Hi, and welcome to May,
The election has dominated the news in the last few weeks, and after all the noise settles down after the decision on Saturday, we’re ready to get back to business. Like many others in the property industry, developers were waiting to see which political party would win and to chart the course forward based on changing conditions. But in reality, either party would have the same set of constraints to work with, and thus, not much has changed.
I’ve also just come back from the yearly Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association‘s (VPELA) Gala event, where roughly 900 attendees from across the planning industry partied the night away in UK style – the theme of the night was “London is Calling, Keep Calm and Carry On”. It’s a very apt theme at the moment – one of the planners I talked to mentioned that this is the most challenging year in the business over the last 25 years. Compared to the previous year, where he had about 26 planning hearings scheduled, this year, he has 4.
Yet, better times are ahead. Immigration figures are likely to stay high, and since the current inflation rate is below the RBA’s target, we’re likely to see some interest rate drops at some stage, which typically bodes well for the property industry. So it’s a matter of time. The problem is that nobody knows what time the matter is. So, time will tell.
Media Articles of Interest
Here are some more articles that we have found of interest over the last month:
Apartment prices in record jump to $19,000 per square metre
Adelaide 2050: Where we’ll live, work, and play in the future
Huge home trend Aussies are sick of
Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It: Visual Amenity Evidence for VCAT on Time!
It’s a regular Friday afternoon, 4:30 pm or thereabouts, and I’ve just been on the phone with a couple of clients checking in on their completed visualisation packages.
As soon as I’m off the phone, I see a missed call from a planning law firm. The message reads: “A 3D company who took it upon themselves to complete the visual impact evidence photomontages for a multi-storey residential development has pulled out from doing the project because of their problems with the capacity to deliver this work. Please call at your earliest convenience.”
It’s not the sort of phone call to look forward to on a Friday afternoon – but here we are, and our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to solve our client’s problem. Here is a project that generally should take on a comfortable pace of 5-6 weeks, but the VCAT hearing date is set in stone and can’t be postponed – it’s five weeks from now. The evidence must be circulated amongst all objectors and other stakeholders ten business days before the hearing and not a minute later. So 4 pm COB on the 11th day before the hearing or bust.
The client is desperate, the planning lawyers are desperate, and we are about to pick up a burning grenade. This story’s plot is starting to sound like a plot for a “Mission: Impossible” sequel, right?
Quantity Surveying & Cost-Planning – Part 3: Completion
In this final episode on Quantity Surveying and Cost Planning, we focus on the Completion stage of property development — a critical phase where precision matters most.
Check out the video, where Harry explains how, at this step, he and the team at Northwind work with tax depreciation schedules and deal with final assessments, liquidated damages amongst other issues at completion of the project.
Click here to check out the video episode.
Johnston St, Fitzroy – VCAT Permit Win!
For this month’s feature project, we wanted to share the good news for one of our latest projects that went through a VCAT hearing late last year and received a permit to proceed. The main difference in this project from some others was that, on the opposite side of the road, an approved 9-storey building was outlined to provide a reference point for how the streetscape will look once that building is completed.
Click here to view the 3D photomontages.
Rodney Mifsud – Creating Win-Win Partnerships That Build Communities
We’re back with Episode 3 of Season 2 of The Land Pioneers Podcast, featuring the driven and genuinely down-to-earth Rodney Mifsud—Director of Acquisitions at Resi Ventures and a true force in Melbourne’s land development scene.
Rodney brings not only expertise but also warmth and authenticity to every conversation. With over a decade of experience, Rodney has become a standout figure in land acquisitions, having led deals exceeding $500 million in value and contributing to projects with a combined end value of over $2 billion.
Tales from the Top Podcast – My Journey
Last month also featured the release of the episode where the tables were turned and I was interviewed on a podcast called “Tales from the Top”. I got to share my entrepreneurial journey and how coming from a different country has shaped so many of my decisions going forward.
I’m grateful to Lee and Jayde for their patience – the episode ended up being around two hours long, but talking about what success means to me and some of the challenges I had to overcome when we first arrived to Australia, really made me appreciate the incredible opportunities we have here to create a life of abundance whatever that may mean to us.
All the best for your month ahead,
Stan Zaslavsky.