E30 Building Construction

Opal Tower a sign of industry trouble, says expert

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Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 21-Jan-19

Construction expert David Chandler says he was not surprised about the structural problems that have afflicted Sydney’s Opal Tower. Chandler, who is a former CEO of Fletcher Construction Group and who chaired the inquiry into the flawed $16.2 billion school halls national building project, says little seems to have been done about the problems with building quality that he pointed out almost 10 years ago. He says much of the problem is due to state building regulators lacking the will and the budget resources to properly enforce building standards, along with building ministers being too easily swayed by lobbying from the construction industry.

CORPORATES
FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION LIMITED

Opal engineers insist tower is occupant-safe

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones, Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Jan-19

WSP’s Guy Templeton says the core of Sydney’s Opal Tower is structurally sound and it is safe for residents to return to most floors of the residential building. The global engineering firm designed the 36-storey tower, and Templeton says legal action over the structural defects in the building is likely. An independent experts’ report has attributed the structural flaws to design and construction issues.

CORPORATES
WSP GROUP, ICON CO PTY LTD, ECOVE GROUP PTY LTD

Design and building flaws behind fiasco

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Jan-19

The New South Wales Government has released an independent experts’ report on the cause of cracked concrete panels on the Opal Tower in Sydney. The interim report found a number of design and construction problems with the residential tower, although it concluded that the building is structurally sound. The reports’ authors noted that while the cracks were primarily the result of design and construction issues, the problem was exacerbated as residents began moving into the building.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE, ICON CO PTY LTD, WSP GROUP

Chinese look to exit unit projects

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Original article by Lisa Allen, Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 4-Jan-19

Many Chinese property developers are seeking to divest residential development sites on Australia’s east coast due to factors such as difficulty in securing financing and a decline in demand for apartments. Matrix founder Andrew Antonas says many sites that have scope for 300 to 400 apartments and are located within 15-20km of the Sydney CBD have been put on the market. However, he notes that smaller sites with a capacity of up to 200 apartments and the same distance from the CBD are being retained by developers. Mark Wizel of CBRE expects more Chinese developers to shift their focus to investing in local shopping centres.

CORPORATES
MATRIX PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, CBRE PTY LTD, SHIMAO PROPERTY HOLDINGS LIMITED, DALIAN WANDA GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, HNA GROUP, HPG, HAILIANG, YUHU GROUP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC

Apartment slowdown a risk to wider industry

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 8-Aug-18

Australia’s Performance of Construction Index recorded overall growth of 1.4 points to 52.0 in July, marking the sector’s 18th consecutive month of growth. However, the sub-index for attached housing declined by 11.7 points to 36.7, and Peter Burn of the Australian Industry Group says the downturn in activity in the apartment sector could have implications for the broader construction industry if it is sustained.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Builders a sitting duck as banking royal commission comes hurtling down the track

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 28 : 17-Apr-18

Australia’s builders and property developers do not seem to realise the potential impact that the banking royal commission could have on their business. They seem unaware that one of the commission’s areas of focus is on banks that having been making loans to home buyers on the basis of living expense estimates that are flawed, and that a clampdown on this practice could reduce the number of mortgage loans being issued by banks. Developers and builders could be hit hard by this, and some could potentially collapse as a result.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Building boom in risky areas

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Original article by Michael Bleby, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 5-Jan-17

Apartment buildings due for completion in 2017 and 2018 are often located in postcodes which are considered as risky by lenders. A study of Rider Levett Bucknall’s crane index in the September 2016 quarter indicates that about 38 per cent of cranes were located in such areas. Brisbane’s apartment scene is particularly problematic, with nearly 57 per cent of all cranes located in areas of restricted lending.

CORPORATES
RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, REALTY BASE GROUP, CHARTER KECK CRAMER, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

New rules for better apartments

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 15-Aug-16

Victoria’s Planning Minister Richard Wynne has revealed new draft standards for apartments. The proposed rules include minimum standards for ventilation and access to natural daylight, with all habitable rooms in an apartment required to have at least one window. However, Wynne has ruled out imposing minimum sizes for apartments, which has been welcomed by Asher Judah of the Property Council of Australia.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GROCON PTY LTD

Developers risk $100k loss on each apartment: report

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 24-May-16

Secret Agent director Paul Osborne notes that there is growing concern among apartment developers that some buyers will default prior to settlement. He says this has been prompted by moves by the banks to restrict lending to offshore property investors. Secret Agent, a buyers’ advocate firm, estimates that an off-the-plan developer could lose more than $A100,000 on a two-bedroom apartment in Melbourne if the buyer defaults.

CORPORATES
SECRET AGENT PROPERTY SERVICES, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CBRE PTY LTD, OLIVER HUME REAL ESTATE GROUP PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Building booms but salaries flatline

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 19-May-16

Official data shows that wages in the construction industry grew by 1.6 per cent in March 2016, which is the same rate of growth as February. Master Builders Australia’s Wilhelm Harnisch attributes the low growth in wages across the sector to a downturn in wages in mining construction following the end of the resources boom. The strong housing construction market in New South Wales and Victoria resulted in both states recording above-average rises in construction wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FORUM