HOUSING CRISIS WON'T BE SOLVED BY DEMAND-SIDE POLICIES, PROPERTY EXPERTS WARN

Australia’s housing crisis will not be solved by first-home buyer incentives or tax changes alone, with leading property figures warning governments must tackle supply constraints if affordability is to improve.

Speaking at the Kanebridge Quarterly Property Leadership Summit in Sydney last week, expert project marketing specialist Sam Elbanna, property investor and fund manager Paul Miron and property consultant Karla McNeice said that a lack of housing supply remained the central issue facing the market.

Elbanna, Director of CPM Realty with more than 30 years’ experience in project sales, argued that successive governments had focused too heavily on stimulating demand rather than addressing the barriers preventing new housing from being delivered.

“The misconception is that politicians think the way to solve the housing crisis is to drive demand,” he said.

“The reality is that’s not the way. This is a supply-side problem, and it needs to be solved on the supply side.”

Drawing on his experience in project sales, Elbanna said policies designed to help first-home buyers often had unintended consequences, pointing to previous grants that ultimately flowed through to higher property prices.

Instead, he said developers were facing increasing red tape, approval delays and rising costs, which were discouraging new housing supply.

“In the absence of stock, demand exceeds supply,” he said.

Miron, a Co-Founder and Fund Manager of Msquared Capital, said the housing debate had become overly focused on tax policy while overlooking broader structural issues.

He argued that affordability challenges stemmed from a combination of factors, including planning constraints, supply shortages, migration levels and interest rates.

“No-one can be 100 per cent certain on the real reason for property prices is going up,” he said.

“The reason why property prices are higher is a combination of interest rates, lack of supply, migration, vacancy rates and maybe taxes play a role.”

Miron was critical of recent federal housing policy changes, warning they could reduce the number of new homes being built and further constrain supply that was even highlighted in the budget.

He also highlighted the importance of the property sector to the broader economy, noting that residential real estate and related industries employed more than one million Australians.

McNeice, who advises developers on sales strategy and market intelligence, said understanding buyers had become increasingly important as affordability pressures intensified.

While affordability remained a major consideration, she said today’s buyers were focused on value rather than simply price.

“People are looking for value for money,” she said.

She said buyers were increasingly evaluating factors such as transport connections, walkability, nearby amenities and flexible living spaces that could accommodate changing family needs.

“What infrastructure is going on? Can I walk to the shops? Can I meet people at the local cafe?” she said.

The panel also discussed the mounting pressures facing developers, with Elbanna arguing that many projects become financially unviable from the moment a site is purchased.

“The viability of a development happens at the moment the site is bought,” he said.

He said rising construction costs, higher interest rates and overly optimistic feasibility assumptions had left some developers exposed as market conditions changed.

While acknowledging the growing number of smaller and first-time developers entering the market, Elbanna said property development required expertise across finance, construction, marketing and legal disciplines.

“It is actually a business that requires a level of expertise,” he said.

Looking ahead, the panel agreed opportunities remained in the market despite current challenges.

Miron said property should continue to be viewed as a long-term investment and cautioned against trying to time short-term market movements.

McNeice said success would increasingly depend on identifying projects that genuinely met changing buyer expectations.

Elbanna said affordable housing remained achievable, but developers needed to deliver more than just homes.

“We can provide affordable housing in this country,” he said.

“But we’ve got to wrap that affordable housing with the things that people want.”

As Australia’s housing affordability debate intensifies, the panellists agreed on one point: without a meaningful increase in housing supply, demand-side measures alone are unlikely to solve the nation’s property challenges.

There is a fundamental advantage in being able to walk through a newly built penthouse before deciding to buy it.

The purchaser can see how northern light moves through the living room, judge whether the terrace is large enough for entertaining and understand the real relationship between the interiors and the view. The quality of the stone, joinery and finishes no longer needs to be imagined from a sample board.

That certainty forms an important part of the appeal at Park Residences in Cremorne, where Lower North Shore specialist Abadeen has released the completed whole-floor penthouse for sale by expressions of interest.

Occupying the building’s uppermost level, the residence spans 295sqm on title, including a 74sqm wraparound terrace. It has three bedrooms plus a study, 2.5 bathrooms and private lift access, with its principal rooms oriented north towards the leafy surrounds of Cremorne and Middle Harbour.

The scale is intended to feel closer to a freestanding home than a conventional apartment. It is also the crowning residence in a completed collection of just 11 homes, giving the building a degree of privacy increasingly difficult to find in larger residential developments.

A penthouse designed from the inside out

The penthouse is the product of a collaboration between Abadeen founder and executive chairman Justin Brown and designer and curator Jack Freeman, founder of FREEMAN & CO.

Their brief extended beyond specifying premium finishes. The intention was to create an established private residence — a home with warmth, art and individual pieces — rather than an immaculate but impersonal display apartment.

“The experience begins the moment the lift doors open,” Brown says.

“You’re welcomed into an elegant dining room before the home opens into an extraordinary living space framed by sun-drenched harbour views.”

Brown says that when someone walks through the front door, they pause.

“It’s not just the view, it’s the incredible sense of space, the warmth created by the northern sunlight that fills the interiors, and the way every room connects so effortlessly. It has all the proportions of a luxury home, while delivering the effortless lifestyle and personalised experience of living in a world-class six-star hotel, combined with the simplicity and convenience of apartment living.”

Freeman’s approach is based on the idea of collecting rather than decorating. Furniture, lighting and art are selected for their form, provenance and relationship to the architecture, producing an interior that appears to have developed over time.

At Park Residences, the curation includes furniture by Parisian design house Pierre Augustin Rose and the sculptural Ball and Shade pendant by London studio Square in Circle.

These international pieces sit within an architectural framework of oak flooring, marble surfaces, full-height glazing, integrated joinery and a feature fireplace.

The result is restrained but not anonymous. Curved and sculptural furniture softens the apartment’s clean architectural lines, while art and distinctive lighting introduce points of personality. Natural stone and timber give the rooms a tactile quality that is intended to age more gracefully than a heavily trend-driven palette.

Northern light as an architectural material

The penthouse’s north-facing orientation is central to the experience.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing brings daylight deep into the principal living spaces and frames a view across the surrounding treetops towards Middle Harbour. Instead of the harder glare and heat that can accompany a western outlook, the northern aspect provides more consistent light through the day.

That light also changes the character of the materials. Marble, timber, upholstery and metalwork become more expressive as shadows move across their surfaces.

The main living and entertaining spaces connect directly with the wraparound terrace, extending the usable footprint of the home and giving different parts of the interior access to the outlook.

At 74sqm, the terrace is conceived as a genuine outdoor living area rather than a narrow apartment balcony. It provides space for dining, informal seating and entertaining while preserving the elevated perspective over Cremorne’s greenery.

The fireplace gives the living room a counterpoint during cooler months, helping the large, glazed space retain warmth and intimacy after dark.

The appeal of a whole-floor residence

A penthouse occupying an entire level offers more than additional floor area.

It can provide separation from neighbouring apartments, greater control over orientation and windows on multiple sides of the building. Private lift access also creates a more deliberate sense of arrival and removes the usual transition through shared residential corridors.

At Park Residences, those attributes are combined with a boutique building of only 11 residences.

The comparatively small number of homes should appeal to buyers moving from substantial houses who want less maintenance without accepting the density or anonymity of a large apartment tower.

That downsizer market has become an important audience for luxury developments across Sydney’s established suburbs. Many buyers are not necessarily seeking smaller living spaces; they want to relinquish gardens, external maintenance and ageing houses while retaining room for family, guests, work and entertaining.

The Park Residences penthouse responds to that expectation with three bedrooms, a separate study, generous living areas and an outdoor space large enough to function as another room.

Cremorne beyond the harbour view

The penthouse is positioned at 2 Sutherland Street, opposite Cammeray Golf Club and close to Cammeray Croquet Club and Grand Slam Tennis Cammeray.

Neutral Bay Village, its cafés, restaurants and shops are approximately 650 metres away, according to Abadeen’s campaign material. The Oaks Hotel is also within walking distance, while the Sydney CBD remains readily accessible by road and public transport.

This combination of outlook and convenience is an important part of the proposition.

The residence is elevated above a green Middle Harbour landscape, but it is not isolated from everyday services. For an owner-occupier, the ability to walk to coffee, dining and shopping can matter as much as the panoramic view.

The advantage of buying completed

Off-the-plan purchasing necessarily involves interpretation. Buyers assess architectural drawings, renders, finish schedules and display suites before committing to a residence that may not be completed for several years.

A finished penthouse removes much of that abstraction.

Prospective buyers can test the privacy, sound, natural light, outlook and proportions themselves. They can also assess whether the interiors and furniture curation align with the way they want to live.

This is particularly relevant at the premium end of the market, where the emotional response to a residence can be as important as its specifications.

Park Residences is not selling the promise of what its penthouse may eventually become. The rooms, terrace, view and material detail are already there to be experienced.

The Penthouse at Park Residences is being offered for sale by expressions of interest through SRM Residential. Private inspections are available by appointment.

At a glance

Property: The Penthouse at Park Residences

Address: 2 Sutherland Street, Cremorne, NSW

Developer: Abadeen

Architecture: MHNDU

Interior curation: Jack Freeman and FREEMAN & CO

Building: Boutique collection of 11 completed residences

Title area: 295sqm

Terrace: 74sqm wraparound entertaining terrace

Accommodation: Three bedrooms plus study

Bathrooms: 2.5

Aspect: North-facing

Outlook: Across Cremorne’s leafy surrounds towards Middle Harbour

Access: Private lift entry

Selected design pieces: Pierre Augustin Rose furniture and the Ball and Shade pendant by Square in Circle

Sales method: Expressions of interest

Selling agency: SRM Residential

Project contact: 1800 700 880

HOUSING CRISIS WON’T BE SOLVED BY DEMAND-SIDE POLICIES, PROPERTY EXPERTS WARN

Australia’s housing affordability crisis is being fuelled by chronic undersupply, planning delays and rising development costs, as politicians continue to focus on the wrong solutions.

The completed penthouse at Park Residences showcases a considered approach to luxury apartment living, combining northern light, curated interiors and the privacy of a whole-floor residence.