PHOTO: A Brisbane single mum is left homeless and heartbroken after a developer pulled the plug—proving yet again the housing crisis has a human face. FILE
🏚️ From Hope to Horror: A Dream Home Deal Turns into a Devastating Nightmare
What started as a dream come true for South Brisbane teacher Dee Marshman, a single mother of two, has spiralled into heartbreak after the collapse of a residential development stripped her of the one shot she had at homeownership in her local community.
In 2021, Dee secured a modified two-bedroom apartment in the ‘Akin’ development at 35 Merivale St, a project launched by Tallis Property Group, using her First Home Super Saver funds and every cent she had saved while renting on a modest teacher’s salary.
Now, after construction delays, legal wrangling, and ultimately a developer receivership, her contract has been terminated, and Dee has been priced out of her own neighbourhood.
“If we don’t get that apartment, we never get a home,” she said. “I just find that hard to come to terms with.”
35 Merivale is one of many currently unfinished developments across all of Queensland.
📉 The Fallout: Contract Terminated, Prices Skyrocketed, No Way Back
By 2023, the builder Descon was embroiled in legal trouble, bringing construction to a halt. Receivers FTI Consulting took over in late 2023. Despite receiving emails pressuring her to rescind her contract, Dee held out hope the development would resume.
But in early 2025, she was issued a formal contract termination—her dream, legally and emotionally, crushed.
Now, the site is up for sale with no obligation to honour any previous buyer contracts. Even worse, rents and unit prices in her suburb have surged so sharply that she’s been completely priced out.
Ms Marshman said her rent had since spiked, and she was no longer able to afford any homes in the suburb since buying in 2021. Picture: Nigel Hallett
🔍 A Symptom of a Bigger Crisis: 1 in 6 Apartment Projects Never Finished
Data from SuburbTrends reveals that in Queensland alone, 1 in 6 approved apartment developments never see completion. Delays, cost blowouts, and insolvencies are increasingly leaving hopeful buyers in limbo.
Dee’s experience is part of a broader housing crisis where ordinary Australians are paying the price for poor project oversight and market instability.
“We’ve made a home here now,” said Dee. “We’re part of the community. My daughter is still in primary school… for us to have to relocate would be a complete disruption.”
The site is now up for sale with development approval for a 30-storey apartment. Buyers would have no obligation to honour previous contracts or use the development plans.
📉 Developer Fallout Leaves Buyers in the Lurch
Receiver Ross Blakely of FTI Consulting said buyers were being refunded, but admitted the scale of disruption was regrettable:
“The failure of the developer has impacted purchasers and it is disappointing for them.”
But refunds don’t restore lost opportunities. Dee’s story raises uncomfortable questions: Who’s protecting first home buyers? Why are developers not being held to higher standards of delivery?
Design renders for 35 Merivale, formerly Akin by Tallis Property Group. The site went into receivership after the contract with builder Descon was terminated.
⚠️ What This Means for First-Home Buyers
This is not an isolated incident—it’s a red flag for every Aussie trying to get on the property ladder. If contracts can be torn up so easily, what hope is left for regular working families?
With rents rising, stock falling, and build delays increasing, more and more Australians are finding themselves priced out even after they’ve done everything right.
📢 Final Word: A Crisis That Demands Accountability
Dee’s battle is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about the right to secure housing, the need for tighter protections for off-plan buyers, and a broken housing system where ordinary families are the collateral damage of financial failure.
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU