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.

Joel Robinson

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

A collection of just 25 large-format apartments and penthouses overlooking Goodwin Park is entering the Coolangatta market, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marea-residences-coolangatta-27-27a-dixon-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Maréa Residences</a> combining a low-density, residential-only approach with uninterrupted park and Pacific Ocean outlooks.

Located at 27 Dixon Street, Maréa comprises three and four-bedroom residences alongside a limited number of dual-level penthouses, with the project positioned between Goodwin Park and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/coolangatta-qld-4225">Coolangatta</a>’s coastal precinct.

Construction has commenced, with completion currently estimated for late 2027. Three-bedroom residences are priced from $1.8 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374005]

The project has been designed around its northern outlook across the park, with the building’s architecture, landscaping and material palette intended to establish a connection with the neighbouring green space. The residences have been configured to maximise natural light and views across Goodwin Park towards the ocean.

Inside, the material palette incorporates timber, stone and brushed brass, complemented by curved detailing and ambient lighting. Kitchens and bathrooms carry the same natural material approach, while residences also include basement parking, storage and lift access.

Maréa’s penthouses are arranged over two levels and include private pools, adding another layer to the project’s focus on larger-format apartment living. Across the development, residences are configured with three or four bedrooms rather than the broader mix of smaller apartment types commonly found in larger projects.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374010]

Resident amenity is concentrated at rooftop level, where landscaped entertaining terraces and pools take advantage of elevated views across Coolangatta and the Pacific Ocean.

The project has so far been particularly well received by local owner-occupiers and downsizers, according to Urban Activation Property Sales and Marketing Director Matt George, with the residential-only format, construction quality and northern park outlook among the features resonating with purchasers.

“The uninterrupted northern aspect overlooking Goodwin Park has been a key point of difference, with buyers attracted to the sense of serenity and open space the park provides, while still enjoying easy access to the ocean and being within walking distance of the lifestyle and amenities Coolangatta has to offer,” George said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374002]

“The combination of high-quality construction, a residential-only building, park outlook and proximity to the beach has resonated strongly with the local downsizer market.”

The Dixon Street address is within walking distance of Coolangatta Beach and the broader southern Gold Coast coastline, including the surf breaks at Snapper Rocks and Kirra. Coolangatta’s cafés, restaurants and retail are nearby, while Gold Coast Airport is also within close proximity.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150999]

Maréa Residences brings parkside apartments to Coolangatta

Melbourne developer PDG has secured Victorian Government approval for its $1.5 billion Southbank development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-one-1-queens-bridge-street-southbank-vic-3006">The One</a>, clearing the way for the long-dormant riverfront site opposite Crown to finally be developed.

The Minister for Planning has approved the project at 1-29 Queens Bridge Street, with the Department of Transport and Planning issuing the planning permit following its assessment.

The approval will allow PDG to develop the prominent 5,059 sqm site with a major mixed-use tower comprising premium apartments, including branded residences, a luxury hotel and boutique office space.

PDG acquired the site in late 2024, with its position directly opposite Crown's main entrance and near Melbourne's Arts Precinct making it one of Southbank's most significant remaining development opportunities.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3933013e-6332-4386-b9be-089df05caf17" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.22%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sITIgBqDL0N3VNSMwWEmF5UA.uvcsRyu" />

Designed by COX in collaboration with ODO and PDG, the tower's architecture draws on the movement of the Yarra River, with six vertical pleats running the height of the sculpted facade.

The project will also see the heritage-listed Queens Bridge Hotel restored and incorporated into the development&nbsp;with new hospitality and public uses, including a rooftop venue.

A significant component of The One will be its residential amenity.

More than 5,000 sqm of resident facilities will be delivered across a single level, making it one of the largest consolidated residential amenity offerings proposed in an Australian apartment development.

The planning approval also incorporates a major upgrade of Queensbridge Square, which PDG will deliver in partnership with the City of Melbourne.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="73167fcd-1031-4b6f-a408-a064cfe45ed1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.17%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Pf1AEWxw6SNmBqR0zQW5lyEze.MtxgFp" />

The existing square will be revitalised as a new civic and pedestrian space along the Yarra River, strengthening the connection between the project, Southbank and the riverfront.

PDG Founder and Managing Director Vince Giuliano said the approval represented a major milestone for a site which has remained largely underutilised for more than 15 years.

“This is the most significant Planning Permit approval Melbourne has seen in recent years,” Giuliano said.

“For more than 15 years, this site has remained underutilised. This approval enables us to deliver a project that will contribute meaningfully to the revitalisation of Southbank, restore and reactivate an important heritage building, and create a new civic and hospitality destination for Melbourne.”

The latest approval follows an earlier planning permit issued by the City of Melbourne covering demolition works across part of the site at 9-29 Queens Bridge Street. Those demolition and early works are already underway.

PDG has also started generating early interest in the residential component from owner-occupiers ahead of a planned public launch in early 2027.

PDG secures approval for $1.5bn Southbank apartment development, The One

Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

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The RBA’s increased focus on financial stability, particularly record high household debts amid rising housing prices will likely keep the central bank from further rate cuts in 2017, according to a recent report by the NAB.
Recent comments from RBA officials raise the possibility that “macro-prudential measures may be stepped up” and a further rate cut is unlikely anytime soon, said the Forward View – Australia,  report for March by NAB Group Economics.
“We have removed our expectation of a 25bp rate cut in late 2017, although continue to flag the risk of further monetary policy easing at some point given our concerns about economic growth and the labour market in 2018,” it said.
It said the property markets in Sydney and Melbourne “continue to defy belief in 2017, with property prices showing no real signs of slowing despite tightening credit conditions and concerns about affordability”.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/03/15/NABHousingPrices.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/03/15/NABHousingPrices.png" alt="">
The report said the economy’s contraction in Q3 was only a temporary setback as it bounced back in Q4 with broad-based growth amid higher commodity prices.
But labour income continued to be weak, a fact pointed to recently by RBA Governor Philip Lowe who said that low wages growth and record high household debt are a sobering combination.
The report said housing finance has remained strong, especially for investors. Auction volumes are also solid, and auction clearance rates are up from the levels seen at the same time last year – suggesting the markets remain tight. 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/03/15/NABAuctionClearance.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
 <img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/03/15/NABAuctionClearance.png" alt="">
Elsewhere, price movements were relatively mixed in February, but the trends have generally been fairly positive in most markets. 
“Even Perth prices have been showing signs of stabilisation,” it said.
NAB says recent government measures to ease housing affordability, especially for first home buyers (FHB’s), could actually push prices higher.
The Victorian government recently announced stamp duty cuts for house sales under $600,000.
It said government measures along with the “the surprising momentum could suggest some further upside risk to our price forecasts”. 
Although, no further rate cuts would offset it to some extent. 
The research said it was leaving “our property price forecasts unchanged. Our national forecasts for 2017 are 3.4 percent for houses and 0.8 percent for units.”
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prateek24-ezbwHMbNAk

NAB drops rate cut forecast for 2017 

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Australians and businesses overwhelmingly think our country is a great place to live and have a business.
However, Australian consumers and businesses are anxious about what the future holds.
National Australia Bank (NAB) today released a new report which asks consumers and businesses to explore life, work and running a business in Australia – now and in the future.
“Nine in 10 Australians told us our country’s open spaces, people and lifestyle and access to affordable and quality healthcare are the biggest contributors to liveability and their choice to call Australia home,” NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster said.
“There are some clear differences between states. Consumers in SA/NT are much more positive in relation to travel time, living costs and housing – and in Victoria, a love of sport means entertainment options feature more prominently for liveability than any other state.”
Businesses too are optimistic, with 8 in 10 (82%) surveyed viewing Australia as a great place to have a business.
“Australian business people see the economy, our close proximity and strong connections to Asia and the growing population as some of Australia’s key strengths,” Mr Oster said.
“Making the most of these strengths is vitally important for Australia, to support more growth opportunities for businesses and the millions of Australians they employ.”
But despite their current optimism, the report found only 1 in 2 people and 60% of businesses think Australia will be a great place to live and have a business in 10 years’ time.
“There is a clear message of anxiety in the future coming from Australian consumers and businesses,” Mr Oster said.
“Australians identified access to social welfare, living costs, tax levels, jobs and housing affordability as the key factors they expect will deteriorate the most in the next 10 years.
Consumers are saying they expect very little progress in the areas already holding Australia back now.
“While a person’s income didn’t affect current perceptions of liveability, there was a large future disconnect between high income earners (earning over $100,000) and those earning under $35,000 a year.”
Businesses are slightly more optimistic.
“Australian businesses expect the things that make our country great now to continue to make us great in the future – this includes our population, proximity to Asia and our innovative and entrepreneurial economy.”
“These insights on how Australians feel about our country may be able to help businesses and governments discover what we’re concerned about, and prompt discussion on how to tackle some of the big issues,” Mr Oster said
About 2,300 consumers and 500 businesses took part in the survey, and full findings can be viewed at news.nab.com.au
NAB Chairman Dr Ken Henry will be speaking about the research today in his address to the Centre for Economic Development.
You can find a full version of his speech at <a href="https://www.news.nab.com.au" target="_blank">news.nab.com.au</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Life in the lucky country: What makes Australia great?

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Moderate growth in the US is expected to continue, but with some strengthening later in the year if, as expected, the new Administration delivers a fiscal stimulus, according to NAB’s latest update.
The President has indicated details of his tax plans will be released in 2-3 weeks.
However, the size of any stimulus is likely to be more limited than the President’s election policies would suggest due to the underlying weak budget outlook.
The US economy continues along the same moderate growth path it has experienced in its recovery from the Global Financial Crisis.
Growth slowed in the December 2016 quarter, following a particularly strong headline result in the September quarter.
The underlying details were reasonable: consumption growth was solid, residential investment resumed growing again and business investment showed some further improvement.
Temporary drags came from a fall in power consumption and the reversal of last quarter’s spike in food exports, although they were partly offset by faster inventory accumulation.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/10/NAB-1.jpg" target="_blank">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/2017/02/10/NAB-1.jpg" alt="">
More positively, business sector readings for the US from the ISM have been trending up in recent months.
In January, the manufacturing ISM moved to its highest level since late 2014 and, while the non- manufacturing ISM declined slightly, it remained at a robust level.
Consumer sentiment has also received a post-election boost, and is back to pre-GFC levels.
The labour market is also in good shape, with strong growth in non-farm employment reported for January 2017.
Nevertheless, there has been a trend slowing in employment growth as the US moves closer to full employment, although it remains strong enough to pull down unemployment over time.
While the unemployment rate rose in January to 4.8%, reversing some recent gains, this was due to a rise in workforce participation.
Further evidence of the strength of the labour market comes from initial jobless claims which are at historically low levels.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/10/NAB-2.jpg" target="_blank">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/2017/02/10/NAB-2.jpg" alt="">
The January employment report also showed a slowdown in wages growth; however, the data are volatile and the trend still appears to be upwards.
Improved consumer and business sentiment since the election, as well as the rise in the stock market, and on-going strength in the labour market are positive signs for the growth outlook.
Measures of future manufacturing capital expenditure intentions have also improved recently.
However one headwind is the appreciation of the US dollar since August which we think has a bit further to go notwithstanding some pull-back in recent weeks.
That said, the manufacturing sector, which is particularly trade exposed, appears to be largely unaffected so far if the ISM survey is anything to go by.
Along with a higher dollar, interest rates have increased which is likely to weigh on sectors such as consumer durables and housing.
Changes in credit conditions overall are threatening to turn into another headwind.
Lending standards for business loans tightened somewhat last year, although the most recent Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey suggests that this process has paused for commercial and industrial loans.
Moreover, credit conditions are starting to tighten for consumer loans.
Balancing this, however, credit spreads (relevant for corporates accessing non-bank finance) have eased.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/02/10/NAB-3.jpg" target="_blank">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/2017/02/10/NAB-3.jpg" alt="">
Rising oil prices may also hold the economy in check as the US is a net importer of energy.
That said, while a clear negative for household consumption, some businesses will benefit from higher oil prices.
In particular the energy sector but also manufacturers and businesses that provide inputs to the sector.
“Reflecting these various factors, we expect further moderate growth rates in coming quarters before some strengthening later in the year, assuming the President delivers a fiscal stimulus to the economy.
For 2017 we are forecasting GDP growth of 2.1%, and 2.3% in 2018.
We have not made any allowance for the US imposing additional trade barriers or changes that will significantly reduce net immigration.
These represent downside risks to the outlook,” the update stated.
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Higher interest rates to impact housing in the United States: NAB

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National Australia Bank (NAB) and realestate.com.au have announced a five year partnership aimed at combining the property search with securing finance.
“By partnering with NAB, we are building a truly innovative solution that will marry property search and property finance,” said Tracey Fellows, CEO of REA Group, which operates realestate.com.au.
“We will be assisting home buyers throughout their entire property journey, whether it be buying, renting, investing or selling.”
Anthony Cahill, COO at NAB, said that the partnership would combine online property searching and home lending in a manner unseen both nationally and globally.
“We’re combining our respective expertise to deliver more to Australian property buyers and create a game-changing experience,” he said.
With the partnership just announced, details on the exact products to be offered have yet to be announced.
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Realestate.com.au website partners with NAB to offer home loans

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Commercial property professionals continue to be confident over the next two years and sentiment is improving, the NAB Commercial Property Survey for Q3 shows.
The NAB Commercial Property Index rose 11 points to +16, with sentiment higher across the four surveyed sectors of Office, Retail, Industrial and CBD Hotels.
Market sentiment remained strongest in NSW, which rose 17 points over the quarter to +55 and Victoria (up 2 to +30), consistent with the stronger business conditions also exhibited in those states.
<a href="/images/2016/11/09/Commercial%20property%20index.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/11/09/Commercial%20property%20index.jpg" alt="">
In contrast, sentiment fell a further 6 points in Western Australia to -54.
“Stronger sentiment this quarter came despite moderations in business conditions over the quarter, as recorded by the NAB Quarterly Business Survey,” NAB senior economist Rob de Iure said.
“While sentiment has improved, gains are narrowly based on the eastern seaboard with NSW and Victoria outperforming the rest of the country in sentiment, capital growth and income returns.
“Looking forward, confidence levels from respondents were also high, with gains in the CBD Hotels, Office and Industrial sectors offsetting lower confidence in Retail – likely driven by weaker retail business conditions and subdued consumer spending.”
The Q3 Survey shows nearly two-thirds of all developers looking to start projects were looking at the residential sector, however only 34% planned to start work in the next six months – dropping to 18% in 18 months’ time.
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<img src="/images/2016/11/09/Property%20table%201.jpg" alt="">
“Survey respondents may be telling us that the current housing construction cycle, particularly for high density properties, may slow in the coming two years,” Mr de Iure said.
“And while the number of property developers planning to source more capital to fund their development was broadly unchanged quarter-on-quarter, nearly half (48%) were unsure of their intentions over the next 12 months – up from 31% in the second quarter.”
In addition, the Survey found more property developers are using land-banked stock to start new work, which may reflect the high levels of building activity in the residential sectors and land shortages in some cities.
Property professionals on balance also report that it is getting harder to obtain debt and equity for their businesses – with professionals expecting access to funding to remain difficult for the next 6-12 months.
About 240 property professionals participated in the Q3 Survey.
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East-West sentiment divide deepens in NAB Commercial Property Survey

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Q3 NAB SME Survey suggests a loss of momentum in SME business conditions and confidence but this is against the exceptionally strong results in Q2.
Overall, conditions and confidence remain above their long-term averages which suggest relatively solid levels of underlying activity.
A further narrowing in the gap between conditions experienced by SMEs and larger businesses as indicated by the NAB Quarterly Business Survey suggests that the pace of growth is now more consistent across small and large businesses.
The NAB SME Survey is the leading business survey of small businesses in Australia, and complements the comprehensive Quarterly NAB Business Survey.
It offers a rich repertoire of insights into factors affecting smaller firms’ conditions by state, industry and size, as well as an assessment of their outlook for investment and output.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%201.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%201.jpg" alt="">
However, the base of industries which reported positive conditions shrank in the quarter and this warrants close monitoring for signs of further weakening in the near future. The sustained weakness in retail conditions is of particular concern as it has the potential to affect other affiliated industries such as wholesale and transport.
Meanwhile, we continue to witness strong conditions in tertiary services such as health, business and financial services.
SME business confidence eased marginally in the quarter to +5, but continues to exceed its long-term average of +2.
The fall in SME confidence was in spite of the RBA’s 25bps cut to the cash rate in August, perhaps a reflection of the absence of a sustained depreciation in the AUD despite the rate cut.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%202.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%202.jpg" alt="">
In Q3, business conditions were mixed by state. NSW, Victoria and WA reported relatively stable conditions, SA improved but was still lacklustre, while Queensland deteriorated sharply. The readings for Queensland in particular have been volatile recently so we will need additional information to determine the underlying trend for the state,” said Mr Oster.
NSW and Victoria continue to outperform in terms of conditions, while WA remains the weakest.
The ongoing mining downturn continues to weigh on WA conditions, while the recent improvements in commodity prices have done little to assuage the pessimism of SMEs from the state, with WA continuing to be the least confident state as well. Apart from WA, SA was the only other state to report negative confidence. Meanwhile, NSW, Victoria and Queensland tied in the top spot for confidence at +7 index points.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%203.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/NAB%203.jpg" alt="">
 
SME forward orders rose by 1 point to +4 index points in Q3, which is notably above the long-term average of -1 index points and consistent with the result for general businesses as reported in the QBS.
The generally positive readings for forward orders since late 2013 are broadly in line with a moderate recovery in real economic activity.
By industry, the quarterly movements were mixed. Apart from manufacturing, retail and transport, all other industries reported positive forward orders.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%204.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%204.jpg" alt="">
Forward orders for finance (up 16 points to +17) and health services (up 9 points to +16) jumped by the most in the quarter to record the strongest results, pointing to the continuing outperformance of services sectors.
Forward orders for manufacturing fell the most (down 8 points to -1). Meanwhile, transport and retail, both at -3, were the weakest in the quarter.
This is consistent with the lacklustre conditions and confidence experienced by the retail sector at the moment.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%205.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%205.jpg" alt="">
The SME stock index improved marginally to +5 index points, to be above the long-term average of +2 index points and that of larger businesses indicated by the QBS (at +2).
The improvement was largely driven by business services and health, both rising by 6 points to +13 and 0 respectively.
The stock index for business services was also the highest in the quarter, followed closely by wholesale (down 6 points to +11). The relatively high stock levels reported by the wholesale sector is consistent with a higher capacity utilisation rate and resilient forward orders in the quarter.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%206.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%206.jpg" alt="">
That said, the sharp deterioration in the conditions of larger wholesale businesses as indicated by the QBS could signal an imminent weakening of wholesale SMEs in coming quarters.
Meanwhile, stocks for manufacturing (down by 11 points to +3) and property services (down 9 points to -7) fell by the most in the quarter, with the latter the weakest across industries.
The two consecutive quarterly falls for property services are consistent with a lower transaction volume in the housing market recently.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%207.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%207.jpg" alt="">
The non-seasonally adjusted cash flow index was the strongest in Q3 for financial services (at +24), followed by business services (at +22) and the weakest for transport (-9) and retail (-8).
Overall, SME price indicators point to relatively contained price pressures.
Growth in input costs (purchase costs, overheads and labour costs) have generally eased over the last two years and have contributed to improved margins readings.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%208.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%208.jpg" alt="">
That said, final price growth appears to have lost some momentum in recent quarters – probably indicative of strong downstream competition – and is consistent with a subdued inflation outlook.
Business conditions for SMEs eased by 2 points to +5 index points in Q3, but remain slightly above the long-run average of +4.
Encouragingly, low-tier SMEs continued to report positive business conditions after recording the first positive reading in two years in Q2 to be around its long-term average.
SME conditions are now only marginally below those of general businesses indicated by the NAB Quarterly Business Survey (QBS), but this mostly reflects a notable fall in the conditions of the latter. SME business confidence also eased in the quarter to +5 (from +6 in Q2), but remains above the long-term average of +2.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%201.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%201.jpg" alt="">
Two of the three components that make up SME business conditions fell, with trading conditions (down 5 points to +11) and profitability (down 2 points to +4) both retreating from their recent peaks but continuing to stay above their long-term averages.
Despite a sustained period where trading and profitability conditions exceed their historical average, the employment index was in negative territory for the eight consecutive quarter at -1, which was unchanged from the quarter before.
The lack of momentum in SME employment conditions are seemingly at odds with the relatively more robust reports by general businesses in the QBS, where the employment index has been tracking above long-term average levels since H2 of 2015.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%202.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%202.jpg" alt="">
This possibly reflects the weaker financial capacity of SMEs to hire new employees or a greater difficulty for them to find suitable labour compared to their larger counterparts.
In Q3, business conditions were mixed by state. NSW, Victoria and WA reported relatively stable conditions, SA improved but was still lacklustre, while Queensland deteriorated sharply. The business conditions index for Queensland gave up all its the gains, dropping by 10 points from Q2 to be back at +1 again.
The eastern non-mining states of NSW and Victoria continue to outperform at +13 and +10 respectively, while WA remains the weakest of all states at -14. Despite the sharp fall in conditions, Qld was the only state which reported improved confidence in the quarter (up 2 points to +7) to tie with NSW and Victoria in having the strongest confidence.
Meanwhile, stronger commodity prices in the quarter had done very little to bolster confidence of SMEs in WA, which reported a decline in confidence (down 5 points to - 6) in the quarter to be the weakest of all states.
Most SME industry sectors reported weaker conditions in the quarter, with services sectors continuing to outperform more traditional sectors in general. Similar to Q2, health, finance and business services occupied the top three spots, while transport (at -7) replaced construction (at +2) as the weakest sector, followed by retail (at - 4).
The wholesale sector managed to hold onto its recent gains in conditions to be at +8 index points, a sign that perhaps some of the earlier upstream cost pressures had ameliorated. However, weak growth in wholesale final price suggests that competitive pressures downstream are elevated.
Business confidence by industry paints a more positive picture overall, with more sectors reporting an improvement rather than a decline in the quarter. Apart from property and retail, all other industries recorded positive confidence.
<a href="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%203.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/31/Survey%203.jpg" alt="">
Somewhat surprisingly, confidence of the property sector suffered the sharpest decline in the quarter to be the weakest across industries, even though dwelling prices continue to grow strongly in major markets of Sydney and Melbourne, and more recently, ACT.
Compared to the larger businesses in the QBS, SME business conditions outperform general businesses in finance, wholesale and property, but are significantly weaker in transport.
Analysis by firm size shows that low-tier SME firms continue to report weaker conditions and confidence compared to their larger counterparts, although the fact that their conditions and confidence indices are positive remains encouraging.
Alan Oster is group chief economist, National Australia Bank, and can be contacted <a href="https://business.nab.com.au/author/alan-oster/" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Property confidence dips as SME business conditions remain upbeat overall: Alan Oster

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A confidential National Australia Bank borrowers’ blacklist of more than 600 towns and suburbs across Australia has emerged where it has capped lending to property buyers.
It is because of what the bank sees as continued or growing risks in the housing market.
The listed has 120 postcodes across the nation will need a larger deposit of as much as 30 percent to be eligible for a loan “to ensure that we are lending responsibly and sustainably”, according to internal documents used by the bank to explain its change in strategy to mortgage brokers.
NAB’s list is divided into A category postcodes, where loan-to-value ratios are capped at 70 percent, and B category, where it is 80 percent.
Rural Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland are most affected, with buyers needing a 30 percent deposit to qualify for a loan.
Those wanting to by an inner city apartment in many suburbs in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne will need a 20 percent deposit.
Group A 70 percent LVR
WA
6390 Boddington*
6429 Coolgardie*
6436 Menzies, Ularring
6437 Leinster, Sir Samuel
6438 Leonora, Lake Darlot
6440 Bandya, Beadell, Cosmo Newberry, Lake Wells, Laverton, Neale
6442 Kambalda East and West
6442 Meekatharra*
6646 Wiluna, Lake Carnegie, Little Sandy Desert
6710 Cane, Onslow, Peedamulla, Talandji, Yannarie
6713 Dampier
6714 Antonymyre, Balla Balla, Banynton, Bulgarra, Burrup, Cleaverville, Cooya Pooya, Gap Ridge, Gnoorea, Karratha, Karratha Industrial Estate, Maitland, Mardie, Millars Well, Mulataga, Nickol, Pegs Creek, Sherlock, Stove Hill
6716 Pannawonica*
6718 Roebourne, Whim Creek
6720 Cossack, Point Samson, Wickham
6721 Port Hedland*
6722 South Hedland*
6725 Eighty Mile Beach*
6728 St George Ranges*
6751 Tom Price*
6753 Newman
6754 Paraburdoo
6758 Nullagine
6760 Marble Bar
QLD
4413 Auburn*
4415 Columboola*
4420 Baroondah*
4455 Wycombe*
4521 Mount Pleasant*
4581 Eurong, Fraser Island, Inskip, Rainbow Beach
4660 Apple Tree Creek*
4674 Oyster Creek*
4678 Bororen, Foreshores, Rodds Bay, Turkey Beach
4680 Gladstone*
4715 Mount Murchison*
4717Blackwater
4720 Emerald, Yammala
4737 Sarina*
4738 Ilbilbie, Koumala
4740 Beaconsfield*
4741 Mount Ossa*
4742 Burton, Eaglefield, Elphinstone, Hail Creek, Kemmis, Mount Britton, Nebo, Oxford, Strathfield, Turrawulla, Valkyrie
4743 Suttor, Glenden
4744 Moranbah
4745 Cotherstone, Dysart
4746 May Downs, Middlemount
4800 Conway*
4804 Collinsville, Mount Coolon, Mount Wyatt, Newlands, Scottville, Springlands
4805 Bowen*
4820 Campaspe*
SA
5600 Whyalla, Whyalla Playford
5601 Point Lowly*
5608 Whyalla Norrie, Whyalla Stuart
5609 Whyalla Jenkins
5725 Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs NT
0885 Alyangula
TAS
7030 Brighton*
7155 Kettering
7467 Queenstown, Lake Margaret
7468 Macquarie Heads, Strahan
7469 Zeehan, Trial Harbour, Renison Bell, Granville Harbour
7470 Rosebery
Group B 80 percent LVR
NSW
2000 Barangaroo, Dawes Point, Haymarket, Millers Point, Sydney, The Rocks
2008 Chippendale, Darlington
2017 Waterloo, Zetland
2019 Banksmeadow, Botany
2037 Forest Lodge, Glebe
2067 Chatswood
2112 Denistone East, Putney, Ryde
2118 Carlingford
2127 Newington, Sydney Olympic Park, Wentworth Point
2140 Homebush
2141 Berala, Lidcombe, Rookwood
2142 Camellia, Clyde, Granville, Holroyd, Rosehill
2144 Auburn
2146 Toongabbie
2150 Harris Park, Parramatta
2153 Baulkham Hills, Bella Vista, Winston Hills
2166 Cabramatta, Canley Vale, Canley Heights, Lansvale
2168 Ashcroft, Busby, Cartwright, Green Valley, Heckenberg, Hichinbrook, Miller, Sadleir
2194 Campsie
2195 Lakemba, Wiley Park
2199 Yagoona
2205 Arncliffe, Turella, Wolli Creek
2208 Kingsgrove
2209 Beverly Hills, Narwee
2210 Lungarno, Peakhurst, Riverwood
2211 Padstow
2220 Hurstville
2222 Penhurst
2566 Varroville, Bow Bowing, Minto, Raby, St Andrews
2767 Bungarribee, Doonside, Woodcroft
2769 The Ponds
VIC
3000 Melbourne CBD
3004 St Kilda Road Central
3006 South Bank, South Wharf
3008 Docklands
3067 Abbotsford
QLD
4000 Brisbane City, Petrie Terrace, Spring Hill
4006 Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley, Herston, Newstead
4010 Albion
4032 Chermside,
4101 Highgate Hill, South Brisbane, West End
4102 Dutton Park, Woolloongabba
4215 Labrador, Southport
SA
5000 CBD Adelaide
5001 CBD Adelaide
WA
6000 Perth CBD
6003 Highgate, Northbridge
6004 East Perth
6005 Kings Park, West Perth
6100 Burswood, Lathlain, Victoria Park
6103 Rivervale NT
800 Darwin
* = and surrounds
“NAB takes into account a range of economic factors, and regularly monitors the performance of local markets to ensure we continue to lend responsibly and sustainably,” a bank spokesperson told The Australian Financial Review.
“We recognise that no two suburbs are the same, and there are some geographic areas across Australia which have been impacted by local economic conditions.
"As a responsible lender, we adopt strategies in these geographic areas that seek to reduce the risk to our customers and our business.”
The bank is still lending to borrowers in the named suburbs.
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The 600 suburbs where the NAB requires more than a 10 percent deposit for home loans

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The NAB Consumer Anxiety Index fell to 59.2 points in Q3 2016 (60.2 in Q2 2016) to its lowest level in more than 3 years.
According to NAB Group Chief Economist Alan Oster consumers felt less stressed about their jobs, government policy and the cost of living, with anxiety related to their health spending and retirement funding unchanged.
The cost of living, along with government policy, is still the biggest driver of overall consumer anxiety. But with low inflation persisting, cost of living anxiety fell to its lowest level since the Survey began in early 2013.
“It was pleasing to see just 1 in 4 Australian consumers now reporting “high” anxiety over their cost of living, compared to more than 1 in 3 in mid-2014” said Mr Oster.
By state, consumer anxiety was highest in Queensland and lowest in NSW and Victoria.
Women were far more anxious than men, particularly those aged 30-49 who were also the most anxious across all demographic groups.
“Women reported higher stress for all drivers of anxiety, especially when it came to their retirement funding and the cost of living, and women aged 30-49 were also one of the very few groups still reporting above average levels of anxiety” said Mr Oster.
Despite lower levels of overall anxiety, consumer spending behaviours are still very conservative and dominated by spending on “essentials” such as paying down debt, utilities and medical expenses.
“On a positive note, however, we have loosened our purse strings a little with fewer consumers cutting back on non-essential spending” said Mr Oster.
Australians were also less anxious in regards to their current financial position, with all drivers of household financial stress causing less concern.
Financing retirement, providing for our family’s future, health expenditure and the ability to raise emergency funds remain the biggest drivers of financial stress.
In an attempt to measure financial resilience, Australian consumers were asked for the first time to rate how well they have been able to cover their basic living expenses and any unforseen financial expenses such as a major home or car repair in the last 12 months.
Australian consumers believe they are only “moderately” placed to cover their basic living expenses.
“Men were better placed than women in all age groups to meet their basic living expenses and unforseen expenses. Having a higher income also helps a lot” said Mr Oster.
Looking forward, NAB expects moderate but easing household consumption growth over the next few years, with real household consumption growth forecast to average around 2.7% for 2016, before slowing to 2.1% in 2017 and 2.3% in 2018.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-15%20at%2012.46.13%20PM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-15%20at%2012.46.13%20PM.png" alt="">
Consumer Behaviour Survey Q3 2016
 Consumer anxiety fell again in Q3 and we are worrying less about the cost of living. We are still spending conservatively, although there were signs our purse strings loosened. We were less anxious about our current financial position, with all drivers of household stress causing less concern. But we rate our financial resilience only “moderate” when it comes to our ability to meet life’s expenses.
Consumer anxiety falls to its lowest level since mid-2013 
Australian consumers are becoming less anxious, with NAB’s Consumer Anxiety Index falling to 59.2 points in Q3 2016 (60.2 in Q2 2016). The index currently stands at its lowest level in more than 3 years and is down from a survey high 64.4 points in mid-2014.
NAB consumer anxiety trends
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.43.55%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.43.55%20AM.png" alt="">
Lower consumer anxiety in Q3 2016 was underpinned by reduced concerns relating to our job security, government policy and the cost of living. Anxiety levels related to our health spending and ability to fund our retirement were largely unchanged.
Notwithstanding recent improvements, the cost of living and government policy continue to be the biggest drivers of our consumer anxiety.
NAB consumer anxiety index
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.46.34%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.46.34%20AM.png" alt="">
However, we are continuing to see some very encouraging improvements in anxiety stemming from our cost of living, which has now fallen to its lowest level since the survey began in 2013. Indeed, just 1 in 4 (25%) Australian consumers are now reporting “high” anxiety over their cost of living, down from just over 37% (more than 1 in 3 consumers) in mid-2014.
But consumer anxiety continues to vary widely across demographic groups. Overall, it was highest in Q3 for middle-aged women (65 points), divorced Australians (63 points) and the self-employed (61.9 points). It was lowest for men over 50 (54.4 points), the highest income earners (55.3 points), young men (55.6 points) and widows (56.1 points).
By state, anxiety was highest in Queensland (60.1 points), where cost of living concerns were notably above all other states and in SA/NT (59.9 points) and WA (59.8 points) where stress relating to job security played a bigger role. Not surprisingly, consumer anxiety was lost lowest in NSW/ACT (58.5 points) and Victoria (59 points) - where economic growth is also leading the country.
Consumer anxiety was also a much bigger issue for women (61.7 points) than for men (56.7 points) - and across all age groups - with women also reporting notably higher stress across all key drivers, especially in relation to their ability to fund their retirement and cost of living.
Consumer anxiety by group
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.49.29%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.49.29%20AM.png" alt="">
It was also noticeable that middle-aged women, consumers living in Tasmania, and those that are self- employed were the only groups still reporting above average levels of anxiety - and in all cases due to above average stress relating to their jobs, health expenditure and ability to fund retirement.
Our spending behaviours
 
Despite falling levels of consumer anxiety, changes in consumer spending patterns remain largely conservative.
In Q3, more Australians increased their spending in relation to paying down debt. More Australians also increased their spending on utilities, medical expenses, transport and they added to their savings, superannuation and investments.
In contrast, more consumers in net terms are still cutting their spending on “non-essentials”, particularly eating out, entertainment, major household items, charitable donations and credit use.
Spending behaviours in Q3 (Net)
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.53.02%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.53.02%20AM.png" alt="">
On a more positive note, the chart below shows that fewer Australian consumers increased their spending on “essentials” over the past year, while fewer of us also cut back on many “non-essentials”.
However, our overall spending behaviours remain very conservative and we are cutting back where we can. This pattern is also broadly consistent across most states (see State Spending Behaviours below).
Changes in spending behaviour (Net)
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.55.47%20AM.png" alt="">
How our spending is changing
Another way to show consumer spending behaviour is by grouping all “non essentials” (entertainment, eating out, major household items, home improvements, personal goods and travel), “essentials” (medical, utilities, transport, groceries and children) and “financial spending (paying off debt, savings/super/investments and use of credit).
Consumer behaviour by type of spending
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.57.55%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%209.57.55%20AM.png" alt="">
Our spending behaviours in relation “essentials” and our financial behaviour were largely unchanged in Q3. But “non-essential” spending sentiment (a broad proxy for consumer confidence) improved to -16, its highest reading since Q4 2015.
Our current financial position
We were less anxious overall about our current financial position in Q3 (63.1 points). But this varied according to where we lived, our age and gender.
NSW/ACT (60.2 points) was the least anxious state and Queensland (64.7 points) the most anxious. SA/NT (61.9 points) was the only state to report higher anxiety over their current financial situation.
Anxiety over our financial position
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.00.25%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.00.25%20AM.png" alt="">
Men over 50 (54.7 points) reported the lowest anxiety in relation to their current financial position. Middle aged women (69.6 points) were the most stressed, while women over 50 (63.1 points) were the only group to report higher anxiety in Q3.
Not surprisingly, there was a clear relationship between financial stress and income, with stress levels considerably lower in the highest income group (54.5 points) compared to the lowest income group (69.2 points).
All drivers of household financial stress causing less concern
Reduced stress over our current financial position in Q3 was supported by lower concern over all key drivers of household financial stress.
However, we continue to identify financing retirement, providing for our family’s future, health expenditure and our ability to raise emergency funds as the biggest drivers of financial stress, but somewhat less so than in the previous quarter and notably less so than at the same time last year.
Drivers of financial stress
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.03.50%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.03.50%20AM.png" alt="">
Financial resiliance - our ability to cover life's expenses
Australian consumers were asked for the first time how well they have been able to cover their basic living expenses and any unforseen financial expenses (such as major home or car repairs, major illness, funeral or wedding expenses, birth of a child etc.) in the last 12 months - essentially how financially resilient do they think they are.
Australian consumers believe they are only “moderately” placed to cover their basic living expenses (72 out of 100 where 100 = “completely” resilient). Their ability to meet unforseen financial expenses is even lower (61.4 points) and across all key demographic groups.
But men were better placed than women (in all age groups) to meet both their basic living expenses and unforseen expenses. Having a higher income also helps a lot.
Interestingly, consumers in Tasmania rated highest for their ability to meet their basic living expenses (ahead of Victoria and SA/NT), while consumers in NSW/ACT and Victoria were best placed to meet unforseen financial expenses. Low income earners struggled most with unforseen expenses.
Ability to cover our living costs 
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.06.46%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.06.46%20AM.png" alt="">
The view from NAB economics
Household consumption appeared to have lost some momentum in recent quarters, possibly reflecting the slowdown in the labour market since late last year, as well as persistently soft wages growth consistent with compositional shifts in the labour market towards part-time jobs which tend to be lower-paid.
The Q2 National Accounts revealed a relatively soft household final consumption expenditure result of 0.4% q/q, with slowing retail spending causing a more apparent drag on overall household spending activity. That said, the broader trend of services consumption outpacing goods consumption continued, with health, hospitality and financial services being the largest contributors in the quarter.
Meanwhile, higher frequency data such as the official ABS retail trade data, our monthly NAB Online Retail Index and NAB Business Survey pointed to further softening in sales and conditions in the retail sector in recent months.
A stabilisation in the household saving ratio at around 8% - a level higher than the trough reached in Q4 2015 of 7.5% - suggests a return of consumer caution which could weigh on household spending in the near-term.
While clearly more downside risks to the consumption outlook have emerged from the above factors, they should be partly offset by the positive impetus stemming from a sustained low interest environment and renewed strength in house price growth, especially in Sydney and Melbourne.
We now expect moderate but easing household consumption growth over the next few years, with real household consumption growth forecast to average around 2.7% for 2016, slowing to 2.1% in 2017 and 2.3% in 2018.
Spending behaviours by state
New South Wales/ACT 
Spending behaviours in NSW/ACT were largely unchanged in Q3. There were some cutbacks in medical, transport and credit use, but more consumers increased spending on major household items, travel, charity and saved more.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.09.31%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.09.31%20AM.png" alt="">
 Victoria
Notably more Victorian consumers increased their savings, super and investments and spent more on transport and travel in Q3. In contrast, cutbacks were most apparent in regards to their credit use, spending on children and entertainment. Most other areas of spending were broadly unchanged.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.11.51%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.11.51%20AM.png" alt="">
Queensland
Fewer consumers in Queensland increased their spending on “essentials” in Q3, particularly in regards to transport. A lot more consumers also cut back on their use of credit, but they more added to their savings, superannuation and investments.
In contrast, more consumers spent on “non essentials”, particularly home improvements, travel, eating out, charitable donations and personal goods. The number of consumers in Queensland that have cut back their spending on “non-essentials” over the past year is also noticeably lower.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.13.43%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.13.43%20AM.png" alt="">
Western Australia
More consumers in Western Australia increased their spending across most categories in Q3 2016. In particular, there were some big increases in the number of local consumers spending more on charitable donations, their savings, superannuation and investments and on utilities relative to the last quarter. Spending fell in just 2 areas - credit usage and on medical expenses.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.15.43%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.15.43%20AM.png" alt="">
South Australia
Spending behaviours in South Australia in Q3 were dominated by big increases in the number of consumers saving more and spending more on groceries and utilities, but also by notable increases in the number spending more on “non-essentials” such as entertainment, travel and major household items. Fewer consumers increased spending on transport, charitable donations, medical and paying down debt.
<a href="/images/2016/09/15/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-16%20at%2010.17.41%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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Tasmania
Spending behaviours in Tasmania remain volatile. In Q3, they were dominated by large increases in the number of consumers spending more on home improvements, major household items, their savings, utilities, personal goods and medical. Fewer consumers increased spending on eating out and their children or used credit.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Consumers less stressed about jobs, government policy and cost of living: NAB

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The housing market sentiment has softened amongst property professionals, according to the first NAB residential property survey since the official RBA cash rate cut in May
The NAB Residential Property Index fell to +3, from +6 in Q1 2016, to remain below its long term average of +13.
Sentiment moderated in all states except South Australia and the Northern Territory, which rose 19 points, albeit still in negative territory.
New South Wales joined Victoria as the best performing state, followed by Queensland.
Confidence has however improved, with the national index rising to +29 next year, and +36 in two years’ time.
The NAB Residential Property Survey for Q2 2016 also found that respondents expect Victoria and Queensland to provide the best capital returns over the next one to two years.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster said that it's still a mixed picture across Australia, with house price expectations for the next 12 months holding up well in the eastern states.
He suggested that the house price expectations will stay flat in South Australia and Northern Territory, and will continue to fall sharply in Western Australia.
NAB Economics has also revised its national house price forecasts for 2016 upwards to 5.1% (from 1.5%). Unit price forecasts were revised up to 3.6% for 2016.
“Our upwards revisions in price forecasts reflects the strength in prices to date. Over the last six months, Sydney and Melbourne prices have increased by an annualised rate of nearly 19% and 12% respectively,” Oster said.
“However, while there is significant amount of uncertainty over the outlook for prices, we expect that this renewed momentum in the housing market is unlikely to be sustained over the longer term.”
Looking out to 2017, NAB forecasts prices to be flat across most capital cities, with falls particularly in Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.
While the declines in Perth largely reflect economic conditions, the falls in Melbourne and Brisbane can be partly attributed to added supply and weaker investor demand.
“NAB is forecasting a much softer residential property market, with 0.5% growth in house prices and nearly 2% decline in unit prices in 2017,” Mr Oster said.
NAB Economics continues to hold the view that residential property prices are unlikely to experience a sharp ‘correction’ without a trigger from a shock that leaves unemployment or interest rates sharply higher.
The residential property survey series also measures foreign buyer activity in the Australian housing market.
Market share of foreign buyers in new Australian housing markets fell for the third straight quarter in a row – to 10.4%. A sharp fall in foreign buyer activity in Queensland was offset by growth in Victoria and a modest rise in NSW. Market share of foreign buyers in established markets was unchanged at 7.2%.
 
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Housing market sentiment softens following the RBA rate cut: NAB residential property survey

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The overall share of foreign buyers in Australian property markets fell to a two-and-a-half year low in both new and established property markets in the first quarter of March, according to NAB's latest Residential Property Survey.
Foreign buyers accounted for just 11.8% of total new property sales (14.4% in Q4), while it was 7.2% in established property markets (8.6% in Q4).
In new property markets, foreign buyers fell to 10.7% in VIC (16.4% in Q4) - its lowest level in two years and significantly below survey high levels of 32.5% in Q4’14. Foreign buyers were also less prevalent in NSW, where their market share fell to 11.1% (11.7% in Q4). This down from a survey high 21% in Q1’15 and now at its lowest level since Q4’13. In WA, foreign buyers of new property accounted for just 2.9% of total demand (5.8% in Q4) down from around 10- 11% in the first half of 2015.
In contrast, the share of foreign buyers in new property markets in QLD continued to grow, rising to 21.9% in Q1’16 (20.9% in Q4). The market share of foreign buyers in new property markets has grown for three consecutive quarters and may suggest that they are being attracted by lower average prices there. In established property markets, foreign buyers accounted for just 7.1% of total demand in VIC - a 3 year low and down from 8.6% in Q4. Foreign buyers were also less active in NSW (7.8% vs. 9.4% in Q4) and QLD (6.7% vs. 8.9% in Q4), but they increased their market share in WA to a Survey high 8.8% (7.2% in Q4).
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Type of property purchased by foreign buyers
Overall, 51% of all foreign purchases of Australian residential property were for apartments (53% in Q4), 31% houses (32% in Q4) and 18% for re-development (16% in Q4). However, these ratios continue to vary widely by state.
In VIC, 39.4% of sales in Q1’16 were for apartments (down from 44.2% in Q4), 37.6% were houses (35.2% in Q4) and almost 1 in 4 (23.1%) was land for re-development (20.6% in Q4). In NSW, 54.6% of all properties purchased by foreigners were apartments (53.9% in Q4) and 29.9% houses (32.4% in Q4). The share of property bought for re-development purposes rose to 15.9% (14.1% in Q4). In QLD, apartments made up 58.8% of all sales (60.8% in Q4) - still by far the biggest share among the main states. Houses accounted for just 24.3% of foreign sales (26.4% in Q4), but purchases for re-development purposes climbed to 17.5% (12.8% in Q4). In WA, apartment sales accounted for 48.4% of all foreign purchases (50.8% in Q4), houses for 34.5% (29.8% in Q4) and land for re-development 17% (19.4% in Q4).
Price range of property purchased by foreign buyers
Around 31% of apartments purchased by foreigners were valued at less than $500,000 (33.7% in Q4) while 40% were valued between $500,000-$1 million (41.7% in Q4). Just over 16% were in the $1-2 million range (14.8% in Q4), with the number of sales in the $2-5 million range unchanged at 7.9%. Just over 1 in 20 foreign buyers (5.5%) purchased apartments valued above $5 million (3.3% in Q4). There remain some interesting differences across states. In the apartment market, more foreign buyers in WA (42.8%) purchased properties worth less than $500,000 than in any other state. In NSW, just 18.4% of apartment purchases were below $500,000, probably reflecting a lower stock of apartments at this price level. Almost one in two apartments purchased in QLD were in the $500,000-$1 million range, compared to just 34% in VIC.
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It was also notable that one in four purchases in NSW were in the $1-2 million range, compared to around 12-14% in all other states. More foreign buyers in NSW (6.6%) and VIC (4.9%) purchased apartments valued over $5 million than in any other state. In the house market, around 63% of foreign purchases were valued below $1 million. Around 25% were for properties below $500k and 38% between $500,000-$1 million. Just over 23% of all house sales were in the $1-2 million range, 11% in the $2-5 million range and 4% over $5 million. By state, approximately 57% of houses sold to foreigners in VIC and 46% in NSW were valued below $1 million, compared to 72% in QLD and 82% in WA. Around 35% of houses purchased in NSW and 25% in VIC were valued between $1-2 million, with 15% and 13% of houses in NSW and VIC respectively valued between $2-5 million. Almost 7% of houses in VIC and just over 4% of houses in NSW were sold for more than $5 million. 
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