A new development of 12 luxury residences by Racecourse Rd in Hamilton has been lodged for approval, as part of a bid to revitalise the iconic Brisbane area.

Developed by Fortis and designed by Koichi Takada Architects, the four-storey building will be on a 1,205 sqm corner site.

In addition to the new homes, the building will offer a ground floor with 528 sqm of new high-end retail options for the busy road.

A new luxury development has been lodged at Racecourse Rd with Fortis, designed by Koichi Takada Architects.

Queensland Fortis general manager Dan Boman said the project was expected to include new public features such as a restaurant, meant to increase foot traffic in the regrowing area.

“Racecourse Rd has been a bit tired and run down over the last ten years; it’s kind of had its life sucked out by James St,” he said. “[It’s] going through a massive revitalisation and we’re proud to be a part of that transformation … we’re trying to bring the life back in.”

Each of the units will include two to three bedrooms with private basement parking, along with a series of premium shared amenities.

The building’s rooftop terraces will include features such as a resort pool, hot spa and several wellness facilities, with landscaped spots littered throughout the entire project.

The project was designed to give local residents more deluxe and low-maintenance homes in the suburb, with retail spaces designed to bring foot traffic back to the road.

The building’s brick detailing and green spaces were designed by Koichi Takada Architects to blend the new development with both nature and the rest of the existing street.

“We always select an architect we feel aligns with our vision, as well as the context of the local area – we want it to be beautiful, but also comfortable with its surroundings,” Mr Boman said.

The homes, featuring both corner and river views near the city, have been designed for owner occupiers in the nearby suburbs who don’t want to move away from their community.

The project is hoped to be completed by the second half of 2028.

“The apartments are genuine home replacement options for people who live in the inner-north Ascot-Hamilton catchment,” Mr Boman said. “There hasn’t been that much available to them in a small scale on the northern side of Kingsford Smith Dr.”

“It’s really important we treat each of our sites with the respect that it deserves. It’s not just putting a building into a suburb: it’s about looking into the suburb, looking into the residents and how they live, how we can improve it.”

If the project remains on schedule, Fortis anticipates residents could move in to the units in the second half of 2028.

The post New luxury project planned to revitalise city’s fading social hub appeared first on realestate.com.au.

182 Rose St, Fitzroy, was converted from a brothel to a house – but there’s still a few hints of its past, like the ‘exquisite ladies’ neon sign in the courtyard.

A Melbourne couple who converted a former Fitzroy brothel into their dream home, with plenty of tongue in cheek references to its history, have likely doubled what they paid for it.

And in a bizarre twist, the agent handling the sale has revealed the converted brothel was probably less of a concern for homebuyers than if it had been a converted church.

The extraordinary renovation by architectural firm Fieldworks at 182 Rose St left a range of nods to the property’s past in place, including pink bedrooms and bathrooms and a giant neon sign reading “exquisite ladies” in the backyard.

RELATED: Melb couple list ex-brothel, reveal wild reno that made it a home

Oakleigh: Home of Warwick Capper’s ex-brothel on the market in Melbourne’s southeast

Site of ‘Melbourne’s finest brothel’ hits market

After more than a decade of owning it, and almost seven years after moving into it, Paul Ghaie and wife Lucy Wallace listed their unusual residence for sale in June with a $2.9m-$3.1m asking price that was later updated to $3.05m.

Nelson Alexander listing agent Peter Stephens would not confirm the final result, but said the vendors were happy and that it had gone to a family from Melbourne’s northern suburbs who had “loved the vibe” and that it had been renovated with an architectural eye.

Mr Stephens said while their main attraction had been an inner-city location, the former brothel’s VIP room turned into a studio or guesthouse at the rear had appealed as a breakout space for their teenage kids.

The home when Mr Ghaie and Ms Wallace bought it.

The home has had a significant overhaul since its time as a brothel — and won over a family looking for their next chapter.

Paul Ghaie is a co-founder of the Blackhearts and Sparrows wine store. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian.

“And there was one other party that was very close, but the timing was not right,” he said. “They were a couple who were Sydney-based but relocating to Melbourne.”

And in a bizarre twist he said all of the prospective buyers across the almost 75-day sales effort hadn’t been bothered by the home’s history.

“No one thought it was a bad thing, I think you would have a harder time selling a converted church than a converted brothel,” Mr Stephens said.

“People just thought that it was funny and they liked the way that it played on the brothel aspect in the renovation and kept an homage to what it was. Whereas there’d be a bit more baggage on a church.”

The home’s rear building used to host a VIP room.

Today the VIP stands for very impressively pink.

But there was a delay in striking a deal, with a planned auction for June 28 abandoned due to concerns about a lack of buyers, and the sale finalised earlier this week.

It’s likely Mr Ghaie and Ms Wallace has doubled the $1,292,500 they paid in 2014, when the home was still littered with used mattresses, unsanitised couches and even what appeared to be bottles of lotion on tables.

Speaking with the Herald Sun shortly after listing the home Mr Ghaie, who co-founded boutique bottle shop group Blackhearts and Sparrows, said it was “a bit of an eye-opener” when they took it on.

The bedroom in the rear building is colored the same pink as the brothel’s original entry hall.

The hallway that greeted guests looks a little familiar.

“Walking in and seeing what it was would have scared a lot of people, but you have to see it as a blank canvas,” Mr Ghaie said.

The former tenants, the Club Rose brothel, had “fled in the middle of the night” — leaving some concerning wares of their trade behind, not to mention a unique property including a main residence on one side of a courtyard and a double-storey studio that had been the VIP room.

Along with the more routine renovation efforts needed to turn it into a home, the exhaustive overhaul also sampled the “deep crimson” of the old brothel’s entry hall, and reused it in several of the bedrooms.

The home has an impressive indoor-outdoor flow, but still offers plenty of privacy.

Not all of the home has homages to its past, with the main bedroom striking in its own right.

The brothel’s old “exquisite ladies” sign was also repaired and reinstalled in the courtyard, where it has routinely been the backdrop for photos of party guests when the hospitality industry duo have entertained.

Beyond what can be seen with the naked eye, an old spa set between the home and the studio during its time as a brothel, but paved over before the property was sold, has now had a water tank installed in it and remains below the refurbished courtyard seen there today.

Mr Ghaie said he and Ms Wallace had decided to sell up as they weren’t making full use of the space their renovation had created the way they once used to.

Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.

MORE: Inside Melbourne’s $2.5m ‘best apartment’

Rotting relic: would you buy $1.6m Melb wreck?

Cult Aus chicken restaurant heads to Melb

The post Melb couple’s Fitzroy brothel reno scores multimillion-dollar sale appeared first on realestate.com.au.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

A historic home in a prestigious suburb is attracting a ton of buyer interest ahead of auction this month.

Isabella Cottage at No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay, represents solid 1930s architecture in one of Hobart’s most desired neighbourhoods.

The red-brick residence features a tiled entry portico leading to a wide hall, which connects to a large lounge, three bedrooms, and a remodelled kitchen and dining area.

The third bedroom could serve as a study.

A separate bathroom and toilet complete the internal layout.

A tiled conservatory overlooks rear gardens containing established lawns, fruit trees and raised vegetable beds.

The fully fenced grounds accommodate pets and provide privacy front and rear.

MORE: ‘Pulled the pin’: Macquarie Place apartments axed

Tasmania Police HQ building in CBD for sale

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

Salamanca Realty’s Alan Clark said the response from the market had been overwhelming.

“The auction is receiving great interest with over 25 separate couples attending our first open home and over 35 inquiries in just one week’s marketing,” he said.

“Auctions are not suitable for every property or every vendor, but in a challenging market, or a ‘hot’ peak market, it does bring the interest to a head.

“In a competitive environment, it helps bring people with serious interest in one place, at a set time, with an honest and transparent sales process that can be trusted by prospective buyers as truly reflecting the current market.”

MORE: Cheaper homes in expensive Hobart suburbs

Secret Hobart rooftop pad ready for revamp

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

No.3 Osborne’s period features include high ceilings with ornate cornices and a central dome, plus a classic fireplace with gas heating, timber floors, wide skirting boards and decorative woodwork that together maintain the home’s character.

Modern additions include external security shutters, timber blinds and a security system.

The property currently houses a four-person Scandinavian cedar sauna and includes a Grander water filter system throughout.

An internal garage incorporates a small utility room.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay.

The location provides access to local restaurants, private and public schools, and the University of Tasmania’s Sandy Bay campus.

Public transport, medical facilities and veterinary services operate nearby.

The residence combines period charm with practical updates across landscaped grounds in an established neighbourhood.

No.3 Osborne St, Sandy Bay, is for sale by auction, August 30 at noon.

The post Vintage Sandy Bay cottage draws 25 couples to open appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Internal migration across the country is at its lowest level since 2006, thanks to rising cost of living prices keeping Aussies grounded.

New research from removalist consulting firm Muval has found despite rising populations and home demand, the demand for home removalists has dropped by 22 per cent since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2025 Muval Index also found per capita, the ACT and Victoria were the states seeing the most people moving in compared to moving out this year.

Meanwhile, the most popular regions to relocate to were South Australia’s southeast and Bunbury, while Darwin and Brisbane’s inner city were the most common regions people would leave.

Muval CEO James Morrell said areas traditionally known for being migration hotspots, such as Brisbane, were often also seeing an exodus of existing residents.

“A lot of people are moving up to South-East Queensland, but there are more people within SEQ moving out due to density and price growth, to the fringe areas of the city,” he said.

“It’s become very expensive for people who’ve been here for a while, and they go, ‘well I can move inland of the Sunshine Coast’.”

A prime example of this lies in Western Australia, with its regional areas seeing the highest inbound to outbound ratio throughout all of Australia’s capital cities and rest-of-state areas.

Regional WA’s inbound to outbound ratio currently sits at 1.27: meaning for every hundred people moving out, 127 people are moving in.

By comparison, South Australia’s southeast has an inbound-outbound ratio is 1.59, while Bunbury’s sits at 1.55. On the lower end, Darwin’s ratio comes in at 0.72, with Brisbane’s inner city at 0.74.

Mr Morrell said while internal migration across Australia were always fairly active, rates often experienced a slingshot effect: where high points were typically expected to follow low points once the economy bounces back.

“We might be in some uncharted territory [this time],” he said. “Even though we may be on the other side … we’re in one of the worst periods of housing availability.”

“That does have a massive, chilling effect on moving in general.”

See the top ten regions Aussies are relocating to below.

University of Queensland demographer Dr Elin Charles-Edwards said while further data was needed, the Muval Index was a strong indicator of Australians’ living habits in the present day.

“A slowing in mobility doesn’t surprise me, given the high levels of mobility we’ve seen during that Covid period,” she said.

“Lack of rental availability and housing costs can put a damper on that movement.”

Dr Charles-Edwards added that struggling housing conditions meant children looking to leave their parents’ homes, or people looking to leave homes with ex-partners, were less likely to be able to afford the transition.

The study was put together by analysing more than 400,000 moving inquiries nationwide, along with a survey of 2,000 Australians to analyse the country’s migration trends.

The research also found several regions were bucking the nation’s most common trends. With an inbound-outbound ratio of 1.1, Greater Melbourne was the only capital city with a positive ratio, outperforming several of the country’s regional areas such as South Australia and Queensland.

“We certainly saw outward flow from Victoria during Covid,” Dr Charles-Edwards said. “As a consequence of that, there’s the possibility of a return from the region, as people maybe reassess their movement decision.”

State-wide, both Tasmania and South Australia recorded a perfect ratio of 1, meaning as many people were moving in as they were moving out.

“This balance may reflect a mix of younger individuals moving out for education or career opportunities, while others are relocating in for retirement, remote work, or a lifestyle shift,” Mr Morrell said. “These states appear to offer a compelling balance between lifestyle appeal and economic opportunity.”

The post Interstate migration hits 9-year low as the top 10 Aussie regions to move to are revealed appeared first on realestate.com.au.

A Brisbane radio host has struck a nerve with young Aussies after posting a brutally relatable parody about the realities of home ownership in 2025 – and it’s gone gangbusters online.

Matty Acton, from Stav, Abby & Matt, donned a blind wig and floaty summer dress to play the role of a hopeful first-home buyer in his skit titled “When interest rates decide how much social life you have!”, which was posted to his professional facebook page.

In the clip, Acton’s character is buzzing with excitement:

“The house is gorgeous, we have to buy it. To own our own home would be such a dream come true. Imagine all of our beautiful stuff down here. It’d be so much better financially. We could finally stop wasting our money on rent.”

But within seconds, the dream curdles into a nightmare.

Cut to Acton – now dressed more casually with a brown wig and looking utterly defeated – as he delivers the kind of line every mortgage-strapped Aussie knows too well: “There’s $3.85 left in our account, which means another night of chicken noodles and you putting a box dye in my hair because I’ll never afford to go to the hairdresser again.”

RELATED

The cut Aussies won’t get – but desperately need

Common household items fetching huge prices

Rate cuts power Aus housing shift

Matty Acton is know for his funny social media posts – often sharing relatable content via social media.

When life is tough, sometime all you can do it skit about it. Source: Facebook

Chicken noodles for dinner? We’ve all been there. Source: Facebook

The parody has already clocked more than 800,000 views on facebook and a flood of “same!” comments.

“It was the same when we bought our first home 26yrs ago we lived on sausages and bread ,” one person commented.

Another wrote: “Don’t forget drawing from the home loan to fix everything!”

A third commented, “Oh yes, that’s me announcing how little money is left after bills.”

While the video is getting laughs, the stats behind it aren’t so funny.

MORE NEWS

Inside Jonas Brothers’ secret $73m+ property empire

Mystery speed sign swap stuns Aussie town

Pope turns Vatican palace into share house

New data from Buyersagent.com.au shows the cost of simply living in a home has skyrocketed.

Back in 1964, housing chewed up just 12.6 per cent of household spending. Today, it’s more than 24 per cent – a 91 per cent jump.

That means the average Aussie family now shells out $28,417 a year on essentials like rates, water and power – almost double the $14,857 households were forking out in the ’60s.

So while Acton’s parody has people laughing, for a lot of Aussies, it feels a little too close to home.

The post ‘Chicken noodles for dinner again’: Viral skit sums up Aus housing crisis appeared first on realestate.com.au.