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.

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.

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.

<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" />

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.

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.

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.

Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.

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.

That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.

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.

"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.

<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" />

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.

The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.

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.

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.

The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.

A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.

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.

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.

Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.

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.

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fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.

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.

The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

Joel Robinson

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

<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" />

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;

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.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"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.

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.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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>

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]

It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]

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.

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.

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>

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> 
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First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

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.

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]

Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

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.

"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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

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.

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.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

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.

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.

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.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

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.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

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

Not all apartment amenities are immediately visible.

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.

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.

Online shopping has been one of the biggest drivers of that shift.

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.

For apartment residents, however, receiving those deliveries isn't always straightforward.

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.

Australia Post's Parcel Locker network is one response to that shift.

<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>

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.

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.

That growing presence reflects a broader change in how apartment buildings are being planned.

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.

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.

For buyers comparing apartments, these everyday details are becoming part of the decision-making process.

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.

Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

Inca Property Group has lodged a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for Dawn, a 53-apartment oceanfront development overlooking Mona Vale Beach.

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.

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.

<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.

"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.

"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."

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.

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.

<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" />

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.

"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.

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.

Construction will be undertaken by Inca's in-house construction arm, GOP Constructions.

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.

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.

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.

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>

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>

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

Harry Triguboff

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Australia's second richest person, Harry Triguboff, has suggested Australia's bank had become "shell shocked."
But "there is nothing wrong with our banks, I promise you," Mr Triguboff told The Australian Financial Review.
"I assure you they make mistakes, so do we all. But there is nothing wrong with them. They are shell shocked and if affects all of us."
He attacked their new stronger borrowing tests saying using expenses to help justify if and how much a person could afford to borrow was "the dumbest thing to do in the world".
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Triguboff argues just because someone spends a set amount each month doesn't mean this will continue when they have a mortgage as borrowers will divert spending to repay their mortgage.
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"All this is very dumb when you have a falling market...it's playing dumb."
Triguboff says tighter lending was adding to the softening market, which was also being hurt by fewer Chinese buyers entering the market<a href="https://www.afr.com/real-estate/chinese-property-buyers-have-disappeared-20180116-h0j2wb" target="_blank">.</a>
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Meriton national sales director James Sialepis said there were instances of borrowers going to the same bank and branch but instead of being able to get a $1 million loan three months ago, it was now $750,000 to $800,000.
"Obviously the royal commission has had a huge impact on people being assessed."
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Mr Sialepis said the banks "used to assess people on a fixed number of monthly expenses".
"Now, every single receipt needs to be looked at and the point Harry (Triguboff) makes is great.
"If I haven't bought a house and I have a disposable income and I have extra money in the pocket I'll go and spend that but once I get into a mortgage, that's it I made the sacrifices," he said.
"There's no more going out, there's no more footy memberships, I need to start concentrating on paying that mortgage off and at the moment I think the banks are looking in the rear view mirror too much."
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Harry Triguboff says new bank lending rules are too tough

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Apartment developer Harry Triguboff, who turned 85 earlier this month, has secured an $80 million Zetland site.
It can accommodate 300 apartments.
The Australian reported the recent deal saw Meriton secure the council depot site at Epsom Road from the City of Sydney Council.
The 1.06ha site at 94 to 104 EpsomRoad has the potential to accommodate 12 levels of apartments, representing a rate of about $3050 per square metre of permissible gross floor area.
The site adjoins the $13 billion Green Square renewal project.
Delta Goodrem, according to The Daily Telegraph, was paid an $250,000 to sing at billionaire Harry Triguboff's 85th birthday earlier this month.
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Harry Triguboff celebrates his 85th birthday with $80 million Zetland acquisition

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Harry Triguboff has put one of his prized hotels on the market.
The Meriton Group has listed the Meriton Suites in North Ryde, with around $150 million being tipped for the building that is the largest hotel complex in the Macquarie Park area.
The 199 unit block sits near competitors Travelodge, Holiday Inn, the Mercure and the Courtyard by Marriott.
Triguboff told The Australian that he is not getting enough apartment sales - just five last week - while looking to finance the construction of more Meriton apartments.
"If I want to build many units... that is why I'm selling," he said.
"The market is going down.
"Prices have gone down about 10 percent from the peak."
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Triguboff however said he expected the market to find a level, noting the number of buyers failing to settle their purchase and the number of dropout, where buyers ask for a contract but do not proceed, had eased.
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels agents Andrew Langsford and Craig Collins are marketing Meriton Suites North Ryde with expressions of interest set to close February 22.
It is believed Triguboff is considering listing another Meriton owned block, a 59 unit building in Rhodes.
The veteran property developer Harry Triguboff recently said many of his Chinese buyers "can't settle" on their off the plan apartment purchases.
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"And everyone thought that the Australian buyer would come in when the prices started coming down – they haven't – I knew they wouldn't."
"It's not bad, it's very bad," developer Harry Triguboff said in response to government taxes and credit restrictions on foreign buyer's residential property acquisitions.
A sharp drop in foreign buyers was detailed in the latest ANZ/Property Council of Australia survey of more than 1700 property professionals from across the industry.
"When we start saying that stamp duty for foreign buyers should be 12 per cent instead of 4 per cent, that is called stupid," Triguboff told The Australian Financial Review.
Triguboff said foreign buyer demand started to soften more than a year ago, with prices now going "lower and lower".
"Many of the Chinese can't settle. So now we have to resell them – there is another problem."
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Harry Triguboff says he's not selling enough

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The veteran property developer Harry Triguboff said many of his Chinese buyers "can't settle" on their off the plan apartment purchases.
"And everyone thought that the Australian buyer would come in when the prices started coming down – they haven't – I knew they wouldn't."
"It's not bad, it's very bad," developer Harry Triguboff said in response to government taxes and credit restrictions on foreign buyer's residential property acquisitions.
A sharp drop in foreign buyers was detailed in the latest ANZ/Property Council of Australia survey of more than 1700 property professionals from across the industry.
"When we start saying that stamp duty for foreign buyers should be 12 per cent instead of 4 per cent, that is called stupid," Triguboff told The Australian Financial Review.
Triguboff said foreign buyer demand started to soften more than a year ago, with prices now going "lower and lower".
"Many of the Chinese can't settle. So now we have to resell them – there is another problem."
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Last May Harry Triguboff, Australia’s biggest apartment developer, noted he was financing about $200 million mostly Chinese buyers of his apartments as China imposed tougher currency controls to get money out of the country. </div>
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<div class="related-quotes section">The ANZ/PCA survey reveals that over the past three months, total residential property sales to foreigners dropped in every state barring South Australia.</div>
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Foreign investment – states and territories and national Source: ANZ-Property Council 
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Local buyers are not buying apartments forfeited by Chinese buyers: Harry Triguboff

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The billionaire developer, Harry Triguboff, says unit sites have come down by about 10 per cent in price.
His Meriton Group has purchased a $25 million property at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property/133-oriordan-st-mascot-nsw-2020" target="_blank">133 O’Riordan St, Mascot</a> near one of his other projects.
The site has been approved for a 99-unit development.
The purchase follows Meriton’s $245 million recent acquisition of an 11ha site near La Perouse in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“Unit sites have come down by about 10 per cent (in price),” Mr Triguboff told The Australian with the latest buy equating to about $2700 a sqm of gross floor area.
Sites could be purchased with approvals in place, so building could start quickly, he said.
Mr Triguboff noted the apartment boom had also attracted inexperienced developers to the market, who were now finding it tougher to get projects off the ground.
Earlier this month Mr Triguboff said he had cut his apartment prices by 5 percent.
the apartment market was worsening and would have a severe impact on the economy if it was not arrested.
While first-home buyers returned to the housing market after July on the back of state government grants, Mr Triguboff said this would not replace the loss of offshore and local investors and would result in less long-term rental stock being built. 
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Harry Triguboff adds another Mascot apartment project to his portfolio

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Meriton has been cutting its apartment prices and covering the stamp duty costs for buyers.
Its founder Harry Triguboff has advised he's been cutting prices by five per cent and covering the additional stamp duty costs for buyers of its apartments over the past year.
Triguboff says its had cost about 10 per cent of Meriton's $1.2 billion turnover.
"It may be too early to say," Mr Triguboff told The Australian Financial Review. "But if you take a turnover of $1.2 billion, then you take 10 per cent, it will cost $120 million."
Australia's fifth-largest developer had saved some revenue – about 2 per cent – by selling directly overseas and cutting out the sales agents.
Meriton has also spent about $300 million – up from the $200 million Mr Triguboff said in May he had lent – to finance predominantly Chinese buyers struggling to complete settlements
Last month, the HIA-Colorbond Steel Housing 100 annual ranking put Meriton in firth spot, down from third place the prior year with a total 2955 housing starts.  
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Harry Triguboff says he's cut apartment prices by 5 percent

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Harry Triguboff, Australia’s biggest builder of apartments, has hit out at hefty taxes levied on his apartment property empire, revealing to The Australian his Meriton group’s projects and its unit buyers paid about $650 million into federal, state and council coffers over the past financial year.
As NSW’s largest unit developer, Meriton’s many offshore buyers will be hit by a doubling of a tax surcharge targeting them from 4 to 8 per cent as Triguboff warns developers face the prospect of absorbing the tax hit themselves.
Triguboff, who is concerned about the broader effects of falling prices on the economy and the property sector, is fed up with the tax contribution both from his developments and the heavy levies on buyers.
Referring to his own bills, Triguboff said it was “one mighty big contribution from one man and one company".
“So why do governments make it so hard for Meriton and other major players who have track records, know what they are doing, and create thousands of jobs?”
“The more governments encourage developers, the key players in Australia’s biggest industry, the more dollars they’ll reap,” he said.
“It’s no good putting a foot on our throats and then wondering why the tax tills aren’t still loudly ringing.”
He revealed that last financial year, Meriton payments to the federal government via GST, company tax, and tax on employees totalled $295m.
The NSW government made $46.1m from stamp duty on property purchases by Meriton and from Meriton-related payroll tax.
Stamp duty paid by Meriton customers to Queensland and NSW totalled $83.6m. “Then there’s personal and company taxes, plus payroll tax, paid by our vast array of subcontractors. That comes in at well over $120 million.”
 
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Triguboff hits out at tax policies on apartment owners and developers 

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The apartment market slowdown is growing and is likely to hit the economy hard if not checked, says the country’s biggest apartment builder and BRW rich lister Harry Triguboff.
The Meriton Group founder said the number of new apartments sold had dropped and prices were down by 10 per cent over the past six months.
China’s restrictions on capital flows out of the country, tightening of lending by Australian banks to foreign investors and increased regulatory oversight is affecting the apartment market.
“The falling prices will have a big impact on the economy,” Triguboff told The Australian.
He called on the federal and state governments to review their policies on taxing foreign investors and to expand ­policies on accessing superannuation for housing.
While there was a increase in the number of first-home buyers during July on the back of state government grants to reach their highest level in four years, Triguboff said this would not replace the loss of offshore and local investors and would result in less long-term rental stock being built.
Triguboff owns 8,000 long- term rental and serviced apartments in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Both the volume of apartment sales and prices were dropping as Sydney’s five-year housing boom cooled, but rents were still slowly rising, Triguboff said.
“The big question is whether the government will allow prices and volumes to go down before they start helping,” Triguboff said.
“Australians could lose an enormous amount of wealth.”
Slow wages growth, along with changing demographic trends where young ­people challenged by housing ­affordability were staying longer with their parents or were sharing, was also weighing on new construction, he said.
Encouraging people to move to capital cities other than Sydney and Melbourne would help ­affordability and national economic growth, he added.
“People want to live in big cities where there is more opportunity, more variety, more fun,” Triguboff said. But cities like Brisbane needed to attract more people to spur economic growth.
Despite the slowing market, Triguboff recently sold 1000 units and another 1000 will settle in the next few months.
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Slowing apartment market to hit economy, cautions Triguboff

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Sydney has averted a crisis of defaulting off the plan Chinese apartment buyers because of the lending role of property developer Harry Triguboff, according to commentator Robert Gottliebsen.  
 "The Australian banks are patting themselves on the back because very few of them have major exposures to the Chinese apartment purchasers in Melbourne and Sydney," he wrote in The Australian.
"In Sydney there would have been an enormous crisis with settlements by Chinese purchasers but for the “bank of Triguboff” which has loaned $280 million to Chinese buyers who otherwise couldn’t settle," he said.
But he added with the kind of exposure that major banks have to the residential property market, if a home building slump triggers a further price downturn via higher unemployment then the banks will face mortgage losses.
If prices do fall, it will allow first home buyers to get into the market but the economic impacts of the fall will work against the first homebuyer. 
A fall in the rate of home building has started and if it gathers pace, could have serious economic impact, according to the columnist.
The repercussions could be a rise in unemployment, defaults on bank mortgages and lower stamp duty for state governments.
“And all this is being brought about by a set of housing-boom nervous banking regulators who, if there is a slump in construction, are likely to face decisions they have never before encountered,” says Gottliebsen in The Australian.
But with the kind of exposure that major banks have to the residential property market, if a home building slump triggers a further price downturn via higher unemployment then the banks will face mortgage losses.
If prices do fall, it will allow first home buyers to get into the market but the economic impacts of the fall will work against the first homebuyer.
Gottliebsen advocates a greater efficiency in the development approval process, but says state governments won't change without a crisis. But such a crisis will take place if the rate of the rate of building declines sharply. State governments might then be forced to start to take the actions required to lower costs by streamlining the approval processes to enable first home buyers to get into the market.
Brisbane is leading the fall in construction, where the situation might become “quite ugly”, he writes.
In Sydney, Harry Triguboff says he expects apartment building rates to fall between 25 and 33 per cent over 12 to 18 months which, in anyone’s language, is a major decline.
Melbourne is mixed, with demand strong for apartments and houses in suburban and outer suburban areas including Geelong, but a glut in the inner city.
But despite the city’s apartment problems, planning regulations have changed and developers who don’t take advantage of their current permission will have to build under the new regulations, which will reduce the value of their property.
However, once Brisbane and Sydney building construction rates fall, Melbourne will follow, he says.
“I can’t recall such a widespread vigorous attack on any Australian industry, let alone one that has been driving the economy since the end of the mining boom.”
“The boom in inner city dwellings was created for the most part by Chinese demand. That demand has been hammered first by increasing regulations from China on taking money outside the country; second by the refusal of the Australian banks to fund the Chinese, and finally by a series of taxes and charges being imposed by state governments to make sure the Chinese feel unwelcome.”
Apartment demand from Chinese has now nearly halved, he noted adding local demand has risen but doesn’t offset the gap left by the Chinese. 
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Bank of Triguboff saved Sydney from enormous Chinese apartment buyer settlement crisis

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Billionaire developer Harry Triguboff has purchased an 11 hectare Little Bay Cove waterfront development in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for an estimated $245 million, according to reports.
The Australian reports Meriton Apartments Group has beaten Chinese developer Country Garden for the site near Sydney's La Perouse. 
Vendor TA Global Bhd has finished civil works and masterplan development consent, with several phases of development already under construction.
TA Global entered into a joint venture development deal with Charter Hall Group in 2010 for the project.
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