<p>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.</p>

<p>The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>“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.</p>

<p>“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.”</p>

<p><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" /></p>

<p>GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.</p>

<p>“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.”</p>

<p>Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.</p>

<p>“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.</p>

<p><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" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>Green praised local policy settings.</p>

<p>“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.”</p>

<p>One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.</p>

<p>“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.</p>


Joel Robinson

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

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be</p>

<p data-end="683" data-start="511">"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.</p>

<p data-end="882" data-start="690">"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."</p>

<p data-end="882" data-start="690">[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]</p>

<p data-end="247" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="0">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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]</p>


WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

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


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

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

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


NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

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


First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party

Sydney

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<p>Is this quote by Johnny Isakson the perfect property quote – “In the real estate business you learn more about people, and you learn more about community issues, you learn more about life, you learn more about the impact of government, probably than any other profession that I know of.”</p>
<p>Let’s focus on the part of governments in property – more particularly as it relates to Sydney and its many niche property markets. Local governments are being amalgamated so that the NSW government can put on its developer cap and start approving thousands upon thousands of new developments. They identify overseas buyers as the driving force so they then introduce higher duties to get a greater tax grab. The federal government (since December 2008) allows one hundred per cent of all new developments to be sold offshore driving overseas investor demand to levels never seen before – the perfect property storm has been created but who will clean it up?</p>
<p>Firstly, we need to pinpoint when this newly created apartment – a – thon peaked which would be around mid – 2013. Barangaroo was the star attraction with 750 new harbour side apartments that sold in a matter of hours smashing per square metre records. These per square metre rates were then factored into every other new development and the investors came in fast, which in turn led developers to pay record prices for property sites thus creating an insatiable property appetite for investors and property developers.</p>
<p>Then 18 months later the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on December 9, 2014 tightens lending regulations resulting in higher deposits from investors buying off – the – plan. Although not much was said at the time the investor cracks were starting to appear despite developers and real estate agents buying record amounts of polyfilla. Next in July 2015, APRA announced that the big four banks and Macquarie Bank must hold more capital to provide a buffer against defaults by investors.</p>
<p>In May 2015, then federal treasurer Joe Hockey announced that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) was being handed full control over all property acquisitions in Australia. This then led to the ATO announcing that every property transaction dating back to 1985 would be recorded and placed on their property register. Foreign investor participation in Australia’s property markets had spiked to $34.7 billion in 2013/14 up from $17.6 billion the previous year, so suspicions were on the rise. I might add that some market commentators (like myself) had been raising concerns well before this.</p>
<p>Who could forget the piece I filed back on 5 March 2015 – Treasurer Joe’s Villa del Nightmare when the ATO announced the first divestiture notice for a $39 million Point Piper mansion that was bought by a foreign buyer without Australian residency. The subject property was then flipped to a friend who just so happened to have an Australian residency and the case was closed – or so we were led to believe.</p>
<p>Last week (a premature announcement broke) –<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/Foreign-resident-capital-gains-withholding-clearance-certificate-application-instructions/"> Foreign resident capital gains withholding clearance certificate applications</a> would be required for every property in Australia selling above $2 million from 1 July 2016. I was reliably informed that the grand plan is that clearance certificates will apply for every Australian property down the track. Here is the official<a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/uploadedFiles/Content/LB_I/downloads/FRCGW%20-%20clearance%20certificate%20application.pdf"> ATO clearance certificate</a>application from the ATO website.</p>
<p>So does this then take our attention (well mine anyway) to the fact that quite possibly in the very near future the ATO, who have been very quiet of late on all matters pertaining to divestiture notices, may soon have some big announcements? Assuming all those who purchased illegally will not be able to receive a clearance certificate – so the ATO pockets 10 per cent of the selling price from every sale?</p>
<p>The big problem here is that most in the industry knows that the Asian buyers have dropped off significantly, as too the Asian developers. Sydney has approximately 30,000 new apartments nearing completion and how many of those properties will have defaulting buyers? We know what the first market sale price was and nobody can intelligently predict what the second sale price may be. Guesstimates range from a 10 to 50 per cent correction depending on the volume of property coming on to the market, and rest assured you can no longer apply the Barangaroo square metre rate set back in mid – 2013.</p>
<p>If these defaults do happen and the second sales prices are well below the initial selling price this will then throw all the thousands and thousands of off – the – plan sales into complete chaos. Then all the future developments are shelved given these once strong markets have disappeared. Councils have been merged so what then happens to that grand plan of high density future developments?</p>
<p>Sydney for a few years now has been showing clear signs of investor growing pains. Although this time around the vast majority of these new developments are still a way off completion. If we go by past markets the banks are about to become reluctant property owners – so what’s the plan?</p>
<p>Sadly, there is no plan – just cross your fingers and hope that level heads prevail. Quite fascinating that with all these massive high – density developments that in this day and age we still don’t have a governing body regulating Australian property markets.</p>
<p>I get that feeling that we will need more than an umbrella.</p>
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
<p>Number of houses on the market this time last year – 68</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market last week – 55</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market this week – 51</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 46</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market last week – 50</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this week – 42</p>
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
<p>Number of houses on the market this time last year – 8</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market last week – 11</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market this week – 10</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 13</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market last week – 22</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this week – 18</p>
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
<p>Number of houses on the market this time last year – 7</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market last week – 8</p>
<p>Number of houses on the market this week – 8</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 26</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market last week – 22</p>
<p>Number of apartments on the market this week – 20</p>
<p><em>ROBERT SIMEON is a director of </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> </em><em>and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. <br>He has also been writing real estate blog </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> </em><em>since 2000.</em></p>
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

The property storm Sydney had to have: Robert Simeon

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<p class="Body">There’s been a lot of discussion about a resurgence in Sydney prices, but I’m not believing it.</p>
<p class="Body">The talk is based primarily on one month’s figures from one source, which suggested a significant rise in Sydney house prices in May.</p>
<p class="Body">People are so willing to blindly accept the figures pumped out by research companies. One international ratings agency rushed out a new assessment of the Australian residential market, complete with dire warnings, based on that one figure – apparently oblivious to the frequent statistical aberrations in price data for short time periods. </p>
<p class="Body">Those figures for May presented a large number of very strange results. For example, are we seriously expected to believe that Hobart apartment values rose 8.4% in a single month? Or that Darwin apartment values declined 10 percent in May? Or that, in sharp contrast, Darwin house prices surged 3.5 percent in May? Or that unit prices dropped 6% in a month in both Canberra and Perth? Or that house values in Sydney suddenly turned around and jumped 3.6 percent in May?</p>
<p class="Body">The absurd nature on some of these numbers shows how rubbery real estate figures can be, especially when you’re dealing with month-to-month changes, which are notoriously erratic and essentially meaningless.</p>
<p class="Body">The Sydney figure was particularly strange because there has been a major drop-off in sales activity this year. Sales volumes have been trending steadily downwards since the end of 2014 in fact, but it’s been particularly pronounced in 2016 – and exacerbated recently by the calling of a federal election, which always causes consumers to stop dead with their decision-making and action-taking.</p>
<p class="Body">The thing is: all other price data, including the March Quarter figures from the ABS, has been recording a contraction of Sydney price growth, which is exactly what I would expect. It’s extremely rare in housing markets for prices to keep rising when there’s a significant decline in sales activity.</p>
<p class="Body">Hotspotting research for The Price Predictor Index finds not a single growth market in the Sydney metropolitan area, which contains over 700 suburbs. Many suburbs are in steady decline.</p>
<p class="Body">An example is Auburn (median house price $835,000, down 1.7 percent in the three months to April, according to Australian Property Monitors), where there were over 200 sales per quarter in late 2013, dropping to 170 in late 2014, 100 late in 2015 and now 75 per quarter.</p>
<p class="Body">Likewise, Bankstown ($840,000, down 2.7 percent percent in three months) was recording over 200 sales per quarter late in 2013, but numbers have fallen steadily to 95 per quarter late in 2015 and 80 per quarter in 2016.</p>
<p class="Body">Sales in Breakfast Point (median unit price $1.06 million, down 4.9 percent in three months) have fallen from 110 to 88 to 70 to 43 to 33 to 26 in consecutive quarters. </p>
<p class="Body">In Cammeray (median house price $1.7 million, down 10.6 percent in three months), sales have dropped from 58 to 54 to 46 to 37 to 30 to 26 since late 2014. In Fairfield ($720,000, down 2 percent in three months) sales in the past four quarters have been 107, 77, 56 and 35. In Pymble ($2.05 million, down 3.3 percent in three months) sales levels have dropped from 112 to 99 to 71 to 64 to 39 in the past five quarters.</p>
<p class="Body">Unit sales in CBD fringe suburb of Haymarket (median unit price $895,000, down 1.8 percent in three months) have dropped from 77 to 57 to 39 to 24 to 9.</p>
<p class="Body">In Parramatta ($565,000, down 1 percent) unit sales have declined from 172 to 165 to 107 to 95 in the past four quarters, while in Potts Point ($710,000, down 4.3 percent), unit sales have dropped from 110 to 66 to 47 in consecutive quarters.</p>
<p class="Body">There are myriad other examples, all charting the same pattern of decline in sales volumes, with prices starting to follow.</p>
<p class="Body"><em>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></em></p>
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Not a single growth market in the Sydney metropolitan area: Terry Ryder

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<p>Dwelling values across Australia’s capital cities were 0.9% higher in January driven partially by a rebound in Sydney and Melbourne.</p>
<p>The recent growth conditions have pushed the Melbourne market into first place for annual growth in dwelling values with an 11.0% rise compared with Sydney where values are 10.5% higher over the past twelve months. </p>
<p>According to the January 2016 CoreLogic RP Data Hedonic Home Value Index results, dwelling values across Australia’s combined capital cities showed a 0.9 per cent rise in January after recording no change in December and a 1.5 per cent drop in November. </p>
<p>This month on month rise wasn’t quite enough to pull the rolling quarterly rate of growth back into the black, with capital city dwelling values remaining 0.6% lower over the past three months. Hobart led the monthly figures with a 4.7% jump in values, followed by Melbourne where values were 2.5% higher and Canberra with a 2.8% lift. Sydney values also showed a rise of 0.5%, while the remaining four capital cities showed dwelling values to be either flat or down. </p>
<p>The rolling quarterly trend was looking similarly diverse, with four of Australia’s eight capital cities recording negative dwelling value movements over the past three months, with Sydney dwelling values showing the largest fall, down 2.1 per cent. Values are down over the rolling quarter in Darwin (-1.4%), Adelaide (-0.9%) and Melbourne (-0.1%) as well. The strongest growth in home values over the quarter across the capital cities was found in Hobart with a 3.0% capital gain. </p>
<p>Despite recording the largest annual decline in home values (-4.1%), Perth dwelling values posted a 1.7 per cent rise over the three months to the end of January. Other capital cities to record a rise over the rolling <span style="font-size: 12.16px; line-height: 1.3em;">quarter were Brisbane (+0.8%) and Canberra (+1.2%). </span></p>
<p>Over the past twelve months, capital city dwelling values have risen by 7.4% with Sydney’s capital gains of 10.5% no longer the highest annual rate across the capitals. While still a high rate of annual growth, Sydney’s annual rate of capital gain is now at a 29 month low and has been progressively softening since peaking at 18.4% in July last year. </p>
<p>Melbourne’s housing market has been more resilient to slowing growth conditions which has propelled the annual growth rate to the highest of any capital city, with dwelling values 11.0% higher over the past twelve months. Previously, during the height of the growth phase, there was a large separation between Sydney’s housing market, which was streaking ahead, and Melbourne’s, where the rate of capital gain was substantial but still well below the heights being recorded in Sydney. The latest data reveals Sydney’s housing market is now playing second fiddle to Melbourne’s, at least in annual growth terms.</p>
<p>In fact, over the past six months, the performance gap between Sydney and Melbourne is stark. Sydney dwelling values have reduced by 0.6 per cent between July last year and the end of January 2016, compared with a 3.0 per cent rise across Melbourne dwelling values. The last six months have also seen both Brisbane and Canberra dwelling values rise by 2.0 per cent while Hobart values are 1.3 per cent higher and Adelaide dwelling values have been virtually flat with a 0.1 per cent rise.</p>
<p><em>Tim Lawless is head of the CoreLogic RP Data research and analytics team and can be contacted <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/timlawless/" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>
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Sydney now second fiddle to Melbourne: Tim Lawless

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<div id="post-body-8750789597338754868" class="post-body entry-content">
<div>If there's a subject that I get more emails about than anything else it's the supply of new apartments in Sydney.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>When prices take off you should generally expect a supply response as more projects become viable, until eventually the new supply kills the up-cycle.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/09/22/8.3%20PROPERTY%20CONSTRUCTION%20CYCLE.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2016/09/22/8.3%20PROPERTY%20CONSTRUCTION%20CYCLE.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>And after a period of under-building you only need a working pair of eyes to see that this is taking place in Sydney.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>But instead of drawing conclusions based on emotions or pre-determined 'crashnik' conclusions, let's take a look at what the actual numbers say to see whether we can draw some more specific inferences. </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Approvals boom</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The first thing to note is how far approvals are tilted towards the multi-unit sector in Sydney today, partly as a result of the constrained supply of land close to the city and the Pacific Ocean.</div>
<br>There were some 55,458 approvals over the year to May 2016 - almost double the level of three years ago - and almost exactly two-thirds of these were multi-units at 66 per cent.<br><br><a href="/images/2016/09/22/A2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
<img src="/images/2016/09/22/A2.jpg" alt=""><br><br><div>When looking at the individual LGAs the most striking point of note is just how many approvals there have been in western areas such as Camden, Blacktown, Parramatta, and Liverpool, as well as in the increasingly populated Hills District.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Incidentally, the Sydney LGA actually covers an enormous area and more than thirty inner ring suburbs, so it's generally expected that there would be the highest number of approvals in that LGA.</div>
<br><a href="/images/2016/09/22/A3.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
<img src="/images/2016/09/22/A3.jpg" alt=""><br><br><div>When the weight of new apartment supply hits home there is likely to be fallout in some of these western suburban localities.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It's also noticeable how remarkably few approvals there have been in some of the blue chip LGAs such as Mosman, Hunters Hill, Manly, and Woollahra. </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></strong></div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Completions lag</span></strong></div>
<br><div>If the impact of the supply response has been muted to date, then the next chart explains why. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Despite a 21 per cent year on year increase in annual approvals, annual net dwelling completions have increased by only 3 per cent to 30,901 in the year to May 2016 (with a slightly lower 62 per cent of these being multi-unit dwellings).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>While this is an improvement in completions of about one third over the past three years, it needs to be acknowledged that the Greater Sydney population growth is now tracking at abou<span>t <span>~</span>85,00</span>0 per annum (while the cyclical low for completions in 2009 was cataclysmically bad, and the lowest nadir since 1953).</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/09/22/A1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/09/22/A1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<br><div>This implies that as I have concluded here previously the ratio of dwelling completions to population growth in Sydney was still tracking at below its long run average at least until 31 May 2016.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>And although population growth in Sydney is higher today than it was in the past, there have been 10 years since 1950 where more net dwelling completions were notched up than there were over the past year. </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">A prime reason for the supply response being slower than through preceding market cycles is that multi-unit projects on brownfield sites requiring land remediation take a great deal longer to complete than turnkey detached housing developments on greenfield land. </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">The number of net dwelling completions remains almost comically low in the blue chip LGAs of the eastern suburbs and lower north shore - with NIMBYism clearly alive and well - but supply is starting to hit its straps in some of the aforementioned higher-density LGAs.</div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/09/22/A4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/09/22/A4.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Where the pipeline will hurt</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The widening gap between approvals and completions means that there are more dwellings under construction in Sydney than has ever been the case before in any Australian city. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>In particular, there is a concentration risk in play with so many of the dwellings under construction being high-rise apartments. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Take a look at the figures for Parramatta, for example, where there have been 8,646 multi-unit approvals since July 2012 but only 4,946 net dwelling completions. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>That's one heck of a potential supply pipeline, with more units due to come online in adjoining LGAs as well. </div>
<br><div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/09/22/A5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/09/22/A5.jpg" alt=""></div>
<br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The wrap</span></strong><br><br><div>These data lag by a few months, and they show that despite having had relatively little impact to date Sydney's supply response is poised like a coiled spring. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Up until the end of May 2016 net dwelling completions had barely increased from the prior year in tracking at around 30,000.<br><br>However, there is a record number of dwellings in the under construction phase, so this will be one data series to watch closely. </div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="post-footer">
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
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Sydney apartment completions lag: Pete Wargent

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<p>Another solid preliminary auction clearance rate of 79.5 percent for Sydney this weekend.</p>
<p>There were some big numbers posted in the eastern suburbs, and Bondi and Paddington in particular.</p>
<p>Around the traps the suburbs of Mosman and Strathfield accounted for most of the big ticket sales. </p>
<p>The median auction price was $1,221,500. </p>
<p>This was some way down from the record preliminary result of $1,337,000 seen a fortnight ago, but then this was expected given that there were more than 750 homes going under the hammer this weekend.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2016/11/21/SYD1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<div id="post-body-6237524374760409440" class="post-body entry-content">
<div><img src="/images/2016/11/21/SYD1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<br><div>The median auction price is a crude and volatile measure at the best of times.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>However, smoothing the figures on a monthly basis reveals a more consistent picture, with prices tracking fairly consistently at about 10 to 12 per cent higher than a year ago. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/11/21/SYD2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<br><div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/11/21/SYD2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Next weekend will provide a stuff test for the Sydney market as the spring auction Super Saturday arrives before silly season and the big wind down to Christmas.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>And that will soon be another year gone! Hectic.</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="post-footer">
<div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1">
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
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Sydney auctions solid ahead of Super Saturday

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<div>After years of under-building from about 2005 forth in Sydney, between July 2012 and April 2016 a vastly improved 163,500 dwelling approvals have been recorded for the Greater Sydney region (inclusive of the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains) and the Illawarra.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>As Australia's densest capital city, Sydney approvals today are mostly of the attached or dwelling multi-unit type. </div>
<p><a href="/images/2016/08/16/A1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/08/16/A1.jpg" alt=""> </p>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>There has been report after report concerned with the record number of units and apartments under construction.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Yet to date vacancy rates have barely budged at the city level, and apartment rents have kept rising.<br><br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bottleneck</span></strong>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The reason for this - and indeed the reason that so many dwellings are under construction - as I've looked at previously <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/making-sense-of-australias-super-duper" target="_blank">here</a>, is that multi-unit dwellings generally take considerably longer to proceed from approval, to commencement, and then to completion (perhaps up to several years from start to finish) than detached houses on greenfield sites, at typically just a matter of months. </div>
<div>As a result, over the year to April 2016, after accounting for demolitions there were just 11,937 net detached dwelling completions, and 18,370 multi-unit dwellings. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Not only has this rate of net completions after accounting for demolitions not been making up for the years of under-building, it has barely even been keeping pace with <em><strong>current</strong></em> annual Greater Sydney population growth of an estimated 83,500 per annum.<br><br>This is particularly so given that so many small apartments are being built, typically housing only two persons (not to mention those apartments left vacant by offshore investors), contributing to a mismatch of supply increasingly characterised by a surfeit of high rise apartment stock.<br><br>It's worth noting that this completions data doesn't easily capture the addition of granny flats, but the point still stands - completions in Sydney just haven't been that high...to date.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2016/08/16/A3.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div><img src="/images/2016/08/16/A3.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p> </p>
<div>From July 2012 to April 2016, after accounting for demolitions, there were net dwelling completions of only 101,300, just 62 percent of the number of dwelling approvals over the same time period. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The population of Greater Sydney increased by somewhere in the region of 307,000 heads over that time, so it's a little wonder that population growth has been absorbing new supply.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>This dynamic is finally about to change, though, as the record pipeline of new apartments under construction begins to come online, although the industry being stretched to full capacity will inevitably see construction costs rising henceforth. </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Local Government Authorities (LGAs)</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>At the LGA level we can see that up to April 2016 there have been few regions that have really been hammering out unduly high net dwelling completions. </div>
<div>
<br><div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/08/16/A1-1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/08/16/A1-1.jpg" alt=""></div>
</div>
<div>However, looking at the LGA dwelling approvals figures split out by financial year helps to identify the areas at risk of emerging oversupply (as well as certain upmarket localities such as Manly, Mosman, and Woollahra, where the total stock of dwellings has remained all but fixed).<br><br>
</div>
<div>The City of Sydney LGA covers a large central area of 25 square kilometres and comprises a great many hugely popular suburbs, and in that context its 13,700 approvals from July 2012 represent relatively slim pickings. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>However, the volume of dwelling approvals - especially for apartments - in certain other areas is abnormally high in historical terms, in turn suggesting an elevated level of risk: Blacktown, Parramatta, the Hills District, Liverpool, and to some extent Camden and Ryde.<br><br>The Canada Bay approvals figures don't really capture the volume of building that has already taken place at Wentworth Point and some surrounding suburbs.</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/08/16/A3-1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/08/16/A3-1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p><br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Case study: Parra</span></strong></p>
<div class="separator">I don't quite have the space here (read: can't be bothered) to discuss apartment supply in detail across every Sydney LGA, but a quick look at the Parramatta data is instructive. </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">Parramatta has seen several years of abnormally high apartment approvals figures, yet until relatively recently net dwelling completions had not lifted too dramatically.</div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator">This rapidly changed in September 2015 as a slew of new projects began to come onstream, and there is plenty more to come in the pipeline, with yet another 3,339 multi-unit dwellings approved over the 12 months to April 2016. Wow-wee!</div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="/images/2016/08/16/A2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"><img src="/images/2016/08/16/A2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div>I took a drive around Parramatta a fortnight or so ago, and the amount of building still underway is really quite eye-popping. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>This may result in valuation challenges at settlement for off-the-plan apartment purchases, rising vacancy rates, declining rents, and widespread instances of weak capital growth over the coming years (by which, of course, I mean negative).</div>
<div>
<br><em>Caveat emptor!</em><br><br>Regular readers may recall I spent a joy-filled afternoon driving around looking at a number of apartment construction hotspots recently, and I wrote a bit about it.<br><br>
</div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
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Sydney's construction pipeline: Pete Wargent

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<p> After CoreLogic recently reported a median house price of $835,000 in Sydney, Property Observer went searching for what that got.</p>
<p>Starting at the lower range of the median price, $825,000 will comfortable purchase a six-bedroom, four-bathroom house on Lot 9, <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-jordan+springs-123144814" target="_blank">Lakeside Parade in Jordan Springs</a> (above) in Sydney’s greater west, due to be completed in December. The offer is stamp-duty free. </p>
<p>Keeping in Sydney’s western suburbs, $835,000 will also purchase a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-storey house on <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-caddens-123373594" target="_blank">77 Barnea Avenue, Caddens</a> (below). The brand new house is located on a 410 square metre block of land. </p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/08/31/Screen%20Shot%202016-08-31%20at%206.02.41%20PM.png" alt=""> </p>
<p>The median price will also purchase a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-emu+plains-123305666" target="_blank">69 Brougham Street, Emu Plains</a> (below). The luxury house was built by ZAC Homes. </p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/08/31/Screen%20Shot%202016-08-31%20at%206.03.48%20PM.png" alt=""> </p>
<p>Still within the median price range, a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-toongabbie-123361826" target="_blank">36 The Crescent in Toongabbie</a> (below). The newly renovated home has a low-maintenance yard which features a veggie patch. </p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/08/31/Screen%20Shot%202016-08-31%20at%206.05.06%20PM.png" alt=""></p>
<p>The five-bedroom, three-bathroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-st+clair-122954230" target="_blank">5 Tulloch Place, St Claire</a> (below) was recently sold for between $839,950 and $879,950. The newly renovated house sits on 672 square metres of land.</p>
<p><img src="/images/2016/08/31/Screen%20Shot%202016-08-31%20at%206.06.58%20PM.png" alt=""></p>
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What the $835,000 median house price gets in Sydney

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<p>NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s promise to tackle home ownership affordability is a welcome sign to first time buyers being pushed out of the market, according to HTW’s <em>Month in Review: March 2017</em>. </p>
<p>The valuation firm says with just over 186,000 loans approved in NSW in 2016, the first home buyer formed a small market segment with almost 16,500 loans approved or less than 9 percent of the total mortgage pool.</p>
<p>First home owner grants have reduced as data from the Office of State Revenue shows that 9,391 grants worth $138 million were handed out in 2015/16 as opposed to the 32,574 grants worth $266 million paid in 2010/11, the report states.</p>
<p>“Sydney is widely considered the most expensive city within Australia and one of the most expensive to rent when compared with other states and territory capitals, making for a tough path to home ownership,” HTW says.</p>
<p>“Furthermore, it appears that NSW is the equal lowest for first home owner grants when compared to other states:</p>
<ul>
<li>QLD – $20,000 for new builds valued up to $750,000</li>
<li>SA – $15,000 for new builds only, valued up to $750,000</li>
<li>WA – $15,000 for new builds, valued up to either $750,000 or $1,000,000 (depending on the location).</li>
<li>VIC – $10,000 for new builds only, valued up to $750,000</li>
<li>NSW – $10,000 for new builds only, valued up to $750,000</li>
</ul>
<p>“Typical first home buyers may consider purchasing off-the-plan as it allows them to save money while the property is under construction which can typically take between two to three years.</p>
<p>“This has been a strategy adopted by many in the Sydney market hoping to achieve capital appreciation during the course of construction and ‘lock in’ a lower purchase price compared to the ‘on completion’ or settlement price.”</p>
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Sydney first home buyers turning to off-the-plan: HTW

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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Despite a classically miserable March day, Sydney recorded its strongest preliminary auction clearance rate of the year to date on Saturday, according to Domain, at above 82 percent. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Even if the final clearance rate is revised down a bit, it's clearly a very high result on higher listings, with some big results in the inner suburbs. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Two of the last four weekends have seen phenomenally high median auction prices, with this weekend's $1,355,000 a little below the record $1,420,000 set four weeks ago but 14 percent higher than a year ago.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">On a rolling monthly basis auction prices hit their highest ever level on Saturday.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Sydney market had clearly lost momentum in the face of macroprudential measures implemented in 2015, but was reinvigorated by two interest rate cuts in May and August 2016.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Melbournites returned from the break with a 78 per cent preliminary clearance rate according to Domain.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/03/20/A2-1.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="s1">Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><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/2017/03/20/A2-1.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Sydney property market sell off 

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<p>Sydney’s housing market is showing signs of a controlled slowdown, according to CoreLogic’s latest July update.</p>
<p>The property data firm says that clearance rates are trending lower and time on market is starting to edge upwards.</p>
<p>For more information see the video below:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p3ABSDStcnc" frameborder="0" width="450" height="253"></iframe></p>
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