Hi, and welcome to July!
Happy new financial year, and may it bring further confidence to the property markets around the country!
From everything we see and hear, developers are back actively trying to acquire sites in Melbourne as the renewed market activity in the established market is spreading confidence to the new builds. Articles in the media further confirm this changing sentiment, such as Boom time for Sydney and Melbourne auctions, and Property market records one of the quickest downturns ever.
It’s been a quiet couple of years with a significantly reduced number of new apartments being built, so with the interest rate environment stabilising, theory holds that if the demand from downsizers, first home buyers and investors increases, then the shortage in supply would mean positive news for the developers. And we certainly see this in the current mix of our visualisation projects – about 40% of our work is in marketing 3D visualisation packages, which is higher than usual.
We were saddened to hear about one of our esteemed clients, the founder of the McCloy Group, Jeff McCloy, passing away a week ago – his incredible story of creating communities rather than pure land subdivision projects was truly inspiring. He leaves behind a legacy of adding an authentic local feel to every one of McCloy’s land developments and setting up one of the largest subdivisions in the Hunter Valley area, combining multiple land holdings to create a 2,000 lot subdivision of The Loxford in Kurri Kurri.
Media Articles of Interest
Property market records one of the quickest downturns ever
Artificial intelligence could help plan cities, but there are downsides
The school zones where parents will pay a premium for a house
The sea- and tree-change towns where property profits rose most
10,000-home Concordia mega development takes major step forward
Wollert Community Housing
This month’s featured project is Wollert Community Housing, a thoughtful social housing development designed with simplicity, texture, and community input at its core. Tasked with bringing warmth and variety to a common space, we used a mix of brick tones and materials to create inviting, grounded visuals with design architect’s vision in mind. With two design pathways—one centred around a community hub, the other around open parkland—the project empowers future residents to shape their own neighbourhood, making it a standout example of collaborative, people-first design.
Click here to check out the project
Ben Stewart – The Trusted Name Behind Land Estate Sales
Welcome to Episode 5 of Season 2 of The Land Pioneers Podcast. Today, we’re joined by one of the most authentic leaders in the land development industry, Ben Stewart, Project Marketing Director at Core Projects.
Ben brings over two decades of experience, and his journey from humble beginnings in hospitality to leading major subdivisions like Waralilly is nothing short of remarkable. In this episode, Ben shares how consistency, service, and quiet determination powered his rise through the property industry ranks.
We explore the evolution of Geelong’s growth corridors, Ben’s leadership philosophy, and how personal habits like meditation and cold showers have helped him balance performance pressure with long-term resilience.
If you’re passionate about community building or regional growth or want to hear from someone who truly walks the talk, this episode is packed with wisdom and inspiration.
Click here to check out the conversation with one of the most trusted sales leaders
Singapore and South Korea
We returned about a week ago from an unforgettable family holiday last month. We spent four nights in Singapore and five in South Korea, between Seoul and Incheon, and I’ve found that one of the best ways of seeing the cities is to run around them.
It was an incredible contrast between the glitzy and polished running trails in Singapore and the raw and rugged nature of Incheon in South Korea. The heat maps in the Garmin portal showed hundreds of runners across various trails near our hotel, and Incheon was pretty much bare from my starting point at the Inspire Entertainment resort. But nevertheless, I persisted and created a 15-kilometre loop across the roads, hoping I wouldn’t get lost.
What struck me the most was how, in Australia, we often take the locals’ care of our environment for granted. Unfortunately, in Incheon, there was quite a lot of human waste all around the roads, from discarded wrappers to stuff floating in the waterways. And this just made me feel that much more grateful for being where we are.
I hope you have an amazing month, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Stan Zaslavsky.