<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.

A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.

Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.

From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.

The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]

Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.

A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.

Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

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[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

Matthew Hassan

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
After holding relatively steady through most of 2017 and early 2018, Australian housing finance approvals showed a notable pull back in the March month. The total number of owner occupier approvals declined 2.2% to be down 3.5%yr – below market expectations of a 1.5% fall but a touch better than industry figures that had pointed to a 3% decline.
The real weakness was around the value of investor approvals which dropped 9%mth to be down 16.1%yr. Estimates of investor approvals ex refi are down over 26%yr and just over 30% vs their 2016 peak. That puts the 2017-18 slowdown on a par with that seen in response to the macro-prudential tightening in 2015-16.
Combined, the total value of approvals ex refi fell 4.6%mth to be down 6%yr.
The detail on owner-occupiers showed a broad based decline.
The number of owner occupier construction approvals fell 4.4%mth to be down 4.3% on a year ago and 11% over the last two months alone. The number of owner occupier approvals for the purchase of newly built dwellings declined 1.4%mth but is still up over 5% on a year ago.
The number of approvals to first home buyers (FHBs) fell 4.6%mth but is still up 25%yr due to strong demand in NSW and Vic where state governments have increased assistance for first time buyers. The decline suggests the peak of this boost is starting to cycle through.
The state data showed owner occupier approvals ex refi down in most major states, the biggest fall in SA (–9%mth) with more modest declines in NSW (–2.6%), Vic (–1.6%) and Qld (–1.1%). WA (1.2%) and Tas (+1.5%) recorded slight gains. Owner occupier finance approvals ex refi are down on a year ago basis for every major state except Vic (–2.8%). Other, more recent, housing data suggests there has been a slight further softening in auction markets in April-May with price growth continuing to slow, in Melbourne in particular.
Overall, the March update points to a renewed weakening in demand. More slippage looks likely near term as lenders tighten loan criteria and borrowing capacity assessments – with more stringent assessments also potentially slowing loan processing times. Notably, the average value of owner occupier loans rose in the month and over the year to March, suggesting the softening in approvals to date does not reflect a tightening in borrowing capacity (although this may have been a factor in the investor loan decline).
To read the full report, <a href="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/wibiqauthoring/_uploads/file/Australia/2018/May/er20180511BullHousingFinanceMar.pdf" target="_blank">click here.</a>
Matthew Hassan is senior economist with <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/" target="_blank">Westpac</a>.
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Matthew_Hassan-HHWHptmrw4

Australian housing finance approvals pull back: Westpac

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 Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan discusses what is troubling the RBA. 
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What troubles the RBA? Westpac's Matthew Hassan

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Interest rates remain a hot button issue for Australian consumers, the mortgage belt in particular.
Most recently, the weakening in sentiment in Jun-Sep last year highlighted once again just how sensitive consumers are to actual and prospective rate moves.
The period coincided with increased rates on investor and ‘interest only’ loans following macro-prudential measures from APRA. It also coincided with increased media speculation about the potential for a rate tightening cycle from the RBA. Headline sentiment slid about 4% through mid 2017, registering its lowest read for the year in Aug, with sentiment amongst consumers with a mortgage sinking to an 18mth low.
Notably, actual consumer spending also stalled flat in the quarter, showing that, against a backdrop of weak income growth, high debt levels and risking risk aversion, this sort of sentiment pull back can have an immediate impact on spending decisions.
Click here <a href="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/wibiqauthoring/_uploads/image/Housing_Pulse/Housing_Pulse_Bites/Housing-monthly-charts-2018-02-2.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
<img src="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/wibiqauthoring/_uploads/image/Housing_Pulse/Housing_Pulse_Bites/Housing-monthly-charts-2018-02-2.jpg" alt="">
We get a specific read on consumer views on interest rates from our biannual question on mortgage rate expectations. The Feb update shows consumers are less hawkish than in Aug last year. The simplest summary measure – the net % expecting rates to rise – declined to 65.1 from 68.2 in Aug, the highest level since Jun 2011, prior to the RBA commencing its current, extended easing cycle. The Feb read is still well above the 43.5 avg since we started running the question in 2010.
Allowing for a clear ‘upward bias’ to consumers’ mortgage rate expectations, history suggests the Feb expectations read is roughly consistent with a 10bp rise in mortgage rates over the next year.
That is a less hawkish view than both current market pricing (+23bps) and the average economist cash rate forecast (+16bps) despite both markets and economists lowering their near term calls on rates. Westpac Economics continues to expect no change in official rates over 2018 and 2019. However, the hawkish tilt to expectations suggests rate concerns will continue to be a dampening influence on consumers' housing market decisions.
Matthew Hassan is senior economist with <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/" target="_blank">Westpac</a>.
 
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Consumers sensitive to actual and prospective rate moves: Westpac's Matt Hassan

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As expected, the Reserve Bank Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.5% at its February Board meeting. The Governor’s decision statement indicates that the Bank’s central forecasts for growth and inflation remain unchanged and emphasises that the Board will be patient in assessing progress. Policy is firmly on hold.
The most substantive change is an additional line given prominence in the concluding paragraph stating that: “Further progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation return to target is expected, although this progress is likely to be gradual.” The clear message is that the Bank will not pre-empt things – it is prepared to wait for an improvement in actual conditions to come through before contemplating any changes.
Elsewhere in the statement, the Bank indicates its forecasts are unchanged with growth “to average a bit above 3 per cent” and CPI inflation “to be a bit above 2 per cent in 2018”. Note that the Bank’s current forecasts, from the November Statement on Monetary, have real GDP growth lifting to 3¼% in 2018 and headline CPI inflation lifting to 2¼% (but underlying inflation holding at 1¾%). The Bank will release updated forecasts with the February Statement on Monetary Policy on Friday.
As expected, the Governor’s statement acknowledged the more positive tone from abroad and from some of the domestic data. The global backdrop is now described as a “broad-based pick-up”. China’s growth is described as solid with what seems to be a more positive take on risks (“authorities paying increased attention to the risks in the financial sector and the sustainability of growth”). Global inflation remains low but is now viewed as likely to “increase over the next couple of years”.
On the domestic economy, comments are more mixed with data over the summer viewed as consistent with the Bank’s forecast for growth to pick up but household consumption a “continuing source of uncertainty” given weak growth in household incomes and high debt levels. Commentary around the labour market is largely unchanged from December – strong job gains in 2017 and indicators pointing to solid growth ahead but wages growth low and likely to stay low for a while yet. A new comment that the Bank expects “a further gradual reduction in the unemployment rate” is consistent with its November forecasts but again places the emphasis on shifts being slow to come through.
This slowness is also emphasised in an additional comment on inflation, which is seen as “likely to remain low for some time, reflecting low growth in labour costs and strong competition in retailing”.
Wording on the Australian dollar was unchanged except for a slight qualifier that the view “it remains within the range that it has been in over the past two years” is on a trade-weighted basis. With the AUD/USD cross retracing sharply in recent sessions (currently back to 0.786 USD from well over 0.800 USD) the need to bolster their rhetoric has faded.
Lastly, the Bank again notes that “housing prices are little changed over the past six months” but adds that prices have “recorded falls in some areas” – a slight contrast to the December statement which instead noted “conditions have eased in Sydney” and gave a little less prominence to the observation.
Conclusion
Overall, the February decision and Governor’s statement contained few surprises. The Bank continues to expect a lift in growth and inflation over coming years and, with the improvement expected to be gradual, is signalling that it is prepared to be patient in assessing how conditions are evolving.
The RBA’s ‘patient approach’ ensures policy will remain on hold over the first half of 2018. Westpac continues to see a more challenging year ahead for the Australian consumer and another sub-par year for wider economic growth. As such we continue to expect rates to stay on hold through the remainder of 2018 and in 2019.
Matthew Hassan is senior economist with <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/" target="_blank">Westpac</a>.
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RBA's patient approach will see rates on hold through to 2019: Matthew Hassan

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Australian housing finance approvals beat expectations again in November, the number of approvals for owner occupiers up 2.1% vs expectations of a flat result. Approvals ex refi rose 2.4%mth to be up 9.2%yr.
The value of housing finance approvals to investors also posted a rise, up 1.5% but is down –8.3%yr.
The Nov detail showed continued strength in first home buyer loans (+4.5%mth, 36%yr) concentrated in NSW and Vic where state government stamp duty concessions are giving a big boost and activity is coming from a very low starting point.
Construction-related approvals were up 2%mth, 7.6%yr.
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/1/18/FINANCE.jpg" target="_blank">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/2018/1/18/FINANCE.jpg" alt="">
By state, gains in NSW (+1.9%mth), Qld (+4.3%mth) and SA (+2.1%mth) offset falls in Vic (–0.3%mth) and WA (–2.7%mth). Annual growth remains strongest in Vic (+16.8%) and NSW (+10.9%) bearing in mind that this is owner occupier approvals only (ex refi) and that the slowdown in investor activity has had a more material impact in these two states, NSW in particular.
Overall, the total value of finance approvals ex owner occupier refi was up 2.1%mth, and 1.7%yr. That compares to turnover, down around 16%yr, auction clearance rates, down over 13ppts, and an abrupt slowdown in price growth, down from a double digit pace mid-year to a sub-5% annual pace currently.
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/1/18/SEGMENT.jpg" target="_blank">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/2018/1/18/SEGMENT.jpg" alt="">
While the pull back in investor finance approvals is broadly consistent with macro-prudential tightening measures impacting this segment, the continued strength in owner-occupier activity has been surprising, particularly given material slowdown in wider housing market activity evident in other measures. Overall, the total value of loan approvals including investor loans and ex refi has firmed over the last year, up 1.7%yr.
The comparison with the previous macro-prudential tightening episode in 2015 is also intriguing. This resulted in a similar slowdown in wider market measures and a sizeable 10%+ decline in the total value of finance approvals.
The differences are puzzling but may be an indication that weaker foreign buyer demand – evident in the wider housing market performance but not captured by finance approvals – may have had a greater hand in the 2017 slowdown.
Matthew Hassan is senior economist with <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/" target="_blank">Westpac</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Housing's puzzling strength: Matthew Hassan

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In what is already shaping as a hotly contested retail high season, the early signs are not promising for consumer spending over Christmas 2017. The picture from November's Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment survey is one of income pressures, nervousness about the year ahead and consumers looking to keep Christmas spending on a tight rein. A repeat of 2016's 'tepid' Christmas spend looks likely.
November's Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment survey showed the consumer mood slipping back into slightly pessimistic territory after a brief moment of optimism in October (see <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/Article/29127" target="_blank">Consumer Sentiment Index back below 100)</a>. Responses to our annual question on Christmas spending underscore the lacklustre tone. The question asks if consumers expect to spend less, about the same, or more on Christmas gifts than last year. Just under a third of Australians expect to spend less on gifts this year than last, with 54% expecting to spend about the same and just 11% spending more – the lowest proportion since we began running this question in 2009.
The simplest summary measure of intentions is an index based on the net balance of responses, i.e. 100 + %more – %less. On this basis, the 2017 reading is 78, down 2.3% from 79.9 in 2016. This year's read is comparable to the 2009-13 period which saw five successive years of readings in the 77-79 range . While far from the disastrous, 66 reading in the depths of the GFC, the 2017 index is also a far cry from the most recent peak in 2015 (87.0) and the record high in 2007 (91). Overall, the 78 reading is broadly consistent with flat per capita growth in retail sales. Allowing for population gains, that points to aggregate retail sales growth of around 1.6%yr, in line with the current subdued pace and down on the 2% gain in 2016.
The survey detail offers few redeeming positives. The state responses show consumers in Vic and NSW are a little less inclined to restrain spending and Qlder's are less pessimistic than last year but those in SA and WA are tilting more towards cut backs (the latter a notable weak spot). Sub-group variations were also fairly minor although responses amongst those aged over 55, middle income earners and consumers with a mortgage show bigger pull backs vs a year ago.
The wider picture from Consumer Sentiment is of a similar lead-in to last year. That puts the Christmas 2017 in the 'middle of the pack' by long term historical standards but will clearly come as a disappointment for Australian retailers who have already endured a lacklustre, stop-start year for sales. 
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Matthew Hassan

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