Brisbane-based <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/red-co">Red &amp; Co Developments</a> has officially launched its $250million COMO apartment development in Varsity Lakes, while simultaneously commencing construction.&nbsp;

Building work is now underway at COMO following the appointment of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/5point-projects">5Point Projects</a> as contractor to deliver the boutique development which will rise on a 2857 sqm site overlooking Lake Orr at 22 Lake Street.

When completed, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/como-varsity-lakes-22-lake-street-varsity-lakes-qld-4227">COMO</a> will comprise 156 apartments across 16 levels located in the heart of Varsity Lakes.

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The project, which will sit alongside Bond University, will deliver a diverse array of apartment designs comprising one-, two- and three-bedroom residences that have already attracted interest from local and interstate investors as well as an array of owner occupiers looking to gain a foothold in the precinct.

Red &amp; Co, which has largely focused on the Brisbane market in recent years where it has delivered more than 500 apartments and townhouses across 26 projects, has designed COMO to combine tranquil, lakeside living with the vibrant urban convenience of the vibrant Varsity Lakes village.

“We’re thrilled to announce a start to construction of COMO in conjunction with the official launch of the project, our first for the Gold Coast,” said Red &amp; Co Director and Co-Founder David Laverty.

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“COMO is superbly positioned to capture the essence of the Varsity Lakes village lifestyle and its thriving café and dining precinct, while delivering a much-needed diverse supply of premium residences for the local market.

“Pre-launch inquiries have been strong among both local and interstate investors and owner-occupiers, including downsizers and upgraders who appreciate the value proposition that COMO represents.”

Prices at COMO start from $1,000,050.

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Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bda-architecture">BDA Architecture</a>, the COMO development incorporates an extensive range of amenities for residents including a 25-metre rooftop lap pool, sundeck, barbecue and dining areas, as well as multiple rooftop pickleball and paddleball courts, a wellness and activity centre, gym, sauna, plunge baths and landscaped gardens.

“COMO presents a rare opportunity to secure a stylish, lifestyle-focused home in one of the Gold Coast’s most sought-after neighbourhoods,” added Laverty.

“The rooftop will be the epicentre of fun for residents with an array of amenities for residents that are quite unique for a boutique project such as this, all while offering spectacular vistas across the Gold Coast as far north as Southport and south to Burleigh.”

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&nbsp;

Red &amp; Co has chosen the Varsity Lakes site for its proximity to top-tier schools, major shopping hubs, such as Robina Town Centre and its CBD offering, as well as key Gold Coast transport links, including Varsity Lakes Train Station.

COMO will be located just a short walk to shops, cafes and restaurants in Varsity Lakes and just a 10-minute drive to the Burleigh Heads beachfront.

With construction currently underway, Red &amp; Co anticipates COMO will be completed in 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135546]

Joel Robinson

Red & Co to launch debut Gold Coast development Como Varsity Lakes as construction commences

Longstanding Gold Coast developer Raptis has acquired a prime development site on Surf Parade for its next Broadbeach apartment project.

Progressing towards completion of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-sterling-broadbeach-6-8-george-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Sterling Broadbeach</a>, 90 apartments on nearby George Avenue, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/raptis">Raptis</a>, led by second-generation family man Evan Raptis, has picked up a block on the corner of Surf Parade and First Avenue.

The site had been earmarked for a luxury apartment project with 33 full-floor apartments across a 37-storey tower. Raptis will go back to the drawing board and create a building more appropriate for the site. The development application will be lodged later this month.

Evan Raptis told Apartments.com.au the site ticks all the boxes.

"Broadbeach is a suburb we've developed several buildings over the years. Surf Parade ticks all the boxes for the type of apartment development we want to deliver."

Raptis had several pre-lodgement meetings with council to ensure they are aligned in the development.

<img alt="Raptis" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f0d58573-07a4-47a8-9f5e-fbf35fb03dc3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-03-05%20at%204.58.23%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=iczZEd_4_o4UL0PHMPJGfy_q3tv96J5i" />

Surf Parade has emerged in recent years as one of the most popular streets in Broadbeach for development.

South East Queensland developer Mosaic Property Group kicked it off with Marella by Mosaic. Bassar Group sold out Infinity on the street, while for its&nbsp;first Gold Coast development, Polycell grabbed a Surf Parade site for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-rochester-broadbeach-143-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Rochester</a>, which is nearly sold out.

Melbourne-based developer Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched its fourth Gold Coast project on the exclusive strip. The Eveleigh Broadbeach will have 100 apartments across a 31-storey building designed by Rothelowman.

GV Property Group site development specialists Antonio Mercuri and Luke Reaby, who both amalgamate sites and sell shovel-ready sites to developers up and down the Gold Coast, sold Surf Parade to Raptis.

Raptis secures prime Surf Parade site for next Broadbeach apartment development

Less than two years after breaking ground, Gardner Vaughan Group is celebrating the topping out of Bask, its second development in the exclusive coastal enclave of Bokarina on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.&nbsp;

Located only minutes from the beachfront, the two seven-storey luxury apartment towers, known individually as Mydas and Caretta, offer a selection of one-to-four-bedroom residences with views of Lake Kawana, the Glasshouse Mountains, and Bokarina Beach.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=141609 project_image_fid=333359]

Gardner Vaughan Group Commercial Director Sam Gardner said the milestone marks the home stretch for construction, with first residents expected to be able to move in from Spring 2026.&nbsp;

“This is a significant milestone in bringing this development to life and represents our confidence in this region’s long-term growth and appeal,” Gardner said.&nbsp;

“With 85 per cent of apartments already sold, buyers are joining an established, coastal village that offers the very best of the Sunshine Coast – seasonally patrolled surf beaches, renowned restaurants, and links to established health and retail.&nbsp;

“The final collection of three- and four- bedroom apartments range in size from 127sqm to 300sqm, each with two or three secure car parks and storage, and with construction fast approaching completion we don’t expect the last few apartments to remain on the market for long.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=141609 project_image_fid=333362]

Local restaurateur Luke Stringer, who co-owns and manages the award-winning Bocca Italian and Playa Mexican restaurants in Bokarina, has lived in the beachside suburb for 18 months and worked there for more than three years, and said the beachside suburb was thriving.&nbsp;

“It’s fair to say Bokarina is finally stepping into the sun and there’s a lot to love about the place,"&nbsp;Stringer said.

"It’s such a great community, where you see the same smiling faces every morning and everything’s within easy reach – it’s the perfect hub in the middle of the Sunshine Coast.

“When we first opened Bocca Italian, we were the lone restaurant, but it’s been amazing to see how the area has grown. The more venues that open, the busier it gets for everyone. When Playa Mexican opened its first Saturday night, Bocca had a record night and Playa was packed too, which blew us away how everyone is thriving.&nbsp;

“There’s a great energy around the place now, and people are really embracing Bokarina as a food and lifestyle destination.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=141609 project_image_fid=363368]

Stringer joined other buyers at Bask Bokarina and the Gardner Vaughan Group team to celebrate the topping out at a special event in February.&nbsp;

Located in Kawana Waters, midway between Caloundra and Maroochydore, Bokarina locals enjoy scenic walking paths around Lake Kawana, playgrounds, beachfront boardwalk and parklands, alongside all the convenience of a masterplanned beachside community.&nbsp;

“You see people jogging or swimming in the morning, then grabbing coffee at the cafes, people are really embracing the area and all this growth is bringing more people to Bokarina,” Stringer added.&nbsp;

To take advantage of the vistas, each of the 135 apartments at Bask is designed with full size windows and high ceilings that provide an abundance of natural light.&nbsp;

Prices for the remaining three-bedroom apartments start at $1,599,000 and four-bedroom apartments start at $3,149,000.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=141609 project_image_fid=363369]

The mixed-use development also features ground-level retail space for cafés, dining options and boutiques, including the soon-to-be-opened ‘Corner Shop’, by the team behind Noosa’s well known ‘Organika’.

Sam Gardner said Gardner Vaughan Group’s 37-year history building and developing across South East Queensland has contributed to the success of its second development in Bokarina, which follows the recently completed Zinc Apartments.&nbsp;

“We care how people live and this is reflected in the way we approach the design and delivery of every development,” he said. “Furthermore, as a builder-developer we have full control over the construction program and our 100 per cent completion rate is something people can draw confidence from.”&nbsp;

Founded by civil engineers Guy Gardner and Darryl Vaughan in 1989, the family-owned business has evolved from a consultancy firm to an award-winning builder-developer, with projects across the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=141609]

Gardner Vaughan Group tops out Bask Bokarina apartments

Prolific Melbourne developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> has launched its fourth new Gold Coast development in as many years.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a>, led by Daniel Faigen and backed by Eddie Hirsch, co-founder of United Petroleum, has unveiled The Eveleigh, on a prime 1,100 sqm site at 7-9 Surf Parade in the heart of Broadbeach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a> will deliver 100 apartments across 31 levels, making it the company’s largest Gold Coast project to date. It builds on the success of its three earlier developments, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/hemingway-1267-1273-gold-coast-highway-palm-beach">The Hemingway in Palm Beach</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/emerson-kirra-100-musgrave-street-coolangatta">The Emerson at Kirra</a>, both completed, and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/yves-mermaid-beach-7-9-mermaid-avenue-mermaid-beach">Yves Mermaid Beach</a>, which is nearing completion.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

The announcement of The Eveleigh affirms the company’s sustained confidence in the Gold Coast market which continues to remain undersupplied. It also increases the value of Hirsch &amp; Fa​igen’s Gold Coast development portfolio to more than $700 million since the company first entered the market in 2021 with Hemingway.

The company has enlisted its preferred architecture firm Rothelowman to design The Eveleigh, which will offer a thoughtfully curated lifestyle, including a substantial wellness precinct, communal recreation areas, children’s play spaces, work-from-home facilities, and shared lounge and dining areas.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

Designed for the prime market demographic of downsizers and interstate lifestyle investors in mind, The Eveleigh has been crafted to offer an increasingly rare blend of affordable luxury in a tightly held market. Uniquely positioned in the heart of the Gold Coast’s most sought-after lifestyle suburb of Broadbeach, the project will also boast uninterrupted beach and hinterland views.

The Surf Parade site is just a short walk to the bustling Broadbeach dining and retail precinct, Pacific Fair, The Star Gold Coast and convention centre, and an easy stroll to Kurrawa Beach and the recreational amenity of Pratten Park on the Broadbeach foreshore.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360975]

“We’re excited to be proceeding with our fourth project on the Gold Coast in what is certain to become the new luxury precinct in Broadbeach,” says Anthony Bueti, the CFO of Hirsch &amp;a​mp; Faigen and a shareholder of the group.

“With the likes of Mosa​ic and Abedian &amp;a​mp; Co also launching quality projects in the area, the transformation will cement Broadbeach as the premier lifestyle and amenity suburb on the Gold Coast.

"After four years in the Gold Coast market, and with three successful projects completed, The Eveleigh is the product of everything we have learned to love about the Gold Coast and it will be an incredible addition to our growing portfolio in one of the most vibrant property markets in the country. We continue to remain very confident in the high-end Gold Coast property market.”

Urban Activation Director Matt George is handling sales for The Eveleigh, having sold out The Emerson, The Hemingway, and Yves, all before construction was completed.

Melbourne builder MAXCON has already commenced construction on The Eveleigh. They are forecasting a mid-2028 completion.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

Hirsch & Faigen unveils The Eveleigh in Broadbeach

Two years after securing development approval for the final stage of its award-winning Thornton Precinct on the doorstep of Penrith Station, Urban Property Group is set to launch <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/mayfair-on-penrith-172-lord-sheffield-circuit-penrith-nsw-2750">Mayfair on Penrith</a>, around 400 apartments designed to reflect two of Sydney’s most iconic structures.

The builder-developer has continued refining the design plans for the two-building development on a significant 8,280 sqm site on Sheffield Circuit, recognising the importance of the prime parcel as one of the closest developable sites to the station.

UPG enlisted architecture firm SJB to design the project. The team said they drew inspiration from both the General Post Office in Martin Place and East Circular Quay to help shape the design. The two-level colonnade, in particular, reflects the famous GPO building, which dates back to the 1860s.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136726 project_image_fid=362014]

There will be one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments on offer, with interiors by Cox Architecture. Residences will sit above a retail podium featuring hospitality and lifestyle operators such as One Playground and Volcano’s Steakhouse, contributing to an activated ground plane within the broader Thornton precinct.

A communal rooftop with a pool and views towards the Blue Mountains will provide shared open space for residents. The development is positioned between Ron Mulock Oval and Westfield Penrith, with the Nepean River and Great River Walk also nearby, placing daily amenity and green space within walking distance.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136726 project_image_fid=362015]

Mayfair is being delivered by Urban Property Group, a family-owned developer and builder with nearly 40 years’ experience across Sydney. The project will be the first in Penrith to be offered with Resilience Insurance’s 10-year Latent Defects Insurance (LDI) policy, which Urban Property Group has adopted across a number of its recent developments. The developer also has a 4.5-star iCIRT rating, one of the best ratings in market providing further confidence to buyers.

Urban Property Group CEO Patrick Elias said providing additional assurance to off-the-plan buyers has become increasingly important.

“Anything we can do to give confidence in our product is a plus,” Elias told Apartments.com.au.

“Consumers are a lot more weary and a lot more concerned in buying off the plan than they ever have been. They’re making their single large investment, which is their home, and providing confidence is something that we feel is paramount.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136726 project_image_fid=362020]

The LDI policy provides a 10-year warranty covering structural defects, with independent inspections carried out during construction and protection for owners if defects arise post-completion.

Mayfair represents Urban Property Group’s sixth and final development within Thornton, consolidating the masterplanned precinct immediately east of the station.

The developer, which builds its own projects, has already commenced construction. SRM Residential is handling the sales campaign.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=136726]

Urban Property Group to close the curtain on award-winning Thornton precinct with Mayfair on Penrith release

Uber

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GUEST OBSERVATION
The effective exclusion of Uber from London, one of the digital platform’s most lucrative markets, adds to a small but significant list of places putting up roadblocks to “uberisation”.
Governments in Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Hungary and Australia’s Northern Territory have all made conditions hostile to Uber. There are partial bans in Finland, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Specific reasons for the bans differ. In the case of London it is thousands of cases of unauthorised, uninsured drivers using verified driver accounts to pick up passengers.
Behind safety concerns, though, is also a deep resentment towards Uber itself circumventing regulations. This has led, in 2016 and 2014, to thousands of drivers of London’s traditional black cabs jamming the city <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-11/london-black-cab-drivers-block-streets-in-uber-protest/7158214" target="_blank">in protest</a>.
Uberisation refers to the use of a computing platform to facilitate transactions between service providers and customers, often bypassing a traditional organisational intermediary. Uber pioneered this in “ride-sharing” and has pushed aggressively into food delivery. Its most controversial bypass is the traditional employment relationship.
This is epitomised by the case of Amita Gupta, the Australian Uber Eats driver fired for being <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/uber-eats-driver-sacked-for-being-10-minutes-late-seeks-tribunal-appeal-20191115-p53b2f" target="_blank">ten minutes late</a> in delivering a food order. Gupta’s claim of unfair dismissal was rejected by Australia’s federal Fair Work Commission on the basis she was an independent contractor, not an employee, and therefore not covered by the protections of Australia’s Fair Work Act. (She is now appealing to the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/uber-eats-drivers-only-free-to-negotiate-a-lower-rate-of-pay-20191118-p53bnn" target="_blank">full bench of the Fair Work Commission</a>.)
The good news, as the London ban on Uber signals, is that uberisation is not an unstoppable force. For all its attractions to companies keen to hire labour while circumventing costly labour laws, it is destined to clash with the controls required to keep capitalism ticking over.
That’s no cause for complacency, though, because even if uberisation has its limits, we are seeing the apparent normalisation of all forms of precarious and insecure work.
The revolution that never happened
In 2015, with a crush of Uber-inspired startups rushing to market, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/04/01/uberization-uber-of-everything_n_6971752" target="_blank">a Huffington Post article</a> predicted the combination of “realtime data, mobile payments, instant gratification and dynamic pricing” was the beginning of “an on-demand revolution that will ‘Uberize’ the entire economy.”
This hasn’t happened.
In the <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w22667" target="_blank">United States</a> the percentage of workers in precarious employment – including agency temps, contract workers, independent contractors, freelancers and the like – rose from 10.7% in 2005 to 15.8% in 2015. Only an estimated 0.5% were involved with online intermediaries like Uber.
A <a href="http://natcen.ac.uk/media/1543748/The-characteristics-of-those-in-the-gig-economy.pdf" target="_blank">2018 report</a> for Britain’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy estimated less than 1% of British workers relied on the gig economy for the majority of their income.
In Australia, our analysis of the data presented by Deloitte Access Economics for the <a href="https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/Deloitte_Report_Review_Collaborative_Economy.pdf" target="_blank">NSW Department of Finance, Services and Innovation</a> suggests 1.6% of the population earn money in the gig economy, often as supplement to other income.
The limits of capitalism’s logic
Uber and other labour-based digital platforms reveal the limits of the logic of contemporary capitalism: a logic based on the assumed value of deregulated markets that operate best with minimal interference by the state.
Their business models follow a textbook formula of unfettered capitalism. It eliminates employment obligations in favour of a spartan market-based economic exchange between capital and labour. Paid holidays, pension contributions, minimum wage, sick leave and protection from unfair dismissal – with a click on an app, all these hard-won rights disappear.
If this were to become the dominant economic model, it would undermine the system rather than help it flourish. More workers would find themselves among the “working poor”, unable to sustain themselves and their families. The burden on the welfare state would increase. Conflict and industrial unrest would escalate, as it has wherever Uber has set up shop, be it in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/almost-100-000-drivers-accuse-uber-of-wage-theft-20191108-p538kv" target="_blank">New York</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48190176" target="_blank">London</a>, <a href="https://fortune.com/2016/12/16/france-uber-protest/" target="_blank">Paris</a>, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/spain-police-crane-lift-taxis-to-break-anti-uber-protest/a-47269876" target="_blank">Madrid</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-39046463/uber-threat-drives-noisy-italy-protests-by-taxi-drivers" target="_blank">Rome</a>, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-taxi-drivers-protest-uber-deregulation-plans/a-48277628" target="_blank">Berlin</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-49008968/uber-drivers-in-nairobi-explain-why-they-are-on-strike" target="_blank">Nairobi</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/violence-erupts-taxi-uber-drivers-johannesburg" target="_blank">Johannesburg</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-ola-strike/uber-ola-drivers-strike-in-india-demanding-higher-fares-idUSKCN1MW1WZ" target="_blank">Delhi</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-35868569/scuffles-at-jakarta-uber-protest" target="_blank">Jakarta</a> or <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-08/uber-drivers-stage-global-protest-over-pay-and-conditions/11092696" target="_blank">Melbourne</a>.
The business model is parasitical. It depends on the regular economy to subsidise it. And yet this is still not enough. To date <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lensherman/2017/12/14/why-cant-uber-make-money/#45bd196e10ec" target="_blank">Uber has never recorded a profit</a>. When it listed on the New York Stock Exchange, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-12/uber-ipo-filing-warns-that-drivers-will-be-even-less-happy" target="_blank">its Initial Public Offering filing</a> revealed its plan to further “reduce driver incentives to improve our financial performance”.
Normalising precarious work
While we can be relieved the gig economy hasn’t become more widespread, it is a concern that these platforms’ high profiles and extensive marketing have helped normalise and sanitise business models with parasitical employment practices.
Celebrities to have fronted Uber Eats advertisements in Australia, for example, include Boy George, Sophie Monk, Naomi Watts, Nic Naitanui, Ryan Moloney, Peter FitzSimons, Rebel Wilson, Ruby Rose, Lee Lin Chin and Ray Martin. Its most recent campaign features Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham and Anh Do.
Such endorsements have arguably helped to make Uber Eats and all forms of precarious work more acceptable.
In Australia, some research suggests the number of workers who feel insecure in their jobs has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/workers-are-actually-feeling-less-insecure-in-their-jobs-81836" target="_blank">relatively stable for the past two decades</a>, as have <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-has-the-level-of-casual-employment-in-australia-stayed-steady-for-the-past-18-years-56212" target="_blank">casualisation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-jobs-arent-becoming-less-secure-99739" target="_blank">self-employment</a>. But Australia also tops the OECD <a href="https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/05/australia-tops-oecd-insecure-work/" target="_blank">in its levels of casual and contract work</a>. Given <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/14/wage-growth-in-australia-stagnant-at-23-despite-hourly-rate-rise" target="_blank">stagnant wage growth</a>, <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7733-wealth-inequality-in-australia-is-getting-worse-201809210554" target="_blank">widening inequality</a>, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook45p/HousingAffordability" target="_blank">falling housing affordability</a>, a <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/politics/wage-theft-woolworths-senate/" target="_blank">mounting wage theft crisis</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/self-employment-and-casual-work-arent-increasing-but-so-many-jobs-are-insecure-whats-going-on-100668" target="_blank">growing corporate power</a>, it is clear that feelings of insecurity and precariousness about work are painfully real for many.
So even without Uber taking over the world, we might all end up damagingly closer to the situation workers like Amita Gupta have found themselves in.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127234/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Peter Fleming, Professor, University of Technology Sydney.
Carl Rhodes, Professor of Organization Studies, University of Technology Sydney.
Kyoung-Hee Yu, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-might-not-take-over-the-world-but-it-is-still-normalising-job-insecurity-127234" target="_blank">original article</a>.
Photo credit: <a href="http://www.quotecatalog.com/" target="_blank">www.quotecatalog.com</a>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Uber might not take over the world, but it is still normalising job insecurity

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GUEST OBSERVATION 
Shrinking kitchens, shared car ownership, moveable walls, demountable pools and socialising spaces for apartment dwellers – the future of Australian home design is a dynamic space.
Adam Haddow, Director of Sydney architecture and urban design studio, SJB says Australians are increasingly trading the environmental, time and financial costs of space for the social, monetary and ethical gains of compact living.
Affordability concerns following steep home price rises of 75% and 59% respectively in Sydney and Melbourne have prompted an overhaul of planning laws to allow terrace-style housing on smaller blocks and zero-car apartment buildings to increase supply of affordable homes.
Today’s housing design buzzword is diversity, says Haddow, a Churchill Fellowship recipient and thought leader on urban design and the modern evolution of city living environments in Australia.
“In the past, we had this fixed idea of what you got in a house – three bedrooms, backyard, maybe a pool,” Haddow says.
“That hasn’t gone away but many people are realising they don’t need lawns to mow and four bedrooms.
“You used to need a desk and possibly an office; now you need a kitchen bench the right height for your laptop, or a sunny courtyard with connectivity.
“These changes are dialling down in home design because we don’t need to create a space (for study/work); it is more about creating spaces where people want to live.”
REPURPOSED LIVING
When Australia embraced open plan living at the start of the 21st century, there were inevitable casualties. Goodbye formal dining and lounge rooms. Also over is home designers’ short lived dalliance with the media room.
Formal lounge and dining rooms will survive in top end dwelling floor plans, as will integrated study zones or home offices, with at least 3.5 million Australians now doing at least some work at home and nearly one million of us running home-based businesses.
Reflecting the shrinking size of Australian households, with couple- only households due to outnumber couples with children by 2030, dwellings will become more flexible with moveable walls allowing room conversions and adaptable furniture serving as room dividers.
SMALLER KITCHENS
The popularity of home delivered meals and our rising café and restaurant culture, particularly in our big cities, have changed how Australians think about kitchens in the new millennium.
Food and drink delivery apps such as Deliveroo, Menulog and Uber Eats have exploded, with Australians spending $2.6 billion annually.
We’re also eating out more. With 85,000 cafés, restaurants and takeaway food outlets, the average domestic household is spending $94 per week eating out two to three times per week.
These trends are impacting how much of the modern home floor plan is dedicated to food preparation.
Kitchens are still the heart of our homes but have evolved from utility rooms to social and entertaining spaces, Haddow says.
Prepping kitchens and butlers’ pantries are on-trend in new family home design. These small private spaces enable home chefs to get messy, away from guests’ eyes and without detracting from their home’s minimalist designer kitchens.
SHARED SPACES
Modern developments are increasingly incorporating shared rooms such as common kitchens, laundries, yoga studios and luxurious relaxation areas to suit the changing lifestyles of their residents and add value and function to available space.
Shared rooms arguably provide better value to young buyers who would rather pay less for a smaller crash pad that comes with a selection of outdoor areas where they can relax and entertain friends.
Rooftops are becoming glamorous entertaining spaces with landscaped gardens, state-of-the-art barbecue facilities, café-style dining areas and chill-out zones.
The Commons in Brunswick, Melbourne has a communal rooftop laundry amongst its gardens, vegetable plots and timber decks. Breathe Architecture says the laundry was one of a series of construction savings that made the apartments cheaper to buy and run, earning them scores of sustainability awards, while also encouraging social interaction between the residents.
The body corporates of older buildings are also investing in the redesign of their common areas.
In 2013, the residents at Paloma in Surry Hills, Sydney hired revered design house, BKH to create a spectacular rooftop terrace where residents could sit with friends in elegant timber cabanas for a front row view of beautiful sunsets over Prince Alfred Park.
Shared kitchens are a fairly new idea, with SP Setia amongst the first developers in Australia to embrace the concept in recognition of more young people eating out or ordering in.
In 2016, the developer launched its Parque luxury apartment project in Melbourne, which included a glamorous shared kitchen designed by celebrity chef, Shannon Bennett. Apartment residents have exclusive access to Miele appliances, a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a dining table for 16 guests.
GARAGING PARKING
Our car-loving culture is rapidly changing, with 3.1 million active Uber users and 100,000 GoGet members nationally. These share services, along with expanding public transport, environmental awareness and dedicated bicycle lanes are reducing the need for parking on title.
Haddow says more small home designs will forego car parks.
“What we are seeing is movement from majority to minority car ownership in the not too distant future. People are totally okay with using the one shared car on the street.”
In Victoria, local governments can waive their planning schemes’ on site parking rules, as happened with The Commons. Located next to a train station and major bike path, Moreland City Council allowed the block to have a permanent GoGet rental car on site instead of parking.
In New South Wales, planning laws were changed in 2015 to allow new apartment buildings to have smaller floor plans and less parking as long as public transport options were easily accessible.
City of Sydney figures show a 500% increase in the usage of its Kent Street Cycleway since 20088. Apartments are increasingly supporting two-wheeling residents with shared bike rooms or racks.
BLUE SKY THINKING
Textured housing exteriors made from recycled natural or industrial material like rammed earth, stone and bottle bricks are in vogue.
Architects are also departing from the traditional square shape, with curvy facades maximising the illusion of space and spherical structures emulating igloos offering bolstered thermal efficiency.
Fifth wall feature ceilings with stencil art and complex imagery have arty home makers talking. All the rage when Michelangelo was painting churches in the 16th century and Marie Antoinette was decorating ceilings with mirrors in the 18th century, housing costs eventually quashed the trend.
Today, some owners and designers are resurrecting it, realising that ceilings are a blank canvas for injecting personality and texture into a home, Haddow says.
Keep a (goggled) eye out for the new wave of above ground pools. Able to be disassembled, the waist deep water features promise flexible all-seasons living in tight inner city spaces.
GREEN HOMES
Sustainability is becoming a major influence on home design, with record levels of solar use9 and rising interest in battery power resulting in the equivalent of 8.28 million households using renewable energy in 2017.10
Savvy developers and home owners are fitting and retro-fitting properties to boost their appeal to an increasingly eco-conscious buyer pool. Low cost improvements include draught sealing, insulation, low flow showerheads and taps, window shading and low wattage lighting.
JOHN MCGRATH is the founder of McGrath Estate Agents. The latest McGrath Report is available <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/mcgrath-report" target="_blank">here</a>.
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jmcgrath-6XcGQCVx3d

Has Uber Eats shrunk the kitchen? John McGrath 

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EXPERT OBSERVER
In the current financial climate every move you make is being scrutinised, with even your dinner choice having an impact on your future lending potential. 
Personal spending habits on things like clothes, holidays and take away food are becoming a factor when a bank considers a loan application.
With increased scrutiny into the banking industry and tighter controls on lending, obtaining finance a real issue for prospective home owners.
The banks are simply not lending anyone any money.
It’s across the board, it’s first, second and third home buyers. These people can’t get the funds.
In the past banks would work out a multiple of your income, less your big stuff like car debts and exposure to credit cards. Now, they’re looking at your bank statements to see how often you have takeaway food.
APRA want increased security on the amount the banks are lending to home owners, so the balance has shifted. The banks haven’t changed their guidelines, but they are just applying them far more stringently now.
Despite this though, Gemmill says Australians can ensure they do not run into credit problems, by following simple rules.
Being prepared before applying for a loan and making easy changes to their lifestyle in the months preceding a credit application can make all the difference.
The most practical advice we can give, is make sure you are organised before you apply. Understand that everything you do is going to come under more scrutiny.
It’s not just a simple process anymore. Technology has been a real game changer. No one uses cash, so everything can be tracked when you use your cards.
Make an informed decision before you buy, knowing that someone is watching you.
Most people are hearing about problems post applying for a home loan and an issue has come up in a credit check.
You can’t do much about it then, but you can be better organised and make small changes before you apply.
If you’re a day late paying your credit card, if you overdraw your account, that is all reported and that affects your credit score. 
Simple changes can make a huge difference. If owning a home is important to you, make it the priority.
Be Organised – go to the bank with as much information as possible. Include expenditures, discretionary income, school fees and other costs.
Minimise your expenses – Once issues are discovered in a credit application it is difficult to overcome them. Work on minimising unnecessary spending in the months prior to applying. Less Uber Eats could have a significant impact on your chances of approval.
Compulsory credit reporting – In place since July 2018, all banks have a responsibility to put all information into a personalised credit files, giving them more information on customers and impacting your credit score. If you’re a day late on your credit card, it is reported.
Technology tells all – Everyone of your transactions is being tracked and it could come back to haunt you come application time. You may regret the $300 you spent on clothes.
Afterpay Evils – Credit schemes like Afterpay are classified as a debt and can be viewed in the same way as a credit card. Similarly, if you miss a payment and are charged interest, it could be potentially viewed as a default.
Craig Gemmill is the managing director of Gemmill Homes.
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

How ordering too many Uber Eats can damage your home loan chances

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To sell and buy property is nerve wracking. To do the deal with Bitcoin is just ratcheting up the stakes.
But it has been an emerging prospect as Bitcoin's currency gains wider knowledge and some acceptance.
In the past month we have seen a series of vendors across Australia advertise their willingness to accept the cryptocurrency as payment.
It's seems mostly a marketing stunt to get publicity for their listing, so it has yet to become a marked trend.
Indeed there's no known Australian property sale where the buyer has actually accepted Bitcoin since the currency was launched in 2008.
The vendors have mostly indicated their preparedness since they already have one of the 13 million crypto wallets now existing on Coinbase.
Back in 2013 there was a buyers advocate who accepted Bitcoin payment for services of $1,300 which meant 10 Bitcoins were paid.
The exchange rate at the time was one Bitcoin = AU$130.
The current rush in Bitcoin-accepting vendors comes amid the see-sawing surge in the value of bitcoin to over US$11,500, marking a 1,200 percent rise this year.
Bitcoin could, of course, become the Uber of the financial world with Finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke believing Bitcoin could revolutionise property and finance.
But for it to become normal, it will actually have to get the official involvement of government along with the banking and conveyancing industries.
For starters there is an issue with the traditional deposit payment which is regulated by state governments.
Yes the deposit could be paid in bitcoin, however it will need to be immediately cashed in and then paid in dollars into the selling agent's trust account for safe keeping until settlement.
The financial expert Peter Switzer notes several cautions, but "suspects cryptocurrencies are like most things modern and seemingly illegal, think Uber, Airbnb, etc, they will be here to stay."
Switzer noted in days gone by, the most asked questions he would get were, firstly, when will interest rates rise and should I fix now? And secondly, do I think there will be a house price collapse?
"But now all I get is bitcoin questions."
Anyone doing a deal involving Bitcoin and property has requirements of an increasingly vigilant Australian Tax Office.
They demand you record four things: date of transaction, value in AUD, purpose of the deal, and “who the other party was even if it’s just their bitcoin address”.
There are state government stamp duties to be paid in regular currency based on the property market value.
Ofcourse there's not just issues around the legalities.
Bitcoin’s value has fluctuated dramatically, mostly upwards to date, so the initial and final value of any transaction could trigger real tension between the buyer and seller.
The capacity of next day exchange and settlement might alleviate the issue, but what would happen over a typical settlement period?
After all an $800,000 property exchange on mid-November would have cost around 100 Bitcoins so would the buyer still be there when the value of their Bitcoin outlay has gone up to $1.1 million or higher?
Logan Lincoln of property research firm CoreLogic noted the surge in value of bitcoin in the last month had certainly created a major stir.
This article was first published in the Daily Telegraph.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Bitcoin compared to Airbnb and Uber as property transactions in the spotlight

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The Surry Hills office of Uber Eats has been sold by the former Wallaby David Lyons.
The Victorian terrace at <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-offices-nsw-surry+hills-502100154" target="_blank">98 Foveaux Street</a> is a mixed-use office space.
It changed hands for $3.525 million. It had been bought for $1 million in 2011 with Lyons buying out his syndicate parter in 2016 at $861,000.
The sandstone Victorian terrace has potential for a home/office/showroom.
Nestled between Riley and Crown Street, the property comprises open plan living with options for gallery/office featuring terrazzo tiled floors.
The third level features front and huge rear outdoor terrace areas with potential to extend and enclose subject to council approval.
The zoning is B4 Mixed Use, allowing an array of usage rights.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/11/27/UberEats2.jpg" alt="" style="font-size: 12.16px;">
It is on a land area of 180 sqm. 
The selling agent was Dominic D'Ettorre of D'Ettorre Real Estate.
 
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Uber Eats HQ sold in Surry Hills

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/65333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
Street protests against popular “sharing” economy firms Uber and Airbnb have become commonplace around the world.
Both these sector giants are succeeding in circumventing market regulations in many markets in areas including tax and labour law, creating concerns not just among workers but the broader public.
Direct action against these companies has not been the only response. Co-operatives and new platforms that offer workers equity or customers a “purpose” are growing in number.
One example is Canadian firm Stocksy, which brings together more than 900 photographers and redistributes 90% of profits to the artists. Loconomics adopts a similar approach. It is a co-operative owned by service professionals from massage therapists to dog walkers that operates with a strict principle of one member one vote. 
These innovative co-operative startups are up against corporations with deep pockets. But they can build on the much broader worker co-operative movement, which emerged in the mid to late 19th century as a response to increasing pressure from changing market structures. At that time, bigger companies undercut quality and used unfair labour practices, particularly low pay. They also restricted attempts by workers to organise better conditions – a situation that has obvious parallels in the platform-enabled economy. 
Co-operatives and mutuals can also be customer and community owned. These organisations echo the increasing interest in social entrepreneurship and corresponding business models that enable the pursuit of both social and financial returns. 
For instance, Fairmondo aims to change e-commerce by creating a global online marketplace based on a federation of national co-operatives. Scaling such models in order to compete globally is of course a challenge.
Co-operatives are also emerging as popular organisational structures for social entrepreneurs. For example, Hepburn Wind Farm is a locally owned co-operative in Daylesford, Victoria, that owns and operates two wind turbines. These provide enough clean energy for more than 2,000 homes in the community. 
There are about 2,000 mutual businesses and co-operatives in Australia. The top 100 of these businesses represented a turnover of A$28 billion in 2013/14, growing at a yearly rate of 14%. This demonstrates the sustainability of such models.
There are also calls for co-operatives in Australia to be allowed to more ready access to funding opportunities beyond membership, including crowdsourced equity platforms, as is occurring in other countries. 
This resurgence in interest in co-operatives reflects broader developments and trends in the “social economy”. One growing trend impacting retail spending and the philanthropic sector is people turning from simply donating to a charitable cause to actively being members of purpose organisations and engaged in “purpose spending”. Examples include  thankyou, new Sydney café Gratia and TOMS with their buy-one-give-one model. 
Purpose spending goes further than ethical consumerism and “doing no harm”, by enabling consumers to buy from organisations with a social purpose as their main function. 
Our current research with Chuffed, one of Australia’s largest civic crowdfunding platforms, points to this emerging trend in purpose spending. 
Chuffed users have raised A$10 million in 3,000 campaigns across 20 countries over the past three years. One in five of these fundraisers have been “value-exchange campaigns”, where donors receive a reward/good/service in return.
It might well be that membership, crowdfunding and impact investing are not enough to provide the resources necessary to compete with giant global platforms. But in a world where the race to global market share and brand domination is key to success, mixed models hold some promise. 
For instance, Juno, a recently created startup in the ride-sharing business, received its initial funding from classic investors – not workers or customers. However, its model promises fairer treatment of drivers by adopting an equity structure that will facilitate drivers’ owning 50% of the business in coming years. The result is a hybrid between the usual startup model and the member-owned model. 
Though still in its infancy, Juno has signed up more then 8,500 drivers since its launch seven months ago. 
Co-operatives are an organisational and financial model at the interface of major technological, business and societal trends: the sharing economy, social entrepreneurship, impact investing and social purpose spending. 
Although not always living up to their ideals, co-operatives and other versions of employee ownership can offer alternatives to the “Uberisation” of work.
 
Sarah Kaine is associate professor in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, University of Technology Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sarah-kaine-19347" target="_blank">here</a>.
Danielle Logue is senior lecturer in Strategy, Innovation &amp; Organisation, University of Technology Sydney and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/danielle-logue-8645" target="_blank">here</a>.
Emmanuel Josserand is professor of management, University of Technology Sydney and can be contacted here.
All are authors for The Conversation.
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