Building approvals fall as high rise apartment development languishes

Building approvals fell 6.1 percent in August after a rise of 11 percent in July, mostly driven by the apartment sector, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed. Figures released yesterday show the number of total dwellings approved in the last month of winter was 13,991, with the biggest decline in NSW and South Australia, both at -11.5 percent, seasonally adjusted. However, approvals for private dwellings excluding houses — townhouses and apartments — saw a 16.5 percent drop on the same time last year.

The fall has been attributed to the drop in approval for high density apartments blocks more than nine storeys high. Figures show there were 1,214 apartments approved in August 2024 compared with 2,504 in July.

Property Council of Australia Group Executive Policy and Advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said the numbers were disappointing.

“We need to increase the number of homes approved and ensure a strong pipeline of apartment supply, to drive towards our housing targets at scale,” Mr Kandelaars said.

“But the reality is that it has never been more difficult and costly to get apartments out of the ground.”

He said ‘apartment-killer’ taxes and planning systems had had a negative effect on housing supply at a time when the country is struggling to deal with a housing crisis.

“Over the past year, we approved nearly 9,000 fewer apartments and townhouses across the country than in the preceding 12-month period,” he said.

“We need that number to increase month on month to build the homes Australians need.”

A home that’s right at the entrance to Jeff Bezos’s Beverly HIlls estate, which the billionaire purchased for $165 million in 2020, is now on the market asking $19.8 million.

Shaded by mature olive trees, the three-story modern mansion on Angelo Drive spans nearly 10,000 square feet, and includes five bedrooms, a bar and lounge, a home cinema, a pool with floating benches, and a 15-car garage.

The modern home centers around a striking wood staircase that extends through all three floors, creating an eye-shaped spiral.

Other design choices include a full-height black marble fireplace, herringbone wood flooring, grayscale marble backsplashes in the kitchen and bathroom, banks of floor-to-ceiling windows and a seating area in the middle of the pool.

There is also an outdoor kitchen and eating area poolside, and a living space with sliding doors that open directly onto the pool deck, for indoor/outdoor living.

The home was built in 2021 and designed by Gabbay Architects for the owner, who purchased the underlying property for $4.1 million in 2015, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark.

The seller, who runs a Beverly Hills-based plastic surgery practice, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Benedict Canyon house came to market Friday with Tomer Fridman of Christie’s International Real Estate. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Bezos estate is also known as the Warner Estate, named after its first owner, Hollywood mogul Jack Warner of the Warner Bros.

After Warner, the 9-acre estate was owned by music executive and film producer David Geffen, followed by Bezos. The property includes a palatial Gregorian Revival mansion built in 1939 and designed by architect Florence Yoch to befit the status of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

At $19.8 million, the new listing offers quite a deal compared to other properties neighbouring Bezos. In Florida, the owner of a vacant lot next door to the Amazon founder’s estate on Indian Creek Island is asking $150 million for it.

Building approvals fall as high rise apartment development languishes

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show little headway being made in the Federal Government’s push to create more housing

The nearly 10,000-square-foot home stands right at the entrance to the Amazon billionaire’s grand, $165 million estate.