The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Joel Robinson

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

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Melbourne

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Savills have listed a Melbourne CBD development site with a permit for a twin tower project incorporating 400 apartments.
It is likely to fetch more than $20 million. The 212-222 La Trobe Street property, comprising a large 942 square metre site zoned Capital City 1 with five street frontages, is located directly opposite Melbourne Central shopping centre. The recently approved permit would see the construction of connecting Jackson Clements Burrows-designed towers of 39 and 54 levels on the site which stretches through to a second frontage on Little La Trobe Street. According to Savills agent Nick Peden and Clinton Baxter, the property offers the single best redevelopment opportunity to be offered to the Melbourne market this year.
The property, which has been privately owned for 31 years.
Expressions of interest close June 10.
Last year $14.1 million was paid for the Duke of Kent hotel with the Singaporean developer then quietly acquiring the neighbouring office building and applied to replace both sites with a 67-level apartment tower.
Fig Tree Holdings' super-thin proposal, which aims to fit 370 flats on a 663-square-metre site, needs approval from Planning Minister Richard Wynne before proceeding at 293-303 La Trobe Street.
On 502 square metres at 293-299 La Trobe Street, the hotel was held as an investment by the Yankos​ family for 50 years.
<div>The Coptic Orthodox Church is developing a 43-level, 307-unit apartment building, Eporo Tower, on an 831-square-metre La Trobe Street block.</div>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

La Trobe Street high-rise development opportunities

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Melbourne currently has ten thousand more homes on the market than Sydney as Sydney listings slide 21.4% when compared to last year, according to new figures released from CoreLogic RP Data.
Melbourne has 28,726 homes for sale as of the week ending May 17, a decline of 10.2% annually.
Sydney has suffered a 21.4% decline in home listings since 2014, with 17,173 homes currently on the market.
<img src="/images/2015/05/18/Screen%20Shot%202015-05-18%20at%201.53.56%20PM.png" alt="" width="674" height="396">
 
<img src="/images/2015/05/18/Screen%20Shot%202015-05-18%20at%201.54.05%20PM.png" alt="" width="649" height="281">
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May new Sydney listings slide, Melbourne holds strong: CoreLogic RP Data

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The Armadale home of former Liberal Party federal president and state treasurer Alan Stockdale was passed in at $3,525,000 on Saturday after it fell well short of its $3.95 million reserve price.
Marshall White agent Marcus Chiminello had the warehouse home of the Liberal Party heavyweight and his wife Dominique Fisher up for sale last December.
The property occupies a 410-square-metre block and includes two dwellings separated by a courtyard.
The main two-storey home is a former postcard factory, developed around 1900. It has been reconfigured to offer four bedrooms, a study and two living zones opening to the paved outdoor area.
Across the yard is a single-storey self-contained unit with two bedrooms.
Stockdale was Treasurer for seven years in Jeff Kennett's government, from 1992 to 1999, and is credited with rebuilding Victoria's finances following a crash in the economy.
Marshall White's Marcus Chiminello and Susan McGlashan with Ray White Carnegie's Josh Hommelhoff were managing the expressions of interest campaign last December.
In June last year, the former Toll executive Mark Rowsthorn sold another swish Armadale warehouse conversion.
The 99-year-old former Golden Crust Bakery, on a 915-square-metre block in Sutherland Street, sold for $11.5 million to Village Roadshow chief operating officer Clark Kirby and his wife, Sarah, a former television presenter.
 <img src="https://images.moneymanager.com.au/2014/11/28/6036938/Article%20Lead%20-%20wide6350666911t813image.related.articleLeadwide.729x410.11t625.png1417131476630.jpg-620x349.jpg" alt="Ritzy: 17a Auburn Grove, Armadale is a stone's throw from the High Street shopping strip." style="line-height: 1.3em;">
<div class="cT-imageLandscape">
 Stockdale paid $2 million in 2008.
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Alan Stockdale struggles again to sell his Armadale home

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The Gothic Revival Banyule at Heidelberg has been sold for $5.2 million, having failed to sell last year when listed with a $5.5 million asking price.
The heritage-protected 1840s homestead - one of the oldest remaining residences in Victoria - once sat on a 266 hectare holding. 
The eight bedroom, four bathroom mansion had been listed by <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/banyule-homestead-60-buckingham-drive-heidelberg/Property-Details-buy-residential-8634798" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Prue Jones at RT Edgar</a> who expected $5 million plus.
The Buckingham Drive homestead now on a 9,085 square metre holding was designed by architect John Gill for the English-born pioneer Joseph Hawdon in 1846 whose family retained the home until the 1860s.
The Gothic style was unusual for Melbourne, but more popular in Sydney.
Built before the discovery of gold, there are a handful of other buildings in Melbourne of this age, but many were originally small cottages that were extended later to become large homes.
In 1974 Banyule Homestead was purchased from the Simpson family for a below valuation $190,000 price by the Hamer state government, then opened as an annex by the National Gallery of Victoria.
The homestead was sold by the Kennett state government in 1995 for $815,000 to the current vendors.
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Heidelberg's heritage trophy home, Banyule sells for $5.2 million

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The downsizing News Ltd business columnist Terry McCrann secured a stellar $2.95 million when his longtime Camberwell family home sold at weekend auction.
It last traded in 1980 at $86,250, so reflected 10.75% annual price growth over the 35 years.
It had been listed by Jellis Craig agents Chris and Michael Hingston who were initially telling inspectees around $2 million was expected at its 16 May auction.
Houses on the road have sold for as high as $2.3 million, with the last sale a $1.95 million in late 2014.
After opening at $2.5 million, the second bid was enough to put the property on the market at $2.52 million. There were six bidders.
"Across the road – same land size and same house sells late in 2014 for $1,950,000 – why you pay $1 million dollars more," buyers' agent Mal James noted.
"Asian buyers duke it out to $2,950,000," he added.
The timing was nothing about picking the potential peak in the ever-confident eastern suburbs Melbourne residential market, just apparently time to permanently downsize for the family.
The REIV report Melbourne secured a clearance rate of 76 per cent this weekend compared to 80 per cent last weekend and 70 per cent this weekend last year.
There were 803 auctions reported to the REIV, with a $564 million total sales.
REIV TOP 5 HOUSES
1. 60 Buckingham Drive, Heidelberg $5,200,000 2. 43 Orchard Crescent, Mont Albert North $3,570,000 3. 25 Rushall Crescent, Fitzroy North $3,400,000 4. 1A Woorigoleen Road, Toorak $3,400,000 5. 6 Wills Street, Balwyn $3,160,000 
REIV TOP 5 BARGAIN HOUSES
1. 125 Powell Drive, Hoppers Crossing $277,000 2. 25 The Garlands, Craigieburn $290,000 3. 38 Village Avenue, Taylors Lakes $310,000 4. 39 Rokeby Crescent, Craigieburn $325,000 5. 7 Lombardy Avenue, Dromana $330,000
REIV TOP 5 APARTMENTS
1. 5 Olinda Avenue, Beaumaris $2,200,000 2. 3/37 Hartington Street, Kew $1,805,000 3. 5/16-18 Bona Vista Avenue, Surrey Hills $1,405,000 4. 6/103 Lucerne Crescent, Alphington $1,390,000 5. 41B Moylan Street, Bentleigh East $1,386,000 
REIV TOP 5 BARGAIN APARTMENTS
1. 9/6 Garnet Street, Brunswick $225,000 2. 7/723 Princes Highway, Springvale $225,000 3. 2/18A Bloomfield Road, Ascot Vale $254,250 4. 1/7 Gascoyne Way, Truganina $295,000 5. 2/465 Princes Highway, Noble Park $300,000
Source <a href="https://www.reiv.com.au/Property-Research" target="_blank">REIV </a>
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Economics columnist Terry McCrann secures stellar $2.95 million at Camberwell auction

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Melbourne prestige buyers agent Mal James says it would be easy for buyers to throw in the towel, but urges they don't.
Advising buyers to not panicking and sticking to buying fundamentals, he says his client’s last 10 market dealings over a recent 10 days reflect the inner Melbourne market was strong.
"But it’s not impossible to navigate," he said noting some cheers and some tears in their dealings which ranged between $2 million to $6 million.
However he notes several examples of sales at 20% above agent quotes, including to FIRB approved buyers at Studley Park. There was also a Malvern home sale at 33% above agent quote in Malvern.
"Overseas interest can add $100,000 for each $1,000,000 as a rule of thumb," he noted.
"The market is manageable.
"The market is hot and you need to be brave and bold. 
"Not ridiculous, but brave and bold.  
"On one of the homes we bought, the underbidder paid $110,000 extra the next day to be an underbidder again on what appeared to us to be a similar offering.
"Better a missed opportunity than a mistake.
"You are not going to get smashed or surprised every time, if you do your homework on price. 
"Sometimes it is just too much and you have to move on. 
"Move on but don’t give up or don’t overreact," he said.
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Overseas buyer interest adds $100,000 for each $1 million in Melbourne prestige market: Mal James

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In early March some 75% of apartments on offer in what will be Melbourne's highest tower, Australia 108, had sold within three weeks of its launch.
It is now being marketed as 90% plus sold - an extraordinary success.
With 1105 apartments, the tower is being constructed by the Singapore-listed Aspial Corporation through its subsidiary World Class Land.
Andrew Leoncelli, the Melbourne director of CBRE, best described selling interest in Australia 108 as "running hot".
"The project has sold incredibly well," Leoncelli advised on launch.
"It's about super convenience and amazing facilities," says Leoncelli.
<img src="/images/2015/01/15/TPA8467_Australia_108_E01_Hero%20Elevated.jpg" alt="" width="503" height="761">
It was only earlier this year that Singapore's World Class Land, a subsidiary of Aspial Corporation, got the final go-ahead for Australia 108 which will have 1,105 apartments.
Architect Karl Fender of Fender Katsalidis Architects says Melbourne residents have developed a taste for high-density living. 
Australia 108 and the 297-metre Eureka tower will "like the two gateposts to the city", Katsalidis says.
Last month Aspial sold the penthouse in the tower for a record $25 million to a China-based businessman.
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Melbourne's Australia 108 now at 90% sellout 

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Melbourne’s booming auction market, with a record 40,000 auctions last year, attracts headlines. But behind the scenes are the quiet achievers: private sales, actually the means by which most homes across Victoria, including in Melbourne, are sold.
While the number of auctions has grown, with vendors seeing the high prices obtained at auction by others and wanting that for their own home, more than 60 per cent of all sales in Melbourne last year were private sales. This resulted in close to 50,000 Melbourne homes being sold through private sale over the 12 months.
While auctions can be favourable to the seller, with the white heat of competition encouraging ever-higher bids and buyers to be highly assertive, private sales avoid that stress. They also allow a longer marketing period than an auction campaign, which is generally a month. 
Traditionally outer suburbs and regional areas, where homes can take longer to sell than in the highly competitive inner suburbs of Melbourne, have been the main centres of private sale activity. 
And last year was no different, with almost all of the top private sale suburbs in Melbourne’s outer region.
The trend has continued in 2015 – with the outer eastern, southern and western suburbs leading the way. Among those with the most private sales this year have been Frankston with 635, Pakenham with 620, Point Cook with 571 and Croydon with 470. Also on the top 10 list were: Mornington, Mooroolbark and Mount Martha.
The active property market in Mildura resulted in 560 private sales for that year, Victoria’s fifth highest total.
What may come as a surprise to some is the number of private sales in Melbourne city itself. In the city of Melbourne there were 717 private sales – a result of the large number of apartment private sales in Docklands and the CBD. Another top performer was the very large middle north suburb of Reservoir, which racked up the highest auction total for the year, and also had the eighth highest total private sales: 409.
While private sale levels are still extremely high, there has been a steady growth in auction levels statewide. So while in January and February last year just 12 per cent of all sales in outer suburbs were by auction, that had risen to 18 per cent in the first two months of this year. Areas with the largest increase in sales by auction included Rosebud, Craigieburn, Edithvale, Springvale and South Morang.
This reflects the value offered by outer suburbs, where population growth is leading to improved infrastructure including shopping centres such as the expanded centre in Craigieburn, transport hubs such as the station at South Morang to which the Epping line was extended, and recreation facilities.
Affordability is also a driver of outer suburban sales in 2015. Melbourne’s most affordable locations at present include Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Carrum Downs, Wyndham Vale and Hampton Park.
While clearance rates – that is the percentage of properties at auction that sell – are a measure of the health of the auction market, days on the market are the comparable measure for private sales. All the suburbs in which properties sold fastest in February were in outer Melbourne – and, more specifically, outer eastern Melbourne. Top of the list was Croydon Hills with 17.5 days on the market, followed by Croydon South with 19 days and Montrose and Ringwood, both with 21.
Others on the list of the top 10 fastest selling areas were the Basin, Chirnside Park – the biggest improver compared with January, down by 2.5 days to 23, Mooroolbark, Yallambie, Scoresby and Kilsyth.
<a href="https://reiv.com.au/news-resources/latest-news/ceo-steps-down-after-16-years" target="_blank">Enzo Raimondo is the REIV Chief Executive Officer</a>
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Melbourne auction versus private treaty numbers: REIV's Enzo Raimondo

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One of the bayside Melbourne's finest homes has been sold by the agriculturalist Ken Jarrett and his wife, Carolyn.
It is the captivating boomstyle Victorian residence at 140 Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park which sold at around $7.5 million.
Behind its elaborate original facade, it showcases interior designer David Hick's luxury style located directly opposite Albert Park beach.
<a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/140-beaconsfield-parade-albert-park/Property-Details-buy-residential-8456412" target="_blank">Marshall White </a>agent Lisa Jarrett had the listing, set between Kerford Road and Mills Street.
Title Tattle recalls it last sold 15 years ago at $1,115,000.
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Albert Park's Beaconsfield Parade boomstyle gem sold in 2015 boom

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A rumoured $11.5 million has been paid for a Kew home.
The <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/35-sackville-street-kew/Property-Details-buy-residential-8635040" target="_blank">35 Sackville Street trophy home</a> sold at private auction through Kay &amp; Burton agent Scott Patterson which was brought forward on its marketed May 12 auction date.
It has a resort-style pool, seven-seat cinema, two studies, gym, floodlit tennis court and five-car underground garaging.
It was built eight years ago, Fairfax Media noted.
Kew's last big sale was when the Armadale-bound president of the Hawthorn Football Club Andrew Newbold and his wife, Sarah, sold their Kew home which was listed with $9 million expectations through Kay &amp; Burton late last year.
No settlement documents have yet been registered, and the price has been withheld.
The <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/property/for-sale/house/vic/kew/?adid=2011582332" target="_blank">9-11 Edward Street</a> offering was a 2,700 square metre block with an Edwardian-style residence with north-facing rear swimming pool and floodlit N/S Mod-grass tennis court. 
Sarah Newbold, an interior designer, oversaw the renovation which followed its $5.5 million purchase in 2008.
The street has had two higher sales since, both in 2012 and both to Chinese buyers. 
Kew price disclosure is an issue.
Earlier this year another private auction had everyone talking.
But without price confirmation until settlement, much of the chatter is ill-informed.
The Australian Financial Review advised the private auction secured a bullish $5.6 million price for 10 Blythswood Court.
Expectations, they wrote, had been in the high $4 millions and the highest pre-auction expression of interest was reportedly $5.1 million. 
The Age had previously reported pre-auction the Smorgon family had price expectations of near $6 million. 
Then there were weekend News Ltd reports that it sold for more than $5.75 million.
"It is understood six bidders fought for the four-bedroom home and that it sold for more than its quoted price guide of $5.75 million-plus," the report said.
The selling agents clearly aren't that helpful with any confirmation, given it was a supposed private auction, so sadly the market remains ill-informed.
<a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/blythswood-court-kew/Property-Details-sold-residential-8370788" target="_blank">The riverside family estate</a> sits on a 3,354 square metre holding with gas-heated in-ground pool and floodlit North-South tennis court. 
Kay &amp; Burton sold it in conjunction with Castran Gilbert Real Estate.
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