Multimedia Makes Highrise Interesting

All too often we get caught up in what we do and, as a result, miss important things.

My strataland colleagues and I typically spend our time on details and actions; focusing what's not happening and what should be happening.  As a result it's too easy to forget how good and how important strataland is to millions of people.

So, Highrise: An Interactive Documentary is a reminder of the great things that have and are being done and achieved by everyone working on strata.



It's a multimedia project created in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada that combines highrise history, images, filmaking, architecture and social media into a an open-source documentary that re-invents the format.

I urge you to explore and contribute to Highrise and enjoy the amazing things that strata can and has done.

Francesco ...

On the 10th Day the Strata God Rested

Genesis 2:2 it says that after creating the world “on the seventh day God ended his work that he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had made" (King James Bible).

The Strata God hasn't quite reached that exalted status yet ... but she's getting close.  

You see, this residential strata apartment development in Western Australia was built in just 9 days - after which its creator (the Hickory Group) could rest.

Concorde South is a 6 storey, 77 unit residential development in South Headland that was constructed in 8.5 days.  That's an average of 9 and bit apartments per day and means they have reduced construction time by 50% or more.  

The building looks pretty good to me (comparable to other similarly priced apartment complexes) and contains 1, 2 and 3 bedroom accommodation.  Apparently, they use prefabricated modules (108 in this case) for the main structure that are delivered to site, craned into place, connected and then the final fit-out is completed.

There are obvious benefits of this kind of construction for high density real estate including -

• potentially lower construction costs 
• faster development cycles and housing availability
• reduced developer risk due to delays
• potentially lower prices 
• higher building uniformity & quality control

And, there are some less obvious benefits - like the potential for prefabricated building construction utilising redundant Australian automobile manufacturing resources as this article Building a housing industry from the relics of car industry by Jemma Green and Peter Newman suggests.

Of course, I wonder about the risk of building defects as a result of fast-tracked building methodology.  But, frankly, its not like conventional construction methods are delivering defect free strata buildings now.

So, maybe pre-fab is the future of strata?

While we wait to see, enjoy these photos of the 9 day construction cycle.  Its amazing!

Thanks also to the Fifth Estate for writing about this fascinating new strata building.


Francesco ...

Latest US Strata Title Research Data

My friend Clifford Treese has been working in the strata and community association sector for a long time and pioneered information services for owners, associations and managers in the US.

Part of his work involves researching and developing community association data for the Foundation for Community Association Research Foundation (CARF) and for CAI and publishing it regularly.

This time around the new Community Association Fact Book 2013 has 1,000-plus pages and is organised into three parts including 51 State Summaries.

The first part is a "Statistical Review 2013" over-viewing national and state association data.

The second part, "Community Association Fact Book 2013," covers the history and configurations of various associations as well as the major issues and trends impacting them today. It includes sections on governance and best practices, how associations function in other countries and dozens of links for more information.

The third part includes "51 State Summaries," which lists housing and population data, and resources for information about legislation and regulations for all 50 states and the District of Columbia

See this link for the new Community Association Fact Book.

Its a fantastic resource for anyone involved with strata and community title in the US (and elsewhere).   I just wish there was one for strata stakeholders in every county.

This article from the Chicago Tribune about the Fact Book includes comments from Julie Cramer, who serves on the board of trustees for the national Community Associations Institute explaining that Fact Book gives legislators and municipalities a clearer picture as to the vast number of associations and residents and saying that "They don't always understand how many people are affected by their legislation," she said. "It's a big percentage of the housing market, but you can't always tell by looking at a home that it is in an association."  

Great work (again) CAI and Clifford.

Francesco ...

The NSW Strata Law Reform Mirage

It seems that the anxiously awaited and much reported NSW strata law reforms are being delayed (again) because the new amendment bill has ‘overlaps and inconsistencies’ that need be addressed first and the government wants to wait until after the next election in March 2015.   




So, our new strata laws are now not planned to start until January 2016.  And, at least to me, they're looking more like a strata title mirage than reality.

The history of the latest NSW strata law reform programme goes something like this - 


April 2011 - Anthony Roberts appointed Minister for Fair Trading 



July 2011 - Government announces that will undertake major reform of NSW strata title laws



December 2011 - Global Access Partners conducts online forum and consultation programme for 3 months



September 2012 - OFT Dicussion Paper released for submissions over 3 months



Early 2013 - Roundtable meeting with industry stakeholder groups


November 2013 - OFT Position Paper released with reform proposals

December 2013 - Stuart Ayres appointed Minister for Fair Trading 



January 2014 - Draft bill circulated to industry stakeholders for comments



March 2014 - Industry stakeholders advised strata reform bill would be introduced to parliament in June-July 2014



April 2014 - Matthew Mason-Cox appointed Minister for Fair Trading



June 2014 - Industry stakeholders advised strata reform bill needs revision and would not be introduced to parliament until May-June 2015

That's a lot of of time for changes that are universally agreed as necessary.  

It seems to be a bit like trying to get something major approved and done in a strata corporation - where there's always another good reason to delay things, suggestions to make more enquiries, proposals to change, widen or narrow the issues covered and a tendency to have a bit more consultation.  Fortunately, there's no special levy associated with the law reforms that needs approval or it might never happen. 


You can find out more about strata law reforms direct from OFT here. 

Assuming this latest reform timetable is met, then it will have taken almost half a decade to get these changes finalised.  By that time the strata and community title sector probably need a few more reforms.

The good news is that we’re now going to also have NSW community title law reforms and they will only take another 18 months.
  After all it's only 25 years since the community title laws were introduced.

So, I'm not going to rush to prepare for the new strata or community title laws quite yet. 




Francesco 
  

Where's the Strata Thinking for Tomorrow?

Despite the hyperactivity on Australian strata law reforms (at least 4 of 8 states and territories underway at present) and the grand statements made in NSW that the new laws will 'future proof' strata title, the various proposals and draft reforms are typically more of the same.

For the most part they are backwards focused; reacting to vocal interest groups and minorities; dealing with problems that have already occurred; merely recognise current technologies rather than prepare for the future; and; continue the default position in current urban planning and real estate rather than adapt or advance them to deal with a higher density future for strata stakeholders.

In short, there's no real innovation or deep thinking about strata and community title fundamentals.

Fortunately some people are thinking about the future of strata, what issues will arise (and why) and some new ways to think about those things.

A good example of that is the recent paper by academics Hazel Easthope, Jan Warnken, Cathy Sherry, Eddo Coiacetto, Dianne Dredge, Chris Guilding, Nicole Johnston, Dawne Lamminmaki & Sacha Reid called How Property Title Impacts Urban Consolidation: A Life Cycle Examination of Multi-title Developments is a must read.  Or, at least read the Abstract below.

Abstract

Continuing urbanisation is triggering an increase in multi-titled housing internationally. This trend has given rise to a substantial research interest in the social consequences of higher density living. Fewer enquiries have been directed to examining how property title subdivisions generate social issues in multi-titled housing. This is a significant gap in the literature, as the tensions inherent in multi-title developments have significant implications for individuals, developments and entire metropolitan areas. This article employs a life cycle framework to examine the profound operational and governance challenges that are associated with the fusion of private lot ownership with common property ownership. The article calls for a more explicit recognition of these challenges by academics, policymakers, practitioners and the broader community.

Scattered through the broad ranging discussion in the paper, they've identified a range of day-to-day and policy issues that need grappling with if Australian strata and community title wants to avoid becoming second tier real estate.

You can find the entire paper here (but unless you're a student or academic) you'll have to pay to get.


Francesco ...

Sydney High Rise on Steroids

Sydney has fancied itself as a global city and consistently ranks high in various international comparisons.  And, there’s no doubt that it’s a great place to live.

But, in terms of high rise buildings and high density living it is falling behind many other established and newer cities.  That’s not surprising internationally when you consider the dizzying heights and massively scaled developments in the US, Middle East, India and China.  But, Sydney’s also falling behind Melbourne and Brisbane where taller buildings are now being be built.

But that might change if some new proposals Sydney reported in the Fifth Estate last week are implemented.

If Chris Johnson, of the Urban Taskforce, gets his way then the restrictions on building height in the Sydney and North Sydney business districts would be removed and our tallest building, the 309 metre Sydney Tower, will soon be dwarfed by new mega buildings.

Just look at some of the computer generated images of what things could look like in Sydney's future. 

It’s like Sydney buildings started taking steroids and suddenly got a whole lot bigger.  

Can’t wait to see it happen.

Francesco ...

PSST - Wanna be a strata committee member?

As an operational structure, strata and community title associations need owners to volunteer as committee members.

And whilst it makes logical sense that after investing significant amounts of their wealth into a strata apartment, owners would want to be committee members for the building, there would be more volunteers than available committee positions and elections would be necessary.  So, most strata laws and procedures are based on those assumptions about committees.

But, my experience suggests a very different situation in the real world of strata committees which is dominated by the following key features.

• Low owner participation levels - it's hard to get meeting quorums and even harder to find committee volunteers
• Long term committee appointees - appointed committee members tend to stay in those roles for a long time
• Increasing compliance requirements - committees have more and more regulatory controls and responsibilities impacting on them
• High owner complaint levels - when lot owners contact committee members its mostly about an immediate problem they have
• Single issue membership - where owners join committees to resolve or further a single issue that concerns or interests them 
• Inadequate resources - there are very few tools to help committee members in their roles

All of which have and are conspiring to discourage committee membership and participation.

This status quo has emerged over a long time to favour and entrench the existing vested interests - which are not always what's best for the strata building and/or the lot owners - and to concentrate decision making and power in strata buildings.

Funnily enough, many law reforms proposals are worsening things.  For example, in NSW there are law reform proposals and suggestions to further lower strata meeting quorums and restrict proxies (leading to even lower levels of owner participation), moves to increase committee member disclosure requirements, introduce committee training requirements, reduce committee power and increase committee accountability (making it harder to become and riskier to be a committee member), and changes to increase committee sizes (making it easier for anyone to join a committee and enabling single issue members).

What's actually needed to get better strata outcomes are more owners participating in committees (and meetings) and that requires more good reasons for owners to want to join strata committees with positive outcomes.  That's not easy.

But, I was encouraged by this recent article by Marc Bhalla in Condo Voice about his owner experiences as a committee member.  It's worth reading to help reset negative perceptions about strata committees and start you thinking about committee participation in different ways.

Francesco ...

If Bogota has Bike Sharing, Why not Sydney?

I'm a cyclist and believe that bikes are an important part of a modern city's transport options.

So, reading about the latest international major bike sharing scheme for Bogota, Columbia in This Big City, made me wonder why we don't have one in Sydney when it seems to me perfectly suited to the city's needs

You might be surprised that Wikipedia lists 535 bike sharing schemes in 49 countries around the world with a total of 517,000 bicycles.  That's a lot of pedalling by a lot of people in a lot places (except Sydney).

And, although many bike sharing schemes are in places where cycling is more prevalent, cultural differences are not the answer since even car loving California has bike sharing in 5 different cities.  Nor is city size the determinant, as Melbourne is smaller but has Melbourne Bike Share and Brisbane is even smaller and has City Cycle.

Some commentators say its because of our bike helmet laws.  http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/blogs/on-your-bike/share-bike-schemes-need-to-lose-the-lids-20120920-267wg.html but is that seriously a reason not to have bike sharing?

I'm looking forward to being able to hire a bike to ride from Bondi Junction station to Bronte beach for a coffee one Sunday and avoid the problem of trying to find a parking spot.


Francesco ...

Help Needed for 'off the plan' Strata Buyers

In Australia (unlike many other parts of the world) a lot of residential strata apartments are developed and sold using an 'off the plan' sales method where buyers contract to buy before construction and complete purchases when the building is finished.

And, as far as I can see, 'off the plan' strata sales are here to stay and will remain the predominant way to buy new strata apartments in Australia.

Whilst this approach helps developers fund the development and lowers prices for buyers, it also has some pitfalls for everyone involved because it relies on assumptions about the future and can be affected by unexpected changes in personal, business and economic conditions.

So, buyers need to take extra care and be better informed when buying an 'off the plan' strata apartment.  

There's plenty of information for buyers from an investment, amenity and finance perspective like this recent booklet produced by Property Observer and Frasers.  However, when you look at that booklet closely, there's nothing at all in there about important strata title issues that will affect buyers and could lead to future strata disappointments.  

That got me looking at the results of a google search for 'buying off the plan strata apartments' to see what did exist on the subject in Australia with the following outcomes.

The NSW Fair Trading webpage on buying off the plan has a few lines of information about unit entitlements, exclusive use by-laws and building management comments plus a link to their more general information about buying into a strata scheme (which is actually pretty good).

Our old superhero friend, Strataman talks briefly about levies, lot sizes, restrictions on facility use and by-laws.  Plus Strataman provides links to other (more or less) useful webpages.

The Strata Community Australia website has short article which raises issues about strata manager appointment (and perceptions of conflicts of interest), first AGMs and defects.

Findlaw chooses to identify defects, by-laws and unit entitlement allocations as the key strata issues for off the plan buyers at their webpage.

The NSW Law Society Guide to Buying a Home identifies participation in the strata corporation, levies, by-laws and common property maintenance as the key strata issues.

And, Housenet's webpage only refers to Home Building Act insurance requirements.

So, when the available information is pretty limited, basic and incomplete, It's no wonder first time strata owners don't know much. 

I suppose there isn't a lot of incentive for developers, financiers and sales agents (who don't understand strata issues  and/or worry that giving too much strata information will scare off buyers) to provide more.  But, it can't be too hard to put together better material for strata buyers about the membership of the strata corporation and it's role, budgets and levies, by-laws and other restrictions, meetings and how strata and building managers work.

Regardless of the reasons why, it's a sad state of affairs that we have such limited publicly valuable information in relation to the predominant form of future property ownership and housing in Australia.


Francesco ...

Surrealism Meets Strata in Melbourne

I wanted to call this blog 'Imagine Salvador Dali in Your Strata Building' as I couldn't think of anything more incongruous than the master of surrealism having to operate within the confines and formalities of strata title laws.

But the world has changed and we all want to live in an imagined surreal existence (no matter how sanitised).  And you could do that in this surrealist inspired Melbourne strata building.

It's located at the corner of Eastern Road and Palmerston Crescent, South Melbourne, was developed by Arno Corporation, has 48 apartments and was inspired by Anish Kapoor's Sky Dish sculpture in NYC's Rockefeller Centre.

You can read more about this property at the Melbourne Review and SMH Domain.

Its my kind of strata living.

Francesco ...

NCCARF Continues Climate Change Research

In 2012 and 2013 I was involved with Griffith University on a National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility research project about the impacts of climate change on stakeholders in Australian strata title buildings.  

That's now finished and the reports can be found in my other blogs on this site or at the Strata Climate Change blog.  But, the work being done by NCCARF on climate change adaptation issues continues.

You can follow NCCARF activities, latest research, conferences and more here.



Francesco ...