<p>One of North Sydney's best-known commercial buildings could become hundreds of new homes, with insurance giant Zurich Australia lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to transform 5 Blue Street into a mixed-use residential development above North Sydney Station.</p>

<p>Rather than demolishing the existing building and starting again, Zurich is proposing an adaptive reuse project that would convert the landmark office building into a 15-level residential development delivering 62 apartments, 86 affordable co-living dwellings, activated retail and significant upgrades to the Blue Street Plaza.</p>

<p>The proposal reflects a growing trend of commercial property owners repositioning ageing office assets into residential housing as Sydney grapples with housing supply shortages and changing workplace demand.</p>

<p><img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0bba7d12-06dc-4375-aad7-238c94b21ac5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.42.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=NJl5oLAEBDGuPmY3RnyliKODjMc8lvRh" /></p>

<p>Located directly above North Sydney Metro and train station, the 3,051 sqm site occupies one of the most strategically positioned parcels of land on Sydney's Lower North Shore.</p>

<p>Designed by fjcstudio, the proposal seeks to retain and adapt much of the existing structure while creating a contemporary residential address that better connects with the public domain surrounding North Sydney Station.</p>

<p>The application proposes two basement levels, ground floor retail, affordable co-living accommodation across the podium levels, and apartments above, while preserving and enhancing the publicly accessible Blue Street Plaza.</p>

<p>Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.</p>

<p>The proposal includes 62 build-to-sell apartments comprising 12 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom apartments and two premium penthouses. It also incorporates 86 affordable co-living dwellings, which would be managed in perpetuity by a Community Housing Provider.</p>

<p>That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.</p>

<p>The proposal has been lodged concurrently with a rezoning application, with Zurich arguing the site is ideally positioned to support additional housing given its immediate proximity to public transport, employment and services.</p>

<p>"The proposal aims to respond to the housing challenges facing Sydney through the delivery of diverse housing types in a highly accessible location," the design report by fjcstudio states. It also seeks to improve pedestrian amenity through upgrades to Blue Street Plaza while creating a high-performing residential building that responds to the surrounding context.</p>

<p><img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36082e15-c636-4481-bb68-5a5f6443fe39" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.41.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=5P6VD.fvmqjQfIG3TWWMRXxQWiQBjeFB" /></p>

<p>Rather than replacing the commercial building, fjcstudio has developed a design that works with the existing structural framework above the rail corridor, an approach that significantly reduces demolition while allowing the site to be repositioned as a mixed-use residential precinct.</p>

<p>The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.</p>

<p>The building has been designed as a slender tower rising above a clearly defined podium, with vertically expressed façades intended to reduce the perceived bulk while reinforcing North Sydney's emerging skyline.</p>

<p>According to fjcstudio, the architectural language responds directly to the surrounding commercial towers while maintaining a finer grain expression more closely aligned with the neighbouring Lavender Bay streetscape.</p>

<p>The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.</p>

<p>A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.</p>

<p>The existing public space has long served as one of the primary pedestrian connections between North Sydney Station, Greenwood Plaza and Blue Street, yet its role is expected to become even more important following the opening of Sydney Metro.</p>

<p>Zurich's proposal seeks to strengthen that role by improving landscaping, introducing new retail frontages, enhancing pedestrian permeability and creating more active edges throughout the day and evening.</p>

<p>Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.</p>

<p>Landscape design has been integrated throughout the podium and public realm, softening what is currently one of the most heavily urbanised parts of North Sydney.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.</p>

<p>Large framed openings along the western elevation maximise harbour outlooks, while the eastern apartments have been angled towards the south-east to improve privacy from neighbouring development.</p>

<p>The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.</p>

<p>Since the completion of Victoria Cross Metro Station, developers have increasingly shifted their attention towards residential projects capable of leveraging the area's unparalleled transport connectivity.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>FiveX recently lodged plans for a 61-storey, 490-apartment tower that would become one of the tallest residential buildings in North Sydney if approved.</p>

<p>Aqualand continues to expand its Lower North Shore presence following the completion of AURA on Walker Street and its recent St Leonards and Roseville proposals.</p>

<p>Developers are also progressing projects throughout Walker Street, Miller Street and the Victoria Cross precinct as demand for well-located owner-occupier apartments continues to strengthen.</p>


Joel Robinson

First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station

<p>Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.</p>

<p>The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.</p>

<p>The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.</p>

<p>The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.</p>

<p><img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" /></p>

<p>The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;</p>

<p>PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.</p>

<p>The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.</p>

<p>Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.</p>

<p>"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.</p>

<p>Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.</p>

<p>A major focus of the design has been the public domain.</p>

<p>The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.</p>

<p>The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.</p>

<p data-end="239" data-start="66">Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.</p>

<p data-end="442" data-start="241">Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.</p>

<p data-end="661" data-start="444">Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.</p>

<p data-end="909" data-start="663">Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.</p>

<p><em>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a></em></p>

<p data-end="1339" data-start="1019">Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.</p>

<p data-end="1339" data-start="1019">[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]</p>

<p data-end="1398" data-start="1341">It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.</p>

<p data-end="1805" data-start="1400">Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.</p>

<p data-end="1805" data-start="1400">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]</p>

<p data-end="1991" data-start="1807">The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.</p>

<p data-end="2303" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="1993">Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.</p>

<p><em>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a></em></p>

<p><em>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a></em><br />
&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>


First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

<p data-end="492" data-start="327">Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.</p>

<p data-end="843" data-start="497">At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.</p>

<p data-end="1109" data-start="848">The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.</p>

<p data-end="1109" data-start="848">[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]</p>

<p>Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.</p>

<p>The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.</p>

<p>"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]</p>

<p>The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.</p>

<p>The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]</p>

<p>Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.</p>

<p>Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]</p>

<p>The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.</p>

<p>The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.</p>

<p>The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.</p>

<p>"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.</p>

<p>"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."</p>

<p>Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]</p>


Otello launches wellness-focused Flowe Bowden with Adelaide-first mass timber apartment design

<p>Not all apartment amenities are immediately visible.</p>

<p>Swimming pools, gyms, rooftop terraces and residents' lounges have long featured on buyers' wishlists, but as the way Australians live has changed, so too have the features that make apartment living more convenient.</p>

<p>Increasingly, buyers are placing value on the practical aspects of day-to-day life. Fast internet, EV charging, secure bike storage, flexible workspaces and parcel management are becoming just as relevant as lifestyle amenities, reflecting changing habits and expectations.</p>

<p>Online shopping has been one of the biggest drivers of that shift.</p>

<p>Australians spent a record $82.6 billion shopping online in 2025, with almost one in every four retail dollars now spent digitally, making parcel deliveries a routine part of everyday life rather than an occasional convenience.</p>

<p>For apartment residents, however, receiving those deliveries isn't always straightforward.</p>

<p>Without someone home to accept a parcel, deliveries can be redirected to a nearby Post Office, left in building foyers or common areas, or require building management to temporarily store packages. As apartment living continues to grow across Australia's cities, parcel management has become an increasingly important consideration for both residents and developers.</p>

<p>Australia Post's Parcel Locker network is one response to that shift.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPZ9j5FRdsQ?si=Qztc1dNP3ZvEIUhb" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Rather than relying on home delivery, eligible parcels can be directed to a nominated Parcel Locker, where they're securely stored until collected. Once a parcel arrives, residents receive a notification through the AusPost app or SMS and can retrieve it using a one-time code or QR code at a time that suits them.</p>

<p>The network has expanded to more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with Parcel Lockers positioned at Post Offices, shopping centres, supermarkets, transport hubs and, increasingly, within or alongside residential developments.</p>

<p>That growing presence reflects a broader change in how apartment buildings are being planned.</p>

<p>Developers are increasingly considering the operational side of apartment living alongside traditional lifestyle amenities. Just as secure mailrooms, bicycle storage and EV charging have become more common inclusions, parcel management is emerging as another feature that supports everyday convenience.</p>

<p>It also helps preserve the arrival experience within a building. Carefully designed lobbies and communal spaces can quickly become cluttered when deliveries accumulate, while secure parcel solutions reduce the likelihood of missed deliveries or parcels being left unattended.</p>

<p>For buyers comparing apartments, these everyday details are becoming part of the decision-making process.</p>

<p>Location, floorplans and finishes remain fundamental, but the features that simplify daily life are carrying greater weight than they once did. As online shopping continues to shape consumer behaviour, secure parcel delivery is increasingly becoming another amenity worth looking for.</p>


Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

<p data-end="471" data-start="164">Inca Property Group has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Dawn, a 53-apartment oceanfront development overlooking Mona Vale Beach.</p>

<p data-end="777" data-start="473">The proposal, at 35-39 Darley Street East, would replace an existing 18-apartment strata building with a new owner-occupier-focused development comprising 53 two and three-bedroom apartments, including nine affordable built-to-rent residences delivered under the State's infill affordable housing scheme.</p>

<p data-end="976" data-start="779">Positioned on a 2,679 sqm elevated site around 280 metres from Mona Vale Beach, the development has been designed to maximise panoramic ocean views while responding to the site's sloping topography.</p>

<p data-end="1119" data-start="978"><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/inca-property-group">Inca Property Group</a> Managing Director Josh Thompson said the State Significant pathway provided greater certainty for projects of this scale.</p>

<p data-end="1399" data-start="1121">"This State Significant pathway gives the team real certainty to progress <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/dawn-35-39-darley-street-east-mona-vale-nsw-2103">Dawn</a> through to completion," Thompson said.</p>

<p data-end="1399" data-start="1121">"It allows us to acquire a one-off site, design it carefully and deliver the right offering for the suburb, assessed by the NSW Government's planning department."</p>

<p data-end="1605" data-start="1401">The project is one of the first developments in the area to be assessed under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy, with the site sitting on the edge of the policy's designated inner area.</p>

<p data-end="1852" data-start="1607">The proposal includes three basement levels providing 124 car spaces, alongside a range of resident amenities including a swimming pool, gym, sauna, wellness facilities and private plunge pools for selected ground-floor and penthouse apartments.</p>

<p data-end="1852" data-start="1607"><img alt="Dawn" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fc1a1daf-0ce4-4f12-9076-b1fa553c7a91" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-21%20at%208.42.11%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4GZ9h.gpNkTljbxyAET8Jfhv51XUamDm" /></p>

<p data-end="2031" data-start="1854">Thompson said Dawn had been designed specifically for owner-occupiers and downsizers, a buyer profile that has driven demand across Inca's recent Upper North Shore developments.</p>

<p data-end="2299" data-start="2033">"The majority of buyers in our recent North Shore projects have been downsizers, and we are learning exactly what this market is looking for. Beyond the location itself, we have included resort-style amenities to deliver a genuine lifestyle offering," Thompson said.</p>

<p data-end="2588" data-start="2301">Located within walking distance of Mona Vale Beach, the town centre, Mona Vale Golf Club and the Royal Motor Yacht Club, Dawn represents Inca's first Northern Beaches project following the sell-out of Tara on Park in Waitara and Ellis Residences, currently under construction in St Ives.</p>

<p data-end="4143" data-start="3991">Construction will be undertaken by Inca's in-house construction arm, GOP Constructions.</p>

<p data-end="593" data-start="417">Dawn is the latest major apartment proposal for Mona Vale, with the suburb emerging as one of the key beneficiaries of the NSW Government's new Low and Mid-Rise Housing policy.</p>

<p data-end="789" data-start="598">New developer One Living, led by industry veteran Joseph Scuderi, recently secured a site on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, where it is planning around 140 apartments.</p>

<p data-end="1053" data-start="794">IPM is also planning its third project in Mona Vale, significantly increasing the scale of its previous developments with an 82-apartment proposal at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/159-167-darley-street-west-mona-vale-nsw-2103">159-167 Darley Street West</a>, opposite Bayview Golf Course and less than 800 metres from Mona Vale town centre.</p>

<p data-end="4143" data-start="3991"><em>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/one-living-enters-sydneys-new-apartment-market-with-northern-beaches-site-acquisition">One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition</a></em></p>

<p data-end="4143" data-start="3991"><em>Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-ipm-plans-third-mona-vale-project">First look: IPM plans third Mona Vale project</a></em></p>


First look: Inca eyes Mona Vale with State Significant DA for Dawn apartments

Chinese Buyers

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<p>Australia's biggest property developer Harry Triguboff says Sydney's apartment boom had relied too much on Chinese buyers.</p>
<p>"We depend too much on Chinese purchasers," the Meriton boss said in a letter emailed last month to local Sydney estate agents.</p>
<p>"Foreigners must only be an additional bonus," said the veteran who has overseen the construction of more than 75,000 residential dwellings over the past six decades.</p>
<p>"I don't want us also to depend on high priced foreign lenders to provide the finance instead of our banks."</p>
<p>"We must stand on our own two feet," he said adding this independence was "far away".</p>
<p>"We will have stability," he said when Australia depends on itself.</p>
<p>Triguboff concedes the Chinese played a big part in pushing the property prices up, and says even in the current reduced turnover were still significant buyers.</p>
<p>On the price front Triguboff says "the rapid price fall is slowing down, maybe completely stopped".</p>
<p>"We will only know later," he indicated.</p>
<p>He says everything must be done to ensure that property prices don't drop any further.</p>
<p>"They should rise otherwise, no one will build," he warned.</p>
<p>"If prices fall the economy suffers."</p>
<p>The developer, who employs 898 staff, was motivated to send the letter to estate agents with a desire to generate sales amid negative media headlines.</p>
<p>"We are all talking about Reserve Bank lowering interest rates, but that is only a minor matter.</p>
<p>"Banks must lend, but they do not because they are afraid.</p>
<p>"Now that we have shown where they were wrong (at the Royal Commission), we must encourage them to lend, and use their discretion." </p>
<p>The optimist developer says young buyers face a wide choice.</p>
<p>"There's no dreadful hurry ...it's not going to jump up tomorrow."</p>
<p>He said Sydney's planning system must also change.</p>
<p>"A lot of the costs are because of the planning system," he said. </p>
<p>Ahead of the declining property market, the apartment king posted after tax profits of $384 million in the financial year ending June 2017, according to Meriton's latest annual return which was lodged last month.</p>
<p>The $384 million profit was up from the $230 million profits Meriton saw in 2016.</p>
<p>There was $1.7 billion in revenue.</p>
<p>He said buyers and renters "flocked" to new apartment blocks.</p>
<p>"The old blocks with few facilities and in the wrong places will suffer.</p>
<p>"Some of our leaders think that people suffer when we build units.</p>
<p>"That is nonsense. </p>
<p>"We see even councils who were against units now trying to allow high rise because they are left behind. </p>
<p>"We must remember the demand for housing is great," said Triguboff who founded the company in 1963.</p>
<p>He says his was not unduly concerned about the low sales turnover in the short term.</p>
<p>"It is so easy for me to lease," he told Channel 9 finance editor Ross Grenwood.</p>
<p>"I'm not buying any land," he added.</p>
<p>He warned if the State Government refused to fix the planning department and the banks didn't lend that construction would stop.</p>
<p>"And prices will rise because of a lack of supply," he forecast.</p>
<p><em>This article first appeared in </em>The Daily Telegraph. </p>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Harry Triguboff says apartment boom relied too much on Chinese buyers

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<p>A five-level Melbourne CBD office and retail building has sold for $11.98 million to a Chinese investor who beat out several local and off-shore groups.</p>
<p>Savills Australia’s Clinton Baxter, Ming Li and Jesse Radisich negotiated the deal for 26-32 King Street on a tight yield of 2.9 per cent on behalf of a local private investor. </p>
<p>“The scarcity of Melbourne CBD properties on the market, particularly below $20 million, is apparent among active buyers, resulting in significant pent-up demand,” Mr Baxter said.</p>
<p>The property, a retail and office building of about 1,200 sqm, on a landholding of about 304 sqm, is leased to multiple tenants, including a 7-Eleven on the ground level, and returns a net rental of $352,000 per annum.</p>
<p>“The buyer was seeking to secure a prime CBD asset for long-term capital growth, and this sale demonstrates the strong market appetite for premium properties generating solid income within the CBD,” Mr Baxter said.</p>
<p>The property last traded for $5.1million at a Savills auction in 2010, and has grown in value by 135 per cent over just eight years.</p>
<p>Mr Li said that despite recent media reports of a withdrawal of Chinese money from the Melbourne market, Savills was “actually experiencing an uptick in capital from Asia seeking prime commercial assets”.</p>
<p>“We have Asia-based clients actively seeking all forms of CBD and inner-metropolitan commercial assets,” he said.</p>
<p>The Australian Financial Review reported <span>Rialto Tower co-owner </span><span>Lorenz Grollo was an underbidder.</span></p>
<p><span>The property is<span> across the road from the Rialto tower. </span><cite><br></cite></span></p>
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Savills sells Melbourne CBD office building to Chinese investor

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<p class="description">Chatswood is the second highest buyer destination of Chinese property investors in Sydney, although Juwai.com’s director Carrie Law says Chinese investors have been turning away from Sydney real estate.</p>
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<p>The Golden Week of celebrations, a popular Chinese holiday when China-based buyers have traditionally visited Australia to purchase new housing en masse, proved quieter than normal.</p>
<p>“We still (saw) some transactions, but it’s not the free-for-all of past years,” Ms Law said.</p>
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<p class="caption">The Sydney CBD has been the most popular area for Chinese buyers.</p>
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<p>Chinese buyers made six per cent fewer inquiries than in the previous quarter and nine per cent fewer inquiries than over the same period last year, according to Juwai data.</p>
<p>The five most popular suburbs for China-based buyers over the past year were the Sydney CBD, Chatswood, Parramatta, Olympic Park and Edmondson Park.</p>
<p>The year before that, north shore suburb Castlecrag was the most popular, followed by the Sydney CBD, Marsden Park, Pyrmont and Ryde.</p>
<p>The Juwai data coincides with a new report that overall Chinese investment into Australia slumped 40 per cent last year, twice the drop worldwide, according the Australian National University, supported by Treasury and with input from the Reserve Bank of Australia.</p>
<p>The report shows Chinese commercial investment peaked in 2016 at $14.9 billion, before falling to $8.9 billion last year.</p>
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="9551" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-recent-on-screen-7770372_137="18556" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">"This is an unusual drop in Chinese investment into Australia," the project's leader Peter Drysdale, who heads the Asian Bureau of Economic Research at ANU told The Australian Financial Review.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="9551" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-recent-on-screen-7770372_137="18556" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">He noted the decrease was significantly larger than the 19.3 per cent fall in China's worldwide foreign direct investment.</p>
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<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<p>The database shows $40.4 billion of Chinese money made its way into Australia over the past four years, via 262 transactions.</p>
<p>Last year, the mining sector still accounted for the biggest proportion, making up just over half of the total value of transactions. However, its share has fallen since 2014 as other sectors such as health care and financial technology are starting to attract interest from Chinese buyers.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="11556" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="1900">"There has been a significant diversification of Chinese investment in Australia," said Professor Drysdale.</p>
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Sydney apartment suburbs rank as most popular Chinese property investor destinations

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<div><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/3_StockBreakouts/ResizedImages/China-Flag-Optim.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

免费电子书：软着陆还是崩盘？接下来的房价会是多少？

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<p>A Chinese investor has fought off a number of local rivals to secure a Hawthorn office building for $9.85 million.</p>
<p>It was on a tight 4.78% yield through CBRE.</p>
<p>Some four parties put in 108 bids as the price raced past the former record to post a new building rate record for the area of $13,979 a square metre.</p>
<p>The previous record had been the $10,578 a square metre paid for 1 Oxley Road in May. </p>
<p>Located directly across the road from Swinburne University, the recently refurbished 500 Burwood Road property comprises 714 square metres of office space over two levels on a 1998 square metre site, including 21 car spaces and rear access.</p>
<p>It was sold fully leased to long standing tenant, Australian design and construction company Qanstruct, on an eight year lease at gross annual rental of $500,000.</p>
<p>The former Congregational Church proved to be a big attraction for the successful buyer.</p>
<p>The vendor was Qanstruct MD Mark Ruff.</p>
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Chinese buyer pays $9.85 million for Hawthorn office

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<p><span class="Apple-converted-space">Chinese buyers of Australian real estate spent US$6.4 billion less in 2017 than they did in 2016, according to J</span>uwai.com’s Chinese Global Property Investment report.</p>
<div>Chinese purchased US$17.4 billion on Australian real estate in 2017, well down on the 2016 total estimate of US$24 billion.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>New Zealand saw US$1 billion in investment.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The total Australia and New Zealand investment combined was down 23 percent from 2016.</div>
<div> 
<div>Carrie Law, CEO and director of Chinese international real estate website<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Juwai.com said that capital controls, restrictions on bank financing to offshore buyers, and new foreign buyer taxes and restrictions all served to reduce Chinese investment last year.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"This year we expect moderate growth, which is in line with Beijing’s goal of managed, rational overseas investment," Law said.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“Despite the higher stamp duties, Chinese still see Australia as a long-term value," Law noted.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/9/11/region1.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
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<div> </div>
<div><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/2018/9/11/region1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>"The majority of our residential buyers are purchasing for their own use, because they have children studying or working here, or because they plan to visit regularly or to retire here.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"Australia offers a table environment, safety, quality educational institutions, and high quality of life. Both Sydney and Melbourne rank in the top five most liveable cities in the world.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“In the first half, the most popular Australian cities for Chinese buyers were Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, and Perth.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Juwai found US$14.1 billion of the $US17.4 billion spent my Chinese in Australia in 2017 was on residential acquisitions. Commercial sales totalled US$3.3 billion.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>“Sources like KPMG suggest that Chinese commercial real estate investment accounts for one-third of all Chinese corporate direct investment in the country.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"Political tensions between the two countries have a greater impact in creating uncertainty with corporate commercial real estate investors than they do with individual investors buying residential property for their own use.”</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Globally, total Chinese investment in commercial and residential property hit US$119.7 billion, up 16.1% from the US$101.4 billion reported by Juwai in 2016. </div>
<div> </div>
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Chinese property purchasing in Australia down 27 percent in 2017: Juwai 

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<p>A Chinese developer has beaten out the competition with a near $100 million offer for a former apple orchard in Wantirna South, in Melbourne's east.</p>
<p>The family owned Jenkins Orchards site at <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/for-sale/in-wantirna+south,+vic+3152/list-1?autoSuggest=true" target="_blank">1201-1211 High Street Road</a> was sold by Savills.</p>
<p>Nan Xin Investment secured the 15ha site.</p>
<p>The sale comes on the back of the success of nearby residential projects including Wantirna Rise, where all 113 residential lots sold in one day, and Mirvac's $450million, 906-lot Harcrest development of the former Brickworks site.</p>
<p>Savills Australia's Nick Peden described it as "the most significant Melbourne metropolitan landholding to be offered to the market in recent years."</p>
<p>The site was zoned for high-density residential projects of up to five levels, according to Savills agent Jesse Radisich.</p>
<p>The agency ran a four-week campaign with a price guide above $90 million.</p>
<p>The property was purchased in 1922 by the Jenkins family, who ran an orchard that produced apple cider.</p>
<p>It had a fruit and vegetable shop at the site.</p>
<p>Nan Xin Investment is involved in other projects in Victoria including a luxury mixed-use project called Galleria in Glen Waverley.</p>
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$90 million plus Wantirna South apple orchard holding sold through Savills

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<div id="story-description">
<p class="selectionShareable">A lot of Chinese buyers lost their 10 per cent apartment deposits last year.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">"That was the worst time,” the Merton boss Harry Tribuboff told The Australian noting the trend had dissipated, but interest from Chinese buyers was still slow.</p>
</div>
<p class="selectionShareable">Tribuboff confirmed Chinese buyers were “very important to our segment of the market”.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">“It is very important not to find new reasons for raising their costs,” he said.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">Triguboff didn't specify the extent but said it was a "lot" of Chinese buyers. </p>
<div id="story-description">
<p class="selectionShareable">Apartment prices in Sydney had fallen 15 per cent since early last year and were still weakening, but settling down, according to billionaire developer.</p>
</div>
<p class="selectionShareable">He suggests there is no bust coming.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">Last year Harry Triguboff, Australia’s biggest apartment owner and developer, was offering his buyers free stamp duty.</p>
<p class="selectionShareable">It applied to local and overseas buyers, but excluded foreign person surcharge purchaser duty and additional foreign acquirer duty.</p>
<p>Robert Gottliebsen, writing in The Australian, indicated the initial reaction to the offer had been from overseas Chinese who were embracing the finance offer.</p>
<p> </p>
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As prices fall 15%, Harry Triguboff confirms Chinese apartment buyers lost their 10 percent deposits 

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<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<p>Sydney-based developer Ceerose said the absence of foreign buyers had left it with unsold apartments.</p>
<p>Chinese buyers, including many local Chinese Australians with capital from mainland China, accounted in good times for up to half of Ceerose's clientele, the Australian Financial Review noted.</p>
<p>"This year the market's hit the handbrake," Ceerose director Edward Doueihi said.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="66719" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">"It's really affected us.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="66719" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">"We've taken our developments off the market now. We've stopped marketing. We've stopped buying sites. In Sydney it's very negative."</p>
<p>He was now renting 100 of his unsold apartments across Sydney's inner west, north shore and the CBD.</p>
</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-media section">"We're holding a lot of stock," he said. "We just rent them out now. We can't move them."</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-media section"> </div>
<div class="cq-article-content-media section">Doueihi said the role landlord was not one he'd traditionally played.</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-media section">
<p>Donehi noted a further complication was a simultaneous slowdown in the sales and rental markets.</p>
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<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="90738" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">Doueihi added the weaker rental market meant his average rent across one, two and three-bedroom apartments was $650 per week, about $50 less than landlord investors secured a year ago.</p>
<p data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-7770372_137="90738" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-7770372_137="4000" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-7770372_137="1">His units were all occupied, but it had taken an average six weeks.</p>
<p>"I've never seen markets in 32 years that the rental market's been affected and the residential sales have been affected," he said.</p>
<p>"It's scary."</p>
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Ceerose become landlords after Sydney apartment sales slowdown

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<p>Official FIRB data has confirmed a collapse in approvals for foreign investment in Australia’s housing market.</p>
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<p>The Foreign Investment Review Board’s annual report reveals a 67 per cent fall in residential real estate approvals last financial year — down from 40,149 approvals to just 13,198 approvals.</p>
<p>The value of FIRB approvals fell from $72.4 billion to $25.2 billion in fiscal 2017.</p>
<p>The large numbers of residential foreign buyers from the boom of 2012-17 are unlikely to be repeated, a UBS report tips.</p>
<p>During 2016–17, 1,669 residential real estate compliance cases were identified for investigation (down from 2,104 cases in 2015-16). Of these, 1,409 investigations were completed (1,637 in 2015–16), which identified 549 properties acquired in breach of Australia’s foreign investment rules (up from 260). There were 96 residential properties divested by foreign persons (up from 54 in 2015–16) totalling nearly $97 million.</p>
<p>Victoria is the most popular state for residential real estate approvals, followed by New South Wales, with these two states accounting for 73% of all such approvals.</p>
<p>Queensland accounts for 18%, Western Australia for 5%, South Australia for 3%, and the Australian Capital Territory for 1%.</p>
<p>Chinese investors were again the largest source of foreign investment approvals by both value ($38.9 billion) and number (9,714) in 2016–17.  </p>
<p>China continued to be the largest source of foreign investment associated with approvals for residential real estate.</p>
</div>
<p>Carrie Law, CEO and Director of Juwai.com, the No. 1 Chinese international real estate website and the exclusive international real estate partner to Chinese online giant Tencent, said the period saw half years "like night and day" in terms of Chinese investment.</p>
<p>"In the second half of 2016, Chinese investment were investing in Australian real estate at an almost irrational pace.</p>
<p>"It was like money falling from heaven for vendors and developers.</p>
<p>"In early 2017, capital controls, financing restrictions, and foreign buyer taxes reduced Chinese investment to more reasonable levels," Law suggested.</p>
<p> “Since November 2017, we seem to have entered a period of more sustainable long-term growth. Chinese buying enquiries for Australian property in March were 5.7% higher than the month before and in Aprilthey were 22.3% higher.</p>
<p><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/2018/5/30/Chinese%20Top%20Cities%20Juwai.jpg" alt=""> </p>
<p>Law added that China’s capital controls have worked.</p>
<p>Today, China’s foreign reserves are up, the Yuan is stronger, the flow" of money out of the country has been reduced, and fears of a devaluation have virtually disappeared.</p>
<p>"But they have succeeded without having to make it impossible for ordinary Chinese families to buy property overseas."</p>
<p>Recent research reports that a majority of Chinese households intend to increase their offshore investments in the coming two years, with real estate the asset class most favoured by outbound investors.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><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/2018/5/30/Chinese%20share%20by%20year%20Juwai.jpg" alt=""> </p>
<p>“The big declines are partly due to lower demand, and mostly due to the changed application fees.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/30/FIRB%20summary%20Juwai.jpg" target="_blank">Click here</a> to enlarge:</p>
<p><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/2018/5/30/FIRB%20summary%20Juwai.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p> Considering just commercial real estate investment from all nations, approvals dropped from $50 billion to $44 billion.</p>
<p>The FIRB reports that one reason for the decrease in approvals for commercial property is that under the new China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, Chinese investors no longer need request investment approval before purchasing developed commercial property worth less than $1.094 billion. </p>
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