Well, here’s the least surprising news from this week – developers are adding premiums to their prices for new and off-the plan apartments, in order to milk as much from negative gearing- seeking investors.

Jumping in now without doing your homework could cost you $50K, according to a story in Realestate.com.au.

This just confirms that the price of new apartments has less to do with the cost of building – pretty much the same anywhere after the land cost – and more to do with how much we, the mug punters, are prepared to pay.

Case in point, many years ago plans were released for a new luxury apartment block overlooking Hyde Park in Sydney.  The show flat was swamped on the morning it opened and one investor walked in and deposited enough money to buy all the flats on a higher floor.

The developers closed the showroom for a couple of hours then reopened for business with all their prices adjusted upwards by 15 per cent. Same apartments, higher prices.

So, when you are looking to buy off the plan, see if you can find out what the pre-budget prices were and then factor that into your finances. You might find that it will take you longer to recoup your “losses” that you initially thought.

Also this week, someone in this story hasn’t read our summary of what you can and can’t do if you want EV charging in your parking spot.

That’s just some of the stories in this midweek roundup from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

ABC Online – Free

Sydney and Melbourne record worst property auction clearance results in years
Cotality data confirms Sydney’s auction clearance rate hit its lowest since April 2020 while Melbourne fell to its weakest since pandemic lockdowns, with Brisbane recording the weakest preliminary result of any capital city.

New residential proposal at Hobart’s regatta grounds not supported by stadium developer
Macquarie Point’s stadium developer has opposed a proposal for apartments and underground parking on Hobart’s waterfront regatta grounds, arguing the plan conflicts with the broader urban activation vision for the precinct.

Realestate.com.au – Free

Australian home price slump deepens as price falls spread to every capital
Australian home prices fell for a third straight month in June, with Sydney and Perth leading declines of around 0.5 per cent as the downturn spreads to every capital.

A hike too far? RBA says higher rates are hurting but working, door still open to more
Three rate rises in three months have pushed financial conditions to a point the RBA now admits is probably somewhat restrictive, though another rise has not been ruled out.

NSW reveals how it’s choosing which suburbs get new parks, pools and sports fields
NSW is offering councils $40 million over three years to improve parks, pools and sports fields in exchange for faster housing approvals.

Can strata committees block EV charger installations?
An NSW apartment owner is fighting their strata committee’s refusal to allow an EV charger installation, a dispute playing out across buildings nationally.

Tax threat widens Qld’s shock 14,000-home black hole
Queensland is already 14,000 homes short of its approval targets, with analysis suggesting the budget’s negative gearing changes could carve out a further 1,800 from the pipeline.

Investors risk up to $50,000 by rushing into buying newly-built homes
Experts warn investors could lose up to $50,000 by rushing into new builds to preserve negative gearing eligibility, with new home prices often already inflated to reflect the premium buyers are paying to stay in the tax-advantaged category.

Central Coast MP Gordon Reid bought investment home just before budget changes
Labor MP Gordon Reid has updated his pecuniary interest register to disclose a $750,000 Kingston investment apartment purchased just before the budget’s negative gearing changes were announced.

Why looming tax reform is forcing young ‘rentvestors’ out of the market
Twenty-nine-year-old tech executive Tayla Rachel used rentvesting to get a foothold in property but fears the budget’s negative gearing changes will close the pathway she relied on before she can build further.

NSW Government to slash tax for select foreign property buyers
NSW has axed its 9 per cent foreign purchaser duty surcharge for eligible build-to-rent and retirement living developments, reversing a decade of punitive foreign buyer taxes to attract the offshore capital these large-scale projects need to be viable.

Jess Wilson’s liberals eyed as Melbourne auction market saviour
Melbourne property experts are flagging a Liberal state election victory as a potential catalyst for market recovery, arguing a change in government could break what they describe as a tax-induced market freeze gripping Victoria’s property sector.

Inside the never-lived-in Queen’s Wharf apartment hitting the market
A never-occupied 51st floor apartment in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf Diamond Residences is heading to auction with panoramic views across the river, CBD, South Bank and Moreton Bay.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

SMSF Borrowing Reform Hiding Risks, Opportunities for Property Sector
The Senate has cleared housing tax reforms including an end to SMSF borrowing for residential property, raising questions about where that investor capital flows next.

What’s Really Driving Construction Costs in Australia
Australia’s construction cost story is more complicated than rising prices alone, with WT national director James Ford arguing feasibility pressure and supply constraints are reshaping what is really driving building delivery.

Billbergia, Metrics $1.3b Chatswood Skyscraper Aims for 60 Storeys
Billbergia and Metrics Credit Partners are seeking to double a Chatswood approval into two 60-storey towers delivering 552 apartments near the rail and Metro interchange.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

Sydney, Melbourne price declines deepen in ‘glum’ housing market
Sydney is leading a national housing downturn with price falls accelerating across both Sydney and Melbourne, dragging the national median down 0.4 per cent in June, the sharpest monthly fall since 2022.

Developer upsizes $1.3b apartment plan on Sydney’s lower north shore
Sydney developer Billbergia has doubled its ambitions for a $1.3 billion Chatswood site, upsizing approval for two 26-storey towers into a pitch for towers of 58 and 60 storeys under the state’s fast-tracked planning process.

Could housing reform fuel another rent surge?
Reduced investor demand for established homes could squeeze future rental supply, but falling prices after years of rapid growth may also help more renters finally buy.

The rental hurdle that’s stopping young adults moving out
One third of Australians aged 18 to 29 are living with parents or in-laws as rental affordability worsens, with 21 per cent of 25 to 29 year olds still at home compared to just 7.8 per cent two decades ago. Nineteen-year-old law student Amelie Hansen says she has no friends who are renting independently.

Industry slams ‘incorrect’ government estimate of 4000 SMSF home loans
Property developers and investors say the government has vastly underestimated the number of SMSFs financing new residential construction, with industry figures warning the ban will do significantly more damage to housing supply than Labor has acknowledged.

Near-zero interest rates are closer than you think
The RBA is already running scenarios for what happens when interest rates approach zero again, with history suggesting advanced economies cut by around 400 basis points in recessions and the cash rate sitting at only 4.35 per cent leaving limited room before unconventional policy is needed.

Armani unveils Australia’s first branded apartment, yours for $70m
Lendlease has partnered with Armani to create the Italian fashion house’s first branded private residence in Australia, a One Circular Quay sub-penthouse guided at $60 million to $70 million overlooking Sydney Harbour.

The Australian

First-home buyers trapped in negative equity as prices fall in scheme hotspots
First-home buyers who used the government’s 5 per cent deposit guarantee are watching their equity evaporate as prices fall for a third straight month.

Families hit hard by surprise SMSF property lending ban
Young families building wealth through SMSFs have been blindsided by Labor’s snap residential borrowing ban, with Sydney couple Max Giaubert and Min Huang saying it will not hurt wealthy investors but will devastate younger families simply trying to secure a better financial future.

The Sydney Morning Herald

House values fall – but homes are not getting more affordable
National dwelling values posted their biggest fall in almost four years in June, down 0.4 per cent, even as new figures show housing has never been less affordable.

Mosman’s plan to save its back streets comes with a 25-storey catch
Mosman Council has released a masterplan that would protect harbour slopes and heritage streets from state planning controls by concentrating future density along a busy road corridor in towers up to 25 storeys — a counter-proposal designed to fight the government’s low and mid-rise housing policy on its own terms.

The Age

‘I’d be scared’: Secret research warned public housing overhaul would increase division
Secret government research warned that demolishing Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers and replacing them with mixed developments would fuel social division, but Homes Victoria is pressing ahead regardless.

The Daily Telegraph

New planning authority to cut government red tape and fast-track new homes
NSW is replacing a 22-agency planning maze with a single coordinated response, promising major housing project decisions within 28 days.

Developer wins approval to replace Mona Vale telephone exchange with luxury apartments
A developer has won approval to replace an ageing Telstra telephone exchange on Sydney’s northern beaches with a $23 million block of shop-top apartments aimed at affluent downsizers.

Master Builders data reveals stark gap between new home approvals and Australia’s 1.2 million housing target
Australia is falling significantly short of its National Housing Accord targets, with Master Builders data showing one state alone is missing the mark by 50,000 homes as the two-year anniversary of the program passes.

The Herald Sun

Locals warn new 16-storey height limits could make iconic village unlivable
Toorak Village residents and traders are warning the Allan government’s plan to allow 16-storey towers in the area will make it soulless and unlivable, in the latest community pushback against the state’s activity centre density agenda.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Construction begins on $200m Maris tower at former Sundale Motel site
Malaysian developer MRCB has broken ground on a $200 million, 20-storey Gold Coast tower on the former Southport Motel site, with completion expected by 2029.

The Adelaide Advertiser

Developer tips Adelaide CBD for residential tower boom as billions in AUKUS cash floods economy
A proposed $250 million, 30-storey residential tower signals what developers say is the beginning of a national interest in Adelaide’s CBD, with AUKUS defence spending flowing into the local economy and creating demand that is attracting developers who had previously focused on Sydney and Melbourne.

Five-storey apartment block proposed for Monmouth Rd, Westbourne Park rejected by Mitcham Council assessment panel
Mitcham Council’s assessment panel has rejected a five-storey residential development at Westbourne Park despite staff recommendation for approval, citing privacy concerns from residents who mounted a strong opposition campaign.

State planners conditionally approve Adelaide CBD apartment tower on Franklin St with 95 new homes
A nearly 100-unit residential tower on Franklin Street in Adelaide’s CBD has received conditional planning approval, adding to a growing pipeline of inner-city apartment projects in the South Australian capital.

The Newcastle Herald

House hunters’ pet peeve of properties with no price guide set to end
NSW legislation mandating a price guide on every advertised property and toughening underquoting penalties will bring clarity to house hunters in Newcastle, though the changes have divided agents and the state’s real estate industry body.

The Illawarra Mercury

New Coledale duplexes signal a market shift you need to know about
Wollongong builder-developer Pat Furci has shifted to duplexes in response to market changes, with buyers in the region now preferring smaller, more manageable properties over larger single dwellings.

The Courier Mail

Developer unveils plans for four towers to transform Hervey Bay’s skyline
A Queensland developer has lodged plans to transform The Hervey Bay Hotel and Resort into a $425 million four-tower, 16-storey retail and residential complex that would fundamentally reshape the Fraser Coast city’s skyline.