Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

Northern Territory

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The bulky goods entrepreneur Brett Blundy has expanded his beef operations buying another cattle station in the Northern Territory.
The $6.5 million acquisition of Amungee Mungee Station near Katherine will increase the herd capacity to 150,000.
BBRC diversified into beef in 2010 with a stake in Barkly Pastoral Company.
Until the latest purchase it had 85,000 head of cattle at three other beef stations in the Northern Territory's Barkly Tableland. 
BBRC exports most of its live cattle to Indonesia with some to Vietnam, a BBRC spokesman told Fairfax Media.
BBRC has bought Amungee Mungee in partnership with Bullwaddy, which has a minority stake in the station. Bullwaddy owners Adrian and Emma Brown will oversee the daily operations at the 316,900-hectare station.
BBRC now have an interest in 1.4 million hectares.
The Beef Central website recently wrote that Amungee Mungee's new owners planned to increase the number of watering points from 20 to 160 over the next three years.
Located east of Daly Waters, Amungee Mungee was recently sold bare of stock by the Zlotowski family.
The Browns are also owners of Katherine-based business Northern Stock Water, which is the only manufacturer of polyethylene (PE) pipe products in the Northern Territory.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Brett Blundy expands Northern Territory cattle station holdings

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The last parcel of Crown land for the 2013/2014 financial year has been sold by the Northern Territory government at public auction, with the aim of improving housing affordability.
The sale, <a href="https://palmerston.ljhooker.com.au/1P8QF2X" target="_blank">organised by LJ Hooker at the Darwin Convention Centre</a>, included two residential lots in Moulden with multiple dwelling potential, as well as two lots in Yarrawonga with Light Industrial zoning.
The two residential lots are able to yield up to 27 dwellings together, according to Minister for Lands, Planning and the Environment, Peter Chandler.
“Interest in the light industrial sites was strong and the auction of these two lots was successful on the night,” said Chandler.
“Several parties were also bidding on the smaller of the two residential sites and this lot is also successfully under contract.”
The larger residential site failed to meet reserve, which is now up for sale “over the counter”.
This site could see up to 19 dwellings developed. It’s a 5,790 square metre offering and is across the road from Moulden Middle School.
 “The aim of these auctions is to boost investment and housing stocks. To avoid land banking, all Crown land sold at auction has a legal requirement to be developed,” he said.
“More public auctions of Crown land will happen throughout the upcoming financial year and I encourage individuals and businesses to get along and see what is on offer.”
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jduke-EHk3XBmHkn

Northern Territory government sells Palmerston land for development

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Northern Australia has vast potential for development. Just one proposed agriculture project of the many that I’m currently aware of would cover an area as big as metropolitan Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city.
Other single farms could be as large or larger than the entire <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ord_River" target="_blank">Ord River scheme</a> in Western Australia, home to mainland Australia’s biggest freshwater dam at Lake Argyle, which can store roughly <a href="https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/39/when-dam-size-matters/" target="_blank">20 times the water in Sydney Harbour</a>.
Those are just some of the major projects on the drawing board for northern Australia, which have attracted the interest not only of Australian investors, but also investors from the US and China. Such foreign investment will be crucial to what happens over the next few decades in places such as the <a href="https://www.daff.qld.gov.au/business-trade/development/industry-development/flinders-gilbert-agricultural-zone" target="_blank">Flinders and Gilbert river catchments</a> in north Queensland.
But with vast potential also comes vast, and as yet not entirely well-understood, challenges. For instance, how do we fund the infrastructure to capture, store and distribute the water from the wet season to support agriculture all year round? And where are the most appropriate places to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/csiros-dam-hunt-helps-plan-for-north/story-fn59niix-1226948824851" target="_blank">build proposed new water storages</a>?
Those are some of the questions being asked again, with the federal government this week asking for public comment on its new <a href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/papers/green_paper.pdf" target="_blank">Green Paper on Developing Northern Australia</a>. The paper is a precursor to a new national policy for our north.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50889/area14mp/9gvrmhs8-1402536073.jpg"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50889/width668/9gvrmhs8-1402536073.jpg" alt=""></a>
Northern Australia — particularly the Ord, Flinders and Gilbert river regions — have long been talked up as having potential for greatly increased agriculture, close to Asia. However, as the 2012 Feeding the Future paper noted, there are sensitive issues including indigenous land-use rights and environmental management. Source: <a class="source" href="https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/feeding-the-future/feeding-the-future" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Feeding the Future, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2012</a>, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CC BY</a>
Released this week by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, the green paper is a good start in the process of developing a plan for the north.
The risk to successful development in the north is in underestimating both the scale of the opportunity and the scale and complexity of the challenges. Many past attempts at development have failed on both these counts.
So there is much work still to be done before being able to predict if this new push to develop northern Australia will succeed where past plans have failed.
Economies of scale
If Australia’s new national policy for developing northern Australia is to get anywhere, one of the most important issues for it to address is the huge scale of investment required to get major new projects off the ground.
We also need to define the paths to winning a significant share of high-value Asian markets.
The green paper suggests the northern economy should be diversified into areas other than mining and energy. Tourism and agriculture — and I’ll largely focus on agriculture, as it’s my area of expertise — are the two main options identified.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50876/area14mp/cz3mkfgr-1402534545.jpg"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50876/width237/cz3mkfgr-1402534545.jpg" alt=""></a>
The six possible policy directions to develop northern Australia covered in the new Green Paper. <a class="source" href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/papers/green_paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Green Paper on Developing Northern Australia</a>, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CC BY</a>
Some past failures in agriculture in the north can be attributed in transplanting agricultural technology from the south, rather than re-inventing it for the new northern environment.
Globally we have had much more research and development delivering technology into temperate agriculture rather than tropical agriculture, where we now have the greatest need in Australia and globally.
Australian research and development capability in this area is strong, and should provide a competitive advantage in developing our north, one of the few remaining areas in the world with potential for agricultural expansion.
Article continues on next page. Please click below.
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
Working with local conditions
The green paper cautiously does not attempt to pick winners in backing specific industries.
Agriculture in the north may continue to depend upon the established industries <a href="https://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/nbra" target="_blank">such as beef</a> for some time, but new agricultural ventures will have a wide range of options, requiring careful evaluation. Agricultural and food products that can thrive in northern Australian conditions need to be identified.
The scale of investment is a big challenge. For example, establishing new farms in remote northern locations could require new roads and rail to get the products to a port or market.
As the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-10/coalition-launches-green-paper-nothern-australia/5512456" target="_blank">Deputy Prime Minister noted this week, water storage and distribution systems</a> may need to be constructed. But new dams aren’t cheap, meaning large-scale investments would be needed.
<a href="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50870/area14mp/jn726d7k-1402529974.jpg"><img src="https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/50870/width237/jn726d7k-1402529974.jpg" alt=""></a>
Despite covering almost half of Australia’s mainland, northern Australia has a relatively small population of just over one million people, or 5% of all Australians. <a class="source" href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/papers/green_paper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Green Paper on Developing Northern Australia p.3 (a higher resolution image was not available)</a>, <a class="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">CC BY</a>
Single farms as big as the entire Ord River scheme or possibly even larger are now being considered. That has major implications for the policies that need to be developed by government to attract large-scale investment.
Businesses of this type might resort to a fly-in, fly-out workforce, following the mining industry’s example. But the social implications of fly-in, fly out farming need to be better understood.
Investing in success
Development of the north will require that governments at all levels create an investment environment that will attract the significant capital essential for new ventures in the north. That means getting the balance right between removing red tape and ensuring investment in sustainable industries.
A key to success for Australian agriculture will be in successfully targeting high-value niche markets for food products in Asia.
These Asian markets are large and — despite the niche label — are able to take all that Australia can produce of most foods, as I’ve written about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-trade-beats-aid-in-boosting-global-food-security-22546" target="_blank">for The Conversation before</a>. Niche markets tend to pay higher prices, but they may also be highly competitive and require sophisticated marketing and quality control.
But rather than just producing food and then exporting it for others to process further, on-farm processing in northern Australia is likely to be essential to many businesses.
We’re not talking about small, family-run farms, but big businesses, covering bigger areas and able to capture greater economies of scale.
Alongside business, Australian scientists will have a key role in delivering the appropriate new crops, new animals and new farming systems that will be necessary for agriculture to succeed in the north.
Developing more remote areas of northern Australia comes with bigger challenges than setting up new ventures in established areas like the Murray-Darling region.
But the opportunities are there. Now we need to ensure that government policy settings and business plans are well-targeted, so that developing northern Australia finally moves on from being a long-held dream to becoming a reality.
Robert Henry is director, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at University of Queensland.
Robert Henry receives funding from University of Queensland, Queensland Government, Australian Research Council and Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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Giant steps needed to build up northern Australia’s potential

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The Northern Territory are rolling out their first government-subsidised rentals, with a tender now issued on the property management for the apartments.
Properties across Darwin, Palmerston and Katherine will be available under the Real Housing for Growth head-leasing initiative.
Minister for Housing Matt Conlan said that the selected firm will be responsible for 200 new affordable rental dwellings that are currently in the pipeline for construction. Tenants are expected to move in over the 2014/2015 financial year.
“The property manager will manage these properties like any regular private rental and will screen all tenants to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements, have a sound rental history and are able to afford the subsidised market rents,” said Conlan.
The first 50 units, in <a href="/news">Karama</a>, are nearing completion and will be offered to specific tenants – eligible key service industry workers – at 30% below market rate.
“Eligible child care workers, hospitality staff, nurses, tradespeople and retail workers will soon be able to apply to rent the units at the subsidised rate of around $365 for the two-bedroom and $295 for the one-bedroom units,” he said.
“The head-leasing initiative will increase the supply of affordable rental properties across the Territory to help attract and retain the key service industry workers that are vital to our plans to develop Northern Australia.”
The Territory government will head lease the privately owned dwellings for a 10 year period, with the investor guaranteed 52 weeks market rent per year.
Property managers – if you’re keen, the <a href="https://tendersonline2.nt.gov.au/Tender/ListCurrent" target="_blank">tender documents are online</a>, and a briefing is to be held today from 5pm to 6pm at the RCG Centre. It notes the property management services should be provided for 36 months.
Prospective tenderers include Walters Property Group Pty Ltd, Compass Housing Services Ltd, Mission Australia and Landdeal Pty Ltd among others.
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Northern Territory roll out first subsidised rental properties

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Darwin’s median house price sat at $585,000 for the quarter to April, according to RP Data. 
Sitting just above the median price for all eight capital cities, the Northern Territory's capital was up 0.9% on RP Data-Rismark's Daily Home Value Index, and up 11.7% on a year to year basis. 
Property Observer looks at Darwin sales for the April quarter to see just what $585,000 will buy you in the city.
<ol>
<li>
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-moil-115444931" target="_blank">3 TERMANSEN STREET, MOIL</a>  <img src="/images/2014/05/26/main%207.jpg" alt=""> Marketed as an “entertainer’s paradise” by Active Reality, this three bedroom home sold for $575,000 earlier this month. The 1977 build is tiled throughout. Set on 742 square metres, the property features multiple outdoor entertaining areas including a large veranda and undercover spa. The buyers can expect to pay $350 per year in council rates. Price: $575,000 Bedrooms: Three Drive to CBD: 16 minutes
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-anula-115343803" target="_blank">12 DRIFFIELD STREET, ANULA <img src="/images/2014/05/26/2.jpg" alt=""> </a>
This four bedroom home was sold for $560,000, after the former owner went bankrupt. The property is located in the Northern Territory suburb of Anula, about 13 kilometres out from the CBD. The air conditioned home has floating timber boards through most of the house and a renovated bathroom. Council rates will set the new owners back $1,380 a year. 
Price: $560,000 Bedrooms: Four Drive to CBD: 15 minutes<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-anula-115343803" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-malak-115938615" target="_blank">5 NEATE COURT, MALAK <img src="/images/2014/05/26/3.jpg" alt=""></a> A house with a downstairs granny flat in Malak sold for $580,000 after a little over three months on the market. Situated on the end of a cul-de-sac, the two level house includes a granny flat on the lower level, with its own separate split level living space. The 819 square metres of land also includes an in ground swimming pool. Price: $580,000 Bedrooms: Four Drive to CBD: 17 minutes
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-leanyer-116036127" target="_blank">11 DOTTEREL COURT, LEANYER <img src="/images/2014/05/26/4.jpg" alt=""> </a>
This brick three bedder sold for $580,000. Set on 802 square metres, there is an in ground pool and covered outdoor entertaining area. Inside, the house is tiled throughout. Vendors purchased the home for $540,000 in 2010.
Price: $580,000 Bedrooms: Three Drive to CBD: 20 minutes
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nt-jingili-115875451" target="_blank">4 SANDERS STREET, JINGILI  <img src="/images/2014/05/26/5.jpg" alt=""></a> 
Going for $575,000, this home was sold by Simon Watts of Central Real Estate Darwin, who also sold 11 Dotterrel Court. This raised home is unrenovated, with original tiles, carpeted floorings and light fittings throughout. The three bedroom house was built in 1977 and held by the vendors for almost 30 years. Set on an 817 square metre block, buyers will be paying approximately $1,600 per year in council rates.
Price: $575,000 Bedrooms: Three Drive to CBD: 15 minutes
</li>
</ol>
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jrichardson-uRX5hFdKfN

What can you buy for Darwin’s median house price?

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The Northern Territory’s Ilpeye Ilpeye is seeing the territory and federal governments working to deliver the subdivision normalisation that will see services provided to residents.
Receiving $10.6 million of government funding, including a $6.2 million tender awarded to Probuilt NT Pty Ltd, a formal bus area, postal services and street names will be delivered.
Minister for Community Services Bess Price said that this subdivision will help improve the lifestyle of a number of Indigenous Territorians.
Works on the town camp will included 800 metres of underground power mains, 1,200 metres of new water mains, 700 metres of new sewer mains, 650 metres of new open unlined drains and one kilometre of new roads.
“The improved standard of infrastructure will also mean that services that you and I take for granted such as rubbish collection and running water, can be delivered in Ilpeye Ilpeye like in the rest of Alice Springs,” said Price.
“Once subdivision works are complete, the Ilpeye Ilpeye Aboriginal Corporation will have the option of freehold titles to the serviced lots of land, which will be individually titled and available for either private construction or sale.”
The private home ownership opportunities in the area have the potential to provide economic benefits, including an increase in housing supply, she said.
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Subdivision normalisation undertaken in Ilpeye Ilepye by Northern Territory and federal governments

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With demolition work currently underway at 1 Runge Street, Coconut Grove, a former public housing site, the Northern Territory have planned for a new apartment development to boost housing supply.
Noting that the property being demolished is more than 40 years old and beyond economically appropriate repair, Minister for Housing Matt Conland said that the area had been an eyesore and a headache for locals.
“The proposed development will dramatically improve the area with 59 new two-bedroom, two-bathroom dwellings set to be constructed on the site,” said Conlan.
“The proposed development will be a mix of affordable and private dwellings and will help ease the cost of housing for Territorians so families and key workers can continue to live here and contribute to our plans to develop Northern Australia,” he said. Part of the plan is to reduce high concentration of public housing.
The 5,460 square metre site will, upon completion, include 15 affordable rental properties kept 30% below market rates for key workers, 10 units for affordable home ownership through HomeBuild Access loan products and 34 units sold to the general public.
They will include a swimming pool, multi-purpose rooms, car parking and landscaping in the final package.
The building should be completely gone within the next few weeks, with Reday Joint Venture to redevelop the site, along with architect Bell Gabbert Associates and RUB Earthmoving. Construction of the new build will begin mid this year, pending development approvals.
Plans for this development were described in the Northern Territory’s Real Housing for Growth plan.
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Coconut Grove development brings 59 new apartments to Northern Territory

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The Northern Territory government has <a href="/expert-insights/investing/northern-territory-s-fhog-directed-to-new-builds-only-from-2015">abolished its first home owners grant for established homes</a>, extending the grant only to new dwellings from January 2015.
While announcing the changes, Treasurer David Tollner acknowledged that first home owners grants have added upwards pressure on housing prices. The government cited economist Saul Eslake’s <a href="/news/the-senates-inquiry-into-affordable-housing-six-submissions">submission to a Senate inquiry into affordable housing</a>. Eslake criticised the grant, saying that when applied to established homes, it "served to simply to exacerbate the already substantial imbalance between the underlying demand for housing and the supply of it."
According to Tollner, the unintended inflationary effects of the first home owners grant were a factor in the government’s decision to abolish the grant for established homes.
"That’s why the Territory government will direct the first home owners grant solely towards the construction or purchase of new homes from next year," said Tollner.
"By targeting the first home owners grant towards the purchase of newly built homes, the grant is more likely to contribute to growth in housing supply and employment in the construction sector."
The Territory government will maintain the payment for first home owners of established homes for eight months.
"...ultimately, we want this grant to encourage the construction of new homes, create more jobs in the residential construction sector and improving housing affordability by increasing housing stock." Tollner said.
"This is a far better result than merely creating a churn in existing dwellings that is widely accepted as having an inflationary effect on the cost of housing."
Eslake is not the first industry figure to criticise the first home owners grant. Writing on the grant last year, <a href="/expert-insights/investing/slow-demise-of-first-home-owner-grant-schemes-monique-sasson-wakelin">observer Monique Sasson commented</a>:
"The scheme is meant to make property more affordable for first home buyers. Unfortunately, experience shows that the grants don’t achieve this end.  Instead, the nominal increase in purchasing power it delivers to first home buyers transmits directly into higher prices for the properties they hope to buy.
"The real beneficiaries are the vendors of properties that first timers buy."
The Northern Territory follows Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory in its removal of the first home owners grant for established properties.
 
 
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Northern Territory government acknowledges that FHOGs for established houses have "inflationary effect"

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As of 1 January 2015, Northern Territorians looking to buy their first home will only be able to get the First Home Owners Grant if they buy new, under recently announced changed.
The current property value limit of $600,000 will be removed, and the value of the grant for building or buying new homes has increased $1,000 to $26,000.
These changes are in effect as of tomorrow.
Dave Tollner, treasurer, said that the removal of the value limit will remove the requirement that the buyer pay for a valuation of the property.
“These are practical changes that will make the grant more appealing and flexible to first home buyers that are buying or building new homes,” Tollner said.
At the moment, a $12,000 grant can be obtained for established dwellings in an urban area, or in Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield. A $25,000 grant is available for those outside of the urban area.
These grants for established homes will be gone from next year, with hopes of stimulating new home construction and to encourage a take up of the accelerated land releases.
“By targeting the first home owners grant towards the purchase of newly built homes, the grant is more likely to contribute to growth in housing supply and employment in the construction sector,” said Tollner.
Those looking to buy an existing dwelling have an opportunity for the next eight months to take advantage of the existing grant.
“This will ensure an orderly transition and allows buyers who are currently in the process of buying a home, or intending to do so in the near future, with sufficient opportunity to take advantage of the FHOG as part of that purchase until the end of the year,” he said.
“But ultimately, we want this grant to encourage the construction of new homes, create more jobs in the residential construction sector and improving housing affordability by increasing housing stock.”
In announcing this decision, the government acknowledged that providing a grant for existing property is <a href="/expert-insights/investing/northern-territory-government-acknowledges-that-fhogs-for-established-houses-have-inflationary-effect">“widely regarded” as contributing to higher property prices</a>, noting economist Saul Eslake’s comments.
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Northern Territory’s FHOG directed to new builds only from 2015

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A 15 level apartment building planned for the Northern Territory’s Palmerston has been making news recently, with three levels of carparking, three levels of commercial/office use and eight levels of one and two bedroom units suggested.
The recent artist’s impressions and details, released through NT News, included a blank carpark wall for potential public artwork, a rooftop garden, some balconies and native plants for ‘green walls’ on the bottom section of the building.
They are expected to be between the library and Quest Apartments, on The Boulevard.
One bedroom apartments in Quest next door are renting for around $360 a night this time of year.
This development appears to fit very nicely with the requirements noted in the Palmerston City Centre 2030 Masterplan developed in 2012, that suggested an increase of residential density is part of the plan, as well as providing off-street parking and other uses such as retail, restaurants and community facilities.
Looking at The Boulevard specifically, the report noted that the City of Palmerston owns land within the City Centre, particularly along this street. This area was flagged as an ‘inactive/dysfunctional’ street.
Demand for office space, higher residential areas and retail use was noted to be strong, with the potential for some rezoning to allow for the masterplan, particularly looking to mixed-use developments, with each to provide a car parking solution on site.
It also noted that “Green roofs could become part of Palmerston’s City Centre new expression.”
In the first five years of the plan, the Council noted its focus would be to develop land on The Boulevard, to realign it to be a “civic way” and for the NT Government to commission development on its centrally located land.
“Incorporating a greater diversity of housing types, including mixed use developments in the City Centre, medium density residences along the urban fringes, housing developments above retail ground floor uses and affordable housing opportunities in new surrounding developments,” was noted as the theme of the plan.
Map courtesy of Google.
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