of our biggest cities, but elsewhere we have a landlord’s market like never before.

Vacancy rates below 1% have become the norm in Australia. That’s a remarkable situation and it deserves repeating: vacancies under 1% are the norm.

Five of our capital cities – Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin – have vacancy rates under 1%. Brisbane is only marginally higher. And many of our regional centres have vacancies closer to zero than to 1%.

You would be hard-pressed to find a significant regional city or town with a vacancy rate above 2%. I’ve been researching and writing about Australian real estate for almost 40 years and I’ve never seen a rental market situation like this.

Research entities confirm that many locations have the tightest rental markets ever recorded. Every day I’m having conversations with real estate professionals across the nation. And when the topic is the rental market, the story is always the same: when a dwelling becomes available for rental there are queues of people - 30, 40 or 50 applicants – competing for the property.

It’s common for prospective tenants to make offers well above the asking rent and/or to offer to pay six or 12 months in advance to beat the competition. That is why the Domain figures show rents rising sharply in locations across Australia, especially outside the big cities – despite pandemic-related restrictions from state governments.

Multiple regional centres in NSW, Queensland and Victoria have had rents growing10% or more, sometimes 15-20%, in the past year. Among the capital cities, there have been double- digit rises in Perth and Darwin – and significant increases also in Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane. In Sydney, houses are up 5% although apartments have dropped.

There are many reasons why there is a dire shortage of rentals in most locations:

<ul>
<li> We haven’t been building sufficient new dwellings for the past three years or so.</li>
	<li> Vacancies are primarily an outcome of investor activity and investors have been sitting on the sidelines lately – owner-occupiers have been driving markets.</li>
	<li> The Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle, with large numbers of Australians leaving the big cities and moving to the fringes and to the regions, has further diminished the supply of rental properties.</li>
</ul>
This is a national crisis but it receives very little attention from media and even less from politicians. The various federal and state governments have been so busy dealing with the pandemic, they haven’t noticed the chronic shortage of properties and the dramatic impact of that on rentals.

One shudders to think what the situation would be if Labor had won the last Federal Election and scrapped negative gearing. Right now, we need the opposite kind of action – we need governments to provide direct incentives to Australians to become property investors and add to the rental pool. In the meantime, rents will keep going up. Propertyology’s head of research Simon Pressley is forecasting record increases and I think he’s right.

Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au 

ryder@hotspotting.com.au
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It's a great time to be an Australian landlord: Hotspotting's Terry Ryder

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ASIC has commenced civil proceedings in the Federal Court over what the corporate regulator claims is an unregistered Perth based managed investment scheme providing unlicensed financial advice.

The scheme has raised over $11 million for property development purposes.

The proceedings are against Ms Monica Kaur, MKS Property Investments/Developments Pty Ltd (MKS Property), Paradise Property Group Pty Ltd (Paradise Property) as well as against Mr Sadu Singh, Mr Melvin Paul Singh and Ms Stephanie Lee.

“ASIC is concerned that Ms Kaur is providing unlicensed financial advice services and that she, together with the defendants, are involved in promoting and operating an unregistered managed investment scheme,” ASIC advised.

On 16 December 2020, ASIC obtained urgent interim orders:  

- restraining the defendants from removing their assets from Australia, disposing of their property, and freezing monies in their bank accounts including in Singapore; and

- preventing Ms Kaur, Mr Singh and Mr Melvin Singh from leaving Australia.

ASIC alleges the defendants raised at least $11.3 million from around 300 investors during the period March 2017 to September 2020 through MKS Property. 

It is alleged that investors were encouraged to establish a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) and invest part or all of their SMSFs or other funds into property investments and developments set up by MKS Property and/or Paradise Property. 

These funds would be pooled together to invest in property development.

“ASIC alleges the defendants used investor funds, at least in part, for their own personal use and to pay returns to investors,” it claims.

On 17 December 2020, ASIC, with the assistance of the AFP, executed search warrants.

The orders are to remain until February 15.

ASIC’s investigation is continuing.
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ASIC alleges the defendants raised at least $11.3 million from around 300 investors during the period March 2017 to September 2020 through MKS Property.

jchancellor

ASIC launch Federal Court proceedings over alleged unlicensed $11.3 million property development scheme

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In a year that no one could have predicted, from a deadly global pandemic to our largest economic downturn since the 1930’s, CoreLogic’s recent Best of the Best 2020 Report reveals Australia’s $7.2 trillion residential real estate market proved remarkably resilient.

Eliza Owen, CoreLogic’s Head of Research Australia, says “The Best of the Best report for 2020 highlights the resilience of luxury markets in Australia, where the highest median house value was once again in Darling Point, and the highest median unit value was found in Point Piper, as with 2019.

“This is not to say these suburbs have been unaffected by the pandemic; indeed the high end of the Sydney market is generally more volatile to changes in economic conditions. However, this volatility also tends to see a rapid recovery in the wake of lower mortgage rates and an improvement in consumer sentiment.

“Perhaps even more surprising is that some of the suburbs more impacted by the pandemic are represented in this edition of the Best of the Best report as having the highest sales turnover value in the year to September.

“In the suburb of Melbourne, for example, unit values declined -3.4% between the onset of the pandemic in March, and the end of September. The total value of sales is down -3.9% in the year to September 2020 compared with the year to 2019. Yet the suburb of Melbourne has gone from having the sixth highest total sales value in 2019, to claim the number one spot in 2020,” says Ms Owen.

2020 in review

While the initial shock of COVID-19 led to a -2.1% decline in national property values between April and September, Australian housing values were 1.1% higher over the year to November following a recovery trend in the last two months.

Ms Owen says “Housing values have been supported by a strong mix of regulatory, monetary and fiscal measures, which have induced record-low mortgage rates, the deferment of mortgage repayment for households impacted by COVID-19, support for low income households, as well as grants and concessions for owner-occupier purchases.”

Demand for lifestyle areas is also a trend that may have been exacerbated, but was not necessarily triggered, by COVID-19. The narrative of Australians fleeing capital cities in search of a sea-change or tree change “because of COVID” has dominated reporting on the housing market through 2020.

“The relative popularity of lifestyle markets is evident in our report, and regional Australia out-performed the combined capital cities market. With the exception of the highest median value suburbs, our Best of the Best report is dominated by high performing regional areas across the country. Sunshine Beach on the Sunshine Coast has seen the highest annual capital growth in houses nationally, compared with 2019 when St Kilda in Melbourne saw the highest housing growth,” says Ms Owen.

Alternatively, rental market performance has been highly disparate. Ms Owen says “COVID-19 has had a severe impact on select rental markets in Australia, with Greater Melbourne unit rents falling -7.0% in the year to November 2020. Inner city rental markets of Sydney, Melbourne and to a lesser extent, Brisbane have been particularly impacted by the closure of international borders, where historically high demand from overseas migrants has been disrupted. Notably the vast majority of overseas arrivals to Australia are initially renters.

“However, there is a completely different dynamic in rental markets across Perth, Darwin, and other mining-related markets that has emerged. Following the long withdrawal of investor demand and several years of low new supply additions, rental markets are tightening. Across the suburb of South Headland, which holds the position of highest rental yields for units across the country, rents have increased significantly over the year following a long correction post mining-boom. This is also reflected in the WA capital, where Perth rent values have increased a remarkable 8.2% across dwellings over the year,” says Ms Owen.

2021 Outlook

Looking ahead to next year, Ms Owen comments on some expected trends.

“Record-low mortgage rates will likely be a significant tailwind for property values, and may place upward pressure on prices through 2021. Combined with a recovery in economic, some earlier factors considered a major risk to housing markets have been reduced, including the end of mortgage repayment deferrals.

“The inner-city Melbourne market is seeing greater risk in 2021, with an increase in listing stock weighing on a recovery in values. For example, modelled sales volumes for November estimate 4,301 transactions took place across Melbourne, compared with 8,054 new listings added to the market in the same period.  This means there was around 0.5 sales for each new listing added. This is very different from conditions across other capital cities, where the November sales to new listings ratio averaged 1.2 sales for each new listing added.

“So despite Melbourne dwelling values joining a broad-based recovery trend in November, and values rising 0.7% in the month, the disproportionate volume of stock to sales volumes may slow the rate recovery across the city in 2021.

“Property investment activity is likely to increase across smaller capital cities such as Perth, where rent values rose a remarkable 8.2% in the year to November. In Hobart, where gross rent yields are 4.6% across dwellings, the investor share of mortgage finance increased from a recent low of 16.4% in August 2020, to 21.8% in October across Tasmania.

“Institutional interventions will continue to shape the profile of property buyers, particularly as HomeBuilder is extended at a reduced rate into Q1 2021, and regulators monitor prudential lending standards. At June 2020, the housing debt to income ratio was 141.2, with housing debt accounting for most of Australian household debt. This poses an ongoing risk to the Australian economy, especially where heavily indebted households may be more likely to save rather than spend during periods of uncertainty or economic hardship.

“As a result, policy makers and regulators may watch for signs of rising household debt, or a decline in prudential lending standards that could lead to higher household debt. Higher LVR lending or higher loan to income ratios could be a trigger for macro-prudential intervention in 2021.

“Overall, the housing market outlook for 2021 is positive, given highly accommodative monetary and fiscal policy, signs of an economic recovery and many first home buyer incentives remaining in place through to early next year,” concludes Ms Owen.

ELIZA OWEN is CoreLogic’s Head of Research Australia
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CoreLogic’s Best of the Best 2020 Report released today reveals Australia’s $7.2 trillion residential real estate market proved remarkably resilient

Where were 2020's biggest property winners and where will they be in 2021?

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Last week I was assisting a client with her dual occupancy construction finance. We have Development Application (DA) and Construction Certificate (CC) consents and the builder has issued their Building Contract. The bank now has all the documentation required to unconditionally approve her construction finance.
They had conditionally approved her loan a few weeks earlier after verifying income and assessing serviceability and all the other stuff they do after you sign a mountain of loan docs. The next step was for the bank to value the two dwellings and then they could finalise the construction loan.
Her bank did an "As if Complete" valuation. This is also known as a Tentative on Completion valuation. It's when the bank value the project before it's constructed but based on how they think it will be completed.  lf it's more than one dwelling - a dual occupancy or multi unit project - they look for a value of the property '"in one line". This means not subdivided. If the bank had to sell the dwellings all on the original title, what would they get for them?
The number one, massive, biggest, fattest, most frustrating issue with this type of valuation  is that there are generally NO sales references. Who in their right mind would sell in one line if given the choice of making far more profit by subdividing?
When there are no sales references in one line, it is up to the valuer to determine how they discount the end values if the dwellings were on their own title.  Valuers must take legal responsibility for their opinion. The valuer needs to cover themselves in the instance that the bank may need to fire sell the properties together on one title of land.
The process of subdivision after building works are complete, whilst not complicated, can take a number of months to get to the registration stage. Yet the builder's final payment is due on completion of construction.
The Australian Property Institute publish a very interesting document on valuation standards. It's 395 pages long. That's how complicated the valuation process can be.  It covers valuations for different purposes such as market, mortgage and loan security, rating and taxing, for compulsory acquisitions, for assessing rental value, for property plant and material, for insurance purposes and to use in financial reports. 
In this instance due to no direct sales the valuer will possibly use a gross realisation of the dwellings assuming they are subdivided and on separate titles and then deduct a profit and risk factor, holding and selling costs to arrive at their valuation figure. 
They may also take into consideration a capitalisation of the gross income and use an acceptable market capitalisation rate or cap rate. 
In my opinion, without actual sales references of properties sold in one line, the valuer will be super conservative in their calculations and hence, a low On Completion valuation may be received. This is one of the perils of construction finance and so a buffer of cash should be put aside in case the construction loan requires supplementing. 
Applying for and then finally receiving approval of, construction finance can be one of the most lengthy phases of a development project. It can take longer than obtaining the DA consent and in some cases, has taken longer than the construction phase itself!  So be careful to allow, not only enough extra funds, but also time for your construction finance.
Jo Chivers is chief executive officer of property development project managers <a href="https://www.propertybloom.com.au/about" target="_blank">Property Bloom</a>.
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jochivers-wq5Bp59R5a

The complicated process of valuation: Jo Chivers

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Friday last week encapsulated all that’s wrong in the reporting of real estate in Australia. “Rental prices continue to soar” screamed one headline, while “Rental prices in Australia are going backwards” shouted another. 
How did different media outlets come to such different conclusions? One published the press release on The Domain Rental Report and the other published the handout from the CoreLogic Rental Index. 
As is so often the case, the statistics from one research source are different from those on the same subject from a competing source. Newspapers and other forms of media report each in isolation, often running the press release pretty much verbatim, without applying any journalistic oversight. 
No one looks at the material on the one subject from all sources and analyses it to make some sense of it for readers. 
Sometimes the numbers from two different sources aren’t that different. It’s just that one research entity will choose to place a negative slant on the figures and media will go with that, while another researcher will emphasise the positive.
The lack of genuine journalism on these matters is quite alarming. The content and tone of the press release is re-cycled to the public as news.
The result is confusion and misinformation, the curse of real estate consumers trying to figure out what’s really going on and make good decisions on investment.
So what can we make of the national rental data published by two major sources on the same day recently?
The reality is that they’re not actually so different. One chose to take a negative stance and the other decided to paint a brighter picture.
Here’s where Domain agrees with CoreLogic:
<ul>
<li>Both see rents going seriously backwards in Darwin. The annual decline in rents is in double digits, according to both sources.</li>
<li>Rents in Perth are still falling, though not as much as in Darwin, according to both.</li>
<li>Both sources see only moderate growth in rents in Sydney.</li>
<li>Both sources see minor growth in Melbourne, around 2-3 percent in annual terms.</li>
</ul>
And here’s where they don’t agree.
<ul>
<li>Domain records 2-3 percent growth in Brisbane, but CoreLogic reports a marginal fall.</li>
<li>Domain sees minor growth in Adelaide, but CoreLogic has rents down 1 percent annually.</li>
<li>CoreLogic reports essentially no change in Hobart, but Domain reports a 6 percent annual rise in house rents and a 2 percent rise in apartment rents.</li>
<li>CoreLogic records a 1.2 percent rise in its Canberra Rental Index but Domain sees bigger increases in rents in the capital.</li>
</ul>
It basically comes down to this: while there are a number of similarities, Domain’s figures overall are more positive than CoreLogic’s and it chose to take an optimistic outlet.
“Rents in most capital cities continue to rise, with falling vacancy rates indicating an ongoing shortage of rental properties,” said Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson.
“Despite the recent influx of home building, we can expect to see upward pressure on both houses and unit rents in most capital cities continuing in the foreseeable future.” 
But the CoreLogic analysis said the “annual capital city rental change is in decline and is now the lowest since 1996”.
My take on all this, having observed the quarterly rental data coming from all the usual suspects over the past 2-3 years, is that capital city rental growth has been consistently low over that period. While there are occasional exceptions, the capital cities have failed to deliver strong growth in rentals for years – and, in the case of Perth and Darwin, rents have dropped substantially.
Domain has chosen to be upbeat on its latest figures, but really they show very little in the way of strong, meaningful growth in rents.
It provides further evidence that the “housing shortage crisis” consistently claimed by the developer lobby is another of real estate’s enduring myths.
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Housing shortage crisis an enduring myth: Terry Ryder

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The common perception of first-home buyers as 20-somethings may need to be reconsidered, with a new survey showing a declining trend in first-home buyers aged 29 and under and a rising proportion of buyers aged 40 and over.
A Mortgage Choice online survey of 1,000 Australians who plan to buy their first home in the next two years found that the greatest proportion of first-home buyers (41%) are aged between 30 and 39, compared with 39% aged 18 to 29.
The proportion of prospective first-home buyers aged 40 and over was 20%, or one in five.
These results build on earlier online polls that show a trend of first-home buyers choosing to purchase when they are older and a marked decline in younger buyers.
The Mortgage Choice 2011 recent first-home owner survey found that the majority of first-home buyers (55%) were aged between 18 and 29, this itself a fall from a 2010 survey when 63% of respondents were in this age bracket.
The 2011 survey also found that 34% of recent first-home buyers were aged between 30 and 39, and only 11% were aged 40 and over.
Mortgage Choice spokesperson Belinda Williamson says the results of the survey show that “more first-home buyers are saving for longer and purchasing later in life, perhaps when they are in a better financial position”.
Other findings of the 2012 survey tie in with the shift towards older first-home buyers, with the average period to save for a deposit increasing from 1.8 years in the 2011 survey to two years in 2012.
It also found that job security concerns have increased notably since 2011, with 18% of 2012 respondents claiming it to be their biggest concern, compared with 11% last year.
Conversely, fewer buyers are concerned about rising house prices (22% this year compared with 31% in 2011) and even fewer are concerned about the impact of interest rates on their ability to purchase their first home (8% this year compared with 14% in 2011).
“While many of the economic indicators such as rate cuts, lower house prices and improved affordability might suggest now is a good time to buy, people are still nervous about their ability to sustain employment,” says Williamson.
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