An entity directed by HSN's Rafi Assouline and Rebel Property's Allen Linz has filed plans for an impressive new precinct in Woolloomooloo.

The major mixed-use development would transform a prominent William Street site into a new residential village anchored by affordable housing and a large public park.

The proposal, submitted as a State Significant Development Application, covers 164-172 and 174-194 William Street, a 6,398 sqm site between Forbes Street and Dowling Street on the southern edge of Woolloomooloo.

Designed by fjcstudio in collaboration with Bangawarra, Studio Bright and Tribe Studio Architects, the scheme would deliver 227 apartments across four residential buildings ranging in height up to 18 storeys, alongside retail space, public domain improvements and a new publicly accessible park.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0eb59b7c-914a-4a5c-b849-3a56749f5e93" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.18.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=mxM6EEqeoLjrCiTlCzTKTvzpKuh6kSkH" />

It's another design scheme for Rebel, who took <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-rebel-property-group-takes-woolloomooloo-precinct-to-nsw-government">concept plans to the NSW Gov late last year</a>.

The latest plans will be a mix of 167 build-to-sell apartments and 60 affordable apartments, with the affordable housing component representing 15 per cent of the project's gross floor area. The apartment mix includes 12 one-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom, 89 three-bedroom apartments and 13 penthouses, while the affordable housing component would comprise 42 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3b3d4553-8a8c-4af5-aa8c-519ffb1e28c6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.12%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=_Yb6ibN7eDnOtQjCNDK2eviORa4qzgv." />

Rebel Property is seeking to take advantage of the NSW Government's infill affordable housing bonus provisions under the Housing SEPP, which provide additional floor space and height in exchange for the delivery of affordable housing for a minimum of 15 years. The planning pathway allows a 30 per cent increase in floor space ratio and building height where 15 per cent of the development is dedicated to affordable housing.

&nbsp;

At the centre of the development is a 1,356 sqm sunlit public park designed to become a new community gathering space at the gateway to Woolloomooloo. The park would be complemented by a network of pedestrian laneways connecting William Street with the surrounding streets, improving permeability through what is currently a largely impermeable block.

<img alt="Rebel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="257af931-a393-4007-8c6d-7219796df58d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-12%20at%2011.20.51%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=KAHy94GrhaReFsWTGDKfy39EDJ8gEEv4" />

The design team says the public domain has been heavily influenced by the site's topography and Aboriginal cultural heritage, drawing on the escarpments, gullies and landscape characteristics that historically defined the area before urbanisation. The landscape design has been developed in partnership with First Nations consultancy Bangawarra.

The project would be delivered across four separate buildings. The William Street East and William Street West buildings, designed by fjcstudio, would contain the majority of the apartments. Melbourne-based Studio Bright has designed the Forbes Street building, while Tribe Studio Architects is responsible for the Dowling Street building.

Rebel had secured approval for the concept plans late last year.

Joel Robinson

First look: HSN, Rebel, advances Woolloomooloo precinct plans

A locally heritage-listed furniture showroom on Water Street is set to become the centrepiece of a new mixed-use residential development as local developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/keylin-group">Keylin</a> seeks approval for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/lotus-on-water-street-290-water-street-fortitude-valley-qld-4006">Lotus on Water Street</a>, a 15-storey project on the Fortitude Valley side of Spring Hill.

The proposal spans 290 Water Street and 137-141 Warry Street, combining several properties into a 2,869 sqm site that sits between Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and the rapidly evolving Victoria Park precinct. Keylin's plans would deliver 132 apartments alongside new retail, hospitality and commercial space, while retaining and repurposing the historic Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom that fronts Water Street.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/jackson-teece">Jackson Teece</a>, Lotus on Water Street comprises a 12-storey residential tower rising above a three-storey podium and communal rooftop terrace. The development includes 76 apartments classified as multiple dwellings and a further 56 units proposed as short-term accommodation, designed to be flexibly used as either accommodation or permanent residences. The apartment mix comprises six one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom homes.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9822bb79-6c49-49c9-95ba-319e8c8d81c3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20front.png?VersionId=ioW8zbN4UVebbLetTFuv92t.HkdgfR5e" />

Residents would have access to an extensive rooftop recreation level spanning more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space. Plans include a pool, gym, sauna, infrared sauna, yoga area, library, private dining room, barbecue facilities and landscaped entertainment spaces, making the rooftop the project's largest shared amenity offering.

At street level, the proposal focuses on the adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings along Water Street, where 518 sqm of retail and commercial space is planned across shop, office and food and drink outlet uses. A permeable residential lobby would be positioned between the retained heritage buildings, creating a pedestrian connection between the historic streetscape and the new tower behind.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="269cf3e0-7d13-48bf-a318-05a00deb5c10" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20podium.png?VersionId=DLXmTCLsp6GOcLpQ0h.0z7wKCw59EhN_" />

The heritage retention strategy is central to the scheme. The development application notes that the Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom and adjoining heritage buildings will remain, with only non-significant structures on the site earmarked for removal under a previously issued Heritage Exemption Certificate. Levels one and two of the new podium are recessed behind the heritage façades to maintain their prominence within the streetscape.

Jackson Teece has drawn inspiration from the site's manufacturing history when designing the podium. The planning documents state that the façade incorporates perforated metal screening that references the woven and rattan furniture historically produced on the site. Cascading and climbing plants are integrated throughout the podium to soften the building's presentation and screen parking levels behind. The landscape strategy also informs the project's name, Lotus on Water Street, drawing on the historic Spring Hollow waterholes that once ran through Spring Hill and the blue water lilies associated with Meeanjin, Brisbane's traditional name.

The proposal also incorporates the neighbouring property at 141 Warry Street, currently occupied by a healthcare service. The existing building would remain, with nine dedicated parking spaces allocated within the new development to support its ongoing operation. In total, Lotus on Water Street proposes 117 car spaces, including 110 resident spaces and seven visitor bays, alongside 100 bicycle spaces.

<img alt="First look: Keylin unveils heritage-led Lotus on Water Street tower in Fortitude Valley" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="70cf07bc-4fd8-4e70-92dd-be8b21c4e4f0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/fortitude%20valley%20site.png?VersionId=txlxrJImM0Sm_vTzHVKh5DDUkyL_CiiA" />

The site sits within the Spring Hill East Precinct of the Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan and is positioned around 650 metres from both Fortitude Valley Station and Exhibition Station. It is also within walking distance of the King Street precinct, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston Quarter and Victoria Park, which is earmarked to become a major venue precinct ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Planning documents describe the location as a key gateway between Spring Hill and Fortitude Valley and highlight the area's increasing importance as new transport infrastructure and Olympic-related investment reshape Brisbane's inner north. The development team argues the project will contribute additional housing supply while activating a section of Water Street that has historically received less investment than other parts of the Valley.

Keylin has become increasingly active across Brisbane and southeast Queensland, assembling sites in strategic inner-city locations. They are currently selling and delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/oria-spring-hill-447-gregory-terrace-spring-hill-qld-4000">Oria Spring Hill</a>, just over 140 apartments due for completion in 2027.

Keylin plans heritage-led Lotus on Water Street apartment development in Fortitude Valley

Roseville is poised for a wave of new apartment development following the NSW Government's rezoning of land around Roseville Station under its Transport Oriented Development program.

The new planning controls have unlocked significant development potential within walking distance of the station, with a number of sites expected to be amalgamated and redeveloped in the coming years as developers seek to take advantage of the increased density allowances.

One of the more restrained developments in the precinct, and set among the first to be delivered having commenced well before the recent changes, is Hyecorp's Juliet. The boutique apartment project is already well under construction and remains on track to welcome residents by the end of the year, offering a markedly different proposition to many of the larger-scale developments now likely to emerge across the suburb.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278194]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet</a> will comprise just&nbsp;34 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments opposite Roseville Station. For Hyecorp, which has delivered projects across Sydney's Lower North Shore for more than three decades, Roseville presented a rare opportunity to address a growing gap in the market.

"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/roseville-nsw-2069">Roseville</a> has long been one of the North Shore's most tightly held and desirable suburbs, offering a unique combination of village charm, established greenery, excellent transport connections, and proximity to some of Sydney's best schools and lifestyle amenities," Hyecorp said.

"We recognised a growing demand from local homeowners seeking to downsize without leaving the community they have built their lives around. The location presented a rare opportunity to create homes that cater specifically to that buyer profile."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278196]

The six-level development has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pbd-architects">PBD Architects</a> as a collection of residences that feel more like homes than apartments. The brief centred generous floorplans, abundant natural light, quality finishes, and strong connections to outdoor space.

PBD Architects drew inspiration from Roseville's established garden suburb character, creating a building that sits comfortably within its surroundings rather than dominating them. The architecture incorporates natural materials, soft forms, layered landscaping, expansive balconies, and generous setbacks to strengthen the connection between residents and the suburb's leafy environment.

"The focus was on designing spacious, house-like residences for discerning owner-occupiers and downsizers who wanted to remain on the North Shore without compromising on comfort, privacy, or design," PBD said.&nbsp;

"Every apartment was to feel considered, timeless, and highly functional."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278195]

Inside, residences feature engineered timber flooring, stone kitchen benchtops and splashbacks, integrated Fisher &amp; Paykel appliances, ducted air conditioning, and large outdoor entertaining areas designed to take advantage of district and treetop views.

Residents will also have access to a rooftop barbecue and lounge area, alongside practical amenities including parcel lockers, EV charging capability, bicycle storage, a dog wash bay, and a basement car wash facility.

The majority of purchasers so far have been local owner-occupiers from Roseville, Lindfield, Chatswood, Killara, and the broader Upper North Shore, many of whom are transitioning from larger family homes.

"Buyers are looking for spacious, house-like apartments that allow them to downsize without feeling like they are sacrificing comfort or functionality," Hyecorp noted.

"They value large kitchens, generous living areas, ample storage, quality finishes, secure parking, lift access, and low-maintenance living."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7395 project_image_fid=278204]

Juliet sits directly opposite Roseville Train Station and within walking distance of Roseville Village, while Chatswood's retail and dining precinct is only minutes away. The development is also surrounded by some of Sydney's most established schools, including Roseville College, Ravenswood, Pymble Ladies' College, and Knox Grammar, as well as nearby parklands and golf courses.

Juliet is currently more than 75 per cent sold ahead of its anticipated completion in late 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=7395]

Juliet to sit quietly amid Roseville apartment boom

Sherpa Property Group has unveiled the third instalment of its Flourish series, securing full approval for the two-tower, $500 million Flourish Soleira development in Palm Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-1150-1154-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> will rise from a prominent site in the commercial heart of Palm Beach, the long-time home of Cash Converters and a range of local retailers.

The project will introduce a new retail and dining precinct at ground level, beneath 286 apartments.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370959]

“We’re very committed to not only providing affordable residential offerings that are much needed in Palm Beach, but also delivering a vibrant new commercial heart that complements the extraordinary growth of the southern Gold Coast,” Sherpa Property Group founder Christie Leet said.

The development will sit under Sherpa's Flourish brand, which is aimed at providing a pathway into the beachside suburb for locals, first-home buyers and downsizers. In a move designed to assist first-home buyers entering the market, Sherpa has reserved all one and two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments exclusively for eligible first-home buyers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370964]

“Our vision through Flourish is to create a vibrant retail and lifestyle focal point within the Palm Beach centre zone, delivering thriving communities underpinned by lifestyle-rich locations,” Leet said.

“So far, Flourish has been an incredible success, and we hope to carry this momentum as we progress the next two Flourish projects in Palm Beach.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=371430]

Located across 1150-1164 Gold Coast Highway and 3 Sixth Avenue, the development will comprise two towers. The northern tower will deliver 154 apartments, while the southern tower will add a further 132 residences, helping address ongoing demand for new apartments in the tightly held coastal suburb.

Flourish Soleira will also feature the most extensive rooftop amenity offering ever delivered in Palm Beach.

The two towers will be connected by a skybridge, with residents gaining access to a rooftop recreation deck featuring a full-width swimming pool, hot and cold plunge pools, wellness spaces, a gymnasium, private dining facilities, massage treatment rooms, barbecue areas, a basketball court, golf simulator, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, sun lounges and extensive landscaping.

LPS Group is expected to start construction later this year.

Sherpa is already well advanced on construction of its debut Flourish project, Flourish Amargo, located just around the corner from Soleira. Meanwhile, Flourish Oasis, positioned opposite Amargo, recently commenced construction and has nearly sold out its collection of 47 apartments.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa unveils $500m mixed-use Palm Beach precinct, Flourish Soleira

Are mortgage holders set to get a reprieve from the RBA in 2026?

Big Four bank NAB believes so. They are now expecting the next move from the RBA to be a cut, rather than a hike, which they had pencilled in for August. They are unsure of the timing of the cut however, they note in their latest&nbsp;NAB Economics RBA Watch.

NAB Chief Economist, Dr Sally Auld, said recent data suggests the economy has lost momentum and the outlook for rates has shifted, noting that the broader economic backdrop has changed since earlier in the year.

“The next move in the cash rate is likely to be down, but the timing is uncertain," Dr Auld said.

"In February, growth was above trend, the economy was operating above capacity and there was uncertainty over the restrictiveness of rates. None of these conditions exist today,” she outlined.

Dr Auld said recent data pointed to softer momentum across the economy while acknowledging that at the same time, uncertainty remains a key feature of the outlook.

“Both Q1 GDP data and the NAB business survey suggest momentum in the economy has slowed, meaning that growth has likely peaked for the cycle. That said, we are cognisant there is still considerable uncertainty around the outlook, both with respect to activity and inflation.”

Dr Auld said inflation risks and labour market outcomes would be important to watch.

“On the prices side, we are still forecasting above target core inflation through to mid-2027. Margins will compress and weaker labour market outcomes are a risk.”

She said tighter financial conditions are expected to weigh on housing and activity.

“Tighter financial conditions will be reflected in a slowing in house price growth and housing credit growth. In summary, we have greater conviction that the next move in rates is down, but less conviction on the timing.”

Mortgage relief? NAB forecasts RBA rate cut, not hike, after softer economic conditions

Housing Affordability

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The cap restricting foreign investors from buying more than half the apartments in any new development is set to be reintroduced under the federal government's plan to help young Australians enter the property market.
The federal government is preparing to limit the purchasing power of offshore investors, as one of a raft of housing affordability measures to be included in the May Budget, according to weekend reports in News Limited papers.
Before 2009, developers could only sell 50 percent of new dwellings in any development to foreign buyers but at the height of the Global Financial Crisis the limit was abolished.
Treasurer Scott Morrison declined to confirm the proposed change to the foreign investment framework.
Foreign buyers already face additional stamp duty and land tax charges and continue to be limited to purchasing new or off-the-plan properties.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

50 percent OTP apartment foreign buyer limit to return

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Record low interest rates have failed to ease housing woes, with New South Wales leading the decline in affordability across all states in the December quarter of 2016, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
The proportion of income required to meet loan repayments rose to 30.4 per cent, an increase of 0.9 percentage points over the quarter but a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to the corresponding quarter of 2015, according to the Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report.
REIA president Malcolm Gunning said historically low interest rates and modestly rising incomes were unable to offset the increasing size of mortgages, increasing the proportion of the median family income required to meet monthly loan repayments.
“Over the December quarter, affordability declined in all states with New South Wales the least affordable, while Tasmania had the smallest average loan size,” Gunning said. 
"The proportion of first home buyers on the owner-occupier market was the largest in Western Australia.”
Rental affordability also fell during the fourth quarter of 2016 with the proportion of median family income required to meet rent payments increasing 0.2 percentage points to 24.4 per cent. 
Whilst rental affordability declined for the quarter, it was up for the 12 months to December, the report showed. Since mid-2012 rental affordability has been showing a trend improvement, reflecting the pick up in investment in housing from the end of 2011.
Rental affordability for the quarter declined in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory but improved in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The number of first home buyers increased in all states and territories over the quarter. First home buyers now make up 13.8 per cent of total owner-occupied housing. This rate has been dropping steadily over the past 5 years.
However, the size of the average loan for first home buyers increased by 1.3 per cent over the December quarter to $323,633, but below the peak in the December quarter 2015.
“While the modest increase in first home buyers is welcome news, the increase in the average loan size is concerning. If this trend continues, then the proportion of first home buyers in the market will continue at low rates,” Gunning concluded.
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Housing affordability falls despite record low interest rates: REIA 

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A potential hard landing in the property market could morph into a recession fuelled by record high household debt and the control wielded by big banks, according to a grim forecast by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Paris-based OECD said in its latest economic report that alongside a shakeout in China and ongoing weakness in business investment, the single biggest threat to Australia is from a potential hard landing in the property market after years of double-digit price gains, according to a report.
Putting the risk of a recession at around one in five, the report said several potentially destabilising events were possible. (Table 2). 
“Threats to stability from overheating in terms of output or inflation has lessened in recent years, however, macrofinancial indicators underline the threat from the housing market, with house prices and related indicators pointing to continued vulnerability,” says the report. 
It cautioned that “a fall in house prices and or demand could have significant macroeconomic implications. Specifically, the market may not ease gently but develop into a rout on prices and demand with significant macroeconomic implications”.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe recently said the combination of record high household debt to income when wages were growing slowly was a “sobering combination” and could lead to a slowdown in spending which would hurt the economy.
The 13th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey recently ranked Sydney as the second least affordable housing market behind Hong Kong. 
Sydney’s “median multiple”, or the median house price divided by the median household income is 12.2,  with Melbourne not far behind. 
The OECD report noted that households account for around half of Australia's total debt, which has soared well above 250 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with around a third of the total in 1995.
Continuing price gains in Sydney and Melbourne are feeding concern that ultra-low official interest rates, as well as tax breaks that favour older generations, are distorting the housing market, worsening inequality, affordability, and concentrating systemic risks in a handful of big lenders. 
Furthermore, yields are on a downward slide as investors fall over themselves to buy at prices that imply they are betting only on future capital gains rather than meaningful rental returns, the AFR article said citing OECD data.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/03/3/OECD.png" alt="">
Source: OECD
The OECD report also noted that “banking remains highly concentrated, potentially compromising competition and making Australia vulnerable to ‘too big to fail’ risks.
Low interest rates have also fuelled a surge in housing mortgages which has pushed Australia towards the top of the OECD rankings for household debt and to around one-third more than the group's average, it said. 
The OECD lists a potential shakeout in global trade caused by a misstep on US Federal Reserve rate hikes, rising protectionism, and the risk of a Chinese yuan devaluation, there is now a "non-negligible risk" of recession in Australia over the next two years.
The grim warning comes amid positive GDP numbers for the fourth quarter helped by the rise in global commodity prices. The RBA has pegged its economic growth forecast of 3 percent for the next two years.
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Property market crash could fuel recession: OECD

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GUEST OBSERVER
The advertising of seven new positions to drive housing delivery by the Department of Planning and Environment is a good first step to help Sydney’s housing crisis.
The new positions of a Director and six Managers for Housing Delivery advertised by the NSW Government are a good beginning to tackling Sydney’s housing crisis.
The Urban Taskforce have called for a NSW Commissioner for Housing Supply to unlock large housing projects caught in the NSW planning system so we are pleased to see these new roles being advertised. Our concern though, is whether these positions will have enough authority to have an impact across all government agencies.
The Urban Taskforce has asked its members for examples of large housing projects caught up in the planning system and we have received details of around 40 projects that represent 40,000 new homes in brownfield and greenfield sites.
Many of these projects are languishing waiting for government agencies to resolve road, traffic and infrastructure issues. Delays can add significant costs to a project with some holding costs being as high as $500,000 a month. Most of these projects are on sites nominated by the state government for growth through Priority Precincts, corridors or urban activation zones.
It is good to see that the new housing delivery positions will be ‘identifying and removing blockages to the supply of housing including affordable housing’. There are many areas in the planning system that are slowing down supply including a lack of coordination between government agencies, excessive levies, confusion with council amalgamations and more precautionary approaches to re-zonings and planning proposals.
The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey for 2017 has nominated Sydney as the second most unaffordable city in the world above Vancouver and Auckland and below Hong Kong. Clearly significant government action is required to help increase housing supply in order to address the housing affordability crisis.
The New Zealand government has set an excellent example and initiated the Auckland Housing Accord, a program to tackle the housing crisis in Auckland. Sydney could learn from the range of initiatives the Accord covers. These include a Housing Action Plan, the identification of Special Housing Areas which are identified for fast-track development and a proactive Development Programme Office.
The Urban Taskforce has identified a range of initiatives to drive quicker production of housing for Sydney and we are keen to work with the NSW Government on ways to improve housing delivery and increase housing affordability.
Chris Johnson is chief executive officer of property development industry group Urban Taskforce and can be contacted <a href="https://www.urbantaskforce.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=97&amp;Itemid=126#.Vdaart55dFI" target="_blank">here</a>.
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cjohnson-8xfqfuuCSq

Housing delivery positions a good beginning for Sydney’s housing crisis: Chris Johnson

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Like most people, Australians are past sick and tired of their elected politicians, simply because they do very little and collectively can’t solve problems – in fact, they now make them worse. 
Speaking at the 2017 Committee for Economic Development of Australia summit Henry was scathing. “Australia had become so paralysed by political inaction that it had gone from an optimistic nation which pioneered world’s best policy and nurtured world’s best institutions to a place that nobody looked to anymore to see how it should be done.”
“Have you heard a political leader addressing that question? Do you think anybody has a clue? At the very least, we are going to have to find radical new approaches for infrastructure planning, funding and construction.”
“Based on current estimates, Australia needs to build a city for two million people every two years or a city the size of Melbourne or Sydney every decade yet the only plan seems to be stuffing more people into Sydney and Melbourne.”
 
He went on to say that four priorities could be met by adopting, as a minimum, eight reform proposals. These are:
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Apolitical infrastructure planning and pricing, including the widespread use of road user charging;</li>
<li class="li1">A much lower company tax rate, or some other mechanism that reduces substantially the cost to Australian businesses of equity capital sourced from abroad, achieved much more quickly than is presently under consideration by our Parliament;</li>
<li class="li1">The removal of stamp duties on residential property;</li>
<li class="li1">Symmetrical tax treatment of interest and capital gains;</li>
<li class="li1">An overhaul of state-based royalties;</li>
<li class="li1">Market-based price signals to guide climate change mitigation and long term investment in the energy sector;</li>
<li class="li1">A broader base and higher rate of GST;</li>
<li class="li1">A substantial adjustment to roles and responsibilities between the Commonwealth and the states.</li>
</ul>
Stamp duty on residential property was supposed to be removed when the GST came in on July 1, 2000. How can you justify a duty that has increased by over 800 per cent over since 2000, when it was agreed that it would be removed? It is a no brainer that the GST has to be increased although this time around stamp duty has to be abolished.
This week, the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the tunnel from Manly Vale to the Warringah Freeway was still going to happen although she could not say when? We all know that this won’t be happening given the Liberal Party has now been promising this tunnel since 2002. So, thousands and thousands of new apartments are approved and the NSW government does nothing for transport infrastructure. Then, of course, the NSW government announced late last year the Ingleside development with 3,400 new homes – this is just ludicrous.
No politician responded to the announcement from a new global report which found Sydney the tenth most expensive city in the world for residential tenants. How are young Australians supposed to be getting into our property markets when they are forced to pay some of the highest rents on the planet, then factor in stamp duty plus add another 10 per cent to their previous 10 per cent deposit to qualify for a bank loan? Superannuation is not the answer that is just a dumb solution. Malcolm Turnbull needs to be talking to Ken Henry and urgently implementing his solutions.
If you want to see the impact of stamp duty on property markets look at the graphs that we have compiled – look at the dramatic reduction in people selling.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Mosman-House-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Mosman House Sales</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Mosman-House-Sales-2016.png" alt=""> 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Mosman-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Mosman Apartment Sales</a>
 <img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Mosman-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" alt="">
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Cremorne-House-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Cremorne House Sales</a>
 <img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Cremorne-House-Sales-2016.png" alt="">
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Cremorne-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Cremorne Apartment Sales</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Cremorne-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" alt=""> 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Neutral-Bay-House-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Neutral Bay House Sales</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Neutral-Bay-House-Sales-2016.png" alt=""> 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Neutral-Bay-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" target="_blank">Neutral Bay Apartment Sales</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/02/24/Neutral-Bay-Apartment-Sales-2016.png" alt=""> 
Why do politicians keep crucial infrastructure a secret? Well, that would be as Ken Henry correctly pointed out, “Australia has become so paralysed by political inaction”. To fix the problem you first need a model, and we now have one – courtesy of Ken Henry.
You can watch with interest how our elected politicians respond to Henry and his critiquing of the Australian economy. My money is on nothing happening as today we have political paralysis.
ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. 
He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000.
 
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

To fix Australia’s housing affordability listen to Ken Henry

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/72861/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVERS 
Federal government ministers have cast a cloud over funding for social housing and homelessness services, leading to speculation that the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) may not survive the 2017 budget.
Treasurer Scott Morrison and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar point to the recent Report on Government Services, which shows the number of public housing properties has fallen, as evidence of the NAHA’s “abject failure”. Sukkar said:
"We believe it’s crucial that every dollar of spending on affordable housing programs increases the number and availability of public and social housing stock. Clearly, this objective has not been met."
It should be no surprise that Australia’s social housing has been largely static for 20 years. Everything we know about the system tells us it is not funded to even cover the costs of its ongoing operation, let alone growth to meet the needs of an expanding population. Aside from a one-off boost under the 2009 federal economic stimulus plan, social housing has been on a starvation ration for decades.
The whole system system is effectively being run at a loss. So, from the perspective of state governments, building a new public housing dwelling is just one more way of losing money.
The federal government has also long lamented the lack of transparency about how states and territories spend their NAHA funds – about AS$1.5 billion a year. And there are glaring gaps in the evidence about the operations and performance of public housing authorities.
In failing to act on a 2009 commitment to modernise and enhance the Report on Government Services metrics, the states and territories have placed themselves in a weak position to rebut claims of ineffective financial management.
That said, everyone who has any contact with the public housing system knows it to be grossly underfunded. One-off studies occasionally illuminate the scale of the issue. For example, a 2013 New South Wales Audit Office report found a $600 million annual operating deficit for that state’s public housing. But no-one can easily quantify the extent of the problem using routinely published data.
A snapshot of social housing in Australia
Around 320,000 of Australia’s approximately 428,000 social housing dwellings remain under public housing authority control. This stock was amassed through a long series of funding agreements between federal and state and territory governments. These were known as the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreements until their 2009 NAHA rebranding.
From the first Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement in 1945, the basic arrangement was that the federal government would lend funds to state housing authorities to build houses. The states would cover the ongoing costs from the rents paid by working-class tenants.
And, at least to begin with, the housing authorities did build. They made a significant contribution to housing supply, amounting to roughly one in six houses built between 1945 and 1965.
From the early 1970s, the housing authorities were directed, justifiably, to provide more housing to low-income households unable to pay full “market” rents. However, their capital funding also went into a long decline. With the exception of a brief period in the mid-1980s, housing authorities never again built at their earlier rate.
A number of interlocking problems set in. Social housing’s declining share of the housing stock became more tightly rationed to the lowest-income households. This eroded the system’s rent base. At the same time, its ageing buildings and households with greater support needs increased its costs.
Two landmark studies by Jon Hall and Mike Berry charted the implications of these developments for the finances. At the end of the 1980s, all but one of the housing authorities ran an operating surplus. By 2004, all but one ran an operating deficit.
Various attempts to improve the situation have been made. The 1989 Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement switched federal funding from loans to grants; the 1996 agreement allowed federal funds to be spent on recurrent expenses. In the early 2000s, rebates on social housing rents were reduced, slightly increasing revenue.
Modest amounts of public housing have also been transferred into the hands of not-for-profit community housing providers. Partly, this is to take advantage of the eligibility of community housing tenants for Commonwealth Rent Assistance. But although this often enables these providers to run a small operational surplus, it isn’t enough to fund stock replacement or any significant expansion.
Meanwhile, the overall stock has been eaten away, through market sales of public housing, and run down, through skimping on repairs and maintenance. Both are unsustainable strategies.
Running a system without good data
If the broad outlines of the problem are clear, there are major deficiencies in the data as to the details. The Hall and Berry analysis is now dated. There is no current evidence base that shows transparently and consistently what the social housing system in each state and territory costs, and how these costs are met.
For example, the Report on Government Services purports to show the “net recurrent cost per dwelling” for each state and territory. But this does not differentiate between distinct expenditure components such as management and maintenance.
Our 2015 research found that this metric was a “black box”, subject to implausibly large variations across jurisdictions. These reflected the vagaries of departmental restructures, rather than a sound accounting of social housing operations.
There is little doubt that all public housing authorities are now in deficit. However, the Report on Government Services provides no data on the relative scale of these funding shortfalls. Nor do governments routinely reveal the scale of system costs still met by tenants’ rents, nor through stock sales.
What should a rebooted NAHA do?
Although the NAHA does it inadequately, an enduring program of federal funding for operational expenses is essential to sustain the social housing system. Such funding cannot be “replaced”, as Morrison has suggested, by a government-backed aggregated bond financing model.
The bond aggregator model depends on social housing providers having a durable subsidy from government that pays the difference between their ongoing costs and the revenue from rent that low-income tenants can afford.
Instead, NAHA should be rebooted to deliver three things:
capital funding for new social housing stock, distributed according to an assessment of current and projected needs in each state and territory;
recurrent funding, distributed according to the number of social housing dwellings in each state and territory and an assessment of reasonable net recurrent costs; and
clear accounting by social housing providers for costs of provision and the contributions of tenants, government funding and other sources of income towards meeting these costs.
Many in the social housing world would agree the NAHA framework is far from transparent and that there is no certainty that NAHA money is optimally spent. But a ministerial focus on these issues while ignoring the system’s chronic underfunding smacks of re-arranging deckchairs.
Rather than scrapping the NAHA, the system should be rebooted, to properly fund both the growth and ongoing operations of social housing. This must be done on the basis of clear targets for the level of need to be met and the reasonable costs of providing the service.
Chris Martin is research fellow, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chris-martin-203935" target="_blank">here</a>.
Hal Pawson is<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hal-pawson-147969"> </a>associate director - City Futures - Urban Policy and Strategy, City Futures Research Centre, Housing Policy and Practice, UNSW and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hal-pawson-147969" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Australia needs to reboot affordable housing funding, not scrap it

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Developer Mirvac posted a 7 percent rise in profit for its first half ended December 31, capitalising on a record $3.1 billion of residential pre-sales, while its CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz used the occasion to bat for a taskforce to tackle housing affordability.  
Mirvac said statutory profit increased to $508 million from $473 million over the comparable period, while revenue was up 17 percent to $1,36 billion. 
The company announced a half-year distribution of 4.9 cents per stapled security to unit holders and said it would deliver a growth of 9 percent to 11 percent for the full financial year.
CEO and managing director Lloyd-Hurwitz said the company had “delivered a solid set of results in the first half of FY17.”
In its results presentation, Mirvac said it secured future income with a record $3.1 billion of residential pre-sales, while settling 977 residential lots and was on track to settle over 3,300 lots in FY17. The majority of settlements are expected in the second half of the financial year that ends June 30, 2017.
On defaults, Mirvac said the default rate was 2% till January 31, with average price $675,000 per lot, although more than 70% defaults were re-sold with “financial upside”.
She was cited by The Australian as saying that an inclusive taskforce was needed to make housing more affordable. 
“Crisis is a strong word, but when Sydney is the second-most unaffordable city in the world I think it’s probably a justified term,” Lloyd-Hurwitz told The Australian. “It’s something we need to address holistically.”
Sydney was recently ranked second behind Hong Kong in terms of affordability for home buyers, in a study by Demographia. 
Earlier this week, former RBA governor Glenn Stevens was taken on board by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to advise the government on housing affordability.
“We don’t build enough housing for people to come to Australia. There are a whole host of issues around planning, tax — a whole host of issues that need to be thought through,” Lloyd-Hurwitz said. 
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prateek24-ezbwHMbNAk

Mirvac posts solid first half results, CEO bats for housing affordability taskforce

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Housing affordability has become a key concern in Australia, according to CBRE’s latest report.
Housing price growth over the past few years in markets such as Sydney and Melbourne have been well in excess of rent growth and household income growth.
Historically low interest rates have facilitated this strong price growth and consideration should be lent to the potential impact on pricing when interest rates rise again.
"Our modelling indicates that Sydney households would experience an 8ppt increase in mortgage repayments (as a proportion of median household income) if interest rates increase by 1ppt," the report advised.
The impact is less in other markets (figure 21) but considerable nonetheless.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/16/Figure%2021.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/02/16/Figure%2021.jpg" alt="">
"We expect that when interest rates do begin to rise (unlikely before 2018) that price growth in Sydney and Melbourne is likely to slow the most, partly closing the price gap that has expanded over other markets in recent years," the report stated.
Sydney building approvals are expected to decline in 2017 as more supply enters the market.
However, the housing construction boom should last longer than in other states because dwelling approvals are holding up better and the market isn’t oversupplied.
The outlook for Melbourne and Brisbane inner city markets is similar: soft rental markets due to new supply will result in sharper reductions in building approvals than nationally and prices for apartments will soften in response to high supply.
Perth remains constrained by softening population growth and weak statewide economic performance.
Oversupply will remain a feature of the Perth rental market during 2017 but price declines are expected to be less than 2016 levels.
Adelaide building approvals are likely to decline as a soft employment outlook limits the potential for population growth.
Canberra building approvals are expected to ease in 2017 as tougher lending conditions impact investor demand.
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Housing affordability still a key concern for Australia: CBRE

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Former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens will advise the NSW government on ways to improve housing affordability which Premier Gladys Berejiklian said was one of her priorities since she became Premier in January.
Stevens’ appointment, the first position since he left the RBA in September after a decade as its chief, could again raise the issue of negative gearing ­reform, which he strongly backed during his central bank tenure, according to a report in The Australian.
Stevens was cited in the report as saying, “Housing affordability is a growing challenge for many residents of NSW and I look forward to working with the government on measures that might help ­address it.”
The affordability measures are expected to be unveiled during or before the next budget.
“The NSW government understands that housing affordability is top of mind for many people across the state,” Berejiklian said. “That is why we have made it a key priority and why we have asked Mr Stevens to lend his expertise to tackling this issue.”
But Berejiklian did not say about whether she would push the federal government on negative gearing if Stevens indicated it would ease affordability pressures.
During his time as governor, the central bank told a parliamentary inquiry “there is a case for reviewing negative gearing, but not in isolation”.
The most recent house price figures, compiled by CoreLogic RP Data, show a 16 per cent ­annual increase in Sydney dwelling prices, and a 1 percent increase in January.
That has pushed the median Sydney home price to $850,000, compared to $640,000 in Melbourne and $490,000 in ­Brisbane.
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Former RBA governor Glenn Stevens to advise NSW govt on housing affordability

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/72867/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Moral panic over recent increases in visibly homeless people in central Melbourne has brought to the fore the critical shortage of affordable housing across the metropolitan areas of Australia’s wealthiest cities.
But living on the street is only the tip of the iceberg. Many more households are living in insecure and/or overpriced accommodation. Their plight is due to an undersupply of appropriately priced, sized and situated rental housing.
The Commonwealth government is reportedly planning to scrap the National Affordable Housing Agreement with the states. Without a clear alternative, the weakness of state policies, which lack clear targets and mechanisms for providing more and better affordable housing, adds to the problem. One state, Victoria, still doesn’t have an affordable housing strategy.
South Australia’s strategy has 15 percent inclusionary zoning as one of several mechanisms to achieve affordable housing targets. Western Australia provides regular progress updates on the regional targets of its Affordable Housing Strategy 2010-2020. Tasmania adopted a ten-year strategy in 2015.
New South Wales has had affordable housing policies in place since 2009. The NSW government has a new plan to build more social housing and improve existing stock. Queensland released a draft strategy in March 2016.
While these state policies vary in their success, Victoria does not even have a strategy to critique.
Victoria’s toxic planning legacy
No doubt Premier Daniel Andrews inherited several industrial-strength cans of toxic planning waste when Victorian Labor won office in November 2014. This legacy came not only from the Liberals, but from the earlier Bracks-Brumby Labor government.
Under the 2000s Labor government, the fourth new metropolitan strategy in four decades, Melbourne 2030, largely failed to stop sprawl. The main excuse for sprawl – that increased and largely unregulated housing supply would magically enable affordability – had become a sad joke.
As former Labor adviser Joel Deane’s book Catch and Kill shows, inability to respond to basic public concerns about planning and transport was perhaps the most significant factor in Labor’s 2010 election defeat.
If Labor had been ineffective in creating new affordable housing, the Liberals’ planning decisions between 2010 and 2014 were disastrous. Australia’s largest urban renewal site – Fishermans Bend – was drastically up-zoned from Industrial to Capital City (also known as “Anything Goes”). They did this without extracting a cent in added value from landowners towards affordable housing – or any other infrastructure.
Huge parts of the southeastern suburbs – Liberal strongholds – were essentially walled off from new housing, even though these had some of the best school and transport infrastructure to serve a rapidly growing population. Hundreds of job cuts meant the civil service lost experience and capacity to do better.
A long wait for action on affordable housing
The Victorian Labor 2014 election platform stated:
All Victorians have a right to safe, affordable and secure housing.
Yet in more than two years since its election, the Labor government has not completed any of the major reforms that would enable affordable housing.
Plan Melbourne’s “refresh” has not been published in its final form. The Residential Tenancies Act still has to be strengthened. The residential zone review hasn’t been completed.
Perhaps most disturbingly, we are still waiting for the results of the early announcement that the state treasurer was going to work with the planning and housing ministers to develop an integrated affordable housing strategy.
A new advisory body, Infrastructure Victoria, published a 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy in December 2016. “Social housing” (public and non-profit) was one of its top three priorities. However, compared with principles of “a good plan”, the affordable housing section of this strategy does not pass the test.
According to the literature on plan analysis, good plans should have seven elements: a clear vision; specific goals; a fact base informing alternatives; a spatialised sense of what goes where; a very specific implementation plan, with costs, timelines and responsible authorities; a monitoring and evaluation plan; and specific horizontal (across all parts of government, the private sector and civil society) and vertical (alignment between national, state and local government) integration.
Vancouver shows how to do it
The City of Vancouver’s Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2012-2021 is an example of an affordable housing plan that ticks the boxes. It has a clear vision embodied in the strategy’s subtitle:
A home for everyone.
The strategy sets specific numeric housing targets. These cover everything from supportive housing for homeless people with mental disabilities, to social housing, market rental and home-ownership options.
These targets are based on a robust and transparent analysis of housing trends across the city. While all subsequent neighbourhood plans are intended to achieve a mix of dwelling cost and size, there is a particular emphasis on locating supportive housing near areas with significant homeless populations.
The partnerships with other levels of government, private developers and non-profit providers are comprehensive. A new Vancouver Affordable Housing Authority has been established to coordinate these efforts. Since the report’s adoption, further mechanisms such as a community land trust have been established. Annual reporting against the targets is available on the City of Vancouver’s website.
In contrast, Infrastructure Victoria is an advisory body to state government, not an implementation agency. Its vision of a “thriving, connected and sustainable Victoria where everyone can access good jobs, education and services” begs the question of how progress towards these attributes would be measured.
Infrastructure Victoria does estimate an extra 30,000 affordable homes are needed over the next ten years. But it admits this figure is not well justified, due to a lack of good information on affordable housing deficits.
It recommends further work on an affordable housing plan with specific funding streams. However, this cannot really be expected to be the plan that “tackles [the] affordable housing shortage”, as its own website boasted of the draft report.
At best, Infrastructure Victoria’s plan is a baby step. It does clearly state the importance of social housing as critical infrastructure. It also begins to justify mechanisms that could achieve some scaling up of affordable housing outcomes.
But the public housing waiting list now has more than 35,000 names. About 120,000 households receiving Commonwealth Rent Assistance are still unable to afford living where they do. That includes 50,000 households in the lowest income bracket. And another one million new households are expected to move into Victoria within the 30-year timeframe of the infrastructure strategy.
This all means that baby steps will not be enough to prevent rapidly increasing homelessness.
 
Carolyn Whitzman is professor of Urban Planning, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carolyn-whitzman-9944" target="_blank">here</a>.
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