Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.

A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.

Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.

“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.

Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.

“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.

The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.

It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.

The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.

One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.

Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.

The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.

Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.

Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.

Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.

“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”

Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.

Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.

Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.

Joel Robinson

400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.

The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.

Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" />

“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.

The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”

The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" />

The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.

According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.

“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.

A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.

Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" />

All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.

The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.

Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.

The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" />

Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.

The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.

"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.

The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.

The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" />

Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.

Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.

First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Fitzroy apartments

The Gold Coast Planning Committee has supported the preliminary approval for the Benowa Gardens Urban Village project following an extensive community consultation and assessment process.

The proposal will now proceed to a full council vote on June 2.

The application sought approval for a masterplanned urban village on the existing Benowa Gardens Shopping Centre site, combining new housing, retail, dining, health and lifestyle amenities within a walkable, integrated precinct.&nbsp;

The proposed redevelopment includes around 413 apartments integrated above a revitalised mixed-use centre featuring a full-line supermarket of 4,000 sqm, 6,000 sqm of specialty retail and dining space across around 30 retailers, a 7,000 sqm health and wellness precinct, and roughly 9,630 sqm of office and medical suites.&nbsp;

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fb36ae47-80bc-45f0-9914-31b0c7b6007d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/PR26576%20Ashmore%20Road%20C4%201121%20FI.jpg?VersionId=6mRKk2uU4r67TmTt39DKGUlvFRbTVqWa" />

The broader masterplan also includes very significant traffic and transport improvements, wide pedestrian walkways, upgraded pedestrian and cycle connections, and enhanced public areas designed to create a more connected and walkable community environment.&nbsp;

Centre owner Patrick Lu said the milestone reflected months of detailed planning, technical assessment and ongoing communication with local residents, businesses, schools and stakeholders.

“We appreciate the time, consideration and care Council officers and the Planning Committee have given this proposal throughout the assessment process,” Lu said.

“We also sincerely thank the local community for engaging with us, sharing feedback and participating in the consultation process over many months.

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="32fd1fc3-d0e6-485f-ac57-9916c9bcb818" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/PR26576%20Ashmore%20Road%20C5%201121%20FI_2.jpg?VersionId=fz8qQKDBLQ7MyFRc856Zccfbh9nFwLOe" />

“We understand projects of this scale bring questions and concerns, which is why we have worked hard to listen carefully, provide information transparently and continue refining elements of the proposal where possible.

“Our vision has always been to create a well-designed, community-focused urban village that responds to the changing needs of the Gold Coast, while delivering improved amenity, housing diversity, healthcare access and local lifestyle benefits.

“This proposal is about creating a genuine live-work-play environment where residents can access everyday services, schools, healthcare, dining, shopping and green space within walking distance, while also supporting local jobs and economic activity.”

<img alt="$1b Benowa Gardens Urban Village moves to Full Council following Planning Committee support" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="50dfbd04-590e-4fc6-983b-766880947867" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Dining%20Day%20Time%20-%20High%20Resolution.jpg?VersionId=BP7ZoKJ0DdL_8iRkkC8VVx99moICV6kg" />

Lu said the proposal had evolved significantly through consultation and technical review, particularly around traffic, pedestrian and student safety and neighbourhood connectivity.&nbsp;

Melissa Griffin, Director at Urbis, said the recommendation recognised the strategic importance of delivering more housing and services within established urban areas already supported by infrastructure.

“This proposal represents the type of thoughtful, integrated growth that planning frameworks across South-East Queensland are encouraging,” Ms Griffin said.

“The project seeks to place housing, retail, healthcare and employment opportunities together in a highly accessible location close to schools, transport and existing services.

“Importantly, the process has involved significant technical assessment and community engagement to ensure local issues and feedback were properly considered throughout the planning pathway.”

$1 billion Benowa Gardens Urban Village heads to council vote following Planning Committee support

Surfers Paradise is officially set for its first new residential development with a 45-storey skybridge connecting the two towers.

John Camilleri’s Celestino Developments has been given the green light by the Gold Coast City Council to develop its major beachfront precinct across its huge 4,000 sqm oceanfront site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/63-79-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">63–79 Garfield Terrace</a>, just five months after its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-exclusive-billionaire-winx-breeder-s-bold-two-tower-surfers-paradise-play-with-45th-storey-skybridge">submission in late 2025</a>.

The approved scheme will deliver two towers rising 55 and 48 storeys, connected by a skybridge positioned on level 45 that will house a range of resident-only wellness and entertainment spaces.

In its notice of approval, the Gold Coast City Council said the&nbsp;proposed overall built form has been designed to complement the scale, intensity and protect the adjacent amenity and surrounding streets through the use of varied setbacks, site cover and architectural elements.

<img alt="First look exclusive: Billionaire Winx breeder’s bold two-tower Surfers Paradise play with 45th-storey skybridge" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-30%20at%209.53.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=ADyPJ_TFbJvSU9wZFOiCBnlPtgF7VWqW" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/dbi">DBI</a>, the development will comprise 275 apartments across the two towers, including a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences, as well as several penthouses. The apartments will sit above a landscaped podium featuring more than 90 metres of beachfront pool frontage, private resident lawns, lounges, and wellness spaces.

DBI said the design draws heavily from the movement and form of the coastal environment, with curving balcony lines and sculpted façades intended to soften the scale of the towers while maximising ocean outlooks and passive shading outcomes.

“The project occupies a rare, uninterrupted oceanfront site and has been shaped by a design philosophy that merges architectural elegance with environmental responsiveness and a carefully curated lifestyle experience,” DBI said in planning documents submitted to the Gold Coast City Council.

The most distinctive element of the approved project is the skybridge linking the two towers at level 45. The elevated communal space is planned to include executive lounges, formal dining areas, wellness facilities, and panoramic ocean-facing outlooks.

“The skybridge enhances the identity of the development, promotes social interaction, and delivers a lifestyle experience not found elsewhere on the Gold Coast,” DBI said.

At podium level, residents will have access to a suite of resort-style amenities, including resident lounges, private dining rooms, a yoga lawn, gymnasium, plunge pools, and treatment spaces. The beachfront pool has been designed with separate lap, lounge, and children’s areas extending across the width of the site.

The project will also introduce new food and beverage offerings along the Enderley Avenue and Oceanway frontages, contributing additional activation to the beachfront precinct.

First look: Winx billionaire’s beachfront Surfers Paradise apartment development greenlit

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>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Since the start of quantitative easing in the US and UK in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, yields on fixed interest investments have fallen significantly.
This has encouraged investors to seek investments with higher yields. One of the attractive asset classes has been real estate investment trusts (AREITs). AREITs provide both attractive yields and prospective capital growth.
What Attractions?
AREITs have a history of providing investors with strong and growing distribution income through growth in rental income. Investors have been embracing REITs in recent years for their attractive income yields.
Table 1 compares the income return of AREITs and the 10 year Australian government bond yield for 15 years to 31 December 2014. The average income yield of AREITs over 15 years to 31 December 2014 is 1.6% higher than that of the average10 year government bond yield.
Table 1- AREITs Income Yield vs Government Bond Yield – 15 Years
<table style="width: 455px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="285">
 
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="170">
Average Yield (%)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="285">
AREITs
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="170">
6.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="285">
10 Year Government Bond
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="170">
5.2
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
In the current environment, AREITs provides attractive absolute earnings yields of 6.0% and a margin of 3.0% over the 10 year government bond yield. Chart 1 compares the AREITs earnings yield and 10 year government bond yield. AREITs have been providing significantly higher earnings yields than that of the 10 year government bond since March 2011.
Chart 1 – Australian Listed Property Earnings Yield vs Government Bond Yield
<img src="/images/2015/03/04/nui%20mar%204%20one.png" alt="">
Source: RBA, IRESS
In addition to yield, investors have benefited from capital gains. Large numbers of investors who have found the yields from AREITs attractive have invested in listed property trusts, pushing up AREITs prices. Over the one year period to 31 January 2015, the AREITs price has risen by 29.1%.
When Interest Rates Rise?
Investors will be concerned that AREITs will become less attractive when interest rates rise. While we acknowledge that this is a valid concern, there are some offsetting factors.
Firstly, although higher interest rates will cause higher costs of borrowing, the rise of interest rates is also a signal of a strengthening economy. Higher growth in the economy will increase the demand for commercial real estate, improve occupancy rates and rental income. Hence, any increase in cost of borrowing may be offset by the landlord’s ability to raise rental rates, which will flow through to higher distributions to investors.
Secondly, the AREITs sector today does not show the same risky characteristics as it did during the GFC. Table 2 below shows that AREITs, on average, have reduced their gearing levels, as measured by debt/asset ratios, since the GFC. The highly geared trusts, which are more likely to suffer from negative cash flow impacts when interest rates rise, are less exposed than in 2009. It is believed that the burden of rising interest rates on AREITs will be much less.
Table 2- AREITs - Average Gearing Levels
<table style="width: 460px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="171">
 
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="132">
GFC 
(Dec-09)
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="113">
Current 
(Dec-14)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="171">
Average Gearing (%)
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="132">
34.0%
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="113">
30.0 %
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="171">
Gearing Range (%)
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="132">
24.0% - 61.0%
</td>
<td valign="bottom" nowrap width="113">
0%-40.9 %
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: UBS, ASX
Moreover, the spread between AREITs earnings yields and 10-year government bond yields remains wide. This point is demonstrated in Chart 2 by comparing the margin of the current earnings yield of AREITs with 10 year government bond yield and the long-term average. The current margin of 3.0% is above the long term average of 2.2%, which provides a buffer when interest rates rise.
Chart 2 –Property Earnings Yield vs Bond Yield - Margin
<img src="/images/2015/03/04/nui%20mar%204%20twol.png" alt="">
Source: UBS, IRESS
Interest rates have remained low for a long time. AREITs provide stable income and prospective capital growth. When interest rates rise, investors still have some support from rising rents, the wide yield spread and the lower gearing levels. Prices may fall but only marginally.
Ming Niu is an analyst at <a href="https://atchison.com.au/" target="_blank">Atchison Consultants</a>.
This article has been updated since initial publication.
</body></html>

mniu-gkBe4pvnDQ

Will AREITs remain attractive once interest rates start to rise? Ming Niu

<html><body>
After several decades working in this industry, I often get asked for advice.
I am referring to the casual questions that family, friends and associates ask me, such as: ‘I am looking to buy an apartment, where should I buy and what should I pay?’ or ‘I have been watching prices increase, do you think they’re getting out of control and may soon fall?’ and another common question – ‘Should I buy off the plan or an established apartment?’
Now in today’s fast moving market, these sorts of simple questions are loaded with so many options, because circumstances will be very different for each person. But if I stop and think about these questions, which I do, then I think that we tend to pay a lot of attention, possibly too much so to the big picture issues.
Like reflecting on interest rates, which has now turned into an almost never-ending narrative, or if there is an oversupply or too little supply and the constant reporting of auction results. I think that we forget about the basics. Buyers start to concentrate on the big picture instead of simply concentrating on their own plans and needs, the whole buying process becomes hard work, and it needn’t be.
For almost anyone looking to buy, even in the current market I would always suggest starting with the basics. Not being driven by constant media headlines, but concentrate more on what you as a potential buyer want, what are you looking for in your purchase, what are your immediate needs and plans for the future?
I think the same rules and basic ideas apply if you’re a first time buyer, a second or third time buyer or seasoned investor.
Just what are the basics? Nothing surprising really, but I would suggest: finance (your budget), location, timing and a hard-nosed view on the ‘must-haves’ in your property search. I think in that exact and, I suggest, somewhat logical order. This short list will I think serve any buyer well no matter their individual circumstances, so let’s look at each individually.
<ul>
<li>Finance</li>
</ul>
This is a subject that none of us, except possibly a very lucky Lotto winner can ever escape, the available finance or budget for any purchase is the essential starting point. It’s a topic that any buyer very likely thinks about the most, but I feel it’s important to appreciate that there’s lots of help and options available. Plan your finances and always think well beyond today, take into account the ups and downs, which might happen, in your personal affairs.
But above all, get as much information as you can. From the feedback I get, this is something that every buyer does appear to do these days. Lenders are keener than ever for your business, and help to find the best loan is free.
Right now we have the lowest interest rates since 1959. So plan your finances to take the maximum advantage of competitive rates, but keep in mind that rates will almost certainly go up sometime in the future. So make the best of the prevailing conditions.
If you lock in a three year or five year term, make sure that you still have the ability to make additional repayments, now while rates are low, and always keep in mind add-on costs like stamp duty, legal fees, moving costs, the possible need for temporary accommodation and be aware of any fees that attach to your home loan. Look beyond the headline details and understand the fine detail of your finances, that’s my basic point here, don’t only concentrate on the interest rate.
<ul>
<li>Location</li>
</ul>
When it comes to location, above all I think it pays to be flexible because it can be easy to become fixated about a particular location, and if this happens early in your search, the location can become an unnecessary roadblock. Again, take time to explore options because the ideal option might just be in an area or suburb you have previously overlooked.
The key points of any location often revolve around access to transport and facilities, but there could well be options if you take a flexible approach. As different governments start to roll out new infrastructure many areas will change over the next few years. If for example you want to live close to rail connections, an option might be the drive and park facilities.
Schools and shopping can also be important, the right school can be a tough one, but with many larger shops in particular supermarkets virtually now open 24/7, can you be more flexible? And it pays to be aware of what future developments might be coming to an area that may well add future value.
For apartment buyers open space is also a key point of location. Today many new developments are very well planned and designed with very attractive indoor and outdoor spaces, so when considering location take a close look at what’s on offer with individual projects.
<ul>
<li>Timing</li>
</ul>
Now I think that timing might just be one of those areas that you end up with possibly having the least amount of control over. In the housing market the most common reason to move house is usually associated with family formation. Marriage, living together, having kids, a divorce or retirement, in reality a variety of circumstances will bring buyers into the market.
Sometimes these things might sneak up on some of us, but generally timing of a move should not be allowed to become that critical that it forces you to buy or sell with little time to plan. If you’re in a buyers market, there’s possibly less pressure but even if the market is a sellers market plan your move to suit your own timeline and avoid over commitment of your finances in order to try and beat the market, that might just create more problems in the future.
<ul>
<li>Must Haves</li>
</ul>
This area involves possibly the most heart-burn, the most emotion, where dreams and reality may at times hit a bump. Responding to a marketing headline of ‘Inspired Design’ might be great for us in the business, but for buyers it pays to make sure again that you do not limit your choices.
Any new apartment needs to fit your lifestyle, your aspirations, I understand that, but always aim to sign-off on the basics first, like the number of bedrooms, do you need parking, or is a secure storeroom more important. A good outdoor area, a balcony, terrace or courtyard will always be high on the list of must haves for many buyers. Driven in part out of the reality that in some markets apartments are more compact but I think are generally well-designed.
However today the open plan approach to apartment design really does work to accommodate the living arrangement of most buyers, this creates flexibility. And if you’re buying off the plan there’s often a choice of interiors, finishes and colour schemes.
Kitchens and bathrooms are now attractive spaces, kitchens are evolving into almost bespoke pieces of furniture in their own right – but if everything is not perfect, think about the options you might change. Balance a good location against possible interior changes or furniture options that you can make.
Also keep in mind things like privacy and natural light, and aspect and sunshine because in the rush for the designer-finish these simple things can be overlooked and they can make a great deal of difference to the appeal of an apartment in the long run.
<ul>
<li>It’s Your Home</li>
</ul>
When looking to buy I think it’s important to work to your own timetable, explore all of the options of finance and location and take charge of what should be an exciting time.
Try not to be distracted too much by the big-picture because the market is still full of different options. Your final choice might end up being different from what you had first thought of as your ideal home, it might just be better! My suggestion is concentrate on the basics.
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pchittenden-eLqUUC8TWW

The five basics of the property search: Peter Chittenden

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As Australia faces the reality of life after its mining boom, now more than ever it’s vital that we embark on a path of prosperity and sound government – just don’t hold your breath (just yet).
First and foremost it’s imperative that NSW embarks on the greatest infrastructure expenditure in the state’s history – at the end of the day the upcoming election is all about economic reform. 
Based on the recent election results in Victoria and Queensland the word ‘privatisation’ has indeed become a dirty word. In the case of the Baird government strategy the proceeds from the sale of state ownership of the electricity network would be directed to the generation of pivotal capital works projects and not state debt reduction.
A 2013 report on the Electricity Network Regulation the Productivity Commission announced that electricity prices had risen 70% in real terms over the previous five years with structural problems most apparent in NSW. The Productivity Commission went on to say: “There are strong arguments for privatisation of those businesses. There is no evidence that the productivity, reliability, quality or cost performance of private – sector electricity network businesses is worse than their public sector equivalents. To the contrary, the evidence in Australia and internationally suggests that such private sector enterprises are more efficient.”
NSW Labor proposes to tax business more then cut and defer major projects whilst doing next to nothing to fix congestion in Sydney. Congestion is exactly what determines property prices in Sydney, which is why I have said if you own real estate within a 10 kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD you have nothing to worry about.
A recent report commissioned by the Property Council of NSW has found that Sydney is facing a housing crisis with an additional 190,000 homes needed to be constructed over the next 10 years. The report identified that since 2005 an average of just 17,002 homes had been approved by Sydney’s 43 councils each year. From a business perspective you’re not going to attract new housing projects unless you are rolling out massive new infrastructure community platforms.
<a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/02/23-02-2015-9-11-41-AM.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-389483" src="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/02/23-02-2015-9-11-41-AM.jpg" alt="23-02-2015 9-11-41 AM" width="463" height="477"></a>
The above graph clearly identifies what happens to property prices when you’re closer to the CBD and highlights what happens when governments drop crucial infrastructure spending – <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/23/infrastructure/australias-train-nowhere" target="_blank" title="Australia’s train to nowhere. ">Australia’s train to nowhere. </a>More than anything we see glaring highlights as to what happens when governments fail to invest in crucial areas such as public transport. As a result house prices to those areas located within that crucial 10 kilometre radius of the CBD skyrocket.
NSW faces an additional 1.600 million people requiring housing over the next two decades – which in itself explains why now more than ever before infrastructure has to be the key ingredient into guaranteeing NSW’s prosperity into the future. Privatisation should not be a dirty word rather the dirty word clearly is lack of infrastructure spending by past NSW governments.
Sydney must absorb Newcastle, Wollongong and western Sydney into its business model by creating a world class metropolis. Given what’s been achieved in other countries there is no excuse why Sydney does not have a very fast train that connects all the cities.
Given that investors today are getting next to no return given the record low cash rate – investors can purchase syndicates that would allow them to invest in infrastructure projects <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/2/25/infrastructure/neat-fix-politics-infrastructure-funding" target="_blank" title="a neat fix to the politics of infrastructure funding.">a neat fix to the politics of infrastructure funding.</a>
Given that the self-managed superannuation funds are driving investment property in NSW due to a lack of choice such a proposal to attract these funds with infrastructure investment is a brilliant and a long overdue alternative. Naturally the big superannuation funds want as much of this pie as they can get so the state governments must offer allocations to ensure that everyone has equal investment opportunities.
From an investment perspective NSW can easily offer thousands and thousands of critical infrastructure investment funds for investors to diversify as against relying solely on the real estate markets.
Of course nothing can happen if we have a change in government given the alternative is simply too scary to contemplate. If NSW had previously had a strong infrastructure platform property prices would be nowhere near as high as they are today.
If the Baird government is successful at next month’s election and they stick to their infrastructure platforms there is a strong possibility they could become the most successful government in NSW history.
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

Next month’s NSW election is the most important ever: Robert Simeon

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Australia is in the midst of a structural economic change with the mining boom coming to an end as <a href="https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/02/australian-investment-pipeline-falls/" target="_blank">investment in the sector falls</a>. Tourism has been <a href="https://www.budget.gov.au/2011-12/content/bp1/html/bp1_bst4-03.htm" target="_blank">promoted by government</a> as a key source of future economic growth, with some <a href="https://www.professionalplanner.com.au/featured-posts/2015/02/08/winners-and-losers-as-economy-changes-gears-34162/" target="_blank">media reports</a> already stating that tourism has started to recover. But will it really be that easy to shift back from a resource-dependent to a tourism-led economy?
Tourism and the resources sector have cyclically been key exports and drivers of economic growth in Australia. However, the last decade’s mining boom has <a href="https://www.tra.gov.au/documents/Economic-Industry/Economic_Impact_of_the_Current_Mining_Boom_on_the_Australian_Tourism_Industry_FINAL.pdf">negatively impacted</a> on the sector by inflating the exchange rate, increasing competition for labour and delivering a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016073831300159X" target="_blank">‘two-speed’ economy</a>.
During this boom, Australia’s resources sector has encroached on protected areas with iconic tourism attractions and protected areas, such as the <a href="/news">Great Barrier Reef</a>, increasing the risk of the region losing key assets that attract visitation. Importantly, the mining boom has heralded significant structural change in Australia’s economy, with little to no long-term planning for growth once it comes to an end.
A report by the <a href="/news">Griffith Institute for Tourism</a> has found that the transition back to tourism - particularly in regions that have become resource dependent - may be very difficult. Investigating two resource dependent regions in Queensland (Gladstone and Roma), the research found that the regions have become dependent on the resources sector and this has impacted tourism in many ways.
The key impacts of the boom in these regions include: reducing the tourism industry’s ability to attract and retain staff; increasing costs of accommodation, food and fuel for visitors and tourism employees; influencing tourism businesses to adapt to cater for the more lucrative resources sector workers (that is, installing dongas (portable buildings), building up-market motels, offering fine dining); reducing traditional tourism businesses profitability leading to their closure; and straining local infrastructure and support services upon which tourism depends.
The regions have reportedly suffered a decline in their aesthetics, reducing their appeal as tourism destinations. Combined with the busyness and limited amount of affordable accommodation, the traditional leisure markets now avoid or pass through the towns. In Gladstone the resources sector activity has also restricted visitor access to certain areas of the region and impacted on key natural assets that attract tourists, including the harbour and the Great Barrier Reef.
But probably the most concerning impact occurred in Roma, where there was a change in the strategic direction of the local council following the regional council amalgamations in 2008. Prior to the amalgamation, Roma was an example of regional tourism best practice, with a local tourism development officer working with the industry to develop products and market the region. Following the amalgamation, the council decided to grow the resources sector, which strengthened the sector’s capacity to do business in the region.
At the same time, the council struggled to understand and quantify the benefits of tourism, resulting in the revenue generated by tourism being viewed as inferior to the resources sector. The council’s shift in focus away from tourism led to a loss of tourism skills, advocacy and policy from the region. Since then, been very few new tourism developments and the existing tourism products have declined, deteriorated or adapted to service the resources sector.
Fortunately, the Council in Roma is now anticipating the end of the mining boom and have commenced efforts to rejuvenate tourism. However, this rejuvenation process might not be so simple or easy. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0261517794900892" target="_blank">Prior research </a> considering the rejuvenation of tourism following an oil and gas boom indicates that it can take a decade of significant product development and extensive marketing to attract the leisure tourist back to a region.
Another issue is that previously resource-dependent regions commonly attempt to attract high-yield tourists and <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0160738395000615" target="_blank">re-image the region</a> by marketing the destination as dynamic and multi-cultural. This can reduce differentiation between destinations and undermine competitiveness.
This regional picture gives a glimpse to the challenges facing tourism nationally. Shifting the economy back towards tourism may be more difficult than expected. It’s not enough to just market Australia – significant reimaging will need to occur to change the perceptions tourists now have of Australia and its resource-dependent regions.
In addition, without good products and services, which have declined during the mining boom, the tourism industry will not be able to adequately service growing demand and there will be low levels of satisfaction.
Perhaps the most effective policy for ensuring tourism rejuvenation would have been to take a long-term perspective to development that recognised the value of tourism and developed strategies at the start of the mining boom to avoid the loss of valuable products, policy, expertise and skills. As it is, Australian tourism now faces an uphill battle.
Char-lee McLennan is research fellow, sustainable tourism at Griffith University.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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Char-leeMcLennan-qzrkbjqmWu

Moving from resources to tourism is a bigger leap than we think: Char-lee McLennan

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Sydney is a city grinding to a halt, with the worst traffic congestion anywhere in Australia.
Our new analysis reveals that over the decade to 2012, the proportion of full-time employees in Sydney who commute for more than 10 hours a week rose from 22% to 29%. Those workers are spending almost three full weeks a year just to get to and from work.
That is one of the new findings in our book, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.mup.com.au/items/154135">City Limits: why Australia’s cities are broken and how we can fix them</a>, published today. It also shows that residents of large areas of outer Sydney have little choice about long commutes - and congested roads and crowded trains and buses are only symptoms of a much deeper problem facing Australia’s most populated city.
Broken cities
While some people are able to commute to their local area, a lack of local jobs means many have to travel further afield. In some suburbs, only <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/188_productive_cities.pdf">14% of the jobs</a> available in Sydney can be accessed in a 45-minute car trip. The situation is even worse if you’re reliant on public transport: many outer suburbs of Sydney offer access to <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/188_productive_cities.pdf">fewer than one in 10</a> of the city’s jobs within an hour on public transport.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73371/area14mp/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73371/width668/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG" alt=""></a>
There is a visible different in labour force participation in Sydney, depending on where you live. Grattan Institute, Who lives where: Sydney Productive Cities: Supplementary Maps, May 2013, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
Commuting can be stressful and unpleasant. Long drives caused by limited access to jobs and transport <a href="https://transportreform.org/file.php?fileID=143">add thousands of dollars a year</a> to household bills, and makes those households especially vulnerable to <a href="/news">petrol price rises</a>.
Poor access to jobs especially restricts the choices available to women. Because women still do most of the work looking after children or frail older people in Australian households, they are more likely than men to be constrained in how long they can commute for.
These pressures are opening up a big divide between women in the inner suburbs and those on the fringe.
Our research has shown that men and women in the eastern suburbs and inner west participate in the workforce at relatively similar levels. But in parts of Sydney’s outer west and south-west, women’s workforce participation falls to <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/189_who_lives_where_sydney.pdf">more than 20% below that of men</a>.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73370/area14mp/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73370/width668/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG" alt=""></a>
 The gap between how many men are in paid work versus women in much greater in some parts of Sydney, especially in the west. Grattan Institute, Who lives where: Sydney Productive Cities: Supplementary Maps, May 2013, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
Taking the heat out of Sydney’s housing market
Along with traffic, housing is a hot topic of conversation almost anywhere you go in Sydney.
High prices mean many younger people are locked out of home ownership that their parents took for granted.
One in four Australian households now rent their home, and many face punishing rents and some of the <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/800_Renovating_Housing.pdf">worst security of tenure in the developed world</a>.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73374/area14mp/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/73374/width668/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG" alt=""></a>
Australian renters typically have fewer rights and less security of tenure than in comparable nations. Grattan Institute, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
For years, even decades, politicians have surrendered responsibility for addressing the rising pressures on city life. Yet they have a vital role to play. Most importantly, the state government can make it easier to build new homes in all parts of Sydney, especially established areas that have good access to jobs.
Making it much easier to build new homes would help improve access to jobs, and give people more meaningful choices about where they live and the kind of home they live in. Less convoluted planning and zoning rules and decision-making processes are essential.
But it’s also vital to have transparent standards for appropriate development, so that residents and communities know what is planned for their community and can have their say about it.
Politicians need to ensure their commitments have effective implementation mechanisms and are followed through.
Over the years, state governments from both sides of the political divide have made and broken too many promises to tackle housing affordability.
Similarly, Sydneysiders have lost count of how many promises to tackle traffic congestion, improve access to public transport or build new transport infrastructure have then not been delivered. Failing to deliver on commitments is a guaranteed way to let Sydney’s problems get worse.
Thinking beyond our own backyards
One reason that promises have fallen by the wayside is because delivering them has required trade-offs between different members of the community. Such trade-offs are inevitable anywhere there is a finite amount of land, and finite amounts of money to spend on transport.
One such trade-off is between local residents of inner and middle suburbs close to employment centres, who may prefer fewer new homes being added in their area, versus residents further out who face longer commutes, along with more traffic on the roads that everyone uses.
Trade-offs are required because the city can’t simply build its way out of this problem. Improving public transport and roads can make a big difference to many people’s lives. But there are limits to what the transport system can do, and new roads and train lines are very expensive.
There’s no perfect way to balance the kinds of difficult trade-offs involved in improving Sydney’s complex traffic, housing and other urban planning challenges.
But it is possible to do better. As overseas experience in cities such as Seattle, Vancouver and Portland shows, genuinely involving residents in making the trade-offs facing cities is essential to making improvements endure, and see <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/052_cities_who_decides.pdf">promises get delivered</a>.
State and local governments have a critical role in involving all residents in shaping their city’s future. So it’s incumbent on whoever wins this state election to involve the community more in making the hard decisions that are inevitable in tackling the challenges Sydney faces.
But Sydney’s problems are not just for politicians to solve.
Often people know that the status quo isn’t working, but resist the kinds of change in their local area that could turn things around. Sometimes that’s because residents feel it is being imposed on them, without having a say, and the only response is to resist, or pretend it can be avoided.
Yet resisting all change, such as opposing new apartment blocks in well-established suburbs blocks (regardless of their quality), risks backfiring on residents in the long-term. People are now seeing their own children and grandchildren forced to live far from where they grow up – and in a city as congested as Sydney, that means seeing family less often.
* City Limits: why Australia’s cities are broken and how we can fix them is <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.mup.com.au/items/154135" target="_blank">published today</a> by Melbourne University Press. <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/events/city-limits-book-launch-melbourne-and-sydney-events/" target="_blank">Register here</a> to attend a free launch event in Sydney on Thursday March 5.
Paul Donegan is a fellow at Grattan Institute.
Jane-Frances Kelly is program director, cities at Grattan Institute.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Sydney’s stuck in traffic, putting the brakes on women and the west

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The Koonawarra estate, some 24 acres of private established gardens in the Blue Mountains, has been listed as a rental estate.
It's located at Mount Wilson, a popular weekend destination for more than a century. A little corner of rural England in the middle of an ancient rainforest with special homes including Farcry, Sefton Hall, Donna Buang, Sefton Cottage, Dennarque, Campanella, Woodstock, Lindfield Park, Merrygarth, Yengo, Eastcote, Shasta Lodge, and Wynstay.
<img src="/images/2015/03/02/5.jpg" alt="">
<div title="Page 156">
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The original Koonawarra gardens were designed during the 1880s by Charles Moore, who also designed the Sydney Botanic Gardens. 
The Scottish botanist Charles Moore, who trained at Kew and Regent's Park, arrived in Sydney in the Medway in 1848. He was in charge of the gardens until 1896.
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</div>
The minimum lease term is six months at $1,800 a week through <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.lamingproperty.com.au/property/rental/6" target="_blank">Potts Point agent Lynette Laming</a>, so which two seasons?
<a href="https://www.reviewproperty.com.au/property/for-rent/house/nsw/mount-wilson/?adid=8000329&amp;sp=3" target="_blank">"Make memories at Koonawarra,"</a> she said.
As ever, our property contrarians Margie Blok and Jonathan Chancellor can't quite decide when best to go to take in the surrounds of English and European-style gardens, rainforest and mountain views. But they agree there will be plenty of mountain walks and long leisurely, sociable dinners.
HE SAID:<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/jc-silhouette-5.jpg" alt="jc-silhouette-5" width="130" height="195" style="float: right;">
It would make a wonderful winter retreat just two hours from Sydney, then staying on for spring.
I am happy to take Cherry Cottage, the one loft bedroom cottage for guests. It was all originally part of Dennarque.
Charles Moore, the first director of the Botanical Gardens, also designed nearby Yengo that features an exquisite walled garden, embellished with 16th-century Catalan wrought-iron work.
I'd really like to see snow too, and stay for spring to do all the walks - Waterfall Reserve, the rainforest pocket in Davies Lane, the Cathderal of Ferns, Pheasants Cave, Chinamans Hat and perhaps even the track to the Wollangambe River.
<img src="/images/2015/03/02/2.jpg" alt="">
<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/mb-silhouette-4.jpg" alt="mb-silhouette-4" width="130" height="195" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
Koonawarra Cottage is the charming single storey three bedroom cottage with a large front verandah which looks out over the expansive parklike gardens.
Every window has garden views, as you'd expect. 
I have always throught Mount Wilson was best placed for autumn viewing. Especially this year to escape the prevailing humidity of Sydney.
This property also has a tennis court so imagine the sunny exercise you'd get before the chill sets in, and the days are spent in front of the fireplace.
I seem to recall it was formerly the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Armitage in the 1960s, but I could chase all that up with a bit more study on the chilly nights.
I once read that the walk from one end of Mount Wilson to the other along avenues of beeches, plane trees, oaks, liquidambers and cherry trees can move even strong men to poetry.
Let's see.
<img src="/images/2015/03/02/3.jpg" alt="">
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Which season for Koonawarra, Mount Wilson rental estate?

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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett published his eagerly anticipated annual letter to shareholders of his company Berkshire Hathaway this weekend.
The letter is a <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/investment/41783-five-gems-from-warren-buffett-s-annual-shareholders-meeting">flagship event in the business calendar</a> as the investment guru updates shareholders on the company’s progress while dropping plenty of investment wisdom on the way.
The letter is published ahead of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, which Buffett refers to as “Woodstock for capitalists”.
Here are six pearls of wisdom from this year’s edition:
1. Beware of investment bankers
Buffett takes aim at investment bankers on Wall Street in his annual letter.
“The Street’s denizens are always ready to suspend disbelief when dubious manoeuvres are used to manufacture rising per-share earnings, particularly if these acrobatics produce mergers that generate huge fees for investment bankers.”
2. Don’t dawdle
Buffett acknowledged he stuffed up by being slow to sell shares of the British supermarket chain Tesco, which wound up costing Berkshire Hathaway $US 444 million.
“An attentive investor, I’m embarrassed to report, would have sold Tesco shares earlier,” he says. “I made a big mistake with this investment by dawdling. Charlie calls this sort of behavior ‘thumb-sucking.’ (Considering what my delay cost us, he is being kind.)”
Buffett noted the loss amounted to only 0.2% of Berkshire’s net worth.
3. The need for post mortems
The investment guru concedes that he has made mistakes along the way, particularly the use of Berkshire shares to purchase businesses with “limp” earnings.
“Mistakes of that kind are deadly. Trading shares of a wonderful business – which Berkshire most certainly is – for ownership of a so-so business irreparably destroys value,” he says. 
Buffett advocates post mortems of all acquisitions in order to determine “an elementary reality” whether the intrinsic value of the shares you give in an acquisition is less than the intrinsic value of the business you receive.
“I’ve yet to see an investment banker quantify this all-important math when he is presenting a stock-for-stock deal to the board of a potential acquirer,” he says.
“Post mortems of acquisitions, in which reality is honestly compared to the original projections, are rare in American boardrooms,” he says.
“They should instead be standard practice.”
4. Forget about the too-good-to-be-true bargain
Buffett recommends focusing on paying a fair price for top businesses rather than a bargain price for a mediocre business.
“Forget what you know about buying fair businesses at wonderful prices; instead, buy wonderful businesses at fair prices,” he says.  
5. Always have cash flow
Buffett revealed Berkshire Hathaway maintains $US20 billion in cash reserves at all time.
While that’s a little unrealistic for most small businesses, Buffett says cash reserves are key.
“At a healthy business, cash is sometimes thought of as something to be minimized – as an unproductive asset that acts as a drag on such markers as return on equity,” he says.
“Cash, though, is to a business as oxygen is to an individual: never thought about when it is present, the only thing in mind when it is absent.”
Buffett says that in 2008 when other businesses went under Berkshire was uninterrupted.
“When bills come due, only cash is legal tender. Don’t leave home without it.”
6. Work out your succession
While not naming names Buffett has assured shareholders he has the succession question well in hand at Berkshire Hathaway.
The investment guru says he and the board of directors “believe we now have the right person to succeed me as CEO,” and who in some respects “will do a better job than I am doing.”
Buffett also left open the prospect of a female chief executive saying, “Gender should never decide who becomes CEO.”
You can read Buffett’s <a href="https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2014ltr.pdf">letter to shareholders in full here</a>.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/" target="_blank">SmartCompany</a>.
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Six pearls of wisdom from Warren Buffett’s 2015 letter to shareholders

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The Abbott government’s lurch at a foreign investment fee to fund the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) will be a minor inconvenience. 
“There is significant global evidence from recent times including Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong where these types of taxes on foreign investment have been totally counterproductive, caused significant corrections within the markets and harmed the construction industry” CBRE residential projects chairman Justin Brown was quoeted as saying in the <a href="https://www.afr.com/p/national/politics/foreign_property_buyers_to_pay_approval_TnnDgOvoNycdqw7V5urAAN" target="_blank">AFR</a>.
The response from the real estate sector has been typical. 
Whilst we are supportive of some traction towards the taxation of excessive real estate profits, the 1% charge will mean little in comparison to last year's capital gains.
As outlined in <a href="https://www.prosper.org.au/2015/02/24/the-foreign-investment-future/" target="_blank">the foreign investment future</a>, the average $3,375,000 FIRB approved investments last year would pay a foreign investment fee of $33,750. The capital gains were running at $229,500. Such a fee will not break the bank.
In that same post I mentioned how effective Singapore’s foreign investment fee of 18% was in maintaining the public interest – low land prices. The property lobby have convinced the news cycle that rising property prices are a good thing. They are if you are a property seller or a bank. For the public this means rising debts and thus interest payments.
We do however see merit in the commentary of Ray White chairman Brian White in comparing such a charge as a stamp-duty like charge. Such a foreign investment fee will curb some demand, impeding turnover.
However, it is likely to be minor as the above capital gains to foreign investment fee comparison demonstrates. Treasurer Hockey was adamant the fee was purely an administrative one so that the FIRB could do its job.
Only $200 million is needed yearly to fund an expanded FIRB. <a href="https://www.firb.gov.au/content/default.asp" target="_blank">Will we get a new website for that?</a> The relative size of such fundraising is again minor to the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6416.0" target="_blank">$418 billion in land price increases in the 13-14 year.</a>
After a minor skirmish, we expect this will have little imposition on the global land bubble. The fact it is set at a much lower rate than Hong Kong and Singapore ensures global investors will still be set upon buying up locations of inspiring natural beauty.
If the government knew what they were doing, a Federal Land Value Tax would be reimposed nearly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Taxation_Office#History" target="_blank">100 years since our first federal tax was announced</a>. Accompanying this would be a significant 5-10% income tax deduction and a doubling of the pension. The LVT would curb speculative foreign investment, reigniting the Australian creative spirit alongside lower land prices and a lower tax burden for all.
Karl Fiztgerald is project director of <a href="https://www.prosper.org.au/" target="_blank">Prosper Australia</a>.
This article first appeared on Prosper's website.
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Foreign investment fee will only be a minor inconvenience: Karl Fitzgerald

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Australian restaurant Granger &amp; Co has secured its third London site.
It is in King's Cross, a 2,500 square foot restaurant site in restored industrial dwellings known as the Stanley Building, at 7 St Pancras Square.
The new site adds to their existing London sites in Clerkenwell and Notting Hill. The third outlet, not far from Google, will be opening in late spring. The 86-cover restaurant will offer all-day dining and take-out coffee.
Bill Granger also operates restaurants worldwide in Tokyo, Honolulu and Seoul.
Bill Granger, the Darlinghurst chef, restaurateur and food writer, and his wife Natalie Elliott recently sold their Bronte house.
Bills Bondi at 79 Hall Street, Bondi was the recent new addition to his stable of restaurants around the world.
Bill Granger got his training at the iconic La Passion du Fruit on Paddington's Oxford Street after hailing from Melbourne. 
The La Passion proprietors Chrissie Juillet and Jean-Claude Wane had that communal sense of a family kitchen table interaction at the cafe, which Granger replicated when he opened the original Bills in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in 1993, when he was 22.
His Queens Court, Woollahra restaurant recently closed, replaced by the vibrant Luxe.
Photograph courtesy of kingscross.co.uk. 
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Bill Granger secures third London restaurant premises

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The Killarney Vale couple Kara and Kyal Demmrich – contestants on Channel Nine's The Block Albert Park series – have bought again on the NSW Central Coast.
Their new home is a cottage at Bateau Bay in the Wyong municipality that cost $580,000, with the prize money they earnt coming in handy. 
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It is an original cottage,<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-bateau+bay-117226003" target="_blank"> </a>with a north facing front yard on a level 639 square metre block, within easy walk to Shelly and Blue Lagoon Beaches.  
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They sold this week for $735,000 at Killarney Vale, which is five ams away from their next project.
They bought, then renovated their first home in 2008 having paid $285,000, after getting married in February 2007.
Agent Chantel Laing-Chadwick at George Brand Real Estate Avoca Beach/Copacabana described their recently sold house as an "architectural masterpiece".
Last year the couple appeared in The Block: Fans v Faves as the so-called Super Ks.
Around the time of the April Albert Park auction, the couple indicated they were planning to launch a boutique renovations company called Diverse Design and Construct.
The couple also suggested they were considering a move from their home in the Tuggerah Lakes precinct.
“We haven’t thought about it too seriously, but our long-term goal is to get ourselves as close to the coast as possible. So we’re thinking about selling, maybe in the next 12 months," Kyal told Property Observer.
The Super Ks were given the highest reserve of any apartment – $1.9 million – after a stellar number of winning challenges and room reveals.
But they finished third behind Steve and Chantelle and Alisa and Lysandra on auction day.
They indicated they could pay off the mortgage with their $567,250 in prize money.
Bateau Bay's médian house price sits at <a href="/news">$500,000</a>, record levels, while Killarney Vale's median house price likewise tav record levels, but <a href="/news">$375,000</a>, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
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