With all the development approvals, plans and proposals, it can only be a matter of time before we get warnings about an apartment glut, rather than a housing shortage, if a couple of years down the track.

But before then we’ll have the very real prospect of there not being enough builders to build the high-rises. That’s just our opinion, but when it comes up as a news item, remember where you read it first.

Meanwhile the apartment approval business is going gangbusters as this week’s apartment news feed from Left Field Communications attests, and the ‘what-the?” story of the week must be the Tassie town that wants better mobile phone coverage but doesn’t want a new phone tower..

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Domain

Sydney suburbs where the median home price is lower than five years ago
It might seem incredible, but the median apartment price declined in 19 Sydney suburbs over the past five years, according to the latest Domain House Price Report. Dan F Stapleton

ABC Online

Brisbane City Council proposes high-density zones near Mount Gravatt and Chermside shopping centres
Brisbane City Council has proposed two high-density zones near shopping centres. The Upper Mount Gravatt and Chermside precinct plans were voted through council tonight. Kenji Sato

Bodies corporate urged to be cautious after alleged $2m strata account fraud
The loss of $2 million from strata property accounts on the NSW Mid North Coast has triggered concerns about the protection of shared assets. Industry experts warn bodies corporate should beware of “bait pricing” before signing contracts with strata management agents. Claire Simmonds

SA Liberals promise new stamp duty concessions, Labor tackles aged care bed backlog
Less than six weeks from the South Australian election, the Liberal Party has announced an election promise on stamp duty relief. Meanwhile the Labor government has promised to create 1,300 new aged care beds if re-elected, through a transformation of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in North Adelaide into an aged care precinct. Josephine Lim, Rachael Merritt, Kathryn Bermingham

Realestate.com.au
Inside Bad Bunny’s sprawling multi-million dollar global property empire
Bad Bunny made history with a vibrant Super Bowl 60 halftime performance that blended storytelling, cultural celebration, a surprise onstage wedding, and special appearances by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and other guests.
Belinda Palmada

One in three Aussie investors may quit, renters squeezed | PIPA
One in three property investors are preparing to quit the market as a radical federal tax grab threatens to bridge the rental crisis. It comes as fresh interest rate pain wipes up to $23,000 from the average family’s borrowing power. David Bonaddio

South Australia’s housing approvals surge to 40-year high, leading nation’s recovery
South Australia has seized the crown in Australia’s housing pipeline, powering past pre‑pandemic levels as approvals surged 20.1 per cent in 2025 to 15,408 — the state’s strongest showing since 1984 and now 2 per cent above its 2021 peak. Lydia Kellner — South Australia

‘Extinction’: key Aus home market about to collapse
Decades of explosive growth in home prices have ruptured the bottom rung of the Australian property ladder, with new data revealing sub-$500,000 homes are disappearing from the market while those priced $500,000 to $750,000 are also on the endangered list. Aidan Devine

Apartments.com.au

Bradfield’s future city centre revealed ahead of Western Sydney International Airport’s 2026 opening
Plans have been revealed for the new city centre at Bradfield, offering the first detailed look at how one of the key development sites around the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis could take shape as the city centre evolves. Project management and construction management firm Creative Vision filed the plans for development on behalf of Bradfield Corporation. Joel Robinson

Martello breaks into booming Gold Coast market with wellness-led living
Luxury developer Martello™ is bringing its Melbourne smarts to the Gold Coast, one of the hottest property markets in the country. Martello™, proudly a female-led business, has delivered a string of premium residential projects predominantly across Melbourne’s blue-chip Bayside suburbs. Joel Robinson

SIERA makes waves beachside in Northcliffe with the unveiling of Exhale
Designed around how residents move, recharge, and live day to day, Exhale is the newest residential address by South East Queensland developer SIERA. Joel Robinson

Kokoda’s $100m St Kilda Road play
Kokoda Property Group has unconditionally acquired a $100 million-plus site on St Kilda Road where it will deliver an 18-storey tower. Kokoda is now working with Studio McCue to design a new apartment building on the 6,085 sqm site at 441 St Kilda Road, a site which has been owned by Dymocks Properties for several years. Joel Robinson

First look: Podia pitches final stage of new Kingscliff community
Sydney developer Podia has finalised what it intends to do with its prominent undeveloped parcel at the northern gateway to Kingscliff’s well-known Salt precinct, where it is planning a mix of land, townhouses, and now apartments. Joel Robinson

Blackburne to launch Ocean Grand, City Beach amid strong early demand
City Beach’s tightly held coastline is preparing for one of Western Australia’s most closely watched apartment launches, with Blackburne set to launch Ocean Grand on the weekend. Joel Robinson

PAY-WALLED PUBLICATIONS

The Australian Financial Review

$75m sale shows the opportunity of Sydney Metro for downsizers
Traders in Purple has acquired a 4200-square-metre site near Crows Nest Metro station in Sydney’s lower north shore for more than $75 million as it offers wealthy downsizers large homes with the convenience of public transport on their doorstep. Michael Bleby

Two years in, Housing Australia has completed 2pc of its total target
Labor’s $10 billion flagship affordable housing program, which is facing criticism for its slow rollout, has completed just over 2 per cent of its 40,000-home target, two years into the five-year time frame. Michael Bleby

‘A simpler life’: Towns where house price growth nears 50pc
Regional homes are growing in value faster than those in Australia’s capital cities as affordability constraints push buyers out of urban areas and into country towns that are in desperate need of more housing. Combined regional values grew by 10.3 per cent in the 12 months to January, compared with 9.2 per cent for the combined capital cities, according to Cotality. Lucy Slade

The Sydney Morning Herald

The trail of destruction left by two of Sydney’s most infamous property figures
Residents of the Somerset apartment complex in Carlingford faced a horrifying situation: their building, constructed by notorious developer Dyldam, was left with a string of defects and no functioning fire safety system. And the responsibility to organise the fix landed with Result Strata Management, which would soon become the only strata firm to be permanently banned from practising in the state. Anthony Segaert

Greenfield homes, empty streets: The ‘ridiculous’ reality of Sydney’s new sprawl
Two hundred and fifty thousand new residents will live in new greenfield homes at the north-western edge of Sydney’s suburban sprawl without any community facilities, a council boss has warned, blaming a chronic lack of developer funding and an inability for councils to extract more cash. Anthony Segaert

The Brisbane Times

The streets within two Brisbane suburbs that are set for high-density makeovers
The zones where Brisbane City Council is looking to grow major suburban centres have been revealed. Suburban Renewal Precinct Plans have been announced for Chermside and Upper Mount Gravatt, located approximately 15 kilometres north and south of Brisbane’s CBD. Dominique Tassell

WA Today

WA’s rental crisis in numbers: Rents outpace wage growth at alarming rate
Western Australia is leading the nation for soaring rents, with new research revealing prices have climbed by two-thirds over the space of five years, pulling the state’s housing affordability crisis into sharp focus. Cameron Myles and Elizabeth Redman

Adrian Fini’s $280 million Smiths Beach development gets watchdog’s green tick
The long-running fight against development at Smiths Beach in Yallingup has been dealt a huge blow after the Environmental Protection Authority recommended the project be approved. Hamish Hastie

The Daily Telegraph

Carlingford: Critical fire defects at unit complex on James St, Thallon St, Jenkins Rd
Residents in a major Sydney unit complex with more than 1200 dwellers are “begging” action to repair defects including potentially cladding and faulty smoke alarms that are “endangering lives”. Joanne Vella

Homelessness NSW report estimates 80,000 people homeless in NSW
The Minns government has been accused of letting the state’s homelessness crisis spiral out of control, as a new report reveals the number of people sleeping rough has more than doubled in four years. Suzan Giuliani

The Herald Sun

Claim property has become Allan’s ‘cash cow’ as Victorians shoulder Australia’s biggest land tax bill
A new report shows Victoria collects the highest share of property tax of any state relative to the size of its economy, with the Allan government’s haul reaching $16.5bn in 2024–25 and forecast to soar to $20.5bn by 2028–29. Carly Douglas

Melbourne’s inner city suburbs face six-story buildings under new housing plan
New planning maps reveal six-storey developments will be allowed in residential streets across vast swathes of Melbourne’s exclusive inner city suburbs, as the Allan government tries to tackle the state’s housing crisis. Carly Douglas and Matt Johnston

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Building boom ignites as major developments begin on southern Gold Coast
Three major Gold Coast precincts face dramatic transformation as developers unveil luxury towers worth nearly $1bn that will reshape the southern coastline forever. Andrew Potts

The West Australian

Blackburne records $45 million in opening day sales for Ocean Grand City Beach apartment development
The salacious appetite for high-end property in Perth was on full display yesterday when the launch of an apartment development netted $45 million worth of sales in a single day. Caitlin Vinci

Urban Developer

Randwick Rezoning Bid Sparks Wave of Shoptop Projects
New zoning amendments for a commercial strip around the Royal Randwick shopping centre may currently be on exhibition by the Randwick City Council, but developers are already floating projects and site-specific zoning amendments. Patrick Lau

Luxury Mona Vale Apartment Project Waved Ahead by Court
A court has cleared the way for a luxury apartment complex in the Northern Beaches that is mixing and matching policy reforms to gain height in the lowrise suburb. Clare Burnett

Joe Adsett Proposes $250m Brisbane Riverfront Tower
Architect-developer Joe Adsett has revealed plans for a $250-million residential tower fronting a prominent bend in the Brisbane River. Phil Bartsch

‘Slow and Steady’ Wins the Race for Pellicano’s South City Square
A decade ago, the corner of Logan Road and Deshon Street in Brisbane’s Woolloongabba offered little reason for locals to linger. Today, the 2.3ha site is a curated precinct where 720 apartment residents can shop at a full-line Woolworths, catch a film at Angelika Cinemas and gather in a central public square—all without leaving their neighbourhood. Leon Della Bosca

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Infrastructure, water, traffic, flooding: Sylvania housing plans under fire
Plans for a new development containing nearly 500 apartments opposite Southgate Sylvania have come under fire from the council and government authorities in formal submissions on the project. Murray Trembath

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These are just some of the quirkier property stories from this week this week’s LeftField feed. You can get links to all the latest property stories – houses as well as apartments – for free by registering on the LeftField website.