1. Tower rush market context
What drove a decade of high-rise approvals in Australian capitals, how the cycle differs between cities, and why the tower rush has produced a very uneven stock of buildings.
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Research desk
What we cover, and what we deliberately leave alone
The desk works on six subjects. Four of them are published as field notes today; two are open lines of research we expect to publish during 2026. Everything here is free to read and none of it is sponsored.
2. Construction stages
The delivery sequence for a residential tower, indicative durations for each stage, and the two points in the programme where slippage is most common.
3. Contracts and disclosure
Which documents you are given before signing off the plan, what each one is for, and the fourteen points worth establishing before the cooling-off period runs out.
4. Defects and inspections
How a building inspection report is structured, the vocabulary it uses, and the difference between a snag, a defect and a structural failure.
5. Ownership and running costs
Owners corporation levies, the split between the administrative and capital works funds, insurance, rates and water, and why amenity drives the quarterly number.
6. Settlement and valuation mechanics
How a bank values an apartment at settlement rather than at signing, what a valuation shortfall is, and the sequence of events when one appears. In research.
Out of scope
Subjects we do not cover
Being clear about the edges of the brief is part of being useful. The desk does not publish on any of the following, and no amount of reader interest will change that.
- Price forecasts. We do not predict what apartments will be worth. Anyone who tells you they can is guessing with more confidence than the evidence supports.
- Named-development reviews. We write about mechanics, not about whether a particular tower is a good buy.
- Tax and structuring. Depreciation, land tax and ownership structures are matters for a registered tax agent who knows your circumstances.
- Lender comparisons. Credit is a licensed field. We describe how a valuation works; we do not compare loans or recommend brokers.
Sources
What we read to write this
Notes are built from documents that anyone can obtain, which is deliberate — you should be able to check us.
- Statutory instruments — the sale-of-land and owners corporation legislation applying in each state, plus the National Construction Code.
- Regulator guidance — published material from state consumer affairs and building regulators.
- Planning registers — council and state planning portals, which record what has been approved and what is under construction.
- Owners corporation budgets — real budgets and maintenance plans shared with us by readers and committees, always de-identified.
Is there a seventh subject we should be working on?
Reader questions decide the research queue. Tell us what you could not find an honest answer to.