Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

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Amid all the controversy surrounding slow NBN speeds, a new report shows that Australia is at 55th position for download speeds, behind Estonia, Kenya, Bahamas, Cyprus and Ukraine.
Figures from Cable.co.uk, which used data from M-Lab, show the country lags behind most of Europe.
Australia’s a mean download speed is 7.7 mbps, according to an article in the Herald Sun.
Singapore topped the list with a download speed of 55.13Mbps.
For comparison, a 7.5GB movie can download in 18 minutes and 34 seconds in Singapore while in Australia it would take two hours and 12 minutes based on the mean speed.
Director of Melbourne Networked Society Institute Professor Thas Nirmalathas said Australia’s population could be slowing the country down but internet service providers are partly to blame.
“A big factor is that internet service providers are not keeping up their investment to be consistent with the NBN investment,” he said.
“The NBN debate has been running a long time and other countries have managed to speed up their deployment so that’s why we are behind.”
Professor Nirmalathas said the NBN would improve the connectivity between the home and exchange point but much work was to be done to achieve that.
“You have to be careful when comparing the statistics as we are a vast population and it’s not comparing apples versus apples, but Australia should be able to do better than it is.”
The year-long study collected data from 63 million tests of broadband speeds from around the word.
Recently, another report suggested that if telcos paid just $9.75 extra a month per connection, speeds for the National Broadband Network would vastly improve.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

NBN woes: Study shows Australia lags most of Europe and some African countries in download speeds

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Amid the blame game between NBN Co and telecom companies over slow broadband speeds, the problem has a cheap fix.
If telcos paid just $9.75 extra a month per connection, speeds for the National Broadband Network would vastly improve, an analysis by The Australian suggests.
But telecom companies are more focussed on pressuring the network to drop charges to increase profits at taxpayers’ expense, the article in The Australian said.
Here’s how it works.
NBN Co charges telcos an access virtual circuit, or AVC, charge per user per month, based on whether the user is connecte­d to a maximum speed connection of 12 megabits per ­second, 25Mbps, 50Mbps or 100Mbps.
It also charges a bandwidth fee known as CVC — connectivity virtual­ circuit — which is the amount of data that flows to those connections.
The NBN pricing is already high by international comparisons because the network is using the charges to make repayments and a return on the federal government’s $49 billion investment.
On average, nationwide, telcos buy just 1Mbps of CVC.
This means that if every home were using the NBN at the same time they would each achieve speeds of just 1Mbps, well below under most ADSL connections.
Telcos can operate effectively buying bandwidth at lower levels than advertised speeds because not all users are online at the same time. But during peak times when most users might be online, the very low level of bandwidth being purchased under the NBN is seriously affecting speeds, said the analysis.
This is even after NBN Co cutting prices for 1Mbps of CVC per user per month to $14.25 from $21.
On June 1, NBN Co offered incentives for telcos to buy more bandwidth per customer. While 1Mbps per user per month costs $14.25, 2Mbps costs $20.50 and 3Mbps costs $24, meaning bandwidth, and so peak speeds, would triple if telcos paid an extra $9.75 per user per month.
However, despite the low costs to fix the bandwidth issue, especially during peak hours, the telcos are refusing to buy more capacity and focussing on lobbying NBN Co for further price cuts.
The issue is particularly pointed for Telstra and Optus, which between them control more than 60 per cent of all NBN connect­ions, because they are being paid $9.8 billion of taxpayer funds — $1,400 a customer — up to 2020 to compensate for customers mig­rating from their cable networks.
NBN connections were slow — in many cases slower than ADSL and cable  — because of the price war between the telecom companies and their reluctance to buy ­adequate bandwidth, according to telecommunications expert and Launtel chief executive Damian Ivereigh.
“Because there are so many cheaper plans, the (telcos) are refusing­ to put their prices up because­ they are afraid to lose market share,” Ivereigh said.
“We are not talking about a lot of money — for about $10 a month they could fix this whole thing.”
He said it was difficult for telcos to charge more for NBN connections because customers were used to paying low prices for ADSL and historically, technology and teleph­ony charges had gone down.
In spite of this, in order to fund the massive cost of the NBN, charges would have to rise because of the federal government’s nearly $50 billion investment in NBN Co.
The silver lining, according to him was that ultimately, while internet costs would be higher, NBN speeds would be well above ADSL.
Around 40 percent of eligible households have chosen not to connect to the network and economic modelling shows that subsidising the NBN is key to encouraging more Australians to connect. 
Recently, NBN chief executive Bill Morrow said the company was facing an image problem and the company was <a href="/expert-insights/investing/nbn-chief-admits-to-image-problem-will-review-pricing--85979">reviewing its pricing model</a>.
Both Telstra and Optus did not disclose the average amount of bandwidth they purchased per customer, however, experts said it was close to the industry average of 1Mbps per user per month.
Both telcos said the money they received for NBN connections was compensation for the federal government taking control of their expensive high-speed internet cable networks in each of the capital cities, except for Darwin and Hobart.
A Telstra spokesman said the group received payments from the federal government for every cable customer within NBN coverage and it was expected to have a negative earnings impact to the tune of $2 billion-$3 billion.
An Optus spokeswoman said the $1400-odd per cable customer payments it received were compensation for “significant histor­ical investments” Optus had made in its cable network.
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$10 a month could fix slow speeds, but telcos lobby NBN to drop prices

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/81562/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Half of all Australians are now able to connect to the NBN.
But around 40 percent of eligible households have chosen not to connect to the network. Our modelling shows that subsidising the NBN is key to encouraging more Australians to connect. This would benefit the economy as a whole, but hurt the government’s plans to privatise the network.
The government is currently counting both on receiving ongoing revenue from the NBN, as well as the proceeds from its eventual privatisation. To achieve both goals, the NBN charges for access to the network.
Switching from a pricing model that charges for access to the network to one that subsidises access will mean the government won’t get a return on its investment. 
The NBN’s pricing model
The NBN currently charges internet service providers, such as Telstra, for access to the network. The internet service providers then sell the service on to consumers - businesses and households.
Our model tried to find an NBN access price that would generate the greatest benefit to consumers, internet service providers and the network. We set our model in the future - when the NBN has been fully constructed, the cost of construction has been paid, and the government is preparing to privatise it.
In order to maximise the shared economic benefit from the network, we found that the access price has to be less than zero - a subsidy. The network shouldn’t be charging internet service providers to access the network, it should instead pay them to connect. 
The internet market in Australia is dominated by four large internet service providers (Telstra, Optus, TPG and Vocus) so we can’t expect the subsidy to be fully passed on. But competition means consumer prices would drop, and the number of customers connecting to the network would increase by as much as 25%. The benefit to the economy as a whole would outweigh the costs, but the cost falls entirely on the NBN, which would have to run at a loss. 
The NBN as a public service
We know that regulators want the NBN to benefit the whole economy. This requires more customers to connect to the network. Our model shows that means prices need to be reduced. 
This will weigh on the plans to privatise the NBN. There was a similar issue over access to Telstra’s copper network, which was marked by repeated litigation and public wrangling between Telstra and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over access pricing. 
Private companies won’t invest in infrastructure such as the NBN unless they can earn a profit in return. In fact, neither Telstra nor its competitors managed to build a fibre network themselves precisely because they couldn’t agree with the ACCC on how much profit they would be allowed to make from it. 
But the NBN is financed and currently owned by the government. This means it doesn’t necessarily have to run at a profit. 
Our model shows the NBN should be treated like other services the government provides - roads, education and doctors visits. All of these services can theoretically be provided by the private sector but are subsidised because the benefits of broad access outweigh the costs. 
Any guarantee of a profitable NBN also means that the benefit to consumers and the economy will be suboptimal. With the nbn Co. due to finish construction and be polished up ready for privatisation in less than four years, it’s time for our politicians and regulators to start transparent conversations with the public, investors and broadband businesses about how many consumers will be connected to Australia’s broadband future.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/troy-s-barry-392664" target="_blank">Troy S Barry</a> is PhD Candidate in Economics, University of Western Australia.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ishita-chatterjee-392690" target="_blank">Ishita Chatterjee</a> is Economics lecturer, University of Western Australia.
Both are authors for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

The NBN needs subsidies if we all want to benefit from it

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NBN Co, which is rolling out the National Broadband Network, is eyeing two new office headquarters in Sydney and Melbourne.
The company, which has come under criticism for slow network speeds and quality, is set to move into Dexus' 100 Mount Street development, close to the new Victoria Cross Metro rail station in North Sydney, The Australian Financial Review reported.
In Melbourne, it is understood to have signed on for around 20,000 square metres at the final tower in billionaire Lang Walker's Collins Square project.
The new Sydney office of NBN has Sydney Harbour views and the company is expected to take half of the 41,500 square metres building that has more than 34 office levels.
Rents could range between $700- $750 per square metre per year, the AFR said.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the Collins Square project is well advanced and the last building, known as Tower 5, already has a commitment from Transurban for around 16,000 sq m.
The NBN tenancy will nearly fill that final tower in the $2.5 billion mixed use project.
The NBN deal is expected to be struck at somewhere between $575 and $590 per sq m on a net face rent, according to industry sources.
The tower is due to be completed in 2018.
The timing of the moves come amid a review being ordered by the Federal government as the rollout gets mired with complaints of high costs and poor quality of service.
Already, the company is reviewing the pricing for the $50 billion broadband network.
The chief executive of NBN, Bill Morrow, recently said the company is facing an image problem. Telcos have complained that it was the NBN's pricing mode that was driving up their prices, while at the same time around 15 per cent of users were facing problems.
NBN declined to comment on its leasing plans.
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NBN looking to lease into top-end offices in Sydney and Melbourne 

<html><body>
The National Broadband Network is reviewing the pricing for Australia's $50 billion broadband network to address growing complaints by customers about internet speeds and quality.
The chief executive of NBN, Bill Morrow, said the company is facing an image problem. Telcos have complained that it was the NBN's pricing mode that was driving up their prices, while at the same time around 15 per cent of users were facing problems.
Morrow said he was reviewing the pricing model that could include measures to give disgruntled customers a better idea about the quality of the service they were paying for. 
He said a "land grab" by retail service providers chasing market share was misleading customers about the speeds they were paying for, The Australian Financial Review reported.
"We have to take it seriously, it is causing reputational damage and it does need to get fixed and we are committed to working with the industry to get it fixed," said Morrow.
A review of the pricing model could include introducing "minimum assurance" standards for certain products, such as media streaming, to ensure customers were receiving a certain level of service. He said NBN was looking at a restructuring of the pricing mechanism.
"I am sympathetic with the many smaller retailers, in particular, who say I am stuck in this price war and I can't step up and raise my price to the end users.
"So, we are thinking can we restructure the CVC (Connectivity Virtual Circuit charge) and the AVC (monthly access charge) to have a minimum assurance of a certain quality of product ... do we introduce a media streaming product?"
NBN Co is in initial talks with broadband providers.
The CVC charge is the price NBN charges service providers for the bandwidth they want for their customers. The NBN lowered its its CVC charge to $15.25 per megabit per second from $20 per megabit per second in December last year. Under a new pricing model announced earlier this year, they will be able to get discounts based on how much CVC they purchase per end-user. 
Morrow said most NBN problems were around two issues: slower-than-expected internet speeds reported by some customers and technical issues in connecting premises. About 15 per cent of NBN customers have complained about their connections.
Just a few days back, NBN Co’s chief network deployment officer Kathrine Dyer said no premises will be left unconnected by the time the rollout is completed in 2020.
Nearly 200,000 premises faced lengthy delays connecting to the network despite the fact that the NBN has been rolled out in their neighbourhoods.
Morrow said the number of complaints was rising as new network connections accelerated, but the overall percentage had fallen. It is activating about 40,000 to 50,000 new customers a week, which will increase even more as the project is targeted to be complete in 2020.
The NBN has been swamped with complaints from customers about speeds that they say are lower than what they used to get on ADSL. 
When asked if the NBN had an image problem, he said: "I do [agree]….it is partly our fault. It is partly taken out of context because 85 per cent [of customers] are fine with this. It is the 15 per cent that is a large number because of the volumes we are dealing with. It is not just a lightly dissatisfied but a seriously dissatisfied service."
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said last week Telstra, Optus, TPG and Vocus could face legal action if they were found to have misled consumers about their NBN speeds.
"Most of the marketing attention is on price, not what kind of speed you are going to get," Morrow said, adding that 75 per cent of customers did not know what speed they were on.
"There is a land grab phenomena where retailers are chasing market share and classically during a land grab phase you get more discussion on price and less discussion about quality."
He said NBN was working on installation problems, particularly issues around an existing provider cutting off a customers' service before they were connected to the NBN. 
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NBN chief admits to image problem, will review pricing

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The National Broadband Network’s FTTP (fibre-to-the-premises) connections are costing $4405 on average and are among the most expensive in the world, according to an industry expert.
Rod Tucker, a telecommunications expert and professor at the University of Melbourne, told the Senate committee overseeing NBN that Australia FTTP connections on average per premises was way higher than New Zealand’s $NZ2800 ($2677) and even the United States’ $US1719 ($2259), The Australian reported.
“Australia’s FTTP rollout is likely to be one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, in the world,” he said in a question on notice tabled in the Senate.
Even new technologies were not able to reduce connection costs, Dr Tucker said.
For comparison, he said Verizon in the US had halved FTTP connection costs since the start of the rollout while in France and Spain, operator Orange had reduced connection costs by 10 per cent each year.
NBN Co, however, claims that this cost is fixed, Dr Tucker said.
In fact, many countries with high GDP per capita, like Australia, have in fact lower costs for FTTP.
An NBN spokeswoman told the Australian that the “extremely high cost of deploying FTTP to every single premise is why almost every country around the world is deploying a mixture of technologies to deliver better broadband”.
“Whilst smaller countries like Singapore may not be able to ­afford to deliver FTTP to every single premise, larger countries like the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the UK and ­others are deploying a combination of ... technologies to deliver better broadband — just as we are doing at NBN.”
Adding to the controversy is recent research by the Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health Equity that examined the rollout of NBN technologies as of December 2016. It said "preliminary analyses suggest areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage overlap with regions typically receiving NBN infrastructure of poorer quality". 
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NBN network rollout costs among the highest in the world

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/81334/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has pledged to get tough on any Internet Service Providers that mislead consumers about National Broadband Network speeds.
But how do you know if you’re getting a good deal when you connect to the NBN? How do you know if you’ll be getting the high-speed connection you were promised?
NBN Co is building the infrastructure, with 5.7 million premises now able to connect to the network via fibre, hybrid cable, wireless or satellite. To make that connection though, you have to deal with one of almost 150 listed ISPs.
<h2>Customers are ‘confused’</h2>
The ACCC’s chairman Rod Sims says we should expect a healthy and competitive sector. But he also says many consumers are “confused about broadband speed advertising” and the industry has been “inconsistent in making clear, accurate information available”.
So it is crucial for the ACCC to ensure that companies do not mislead consumers about the speeds offered by their ISP.
The Australian market is different to that in the United Kingdom, where the regulator Ofcom actively provides accurate information to consumers to enable a comparison of services.
Australia takes a different approach, relying on protections available via consumer law, and encouraging industry self-regulation to provide the right information to the consumer.
The experience you get really depends on a range of factors relating to transmission quality, reflected as speed of connectivity and latency (delays) in exchanging information across the internet. Key factors include:
<ul>
<li>how you connect to the internet router in your house (such as by Wi-Fi or ethernet)</li>
<li>the transmission quality from home to the Point of Interconnect (where the ISP’s network connects to the NBN) </li>
<li>transmission quality within the ISP network </li>
<li>transmission quality of the content delivery network. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Measuring the speed of your internet connection</h2>
A basic speed test of any internet connection is a measure of the time it takes to transfer a fixed file from a server. The result is usually given in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Many ISPs, such as Telstra, Optus and iiNet, currently provide internet speed tests for their customers.
But speeds measured this way tend to reflect the connectivity from the ISP to the consumer. The speeds you experience in general use can be significantly lower than the “peak” speed advertised by the service provider. 
To get a better idea of the real speed of your internet connection you should use another speed testing service, in addition to the one recommended by your ISP. 
You should also repeat this measurement at various times of the day and keep detailed notes of any results. Some typical speed tests are:
<ul>
<li>Oz Broadband Speed Test</li>
<li>Ookla</li>
<li>Speed of Me</li>
<li>Speedtest.net</li>
<li>Testmy.net</li>
</ul>
Speeds can change over time for even the fastest NBN connection.
Currently most ISPs offer a higher speed for downloading and lower speed for uploading. As many users often download the same content, the network can be optimised to take advantage of this and offer higher speeds. 
But users also upload unique content, such as photos to social media accounts or files to cloud storage. This does not have the advantage of scale and thus speed of access could be lower. 
As cloud-based storage and content-delivery networks – such as Netflix, Foxtel and others – become more highly trafficked, our requirements are changing. Many users now prioritise more symmetrical internet connectivity, with similar download and upload speeds. 
<h2>How fast should the internet be in Australia?</h2>
In Australia, premises with fibre connections to the NBN can theoretically get a peak rate of 100Mbps. In fact, in Australia there are 5 tiers of NBN connections, varying between Tier 1 (12Mbps download/1Mbps upload) to Tier 5 (100Mbps download/40Mbps upload). 
But the measured speeds can often be slower than promised by your provider.
There are various reasons for this. It could be that there is a problem between the premises and the NBN network, or there could be delays or oversubscription within the ISP network. 
There can be congestion and delays in national and international networks due to inadequate investment by various stakeholders to keep the capacity of the network in scale with the increasing number of customers. 
Your experience can also vary across the day and from one service to another. As the number of users varies quite markedly over 24 hours, the state of the network (NBN, ISP network, Content Delivery Network) can change with various levels of congestion. 
This leads to different speeds of connectivity at different times when accessing different types of services. For example, web access might be slower given the location of a server, compared with an internet video streaming service that might be optimised to deliver the most popular content within the region. 
While many internet service providers advertise a typical speed, in Australia there is no expectation that they should indicate the variability (the range of minimum and maximum speeds).
<h2>When so slow is too slow</h2>
If you think your NBN connection is too slow and not what you were promised, you should raise the problem with your ISP. If they fail to resolve the issue you should report it to the ACCC.
To improve information about broadband speeds, the ACCC is currently running a A$7 million trial of NBN speed monitoring and it wants consumers to be part of it.
Australia could have anticipated these speed issues and established a broadband performance reporting framework as part of access to the NBN infrastructure by providers.
The Australian Communications Consumers Action Network (ACCAN) has been crying out for a scheme to monitor the performance of ISPs.
But this hasn’t happened yet. So for now it’s left to you as a consumer to monitor your NBN connection speeds, and report any ongoing problems to the ACCC which hopes to start publishing speed and performance data later this year.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thas-ampalavanapillai-nirmalathas-824" target="_blank">Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas</a> is director - Melbourne Networked Society Institute, Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Co-Founder/Academic Director - Melbourne Accelerator Program, University of Melbourne and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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Australians left to monitor their own NBN broadband speeds

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/81360/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Rod Sims, Chairman of the Australian Competition &amp; Consumers Commission (ACCC) has signalled that it is going to take a tougher stance against internet service providers like Telstra, Optus and Vocus about misleading consumers about NBN broadband speeds.
In particular, Sims has said that Telstra’s continued use of terms like “Very Fast” and “Super Fast” to describe theoretical, but often unobtainable, broadband speeds need to stop. 
The ACCC has indicated that it is likely to bring court cases before the end of the year if these practices don’t stop.
In a speech at the Unwired Revolution Conference, the ACCC talked of the findings of a review into the Australian communications sector. In particular, he drew attention to the fact that the Australian public were opting for slower speeds on the NBN mainly because ISPs were unwilling to sell faster speeds because of the high costs of the connections (CVC) provided by NBN Co. 
The pricing of wholesale connections provided by NBN Co are set in order for them to recoup money that has been invested, in large part by the Australian federal government, and so unless NBN Co directed to do something different by the government, the situation is unlikely to change. 
Part of the problem is the lack of transparency with regard to the extent of the problem of NBN customers not getting what they thought they had paid for. Many properties that are being supplied with a Fibre to the Node (FTTN) connection may never be able to get the fastest connection plan of 100 Mbps because they are too far from the node. As the chart below shows, speeds of 100 Mbps can only be achieved if the house is within 500 meters of the node.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23980-fdpmr7.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23980-fdpmr7.png" alt="">
<h4>
FTTN speed slows with distance from the node. NBN MTM
</h4>
A map of properties in Australia highlights that 2 houses on opposite sides of a road can have very different maximum speeds because of the nodes they are connected to. Telstra has previously admitted that some customers were sold plans for speeds they would never be able to attain at their premises.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23983-c8g9d0.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<h4><img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23983-c8g9d0.png" alt=""></h4>
<h4>
NBN street map showing distance from node and calculated speed. NBN MTM
</h4>
In addition to this, there are the number of connections to that node and in particular the capacity of the ISP to handle peak demand by having spare CVC capacity. There is also other factors that would affect a property’s connection including the state of the copper wiring between the node and the house.
What the ACCC wants ISPs to do is to tell customers not only what the theoretical maximum speed may be for their property using a given technology, but also what the speeds may drop to during peak demand. 
NBN Co has this data and could make it public, but it won’t because it claims that it is the responsibility of the ISPs to tell their own customers. Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland has filed a freedom of information request for the NBN data of theoretical speeds for each property.
The ACCC is recruiting volunteers to install special hardware and software to monitor speeds and quality of internet connections at their homes. The results of a pilot trial reported in 2015 showed that the problems with peak demand and variability of internet speeds existed on pre-NBN internet services like Telstra’s HFC cable service. As the figure below highlights, even fibre to the premises (FTTP) connections from one provider varied dramatically, dropping significantly every evening.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23980-dpxp0o.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<h4><img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/07/21/file-20170720-23980-dpxp0o.png" alt=""></h4>
<h4>
Average download speed of FTTP connections. ACCC
</h4>
Whilst the data that the ACCC is collecting will be useful and will ultimately assist in highlighting ISPs that are not providing promised services, it would be far better if NBN Co provided this data publicly in the first place. 
If the politics and economics of the NBN means that consumers are going to mostly stick to slower speed plans, many of the proposed economic and social outcomes that were originally envisioned will not be realised. Whilst it may represent a slightly better situation for some people who currently have a poor connection via ADSL, it is hard to justify the AUD 20.3 billion that has been invested by the Australian government in the network so far.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-glance-148" target="_blank">David Glance</a> is director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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The ACCC threatens to take Telstra and other ISPs to court over misleading NBN speeds

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All Australian homes will have broadband connectivity by 2020, according to a senior executive of NBN Co tasked with rolling out the National Broadband Network which promises to deliver super fast internet.
NBN Co’s chief network deployment officer Kathrine Dyer has said that no premises will be left unconnected by the time the rollout is completed in 2020, according to The Australian.
“There will be a lot of night works, additional traffic management and higher level of consultation with council on land access,” Dyer said.
Nearly 200,000 premises faced lengthy delays connecting to the network despite the fact that the NBN has been rolled out in their neighbourhoods.
These “service class 0” premises, which make up close to 5 per cent of the 5 million or so premises ready to receive NBN service, have been put in the “too-hard ­basket” by NBN Co.
Dyer said some premises had been left in limbo and NBN Co was working to ensure they would not fall further behind.
“This year is the year we look at these premises and start making them serviceable,” she was cited as saying by The Weekend Australian.
Back in 2015, when NBN Co revealed its plan to reach 9.1 million homes by 2018, its chief executive Bill Morrow had said, “This is a bold plan that puts us in striking distance of our ultimate goal of delivering better broadband to every Australian by 2020.
Two years down the line, the project has been marred by delays and criticism. In September 2016, a joint standing committee of parliament was established to inquire into the NBN rollout. 
Dyer said the ­decision to leave some premises behind was due to several factors, not just technology. 
“We had some examples where we would get to multi-dwelling units (apartments) and the body corporate would tell us to come back in 12 months,” she said.
Critics, however, say the decision to bypass homes was more about meeting aggressive rollout targets and keeping costs down.
Recently, Rod Tucker, a telecommunications expert and professor at the University of Melbourne, told the Senate committee overseeing NBN that Australia’s FTTP fibre-to-the-premises connections were costing $4,405 on average and were among the most expensive in the world.
With the rollout entering the metro areas, the next 12 months are expected to be critical for NBN Co as connecting metro suburbs will require significant civil works and better co-ordination between NBN Co and the retail service ­providers.
Dyer said the biggest pain for consumers was a lack of clarity about on where NBN Co’s responsibility ended and the retail service providers took over. 
“We are all on a journey here and there’s a learning curve here for providers and residents,” she said.
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NBN to connect everyone by 2020: Kathrine Dyer

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Victorian suburbs dominate the list of places with poor broadband as the National Broadband Network continues to be rolled out across Australia, according to a leading comparison website. 
Victoria has seven out of the top 15 spots, with the worst being Werribee — just 32 km from Melbourne’s CBD — according to Finder.com.au figures.
Finder.com.au technology expert Nick Broughall said that a number of factors determine how quickly you could access the internet, including the type of NBN connection in an area, the state of existing infrastructure, and how many homes were connected to broadband at once, according to a recent article in the News Ltd papers. 
The website has identified 15 of the best places to live and connect, and 15 Australian towns missing out on the latest technology.
Finder.com.au identified the best broadband hot spots by how many homes in one suburb had the fastest NBN connections. Fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) connections were capable of delivering 1,000 megabit-per-second downloads.
In contrast, the worst suburbs had the most homes with satellite NBN connections despite their proximity to capital cities and could only receive the minimum speed guarantee of 25 megabits per second.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Choice have both launched studies into Australia’s broadband environment.
“Our research showed surprising results, with the odd premise in the heart of capital cities getting switched to satellite NBN, such as Botany Bay and St Ives in Sydney, Docklands in Melbourne, and Bowen Hills in Brisbane,” Broughall said.
“Often it’s suburbs in the outer city that have been switched to satellite. This is mainly due to housing density and population.”
Similar to Werribee, Kholo at 22 km from the Brisbane CBD had the worst connectivity there while for Sydney it was Kenthurst, 39 km out.
An NBN Co spokeswoman said the company planned to provide “minimum wholesale download speeds of 25Mbps or above” to all Australian homes and businesses by 2020, and would use “the most cost-effective and efficient technology for each area”.
Another research, undertaken at the Centre for Research Excellence in the Social Determinants of Health Equity, suggested that areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage overlap with regions typically receiving NBN infrastructure of poorer quality.
<h2>Australia’s worst connected suburbs</h2>
(Based on number of premises receiving NBN via Satellite despite capital city proximity)
1 Werribee VIC
2 Bullsbrook WA
3 Kholo QLD
4 Diamond Creek VIC
5 Strathewen VIC
6 The Basin VIC
7 Harkaway VIC
8 Glenorie NSW
9 Martin WA
10 Canoelands NSW
11 Truganina VIC
12 Maroota NSW
13 Mulgoa NSW
14 Lysterfield VIC
15 Kenthurst NSW
<h2>Australia’s best connected suburbs</h2>
(Based on highest number of FTTP connections in suburbs in capital cities)
1 Glenorchy TAS
2 Mill Park VIC
3 Blacktown NSW
4 Tullamarine VIC
5 Brunswick VIC
6 Para Hills SA
7 Auburn NSW
8 Lidcombe NSW
9 Boondall QLD
10 Blackmans Bay TAS
11 Runcorn QLD
12 Taigum QLD
13 Aldinga Beach SA
14 West Hobart TAS
15 Seaford Rise SA
SOURCE: Finder.com.au
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