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

Joel Robinson

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

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

Parcel delivery is joining the apartment amenity checklist

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

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

Seasoned Victorian apartment developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a> has logged more than $400 million in sales in its luxury apartment project Palmera Residences at Northcliffe on the Gold Coast.&nbsp;

Central Equity Director Karl Kutner said the sales result reflected a combination of location, product quality and delivery certainty with the project already under construction by building powerhouse Multiplex.&nbsp;

"Surpassing $400 million in sales since launch is a significant milestone and an outstanding endorsement of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera Residences</a>,” he said.&nbsp;

"We believe one of the key reasons for this strong result is the confidence purchasers have in knowing the project is under construction with Multiplex. Buyers are increasingly looking for certainty. They want to know that the project they commit to today will be delivered by an experienced team with a proven track record."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365782]

Kutner said it was clear there was still high demand for luxury projects that offered certainty of delivery.&nbsp;

“We are in a market where many residential developments have faced delays due to rising construction costs, labour shortages and financing challenges,” said Kutner.&nbsp;

"But having construction underway has provided our buyers with resounding confidence backed by more than 40 years of development delivery by Central Equity combined with construction by one of Australia's most respected construction companies."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365785]

Central Equity is one of Australia's most experienced privately-owned property developers. Over more than four decades, the company has delivered in excess of 85 residential developments including 10,000 apartments and many thousands of stand alone homes.&nbsp;

Located on Garfield Terrace at Northcliffe, between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, Palmera Residences occupies one of the Gold Coast's most sought after beachside locations. The development has been designed to appeal to owner occupiers seeking premium residences that combine generous living spaces and resort style amenities.&nbsp;

Palmera Residences will feature an exceptional collection of resort style amenities, including two swimming pools: a generously sized family pool with safe shallow zones for relaxed recreation, and a 20 metre lap pool positioned to maximise all day sunlight.&nbsp;

Residents will also enjoy exclusive access to wellness and recreational facilities including a magnesium pool, sauna, yoga studio, expansive fitted gymnasium, resident lounge, outdoor BBQ’s&nbsp;and indoor and outdoor dining areas, together with a dedicated concierge and luxurious hotel inspired entrance foyer.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365767]

A unique feature at Palmera Residences has been designed to enhance the Gold Coast lifestyle which includes both indoor and outdoor gymnasium facilities, together with thoughtfully designed indoor and outdoor dining and entertaining areas. A corner café has also been incorporated to provide residents with a destination for their everyday needs.&nbsp;

Kutner said buyer demand had been broad based with purchasers attracted from interstate as well as throughout South East Queensland.&nbsp;

"We're seeing strong interest from owner occupiers, lifestyle buyers and people relocating to the Gold Coast. Many purchasers have been searching for a premium beachside residence where quality, design and delivery are equally important."&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Kutner said the sales milestone was an important achievement, but the focus remained firmly on delivering an exceptional development.&nbsp;

"While reaching $400 million in sales is an important milestone, our priority remains delivering a project that exceeds purchaser expectations,” he said.&nbsp;

"Palmera Residences has been designed to become one of the Gold Coast's landmark residential addresses, and we look forward to welcoming our purchasers to their new homes."&nbsp;

There are a limited number of residences remaining in selected configurations with pricing from $2,950,000 to $8,950,000. Palmera Residences is also crowned by expansive penthouses with wrap around views.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

Construction certainty and strong buyer demand drive major sales result for luxury Gold Coast development

Palmera Residences fly out the door as sales pass $400 million

National property developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/goldfields-group">Goldfields</a> has appointed BINAH as its construction partner for Quartet, its new Brisbane apartment development in the undersupplied suburb of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/milton-qld-4064">Milton</a>.

Located just two kilometres from the Brisbane CBD and moments from key 2032 Olympic precincts, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/quartet-milton-33-manning-street-milton-qld-4064">Quartet</a> will deliver 131 one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments priced from $1 million to $4.2 million, combining elevated design with a wellness-focused lifestyle offering.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108736 project_image_fid=368000]

Goldfields’ Chief Executive Officer, Lachlan Thompson, said the appointment of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/binah-constructions">BINAH</a> marked an important milestone for the project.&nbsp;

“Bringing BINAH on board as our construction partner will allow us to bring our vision for Quartet forward with a team that has a proven track record of delivering high-quality residential projects,” Thompson said.&nbsp;

“We’ve taken a considered approach to progressing the site because we wanted to deliver the whole package. Buyers ultimately back great developers, great projects and great builders, and with Quartet, we’ve made sure all three line up.

“People want certainty, they want to know the project will be built, that the homes will be delivered as promised, and that the developer stands behind the quality of what they create. That’s something Goldfields has built its reputation on over many years.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108736 project_image_fid=367993]

BINAH’s Managing Director, Khalil Hafza, said the company was proud to be partnering with Goldfields to deliver Quartet.&nbsp;

“Quartet is an exciting project to bring to life, particularly given the level of detail in the residences and the extensive rooftop amenity planned for the building,” Mr Hafza said.&nbsp;

“Our focus is on delivering a high-quality build that brings that design vision to life and creates homes residents will enjoy for many years.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108736 project_image_fid=367999]

The facilities at Quartet have been feared towards the roof, with a&nbsp;25 metre lap pool, spa, sauna and cold plunge, and a communal barbecue area and alfresco.

Town planning was designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> and brought to life by Melbourne-based architecture firm Cera Stribley.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/cera-stribley">Cera Stribley</a> Co-Founder and Managing Principal, Dom Cerantonio, said the project responds to both its riverside setting and Brisbane’s evolving urban character.&nbsp;

“Quartet has been designed to sit comfortably within its riverside context, offering a refined take on urban living through well-planned, generously proportioned residences that will stand the test of time,” Mr Cerantonio said.&nbsp;

“An emphasis on natural light, natural textures and carefully selected finishes from timber and marble to premium appliances, creates calm, considered interiors designed for comfort and long-term liveability.”&nbsp;

Construction of Quartet will commence in July 2026, with completion anticipated in Q4 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108736]

Construction to commence on 131-residence tower designed around wellness-focused living

Goldfields appoints BINAH for Quartet apartments in Milton

Housing Supply

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Rental rates fell across the combined capital cities over August with the exception of Melbourne, Darwin and Canberra according to CoreLogic's latest Rent Review. 
The combined capital city drop was 0.3 percent month on month
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Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic research analyst said weaker rental market conditions are expected to continue as overall housing supply grows.
"Over the past year rental rates have fallen by -0.5 percent and are now -1.4 percent lower than when they peaked back in May 2015," he said.
"In contrast, we saw capital city rental rates increase by 0.7 percent at this time last year. 
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“As long as wages growth continues to stagnate, coupled with historically high levels of new dwelling construction and slowing population growth, landlords won’t have much scope to increase rents. On the flipside, renters are now in a much better position to negotiate.
"There is the potential for a flight of tenant demand towards higher quality tenancy options in newer buildings. 
“It may be more difficult for owners of older units with fewer amenities to compete with better located and facilitated new unit stock, particularly if there is little pricing differential."
Over the past 12 months, rental rates have increased in Melbourne (+2.9 percent), Hobart (+6.8 percent) and Canberra (+2.6 percent). Rental rates are unchanged over the year in Sydney and have fallen in Brisbane (-1.1 percent), Adelaide (-0.3 percent), Perth (-9.4 percent) and Darwin (-14.1 percent). Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra have each recorded stronger rental growth over the past year compared to the previous year.
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Rental rates across Australia’s combined capital cities drop in August

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Housing Industry Association urges the Federal Government and Opposition to commit to actions targeting housing supply constraints in their election platforms. 
Providing affordable homes to house our growing, ageing and increasingly diverse population requires more than one line references about increasing supply.
Providing affordable homes that cater for families large and small, in capital cities and regional centres, in city centres and their suburbs requires vision and planning.
We don’t have a national housing plan.
Successive Federal Governments have failed to coalesce the roles, responsibilities and endeavours of state, territory and local governments. Governments at all levels, and their well-intentioned agencies, work outside of a national housing strategy. They don’t act in unison, towards a national goal.
It’s like attempting to piece together a jigsaw puzzle without knowing the image or landscape.
With an ageing workforce and mounting pressure on publicly funded services, the Federal Government cannot simply dismiss housing affordability as a supply problem for the states to solve.
An incoming Federal Government must do better. It needs to provide national leadership and vision, and the resources to support better targeted initiatives to increase the supply of both private and public housing.
Committing to a dedicated Federal Minister for Housing, within Cabinet, and establishing a national land planning council to provide national monitoring and reporting of land supply across each stage of the supply pipeline are high on the HIA’s list of imperatives. 
Instigating a holistic inquiry into the added cost of housing caused by taxes, excessive regulations and delays in planning assessments is also a priority for the housing industry. 
Graham Wolfe is chief executive industry policy and media, HIA and can be contacted <a href="https://hia.com.au/en/about.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>. 
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New housing fuels affordability: HIA's Graham Wolfe

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The national shortage of housing in Australia is nearly 250,000 dwellings, lower than previously estimated, but still a long way from being in structural surplus, according to ANZ Research's latest Economic Insight.
The study forecasts that housing construction and underlying housing demand will see a modest unwinding of the current housing shortage in coming years. This easing will, however, challenge the short-term support to dwelling sales and price growth from the underlying supply-demand imbalance in some markets.
Underlying housing imbalances don’t tend to be important in explaining short-term changes in dwelling prices. A strong increase in the national underlying housing shortage, however, has provided fundamental support to dwelling prices over the past decade, it says.
Foreign investment in Australian housing has increased sharply in recent years, providing a boost to new housing construction. However, the net impact of foreign investment on the supply of housing, and the housing market balance, is difficult to quantify due to limited reliable information about the number of unoccupied foreign investor dwellings.
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Housing construction booming; population growth slowing
Australian housing construction is booming but population growth has slowed, prompting speculation by some commentators that Australia’s housing market has, or will soon, have a surplus of housing. The market and media are flooded with views on the state of ‘balance’ in the Australian housing market. These views conclude that housing is either in surplus, balance or shortage depending on whether ‘the market’ refers to: the mortgage/sales market; annual population and housing construction flows; or long-term housing requirements and housing construction, in other words, what we estimate as the underlying housing market balance.
Analysis of demographics and housing construction shows that in the 20 years to 2005 Australia’s annual population growth fluctuated modestly around 218,000 people (1¼% y/y on average). Between 2006 and 2008, however, annual population growth increased sharply, to a peak of 460,000 people (2.2% y/y) in December 2008. This was largely because of very strong net overseas immigration. Over the past ten years, Australia’s population has increased, on average, by around 360,000 people per year (1.65% y/y).
Dwelling construction has struggled to keep up with Australia’s housing requirements (Figure 2). Only recently has housing construction broken away from a long-term cyclical reversion to annual housing completions of approximately 145,000 dwellings. This has reflected a surge in construction of high-rise apartments, particularly in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
<img src="/images/2016/03/23/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-23%20at%203.08.01%20PM.png" alt="" width="499" height="283">
Consequently, until recently almost a decade of underbuilding has driven a sharp run-up in Australia’s underlying housing shortage. Assuming that the housing market was in long-term cyclical balance – that is, the market wasn’t maintaining a long-term cyclical surplus for a 20-year period to 2005 – housing construction levels have only recently ‘caught up’ to annual housing construction requirements. That is, the surge in higher-density housing construction has driven housing construction levels to match annual underlying housing demand for the first time since 1995.
Based on our expectations of housing construction levels easing moderately from recent all-time highs in the coming years (from 220,000 dwelling starts in 2015 to 205,000 in 2016 and 198,000 in 2017) and slowing population growth (from 1.35% in 2015 to 1.30% in 2016), Australia’s underlying housing market balance should moderate in 2016 and 2017 (Figure 3).
<img src="/images/2016/03/23/Screen%20Shot%202016-03-23%20at%203.11.40%20PM.png" alt="" width="450" height="274">
 
What does the market balance mean for Australian House Prices?
An underlying shortage of housing has little explanatory power for short-term price growth, which is largely a reflection of: housing affordability (ie house prices compared to household income and mortgage rates); housing market sentiment; home buyer preferences; and housing market policy/regulation.
For example, the underlying shortage of housing in NSW continued to increase strongly through the recent periods of falling house prices in 2008-09 and 2011-12. However, an underlying housing market shortage (or existence of pent-up unsatisfied housing demand) does provide significant support to the long-term level of house prices, offsetting the downside risk to prices from short-term/cyclical factors (Figure 1). Looking ahead, markets with significant unsatisfied housing demand, particularly Sydney, have limited downside risks to prices absent unexpected shocks to household incomes.
That said, short-term/cyclical factors that drive house prices lower are likely to have more amplified and longer-term impacts in housing markets with weaker supply-demand balance fundamentals. That is, housing markets currently experiencing strong growth in new housing completions (ie inner-CBD Melbourne apartments, Western Sydney housing) and/or sharply weaker population growth (ie WA and Queensland mining regions) are likely to be more exposed to cyclical price falls than other markets.
In addition, house prices in markets that are considered more-or-less ‘in balance’, such as Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra, have much softer fundamental support and are more exposed to regional economic conditions.
What's changed: Why is the housing market shortage lower?
The Australian housing market has experienced some significant changes in recent years, including an increasing gap between home deposit and mortgage servicing affordability, stronger consumer preferences for higher-density dwellings and a strong appetite for housing as an investment asset.
How do these changes impact on our estimation of the housing market balance? The main assumptions that have been impacted by these changes are household formation rates and demolition rates – both of which have lowered our estimates of underlying demand for housing.
Household formation rates: to reflect subdued first home buyer activity and difficult home deposit affordability we have revised our historical and projected household formation rates lower (ie increasing the notional number of persons per household) 
Demolition rates: the issue of urban congestion, or concentrated population growth in the major capital cities, has increased housing demolition rates. This has been reflected by a strong increase in higher-density dwelling (apartment and townhouse) construction in inner-city locations in recent years. 
Foreign investors and Australia's housing market balance
Foreign investment in Australian housing has increased sharply in recent years, raising some concerns about the impact of foreign purchases on domestic housing market conditions. Most notably, these concerns have centred on the impact this has had on price growth. A lack of reliable and timely data1 on foreign investor purchases of
Australian housing makes it difficult to draw evidence-based conclusions on the net impact of recent activity on house prices, with most views based on anecdotal information.
However, assuming that the majority of foreign purchases are compliant with existing policy (ie. each purchase adds at least one new dwelling to the housing stock) it is fair to conclude that foreign investment has provided a boost to the supply of new housing and likely had little direct impact on underlying demand (depending on the motivation for the foreign investor purchase).
While the net impact of foreign investment is likely to provide limited direct support to demand for housing through household formation and population growth, it could add to underlying demand through a higher proportion of vacant or unoccupied dwellings. Similarly, there is little reliable data on this impact, with some data indicating a strong prevalence of ‘ghost towers’ and some apartment developers of the view that most foreign investors are tenanting apartment purchases for rental yield as well as capital security.
Consequently, we haven’t built any assumptions about the impact of growth in foreign investment to the proportion of vacant new dwelling completions. However, the 2016 ABS Census will be an important source of current information on the impact of foreign investment on underlying housing demand and Australia’s housing market balance.
Our overall view though is that foreign investment is likely to have eased underlying market balance pressure in the major capital cities.
 
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Is there still a housing shortage in Australia? ANZ Research says about 250,000 dwellings

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The Century 21 Australia chairman Charles Tarbey has warned the market could be hit with an oversupply of new properties.
“Then all of a sudden people get a bit frightened and concerned about settling," he told the REB website.
"They’d rather just lose their deposit and walk away or find a way out than to go ahead with purchasing an investment property.”
Mr Tarbey said there will be people who have put deposits on two or three properties.
“They’re not major investors, they are mums and dads that are starting out.
"There will be a few of them, and they are going to have to sit there and question whether or not they can come up with the extra cash if the valuations don’t meet the contract price that the properties are sold at.
“That’s the greatest risk.”
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Off the plan settlement risk coming: Charles Tarbey

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RBA Governor Glenn Stevens made his semi‑annual appearance before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today. 
Prepared opening remarks from the Governor were followed by a lengthy Q&amp;A session. 
Glenn Stevens gave his predictions for the Sydney and Melbourne property market.
He expects home prices “to take a bit of a breather for a while”.
Stevens says a slowdown in Sydney &amp; Melbourne prices would be “quite welcome.”
“I think we have seen prices fall in some parts of Sydney," he said.
As for housing oversupply, he believes that there may be oversupply in some pockets, but he has ruled out prospects for housing oversupply in Sydney.
Glenn Steven's opening statement can be read here.
 
 
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Glenn Stevens gives his 2016 predictions for Sydney and Melbourne property

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Sydney has 2.4 months of supply left on the market, according to CoreLogic RP Data's senior research analyst Cameron Kusher.
He said the figure has increased from 2.2 months over each of the past two years and despite the rise, it is still the shortest month of supply for each capital city.
"Across the combined capital cities, there is currently 3.4 months of supply on the market," he said.
"This figure has increased from a recent low of 2.9 months in March."
 
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Vendor offerings equal 2.4 months of supply on the Sydney market: CoreLogic RP Data

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Three vacant government land sites north of Sydney are being auctioned off with the potential for development into 100 dwellings.
The three residential sites, a high density residential development site at 2 Burley Street, Lane Cove North, a medium density residential development site at 460 Willoughby Road, Willoughby and seven lots in Kerela Avenue, Muttama Street and The Broadway, Wahroonga, will be offered online 5 November through Frank Knight.
Government Property NSW chief executive officer Brett Newman, said proceeds from these sales will be reinvested back into government agencies. 
“These sales reflect the Government’s approach to divesting latent property assets which are not core to service delivery," he said.
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NSW Government land sales announced for Sydney's north

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GUEST OBSERVER
Allowing first homebuyers to cash out their super to buy a home is a seductive idea with a long history. Like the nine-headed Hydra, which replaced each severed head with two more, each time the idea is cut down it seems to return even stronger.
Both sides of federal politics took proposals to the 1993 election to let Australians draw down their super. After re-election, then Prime Minister Paul Keating scrapped it amid widespread criticism. Former Treasurer Joe Hockey raised the idea again in March and was roundly criticised by academics and the media. This month the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has again resurrected the idea.
House prices have skyrocketed again over the past two years, particularly in Sydney. So politicians are attracted to any policy that appears to help first homebuyers to build a deposit. Unlike the various first homebuyers’ grants that cost billions each year, letting first homebuyers cash out their super would not hurt the budget bottom line – at least, not in the short term. But the change would worsen housing affordability, leave many people with less to retire on, and cost taxpayers in the long run.
It is a bad idea for five reasons.
First, measures to boost demand for housing, without addressing the well-documented restrictions on supply, do not make housing more affordable. Giving prospective first homebuyers access to their superannuation will help them build a house deposit, but it would worsen affordability for buyers overall. Unless supply increases, more people with deposits would simply bid up the price of existing homes, and the biggest winners would be the people who own them already.
Second, the proposal fails the test of superannuation being used solely to fund an adequate living standard in retirement. The government puts tax concessions on super to help workers provide their own retirement incomes. In return, workers can’t access their superannuation until they reach a certain age without incurring tax penalties.
While paying down a home is an investment, owner-occupiers also benefit from having somewhere to live without paying rent. These benefits that a house provides to the owner-occupier – which economists call housing services – are big, accounting for a sixth of total household consumption in Australia. Using super to buy a home they live in would allow people to consume a significant portion of the value of their superannuation savings as housing services well before they reach retirement.
Third, most first homebuyers who cash out their super would end up with lower overall retirement savings, even after accounting for any extra housing assets. Owner-occupiers give up the rent on their investment. With average gross rental yields sitting between 3% and 5% across major Australian cities, the impact on end retirement savings can be very large. Consequently, owner-occupiers will tend to have lower overall lifetime retirement savings than if the funds were left to compound in a superannuation fund.
Frugal homebuyers might maintain the value of their retirement savings if they save all the income they no longer have to pay as rent. In reality, few will have such self-discipline. Compulsory savings through superannuation have led many people to save more than they would otherwise. A recent Reserve Bank study found that each dollar of compulsory super savings added between 70 and 90 cents to total household wealth. If first homebuyers can cash out their super savings early to buy a home that they would have saved for anyway, then many will save less overall.
Fourth, the proposal would hurt government budgets in the long run. Superannuation fund balances are included in the Age Pension assets test. The family home is not. If people funnel some of their super savings into the family home, gaining more home equity but reducing their super fund balance, the government will pay more in pensions in the long-term.
Government would be spared this cost if any home purchased using super were included in the Age Pension assets test, but that would be very hard to implement. For example, do you only include the proportion of the home financed by superannuation? Or would the whole home, including principal repayments made from post-tax income, be included in the assets test? The problems go away if all housing were included in the pension assets test, but this would be a very difficult political reform.
Fifth, early access to super for first homebuyers could make the superannuation system even more unequal than it is today. Many first homebuyers are high-income earners. Allowing them to fund home purchases from concessionally-taxed super would simply add to the many tax mitigation strategies that already abound.
Consider the case of a prospective homebuyer earning A$200,000. Their concessional super contributions are taxed at 15%, rather than at their marginal tax rate of 47%. Once they buy a home, any capital gains that accrue as it appreciates are tax-free, as are the stream of housing services that it provides. Such attractive tax treatment of an investment – more generous than the already highly concessional tax treatment of either superannuation or owner occupied housing – would be prone to massive rorting by high-income earners keen to lower their income tax bills.
What, then, should the federal government do to make housing more affordable?
<h2>Helping fix our cities</h2>
Above all, new federal Minister for Cities Jamie Briggs should support policies to boost housing supply, especially in the inner and middle ring suburbs of major cities where most people want to live, and which have much better access to the centre of cities where most of the new jobs are being created. The federal government has little control over planning rules, which are administered by state and local governments. But it can use transparent performance reporting, rewards and incentives to stimulate state government action, using the same model as the National Competition Policy reforms of the 1990s.
Other reforms, such as reducing the 50% discount on capital gains tax and tightening negative gearing, would also reduce pressure on house prices and could be implemented straight away. Such favourable tax treatment drives up house prices because it increases the after-tax returns to housing investors. The number of negatively geared individuals doubled in the 10 years after the capital gains tax discount was introduced in 1999. More than 1.2 million Australian taxpayers own a negatively geared property, and they claimed A$14 billion in net rental losses in 2011-12.
There are no quick fixes to housing affordability in Australia. Yet any government that can solve the problem by boosting housing supply in inner and middle suburbs, while refraining from further measures to boost demand, will almost certainly find itself rewarded, by voters and by history.
Brendan Coates is senior associate, Grattan Institute and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-coates-154644" target="_blank">here</a>.
John Daley<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-daley-1870" rel="author"> </a>is chief executive officer, Grattan Institute and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-daley-1870" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
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Five reasons the Turnbull government shouldn’t let us spend super on a home

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<div>Now the construction sector is expanding again per AIG.</div>
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<div>Some good analysis from AIG that is well worth a read - apartment construction is an obvious strong point, which makes the drag on second quarter GDP by dwelling construction something of a mystery.</div>
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<div>Perhaps the residential construction industry is operating at or close to its full capacity?</div>
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<div>In any case, I expect dwelling construction to contribute to the economic growth in the third quarter.</div>
<a href="/images/2015/09/09/PCI.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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All three of AIG's Performance Indices are now in expansion territory - manufacturing, construction and services.
<a href="/images/2015/09/09/AIG.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/09/09/AIG.jpg" alt="">
Source: AIG
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>. 
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>.
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pwargent-M4siyDbqQY

Construction expands in August: Pete Wargent

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The public and VIP CBRE launch of the $140 million residential complex Macquarie Green is slated for next month with construction expected to begin late this year.
Designed by Marchese Partners, and developed by TOGA and Gresham Property, Macquarie Green’s gated community features 164 one, two and three bedroom apartments and townhouses across four low-rise buildings.
Two design features are available - Sanctuary, with timber undertones and white joinery and Oasis, offering grey oak floors with silver elm and antique white cabinetry. Smeg appliances, custom cabinetry, exquisite joinery, stone benches and timber floors are also included.
The development nears the Sydney Metro Northwest line and The Macquarie Centre upgrade (Herring Road Precinct).
Construction on Macquarie Green will begin in late 2015 with completion proposed for mid-2017.
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