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“Minister Chanthivong and his team have shown real leadership in replacing an outdated two-year bond with cover that matches the lifespan of the buildings people are buying into.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

Joel Robinson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<html><body>
SPONSORED POST
Australia’s CBD office markets have recorded a drop in vacancy rates throughout the second half of 2018, with Canberra leading the charge by falling 200 basis points, according to Savills Australia.
The findings come as a preview to the Property Council of Australia’s (PCA) release of its 2019 Office Market Report on Thursday, with all CBD markets recording falls in their vacancy rates throughout the six months to December 2018.
Savills Australia’s director for Research &amp; Consultancy, Shrabastee Mallik, said that the drivers for each CBD market were “vastly different”, though a normalisation in economic conditions across sectors and states, paired with strong office market fundamentals, were buoying CBD office markets across the country.
“We are at a point where we are seeing significant growth across a diverse range of industries, which is evident from gains in corporate profits in 2018,” she said.
“This has organically translated to growing requirements for workers in these industries. 
“In the September quarter, we saw the healthcare, mining, construction, and professional and technical services sectors driving total economic growth.”
NEW SOUTH WALES
In the Sydney CBD, the vacancy rate fell 50 basis points in the latter half of 2018 to 4.1 per cent, the lowest it has been since 2011, and one of the three lowest figures since the PCA started its Office Market Report series in 1990. There was a skew towards lessees from the property and business services, and finance and insurance industries seeking new office space.
NSW state director for Office Leasing, Tom Mott, said occupiers looking for office space greater than 3,000sqm with a start date in 2018 had been hard-pressed to find anything suitable.
“There was also merger and acquisition activity among law firms, and centralisation from the suburbs to the CBD, and the co-working trend continued,” he said.
“Apart from the co-working deals, staff attraction and retention were at the top of the agenda for why major office moves took place.” 
Mr Mott went on to say that despite the upcoming state and federal elections, which would typically suppress demand, building owners would continue to benefit from the lack of supply.
“As a result, we will continue to see net effective rental growth and ongoing competition for space,” he said.
<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/2019/2/5/Savills-Office1.jpg" alt="">
“With the tight supply in 2019, many occupiers will look to refurbish their existing premises, which will see them upgrade their break-out areas and collaboration zones.
“We’re seeing an ongoing focus on mental health and overall wellness, which is an evolving trend to encourage staff to engage with each other on a more personal level, and in turn retain them.”
Mr Mott said building owners with vacant space would be well advised to “create a customer-focused, innovative and warm end-to-end experience in their buildings to capture the tenants looking to move”.
Key lease deals in 2018 included Allianz for 10,820sqm at 10 Carrington Street; WeWork for 3,800sqm at 64 York Street; Mills Oakley for 5,673sqm and Pfizer for 4,640sqm, both at 151 Clarence Street; and Norton Rose Fulbright for 9,527sqm at 60 Martin Place.
VICTORIA
In Melbourne, the CBD office vacancy rate fell 40 basis points to 3.2 per cent in the six-month period to December 2018, the lowest of all CBD markets nationally, which was largely in line with market expectations, given the limited amount of space available to lease. 
Savills research shows this phenomenon reflected in the leasing volumes, with just more than 250,000sqm (for space greater than 1,000sqm) leased in 2018, which was well below the numbers recorded in the past two years. 
“The simple fact is that office space in the Melbourne CBD is limited,” Ms Mallik said.
“The vacancy rate in June 2018 was already at a record low, so the scope for further downward movement is restricted.
“Tellingly, of the total leasing volume that was recorded last year, nearly half was for pre-commitments, further highlighting the lack of space currently available in the CBD.”
Melbourne’s CBD is experiencing a greater diversification in the tenant base, with government and education providers more prevalent than in Sydney, due to the lower rents.
Key lease deals in 2018 included NAB for 65,000sqm at 405 Bourke Street; Energy Australia for 22,000sqm at 697 Collins Street; Cbus Super for 9,600sqm at 130 Lonsdale Street; and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority for 7,600sqm, also at 130 Lonsdale Street.
VIC state director for Office Leasing, Mark Rasmussen, said Melbourne’s office market and economy had been “the powerhouse of the nation” in 2018, recently outpacing the rest of the eastern seaboard. 
“The dramatic falls in office vacancy rates throughout the past two years are becoming more gradual, as Melbourne moves towards a vacancy trough at the end of 2019,” he said. 
“We simply do not have the space to lease.”
Mr Rasmussen went on to say that the current vacancy rate was at an all-time low of circa 3.0 per cent, with the early 2020s trough expected to sink to mid-2.0 per cent, and A-grade office vacancy significantly lower again.
“At the coalface of the leasing market, we feel the frenetic pace of the Melbourne economy will slow with the looming federal election, the expected change of government, the reduced availability of credit, and the geo-political challenges across the globe,” he said.
“Despite these challenges, tenants with leases expiring in 2019 are faced with a lack of options and continued high rental growth, which has been close to 10 per cent per annum these past two years.
“Tenants with 2019 lease expiry dates and their landlords should ensure they seek advice to understand and keep up with this dynamic marketplace.”
Mr Rasmussen predicted that despite the recent sharp increases to rental rates, the higher base would become the new normal, “as Melbourne finally starts to catch up with other Australian capital city rents”.
QUEENSLAND
PCA data showed the Brisbane CBD’s office vacancy rate lead the national drop in office vacancy, falling 170 basis points in the latter half of 2018, to 13.0 per cent, which exceeded market expectations.
Recent leasing activity suggests there will be greater movement in the vacancy rate in the first half of 2019, with several large leasing deals currently underway. 
“Leasing activity in the CBD is often restricted by the proximity of the city’s fringe office market, allowing occupiers to move easily between the two precincts, though similar rents and incentives are providing the impetus for occupiers to look for space in the more viable CBD,” Ms Mallik said. 
“Complementary development activity in the form of Queens Wharf, has really brought the CBD to life, and the wellness movement that has taken off recently is also aiding occupier moves into the city.”
Savills Office Leasing manager, Daniel Boyes, confirmed that Brisbane’s leasing enquiry had continued to strengthen on the back of the downward trend in vacancy.
“The CBD has seen several new additions with WeWork, Hub and various other groups absorbing large portions of space,” he said.
“Demand for smaller fitted suites has also seen consistent growth despite a significant increase in supply.” 
Mr Boyes went on to say that the Brisbane CBD hosted “a healthy mix” of tenants and was not as skewed towards the mining industry as the media was suggesting.
“Throughout the past 12 months, we have actually seen several lessees from the finance and insurance industries capitalise on low rents and relatively high incentives to recentralise into the CBD,” he said.
“That said, we will see continued growth and demand from coal miners, along with the state government, two sectors we have identified as major growth occupiers in 2019.” 
Key lease deals in 2018 included Suncorp for 39,600sqm at 80 Ann Street; Deloitte for 8,000sqm at 123 Eagle Street; the state government for 5,319sqm Capital Hill; and Sonic Healthcare for 2,138sqm at 545 Queen Street.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
In Perth, PCA data showed the CBD office vacancy rate falling 90 basis points to 18.5 per cent in the six-month period to December 2018, with leasing activity showing an uplift, and recentralisation a recurring theme among occupiers. 
“In 2018, we saw just under 70,000sqm (for space greater than 1,000sqm) of leasing volume recorded, which was up from the year prior,” Ms Mallik said.
“We are likely to see leasing volumes continue to be supported by the recentralisation trend, as lessees look to capitalise on record low rents and relatively high incentives. 
“Perth is similar to Brisbane, in that we are seeing the city come alive with complementary development activity, most notably in the form of Elizabeth Quay. 
“Infrastructure activity is also pushing this story, with Perth City Link aiding connectivity to the CBD.”
Savills national head of Office Leasing, Graham Postma, said the significant decline in vacancy was “a direct result of the key trends of 2018 – recentralisation to the CBD and the flight to quality”.  
“This is clearly evidenced by the divergence in direction of the premium and A-grade vacancy, both of which are declining, compared to Sydney levels in the case of premium stock, while lower-grade stock continues to increase,” he said.
Perth has long been known as the mining capital of Australia, with Ms Mallik saying the mining resurgence was underpinning the CBD leasing market.
“In 2018, almost half of the total leasing volume was to tenants from the mining and utilities industry,” she said.
Key lease deals included Wood Group for 9,198sqm at 240 St Georges Terrace; the Department of Human Services for a combined 13,037sqm across two deals at 556 Wellington Street and 226 Adelaide Terrace; Minter Ellison for 3,440sqm at 77 St Georges Terrace; and Macquarie Bank for 3,311sqm at 240 St Georges Terrace.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Adelaide’s CBD office market experienced a vacancy rate fall of 50 basis points to 14.2 per cent in the latter half of 2018, with leasing volumes recording a significant increase on 2017, and more than 30,000sqm (for space greater than 1,000sqm) of leasing transactions recorded in Savills research.
The city is at a turning point, with prospects for growth notably greater this year, according to SA director for Office Leasing, Adam Hartley.
“This contraction is likely to continue in response to office relocations in the first quarter of 2019,” he said.
“Interestingly, the vacancy rate for prime-grade office space will contract the most, with the majority of office vacancy available in secondary-grade accommodation.
“The contraction will swing the balance towards a lessor market, which in turn will reduce incentive rates in high B-grade and A-grade office buildings.”
Mr Hartley said recent record-breaking transactions showcased the desire of several major international companies to establish a footprint in Adelaide. 
“Suncorp taking up 4,660sqm of space and building signage rights at 1 King William Street represented Adelaide’s largest net-lettable-area deal to date,” he said.
Mr Hartley went on to say that the entrance of global post-production effects company, Technicolor, into Adelaide at 178 North Terrace was another internationally successful outcome that reinforced South Australia’s position on the world map.   
“The Technicolor win for South Australia was the largest office accommodation tenant attracted to Adelaide, which will in turn employ up to 400 new staff,” he said.
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Canberra had the second-largest drop in its vacancy rate in 2018, falling 140 basis points to 11.0 per cent between June and December, which was largely driven by a withdrawal of stock. 
That said, prime-grade vacancy in city-fringe precincts like Barton were already at record low levels, with limited options for tenants to move around, according to ACT director for Office Leasing, Pip Doogan
 “We have seen demand shift from larger office spaces to smaller occupiers in the 250sqm to 500sqm market, making up the majority of the lease transactions across Canberra throughout the past six months,” she said.
“Spec fit-outs are proving to be the favorable option for tenants who are considering a move.”   
Ms Doogan said that Canberra “hasn’t really moved throughout the past 12 months” in regards to rents or incentives across all markets.
“Looking forward, we cannot see that it will shift in the next six months, especially with an election this year and the likelihood of a change in government,” she said.
“Private sectors are still floating around but the majority of the deals are being done in the sub-1,000sqm market.”
Savills is a leading global real estate service provider offering the full spectrum of services from strategic advice to managing assets and projects and transacting deals. For further information, please feel free to reach out to any of our <a href="http://www.savills.com.au/services-and-sectors/leasing/office-leasing.aspx" target="_blank">Office Leasing</a> agents or Savills Director of Research &amp; Consultancy Shrabastee Mallik. To learn more about Savills, visit <a href="http://www.savills.com.au/" target="_blank">savills.com.au</a>.
</body></html>

jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Strong economic conditions and office leasing fundamentals buoy CBD markets across Australia: Savills

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER
Despite the material correction in housing markets, residential property investors remain markedly more optimistic than non-investors.
<div>
Investors sit front and centre in the housing market correction currently unfolding in Australia. For the first time, the Westpac Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment survey provides some insight into who this segment is and how they are assessing things.
An additional classification question added to the survey in Dec now allows us to separately identify consumers that own residential investment properties. The first results show an interesting breakdown on both the characteristics of this sub-group and their sentiment – the latter of particular interest given both the investor-driven housing market downturn and associated concerns about potential ‘wealth effect’ spillovers to demand.
At the aggregate level, 18.7% of respondents reported owning a residential investment property, broadly in line with official statistics.
Consumers in NSW, WA and Vic were slightly more likely to be housing investors while those in Qld showed the lowest incidence (15%). Not surprisingly the share of investors rises steadily across age groups, peaking at 27% for those aged 55-64, dropping back sharply to 14% for those over 65 (noting that this group is less likely to be accessing the tax benefits of negative gearing).
Again in line with the official statistics, the incidence of investor housing ownership is higher for those on high incomes (31%) and amongst consumers that are owner occupiers (24%). So-called ‘rentvesters’ account for just 7% of tenants.
Turning to the sentiment readings, housing investors are markedly more optimistic than non investors with an average sentiment read over Dec-Jan of 114.7 vs 101 for non investors and 103.7 for all consumers.
Note that this does not appear to be a by-product of income differences – across every income band, housing investors have more positive sentiment reads than non investors.
The positive spread is across all index components but is most pronounced for ‘finances vs a year ago’ (+16pts) and least pronounced for ‘finances, next 12mths’ (+6pts) – an intriguing mix that suggests investors have been unperturbed by price falls over the last year but that expectations of further declines may be curbing optimism for the year ahead.
On housing, investors are more positive on ‘time to buy’ but more negative on the price outlook. They also view ‘real estate’ more favourably as the ‘wisest place for savings’, particularly compared to ‘deposits’, but are slightly more inclined towards repaying debt than non investors.
Read the full report: <a href="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/wibiqauthoring/_uploads/file/Australia/2019/January/WestpacRedBookJanuary2019.pdf" target="_blank">'Red Book January 2019' (PDF 453kb)</a>
<img src="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/wibiqauthoring/_uploads/image/The_Red_Book/Red_Book_bites/Redbook-bite-20190131-2.jpg" alt="">
MATTHEW HASSAN is a Senior Economist for Westpac
</div>
</body></html>

Matthew_Hassan-HHWHptmrw4

Sentiment of housing investors more optimistic than non-investors: Matthew Hassan

<html><body>
Australian retail turnover fell 0.4 percent in December 2018, according to the latest Retail Trade figures from the ABS.
The Christmas decline follows a 0.5 percent rise in November 2018.
Online retail turnover contributed 5.6 per cent to total retail turnover in original terms in December 2018, down from 6.6 per cent in November 2018, highlighting the increasing importance of the November month for online sales.
In December 2017 online retail turnover contributed 4.8 per cent to total retail.
Westpac's Matthew Hassan said the results underscore weakness already apparent in the Q3 national accounts and point to disappointing momentum heading into 2019.
"The 0.4% dip in monthly sales was against market expectations of a flat finish," Hassan noted.
"The rising popularity of ‘Black Friday’ sales is drawing more retail sales into Oct-Nov.
Hassan said at 2.8% a year, annual growth in nominal retail sales is sluggish at best with the six month annualised pace below 2%. 
"Overall this was a weak update, slightly weaker than we had been anticipating and highlighting downside risks to the December quarter GDP.
"For the RBA it comes on top of a Q3 national accounts update that already showed disappointing conditions across the consumer and confirms that the weakness is sustained rather than part of the choppy quarter to quarter profile that has featured over the previous two years."
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2019/2/5/Retail1.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge</a>.
<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/2019/2/5/Retail1.jpg" alt=""> Source: ABS
The declines in December were the highest for household goods (-2.8 per cent) and clothing and footwear (-2.4 per cent).
There were also falls in Department stores (-1.1 per cent) and other retailing (-0.1 per cent).
The falls were partially offset by rises in food retailing (0.5 per cent) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (1.1 per cent).
In seasonally adjusted terms, there were falls in New South Wales (-0.6 per cent), Victoria (-0.5 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (-1.8 per cent), Queensland (-0.1 per cent), South Australia (-0.3 per cent), the Northern Territory (-0.3 per cent), and Tasmania (-0.2 per cent.). 
The only state to have a rise in December 2018 was Western Australia (0.1 per cent).  The trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 per cent in December 2018, following a rise of 0.2 per cent in November 2018. Compared to December 2017, the trend estimate rose 3.2 per cent.
 
 
</body></html>

Online December sales dip along with bricks and mortar retail sales

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER
Housing weakness in late 2019 was clearly not confined to just turnover and prices with new dwelling approvals sliding sharply into year end – down 26% between Sep and Dec, the last month marking the lowest level for monthly approvals since June 2013. For Q4 as a whole, approvals were down 10.9%qtr and 23.7%yr.
Approvals are now signalling an unambiguous further weakening that will clearly see declining new dwelling investment detract from Australia’s growth in 2019. Westpac expects new dwelling investment to decline 8% in the year with a further 5% contraction in 2020.
The composition of the approvals decline points to downside risks to this outlook. Units continue to drive the cycle with a further 18.8% drop in Dec to be down 38%yr. Within this segment, ‘high rise’ approvals look to be down a further 16% in the month and by over a third in Q4 as a whole. That is outpacing our assumed path of a cumulative 40% decline by the end of 2019, suggesting weakness may be more pronounced and/or 'front loaded'.
More importantly, there continues to be significant weakness in other segments as well – medium density approvals down over 10% in the month and private detached house approvals down –2.2%mth, –11.3%yr. The shorter ‘lags’ on non high rise work means these declines will likely impact activity through the first three quarters of 2019.
The state breakdown shows weakness spread across the major eastern states: NSW –8.1%mth, –21%yr; and Vic –8.1%mth, –23%yr; and Qld –5.8%mth, –29.7%yr. WA posted a slight gain but is also down 30%yr.
The total value of renovation approvals rose 3.1% to be about flat on a year ago but with a modest uptrend in place. While the rise is mild, it is coming across all the major states.
The total value of non res building approvals fell 9.8% to be down about 15%yr. Latest monthly reads have been choppy around a flat trend, albeit with better gains for NSW and Vic and, by sector, for education-related building in the public sector.
Overall the December approvals update clearly challenges the RBA's view from the November Statement on Monetary Policy that "... dwelling investment is expected to decline gradually" and suggests that, as well as incorporating the weaker starting point from the Q3 national accounts, its revised forecasts to be released in Friday's February Statement on Monetary Policy will also need to materially lower the near term outlook for dwelling investment.
Even if the Reserve Bank maintains its view that the negative 'wealth effect' spillovers from falling house prices will be limited, there is a clear ‘real economy’ negative coming through via new dwelling investment.
MATTHEW HASSAN is a senior economist at Westpac
</body></html>

A clear ‘real economy’ negative coming through via new dwelling investment: Matthew Hassan

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
The government is acting on all 76 of Justice Hayne’s recommendations.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was glossing over history when he said the <a href="https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/reports.aspx" target="_blank">final report of the banking royal commission</a> “endorsed many of the themes and individual reforms the government is currently pursuing”.
In fact, on coming to office in late 2013, his government – through Finance Minister Mathias Cormann - <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/how-the-coalition-ran-interference-for-the-banks-20180425-p4zbjz" target="_blank">did the opposite</a>.
Instead of extending provisions in the law that financial service providers act in the “best interests” of their clients, it tried to remove them, pressing Senate independents to have them excised from the at-the-time unimplemented Future of Financial Advice Act.
It argued there would be greater certainty if advisers were merely required to fulfill a number of specific requirements rather than to act in the overall best interests of their clients.
It’s a checklist approach <a href="https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Justice Kenneth Hayne dismisses</a>, saying it has encouraged advisers to pursue a “good enough” outcome “instead of the best interests of the relevant clients or members”.
“The more complicated the law, the harder it is to see unifying and informing principles and purposes,” the report says. “Exceptions and limitations encourage literal application and focusing on boundary‑marking and categorisation.”
What’s important is that the intent of the law is met, “rather than merely its terms complied with”.
Hayne wants laws rewritten to draw explicit connections between their requirements and what they are trying to achieve.
Such rewriting will make it clear that “exceptions and carve outs like grandfathered commissions constitute a departure from applying the relevant fundamental norm”.
The Coalition fought hard to allow financial advisers to continue to receive some grandfathered commissions – commissions their customers were signed up to before laws outlawing commissions came into place.
Hayne wants all grandfathering to go “as soon as is reasonably practicable”.
Frydenberg <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/p2019-fsrc-response/" target="_blank">has agreed</a>. From January 1, 2021 all grandfathering will go, and any previously grandfathered payments to advisers from clients accounts will be handed back to clients where they can reasonably be identified.
Ongoing fees taken from clients accounts will need to be specifically reauthorised each year, a proposal neither the Coalition nor Labor put forward in negotiations over the Future of Financial Advice Act, settling on reauthorisation every two years in order to avoid paperwork.
Frydenberg has accepted the recommendation, without a start date.
Hayne wants all commissions to mortgage brokers banned so that the borrower, not the lender, pays the broker a fee.
The Royal Commissioner wants the changes made over a period of two or three years, first by banning so-called annual trailing commissions that last the length of the loans, and then by banning upfront commissions.
Frydenberg will ban trailing commissions from July 1, 2020 and will ask the Council of Financial Regulators and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to review in three years’ time the implications of moving to full consumer-pays.
Hayne’s point is that buyers of financial products of all types often assume the person standing between them and the provider is acting in their interests. They need not be when they are being paid by the provider.
<blockquote>
1. The interests of client, intermediary and provider of a product or service are not only different, they are opposed.
2. An intermediary who seeks to stand in “more than one canoe” cannot. Duty (to client) and (self) interest pull in opposite directions.
</blockquote>
Hayne’s three key themes are now government policy:
<ul>
<li>
no conflicted remuneration
</li>
<li>
no exemptions, including grandfathered arrangements
</li>
<li>
explicit consent for payments.
</li>
</ul>
Financial industry laws and regulations will apply more broadly than they have. Funeral insurance will no longer be exempted. Car dealers will face a limit on the fee they can get for selling add-on insurance.
And retailers won’t be able to sell add-on insurance at the same time as the products themselves. Frydenberg said that people buying mobile phones were being sold screen insurance that cost more than the replacement of the screens.
“Hawking”, unsolicited phone calls and pitches for superannuation and insurance and other products, will be prohibited. Lenders to farmers won’t be able to charge high default interest rates during droughts or when there is no realistic prospect of recovering the money.
Banks won’t be able to offer overdrafts on basic accounts without the formal approval of the accounts’ owners, they won’t be able to charge dishonour fees on basic accounts, they will have to value agricultural land used as security for loans independently of the people who decide whether to grant the loans.
Superannuation fund trustees won’t be able to work for other parts of the conglomerate that owns the fund giving them a conflict of interest, and trustees and directors will be subject to civil penalties if they fail to act in the fund members’ best interests.
Each Australian will be defaulted into (“stapled” onto) only one superannuation account once at the beginning of their working life instead of into several as they change jobs as is required by awards and industrial agreements. The <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/superannuation" target="_blank">Productivity Commission estimated</a> these multiple accounts cost super fund members A$10 billion per year in unnecessary fees.
Australia’s much-criticised “twin peaks” model of regulation shared between the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, will stay, although they will be subject to a new independent oversight body that will report on their performance every two years. They will also need to prepare and maintain a joint co-operation memorandum.
In any investigation ASIC will have to have as a starting point the question of whether a case should be taken to court. Infringement notices should mainly be reserved for administrative rather than deliberate failings.
Hayne says too often, banks and other financial services entities that broke the law were not properly held to account.
<blockquote>
Misconduct will be deterred only if entities believe that misconduct will be detected, denounced and justly punished.
Misconduct, especially misconduct that yields profit, is not deterred by requiring those who are found to have done wrong to do no more than pay compensation. And wrongdoing is not denounced by issuing a media release.
</blockquote>
He says in almost every case, bad conduct was driven not only by the firm’s pursuit of profit but also by individuals’ pursuit of gain.
<blockquote>
Providing a service to customers was relegated to second place. Sales became all important. Those who dealt with customers became sellers. And the confusion of roles extended well beyond front line service staff. Advisers became sellers and sellers became advisers.
Rewarding misconduct is wrong. Yet incentive, bonus and commission schemes throughout the financial services industry have measured sales and profit, but not compliance with the law and proper standards. Rewards have been paid regardless of whether the person rewarded should have done what they did.
</blockquote>
Frydenberg says he is taking action on all 76 recommendations.
He’ll set up an industry-funded compensation scheme able to payout over misconduct over the past ten years.
And 24 specific acts of misconduct have been referred to authorities, covering every big financial firm other than Westpac.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/au/team#peter-martin" target="_blank">Peter Martin</a>, Section Editor, Business and Economy, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/" target="_blank">The Conversation</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/banking-royal-commission-no-commissions-no-exemptions-no-fees-without-permission-hayne-gets-the-government-to-do-a-u-turn-110974" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Banking Royal Commission: no commissions, no exemptions, no fees without permission, Hayne gets the government to do a U-turn

<html><body>
EXPERT OBSERVER
Regional Victoria is the stand-out market in Australian real estate. Against a backdrop of Regional Australia providing the leading growth markets across the nation, Regional Victoria has large numbers of towns and suburbs with rising buyer demand and the strongest price growth anywhere in Australia. 
Our Summer survey of sales activity has identified 51 markets in Regional Victoria with rising demand, the highest since we started our quarterly sales surveys four years ago. Only Adelaide among the nation’s market jurisdictions has more growth markets than Regional Victoria – which also has another 90 locations with steady buyer demand.
The uplift in markets in Victoria outside Melbourne has created exceptional price growth: our latest survey has found 118 locations with median house price growth above 5% in the past 12 months, including 85 above 10% - of which 25 have grown more than 20%. A key factor is that most of these places have delivered price growth in the most recent quarter, as well as the past year, which means prices are still growing.
The leading locations are Clunes and Macedon (top) up 36%; Bunyip and North Wonthaggi 32%; Norlane 29%; Trentham 28%; Port Fairy 27%; Corio and Newcomb 26%; Warragul 24%; Officer, Cockatoo, Romsey, Whittington and Indented Head 22%; Inverloch, Loch Sport, Maryborough and Golden Point 21%; Avoca, Beveridge, Broadford, Maddingley, St Leonards and Woodend all 20%.
Bendigo, which overtook previous market leader Ballarat in our Spring 2018 survey, has increased its lead in the Summer survey. It now has 10 suburbs with rising demand, making it one of the leading LGAs in the nation. Growth suburbs include California Gully, Golden Square, Kangaroo Flat, Long Gully, Maiden Gully and North Bendigo.
The recent surge in sales activity is starting to create solid price growth, with California Gully, Eaglehawk, Flora Hill, Heathcote, Kennington and North Bendigo all up 6-8% in the past year. Like Ballarat, Bendigo is attracting both investors and home-buyers from Melbourne and elsewhere.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/subscribe" target="_blank"><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/2019/2/Subscriber%20strip%20ad.jpg" alt=""></a>
Growth markets in Ballarat, which is ahead of Bendigo in the market cycle, have reduced to five and there are now 10 suburbs classified as “plateau” markets.  The previous uplift in demand has created a climate where most Ballarat suburbs are delivering big price growth: 14 suburbs are up by more than 5% in the past year, headed by Golden Point (21%), Buninyong (15%), Ballarat North (15%), Redan (16%) and Wendouree (17%).
A new contender has emerged in our past two quarterly surveys: the towns of the Latrobe Valley. Traralgon, Churchill, Moe, Morwell and Newborough all have growth markets. Quarterly sales in Churchill have been rising steadily, with the median house price up 9% in the past 12 months – but still below $200,000.
Quarterly sales have also risen in Moe in the past year and its median has grown 3%, but also remains below $200,000. This high level of affordability is a key drawcard for this market, which is being boosted by government investment to mitigate the impact of power station closures.
Geelong remains a strong market – one of the nation’s most prolific – but sales activity is no longer growing the way it has over the past two years. It now has more plateau markets than rising ones. But the strong demand of the past two years continues to deliver price growth – 24 suburbs of Greater Geelong have risen more than 10% in the past 12 months, with Corio, Norlane, Newcomb, St Leonards, Whittington and Indented Head all above 20%. 
Other regions where demand has passed its peak but price growth remains high include the LGAs of Cardinia (Pakenham, Officer, Bunyip and Emerald), Baw Baw (Warragul, Drouin and Trafalgar), Mitchell (Broadford, Beveridge and Kilmore), Surf Coast (Anglesea, Apollo Bay and Torquay), Bass Coast (Cowes, Inverloch and Wonthaggi) and Macedon Ranges (Gisborne, Kyneton, Romsey and Woodend).
But new growth markets are now occurring right across Victoria. At Portland in the far south-west of the state – quarterly sales have been on an upward trajectory for the past two years.
Also in the south-west, there’s rising activity in Warrnambool, with median prices up 14% in Koroit and 7% in Warrnambool, while in nearby Port Fairy the median house price has risen 27% to $620,000.
In the Central Goldfields, quarterly sales in Maryborough have increased in the past 12 months and its median house price has grown 21% to $225,000.
In the far east of the state, three locations in East Gippsland have rising demand – Bairnsdale, Eastwood and Lakes Entrance. Quarterly sales in Bairnsdale have grown from 50-55 12-18 months ago to 70-75 more recently. The median price in Lakes Entrance has grown 12% to $320,000 in the past year, while Metung is up 7% to $365,000.
Other markets with growing signs of uplift include Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
</body></html>

terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Regional Victorian leads the nation in house price growth: Hotspotting's Terry Ryder

<html><body>
Children of celebrity chef Jacques Reymond, the proprietors of South Yarra's Bistro Gitan and Prahran’s L'Hotel Gitan, have signed a lease to establish a third restaurant.
Located in North Yarra, Cremorne, this new eatery will occupy the whole ground floor of Cobild Construction’s new eight level office development at 9-11 Cremorne Street.
Teska Carson‘s Luke Bisset and Matthew Feld brokered the lease.
Mr Bisset said Nathalie, Antoine, and Edouard Reymond (pictured alongside their father) would split the 345 sqm tenancy into two spaces a 35-seat European focused wine bar and a 75-seat bistro.
Antoine Reymond says the yet-to-be-named restaurant will be slightly different to either of the Gitans. "It will be a little more European as opposed to French-focused."
SJB Interiors, who did work on the Gitans, will design both spaces. "It'll be French new-wave," says Antoine. "There's a gorgeous, heritage-listed brick facade, a terrace out the front, and nice high ceilings inside."
The family hopes to open by early June.
</body></html>

Jaques Reymond family to open new restaurant in Cremorne

<html><body>
<div id="x_divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr">The mortgagee of 61 units in the residential complex Gondon Élysée in Sydney's Epping has listed them all for sale.</div>
<div dir="ltr"> </div>
<div dir="ltr">They will be sold in one line by receivers and managers Newpoint Advisory through Colliers.</div>
<div dir="ltr">  </div>
<div dir="ltr">The inventory sat on the Gondon company books with a $52 million valuation. </div>
<div dir="ltr"> </div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div> <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/2019/1/31/epping%201.jpg" alt="">
</div>
The developer has been unable to sell the combined 61 units at 1 to 5A Cliff Road, and at 6-10 Carlingford Road.
<a href="https://www.jlglobalau.com/elysee" target="_blank">The master sales agency</a> was J&amp;L Global with sales achieved between $500,000 and $1,538,000, with all but six sales to buyers of Chinese descent.
The project boasts a mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments. 
Gondon Élysée Epping consists of two buildings. 151 car secure parking.
There are 57 1 bedroom 1 bathroom units , some 61 of the 2 bedroom 2 bathroom units , and 12 of the 3 bedroom 2 bathroom units.
Completed in late 2017, 1 Cliff Road has 130 apartments.
The expressions of interest close February 25.
Developer Gondon paid $26 million to aggregate the homes at the corner of Carlingford and Cliff roads. The corner block at 6 Carlingford Rd cost the highest acquisition price of $4.41 million, according to CoreLogic.
The block is within the Epping Priority Precinct, which the state government declared for concentrated housing development.
Gondon’s earlier project was at North Ryde – the 179 apartments on the block bounded by Lane Cove and Eppings Rds and Allengrove Crescent, North Ryde, known as Gondon Macquarie which was built by Arise Construction to a SJB design.
Philip Campbell-Wilson and Said Jahani were appointed liquidators in November 2018.
<div class="page" title="Page 5">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
The appointment was referred to by Australian Select Mortgage Pty Limited which is also a shareholder of Gondon in May last year.
Pacific Alliance Group holds a registered security interest. 
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>

Chinese Epping developer collapse sees 61 Gondon Elysee apartments for sale

<html><body>
The WA Government has called for offers on the former Princess Margaret Hospital carpark.
The three-street front West Perth offering encompasses a total 5,666 square metres, one of the inner-city’s largest infill redevelopment sites for some time.
Approval is in place for three titles with offers being sought for purchase as one englobo lot or as one of three individual site lots.
Situated opposite the old hospital, the former medical specialists’ carpark will play a pivotal role in the future rejuvenation of West Perth and complement the adjoining Subi East redevelopment precinct.
LJ Hooker Commercial Perth’s Brian Neo and Vincent Siciliano have been appointed exclusively to the sales campaign.
Neo anticipated the site – located on the eastern side of Thomas Street with almost 50 and 90 metres of frontage to Cook and Murray streets, respectively – would attract interstate and international interest.
He said it would appeal to developers looking for premium infill sites ahead of the next property cycle.
“This is the leading infill development site currently on the market in Perth and one of the best we’ve seen offered in several years,” said Neo.
“The site is earmarked for office and residential development under the City of Perth town planning scheme and, as an elevated site, has the capacity to offer stunning, panoramic views of the city via a future tower development.
“In addition to its large-scale footprint, any redevelopment of the site can leverage the amenity which the State envisions for the future of the Princess Margaret Hospital site, which it is connected to via a pedestrian underpass.”
The double western allotments of the carpark site each offer 1845 square metres of developable land, while the eastern allotment is larger at 1976 square metres.
“The former carpark site will have a great influence in the overall rejuvenation of the inner-city and the State Government is interested in finding a buyer with a vision to complement their intent for the precinct.”
Offers to purchase close February 22 2pm, WA time.
</body></html>

Former Princess Margaret carpark listed by WA Government as infill redevelopment site

<html><body>
AMP Capital has commenced the Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre’s $142 million development in Sydney's inner west.
Construction began this month with expectations of completion in two years.
The development, which AMP Capital is managing on behalf of owner UniSuper, will extend the existing Metro centre to the south between Smidmore and Edinburgh Roads.
On completion the centre will be expanded from 22,000 square metres to 33,000 square metres.
It will host an additional 44 new retailers including Coles, as well as a fresh food precinct and indoor and al fresco dining options.
AMP Capital’s global head of real estate, Carmel Hourigan said the development will support the transformation occurring in the Inner West.
There are a number of other construction projects for the local area currently underway or proposed, supported by total trade area population growth of 2.3% per annum since 2011, and projected growth of 1.5% per annum, to reach a population of 440,000 by 2021.
AMP Capital anticipates the project will generate 200 construction jobs and over 600 job opportunities for the local community on completion.
The development will ‘up-cycle’ a disused industrial warehouse located next to The Metro.
Designed by Hames Sharley, ADCO Constructions has been appointed as construction partner for the development.
The majority of the works will be undertaken outside the existing centre with minimal disruption to current tenants or trading.
</body></html>

Latest Investing Insights

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

Editor's Picks

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Latest Investing Insights

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

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News