Daily Buzz: Friday, 2 August
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PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
Victoria unlocks land for housing developments; Council rates rise for Gold Coast high-rise residents; and a WA supervisor fined for a botched renovation
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Sebastian Holloman. Today is Friday, 02 August.
The Victorian state government has launched a ‘Small Sites Pilot’ program to incentivise housing developments in established suburbs.
The program aims to deliver around 260 houses across Preston, Coburg, Alphington, and Malvern, with 10 per cent designated as affordable housing.
An expressions of interest process has been launched to find commercial partners experienced in medium-density housing projects.
If the pilot program is successful, the initiative may be expanded to other sites in metropolitan and regional Victoria to address housing challenges.
Up in Queensland, the Gold Coast City Council has increased rates for high-rise residents, with those living above level 20 now subject to a 30 to 40 per cent weekly rate increase.
The council claims the change will increase equity, with owners of expensive penthouses paying more than those in cheaper ground-floor apartments.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland criticised the change as an arbitrary way of raising rates, arguing views are not public infrastructure that the local government provides.
CEO Antonia Mercorella expressed concern that the ‘view tax’ is ironic given Queensland’s push for densification to address the state’s housing crisis.
And in WA, a Perth building supervisor has been fined $2,500 for poorly managed renovation in 2018 which caused safety and durability issues.
The supervisor of Insideout Building was contracted for major renovation work on a property, including construction of a second storey.
The Building Services Board disciplined the supervisor for management issues; while the homeowners have initiated separate court proceedings in relation to other aspects of the build.
That’s Property Buzz for today. See you again tomorrow, 03 August, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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