Going down! Banks are watching the way you spend your own money before they lend you any of theirs.

Going up! David Jones $1bn Sydney apartment block has echoes of the past. Meanwhile, new home buyers are rent-vesting to get the best of both worlds.

That’s all in this week’s feed from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

David Jones Sydney transformation: inside the $1bn Market Street redevelopment now selling luxury apartments
To those who grew up with the treasured traditions of David Jones, it would be considered nothing less than an outrage. Today, instead, there’s a workman in rumpled blue overalls and a high-vis vest announcing dully, “Seventh floor.

Brisbane couple defies critics over their $90,000 Italian dream home
A Brisbane couple who bought an apartment overseas for less than $100,000 have been bombarded with questions about their decision – not all of them positive.

Top homes to inspect in Canberra and surrounds this weekend
From funky apartments to statement homes in Jerrabomberra and Taylor, this weekend’s line-up of properties to inspect covers a broad range of styles and budgets for buyers.

Plush, private and parkside — introducing Como Toorak
Melbourne’s well-heeled Toorak suffers no shortage of luxury homes. But the newly completed Como Toorak at 2 Bruce Street is not simply another high-end address.

Realestate.com.au

Homebuyers warned pre-approved loans may no longer be valid after rate rises
Property buyers across Australia are heading to auctions and making offers based on pre-approved borrowing figures that may no longer be accurate, mortgage brokers say.

Renters are choosing to keep renting – even after buying a home
One of Australia’s biggest banks is seeing a surge in renters choosing to rent even when they buy a home, a hack that’s changing the game for people locked out of property markets.

‘Precarious’ future: 5pc deposit buyers in danger as rate hike looms
Thousands of first-home buyers who scraped together just a 5 per cent deposit to get into the property market are now staring down a potential mortgage crunch — with warnings many could be pushed to the brink if interest rates rise again in 2026.

Aussie home buyers sabotaging loans with everyday splurges
Australians say they can’t catch a break getting into the market – but many first home buyers are quietly kneecapping their own chances. New data shows everyday splurges are being baked into banks’ assessments and, in some cases, wiping tens of thousands off what buyers can borrow.

Developer unveils first look inside $270m Gold Coast tower nearing completion
Gold Coast developer Andrews has unveiled an exclusive first look inside Cascade Robina, as the $270 million wellness-focused residential community enters its final stages of construction ahead of completion in May.

Hurstville’s new Horizon offers bang for buck
In a property landscape where bang for buck is increasingly challenging, Hurstville is quietly making a case for itself as one of Sydney’s value property buys. About 16km south of the CBD, Hurstville is entering a new phase driven by urban renewal, upgraded infrastructure and a growing wave of hospitality and lifestyle options.

How to spot a problem apartment building before you buy it
With housing affordability prompting more buyers to choose apartments over freestanding homes, it’s important to consider the signs of a risky building before committing to a purchase.

Olympic ‘gold rush’ sees apartment prices surge in key suburbs
The 2032 Olympic Games are still six years away, but a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure spend has already sparked a real estate gold rush across southeast Queensland. An exclusive new report by iBuyNew and Hotspotting reveals 27 key suburbs across Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast are riding an estimated $53b economic wave.

Inside the wild views and huge costs of a luxury beach unit in 2026
Construction is about to begin on a 33-floor luxury development in the Gold Coast, where each unit is at least a full floor of the building.

Luxe Adelaide apartment development opens after record sale
After setting a record sale price, a $130m luxury apartment development in Adelaide’s East End has opened its doors. Around 70 per cent of the 33 apartments in the new building on East Tce have been sold, including a $6.1m sub-penthouse that broke the record in 2024 for the most expensive sub-penthouse in Adelaide.

Real Commercial

Old Cronulla unit block sets Sutherland auction record
You’ve have only to look at what’s going on next door to see why this 1970s unit block fetched the highest auction result ever in the Sutherland Shire last night. The units on a 588sqm block at 11 The Esplanade, Cronulla, sold for a whopping $22m before a packed auction room at the HQ of Highland Property last night.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Veriu Launches Rebrand with SA Hotel, Co-Living Scheme
A national operator that this week combined its diverse operations under one name has broken ground on a combined hotel and co-living tower in the Adelaide CBD for its rebrand debut. Scheduled to open in 2028, the 17-storey tower, by new entity Livestay, will comprise a 120-key hotel and 120 co-living homes.

Wee Hur Reworks Four-Tower Buranda TOD Masterplan
Listed Singaporean developer Wee Hur has filed revised plans for Brisbane’s Buranda transit-oriented development, scrapping two previously approved midrise office towers due to a “lack of tenant commitment”. Under the reworked scheme, the 12,200sq m commercial component would be replaced by two 16-storey affordable housing towers comprising 300 homes.

Conquest Quadruples Yield on Historic Castlecrag Scheme
A Sydney suburb designed by the Burley Griffins is in line for an upscaled Housing Delivery Authority scheme as a two-tower proposal goes on exhibition at historic Castlecrag. Edinburgh Group Developments is behind the 13-storey, $106-million project slated for 100 Edinburgh Road.

Magazine Mogul Plots Midrise Scheme in Melbourne’s East
A four-building apartment scheme would rise on an amalgamated site east of the Melbourne CBD under plans filed by the owner of a chain of magazine shops and now before the state. The medium-density apartment project has been submitted for 18–30 Whitehorse Road, a consolidated 4755sq m site within the Deepdene Neighbourhood Centre at Deepdene.

Growing Pains: Planning for Another 41 Million Australians
Australia is on its way to a population of 41 million people by 2065. That is a huge growth trajectory—an increase of more than 14 million people in the next four decades—and the Planning Institute of Australia is calling for a nationally co-ordinated plan to cope with it.

Chapter Two Files $100m Mango Hill Townhouse Play
A new $100-million townhome community proposed for Mango Hill would add attainable alternative housing to one of South-East Queensland’s fastest-growing corridors. Development group Chapter Two has lodged plans for Avela, a 116-townhouse project positioned as more achievable for buyers in a market where detached housing has surged beyond the reach of many.

Citify Plots Prefab Test with Torrensville Townhouse Play
A 34-home development approved for the South Australian capital will test alternative construction methods, according to the developer. Greenlit by the City of West Torrens for 8–10 Bray Avenue, Torrensville, the medium-density residential infill development by Citify comprises three-storey townhouses.

Unpack the Planning Policy Changes Shaping New Residential Development
Australia’s residential development landscape is being reshaped by rapid planning reform, density uplifts and accelerated approval pathways aimed at addressing chronic housing shortages.

Apartments.com.au

Inside Wimba Ave, Kew’s garden-scale residences designed for space and permanence
In Melbourne’s established inner east, the qualities that define a traditional house, width, height, and access to open ground, are increasingly difficult to replicate in new residential developments. Larger landholdings are scarce, and with them, the ability to create apartments that extend beyond compact, internalised layouts.

Abadeen secures first approval under low and mid-rise housing policy for Heydon Street, Mosman apartment development
High-end Sydney developer Abadeen has secured approval for one of its latest Mosman projects, one of the first developments approved by Mosman Council under the NSW Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy.

Martello™ enters Gold Coast market with wellness-led Chevron Island development Aere
Apartment developer Martello™ is one of the latest entrants to the Gold Coast development market, with its debut project set to be one of the most boutique offerings on Chevron Island in recent years.

Crescent Palm Beach approved as sales launch
Development approval has been granted for Crescent, a boutique waterfront project on one of Palm Beach’s most coveted and rarely developed streets. Launched to market this month, Crescent will occupy four combined lots with frontage to both Murlong Crescent and Tallebudgera Drive.

Canberra set for 4,900 new homes under Federal housing deal
The Albanese and ACT Governments have struck a deal to unlock nearly 5,000 new homes across Canberra, with more than 1,700 earmarked exclusively for first home buyers.

First look: Crows Nest Metro apartments pitched by Prosper
Crows Nest continues to be a hive of activity for developers following the opening of the Crows Nest Metro station nearly two years ago. The latest Transport Oriented Development plans are located directly across the road from the station, which sees around 6,000 commuters pass through during the morning peak.

Lovedale Farm display home opening triggers $24.6 million in sales in three weeks
Capital Corporation has announced that its Lovedale Farm residential, resort and golf project has secured $24.6 million in sales in just three weeks since the opening of its display home, underscoring the appetite for premium lifestyle property in the Hunter Valley countryside.

OSK unveils AURA, the latest stage in Southbank’s $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct
Prominent Malaysian developer OSK Property has unveiled Aura, the next stage of its $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct in Southbank, continuing its push into wellness-led, amenity-rich apartment living.

First Look: Develotek joins in Five Dock apartment boom
Develotek is joining the likes of TOGA, Deicorp, and One Global Capital, betting on a boom in Five Dock ahead of the 2032 mooted opening of the Five Dock Metro Station.

Time & Place to take on Mosman apartment market
Growing national developer Time & Place has announced its fifth new apartment development. With two projects in Manly and two upcoming in Surry Hills and Potts Point, the developer, which expanded beyond Melbourne just a few years ago, is now heading to Mosman. It is planning 53 new apartments on Redan Street.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Beefed up tariffs on Chinese steel risk raising construction costs
The Albanese government has quietly stepped up tariffs on Chinese-made steel imports to protect Australian manufacturers, but economists warn the expanding web of levies could push up construction costs, fuelling inflation and worsening the housing shortage.

If we must change CGT, Hawke-Keating model is best for housing affordability
The other options on the table would lead to fewer new houses being built and make the intergenerational equity problem worse.

Apartment buyers in failed $2.7b project want deposits back
Buyers in what was to be Australia’s largest residential tower want repayment of deposits totalling $57 million for the project they say will never be built, after receivers put the site up for sale last week.

There are signs the office property sector has bottomed
When the turnaround happens, it will happen quickly. Investors should be in a position to quickly muster capital to take advantage of the change in direction.

The Australian

Sydney’s best views will be coming from this new apartment building
A new development makes clever use of the site to revel in Sydney’s most iconic views. Limited to 41 apartments and offered initially to its VIP database, the $500m development has attracted immediate attention, with sales understood to have been secured within hours of release.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Inside the fight to turn this hard-won Sydney land into housing
An Aboriginal land council is planning to convert hard-won land claim sites into multi-storey apartments, setting up a high-stakes contest between economic self-determination, community resistance and the pressures of the city’s deepening housing crisis.

High-density housing is coming to this Sydney suburb – but not its most exclusive street
One of western Sydney’s most exclusive streets has been removed from a major rezoning plan that would allow for buildings up to 25 storeys high to be built in the suburb. The state government exhibited plans for Orchard Hills, a semi-rural suburb near Penrith, in 2024.

The Brisbane Times

Property bloom: Construction set to begin on West End tower at site of former florist
Construction of an apartment block will begin in the middle of this year on the site of a former flower shop in a booming pocket of West End. The Elisi building at 17 Ferry Road – previously occupied by the Roses Only warehouse – will comprise 30 three-bedroom units across eight storeys.

Towers record falls as ‘bank of mum and dad’ helps buyer win auction
An ageing two-bedroom apartment in an old tower on the Brisbane River has smashed its building record, selling for $1.44 million under the hammer as the city’s unit market continues to defy a broader market slowdown.

The Daily Telegraph

Fear Labor is gearing up for property investor hit
Experts have urged Labor not to increase the cost of building a new home by tampering with property tax settings, warning the price increases caused by the Middle East war will cause a “perfect storm” of factors that will bulldoze supply.

The Herald Sun

Vacant Box Hill site for sale with plans for 36-storey high-rise
A massive block of vacant land at the “gateway” to Box Hill has hit the market for $25m. And with approval for a 36-storey tower, developers — especially from China to Vietnam — are ready to pounce.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Coomera mega-tower developer Cadmium Development’s controversial history revealed
Contracts scrapped through sunset clauses and its building company failing to rectify structural defects alongside payment disputes with contractors — the company behind Coomera’s giant four-tower project is off to a rocky start in the suburb.

Residents fear Budds Beach will be unrecognisable as new towers clog streets
Budds Beach residents have declared war on a $1bn development wave they say will destroy their waterfront community’s character and overwhelm its narrow streets.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Old block of units on the Esplanade fetches $22mil, sets new auction record
A low-level, 1970s block of flats on the Esplanade near Cronulla beach has sold at auction for $22 million. The agent, Highland, said the result for 11 The Esplanade was the highest price ever secured at an auction in Sutherland Shire.

New Horizon Hurstville tower completes key East Quarter precinct
The new Horizon Hurstville, a major mixed-use residential and retail development, is set to complete the suburb’s famous East Quarter precinct on Forest Road. The 19-storey tower has 179 apartments in an architecturally-designed building.

The Illawarra Mercury

Reno-ready Lake Illawarra unit block fetches $3m-plus before auction
A block of units in the southern Illawarra has changed hands for the first time after several decades of ownership. The listing at 63 PurPur Avenue, Lake Illawarra was sold for $3.25 million.