The new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/yarraville-green-42-stephen-street-yarraville-vic-3013">Yarraville Green</a> development in Melbourne's inner west is showing that landscaping can be just as influential as architecture, with buyers responding strongly to the garden-first approach adopted from the outset by developer Excelon Projects and the project's design team.

Excelon appointed Six Degrees Architects and landscape architects SBLA to work collaboratively on the development, with a brief to create "a sustainable, design-led building with a focus on community."

That approach has resonated with buyers. According to Next Chapter Director Tom Hirini, who is leading the sales campaign, the landscaped communal garden has become one of the project's defining features, alongside its boutique scale and European-inspired cluster housing concept.

Local downsizers, right-sizers and established families already living in Yarraville and surrounding suburbs have accounted for the majority of purchasers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297740]

Yarraville Green will comprise 53 homes, including apartments and townhomes, arranged around the shared central garden to maximise connections to the landscaped open space. Parking has been moved underground, allowing the ground plane to be dedicated to greenery, pedestrian movement and communal spaces.

The landscape extends well beyond passive planting. Productive garden beds, a pergola, communal gathering spaces, garden sheds and a pet wash have all been integrated into the masterplan, creating spaces designed to encourage everyday interaction between residents.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297741]

The interiors continue Excelon's focus on craftsmanship, incorporating bespoke elements by Melbourne artisans including leadlight detailing by Adadaz, hand-turned timber hardware by Auburn Woodturning and blown-glass lighting by Ruth Allen.

Sustainability has also been embedded throughout the project, with Yarraville Green targeting an average 7-star NatHERS energy rating through passive design principles, rooftop solar servicing common areas and rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297735]

Construction continues to progress at Yarraville Green, with structural works well underway and framing works approaching completion under builder Balmain &amp; Co. The project remains on track for completion in mid-2027.

Apartments at Yarraville Green are currently priced from $625,000, while townhomes start from $1.4 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144913]

Joel Robinson

Garden-led design drives buyer demand at Yarraville Green

National diversified developer Fortis has officially launched Crest &amp; Walker, its latest Brisbane apartment development, with construction now underway on the 20-storey Newstead project.

Award-winning builder BINAH has commenced construction on the Bureau^Proberts-designed building, which will deliver a limited collection of 65 two and three-bedroom apartments on Kyabra Street.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373556]

The project marks Fortis' fourth active residential development in Brisbane, following River House, which is nearing completion, alongside projects in New Farm and Hamilton as the national developer continues to expand its South East Queensland pipeline.

Fortis General Manager – Development Queensland Dan Boman said Crest &amp; Walker reflects the developer's long-term commitment to delivering design-led residential projects in Brisbane's established inner-city suburbs.

"We're proud to be strengthening our presence in Brisbane with Crest &amp; Walker, particularly in such a sought-after lifestyle destination as Newstead," Boman said.

"Every Fortis project is shaped by its context, and we approach each one with the respect and care it deserves.

"Our focus is always on creating places that feel connected to their neighbourhood and elevate the everyday experience for residents. Newstead continues to evolve as one of Brisbane's most sought-after urban communities, and Crest &amp; Walker reflects our ambition to contribute meaningfully to that story."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373559]

Positioned between Gasworks Plaza and James Street, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> has been designed as a boutique residential address offering privacy and generous living spaces within one of Brisbane's most established lifestyle precincts.

The building features a contemporary brick podium softened by integrated landscaping, while the upper levels are characterised by restrained architecture and enduring materiality. Interiors have been designed to maximise natural light, acoustic performance and long-term liveability.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373583]

Residences comprise spacious two and three-bedroom floorplans, with two-bedroom apartments priced from $1.55 million and three-bedroom, half-floor residences from $3.95 million.

Residents will have access to a wellness-focused rooftop featuring a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, landscaped dining spaces and outdoor lounge areas overlooking Newstead and the Brisbane CBD.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373571]

Sales are being managed by Slaite Projects, with Fortis expecting strong demand from owner-occupiers seeking a high-quality, design-focused apartment in one of Brisbane's most tightly held inner-city suburbs.

Completion of Crest &amp; Walker is slated for late 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145922]

Fortis expands Brisbane pipeline with launch of Crest & Walker in Newstead

The enormity of delivering a true skyscraper in Australia's new development market is often overlooked.

It has taken the best part of a decade since plans for Chevron One were first unveiled, but the 41-storey tower is now complete, with residents collecting their keys and moving into what has become one of the Gold Coast's most recognisable new landmarks.

Rising 127 metres above Chevron Island, Chevron One stands almost twice as high as any other building on the island. Its scale places it alongside the trio of towers at Jewel, arguably the last truly significant addition to the central Gold Coast skyline when they were completed around six years ago.

While there are several developments underway around a similar height to Chevron One, they are more concentrated within clusters of the highest towers in the city. The fact Chevron One sits within a developing precinct, looking back at the other high-rise developments in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, makes it a different proposition altogether. It will certainly become a reference point on the Gold Coast skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68833]

Developer Bensons Property Group is behind the 41-storey tower, which has 229 apartments, along with an exhaustive list of resident amenity spread across what is the largest development site ever assembled on Chevron Island.

The tower has been the talk of the town for years, says Ray White Projects Gold Coast agent Caitlin Rosenboom, who is selling the remaining apartments.

"People have been watching Chevron One go up for years," Rosenboom says, adding that many prospective buyers have been surprised by the scale of the views once they step inside.

"It's only when they walk through a completed apartment that they truly understand the position of the building," Rosenboom says.

"The views are jaw-dropping. Whether you're looking east over the ocean, across Surfers Paradise, along the river systems or out to the hinterland, every level offers something different but equally impressive."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=360215]

One of Chevron One's defining advantages is its location on the eastern side of Chevron Island on Stanhill Drive, a position which protects the views forever.

"There's only one row of houses between Chevron One and the water, and the height restrictions along the river means views from Chevron One can never be built out,"&nbsp;Rosenboom says.

While new apartment developments continue to emerge across the Gold Coast, Rosenboom says opportunities to secure a completed apartment with this level of outlook are becoming increasingly rare.

"The size of the site is something that would be incredibly difficult to replicate today," she says.

"That's allowed Chevron One to deliver the sort of amenity, open space and resident facilities that very few projects can offer. There are not many completed apartment buildings on the Gold Coast right now that can compete with the combination of scale, quality and amenity."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68839]

There's around 2,000 sqm of amenity solely for the use of residents of Chevron One. Club One features a uniquely shaped swimming pool that mirrors the footprint of the building itself, set within a extensively landscaped gardens. There's also an indoor pool and spa, a fully equipped gym with a Pilates room, a yoga garden, a bookable private dining area and lounge that can host up to 30 people, and a 24-hour concierge service.

As for the buyers, Rosenboom is fielding enquiry from everywhere: Sydneysiders and Melburnians looking at the new and off-the-plan market following the changes in the Federal Budget, as well as those looking to relocate, through to South East Queenslanders seeking either a permanent home or a weekender bolthole.

"The Gold Coast lifestyle continues to resonate with people relocating from the southern states, and when they see the views and the quality of what's been delivered at Chevron One, it becomes very easy for them to understand the appeal," Rosenboom says.

A diverse mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments remain available, with each offering "something a little different", be it the orientation and views, configuration, or level, to suit a wide variety of buyers.

The remaining apartments are ready to inspect in person, by appointment.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6515]

A decade in the making: Residents to move into Chevron One as construction wraps up

A general rule of thumb in new apartment developments is that the penthouses get the rooftop.

It's a formula that's become commonplace across Australia's apartment market. Residents might have access to a pool, gym or barbecue facilities on a dedicated lower level, but the most desirable outdoor spaces are typically reserved for the highest-priced homes at the top of the building.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Property Group</a> has taken the opposite approach.

Rather than dedicating the rooftop to a handful of buyers, the Gold Coast developer has made it the centrepiece of its Flourish collection, creating expansive shared spaces from the best vantage point in the building.

The philosophy has reached its most ambitious expression at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-palm-beach-1150-1160-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> in Palm Beach, where two rooftop precincts connected by a skybridge will deliver one of the most extensive lifestyle offerings seen in a residential apartment project on the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374053]

"We're seeing a clear move toward developments that offer more than just an apartment," Sherpa Group founder Christie Leet said.

"People want spaces that support how they actually live, whether that's working from home, staying active, or spending time with family and friends.

"That's where amenity becomes critical. It's not just about what's included, but how those spaces are designed to be used every day."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374052]

The breadth of amenity has already attracted buyers across multiple demographics. Younger first home buyers have been drawn to Soleira's one-bedroom apartments, a product rarely delivered in Palm Beach, while families have responded to practical inclusions such as the shallow children's pool adjoining the main lap pool and the extensive communal recreation areas.

Instead of a single rooftop, Soleira delivers two distinct lifestyle zones.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=372547]

The southern rooftop has been dedicated to wellness, featuring a gym, yoga and Pilates studio, work-from-home facilities, a wellness centre, spa, and hot and cold plunge pools.

The northern rooftop focuses on recreation and entertaining, incorporating a heated resort-style pool, private dining rooms, pizza ovens, barbecues, a golf simulator, children's recreation areas, and what is expected to be the Gold Coast's first rooftop basketball court, which will also double as a squash court.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374054]

Beyond the rooftops, Soleira will introduce 1,500 sqm of curated retail beneath the towers, creating one of Palm Beach's first genuinely mixed-use lifestyle precincts where cafés, restaurants and convenience retail become part of residents' everyday lives.

Sherpa has also retained management rights across the development, allowing it to oversee the long-term operation of the building through a 24-hour concierge model. The developer is also exploring additional revenue streams within the precinct aimed at helping offset ongoing body corporate costs for residents.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370962]

While Soleira is the largest project Sherpa has delivered, the rooftop-first philosophy has been evolving for several years.

It began with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/amargo-6-12-sixth-avenue-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Amargo</a>, the first project released under the Flourish brand. Rather than competing at the ultra-luxury end of the market with oversized half-floor and full-floor residences, Sherpa focused on creating lifestyle-driven apartments supported by resort-style shared spaces.

Amargo introduced more than 800 sqm of rooftop amenity, combining wellness facilities, heated pools, entertaining areas, cabanas, pizza ovens and private dining spaces into what was designed as an extension of residents' homes rather than a facility used only occasionally.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=146527 project_image_fid=366550]

That approach continued with Flourish Oasis, where the same amenity-led philosophy was refined into a more boutique development. Strong demand from Sherpa's growing VIP database saw much of the project sold before it reached the broader market, reinforcing buyer appetite for apartment communities centred around shared lifestyle experiences.

Flourish Amargo is slated for completion mid-way-through next year, with Oasis to be delivered by late 2027. Flourish Soleira is expected to complete in 2030.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa takes amenity to the sky as Flourish Soleira captures booming Palm Beach demand

As apartment living continues to evolve across Sydney's growth corridors, the quality and distribution of shared spaces is increasingly shaping how residents experience home. Rather than functioning as add-ons, amenities are being embedded into the daily rhythm of a building, supporting everything from quiet retreat to social interaction, often within a single vertical community.

At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aeris-melrose-park-nursery-street-melrose-park-nsw-2114">Aeris</a> in Melrose Park, this approach is resolved through a layered amenity offering that unfolds from ground level through to its upper podium. Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sekisui-house-australia">Sekisui House Australia</a> in partnership with Hankyu Hanshin Properties, the project introduces 468 apartments across two towers and a mid-rise building, positioned at the highest point of the broader masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=359199]

The amenity experience begins at street level, where two courtyards sit within a landscaped setting that connects residents to the wider network of parks and green spaces. These green spaces are not isolated pockets but part of a wider pedestrian network that links Aeris to the surrounding <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melrose-park-nsw-2114">Melrose Park</a> precinct, including Central Park, future schools, and the Town Centre opening in July 2026. The result is a transition that moves from public to private without abrupt boundaries, allowing residents to pass through shaded, tree-lined environments before reaching the building itself.

Moving upward, the focus shifts to the level five podium, where the primary communal facilities are concentrated. This space brings together a 16-metre swimming pool, outdoor seating areas, and a communal BBQ zone arranged to take advantage of elevated outlooks. Seating is positioned beneath pergolas, creating pockets of shade that extend the usability of the space throughout the day. The pool edge aligns with views toward the wider district, reinforcing the sense of elevation that defines the project’s positioning.

In the adjacent building, this is complemented by quieter, more contemplative spaces, including an outdoor cinema set within the same level. Positioned to operate primarily in the evening, it introduces a different tempo to the shared environment, shifting from daytime activity to after-hours use without requiring separate zones.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360299]

The podium also accommodates an intimate private resident gym. Located on the lower levels, it gives residents convenient access to fitness facilities without leaving the building.

Above, the elevated podium sky deck extends the amenity offering, providing additional open-air spaces with elevated outlooks across the surrounding landscape. While more restrained in program, this upper level reinforces the project’s vertical progression, from ground-level greenery to elevated outlook, allowing residents to move between distinct spatial conditions within a single address.

This distribution of amenities reflects a deliberate response to how residents use space across the day. Sekisui House Australia Sales and Marketing Director Peter Kalaf points to the role these shared areas play in shaping buyer demand. Aeris has been conceived as more than a collection of apartments, with the podium pool, gym and outdoor cinema forming part of a broader lifestyle offering that extends the home beyond each individual residence.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360300]

What distinguishes Aeris is not the inclusion of these elements individually, but how they are arranged in relation to one another. Active, social, and passive spaces are layered vertically rather than separated, allowing residents to choose between them without leaving the building or moving far from their apartment. This proximity supports both routine use, such as a morning swim or evening workout, and more occasional gatherings, whether around the BBQ area or within the cinema setting.

The amenity design also sits within a broader framework of connectivity across Melrose Park. The Melrose Park Town Centre, anchored by Coles and Dan Murphys, features a mix of retail, dining, health and lifestyle offerings, bringing everyday convenience closer to residents. By the end of the year, more than five hectares of parks and open space, equivalent to around seven football fields of green space on residents' doorstep, will further enhance the precinct, allowing the internal facilities at Aeris to operate as an extension of the wider neighbourhood rather than a substitute for it.

Construction at Aeris continues to gather momentum, with ground floor slabs expected to be completed in late 2026 before the first sections of the buildings begin to rise above ground.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=426]

Elevated amenity anchors daily life at Aeris, Melrose Park

Housing Affordability

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The opening statement made by Lindsay David for the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into Home Ownership.
To be frank, the evidence suggests that on the back of irrational exuberance, Australia is experiencing what can only be described as a classic debt-financed speculative housing bubble with every metric that evidenced the bubble in the US and Ireland present within our economic system today.
To put things in perspective, between the June quarter 1996 (when real housing prices first began to rise) and the December quarter of 2014, real housing prices rose by approximately 131%.
But over this same period, inflation rose by 60%, our population grew by 30%, real GDP by 79%, real rents by 21% and real household income by 39%. In short, the growth of housing prices has completely outstripped all economic fundamentals except for the expansion of household debt.
Over the same period, total household liabilities boomed from 54% relative to GDP to 118%. And today, Australian households now owe creditors close to $2 trillion and rising. Never has our household sector been as indebted as it is today.
Between 2002 and mid-2015 the mortgage books at the Big 4 banks, NAB, ANZ, CBA and Westpac grew by 388%, 435%, 475% and 554% respectively.
In 2002, just the size of the mortgage books at the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac combined was equivalent to 18% of GDP. Today, its stands at 44% of GDP and continues to rise.
In 2002, the mortgage book of Westpac suggests that for every dollar it had loaned to an owner occupier, it had lent 45 cents to property investors. By April 2015, the proportion rose to 81 cents.
It is truly surprising these patterns of rapid growth have not been of profound concern to the RBA, APRA or Treasury over this thirteen-year period for where data is freely available and states the blatantly obvious.
Australia has spent the better part of fifteen years avoiding the primary reason as to why house prices have boomed above fundamentals such as rents, incomes, inflation and GDP – which happens to be debt-financed speculation.
Our grossly undercapitalized, overleveraged, foreign funds-reliant banking system has artificially stimulated demand for real estate in what is an unaffordable market by consistently lending irrational sums of debt to owner-occupiers and investors. The public is also caught up in a mania of irrational exuberance, which combined explains why housing prices across Australia are as high as they are today. The evidence outlined in our submission suggests this to be the case.
To put it into perspective how expensive land is across Australia, you can find cheaper blocks of land per square meter on the hills of Malibu, California with a view of the Pacific Ocean than you can find in locales like Alice Springs or St Marys. Representatives, this is not normal, and quite frankly, laughable if the matter was not so serious.
For too long, Australian policymakers with authority and regulatory power have ignored all the warning signs pointing to a credit-fuelled housing bubble. Yet, over the years have implemented various policies to stimulate the price of housing and the rapidly growing risk home owners and property investors accumulate in order to keep house prices abnormally high whilst making various interventions that stick out like a sore thumb every time household credit expanded below a perceived comfort level.
LINDSAY DAVID is the author of <a href="https://blog.australiaboomtobust.com/2015/02/lindsay-davids-new-book-print-central-bankers-bubble-now-available/">Australia: Boom to Bust and Print: The Central Bankers Bubble.</a> David holds an MBA from IMD Business School and recently founded <a href="https://www.lfeconomics.com/about">LF Economics</a>.
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LindsayDavid-WEhfyLvNJJ

A classic debt-financed speculative housing bubble: Lindsay David

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The Opposition has again slammed Treasurer Joe Hockey's latest crackdown on foreigners owning Australian land, describing it as a diversion from tackling housing affordability.
Mr Hockey announced the forced sale of six homes around the country. 
Three of the properties were in the Sydney suburbs of Eastwood, Fairfield and Mosman, two were in Kewdale in Perth and the other at Eight Mile Plains on the outskirts of Brisbane.
There were five owners from four different countries who had come forward since the crackdown began in ernest with a $39 million diverestiture order against a Piper Point buyer in March.
The six self reported cases ranged in price from $152,000 to $1.86 million.
There are 50 investigators looking into 462 cases in which foreigners were suspected of having bought or retained existing property without correct approvals. 
The Australian Taxation Office, the Foreign Investment Review Board, Department of Immigration and AUSTRAC have uncovered more than 2000 pieces of information relating to suspected breaches since monitoring of residential property acquisitions was shifted to the ATO in May from the FIRB. 
The Treasurer outlined his new, harsher penalties that will be enforced from December, against foreign investors who illegally buy established Australian properties or don't sell when the laws required.
"The period of amnesty we announced in May means that no criminal conviction is recorded for those who self-report by November 30, and they have to re-sell their property in 12 months, instead of three," Mr Hockey said.
"Australia welcomes foreign investment and Australia needs foreign investment but, at all times, foreign investors must comply with our laws," Joe Hockey said on Saturday.
"Some of the five investors have purchased property with Foreign Investment Review Board approval, but their circumstances have changed and they have failed to comply with the divestment requirements.
"Some have simply broken the rules by purchasing a property without approval and done so against the law.
"Time is running out for foreign investors to voluntarily come forward if they have illegally purchased existing residential real estate," Mr Hockey warned. 
"They have until November 30, 2015 to come to us before we come to them."
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Foreigners admit overstaying their Australian land ownership  

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Master Builders Australia enforced the importance of affordable housing for lower income earners in its submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into Home Ownership in Australia.
"Social housing provides a roof-over-the-head for more than 397,000 – or about 4% of - Australian households. 
"National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) is a key mechanism for providing housing assistance to those in genuine housing need, and an important instrument of social policy in Australia. 
"The better approach for NAHA (and/or its successors) must be to clear the roadblocks to improved housing affordability (especially those imposed by State, Territory and Local Governments), which will help to increase the supply and reduce the cost of housing, rather than providing government subsidies and other forms of assistance to try to offset unwarranted cost pressures on the supply and the price of housing."
Master Builders Australia is pleased that the Federal Government recognizes the issue of unaffordable housing in all capital cities in Australia. According to the submission, a few points contributed to the problem.
"Shortages of available land and inefficient land release strategies; infrastructure costs being loaded onto developers and in turn passed on to home owners; excessive infrastructure specifications in subdivisions; excessive development levies, taxes and charges imposed by State and Territory governments; excessive planning and building requirements; regulatory creep pushing codes and standards higher than required; and, un-coordinated local and state government environmental regulations. 
"Master Builders estimates the national housing supply shortfall (supply falling behind demand) has risen to more than 107,000 dwellings, which in turn contributes to housing affordability pressures."
Master Builders calls on the Federal Government to commit to, and deliver upon its National Housing Affordability Agenda key elements.  
"Tangible outcomes in improving the efficiency, and the supply-side efficiency in particular, of the Australian housing market. Annual publication by the Federal Department of Industry on its website of a rigorous and transparent stocktake of approaches to developer/infrastructure charges by all local governments in Australia.
"Streamlined and simplified development approvals processes, achieved through, inter alia, greater reliance on code-based assessment, identification of best practice development approval procedures amongst State, Territory and local governments, as well as expanded use of performance monitoring and benchmarking.
"Local governments to develop and promulgate individual realisable Land Release Plans for their own jurisdictions over a ten year rolling time horizon.
"The realisation of a genuine, rigorous, enforceable and uniform building code and regulatory system to ensure the development and continuation of an efficient and competitive building industry."
Efficient Housing Market
"An efficient housing market would have a number of features, including: a supply-side which is responsive to changes in demand-side drivers; one not burdened by distortions to market prices (the principal method by which housing demand signals are transmitted to housing suppliers); regulatory, as well as subsidy and taxation interventions, which distort and reduce the efficient operation of the housing market, are minimal, transparent and based on sound economic principles. 
"Where governments and other regulators wish to achieve social and other policy objectives in the housing sector, these outcomes be pursued through directly relevant policy instruments and in a manner which has the least possible distortion impact on the housing market."
Investor-Supplied Housing 
"Investor housing plays an important role in the supply of new residential dwellings in Australia. Investor housing likely accounted for more than 30 per cent of spending on new residential construction, on average, annually between 1985 and 2012. 
"Investors in ‘negatively geared’ dwellings likely accounted for just over 1.9 million residential dwellings, accommodating some 4.8 million people. 
"Absent the housing stock provided by housing investors, it is not clear where these people would find residential dwellings to live in – public- and social- housing almost certainly could not meet such demand." 
"As can be seen in Graph 8.1, some 40%of Australian taxpayers claiming negative net income from rental properties in the 2010/11 financial year fell into the ‘middle income’ bracket of between $37,001 and $80,000 per annum, with another 23 per cent being the lower-middle income bracket of between $6,001 to $37,000 per annum. 
"By contrast, a mere 5% of taxpayers claiming negative net income from rental properties in that financial year fell into the ‘high income’ bracket – that is, persons earning more than $180,000 per annum. 
"As such, any ill-considered action to wind-back, let alone eliminate, ‘negative gearing’ would amount to an ‘assault on the frugal middle class Australian’, rather than the ‘rich’ as some may claim. 
Taxes
"The building and construction sector is one of the most intensely taxed in Australia, and bears a direct and indirect tax burden from all levels of government — Federal, State and Territory, and Local."
More taxation attracts less investments and employment opportunities reducing housing affordability.
"Master Builders’ high level tax reform priorities call for a comprehensive review of the narrow GST base.
"Any increase in the GST rate must not be undertaken without first effecting comprehensive tax reform; reducing the company tax rate to 25 per cent; reducing the differential between the higher marginal personal income tax rates and the company tax rate; simplifying tax compliance; retaining the tax exempt status of home ownership and negative gearing; providing incentives for the removal of inefficient state taxes including infrastructure taxes, charges and levies; and, introducing a reducing, stepped rate of capital gains tax."
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Master Builders push home ownership for low income earners

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The Nobel Prize for Economics 2002 winner, Professor Vernon Smith says both Sydney and Melbourne are in a property bubble, but queries whether it will burst as badly as the US bubble.
Debt will be the key to the outcome, with Australia's flexible mortgages helping ameliorate the danger, Professor Smith said.
"It is amazing how people get carried away in the bubble," he says. "Then all of a sudden it's over and they are petrified."
He will explain more tonight in his address at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management dinner on global property prices and the Australian property market.
"You have a pretty good bubble in Sydney and Melbourne," he told Robert Harley at the Australian Financial Review on his research so far on the recent price spurt.
"It is hard to believe it is very sustainable."
He says housing bubbles are commonplace in history and most of the time they're not devastating.
He noted in the US in the recent Great Recession, similar to the Depression "it was what I like to call a balance sheet recession with property values falling against fixed long term debt.
"Total equity in all US homes peaked in 2006 at something over $US13 trillion, then hit $5.5 trillion," he noted adding in the 1930s Depression, when housing equity declined by 33 per cent, it took 13 years to recover.
"We came out of the Depression with right lessons … but the rules got eroded." 
Professor Smith acknowledged the tight supply, the rental market resilience and mortgages on only 5.3 million of Australia's 9.5 million homes.
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Noble Prize economics winner says Sydney and Melbourne in property bubble

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On Thursday, 26 June, a parliamentary inquiry into housing affordability in Australia began.
In spite of a lack of housing supply in Sydney and Melbourne to keep up with demand, rental yield return for investors is going down. There is a very simple explanation for this and yet it is something the Treasury officials struggled to account for last Thursday.
Onthehouse.com.au has data on rental yields for Sydney houses and units for over 25 years – which are plotted in Graph 1. Graph 2 plots the same data category for Melbourne. Both graphs display rental yields are falling over time.
<a href="/images/2015/07/24/G1_Rental_Yields_Sydney.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/07/24/G1_Rental_Yields_Sydney.jpg" alt="">
 
<a href="/images/2015/07/24/G2_Rental_Yields_Melbourne.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/07/24/G2_Rental_Yields_Melbourne.jpg" alt=""> 
I believe it is important to clarify why rental yields are falling, so as not to be convinced that it is somehow getting cheaper to rent in Sydney and Melbourne, because it is not.
The explanation is simple: ‘rental yields’ refer to the rental income received on a property as a percentage of what a house is worth.
As a primary school student will tell you – a fraction or percentage becomes smaller if you take the same amount of something from a larger total.
If I take a 10 cm2 area of cake from a 100 cm2 squared cake, I have taken 10% of the cake. To make myself seem less fat, I tell everyone the cake was 200cm2. Suddenly, my piece becomes just 5% of the cake, even though I have still consumed a 10cm2 area of cake. Genius. 
Rents in Sydney and Melbourne are rising. In fact, rent for the median house in Sydney rose 9.54% in the year to May, which is well above the 25 year average of 4.75%. However, the value ofhouses are rising even more rapidly. This means rental yields (measured as a portion of what the house is worth) are technically falling, but the real dollar amount that landlords are receiving in rent is generally going up. 
To get an idea of how real dollar values in rents are moving compared to house values, Graph 3 presents the increase in the index over time in values and rent in Sydney houses and units from 1990.
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An index of 5.36 in Sydney houses, for example, means houses are now 5.36 times what they were worth in 1990, which is the basis data point I’ve used. Graph 4 does the same for Melbourne.
<a href="/images/2015/07/24/graph4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/07/24/graph4.jpg" alt="">
It is clear from Graphs 3 and 4 that both dwelling values and rents are moving at a higher-than-average rate. This can be seen from the slope of the Index series.  The important thing to remember about rents is that there is a lag in response to changes in the value of living in Sydney and Melbourne. This is because rents are negotiated (usually) over 6 to 12 month periods, whereas the value of houses and units change almost daily.
According to Onthehouse.com.au, the median rent for a house in Sydney is now $670 per week. While there is not a clear, consistent up-to-date measure of the median household income in Sydney from the ABS, the indexed figure from 2011 indicates that the median Sydney household income is around $1,123. This means that renting the median home in Sydney is over 50% of the median household income. Those below median earnings will struggle further with rents in Sydney.
Thinking about rental incomes in terms of rental yields is important for investors. It is an indication of how much income you could receive to cover things like mortgage repayments and property expenses. However, it is not a term which belongs in a conversation about housing affordability. Unfortunately, the Treasury does not seem to understand what rental yields are, let alone how to use them.
Eliza Owen is the market analyst for Onthehouse.com.au. She can be contacted <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://au.linkedin.com/pub/eliza-owen/65/4ab/255" target="_blank">here.</a>
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Why do rental yields go down as house values go up? Onthehouse's Eliza Owen

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The Reserve Bank of Australia's submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics Inquiry into Home Ownership has noted a decline in home ownership rates between the 25-34 and 35-44 age brackets driven in part by the sharp rise in housing prices since the mid 1990s.
The submission noted that all home ownership rates for all states were between 65 and 75% at the last Census but 'considerable variation' exists between states, with a low of roughly 65% in Queensland and highs of nearly 72% in Tasmania and Victoria. 
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RBA's home ownership submission highlights state variation

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GUEST OBSERVER
The residential building transition is firmly on track. The ABS estimate that dwelling commencements rose by 8.6% in QI. Total commencements should total a record 219K in 2015 and 202K in 2016. This is a significant lift on the 2005‑12 average of 155K. Non‑residential building construction rose by 1.3% in QI.
The trends across the States showed a significant lift in commencements in VIC and QLD. NSW commencements edged up marginally. The increase in NSW commencements has been much softer compared to the pick up in NSW building approvals. NSW commencements are likely to record stronger outcomes over the remainder of 2015.  Across the other states, commencements fell in SA, WA, TAS and ACT.
We recently discussed the large pipeline of residential work that is yet to be completed. In the current residential construction upturn, the flow through from a building approval to a commencement to final completion has been longer compared to prior cycles. One of the reasons for this change is the larger‑than‑normal share of multi‑density dwellings in the pipeline. Multi‑density dwellings are accounting for 40% of total new dwelling commencements. In prior housing upturns, mutli’s were a smaller 30% of new dwelling starts. Multi‑density dwellings tend to have long planning and pre‑approval schedules. Site preparation can be lengthy and may require demolition, excavation and remediation. A longer flow through from approval to actual construction should mean that the positive impulse and contribution to GDP growth and the economy more broadly are also more drawn out.
On our calculations, the pipeline of residential work to be done should extend well into 2016.
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Non‑residential building trends have been varied.  Commercial approvals are weak because of elevated vacancy rates.  Industrial approvals have trended a little lower. 
But, other non‑residential approvals activity has picked up noticeably – particularly in NSW and VIC thanks to large rises in short term accommodation, education and aged care building.  Demographic trends favour construction in the education and health sectors. And a lower Australian dollar is positive for the entertainment and accommodation sectors.  Non‑residential building construction should edge higher over 2015.
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Diana Mousina is an economist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. She can be contacted <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/blog/authors/diana-mousina" target="_blank">here.</a>
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Dwelling starts set to track at peak levels over 2015 & 2016: CBA

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Housing finance fell 4.6% m/m in May, following two consecutive months of solid growth in March and April. Finance was lower in the month across both the investor and owner-occupier segments. 
While this result may pique concerns about the dampening impact of macro prudential policy on investor sales, the data equally points to the significance of owner-occupier demand in the face of softer investor lending.
Despite continued buoyant housing market activity, housing finance posted a soft result in May with negative monthly growth posted across both the investor and owner-occupier segments. The data coincides with reports of banks tightening housing investor lending conditions in May (including removing investor interest rate discounts). While this will have had some impact on investor lending in the month, we think the full effect of these changes are likely to take some months to impact on investor housing finance as highlighted in last week’s RBA Board meeting minutes
Looking ahead, we expect actions by housing finance lenders and APRA to tighten investor lending conditions will likely maintain trend investor finance growth at around 15-25% in annual terms through the second half of 2015. This is in the range that would maintain investor credit growth within APRA’s annual growth target of 10%. Nonetheless, the appetite for housing from investors is likely to remain strong, driven by the combined impact of low interest rates, solid house price gains and the recent volatility in financial asset returns.
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New owner-occupier mortgage lending (excluding refinancing) continued to disappoint in May, with finance for both first home buyers and upgraders decreasing in the month. In fact, excluding refinance activity, the number of new owner-occupier finance commitments has been falling in trend terms since February 2014. 
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David Cannington is senior economist, ANZ Research. Daniel Gradwell is is an economist with ANZ Research. They can be contacted <a href="mailto:research@anz.com" target="_blank">here.</a>
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May owner-occupier mortgage lending disappoints: ANZ Research

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With plenty of talk about a housing bubble and home values climbing much higher in Sydney and Melbourne, housing is looking expensive to many Australians. 
Low interest rates and the strong gains in certain areas are making residential housing investment quite attractive for some which is one of the drivers resulting in increasing home values. While housing may be looking expensive to locals, the declining Australian dollar means that it may be looking more attractive to foreign buyers.
Since combined capital city home values reached their most recent low point in May 2012 they have risen by 26.8%. At the same time the Australian dollar has fallen by -13.3% over that period in trade-weighted index terms. While the depreciation in the dollar has no impact on local buyers, for off-shore buyers the fall in the Australian dollar is likely to make Australian housing even more attractive. Furthermore, the Reserve Bank continues to state that there is a need for an even lower dollar which would exacerbate the relative affordability even further.
Foreign buyers are meant to be purchasing brand new homes in most instances. There have been numerous recent reports of foreign buyers not adhering to these rules.  Furthermore a recent parliamentary inquiry found that the Foreign Investment Review Board was significantly underfunded and as a result has not been able to effectively monitor and enforce foreign investment rules.
<a href="/images/2015/07/08/Chart-31.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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Combined capital city home values have increased by 26.8% between May 2012 and June 2015. Keep in mind that these figures are heavily influenced by the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets with these the only two capital cities recording value growth in excess of this figure over the period. When you look at that 26.8% increase across other currencies you can see the impact of the falling exchange rate. Of those currencies highlighted only the Japanese Yen and Indonesian Rupiah have seen values rise by a greater amount. Across most other currencies the relative value rises have been significantly lower than they have been in Australian dollar terms.
Once you look at capital cities that have seen relatively lower recent capital growth, there has been a significant improvement in Australian housing affordability for foreign buyers. Not to mention the fact that in many of these foreign countries mortgage holders are borrowing at significantly lower interest rates than those available to Australians.
Sydney
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With the RBA stating that the Australian dollar remains overvalued, any further falls in the Aussie dollar are likely to result in even more attractive buying conditions for foreign buyers. Given this it is imperative that foreign investment rules are tightened and FIRB improve their surveillance work.  A central register of foreign buyers would also be seemingly important. The Victorian Government has recently announced that it will increase fees and charges to foreign buyers of property in that state.  Despite howls of protest it would seem that this is likely to have little material impact on foreign demand for housing.  Furthermore, a national approach similar to this would be a good step towards appropriately funding FIRB to undertake their review and surveillance of foreign housing investment.  Particularly given that should the dollar fall further demand from off-shore buyers is likely to increase.
Earlier this week Federal Treasury released the Exposure Drafts and Regulatory Impact Statement of legislation designed to tighten foreign investment rules, including those relating to residential real estate. The document can be read <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/ConsultationsandReviews/Consultations/2015/Implementing-Foreign-Investment-Reforms" target="_blank">here</a> and submissions can be made up until Friday 17 July.
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Australian property, expensive for us, not so for foreigners: Cameron Kusher 

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Over the March 2015 quarter, 9.7% of Adelaide resales were at a gross loss.
CoreLogic RP Data's pain and gain report noted that was up from 9.0% at the end of 2014 but lower than the 11.3% over the same quarter last year.
Mallala had one sale over the quarter and it was at a loss, elsewhere the proportion of loss-making resales was espcially high in the Light (25.0%), Playford (21.0%) and West Torrens (16.2%) council areas.
The proportion of loss-making resales was relatively lower in the Unley (3.3%), Mount Barker (3.3%) and Adelaide Hills (4.2%) council areas.
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