<p>Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.</p>

<p>Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]</p>

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

<p>Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.</p>

<p>Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.</p>

<p>Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]</p>

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

<p>Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.</p>

<p>David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.</p>

<p>“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]</p>

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

<p>While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.</p>

<p>Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;</p>


Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.</p>

<p>The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.</p>

<p>Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.</p>

<p>“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.</p>

<p>“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”</p>

<p><img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" 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%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" /></p>

<p>Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.</p>

<p>The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.</p>

<p>“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.</p>

<p>“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”</p>

<p><img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" 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/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" /></p>

<p>Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.</p>

<p>“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.</p>

<p>The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.</p>

<p>“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”</p>

<p>The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.</p>

<p>The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.</p>


Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

<p>Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.</p>

<p>Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.</p>

<p>The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.</p>

<p>“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.</p>

<p>“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.</p>

<p>“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”</p>

<p>The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.</p>

<p>“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”</p>

<p>From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.</p>

<p>“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”</p>

<p>The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.</p>

<p>“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.</p>

<p>Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.</p>

<p>“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.</p>

<p>“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”</p>

<p>The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.</p>

<p>“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.</p>

<p>Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

<p>Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.</p>

<p>The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.</p>

<p>It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.</p>

<p>With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.</p>

<p>“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.</p>

<p>“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”</p>

<p><img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" /></p>

<p>GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.</p>

<p>“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”</p>

<p>Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.</p>

<p>“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.</p>

<p><img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.</p>

<p>Green praised local policy settings.</p>

<p>“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”</p>

<p>One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.</p>

<p>“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.</p>


One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

<p>It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.</p>

<p>Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.</p>

<p>Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be</p>

<p data-end="683" data-start="511">"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.</p>

<p data-end="882" data-start="690">"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."</p>

<p data-end="882" data-start="690">[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]</p>

<p>The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.</p>

<p>The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.</p>

<p>Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]</p>

<p>Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.</p>

<p>The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]</p>

<p data-end="247" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="0">While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.</p>

<p>WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.</p>

<p>With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]</p>


WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

China

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<p>A vacant possession with existing permit for 34 units in Brunswick has been sold to development group with strong Chinese ties for $3.675 million in off-market deal brokered by Savills Australia’s CBD &amp; Metropolitan Sales Division.</p>
<p>The property, 2-6 Duckett Street, is 687 sqm, zoned Commercial 1 with a street frontage of 19 metres, was sold by Director, Julian Heatherich and Associate Director, Jesse Radisich.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>The site forms part of a precinct bounded by Sydney Road, Albion Street, Hope Street and the railway line which forms part of the Brunswick Major Activity Centre.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>The latter site sold to a prominent local developer for $4 million with a permit for 39 units.</p>
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

China-linked group pays $3.675m for Brunswick site

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<p>China’s slower growth figures have caused jitters in world financial markets. Nevertheless its growth remains at miracle levels. At this pace, China would appear to remain on track to become the richest and most powerful country in the world, bar none.</p>
<p>In a scenario where Chinese “miracle” growth continues around 5-6% for three decades and gradually slows to the average world growth rate, the average Chinese citizen would be as wealthy as the average American.</p>
<p>But ongoing Chinese growth miracle seems an unlikely outcome, when compared to the history of emerging economies. Instead, it is likely China will have to grapple with what is called the “middle income trap”. This is because China’s income level is currently at a level where many countries seem to stagnate.</p>
<h2>The middle income trap</h2>
<p>An example of this can be seen in the figure which charts per capita income for China, Turkey and Brazil as a percentage of the United States. It shows that, despite its remarkable growth, China’s income gap with the US has only reached the level that Brazil and Turkey had already achieved by the 1970s.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/01/29/image-20160127-26778-1nykof.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/01/29/image-20160127-26778-1nykof.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p>Moreover it can be seen that, since the 1970s, Brazil and Turkey made practically no further ground in closing the gap with the US.</p>
<p>According to a 2012 World Bank report, this slow growth pattern is typical of middle income countries. Specifically, of 101 countries that were “middle income” in 1960, only 13 broke through the middle income band to become rich countries.</p>
<p>Thus, based on history there is a reasonable concern that China’s growth will slow to an extent that it stops catching up with the West. China would then begin to look like like Brazil or Turkey in the sense that per capita income remains well below Western levels and there is a constant threat of political and economic instability.</p>
<h2>Causes of the middle income trap</h2>
<p>Unfortunately we don’t know very much at all about why there appears to be a middle income trap.</p>
<p>The authors of the World Bank study who coined the term suggested it was due to rising wage costs that make exports less competitive.</p>
<p>It is true that wage increases can hurt some export sectors, but market forces prevent this happening for the economy as a whole. Thus wage growth cannot reduce an economy’s overall competitiveness.</p>
<p>Other explanations suggest the middle income trap results from too much investment in physical infrastructure at the expense of education and skills. Alternatively it could be a result of political failure.</p>
<p>But these are only descriptions of the symptoms – they don’t tell why so many countries have political failures or why so many countries over-invest in physical capital.</p>
<p>So while there are many descriptions of the middle income trap, there is no clear theory and hence there are no testable propositions. It remains an elusive statistical fact.</p>
<h2>Traps versus bad luck and bad policy</h2>
<p>The lack of a clear view about the causes of a middle income trap makes it difficult to know whether it is a pattern likely to continue in the future. In a recent study, therefore, we tried to get a better sense of the predictability of a middle income trap from a purely statistical viewpoint.</p>
<p>For example if, for any reason, a country was unable to change its growth rate, the growth rate would exhibit persistence over time. That is, if things got better by chance one year, there would be some market or political force that brings things back to trend.</p>
<p>Alternatively if some countries simply had a run of bad luck, or made some big policy mistakes, there may be little persistence in the data. The growth rate might display some randomness from one year to the next.</p>
<p>We therefore tested to see whether we could reject the hypothesis that the path of per capita income had followed a random trend for 47 middle income countries.</p>
<p>Thus in the previous figure one can see that there is apparently very little difference in the trend path of Brazil and Turkey – they have similar growth rates and growth variance. But, in fact, the statistical tests show that Turkey’s growth rate has persistence, but Brazil’s growth rate is random.</p>
<p>So despite the visual similarity, Brazil and Turkey have very different statistical properties.</p>
<p>We found that only seven countries show evidence of a persistent trend toward staying stuck in the middle like Turkey.</p>
<p>Of the rest of the countries, half had a trend that was random like Brazil. For most countries there was no evidence of a persistent trend toward the middle income band.</p>
<p>So only very few countries’ per capita income time paths are consistent with the pattern that we would expect to see if they were constrained to their current relative income level.</p>
<p>Although these results are descriptive, they could be taken as evidence against a structural reason for a middle income trap. That is, perhaps what appears to be a pattern of behaviour across many countries, is just the way things panned out.</p>
<p>So despite the bleak historical record, maybe good statesmanship, market friendly policies and bit of luck are all that is needed to sustain growth.</p>
<p>For China therefore, as a middle income country, the historical odds are against replicating the Japanese or South Korean economic miracle. Thankfully, however, the past need not be a good predictor of the future.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span class="fn author-name" style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Peter Robertson</span> is p</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">rofessor, University of Western Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-robertson-11950" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span class="fn author-name" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Longfeng Ye is a</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">ssistant researcher, University of Western Australia and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/longfeng-ye-221938" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Both </span>are<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> authors for The Conversation.</span></span></em></p>
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

China's greatest challenge becoming rich and escaping the middle income trap

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<p><span>Lu Lu Pallier from Sydney Sotheby's International Realty, has noted Chinese buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get money out of the country.</span></p>
<p><span>Her comments to the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> comes as Beijing tightens foreign exchange controls in a bid to support its weakening currency.</span></p>
<p>Lu Lu Pallier said she had detected it in recent weeks that clients were having difficulty moving money offshore.</p>
<p>"It is getting harder for them to send money out...I've been told since the start of the year it has tightened up," she said.</p>
<p>The Shanghai-born Ms Pallier said Australian properties priced below $5 million would be the hardest hit as buyers often did not already have their money already offshore.</p>
<p>"These people don't have other ways, like through their business, to get money out of the country," she noted.</p>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Chinese buyers' pool for Australian property set to tighten

Australia’s links to China set to broaden: HSBC's Paul Bloxham

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<p>A Victoria Supreme Court has upheld an injunction temporarily halting the sale of Tasmanian dairy business Van Diemen's Land to a Chinese backed company.</p>
<p>Moon Lake is headed by Chinese businessman Lu Xianfeng who made an unconditional binding offer to VDL owner, New Zealand-based New Plymouth District Council.</p>
<p>But the offer is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board.</p>
<p>Earlier this month the VDL indicated it was selling to the Tasmanian company TasFoods Limited in a $280 million cash and share deal.</p>
<p>However, NPDC's investment arm, Taranaki Investment Management Limited, announced subsequently it had sold the farm in a "commercially superior" deal.</p>
<p>The NewZealandfarmer.co.nz speculates it is $300 million.</p>
<p>The case is back in court this week.</p>
<p><span>VDL is effectively owned by the New Plymouth District Council in New Zealand and the council’s interests are managed by Taranaki Investment Management Limited (TIML).</span></p>
<p><span>TasFoods Limited, formerly OnCard International Limited, has retained Allan Myers QC and Andrew Broadfoot of counsel, instructed by Norton Gledhill.</span></p>
<p><span>The Van Diemen’s Land Company has dairy operations in the far North-West of Tasmania with some 25 dairy farms. Thirteen of the farms are in Woolnorth and another 12 in other areas of Circular Head. It milks about 19,000 cows to produce between 90 and 100 million litres of milk, or 7.7 million kilograms of milk solids, a year.</span></p>
<p><span>There are about 150 staff employed on its own properties, including those share-farmed.</span></p>
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Van Dieman's Land dairy sale dispute

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<p><span>Just 19 millioniares have sought significant investor visa permits since Australia overhauled its requirements from July, the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> has reported.</span></p>
<p><span>New applicants now must invest some of their $5 million into smaller equities and venture capital, directing investment away from passive investment towards investment in innovation and industrial development.</span></p>
<p><span>It was sitting at seven applications two months ago.</span></p>
<p><span>Some 1,600 applicants, mostly from China preferred the former fast track residency scheme that allowed low-risk government debt and property investments investing around $3.8 billion into Australian assets after the Federal Government created the golden visa in 2012. </span></p>
<p><span>Under the new rules, applicants must spend $500,000 on funds investing in startup and small private companies, $1.5 million on small-cap equity funds, with the other $3 million on managed funds across Australian listed securities, eligible corporate bonds or notes, annuities and property.</span></p>
<p><span>Investment in residential real estate will only be permitted to comprise 10% of the $5 million minimum investment amount, although investors may invest in excess of this outside of this limit.</span></p>
<p><span>"The cost of the visa has gone up the risk curve," David Chin, the Sydney-based managing director of Basis Point Consulting Pty told the paper.</span></p>
<p><span>Chinese nationals accounted for 91 percent of applications under the old program, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated.</span></p>
<p><span>Australia granted around 750 of the visas between November 2012 and March 2015 from 1,679 applications submitted, government data show with Victoria the most popular destination.</span></p>
<p><span>The new Federal Government rules which require investors to put their money into riskier assets such as venture capital come as likely investors also struggle to shift money following China's official central government move to tighten capital controls.</span></p>
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New venture capital SIV scheme off to very slow start as Chinese mostly want property

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<p><span>The ABS released its </span>Overseas Arrivals &amp; Departures<span> figures for September 2015 which confirmed that net permanent and long-term migration continued to slow to +282,400 on a rolling annual basis, which is now the lowest level since July 2007.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr1.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr1.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>With New Zealanders and Europeans having increasingly opted to pursue more appealing or lucrative career and lifestyle choices elsewhere, net immigration into Australia is now overwhelmingly being driven by Asian migrants.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr6.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr6.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<div>Indeed while migration from New Zealand continues to slow and British settler numbers are tracking at their lowest level in decades, settlers from China and India have steadily increased in number to their highest level on record.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Later this week the ABS will release the latest Labour Force figures, which will show employment growth of close to +2% for the past year comfortably outpacing the rate of population growth of around +1.4%.<br><br>Meanwhile tourism has become of the fastest growing sectors of the domestic economy. A recent <em>Deloitte Access Economics</em> report noted an existing shortage of 38,000 workers with a projected further 123,000 workers required by the end of the decade, leading inevitably to industry calls for a relaxation of visa rules.</div>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Part 2 - Record visitors</span></strong></p>
<div>The flip side to the slowing of Australia's economy - and in turn net permanent and long-term immigration - is that the lower dollar has encouraged a record 7.25 million visitors to our shores over the past year, a monster increase of well over 450,000. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>What is more the rolling annual number of short term departures is now in decline for the first time since a temporary blip through the financial crisis, as the weaker dollar encourages more Aussies to holiday at home. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This is one of the many ways in which a weaker currency serves to boost an ailing domestic economy.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span>Indeed anyone looking for evidence of how the weaker currency can help to rebalance the economy need look no further than the below chart, which shows the ratio of short-term departures to arrivals shifting into a long, sweeping downtrend.</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr7.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></div>
<div><span><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr7.jpg" alt=""></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Part 3 - China explosion</span></strong><br><br>Gosh! The number of visitors from China continues to explode at a breakneck pace being up by an outlandish 27% from September 2014, with more than 1.3 million visitors arriving from China and its provinces over the 12 months to September 2015. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>While the rise and rise of the Chinese middle class and tourism - with its associated surge in spending power - is very much a global trend, Australia has evidently been extremely successful to date in capturing its share.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr3-1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr3-1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>In fact it was announced during the past month that Britain will slash the price of its two year visa for Chinese visitors from <span>£</span>325 to just <span>£</span>85 in a slightly desperate attempt to capture more of this lucrative market.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In a related trend, the lower dollar has also encouraged record education arrivals with a huge surge since 2014 taking rolling annual arrivals to beyond 453,000.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/10/Arr4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/10/Arr4.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<span>This is another trend which is very much skewed towards students of Asian origin and particularly Chinese students, with 2016 set to be the </span>biggest year on record<span> for higher education visas.</span><br><br><span>The student visas boom is very much a capital cities phenomenon, which is one of a multitude of reasons that Australia's capital cities are set to capture an even greater share of population growth over the next decade.</span><br><br><span>With recent changes to rules and regulations in New Zealand having reportedly curbed Chinese interest in the Kiwi property market, the above demographic shifts have potentially significant implications for Australian real estate over the remainder of the decade.</span><br><br><span>Anecdotally there has been a renewed rush of interest in Australian property from would-be Chinese investors.</span><br><br><span>A significant share of new arrivals come to Australia for education but stay for the long term on other substantive visas - it's one the reasons that Chinese investors are so active in targeting Australian property markets.</span>
</div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Australia capturing Chinese middle class attention: Pete Wargent

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<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p>Queensland is a lovely place. Chinese buyers seem to be snapping up everything in sight. Why, then, does the Queensland government report that investors from Switzerland, Germany and Holland own more hectares of land than do those from China?</p>
<p>To be fair, the British own even more than these other Europeans. The United Kingdom’s position as Queensland’s number-one foreign land owner is understandable. So, too, is the lead they have on everyone else.</p>
<p>The POMs own more of Queensland than the Swiss, Germans, Dutch and Chinese – put together. That makes sense, because the British have been acquiring land since the days of the First Fleet.</p>
<p>It is the paltry amount of land owned by the Chinese that surprises, given how Chinese purchases have dominated the news over the last few years.</p>
<p>It's not for lack of trying. Since 2011, Chinese have pushed their share of Foreign Investment Review Board approvals for real estate purchases up by more than 50 percent. Last year, Chinese applicants received approvals on a record of $12.4 billion of investments.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Chinese investors have only been buying property in Australia during the last half decade. Earlier, they did not not have the desire, the wealth or the practical ability to purchase property in other countries.</p>
<p>So, while the British had been piling up Australian riches since January 1788, Chinese have only been investing in this country on any real scale since 2010. This helps explain why the Chinese have not yet accumulated the same level of assets as investors from other and much smaller nations.</p>
<p>There is another reason Chinese possessions in Queensland are less than one-ninth the extent of British-owned. Many Chinese buyers are either individual home-owners, or developers.</p>
<p>The developers aren't buying huge tracks of land. They prefer urban sites that are just the right size for an apartment building or two.</p>
<p>Needless-to-say, the individual homebuyers are also purchasing on a one-by-one basis. Many also go on to become Australian citizens, so the property they purchase is no longer owned by a foreign national.</p>
<p>In other countries, as wealth as has risen, so too has ownership of foreign real estate. Most observers expect China to play catch-up over the next decade or two.</p>
<p>China will continue purchasing real estate overseas at a rapid pace, although of course with fluctuations in specific locations.</p>
<p>By 2025, you might expect China to own more Australian property than the Dutch or the Swiss. They may even challenge the British, although I personally think that will take longer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Andrew Taylor</em><em> is the founder and chief executive officer of sales and marketing at <a href="https://www.juwai.com/" target="_blank">Juwai.com</a>, the number-one Chinese real estate portal for property in Australia and around the world.</em><em> <em>Find out more about him <a href="https://list.juwai.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></em></p>
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ataylor-LB7AWVFTs9

Queensland’s Red Tide: Juwai's Andrew Taylor

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<div>Earlier this year I wrote about the extent to which Chinese investment in Australian real estate has mushroomed over the past few years.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Unfortunately the Foreign Investment Review Board is not due to release its 2015 Annual Report for some time, and furthermore not all states release full disclosure of foreign land ownership.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>One state which does so is Queensland, and indeed its Annual Report for the 2015 financial year was released only this week.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The Foreign Ownership of Land Register (which requires disclose of the ownership of freehold or leasehold land) provided further evidence that Chinese investment in Queensland has absolutely exploded, with the value of annual acqusitions soaring by more than 170 per cent in the space of only two financial years from $323 million to $873 million. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This accounted for a greater value of investment than all five of the other major countries disclosed combined.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/QLD.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/QLD.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Urban focus</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The data shows that while British interests continue to own the greatest land <em><strong>area</strong></em> in Queensland, Chinese investors have been very much focussed on the acquisition of urban land, in particular locations in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Indeed, Chinese investors accounted for a thunderous 63 per cent of foreign interest land acquisitions on the Gold Coast in 2014-15.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Meanwhile, foreign interest land acquisitions in Brisbane for the financial year were overwhelmingly mopped up by investors from China (37 per cent), Singapore (33 per cent), and Hong Kong (8 per cent).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The value of foreign land acquisitions in the financial year away from Brisbane and the Gold Coast was considerably lower.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/11/QLD2.jpg" target="_blank">Click enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/11/QLD2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span>The interest of Chinese investors in Australian property is set to scale unprecedented heights in 2016, but the impacts of this are not always well understood.</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
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Chinese investment in Queensland explodes: Pete Wargent

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<p>GUEST OBSERVER</p>
<p><span>ABC’s Four Corners program highlighted concerns that Chinese criminal funds may be propping up Australia’s real estate market. Why is Australia’s anti-money laundering framework not providing sufficient comfort that these concerns are addressed?</span></p>
<p><span>The answer lies in both the scope of Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, as well as the enforcement of these laws, especially in relation to proceeds of foreign offences.</span></p>
<p><span>The scope of the law</span></p>
<p><span>In the 1980s Australia became one of the first countries to adopt anti-money laundering laws. In 1989 it joined a small group of countries in the <span>Financial Action Task Force</span> (FATF), taking the lead in identifying appropriate policing measures. FATF then developed into the international standard-setter for anti-money laundering measures, as well as counter-terrorism financing measures, a mandate added in 2001. It also assesses its members’ compliance with those standards, known as “recommendations”.</span></p>
<p><span>Businesses covered by these rules need to identify and verify the identities of their customers, assess and mitigate the money laundering and terrorist financing risks they pose and report suspicious transactions as well as certain large transactions. By doing that they protect themselves from committing money laundering offences and their industries from abuse by launderers.</span></p>
<p><span>Australia held FATF’s presidency in 1992-1993 and again in 2014-2015. However, its early start in adopting anti-money laundering laws and its leadership role in the FATF did not ensure a soft assessment regime for Australia. In 2005, FATF criticised Australia’s anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regime for lagging behind, especially in terms of the scope and enforcement of its laws. It was held to be fully compliant with only 12 recommendations and largely compliant with another 14 of the 49 recommendations that applied at that stage.</span></p>
<p><span>This spurred Australia to adopt the current <span>Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act of 2006 (AML/CTF Act)</span>. This Act created a world-class framework in relation to financial institutions. But the overall framework was not complete. FATF’s standards apply to financial institutions as well as a number of so-called “designated non-financial businesses and professions”. This list includes casinos, lawyers, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, and trust and company service providers.</span></p>
<p><span>In 2006, with the exception of casinos and bullion dealers, these were set aside to be addressed in a second tranche of AML/CTF Act reforms. Despite various statements and government consultation, also in the context of the current <span>statutory review</span> of the AML/CTF Act, these reforms have not yet been effected.</span></p>
<p><span>Combined with the limited transparency of the beneficial ownership of companies and trusts, it leaves the property market vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing abuse.</span></p>
<p><span>The lack of enforcement of the existing criminal laws is, however, also a cause for concern.</span></p>
<p><span>Lack of enforcement</span></p>
<p><span>Australia has a well-developed set of statutory money laundering and terrorist financing offences, both at the federal and a state/territory level. At the federal level, for example, the Criminal Code creates offences that can be committed knowingly, recklessly and even negligently, for example when dealing with property which is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.</span></p>
<p><span>The 2015 <span>FATF assessment report of Australia</span> found that money laundering offences involving proceeds of foreign offences, including corruption offences, are not frequently prosecuted “because Australia does not consider that foreign predicate offences are major predicates for money laundering in Australia.” (par 3.44). Predicate offences are offences generating the proceeds of crime to be laundered.</span></p>
<p><span>Authorities mentioned the difficulties of obtaining off-shore evidence to prove the foreign offence. But a lack of effective federal/state law enforcement coordination was found to pose a particular barrier, especially in relation to the property market:</span></p>
<p><span><em>For example, while ML (money laundering) of foreign illicit proceeds through real estate is perceived to be a risk for Queensland (Gold Coast), Queensland has no ML convictions for this activity. AFP (Australian Federal Police) indicated that it does not focus on this risk, believing this ML activity relates to State level predicates, whereas the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission stated it does not focus on this risk as it relates to foreign money and is thus a matter for AFP.</em></span></p>
<p><span><em>At the same time, assessors took note of two examples of successful prosecution for foreign predicates (fraud and corruption) by AFP and the registration of two restraint orders from Papua New Guinea in Queensland.(par 3.44)</em></span></p>
<p><span>The overall enforcement strategy therefore does not reflect a high level of concern about the abuse of the property market by those wishing to launder proceeds of foreign corruption.</span></p>
<p><span>Protecting the property market</span></p>
<p><span>Much can be done to increase the protection of the property market against criminal abuse. While the AML/CTF legal framework should be extended to all businesses and professions covered by the FATF standards, compliance and red tape concerns may continue to delay the second tranche of reforms. The best starting point would therefore be to work with the available legal tools and to prosecute money laundering offences involving designated non-financial businesses and professions and markets of concern, such as the property market. In relation to foreign corruption that will require close cooperation with foreign counterparts.</span></p>
<p><span>Increased prosecution will also provide improved evidence of the abuse that actually occurs and inform the debate on the urgency and nature of the law reforms that are required. However, Australia must also enhance the transparency of beneficial ownership of companies and trusts. If criminals find it more risky to purchase property in their own names, they will increasingly hide behind business structures. It is therefore important to improve public information regarding the control of companies and trusts.</span></p>
<p><span>It is also important to reflect on money laundering law enforcement priorities. Money laundering prosecutions levels increased over the past few years but corruption, especially foreign corruption, struggles to receive appropriate attention.</span></p>
<p><span>If Australia wants to hold an international integrity leadership position and improve its ranking on the Transparency International Corruption Perception <span>Index</span>, it will need to join its international counterparts by taking firm action against foreign corruption, including the laundering of the proceeds of foreign corruption.</span></p>
<p><span><span class="fn author-name"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louis-de-koker-100846" rel="author"></a></span></span><em style="line-height: 1.3em;">Louis de Koker is p<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">rofessor of law, Deakin University </span>and<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/louis-de-koker-100846" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></em></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
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