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.
</section>
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

Melbourne

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By the end of last year, 59 Melbourne suburbs had median house prices of more than $1 million, in particular, suburbs in inner and middle Melbourne, notes Enzo Raimondo, the chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
"Three suburbs – Northcote, Richmond and Strathmore - had million-dollar medians for the first time in the December quarter," said Raimondo.
"Flinders, benefiting from the opening of the Peninsula Link, also joined the list."
The sales have gained momentum into 2015, with <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/10-dally-street-northcote/Property-Details-sold-residential-8520088" target="_blank">Northcote's most recent sale reported on realestateview.com.au last weekend at $1.01 million</a> (pictured above).
But how many buyers are actually paying more than $1 million for our homes?
In the three months to the end of December last year there were 15,127 house sales across Victoria, with 2769 of those at or above $1 million, he said.
That represents 18% of sales.
In dollar terms their total value was $4.4 billion - around 40% - of the $10.7 billion worth of property sold.
"It’s no great surprise that most of these were in Melbourne’s sought-after inner suburbs, close to infrastructure such as public transport and to the CBD, where the most million-dollar suburbs are located," said Raimondo.
"There were 4,572 sales during those three months in the inner suburbs and more than a quarter of them – 1,433 – were for $1 million or more.
<a href="https://www.reiv.com.au/Property-Research/Median-Prices/Million-dollar-suburbs" target="_blank">The 59 suburbs</a>.
"It is also not surprising that most of these million-dollar sales were auctions sales – after all, Melbourne’s inner and middle suburbs have given rise to its reputation as Australia’s auction capital, while auctions in outer suburbs and regional Victoria have gained popularity more recently.
"While just over a quarter of all sales in inner Melbourne were private sales, only 274 of the one million-dollar-plus sales were private sales."
He said in the middle ring suburbs – that is, those between 10 km and 20 km from the centre of the city – there were 5199 transactions with more than one fifth of them, 1081, for $1 million or more.
Melbourne’s outer suburbs - often thought of as comprising mostly affordable homes - had 226 sales worth more than $1 million in the December quarter with 29 such sales in regional Victoria.
"So far this year Victorians have spent $5,799 million buying homes – with about $2,430 million, or a bit less than half of that total – on million-dollar-plus homes," he concluded.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Melbourne $1 million plus buyers' club secure 18% of sales

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Inner Melbourne apartment rents appear to be on the rise, according to the latest Corelogic RP Data analysis which showed a 2.4% quarterly increase.
There had been typically a 1.5% annual rise over the past five years in the inner Melbourne.
Click charts to open in a new window:
<a href="/images/2015/04/10/melbourne-april-13-one.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="/images/2015/04/10/melbourne-april-13-one.jpg" alt=""></a>
<a href="/images/2015/04/10/melbourne-april-13-two.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="/images/2015/04/10/melbourne-april-13-two.jpg" alt=""></a>
Source: CoreLogic RP Data
{mijopolls 105} 
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Inner Melbourne apartment rents on the rise: Corelogic RP Data

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The RBA’s February interest rate cut had given the most apparent boost to the Melbourne auction market, according to Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan.
"Perhaps the most notable development since the start of the year though is the rise in Melbourne clearance rates," he said today.
"These were notably more subdued in 2014, both compared to Sydney and to previous peaks in 2009-10 and 2007. 
"However, they have surged 7-9ppts since Feb to be within striking distance of those previous peaks.
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-one.jpg" alt="">
"This suggests the RBA’s Feb rate cut has given a material boost to activity that should be most apparent in the Melbourne market where price growth had been travelling at a more subdued 5% annual pace compared to double digit growth in Sydney."
Matthew Hassan noted his belief that weekly auction market indicators are easily the most timely housing market data available, preceding most other measures by a good four to five weeks.
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-two.jpg" alt="">
 
He added caution must be applied in their interpretation especially as coverage issues mean auctions are only valid gauges for the Sydney and Melbourne markets and even then are skewed to particular parts. 
He suggested clearance rates also exhibit clear seasonality that must be adjusted for to provide a cleaner read of conditions.
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-three.jpg" alt="">
He highlight whereas seasonality was flattering clearance rates with 1½-3½ppt boosts in Feb and Mar, this effect has dropped back to about ½ppt in April;
"Seasonally adjusted clearance rates are unambiguously strong with April on track for a record high in Sydney."
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-four.jpg" alt="">
He added that conditions appear to be weakening more rapidly in markets not well covered by auction statistics.
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-five.jpg" alt="">
 
"Annual price growth has stalled flat in Perth and slipped to just 2.5% in Brisbane. 
"Auctions account for less than 3% of transactions in these cities. 
"As such conditions on a national ‘average’ basis have likely improved by much less than the rise in Sydney and Melbourne clearance rates indicates."
<img src="/images/2015/04/14/westpac-april-14-six.jpg" alt="">
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Melbourne auction spike on back of February rate cut: Westpac's Matthew Hassan

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The record-breaking Sydney weekend auction streak resumed after the Easter holidays with an initial 86.8% clearance rate reported this weekend. Melbourne auctions remained strong, recording a clearance rate in the high 70s.
Sometimes the Easter break triggers a change in energy, sometime upwards, sometimes downwards (as it did in 2014), but not this year in the major auction cities which have been both having schools holidays.
There were 525 Sydney auctions listed this weekend with another rise in numbers scheduled next weekend, before a pause in activity <a href="/expert-insights/buying/agents-ensure-anzac-day-auction-slim-pickings">for the centenary of the Anzac </a>landings at Gallipoli.
Abbotsford secured the top sale at $5,215,000, while there were nine auctions at Neutral Bay  followed by St Ives, Ryde and Wahroonga each with seven offerings, according to Australian Property Monitors.
These had been a record initial 87.5% election day auction success rate on the pre-Easter 28 March weekend as Sydney’s supercharged housing market hit eight weeks above 80%. The revised figure was 83.7%. The Easter weekend had just the 34 offerings.
There was a strong $1.28 million McGrath auction sale (below) of a Toongabbie development offering.
<img src="https://i3.au.reastatic.net/800x600/95b0ba13455400e6d1c3ec87240c68586b9973e93f35186015651ac9415b2624/main.jpg" alt="43 Cornelia Road, Toongabbie" title="43 Cornelia Road, Toongabbie" data-index="0">
The 1,552 square metre approved two lot Toongbabbie subdivision with existing three bedroom cottage had been marketed at $990,000 plus expectations.
The Abbotsford top seller had been held by the same family for six decades on the shores of the Hen and Chicken Bay. 
Selling agent Fayez Yammine of Devine Real Estate said the past record was set in February with a sale on St Albans Street at $4.9 million, well up on the suburb's CoreLogic RP Data $1.46 million median house price.
Melbourne had a 78% weekend success rate among the initial 540 REIV results.
The REIV was expecting about 670 auctions in 252 suburbs on the 11 April weekend across Melbourne.
The top Melbourne auction locations were Reservoir (11 auctions) and Mount Waverley (10 auctions), followed by Carnegie and South Yarra with seven auctions in each.
There were just the 44 auctions, mostly coastal, on the Easter weekend in Victoria.
On the busy 28 March pre-Easter weekend there was a Melbourne clearance rate of 79% on the initial 1,291 auctions reported to the REIV.
Auctions included a three-level warehouse residential conversion at 118 Victoria Street, Brunswick East, (top above) that been listed with adjusted expectations above $875,000. It fetched $917,500.
The open-air home comes with two bedrooms, industrial concrete floors, trussed ceilings, and infinity edge pool.
<a href="https://www.jelliscraig.com.au/property-details-118-Victoria-Street-Brunswick-East/218699#.VRMrFDpMIzU" target="_blank">Jellis Craig agent Craig Shearn</a> had the scheduled auction.
It last sold at $614,000 in 2006 when Craig Shearn was quoting $500,000 to $550,000.
It had been the Youngs Motor Product premises.
The REIV reported the top sale was in Middle Park. <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/162-page-street-middle-park/Property-Details-buy-residential-8528338" target="_blank">Realestateview</a> indicates it was a 1915 single fronted terrace sold through Marshall White agents Oliver Bruce and Michael Paproth.
Top 5 Houses
162 Page St MIDDLE PARK $3,375,000 3 Edwin Rd TEMPLESTOWE $3,100,000 1 Nerolie Ct WANTIRNA SOUTH $2,210,000 259 Bridport ALBERT PARK $2,022,000 1/96 Campbell Rd HAWTHORN EAST $1,915,000
<div class="pd-content-line">Top 5 Bargain Houses</div>
3 Fuchsia Ct NEWCOMB $235,000 70 Cox Rd CORIO $237,000 19 Mortlake Av DALLAS $283,500 43 Filipi Dr ST ALBANS PARK $314,000 25 Wynnette Ct EPPING $325,000
Top 5 Flats/Apartments
23/156 Rose St FITZROY $1,400,000 80A Marriage Rd BRIGHTON EAST $1,175,000 1/8 Loddon St BOX HILL NORTH $1,170,000 33 Lilly St CLIFTON HILL $1,115,000 2/65 Park La MOUNT WAVERLEY $1,000,000
Top 5 Bargain Flats/Apartments
1/38 Balliang St SOUTH GEELONG $195,000 18/54 Balston St BALACLAVA $270,000 3/54 Cunningham St NORTHCOTE $290,000 21/81 Edinburgh St RICHMOND $300,500 6/5 Redan St ST KILDA $326,000
<a href="/news">Source: REIV </a>
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Only the slightest dip as Sydney and Melbourne auctions resume with energy after Easter

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Claims have been made that the new Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne had been bullied by the trade union movement into knocking back the Spring Street apartment tower planned by Grocon in the Melbourne CBD.
Wynne acted against the advice of his department, according to claims by the opposition leader and former Planning Minister Matthew Guy.
Matthew Guy claimed the Construction, Mining, Forestry and Energy Union (CFMEU) bullied Richard Wynne to <a href="/news/victorian-planning-minister-richard-wynne-refuses-grocon-application-while-list-awaiting-approval-lengthens">refuse permission for construction of the 43 level tower at 85 Spring Street</a>.
Grocon has been locked in a state of fierce workplace relations war over several years with the CFMEU.
Guy said Wynne's decision had been made after his chief of staff met with union officials about the project.
“Dick Wynne needs to explain why he failed to take his own independent departmental advice and reject a project weeks after his staff met Grocon’s arch enemy the CFMEU,” Guy said.
The 335 apartment project in a sensitive area close to the Bourke Hill heritage zone was ruled as too high and too close to other buildings within the precinct.
Melbourne City Council had not been keen for permission to be granted.
Despite acknowledging on ABC radio that the union had raised its opposition to a CBD tower during a meeting with his chief of staff whilst he himself had been sick, Wynne denied any suggestion that the union had influenced the decision in any way, the website Sourceable noted.
“Any representations that the CFMEU may have made, they were in relation to a pipeline of works for their employees, and any suggestions that the CFMEU played any role in my decision-making is completely wrong and false,” he said.
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Matthew Guy accuses Richard Wynne of being bullied by unions over Grocon refusal

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Melbourne's Dockland topped the week's top sales, according to CoreLogic RP Data.
<a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/70-southwharf-drive-docklands/Property-Details-buy-residential-8403032" target="_blank">It was a townhouse</a> that fetched $6.1 million.
The five bedroom South Wharf Drive property located at the end of a row on the Yarra's Edge has four levels.
City Residential Real Estate Docklands agent Glenn Donnelly had it for sale at $6.4 million since late February.
It last traded at $6.65 million in June 2011 off the plan setting in August 2012.
It was available for rent in early 2014 at $2400 a week by its Mulgrave investor.
The weekend's top 10 sales:
<ol>
<li>70 South Wharf Drive, Docklands, VIC, 3008, five-bedroom house, sold on April 1 by City Residential Real Estate Docklands for $6.1 million</li>
<li>8 St Georges Crescent, Ashburton, VIC, 3147, six-bedroom house, sold on March 31 by Hocking Stuart Glen Iris/R T Edgar Toorak for $5.8 million</li>
<li>12 Kenneth Street, Tamarama, NSW, 2026, three-bedroom house, sold on March 31 by McGrath Estate Agents for $4.005 million</li>
<li>40 Cowles Road, Mosman, NSW, 2088, four-bedroom house, sold prior to auction on March 31 by Richardson &amp; Wrench Mosman Neutral Bay for $3.125 million</li>
<li>212 Terry Street, Connells Point, NSW, 2221, five-bedroom house, sold on April 2 by Ramsey Property Kyle Bay for $3.1 million</li>
<li>23 Grove Street, Unley Park, SA, 5061, four-bedroom house, sold on March 31 by Cocksauld Real Estate Unley for $2.95 million</li>
<li>47 Surrey Street, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, five-bedroom house, sold at auction on March 31 by Bresicwhitney Darlinghurst for $2.95 million</li>
<li>69 Bungan Head Road, Newport, NSW, 2106, four-bedroom house, sold on April 1 by L J Hooker Mona Vale for $2.85 million</li>
<li>50 Gordon Street, Paddington, NSW, 2021, four-bedroom house, sold at auction on March 31 by Di Jones Real Estate Woollahra for $2.7 million</li>
<li>2 Avalon Street, Turramurra, NSW, 2074, five-bedroom house, sold on April 2 by L J Hooker Wahroonga for $2.62 million</li>
</ol>
Source: CoreLogic RP Data
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Melbourne Docklands townhouse tops week's sales with $6.1 million price

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Question: Which suburb in Melbourne is having the greatest influence on land values across all of Melbourne?
Is it Toorak, Brighton, Hawthorn or is it Albert Park?
These are very influential suburbs and more expensive than the suburb we think is Melbourne’s most influential land value suburb. But it is not any of these.
No, Melbourne’s most influential land suburb is (drum roll please) Balwyn; and it has been since 2008 and possibly since the late 1990s. What happens in Balwyn has been driving Melbourne land prices.
A-grade land in Balwyn at Easter 2015 is now firmly at $3000 per square metre. This is evidenced by multiple sales, including the auction we were at over the long weekend at 58 Metung Avenue, Balwyn.
Quick little auction report on 58 Metung:
The block is a marginally undersized block, in a ‘name’ street, in the Balwyn High school zone; but other than that, it is most unremarkable. West-facing with an average frontage and a “no value” bulldozer home on it. There were 80 people who felt compelled to rock up to participate in or watch this outcome. After a solid opening start at $1.8 million from ourselves, we saw only four more bids from the three bidders. It was all over in a flash at $1,950,000 under the hammer. At 650 square metres in size, our maths says that it sold for exactly $3,000 per square metre.
Supporting evidence of this is 5 Winmalee, Balwyn (Richard Winneke) which sold the week before at $3001 per square metre for a bulldozer 781 square metre home.
Both these addresses are almost North-Balwyn, not Canterbury-Balwyn.
In the last seven years, Balwyn has been both the saviour and the devil for many Melburnian home buyers.
Question: Why is Balwyn all powerful in terms of land value influences?
Answer: Overseas buyers value homes higher than local buyers and this has put pressure on overall prices. Overseas buyers have the wealth in numbers to back their valuations.
Yes, but why Balwyn?
<ol>
<li>Schools</li>
<li>History – it’s close to earlier established Chinese communities in Box Hill and Doncaster</li>
<li>Chinese people like new-build homes and Balwyn has fewer council restrictions to bulldoze than, say, Hawthorn</li>
</ol>
Balwyn (and Kew) saved Melbourne property from the GFC in 2008.
Balwyn and Kew were the leaders in GFC times, when the FIRB law changes opened the floodgates on the previously steady interest from Overseas Buyers. This massive increase in interest turned the struggling Melbourne GFC housing market into a hotbed of excitement. Read Our 2009 James Market News Archives.
Now in 2015, Balwyn is seen as a negative by local Australian buyers. The once welcome bidding from overseas, is still welcome by downsizing sellers; but it’s certainly no longer welcome by local buyers, as many have been forced out of the market.
Balwyn is affecting markets far wider than Balwyn itself.
Balwyn is now consistently more expensive than most of Bayside. Yep that’s right, Balwyn is now more expensive than a lot of Hampton, almost all of Sandringham and its line ball with a fair part of Brighton and Elwood.
Remember when Balwyn North and Beaumaris were comparable in dollar terms? There is now a vast chasm.
Below is part of our new updated land value data which is now current (Easter 2015).
<a href="https://marketnews.com.au/2015/03/wow-50-of-the-auctions-we-covered-today-were-volcanoes/easter-land-bayside/" rel="attachment wp-att-49307"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-49307" src="https://marketnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Easter-Land-Bayside-597x448.jpg" alt="Easter Land Bayside" width="597" height="448"></a>
<a href="https://marketnews.com.au/2015/03/wow-50-of-the-auctions-we-covered-today-were-volcanoes/easter-land-inner-east/" rel="attachment wp-att-49306"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-49306" src="https://marketnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Easter-Land-Inner-East-597x448.jpg" alt="Easter Land Inner East" width="597" height="448"></a>
Source: James Buyer Advocates
About James Land Values Above:
<ul>
<li>Please note these values represent an overview. They are guides.</li>
<li>We have done a fair bit of rounding, so as to simplify the different and changing values in Melbourne land.</li>
<li>Values change dramatically with:</li>
</ul>
+ Views + “Name streets” + Wide frontages + Auction iinterest
- Main road - Irregular block - Weaker precincts - High vendors
<ul>
<li>There are some auction results that we consider are outliers, in that they appear to us to be under or over the market</li>
<li>Some houses, eg ones that cannot be bulldozed are, in 2015, actually discounting the land value; such is the insatiable appetite by overseas buyers for land you can build on.</li>
<li>These values, vary from street to street and in this market can change in a month or so eg before Christmas 2014 and after New Year 2015.  The above are guides only to show comparisons and should not be relied on in specific instances without further professional due diligence.</li>
</ul>
Land Price Acceleration: Volcano Auction Prices (4+ Bidders) have risen 10% on bigger land – November 2014 to February 2015!
That’s right 10% or $200,000 on a $2 million block of land. Of course there are exceptions higher and lower.
This will have major flow on effects on new home prices in these areas in the months to come.
But really it’s no surprise to experienced and longer term market watchers. 
With a herd mentality and ‘panic’ comes opportunity
<a href="https://marketnews.com.au/2015/03/easter-2015-james-land-value-guides-for-inner-melbourne/5km/" rel="attachment wp-att-49345"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-49345" src="https://marketnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5km-597x448.jpg" alt="5km" width="597" height="448"></a>
Opportunity One:
Really this is true. Hands up who can name one suburb in Melbourne where you can buy 600 square metres plus blocks within 5 kilometres of the CBD – with all the infrastructure you could want and a gentrifying attitude and it’s still around $2,000 per square metre? We’ve deliberately left it off the land maps above.
Yes the game has changed, but there are still opportunities.
<a href="https://marketnews.com.au/2015/03/wow-50-of-the-auctions-we-covered-today-were-volcanoes/opportunity-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-49322"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-49322" src="https://marketnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Opportunity1-597x448.jpg" alt="Opportunity" width="597" height="448"></a>
Opportunity Two:
Bayside may have been undervalued for years and we have been buying for many clients for many years. But the genie is leaking out.
We recently bought Brickwood Street, Brighton (David Hart) for an investor client. It was a smart buy on their behalf. It is getting harder and will continue to do so for investors and home buyers alike, if the tsunami of overseas interest continues to hit Bayside over the next few years. See above graphic from our James Client Land Guides for comparable kilometre distances.
<a href="https://marketnews.com.au/2015/03/easter-2015-james-land-value-guides-for-inner-melbourne/kew-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-49347"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-49347" src="https://marketnews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/kew1-597x448.jpg" alt="kew" width="597" height="448"></a>
Opportunity Three:
In Melbourne right now land values “drop per square metre” when certain types of homes are attached.
So yes, you can bid against overseas buyers on land only buys at auction time. But if you think laterally, you may find a better deal. We are recommending those opportunities to our clients.
In 15 years time a brand new home will look the same and probably be valued the same as a 90s home is now. Buildings can go up in value for the first few years, eg seven to ten years. After that they tend to fall in value.
 
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The suburb that is most influential on Melbourne's land values: Mal James

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Melbourne’s metropolitan office market has kicked off 2015 strongly.
It followed yet another record year of sales totalling more than $1 billion, according to Colliers International. 
The Colliers International’s latest Metropolitan Office Research &amp; Forecast Report, Dial for Demand: Enquiry for Metro Assets on the Rise, found last year was a record in terms of calendar year sales volumes in the Melbourne metro office market, with just under $1.1 billion worth of sales recorded. 
“To put this in perspective, this figure is slightly above total sales volumes for 2012 and 2013 combined,” Peter Bremner, Colliers International national director of investment sales, said.
He noted suburban office sales above $5 million skyrocketed to an all-time high of $1,053,000,000 in 2014.
It was a substantial jump on the $607 million worth of metropolitan assets sold during 2013, which was also a record high at the time.
<img src="/images/2015/04/01/coll-ap-1.jpg" alt="">
Source: Colliers International
Their records show there were 52 individual transactions above $5 million last year, compared to 38 in 2013.
Buyer activity was especially prevalent in the city fringe region, where 41 percent of the 53 deals occurred, followed by the outer east region were 23% of sales occurred. Over 55% of assets were sold to private investors, however in value terms, these investors accounted for 35% of total sales volumes.
Sales by Colliers International in 2014 included:
<ul>
<li>850 Whitehorse Road in Box Hill, sold for $12.85 million to a local developer for residential redevelopment;</li>
<li>1 Palmerston Crescent in South Melbourne, sold for $14.35 million to a Malaysian investor;</li>
<li>187 Todd Road in Port Melbourne, sold on behalf of Challenger, to Podco, for $26.25 million;</li>
<li>200 Victoria Street in Carlton, sold off-market for $42.3 million to Australian Unity;</li>
<li>Botannica 8 at 576 Swan Street in Richmond, sold for $46.5 million to 360 Capital.</li>
</ul>
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Melbourne suburban office sales skyrocket to an all-time high: Colliers International

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Australian Property Monitors (APM) has released a list of auction results in Melbourne for the weekend of 2 May.
<a href="https://www.homepriceguide.com.au/saturday_auction_results/Melbourne.pdf" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the list of results from 805 auctions, and click on each street address to see the property's marketing.
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APM's 2 May weekend auction results for Melbourne

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Lend Lease's Armadale development, Toorak Park attracted strong downsizer buying interest at its weekend launch.
It comprises 448 apartments and 18 townhouses.
Around 60% had sold by Sunday afternoon at an average price of more than $1 million, following the Marshall White marketing campaign.
The Australian Financial Review noted Lend Lease's managing director of urban regeneration Jonathan Emery suggested the result indicated Melburnians are looking for high quality options to downsize or simply purchasing a standout investment property.
The <a href="https://www.toorakpark.com" target="_blank">luxury residential apartment development </a>named Toorak Park is on a 2.5 hectare site beside Toorak Park.
Designed by Denton Corker Marshall and Carr Design Group, the 16 building project will feature landscape architecture by Tract.
The Toorak Park project will include a publicly accessible boulevard with direct access to Toorak railway station, <a href="/expert-insights/buying/lend-leases-toorak-park-project-coming-to-armadale">Property Observer previously reported</a>.
Lend Lease's national head of Apartments Ben Christie said the site was one of the best qualities of the project.
One, two and three bedroom apartments are available. One bedroom apartments will range from 55 square metres to 88 square metres, two bedroom apartments are sized from 75 square metres to 107 square metres, and three bedroom apartments range from 115 square metres to 148 square metres.
The project is expected to be completed in 2018, with a display suite now open.
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