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

Joel Robinson

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

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

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

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

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

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

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

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

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

Sydney

<html><body>
The Ray White Parramatta sales team notched up a strong month for new listings, private treaty sales and a 100% auction clearance rate.
"Auction results will always deliver a clear and measurable reflection of the strength and heat of the market," the office noted.
There were two new suburb records within their results:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://raywhiteparramatta.com.au/nsw/parramatta/1245588/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;">17 Irving Street, Parramatta: $1,625,000</a> (pictured above)
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://raywhiteparramatta.com.au/nsw/south-wentworthville/1256019/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12.1599998474121px; line-height: 1.3em;">72 Chelmsford Street, South Wentworthville: $1,325,000</a> 
</li>
</ul>
"With interest rates at historical low levels and lack of property on the market, March looks like continuing the current demand and competition for city apartments and family homes in the Parramatta district," it concluded.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Record prices for Parramatta and South Wentworthville as Ray White secure 100% February success rate

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Andrew Wilson, chief economist of the Domain Group, predicts Sydney's inner west will retain its boom sale conditions, along with the continued emergence of some real prestige suburbs such as Balmain East and Strathfield.
While some experts believe the growth is starting to push prices towards their limits, the Domain Group has selected 13 suburbs which it forecasts will record 15% plus house price growth during 2015.
They are:
<ul>
<li>Ashfield 
</li>
<li>Burwood Heights 
</li>
<li>Burwood 
</li>
<li>Cabarita 
</li>
<li>Camperdown 
</li>
<li>Canada Bay 
</li>
<li>Croydon Park 
</li>
<li>Five Dock 
</li>
<li>Homebush 
</li>
<li>Lilyfield 
</li>
<li>Mortlake 
</li>
<li>Petersham 
</li>
<li>Rozelle</li>
</ul>
The typical Sydney inner west suburb is tipped to secure 10-12% house price growth this year, with Dr Wilson tipping 7-10% dwelling price growth across Sydney.
Source: Domain Group
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The 13 Sydney suburbs with highest 2015 house price growth prospects: Fairfax Domain

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This week has seen two big house sales on either side of Sydney's Centennial Park.
There was $4.7 million paid for 55 Darley Road, Randwick North on Tuesday night. Then on Wednesday night Leppington, 42 Lang Road, Centennial Park (pictured above) sold for $6.2 million.
The Darley Road price was $500,000 beyond the previous highest sale price in this eastern park-side locale. It last sold at $1,952,500 in 2003.
"It really is a sellers’ market right now," BradfieldCleary selling agent Bob Guth advised.
The reserve was $5.7 million when auctioneer Damien Cooley secured the result for Leppington at its <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.raineandhorne.com.au/doublebaybondibeach/properties/383561" target="_blank">Raine &amp; Horne Double Bay</a> auction through agent Wayne Ihaka.
It is a 1906 home at 42 Lang Road on a 1,094 square metre directly opposite Centennial Park, a sandstone Federation manor with high Victorian design influences.
It last sold at $1,305,000 at 1995 auction, after 94 bids, to then Channel Nine solicitor James McLachlan and Veena Patel.
Recent price guidance came when Nick and Kathryn Greiner secured $6.25 million further along Lang Road.
Both Lang Road and Darley Road are heavily trafficked, but their proximity to the park underpins their buyer enthusiasm.
</body></html>

Big house sales on either side of Sydney's Centennial Park

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The New South Wales government has <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/powerhouse-museum-site-in-ultimo-to-be-sold-to-developers-20150226-13pn5o" target="_blank">announced</a> plans to sell off the Ultimo site of the Powerhouse Museum, part of the <a href="https://maas.museum/" target="_blank">Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences</a>, and use the money to fund a new museum in western Sydney. The last part is positive – the rest would be a mistake.
It is commendable that the government is proposing major cultural institutions in western Sydney, particularly in centres like Parramatta. As David Borger, Western Sydney director of the Sydney Business Chamber, has <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/comment/underinvestment-in-the-arts-is-holding-western-sydney-back-20150225-13ojss">argued</a> persuasively in The Sydney Morning Herald, there has been chronic underinvestment in the city’s populous west.
But to sell the Ultimo Powerhouse is wrong-headed – a mishmash of wedge politics and bad policy. Governments should understand that cities take decades and centuries to evolve, and that such rash decisions are at the expense of future generations.
A city of mistakes
As <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/powerhouse-museum-site-in-ultimo-to-be-sold-to-developers-20150226-13pn5o">reported</a>, the Ultimo site would go to developers for an optimistic A$200 million or so, most likely for apartments. However, the Powerhouse’s rare grandeur makes it manifestly unsuited to such a conversion. It’s ideal for its current purpose – as a major museum or other cultural institution.
To gut such a public asset would perpetuate recent blatant mistakes such as Darling Harbour and <a href="https://www.barangaroo.com/">Barangaroo</a>. In such characteristic parts of the city we need a balance of public and private. Yet increasingly government is missing in action, wantonly trading prized public places and forgoing the role civic elements play in intelligent city making.
Look at the smash-up at Darling Harbour. Why fashion a dumb, disposable city, where speculation is prioritised and where a slew of major public facilities are treated as discount commodities? As the best contemporary urban projects demonstrate, building a vibrant city balances economic decisions with thought-through cultural, social and environmental priorities.
For Sydney, Barangaroo represents the nadir. On 22 hectares of public land stretching along 1.2 kilometres of our city’s most available waterfront, the favoured developers have been gifted seemingly unfettered rights to build as they please. James Packer’s proposed <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/james-packers-barangaroo-casino-approval-one-of-the-fastest-in-history-chief-regulator-says-20140811-102qzt">tower</a>, stuffed with a hotel, casino and units, poses as the pinnacle of greed.
It should not have been like that. In our international competition-winning <a href="https://www.hillthalis.com.au/?id=39">design</a> for the Barangaroo site in 2006, we proposed that the entire foreshore be inalienable public parkland, linked to the city by a network of generous public streets and new public transport. But this plan was soon sold out by dubious ministers and their inept agencies, bent on promoting development interests at the public’s expense.
Get the balance right
People are attracted to places that mix public and private spaces and activities, a theme explored in our book <a href="https://www.hillthalis.com.au/index.php?id=114">Public Sydney</a>. Instead of the sterile concept of a CBD (central business district), the city centre is really our social heart, all the better for being a magnet for events and demonstrations, the centre of politics and religion, our most historic place and the epicentre of public transport. There’s plentiful research that supports culture’s role in making cities attractive places to be.
Too many government advisers dishearteningly lack public imagination – the ability to conceive and articulate engaging ideas to make a better life for all. Instead, a stymied agenda is held captive by cartels of self-interest that so dominate many aspects of life in Australia, be it the media, banks, airlines, supermarkets or infrastructure.
On urban issues, the real estate industry’s spivs and spruikers declaim that development drives all. But why let their spin profit at our expense? People make the city and it belongs to us – people involved in all modes of exchange, in living, walking, creating and visiting public places. Developers reap their benefits from places already teeming with life and enriched by public transport, institutions, spaces and natural beauty – that is, underpinned by public investment.
 
The Powerhouse Museum, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, belongs to a culture and science precinct in Ultimo.
Some suggest that the Museum’s Ultimo location is inconvenient. While Harris Street remains dominated by traffic, access is improving with the construction of the <a href="https://www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/sydney-Our_places_and_projects-Our_projects-The_Goods_Line.htm">Goods Line</a> pedestrian corridor and the extension of the nearby light rail line through the inner west.
There should be a great synergy of important institutions along Harris Street with the Powerhouse, the ABC, the University of Technology Sydney and the TAFE coming together to form a science, design, media and education precinct. Fantastic connections wait to be made between those institutions. Removing the museum would delete a crucial part of that grouping.
Couldn’t the museum be in both Parramatta and Ultimo? The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences <a href="https://maas.museum/about/">collection</a> has well over 500,000 objects, with only a fraction on display. Surely there’s enough material for an expanded Powerhouse with two genuine bases, each with its particular focus. After all, many such major institutions around the world occupy multiple sites in inventive ways.
Sell, sell, sell – why this obsession?
The major political parties seem wedded to an ideologically driven obsession to privatise public spaces – including the Powerhouse Museum site in Ultimo, other harbour-front sites, <a href="/news">Bridge Street’s</a> magnificent array of sandstone heritage buildings, public housing at <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/no-fancy-extensions-city-of-sydney-tells-new-millers-point-buyers-20141026-11a00v">Miller’s Point</a>. Such sales are peddled on the thinnest of short-term economic analyses, discounting the broader values of such assets over longer time frames.
Public assets are hard won and once sold, or leased, near-impossible to reclaim. Surely the well-documented unpopularity of asset sales is because the public intuitively understands that you don’t willingly flog your assets at bargain prices – rather, you patiently save for them. That attitude should prevail for unique treasures like the Ultimo Powerhouse.
Some in government seem to think that beautiful buildings on prime public land seem to be somehow wasted on us citizens, we who are the actual owners. But why vest the privileged parts of our city as playthings of the affluent, exclusive enclaves of high-priced consumption? We should instead proclaim our rights to the equitable, sustainable, democratic mix of the open city.
Philip Thalis is architecture faculty industry advisory group member at University of Newcastle.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>.
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Sydney risks becoming a dumb, disposable city for the rich

<html><body>
<div>With an 85.5% initial clearance rate, the red hot Sydney summer home auction market continued today despite it being a record volume for a February Saturday.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
Houses achieved a median price of $1.24 million while apartments sat at a $764,000 median.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Some 788 homes were scheduled to be offered under the hammer on 28 February, higher than last weekend’s 636 and the 665 conducted over the same weekend last year.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Andrew Wilson, the Domain Group senior economist said Sydney passed with "flying colours".</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The preliminary results covered 605 auctions.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>The top residential sale was $4.62 million for a contemporary home at Castle Hill through Belle Glebe. There was also the $4.64 million sale of an Ashfield block of nine two bedroom apartments through Elders Inner West agent Sebastian Bonaccorso.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The top auction offer, which was not accepted, was <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/property/for-sale/house/nsw/woollahra/?adid=2011731748" target="_blank">$6.25 million in Woollahra</a>, but that was less than the $6.5 million paid for the contemporary Holdsworth Street terrace in 2011, and highlighting all the Sydney print headlines of premium property recovery being premature. 
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It is among the terraces (above) previously occupied by the Holdsworth Gallery. It was the former Rothschild banking director Geoffrey Hodgkinson, a former assistant Reserve Bank governor, and his wife Tina who were the fortunate 2011 vendors securing the $6.5 million.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The city and east hosted the most number of auctions with 125 followed by the inner west with 119. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The most popular Sydney suburbs for auctions this weekend were Mosman and Maroubra each with 12 followed by Drummoyne 11, Randwick 10 and Epping, Surry Hills and Glebe each with eight auctions.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>There was a $1.72 million Chadwick Real Estate sale (below) at Epping, a 1940s house on 840 square metes which last sold in late 1994 at $350,000, reflecting 8% annual price growth.</div>
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<div>Last Saturday Sydney's clearance rate was adjusted to 83.1%, down from the preliminary near-record 84.6% result.</div>
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<div>TOP SALES ACROSS THE CAPITALS
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<table style="width: 605px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"><tbody align="left">
<tr id="ecxrpMostExpensive_trMostExpensiveRow_0">
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveCity_0" align="left">Sydney</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveLocation_0"> 54 Cammeray Road, Castle Cove, 5br House, Belle Glebe</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveSold_0"> $4.62m</td>
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<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveCity_1" align="left">Melbourne</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveLocation_1">136 Page St, Middle Park VIC 3206, 4 br House, Cayzer Real Estate</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveSold_1">$5,500,000</td>
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<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveCity_2" align="left">Adelaide</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveLocation_2">8 Netley Av, Lockleys SA 5032, 3 br House, Ouwens Casserly</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveSold_2">$910,000</td>
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<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveCity_3" align="left">Brisbane</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveLocation_3">89 Towers St, Ascot QLD 4007, 4 br House, RW - New Farm</td>
<td id="ecxrpMostExpensive_tdMostExpensiveSold_3">$1,496,000</td>
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Source: Australian Property Monitors
One of the weekend buyers was the Channel 10 Shark Tank series presenter Sarah Harris and husband Tom Ward, an IT professional, who paid $2,175,000 for a contemporary Cremorne semi, paying $75,000 above the reserve price.
APM incorrectly noted the weekend's top sale, which prompted an update to the article.
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An 85.5% success rate for Sydney's first 2015 Super Saturday

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The buyers' agent Richard Wakelin has suggested the potential policy levers could be pulled that could be used to temper the Sydney property boom.
1) The NSW government could hike stamp duty.
2) The NSW government could reduce first-home buyer grants to dampen demand.
3) The supply of new property could be improved through reducing infrastructure charges levied on developers.
4) Government could heavily tax land-bankers, adopting a solution used in recent times by the Chinese government.
5) Councils could reduce the red tape around planning and redeployment of vacant sites.
6) Macro prudential policy could also be tailored such that banks have to observe tighter lending rules in Sydney than elsewhere in the country.
"Of course, many of these actions would be unpopular in certain quarters and others would have undesirable consequences," Richard Wakelin told The Australian Financial Review.
"For instance, a lax planning regime would likely exacerbate an acute issue.
"Moreover, to work, these policy prescriptions would require an as-yet unseen degree of coordination between the various levels of Australian governments.
"That is clearly unlikely, particularly in the lead-up to a NSW state election.
"But this more holistic approach is perhaps something for the future," he suggested.
{mijopolls 94}
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Six solutions to cool the Sydney property market boom

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Economist Paul Bloxham is worried about the Sydney property market.
Speaking at the Australian Mortgage Innovation Summit, HSBC’s chief economist, Paul Bloxham, said the only housing market that the RBA and APRA needed to be cautious of was Sydney.  "In Sydney, this is going to be quite a challenge.
"The rest of the market doesn’t look over inflated. 
"I don’t think there is a housing bubble in Australia. 
"I think that if Sydney sees the same trends as we have seen over the last year or two, that is house prices is running at an annual inflation rate of 13% year on year, then if that continues for very much longer than you will need to see prices at some point will come down.”
The summit was hosted by Asia-Pacific Banking &amp; Finance, and reported on by <a href="https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/economist-doubts-macroprudential-tools-will-cool-off-housing-197298.aspx" target="_blank">Australian Broker Online</a>.
Bloxham said the Reserve Bank should follow New Zealand's macro-prudential policies, in the form of LVR caps. “Those tools were effective for a very short period of time, but then the RBNZ followed up with lifting interest rates,” he said.  “We had the RBNZ lift interest rates by 100bps last year between March and July. It was really probably that lift in interest rates that was the main thing that kept the housing market contained in the end.”
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No Australian housing bubble, but watch Sydney: HSBC's Paul Bloxham

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An Ashfield, Sydney boarding house fetched $2,555,000 at auction, reflecting a 5.75% rental yield.
It sold through <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/real-estate-agent/Con-LaSpina-1082844">Con La Spina</a> at Elders Inner West-Ashfield.
It is currently a 10 room boarding house returning $146,000 per annum.
There are approvals to extend it to 19 rooms.
"And potentially more than double the return," Con La Spina said.
The Victorian era home sits on a 727 square metre block with train station and bus services nearby.  
"This grand Victorian money spinner offered high income, low vacancy and plenty of potential," the marketing said.
The 30 Chandos Street offering sold at $1.7 million in 2011.
It sold this time to an investor whose family owns another boarding house in the area.
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Ashfield boarding house sells for $2,555,000 at auction

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The Australian National Maritime Museum has unveiled its Warships Pavilion at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME).
<a href="https://www.anmm.gov.au/about-us/warships-pavilion" target="_blank">The new venue</a> will be positioned alongside ex-Navy destroyer HMAS Vampire and submarine HMAS Onslow.
<img src="/images/2015/02/25/sydney-feb-25-on.jpg" alt="">
It will have function spaces, including an outdoor rooftop along with a cinematic experience.
It is due for completion in September 2015.
The Australian National Maritime Museum is building the state-of-the-art Warships (Royal Australian Navy) Pavilion to mark the centenary of World War I and commemorate 100 years of submarine and surface service by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
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Sydney Harbour to get warships pavilion

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It was yet another stunning result at weekend auctions when an initial 84.6% success rate was secured by Sydney vendors, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM).
The sizzling clearance rate was just below last year’s all-time record result of 86%, recorded coincidentally over the same weekend, said the senior economist at APM Andrew Wilson.
Some 636 homes were listed to go under the hammer on Saturday, which was well ahead of the previous Saturday’s 455 auctions, when the revised rate sat at 80.5%.
It was the third week above 80% on the weekend.    
Sydney’s inner city regions recorded a combined 90.6% clearance rate with almost half of all auction sales.
The city and east reported the highest regional clearance rate on Saturday with 92.5%.
The next best was the inner west with 91.2% with the highest sales reported at 93, followed by the lower north 85.7%, the upper north shore 84.2%, the northern beaches 82.5%, the south 81.8%, the west 80%, Canterbury Bankstown 76.7% and the north west 70.6%.
The central coast ranked weakest with a 54% clearance rate on Saturday.
The most expensive property reported sold was a five bedroom, tri-level home at <a href="https://www.clarkeandhumel.com.au/3032030/10-carrington-parade-freshwater" target="_blank">10 Carrington Parade, Freshwater </a>that sold for $3,750,000 through Clarke and Humel Property. There were seven registered bidders, four of whom got to lodge bids.
<img src="/images/2015/02/23/freshwater%20feb%2023%20one.jpg" alt="">
On its 2008 completion it was noted the architects, Gartner Trovato, maximised what one can do with the site. It last sold as is in 2012 at $3.01 million through Clarke.
The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a studio apartment at Coronation Inn, when 103/284 Pacific Highway, Greenwich sold for $308,000 by Urbane Inner West.
<img src="/images/2015/02/23/greenwich%20feb%2023%20one.jpg" alt="">
It was recently available at $320 a week, but the agency says <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-studio-nsw-greenwich-118887747" target="_blank">$350 a week was achievable</a>.
However CoreLogic RP Data records show $350 was unsuccessfully sought earlier this year for the 30 square metre studio plus 16 square metre car space. It's $308,000 sale price reflected a 5.4% yield.
The first Super Saturday of the year arrives with 800 homes scheduled to go under the hammer next weekend.
"Sydney’s feeding frenzy for home buyers shows no sign of diminishing," Wilson said.
Saturday's 636 offering was down 20% on the same time last year, with next weekend's 800 offerings 20% up, according to APM.
{mijopolls 91}
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