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

Joel Robinson

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

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

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

Maréa Residences brings parkside apartments to Coolangatta

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

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

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

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

Terry Ryder

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This year we will learn, yet again, the simple truth that Australia is not a single property market.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the nation has just one united market, because most of the commentary in mainstream media discusses “the Australian property market” and what will happen to “Australian property prices”.
But success in 2018 will be achieved by those who understand that we do not have a single property market, but myriad different ones all doing their own thing, dictated by local conditions rather than national ones.
Have a look at the latest figures from the ABS on annual growth in dwelling prices in the eight state and territory capital cities in the past 12 months.
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">Hobart rising and now the national leader with annual growth of 14 percent.</li>
<li class="li1">Canberra rising but still moderate, with growth at 7 percent.</li>
<li class="li1">Melbourne still strong, with annual growth at 13 percent.</li>
<li class="li1">Sydney fading, with the annual growth rate now in single digits.</li>
<li class="li1">Brisbane and Adelaide going nowhere fast, with growth around 3-4 percent.</li>
<li class="li1">Perth (down 2 percent) and Darwin (down 6 percent) still going backwards.</li>
</ul>
Across regional Australia there were multiple market scenarios, with some growing strongly (like Newcastle, Geelong and the Sunshine Coast), others showing moderate growth, many stagnating with little in the way of price growth, some falling moderately and some (notably resources-related markets) down a lot.
You could argue we have a five-speed property market in Australia.
But you’re still going to see twits standing up on ABC Television making statements like “property price growth will be zero this year” and “the national property boom is over”.
You will also read various members of the chattering economist class discussing Australia as a single market and making meaningless forecasts about the future of Australian house prices. 
These sad bastards just don’t know any better. They’re not real estate specialists and they only occasionally turn their attention to residential property, by calling up a couple of graphs on their computer screens to examine what’s happening in what they see as a single homogenous one-size-fits-all real estate industry.
Forecasting that “Australian property prices” will rise 3 percent in 2018 is a pointless exercise, quite useless for the average consumer. The Reserve Bank governor said as much in a speech late last year.
The coming year will have similar variations to the last, with Canberra behaving very differently to Sydney, and Melbourne moving in an opposite direction to Perth.
Even within a single city, there will be different scenarios paying out in various parts of the metropolitan area. 
In Brisbane, there will be good growth in some of the more affordable areas, not much action in the middle market and price decline in the inner-city apartment markets.
Perth generally is moving into a solid recovery phase, but it won’t be evenly spread across the metropolitan area. Vacancies remain very high in the inner-city apartment suburbs and out in suburbia some precincts are moving forward more strongly than others. 
There are a couple of middle-market areas doing well, the Melville and Stirling local governments areas, while more affordable precincts in the north are leading the fight-back, notably the Joondalup and Wanneroo LGAs.
Such is the reality of our myriad real estate markets. Feel free to ignore anyone who generalises.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
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terryryder-YECXbqmri2

My 2018 message - Australia is not a single property market

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One of many things that will be different in real estate in 2018 is that we’ll be talking a more about Adelaide.
I see the South Australian capital as the most under-rated of the capital city markets, largely because of the popular perception that South Australia lacks economic muscle and population oomph.
But something is building in SA that will change its image and cause investors to pay greater attention.
There are many clues to bigger and better things brewing. The first of them was the elevation of SA in the latest edition of CommSec’s State of the States report, in which it was promoted from No.6 to No.4 in the economic rankings.
South Australia scored well on business investment, employment and dwelling construction.
The latest Business SA-Statewide Super survey of business expectations showed confidence and business conditions are on the rise (but with lingering concerns about the future direction of the state economy).
The latest ABS jobless data showed the SA unemployment rate steady at 5.8 percent in seasonally-adjusted terms (a little above the national average of 5.4 percent) but with the trend data showing the SA jobless rate dropping 0.2 to 5.6 percent - which was the lowest in five years.
So the current indicators look a little more positive. But the big game-changing events are yet to come.
We’ve seen the beginnings of the impact from the biggest of them, the $89 billion program of building vessels for the Navy, which will be focused primarily on Adelaide.
The first step is a $535 million infrastructure build at Adelaide’s naval shipyard and reports indicate this means 600 jobs, for which hiring is under way. Lendlease has been selected as the managing contractor for the Osborne South Shipyard construction.
This infrastructure is expected to be ready for the $35 billion project to build nine frigates, starting in 2020. But the total project is considerably bigger than that.
A PwC study has forecast the overall $89 billion naval shipbuilding program, headlined by the $50 billion project to build 12 new submarines, will create 8,000 jobs in South Australia over 40 years and deliver a $134 billion boost to Gross State Product.
Another big impact will come from revival in the resources sector. SA is a significant resources state, though much less in the headlines than Western Australian and Queensland.
BHP has indicated it plans to spend over $3 billion expanding its Olympic Dam mine. It recently announced an immediate $US800 million injection to “stabilise” Olympic Dam over the next few years, to be followed in 2020 by a $US2.1 billion “brownfields expansion” that would double the mine’s output.
There’s plenty more action in the SA mining sector, including the decision by OZ Minerals to invest $900 million in the Carrapateena project and CU River announcing an $800 million expansion of its Cairn Hill mine, creating 1,300 jobs.
Energy production is potentially a massive industry in SA, with a dozen projects worth around $5 billion targeted on the Port Augusta area, many of them solar and wind developments.
Last week the (allegedly) world’s largest lithium-ion battery was officially turned on at Jamestown by Premier Jay Weatherill, who said: “South Australia is now leading the world in dispatchable renewable energy, delivered to homes and businesses 24/7.”
Not so sure that SA is leading the world, but it certainly presents as a national leader is this field.
By coming in ahead of schedule, Tesla tech billionaire Elon Musk fulfilled his promise to build the 100-megawatt facility in 100 days or provide it free. The battery is paired to the neighbouring Hornsdale Wind Farm, owned by French company Neoen.
Infrastructure spending has a big influence on the health of real estate markets - and the infrastructure spend in Adelaide is mounting, with a significant ongoing investment in improving road and rail links across the metropolitan area.
Recent announcements include funding totalling $659 million for facilities at the RAAF Base Edinburgh in Adelaide’s north to support the anti-submarine and surveillance plane, the P-8A Poseidon. These facilities are targeted for completion by early 2019.
A recent report listed extensive private sector investment in South Australia, which included a number of firms making Adelaide their headquarters.
Strike Energy has committed to relocate its headquarters from Sydney to Adelaide; French company Dassault Systemes has decided to establish its Australian head office in Adelaide; and Indian renewable energy company Enzen Global Solutions is opening its Australian head office in Adelaide.”
In addition, cyber security firm VeroGuard Systems says it will begin manufacturing in Adelaide in 2018, producing cards and software to enable hyper-secure online transactions. The company’s $57.5 million investment is expected to create 596 jobs in the first three years.
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We'll be talking more about Adelaide in 2018

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One of the prevailing myths in residential real estate is that you should always buy in the capital cities because regional centres can’t match the big cities on capital growth.
And like most generalised commentary on Australian housing issues, it’s rubbish.
The myth is supported by research companies which specialise in trying to encapsulate an entire nation or a very large region in a single growth figure.
Here’s a recent example: dwelling values have grown 7 percent in the combined capital cities in the past 12 months, but the combined regional areas have grown 5 percent.
That’s pretty clear, right? The capital cities win again!
But, like all generalisations about Australian real estate, the figures are meaningless and essentially useless.
The 7% growth figure for capital cities doesn’t tell us anything useful, because it disguises two cities where values have fallen, two where values have grown very little, a couple with solid growth and a couple with strong growth.
And within those capital cities, there are myriad different scenarios playing out for local reasons.
So you can imagine how many disparate and diverse local market situations contribute to the huge melting pot that distils them into one small, misleading and basically pointless figure for “regional Australia”: 5% growth, according to one source.
Why do they do it? Because media laps it up and gives them lots of free publicity for this steady stream of worthless misinformation.
Much more useful is looking at individual markets – some of which blow away the myth about regional markets under-performing.
The city of Newcastle is as good an example as any. Newcastle - driven by a strong local economy and big spending on infrastructure and new development, as well as appealing prices relative to Sydney - has produced extremely strong price growth in the past two years (as we predicted at Hotspotting).
Most suburbs of the Newcastle City LGA have had double-digit growth in their median house prices in the past 12 months. Eight of those suburbs have grown more than 20 percent, including a couple above 30 percent.
The median for Waratah is up 16 percent to $555,000, Adamstown is up 23 percent to $655,000, Stockton has grown 21 percent to $690,000, Maryville 26 percent to $720,000 and Cooks Hill 32 percent to $1,085,000.
Under-pinning that growth has been massive investment in the Newcastle economy. The Hotspotting lists of projects driving the economic growth total well over $20 billion, including resources, transport infrastructure, commercial, retail and residential developments.
The only regional city in Australia that can match Newcastle for this level of investment is the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, which also tops $20 billion.
Of course, given the very high price growth that’s already occurred in Newcastle, it’s too late to get into that market at a decent price.
But there are other ways to benefit from what’s happening in Newcastle, which is part of a broader region.
The Lake Macquarie LGA, which borders Newcastle City, is also a growth market but hasn’t yet had the same level of price increases.
And heading west out into the Hunter Valley, there are numerous towns moving into growth phases but with the big price growth yet to come – such as Maitland and Cessnock.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
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Regional centres can match capital growth of big cities

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A university study suggests the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, which are costing around $2 billion to stage, will deliver Queensland a $4 billion economic windfall. 
The question is how much impact the Games will have on Gold Coast real estate markets. We can sure the industry will talk up the benefits and the prodigious Gold Coast publicity machine will be working overtime to lure investors – but I believe the outcomes for real estate will be over-stated.
A Griffith University report says the Games will result in billions of dollars in new public and private infrastructure and 670,000 extra tourists. It will help create 30,000 jobs and stimulate benefits for business years after the Games end. 
The Griffith Institute For Tourism-led report predicts the Games will be “an economic supercharger” for the Gold Coast and Queensland. 
The 68-page report - by five academics specialising in tourism, accounting and finance – says “the state and the country will benefit for years to come”. 
“The Games will bring more international visitors to the state, create business opportunities, and further facilitate multi-faceted cultural exchange,” it says. “The potential impacts ... are multifaceted and include not only economic but social and environmental aspects.” 
A $2 billion boost to the state’s gross domestic product is a key forecast in the report, which also tips $2.6 billion in public and private sector investment. 
The Games are deemed to have been a catalyst for projects such as the $420 million second stage of the Gold Coast light-rail linking to the heavy rail line at Helensvale, as well as upgrades to Pacific Far ($670 million), The Star hotel casino ($345 million), the Gold Coast Airport ($300 million) and various transport infrastructure improvements. 
Then there’s specific Games infrastructure, including the $550 million athletes village, the $110 million Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre, the $40 million Gold Coast Aquatic Centre and the $40 million Coomera Indoor Sports Centre.
Around 16,000 full-time equivalent jobs are forecast to be generated before, during and after the Games, plus another 14,000 temporary positions. 
So, while the economic and infrastructure benefits appear clear, less certain are the impacts on the real estate market.
The Commonwealth Games promise to provide a short-term sugar hit for the real estate market – and we’ve seen much of that impact already. 
The benefits for housing demand relate to the jobs created by the event and related construction work. There have been thousands of workers drawn to the Gold Coast for the construction jobs in the lead-up to the event. But most of those jobs disappear once projects are completed prior to the Games.
This explains why the Gold Coast was a leading growth market in 2015 and 2016 – but has started to level out in terms of sales activity in 2017.
The other factor – and this is the big one – is the degree to which developers over-react to the Games impact and over-build.
The Gold Coast is a notorious boom-bust market even in “normal” times. It lurches from peak to trough periodically – and often takes years to recover from a bout of major oversupply.
This helps to explain why the median price for an apartment in Surfers Paradise is lower today than it was a decade ago. It’s similar for other coastal suburbs like Main Beach and Broadbeach.
Over-supply is the biggest killer of property markets across Australia and the Gold Coast is a leading example of this phenomenon.
Developers, partly in response to the Games euphoria, are building more high-rise unit projects, and larger projects, than ever before.
I fear that this will snuff out any chance of the Gold Coast market experiencing a sustainable boom from the Commonwealth Games.
Any investors tempted by the euphoria should steer clear of the high-rise markets and concentrate on the genuine housing markets inland.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">twitter.com/hotspotting</a>
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How will the Commonwealth Games impact the Gold Coast real estate markets?

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Few markets across Australia are pumping as strongly as the market in the Wyndham City LGA in the south-west of Melbourne.
Areas that offer affordable homes are attracting increasing attention in Melbourne and the Wyndham City area is now the most active market in the metropolitan area, with key suburbs Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook, Tarneit, Werribee and Wyndham Vale achieving a combined 3,500 house sales in the past 12 months.
All of these suburbs have seen significant increases in sales volumes in the past 12-18 months and strong price growth has resulted. Most have had median price growth well above 10% in the past 12 months.
Wyndham City sits in the corridor between Melbourne and Geelong, and is one of Australia’s leading population growth areas. It has good transport links to central Melbourne (helped by the $5 billion Regional Rail Line), plenty of major jobs nodes, solid infrastructure and some of the Melbourne region’s most affordable housing.
It has suffered from oversupply issues in the past, thanks to over-zealous developers – but currently vacancy rates in the key suburbs are low. There is a strong need for new dwellings, with the LGA’s population rising around 10,000 per year.
Given all of that, it’s no surprise that the City of Wyndham is a place for young families. Those aged from 20–44 represent 42% of the population, compared to the state average of 36%, while children aged 0–19 make up 31%, also higher than the state average of 24%.
Wyndham City has a diverse economy, with a number of key industries, including:- 
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1">industrial and technology precincts (including major industrial estates at Laverton North which generate $7.3 billion in annual economic activity);</li>
<li class="li1">several large retail precincts, including Pacific Werribee, Point Cook Town Centre, the Werribee CBD (which has both retail and commercial space) and Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing (a precinct of 250 homemaker stores and bulky goods retail);</li>
<li class="li1">tourist attractions such as Werribee Park Mansion, the Open Range Zoo, the State Equestrian Centre and the Point Cook RAAF Museum; and </li>
<li class="li1">agriculture, including vegetable growing and grazing (Werribee South has one of Victoria’s leading market garden areas).</li>
</ul>
One of the features of the municipality is the number of significant jobs nodes. These include RAAF bases at Laverton and at Point Cook, the Werribee Agriculture &amp; Food Technology Precinct, the Werribee Park Tourism Precinct and the Melbourne Water Western Treatment Plant.
The Agriculture &amp; Food Technology Precinct is the largest in Australia, covering 800ha and specialising in food, food packaging and bio-technology. The LGA has 3,000ha of market gardens in the Werribee South area and is considered the broad leaf vegetable capital of Australia. 
Property development and construction is a major part of the economy. Dwelling approvals have risen from fewer than 1,000 a year before 1999 to consistently above 2,300 a year since 2001.
Melbourne’s strong run of house price growth has rippled out to the outer-ring suburbs and now many of the growth locations are in the cheaper areas, led by the suburbs of Wyndham City.
The relatively-low house prices are enticing buyers to the area. The median price for a house in Tarneit, 30km west of Melbourne’s CBD, is $470,000 – compared to Ringwood East, 30km east of the CBD, where the median is $830,000.
Consequently, sales activity in Wyndham has been rising, led by Hoppers Crossing, Truganina and Werribee. Annual sales in Hoppers Crossing grew from 468 in 2014 to 630 in 2015, according to realestate.com.au, and have continued on a steady incline since.
This has been accompanied by price growth. In SQM Research’s latest Housing Boom and Bust report, Melbourne’s south-west was identified as the nation’s best-performing region for house price growth. 
With 972 house sales in the last 12 months, Point Cook is one of Melbourne’s busiest markets and its median house price has grown 16% to $585,000 in the past 12 months.
Elsewhere across the LGA, median house prices remain mostly in the $400,000s, despite strong growth in the past 12 months. 
The longer-term growth rates (average annual rises over 10 years) are 6–7% per year for most suburbs in this precinct, while yields are generally in the 3.6% to 4.3% range.
All of this, together with the recent decreases in vacancy rates, makes Wyndham City a market worthy of consideration by property investors. 
The market is dominated by standalone houses (84%), but the mix is changing as the ratio of units-to-houses increases. Since the 2011 Census, the market share of units has increased from 10% of total dwellings to 16%, according to the 2016 Census.
In suburbs like Werribee and Hoppers Crossing, units typically sell in the low $300,000s, with typical rental yields around 5%.
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
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Wyndham City south-west of Melbourne 'pumping strongly': Hotspotting's Terry Ryder 

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Stand by for an avalanche of hysterical nonsense from mainstream media as the Sydney property market continues its gradual wind-down after four strong years of price growth. 
At Hotspotting we’ve been charting a steady decrease in sales activity for at least the past 18 months across the Sydney metro area. This inevitably has led to the slow-down in the price growth rates we are now seeing, alongside a reduction in auction clearance rates. 
We’re likely to see a similar scenario to the one that evolved in 2004, following the end of the previous boom, which stretched from 2001 to 2003. Back then there were plenty of predictions of price collapse from attention-seekers, but that did not occur. We simply saw an end to the previous price growth and values flat-lined for a few years. 
The evidence to date, both statistical and anecdotal, suggests we’ll see similar things this time. The conditions for significant price decline – economic recession, high unemployment, major oversupply and reckless lending – don’t exist. 
The key elements that drove the up-cycle – the strength of the NSW economy, the very high levels of infrastructure spending and the steady population growth – are still as prominent as ever. And of course we still have very low interest rates, though their influence is much less than the chattering economists would have us believe. 
But we’ve already seen some doomsayer headlines. 
One high-profile commentator, Robert Gottliebsen, claims that values of established apartments have fallen as much as 25 percent in some locations, but I can’t find any evidence of this and neither can anyone else I’ve spoken to. 
The consensus from property professionals at the coal-face is that the frenzy has dissipated and market behaviour has moderated, but there is, as yet, no sign of prices dropping. The evidence is that they have stopped rising, generally speaking. 
Mainstream media, always a great source of misinformation about property markets, over-reacted to the recent CoreLogic figures that suggested a small decrease in Sydney prices in October. That prompted headlines declaring the end of boom and, in some cases, a likely collapse in values. 
It also inspired some of the more shallow commentators, like those at UBS, to rush to be the first to declare the end of “the Australian property boom” – that fictitious entity that exists only in the minds of economists who don’t understand the workings of our many different real estate markets. 
Media should know better than to over-react to month-to-month figures, which are notoriously erratic and ultimately irrelevant. 
I remember similar mis-interpretations late last year when the month-to-month figures showed a 1.3% drop in Melbourne house values in November 2016. Media shouted that the Melbourne boom was over and values were falling. But the next set of monthly figures showed a 3.3% rise in December, at which point media screamed that the boom was back on. And, with further rises in subsequent months, those strident headlines about the collapse of the Melbourne market were quickly forgotten. 
I’ve spoken to a number of respected buyers agents and trustworthy selling agents and no one has seen any sign of the nose-diving values perceived by Gottliebsen in the secondhand apartment market. 
The principal of Snowden Parkes Real Estate, Tony Abboud, is as informed as anyone about Sydney apartment markets and he says the reality is the opposite to what Gottliebsen has claimed. 
The Australian columnist reckons new apartments are fine but secondhand ones are losing value rapidly. Abboud sees it quite differently. He says more and more buyers are opting for the established product, because it’s more affordable than the new stuff – and that’s underpinning values. 
“The existing apartments have been holding up well, because they have lower prices per square metre than the off-the-plan product,” Abboud says. “So it’s made them more attractive. Buyers are also more likely to buy something that’s already built because it offers certainty. 
“We are getting 20 or 30 calls a day from buyers. They are taking longer to make decisions, because the urgency has gone from the market, but there’s an intent to purchase.” 
Buyers agent Kate Hill from Adviseable has seen no evidence of price decline in the Sydney market. 
“The market has eased off but prices are holding at the moment,” she says. “There’s no evidence of a big drop in apartment values. There’s still relatively consistent demand. Markets have come off the boil and a lot more properties are being passed in at auction, but there’s no evidence I’ve seen of price decline.” 
Buyers agent Rich Harvey of propertybuyer says that if apartments were selling at a 25 percent discount he would be buying the first that comes on the market, but he has seen no sign of that occurring. 
He’s seeing mixed results in the auction market as far as pricing goes: some selling above reserve, some hitting the reserve price and some selling a little under reserve. 
“There’s certainly no sign of panic,” Harvey says. “Some vendors are being a bit more realistic and we’re seeing a degree of moderation in the market. It’s not quite a buyers’ market yet, but we are seeing opportunities.” 
He says he’s getting more calls from selling agents asking if they have buyers – rather than just opening the door and watching the buyers rush in. 
So, all signs point to a market which, unsurprisingly, is running out of puff after sprinting for four years. But we can expect Sydney to keep jogging steadily. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au ryder@hotspotting.com.au 
twitter.com/hotspotting
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Avalanche of hysterical nonsense as Sydney property market continues gradual wind-down

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The QBE Australian Housing Outlook Report has added weight to other forecasts of a strong market in Canberra next year and beyond.
Its growth forecast for Canberra over the next three years is the highest among the state and territory capital cities.
The Housing Boom and Bust Report by SQM’s Louis Christopher also has a bullish prediction for Canberra. It suggests dwelling values in Canberra will increase by up to 9% in 2018. The only capital cities tipped to do better are Hobart and Melbourne, with Sydney growth waning. 
This follows a strong period for the Canberra market over the past 12 months, although it’s difficult to know exactly how much house prices have increased. 
The latest figures on price growth in Canberra show how difficult it is for consumers to make sense of the price data published in mainstream media. CoreLogic says Canberra house values are up 9% in the past 12 months, but Domain says 10.5% and SQM Research records a rise of 16%. 
In the apartment market, SQM says Canberra is up 7%, CoreLogic says just 3% and Domain reports a small decline in prices. It’s difficult for consumers to get any direction from such conflicting information. 
My assessment - based on all available data including sales volumes, vacancies and rental growth figures - is that the ACT housing market is strong and rising, but the unit market is less bullish, having been through a period of oversupply in the recent past. 
The quarterly surveys of sales by Hotspotting show that the Canberra market has been upwardly-mobile for the past two years and this is now showing up in price growth data for the housing market.
Meanwhile the QBE report, which is fairly cautious and conservative in its overall predictions for the next three years, has Canberra leading on price growth up to 2020.
“With Federal Government employment being the key driver of economic growth, the outlook for Canberra will be closely linked with public sector employment growth,” it says. “Conditions in the house market are expected to remain largely positive, driven by population growth, an under-supply of houses and strong employment prospects. 
“The median house price in Canberra is forecast to increase a cumulative 16% over the forecast period to $750,000 at June 2020. Canberra is forecast to have the strongest growing market of all the cities over this period.”
By way of background, it says: “Underlying demand for dwellings has been largely supported by population growth. The net interstate outflow has been shrinking over the past four years, with the 2016-17 period resulting in an estimated net inflow of 800 persons. The net overseas migration inflow has also increased to an estimated 2,200 over 2016-17 and appears to be largely related to growth in overseas students.
“The Australian Capital Territory unemployment rate is tightening, indicating an improvement in local economic conditions. At March 2017, unemployment was 3.7% compared to 4.5% in December 2015. Improved demand has led to a tighter vacancy rate of 1.3% in June 2017.”
The report’s comments reinforce my viewsabout the fundamental importance to property markets of events in the local economy, rather than national factors such as the level of interest rates.
Investors looking to capitalise on Canberra’s rising market should be focusing their attention in the north.
A regular feature of Hotspotting’s sales activity surveys is that the busiest markets in Canberra are in the northern suburbs. 
Our Spring survey for The Price Predictor Index confirms that, while there are now growth suburbs across the Canberra metropolitan area, the strongest precincts once again are the Belconnen and Gungahlin districts. 
Suburbs with rising markets in the Belconnen District include Florey, Flynn, Holt and Evatt. Buoyant markets in the Gungahlin precinct include Casey, Ngunnawal, Crace and Palmerston. 
The Inner North precinct is also solid, led by good sales activity in Lyneham and Ainslie. 
Overall, as I have often commented, the stand-out characteristic of Canberra is the steadiness of its performance. 
That, plus the low vacancies and the growth numbers now emerging (including with rentals), make the national capital increasingly appealing for investors. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
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Canberra forecasts strong next year and beyond: Terry Ryder

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The leading growth markets in Australia are now popping up in unexpected places.
Regional centres like Launceston and Townsville (above), as well as the affordable outer-ring precincts of our capital cities, dominate Hotspotting’s new National Top 10 list for municipalities with the highest number of growth suburbs.
This partly reflects the decrease in the number of rising markets in Sydney and Melbourne, with both the big cities still performing solidly but well past their peaks in terms of sales volumes. The attention is now shifting to other cities.
In the new Spring edition of The Price Predictor Index, the Moreton Bay Region in Brisbane’s north is the No.1 LGA in Australia for growth markets, having overtaken the Sunshine Coast. 
Moreton Bay LGA has 14 suburbs with upwardly-mobile markets, with buyers attracted by affordable prices, infrastructure and jobs nodes. Growth areas include Caboolture, Burpengary, Arana Hills, Bongaree, Deception Bay, Bray Park, Woorim and Warner. 
Morayfield is a key market, with sales around 170 per quarter, compared to 120-130 two years ago.
The Sunshine Coast LGA continues to feature strongly. It has 12 growth suburbs, while the neighbouring Noosa LGA has four. Growth stars include Coolum Beach where quarterly sales are up from around 70 to above 100. Caloundra and nearby Golden Beach are also thriving.
The Adelaide market gets very little national attention but it’s showing considerable resilience and there is growth potential in specific precincts. The Marion LGA in Adelaide’s south-west is the leading market in the South Australia capital, having lifted the number of growth suburbs in each of the past three quarterly surveys.
The Marion LGA, a middle-market area of Adelaide, now has nine rising suburbs, including Oaklands Park (median house price $470,000) which has lifted sales from 18 to 24 to 29 to 30 to 37 to 41 in the past six quarters. Other growth suburbs include Sheidow Park, Clovelly Park, Dover Gardens, Edwardstown and Glengowrie.
The Hobart market has captured national attention as homes sell quickly, rents rise at rates above the national average and price growth challenges the major cities. Within the Hobart metro area, the Clarence LGA is the market leader, although growth suburbs are spread across the city. 
Clarence, on the opposite side of the Derwent from the CBD, includes growth suburbs such as Geilston Bay, Bellerive, Lindisfarne, Rokeby, Risdon Vale and Warrane.
Launceston markets continue to grow in strength, but tend to be overlooked because of growing national focus on results in Hobart. Tasmania’s No.2 city has eight suburbs with growth markets, while the nearby West Tamar LGA has three. Affordable Invermay (median house price $230,000) typifies the growth in this region. Its sales levels have grown from 19 to 22 to 24 to 29 to 34 to 37 in the past six quarters, while sales in South Launceston have risen from 20 to 29 to 34 to 47 to 51.
Townsville in North Queensland is one of the nation’s comeback markets. It is showing increasing signs of recovery from years in which the usually-strong local economy struggled, thanks to the downturn in the resources sector and the closure of the city’s nickel refinery. 
The growing evidence of a revival is likely to gather pace as major events (such as the location of the headquarters for the $20 billion Adani mining project) start to take shape. On the back of improving economic prospects, Townsville now has six suburbs with rising markets. 
Perth too is mounting a comeback after four years in a slump and regions in the north of the metro area are leading the fightback. The Wanneroo LGA is  featuring strongly; it has six suburbs with growing sales activity - remarkable when you consider that the entire Perth metro area had zero growth suburbs only nine months ago. 
The growth markets include Alkimos, Carramar, Clarkson and Hocking. The Wanneroo LGA is the fast-growing municipality in WA and includes several new growth suburbs. As is often the case in such areas, vacancies are high in some postcodes but this will change as demand continues to grow. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au" target="_blank">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
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Leading growth markets popping up in unexpected places: Terry Ryder

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The biggest market trend happening nationally is that smaller capital cities and larger regional centres are rising, while the two biggest cities are trending downwards.
Economists and other commentators who like to generalise keep telling us that the rate of growth in “Australian house prices” is declining and “the property market” generally is losing steam.
But they’re really talking about everyone’s obsession, Sydney, and ignoring the myriad different scenarios playing out in markets across the nation.
Sydney and Melbourne are still prominent in terms of annual price growth, but sales activity confirms that both Sydney and Melbourne are gradually heading south from their peaks, especially Sydney which is ahead of Melbourne in the cycle. 
In terms of the number of individual growth markets, the two biggest cities are being overtaken by some of the smaller state capitals. Both Canberra and Hobart are heading up while the two big cities are trending down.
But the headline trend is that regional markets are becoming dominant. 
If we divide the nation into jurisdictions comprising the capital cities and regional areas of each of the states, the two leading jurisdictions right now (the ones with the most growth locations) are Regional Queensland and Regional New South Wales. 
Regional Victoria also has a growing number of upwardly-mobile markets. In NSW, Victoria and Queensland, the regions now have more growth markets than their capital cities.
Among the rising markets is the Newcastle/Hunter region, which is the stand-out precinct in Regional NSW. The Lake Macquarie LGA on the fringe of Newcastle has five growth suburbs and several other steady ones. Other LGAs close to Newcastle with growth momentum include Port Stephens, Maitland and Cessnock. 
Both Singleton and Muswellbrook, which suffered when the coal downturn coincided with new supply, are continuing to mount comebacks. They form part of another trend in regional Australia, whereby many of the locations worst hit by the end of the resources investment boom are showing increasing signs of revival in their property markets. 
In Western Australia, centres like Port Hedland and Karratha (which had massive reductions in property values in recent years) now have sales activity rising again. 
In Queensland, regional centres like Mackay, Emerald and Dalby are showing signs of recovery. Even coal-mining town Moranbah, the quintessential boom-bust town, now has sales growing again. 
I’m not suggesting investors should be considering buying there – these locations have volatile markets at the high-risk end of the investment spectrum. I simply observe that they’re part of a revival of fortunes in some parts of regional Australia.
They’re also part of my argument that we don’t have a single market in Australia but many different ones – and they’re not all moving in the same direction or at the same speed.
While Sydney is waning, Canberra is starting to rise. Perth, which has been doing the polar opposite of Sydney over the past four years, is continuing the trend by moving into a recovery phase.
In the recent past, I have suggested that the first glimpses of recovery could be seen in Perth. Now the city has a significant number of suburbs with growing sales activity, for the first time in four years. 
So next time you see commentary from someone who discusses Australia as a single market, keep in mind the many different scenarios currently playing out in Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Perth and the various centres across regional Australia.
 
Terry Ryder is the founder of hotspotting.com.au
<a href="https://mailto:ryder@hotspotting.com.au">ryder@hotspotting.com.au</a>
twitter.com/hotspotting
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Smaller capital cities and larger regional centres rising

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Affordability nationwide improved in the five years between 2011 and 2016 – that’s one of the more interesting facts to emerge from the 2016 Census data. 
An analysis by population analysts profile.id finds that the median mortgage payment in 2011 was $1,800 per month, but in 2016 it was $1,755. Over the same period the median household income increased from $5,330 to $6,205 per month. 
Of course, these are national average figures and they conceal myriad differences among the various states and cities. The biggest improvements in affordability, in terms of the reduction in mortgage payments, occurred in Queensland and the ACT. 
But there was even a small improvement in New South Wales, notwithstanding the big price rises in Sydney. 
Unsurprisingly, the biggest single factor in the reduction in mortgage payments was the decrease in interest rates. In 2011, the official cash rate was 4.5 percent and by 2016 it was 1.5 percent. Glenn “the Census expert” at profile.id says: “While the banks have passed on less and less of these cuts, it’s certainly the case that mortgage interest rates being paid by home owners in the past five years have reduced.” 
Perhaps the most startling fact is that the median mortgage payment for the Greater Sydney area was the same in 2016 as it was in 2011. And in Melbourne the median mortgage payment reduced slightly. 
The analysis examined mortgage payments for people aged between 18 and 34 who have a mortgage and don’t live at home with their parents – i.e. looking at the profile most likely to include first-time buyers. This is where the improvement in affordability was actually the highest, in terms of the reduction in median mortgage payments between 2011 and 2016. 
In the ACT, for example, median monthly payments dropped from $2,460 to $2,140, while in Queensland they fell from $2,165 to $1,958. Even in NSW, the median mortgage payment for this demographic dropped from $2,182 to $2,129. 
As Glenn points out: “There are very large falls in mortgages in the ACT ($320/month) and Queensland ($207/month). But even in Sydney and Melbourne, which have seen rapid escalation of housing prices, there have been modest declines in what 18-34 year olds are actually paying on their mortgages when they have them. 
“So in fact, a larger part of the decline (in mortgage payments) is in this key group. Probably because they have the larger mortgages and are more affected by changes in interest rates. So, while we have seen that children are delaying leaving home longer (though not much longer), once they do leave home they are actually paying less to buy a house.” 
These figures put another perspective on the general issue of housing affordability. 
But here’s the thing: every day the Hotspotting team scours media sources for information on residential real estate and, to date, we haven’t found any coverage of this very thorough and professional analysis of the affordability situation. 
No newspaper or other media outlet has run this story. Why not? Because it doesn’t suit the pre-conceived storyline, the much-beloved theme of everyone being priced out of the market. 
Another reflection of media bias on this subject came earlier in the year when one of the major affordability indexes published the latest findings. There were two scenarios: in annual terms, affordability had improved in most states and territories, but comparing the latest quarter to the previous quarter, affordability had declined in most states and territories. 
Every media outlet which ran an article in this report focused on the quarter-to-quarter deterioration and totally ignored the annual improvement. 
Media has created a “crisis” by selectively using data to support the favoured theme which says no one can afford to buy any more. It’s obviously rubbish but that’s what they keep telling us – and so when someone runs a survey on the issue, a majority of citizens say they believe young people are priced out of the market everywhere. 
It’s sad how dishonest our media is and also sad how easily people are deluded by it. 
Terry Ryder is the founder of <a href="https://www.hotspotting.com.au/" target="_blank">hotspotting.com.au</a>. You can <a href="mailto:%20%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'%3E%20%3C!--%20var%20prefix%20=%20'ma'%20+%20'il'%20+%20'to';%20var%20path%20=%20'hr'%20+%20'ef'%20+%20'=';%20var%20addy38821%20=%20'ryder'%20+%20'@';%20addy38821%20=%20addy38821%20+%20'hotspotting'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'com'%20+%20'.'%20+%20'au';%20document.write('%3Ca%20'%20+%20path%20+%20'/''%20+%20prefix%20+%20':'%20+%20addy38821%20+%20'/'%3E');%20document.write(addy38821);%20document.write('%3C//a%3E');%20//--%3E/n%20%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20type='text/javascript'" target="_blank">email him</a> or follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/hotspotting" target="_blank">Twitter.</a>
 
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