So it seems the “spoof” ad for a townhouse in Sydney’s Glebe area was real – although the vendor’s attention-seeking diatribe may have deterred more buyers than it atttracted..

In the original listing in Domain, covered here a couple of weeks ago, the vendor said he was so desperate to walk away from a series of strata hassles that he was prepared to take a $2million cut on the sales price, telling Domain he was “essentially losing everything”.

The property, currently priced at $999,999 is “struggling to get serious offers”, the vendor says. The attention-grabbing ad for the townhouse says: “If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a real-life soap opera, congratulations – this is your chance. We bought the dream. The nightmare came free.

“Who should buy the property?” the ad continues. “Someone who enjoys suspense. Someone who enjoys meetings. Someone who enjoys reading agendas longer than most novels. Someone who believes every problem can be solved by commissioning another report. Or someone who just loves a challenge.”

However, maybe the vendor is someone who is particularly ill-suited to strata living. Some people buy townhouses thinking they are getting a house when it fact it’s more like living in an apartment, when it comes to being part of a community.

If so, the person who should buy the property is someone looking for a bargain, who can organise a forensic investigation of the strata committee and owners corp minutes, knows their way around strata and is thick-skinned enough to weather any unforseen disputes.

That said, as someone who took a $50k hit on the sale of an apartment to get away from a naïve committee that refused to see that having the developer discussing defects in committee meetings was a conflict of interest, I can say that no cost is too high for peace of mind.

Here’s the rest of the apartment stories from the last couple of days from Leftfield Communications.  You can sign up on their website for free daily reports on all property news, not just units.

Free Reads

Domain

‘We bought the dream. The nightmare came free’: Desperate Sydney owner slashes his price by $2m
A Sydney owner has listed a once-multimillion-dollar Glebe waterfront apartment for just under $1 million after a long run of strata disputes he calls “a nightmare”.

Sydney auction market stalls as clearance rates plunge by 20 percentage points compared to this time last year
Sydney’s auction market has softened, with clearance rates about 20 percentage points below the same time last year amid buyer and seller uncertainty and low stock, prompting some to question the role of auctions.

Why most homeowners don’t need to lose sleep over negative equity
An explainer on negative equity, where a property’s value falls below the outstanding loan.

Residents outraged over new $23 million Sydney development
Residents in a Mosman neighbourhood are seeking to block a $23 million development, arguing it does not meet planning requirements.

ABC Online
Why the Kiwi and Canadian property bubbles burst and what we can learn
Ian Verrender looks across the Tasman for a glimpse of a possible future.

Should Australia copy New Zealand’s 83-page building code?
The government is progressing plans to modernise the National Construction Code, while shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg argues Australia should adopt a simplified code like New Zealand’s 83-page version.

Gold Coast luxury high-rise approvals thrown into doubt by landmark court ruling
The Queensland Court of Appeal has found luxury apartments do not necessarily improve affordability simply by adding supply, a decision that could affect other luxury high-rises exempted from height limits on affordability grounds.

Plans for 30-storey tower loom large over Sunshine Coast
A 30-storey tower proposed for Maroochydore’s CBD could become the Sunshine Coast’s tallest building, with some residents concerned it could lead to higher building heights elsewhere.

Realestate.com.au

Brutal reality: Ultra-low 5.69pc rates floor slammed shut
Borrowers hunting cheap fixed or variable rates face a reality check after lenders quietly withdrew the lowest mortgage rates overnight following fresh RBA warnings.
‘Unrent’ scheme promises path to homeownership but experts urge caution
Struggling tenants are being offered a new path to ownership in which rent money is no longer “dead money”.

Expert warns of ‘catastrophic’ risks for bank of mum and dad
Families who use the bank of mum and dad to help buy a home can face heartache and severe financial consequences when things go wrong, says financial adviser and author Patricia Howard, who has seen many such cases, sometimes with devastating results.

Victorian auction reforms: Why reserve bid may not secure home
Victoria’s peak real estate body wants proposed auction reserve reforms delayed, warning even the highest bidder could meet the published reserve and still miss out.

Auction clearance rates rise again after low not seen since Covid
Queensland’s auction clearance rate has bounced back above 30 per cent, improving from a low not seen since Covid.

Industrial site to $11m luxe sale: Buyer sets off-the-plan South Brisbane record
South Brisbane’s off-the-plan apartment record is believed to have been broken, with a buyer combining two units for $11 million in Mosaic Property Group’s The Riversdale at 91 Montague Road.

‘Unicorn’ penthouse hits market in Aussie city recently named a global luxury hotspot
A penthouse in Brisbane, recently named among emerging global luxury hotspots, has been listed after a seven-figure renovation.

Real Commercial

Dustin Martin, Ralph Carr offload Melbourne investment
Richmond premiership player Dustin Martin and former manager Ralph Carr have sold an Abbotsford building leased to a Vietnamese-fusion steakhouse for $2.085 million, $185,000 above what they paid, against hopes of $2.3 million to $2.5 million.

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Frank Developments Lodges 22-Storey Newstead Tower Proposal
Brisbane-based Frank Developments has filed plans for a 22-storey mixed-use tower in Newstead’s Commercial Road precinct, divided into four slender tiered “torrette” elements.

PDG Files 280-Home Proposal for Former Water Tank Site at Ivanhoe
PDG has lodged plans to turn a historic water tank site in Melbourne’s north-east into a 280-home neighbourhood.

Rare Overlay Clears Way for VACCHO’s Collingwood Affordable Homes
A Victorian First Nations organisation, VACCHO, has won approval for a 168-home affordable housing project in inner Melbourne, using a rarely applied Specific Controls Overlay to bypass zoning that would otherwise have blocked accommodation on the Commercial 2 site.

The Maybelle brings 27-storey parkside tower to market near North Strathfield
Family-owned builder and developer Omaya is bringing its 27-storey The Maybelle to market, a 229-apartment tower rising beside Ismay Reserve near North Strathfield.

First look: Pace plans landscaped housing precinct on former Windsor school site
Shane Wilkinson’s Pace Development Group has lodged plans for a major residential precinct on the former Presentation College site in Windsor, an eight-building masterplan rising to 10 storeys.

Abadeen Files Plans for 100-Home Mosman Shoptop Project
Developer Abadeen has filed plans for a part-five, part-10-storey shoptop project of 100 homes at 494-516 Military Road, Mosman, including three affordable homes, on a site at the centre of a planning dispute.

Deposits to be Refunded as Beulah’s Sth Bnk Collapse Plays Out
Buyers in Beulah’s failed STH BNK tower, once planned as Australia’s tallest apartment building, will have their deposits refunded, confirmed by receivers KordaMentha and Alvarez & Marsal.

Aland Unveils $2bn Masterplan for Leppington ‘Cow Paddock’
Developer Aland has revealed a $2 billion masterplan for Leppington in Sydney’s south-west, with 1,500 homes across eight residential towers and 30,000 square metres of commercial space at 173-183 Rickard Road.

Billionaire Choi Family Plans 12-Storey Preston Apartment Tower
Nikko Development, associated with the family of a billionaire known as the “King of Toys”, has filed plans for a 12-storey residential building on a former warehouse site at 2-6 Isaacs Street, Preston, 10km north-east of Melbourne.

Density Grounded: Flight Path Height Caps Cast Shadow over Sydney Housing Targets
Conquest managing director Michael Akkawi is campaigning for higher building height limits under Sydney’s flight paths, arguing current caps constrain housing supply.

Apartments.com.au

ODUS plans landmark 40-storey tower for Southport’s Broadwater gateway
Sydney developer ODUS Property Group has filed plans for a 40-storey tower in the Southport CBD, revising an earlier 50-storey proposal, as it expands its Gold Coast pipeline alongside its La Mer and Le Reve projects.

Boutique apartment tower to “kickstart” Surfers Paradise’s ‘South Boulevard’ revival
A 10-residence mixed-use tower proposed for 3098 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, designed by BDA Architecture, aims to help revitalise the southern “South Boulevard” end of the strip with ground-floor retail beneath full-floor residences.

Pikos Group plans $850m Newstead apartment tower
Pikos Group has unveiled an $850 million mixed-use precinct in Newstead, adding more than 300 apartments on an amalgamated industrial site bounded by Waterloo, Byres and Gordon streets.

Buying with confidence: What NSW apartment buyers should check beyond the defect headlines
High-profile apartment defect cases have led NSW buyers to scrutinise building quality, strata records and developers more closely, though the article notes the industry differs from the one in which Opal Tower and Mascot Towers emerged.

Pay-walled

The Australian Financial Review

‘Unhelpful passivity’: RBA’s inflation strategy criticised by former officials
Former senior RBA officials say the bank is taking too long to return inflation to target, risking entrenched inflation expectations.

NAB warns investor lending to fall in pessimistic outlook for property
NAB has forecast a more subdued property outlook than its rivals, expecting lending to real estate investors to fall for the first time since 2020. It expects the mortgage market to grow 2.5 per cent in the year to September 2027, half Westpac’s forecast, compared with 6.7 per cent this year.

The Australian

Rental disorder: property manager backs warning on 30pc rises
Australia’s largest rental manager, the agency Ray White, has backed analysis that the May budget could push tenant costs up by about 30 per cent, as the government challenged forecasts that its housing predictions were at risk.

Rents in Jim Chalmers’ Rankin electorate climb at three times Treasury’s forecast rate
Rents in the Treasurer’s Brisbane electorate of Rankin have climbed at about three times Treasury’s forecast rate of $2 a week since the May budget tightened negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks, a search of rental advertisements shows, with some rises already in double digits.

Why owner-occupier suburbs will thrive as investor zones face falls
Property strategists say affordable, investor-heavy suburbs face the steepest losses in the downturn, while areas dominated by owner-occupiers are expected to sidestep the sharpest falls.

Tell ’em they’re dreaming: Treasury’s forecasts were simply pie in the sky, Jim Chalmers
In a commentary piece, Geoff Chambers argues Treasury’s forecast of a rent rise below $2 a week is unrealistic and criticises the handling of the May budget, contending that higher interest rates and inflation, weaker auction activity and rising rents are likely to persist into late next year.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Give renters a break: Two-year leases plan to protect from ‘gouging’ landlords
Renters would be offered at least two-year leases, with billions spent on new public housing, under an ACTU plan urging the government to build on its negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms.

Janice was thrilled to buy her own unit. But she has no idea if she will ever move in
Recently widowed retiree Janice Cahill sold her family home and paid a $60,000 deposit for a one-bedroom off-the-plan apartment at Kembla Grange near Wollongong, chosen to be near her grandchildren and to avoid stairs, but does not know when, or whether, she will be able to move in.

The Age

Returning expats secure historic Melbourne apartment for $975,000
A two-bedroom apartment in a converted 1887 Melbourne mansion at 54 Queens Road, overlooking Albert Park, sold for $975,000 at auction on Saturday, $125,000 over reserve.

The Brisbane Times

Towers up to 30 storeys could be allowed near major shopping centre
Towers of up to 30 storeys could be allowed near the Garden City Shopping Centre at Upper Mount Gravatt, with residents to be consulted on the plan.

WA Today

West Leederville set for $94m twin-tower high-rise across from train station
Two apartment buildings almost 20 storeys tall have been approved opposite West Leederville train station, bringing 244 residences.

The Daily Telegraph

49 Terry Rd: Three towers with 600 new apartments proposed for Rouse Hill
A developer has proposed 600 apartments across three towers of eight to nine storeys at 49 Terry Road, Rouse Hill, in western Sydney.

19-23 Rosalind St: Residents fear $30m seniors development will ‘ruin village life’ for Cammeray
A $30 million seniors development proposed at 19-23 Rosalind Street, Cammeray, has drawn strong local opposition.

Cherrybrook rezoning: NSW Government approves 10,000 new homes, 27-storey towers
A Cherrybrook rezoning has grown from a 3,200-home strategy to a 10,000-dwelling precinct with towers up to 27 storeys, with community leaders saying promised roads, schools and sports fields are yet to appear.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan accuses Labor of ‘destroying’ the property market
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has criticised the government’s property tax changes, saying they are damaging the market and locking first-home buyers out.

The Courier Mail

Mount Gravatt tower heights slashed by council in revised housing plan
Brisbane City Council has cut proposed building heights along a busy road in the city’s south after community feedback called for lower-density housing in the precinct.

Developer unveils plans for new 32-storey Main Beach tower Tidemark
Developer Jon Drew has lodged plans for a 32-storey tower, Tidemark, at Main Beach, months after completing his previous tower in the suburb.

Huge 61m Esplanade tower development proposed for Torquay beachfront
A two-tower development up to 18 storeys has been proposed for the Torquay beachfront at Hervey Bay, as a nearby resort once planned as a Sheraton also proceeds.

The Adelaide Advertiser

Adelaide must ‘grow up’ says Premier as 2000-home West Lakes plan revealed
Premier Peter Malinauskas says he supports suburban apartment towers in the right locations, as he revealed a 2,000-home plan at West Lakes.

Hygge Property proposes four-storey apartment building for Stephens Tce, St Peters
A four-storey apartment block has been proposed for Stephens Terrace, St Peters, in Adelaide’s east.

The Illawarra Mercury

A 38-storey apartment tower will improve traffic, says developer
Urban Property Group says its proposed 303-apartment, 38-storey tower at the corner of Flinders and Station streets in North Wollongong would improve traffic, though Transport for NSW has queried the claim.