The market
What the tower rush actually is
A decade of high-rise approvals reshaped the inner suburbs of four capitals. What drove it, how the cities differ, and what it left behind for buyers.
14 min read · reviewed 14 May 2026
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Field notes
Five explainers on the tower rush and what it built
Read in order, these cover the ground a first-time high-rise buyer needs: what the tower rush was, how the buildings are made, what the contract does, what an inspection report means and what the flat costs to hold. About ninety minutes end to end.
Construction
Stages of an apartment tower build
Site establishment through to handover, with indicative durations and the two points where programmes most often slip.
16 min read · reviewed 2 June 2026
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Contracts
Off-the-plan: a 14-point checklist
The fourteen things to establish before signing, in the order a careful buyer would establish them, with the question to ask on each.
18 min read · reviewed 27 June 2026
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Defects
How to read a building defect report
The structure of an inspection report, the vocabulary it uses, and how to tell a snag from something that needs a specialist.
15 min read · reviewed 9 July 2026
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Costs
What a high-rise really costs to hold
Levies, the capital works fund, insurance, rates and water — assembled into one annual number, with the drivers behind each line.
17 min read · reviewed 21 July 2026
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Revision policy
Why there are no dated news posts here
Most of what a buyer needs to understand about the tower rush does not change monthly. The construction sequence of a concrete-framed residential tower is much the same as it was ten years ago; what changes is the law around disclosure, the insurance market and the cost of trades and materials.
So instead of publishing a stream of short posts, we keep a small number of long notes and revise them. Each carries the date it was last reviewed, and material corrections are recorded at the foot of the note rather than quietly edited in.
Reading order
If you only have an hour
- Signing soon? Read the checklist first, then the construction stages so the delivery clauses make sense.
- Settling soon? Read the defect report note, then the holding-cost note before your first levy notice arrives.
- Just curious? The tower rush explainer is the general one, and it stands alone.