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

Joel Robinson

Garden-led design drives buyer demand at Yarraville Green

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

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

The enormity of delivering a true skyscraper in Australia's new development market is often overlooked.

It has taken the best part of a decade since plans for Chevron One were first unveiled, but the 41-storey tower is now complete, with residents collecting their keys and moving into what has become one of the Gold Coast's most recognisable new landmarks.

Rising 127 metres above Chevron Island, Chevron One stands almost twice as high as any other building on the island. Its scale places it alongside the trio of towers at Jewel, arguably the last truly significant addition to the central Gold Coast skyline when they were completed around six years ago.

While there are several developments underway around a similar height to Chevron One, they are more concentrated within clusters of the highest towers in the city. The fact Chevron One sits within a developing precinct, looking back at the other high-rise developments in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, makes it a different proposition altogether. It will certainly become a reference point on the Gold Coast skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68833]

Developer Bensons Property Group is behind the 41-storey tower, which has 229 apartments, along with an exhaustive list of resident amenity spread across what is the largest development site ever assembled on Chevron Island.

The tower has been the talk of the town for years, says Ray White Projects Gold Coast agent Caitlin Rosenboom, who is selling the remaining apartments.

"People have been watching Chevron One go up for years," Rosenboom says, adding that many prospective buyers have been surprised by the scale of the views once they step inside.

"It's only when they walk through a completed apartment that they truly understand the position of the building," Rosenboom says.

"The views are jaw-dropping. Whether you're looking east over the ocean, across Surfers Paradise, along the river systems or out to the hinterland, every level offers something different but equally impressive."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=360215]

One of Chevron One's defining advantages is its location on the eastern side of Chevron Island on Stanhill Drive, a position which protects the views forever.

"There's only one row of houses between Chevron One and the water, and the height restrictions along the river means views from Chevron One can never be built out,"&nbsp;Rosenboom says.

While new apartment developments continue to emerge across the Gold Coast, Rosenboom says opportunities to secure a completed apartment with this level of outlook are becoming increasingly rare.

"The size of the site is something that would be incredibly difficult to replicate today," she says.

"That's allowed Chevron One to deliver the sort of amenity, open space and resident facilities that very few projects can offer. There are not many completed apartment buildings on the Gold Coast right now that can compete with the combination of scale, quality and amenity."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6515 project_image_fid=68839]

There's around 2,000 sqm of amenity solely for the use of residents of Chevron One. Club One features a uniquely shaped swimming pool that mirrors the footprint of the building itself, set within a extensively landscaped gardens. There's also an indoor pool and spa, a fully equipped gym with a Pilates room, a yoga garden, a bookable private dining area and lounge that can host up to 30 people, and a 24-hour concierge service.

As for the buyers, Rosenboom is fielding enquiry from everywhere: Sydneysiders and Melburnians looking at the new and off-the-plan market following the changes in the Federal Budget, as well as those looking to relocate, through to South East Queenslanders seeking either a permanent home or a weekender bolthole.

"The Gold Coast lifestyle continues to resonate with people relocating from the southern states, and when they see the views and the quality of what's been delivered at Chevron One, it becomes very easy for them to understand the appeal," Rosenboom says.

A diverse mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments remain available, with each offering "something a little different", be it the orientation and views, configuration, or level, to suit a wide variety of buyers.

The remaining apartments are ready to inspect in person, by appointment.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6515]

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

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

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

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

Elevated amenity anchors daily life at Aeris, Melrose Park

Taxation

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GUEST OBSERVER 
If you are selling your home, you can claim the main residence tax exemption for the property you live in, including the land adjacent to it and other structures associated with the property like a separate garage or laundry. 
The main residence exemption includes compulsory acquisition of the main residence.
A residence or dwelling is a property used mainly for residential accommodation, including a cottage or home, a flat or apartment, a strata title unit, a unit located in a retirement village and a house boar, caravan or mobile home.
The land covered by the main residence exemption is close to, near, adjoining or neighboring the dwelling.
To be tax exempt, the land and dwelling should be sold together and the owner should have used the land mainly for private and domestic purposes with the dwelling. The total area should also not be more than two hectares. If it is more than two hectares, the owner can choose which two hectares will be exempt and the remainder will subject to CGT.
A home unit or flat usually comes with areas that are separate physically from the unit, such as a store room, laundry or garage.
If these areas were used primarily for private and domestic purposes associated with the unit, they will be exempt from CGT as well. However, if these structures are disposed separately from the unit or flat, the capital gain or loss will not be exempt from capital gains tax.
Ed Chan is founder and non executive chairman, Chan &amp; Naylor Accountants and can be contacted <a href="https://www.chan-naylor.com.au/">here</a>.
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echan-hSGJw4wwC5

Is your adjacent land or separate structure exempt from CGT? Ed Chan

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GUEST OBSERVER
There is very little, if anything, to commend discretionary trusts. The benefits they bring, and it’s hard to see many, are dwarfed by their destructive and damaging features.
Trusts are usually used to allocate money to members of a group, usually a family. Under a discretionary trust, the only way a beneficiary will get income or capital from the trust, is if the trustee chooses to give them something. Family companies are often included as beneficiaries to minimise tax.
The Labor party’s current focus on trusts is warranted because overwhelmingly, trusts are used to minimise tax, avoid paying creditors and to avoid the fair division of property after a relationship breakdown.
Due to a lack of data, it’s hard to estimate the amount of lost tax revenue from the current regime. However, on conservative assumptions, I estimate we are easily losing A$2 billion per year in income tax through discretionary trusts. 
If a discretionary trust elects to be a “family trust” under the tax law, it can also access a number of other concessional tax rules. These tax concessions aren’t available to any other entities or taxpayers.
How trusts are used
There are a few other ways discretionary trusts are used. They are also used to frustrate creditors, people who are owed money by the beneficiaries of trusts. 
Someone who is owed money by a beneficiary of a trust can’t go to the trust to settle their debt. This is the case even if the beneficiary has received money from the trust in the past and is likely to receive money in the future, after release from bankruptcy (having not paid their debts).
Unsecured creditors, such as suppliers of businesses dealing with a trustee, also cannot settle their debts with a trust if the trustee doesn’t have sufficient assets. Often the trustee will be a company paid to manage the trust, with only a few dollars of share capital. 
According to data used in my research from the Australian Taxation Office, a lot of family wealth (aside from the family home) is held in discretionary trusts. On relationship breakdown, one spouse will often argue that because the assets are in a discretionary trust, they are not owned by anyone, and therefore won’t be divided with the rest of the couples’ assets.
The Family Court has wide powers to decide what can be divided, and generally the court included assets in the discretionary trust to be divided, where a spouse is a trustee, or has the means to appoint or remove a trustee. However, if the spouse is “removed” or “distanced” from the discretionary trust, it becomes harder and harder for the court to include these assets to be divided.
Discretionary trusts are also used in succession planning. Where a person has property to give away and wants the flexibility to do it over time. It also allows the payments to change with needs and circumstances. For example, if a trust beneficiary landed a high-paying job, they could be given less. Conversely, they could be given more if they lost their job.
There may be a case for these arrangements when a person has died. By putting assets into a discretionary trust, a deceased person may be able to “tie up assets” for around 80 years (the maximum period permitted). But this sort of flexibility is available to anyone when they are alive; there is no need for a discretionary trust. 
So can we just get rid of trusts? Legally, it could be done. But outright abolition is not practically achievable, at least in the short-term.
What to do with trusts
There are broadly two options for tax reform when it comes to trusts. These measures can be implemented while leaving users of discretionary trusts free to enjoy all other legitimate features and benefits.
The first option, which many still seem to favour, is to impose the company taxation system on the discretionary trust (that is, tax them as companies). Due to the presence of the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Imputation/In-detail/Utilising-franking-tax-offsets-and-effect-on-losses---corporate-tax-entities/">refundable franking credit tax offset rule</a>, taxing trusts as companies would not really address the central issue of tax minimisation. 
Trusts would still be able to manipulate allocations of money across low-rate beneficiaries and change allocations from year-to-year to avoid tax. However, it would remove the availability of the capital gains tax discount to discretionary trusts.
Another option is to use an attribution approach to trusts, just as the social security system does and as family law effectively does. Under the attribution model, the person who contributed the assets to the discretionary trust and/or the person who controls the assets in the trust are deemed to own the income and the assets. This would largely reflect general law entitlements of each spouse and very often reflect the economic contributions to building up those assets.
Of course, this model has challenges in design and in enforcement. However, given the complexity of rules in Australia’s income tax and the enforcement issues that confront the Australian Taxation Office in numerous areas, any difficulties with the attribution model are easily overcome. And of course, it’s already part of the social security regime for assets and income tests.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dale-boccabella-15706" target="_blank">Dale Boccabella</a> is Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW and author for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Family trusts often cause more harm than good

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The budget announcement of taxing vacant homes as a measure to free up housing stock is still unclear, with the tax office unable to provide any guidelines on how it will implement it. 
Treasurer Scott Morrison said during the budget presentation that the measure “is intended to encourage foreign owners of residential property to make their properties available for rent where they are not used as a residence and so increase the number of dwellings available for Australians to live in”.
The federal government is only expecting to tax 1,000 vacant foreign-owned properties in 2019-20 – for a total $5 million in revenue.
The new charge is expected to bring in $16.3 million over the forward estimates being monitored by the Australian Tax Office, but with few details on its implementation.
There is a  Victorian tax set for introduction too, which will be self-reporting. 
The vacancy tax in Melbourne will be at 1 percent, multiplied by the capital improved value of the taxable property. 
The new tax is expected to raise about $80 million over four years.
Victoria say it will rely on self reporting with owners will be expected to inform the State Revenue Office when their property becomes vacant.
Owners of vacant homes will have to pay least $5000 in the Federal Government tax.
But the ATO said it couldn't yet provide any details on how it will determine whether dwellings are left unoccupied and out of the rental market for six months or more out of every year, as this would be contained in legislation that had not yet passed through parliament, The Australian Financial Review reported.
"Unfortunately we are unable to answer your question as the government announcement is yet to be legislated," an ATO spokeswoman was quoted as saying by the AFR.
A federal treasury spokeswoman was cited by the AFR as saying the department was working on the rules.
"The government is developing legislation as a matter of priority and anticipates that it will be introduced into Parliament later this year," she said.
"The measure is not about raising revenue, but ensuring vacant properties are released into the market both now and into the future."
Housing think tank Prosper Australia says electricity meters could be used to track occupancy, but it would be costly to administer.
According to a study by Prosper Australia last year, more than 82,700 residential properties — or 4.8 percent of Melbourne’s housing stock — sit empty.
But if the new regimes are pursued, foreign owners of vacant properties in Victoria, at least, can expect to take a double hit from both state and federal vacancy taxes.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

No clarity from ATO yet on how vacant homes tax will be imposed

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GUEST OBSERVER
Australians are concerned about housing affordability, so much so that 45.4 percent say they would be willing to see the value of their home stop growing to improve the situation, only 31.8 percent of those polled wouldn’t. 
An ANU poll shows 51.7 percent of Australians are also in favour of removing tax concessions like negative gearing.
The poll surveyed 2,513 people (representative of the population) and found 63.6 percent were willing to see an increase in supply of public housing. Only 32.3 percent are opposed to relaxing planning restrictions. 
With these numbers in mind, it is perhaps surprising that state and federal governments have done so little of any substance in housing policy for decades, if anything they’ve contributed to the problem rather than improved the situation.
Potential policy changes that many believe will improve housing affordability, including removing or reducing tax incentives such as the capital gains tax discount or removing supply impediments, have all been considered too politically difficult by the current government.
The government has justified this by playing to the fear that the value of people’s home may decline or that more liberal planning arrangements may mean that new buildings may spoil the look and feel of local neighbourhoods. 
The latest ANUpoll shows Australians are very concerned that future generations may be locked out of home ownership. Three quarters believe home ownership is part of the Australian way of life.
In terms of their own investments we found that nearly 68 percent of homeowners cite emotional security, stability and belonging as a reason for becoming a homeowner. In terms of security factors, 51 percent cite financial security, 42 percent refer to “renting is dead money” and 41 percent cite security of tenure and being able to “bang nails in the wall”. 
Of those families who have an investment property (17 percent in this poll) the primary motivation for the investment was a “secure place to store money” (27.4 percent) closely followed by rental income (24.3 percent). Only 11.9 percent cited negative gearing as the primary motivator and 13.7 percent were motivated primarily by the capital gains discount. 
Housing remains easily the most popular investment vehicle, with 30 percent saying their preferred investment for spare cash would be an investment property, followed by 18.5 percent preferring to upgrade their own home. Only 12.6 percent preferred shares as an investment. 
In spite of recent talk of a housing bubble the general population is not particularly concerned with immediate price drops, with 85 percent expecting house prices to rise over the coming five years. Only 5.4 percent expect prices to fall and just 1.7 percent expect prices to decrease a lot.
If interest rates were to increase by 2 percentage points, 6.4 percent of mortgage holders expected to be in “a lot” of financial difficulty and 16.7 percent in “quite a bit”. Only 27.9 percent would be in no difficulty. While financial difficulty does not mean default, in mortgage markets it may not take a large share of loans to default to cause financial problems for an economy.
As pointed out earlier negative gearing was the least cited reason for property investment which suggests removing the incentive would at least not make a dramatic difference to the level of housing investment in Australia.
The ANUpoll shows that the public are concerned about housing affordability and where policy is directed at improving affordability they are likely to be supportive. The policy options, be they demand side - reducing tax incentives, or supply side - building more dwellings and/or relaxing planning restrictions, are available, but greater political nerve may be required to undertake such options.
Ben Phillips is associate professor, Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM), Australian National University and author for The Conversation.
He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ben-phillips-98866" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Government out of touch on housing policies ahead of budget: poll

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GUEST OBSERVER
Is “value capture” a wonderful untapped opportunity to fulfil all our infrastructure dreams? Or is it just a new way to sting the taxpayer? Our new report casts a cold, hard gaze over value capture, and finds that it’s a good tax in theory, but will prove very hard to put into practice.
Value capture is the name given to a policy whereby governments capture some of the increased value of land that results from building a new piece of infrastructure. Typically, the money the government “captures” is used to help fund the project.
At first glance, value capture seems marvellously fair, because it applies only to those who benefit from the particular project. So the people of western Sydney do not help fund a new railway station on the North Shore. But look a little closer: it also means that affluent inner-city residents don’t help fund a better railway station in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs.
Federal ministers from the prime minister down are enthusiastic about value capture and are pushing the states to embrace it. Only last week, Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher reiterated that the Commonwealth does not want to be “just an ATM” for the states. But if the federal ministers face up to some home truths, they may find value capture less to their liking.
Value capture is a tax
Home Truth No. 1 is that a value-capture scheme is a tax. That’s how it raises revenue. Politicians tend to shun the “T word”. They prefer to present value capture as an innovative financing mechanism. Sorry, it’s a tax.
Some advocates point to Hong Kong, where a private company builds and operates the rail lines, in return for cheap access to development rights around the new stations – a non-cash subsidy. Yes, integrating new infrastructure with rezoning and other planning changes is a great idea. But a similar model in Australia would have to be much smaller in scale.
That’s because in Hong Kong the government owns all the land. In addition, the city is dramatically denser than Australian cities: more than 7 million people live in a built-up area of around 285 square kilometres, compared with Sydney’s population of about 5 million in around 2,000 square kilometres. In a very dense city, good access to mass transit is highly valued.
Others in the value-capture camp point to tax increment financing (TIF) schemes. These have been used in the US with mixed success.
TIF schemes don’t involve a new tax, or indeed a funding source of any kind. Instead, they are financing schemes that earmark an expected increase in future revenue from existing taxes, such as land taxes, which can be attributed to a new piece of infrastructure. This increase is then used to repay special-purpose bonds.
But TIF schemes are of little value in the Australian context, since Australian governments have strong credit ratings and can borrow at extremely low rates of interest – more cheaply than private sector financiers can. Not only this, but TIF schemes generally do not offload project risk. They may instead come with a hidden government guarantee.
Family home would be captured
Which brings us to Home Truth No. 2: to raise a reasonable amount, a value-capture tax would need to include the family home. Owner-occupied housing accounts for around 65 percent of total land values in Australia, and increases in its value are taxed very lightly (see the chart below).
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/03/20/image-20170316-20491-1fsjall.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/03/20/image-20170316-20491-1fsjall.png" alt="">
To minimise the distortions value capture could have on the economy, it should be charged on unimproved land value, as a flat proportion of the land-value uplift attributable to the new infrastructure, with no exemptions.
A tricky question of who’s in and who’s out
Home Truth No. 3 is that many taxpayers are likely to feel aggrieved. Property prices go up – and down – for many reasons.
Drawing a boundary around a new piece of infrastructure to distinguish between those who must pay the new tax and those too far away to benefit is bound to involve rough justice.
Also, it won’t be easy for governments to convince people that their new tax bill still leaves them better off. Homeowners get the benefit of the new project on paper, but have to pay the tax bill in cash. Is this sounding like a political nightmare yet?
A way to reduce the political heat
There is, however, a way to implement value capture that could take a bit of the political heat out of individual decisions. Governments could pass general legislation that applies value capture to every transport infrastructure project with certain characteristics:
an identifiable beneficiary catchment
a project that’s expected to makes an area significantly more accessible
the amount of revenue to be raised far outweighs the cost of administering the scheme. 
So, for example, value capture might apply to all urban passenger rail projects costing over A$50 million. The tax might then be levied on all properties within 800 metres (i.e. walking distance) of a new station.
Once such legislation is in place, each value-capture tax may be slightly less politically fraught. This approach will minimise the opportunities for rent-seeking or corruption that arise from designing bespoke schemes for every individual project.
Broad-based land tax is better still
A better answer still could be a broad-based land tax. Such a tax is highly efficient, because land is an immobile tax base (see the chart below).
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/03/20/image-20170316-20523-5e9xex.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2017/03/20/image-20170316-20523-5e9xex.png" alt="">
While it would not zero in on the beneficiaries of new infrastructure, a land tax would capture the effects of all infrastructure, old and new, as these translated into land values, making it scrupulously fair. A broad-based land tax would also be simpler to administer than a value-capture tax. That’s because there would be no requirement to police the geographic boundary of the catchment area.
So a broad-based land tax has some distinct advantages over a value-capture tax.
Some will say our conclusions are pessimistic, that a little more creativity could devise a way to design value capture so it painlessly funds public infrastructure. To which we would say: there’s no magic pudding when it comes to public money – the only sources of funding for public infrastructure are user charges or a tax. Value capture may involve taxing beneficiaries more than the general taxpayer, but it’s not a bucket of free money.
Yes, if value capture is done the right way, as a tax that embraces the principles of equity, efficiency and simplicity, it could make a positive contribution to infrastructure funding in Australia. But the truth is, there is nothing easy about capturing value.
 
Marion Terrill is<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marion-terrill-169480"> </a>Transport Program Director, Grattan Institute and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marion-terrill-169480" target="_blank">here</a>.
Owain Emslie is<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/owain-emslie-250445"> </a>associate, Grattan Institute and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/owain-emslie-250445" target="_blank">here</a>.
Both are authors for The Conversation.
 
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Value capture: a good idea to fund infrastructure but not easy in practice

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GUEST OBSERVER
You may have heard that Victoria announced a new tax this month that will cost landlords $20 million a year, and that's just in the beginning.
Many observers believe that investors will be squeezed over time by increasing tax rates that raise the state government's take.
How does this new tax affect you as a property investor? Let's look at it closely.
First, here are the details of the tax:
• It will be charged every calendar year from January 1, 2018, together with your land tax.
• It will be imposed on houses and apartments in the inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne that lie vacant for more than six months per year.
• It will cost you 1 percent of your property’s capital improved value. For example, if the capital improved value is $500,000, you will have to pay $5,000 in tax every year.
• There are exemptions: holiday homes (if your principal place of residence is in Australia), a city unit for work purposes, properties in deceased estates and homes subject to legitimate temporary absences (e.g. medical care, overseas appointments).
• You can avoid this tax by selling, moving into or renting out your vacant Melbourne property.
Is Victoria a safe place to invest?
The biggest question raised by this new tax, which is just the latest strand of red tape strewn across Melbourne’s CBD in recent years, is whether the state is any longer a safe place for property investors to put their money.
Property investment is almost always a years-long commitment to a location. Time can expose you to many unforeseen risks, so the smart investor tries to avoid at least those that seem obvious.
And it does seem obvious that Victoria's leaders will impose more taxes on property investors in the years to come. The Australian Financial Review reckons that the latest move is "just the start of a push by the state to collect more revenue from property owners."
True, most of these fees and taxes have targeted foreign investors, but this latest levy makes no distinction between offshore and local absentee owners. 
Who’s Next?
Pickpockets operating on a crowded street never limit themselves to just one wallet, but pick as many as they can. Just so, governments pursuing new revenue never limit themselves to taxing —as in the case of foreign buyers— just the smallest share of those within their reach. Not when there is a far richer wallet to be picked. Australian property investors: that wallet belongs to you.
What's most puzzling about this behaviour is that property investors have contributed much to Victoria. You have added hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to the local economy. By purchasing units off the plan, you have made possible the construction of development projects that otherwise would have remained nothing more than architectural drawings. All this building has provided tens of thousands of new homes for Victorian residents.
Worst of all is the government's shallow claim that housing affordability is its real goal. Victoria’s recent development boom was made possible, in large part, by property investors. The most powerful thing the state government could do for first home buyers would be to encourage the very property investors who make new construction possible.
The new residences that investors create give homes to renters and provide opportunities for new buyers to grasp the property ladder and climb onto the first rung. 
Unfortunately, the state is taking exactly the opposite tack.
Real estate agents can profit
While investors may be dismayed, real estate agents can profit from the new vacant property tax. It represents a golden ticket for real estate agents who, due to their deep local knowledge, may be aware of which residences are vacant. I'm sure smart agents are already calling and emailing owners of vacant property to help them to sell or lease up the homes for them.
Perhaps most puzzling of all is that Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says the State plans to use utility usage to determine which homes are left empty. At Bunnings right now you can buy timers that give you precise control of both water and electrical usage in your property. Is the State so naive as to impose a tax that anyone can foil by installing a couple of $20 electronics? Installing a timer on one faucet and another on a single outlet seems likely to ensure an owner’s utility usage falls within the minimum range.
Gavin Norris is head of Australia for Juwai.com, the No. 1 Chinese international property portal and can be contacted <a href="https://list.juwai.com" target="_blank">here</a>.
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What Victoria’s new vacant property tax means to you: Juwai's Gavin Norris 

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GUEST OBSERVER
The Howard government, when flush with revenue, made a bad tax decisions which continue to haunt current policy makers. 
It removed the tax on the retirement phase of superannuation, this has been partly resolved by current government’s recent changes. But the Howard government also replaced the full taxation of real capital gains with concessional treatment of capital gains (only 50% of gains taxed). This remains as a tax avoidance loophole which both parties acknowledge but are reluctant to act upon.
The reason is straightforward. Assets put into superannuation in the accumulation phase and held until the retirement phase, can then be sold with no, or minimal, capital gains tax payable. This a major incentive to put assets into super and hold them until the retirement phase.
Without further changes to superannuation taxation, this is simply going to worsen the social problem of the well-off adopting tax minimisation strategies by piling as many assets into super as possible. Remember, it will still be possible to contribute up to A$100,000 per annum as non-concessional contributions.
Consequently, the well-off could easily build up a pool of assets of several million dollars or more, which when sold in retirement will still get very, very, favourable capital gains tax treatment under super.
If superannuation assets in retirement are under the A$1.6 million cap, no tax will be payable on capital gains from sales of assets. If assets are above the cap, the tax rate applied to capital gains is 10%.
For example, an asset costing $100,000 and held for 15 years, increasing in price at an average of 7% per annum would be sold for $276,000. If in super, tax payable would be $17,600. If outside of super, on the top marginal tax rate (including levies) of 49%, the tax payable would be $43,096.
If the concession on capital gains tax was reduced (without addressing the concessionary rate in super), the incentive would be even bigger. For example, if the concession was reduced to 25%, tax payable on the capital gain outside of super would be $64,644, an even larger gap to the tax payable in super of $17,600.
Putting $100,000 per annum into super for 15 years with an average 7% capital gain per annum generates a portfolio worth $2.7 million. The capital gains tax savings on this being in super, rather than outside, are more than $1 million!
So, what are the consequences if a brave government elects to reduce the concession applied to capital gains tax? If they make no changes to super tax arrangements there are at least two likely consequences.
First, there is increased incentive for individuals to set up self managed super funds to exploit these tax arbitrage or minimisation loopholes.
Second, despite taxation of earnings on retirement income balances over the A$1.6 million cap, maximising non-concessional contributions into self managed super funds will remain attractive, to take advantage of the difference in capital gains tax rates on assets inside versus outside super – to the detriment of future government budgets.
The consequences for self managed super funds incentives to borrow (via non-recourse arrangements involving trusts) to purchase assets such as property are unclear. As described on one adviser’s website:
Such borrowing will enable trustees to acquire assets over and above the assets that can be obtained from contributions. The caps on contributions can therefore be “overcome” by such borrowings.
However, it is doubtful that there are tax arbitrage benefits from using leverage to purchase assets via super (because higher marginal tax rates mean higher tax deductions for interest on borrowings outside of super).
For reasons of social equity, any general changes to the capital gains tax rate will also need to address capital gains tax within super. Admittedly there is already a lower concession in the case of super (two-thirds of gains are taxed versus one-half).
But that means taxing capital gains in super at only a 10% rate, leaving strong incentives to thwart higher capital gains tax by locating assets within super. Failing to reduce the capital gains tax concession in super would be likely to undo a substantial part of the effectiveness of any general changes the government has already made.
Kevin Davis is research director of Australian Centre for Financial Studies and Professor of Finance at Melbourne and Monash Universities, Australian Centre for Financial Studies. He is an author for The Conversation and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kevin-davis-3497" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
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Despite superannuation changes, one tax loophole remains: Kevin Davis

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The Turnbull government is planning to cut capital gains tax concessions for property investors, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.
It says the policy backflip will be unveiled in the May budget.
"It is understood the policy being worked on within government would be confined to property investment, and not apply to all investments such as shares, as Labor's plan would," reporter Phillip Coorey wrote.
The options being worked on include following Labor in halving the 50 percent discount on capital gains tax to 25 percent, or reducing it by another amount. The other is adopting a phased model in which the discount would increase the longer the property was held. A property would have to be held for several years before the investor was eligible for the full 50 percent discount.
The suggestion has been wrapped up as seize the initiative on housing affordability but will provide revenue to help replace soon-to-be dumped budget cuts.
"Neither would the Coalition policy target negative gearing, as Labor is doing."
But Malcolm Turnbull this morning said the Government did not support the Labor Party’s plans to increase capital gains tax or negative gearing.
“We do not support the Labor Party’s plans to increase capital gains tax or indeed their plans to outlaw negative gearing.
"Our policy is… focused on encouraging investment and employment and the economic growth and opportunity that Australians need”.
“The only party that is an advocate for higher taxes is the Labor Party… We are a party of lower taxes, supporting investment, supporting employment, and bringing the Budget back into balance”.
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Property investor capital gains tax mooted to rise in 2017 Federal Budget

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New tax rules in place since July 2016 now apply to vendors disposing of certain taxable Australian property under contracts.
Conveyancers may need to register with the Tax Practitioners Board, when assisting clients to meet new requirements under the foreign resident capital gains tax withholding measures. Ian Taylor, chair of the Tax Practitioners Board, said depending on whether a conveyancer’s client is the vendor or purchaser, foreign resident capital gains withholding forms may need to be completed and submitted to the ATO which include clearance certificate, rate variation application and the purchaser payment notification form. 
"The TPB considers there are sections of each of these forms that involve the provision of a tax agent service. 
"It is also recognised that conveyancers, who perform certain services relating to the purchaser payment form, are exempted from being registered with the TPB as a tax agent until 31 December 2017.   "Before assisting clients to meet the requirements of the foreign resident capital gains withholding regime, all conveyancers who are not registered with the TPB as tax agents, need to understand what they can or cannot do under the TASA.   "If conveyancers complete and submit these forms to the ATO on behalf of a client for a fee or reward, they may need to be registered with the TPB, either immediately or in the future"   For further information about whether or not conveyancers need to be registered with the TPB <a href="https://tpb.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f1bfb3d6593e3b7312cde4bc0&amp;id=9c07a3e754&amp;e=c8397a77b6" target="_blank">click here</a>.
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Property 101: Conveyancing and the TASA

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Foreign buyers of property in Vancouver now have to pay a 15 percent transaction tax.
British Columbia legislators passed the new law which means new tax means non-Canadian residents buying a $2 million home will have to pay an additional $300,000 in tax.
"While investment from outside Canada is only one factor driving price increases, it represents an additional source of pressure," British Columbia Finance Minister Michael de Jong said in a statement.
"This additional tax on foreign purchases will help manage foreign demand while new homes are built to meet local needs.
Meanwhile the City of Vancouver has identified the need for a vacancy tax in order to meet rental supply issues.
The new foreign buyer tax could face a court challenge as it may be in violation of the Canada-China Bilateral Investment Treaty.
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