Latest news with #HarryTriguboff
Sydney Morning Herald
21-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Sydney Morning Herald
$800 a week for that? The battle for better apartment design
I've always rejected one-bedroom apartment listings that show bed, kitchenette and toilet in tight proximity, but I've lived in plenty of apartments. And while I prefer a detached house, I know that if I ever want to buy a home in Brisbane, I'll probably have to downsize my ideas. It's a reality that Brisbane is grappling with broadly. We've held on to the Australian ideal of a home with a backyard for longer than Sydney and Melbourne, but as our population grows, we have little choice but to embrace mixed density. Census data from 2021 shows 60.2 per cent of all dwellings in the City of Brisbane were separate houses. High density accounted for 21.4 per cent of dwellings, and medium density for 17.8 per cent. The latter figures will nearly certainly grow after the next census in 2026. The question then becomes: what makes a well-designed apartment? The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute says good apartments have the same qualities as well-designed homes, and they're comfortable places to occupy. Social enterprise organisation Cities People Love looked at how apartment design policies affect design quality and, in turn, the health and wellbeing of apartment dwellers. Their study measured the implementation of 96 design requirements that could plausibly affect health, from policies in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria, and across 172 buildings in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. They found residents who felt more positive or satisfied with the design of their apartment had higher mental wellbeing, 'with the strongest evidence for natural ventilation, summer-time thermal comfort, indoor space and layout, and communal space quality in the apartment building'. Loading While I wonder how the 'unsellable' Melbourne developments might fair against the study's metrics, plenty of Brisbane proposals come to mind. Last year, billionaire developer Harry Triguboff unveiled plans to build twin towers on Alice Street overlooking the city's botanic gardens, adding more than 1000 units to Brisbane's CBD. Replies to this masthead's story conveyed the cynicism felt towards this style of apartment living. 'Very bad feng shui living in one of those places,' one reader commented. Another replied: 'Nothing says welcome like a thousand overpriced concrete chook boxes.' Of course, Meriton's twin towers sit on the more extreme end of density. An 'apartment' could also be a unit in a six-pack, like the blocks that dominate New Farm. A few weeks ago, I did a walk-through of Canvas, a luxury three-storey apartment building in Bulimba designed by architecture practice Bureau Proberts. They turned the site of two old warehouses on a 1600-square-metre block into 21 apartments, or – as Bureau creative director Liam Proberts describes it – 'a 21-pack'. Canvas mimics the advantageous qualities of a detached home and builds on the philosophy that good design, implemented by architects and developers, can make apartment living more desirable. Loading 'These were specifically designed for people to live in, rather than what often becomes a rental or investment property,' Proberts says. 'To do that, you need to have a sense of place and identity ... because you want to feel at home. 'We were taking back the qualities of Queensland living, where people are used to a backyard, and translating it into apartment living. It's a home alternative.' A three-bedroom Canvas unit sold last year for $2.2 million, having previously sold for $1.9 million in 2022.
The Age
21-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Age
$800 a week for that? The battle for better apartment design
I've always rejected one-bedroom apartment listings that show bed, kitchenette and toilet in tight proximity, but I've lived in plenty of apartments. And while I prefer a detached house, I know that if I ever want to buy a home in Brisbane, I'll probably have to downsize my ideas. It's a reality that Brisbane is grappling with broadly. We've held on to the Australian ideal of a home with a backyard for longer than Sydney and Melbourne, but as our population grows, we have little choice but to embrace mixed density. Census data from 2021 shows 60.2 per cent of all dwellings in the City of Brisbane were separate houses. High density accounted for 21.4 per cent of dwellings, and medium density for 17.8 per cent. The latter figures will nearly certainly grow after the next census in 2026. The question then becomes: what makes a well-designed apartment? The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute says good apartments have the same qualities as well-designed homes, and they're comfortable places to occupy. Social enterprise organisation Cities People Love looked at how apartment design policies affect design quality and, in turn, the health and wellbeing of apartment dwellers. Their study measured the implementation of 96 design requirements that could plausibly affect health, from policies in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria, and across 172 buildings in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne. They found residents who felt more positive or satisfied with the design of their apartment had higher mental wellbeing, 'with the strongest evidence for natural ventilation, summer-time thermal comfort, indoor space and layout, and communal space quality in the apartment building'. Loading While I wonder how the 'unsellable' Melbourne developments might fair against the study's metrics, plenty of Brisbane proposals come to mind. Last year, billionaire developer Harry Triguboff unveiled plans to build twin towers on Alice Street overlooking the city's botanic gardens, adding more than 1000 units to Brisbane's CBD. Replies to this masthead's story conveyed the cynicism felt towards this style of apartment living. 'Very bad feng shui living in one of those places,' one reader commented. Another replied: 'Nothing says welcome like a thousand overpriced concrete chook boxes.' Of course, Meriton's twin towers sit on the more extreme end of density. An 'apartment' could also be a unit in a six-pack, like the blocks that dominate New Farm. A few weeks ago, I did a walk-through of Canvas, a luxury three-storey apartment building in Bulimba designed by architecture practice Bureau Proberts. They turned the site of two old warehouses on a 1600-square-metre block into 21 apartments, or – as Bureau creative director Liam Proberts describes it – 'a 21-pack'. Canvas mimics the advantageous qualities of a detached home and builds on the philosophy that good design, implemented by architects and developers, can make apartment living more desirable. Loading 'These were specifically designed for people to live in, rather than what often becomes a rental or investment property,' Proberts says. 'To do that, you need to have a sense of place and identity ... because you want to feel at home. 'We were taking back the qualities of Queensland living, where people are used to a backyard, and translating it into apartment living. It's a home alternative.' A three-bedroom Canvas unit sold last year for $2.2 million, having previously sold for $1.9 million in 2022.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Why Asian buyers are set to snap up even more Australian homes: 'Prices are going up'
Real estate tycoon Harry Triguboff has claimed Donald Trump 's tariff war will send a flood of Asian property buyers to Australia, placing further strain on the market. Mr Triguboff - raised in south Beijing 's Russian community - moved to Australia in his youth and founded Meriton in 1968, which has become one of Australia's biggest apartment builders operating across NSW, Queensland, the ACT and Victoria. The rich lister, worth an estimated $26billion, said Australia is looking more enticing to foreigners who were wanting to purchase property offshore in Western countries. 'I think that, because of the tariffs that Trump puts on goods entering America, prices are going up, sending us more Asian buyers,' Mr Triguboff told The Australian. The US president slapped tariffs on more than 50 countries earlier this year, not long after he settled into the White House for his second term, which according to a CNN report from earlier this week has caused prices for everyday items to soar. Power tools, mattresses and baby gear were just some of the goods that have surged as companies that import stock or materials try to stay afloat amid the minimum 10 per cent tariff increases. Trump particularly targeted China in his trade war by raising the baseline tariff on its goods to 145 per cent. It was intended to be a protectionist measure for domestic American manufacturing, but China retaliated with 125 per cent tariffs of its own and limited rare metals shipped to the US, needed for tech industries. Following a US stock market plunge, Trump said he was prepared to negotiate with China. The talks concluded earlier this week with both sides tentatively agreeing to bring their additional tariff levels down to 10 per cent. Triguboff said foreigners wanting to buy here should be encouraged and he wants the newly elected Albanese government to reaffirm its commitment to a house building boom to ensure the supply is there. 'I hope that Mr Albanese will agree with us that we need more and more houses and more and more people. Because the country is very big and very rich in raw materials, which the whole world wants,' he said. The Labor government in 2022 agreed to the National Housing Accord with states and territories, local governments, institutional investors and the construction sector. The accord aims to build 1.2million new homes by 2029 but, according to Bureau of Statistics data the target is already lagging well behind by about 30,000 properties. 'In the 1980s, nearly half of lower-income young people owned homes ... now it's near 20 per cent. We have to build more homes more quickly.' Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said last month. Recent CoreLogic data shows Australia's property market prices have reached a record high. Values increased 0.4 per cent over March after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates for the first time in four years. The lift in CoreLogic's national Home Value Index was broad, with rises in every capital city except Hobart, along with all the rest-of-state regions. The rate cut's helpful nudge on borrowing capacity and mortgage serviceability helped push the average Australian home to $820,300. The median home value in Sydney was the highest of all capitals, sitting at $1,104,000 in March. Canberra had the biggest monthly increase in home prices among the capitals, rising 0.54 per cent month-on-month. The average price of a home in the nation's capital is $834,000, making it the third most expensive city behind Sydney and Brisbane. Melbourne, where the average home costs $781,000, sits behind Adelaide at fifth on the affordability table.
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
New push for Anthony Albanese to follow in the UK's lead and restrict immigration numbers
Ben Fordham has urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to follow in the steps of the UK and restrict the number of migrants entering Australia. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK risks 'becoming an island of strangers' as his government unveiled a series of policies aimed at reducing immigration numbers. The proposed laws would require foreign nationals' to wait for 10 years instead of five to apply for settlement, English language requirements tightened for immigrants and the qualifications required for those applying for a skilled work visa expanded. Last year, the UK absorbed 1.2million migrants, while in the 2023-24 financial year Australian took in 670,000 immigrants. 'Twenty-five years ago there were more babies born in Australia than migrants arriving in Australia. Now it's four to one the other way,' Fordham said. 'That's a big shift. If you compare our population growth to the rest of the world, Australia's is off the charts. Fordham said Mr Albanese needed to make good on his promise to reduce immigration numbers amid Australia's worsening housing crisis. 'He promised he'd bring the numbers down. Well, we will hold him to that. We're in the middle of a housing crisis and yet we're taking in almost two thousand people per day. It is not unreasonable to say "slow down",' he said. Fordham then took aim at one of Australia's richest people, Harry Triguboff, who he accused of encouraging high immigration in order to fill his own pockets. 'The billionaire property developer Harry Triguboff says we need more migration,' the radio host told listeners. 'Mr Triguboff believes Australia's population will grow to 55million by 2050, but he says if he had it his way it would be 100million. 'Harry just wants to sell more apartments.' Mr Triguboff told Mark Bouris' podcast Straight Talk last year: 'We need more immigration, because if we have no migrants, it's very, very difficult [to build]'. Australia's fourth-richest person warned the country would collapse due to an aging population unless immigration levels were increase and advocated for a diverse immigration policy that welcomes migrants from a wide range of backgrounds. 'Life is difficult in so much of the world that everybody would love to come here. Not to destroy us, they just want to come to live here. It's a good place to live,' he said. Immigration levels in Australia reached record-high numbers in late 2023 when close to 550,000 foreigners arrived in the country. The Treasury Budget papers forecast net overseas migration falling to 335,000 in 2024-25, before dropping to 260,000 in 2025-26. Treasury in the May 2024 Budget had underestimated population growth, and in December, revised its forecasts for this financial year, to have 340,000 migrants moving in - as opposed to 260,000 predicted just seven months earlier.
