The new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/yarraville-green-42-stephen-street-yarraville-vic-3013">Yarraville Green</a> development in Melbourne's inner west is showing that landscaping can be just as influential as architecture, with buyers responding strongly to the garden-first approach adopted from the outset by developer Excelon Projects and the project's design team.

Excelon appointed Six Degrees Architects and landscape architects SBLA to work collaboratively on the development, with a brief to create "a sustainable, design-led building with a focus on community."

That approach has resonated with buyers. According to Next Chapter Director Tom Hirini, who is leading the sales campaign, the landscaped communal garden has become one of the project's defining features, alongside its boutique scale and European-inspired cluster housing concept.

Local downsizers, right-sizers and established families already living in Yarraville and surrounding suburbs have accounted for the majority of purchasers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297740]

Yarraville Green will comprise 53 homes, including apartments and townhomes, arranged around the shared central garden to maximise connections to the landscaped open space. Parking has been moved underground, allowing the ground plane to be dedicated to greenery, pedestrian movement and communal spaces.

The landscape extends well beyond passive planting. Productive garden beds, a pergola, communal gathering spaces, garden sheds and a pet wash have all been integrated into the masterplan, creating spaces designed to encourage everyday interaction between residents.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297741]

The interiors continue Excelon's focus on craftsmanship, incorporating bespoke elements by Melbourne artisans including leadlight detailing by Adadaz, hand-turned timber hardware by Auburn Woodturning and blown-glass lighting by Ruth Allen.

Sustainability has also been embedded throughout the project, with Yarraville Green targeting an average 7-star NatHERS energy rating through passive design principles, rooftop solar servicing common areas and rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144913 project_image_fid=297735]

Construction continues to progress at Yarraville Green, with structural works well underway and framing works approaching completion under builder Balmain &amp; Co. The project remains on track for completion in mid-2027.

Apartments at Yarraville Green are currently priced from $625,000, while townhomes start from $1.4 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144913]

Joel Robinson

Garden-led design drives buyer demand at Yarraville Green

National diversified developer Fortis has officially launched Crest &amp; Walker, its latest Brisbane apartment development, with construction now underway on the 20-storey Newstead project.

Award-winning builder BINAH has commenced construction on the Bureau^Proberts-designed building, which will deliver a limited collection of 65 two and three-bedroom apartments on Kyabra Street.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373556]

The project marks Fortis' fourth active residential development in Brisbane, following River House, which is nearing completion, alongside projects in New Farm and Hamilton as the national developer continues to expand its South East Queensland pipeline.

Fortis General Manager – Development Queensland Dan Boman said Crest &amp; Walker reflects the developer's long-term commitment to delivering design-led residential projects in Brisbane's established inner-city suburbs.

"We're proud to be strengthening our presence in Brisbane with Crest &amp; Walker, particularly in such a sought-after lifestyle destination as Newstead," Boman said.

"Every Fortis project is shaped by its context, and we approach each one with the respect and care it deserves.

"Our focus is always on creating places that feel connected to their neighbourhood and elevate the everyday experience for residents. Newstead continues to evolve as one of Brisbane's most sought-after urban communities, and Crest &amp; Walker reflects our ambition to contribute meaningfully to that story."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373559]

Positioned between Gasworks Plaza and James Street, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-newstead-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> has been designed as a boutique residential address offering privacy and generous living spaces within one of Brisbane's most established lifestyle precincts.

The building features a contemporary brick podium softened by integrated landscaping, while the upper levels are characterised by restrained architecture and enduring materiality. Interiors have been designed to maximise natural light, acoustic performance and long-term liveability.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373583]

Residences comprise spacious two and three-bedroom floorplans, with two-bedroom apartments priced from $1.55 million and three-bedroom, half-floor residences from $3.95 million.

Residents will have access to a wellness-focused rooftop featuring a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, landscaped dining spaces and outdoor lounge areas overlooking Newstead and the Brisbane CBD.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=145922 project_image_fid=373571]

Sales are being managed by Slaite Projects, with Fortis expecting strong demand from owner-occupiers seeking a high-quality, design-focused apartment in one of Brisbane's most tightly held inner-city suburbs.

Completion of Crest &amp; Walker is slated for late 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145922]

Fortis expands Brisbane pipeline with launch of Crest & Walker in Newstead

The enormity of delivering a true skyscraper in Australia's new development market is often overlooked.

It has taken the best part of a decade since plans for Chevron One were first unveiled, but the 52-storey tower is now complete, with residents collecting their keys and moving into what has become one of the Gold Coast's most recognisable new landmarks.

Rising 127 metres above Chevron Island, Chevron One stands almost twice as high as any other building on the island. Its scale places it alongside the trio of towers at Jewel, arguably the last truly significant addition to the central Gold Coast skyline when they were completed around six years ago.

While there are several developments underway around a similar height to Chevron One, they are more concentrated within clusters of the highest towers in the city. The fact Chevron One sits within a developing precinct, looking back at the other high-rise developments in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, makes it a different proposition altogether. It will certainly become a reference point on the Gold Coast skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68833]

Developer Bensons Property Group is behind the 52-storey tower, which has just shy of 250 apartments, along with an exhaustive list of resident amenity spread across what is the largest development site ever assembled on Chevron Island.

The tower has been the talk of the town for years, says Ray White Projects Gold Coast agent Caitlin Rosenboom, who is selling the remaining apartments.

"People have been watching Chevron One go up for years," Rosenboom says, adding that many prospective buyers have been surprised by the scale of the views once they step inside.

"It's only when they walk through a completed apartment that they truly understand the position of the building," Rosenboom says.

"The views are jaw-dropping. Whether you're looking east over the ocean, across Surfers Paradise, along the river systems or out to the hinterland, every level offers something different but equally impressive."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=360215]

One of Chevron One's defining advantages is its location on the eastern side of Chevron Island on Stanhill Drive, a position which protects the views forever.

"There's only one row of houses between Chevron One and the water, and the height restrictions along the river means views from Chevron One can never be built out,"&nbsp;Rosenboom says.

While new apartment developments continue to emerge across the Gold Coast, Rosenboom says opportunities to secure a completed apartment with this level of outlook are becoming increasingly rare.

"The size of the site is something that would be incredibly difficult to replicate today," she says.

"That's allowed Chevron One to deliver the sort of amenity, open space and resident facilities that very few projects can offer. There are not many completed apartment buildings on the Gold Coast right now that can compete with the combination of scale, quality and amenity."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68839]

There's around 2,000 sqm of amenity solely for the use of residents of Chevron One. Club One features a uniquely shaped swimming pool that mirrors the footprint of the building itself, set within a extensively landscaped gardens. There's also an indoor pool and spa, a fully equipped gym with a Pilates room, a yoga garden, a bookable private dining area and lounge that can host up to 30 people, and a 24-hour concierge service.

As for the buyers, Rosenboom is fielding enquiry from everywhere: Sydneysiders and Melburnians looking at the new and off-the-plan market following the changes in the Federal Budget, as well as those looking to relocate, through to South East Queenslanders seeking either a permanent home or a weekender bolthole.

"The Gold Coast lifestyle continues to resonate with people relocating from the southern states, and when they see the views and the quality of what's been delivered at Chevron One, it becomes very easy for them to understand the appeal," Rosenboom says.

A diverse mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments remain available, with each offering "something a little different", be it the orientation and views, configuration, or level, to suit a wide variety of buyers.

The remaining apartments are ready to inspect in person, by appointment.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6515]

A decade in the making: Residents to move into Chevron One as construction wraps up

A general rule of thumb in new apartment developments is that the penthouses get the rooftop.

It's a formula that's become commonplace across Australia's apartment market. Residents might have access to a pool, gym or barbecue facilities on a dedicated lower level, but the most desirable outdoor spaces are typically reserved for the highest-priced homes at the top of the building.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Property Group</a> has taken the opposite approach.

Rather than dedicating the rooftop to a handful of buyers, the Gold Coast developer has made it the centrepiece of its Flourish collection, creating expansive shared spaces from the best vantage point in the building.

The philosophy has reached its most ambitious expression at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flourish-soleira-palm-beach-1150-1160-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Soleira</a> in Palm Beach, where two rooftop precincts connected by a skybridge will deliver one of the most extensive lifestyle offerings seen in a residential apartment project on the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374053]

"We're seeing a clear move toward developments that offer more than just an apartment," Sherpa Group founder Christie Leet said.

"People want spaces that support how they actually live, whether that's working from home, staying active, or spending time with family and friends.

"That's where amenity becomes critical. It's not just about what's included, but how those spaces are designed to be used every day."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374052]

The breadth of amenity has already attracted buyers across multiple demographics. Younger first home buyers have been drawn to Soleira's one-bedroom apartments, a product rarely delivered in Palm Beach, while families have responded to practical inclusions such as the shallow children's pool adjoining the main lap pool and the extensive communal recreation areas.

Instead of a single rooftop, Soleira delivers two distinct lifestyle zones.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=372547]

The southern rooftop has been dedicated to wellness, featuring a gym, yoga and Pilates studio, work-from-home facilities, a wellness centre, spa, and hot and cold plunge pools.

The northern rooftop focuses on recreation and entertaining, incorporating a heated resort-style pool, private dining rooms, pizza ovens, barbecues, a golf simulator, children's recreation areas, and what is expected to be the Gold Coast's first rooftop basketball court, which will also double as a squash court.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=374054]

Beyond the rooftops, Soleira will introduce 1,500 sqm of curated retail beneath the towers, creating one of Palm Beach's first genuinely mixed-use lifestyle precincts where cafés, restaurants and convenience retail become part of residents' everyday lives.

Sherpa has also retained management rights across the development, allowing it to oversee the long-term operation of the building through a 24-hour concierge model. The developer is also exploring additional revenue streams within the precinct aimed at helping offset ongoing body corporate costs for residents.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370962]

While Soleira is the largest project Sherpa has delivered, the rooftop-first philosophy has been evolving for several years.

It began with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/amargo-6-12-sixth-avenue-palm-beach-qld-4221">Flourish Amargo</a>, the first project released under the Flourish brand. Rather than competing at the ultra-luxury end of the market with oversized half-floor and full-floor residences, Sherpa focused on creating lifestyle-driven apartments supported by resort-style shared spaces.

Amargo introduced more than 800 sqm of rooftop amenity, combining wellness facilities, heated pools, entertaining areas, cabanas, pizza ovens and private dining spaces into what was designed as an extension of residents' homes rather than a facility used only occasionally.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=146527 project_image_fid=366550]

That approach continued with Flourish Oasis, where the same amenity-led philosophy was refined into a more boutique development. Strong demand from Sherpa's growing VIP database saw much of the project sold before it reached the broader market, reinforcing buyer appetite for apartment communities centred around shared lifestyle experiences.

Flourish Amargo is slated for completion mid-way-through next year, with Oasis to be delivered by late 2027. Flourish Soleira is expected to complete in 2030.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150017]

Sherpa takes amenity to the sky as Flourish Soleira captures booming Palm Beach demand

As apartment living continues to evolve across Sydney's growth corridors, the quality and distribution of shared spaces is increasingly shaping how residents experience home. Rather than functioning as add-ons, amenities are being embedded into the daily rhythm of a building, supporting everything from quiet retreat to social interaction, often within a single vertical community.

At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aeris-melrose-park-nursery-street-melrose-park-nsw-2114">Aeris</a> in Melrose Park, this approach is resolved through a layered amenity offering that unfolds from ground level through to its upper podium. Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sekisui-house-australia">Sekisui House Australia</a> in partnership with Hankyu Hanshin Properties, the project introduces 468 apartments across two towers and a mid-rise building, positioned at the highest point of the broader masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=359199]

The amenity experience begins at street level, where two courtyards sit within a landscaped setting that connects residents to the wider network of parks and green spaces. These green spaces are not isolated pockets but part of a wider pedestrian network that links Aeris to the surrounding <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melrose-park-nsw-2114">Melrose Park</a> precinct, including Central Park, future schools, and the Town Centre opening in July 2026. The result is a transition that moves from public to private without abrupt boundaries, allowing residents to pass through shaded, tree-lined environments before reaching the building itself.

Moving upward, the focus shifts to the level five podium, where the primary communal facilities are concentrated. This space brings together a 16-metre swimming pool, outdoor seating areas, and a communal BBQ zone arranged to take advantage of elevated outlooks. Seating is positioned beneath pergolas, creating pockets of shade that extend the usability of the space throughout the day. The pool edge aligns with views toward the wider district, reinforcing the sense of elevation that defines the project’s positioning.

In the adjacent building, this is complemented by quieter, more contemplative spaces, including an outdoor cinema set within the same level. Positioned to operate primarily in the evening, it introduces a different tempo to the shared environment, shifting from daytime activity to after-hours use without requiring separate zones.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360299]

The podium also accommodates an intimate private resident gym. Located on the lower levels, it gives residents convenient access to fitness facilities without leaving the building.

Above, the elevated podium sky deck extends the amenity offering, providing additional open-air spaces with elevated outlooks across the surrounding landscape. While more restrained in program, this upper level reinforces the project’s vertical progression, from ground-level greenery to elevated outlook, allowing residents to move between distinct spatial conditions within a single address.

This distribution of amenities reflects a deliberate response to how residents use space across the day. Sekisui House Australia Sales and Marketing Director Peter Kalaf points to the role these shared areas play in shaping buyer demand. Aeris has been conceived as more than a collection of apartments, with the podium pool, gym and outdoor cinema forming part of a broader lifestyle offering that extends the home beyond each individual residence.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=426 project_image_fid=360300]

What distinguishes Aeris is not the inclusion of these elements individually, but how they are arranged in relation to one another. Active, social, and passive spaces are layered vertically rather than separated, allowing residents to choose between them without leaving the building or moving far from their apartment. This proximity supports both routine use, such as a morning swim or evening workout, and more occasional gatherings, whether around the BBQ area or within the cinema setting.

The amenity design also sits within a broader framework of connectivity across Melrose Park. The Melrose Park Town Centre, anchored by Coles and Dan Murphys, features a mix of retail, dining, health and lifestyle offerings, bringing everyday convenience closer to residents. By the end of the year, more than five hectares of parks and open space, equivalent to around seven football fields of green space on residents' doorstep, will further enhance the precinct, allowing the internal facilities at Aeris to operate as an extension of the wider neighbourhood rather than a substitute for it.

Construction at Aeris continues to gather momentum, with ground floor slabs expected to be completed in late 2026 before the first sections of the buildings begin to rise above ground.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=426]

Elevated amenity anchors daily life at Aeris, Melrose Park

International

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ANZ economists have suggested the slowdown in Canada’s extended property market boom could be a roadmap for future Australian housing market direction.
“Canada is arguably ahead of Australia in its economic and policy cycles, so watching developments there can be useful for those monitoring the Australian economy,” according to ANZ economists David Wilson and Jo Masters.
They noted house price growth in Canada has halved in the last year.
“Canada is nine months ahead in terms of monetary tightening,” Ms Masters told Fairfax's Domain, pointing to two recent interest rate hikes in Canada.
ANZ’s prediction since September has been that the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike twice in 2018. 
ANZ Bank predicts the Reserve Bank will raise official interest rates by 0.5 percentage points next year as the economy gradually improves, with the first hike tipped for May by ANZ economists David Plank and Felicity Emmett.
Canadian interest rates have come off a lower base than Australia, with hikes in July and September only taking the official cash rate to 1 per cent.
They forecast the Australian cash rate will be lifted by 0.25 percentage points in May, followed by another hike in the second half of the year, and then it will be be left unchanged over 2019 so as not to crunch spending of highly-indebted households.
Previously, ANZ was not forecasting any rate hikes in 2018.
“Canada recently released additional macro-prudential measures for the property sector," Ms Masters noted.
"These are likely to have a material impact on mortgage originations, housing affordability and property price growth in 2018.
"The hottest property markets in Canada – Vancouver and Toronto – are likely to be hit the hardest by these measures," Ms Masters said.
Already the data has signalled the downturn has set in.
Toronto’s monthly home sales - in Canada’s biggest city - have fallen by as much as 40 percent in volume, the largest annual decline since 2009. There have been four months of price declines in Toronto.
The price of the average home in Toronto fell 4.6 percent in July, the biggest monthly decline since at least 2000. From August to September, the city experienced a 2.7 percent drop. 
The monthly declines have not been enough to plunge annual gains into decline.
With Australian household debt sitting at record highs, the RBA faces uncertainty about how consumer spending will respond to slowing house-price growth, the ANZ said.
It recently advised about 38% of its home loan customers were repaying principal faster than required. 
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

ANZ looks to Canada housing market as potential Australian roadmap

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Last month six of Australia’s top journalists <a href="https://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2017-05/18/c_136295296.htm" target="_blank">visited China for a week</a> as guests of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
They were greeted by top Communist Party officials and toured some of China’s new infrastructure projects. Some (but not all) returned to Australia singing the praises of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s showcase “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative and <a href="https://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/opportunities-for-business-in-chinas-one-belt-one-road-20170522-gwaqoo" target="_blank">the opportunities for Australian businesses</a>.
Bob Carr, the director of ACRI and a professor of international relations at UTS, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/comment/if-australia-listened-to-our-hawks-on-china-wed-have-been-hung-out-to-dry-20170523-gwaw1w" target="_blank">claims we are in danger</a> of being “hung out to dry” if we listen to the “China hawks” and don’t more fully engage with China. Yet few have paused to ask why one of our universities is being used as a conduit to promote China’s national interest, and who is actually paying for it.
China’s rise forces us to think carefully about both the opportunities and costs of a closer relationship with China. These difficult discussions are taking place in government offices, boardrooms and chancelleries around the globe, but must also be a part of the wider public discussion. Australia is no exception. China is our single largest trading partner and an increasingly important source of foreign investment. China is also fundamental to our tertiary education sector.
With federal funding declining, vice-chancellors are being forced to think creatively about new revenue streams. Here China looms large. Nearly <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/the-rising-place-of-deregulated-student-fees-in-australian-university-life/" target="_blank">a fifth of higher education revenue</a> comes from full-fee paying students, with overseas Chinese students contributing the lion’s share. Universities are also looking to China for new sources of research income. Yet the sector’s <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-31/australian-unis-left-vulnerable-by-reliance-on/6737678" target="_blank">growing dependency on the Chinese market</a> could cloud the judgement of senior university administrators.
The circumstances of the Australia-China Relations Institute should serve as a reminder of what is at stake. ACRI was created in early 2014 around the same time that the university defunded its large China Research Centre and sent its director, the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/250674" target="_blank">respected historian Maurizio Marinelli</a> packing. ACRI was founded with A$2.8 million in donations from two wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs who recently migrated to Australia. One of these individuals, <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/politics/chinas-local-emperor-huang-xiangmo-says-politics-just-like-sport-20160901-gr66xc" target="_blank">Mr Huang Xiangmo</a> was named chairman of ACRI and would later reportedly claim that he <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/politics/chinas-local-emperor-huang-xiangmo-says-politics-just-like-sport-20160901-gr66xc" target="_blank">personally selected</a> the former Foreign Minister Bob Carr as the director of the new institute.
Despite claims that it is “an independent, nonpartisan, research think tank,” <a href="https://www.australiachinarelations.org/" target="_blank">ACRI</a> has been plagued by controversy since its establishment. In my opinion, the quality of ACRI’s research output is patchy at best, with far more examples of political advocacy than rigorous, independent research.
While it has produced a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-china-relations-institute-responds-to-questions-on-research-and-funding-78803" target="_blank">handful of quality research reports</a> by respected Australian academics, far more effort has gone into the production of often one-sided, decontextualised fact sheets and opinion pieces aimed at promoting what ACRI’s own website asserts is “a positive and optimistic view of Australia-China relations”.
Despite initial claims that ACRI would use “<a href="https://acyd.org.au/partners-2/australia-china-relations-institute-">big data science</a> to illuminate and explore the Australia-China relationship,” it has published a handful of short opinion polls that lack academic rigour. Take for example the one-page, six-question survey, “<a href="https://www.australiachinarelations.org/content/east-china-sea-what-australians-think" target="_blank">East China Sea: What Australians think</a>,” which claims most Australians desire neutrality in this territorial dispute. Yet the survey contains no raw data or details on the methodology employed by UMR Strategic in conducting the survey.
The Australia-China relationship is complicated; if we iron out these complexities we are left with an incomplete and potentially misleading picture.
Most of ACRI’s activities happen behind closed-doors and largely outside the purview of the Australian public. In his capacity as Director of ACRI, Bob Carr frequently meets with visiting Chinese Communist Party officials. These visits are not reflected on ACRI’s website but are widely reported in the Chinese language media.
In 2015, for example, Bob Carr met with <a href="https://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0916/c1002-27594016" target="_blank">Zhu Weiqun</a>, one of the chief architects of the Communist Party’s efforts to demonise the Dalai Lama and promote the assimilation of ethnic minorities in China. When the Party’s Minister for Propaganda Liu Qibao visited Australia in 2016, Carr participated in a roundtable “dialogue with Sinologists in Australia,” which was <a href="https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309351000443980755138134282" target="_blank">widely reported in the Chinese language media</a> but went unmentioned in Australia.
ACRI has also been busy courting the Australian media. It has organised a number of study tours to China for Australia-based journalists like Paul Kelly, Ross Gittins, Malcolm Farr, Jim Middleton, and at least 12 others, <a href="https://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2017-05/18/c_136295296.htm" target="_blank">according to Chinese media reports</a>. Wider media coverage on China is valuable. Yet by exposing these visiting journalists to the official Party line, it suggests to me that ACRI is seeking to actively reshape the public perception of China by skirting Australia’s China-based journalists who tend to be far more knowledgeable and critical of China.
Returning journalists published fifteen articles in 2016 <a href="https://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2016-08/11/c_135585550.htm" target="_blank">according to the Party-backed All China Journalist Association</a>, thus “objectively transmitting ‘China’s voice’” to the Australian public through mainstream media outlets. This appears to be one of the concrete outcomes of the <a href="https://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/27/c_135394020.htm" target="_blank">Memorandum of Understanding</a> ACRI signed with the Party’s official Xinhua News Agency in early 2016.
Unlike other university-based think tanks, such as the <a href="https://www.ussc.edu.au/about/mission" target="_blank">United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney</a>, ACRI has never produced an annual report <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-china-relations-institute-responds-to-questions-on-research-and-funding-78803" target="_blank">nor does it publicly disclose</a> its budget and financial expenditures. The university now claims to “<a href="https://newsroom.uts.edu.au/news/2017/04/hon-philip-ruddock-chair-australia-china-relations-institute-advisory-board" target="_blank">fully fund</a>” the institute; yet the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, Yuhu Group, and other Chinese companies are listed as “<a href="https://www.australiachinarelations.org/about-us" target="_blank">Chairman’s Council Members</a>” under a description of how ACRI is funded.
Who is paying for the transmission of “China’s voice” in Australia? Is it UTS, the All-China Journalist Association, Xinhua or even the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party? Because ACRI hasn’t disclosed any of its finances, we don’t know who is paying for the trips it organises.
These efforts to promote Chinese “soft power” and influence in Australia are understandable. Public diplomacy is a key part of international relations today, and states have long sought to increase their influence globally.
Yet do centres like ACRI belong inside our universities? The University of Technology Sydney is a public institution that is still predominately funded by the Commonwealth government with taxpayers’ dollars. We risk undermining the neutrality and impartiality of our universities at a time when our relationship with China is reaching a critical juncture.
ACRI’s founding chairman <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/chinese-king-of-the-mountain-brush-with-corruption-scandal-20160224-gn2tvt" target="_blank">Huang Xiangmo</a> is actively involved in Australian politics. He has reportedly funnelled over one million dollars in political donations to the major political parties since arriving in Australia under suspicious circumstances in 2011.
His payment of Sam Dastyari’s legal bills stirred controversy over the influence of Chinese money in Australian politics and resulted in Mr Huang’s decision to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/china-steps-up-university-influence-effort/news-story/5d09f3cc5d36e4d7295ae1d85543a023" target="_blank">step down as chairman of ACRI</a>. Yet he <a href="https://www.acpprc.org.au/schinese/jinqi/2017/wen4May17" target="_blank">continues to employ the title</a> and his adjunct professorship at UTS when representing himself in the Chinese language media, where he <a href="https://australia.people.com.cn/n/2015/0710/c364496-27284429" target="_blank">frequently praises the contributions</a> of overseas Chinese in upholding national unity and striving for the “China dream” of national rejuvenation.
Mr. Huang is also the Chairman of the <a href="https://www.acpprc.org.au/schinese/huizhang.asp" target="_blank">Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China (ACPPRC)</a>, an overseas branch of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, which is tasked with promoting the Party’s interests among the Chinese diaspora. When Li Keqiang visited Australia in March, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/nsw/huang-xiangmos-prochina-group-denies-organising-premier-li-rentacrowd-20170324-gv5z4h" target="_blank">ACPPRC mobilised Chinese students</a> to welcome the Chinese Premier and keep any protesters at bay.
Huang Xiangmo has also provided A$3.5 million to help establish a new <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/aciac/people" target="_blank">Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture</a> at Western Sydney University, where he sits on the board of governance. He is reported to be eyeing-off <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/politics/chinas-local-emperor-huang-xiangmo-says-politics-just-like-sport-20160901-gr66xc" target="_blank">additional investments</a> in the tertiary sector in Australia. Yet these supposedly philanthropic donations come with a clear agenda, as Huang revealed when he called for the Chinese community to increase their skill and leverage in the Australian political arena <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1003731.shtml" target="_blank">in a Global Times editorial</a>.
I welcome the role ACRI is playing in broadening and deepening our understanding of this important bilateral relationship; yet I question whether our publicly funded universities are the right place for the institute.
Universities are meant to be places of robust and critically minded teaching and research. If Australia is going to successfully navigate its way through the “Asian Century,” we need independent centres of research excellence on China.
We need places where properly trained experts can study and better understand all aspects of China’s rise — both the positive and the negative — without fear or influence. We do a disservice to this important mission when the reputations of our universities are sullied in the name of one-sided, political advocacy.
<hr>
The Conversation sought a response from the Australia-China Relations Institute, which can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-china-relations-institute-responds-to-questions-on-research-and-funding-78803">viewed here</a>. 
James Leibold is Associate Professor of Politics and Asian Studies, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842" target="_blank">La Trobe University</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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The Australia-China Relations Institute doesn’t belong at UTS

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Property prices on a seemingly never ending upward trajectory; first home buyers priced out of the market; exasperated claims of a lack of available stock; a fear that a major city’s property market may have shifted rapidly from buoyant recovery to spectral bubble.
It’s a story many investors in Australia’s main two major markets – Sydney and Melbourne – have been accustomed to hearing. But likewise the Dutch city of Amsterdam has a similar recent tale of property travails.
Amsterdam house prices rose 22% year on year to October 2016, <a href="https://www.nvm.nl/actueel/persberichten/2016/20161005woningmarkt2016q3" target="_blank">according to</a> the nation’s association of real estate agents. While the latest data from CoreLogic shows that Australian property prices continue to rise. Over the past year prices in Sydney and Melbourne have rise by over 15% and 13% respectively. That stat is one of the many parallels investors can draw between the North Holland city and those in the land once claimed as New Holland.
Price growth in Brisbane and Adelaide hasn’t quite matched those heady double-digit heights, but at about 4% growth year on year, both cities are returning decent dividends for property investors. The only city dragging down CoreLogic’s five city capital average is Perth; a slight uptick in December failing to make up for the price declines earlier last year.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/01/18/CORELOGIC-DEC-19.jpg">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/18/CORELOGIC-DEC-19.jpg" alt="">
So what will the average median price buy you in Amsterdam?
Sydney
According to CoreLogic’s December 2016 indices report, Sydney’s all-dwelling median price sat at $1,056,000.
At current exchange rates, the equivalent median price in Amsterdam (approx. €745,624) would put you in the market for <a href="https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-nl/property/modern-living-in-one-of-the-loveliest-streets-in-amsterdam-3664333.1174577_exp/" target="_blank">a 125 square metre, four room apartment</a> (pictured below) on the trendy inner west Haarlemerstraat, a sector know for its chic cafes, boutique stores and tourist-drawing “coffee” shops.  It comes with double-glazed windows, two-rooftop terraces and a Jacuzzi.
It may be a relatively high price to live in this area, but the prime real estate in Amsterdam is the famous canal houses, which leave little spare after a several million euro outlay.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/25/adm%201.jpg" alt="">
Melbourne
Melbourne’s median price sits at $863,260, according to CoreLogic. The equivalent (€610,000) would put you in the market for <a href="https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-nl/property/tasteful-flat-in-listed-warehouse-3665296.1174976_exp" target="_blank">a beautiful two bedroom, one bathroom apartment</a> on the inner city Herengracht.
Like many properties in this region, the 105 square metre property (pictured below) is a converted warehouse property.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/25/adm%202.jpg" alt="">
Brisbane
Brisbane’s median dwelling value of $549,630 equates to roughly the price of €390,000.
With an estimated metropolitan population of approximately 2.3 million, Amsterdam is of a relatively equivalent size to Brisbane. However, any Brisbanites looking to decamp to Amsterdam can expect a fair decrease in size ­–<a href="https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-nl/property/sold-3677474.1179727_exp/" target="_blank"> this central Amsterdam apartment</a> (pictured below) is only 46 square metres in size.
Located in the beautiful Jordaan district, it’s close to many shops, restaurants and has a view of the famous Brouwersgracht.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/25/adm%203.jpg" alt="">
Adelaide
Adelaide has the lowest median dwelling value of the five included in CoreLogic’s aggregate, at $472,000.
The equivalent of €333,271 would have this central Amsterdam apartment, located on the closet western canal to the city centre, in range. Though only 47 square metres, <a href="https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-nl/property/studio-apartment-with-elevator-3696689.1187116_exp/" target="_blank">this apartment </a>(pictured below) boasts a great location to offset its lack of size.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/25/adm%204.jpg" alt="">
Perth
Perth’s property market may have declined in the wake of the end of the mining boom, but its all-dwelling value still eclipses all bar Sydney and Melbourne in CoreLogic’s five-city aggregate.
Its median value of $581,280 would be put a buyer in the Amsterdam market in the range of this €400,000 listed property. Though only 61 square metres, <a href="https://www.engelvoelkers.com/en-nl/property/whole-building-in-the-centre-of-amsterdam-3696411.1187025_exp/" target="_blank">this apartment</a> comes with two beds and a bathroom and is very close to the centre of the city.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/01/25/adm%205.jpg" alt="">
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jake-cSmGT7VXVf

What will Australian property prices get you in Amsterdam?

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Home prices across the US, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.2 percent in August 2016 compared with August 2015.
It increased month over month by 1.1 percent in August 2016 compared with July 2016,* according to the CoreLogic HPI.
The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from August 2016 to August 2017, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase by 0.4 percent from August 2016 to September 2016.
The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables.
Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.
"Home prices are now just 6 percent below the nominal peak reached in April 2006," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic.
"With prices forecasted to increase by 5 percent over the next year, prices will be back to their peak level in 2017."
"Housing values continue to rise briskly on stronger fundamental and investor-fueled demand, as well as lack of adequate supply," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.
"This continued price appreciation is contributing to a growing affordability crisis in many markets around the country."
 
Home Price Change By State
<table style="width: 400px;" border="1" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="3"><tbody>
<tr>
<th rowspan="3" bgcolor="#943634" width="118">State</th>
<th bgcolor="#943634">August 2016 12-Month HPI</th>
</tr>
<tr><th bgcolor="#943634">Year Over Year</th></tr>
<tr><th bgcolor="#943634" width="144">Single-Family </th></tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>National</td>
<td align="right">6.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Alabama </td>
<td align="right">3.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Alaska </td>
<td align="right">0.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Arizona </td>
<td align="right">5.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Arkansas </td>
<td align="right">2.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>California </td>
<td align="right">5.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Colorado </td>
<td align="right">9.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Connecticut </td>
<td align="right">-1.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Delaware </td>
<td align="right">1.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>District of Columbia </td>
<td align="right">2.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Florida </td>
<td align="right">7.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Georgia </td>
<td align="right">5.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Hawaii </td>
<td align="right">4.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Idaho </td>
<td align="right">7.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Illinois </td>
<td align="right">3.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Indiana </td>
<td align="right">4.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Iowa </td>
<td align="right">3.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Kansas </td>
<td align="right">4.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Kentucky </td>
<td align="right">4.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Louisiana </td>
<td align="right">2.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Maine </td>
<td align="right">1.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Maryland </td>
<td align="right">1.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Massachusetts </td>
<td align="right">4.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Michigan </td>
<td align="right">5.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Minnesota </td>
<td align="right">5.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Mississippi </td>
<td align="right">3.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Missouri </td>
<td align="right">4.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Montana </td>
<td align="right">5.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Nebraska </td>
<td align="right">5.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Nevada </td>
<td align="right">6.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>New Hampshire </td>
<td align="right">4.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>New Jersey </td>
<td align="right">1.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>New Mexico </td>
<td align="right">3.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>New York </td>
<td align="right">6.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>North Carolina </td>
<td align="right">4.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>North Dakota </td>
<td align="right">1.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Ohio </td>
<td align="right">3.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Oklahoma </td>
<td align="right">1.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Oregon </td>
<td align="right">10.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Pennsylvania </td>
<td align="right">2.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Rhode Island </td>
<td align="right">4.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>South Carolina </td>
<td align="right">4.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>South Dakota </td>
<td align="right">7.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Tennessee </td>
<td align="right">6.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Texas </td>
<td align="right">6.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Utah </td>
<td align="right">7.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Vermont </td>
<td align="right">1.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Virginia </td>
<td align="right">2.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Washington </td>
<td align="right">10.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>West Virginia </td>
<td align="right">7.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Wisconsin </td>
<td align="right">5.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="middle">
<td>Wyoming </td>
<td align="right">3.8% 
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
 
 
 
</body></html>

Oregon offers the best home price change YoY for US states

<html><body><div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Australia's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, has expanded its overseas property investment.
It has secured a 49% stake in a $US1.32 billion ($1.7 billion) portfolio of Washington office buildings, controlled by Brookfield Property Partners.
Five of the assets are located in the East End, the premier submarket in the region. East End assets included 1400 K Street, 1200 K Street, the Victor Building, 650 Massachusetts Ave, and 799 9th Street. The remaining three assets include 1250 Connecticut Ave in the DC Central Business District; 77 K Street in NOMA (North of Massachusetts) and Bethesda Crescent in Bethesda, MD. 
AustralianSuper also teamed with Brookfield in April taking a 49 per cent stake in a $US605 million Boston office tower.
In March AustralianSuper invested $1.1 billion in a Hawaiian shopping centre, representing 25 per cent ownership.
</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Earlier this year it secured a £200 million ($408 million) stake in the mixed-use <a href="/expert-insights/investing/australiansupers-400-million-king-cross-london-deal">King's Cross Central development in London</a>, beating off competition from overseas sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and investment groups in the Far East.
AustralianSuper has $90 billion in assets under management, with around $7 billion in real estate.
</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Jack McGougan, the fund's head of property, aims to hit 10 per cent over the next three to four years.
AustralianSuper has more than two million members.
In the latest deal AustralianSuper was represented by Jim Halliwell and Dan Thornton at Principal Real Estate Investors.
</div>
</div>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

AustralianSuper secures further USA office property acquisitions

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Bellamont Forest near Cootehill, County Cavan, described by Mark Bence-Jones in A Guide to Irish Country Houses as "one of the most perfect examples of a Palladian villa", has been sold. Well sale agreed as the Irish say.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/bellamont-forest-cootehill-co-cavan/3117572" target="_blank">The</a> home came with an asking price of €1.35 million on the 18th century palladian villa, but slightly more than €1.5 may have been achieved.
It was Australian John Coote who bought back his ancestral home in 1987 for a reported IR£500,000, then restoring Bellamont before putting it on the market in 2010 with overly ambitious €7.5 million expectations.
Coote died suddenly in 2012, and the house is now for sale on the instructions of receivers for Coote's company, Thameside Holding, this time with its reduced price of €1.35 million.
Earlier this month final offers were being invited with the selling price generating huge interest in Bellamont which was at the centre of the 1991 divorce action between the late owner John Coote and his wife Andrea.
The selling agent Ganly Walters moved quickly to conclude the sale following about 200 enquiries on the property. The final offers process requires unconditional written offers on the property of a minimum of €1.5million.
The agent told the local paper there were at least three interested parties with enquiries from as far away as Australia, the Far East, the US and the UK, mainly from people interested in it as a family residence.
Any possibility the Government might move to buy Bellamont as a public amenity because of its historical and architectural significance was ruled out last month when Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys said resources were not available to the Department to consider the purchase.
Bloomberg report Irish trophy home values are surging again now, helped by a more stable economy. Sales of Irish homes for more than €1 million jumped 41 per cent to 117 during the first four months of 2015 from a year earlier, Sherry Fitzgerald data showed. 
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Some of the biggest spenders have been from overseas. John Malone, the US cable industry billionaire, spent almost €27 million in January on Castlemartin, an 18th-century estate and stud farm in Kildare.
In one of the biggest residential deals of 2014, Singaporean Cynthia Chua spent almost €8 million on Deepwell, a coastal mansion south of Dublin built by the Guinness family in the 1850s.
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Irish home prices fell by almost 50 per cent after a real estate bubble burst in 2008. Bellamont Forest dates from the 1720s and was built to a design by renowned architect <a class="search" href="https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Edward%20Lovett%20Pearce&amp;article=true" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Edward Lovett Pearce</a>. It was bought in 1987 by John Coote, an Australian interior designer of international repute and a specialist in the restoration of classical buildings, who restored and refurnished Bellamont, but put it up for sale in 2010 at a guide price of €7.5 million. He died in 2012, and since then the condition of Bellamont has deteriorated. Buyers will need to invest a further €1million to €2 million to restore it fully.
</div>
</div>
Though the property is on 1000 acres, about 400 acres is under lake and a further 450 acres is in woodland which is owned by <a class="search" href="https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Coillte&amp;article=true">Coillte</a> after a previous owner bequeathed the woodland to the State for 150 years.Designed by Edward Lovett Pearce and built between 1725 and 1730, architectural historian Dr Maurice Craig (Country Life, 1964), wrote Pearce's design was based on Palladio’s Villa Rotonda at Vicenza and Villa Pisani at Montagnana. 
The Irish National Trust, An Taisce, has noted the 290 year old building has been vacant for a number of years and "<a href="https://www.antaisce.org/buildingsatrisk/bellamont-forest-cootehill?page=1" target="_blank">does not appear to be maintained</a>." 
Most of the external fabric remains, but there are obvious signs of deterioration, particularly water penetration. 
"There is no immediate danger of collapse but the condition is such that unless urgent remedial works are carried out the building will sharply deteriorate," the Trust noted. 
<a href="https://search.knightfrank.com/gwr100023" target="_blank">Bellamont Forest</a>, the first Palladian house in Ireland, is set amid one thousand acres of parkland, woods and lakes, including sporting rights in the surrounding forestry.
<div class="separator">
It was built for Thomas Coote, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, designed by his nephew, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, whose other works include the former Houses of Parliament in College Green, now The Bank of Ireland. 
He later became Surveyor General of Ireland, a post which he held until his death in 1733. 
<div title="Page 6">
The house is four bays square, built over two storeys, with a basement. The internal floor area is approximately 1,032 square metres. The house is built of red brick with ashlar facings, and has a Doric limestone portico, with pediments over the windows. 
Title Tattle especially loves the exquisite overhead oval cupola. 
<img src="https://photos-a.propertyimages.ie/media/2/7/5/3117572/31d407a7-06de-49fd-ae4f-dfb2ad3b7a05_l.jpg">
<div title="Page 13">
Bellamont Forest is 110 kms from Dublin and 75 minutes from Dublin International Airport, so listing agent Ganly Walters expect strong international buyer interest.
</div>
</div>
The late John Coote, the jetsetting international designer of Classical 18th-century houses, came from a notorious family.
The first to make his mark in Ireland was Sir Charles Coote, a military adventurer who died in battle at Trim, Co Meath, in 1642, leaving estates in four counties to his four sons. His youngest son, Col Thomas Coote, was granted the O’Reilly lands in Co Cavan at the Act of Settlement in 1662. 
He married a Miss Hill from Hillsborough in Co Down and founded the town of Coote Hill (now Cootehill). On his death in 1671, his estate passed to his nephew, also Thomas Coote, who became a Lord Justice of the Kings Bench in Ireland, and was made a Knight of the Bath ‘in testimony of his good and laudable service in suppressing tumultuous and illegal insurrection in the northern parts of Ireland’. He also established Cootehill as a prosperous linen town.
On marrying his third wife, Ann Lovett, in 1697, Coote became the uncle-in-law of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, a cousin of Vanbrugh, and by far the most important architect working in Ireland in the early 18th century. 
Its name was later changed to Bellamont Forest by Coote’s grandson, Charles, who inherited in 1764 and became the Earl of Bellamont of the 2nd creation in 1767.
The new Lord Bellamont was a complex figure, being variously described as a man of ‘the highest refinement’, but also as a ‘tyrant’, ‘madman’ and ‘a person of disgusting pomposity’. An inveterate womaniser, he sired at least six illegitimate children, all of whom were provided for in his will. He was tried in 1764 for murdering a man during the 'Oakboy' rebellion which he helped to repress brutally. He got off and is immortalised in a camp portrait by Joshua Reynolds in the National Gallery.
On his death in 1800, the estate passed to these descendants who lived on at Bellamont Forest, becoming gradually ever poorer.
In 1874, Edward Smith JP, having amassed a considerable fortune from the coal trade between Liverpool and Newry, bought the Bellamont house and lands for £145,000. Following his death in 1880, the estate passed through various members of his family until 1984, when what <a href="https://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/property-news/luxury-property-in-ireland-for-sale-24455" target="_blank">Country Life</a> described as the ‘troubles’ in the North finally persuaded the last of them to leave. The IRA had used the estate as a training ground.
Three years later, John Coote seized the chance to buy it.
It was listed in 2010 after Coote’s three children all returned to settle in Australia. John Coote, noting the architect spent three years in Italy in the early eighteenth century where he toured the Veneto and Palladio’s villas, thought La Rotunda was his great inspiration.  
There was considerable sadness at John Coote's death given he was one of the great interior designers who buoyed Melbourne's property credentials, especially during the 1980s. 
His Melbourne client list included the Lews, Foxes, Elliotts and Kimberleys. 
His 1987 Corrie Perkin Good Weekend piece was headlined: "John Coote turns new money into old". 
The Australian born, RMIT-trained, Pimlico Road, London interior designer was last in the local headlines during his divorce from Andrea Coote over the settlement of what was dubbed "Coote Castle."
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John Coote's 18th century Bellamont Forest, Cavan Ireland ancestral trophy home sold

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Dolly Lenz has long been the real estate agent in New York City, but the crown became even brighter when she was appointed to sell Rupert Murdoch's redundant US$72 million (A$91.9 million) penthouse (pictured above).
By mid last year she had sold over US$8.5 billion (A$10.85 billion) in property over her years in the industry, including her record-setting sale of the US$57 million (A$72.75 million) triplex penthouse to the billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
Indeed Murdoch, who recently acquired the US realtor website, dubbed Lenz "<a href="https://www.dollylenz.com/videos/" target="_blank">a force of nature</a>" while speaking at the Inman conference.
"My friend and personal agent, Dolly Lenz, she has put me into some very nice homes and I have written her some very nice cheques," Murdoch said.
Having bought through her, <a href="https://www.dollylenz.com/property/ny/new-york/10010/-/one-madison/553132deb1c93c059b000002/" target="_blank">Murdoch returns the task</a> to Lenz, who was born in the Bronx to a Spanish immigrant father and changed her name from Idaliz Camino.
<img src="/images/2015/04/27/Dolly_Lenz1.jpg" alt="">
Source: Lezno
According to Wikipedia: "She bought her first apartment at age 18 on Park Avenue in the Murray Hill neighborhood.
"She was an accountant at United Artists where she struck up a friendship with Barbra Streisand.
"She began selling real estate in various agencies including Sotheby's before moving to Prudential's Douglas Elliman agency in 1999. 
"Lenz left Douglas Elliman to start her eponymous firm in June 2013. 
"She has been used frequently by Donald Trump to sell property.
"In 2005 she sold the Burnt Point mansion in Wainscott, New York to billionaire Stewart Rahr for $45 million."
That was the year The Economist magazine described Lenz as the top real-estate agent in a city that is obsessed by real estate to the point of derangement.
With technology in the palm of her hand she spends more time in a car than in an office setting. She sleeps with her BlackBerry, especially as over half her clients are based in Asia.
She recently said many of the wealthy clients she deals with are no nonsense.
"The clients I deal with are extremely intelligent and savvy, and they negotiate mega-deals for a living," <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.cnbc.com/id/48463406" target="_blank">she told CNBC</a> with six selling tips.
"But one of the main reasons they seek me out is I have something they don’t have, and that’s specific information.
"And it is my job to listen to their preconceived ideas and give them the good, the bad and the ugly of what they are telling me.
"I don’t tell them what I think they want to hear, I tell them what they need to hear."
Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco nicknamed her “Jaws” and when asked by Bill Griffeth, the CNBC anchor, whether she liked that name she responded: “I don’t know if I like it, but sometimes it’s necessary.”
<img src="/images/2015/05/07/tweet-may-7-two.jpg" alt="">
"Your client is watching and evaluating your performance and couldn’t care less about your comfort zone," Lenz said.
"Get the job done, no excuses, and you will have a client for life.
"If you want to make it in the high-end pressure cooker that is New York real estate, that’s what it takes."
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Dolly Lenz, Rupert Murdoch's New York listing agent

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Positioned high above Madison Square Park crowning the One Madison Condominium, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has decided to sell his grand-scale penthouse before he moves in.
Perhaps he's thinking of his new puppy?
With nearly 7,600 square feet of interior and terraced luxury, it comes with a US$72 million (A$92.15 million) asking price some 58 floors up.
It is marketed as featuring a double height Great Room with a sweeping staircase, an oversized gracious master suite, four additional bedrooms, and a private internal elevator.
The home will offer cinematic 360-degree Park, River and New York City skyline views in the doorman block.
Dolly Lenz has the five bedroom, five bathroom listing.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch paid US$57.25 million (A$73.24 million) for the penthouse as well as a three-bedroom apartment on level 57 in February 2014. 
The chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox and owner of the Move Inc realestate website then commissioned architect Jose Ramirez to fit out the 636-square-metre abode.
Murdoch is keeping the 57th floor apartment for now, but will instead move to a restored downtown townhouse, his spokesman told the WSJ.
According to public records, Rupert Murdoch paid US$25 million (A$32 million)for the townhouse in a deal that closed last month.
The Greek Revival house recently renovated by developer George Agiovlasitis dates back to 1913, when newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst owned the site.
It bit of it went on the market last year for $30 million with Brown Harris Stevens.
The townhouse is 6,500 square feet, with an elevator, a roof deck, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar, a media room and a gym.
That would seem more suitable for Rupert Murdoch's golden doodle.
Title Tattle gleans <a href="https://murdochhere.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Rupert has a new puppy</a> as his Rhodesian Ridgeback died four years ago. 
And did you know he's ruthless at Monopoly? 
<img src="/images/2015/04/20/murdoch%20april%2020%20bre.jpg" alt="">
Source: Tumblr <a href="https://murdochhere.tumblr.com/rupertmurdoch" target="_blank">murdochhere</a>
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Not finished, but peek inside Rupert Murdoch's redundant $92 million New York penthouse

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The sale of 30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as The Gherkin, was arguably the most iconic building sold in London, and perhaps the world, during 2014.
Selling agents Savills said it was unique because it was an extremely well-known building internationally, it was 100% leased, 100% income producing, and a triple-net lease which means that all of the costs were covered by the tenants.
"So you could say, as an investment, it was 100%," Savills' Stepehn Down said.
It was, however, quite a complicated asset sale. 
"We had to tailor our campaign carefully so that we could be sure we had reached all the stakeholders out there. 95% of our audience could be reached with a normal campaign but it was the remaining five% that required us to really prove our outstanding global reach," Down said.
"We wanted it to be a swift transaction; we wanted the investors to come in and make their bid on an educated basis so that there were no questions, no conditionality or limited conditionality to their bids.
"We received just over 10 bids. 
"The Gherkin had been valued a year or so previously at about £580 million and we thought that we could get closer to £650 million.
"Eventually The Gherkin was sold for £700 million, exceeding almost everyone’s expectation."
On November 10, 2014, contracts were exchanged on The Gherkin.
<a href="https://www.savills.co.uk/blog/article/185219/commercial-property/how-savills-sold-the-gherkin.aspx" target="_blank">A video produced by Savills </a>explaining the process is viewable on their website.
Photo: Creative Commons
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How Savills International sold The Gherkin

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A 1926 Hollywood regency style home credited as Australian actor Errol Flynn's former home has been listed for sale at US$5.95 million (A$7.83 million).
It is set in the desirable Bird Streets of the Hollywood Hills with city views to downtown LA.
Listing agents include <a href="https://instagram.com/p/1d-41enLos/" target="_blank">Chad Rogers</a> at Hilton &amp; Hyland.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.redfin.com/CA/Los-Angeles/9250-Cordell-Dr-90069/home/6835374" target="_blank">Redfin</a> suggest it last sold at US$2.85 million (A$3.75 million) in 2013, then in 2008 at US$2.95 million (A$3.88 million), then US$1.27 million (A$1.67 million) in 2001.
Designer John Elgin Wolfe was responsible for the 1950s makeover of the 1920s Italian-style villa for the late comedian-actor Paul Lynde after Flynn's ownership.
The main floor features silver-leaf wood floors, original marble fireplace, antique chandelier suspended from the high ceilings and five pairs of arched french doors that overlook the city from all terraces.
The entire second floor is a lavish master suite with sitting room with his and hers closets.
There are also two master baths both having walls covered in hand-antiqued mirrors
The pool level features Woolf's signature domed roof cabana and trapezoidal pool.
Owners have included musician Moby and the Alice + Olivia clothing designer Stacey Bendet.
The John Elgin Wolfe-designed home better associated with Errol Flynn is 7740 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, which was sold in 1959 for $180,000.
Errol Flynn was born in 1909 in Hobart and died in 1959.
There's a webpage on the Errol Flynn blog devoted to t<a href="https://www.theerrolflynnblog.com/?s=cordell+drive" target="_blank">he addresses with a ink to Errol</a>!
It suggests Flynn bought it for the family of his second wife, Nora Eddingtton.
Specific Addresses Associated with Errol
8946 Appian Way – Tiger Lil’s Lair, On the Crest of Lookout Mountain 4320 Cedarhurst Circle – The Cedars 9250 Cordell Drive – Home Errol Bought for Eddington Family 5930 Franklin Avenue – Chateau Elysee 2000 No. Fuller Avenue – The Pines (Guesthouse) 7245 Hillside Avenue – Reported Residence 6654 Hollywood Boulevard – Walk of Fame Star (Motion Pictures) 7008 Hollywood Boulevard – Walk of Fame Star (Television) 1714 Ivar Avenue – Knickerbocker Hotel 2450 Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Reputed Location for Parties 2451 Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Reputed Location for Parties 7740 Mulholland Drive – Mulholland Farm 1652 North Cherokee Avenue – Boardner’s Bar 601 North Linden Drive – Roz Russel Home, rented by Errol &amp; Niv 801 North Linden Drive – Private Home, Association Unknown to Me 3400 Riverside Drive – Warner Brothers Studios, Burbank 1357 Schuyler Road – Allegedly Built By Errol, But Unconfirmed 1712 South Glendale Avenue – Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale 345 St. Pierre Road – Colleen Moore’s Mansion in Bel Air 1709 Tropical Avenue – Resided with Lili 6525 West Sunset Boulevard – Hollywood Athletic Club 8152 West Sunset Boulevard – The Garden of Allah 8221 West Sunset Boulevard – Chateau Marmont 8245 West Sunset Boulevard – Private Home, Association Unknown to Me 8358 West Sunset Boulevard – Sunset Towers
Locations without Specific Addresses
Balboa Yacht Basin (Newport Beach) Three Arches Beach (Laguna Beach)
 
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