Who’d want to be a renter in WA where Airbnb-style listings outnumber residential lets by three to one? And yet the short-term rental agencies say they are not causing the housing shortage. Well, they’re not exactly helping, are they?

There’s better news for tenants in NSW where the Rental Taskforce is investigating 600 claims  of landlords evicting renters illegally (although it’s bad news that there are 600 allegations to investigate).

And rentvestors – people who own properties that they let and rent in homes they couldn’t afford to buy – are apparently spooked by the negative gearing changes. Our advice? Don’t be greedy – just do nothing and it will all be okay.

These are all stories in this week’s feed from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

Domain

Last sold 20 years ago, Balmain one-bedder with seven registered bidders sells for $69k over the price guide
A one-bedroom apartment in Sydney’s Balmain sold for $69,000 above its price guide of $610,000 at auction on Saturday, with seven bidders registering for the sought-after property, which last sold 20 years ago.

‘One-bedder Boomers’: The tiny apartments fetching jaw-dropping prices in Brisbane
Five years ago, “you could barely give them away”, but now Brisbane’s one-bedroom unit market has become the city’s hottest real estate commodity – typified by a downsizing boomer who recently splashed a record-breaking $1.54 million on an 81-square-metre one-bedder.

ABC Online

Reserve Bank worries about inflation pressures building, risk of a recession
Reserve Bank assistant governor (economic) Sarah Hunter has raised increasing concerns about rising price pressures in the economy. If so-called “inflation expectations” continue to build, policymakers could lose their ability to lower inflation without producing a recession.

Shelter WA calls for targeted Airbnb ban as report reveals long-term rentals outnumbered 15–1
A new report shows short-stay listings outnumber long-term rental listings three to one in WA. The short-term accommodation sector says it can not be blamed for a nationwide housing crisis.

Developers with state-tied projects donate to Queensland politicians after ban lifted
More than $170,000 in donations from developers has been given to Queensland state politicians since laws banning developer donations were overturned in March. An ABC investigation shows some donors are linked to developers with projects under government agency Economic Development Queensland, which is overseen by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie.

Developer David Trask bids $50,000 donation for a lunch with Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie
Property developer, David Trask, who owns land in a special state development area, has bid $50,000 for a lunch with the Queensland deputy premier. The donation comes only two months after the LNP relaxed an eight-year ban on developers making contributions to political parties on a state level.

Young investors accept ‘party had to end’ but rethink financial plans after budget CGT reforms
Vanessa has a plan to get ahead financially: work hard, save carefully and invest early. The 28-year-old high school teacher started buying exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at 18, hoping it would help her build financial security, when the housing market felt increasingly out of reach.

Realestate.com.au

Homebuying hack to get negative gearing after budget night
A loophole in the new negative gearing rules will allow millions of Australians to turn their existing homes into investment properties with full negative gearing concessions after July 2027.

Australia’s biggest builders warn budget won’t boost housing supply
Australia’s largest builders have warned the federal government’s housing-focused budget won’t add any extra homes to the nation’s home supply this year or next.

Developers and builders named biggest winners from Federal Budget’s broken housing promises
Experts say the biggest winners of federal Labor’s tax reforms are developers, builders, even the government itself, as new buyers face a $1m-plus bill to get an average house and land package in South East Queensland, home to arguably the biggest migrant relocation in the nation.

Federal budget forces ‘rentvestors’ to question their entire property investment strategy
Federal budget reforms have left a generation of young ‘rentvestors’ scrambling to reassess their property strategies as negative gearing rules threaten their investment model.

Authorities move to protect renters
The NSW Rental Taskforce is investigating more than 600 cases that involve landlords trying to evict tenants under false pretences.

The Lambert: Premium Royston Park apartments up for grabs
A boutique collection of luxury apartments to be built just outside the city have hit the market. The Lambert to be built in Royston Park will span three storeys and have 24 apartments priced between $1.1m and $1.8m.

Real Commercial

Two years on, Sydney’s densification efforts prove battle weary from NIMBYs, councils
Two years after the NSW Government announced its density reforms, the buyer frenzy may have cooled but exciting deals are still being made. Sydney’s LMR (low, mid-rise reform) buzz may have died down, but for developers and vendors prepared to work through a deal, there are still plenty of enticing opportunities, insiders say.

Property boom delivers huge equity buffer for homeowners
New data has revealed a golden era for property owners in specific pockets of Australia, with a staggering number of homeowners realising significant gains when they sell.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Building with an Icon: The Thinking Behind ICD’s $600m Market Square
There’s some firsts associated with Adelaide’s $600-million Market Square project—Australia’s first treehouse hotel and its developer ICD Property’s first project in South Australia—but it’s how the two-tower project will gel with something that’s been around for 150 years that makes it unique.

Kangaroo Point Adds 23-Storey Tower Plans to Pipeline
Kangaroo Point’s apartment pipeline is still on the rise, with a 23-storey tower the latest infill proposal filed for the inner-city Brisbane riverside suburb.

Fortis Breaks Ground on The Gild at St Kilda’s Fitzroy Street
Fitzroy Street has spent years better known for vacancies than vitality. The beginning of construction at The Gild, one of three developments under way along the strip, suggests that reputation may soon be changing.

Lakeside Luxury Replaces Bigger BtR in Changed Canberra Plan
A developer has spec’d up—and ditched 248 apartments from—a six-storey residential project primed to rise by the banks of Canberra’s Lake Ginninderra. Manuka-based SAP Canberra, directed by Shane Anderson, has submitted revised plans for a 252-apartment project, down from 500 homes initially proposed in 2023.

Luxcon Lands SEARS for $79m Limit-Pushing Manly Plan
A project on Sydney’s Northern Beaches could rise to almost three times the site’s local height limit under Luxcon Group’s $79-million housing plan.

Novus BtR Plans for Concord Highrise Precinct Go Public
Plans for Novus’s latest Sydney build-to-rent project are moving ahead as the state opens its doors to the growing housing typology. The specialist developer filed its application and a concurrent rezoning for a build-to-rent tower alongside two build-to-sell towers of 560 apartments via the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

Pikos Group Plots 30-Storey Newstead Highrise Scheme
Pikos Group has unveiled plans for a 30-storey residential tower in Brisbane’s booming inner north, signalling Newstead’s transformation into one of the city’s most densely populated urban precincts is far from over.

Fitzroy 243-Apartment Shoptop BtR Tower Greenlit
Melbourne may have all but relinquished its build-to-rent crown, but approval for a $72.5-million tower in the inner-north shows the sector in the state remains robust. The Department of Transport and Planning granted the permit for the 243-unit, 11-storey project earlier this month.

Stockland’s Birtinya Central Town Centre Waved Ahead
Stockland has won approval for its refreshed masterplan for the future Birtinya Central mixed-use town centre on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Thousand-Home Suburb Slated for Hobart Army Barracks
A former military barracks site on Hobart’s northern fringe is to be transformed into a major new housing precinct. Up to 1000 homes planned as part of the joint Federal and Tasmanian government push to tackle the island state’s housing shortage.

From Duplexes to Queensland’s Priciest Penthouse: The MAYD Blueprint
For years, the Gold Coast carried a qualifier: make hay while the sun shines and brace for the inevitable bust. But after years of protracted growth and serious capital investment, MAYD founder Todd Mould says the Coast’s boom-bust era is over.

Bondi Apartment Scheme Leads Latest HDA Endorsements
The Housing Delivery Authority has revealed the latest 11 projects endorsed for the accelerated state pathway, with a number of complex proposals among them. Leading the charge is an expression of interest for a Bondi Junction residential scheme with affordable housing, which was initially rejected by the HDA as two separate applications.

Apartments.com.au

VentureCrowd nears sell-out of Canopy Collection at Cumulus Grand Villas in Carrara
VentureCrowd is down to the final Canopy Villa release at Cumulus Grand Villas in Carrara, as construction continues on the 59-residence gated community positioned above 100 hectares of natural savanna on the Gold Coast.

“The civic and cultural heart of Sydney’s East”: Bondi Junction masterplan revealed
Waverley Council has made a call that many councils have been reluctant to make publicly. Growth is coming, regardless of who controls it.

First look: Toorak Pavilions slated for dress circle St Georges Road
Toorak’s dress circle St Georges Road, home to some of the city’s priciest homes, is set for a rare new apartment development. Blood Diamond Group, an entity tied to Tina Brandi, wife of David Brandi who has been a prolific bidder on The Block over the years, has filed plans for an ultra-exclusive development across an amalgamated 3,662 sqm site at 104 and 106 St Georges Road.

Morphy Birrell Property Group targets 25-storey Geelong tower beside landmark church precinct
A new 25-storey apartment tower proposed for Mercer Street would push Geelong’s western gateway skyline higher, with Morphy Birrell Property Group lodging plans for a project directly beside one of the city’s most significant heritage streetscapes.

Hampton unveils Trackside Gardens, latest stage of $3 billion Moonee Valley Park masterplan
Development giant Hamton and joint venture partner Hostplus have revealed the next residential stage of their $3 billion Moonee Valley Park masterplan, lodging plans for 512 more apartments within the precinct on surplus racecourse land at 110 Wilson Street, Moonee Ponds.

Owners move in as Esprit completes at Rainbow Bay
The Paul Gedoun-led S&S Group has achieved another milestone in its $1 billion transformation of Rainbow Bay on the southern Gold Coast with the completion of the company’s third project in four years, the $160 million Esprit residences.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Mortgages to blame for NSW economy slowing faster than the rest
The Minns government will blame the Middle East conflict and the size of home loans in NSW compared with the rest of the country for cutting its forecasts for growth to the slowest in the nation.

Property investing winners and losers in a post-budget world
The federal budget has fundamentally shifted property investing incentives with a popular strategy among young investors losing out.

Turn Sydney Airbnbs into rentals for workers, says deputy lord mayor
City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller says the 1000 or more homes operating as full-time Airbnb properties in the municipality should be turned over to much-needed rentals for ordinary workers as a quick-fix solution to mitigate the housing crisis.

Computershare’s Chris Morris lists $12m Gold Coast penthouse
Computershare founder Chris Morris has put a two-level penthouse on the Gold Coast’s Main Beach up for grabs with $12 million-plus price expectations as the popular strip enjoys a fresh boom for upmarket lodgings with ocean views.

‘Straw that broke the camel’s back’: Sydney property market cracks
Top property leaders say Sydney’s housing market has become the first casualty of Labor’s tax changes as investors and even first home buyers step away from an accelerating downturn.

Master plan for 3000 more homes at Bondi Junction comes with a warning
Mid-rise and high-rise apartments would deliver an extra 3000 homes around Bondi Junction station under a master plan to revitalise the transit and retail hub in Sydney’s east.

Meet the couple who turned airspace into a $13.4m penthouse
When property lawyer Ian Day and his wife, acclaimed interior designer Alexandra Kidd, walk the apartment-filled streets of Sydney’s inner east, their eyes are instinctively drawn upwards.

Did Jim Chalmers just break property investing?
Labor’s housing tax overhaul promises (slightly) cheaper homes and fairer taxes. Critics warn it could instead deepen the rental crisis and deter investors.

The Australian

Tax backflip prompts auction crash as developers ‘go slow’
Jim Chalmers’ federal budget has stopped Sydney’s property market in its tracks based on a closer reading of auction data that reveals just three out of ten homes sold. The dramatic fall in the harbour city’s clearance rate according to SQM Research numbers foreshadows deeper than expected house price declines in 2026 and 2027.

Like Chalmers, NZ tried property tax reforms too. They failed
Grant Robertson, New Zealand’s then finance minister, said something remarkably similar in March 2021 when he broke his own promise not to extend the bright-line test on property. Robertson called his earlier commitment “too definitive.

Property market hit by tax overhaul with prices set to tumble
The Albanese government’s dramatic tax overhaul has hit the residential property market, with low auction clearance rates foreshadowing a fall in prices as investors steer clear. While the preliminary auction clearance rate held up, once finalised it is expected to drop back to levels not seen since the beginning of the pandemic in major cities as the tax changes rock the housing sector.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Revealed: The secret plan to turn this Sydney airport into housing, extend metro
Bankstown Airport would be redeveloped into a mini-city of 30,000 homes under radical plans being explored by airport operator Aware Super, which has discussed the idea with relevant governments. The proposal would involve extending the Bankstown metro line – which is due to open later this year – by at least one stop to service the area now occupied by the airport.

What 3000 more homes around Bondi Junction could look like
About 3000 homes would be built around a revamped Oxford Street Mall, under a Sydney council’s plan to lock in Bondi Junction as the civic and commercial heart of the eastern suburbs.

Suburban paradise paved with pricey parking lots
Up to 140,000 new homes would be built across Sydney and Melbourne if rules on residential car parking were overhauled, according to research that shows the cost of building a unit is being pushed up by tens of thousands of dollars spent on parking spots that may never be used.

The ‘affordable’ housing policies that subsidised a rental unit listed for $925 a week
Australia’s multibillion-dollar investment in social and affordable housing is helping to pay for thousands of relatively high-priced new apartments that people on lower incomes cannot afford and in some cases are explicitly blocked from occupying.

‘Should have been a public square’: The 39-storey tower about to rock this Sydney suburb
Standing at the corner of Railway Parade and Burleigh Street in Burwood, it’s not AC/DC but rather Elvis Costello that springs to mind. This is the intersection of hell-bent and heaven-sent in a part of Sydney that has heeded the call to pump it up and embrace high-density housing.

First home buyer outbids seven others for $943,000 unit in Mortdale
A first home buyer outbid seven other parties, paying $943,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Mortdale on Saturday.

The Age

No stoves, no cooking: Company fined $1.5m over ‘unconscionable’ breaches affecting aged tenants
Authorities have taken action against a company that failed to install cooktops at some of its Victorian rentals and prohibited elderly residents from cooking at home.

The type of property that has tax benefits, but lacks price growth
Many off-the-plan apartments have not made significant gains on resale, experts said, as the property type comes into focus after this week’s budget.

The Daily Telegraph

Former Wallaby Jason Little suing developers over $23m Bondi penthouse dispute
What started as a luxury Bondi penthouse dream has become a $2.3 million legal nightmare, with a former Wallaby and his wife claiming developers pulled a parking space switcheroo.

The Courier Mail

Homebuyer sentiment plunges to 18-month low amid interest rate fears
Aussies are feeling pessimistic about buying a home in the wake of the federal budget, but falling fuel prices have eased some consumer concerns.

Brisbane approves controversial 15-storey Wynnum development plan, locals split
Brisbane City Council has approved 15-storey towers for Wynnum despite residents warning the bayside suburb lacks infrastructure to handle major development.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Benowa Gardens redevelopment with three towers gets crucial council backing
Gold Coast council officers have recommended approval of a $1bn urban village at Benowa Gardens shopping centre, featuring three residential towers.

The Adelaide Advertiser

Forestville bakery site rezoned to allow four-storey buildings
Adelaide’s decades-old Leader St bakery site has been rezoned for residential blocks up to four storeys, paving the way for a dramatic shift to high-density living.

Award-winning wedding venue Yatahlia Manor at Yatala Vale set to become luxury residential park for over-55s
One of Adelaide’s most prestigious mansions would be transformed into a luxury residential park for over-55s under a new plan.

The Newcastle Herald

‘These numbers are obscene’: Exactly how much Australian banks are making on your home loan
Lending money to home buyers is almost as profitable as mining in Australia, with the big four banks joining Rio Tinto and BHP in the top six most profitable companies in the nation.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Woolooware Parkside: New twist in proposal for 185 apartments near station
A proposed major housing project between Kingsway and the train line at Woolooware has been trimmed back in height as a new attempt is made to have it declared State Significant Development (SSD). The site at 149-157 Kingsway and 51-55A Woolooware Road, diagonally opposite Woolooware Oval, is occupied at present by nine old houses.

Council sounds alarm over state’s proposed planning consultation cuts
Proposed NSW legislative planning changes on community consultation requirements for development applications will severely undermine transparency and community involvement, a report by Georges River Council says.