Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Destination 2045: a new era for Queensland tourism and development

Queensland’s newly released Destination 2045: Delivering Queensland’s Tourism Future lays out a bold 20-year vision to position the state as a global tourism leader. With a goal to double visitor expenditure to $84 billion and grow tourism jobs by 25% by 2045, the strategy presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for property and infrastructure developers.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

The “Plan B” the Premier is looking for: Sydney Olympic Park

Making headlines this week, the bold plan to make Rosehill Gardens racecourse a mini-city of 25,000 homes has failed, but the “Plan B” that Premier Chris Minns said he was looking for could be just one metro stop away: Sydney Olympic Park. Former Chief Planner for NSW Gary White, has called on the Minns government to develop the hectares of underused public land at Sydney Olympic Park into a “TOD-like” precinct centred around its future metro station.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Beyond our borders: what Australia can learn from US masterplans

In today’s rapidly evolving development landscape, looking beyond our borders for innovation and inspiration is more important than ever, especially when it comes to masterplan communities. International markets offer powerful insights on what it takes to create places that are not only functional, but thriving, connected, and enduring. Two standout examples from the US — Summerlin in Las Vegas and Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota — have become gold standards in masterplanned community development, consistently topping national rankings and sales charts. So, what sets them apart? And more importantly, how can we apply their winning strategies to the Australian context?

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Why strong local government strategic planning delivers housing growth and investment confidence

We’re all familiar with the housing predicament facing Australia. What is often missing from the conversation is the reality that housing delivery is intrinsically linked to the strength and foresight of local strategic plans. Investment decisions - whether by developers or government entities - rely heavily on the direction and clarity set by government strategic plans. These strategies aren’t about box ticking; they are foundational to unlocking housing supply, managing risk, and creating vibrant, sustainable places to live, work and play.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Reimagining our cities through a network of vibrant precincts

In a world reshaped by changing lifestyles and the aftershocks of the pandemic, cities must evolve to stay relevant. Enter the vibrant precinct — an urban strategy that blends community, commerce, culture, and connectivity to create thriving, inclusive spaces. A vibrant precinct is more than just a place, it's an experience.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Plan Victoria: planning ambition without an economic strategy?

The recent release of Plan Victoria was a welcome step toward a long-term and holistic planning vision for Victoria. But almost immediately, it felt like time for an update. While Plan Victoria sets bold goals, it lacks an explicit economic strategy to support, or underpin, those ambitions. What’s missing is a serious discussion about how planning will contribute to economic growth, productivity and prosperity over the medium to long term.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Constructing through change: challenges facing Australian developers in today’s policy landscape

Australia's development landscape is in constant flux, shaped by ambitious policy commitments from the government and a looming federal election. While many existing initiatives aim to address critical issues like housing affordability and sustainability, they also present emerging challenges and opportunities that developers must navigate strategically.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Navigating the Australian property market in 2025 amid global economic shifts

Australia's property market is navigating headwinds and opportunities shaped by both global and domestic forces. The recent equity market correction, which began before the announcement of new U.S. tariffs, was sparked by major tech-stock selloffs. These developments underscore rising uncertainty, which is quickly reverberating through financial markets, consumer sentiment and housing fundamentals.

We’ve explored the five critical factors driving the outlook for Australia's property market.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Digital Nomads and their impact on the housing market

Understanding housing sub-markets and lifestyle or behavioural shifts are important when planning and designing your next project. We’re shining a light on Digital Nomads, and exploring the implications of this growing segment on the housing market.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

2025 Federal Budget: A Mixed Bag for Housing Supply?

The 2025 Australian federal budget places an emphasis on addressing the nation’s housing supply challenges, introducing a range of measures designed to increase affordability and availability. However, reactions to these initiatives have been mixed, with some supporting the measures overall while others argue that they fall short in addressing the structural reforms needed to solve the housing crisis. We’ve reviewed the key initiatives and their implications, you can read our assessment here.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

The Silver Tsunami in Australia: The impact on urban planning & housing

Australia is on the brink of a significant demographic shift known as the "Silver Tsunami." Increased life expectancy, declining birth rates, and Baby Boomer’s entering retirement en masse will have widespread effects on healthcare, the workforce, housing, and government policies.

This shift in population profile is reshaping the country’s housing market and urban planning priorities, requiring a rethink of how cities and towns accommodate and support our senior residents.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Australia’s regional resurgence: the lifestyle factor driving growth

Australia’s regional markets are continuing to attract the attention of buyers and new residents, outpacing capital city counterparts. While there are cyclical factors that can affect price growth, such as the level of interest rates and markets correcting after a period of sustained growth, there continues to be a range of underlying and long-term structural factors driving growth/decline.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Housing construction productivity is in decline: what will it take to fix it?

A new research paper released by the Australian Productivity Commission has found that productivity in Australia’s housing construction sector has declined, in contrast to strong productivity growth in the broader economy. With housing supply in the spotlight and construction rates falling behind the National Housing Accord targets, this is not welcome news.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Vertical land lease communities set to redefine retirement living options

In a ground-breaking move for Australia's housing sector, the first vertical land lease community has been approved on the Gold Coast, redefining retirement living options. This new vertical model enables multi-storey living closer to city centres, offering retirees the convenience of urban amenities without sacrificing the benefits of a land lease arrangement.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Sydney on track to become a premier global city

Sydney of all cities in Australia has the potential to make a legitimate claim as tracking towards Australia’s premier global city. This has not come from its planning system, which continues to be amongst the most challenged in Australia. It will continue materialise on the back of the most aggressive infrastructure led city shaping programme seen in any Australian city over the last 40 years.

Solve Property Group’s Chief Planner Gary White has shared his perspective in the following article.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

New Towns Taskforce: Revitalising urban growth in the UK

The UK’s housing crisis is a well-documented issue, with increasing demand outstripping supply in both urban and rural areas. The pressure to provide affordable housing, coupled with a desire for sustainable and community-focused living spaces, has fuelled calls for a dedicated task force to steer urban growth: the New Towns Taskforce.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Key takeaways from the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan 2051

The State Planning Commission recently released their Draft Greater Adelaide Regional Plan 2051, which sets out a long-term vision for Greater Adelaide, detailing where people will live and work, how they will move around and where they will access services, and importantly presents recommendations for managing growth and adapting to changes in the community and urban environment. The Plan reflects a practical approach to managing growth while addressing housing, employment lands, and infrastructure challenges.

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Amanda Verardo Amanda Verardo

Urban Growth Models

As Australia continues to face an escalating housing crisis, the debate frequently focuses on planning related barriers to much needed supply. Internally we have been discussing various urban growth models and are interested in the market impacts related to containment and densification.

Read our discussion paper here.

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