<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Developer GURNER™ Group has revealed $1.65 billion in residential sales nationally across the 12 months to December 2025, driven largely by the continued momentum of its Docklands wellness-focused precinct, Elysium Fields.</p>

<p>The sales result was generated across seven projects in Victoria and New South Wales, headlined by Elysium Fields, GURNER™’s $2.75 billion mixed-use precinct planned for Harbour Esplanade in Docklands.</p>

<p>The project has recorded more than $500 million in sales across the first three towers, equating to around 580 apartments sold.</p>

<p>The first tower, Helios, has now sold out of its 240 private residences, with GURNER™ preparing to release a premium penthouse collection comprising 15 three-bedroom penthouses in coming weeks.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370975]</p>

<p>Elysium Fields is being developed on the long-held 20,000 sqm Docklands site at 208-226 Harbour Esplanade, which had remained undeveloped for more than two decades prior to GURNER™ taking over the project around four years ago.</p>

<p>Construction has now commenced across four towers ranging between 18 and 30 storeys, with Hamilton Marino and Maxcon appointed as builders.</p>

<p>Once complete, the precinct is expected to comprise around 1,100 residences, alongside retail, hospitality and public realm uses integrated throughout the site.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370981]</p>

<p>Designed by Fraser &amp; Partners in collaboration with GURNER™ Design House, the project has been positioned around the developer’s broader focus on wellness-led residential living.</p>

<p>“We don’t sell apartments. We create a true luxury lifestyle that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere in the market today,” Founder and Executive Chairman Tim Gurner said.</p>

<p>“To deliver that requires an extraordinary level of detail, coordination and discipline across multiple verticals, from design and hospitality through to wellness and service.”</p>

<p>“We’ve always believed that living extends far beyond the physical residence. It’s about how you feel the moment you arrive, how you live day-to-day, and the ecosystem that supports that.”<br />
[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370977]</p>

<p>The project’s design places a heavy focus on landscaping, wellness amenities and biophilic design principles.</p>

<p>Plans include around 3,700 sqm of landscaped gardens and open space throughout the precinct, alongside a retail and dining offering spanning approximately 5,000 sqm.</p>

<p>The broader public realm strategy centres around what GURNER™ describes as the “Path of Life”, an urban forest and landscaped pedestrian environment intended to connect the various buildings and wellness spaces across the precinct.</p>

<p>The apartments themselves will incorporate a range of wellness-focused inclusions, including purified air and water systems, circadian lighting, antimicrobial surfaces, and optional in-home wellness upgrades.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370980]</p>

<p>Gurner said the company’s experience through its Saint Haven wellness clubs had directly informed the residential offering now being incorporated into Elysium Fields.</p>

<p>“We’re seeing a clear global shift toward longevity, performance and proactive health,” Gurner said.</p>

<p>“Our role is to deliver that in a way that feels seamless, highly private and beautifully resolved within the environments we create.”</p>

<p>A large component of the wellness offering is planned through the resident amenity and health facilities proposed within the precinct.</p>

<p>That includes plans for bathing and recovery facilities spread throughout the towers, incorporating mineral pools, saunas, steam rooms, flotation therapy, red light therapy and wellness lounges.</p>

<p>The developer is also seeking approvals for what it describes as a “reverse ageing medical clinic” within the precinct.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370978]</p>

<p>According to project information released by the group, the proposed facility would include cryotherapy, IV infusion therapy, infrared and dry saunas, PEMF beds, MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans and blood analysis services.</p>

<p>Within the first tower, Helios, residents will also have access to a dedicated amenity offering known as the Sky Private Club.</p>

<p>The upper 15 levels of the building will include private lounges, dining spaces, rooftop amenities and optional private wellness studios integrated within residences.</p>

<p>The Helios tower itself comprises 260 apartments ranging between 60 sqm and 300 sqm, including a collection of penthouses.</p>

<p>That includes a planned two-storey penthouse spanning around 600 sqm with uninterrupted bay views.</p>

<p>The Elysium Fields precinct is being delivered in partnership with Digital Harbour Holdings, a consortium that includes the Liberman family, which controls the development rights across the Docklands site.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370979]</p>

<p>The sales result comes as GURNER™ continues expanding its national development pipeline beyond Victoria.</p>

<p>“We have a strong pipeline across Australia and are now focused on scaling into key markets including New South Wales and Queensland, while continuing to build on our Melbourne base,” Gurner said.</p>

<p>“We currently have more than $3 billion in the market, growing to over $5 billion by October, and expect to materially outperform last year in the 2026 calendar year.”</p>

<p>The result also reflects the continued strength of the upper-end apartment market in Melbourne, particularly for owner-occupier-focused product with large-scale amenity and lifestyle offerings.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144441]</p>


Record result anchored by the Group’s “utopian” Elysium Fields precinct – defying market headwinds in Docklands.

Joel Robinson

Elysium Fields drive Gurner to $1.65 billion in apartment sales over 2025

<p>National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.</p>

<p>The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.</p>

<p>Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]</p>

<p>Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.</p>

<p>Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.</p>

<p>“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.</p>

<p>He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.</p>

<p>“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.</p>

<p>“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]</p>

<p>Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.</p>

<p>Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.</p>

<p>Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.</p>

<p>Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.</p>

<p>The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]</p>

<p>Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more internation and domestic flights.</p>

<p>Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.</p>

<p>Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]</p>


NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

<p>Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.</p>

<p>The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.</p>

<p>The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.</p>

<p data-end="792" data-start="529"><img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" /></p>

<p data-end="1040" data-start="794">According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”</p>

<p>The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.</p>

<p>The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.</p>

<p>Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.</p>

<p>“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.</p>

<p>The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.</p>

<p>The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”</p>

<p><img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" /></p>

<p>The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.</p>

<p>While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.</p>

<p>“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.</p>

<p>According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.</p>

<p>“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.</p>

<p>“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”</p>

<p>The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.</p>

<p>Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.</p>

<p><img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" /></p>

<p>St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.</p>

<p>Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.</p>

<p>The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.</p>

<p>More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.</p>


First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-5" data-turn="user" data-turn-id="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" data-turn-id-container="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" dir="auto">Time &amp; Place’s plans to transform the former David Jones factory building in Surry Hills into a mixed-use residential precinct have gone on exhibition through the NSW Government’s In-fill Affordable Housing pathway.</section>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" dir="auto">
<p data-end="577" data-start="264">The Marlborough House proposal, lodged for the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marlborough-house-47-97-marlborough-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010">47-97 Marlborough Street</a> site, would see the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed warehouse building alongside the construction of new residential additions and a separate apartment building on the northern portion of the site.</p>

<p data-end="577" data-start="264">The proposal seeks approval for 172 apartments across three buildings, including 15 per cent affordable housing managed by a community housing provider for at least 15 years from occupation.</p>

<p data-end="577" data-start="264"><img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d1d3c2a-bf13-47d6-a335-7c01102cdee1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=cjMYrbR.BLUlWH4dar0RVDDo0bG.u2YT" /></p>

<p><em>Interior view from the Northern Building Penthouse overlooking the park</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p data-end="1070" data-start="809">The redevelopment is planned for the prominent 3,413 sqm site bounded by Marlborough Street, Goodlet Street and Lansdowne Street, directly opposite Eddie Ward Park and around 200 metres from the Surry Hills light rail stop.</p>

<p data-end="1246" data-start="1072">Time &amp; Place acquired the former David Jones building in 2024, marking the first time the property had changed hands in around 50 years.</p>

<p data-end="1483" data-start="1248">Designed by Wardle, the proposal centres around the adaptive reuse of the former David Jones factory, originally constructed between 1913 and 1935 in the Inter-War Chicagoesque architectural style.</p>

<p data-end="1854" data-start="1485">Wardle noted in its Architectural Design Report that the building “occupies a significant place in the industrial and cultural history of Surry Hills” and at its peak was “the largest department store manufacturing facility in Australia, employing over 800 people and fuelling the growth of Sydney’s fashion and retail industries.”</p>

<p data-end="2059" data-start="1856">The practice said the project positions itself “not as an isolated intervention, but as a contributor to the civic, social, and architectural grain of the precinct.”</p>

<p data-end="2318" data-start="2061">The proposal would deliver 75 apartments within the retained southern heritage building, 59 apartments within the central addition, and a further 38 apartments within the new northern building fronting Lansdowne Street.</p>

<p data-end="2486" data-start="2320">Planning documents show the scheme would comprise a mix of heritage apartments, new-build apartments, townhouses and penthouses.</p>

<p data-end="2486" data-start="2320"><img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="57758518-40a3-4b83-958c-d06e96a2cffa" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.42%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=VerlX9ST5xgBi8.1_YRsqdWTJeT6ygjs" /><em>Interior View of the Heritage Building Apartment</em></p>

<p data-end="2814" data-start="2488">The development would also include a ground-floor retail tenancy on the corner of Marlborough and Lansdowne streets, rooftop communal open space, a landscaped pedestrian link along the western edge of the site, and basement parking accessed from Lansdowne Street via a car stacker system.</p>

<p data-end="3188" data-start="2816">&nbsp;</p>

<p data-end="3625" data-start="3404">The scheme emerged from a competitive design process run by Urbis, with Wardle ultimately selected as the winning architect ahead of FJC Studio, TZG, Architectus and Wilkinson Eyre.</p>

<p data-end="4003" data-start="3627">The Design Integrity Panel later described several aspects of the Wardle scheme as fundamental to the project, including “the stepped character of the new addition to the north of the site”, the landscaped western pedestrian link, and the “garden arrival” experience separating the original Marlborough House from the heritage addition.</p>

<p data-end="4149" data-start="4005">Wardle’s design heavily references the site’s industrial and heritage history, while also responding to the surrounding Surry Hills streetscape.</p>

<p data-end="4488" data-start="4151">The Architectural Design Report describes Surry Hills as “a finely grained neighbourhood with beautiful and expressive brickworks throughout the suburb,” with the proposal introducing a material palette intended to sit comfortably alongside the existing warehouse fabric and neighbouring terraces.</p>

<p data-end="4609" data-start="4490">The report also outlines the project’s relationship with Eddie Ward Park and the broader landscape context of the area.</p>

<p data-end="4894" data-start="4611">“Marlborough House occupies a site of deep cultural memory and the neighbouring Eddie Ward Park is of local ecological significance, where natural systems, topography, and stories have long shaped human experience,” Wardle noted in the report.</p>

<p data-end="5090" data-start="4896">The architects said the proposal sought to “rebind built form to Country” through landscape, materiality and the adaptive reuse of the heritage structure.</p>

<p data-end="5090" data-start="4896"><img alt="Marlborough House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ae3f2f9-c85f-477a-a6f8-b43f6cb97c41" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.53%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=B.qUCLqRvJOR.n9CvYcTpaknIX9LuqKZ" /></p>

<p data-end="5304" data-start="5092">The project is also being progressed under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions, allowing developments that include affordable housing to access additional height and floor space incentives.</p>

<p data-end="5498" data-start="5306">Under the plans, 2,593 sqm of the project’s floor space would be dedicated to affordable housing, slightly exceeding the required 15 per cent threshold.</p>

<p data-end="6154" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="5806">In its Design Excellence Strategy, Urbis said the project aimed to “sensitively adapt and enhance the heritage-listed building on site through alterations and additions that preserve its historical significance” while delivering “high-quality market and infill affordable housing development in Surry Hills.”</p>

<p>Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/south-melbourne-vic-3205">South Melbourne</a>, and have future projects, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-wilmot-173-burke-road-28-hope-street-glen-iris-vic-3146">The Wilmot</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>, the redevelopment of the Northcote Plaza, and another tower in South Melbourne.</p>

<p>The developer broke into Sydney just a few years ago with Two Tides in Manly. They have another project nearby, which is at the ultra-luxury end of the market on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach.</p>

<p>It is also continuing to work through the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-time-place-settles-on-design-for-the-chimes-potts-point-redevelopment">redevelopment of The Chimes building</a> on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as a project on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Mosman's Redan Street</a>.</p>
</section>


First look: Time & Place unveils Marlborough House redevelopment designs for former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills

<p>The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.</p>

<p>Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.</p>

<p>The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.</p>

<p>The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.</p>

<p>Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.</p>

<p>The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.</p>

<p>The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.</p>

<p>Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.</p>

<p>Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.</p>

<p data-end="345" data-start="110">The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.</p>

<p data-end="689" data-start="347">Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.</p>

<p data-end="689" data-start="347">Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.</p>


Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Investment

<html><body>
<p>P<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">eople who invest in real estate through a self-managed superannuation fund should have an exit strategy in mind for their property from the time they acquire it, even if they plan to hold the investment for the long term and pass it down through the family.  This exit may be based on performance criteria as you would do with any other asset, or may be based on income requirements.  It also needs to include the considerations for a number of unexpected circumstances.</span></p>
<p>There are many scenarios in which an SMSF’s trustees may wish to sell a property. They may identify a better investment opportunity elsewhere and want to realise a capital gain on the property.  They have identified their funds have a better opportunity to out perform the market in another property investment.</p>
<p>The fund may need to pay out pension benefits to retired members and find its income is insufficient to cover the payments. Or, one or more of the members may die, requiring the fund to make a lump sum inheritance payment. </p>
<p>Whatever the reason for a sale, the fund should have plans in place for disposing of the investment.</p>
<p>For real estate, this starts with the capital growth drivers that increase the performance of the property and filters down through to the property selection. </p>
<p>The location, type and features of the property should appeal to other buyers, as well as to tenants.</p>
<p>The demographics, economy and employment prospects in the local area will affect buyer demand. Homes in large cities and towns typically sell more quickly than those in regional areas as there is a larger pool of buyers. </p>
<p>In general, residences that are close to transport and amenities such as shops and schools will be easier to both rent and sell than those in less convenient locations. A well-maintained home with parking, practical living spaces and a tidy kitchen and bathroom may be easier to sell than an awkwardly laid out property that needs work. </p>
<p>There are many dimensions to buying well for income and capital gain. People purchasing property through an SMSF, like other property investors, should do their research and consider what will appeal to other buyers as well as to tenants. </p>
<p><strong>Timing</strong></p>
<p>The timing of a property sale will be driven by a range of personal and market factors. </p>
<p>Assuming the SMSF’s trustees have control over the timing – rather than being forced to sell due to a member’s unexpected death for instance.  While the most tax effective option is usually to continue to hold the property in the fund until the members have retired, there may be performance criteria that drive the timing of an exit.</p>
<p>After the members have retired and converted the SMSF into a pension, all fund income, including capital gains, is tax free. Before the members’ retirement, capital and income on investments in the fund are taxed at 15%. </p>
<p>Property owned through an SMSF, like property held directly outside of superannuation, qualifies for a capital gains tax discount if the asset has been held for more than 12 months. The CGT discount for property owned inside an SMSF is one third of the gain. That means the fund pays 15% tax on two thirds of the capital gain if it is sold before its members retire.</p>
<p>Say an SMSF sells a property making a capital gain of $120,000 before its members have retired. The fund will incur a tax bill of $12,000 if it has held the property for more than 12 months. That tax bill could be avoided by timing the sale to settle after the members’ retirement.  However changes in a property market’ stength need to be considered.  In a bear market changes can easily wipe $12,000 from a sale price </p>
<p><strong>Multiple generations</strong></p>
<p>Strategies that involve for holding property through an SMSF across multiple generations of a family are more complicated. </p>
<p>Planning for what will happen when a fund member dies needs to take a variety of factors into account. These include whether the property will be sold after a member’s death; whether there is debt on the property; whether it is positively or negatively geared; how the fund is structured; how fund member are related to one another; and whether they are dependants of the deceased, as defined under superannuation law.</p>
<p>Some SMSF trustees decide to sell the property if one of the members dies. That way any debt can be repaid out of the sale proceeds and the deceased fund member’s share of the remaining equity can be paid to their beneficiaries or estate. </p>
<p>If the trustees would prefer to keep the property after the death of a fund member, the plan should consider how the beneficiaries will be paid their inheritance. It should also consider how the fund will make loan repayments and meet other costs associated with the property without that member’s contributions to the fund. </p>
<p>Superannuation regulations restrict how property can be transferred when used as a vehicle for holding properties over multiple generations. There are tax consequences for each course of action. </p>
<p>Trustees should seek specialist legal and tax advice on the best options for their fund.</p>
</body></html>

admin-TPy8csjoDs

How to plan your SMSF exit strategy: Forrester Cohen

<html><body>
<p><span>Will fresh Chinese property buyers still come to Australia?</span></p>
<p><span>Will existing off the plan contracts settle?</span></p>
<p><span>What decisions will the Chinese government make on fund transfers, <span>with its formidable capaclty to control many aspects of its economy</span>.</span></p>
<p><span>Will all Chinese developers proceed with their overpaid site projects?</span></p>
<p><span>Any Australian property market Chinese certainties are now off after the recent stockmarket rout. </span></p>
<p><span>Blogger Pete Wargent recently uploaded a 25 year chart for the Shanghai Composite, indicating just how explosive the stock bubble had become in China.</span><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p><span>He noted that he make no pretensions of having special or unique insights into China's stock market craziness.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">And I suspect no-one really knows all the likely property outcomes for Australia. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">We are all interested observers. About 8% of Chinese wealth is held by the 1.4 billion Chinese in their stockmarke<span>t</span> - often considered punting money. F<span>inancial services company GaveKal said in a recent report <span>t</span></span><span class="message_content">he pain of the crash is affecting probably no more than 20 million to 30 million Chinese households, most of which range from upper middle class to very wealthy.</span></span></p>
<div><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7FoNXS2m2iM/VZyUiG-EIRI/AAAAAAAAWvo/fa1aXO627rk/s1600/ssec.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge </a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7FoNXS2m2iM/VZyUiG-EIRI/AAAAAAAAWvo/fa1aXO627rk/s1600/ssec.jpg"><img src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7FoNXS2m2iM/VZyUiG-EIRI/AAAAAAAAWvo/fa1aXO627rk/s640/ssec.jpg" width="640" height="272"></a></div>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The turmoil on the Chinese sharemarket raises concerns, challenges and opportunities for Australian real estate, Robert Harley wisely concluded in today's <em>Australian Financial Review</em>.</span></p>
<p><span>China has been the single-largest source of offshore real estate investment here, with $12.4 billion of Foreign Investment Review Board approvals in 2014-15, and has been rising and spreading fast.</span></p>
<p><span>No one depends more <span>t</span>han Australia's billionaire apartment developer, Meriton's Harry Triguboff who told Harley:</span></p>
<p><span>"At this stage, we don't feel anything has changed. With the dollar coming down, they want our apartments even more."</span></p>
<p><span>Most curren<span>t commen<span>tary </span></span>suggests Chinese sharemarket turmoil will promp<span>t</span> <span>the Chinese</span> away from stocks to other asset classes, especially real estate.</span><span style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;"> Bu<span>t I'd expec</span><span>t a few non-cyclical curve-balls.</span><span><br></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;"><span> </span></span></p>
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Any Australian-Chinese property market certainties are off after stockmarket rout 

<html><body>
<p>AFG, Australia’s largest mortgage broker, has reported i<span style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;">nvestment loans moderated in NSW from 49.8% in May to 41.6% in June. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;">Investment loans had been running at an average of 49.5% of all loans in NSW for the previous 12 months.</span></p>
<p>Elsewhere in Australia, the same moderating trend was repeated, with investment loans declining in SA from 41.8% to 36.8%, in QLD from 36.1% to 34.1%, in VIC from 36.5% to 35.7% and in WA from 31.8% to 31.2%.</p>
<p>Brett McKeon, AFG managing director suggested the figures indicated that APRA controls are starting to take effect, but not at the expense of the overall mortgage market.</p>
<p>"If this trend continues, it should help allay concerns about overheating in Sydney, in particular, as investment levels there come back into line with the sustainable, long term, national average.”</p>
</body></html>

NSW investor numbers tumble 20% AFG

<html><body>
<p><span>GUES<span>T</span> OBSERVER</span></p>
<p><span>A quick study of the latest property data shows that a new type of property investor has definitely emerged. We still have the other traditional kinds: like the classic, slow build investor who has built up a portfolio over decades. Then there’s the mum and dad investors who are carefully looking to dip their toes in the water after getting on top of their mortgage. However, this new breed is different.</span></p>
<p><span>It’s a weird amalgam: first home buyer/investor/renter. They’re the people who simply can’t afford the place of their dreams. They’re struggling with the heated urban market, especially Sydney or Melbourne. Yet they’ve scraped together a deposit and recognize the value of getting something, anything, before the market once again rises. So they’ve bought a property out in an area where they don’t want to live, usually the outer suburbs, and they are renting and living somewhere else. This is especially a phenomenon of younger couples who want to send their kids to a certain school or have a love for a certain area. For example, couples who rent in beach side Sydney or a desirable family friendly suburb in Melbourne like Camberwell or Bentleigh. They can’t buy into these places but want to live there. They can see the value in buying a place out in the sticks, but certainly aren’t thinking in terms of portfolios or multiple properties.</span></p>
<p><span>They’ve become unwitting, unplanned investors. Let’s call them the reluctant landlords. They’ve replaced the owner/occupiers. The owner occupiers were a classic force in Australia right up till recent times. They saw a property as long term and would quietly suffer economic downturns, feeling sure that their ultimate plan of property appreciation would eventually happen. As they generally were in it for the long haul they were never prone to alarm about sudden market twinges. However, they’ve started to disappear as first time buyers simply struggle to get into the market. So reluctant investors/landlords have their own long term approach. Priced out of their own desired area they plan to invest in a medium-short term rapid growth suburb as investors. They generally don’t plan to be doing this for too long. Their hope is to perhaps do up the property, rent it out then resell it after one-two years and take advantage of the heated market to buy the house they’ll remain in. It’s like a two phase strategy of the owner occupier plan.</span></p>
<p><span>Most of them are twenty somethings or thirty somethings, either renting or else living with their parents while they save up. Except instead of buying a house for themselves they’re buying an investment property.</span></p>
<p><span>The reluctant landlords often feel uncomfortable as investors or renting out their property. This is because it’s not their long-term goal. Consequently they can sometimes make bad decisions, such as selecting an inferior property manager or not vetting tenants properly. They also may make other poor choices like identifying a suburb that is likely to rise as an investment area but not being aware of costly strata or title issues. Essentially they’re amateur investors and prone to making mistakes.</span></p>
<p><span>The more savy or those partnering with service providers who can pass on their expertise, are using renting and investing as a combined long-term strategy, keeping them in their desired urban hub and investing in affordable high-growth areas maximising depreciation and tax benefits to their advantage while  building a passive income for their future.</span></p>
<p><span>The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that investor loans galloped ahead of owner-occupier loans by four times the amount. Added to this a new study by Digital Financial Analytics shows that property investors are younger than ever before. This gives credence to the theory that we’re seeing young couples being pushed into investor roles through the sheer white heat of the current property market. It’s also in part due to the slashing of first time buyer grants from the Federal Government. Conversely negative gearing and the steady stream of low interest rates have made the market very conducive to investors. First home buyers, to some extent, have been forced to become investors through a rearranging of the laws of property.</span></p>
<p><span>Yet we’ve seen that there’s a <span>cooling in rentals</span>, partly due to an oversupply of apartment buildings in cities like Melbourne. And areas such as the Gold Coast are not the booming rental markets as they used to be. This leaves the reluctant landlords on shaky ground. Property investment will never be an exact science and the stakes are too high to make the wrong choice, especially as a first time buyer. So careful analyses and researching the market is vitally important. So too is getting accurate information and seeking it out from property experts may be the first steps in the property path to success.</span></p>
<p><span><em><span>SAM KHALIL</span> is founder and director of <a href="https://www.dpn.com.au/" target="_blank">Direct Property Network</a>.</em></span></p>
</body></html>

SamKhalil-UNoWQ73CmG

The new breed of property investor: DPN's Sam Khalil

<html><body>
<p><span>GUEST OBSERVER</span></p>
<p><span>Sydney’s white hot property market has defied expert predictions, with median house prices edging close to $1 million as growth and competition accelerates*.  Sydney’s market imbalance – the divide between investors and owner-occupiers – is spurring a social divide between the have not’s and the have more’s.</span></p>
<p><span>We have a situation where owner-occupiers are being phased-out as house prices hike. Investors are saturating the market and expanding their property portfolios while first home buyers are struggling to get a foot in the door. </span></p>
<p><span>Of those first time buyers that do successfully buy, many can’t afford to move into their property and are stuck living in a rental. This is concerning, in so far that lending conditions have played a role in this dilemma.</span></p>
<p><span>There is also growing separation within the investment community. We have one group of investors that are more mature and astute, while others appear less sophisticated, taking on too much debt and lacking a long term investment strategy. This latter group are more likely to negatively gear their property; but if the market takes a turn and interest rates increase, these investors could face loan repayment difficulties if they’ve given themselves only a small financial buffer.</span></p>
<p><span>In December 2014, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) outlined guidelines to lending institutions on steps to reinforce mortgage lending practices**. One of these included requiring investors to pay higher deposits. I welcome this guideline. It is arguably too easy for investors, especially less sophisticated investors, to be approved low rate loans. While I actively encourage property investment, the current ratio is out of kilter, and this will inevitably lead to negative ramifications should nothing change. Not only are some investors at risk of being overconfident, they are snapping up properties that are ideal for first home buyers.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Greater lending prudence is urgently needed. We need incentives that assist Sydney’s first home buyers in entering the market so that they can physically live in their new dwelling, such as fixed, low rate, new home owner mortgages. Tighter regulations for investors are also necessary. I believe investors should pay up to 20% investment deposits. These two measures would at least be a step forward in helping redress the balance.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The influx of foreign investors also doesn’t appear to show signs of slowing down. The Government should seriously consider putting a cap on the number of properties that a foreign buyer can purchase within a new development. Right now, foreign buyers are snapping up development properties in droves, and before the first slab of concrete hits the ground. Australians are also becoming increasingly adaptive to buying off-the-plan, but right now, it’s a case of slim pickings. We need to ensure that there is a residual amount of stock available for local buyers.</span></p>
<p><span>The time to act is now. Sydney’s housing market is robust, but when you peel back the layers, there are several issues warranting address, and the market imbalance is a pressing issue. If left untended, the consequences could be significant.</span></p>
<p><span><em><span>DOUGLAS DRISCOLL</span> is CEO of real estate agency <a href="https://www.starrpartners.com.au/" target="_blank">Starr Partners</a>.</em></span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>*Latest monthly indices by CoreLogic shows the median value of Sydney house prices is $949,800, as at 31 May, 2015. See: <a href="https://www.corelogic.com.au/research/monthly-indices" target="_blank"><span>https://www.corelogic.com.au/research/monthly-indices.html</span></a></span></p>
<p><span>**Please click here to read a media release on APRA’s guidelines on residential mortgage lending practices: <span><a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/mediareleases/pages/14_30.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.apra.gov.au/mediareleases/pages/14_30.aspx</a></span></span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
</body></html>

Sydney’s high-price property market fuelling social divide: Douglas Driscoll

<html><body>
<p>Investment loans nationally declined in June from their earlier peak, with figures for June showing investment loans down to 36.9% when compared to the April highs of 43.1% of all mortgages processed.</p>
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span>According to the AFG Mortgage Index a similar trend was felt across all states, with investment loans in Queensland down to 34.1% from 36.1%, Western Australia from 31.8% to 31.2%, Victoria from 36.5% to 35.7% and South Australia from 41.8% to 36.8% </span></p>
<p><span>New South Wales fell the furthest, down to 41.6% from May's figure of 49.8%. During the past year investment loans in NSW held an average of 49.5% of all loans.</span></p>
<p>AFG managing director Brett McKeon said if this trend continues, it should help allay concerns about overheating in Sydney in particular, as investment levels come back into line with the sustainable, long term, national average.</p>
<p><span> “These figures suggest that APRA controls are starting to take effect, but not at the expense of the overall mortgage market,” Mr McKeon said. </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="/images/2015/07/06/AFG1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/07/06/AFG1.jpg" alt="" width="755" height="495"></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/07/06/mortgage.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p> <img src="/images/2015/07/06/mortgage.jpg" alt="" width="791" height="496"></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/07/06/lvr.jpg">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/07/06/lvr.jpg" alt=""></p>
</body></html>

mick.cee-iDmgDDAmu8

June investment loan figures pull Sydney into line: AFG

<html><body>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"> </h3>
<div id="post-body-5183975004734142219" class="post-body entry-content">
<div>
<span style="line-height: 1.3em;">After a bit of pause in the ABS </span><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3401.0Main+Features1Apr%202015?OpenDocument" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Overseas Arrivals and Departures</a><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> survey we have had no fewer than </span><strong style="line-height: 1.3em;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">seven</span></strong><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> such releases since May...and there's yet another in the post in the next couple of days too!</span>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The slowdown in Australia's population growth to +330,000 in 2014 was straightforward enough to predict for those who were paying attention - with Sydney and Melbourne leading the population growth charts - and regular readers will be well across the drivers of the downtrend.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>While most commentary is finally just about latching on to last year's story, I'm now getting more interested in trying to anticipate the eventual rebound - the causes thereof, and the likely timing.<br><br>Let's have a look at a four trends to watch, and particularly the role of exchange rates thereon.</div>
<br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">1 - Net long term migration</span></strong><br><br><div>Rolling annual net long term migration slowed considerably from around 411,000 in January 2013 to just above 300,000 by April 2015.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CsKHLxNp92E/VZhovUp0ezI/AAAAAAAAWog/kgkTP1sMsjg/s1600/Arr1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<br><div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CsKHLxNp92E/VZhovUp0ezI/AAAAAAAAWog/kgkTP1sMsjg/s1600/Arr1.jpg"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CsKHLxNp92E/VZhovUp0ezI/AAAAAAAAWog/kgkTP1sMsjg/s640/Arr1.jpg" width="640" height="280"></a></div>
<br><div><span>The downtrend is still in place but appears to be slowing. </span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><span>In any case, following some analysis of<span> previous years' data the ABS itself <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/boomerang-departures-to-drive" target="_blank">cast doubts</a> on the relevance of the permanent departures statistics.</span></span></div>
<span><span><br></span></span><span><span>The ABS research implied that while ostensibly more than 380,000 Australians left the country on a </span></span><span><span>long term or "permanent" basis over the past 12 months, a high proportion of them are likely return home within just a year. </span></span><span>Observed the ABS:</span><br><div><span> </span></div>
<div>
<span><em>"Analysis shows that the majority of those with an intention of permanently departing, return to Australia within the following year. </em></span><em><span><span>For example, in the calendar year 2011, out of the 84,240 Australian residents who stated they were departing permanently, only 15,890 spent 12 months or more overseas</span><span>."</span></span></em>
</div>
<br><div>Whether or not this proves to be true in the future is less clear, but it does serve as a timely reminder that all is often not as it seems when it comes to demographic trends.</div>
<br><div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2 - Record short term arrivals</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>As the Aussie dollar has declined from around 110 US cents close to just 75 cents, the domestic economy is set to benefit from record high short term arrivals, now tracking at well over 7 million in the year to April 2015.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The chart below suggests that we might expect trends in short term arrivals and departures to dovetail with respect to changes in the strength or otherwise of our currency.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>With the awesome strength of the Aussie dollar through the mining investment boom it was no surprise to see short term departures exploding higher.<br><br>
</div>
<div>I even took full advantage of this myself to undertake a rather extravagant world cruise in 2011, something which seems somewhat less appealing now, at least from a cost perspective!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Now that the dollar has depreciated it is all but inevitable that this rampant trend towards overseas travel will reverse and comparatively fewer Australians will choose to travel and holiday overseas.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aeVfFBTDcNc/VZhoxu3OR4I/AAAAAAAAWo0/POJh6u2LYwI/s1600/arr4.jpg">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<br><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aeVfFBTDcNc/VZhoxu3OR4I/AAAAAAAAWo0/POJh6u2LYwI/s1600/arr4.jpg"><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aeVfFBTDcNc/VZhoxu3OR4I/AAAAAAAAWo0/POJh6u2LYwI/s640/arr4.jpg" width="640" height="290"></a><br><br>In fact, although the above chart doesn't yet appear to suggest so, this has already begun to happen, which is a net positive for the domestic economy.<br><br><div>The below chart records the ratio of short term departures to short term arrivals by month, and reveals that the ratio has steadily fallen to sit at its lowest level since the first quarter of calendar year 2011.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6rsK8_HQD0/VZhow5WJAMI/AAAAAAAAWoo/hGaZ0NeT8ys/s1600/Arr8.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<br><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6rsK8_HQD0/VZhow5WJAMI/AAAAAAAAWoo/hGaZ0NeT8ys/s1600/Arr8.jpg"><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6rsK8_HQD0/VZhow5WJAMI/AAAAAAAAWoo/hGaZ0NeT8ys/s640/Arr8.jpg" width="640" height="274"></a><br><br>The Aussie dollar likely has further to fall, and in turn so too does this ratio.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3 - Compositional shift of arrivals</strong></span><br><br>When people observe housing market trends and opine that the role of Chinese investment might be a passing fad, they might want to think again.<br><div> </div>
<div>Credit Suisse projects that Chinese investors will drop some $60 billion into Australia's housing markets over the five years to 2020, more than double the estimated $28 million in the preceding five years. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Meanwhile the number of Chinese USD millionaires is expected to rise at 14% per annum (Chinese stock market corrections notwithstanding!) thereby doubling to 2.6 million by the end of the decade.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>While there must be an element of guesswork and extrapolation involved here, I've seen nothing in the housing market activity which causes me to cast doubt on the estimates.</div>
<br><div>Comfortably the most significant change in short term visitors to Australia has been the explosion in Chinese short term arrivals since the turn of the century.</div>
<br><div>In February 2015, the month which incorporated Chinese New Year, an astonishing 198,700 visitors came to Australia from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan combined.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FriL70hzVFg/VZjW4f53AUI/AAAAAAAAWp8/RZosv0cwvJw/s1600/Chindia.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a><br><br><div class="separator"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FriL70hzVFg/VZjW4f53AUI/AAAAAAAAWp8/RZosv0cwvJw/s1600/Chindia.jpg"><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FriL70hzVFg/VZjW4f53AUI/AAAAAAAAWp8/RZosv0cwvJw/s640/Chindia.jpg" width="640" height="276"></a></div>
</div>
<span>Interestingly the "original" data for the three months to April also revealed unprecedented numbers of Indian short term arrivals at 66,500, while the Americans are also enjoying the shifts in the exchange rate with rolling annual number of short term visitors rising to a record 563,800.</span><br><div class="separator"> </div>
<br><div>We can expect that eventually some of these trends will flow through to Australia's permanent settler figures.</div>
<br><div>While the number of Brits settling is threatening to become immaterial - at just 590 settlers in April, less than a quarter of the levels seen in 2008 - and permanent New Zealander immigrants are trending sharply down, Indian and Chinese settlers are rapidly tracking at or close to record levels.<br><br>
</div>
<div><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f8touQwzFSo/VZhowb-0JsI/AAAAAAAAWos/5pVKyqyQIbY/s1600/Arr6.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f8touQwzFSo/VZhowb-0JsI/AAAAAAAAWos/5pVKyqyQIbY/s1600/Arr6.jpg"><img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f8touQwzFSo/VZhowb-0JsI/AAAAAAAAWos/5pVKyqyQIbY/s640/Arr6.jpg" width="640" height="278"></a><br><div> </div>
<div>Indeed, there were 73,370 settlers hailing from Asia in the year to April 2015 as compared to fewer than 15,000 from Europe.</div>
<br>It's a huge shift in composition that is underway.<br><div class="separator"> </div>
<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">4 - Record education enrolments in Q1 2015</span></strong><br><br><div>One other unfolding trend to watch which is also tied to the depreciation of the currency is the record number of foreign student enrolments seen in the first quarter of 2015.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The ABS series shows that the rolling annual number of short term arrivals into Australia in the year to April for education has blasted to its highest ever level at 421,400.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rfQpqET2No8/VZhovXWXDPI/AAAAAAAAWoc/7GjRMo7Gbjo/s1600/Arr5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<br><div class="separator"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rfQpqET2No8/VZhovXWXDPI/AAAAAAAAWoc/7GjRMo7Gbjo/s1600/Arr5.jpg"><img src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rfQpqET2No8/VZhovXWXDPI/AAAAAAAAWoc/7GjRMo7Gbjo/s640/Arr5.jpg" width="640" height="280"></a></div>
<br><div>This is another demographic trend which is heavily skewed towards Asian participants, and Chinese students in particular, and one we can expect to keep on growing.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
</body></html>

pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Watch the dollar driven demographic dispositions: Pete Wargent

<html><body><div class="page" title="Page 45">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span>The Perth property market has recovered from the post-mining slump to grow above historical trends with a current capital growth rate of between 5% to 7%.</span></p>
<p><span>Middle-range priced property of between $300,000 and $450,00 is 'well represented' in both property volume and value, with supply and demand stable, according to a new report.</span></p>
<p><span>The Herron Todd White June Month in Review found property sales of over $500,000 is now strong up to and into the mid $600,000 price bracket.</span></p>
<p><span>The report noted current investment in the lower socio-economic residential market of Esperance as sound and returning the best investment figures due to correspondingly high rentals relative to capital outlay.</span></p>
<p><span>Sales between $180,000 and $220,00 in Esperance have increased compared to last year.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></body></html>

Perth shows signs of shaking off slump, Esperance market strong: Herron Todd White

<html><body>
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><span>Capital gains made through detached housing investments is trumping growth made through units with house values 10.4% higher across all capital cities compared to units at 5.6% over the financial year.</span></p>
<p><span>According to CoreLogic RP Data's </span><span>June RP Data Hedonic Home Value Index found only property in Darwin and Hobart bucked the trend.</span></p>
<p><span>Melbourne house </span>values had an 11.2% capital gain over the financial year, with apartments only 2.4%.</p>
<p><span>CoreLogic RP Data’s head of research, Tim Lawless, said the underperformance of units compared with houses is likely due to higher supply levels for units compared with detached houses.</span></p>
<p><span>“The Inner Melbourne unit market exemplifies the weakness in this sector where the latest CoreLogic RP Data ‘Pain and Gain’ report revealed that almost one quarter of all apartments across the Inner Melbourne region resold over the March quarter at a price that was lower than the purchase price," Mr Lawless said. </span></p>
<p><span>"Interest rates cuts in February and May have contributed in pushing capital gains higher."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><span> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="/images/2015/07/02/rolling_change.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/07/02/rolling_change.jpg" alt=""></p>
</body></html>

Housing capital gains trump units: CoreLogic RP Data

<html><body>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Swedish furniture giant IKEA plans to more than double its retail presence in Australia by opening small urban stores.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">It is also selling products online for the first time since opening in Australia in 1975.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">IKEA Australia's David Hood unveiled the strategy to boost store numbers from eight to around 22 over the next few years, the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> reported.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>It included building another three or four 30,000 square metre mega-stores.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The small-format stores are currently being tested in markets across Europe and Tasmania, where there is a pickup capacity.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">IKEA plans are accompanied by two new distribution centres which will increase the number of products able to be stocked in Australia from 1300 to around 9000.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>Mr Hood, who is a 25-year IKEA veteran running the Australian business since 2008, said m</span><span>ost customers shop at IKEA four or five times a year.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">IKEA will open three stores this year – Marsden Park in Sydney's west opened last month, Canberra in November and a second Brisbane store in August.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>David Hood envisages smaller stores along the east coast, including the NSW Central Coast and the Gold Coast.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"There are 22 locations that we feel the customers could meet IKEA in some way – what it will not be is what we see at Tempe [which is 37,000 square metres]," he told The AFR.</span></p>
</body></html>

Investment

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Investment

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News