Could we soon see women-only apartment blocks in our Australian cities?  It’s not as crazy an idea as it might sound with one report this week revealing that increasing numbers of Melbourne women are choosing apartment living over houses, with personal safety and security being major motivations.

However, a women-only apartment block goes way beyond the provision of a rent-free apartment for domestic violence victims in a new block in Sydney’s Macquarie Park.

We’re thinking of something more akin to the plan announced by the London borough of Ealing to build a 102-apartment block for women only, prioritising DV victims and other women who “face inequality, abuse and disadvantages in the housing market.”

Developed with the city’s largest housing association, L&Q, this 102-flat block is set to be the first in the UK for women only. And, according to a report originally in the Guardian,  just to show that it is not merely a trendy new idea, it will be owned and managed by Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH), a co-op founded in 1920 by members of the women’s rights movements.

As for “disadvantages” other than being the victims of abuse, the article points out that since women earn less than men on average, they are already behind the eight-ball when it comes to finding an affordable home in a shrinking market.

Make you think, with all these new blocks going up, there must be room in our Australian cities for one that locks men out.

Meanwhile the property news keeps on coming, curated and related here from Leftfield Communication’s daily feed.

Free Reads

Domain

The apartment collectors: How Chyka and Bruce Keebaugh have made multiple homes their own
For hospitality entrepreneurs Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh, home is a collection of places, spanning a Potts Point apartment with harbour views, a Mornington Peninsula house and a soon-to-be-occupied penthouse atop Carmine House in Melbourne’s Richmond Square.

Council unveils bold plan to transform the ‘heart’ of the northern beaches
The northern beaches skyline could be transformed with towers of up to 25 storeys and about 2,900 homes at Brookvale over 15 years, with Northern Beaches Council’s plan almost doubling the 1,350 homes first envisaged in 2023.

The stark reality facing sellers as auction results hit 19-week high
Surging auction results do not equate to a windfall for sellers, with weekend clearances hitting a 19-week high of 58.5 per cent, up from 52.7, even as a multi-million-dollar Sydney sale left its vendor out of pocket and experts say prices have slipped back to early-2023 levels.

One in five investors sell up as tax changes trigger property market exodus
The government’s negative gearing and capital gains tax changes are pushing investors out of the market, with a PIPA survey finding 18.3 per cent sold at least one property in the year to August and 62.3 per cent now in negative cash flow.

ABC Online

Mortgage war heats up as banks compete for customers by lowering variable rates
Competition in the mortgage market is heating up as banks cut variable rates to chase fewer customers, with the Commonwealth Bank still holding the biggest share of the big four and Macquarie closing in.

From decrepit units to sprawling estates: Unravelling the family wealth of Bathla’s founders
A rundown unit above shuttered shops in Greystanes is where Bathla founder Bhart Bhushan lives, a world away from the luxury homes and estates linked to his family, and five minutes from the headquarters where more than 200 staff were stood down this week.

Balcony solar could soon become legal in Australia. Here’s how plug-in systems work
Australia’s energy ministers have agreed to explore safe deployment of plug-in solar, a move that would lift a ban and unlock the technology for millions of apartment dwellers and renters for the first time.

Apartment buyer facing $40k shortfall as Bathla collapse puts discount offer at risk
An apartment buyer fears she will have to pay almost $40,000 more at settlement after Bathla’s collapse, ABC Online reports, having bought under the developer’s 5 per cent incentive offer that reduced the price.

Realestate.com.au- Free

Australia’s housing crisis deepens as new home sales plunge again
New home sales have slowed for a fourth straight month with HIA figures showing an August fall of 10 per cent to about 3,651 sales, 7.7 per cent below a year ago and the lowest level since early 2025.

Bird flu reaches suburban streets in troubling new shift
Australia’s bird flu crisis has reached suburban streets, with more than 500 wildlife cases nationwide and infected foxes detected in suburbia for the first time, South Australia the hotspot with 281 confirmed cases.

Labor’s housing dream shattered as first-home buyer demand collapses
First-home-buyer activity has plunged to a four-year low, with Equifax figures showing mortgage demand among first-home buyers down 20 per cent over the year to August, the largest fall since 2022.

Unpopular RBA move risks hitting wrong target
Struggling mortgage holders face another likely rate rise this month that may bring more pain while doing little extra on inflation amid growing debate over how much further tightening would actually curb household spending.

Brutal bank warning: Aussies face west’s highest interest rates
Australians face the highest interest rates in the Western world with little relief in sight with ANZ Research noting interbank futures price the cash rate peaking at 4.99 per cent by mid-2027, the developed world’s highest.

Developer unveils luxury tower where apartments cost more than houses
A developer has unveiled a Spring Hill tower where three-bedroom units are priced above the suburb’s median house value, with Keylin’s Oria the first tower to overlook the future Olympic stadium at Victoria Park.

‘Affordable’ housing: New bill demands a definition
An apartment costing $1,100 a week can still be labelled affordable housing, with Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele introducing the first bill for a nationally consistent definition, backed by the Property Council, community housing and the Planning Institute.

Young Melbourne women shun houses for apartments amid crime surge
Young women are increasingly choosing secure apartments over freestanding houses amid Melbourne’s crime wave with multiple experts citing safety concerns as women move away from houses to buy and rent.

Just two bidders now competing at typical Melbourne auctions
Melbourne’s typical auction now draws about two bidders, one fewer than a year ago and among the lowest on record even as the city posted a 61.8 per cent preliminary clearance rate in the second week of spring on Ray White analysis.

Labor’s housing reforms to slash 10,700 homes and cost thousands of jobs
Independent modelling warns Labor’s housing reforms could wipe 10,700 homes from the pipeline, push rents higher and cost thousands of jobs with fresh investor data suggesting landlords are already heading for the exits.

First-home buyers locked out of $30,000 grant by ‘unrealistic’ Brisbane cap
First-home buyers are being locked out of a $30,000 government grant by an unrealistic Brisbane cap, with Place Advisory calling for Queensland’s First Home Owner Grant threshold to rise from $750,000 to $850,000.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Furtado Lifts Covers on 13-Storey Residential Scheme for West End
Boutique developer Furtado Property has lodged plans for a 13-storey, 113-apartment tower in Brisbane’s West End, on an amalgamated 1,943-square-metre site at Wolfe and Greet streets, mixing 92 two-bedroom and 21 three-bedroom units.

K2 Plots Triple-Tower Redevelopment to Top Sutherland Supermarket
K2 has filed plans for a $193 million, three-tower residential development of up to 20 storeys above a Coles supermarket at Sutherland, on an Old Princes Highway site about 200 metres from the station and near the Royal National Park.

Midrise Plans Filed for Boutique Mooloolaba Mixed-Use Infill Play
Midrise plans have been filed for a boutique luxury development at a prime Mooloolaba corner, an 11-apartment, five-storey scheme above a wellness club and food tenancy lodged by Parkyn Capital on a 1,216-square-metre Brisbane Road site.

Ceerose Trims Parramatta Road Apartment Scheme to Win Approval
Ceerose’s $68 million mixed-use scheme at Leichhardt has been approved after a four-storey height cut, the Parramatta Road project trimmed from 16 to 12 storeys and 120 apartments, with eight units as affordable housing.

ACT’s 5800-Home Masterplan Tackles Options for Bruce Stadium Site
A $9.98 million masterplan for Canberra’s Bruce precinct identifies room for between 4,000 and 5,800 homes plus retail, office and institutional space, on a 65-hectare site about 6 kilometres north-west of the CBD.

Tom Dooley Starts Work on 160-Home Highrise at Brisbane’s Newstead
Tom Dooley has broken ground on the $486 million, 164-apartment Solais Residences at Newstead, a 29-level tower on Breakfast Creek Road overlooking Newstead Park, with apartments priced from $1.698 million.

Williamstown Approval Adds 65 Homes to Under-Fire HAFF Scheme
A Housing Australia Future Fund project of 65 homes at 5 Power Street, Williamstown, has been approved, Urban Developer reports, Housing Choices Australia’s two-building scheme cleared through the Development Facilitation Program as the fund faces mounting scrutiny.

Regulator Maps State’s Riskiest Suburbs for Building Defects
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has mapped the state’s highest-risk suburbs for building defects, with a new Audit Mapper tool combining defect, licensee and warranty data and more than 4,000 proactive inspections already done.

Dual-Tower Midrise Plans Filed for Moreton Bay’s Booming Redcliffe
Plans for a dual-tower midrise of 44 apartments across two eight-storey buildings have been filed for Redcliffe on Moreton Bay, lodged by Primecrest Developments on an amalgamated 1,859-square-metre site.

Ku-ring-gai Apartments Knocked Back Over Design Flaws
A NSW court has upheld the refusal of a 55-unit apartment project at 23-25 Lorne Avenue, Ku-ring-gai, on design-flaw grounds, near Killara Golf Club and 300 metres from Killara station.

Apartments.com.au

Silverstone approved for rare new Milton apartment tower
Silverstone Developments has won approval for a rare new 30-storey, 192-apartment tower on a prominent Milton riverfront site, at 299 Coronation Drive beside the Milton Ferry Terminal, with ground-floor retail and a rooftop wellness offering.

First look: Steer Developments approved for Jardin Palm Beach apartments
Steer Developments has secured approval for its Jardin apartment project on Palm Beach’s tightly held Jefferson Lane, one row back from the beach, following completion of its boutique Côte development.

Ceerose gets green light to more than double Leichhardt apartment plans
Ceerose has won approval to more than double its Leichhardt plans to 154 apartments on Parramatta Road, secured through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway ahead of the corridor’s broader rezoning.

First look: Level 33 ups former Bunnings plans to 1,260 apartments in major Wollongong play
Wollongong developer Level 33 has lodged substantially expanded plans for the former Bunnings site at the northern gateway to the CBD, upping the Gipps and Flinders street project to 1,260 apartments in one of its largest plays to date.

First look: Billbergia reveals next chapter for Rhodes
Following its near-complete Rhodes Central precinct, Billbergia has lodged plans for the first stage of Rhodes Bay on the suburb’s northern waterfront, the next chapter in its two-decade transformation of the former industrial peninsula.

Norus Projects plans 170 apartments on former Carnegie motel site
Melbourne developer Norus Projects has lodged plans for a 13-storey, 170-apartment tower on the former Carnegie Motor Inn site on Dandenong Road, on a 2,496-square-metre site within the Carnegie Major Activity Centre.

First look: Apartment proposal flagged for Huskisson’s Moona Street
Kingfisher Projects has filed plans for a mixed-use precinct at 3 Moona Street, Huskisson, near Jervis Bay National Park, combining 37 permanent apartments with 40 serviced apartments, hospitality and landscaped communal areas in a scheme dubbed Kingfisher Huskisson.

Stockland’s Collingwood gateway project moves forward
Stockland has won approval for 478 homes on the former Jetstar headquarters site on Victoria Parade in Collingwood, a Wardle-designed gateway project of two towers of 17 and 23 storeys with apartments, studios, townhouses, retail and green space, marking the developer’s return to Melbourne apartments.

Spyre adds Indooroopilly riverfront project to growing SEQ pipeline
Spyre Group has filed plans for a boutique eight-apartment riverfront development at 213 Clarence Road, Indooroopilly, adding to one of South East Queensland’s more active prestige pipelines on a steep site falling toward the Brisbane River.

First look: Conquest continues Sydney apartment expansion with Lidcombe plans
Developer Conquest is making full use of the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway, moving its Lidcombe project to the next stage alongside a 736-apartment Eastlakes proposal, a Castlecrag uplift from 38 to 150 apartments and a Waterloo joint venture with Woolworths’ Fabcot.

First look: Develotek files plans for 120 apartments in Roseville TOD precinct
Develotek has lodged plans for a 120-apartment mixed-use development in Roseville, a State Significant Development on a 5,525-square-metre site near the station as the North Shore suburb transitions under Ku-ring-gai’s new transport-oriented controls.

Aqualand and Etymon are building community around Aura North Sydney
With Aura now complete at 168 Walker Street, Aqualand’s approach to its North Sydney development is increasingly visible beyond the apartments, with its Etymon hospitality arm shaping ground-level places and services for residents and the community at the $1 billion, 386-residence project.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Bathla’s private credit lenders start to lay out their debts
The family of Bathla’s founders claim they are owed millions after the Sydney developer collapsed with more than $3 billion in debts, with new corporate filings offering the first full picture of a debt-fuelled expansion that has left 2,500 half-built apartments and a 14,000-home pipeline in limbo.

Macquarie says RBA’s hawkishness points to all but certain rate rise
Macquarie says the Reserve Bank’s language has turned more hawkish since it held rates last month, with bond markets now almost certain of a rise in two weeks as US 10-year yields top 5.02 per cent, a level last seen in 2007.

Selling homes online could be cheaper as REA signs ACCC deal
Home sellers could save hundreds or thousands of dollars after the ACCC forced REA Group to rewrite its contracts with agents, clauses that pushed agents to list on realestate.com.au at pricier tiers such as Premiere or Luxe, with sponsorship cash tied to signing the most expensive deals.

Data centre boom to put pressure on interest rates, housing
New modelling predicts the data centre building boom will pour hundreds of billions into the economy over four years while pulling workers away from home building, fuelling inflation and the housing shortage, with Barrenjoey’s Jo Masters tipping $110 billion of investment by 2030 and up to 155,000 jobs at the 2028 peak.

RBA board ‘split’ on rate decisions at one in three meetings
Recently departed Reserve Bank board member Ian Harper says nearly a third of monetary policy decisions over the past decade were split votes, describing vigorous debate among the nine board members and rejecting a 2023 review’s suggestion that part-time members failed to challenge the bank’s leadership.

Bathla lender 360 Capital ‘accelerates the disposal’ of homes and land
Bathla lender 360 Capital has become the first financier to put seized sites on the market, the with its Mortgage REIT selling the properties securing $31.7 million it lent to the collapsed developer, which owes at least $3.4 billion, mostly to private credit firms.

No parties, no pets: More ways the ATO is denying holiday home deductions
Holiday-home owners now need to rent out their properties in peak periods or risk losing tax deductions, in a look at the ATO’s hardline new approach and the other ways owners can fall foul of it.

The Australian

Revealed: Bathla owes family, friends, staff, suppliers as Building Commissioner circles
Key members of Bathla founder Bhart Bhushan’s family are owed millions by the wounded home builder, joining unpaid suppliers, staff and lenders among more than 3,000 possible creditors owed at least $3.4 billion, with no certainty they will recover a cent.

Future Fund probes the Bathla Group crisis, as collapse casts long shadow over land, super
The $356 billion Future Fund has sought assurances that its investments in Asia-based manager PAG are not caught up in the Bathla collapse, as regulators sharpen their focus on contagion risks and the fire sale of sites from the $3.4 billion failure begins.

Rate hikes and falling prices leave thousands of homeowners trapped in mortgage prison
One in five buyers who purchased in the past three years is now stuck in mortgage prison , with Aussie Home Loans analysis finding 20.7 per cent of post-July-2023 buyers hold less than 20 per cent equity, as prices fall and another rate rise looms.

Lender scraps near-$1bn Bathla rescue deal over founder’s continued involvement
A major lender has pulled out of a near-$1 billion finance deal for a group of Bathla’s western Sydney sites, with Renown Wealth citing the continued involvement of founder Bhart Bhushan, making a break-up of the empire more likely.

The Sydney Morning Herald

It’s a buyers’ market, but property buyers just vanished
It is a buyers’ market that buyers have abandoned, with Ray White data showing about half as many people visiting Sydney open homes as a year ago, as falling prices meet fewer listings, a fear of overpaying and a lack of urgency.

Nassif attacks enemies, defends developments from bedroom in Beirut
Fugitive developer Jean Nassif has attacked his enemies, denied unlawful political donations and insisted his collapsed builder Toplace routinely fixed defects, dialling in to the ICAC corruption inquiry from his bedroom in Beirut.

Eastern suburbs apartment sells for $62k over reserve in hot auction
A first-home-buyer couple paid $982,000 for a two-bedroom Kensington apartment on Saturday, $62,000 above reserve, after 12 groups registered and five bid at the eastern suburbs auction.

The Age

Melbourne’s cooling housing market is turning into a billion-dollar budget crisis
Falling house prices could wipe as much as $1.8 billion from the Victorian budget this year with a downturn worse than Treasury forecast hitting stamp duty and casting doubt on Labor’s promised $1 billion surplus as debt heads toward $200 billion.

Slow lifts, disgusting carpets, cracked windows: Residents face crumbling tower as rival strata companies battle for control
A years-long fight for control of the owners’ corporation at Carlton’s 18-storey Vic Apartments has left residents scrambling to fund urgent repairs, with two competing managers issuing levy notices amid ageing lifts, cracked concrete and broken windows.

The Brisbane Times

Taller towers in three Brisbane suburbs one step closer
Significantly taller residential towers are a step closer in Indooroopilly, Carindale and Nundah, with the Schrinner administration’s tall-not-sprawl plan lifting heights near shops and transport now heading to the state for approval.

The Daily Telegraph

Bondi Junction Master Plan to be ‘paused’ as Labor gains control of Waverley Council
Labor has gained control of a deadlocked Waverley Council and will pause the 3,000-home Bondi Junction master plan, after a random ballot, with the mayor who led the region through the Bondi terror attack stepping down.

Labor’s living in denial on housing as new home sales crash almost 20 per cent in three months
New home sales have crashed almost 20 per cent in three months, with the paper arguing tax changes, higher rates and planning failures are strangling supply and worsening the housing crisis.

Wentworth Point: Potential combustible cladding at Broadwater units on Hill Rd
Fire authorities have warned a major Wentworth Point unit complex on Hill Road could contain combustible cladding, after multiple safety hazards were uncovered during an inspection of the Broadwater units.

17-19 MacKenzie Street: St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia lodge plans to demolish school building for 165 new apartments in Lavender Bay
St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia has lodged plans to demolish a school building at 17-19 MacKenzie Street, Lavender Bay, for 165 new apartments, reshaping a North Sydney streetscape around a church.

NSW Government unveils plan for seven towers, hundreds of homes in Castle Hill
Homes NSW has released plans for 387 apartments across seven towers of up to 20 storeys at Pennant Way, Castle Hill, metres from the Castle Towers precinct, with two-storey townhouses to be demolished to make way for the high-density project.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Plans for 455-unit twin tower development revived for key Southport corner
A Sydney developer has revived long-dormant twin-tower plans for a key Southport corner, with 455 units set to replace a retail strip after years of failed attempts.

UAE developer reveals plans for $2bn twin super towers in Broadbeach
A Broadbeach site that has defeated developers for more than 20 years is set for transformation, with UAE giant Arada lodging plans for a $2 billion twin-supertower project with more units, a larger podium and shops, bars and restaurants below.

Former Bavarian Steak House site earmarked for 46-storey mixed-use tower
A landmark Surfers Paradise corner site that housed the Bavarian Steak House for nearly 50 years has hit the market with potential for a 46-storey tower.

The Illawarra Mercury

CBD dilemma: Developer warns ‘catastrophe’ is coming for Flinders Street
Developer Michael Corban warns a catastrophe is coming for Wollongong’s Flinders Street as more high-rises go up and has cancelled his own approved nine-storey apartment plan on the corner of Flinders and Gipps streets.

A $16 million Clifton development approved after court action
A $16 million townhouse development across from the Imperial Hotel at Clifton has been approved after court action, developer Segco taking a deemed council refusal of the six units and a double-storey home to the Land and Environment Court.

The Herald Sun

This fire safety expert believes an EV-sparked skyscraper disaster is waiting to happen in Melbourne
A fire safety specialist who was an expert witness on the 9/11 investigation warns Victoria is unprepared for a large-scale electric-vehicle fire in one of its many tall buildings.

The Adelaide Advertiser

Land at St Clair railway station rezoned to allow seven storeys, apartments in shopping centre upgrade
Land near St Clair railway station has been rezoned to allow seven storeys and apartments, ahead of a major redevelopment of a smaller shopping centre.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

First mid-rise apartment blocks proposed for North Cronulla
Two mid-rise apartment blocks of eight and seven storeys have been proposed for North Cronulla, replacing five old blocks of flats and houses in the first projects under the state’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy in the precinct.

Three huge towers and a pickleball court in Coles Sutherland development
A proposed Coles development at Sutherland would include three towers plus a pool, pickleball court, gym and children’s play area, with detailed plans released after the project was declared State Significant Development.