<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.</p>

<p>A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.</p>

<p>Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]</p>

<p>“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.</p>

<p>From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.</p>

<p>The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]</p>

<p>Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.</p>

<p>A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.</p>

<p>Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]</p>

<p>Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.</p>

<p>“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.</p>

<p>Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]</p>

<p>Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.</p>

<p data-end="8307" data-start="8063">The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.</p>

<p data-end="8543" data-start="8312">“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”</p>

<p data-end="8915" data-start="8548">The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.</p>

<p>The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]</p>


Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

<p>A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.</p>

<p>The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.</p>

<p>Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.</p>

<p>The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.</p>

<p>The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.</p>

<p><img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" /></p>

<p>Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.</p>

<p>Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.</p>

<p>The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."</p>

<p>The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.</p>

<p><img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" /></p>

<p>Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.</p>

<p>The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.</p>


First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

<p>
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</style>
</p>

<p>A 60-apartment building nine storeys tall would be a rarity almost anywhere along this stretch of Moreton Bay, but that's exactly what's been lodged for a modest Deception Bay street better known for its single-storey weatherboard homes.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherlock-construction-homes">Sherlock Construction Homes</a> is seeking to push Deception Bay’s emerging medium-density housing profile higher, lodging plans for a nine-storey apartment building near the suburb’s shopping centre and foreshore.</p>

<p>Dubbed Grosvenor Apartments, the proposal at 14-20 Grosvenor Terrace would replace two detached homes with a new building designed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/mode">Mode Design</a>&nbsp;which would&nbsp;reach nearly 30 metres, well above the site’s mapped 21-metre building height.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches 9-storey tower for low-rise Deception Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="86c21a25-5a97-4ca7-a361-80757137ea5b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Deception%20da%20front.png?VersionId=aXIujfvEhH33sLHOEjHFv9Ii6qxSvAF4" /></p>

<p>The apartment mix is weighted toward larger homes, with 14 three-bedroom apartments, 31 two-bedroom apartments and 15 one-bedroom apartments. Six apartment types are spread across the floors, ranging from 66 sqm one-bedroom units through to three-bedroom apartments of 116 sqm, most with private balconies or terraces.</p>

<p>Levels one through seven follow a consistent layout of six to eight apartments per floor arranged around a central lift and stair core, with the top floor, level eight, trading one apartment for a landscaped community breakout space rather than repeating the standard layout below.</p>

<p>Ground floor is dedicated to arrival and services, with a lobby, mailroom and manager's office, alongside 91 car spaces.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches 9-storey tower for low-rise Deception Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b098bde0-5fe1-4e6c-9601-e5446612e5fc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Deception%20podium.png?VersionId=A0hfENMNxSxkfh9Jl6D4WJ9XIraeOukA" /></p>

<p>Mode Design's brief describes a "serene coastal-inspired design blending soft curves, natural textures and light-filled spaces to reflect the relaxed Deception Bay lifestyle."&nbsp;</p>

<p>The material palette leans on white and grey render, timber-look aluminium screening and stacked-brick-look finishes, with hanging greenery and vine planting proposed across balcony edges and ground-level walls.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Balconies feature asymmetrical geometries intended to vary the building's rhythm rather than repeat a single module up the tower, while lush planting is concentrated over the entry and level one balconies to soften the building's base.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches 9-storey tower for low-rise Deception Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c05c5693-3e00-42d0-b075-55c36094f4db" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Deception%20da%201.png?VersionId=cMKJgBsBaaVCd2dA5O22SOT38OT_.BPA" /></p>

<p>The design evolved following an April 2025 prelodgement meeting with council. At that stage, the project was conceived as a seven-storey building containing 45 apartments. The subsequently lodged scheme increases the development to nine storeys and 60 apartments while introducing one-bedroom residences to the mix.</p>

<p>Zone Planning argues the additional scale reflects the site's position within an area earmarked for increased residential intensity. The planning report points to the North Lakes-Redcliffe-Moreton Bay Rail corridor strategy, which identifies Deception Bay as a district-level activity centre and supports greater housing choice within urban neighbourhoods.</p>

<p>Market Square Deception Bay, Deception Bay Sports Centre, Deception Bay State School, public transport, community facilities and the Moreton Bay foreshore are all identified within approximately one kilometre of the site, while the property falls within a 400-metre walking catchment of Market Square.</p>

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

<p data-end="587" data-start="368">Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.</p>

<p data-end="778" data-start="589">The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.</p>

<p data-end="907" data-start="780"><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.</p>

<p data-end="1052" data-start="909">The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.</p>

<p data-end="1311" data-start="1054">The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.</p>

<p data-end="1451" data-start="1313">The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.</p>

<p data-end="1676" data-start="1453">MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.</p>

<p data-end="1908" data-start="1678">Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.</p>

<p data-end="2142" data-start="1910">The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.</p>

<p data-end="2142" data-start="1910"><img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" /></p>

<p data-end="2308" data-start="2144">MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.</p>

<p data-end="2648" data-start="2310">"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.</p>

<p data-end="2797" data-start="2650">"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."</p>

<p data-end="2938" data-start="2799">The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.</p>

<p data-end="3216" data-start="2940">Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.</p>

<p data-end="3325" data-start="3218">Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.</p>

<p data-end="3442" data-start="3327">"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.</p>

<p data-end="3662" data-start="3444">"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."</p>

<p data-end="3818" data-start="3664">MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.</p>

<p data-end="4076" data-start="3820">"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.</p>

<p data-end="4375" data-start="4078">"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."</p>

<p data-end="4503" data-start="4377">Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.</p>

<p data-end="4741" data-start="4505">"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."</p>

<p data-end="4910" data-start="4743">The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.</p>

<p data-end="4951" data-start="4912">MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.</p>


First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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<p data-end="600" data-start="394">Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.</p>

<p data-end="733" data-start="602">But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.</p>

<p data-end="970" data-start="735">Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.</p>

<p data-end="970" data-start="735">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]</p>

<p data-end="1159" data-start="972">The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.</p>

<p data-end="1357" data-start="1161">It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.</p>

<p data-end="3400" data-start="3216">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]</p>

<p data-end="3400" data-start="3216">Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.</p>

<p data-end="1664" data-start="1517">Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.</p>

<p data-end="1826" data-start="1666">Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.</p>

<p data-end="1826" data-start="1666">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]</p>

<p data-end="2045" data-start="1828">Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.</p>

<p data-end="2269" data-start="2047">"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.</p>

<p data-end="2430" data-start="2271">A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.</p>

<p data-end="2606" data-start="2432">It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.</p>

<p data-end="2724" data-start="2608">At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.</p>

<p data-end="2892" data-start="2726">Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.</p>

<p data-end="2892" data-start="2726">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]</p>

<p data-end="3004" data-start="2894">Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.</p>

<p data-end="3214" data-start="3006">"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.</p>

<p data-end="3400" data-start="3216">The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.</p>

<p data-end="3400" data-start="3216">More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.</p>

<p data-end="3670" data-start="3538">&nbsp;</p>

<p data-end="3670" data-start="3538">[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]</p>

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Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

<p>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.</p>

<p>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;</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>Even in the low seasons of May and June, occupancy levels reach around 40 per cent.</p>

<p><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" /></p>

<p>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</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p><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" /></p>

<p>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.<span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><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" /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span>​</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p>The apartments will feature modern amenities and contemporary designs with expansive windows capturing sweeping views of The Remarkables mountain range.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Interiors are equipped with modern finishes, premium appliances, and secure electronic key-locked doors, ensuring a comfortable living experience for residents and guests alike.</p>

<p>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;</p>

<p>Queenstown’s sustained demand for visitor accommodation and rental properties is underpinned by a shortage of housing options, attracting both local and international buyers.</p>


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

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<p>IHG has signed a deal with Barnes Capital to open a striking Holiday Inn in Coburg, Melbourne’s up-and-coming northern suburb, in 2020. </p>
<p>Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will enjoy views.</p>
<p>It will feature a gym and large meeting facilities, as well as a bar and all-day dining. </p>
<p>The 150-room new build hotel will show off a bold, new design statement for Holiday Inn, created by architects Hachem, with its mirrored glass design destined to become a landmark in the heart of Coburg, 20 minutes to Tullamarine. </p>
<p>Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg complements the 16 Holiday Inn hotels already open across Australasia.</p>
<p>It is the IHG’s second Holiday Inn signing in a week, and the latest in a string of signings including Sydney Central, Melbourne Werribee and Geelong. </p>
<p><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/2018/5/9/HI%20Coburg%201.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p>IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands in Australasia, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, with another 17 in the pipeline, including Hotel Indigo Brisbane Fortitude Valley and Hotel Indigo Melbourne Docklands.</p>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

IHG to open design-led Holiday Inn in Melbourne’s Coburg

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<p>Kew’s popular High Street commercial precinct is witnessing a generational change, with the sale of a second key site in a matter of months set to further activate new space along the strip.</p>
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<p>Fitzroys’ Chris James and David Bourke have just sold <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/property/171-173-high-street-kew-vic-3101-2014319305" target="_blank">171-173 High Street</a> for $4.175 million under the hammer, on behalf of private vendors that had owned the site for over 50 years.</p>
<p><span>Owner occupiers and local and offshore investors competed at auction that was won by a local investor. The sale price reflected a 3.9% yield and land rate of around $14,752 per sqm. </span></p>
<p><span>Six months ago, James and Bourke sold a Commercial 1-zoned 526 sqm concrete yard at nearby 226-232 High Street for $4.5 million to a local developer in an off-market deal. </span></p>
<p><span>The 283 sqm site at 171-173 High Street comprises a double-storey 332 sqm building with two ground-floor retail spaces tenanted by ASX-listed Flight Centre and Onyx homewares shop, and a first-floor residence above. It returns $164,000 per annum plus outgoings from multiple income streams. </span></p>
<p><span>James said the property is in the prime section of the High Street, Kew commercial precinct, at the junction of Cotham Road, and with an ASX-listed tenant tenants attracted more than 100 enquiries throughout the campaign. </span></p>
<p><span>Bourke said the purchaser jumped at the primely positioned value-add opportunity in one of Melbourne’s most prestigious suburbs. </span></p>
<p><span>“The property backs onto Athaneum Place, the brick lane connecting Brougham and Walpole streets, which the City of Boroondara has been revitalising to enhance the amenity of the adjacent Kew Junction Shopping Centre with a contemporary and vibrant public space,” he said. </span></p>
<p><span>“The new owner, a local investor, will look to activate the area at the rear of the property with a retail offering fronting the improved Athaneum Place.” </span></p>
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<p>James said the purchaser of 226-232 High Street had completed a number of successful developments across Melbourne and is looking to utilise the site for a mixed-use project.</p>
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<p><span>“The ongoing introduction of medium and high-density residential developments and a growing office population in Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs of Camberwell, Hawthorn and Kew have stimulated the retail precincts throughout the region, including Kew Junction, Glenferrie Road and Camberwell Junction,” he said. </span></p>
<p><span>More than 2,000 apartments are currently in the pipeline throughout Melbourne’s inner-east. </span></p>
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Kew's High Street undergoing generational change

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<div class="column">EXPERT OBSERVATION</div>
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<div class="column">The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 0.7 per cent to a 15-week high of 121.6. Confidence is up by 8.4 per cent over the year and above the average of 113.8 since 2014.</div>
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<div class="column">Sentiment towards family finances over the past year rose by 2 per cent to a 3-month high of 110.1. And views on whether it is a ‘good time to buy’ a major household item rose by 2.6 per cent to 141.7 over the week.</div>
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<div class="column">Consumer confidence figures have implications for retailers, and other consumer-focussed businesses.</div>
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<div class="column">Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/23/sentiment.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<div class="column"><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/2018/5/23/sentiment.jpg" alt=""></div>
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<div class="column"><strong>What does it all mean?</strong></div>
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<div class="column">Aussie consumers are feeling pretty good about things. Sentiment has increased for six straight weeks. If this momentum continues we’ll be back at the best levels in four years in no time.</div>
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<div class="column">But the pessimists are telling us that we aren’t going to get pay rises any time soon, job creation is slowing and that we are all mired in mortgage debt.</div>
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<div class="column">So why are Aussies more optimistic? Job security is improving. 332,200 Aussies have been gainfully employed over the past year. Unemployment expectations are at the best levels in seven years. Real wages are still positive with annual wages growth including bonuses at 3-year highs (data released last week).</div>
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<div class="column">And there is the small matter of the ‘wealth effect’. The housing market is rebalancing on the east coast of the country. Dwelling prices were down by 3.4 per cent in Sydney over the 12 months to April. But are still up by 87.1 per cent since April 2009. Hobart is going gangbusters and Perth home prices are stabilising.</div>
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<div class="column">The Aussie share market (ASX200 index) is up by 1.3 per cent so far this month and 3.3 per cent over the past four weeks (both to May 21). Energy, materials and health care shares collectively have performed well.</div>
<div class="column"> </div>
<div class="column">Aussie consumers have also reacted positively to the Federal Budget. Tax cuts, albeit modest, may encourage increased spending on household goods, as evidenced by the rebound in sentiment around the question ‘is it a good time to buy a household item?’</div>
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<div class="column">Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/23/aussie-finances.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<div class="column"><strong>What do the figures show?</strong></div>
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<div class="column">Consumer Sentiment</div>
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<div class="column">The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose for the sixth consecutive week, up by 0.7 per cent to a 15- week high of 121.6. Confidence is up by 8.4 per cent over the year and above the average of 113.8 since 2014.
<p><strong>Four of the five components</strong> of the index increased in the latest week:</p>
<p>The estimate of family finances compared with a year ago was up from +7.9 to +10.1;</p>
<p>The estimate of family finances over the next year was up from +27.1 to +27.8;</p>
<p>Economic conditions over the next 12 months was unchanged at +13.2;</p>
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<p><span>Economic conditions over the next 5 years was </span><span>down </span><span>from +17.5 to +15.3;<br></span></p>
<p><span>The measure of whether it was a good time to buy a major household item was </span><span>up </span><span>from +38.1 to +41.7. </span><span> </span><span>The measure of inflation expectations 2 years ahead rose from 4.1 per cent to 4.2 per cent.</span></p>
<p>Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/23/tax-cuts.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a></p>
<p><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/2018/5/23/tax-cuts.jpg" alt=""></p>
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<p><strong>What is the importance of the economic data? </strong></p>
<p>The ANZ/Roy Morgan weekly survey of consumer confidence closely tracks the monthly Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index but the former measure is a timelier assessment of consumer attitudes and is now closely tracked by the Reserve Bank.</p>
<p><span>What are the implications for interest rates and investors?</span></p>
<p>Aussies are a resilient bunch. The number of optimists still outweigh the number of pessimists.</p>
<p>Rising petrol prices, anaemic income growth, elevated household debt and a weaker currency are a combined weight on household budgets. However, this is counterbalanced by improving job security, better bonuses and tax relief for some. Households are still spending.</p>
<p>And according to CoreLogic, Aussie home prices held steady last week. Sydney and Melbourne home prices, especially at the top end of the market, continue to decline. But what about the rest of the country?</p>
<p>Prices in Adelaide and Brisbane have risen modestly over the past year. Hobart continues to benefit from its improving economy and better relative affordability.</p>
<p>Perth home prices are declining, but at a slower pace, signalling a potential bottoming. According to the WA Chamber of Commerce, business confidence is the best in seven years. Profits in the mining sector are rising and job ads are increasing.</p>
<p>And when it comes to share markets, so much for the ‘sell in May and go away’ cliché! While some well-known blue chip companies have underperformed recently, savvy Aussie investors have positioned themselves in stocks with specific positive catalysts, paying decent dividend yields. Corporate profits are at record highs and the Aussie economy is improving.</p>
<p>However, broader inflationary pressures remain fairly benign. Therefore, CommSec expects official interest rates to be stable for the foreseeable future.</p>
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<p>Ryan Felsman is a senior economist at CommSec.</p>
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The wealth effect: rising sharemarket, steady home prices and bonuses boost consumer sentiment: CommSec

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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Brisbane is increasingly in the crosshairs of real estate buyers because of the affordability comparison.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">It’s median house price is almost exactly half that of Sydney’s and so is its median unit price. The comparisons are also highly favourable with Melbourne and Canberra.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Having cheap real estate on offer is one thing; the key question is whether there are also prospects for growth. That’s why one of Hotspotting’s most popular products is the “Cheapies with Prospects” package – it focuses on areas that offer not only affordability but also potential for growth.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Brisbane overall hasn’t offered much in the way of capital gains during the period in which Sydney and Melbourne have thrived, largely because the underlying economy has under-achieved.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">But there are mounting signs of improvement, especially in the areas of jobs creation, population growth and revival in the resources sector.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">So where to head for homes at attainable prices and growth drivers? Brisbane offers three standout options, where there is ample supply of houses well below the overall Greater Brisbane median house price around $530,000.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The cheapest real estate in the Greater Brisbane area is generally found in the Ipswich City LGA in the south-west. Here there are suburbs with median house prices in the $200,000s and the low $300,000s.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">One precinct with appeal is the one that includes Goodna (median house price $325,000) and Redbank Plains ($335,000). These suburbs are at the eastern fringe of the LGA, the part closest to Brisbane – and they abut the motorway and the train line that links to central Brisbane.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">They’re also close to the Springfield master-planned community which has an array of modern facilities, including university campus, hospital and commercial-retail precincts.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">There are numerous big shopping centres and major employment nodes nearby, with the recently-announced $5 billion Defence vehicle contract focused on this precinct as a major new jobs creator.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">So this precinct offers an appealing package: affordability, transport links, shopping and jobs nodes.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Logan City in the far south of the Greater Brisbane area has plenty to offer as well. Many of its suburbs have median house prices in the $300,000s, including Eagleby ($315,000), Beenleigh ($335,000) and Woodridge ($310,000).</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">This LGA has new development areas, where master-planned communities are under way, but these are off the west, whereas the older and cheaper suburbs tend to be clustered around the transport spine created by the Pacific Motorway and the train line, both of which link central Brisbane to the Gold Coast.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">This is also where there is an impressive shopping offering, including major bulky goods retail, and well-established infrastructure like schools and medical facilities (as well as a surprising number of golf courses).</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The third of the “Cheapies with Prospects” areas to note in Greater Brisbane is the Moreton Bay LGA up in the far north heading towards the Sunshine Coast. Like Logan City, this precinct has major road and rail links between the coast and central Brisbane.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">This is the most active market in Greater Brisbane at the moment: Caboolture, Kallangur, Morayfield, Narangba and North Lakes have each recorded over 400 house sales in the past 12 months.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The first three on that list have median house prices in the $300,000s, as do several other suburbs in the LGA (including some of the bayside areas). North Lakes, a suburb created by an ongoing master-planned community, is more expensive with a median around $500,000, but has brought a heightened level of infrastructure and amenities to the precinct.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">There are emerging signs of price growth in this precinct: the suburbs of Beachmere, Burpengary and Upper Caboolture have had double-digit growth in their median prices in the past year, while others are up 6-7 percent.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The upmarket end of the Moreton Bay LGA market is the Redcliffe Peninsula – but most of the water-focused suburbs in this precinct have median house prices in the $400,000s, which is still fairly attractive compared to what you’d pay in Sydney and Melbourne.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">And the Peninsula now has rail links to central Brisbane (the new line opened in 2016).</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Many of the suburbs in the three precincts have median rental yields in the 5 to 5.5 percent range, as an additional appeal factor.</span></p>
<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">T<em>erry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au</em></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s3"><a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au"><em>ryder@hotspotting.com.au</em></a></span></p>
<p class="p4"><span class="s2"><em>twitter.com/hotspotting</em></span></p>
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

Top three Brisbane property locations for affordability and growth: Terry Ryder

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<p>The 344-346 Sydney Road, Coburg (pictured below) premises have been leased to Permit Point Building Consultants for use as an administration office.</p>
<p>The 380 square metre building was leased on a 5 + 5-year lease term returning $55,000 per annum equating to $145 per square metre.</p>
<p><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/2018/5/9/3%20Everage%20St.jpg" width="700" height="425"></p>
<p>Craig McKellar of CVA has also just leased retail premises located at 3 Everage Street, Moonee Ponds.</p>
<p>It was leased for $28,800 per annum to a construction company for office administration purposes equating to a building rate of $288 for the 100 square metre premises.</p>
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Sydney Road, Coburg space leased by consultants 

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<p>A Canberra commercial office refurbishment has brought to life a section of a 1960s building.</p>
<p>Property developer ICON Developments, in conjunction with Camlen Property Group, worked with architects peckvonhartel to modernise the property at 10 Hobart Place.</p>
<p>Two of the building’s 10 floors have been transformed into flexible workspaces with an industrial-style aesthetic, including polished concrete floors, exposed ceiling services and glass internal corridor partitioning.</p>
<p>Other additions to the building include new end-of-trip facilities, including showers, lockers and change rooms, as well as bike storage.</p>
<p>The building has a total of 4,500 square metres of lettable area and spaces of from 65 square metres to 530 square metres are immediately available to prospective tenants. Further tenancy options from 180 square metres are also available for lease.</p>
<p>The site is close to the ACT Magistrates and Supreme Courts, The Australian National University (ANU) Action Campus, and Canberra Shopping Centre.</p>
<p>Ashley Murdoch from ICON Development said Canberra’s west precinct of the CBD has undergone recent activity in a bid to revitalise the city and make it a more vibrant and exciting place to work, live and visit, and to continue to attract investment.</p>
<p>“Through this refurbishment, we wanted to stay true to what makes the city unique. Located at the heart of the CBD and surrounded by so much of what gives Canberra its distinct character, the building represents professionalism and style within a corporate business environment,” said Murdoch.</p>
<p>The revitalisation also saw an 80s themed basement bar called ‘88mph’. </p>
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Canberra office undergoes modern refurbishment 

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<p>The billionaire investor Alex Waislitz in considering launching a listed property fund.</p>
<p>It ill be modelled on his investment companies Thorney Opportunities and Thorney Technologies.</p>
<p>Waislitz, who has made his fortune from investing in ASX-listed small and mid cap companies, has shifted his focus to property over the past few years.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="6906" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">His private Thorney investment group has lent about $20 million to property developers with plans to lend more than $100 million, potentially through a new listed investment company or an unlisted fund revealed to the <em>Australian Financial Review</em>.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="6906" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">Thorney has also partnered in about $1 billion worth of property syndications deals across commercial, residential and industrial deals in the past five years.</p>
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Billionaire Alex Waislitz considers launching a listed property fund

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<p>A multifaceted Hotel Motel in Hay Point with beachfront views has hit the market.</p>
<p>Savills Hotels agents Leon Alaban, Brent McCarthy and Christian Tsailikis are marketing the property in an area where the market is bouncing back due to a resurgence in mining activity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
<p>The Hay Point Hotel Motel at <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/property/1272-hay-point-road-hay-point-qld-4740-2014383310" target="_blank">1272 Hay Point Road</a> has a June 20 auction, with local and interstate investors expected to be interested.</p>
<p>Christian Tsalikis said it was an ideal time to purchase the asset.<span class="Apple-converted-space">   </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The successful purchaser is presented with an opportunity to acquire the asset at a time where market conditions in the region are continuing to improve," he said.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“With the local economy primarily underpinned by tourism, agriculture and mining activity, the influx of visitors to the area throughout this period has set the local economy on a steady incline."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The two hectare ocean front site located around 40 kilometres south of Mackay is minutes from the Dalrymple Bay and the BMA Hay Point coal terminals.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The waterfront exposure is arguably the main attraction of the property, and a real investment highlight," Savills agent Leon Alaban said.<span class="Apple-converted-space"><br></span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“The beachfront location provides patrons, diners, and lodgers with a relaxed and picturesque view."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The complex features a public bar complete with nine electronic gaming machines (EGM's), a bistro bar and dining room plus alfresco dining space, a commercial kitchen, an additional gaming room with a further 26 EGMs, plus TAB and Keno.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Hay Point Hotel Motel also has a drive through bottle shop on site.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Hotel services the immediate catchment unopposed, being the only general licence venue for around 25 kilometres, according to Brent McCarthy.</span></p>
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Hotel Motel at Mackay's Hay Point listed through Savills

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<div><span>A solid headline result for employment growth in April 2018, beating expectations of 20,000, with total seasonally adjusted employment up by 22,600 to beyond 12<span>½</span> million for the first time, driven by a substantial 32,700 increase in full time jobs.</span></div>
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<div>There were, however, adverse revisions to take into account for the preceding month. </div>
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<div>Click here <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cSFR5OFaXS8/Wv0rFcRhMQI/AAAAAAAAqFs/ni7qvpHrW1IG6pa-CJ-CqqHyNmyokZuYQCLcBGAs/s640/A1.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<div>Alas, the Coalition's favoured '1000 jobs per month' slogan is going to have to be canned forthwith, with annual employment growth down from a record high of 431,200 in January 2018 to 332,200 (or 2.73 per cent) by April. </div>
<p>Click here <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_JFbqwgARDc/Wv0rFQ_Ib9I/AAAAAAAAqFw/Yy8kZrFzvI8ZiFYm7PFFKrAPo0ZGSzJAACLcBGAs/s640/A2.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a></p>
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<p><br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">State versus state (NSW superboom)</span></strong><br><br></p>
<div>Employment blazed another 27,600 higher in New South Wales to be up by 46,800 over the quarter, and a thunderous 156,000 year-on-year, casting further doubt on the endless gloomy house price predictions, with first homebuyers also now wading in. </div>
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<div>The New South Wales economy has added well over 300,000 extra jobs over the past three years, something achieved for the first time ever on a rolling 3-year basis in the past few months across more than 40 years of available figures. </div>
<p>Click here <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hU-FibmfM9o/Wv0rFEzr5GI/AAAAAAAAqFo/YE68F8xEGcMtqe9nrQ6JYlK-D9crzfLkACLcBGAs/s640/A3.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a> </p>
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<div>One of the extraordinary aspects of this cycle has been the sheer concentration of employment growth.<br><br>Of the suburbs where participation rates have been rising almost all of them are in the inner suburban heart the big capital cities, while more than half of jobs have been created within a tiny 2-kilometre radius of the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs.<br><br>Small wonder the competition for prime location land continues to intensify.<br><br>Queensland's jobs boom seems to have tapered back, with annual employment growth in trend terms now at 3.5 per cent, remaining comfortably in second place only to New South Wales at a supercharged 3.8 per cent. </div>
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<div>Interestingly the trend participation rate hit a record high 65.7 per cent in April driven by female and older workers entering the labour force, with the unemployment rate ticking up a notch to 5.6 per cent. </div>
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<div>Click here <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ANT7qWj-sE/Wv0rGiDqpLI/AAAAAAAAqGM/1wL4OeEc2_Qfu93prKaJ5OTpNvAt7K4WACEwYBhgL/s640/A5.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<p>Despite searing annual population growth of 123,100 and 147,400 in the two most populous states respectively, New South Wales has a trend unemployment rate of just 4.9 per cent while Victoria has seen its trend unemployment rate crunched lower to 5.3 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent a year earlier. </p>
<p>Click here <a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--TIYS4_qVXQ/Wv0rGSfiMwI/AAAAAAAAqF0/k_KZjy70WNEuwkE2jt4Cr5UIlwBpR9j8gCLcBGAs/s640/A4.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a></p>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--TIYS4_qVXQ/Wv0rGSfiMwI/AAAAAAAAqF0/k_KZjy70WNEuwkE2jt4Cr5UIlwBpR9j8gCLcBGAs/s640/A4.jpg" width="640" height="372" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1376"></div>
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<div>Finally, and to finish on a positive note, the trend annual growth in monthly hours worked increased to 3.3 per cent, the highest level since all the way back in August 2010. </div>
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<div>Click here <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGsidl1U7dg/Wv0rHIOpcFI/AAAAAAAAqF8/uoGPI43dbcM5jHX6TIimeuaWZuE3aXDGwCLcBGAs/s640/A6.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<div class="separator"><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGsidl1U7dg/Wv0rHIOpcFI/AAAAAAAAqF8/uoGPI43dbcM5jHX6TIimeuaWZuE3aXDGwCLcBGAs/s640/A6.jpg" width="640" height="386" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1348"></div>
<p> </p>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The wrap</span></strong></div>
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<div>Overall, these figures would be construed as disappointing if you don't live in New South Wales, where the stamp duty/infrastructure boom is paying some serious dividends. </div>
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<div>Employment growth in recent times has been quite heavily focused in healthcare and construction, which might in part account for why wages growth has generally been tepid across most industries.<br><br>Underutilisation remains elevated, despite a modest improvement. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Despite the uptick in the unemployment rate policymakers will most likely see enough positives here to stay on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. </div>
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<div>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of AllenWargent property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blogger</a>.</div>
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

New South Wales, where the stamp duty/infrastructure boom is paying serious dividends: Pete Wargent

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<p>EXPERT OBSERVATION</p>
<p>When we think about infrastructure it’s most often about bridges or roads – or, as in this week’s federal government AU$1.9 billion <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/government-response-2016-national-research-infrastructure-roadmap" target="_blank">National Research Infrastructure announcement</a>, big science projects. These are large assets that can be seen and applied in a tangible way.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to get excited over <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/funded-research-infrastructure-projects" target="_blank">money that will support</a> imaging of the Earth, or the <a href="https://www.ala.org.au/" target="_blank">Atlas of Living Australia</a>.</p>
<p>But important as these projects are, there’s a whole set of infrastructure that rarely gets mentioned or noticed: “soft” infrastructure. These are the services, policies or practices that keep academic research working and, now, open.</p>
<p>Soft infrastructure was not featured in this week’s announcement linked to budget 2018.</p>
<p><strong>Ignored infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>An absence of attention paid to soft infrastructure isn’t just the case in Australia, it’s true globally. This is despite the fact that such infrastructure is core to running the hard infrastructure projects.</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.openssl.org/" target="_blank">Open SSL software library</a> – which is key to the security of <a href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/OpenSSL" target="_blank">most websites</a> – has just a handful of paid individuals who work on it. It’s supported by fragile <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://figshare.com/articles/Software_in_Research_Underappreciated_and_Underrewarded/5518933/1" target="_blank">finances</a>. That’s a pretty frightening thought. (There’s another issue in that researchers doing this work get no academic credit for their efforts, but that’s a topic for another time.)</p>
<p>There are other high profile, globally used, open science infrastructures that also exist hand to mouth. The <a href="https://doaj.org/" target="_blank">Directory of Open Access journals</a> which began at Lund University relies entirely on voluntary donations from supporting members and on occasional sponsorship.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/index.php" target="_blank">Sherpa Romeo</a> – the open database of publishers’ policies on copyright and self-archiving – came out of projects at Nottingham and Loughborough Universities in the UK.</p>
<p>In some ways these projects’ high visibility is part of their problem. It’s assumed that they are already funded, so no-one takes responsibility for funding them themselves – the dilemma of collective action.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Supporting open science</span></strong></p>
<p>Other even more nebulous types of soft infrastructure include the development and oversight of standards that support open science. One example of this is the need to ensure that the metadata (the essential descriptors that tell you for example where a sample that’s collected for research came from and when, or how it relates to a wider research project or publication) are consistent. Without consistency of metadata, searching for research, making it openly available or linking it together is much less efficient, if not impossible.</p>
<p>Of course there are practices in place at individual institutions as well as national organisations. The soon-to-be-combined organisations -Australian National Data Service, the National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources project and Research Data Services (<a href="https://www.ands-nectar-rds.org.au/" target="_blank">ANDS-Nectar-RDS</a>) - are supported by national infrastructure funding. These provide support for data-heavy research (including for example the adoption of <a href="https://www.force11.org/group/fairgroup/fairprinciples" target="_blank">FAIR</a> - Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable standards for data).</p>
<p>But without coherent national funding and coordination, specifically for open science initiatives, we won’t get full value from the physical infrastructure just funded.</p>
<p><strong>What we need</strong></p>
<p>What’s needed now? First, a specific recognition of the need for cash to support this open, soft infrastructure. There are a couple of models for this.</p>
<p>In an article last year it was suggested that libraries (but this could equally be funders – public or philanthropic) should be committing around <a href="http://intheopen.net/2017/09/join-the-movement-the-2-5-commitment/" target="_blank">2.5% of their budget</a> to support open initiatives. There are some international initiatives that are developing specific funding models - <a href="http://scoss.org/" target="_blank">SCOSS</a> for Open Science Services and <a href="https://www.numfocus.org" target="_blank">NumFocus</a> for software.</p>
<p>But funding on its own is not enough: we need a coordinated national approach to open scholarship – making research available for all to access through structures and tools that are themselves open and not proprietary.</p>
<p>Though there are groups that are actively pushing forward initiatives on open scholarship in Australia – such as the <a href="https://aoasg.org.au/" target="_blank">Australasian Open Access Strategy Group</a>, the <a href="http://www.caul.edu.au/" target="_blank">Council of Australian University Librarians</a>, and the <a href="https://acola.org.au/" target="_blank">Learned Academies</a> as well as the <a href="http://www.arc.gov.au/arc-open-access-policy" target="_blank">ARC</a> and <a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants-funding/policy/nhmrc-open-access-policy" target="_blank">NHMRC</a> who have open access policies - there is no one organisation with the responsibility to drive change across the sector. The end result is inadequate key infrastructure - for example, for interoperability between research output repositories.</p>
<p>We also need coherent policy. The government recognised a need for national and states policies on open access in its response to the <a href="https://www.communications.gov.au/departmental-news/government-response-productivity-commissions-intellectual-property-report" target="_blank">2016 Productivity Commission Inquiry on Intellectual Property</a>, but as yet no policy has appeared.</p>
<p>It’s reasonable to ask whether in the absence of a national body that’s responsible for developing and implementing an overall approach, what the success of a policy on its own would be. Again, there are international models that could be used.</p>
<p>Sweden has a Government Directive on Open Access, and a <a href="http://www.kb.se/dokument/open%20access/OpenAccess_National_Library_Sweden_2017_2019.pdf" target="_blank">National Body for Coordinating Open Access</a> chaired by the Vice-chancellor of Stockholm University.</p>
<p>The Netherlands has a <a href="https://www.neth-er.eu/en/news/Netherlands-Publishes-National-Plan-Open-Science" target="_blank">National Plan for Open Science</a> with wide engagement, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In that country, the Secretary of State, Sander Dekker, has been a key champion.</p>
<p>The EU has had a long commitment to open science, underscored recently by the appointment of a high-level envoy with specific responsibility for open science, <a href="https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/open-access-scientific-publications-must-become-reality-2020-robert-jan-smits_en" target="_blank">Robert-Jan Smits</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Private interests might take over</strong></p>
<p>Here’s the bottom line: national coordinated support for the soft infrastructure that supports open science (and thus the big tangible infrastructure projects announced) is not just a “nice to have”.</p>
<p>One way or another, this soft infrastructure will get built and adopted. If it’s not done in the national interest, for-profit companies will step into the vacuum.</p>
<p>We risk replicating the same issues we have now in academic publishing - which is in the hands of multi-billion dollar companies that report to their shareholders, not the public. It’s clear how well that is <a href="https://theconversation.com/publisher-pushback-puts-open-access-in-peril-42050" target="_blank">turning out</a> – publishers and universities globally are in <a href="https://sparcopen.org/our-work/big-deal-cancellation-tracking/" target="_blank">stand offs</a> over the cost of publishing services, which continue to rise inexorably, year on year.</p>
<p><em><strong>Virginia Barbour<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/virginia-barbour-170992" target="_blank"></a></strong>, Director, Australasian Open Access Strategy Group, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/queensland-university-of-technology-847" target="_blank">Queensland University of Technology</a></em></p>
<p><em>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-was-missing-in-australias-1-9-billion-infrastructure-announcement-96723" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p>
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