Home
Search
thewest.com.au
NewsChevron Right Icon

Urban Planning

Woollahra train station, unfinished for 50 years, will finally be brought to life. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumBack-to-future home plan dubbed 'free gift to the rich'

Doubts are being cast whether a ground-breaking proposal to rebuild an abandoned train station and up to 10,000 new homes will plug housing gaps.

Farid Farid and Luke Costin

Sydney's Woollahra is in line for a train station 50 years after the plan was derailed by locals. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumNew railway station to keep 10,000 home target on track

In a decision that "won't be met by universal happiness" the first new train station in a decade will sit next to Australia's most expensive housing market.

Jack Gramenz and Samantha Lock

The capital city rental value index increased in July, with worries it will add to inflation woes. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumFurther rate cuts at risk as rent pushes up inflation

Future rate cuts may be less likely if renting and construction costs contributing to housing inflation continue to grow.

Fraser Barton

Property prices, not interest rates, are the biggest challenge facing home buyers, data shows. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumRates take back seat to affordability for home buyers

Interest rates might be weighing less on Australians' decision to buy or sell a property, with affordability now ranked as the leading influence.

Savannah Meacham

Faster approvals are no silver bullet for Australia's housing shortage, a research report warns. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningCommentsPremiumFast approvals only add to housing construction logjam

Hastening development approvals without increasing building capacity will only add to the bottleneck in housing construction, researchers warn.

Tess Ikonomou

Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
Federal PoliticsCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
Environmental approvals dominate Chalmers’ roundtable agenda

Streamlining environmental approvals is dominating the agenda ahead of Jim Chalmers’ economic reform roundtable, with a push for a national deregulation plan proving to be even bigger than tax reform.

Katina Curtis

Home prices have risen nationally for a sixth straight month with interest rate cuts on the horizon. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumHouse price growth spurt shows no signs of easing

Further interest rate cuts on the horizon have stirred the nation's housing market with prices rising for a sixth straight month alongside demand.

Kat Wong and Jacob Shteyman

Women, young people and children fleeing family violence face a 19-month wait for accommodation. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumService gap a revolving door for women fleeing violence

A "revolving door" of referrals to various support services awaits women fleeing family violence, driven by chronic underfunding of social housing.

Maeve Bannister

Interstate migration is pushing up house prices in Brisbane - and exacerbating supply issues. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumOlympic city house values join the million-dollar club

Interstate migration and the allure of warmer weather have contributed to a city's house prices surging past the million-dollar mark.

Fraser Barton

House prices have recorded a fifth straight month of gains as new building fails to meet demand. (Glenn Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumHouse prices creep higher as new building lags target

Falling interest rates and an ongoing housing shortfall are driving property prices higher, but affordability constraints will keep a lid on growth.

Jacob Shteyman

The federal government is gunning for over-bearing regulation as it pushes to get new homes built. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumRed tape and silver bullets: tough task for housing fix

Governments are taking aim at red tape to fix a chronic undersupply of housing in Australia but the industry warns cultural issues will be harder to fix.

Jacob Shteyman

West Perth-based surveyor Hayden Bristow is turning away clients who want to amend the use of buildings to another classification due to restrictions. Kelsey Reid

Commercial propertyCommentsPremiumWhy all those vacant offices are not turned into apartments

There is a reason why Perth developers rarely turn empty offices and warehouses into apartments, and it has nothing to do with demand.

Kim Macdonald

Shenton Park is a shady inner city suburb nestled between Subiaco and Nedlands. City views from Shenton Park train station.

Higher densityCommentsPremiumNIMBYs on alert over call for density along Freo train line

Greens calls for 1000 people to live at every Fremantle line station in the western suburbs, claiming it is unrealistic to expect new apartment development at far-flung Metronet stations

Kim Macdonald

The number of mortgages in arrears in payments increased during the first quarter of 2025. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Housing marketPremiumMortgage rates falling but more behind on home loans

Data has revealed a small rise in the number of mortgages in arrears, but experts say the rate has stayed contained despite cost-of-living pressures.

Andrew Brown

A third of renters couldn't afford a five per cent increase on what they pay, a survey found. (Paul Miller/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumRenters fearful of speaking up about essential repairs

Half of Australia's private housing tenants are living in homes in need of repair but are too scared to ask their landlord about it, according to a study.

Staff Writers

The development proposed for Station Street, Cottesloe.

Development CommentsPremiumHuge Cottesloe development approved despite locals’ concerns

The exclusive beachside suburb could see a significant transformation in its skyline.

Harriet Flinn

NSW Premier Chris Minns has outlined tax concessions for build-to-rent properties (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumAffordable houses needed as investors get rentals break

Tax concessions for build-to-rent developments have been extended, in a move that has been welcomed by industry figures.

Jack Gramenz and Alex Mitchell

City of Stirling officers believe the proposed design does not fit in the area.

Final Call MadeHighly contentious social housing approved for Inglewood

It comes despite local opposition including from the City of Stirling.

Sophie Gannon

The contract to build six new residential lots and six new industrial lots on Corbett Street and Cuneo Close in Gnowangerup was awarded to Leeuwin Civil Pty Ltd. DevelopmentWA

TOWN EXPANSIONPremiumContract for new lots awarded as Gnowangerup set to expand

A small Great Southern town will soon be growing in size after the Housing Minister announced the contract to construct 12 new residential and industrial lots had been awarded last week

Melissa Sheil

A plan to rid London's Oxford Street of cars and buses looks set to become a reality. (AP PHOTO)

Urban PlanningPremiumLondon's Oxford Street to go traffic-free in makeover

Plans to pedestrianise London's Oxford Street have been announced by the mayor of the British capital.

Staff Writers

Workers trying to help rough sleepers are among those struggling to find homes, a report shows. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningPremiumEssential workers falling into housing 'missing middle'

Essential workers are sleeping in their cars because they cannot afford homes while advocates urge tourism to be placed second behind basic services.

Farid Farid

Labor has vowed to slash red tape to get house construction moving across Australia. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningLabor vows to slash red tape to turbocharge housing

Breaking ground on delivering 1.2 million homes starts by untangling the maze of bureaucratic approvals, the federal government says.

Farid Farid

Construction on the final stage of the retirement village development is expected to start in January.

Commercial PropertyCommentsFive-storey retirement village to rise in Perth’s north

More than a decade since the masterplan was first approved, stage three of the St Ives Carine Retirement Village is preparing to break ground.

Liam Murphy

Property prices grew in every capital city as buyers felt better about their purchasing capacity. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Urban PlanningInterest rate cuts fuel rebound in property prices

Every Australian capital city has recorded recent strong property price growth as buyer sentiment is boosted by the likelihood of more interest rate cuts.

Jacob Shteyman