<p>Repeat buyers are one of the strongest measures of confidence in any apartment development.</p>

<p>At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/era-newcastle-west-124-126-bull-street-newcastle-west-nsw-2302">ERA</a> in Newcastle West, some purchasers are returning to <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/gwh">GWH</a> after living at the developer's One Apartments. Their decision to purchase again was driven by the quality of life they found after moving into their first GWH home.</p>

<p>Keith Wilton had spent years living in a house in East Maitland before deciding it was time for a change. Apartment living had always been on his radar, but he was selective about what he wanted.</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/FH_1EzB-1vs?si=XScVlP1ERsTDJoME" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>"I had some boxes I wanted to tick," he says.</p>

<p>Keith points to the open-plan design, generous outdoor areas and considered inclusions as key reasons One Apartments worked for him.</p>

<p>“One of those things was a nice indoor open plan area, but also I wanted a nice outdoor open area that I could entertain on in summer or Christmases or birthdays,” he says.</p>

<p>He also found value in the smaller details, from integrated appliances to shared resident spaces including the pool, cinema and rooftop areas.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356818]</p>

<p>After comparing several developments, he chose One Apartments because of GWH's longstanding local reputation and his own experience working with the developer on a commercial project more than a decade earlier.</p>

<p>"I knew that they were local, that the quality of the build was going to be up there. I'd looked at other apartment complexes around and close by, and I just knew that here was a better decision location wise."</p>

<p>Today, Keith says the move has completely changed how he experiences Newcastle.</p>

<p>"I enjoy living in this location because it's more of a lifestyle change. That Newcastle city living where you can walk to restaurants and bars and even beaches and parks and even shopping across the road."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356828]</p>

<p>Beyond the location, he says it's the sense of community that has surprised him most.</p>

<p>"Everyone loves living here because they chose to live here, but everyone looks out for each other. It's a real great community feel here."</p>

<p>For Aimee and Lyle Goodman, the journey started almost by chance.</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/tsioMLcnjas?si=zq-ys3JuWpfa5hFv" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>The couple happened to be having coffee in Newcastle when they noticed the site where One Apartments was about to begin construction.</p>

<p>"We were aware GWH was planning a development," Aimee says. "We made one phone call and things moved pretty quickly after that."</p>

<p>As busy business owners, they initially thought apartment living would simply reduce the maintenance that came with larger homes. Instead, it fundamentally changed how they spent time together.</p>

<p>"We actually catch up more as a family now," Aimee says.</p>

<p>"We've had homes with big yards and lots of space, but everyone ended up in different rooms. Here we'll have dinner together, the kids can play, and we spend far more quality time together."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356829]</p>

<p>Lyle says their confidence came from GWH's reputation within Newcastle's building industry.</p>

<p>"I know people who've worked across different apartment projects, and whenever GWH came up the feedback was always the same. They're rock solid. They're quality."</p>

<p>That confidence only grew throughout the buying process.</p>

<p>"One of the things that really impressed us with GWH was the whole process, was the communication," Lyle says. "It was consistent, it was regular, there was no problem if we had some weird questions, there was no problems in getting answers."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351104]</p>

<p>Aimee says one moment stood out.</p>

<p>"The project actually finished on time. We realised we needed to hurry up and sell our house because everything was happening exactly when they said it would."</p>

<p>The positive experience at One Apartments ultimately gave all three buyers the confidence to purchase again with GWH, this time at ERA.</p>

<p>Their confidence reflects what many buyers are seeking in today's apartment market. Location remains important, but so too does certainty around delivery, quality and long-term liveability.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356822]</p>

<p>ERA builds on those foundations with 280 one, two and three-bedroom apartments across two landmark towers in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/newcastle-west-nsw-2302">Newcastle West</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fk-australia">Fender Katsalidis</a>, the project will include more than 2,000 square metres of resident amenities, including a resort-style pool, gym, sauna, private cinema and rooftop entertaining spaces overlooking the harbour and coastline.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The development is also within walking distance of the Newcastle Interchange, Honeysuckle, Darby Street, the harbour foreshore, restaurants, retail and the city’s beaches, continuing the walkable lifestyle that existing GWH buyers say has transformed how they live.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=356826]</p>

<p>For Keith, the appeal remains straightforward.</p>

<p>"You feel at home even before you've moved into your home."</p>

<p>For Aimee, the change is measured in time.</p>

<p>“I just felt like I had more time,” she says.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=135096 project_image_fid=351102]</p>

<p>Construction at ERA is now underway, with more than half of the residences already sold and limited two and three-bedroom apartments remaining in the East Tower release. Priced from $980,000 for two-bedroom residences and $1.46 million for three-bedroom residences, buyers can secure an apartment with a 10 per cent deposit, with premium homes offering ocean views from Level 8 and harbour views from Level 10.</p>

<p>ERA is also backed by Resilience Insurance's 10-year Latent Defects Insurance policy, providing protection against structural or waterproofing defects for 10 years after completion. The project is anticipated to be completed in early 2028.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135096]</p>


Joel Robinson

From ONE to ERA: Why buyers are choosing GWH again in Newcastle West

<p>Virgate Property Group is preparing to commence construction of Verdé, its new apartment development in Melbourne's Arts Precinct at Southbank, following a strong run of sales that has seen more than half of the project's 173 apartments secured.</p>

<p>Verdé has attracted a broad mix of first home buyers, owner-occupiers upgrading from nearby inner-city suburbs and investors, with younger owner-occupier couples aged between 28 and 45 accounting for the strongest enquiry. Many are already living in Southbank, South Melbourne, Albert Park, Port Melbourne, South Yarra and the CBD.</p>

<p>"Verdé is located in one of the most desirable pockets of southern Melbourne," Blair Property Group Director Darren Blair, who is managing sales at Verdé, said.</p>

<p>"It's within walking distance of the Arts Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens, Albert Park Lake, and Southbank's restaurants and retail. It's a great lifestyle location with strong amenity and liveability, which made it a very attractive choice for the project."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372549]</p>

<p>Virgate was already familiar with the precinct, having previously delivered the successful Domain House development in neighbouring South Melbourne. That experience gave the developer confidence to acquire the Coventry Street site and continue expanding its presence in Melbourne's inner south.</p>

<p>"We had been keeping an eye on the site and the broader precinct for a few months before deciding to move forward with the acquisition," Virgate said.</p>

<p>The project was ultimately secured in 2020 following feasibility studies, planning assessments and due diligence, with the brief centred on delivering "a high-quality, considered design that feels both refined and fit for purpose."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=314259]</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bruce-henderson-architects">Bruce Henderson Architects</a>, Verdé comprises 173 one, two and three-bedroom apartments priced from $599,000. The architecture is distinguished by a faceted glass façade that responds to both the site's outlook and Melbourne's changing light conditions.</p>

<p>According to Bruce Henderson Architects, the coloured glazing gives the building a distinctive identity while also providing privacy and solar shading, with residences oriented to capture views across the bay, city skyline and surrounding parklands.</p>

<p>Inside, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/designoffice">DesignOffice</a> has created interiors focused on natural light, efficient planning and enduring materials. Apartments feature engineered oak flooring, natural stone benchtops, floor-to-ceiling glazing and SMEG appliances, while a restrained material palette aims to complement the expansive outlooks rather than compete with them.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=4661 project_image_fid=372550]</p>

<p>Resident amenity has also been designed around everyday functionality rather than occasional use. Facilities include a concierge-serviced lobby, residents' lounge with fireplace, library and co-working space, gym, terrace garden with barbecue facilities, ground-floor café, and package delivery management.</p>

<p>The project's location continues to be one of its strongest drawcards. Positioned on Coventry Street, Verdé sits within walking distance of the National Gallery of Victoria, Arts Centre Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens and Albert Park Lake, while Southbank's dining precinct, Sturt Street trams and the new ANZAC Station are all nearby. The surrounding education catchment also includes Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and several major university campuses.</p>

<p>The sales team says buyers have responded particularly well to the combination of location, design quality and long-term liveability.</p>

<p>"They're responding really positively to the quality of the design, premium resident amenities and the uninterrupted views. Many also appreciate the location and how connected it is to everything they need."</p>

<p>The ability to secure stamp duty savings before completion has also been a key factor for purchasers, alongside the opportunity to personalise finishes ahead of settlement.</p>

<p>With construction set to commence soon and more than half the apartments already sold, Verdé enters its next phase as one of the Arts Precinct's more established apartment developments, offering remaining buyers an opportunity to secure a residence before construction advances further. Expected completion is scheduled for late 2027.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=4661]</p>


Virgate's Verdé Southbank moves toward construction as sales fly past halfway stage

<p>Downsizer-focused apartment development Kooyongkoot in Hawthorn has been recognised at the 2026 Better Future Melbourne Design Awards, taking home Gold and Silver awards in two categories.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kooyongkoot-hawthorn-1-kooyongkoot-road-hawthorn-vic-3122">Kooyongkoot</a>, currently being delivered by developer PQD and designed by Cera Stribley, received Gold in the Interior Design – Proposed category and Silver in the Architecture – Proposed category.</p>

<p>The dual recognition reflects the design approach behind the boutique development on prestigious Kooyongkoot Road, where the focus has been on creating homes for downsizers seeking the space, quality and functionality of a detached house within a low-rise apartment building.</p>

<p>Rather than maximising apartment numbers, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/pqd">PQD</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cera-stribley-architects">Cera Stribley</a> limited the development to just 18 residences, allowing for larger floorplans, greater privacy, generous landscaping and expansive communal spaces.&nbsp;The majority of the apartments also benefit from corner aspects, allowing for dual sources of natural light.</p>

<p>Now around 70 per cent complete and on track for completion in November 2026, Kooyongkoot will comprise a mix of garden residences, ter​race apartments, sub-penthouses, and is crowned by two half-floor penthouses with direct lift access and private rooftop terraces.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355297]</p>

<p>The Silver Award for Architecture recognised the way the building responds to its prominent corner position at the ent​rance to Hawthorn's Scotch Hill precinct, one of Melbourne's most established residential neighbourhoods.</p>

<p>Rather than competing with the grand homes that line Kooyongkoot Road, the architectural approach focused on restraint and longevity, using curved brickwork, generous landscaping and carefully considered proportions to integrate with the existing streetscape.</p>

<p>"The form feels fluid and timeless, as though shaped by the landscape itself – architecture that belongs, rather than competes," said Chris Stribley, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Cera Stribley.</p>

<p>The judging submission also highlighted practical innovations throughout the building, including lift cores servicing only nine homes each, a central landscaped lightcourt designed to bring daylight and ventilation into the building, and fully enclosed private storage rooms with lighting, power and shelving to better accommodate residents transitioning from larger family homes.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355293]</p>

<p>The Gold Award for Interior Design recognised the project's focus on long-term liveability rather than display-home aesthetics.</p>

<p>According to the awards submission, the interiors were designed from the inside out, prioritising how homes would function over decades of daily use through generous proportions, practical storage, durable natural materials and flexible layouts.</p>

<p>The specification includes natural stone throughout, upgraded acoustic glazing, V-ZUG appliances and fully enclosed storage rooms, alongside an amenity offering focused on wellness, entertainment and everyday convenience.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Residents will have access to a gym and yoga studio, a wellness centre featuring traditional and infrared saunas, a cold therapy shower and treatment room, as well as a residents' lounge and golf simulator/cinema room for entertainment.&nbsp;Kooyongkoot has also considered the everyday convenience of its residents by offering a private carwash and pet wash facilities on site as well as dedicated parcel lockers and oversized fully enclosed storage rooms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355303]</p>

<p>The project's attention to detail has already resonated with buyers. Earlier this year, Kooyongkoot recorded one of Boroondara's highest apartment sales when an $8 million penthouse was purchased by a Melbourne CEO downsizing from a nearby family home.</p>

<p>"Every detail feels deliberate, from the overall design down to the smallest touches," the purchaser said.</p>

<p>"The level of quality and refinement is exceptional, but what really sold it was how liveable it felt... It felt like a place where everything had been considered, not just a luxury building."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=102717 project_image_fid=355304]</p>

<p>Sustainability also formed a key part of both award submissions. Kooyongkoot is targeting a minimum 7.5-star NatHERS rating across all residences, supported by passive design principles, high-performance glazing, EV charging infrastructure, water reuse systems and a wellness model focused on lower-energy dry facilities rather than pools and large wet areas.</p>

<p>Located within walking distance of Scotch College, Methodist Ladies' College, Koo​yong Lawn Tennis Club, Aubur​n Village and Camberwell Junction, Kooyongkoot continues to target owner-occupiers looking to remain in Melbourne's inner east without compromising on space or quality. A limited selection of two, three and four-bedroom residences remains available, with prices starting from $1.9 million.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=102717]</p>


Kooyongkoot wins Gold and Silver at Better Future Melbourne Design Awards

<p>New apartment supply has become increasingly constrained across <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/parramatta-nsw-2150">Parramatta</a> in recent years, with fewer projects progressing through to completion as development conditions have become more challenging.</p>

<p>It makes <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/novm">NOVM</a>'s 2021-completed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/the-lennox-parramatta-12-phillip-street-parramatta-nsw-2150">The Lennox</a> one of the most recently completed residential towers on the Parramatta River, and among the newest apartment developments in Sydney's second CBD.</p>

<p>With the project largely completed before the sharp escalation in construction costs and inflation following the pandemic, The Lennox is now offering pricing that would be difficult to replicate in a comparable new development in Parramatta today, or across much of Western Sydney.</p>

<p>The majority of the 413 apartments at The Lennox sold before and shortly after completion. A limited release of the remaining apartments has recently been brought to market by capital partner <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/equitifund-group">Equitifund</a>, with entry-level pricing from $700,000 and two-bedroom apartments available from under $1 million.</p>

<p>Rising above the Parramatta River at 12 Phillip Street, The Lennox comprises one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, appealing to first home buyers, young professionals, families, downsizers and interstate investors seeking a completed apartment in one of Australia's fastest-growing economic centres.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=372394]</p>

<p>Rather than positioning Parramatta as an alternative to Sydney's CBD, Equitifund believes the city has reached a point where it stands on its own merits.</p>

<p>"Parramatta is no longer simply an alternative to Sydney CBD, it's becoming a destination in its own right," Equitifund Executive Chairman Greg Huxley said.</p>

<p>"The Lennox captures that evolution with a level of quality and amenity that's difficult to match at its price point."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=953]</p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/marchese-partners">Marchese Partners</a>, the tower responds directly to its riverfront setting through expansive glazing and open-plan layouts that maximise views across the Parramatta River and city skyline. Interiors feature engineered timber flooring, stone benchtops, stainless steel appliances and floor-to-ceiling glazing, while generous balconies extend the living spaces outdoors.</p>

<p>Marchese Partners says the project was conceived to balance high-quality apartment living with practical, long-term functionality, pairing larger, efficient floorplans with amenities more commonly associated with five-star hotels.</p>

<p>That emphasis continues through the resident facilities, which include a 20-metre rooftop swimming pool, fully equipped gym and wellness spaces, full-time concierge, a residents' lounge, function room, private lifts, secure basement parking and rooftop communal areas overlooking the Parramatta River. Ground-floor boardwalk retail and dining further activate the riverfront and integrate the building into the surrounding public realm.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=925]</p>

<p>Australian housing and finance group Equitifund has secured the remaining apartments, believing there are few completed apartment opportunities in Parramatta that offer the same combination of location, amenity and pricing.</p>

<p>Equitifund National Sales Director Ben Hamblett says buyers are increasingly recognising that premium apartment living no longer needs to come with Sydney CBD pricing.</p>

<p>"The Lennox is where aspirational living becomes attainable," Hamblett said.</p>

<p>"Wake to river and mountain views, step into Sydney's Second CBD, and arrive home to resort-calibre amenities, all without the harbour price tag."</p>

<p>Hamblett says owner-occupiers are also attracted by the convenience of having Westfield Parramatta, Church Street's dining precinct, Parramatta Park, Riverside Theatres, Western Sydney University and major transport connections all within walking distance.</p>

<p>"At The Lennox, lifestyle is not an afterthought, it is the foundation."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=5743 project_image_fid=5374]</p>

<p>The Lennox places residents within walking distance of Parramatta Square, Westfield Parramatta, Church Street Eat Street, Parramatta Station, the ferry wharf, Light Rail, the future Sydney Metro West, Parramatta Park and CommBank Stadium, reinforcing Parramatta's position as one of Australia's most connected metropolitan centres outside Sydney's CBD.</p>

<p>Equitifund says buyers visiting the display suite consistently comment on the quality of the finishes, generous floorplans, river and skyline views, and the walkability of the location. The project has attracted a broad mix of local professionals, upsizers, downsizers, buyers relocating from Sydney's inner suburbs and interstate investors seeking long-term growth opportunities.</p>

<p>That demand aligns with Parramatta's continued evolution as an economic powerhouse. Equitifund Research and Market Insights specialist John Bekiaris says sustained population growth, infrastructure investment and expanding employment opportunities continue to support long-term housing demand across the city.</p>

<p>"Parramatta has evolved from a satellite city into one of Australia's most important economic centres. Population growth, infrastructure investment and employment are all supporting sustained long-term housing demand."</p>

<p>[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=5743]</p>


The apartment price gap drawing Sydney buyers west

<p>A luxury beachfront apartment at Rainbow Bay has more than doubled in value since it sold off the plan six years ago, setting a new local apartment record in the process.</p>

<p>The three-bedroom apartment in the Flow development on Petrie Street, the first of four new projects locally by Paul Gedoun's S&amp;S Projects, has sold for $7.4 million, after originally selling for $3.27 million when the project launched in 2020.</p>

<p>The seventh-floor apartment, comprising 187 sqm of internal living space and a 54 sqm balcony overlooking Froggies Beach and Snapper Rocks, was purchased by a local family.</p>

<p>The transaction was negotiated by Pezet Matheson director Kerry Pezet and equates to more than $30,000 per sqm.</p>

<p>Pezet said the sale reflected the limited opportunities to buy into the boutique beachfront development.</p>

<p>"The sale highlights the rarity of opportunities within the boutique beachfront development, where residences seldom become available," Pezet said.</p>

<p>"Flow is one of the Gold Coast's most tightly held buildings. Buyers from our database move quickly when residences become available, and achieving an off-market sale at $7.4 million demonstrates the depth of demand for property of this calibre."</p>

<p><img alt="Flow" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c585b206-2130-4eee-a50c-3f27c51a7c70" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-06%20at%208.33.25%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=m3pHRDV62Y3fvN.XQuQHq.52ilTWpRLf" /></p>

<p>Flow was the first of four luxury apartment developments delivered by Paul Gedoun's S&amp;S Projects at Rainbow Bay and was completed in 2023.</p>

<p>Positioned on the beachfront overlooking Snapper Rocks, the residence includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a powder room and views stretching north along the coastline towards Surfers Paradise.</p>

<p>Pezet Matheson Residential principal Mitchell Lambert said buyers continued to prioritise quality beachfront apartments in tightly held locations.</p>

<p>"Flow Residences offers a rare combination of elevated beachfront positioning, architectural excellence, comprehensive resident amenity and premium finishes, which is exactly what discerning purchasers are seeking," Lambert said.</p>

<p>"The transaction further reinforces Rainbow Bay's reputation as one of Australia's premier coastal lifestyle destinations, where limited supply and growing demand continue to support strong market performance."</p>

<p>Pezet Matheson originally marketed and sold out Flow off the plan, making the latest transaction a return to one of the project's original buyers.</p>

<p>Paul Gedoun is selling his third project, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/radia-rainbow-bay-271-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Radia Rainbow Bay</a>, after recently completing, and selling out, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/esprit-217-227-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Esprit</a>. He has plans for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/first-look-s-s-projects-proposes-88-apartment-wellness-tower-at-coolangattas-boundary-street">fourth building</a>, 88 apartments on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/209-213-boundary-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Boundary Street</a>.</p>


Rainbow Bay apartment doubles in price since off the plan sale during pandemic

Housing

<p>The Property Council of Australia has announced the important role the property industry will play in achieving net zero as NSW decarbonises its economy.</p>

<p>NSW director Luke Achterstraat said as NSW invests $4.8 million in speeding up the transformation of the state&rsquo;s built environment towards net zero emissions, buildings can provide some of the least cost abatement opportunities in the economy.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>&ldquo;Accelerating Australia&rsquo;s transition to sustainable housing could both protect the home building sector, as well as spur growth in delivering more than half a billion dollars of additional investment in the construction industry by 2030 and create over 7,000 new jobs,&rdquo; Achterstraat said.</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Effectively, this would also save Australians $600 million on their energy bills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to the Property Council, upgrading the energy efficiency of Australia&rsquo;s commercial buildings would not only stimulate economic activity through inputs of local labour, it would also deliver an estimated $12 billion in energy savings between 2016 and 2030.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Since efficient buildings are also healthier and more productive, gains in staff productivity are likely to dwarf the benefits in energy savings.&rdquo;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=7149 project_image_fid=175541]</p>

<p>According to the <a href="https://arena.gov.au/renewable-energy/renewables-in-buildings/">Australian Renewable Energy Agency</a> (ARENA), buildings account for more than half of the nation&rsquo;s electricity consumption and are a major driver of &lsquo;peak demand&rsquo;.</p>

<p>An additional 2019 study revealed that the construction, operation and maintenance of buildings account for almost a <a href="https://theconversation.com/buildings-produce-25-of-australias-emissions-what-will-it-take-to-make-them-green-and-wholl-pay-105652">quarter of greenhouse gas emissions</a> in Australia.</p>

<p>&ldquo;We encourage the NSW State Government to leverage the unique opportunity the built environment offers to dramatically reduce carbon emissions in highly cost effective ways that will also stimulate the economy,&rdquo; Achterstraat said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;As Australia heads towards a low emissions economy, governments must provide a clear pathway of policies that give certainty to industry and create economic opportunities for Australian businesses.&rdquo;</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=7758 project_image_fid=150461]</p>

<p>Other key industry bodies, including the&nbsp;Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), are also encouraging the government to make use of the largely untapped emissions reduction opportunities available within the sector.&nbsp;</p>

<p>GBCA CEO Davina Rooney&nbsp;Australia&rsquo;s property sector is already&nbsp;leading the way in carbon reduction&nbsp;and making commitments at COP26 can help the Australian Government build on this work.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Facilitating the transition of Australia&rsquo;s building sector towards an economy for the future is critical in improving and sustaining the future liveability, productivity and sustainability of our communities and cities.</p>

<p>Achterstraat concluded: &ldquo;With the right policy frameworks in place, we can minimise the costs of a transition&nbsp;to net zero emissions and create economic opportunities across all parts of industry, from sole traders and homeowners to large businesses.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


Buildings account for more than half of the nation’s electricity consumption and are a major driver of ‘peak demand’

max.kwok_55688

Property industry to play a pivotal role in the race to net zero, says Property Council

<html><body>
<p>Tony Abbott is absolutely right. There’s something I never imagined I would ever say, but the Prime Minister is spot on with his comments this week about house prices. He said on Monday he thought rising house prices were a good thing.</p>
<p>He sought to make his comments as a home-owner at Forestville in the northern beaches area of Sydney, as well as the nation’s Prime Minister.</p>
<p>The Federal Government has got a lot wrong on real estate, with its pointless inquiries and its equally pointless targeting of foreign investors in a sabre-rattling attempt to be seen to be taking strong action.</p>
<p>But Abbott was right on the mark about house prices. It’s long overdue for someone in authority to make the point that for people who own homes, which means the vast majority of Australian households, rising property values are a good thing. </p>
<p>They’re also a good thing for the nation.</p>
<p>For way too long, mainstream media has characterised any rise in house prices as a national crisis. It’s been the dominant tone in newspapers since the start of the century, which began with a genuine national property boom from 2001 to 2003, and it’s reached the point of absurdity more recently with coverage of the Claytons boom centred on Sydney.</p>
<p>Media has also lost all sense of balance with its treatment of the affordability issue. They’ve turned first-home buyers into a kind of protected species, to be fussed over to the exclusion of everyone else, including the seven out of 10 households who own their homes and want their values to rise.</p>
<p>Here’s what the Prime Minister said on Monday: “This government is trying to make housing more available, we’ve tried to make housing more affordable, and the best way to make housing more affordable is to keep interest rates low and stable and that’s exactly what’s happening and trying to make sure the economy is strong.</p>
<p>“As someone who, along with a bank, owns a house in Sydney I do hope that our housing prices are increasing. I do want housing to be affordable, but nevertheless I also want house prices to be modestly increasing."</p>
<p>That’s probably the only time in his reign that Abbott has spoken on behalf of most Australians.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding the misinformation that often describes our housing as the most expensive in the world - and the fuzzy logic that has turned the current up-cycle in Sydney into a national bubble - Australia continues to have one of the world’s highest home ownership rates. Most home-owners with mortgages are ahead on their repayments, while mortgage delinquencies are at record lows. These facts suggest a market that’s healthy and sustainable.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>Most of us want property values to rise – and so does the nation. We’re all tasked with the challenge of providing for our retirement years amid a rapidly ageing population and a fragile Budget.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>That demands that we invest and grow our assets. For many, the cornerstone of the process is the family home and its value.</p>
<p>So the Prime Minister leads the nation in wanting prices to rise across Australia. The problem is, they’re not.</p>
<p>The latest research figures suggest house values are going backwards in Darwin and Hobart, stagnating in Perth and rising only marginally in Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide. Sydney, up 16%, has the only boom housing market.</p>
<p>Apartments markets are falling in Perth, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin, and there’s no meaningful growth in Brisbane or Adelaide. Melbourne is up only 3%. Even Sydney’s rise of 8.8% is quite moderate.</p>
<p>There’s nothing in those figures to support the notion of a bubble, nor the bleating of those who claim an affordability crisis, in contradiction of the situation described by the affordability indexes.</p>
<p>It says something about the state of journalism in Australia when the Prime Minister can generate a media storm by commenting that rising property values are a good thing.</p>
<p><em>TERRY RYDER is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p>
<p>Terry is presenting a free webinar with Property Observer editor at large Jonathan Chancellor on Tuesday June 16 at 12.30pm titled on why research is the key to successful property investing in 2015. Sign up here.</p>
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Tony Abbott is absolutely right on house prices: Terry Ryder

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<p>That pesky property bubble is mainly contained to the investors chasing yields and taking advantage of a chronic under-supply which is driving up rents – well it was however, we are now starting to see rents flat lining given supply has significantly increased.</p>
<p>New lending initiatives are quickly changing the investor landscape where I suspect it will be a very long time before we see lenders offering 90 per cent loans as we are now seeing lending ratios sitting more around the 70% mark. <a href="/expert-insights/overseas-buyers-will-support-sydney-house-prices-during-apra-crackdown-nab">Overseas buyers will support Sydney house prices during APRA crackdown: NAB</a>; it is fair to say that the federal government won’t be tweaking the foreign buyer ratios (presently at 100 per cent) anytime soon.</p>
<p>There is a reason for this; Australia’s population is set to hit 40 million people by 2056. In order to meet this demand we will see the greatest infrastructure spending in Australia’s history given it’s been calculated that by 2056 Australia will need a further 1,100,000 apartments. Across Australia that means an additional 27,000 apartments each year for the next 41 years, it is expected Sydney and Melbourne will do the majority of the heavy lifting. This also plainly identifies why the Baird government wants to amalgamate the councils to ensure that these new developments keep getting approved.</p>
<p>The message is quite clear that if you want to reside in close proximity to the CBD you will have to live with an avalanche of high density developments.</p>
<p>This week the residential data from the 34th Property Directions Survey was released which is an industry based group comprising property experts – Valuers, Fund Managers, Property Analysts and Property Financiers.</p>
<ul>
<li>58% of respondents stated that Sydney residential property was in or entering a bubble, while 53%t of the respondents believe that the Melbourne property market is in the same position. Seventy per cent of the survey respondents do not believe that the Brisbane residential market was in a bubble.</li>
<li>The majority of the respondents also believe residential property prices will continue to rise for 6 to 12 months. Fifty – three per cent of respondents believe that Sydney residential property prices will continue to rise for either 6 or 12 months with 26% stating 18 months. Respondents are more certain in their predictions for Melbourne residential property with 76%seeing prices continuing to rise for 6 to 12 months.</li>
<li>In 2016, Sydney residential property is seen as reaching the top of the property cycle and moving past the top in 2017. In 2016 respondents see Melbourne residential property having passed the top of the cycle but remaining close to the top through to 2017. Brisbane residential property is seen to be just nearing the top of the cycle.</li>
<li>All respondents to the Property Directions Survey see low interest rates as either a significant or very significant driver of demand for residential property in Sydney, while 95% also point to foreign investment being significant or very significant.</li>
<li>Respondents list a number of other factors they also believe play a role in increasing demand in Sydney, such as population growth, low supply over the past decade and the trend towards smaller households.</li>
<li>The major drivers are considered to be similar for the Melbourne residential property market however 94% see foreign investment as a significant or very significant driver and 87% sight low interest rates as significant to very significant.</li>
<li>A large majority of respondents see low interest rates as the main driver of demand and prices for Brisbane and Perth residential property; however this view is not as strong as it is for Sydney and Melbourne. The majority of survey respondents do not view foreign investment as a significant or very significant factor in driving demand in Brisbane or Perth, but believe negative gearing plays a bigger role.</li>
<li>Most respondents believe both interest rates and inflation will remain similar for next year, while moving higher in the next three years.</li>
<li>It’s a different story with foreign investment, with a small majority of respondents believing levels will remain similar for the next six months. Respondents are less certain over the next 12 months, but most see foreign investment at similar or higher levels. Respondents are even more uncertain about the outlook for 2018,</li>
<li>Some respondents listed current or emerging factors which they believe may have an impact on the Australian property market. Factors listed include a slowing Chinese economy, any increase in the unemployment rate and potential changes to foreign investment or immigration rules.</li>
</ul>
<p>So the eastern seaboard is where we will see the majority of the new developments with NSW leading the way. This again will be investor led although it would be reasonable to suggest that with such a huge apartment platform the house prices will continue to rise with less single residential housing being built.</p>
<p>With that in mind it’s scary to think where prices will go for houses within a 15 kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD. Through the roof springs to mind.</p>
<p>As for that pesky property bubble – it won’t be doing any damage when the vast majority of suburbs across Sydney are posting record low stock levels. When markets are booming (or bubbling along) you see record stock levels which is the complete opposite to what we are seeing across Sydney at the present.</p>
<h4>MOSMAN – 2088</h4>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 85</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 55</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 46</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 63</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 41</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 43</p>
<h4>CREMORNE – 2090</h4>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 8</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 7</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 2</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 9</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 11</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 8</p>
<h4><span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.3em;">NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</span></h4>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 9</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 3</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 2</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 42</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 29</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 30</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span>ROBERT SIMEON</span> is a director of </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> </em><em>and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. <br>He has also been writing real estate blog </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> </em><em>since 2000. </em></p>
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Living with an avalanche of high density development: Robert Simeon

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<p>Investor activity has surged over recent years and now shows that in March 2015, investors committed to $12.9 billion in housing finance.</p>
<p>By comparison, investment mortgage commitments reached a recent low of $6.3 billion in April 2011.</p>
<p>The recent rise to $12.9 billion has seen the value of commitments rise 105% in less than 4 years.</p>
<p>While state data is seasonally adjusted, these markets tend to be a little more volatile. Nevertheless, it shows $13.5 billion worth of commitments in March 2015.</p>
<p>A state by state breakdown shows that nationally, NSW accounted for 46.0% of all investor mortgage commitments. The value of commitments in NSW was greater than the value of all states and territories combined except for WA. Of particular note is the fact that this data largely reflects what is happening in Sydney which experienced a significant rise in investment lending over the past 3 years.</p>
<p>Across all states the recent low in investment lending has been in either January or February of certain years and we’ve found that this time of year is a seasonally slower period for mortgage lending.</p>
<p>After APRA wrote to Australian banks, credit unions and building societies late last year re-affirming sound residential mortgage policies we have recently started to see many banks change their lending policies.</p>
<p>A large focus of these changes has been around investment mortgages and over the coming months we should eventually see investment lending start to slow.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/06/04/700_Statebreakout.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/06/04/700_Statebreakout.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/06/04/700_lending.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/06/04/700_lending.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p><span>NSW </span>– in March 2015, investors committed to $6.2 billion in mortgages, a year-on-year increase of 37.2%. Over the past 3 years the value of investment mortgage commitments has increased by 155%. If you remove refinances, investors accounted for 60.0% of all new lending in NSW in March 2015.</p>
<p><span>Vic </span>– investors committed to $3.1 billion in mortgages in March, a 17.1% year-on-year rise. Investors accounted for 48.6% of new lending in March and the value of commitments is 70% higher over the past 3 years.</p>
<p><span>Qld </span>– at $2.2 billion in March, investor lending has risen by 43.1% year-on-year and is 69% higher over the past 3 years. Investors accounted for 47.2% of new lending over the month.</p>
<p><span>SA </span>– investment lending has increased by 28.3% year-on-year to March 2015 to $508.8 million and has increased by 32% over the past 3 years. Investors accounted for 43.0% of new lending in March 2015.</p>
<p><span>WA </span>– investors accounted for 39.0% of new mortgage lending over the month with $1.1 billion in commitments. Investor mortgage commitments have increased by 4.5% year-on-year and by 31% over the past 3 years.</p>
<p><span>Tas </span>– investors currently account for 30.5% of new mortgage lending <span>$</span>with a total of $70.8 million. The value of investment commitments is 21.3% higher over the year and has increased by 41% over the past 3 years.</p>
<p><span>NT </span>– at $103.5 million in March 2015, investment lending is -1.1% lower over the year. Investment lending has increased by 14% over the past 3 years and investors currently account for 55.3% of all new mortgage lending.</p>
<p><span>ACT </span>– at $168.3 million in March 2015, investment lending is 2.9% higher over the year. Investment lending has increased by 8% over the past 3 years and investors currently make-up 41.8% of all new mortgage lending.</p>
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Investment lending set to slow: Cameron Kusher

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<p><span>Talk in the industry is about whether or not house prices are in a bubble, if so have we been in one for some time and is it expensive bubble or a seriously expensive one?</span></p>
<p><span>One quote I read recently in relation to the current housing market was "One thing seems clear: If we’re having a discussion about whether or not house prices are in a bubble (as we have been for some time now), house prices do not represent good value at the current level. The debate is about whether they are expensive, or seriously expensive."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Now, of course we're all guilty of making sweeping comments - and myself more than most given my tendency towards a macro focus on this blog - but this snippet gives the full broom treatment to Australia's property markets.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The last time I checked in at the back end of 2014 there were 9,448,300 dwellings in Australia, a figure that will be approaching 9.5 million or so today. </span><span style="line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>
<div id="post-body-4846812275271867441" class="post-body entry-content">
<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/Waregent1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Are some of those dwellings expensive? Indeed, and some of them are extraordinarily so in the present and persistent low interest rate climate.</span></div>
<div>
<div> </div>
<div>But equally, aren't some house prices very cheap? Very much so - in outer suburban Adelaide and Hobart, for example, and in any number of regional centres - although of course, "cheap" does not been good value ("cheap today is cheap tomorrow" as the old real estate mantra goes).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The same holds true of share prices and indices, for that matter.<br><br>Are some share indices and stocks trading at high valuations? Yes. In fact, globally some markets are romping ahead to dizzying heights as I looked at only earlier this week.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>That does not mean that some individual stocks don't offer great value, though, particularly for those investors with the requisite skills in fundamental analysis.<br><br>With the benefit of hindsight, although not my favourite sector due to being capital intensive and reliant on the sale of commodities, 1999 was a great time to buy resources stocks. 2009 was an amazing time to load up on bank shares.  Today, health care and materials companies are worthy of consideration.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/wargent2.gif" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>Of course, this doesn't mean all companies in a sector are worth buying, or even any of them. There is no "one size fits all."</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Focus</strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>This was one of a raft of pieces of late referencing popping property bubbles, property speculators, the end of the property boom, shares now being due to outperform property, and so on.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/monty.jpg" alt=""></div>
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<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/monty2.jpg" alt=""></div>
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<div> </div>
<div>
<div>All fair enough, although the truth is that ex-Sydney (and to a lesser extent Melbourne) there hasn't actually been a property boom to date in this cycle, rather a protracted period of relatively flat prices in real terms, and correspondingly there is no "Australian property bubble".<br><br>Resources influenced Perth and Darwin are seeing declining rents, the polar opposite of frothy conditions, while a number of mining towns have already capitulated. Canberra's property markets seem similarly uninspired.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Why so much angst from equities-only investors then, one wonders, apart from the wider ramifications for the Australian economy and share markets of a genuine and material property correction?</div>
<br><div>An obvious point from a fundie perspective is that more funds under management equals more fees, so naturally enough does make sense to point out from time to time the benefits of a diversified share portfolio over the risks of holding a specific investment property or portfolio of properties.<br><br>I'm not sure whether it makes a great deal of difference, though. In my experience there exists a fair proportion of investors who are simply "shares people" or "real estate" people, and they won't ever be budged either way!<br><br><strong>Stock valuations decline</strong>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Perhaps another of the reasons for the angst is that the Australian share markets (generally!) have been on the receiving end of a bit of a shellacking over the past month, which naturally the financial media reports unfailingly on a daily basis.</div>
<br><div>Since threatening to crunch through 6,000 on March 18 the market has tanked, paring all the way back down to 5,600.<br><br>6,000 now seems like a distant dream once again, although the recent dovish Board Minutes from the Reserve Bank reinstated a moderate easing bias, which may help to fire markets up again.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Now as intelligent people both you and I know that such short term movements don't mean a great deal for stock market investors with a long term mindset.<br><br>In fact, cheaper market prices equates to a greater array of buying opportunities for those with an appropriately disciplined investment approach.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>But it's funny what daily media headlines can do to folk, particularly when Sydney house prices are suddenly once again rising at an annualised pace of somewhere north of 15%. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The XJO (ASX 200) chart shows that this index has pulled back to the same level as the beginning of March 2007, well over eight years ago.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/ASX.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>While experienced investors are well aware that accumulated returns inclusive of dividends have been robust, a good proportion of Mum and Dad investors tend to like to see capital gains, preferably of the fast buck variety.<br><br><strong>Sydney property leads cycle</strong>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>What seemed to be a highly unlikely outcome for much of the past decade is now once again becoming a reality - Sydney houses selling for double what they did during their last cyclical low around 2005.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Granted I have only come across a few such examples to date, all of them houses rather than apartments, and usually in popular beachside suburbs such as Bondi, but I expect this will become an increasingly common occurrence over the year ahead.</div>
<div>
<br>Of course, the main advantage that property investors have over share market investors is the use of leverage which can magnify gains...and losses.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>An investment which doubles in value can see the dollars invested increased 10 or 20 fold before transaction and holding costs - for those who get it right and are prepared to hold through the lean periods of the cycle.</div>
<div>
<br>Dare we even mention it, some folk even used 100 per cent leverage in the period leading up the the financial crisis, making the returns on "investment" extraordinarily high.<br><br><strong>Risks to the downside</strong>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>There is an old saying in investment that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.<br><br>So, what's the catch? </div>
<div> </div>
<div>One such catch is that most people just aren't very good at investing in property. The stats show that most don't achieve their goals, owning only one or two properties, with many selling within the first early years of ownership.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>It's not always entirely their fault, mind - property advisers have recommended some desperate choices over the last decade, including mining towns and any number of far-flung locations which haven't fared anything like as well as Sydney has. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It was popular for a while to say that capital city investors were singing the same old tune from years ago and had failed to move with the times, though I haven't heard anyone saying that of late as the Sydney market continues to take off.<br><br>Inner ring Brisbane is now seeing prices rising again too, though not for all property types and suburbs it must be said, and I believe that generic apartments will struggle through this cycle.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Spruikfest</strong></div>
<br><div>You only had to set foot in the <em>Sydney Homebuyer Show</em> this year to see that the property forum was packed to the rafters with the flocking crowds far outweighing the numbers at the share trading and investing event.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>This is what always happens when house prices are rising, of course.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Unfortunately so too were the self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) property spruikers out in force, barking orders about setting up trust structures to buy property to anyone who would listen - and anyone who wasn't listening as well, come to think of it.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The thing to remember is that property and shares are not really directly comparable investments for any number of reasons which I don't have the space or inclination to repeat here.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Equities are a far "cleaner" and more liquid asset class, very well suited to retirees of the right mindset contrary to popular opinion, particularly given the favourable tax treatment of franked dividend income in Australia.<br><br>No tenants or related headaches. No repairs and maintenance bills, Quick and easy to sell parcels of shares. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Property investment suits many long term Mum and Dad investors, despite its illiquidity, and the leverage can see them magnify gains (or losses) at a greater rate, provided they invest well (or badly).</div>
<div> </div>
<div>For reasons I never really got my head around some property advisers have recommended investing in towns where there is acres of land around and thus no scarcity. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The key to long term successful property investment is finding an asset which is in extremely high demand.<br><br>This generally means the larger capital cities, near jobs and where people want and need to live - and is scarce in supply, which ideally means a dwelling with a land value content, and in a land-locked suburban location.<br><br>The long run data shows that even most average capital city property has generally done well through the cycles, beating inflation over time.<br><br>It won't be long before the Sydney median house price has doubled again since 2003, soon thereafter to be threatening the $1 million level.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/05/22/Property.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<p><em><span>PETE WARGENT </span>is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>His book '<a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>' is out now.</em></p>
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Blowing bubbles (again): Pete Wargent

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<p><span>Australia's four most populous states accounted for a thumping 93.4% of Australia's </span>population growth<span> over the year to Q1 2015, with New South Wales (its total population increasing to 7,597,000), Victoria (5,915,000), Queensland (4,767,000) and Western Australia (2,587,000) being the four states in question.</span><br><br><span>You could more or less chuck a soggy beach towel over the rest. </span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/B1.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/09/25/B1.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>The greatest gains in headcount across the most recent 12 month reporting period were seen in New South Wales (+101,200), Victoria (+97,500) and Queensland (+61,100), and as we've already seen that the recent "births" figures are almost certainly materially </span><a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/population-growth-surprise" target="_blank">understated</a><span> for the two most populous states. </span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/b2.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/09/25/b2.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p> </p>
<div>Population growth rates have slowed dramatically in the resources states and territories, including in Queensland (+1.3 per cent), and particularly in Western Australia (+1.4 per cent).<br><br>Meanwhile population growth in the Northern Territory has dried up almost completely (+0.2 per cent), and with net interstate migration away from the Top End reaching its most rapid level on record (-3,400) population 'growth' is set to turn negative in due course. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Population growth has also slowed in another state which is suffering from a "brain drain" - South Australia - where net interstate migration of negative -3,000 has helped to pull the rate of population growth down to just +0.8 per cent, though it still needs to slow further.<br><br>The 'Festival State' has not created a single full time job on a net basis since 2007 and the result has been a horribly increasing rate of unemployment.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/25/b2-1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/09/25/b2-1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Components of growth</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Net overseas migration remains very strong in New South Wales (+67,000) and Victoria (+55,000), but has clearly slowed in the resources states as the mining construction boom begins to fade into the rear view mirror.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/25/B5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/09/25/B5.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>The most interesting trend for me over the last few years has been to note just how few people have been choosing to leave Sydney and Melbourne for cheaper or warmer climes (refer to the net interstate migration chart below), instead opting to stay put for the relative security of their capital city employment.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>That said, I do know more than a few people - including myself, in fact - who have recently decided to relocate from Sydney to Brisbane.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Brisbane is not only comparatively inexpensive, it also has a warmer climate and is considerably less crowded - and thus if the jobs market is creating the requisite employment it should be a no-brainer from my perspective!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The data below shows that the trickle of Sydneysiders moving to Queensland <em>has </em>only been a trickle through this cycle to date, and most certainly not a flood.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>That said, net interstate migration for the March quarter into Queensland (+1,300) was plenty stronger than we saw in the prior corresponding period (+700) taking annual net interstate migration into the Sunshine State back up to +6,200 from its recent nadir.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/25/B4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div> </div>
<div><img src="/images/2015/09/25/B4.jpg" alt=""></div>
<div> </div>
<div><span>Totting that little lot up we can see in the chart below that population growth has slowed significantly in Western Australia (+35,300) and Queensland (+61,100), and has slowed further in South Australia (+13,900).</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><a href="/images/2015/09/25/B3.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><span><img src="/images/2015/09/25/B3.jpg" alt=""></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>On the other hand annual population growth remains supremely strong in New South Wales (+101,200) and Victoria (+97,500) despite the under-reporting of births over the past six months.<br><br><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Housing supply</span></strong>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>On an obliquely related note, although I can't remember exactly where I read it, somewhere this week was a piece which suggested that the construction of 10,000 apartments over four years at Sydney's Green Square would form part of a "tsunami" of oversupply in Sydney.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I'm not sure if this was some kind of gee-up, but as you can see the in the figures above with the state population having increased by close to +400,000 over the past four years alone...I dunno, but I reckon someone's having a giraffe.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Whatever the case, New South Wales has an existing stock of close to <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/nsw-dwelling-stock-value-explodes" target="_blank">3 million dwellings</a>, and to my knowledge there has not been any recorded example of such a tiny fraction of additional construction having a material impact on a capital city property market.<br><br>Like London, Sydney is a city which is increasingly constrained in terms of its land supply in desirable locations, and is a city which is more or less permanently in a position of requiring new supply.<br><br>Now granted we're presently constructing proportionately far too many of those "shoebox" type developments - no arguments there - but as the Greater Sydney population continues to mushroom over time any such localised examples of oversupply will only ever be temporary in nature. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<p><span><em>PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">AllenWargent</a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">blogger</a>.</em><br></span></p>
<p><em>His latest book is <a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</a>.</em></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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State population trends: Pete Wargent

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<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">Commentary on the affordability issue has become so twisted that media is quoting Sydney’s median house price as a relevant topic.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">We recently had the <em><span class="Body__Char">Australian Financial Review</span></em>, which should know better, writing about the level of income needed by a first-home buyer to afford the median Sydney dwelling, as well as the median-priced dwelling in the other capital cities.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">My question is: how is this in any way relevant to the issue of affordability?</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">First-home buyers don’t buy at the median price, not in Sydney, nor in Melbourne, nor anywhere else in Australia. First-home buyers buy below the median, indeed well below it. Always have done – and, I dare say, always will.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">The median price for dwellings in the major cities at the moment are $750,000 in Sydney, $570,000 in Melbourne, $465,000 in Brisbane and $510,000 in Perth. According to CoreLogic RP Data, the median across the eight state and territory capital cities is $570,000.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">But the average first-home-buyer loan at present is $334,800, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Assuming the typical first-timer has a 10% deposit, this means the median dwelling price for a first-home buyer is around $370,000.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">Given that 25% of all residential sales are being made to first-time buyers, there’s are a lot of novice buyers out there acquiring properties at the lower end of the market. In the past year, around 120,000 Australians have made a first-time purchase.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">Those numbers are relevant to the discussion. The median price in our most expensive city is not.</span></p>
<p class="Body"><span class="Body__Char">The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia published some numbers this week that also have some relevance to the topic. Good to see those people putting out material that’s actually useful to a sensible debate, unlike some of their recent talk-down-the-market nonsense.</span></p>
<p class="Normal">REIWA president David Airey said, quite rightly, that it was important not to use the median price as the guide for the costs of getting into the market for first-home buyers and others.</p>
<p class="Normal">Airey said the median was the middle point in the market and that half of all sales were under it. This means buyers don’t need to be able to afford the median-priced dwelling to enter the market.</p>
<p class="Normal">I think it’s sad that anyone needs to make this point, which is so obvious it should be a given in the debate. But the media coverage of the issue has become so irrational that industry people have to go back to kindergarten levels to try inject some balance.</p>
<p class="Normal">“It’s also important to recognise that first-home buyers, in particular, usually purchase homes well under the median price, with Office of State Revenue data for May showing the median point for entry-level buyers being $450,000 in Perth and $366,000 in the WA regions,” Airey said.</p>
<p class="Normal">“Even the median purchase price for first-home buyers means that half of all entry-level buyers are paying under these city and country median prices for their demographic.”</p>
<p class="Normal">Airey said it was more useful for first-home buyers to look at the lower quartile, or bottom 25%, of the more affordable homes in an area to get a better perspective of what was available at more accessible prices.</p>
<p class="Normal">REIWA data for the year to March shows that the south-east sub-region of Perth through Gosnells, Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale had the most affordable lower quartile, with  houses selling around $370,000.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p class="Normal">Apartments and land were most affordable in the south-west sub-region through Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham.</p>
<p class="Normal">Airey said even within the various sub-regions around Perth there were individual suburbs which were under the lower quartile for their local area.</p>
<p class="Normal">“For example, the central sub-region has a lower quartile of $550,000, but it’s possible to find houses in Balga priced at around $385,000.</p>
<p class="Normal">“Similarly, while the median price for units in the south-west sub-region is $277,000, you can find them in Orelia at around $196,000.”</p>
<p class="Normal">Airey said that buyers should not be put off by the median price for a region or suburb, and look to the lower quartile for opportunities in areas they might initially think are out of their price range based on the overall median.</p>
<p class="Normal">So true, so bleeding obvious and so sad that anyone needs to stand up and say it.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p class="Body"> </p>
<p><em>TERRY RYDER is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a> </em></p>
<p>Terry was recently joined by <em>Property Observer</em> editor at large Jonathan Chancellor for a webinar on why research is the key to successful property investing in 2015. You can download slides and audio from the webinar here.</p>
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Just stand up and say it: Terry Ryder

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<p>With each passing week, the rhetoric on housing issues becomes less and less rational. On topics such as affordability and negative gearing, we have something akin to a form of mass hysteria. Apparently sensible people are making statements which, years from now, will cause them great embarrassment when they look back.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">With the media we have in Australia, it’s almost impossible to have a rational debate on any subject. Media runs with its pre-conceived story lines and the only people who get heard are those willing to make outlandish comments that fit the ordained theme – such as, the Great Australian Dream is dead or negative-geared property owners are all rich bastards being subsidised by the taxation system or there’s a bubble, whatever that means.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Attention-seekers like economists know how to grab a bit of limelight – pander to media’s obsession with its pre-determined headlines, all of them based around Sydney’s property prices.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">The great peculiarity of this “debate”, for lack of a better word, is that it’s happening when we don’t have a property boom or a national affordability problem. We have only one major city with boom-time price growth (although tame relative to 2002-2003). </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">If that one city was Perth or Adelaide, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Media is all agog about it because the one elevated city market is Sydney and we have a hopelessly Sydney-centric media.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Around 20 million Australians live outside Sydney and they’re all watching this runaway hysteria about real estate with mounting bemusement. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">It’s difficult for people in Perth and Hobart, where markets are going backwards, to relate to the notion that they need to accept lending restrictions because Sydney allegedly has a problem. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">In Darwin, where vacancies are high, rents have dropped 5% in the past year and apartment prices are down 4%, people are wondering what the fuss is all about.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">And in Canberra, which is producing similar statistics to Darwin, they must be scratching their heads at the panic that’s driving commentary three hours up the road in Sydney.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">One of the absurdities of the affordability “debate” is that people keep referring to the Sydney median price and how first-time buyers can’t afford it. Sydney’s median is too high for a first-home buyer, therefore Australia has an affordability crisis. </span></p>
<p>The latest is serial publicity seeker and failed politician Graham Richardson, who is sadly typical of electronic media celebrities – a big ego, a loud voice and zero knowledge of important subjects. </p>
<p>His real estate rant on Sky News this week was a cacophony of misinformation. He said “the mean” dwelling in Sydney cost “a million dollars”, when the true figure is $752,000. He said this was “completely and utterly out of the reach of the new player”. But first-time buyers don’t buy at the median price – they buy below the median price, in Sydney and everywhere else. </p>
<p>A median price of $752,000 means half of all sales are below that figure – and in many Sydney locations it’s a lot below that figure. The No.1 most popular suburb in Sydney for buyers of dwellings is Blacktown (the suburb) – close to 1,000 homes changed hands there in the past 12 months, at a median price for $385,000 for apartments and $535,000 for houses (which means half of all sales were lower than those figures). Blacktown (the municipality) is also the No.1 LGA in NSW for population growth and the No.1 venue for first-home buyers. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">There are hundreds of similar examples across the Sydney metropolitan area. So Richardson’s throwaway line that “it’s a grim future” for buyers in Sydney is nothing more than sound-byte generation from a pointless talking head. </span></p>
<p>He did mention that it wasn’t so bad elsewhere in Australia (a brief acknowledgment there is life in Australia beyond Sydney) and he mentioned Brisbane. He said prices were okay there because “there’s been no increase for years.” Again, wrong. But, then, being wrong in a loud voice is how “Richo” makes his way in the world. Sad.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, some attention-seeking behaviour of The Greens has added to the morass that is real estate coverage.</p>
<p>The Greens can be competent advocates of important issues like environment (though less so since Bob Brown retired) but they will never be serious contenders for government while they remain economically illiterate. Their latest clanger is the claim that scrapping negative gearing would raise $42 billion for government over 10 years. It would do nothing of the sort. </p>
<p>They’ve misunderstood the budget impacts, even without considering the fact that state and federal budgets would be losers if negative gearing was scrapped and people stopped buying investment properties, because of the lost revenue in stamp duty, capital gains tax and land tax. </p>
<p>The impact on rentals, for people who are unable to buy homes, would be alarming, as it was in the 1980s when negative gearing was (briefly) disallowed. </p>
<p>But the nation overall and the federal budget long-term would be the biggest losers, because if people aren’t investing to fund their retirement years, the nation has to fund them with pensions – and with our ageing population and the fragile state of the federal budget, that’s not sustainable. </p>
<p>The Greens have characterised negative gearing as low-income taxpayers subsidizing rich people – and that is simply dishonest. Three-quarters of people who own investment properties are average income earners who own just one property. </p>
<p>Most of them believe that investing for their retirement is doing the right thing by the nation. In condemning them with this poorly-considered and downright deceitful announcement, the Greens are making a serious error of judgment.</p>
<p><em>TERRY RYDER is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p>
<p>Terry is presenting a free webinar with Property Observer editor at large Jonathan Chancellor on Tuesday June 16 at 12.30pm titled on why research is the key to successful property investing in 2015. Sign up here.</p>
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Housing rhetoric becoming less rational: Terry Ryder

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<p>The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released demographic data for the March 2015 quarter earlier today. The data showed that despite a quarterly bounce in population growth, the rate of growth continues to trend lower.</p>
<p>The national population increased by 1.35% over the 12 months to March 2015 which was the lowest annual rate of growth in nine years. Although growth slowed it should still be noted that Australia’s population increased by 315,952 persons over the past year. Although population growth has slowed it remains well above the long term average of 256,801 per annum.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-13.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-13.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><span>Over the March 2015 quarter, the national population increased by 93,942 persons, substantially higher than what was recorded over the December 2014 quarter when the nationally population recorded an increase of 64,010 persons.  Over the 12 months to March 2015, the national population increased by 315,952 persons which is the lowest annual increase in population since the 12 month period ending June 2011 when the nation recorded population growth of 308,274 persons.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-23.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-23.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p><span>At a national level there are two components of population growth, natural increase (births minus deaths) and net overseas migration. Each of these measures recorded a bounce over the past quarter however, both components continue to trend lower on an annual basis. Over the 12 months to March 2015 natural increase was recorded at 142,898 persons and net overseas migration was recorded at 173,054. Natural increase was -9.7% lower over the year while net overseas migration was -16.0% lower, its largest annual fall since March 2011.  </span></p>
<p><span>While the decrease in the rate of natural increase implies a sharp rise in deaths or slowdown in births, it is important that the ABS has noted that there are problems with the preliminary natural increase estimates due to a lag in registering births in both NSW and Vic.  We are likely to an upwards correction to this data over the coming quarters which will lift the rate of population growth.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-32.jpg" target="_blank"><span>Click to enlarge</span></a></p>
<p><span><img src="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-32.jpg" alt=""></span></p>
<p>Across the states and territories the rate of annual population growth is lower compared to the same time a year ago across the board. Although population growth is slowing, the sharpest slowdown in population growth is being felt in WA and NT. In WA the rate of population growth has slowed to 1.4% over the year to March 2015 from 3.5% two years earlier.  Similarly, annual population growth in the NT was 3.0% two years ago and the latest data shows it at just 0.2% over the past year.</p>
<p>Looking at the components of population growth we will ignore natural increase at this juncture because the ABS have highlighted some issues with the data for NSW and Vic. The two other drivers of population growth at a state and territory level are overseas migration and interstate migration.  NSW and Vic are the major benefactors of net overseas migration to Australia while Vic and Qld are the only benefactors of interstate migration.</p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-4.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-4.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p><span>Over the 12 months to March 2015, net overseas migration to Australia was recorded at 173,054 persons. More than two thirds of net overseas migration flowed to NSW (38.9%) and Vic (31.6%). If you add in Qld (12.1%), the three most populous states accounted for 82.6% of net overseas migration. Although net overseas migration is trending lower, the impact of the end of the mining boom is very clear. In March 2013, annual net overseas migration was recorded at 41,745 persons in Qld, 53,834 persons in WA and 5,173 persons in NT. Over the past year, annual net overseas migration had slowed to 20,857 persons in Qld, 15,383 persons in WA and 1,041 persons in NT.  </span></p>
<p><span>Conversely in NSW where mining is a smaller part of the overall economy, net overseas migration has actually increased from 63,661 persons in March 2013 to 67,272 persons in March 2015. Similarly in Vic net overseas migration has been much stronger over the past 2 years, falling slightly from 55,562 persons to 54,745 persons. Of course while most of the overseas migration is coming to NSW and Vic, most of that is flowing into Sydney and Melbourne fuelling more demand for housing and helping to explain why home value growth in those two cities has been so strong.</span></p>
<p><a href="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-5.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<p><img src="/images/2015/09/25/Chart-5.jpg" alt=""></p>
<p>At a national level net interstate migration cancels itself out and does not add to population growth however, at a state level it can greatly impact on population growth. Over the past 12 months, only Vic (9,774 persons) and Qld (6,195 persons) have seen a positive inflow of residents from other states. In fact, net interstate migration into Vic is currently at its strongest level on record. Qld has recorded a slight rebound in net interstate migration however, it continues to hover around its lowest level on record. For the length of this data series (since 1981) NSW has consistently lost residents to other states and that remains the case losing 6,195 residents over the year. </p>
<p>The outflow of residents from NSW is hovering at around record low levels. WA has typically been a benefactor of interstate migration however, it lost a net -1,269 residents last year; its greatest loss since June 2003. Again we can see the impact of the slowing of the resources sector. In March 2013, net interstate migration was recorded at a higher 9,026 persons in Qld and 9,691 persons in WA. Conversely, net interstate migration at that time was recorded at -15,513 persons in NSW and 3,454 persons in Vic.</p>
<p>The trends in overseas and interstate migration in particular show that the population growth tide has turned away from the mining states and is now firmly focussed on NSW and Vic which have relatively little mining sector exposure. These states are also creating more employment opportunities and are subsequently attracting both people migrating from overseas and interstate. Higher population growth means more demand for housing, which is one of the drivers pushing dwelling values higher in Sydney and Melbourne.</p>
<p>The more up-to-date overseas arrivals and departures data from the ABS indicates that permanent and long-term arrivals into Australia have continued to trend lower since March 2015. This indicates that net overseas migration is expected to continue to trend lower over the coming quarters. It is also likely to result in more of these migrants wanting to move to NSW and Vic due to the fact that these are the states where more jobs are being created.</p>
<p>This is of course despite the fact that the two capital cities in these two states recording home value growth which is well in excess of growth elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>Cameron Kusher is research analyst for CoreLogic RP Data. You can contact him <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/cameron-kusher/" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>
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Population growth slumps to its slowest rate in nine years: Cameron Kusher

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<p>I’m struggling to find a time when the bureaucrats and politicians struggled as much as they presently are when trying to define what exactly is happening to the Sydney property markets – please note that I have used plural as against the popular and misrepresented singular definition.</p>
<p>Australia’s head cashier Joe Hockey is having an absolute shocker given he hails from a family that has a rich real estate heritage. For example, last week he stated that more houses were needed to fix the home affordability issue. “I like many others, if you have a home, if you’re already there with a mortgage; you wonder how your children are going to get into it.” Well Joe, for starters I would immediately slash the foreign buying policy where you allow 100% of all new housing developments to be sold offshore to foreign buyers.</p>
<p>Then one week later announced that he “totally understands” housing in Sydney and Melbourne is expensive and advised first home buyers to “get a good job that pays good money. ”If you go back 10 years first home buyers represented 10% of the overall market – today they are struggling to record a 5% market participation. The Sydney and Melbourne property markets are overwhelmingly being driven by property investors and foreign buyers.</p>
<p>The real truth of the matter is that the Coalition and ALP don’t care about the buyers, or where they come from for that matter, this is all about strengthening the economy where real estate is now doing all the heavy lifting. The crux of the matter is that the property sector now contributes more to Australian gross domestic product (GDP) than mining. The property sector is estimated to generate 11.5% of GDP, employs 1.1 million Australians and pays $72.1 billion in state, federal and local real estate taxes each year.</p>
<p>Then we have Australia’s head teller Glenn Stevens pointing at another rate cut due to a weak economy given that the Australian economy is now weaker than forecast two years ago. In 2013 the projection was that the economy would be growing at a rate of 2.5% to 4% although by mid-2015 it will be lucky to post a growth rate of 2.5%. Stevens also commented this week that he is concerned about Sydney’s booming house prices – you see he used the term house although houses in certain parts of Sydney are not doing that well when compared to apartments.</p>
<p>Our research division has been recording some interesting Mosman ‘house’ sales.</p>
<ul>
<li>Stanley Avenue Mosman sold in 2010 for $12.000 and resold in 2015 for $12.300</li>
<li>Coronation Avenue Mosman sold in 2012 for $4.200 and resold in 2015 for $4.125</li>
<li>Botanic Road Mosman sold in 2013 for $2.750 and resold in 2014 for $2.550</li>
<li>Parriwi Road (apartment) sold in 2010 for $1.050 and resold in 2014 for $1.010</li>
<li>Parriwi Road (apartment) sold in 2010 for $2.250 and resold in 2014 for $2.150</li>
<li>Bradleys Head Road sold in 2007 for $5.400 and resold in 2015 for $5.100</li>
<li>Raglan Street Mosman sold in 2006 for $4.500 and resold in 2015 for $4.750</li>
</ul>
<p>The problem is purely that house prices are bundled as against separating houses from apartments and investors from owner occupiers. Let’s not start on what part the foreign buyers play in this equation given nobody has really bothered to measure this participation rate but I would add that it’s huge and much, much higher than the federal government ever envisaged (when they do get around to looking).</p>
<p>Glenn Stevens was using the HSBC research that found Australian house prices had risen 24 per cent in the past three years, though the gains had been mostly confined to Sydney and Melbourne – so why then call this Australian house prices? Sydney had jumped 39 per cent and Melbourne prices were up 22 per cent bringing the average price growth for the rest of the country at 10 per cent.</p>
<p>The real problem Australia is facing is getting the economy stimulated and thus far all the monetary measures have been a dismal failure. Yet again, the problem is contained directly in Canberra and the refusal to implement reform so on that basis I can see where Glenn Stevens is coming from.</p>
<p>Cast your mind back to 2008 when Ken Henry presented the Henry Tax Review (the Rudd government held on to it until 2010) – we need to remember what Ken Henry said at the time “Ken Henry warns of looming taxation crisis”, and said that need to change is urgent. In 2014, he warned that the Abbott government urgently needs a tax and welfare package to head off an imminent budget crisis.</p>
<p>Well we have a budget crisis and no tax reform and as Ken Henry put it “there will be a day of reckoning.” One only has to ask a simple question – where would the Australian economy be today had the Henry Tax Review been implemented?</p>
<p>So what we have is politicians only interested in re – election so any thought of reform is immediately removed until we get hit with a major economic downturn. The Henry Tax Review was designed to drive the economy and therefore minimise the likelihood of another economic downturn as experienced with the Global Financial Crisis. Governments don’t pay payroll tax however if you asked businesses what they would do with the savings if it were to be abolished – you would see a much different Australian economy than we are seeing presently.</p>
<h5>MOSMAN – 2088</h5>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 85</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 61</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 55</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 66</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 38</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 41</p>
<h5>CREMORNE – 2090</h5>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this time last year – 8</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 6</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 7</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year – 9</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 13</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 11</p>
<h5>NEUTRAL BAY – 2089</h5>
<p>* Number of houses on the market this time last year – 5</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market last week – 5</p>
<p>• Number of houses on the market this week – 3</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this time last year– 46</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market last week – 23</p>
<p>• Number of apartments on the market this week – 29</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><span>ROBERT SIMEON</span> is a director of </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/" target="_blank" title="RWM" rel="nofollow">Richardson Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay</a> </em><em>and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. <br>He has also been writing real estate blog </em><em><a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/news/" target="_blank" title="Virtual Realty News" rel="nofollow">Virtual Realty News</a> </em><em>since 2000. </em></p>
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