It seems strata may have a new pantomime villain (like we need one). This week we look at multi-millionaire developer of fancy pants apartment blocks Tim Gurner.

He once shocked an economic conference by saying the country needs 40-50 per cent unemployment.

If that wasn’t bad enough it’s alleged he was the first public figure to draw parallels between young people eating smashed avocado and not being able to afford to buy a home.

Now this Melbourne developer of luxury apartments, and some of his customers, are in conflict as defects start to surface in his uber-fancy St Moritz block in the Victorian capital.

It’s not so much how the mighty have fallen (because he hasn’t) as how the prices have fallen, and in a rising market.

But before that, we look at the new regulations for strata managers that come in nest week (Feb3) and wonder how much difference they will really make.

And finally, Jimmy comes up with his radical plan to build more affordable apartments, saying that affordable luxury is impossible but liveable affordability may be the way forward

If you can tolerate a bit of noise from your neighbours, and one lift instead of two, surely apartment blocks could be built more cheaply without the risk of them falling down.

That’s all in the Flat Chat Wrap.

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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.