Solicitor Ashlyn Nassif, daughter of fugitive developer Jean Nassif, has avoided jail time for falsifying documents in pursuit of a $150m dollar loan.

Instead she has been sentenced to six months unsupervised community service after her defence lawyer argued that she would do anything to please her father, described by her colleagues as foul-mouthed and a bully, and told the court that her legal career is effectively over.

Elsewhere in property news from the past week, there seem to be more questions than answers. What can be done about the suburbs where even medium-rise apartment blocks are not wanted? What’s to happen to tenants and affordability now that so many rented properties are no longer available?

How can a home builder go bust when there’s such a demand for new homes? All those questions and a few answers are in last week’s feed from Leftfield Communications.

Free Reads

ABC Online

Jean Nassif’s daughter, Ashlyn, avoids jail over falsifying material to secure a Westpac loan
Ashlyn Nassif, daughter of fugitive developer Jean Nassif, has avoided jail over falsifying material to secure a Westpac loan, receiving a six-month community order

Sydney CBD solar farm to cut carbon emissions by 2,000 tonnes a year
The ICC Sydney will install 4,500 rooftop solar panels, cutting carbon emissions by about 2,000 tonnes a year in what is billed as a CBD-first solar farm.

Australia has a housing shortage. So why are Bathla and other home builders collapsing?
With the country short of homes, the ABC asks why Bathla and other builders keep collapsing, as thousands await word on whether their homes will be finished.

With 99-year leases expiring in the ACT, what does that mean for home owners?
The ABC explains what the expiry of the ACT’s 99-year Commonwealth land leases means for home owners.

Sydney Water to pump 70 million litres of treated wastewater into Parramatta River under new proposal
Sydney Water has proposed pumping 70 million litres of treated wastewater a day into the Parramatta River, drawing more than 400 public submissions.

Domain

‘Make a fair contribution’: The radical plan to transform Sydney’s affluent east
Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs face transformation by high-rise under plans for almost 10,000 new homes, with the government urging the area to make a fair contribution.

Australian housing market cops $34 billion blow as property values slip for first time since 2022
Lower prices have knocked about $34 billion off the total value of Australian homes, the first such fall since 2022 on new ABS figures.

Wareemba apartment bought for $118,000 sells for $1.07 million at auction
A Wareemba apartment bought for $118,000 four decades ago has sold for $1.07 million at a fiercely fought auction.

‘Totally ruined’: Aussies reject push for more homes
Australians broadly back building more homes until it reaches their own street, with a survey of more than 1000 readers finding 68 per cent would not support three- to four-storey townhouses nearby.

Realestate.com.au

Rents to soar as new data reveals hundreds of rental homes vanish weekly
Rents are tipped to soar as hundreds of rental homes vanish weekly, with the pool shrinking since the May budget reforms.

Deputy Premier set to launch construction of luxury development in key Olympic precinct
Construction has begun on a $500 million apartment complex near the Queensland Tennis Centre, delivering nearly 200 homes close to the 2032 Olympics.

Brisbane River’s ‘biggest transformation in decades’ brings 2200 new homes
Five developers will transform a Brisbane River stretch into 2,200 homes in what the government calls the river’s biggest transformation in decades.

Worst housing affordability ever condemned as ‘damning reflection’ on policy
Australia’s worst-ever housing affordability has been condemned as a damning reflection on policy with the share of affordable homes at a record low.

Government ‘addiction’ to property tax is crushing builders and housing supply
A government “addiction” to property taxes is crushing builders and supply after 1500 NSW construction firms collapsed last financial year.

New Chatswood tower and dining hub unveiled
A new 32-level, 150-apartment tower and dining hub has been unveiled for Chatswood on Sydney’s lower north shore.

Pro surfers help shape new $180m Gold Coast ‘Surfer’ apartment tower
Two professional surfers have helped shape Surfer, a $180 million 30-storey Gold Coast tower launching today.

Housing experts slam wild One Nation ‘kneejerk’ super-for-rent bid
Housing experts have slammed a One Nation plan to let people raid their super for rent and mortgages,  warning it would fuel inflation and push homes further out of reach.

Nearly a third of all Aussie homeowners now use the Bank of Mum and Dad to afford a home
Nearly a third of Australian homeowners now rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad, citing Finder’s latest Home Loan Report.

Real Commercial

Stockland turning Jetstar’s Collingwood HQ into 500 units
Stockland will turn Jetstar’s Collingwood headquarters into almost 500 apartments with shops and a garden.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Four Towers Across Two Projects Proposed for Sydney’s The Hills
Four towers across two projects have been proposed for Sydney’s The Hills, including a combined homes-and-offices scheme from IHC Corp.

Gamuda Consortium Lands $800m Parramatta Metro Precinct Deal
A Gamuda-led consortium has landed the $800 million Parramatta Metro precinct deal, expanded to 970 homes and student units.

Stockland Apartment Transformation of Jetstar’s Melbourne HQ Approved
Stockland has won approval to turn Jetstar’s Melbourne headquarters into almost 500 apartments, its first Victorian apartment deal in two decades.

NSW Scheme for 13,000 Homes at Westmead South Goes Public
Plans to rezone Westmead South for 13,000 homes beside a major health precinct have gone public.

Lacey Group Files Again with Upscaled Mermaid Beach Tower Plans
Lacey Group has refiled upscaled plans for a Mermaid Beach tower on the Gold Coast Highway.

Parnell’s Plan to Double Strathfield Apartment Project Moves Ahead
Parnell Developments is pressing ahead with its revised $100 million Strathfield apartment project.

SA Shopping Centre’s ‘Under-Used’ Car Park Slated for Apartment Precinct
A one-hectare Salisbury Downs shopping-centre car park would make way for a six-building residential precinct.

Apartments.com.au – Free

Amalgamated Property Group expands Broadbeach apartment pipeline with Surf Parade acquisition
Amalgamated Property Group has secured another Broadbeach site on Surf Parade, expanding its Gold Coast apartment pipeline.

GRAYA, Greyburn, among five developers to deliver 2,200 homes at Northshore Hamilton
Five well-known Queensland developers, including GRAYA and Greyburn, will deliver nearly 2,200 homes at Northshore Hamilton.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

RBA sees slowdown but no ‘recession’ from housing downturn
RBA assistant governor Sarah Hunter says the housing slump is weighing on the broader economy and will dampen construction but is not expected to tip the country into recession.

Inflation is too high and rates may need to rise, warns RBA’s Hauser
RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser says the economy and inflation are both running hotter than expected, keeping the door open to another rate rise.

Woollahra opens war chest for NIMBY last stand
Woollahra council is spending more than $100,000 on political strategy advice to fight the rezoning of Sydney’s premier east in what it frames as a NIMBY last stand.

Labor government owns property crash – and downstream supply risks too
In an AFR View column, the paper argues the Labor government now owns the property downturn and its downstream supply risks, questioning what the budget’s tax changes will mean for the economics of building.

First look at what 9400 new homes, high rise will mean for Woollahra
Sydney’s inner east would gain 9,400 dwellings, with towers up to 34 storeys, under a controversial NSW Labor rezoning of Woollahra.

Labor’s ‘ram-raid’ on property prices threatens housing supply
The Property Council has accused the Albanese government of a “ram-raid” on property prices through tax changes it says threaten buyer confidence and supply, as the Productivity Commission chief demands an end to the red tape stifling new project approvals.

Perth’s formerly most sought-after address plagued by defects
The twin towers beside Perth’s Ritz-Carlton, once billed as luxury with panoramic Swan River views, are now plagued by defects.

Bathla’s collapse has property insiders panicking like its 2007
Bathla’s collapse has property insiders on edge, the AFR’s Jonathan Shapiro writes, exposing the lack of discipline in private credit that a long-rising market had masked.

Country’s top auctioneer says first home buyers should stop dining out
One of the country’s highest-profile auctioneers says young people should dine out less and save harder for a first home, in remarks sure to divide opinion.

Stamp duty revenue plunges as property slump deepens
NSW stamp duty revenue fell 20 per cent in July as the property slump deepened, threatening state budgets and adding to credit-downgrade risk in NSW and Queensland.

The Australian

Bhart Bhushan and Raj Mohan’s sons plot Bathla’s revival
The sons of Bathla’s founders are preparing a deal to pull the most desirable sites out of administration and revive them.

How Bhart Bhushan and Bathla Group created a $3.4bn housing nightmare
How former taxi driver Bhart Bhushan built Bathla from a single western Sydney block into a $3.4 billion empire, nearly going broke twice before this third and seemingly final brush with insolvency.

Property chiefs slam ‘all sides of politics’ over skilled worker visas
Property and construction chiefs have slammed all sides of politics over skilled-worker visas, demanding leaders recognise the urgent need for foreign trades to lift the building workforce.

The sky is the limit if you are looking for a penthouse
Penthouse prices keep climbing as developers outdo one another on luxury, in a look at Sydney’s soaring top-floor market.

Thousands of new homes and 32-storey towers revealed for wealthy Sydney suburb
Towers up to 32 storeys will rise near a new station under the Minns government’s contentious draft masterplan for Woollahra and Edgecliff.

Bathla staff stood down as rescue talks hit roadblock
At least two-thirds of Bathla staff will be stood down after rescue talks hit a roadblock, pausing work across Sydney job sites.

Bathla isn’t our GFC moment, however it will set housing back even further
Bathla is not Australia’s GFC moment but will set the housing effort back further, The Australian’s Eric Johnston argues.

The Sydney Morning Herald

First look at high-rise plans to add 10,000 homes to eastern suburbs
The eastern suburbs skyline would be transformed by towers up to 34 storeys under NSW plans to add 9,400 homes.

The Sydney council and ratepayers on the hook after Bathla’s collapse
A Sydney council and its ratepayers are on the hook after Bathla’s collapse, exposed to costs from unfinished works the developer left behind.

How four concrete slabs will turn into hundreds of inner Sydney homes
Four concrete slabs beside Parramatta Road will be turned into 340 inner-west apartments, a third of them social housing, under a Minns government plan to use surplus land for homes.

The Age

‘A very costly lemon’: Business groups prepare for working-from-home challenge
Business groups are preparing a High Court challenge to Victoria’s working-from-home laws, backed by blistering barristers’ advice and several major property owners.

The Brisbane Times

Luxury riverside towers to be built at former athletes village site
Luxury towers housing up to 5000 people will rise on the former Olympic athletes’ village site at Hamilton.

The Daily Telegraph

Woollahra mayor slams housing plan’s lack of ‘basic liveability’ without additional schools or hospitals
Woollahra’s mayor has slammed the state’s plan for up to 9,400 eastern-suburbs homes as lacking basic liveability without new schools or hospitals.

Parramatta Metro West to include hotel, apartments and student accommodation
Plans for 470 homes and 500 student units around Parramatta’s metro have drawn criticism, with opponents warning the $800 million project will strain the city.

Five towers with hotel and skybars planned for central Castle Hill
A Hills family developer has unveiled plans for five Castle Hill towers with hundreds of apartments, a hotel, restaurants and skybars.

Bathla Group collapse: Subbie slams builder after $3.4bn collapse
A veteran subcontractor says he was suicidal for months chasing unpaid debts after Bathla’s $3.4 billion collapse, with thousands left out of pocket.

The Courier Mail

First look at massive new riverside precinct for Brisbane’s Northshore Hamilton
Brisbane’s long-stalled Northshore Hamilton precinct will finally be overhauled with 13 riverfront towers, 2200 homes and a shopping hub before the Olympics.

The Illawarra Mercury

‘They are not just minor defects’: Bathla ordered to fix Kembla Grange apartment faults
Bathla has been ordered to fix defects described as “not just minor” at its Kembla Grange apartments, the Illawarra Mercury reports, as affected buyers face an uncertain and costly future.

How high is too high? Planning department’s different response to two proposed CBD towers
The NSW Planning Department appears untroubled by a 98-metre Wollongong tower even as residents object, in a tale of two very different responses.

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Rival QLD developers clash in Federal Court over alleged ‘copycat’ plans
Rival Gold Coast developers are clashing in the Federal Court over alleged copycat plans, with claims of secret site visits and boastful private emails.

The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

Council raises major concerns over Gymea Bowls high-rise plans
Sutherland Shire Council has raised significant concerns over high-rise rezoning plans for the Gymea Bowls site.