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.

Joel Robinson

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

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

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

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

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

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

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

First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party

Sydney

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Here's a clue as to why Sydney has been having a property boom that no other capital city has come close to matching. NSW has the nation's No.1 economy and, according to ABS data, has created more jobs in the past six months than the rest of Australia combined. 
That remarkable situation provides the best explanation of the Sydney real estate boom, far more so than the flimsy offering from most economists, who attribute the boom to low interest rates (but can't explain why Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and most of regional Australia aren't having price booms). 
The Sydney/NSW economy is pumping, boosted by high levels of spending on infrastructure and a return of business confidence thanks to changes in the political scene.
According to the ABS, NSW has added 85,600 jobs since January. All the other states and territories have managed a combined 68,000. 
The NSW economy has been rising steadily ever since the worst government in my lifetime, the 16-year-old NSW Labor Government, was tossed out in a predictable landslide in 2011.
With that change, things that had been long absent from Sydney and NSW began to happen again. Decisions started being made. Infrastructure spending resumed. The economy awoke from its coma and business re-opened. Jobs started to be created, with those latest figures from the ABS providing evidence of a process that has been four years in the making.
According to ANZ research, employment growth in NSW has been led by four industry sectors: health, education, hospitality and professional services.
It’s not a coincidence that the rise of the Sydney property market after 10 dormant years has happened during this resuscitation of the NSW economy.
Low interest rates, the fallback position of economists who haven’t got a clue (i.e. most of them), have little or nothing to do with Sydney’s elevated market.
If it was all about interest rates, Perth prices would be zooming instead of going backwards. A clue to the decline of the Perth market is also found in the ABS employment figures: Western Australia, previously a leading generator of jobs, has created only 8,500 positions in the past six months, one-tenth of that managed by NSW. Since January the WA unemployment rate has risen from 5.5% to 6.3%.
Just three years ago, the NSW ranked joint second last, alongside South Australia, in the CommSec State of the States report. Back in July 2012, it was “WA first and daylight second”, according to one media report. The ACT, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria all ranked above mediocre NSW, which was tied with SA in sixth place, with only Tasmania ranked lower.
Fast forward three years and the latest State of the States report indicates that NSW is now entrenched as the No.1 strongest economy in the land, having taken over the top ranking from WA last year. 
NSW ranks first or second among the states and territories on population growth, retail trade, employment, equipment investment and housing construction.
A growing economy, extensive spending on transport and other infrastructure, the return of confidence in the state government and the local economy, solid population growth, jobs being created – that’s the recipe that cooked up Sydney’s real estate surge. And it would have happened if the RBA hadn’t been cutting interest rates.
 TERRY RYDER is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

The recipe that cooked up Sydney’s real estate surge: Terry Ryder

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Now, if you are not a believer in being prepared and you don't feel that the property market will drop; put that coffee mug away. Click back to your Facebook page. Danger, read this at your own peril.
For the rest of us, it's time to pour ourselves a fresh cup of coffee, and look at the property market trends. Trends that we have been discussing for over 12 months now, and have been preparing our readers for: i.e. the changes in market forces.
Here we are, moving into 2016 and again, economists with invested interest in the property market continue to spruik the “steady property growth” in Sydney and the “she’ll be right” lines.
Our readers, followers and clients, on the other hand have been preparing for the reality of what is about to “slap” many economists in the proverbial face and a lot of investors, rip holes in their back pockets.
Sydney Property Snapshot: Auction Result Saturday 30 January 2016
There are a number of key take-aways from the transaction report or “on the market history” shown above (Source CoreLogic RPData). I will concentrate on three of these as follows.
<ul>
<li>Vendor's &amp; Agent's Expectations:</li>
</ul>
We may on the one hand say, vendor’s expectations were being fueled by the main-stream-media’s property reports, coupled with the crazy prices being paid by our friendly Chinese investors and home grown investors wanting to jump on the "Gravy Train".
Expectations also adding to real estate agent's promises of achieving high prices.
Prices again being fueled by buyer's fear of missing out, coupled with the notion of huge under-supply as well as beliefs of  “not enough land”. Then there are the ongoing beliefs of: high migration intake and that "interest rates won’t go up anytime soon: therefore, commit now". My favorite "HUGE rental squeeze".
The above mentioned beliefs as you well guessed, primed the market and created a foundation for this property bubble. A foundation that supported the comparable sales in the area, in most instances; prices that reflected the initial “Above $730K” prices being advertised i.e. the prices being paid at the height of the market.
<ul>
<li>Agent’s Marketing &amp; Sales Strategy:</li>
</ul>
The main strategy I want to review, is the one carried out by the second agency. In simple language: “what the hell were they thinking in taking the property to auction” and for a second time?
I can only say; yes, I’m sure the vendor is now conditioned and perhaps even bullied into being a “motivated vendor”.
<ul>
<li>Drops and Market Conditions:</li>
</ul>
However, we can see on the surface by the evidence presented in the recent auction reports, vendors are moving into very precarious territory when taking property to auction on an agent’s ‘whim’. And, you have to be careful who you appoint as the real estate agent and the auctioneer, if that is the method you are told is the best way to sell your home.
Again, the table above shows two key points: the first, the drop in asking to highest bid value and the second, the number of days on the market.
The passed-in bid, is reported to be $650,000 by the second agent. A significant drop and contrary to the first agent's initial asking price which was for: offers above $730,000. WOW ...
We can see a significant drop of willingness for people to commit now. A difference of almost -12% from the height of the market in 2015, to now. But, there is more room for a further drop.
I point out; we are only a month into 2016.There will be more carnage to come. Carnage that will take out many vendors that are not vigilant.
For Now: Is it a matter of...
<ol start="1">
<li>Signs of the times?</li>
<li>Real Estate Agent's flawed marketing strategy?</li>
<li>Auctioneer's ignorance? OR</li>
<li>All of the above?</li>
</ol>
More than ever before, I urge you as vendors and agents; do your homework. Ask yourselves as agents, the fundamental question which is pertinent to obtaining the best price for your client: is an auction campaign still the best way forward, for your vendor?
Vendors, again more than ever, be proactive and ask the agent about the number of registered bidders leading up to the auction day. If none are registered then ask whether you should still be going to auction. Meet the auctioneer and ensure they go through the property, days before the actual auction date that is.
Most of all vendors, do not be afraid to question the agent's reasoning for the marketing strategy they want you to embark on. It may well cost you 10's to 100's of thousands of dollars, if you don't.
EDWIN ALMEIDA is licensee in charge of <a href="https://www.just-think.com.au/" target="_blank">Just Think Real Estate</a>.<a href="https://www.just-thin.com.au/"> </a>
He is also the creator of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/JustThinkProperty" target="_blank">Oz Real Estate.TV</a> and a presenter for <a href="https://propertyinvestingvault.com/" target="_blank">propertyinvestingvault.com</a>.
 
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ealmedia-arK4DBYLjS

Predictions to rip a hole in your back pocket: Edwin Almeida

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I’m not sure just how closely you have been following Australia’s property markets but what I can add is we are now starting to see some amazing trends emerging that will have both negative and positive outcomes.
This week we read that despite our national apartment building boom rents continue to rise. With approximately 30,000 apartments nearing completion in Sydney I predict that we have seen the rental peak. Unbeknown to many the major banks have already started black spotting many areas across Australia – where they are now no – go areas for future lending. For example, where you have an area that has undergone unprecedented new apartment high density developments you can expect values to start decreasing quite rapidly.
In Sydney the areas on ignore include, Darling Harbour, Dawes Point, Haymarket, Millers Point, Sydney, Sydney South, Waterloo, Annandale, Zetland, Homebush and Arncliffe. It will only be a matter of time before these areas spread further given the sudden – impact of oversupply where the vast majority of these properties will be left fighting it out in this newly created competitive rental market. It is quite unprecedented to see the lenders adopting this strategy given they are creating their own problems although they did approve the respective loans.
 
Gen Y (or Gen Why? as I call them) should stop complaining and consider themselves lucky that they missed most of this modern day apartment investment boom. Since December 2008, when the Rudd government moved the off – the – plan apartment overseas buying ratio from 50 per cent to 100 per cent where the large percentage of these buyers came from Asia, which has a combined population of approximately 4 billion people compared to our 24 million. Whilst I certainly don’t agree with this decision we have introduced foreign owners although the debt remains local – another big problem.
Then of course it would be remiss of me not to mention that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has gladly accepted the role of “Big Brother” where every single property transaction in Australia dating back to 1985 now being scrutinised. Whilst the ATO has been remarkably quiet on the announcement side of developments this is an election year and the decision to hand the ATO total ownership of Australian property data was a decision by the present government, so we can expect this to figure prominently in the forthcoming election debate.
Now if developments were not getting interesting we now have the Panama Papers (the largest leak in journalistic history) which the ATO would be all over given 800 Australians managed to make guest appearances as a direct result from the leaked papers.
Just what the exposure to Australian property markets is remains to be seen although I did read in The Guardian this week – “Which is exactly why today’s revelations about the connections between tax havens and property ownership are so important. Revealed in the leaked documents was the fact that 2,800 Mossack Fonseca companies are connected to more than 6,000 UK title deeds, worth at least £7bn. On top of this, according to Guardian analysis, more than 90,000 properties in England and Wales are listed in the Land Registry to overseas owners, at least 75,000 of which are owned by companies or individuals registered in tax havens.”
Now can you start to see why raising the overseas buyers’ ratio from 50 per cent to 100 per cent could have a serious impact on our Australian property markets? Given all that is presently going on it would be sage advice to closely monitor exactly what is going on in these areas of high density development.
To be fair many areas saw very little development so they will go through this with minimum downside to property prices and rental returns. Having said that the property aggregators bundle all the statistics into the one bundle so rents will then show signs of easing although in some areas it will be quite the opposite.
I have no doubt that the role the ATO is currently playing within the tapestry of the Australian property markets will have a defining outcome that will result in many forced sales. Just what effect this will have on property prices is way too early to call although I see the investment market under significant pressure with all presently going on. Then again there will be a knock – on effect with all the new developments which are presently in the re – zoning and planning stages more particularly, those areas that already that are already marked as being over developed – over supply.
On the other hand the owner operated housing market has just been ambling along and looks to have well and truly dodged this modern day investor bullet. If there were to be an investor market collapse the owner occupiers would then be placed again with the opportunity of a lifetime with record low cash rates coupled with an investor market collapse. Yes, we have seen such markets before although never on this grand scale.
In my opinion, these are the markets you should be closely following on high visual alert.
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 56
• Number of houses on the market last week – 45
• Number of houses on the market this week – 43
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 53
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 46
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 48
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 0
• Number of houses on the market last week – 5
• Number of houses on the market this week – 6
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 8
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 26
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 14
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 0
• Number of houses on the market last week – 7
•Number of houses on the market this week – 11
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 42
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 26
*Number of apartments on the market this week – 24
 
ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985.  He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000. 
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Why property markets keep confusing us: Robert Simeon

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The number of new dwellings financed remained at a historically high level in April, but was slightly lower than in the preceding month.
Analysts are watching closely for signals of this construction cycle rolling over in a disorderly fashion, but up until April at least purchase activity had remained relatively robust. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/06/09/A1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/06/09/A1.jpg" alt="">
At the state level owner-occupier financing of new builds is tracking at historically high levels in all three of the most populous states. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/06/09/A2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/06/09/A2.jpg" alt="">
First homebuyers to recede
The number of first homebuyers has been sliding in recent years, following on from a huge spike during the financial crisis when a raft of incentives and grants were introduced.  
Some first time buyers have been opting to buy investment properties instead in recent times, particularly in expensive Sydney, in turn depressing the number of first homebuyers recorded. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/06/09/A3.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/06/09/A3.jpg" alt="">
The annual number of first homebuyers has also fallen by 29 per cent in Western Australia since October 2013, with the Perth market seeing very subdued sentiment since that time. 
First homebuyer activity is likely to drop off between now and July 1, when new grants and stamp duty exemptions are set to be introduced in the states of New South Wales and Victoria. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/06/09/A4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/06/09/A4.jpg" alt="">
 
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/">blogger</a>.
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
 
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NSW first homebuyers to dwindle until July: Pete Wargent

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The Sydney auction market is cooling as finance is harder to come by, especially for investors and those wanting to use interest-only loans.
The preliminary clearance rate reported by Domain was a shade under 70 percent - now tracking well below the frenzied peak - while CoreLogic put the preliminary figure a but higher at 73 percent.
The median auction price for houses was $1,515,500, some $142,500 or 10.4 percent higher than on the same weekend last year.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/06/26/SYDNEY.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/06/26/SYDNEY.jpg" alt="">
Similarly the median auction price for units was up by $76,000 or 8.6 percent from the same weekend last year to $955,000. 
Overall the median price of $1,335,000 was the third highest on record. 
Return of the first homebuyer
A factor skewing the median price higher was that some first homebuyers are reportedly sitting on the sidelines until next weekend when the new incentives will have kicked in post-July 1.
From next week, therefore, there may be some renewed upwards pressure on entry level stock priced up to around $800,000. 
Overall, though, the credit squeeze has changed the dynamic of the market considerably, and price pressure is easing. 
In some inner suburbs such as Erskineville, Glebe, Enmore, Newtown, Haberfield, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Redfern, and Pyrmont I've already noted a looming shortage of rentals, with vacancy rates sinking to as close to zero as you'll ever see.
Sydney is having an absolute shocker at the moment with its traffic congestion, partly due to the disruption caused by the light rail construction. 
Therefore it's no surprise that areas experiencing a rental shortage are those with great city access.
It's a different story for some of the suburbs where commuters need to drive into the city for work.
Over the next year as investors are increasingly squeezed out of the market there will likely be an increasing number of news stories reporting a Sydney rental crisis, at least for certain locations and sought-after property types. 
Contrast these tight rental markets with the overbuilding and homogeneous glut of rentals on Sydney's city fringe, 60 kilometres to the south west. 
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/">blogger</a>.
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
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Sydney auction market cooling as finance harder to come by

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EXPERT OBSERVER
Real estate is buzzing with questions about the so-called recovery in property markets. Is it real? Does it have legs? Is it a dead cat bounce?
Before providing answers, we need to understand the questions, some of which show a chronic lack of understanding about real estate markets.
The questions assume that what’s happening in Sydney and Melbourne reflects the nation. It doesn’t.
Generalisation is the blight of real estate consumers. We’re afflicted with writers and commentators who discuss Australia as a single market, quoting economists whose knowledge of the intricacies of residential real estate could be written on the back of a postage stamp in crayon.
The overriding assumption is that events in the two biggest cities describe the entire nation. If they’re booming, the “Australian property market” is booming. If Sydney and Melbourne prices are falling, then prices are falling across the nation.
Journalists who parrot this nonsense - in the process of re-cycling press releases from lazy research firms and ignorant economists – are treating their customers shabbily. Misinformation proliferates.
So, are property prices recovering in Hobart? Well no, they’re not, because they didn’t fall. Hobart prices remain comfortably higher than last year, having been rising for the past three years.
Are property prices recovering in Canberra? Also no, because Canberra didn’t have the Sydney boom and it didn’t suffer Sydney’s post-boom correction. It’s just been chugging along happily, as Canberra tends to do. It’s the perennial Goldilocks of Australian real estate – not too hot, not too cold, just right.
Price recovery is also a foreign concept in Regional Victoria because prices have been rising strongly in many towns and cities outside of Melbourne for the past two years, and continue to do. Dozens the regional centres across Victoria have recorded double-digit growth in their median house prices in the past year.
So when media talks about the possibility of recovery in Australian house prices, people who live in Ballarat, Bendigo, Pakenham, Warragul, Bright, Mildura, Wangaratta, Seymour, Moe, Kyneton and many other Victorian centres wonder what on earth they mean.
There are similar scenarios is many regional locations across New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland.
When media discusses recovery in real estate prices, they’re essentially referring to Sydney and Melbourne, which dominate coverage in big media, to the exclusion of all other locations.
That’s where the question of market recovery and the realness of price increases is focused.
What we’re witnessing is an end to the post-boom downturn and price correction in Sydney and Melbourne. The evidence is strong and real. Looking across price data from multiple sources, we first saw an easing of the rate of decline, then a bottoming of the downturn - and then, increasingly, signs of a return to growth.
This was accompanied by an improvement in auction clearance rates – which, as I commented last week, are a rather blunt instrument by which to measure markets but, taken alongside other data, can add some weight to overall conclusions.
Often anecdotal evidence is more telling than the statistics, and this also is increasingly positive. All kinds of property professionals have been feeling the upturn in demand and the growing pressure on prices, in an environment where stock on the market is generally low.
None of this is terribly surprising. The perfect storm of negatives that impacted the big city markets in the first half of the year has blown over – and has been replaced by a series of fortunate events, starting with the Federal Election result.
Too much has been made (as usual) of the impact of interest rate reductions. These don’t hurt, but interest rate levels are never the prime motivator of events in real estate.
Far more important are the improvement in overall sentiment, the end of the fear created by Labor policies, the greater ease in obtaining finance and the state of economies at a local level.
So what we have in Sydney and Melbourne is a fairly normal post-boom market. The correction phase that usually happens after a prolonged up-cycle has happened and now we’re back into situation normal – healthy activity and some pressure on prices, but with little likelihood of a return to boom conditions.
We’re more likely to see booms in other places – Brisbane, where conditions are improving and prices are attractive; Adelaide, which has an emerging economy likely to underpin an upsurge in real estate demand, helped by great value-for-money real estate; Perth, which is fighting back after a long downturn in the underlying WA economy; and many parts of regional Australia, such as regional Queensland, where a growing number of regional centres have improving economies, lower vacancies and attractive price/yield scenarios.
TERRY RYDER is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a> twitter.com/hotspotting
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Brisbane is more likely to see a property boom: Terry Ryder

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Sydney’s established suburbs have just one thing in common when we talk about their existing houses in that for years now we have seen no new housing developments – they have simply dried up.
They no longer exist nor will we see any more new developments, so the number of houses in a particular suburb is all but fixed forever. Unlike outer Sydney where new housing estates are being released at the fastest rates ever witnessed before to meet the growing consumer demand – however the new markets are totally different from the established property markets.
It’s interesting to note that the established housing markets are contracting with less properties being offered to the marketplace which is underpinning property prices. Just as interesting is the observation that the overseas buyers are now strong participants in the established Sydney property markets followed by the local buyers in close pursuit.
This is what many are calling the perfect storm where if you removed the overseas buyers the Sydney established property markets would bear no resemblance to what we witnessed in 2015. With the NSW government now fixated on high – density residential strata developments many property buyers are observing that established houses are the best investments because production has ceased.
Whilst the NSW government has no problems encouraging the new residential subdivisions of airspace we certainly don’t envisage we will see any outdoor public spaces being converted to residential housing subdivisions.
We can also throw into the ‘perfect property storm’ record low interest rates where households are leveraging their borrowings to the maximum in order to take full advantage of the lowest rates in property history. When they leverage high this takes longer to pay down the principal home loan which in turn slows down the number of properties being offered to the market place which is exactly what we are witnessing today.
Just as interesting is that the last cash rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was back on November 3, 2010 when the RBA increased the cash rate +0.25 percent to 4.75 percent.
To show further proof a recent analysis by Digital Finance Analytics identified that 13 percent of households with an owner occupied loan would be in financial discomfort if rates were to rise at all. This is a smaller proportion to investment property owners who came in at 27 percent. However, more than one third of households said that they would be in difficulty if rates rose by 3 percent.
With many property owners closely following the cash rate musings emanating from the RBA – they may be better advised to watch their respective lenders a lot more closely.
Business analysts warned this week if there are no RBA cuts in 2016 then the banks would again act independently by announcing their own independent rate increases. Many quickly forget that in 2015 the big banks joined hands and raised their respective rates between 15 and 20 basis points.
Based on this data, for that to happen we would see the investment property hardest hit with a very distinct possibility of surging nervous investors trying to off – load their newly acquired investment properties. On the flip – side the major banks are most concerned that this newly created investment property loan portfolio has them exposed – so we in all probability will see them massaging their mortgage books in 2016.
This of course does not bode well for all the new developments awaiting release to the respective marketplaces where Melbourne has approximately another 20,000 new apartments ready to be released over the next five years with Sydney sitting at around 6,000 new apartments.
Then of course we have the dilemma with the apartments already sold off – the – plan with plenty of talk that many of those won’t proceed with their contracts. In particular the Big Four banks are only too well aware of their exposure to these new markets. That would explain why they have commenced their whisper campaigns – where we can expect to read plenty more in coming months.
When the property flows are weak the prices shoot up which is exactly what has happened to the established markets. The new investment markets are the ones that dominated in 2015 so there is a very good chance they may dominate conversations in 2015 for all the wrong reasons. What also needs to be factored in are the new developments where 100 per cent of these apartments were sold offshore. It’s anyone’s guess what may happen should we see these newly created markets start showing the first signs of panic.
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 58
• Number of houses on the market last week – 36
• Number of houses on the market this week – 45
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 43
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 32
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 38
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 8
• Number of houses on the market last week – 9
• Number of houses on the market this week – 11
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 18
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 11
• Number of apartments on the market this week – 15
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 4
• Number of houses on the market last week – 6
•Number of houses on the market this week – 6
• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 37
• Number of apartments on the market last week – 23
*Number of apartments on the market this week – 27
 ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985.  He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000. 
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Simply put, property will be as steady as she flows: Robert Simeon

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<div>Total housing finance came in at a seasonally adjusted $32.8 billion in July, which represented a 1.5% increase on the June result - following on from a 3.6% increase in June - but remained slightly below the record high of $33.1 billion seen in April this year.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On a trend basis total housing finance ticked up to a new high of $32.6 billion to be 15% higher than one year ago.</div>
<a href="/images/2015/09/10/HF1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/09/10/HF1.jpg" alt="">
<div>Investment loans increased moderately to $13.6 billion in July, but this was also slightly below the April high of $14 billion, suggesting that APRA's cooling measures are beginning to take hold.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On a rolling annual basis investment loans have continued to shoot the lights out through an unprecedented surge, with investors accounting for more than half of loans written excluding refinancing.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Although this is inevitably forcing prices higher in some cities, we are now increasingly seeing more landlords than prospective renters in some locations, and rents in these locations will stagnate or fall.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/10/HF2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2015/09/10/HF2.jpg" alt=""></div>
 
<div>State versus state</div>
<div> </div>
<div>At the state level there were increases in owner-occupier commitments in most states and territories in seasonally adjusted terms in July, but declines were seen in the Northern Territory and the ACT.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Driven by a fear of missing out, Sydney homebuyers are thrusting New South Wales loan values off the top of the chart with more than $73 billion of lending over the past year. A huge boom. With APRA measures dialling back riskier investment lending as sure as night follows day lenders will be targeting homebuyers, with home loan products now available from interest rates of around just 4%. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/10/HF3.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2015/09/10/HF3.jpg" alt=""></div>
Brisbane's owner-occupier commitments have continued their studious recovery, with loan values at the state level ticking up to their highest level since March 2010 on a 12mMA basis, although mining and resources regions are continuing to weigh heavy acting as a drag on the state data. 
<a href="/images/2015/09/10/hf4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/09/10/hf4.jpg" alt=""> 
<div>As for New South Wales in July, at $7.5 billion of owner-occupier commitments in July there has never another month like it it any state or territory, with commitnents accelerating to be tracking an enormous 28% higher than one year go.</div>
<a href="/images/2015/09/10/HF5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2015/09/10/HF5.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>The incredible Sydney property boom evidently has some steam left in it yet. 
</div>
<div>Despite this apparently indefatigable Sydney largesse, with inflation and now total housing finance apparently both under control in recent months, any further increase in the unemployment rate is likely to be met with calls for further rate cuts.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>. 
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
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The incredible Sydney property boom has steam left in it: Pete Wargent

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If there were a term that I would love to see introduced into the Australian property vernacular it would be just the one word – “shifts”.
For some time now I have found it most frustrating the way commentators and (to a much lesser extent) politicians raise topics, such as housing affordability is a fine example, Headlines such as “Australia’s housing affordability improved in the first three months of 2016” mean very little and serve little purpose. The problem with the housing affordability debate is that it focuses on Sydney and Melbourne which are the two most sort after locations whilst there is no mention of the affordable areas.
Rather we should for example look at what’s actually driving our specific market demographics on a suburb by suburb basis. Only then can we actually get a proper idea of what is actually happening where, believe me, we are now seeing some healthy shifts and some alarming shifts.
For example, in many Sydney suburbs we are now seeing record low stock levels particularly with houses – so what caused these shifts? In the vast majority of cases it always comes back to government policies whether federal, state or local. The reason why we are seeing less houses on the markets is because property values have grown to such a level that the barrier is now stamp duty. For a house purchased at $3,000,000 it is $150,490 and a house purchased at $4,000,000 it is $220,490 so home owners are now going to Plan B – refinancing and renovating.
 
When I speak to property valuers in our area I’m told that their workloads are now split 50/50 between purchases and re-financing which is a shift that started 3 years ago. Three years ago in Mosman there would be around 125 houses on the market each week where today there is around 50, so homeowners are refinancing to renovate with a view to a longer hold.
In November 2013, the value of housing finance was 26 percent higher than the previous year. This shift has continued ever since which clearly identifies where homeowners are shifting their monies taking household debts to historic highs with historic low interest rates.
Mosman has 5,890 houses approximately with 55 on the market today. Cremorne has 7,135 houses approximately with 7 on the market today. Neutral Bay has 1,109 houses approximately with 8 on the market today. Cammeray has 1,275 houses approximately with 9 on the market today. Northbridge has 1,914 houses approximately with 10 on the market today and Seaforth has 2,317 houses approximately with 18 on the market today. This has been the pattern for the last three years and don’t expect this to change any time soon.
Now when we look at the shifts in the new apartment markets this is where it gets scary because the blame here is shared equally between the state and federal governments. When the state government starts introducing a strategy for massive high–density developments and the federal government changes the ratio restrictions from 50 per cent to 100 per cent for overseas buyers on off–the–plan purchases, as I said a few years ago – train wreck.
Recently we read that the major banks ceased foreign lending so I immediately thought something is happening here as banks never turn away new revenue streams. Now we read that Westpac and the ANZ have found approximately $1 billion in Chinese mortgage application fraud. No doubt a precursor to the Australian Taxation Office clampdown on non – resident purchases so the anxious buyers then shifted to federal government endorsed off–the–plan purchases. It’s anyone’s guess where this will end up, although you would be right in saying this is only going to get worse. More particularly this has the potential so see a major revaluation of existing apartment purchases significantly down. Little wonder the major lenders announced recently that they were not approving any more loans in many Sydney suburbs.
Now shift your attention to the upcoming federal election where the Liberal party is not going to touch negative gearing and the Labor party are going to only make negative gearing available to new properties. Can you see another potential shift in the markets if negative gearing only applies to the new developments where given what’s currently happening nobody will be buying anything until these markets sort themselves out?
Then I read an article recently where Harry Triguboff announced that recently sales to Chinese buyers had halved and that Chinese buyers over the past few years had accounted for 80 percent of new Sydney apartment sales. Yes – 80 percent! Why is this not an election issue?
Now to put this into further perspective household consumption is actually what’s presently driving the Australian economy. In the December quarter 2015 national accounts household consumption delivered 0.4 percent of the total 0.6 percent growth.
Now there are a few shifts that need much closer examination. First signs for the NSW government will be a dramatic collapse in stamp duty revenues which is happening big time. The once ever dependable existing house market is renovating or has renovated so no financial joy there either. Then there will be a dependence on the off–the–plan purchases actually completing, although that’s looking shaky too. With 93 percent of investors preferring to buy existing properties and now the ALP wants them to but new properties – well that won’t work. We now know that nearly all the off–the–plan sales have gone to Asian investors.
The ALP need to be corrected on this as this policy change to negative gearing is Mining Tax Mark II.
<h4>MOSMAN – 2088</h4>
Number of houses on the market this time last year – 57
Number of houses on the market last week – 51
Number of houses on the market this week – 55
Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 49
Number of apartments on the market last week – 53
Number of apartments on the market this week – 50
<h4>CREMORNE – 2090</h4>
Number of houses on the market this time last year – 4
Number of houses on the market last week – 8
Number of houses on the market this week – 7
Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 14
Number of apartments on the market last week – 24
Number of apartments on the market this week – 23
<h4>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h4>
Number of houses on the market this time last year – 3
Number of houses on the market last week – 11
Number of houses on the market this week – 8
Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 27
Number of apartments on the market last week – 25
Number of apartments on the market this week – 21
 
ROBERT SIMEON is a director of <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985.  He has also been writing real estate blog <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> since 2000.
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Beware of the Sydney property shifts

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<div>Data from the Urban Development Institurte of Australia (UDIA) revaled that median lot prices in Sydney have increased by +49.4 percent in only the past three years. </div>
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<div>The increase in 2015 alone was $100,975 or +22.9 percent. to $440,725.</div>
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<div><a href="/images/2016/03/9/UDIA.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
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<div><img src="/images/2016/03/9/UDIA.jpg" alt=""></div>
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PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>. 
His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.
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