This Month
New home approvals rise to six-month high
As two project approvals in Brisbane and Melbourne show, soaring materials and financing costs have made new projects unviable for all but the priciest homes.
- Michael Bleby
Meet the mayor who sees Airbnb as an agent for good
It’s better to have a short-term rental in a house that’s been refurbished than to have a ruin, says the head of Portugal’s second-largest city.
- Joao Lima
The unusual move that made this seller $4.8m
Most people with a large block to offload would do just that, but this vendor developed it – and made a much bigger profit in the process.
- Michael Bleby
June
- Exclusive
- Architecture
‘Huge demand’: Australia’s largest design firm expands worldwide
Architecture practice Woods Bagot is focusing on growing demands for luxury and non-traditional consultancy services for design firms.
- Michael Bleby and Patrick Duffy
- Exclusive
- Property development
Developers rush to snap up $350m Qld fund to boost housing density
The industry has called for new tax incentives to increase housing supply following the mad rush to snap-up a development fund.
- James Hall
New York-style High Line is coming to Tokyo
The planned Tokyo walkway is also part of a global trend of major cities taking a leaf out of the High Line’s playbook to build similar structures of their own.
- Mia Glass
Elizabeth Bay residents fight developer for more – not less – density
Fortis’ $214 million project in a Sydney inner harbourside suburb has put it at odds with city authorities and locals opposing more gentrification.
- Michael Bleby
Chicago wants to enlist remote workers in rescue of downtown
It’s not the usual return-to-office pitch. Instead, the city is leaning into the rise of remote work by promoting co-working spaces in its iconic locations.
- Isis Almeida
May
Sydney’s east, north shore to get many more houses under Minns’ plan
Councils in areas such as Ku-ring-gai, Woollahra and the north shore will have to build thousands more new homes under a major shake-up by the NSW government.
- Updated
- Campbell Kwan
- Exclusive
- South-east Queensland
Miles gives in to councils with $350m bid to fast-track housing
The Queensland premier will unveil a new fund to fast-track housing development in urban areas across the state, incentivising developers to transform industrial zones and low-density suburbs.
- James Hall
Meet the Montreal mayor who declared war on SUVs
The ongoing expansion of vehicle size is causing consternation in North America. More than four out of every five new cars sold there is either an SUV or a pickup truck.
- David Zipper
The battle for the streets of New York
The Big Apple’s streets are teetering between lively and unlivable. Now, the city is about to embark on the country’s first congestion-pricing plan.
- Dodai Stewart
Imported tradies need to live somewhere too
To fix the housing shortage the government needs to train many more building industry workers at home as well as fast-tracking visas for foreign tradies, builders say.
- Michael Bleby
$10b housing fund should be doubled, community providers say
The massive response to the federal government’s first tender to develop affordable and social rental housing shows more funding is needed, developers say.
- Michael Bleby
April
Heritage lovers or NIMBYs? Meet the council saying no to new homes
Sydney councils in wealthy areas are using heritage protection orders to skirt new home targets. The planning minister is now putting them on notice.
- Campbell Kwan and Samantha Hutchinson
Housing angst: 840 days and still waiting on a planning permit
Melbourne architect Michael Smith warns that lengthy council planning approvals can kill good projects at a time when more housing is desperately needed.
- Gus McCubbing
- Explainer
- Housing crisis
The five barriers to building 1.2 million homes by 2029
Creative solutions are needed to hit the ambitious national target set out by the government to boost desperately needed supply and solve Australia’s housing crisis.
- Ingrid Fuary-Wagner, Campbell Kwan and Gus McCubbing
Six or nine storeys? NSW planning reforms leave industry guessing
Developers and architects are urging the Minns government to clarify how high they can build in rezoned land around 31 metro and rail stations.
- Campbell Kwan
Four key Melbourne suburbs haven’t built a major project in five years
Developers are warning that overhauling planning powers alone won’t be enough to fix the state’s chronic housing crisis.
- Gus McCubbing
Six Sydney suburbs haven’t built a major project in years
Some of the suburbs earmarked for aggressive development haven’t had a single major unit project in five years. The NSW government wants to change that.
- Campbell Kwan