L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Rising market driving spike in underquoting

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 18-Nov-19

Real estate agents have warned that underquoting is again becoming widespread in the industry, as the residential property market rebounds from the recent downturn. Underquoting was rife during the previous housing boom, and some agents are concerned that the practice is undermining buyers’ confidence. Hoskins Real Estate and one of its directors were recently ordered to pay almost $890,000 in penalties and compensation for underquoting.

CORPORATES
HOSKINS REAL ESTATE

Sydney, Melbourne prices take off in 2020

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 & 39 : 14-Nov-19

SQM Research MD Louis Christopher expects growth in housing prices in Australia’s capital cities to average 11 per cent in 2020. The latest edition of Christopher’s Housing Boom and Bust Report forecasts that dwelling prices in Melbourne will rise by up to 15 per cent, while Sydney’s housing market will record growth of 10-14 per cent. However, the Darwin market is expected to buck the trend, with a two per cent downturn in 2020. Christopher says the housing market rebound is unlikely to be sustained over the longer term.

CORPORATES
SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Lendlease sells Adelaide mall stake for $670m

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 8-Nov-19

Lendlease has sold its 50 per cent stake in Adelaide’s Westfield Marion to Singapore-listed SPH REIT for $670 million. Westfield Marion is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia and has the 13th highest turnover, while Scentre Group is the centre’s co-owner. SPH REIT is sponsored by media conglomerate Singapore Press Holdings, while the purchase was brokered by Colliers International and CBRE.

CORPORATES
LENDLEASE GROUP – ASX LLC, SPH REIT, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD

First-home buyers surge back for a foothold as market rises

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nila Sweeney, Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 7-Nov-19

Real estate developers note that their recent land releases in new housing estates have attracted strong demand among people who are buying their first home. Nigel Edgar of Frasers Property says first-home buyers now account for 35-45 per cent of its sales, compared with just 15 per cent when the residential market was at its peak in 2017. Likewise, Luke Fryer of Metricon says sales to first-home buyers increased by 25 per cent in the three months to September. Off-the-plan apartments are also attracting interest among first-home buyers.

CORPORATES
FRASERS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, METRICON HOMES, HIGHLAND PROPERTY GROUP, VIRGATE, WOLFDENE, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, JINDING DEVELOPMENTS

New housing approvals jump 7.6pc in September

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 1-Nov-19

Official data shows that residential building approvals rebounded in September, with overall growth of 7.6 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. Approvals for detached dwellings increased by 2.6 per cent, and approvals apartments and townhouses rose 16 per cent. Meanwhile, dwelling approvals totalled 176,638 in the year to September, compared with 179,924 in the year to August. Separate data from the Reserve Bank shows that there was an 0.2 per cent increase in housing credit in September, and annual growth of 3.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

House prices regain a third of downturn losses

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 24-Oct-19

Data from Domain Holdings shows that house prices in Sydney increased by 4.8 per cent in the September quarter. Nicola Powell of Domain says the median house price in the New South Wales capital rose by $49,000 over the period, after falling by around $167,000 during the 18-month property market downturn. House prices in Melbourne gained 4.1 per cent over the quarter, but house and apartment prices fell in Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Lowy calls time on retail empire

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Wilmot, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 17-Oct-19

The Lowy family has sold more than 206 million shares in Scentre Group via a block trade. The $815m transaction comprised some 3.9 per cent of the real estate investment trust’s shares, and it marks the family’s exit from the owner of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand. Steven Lowy, the son of Westfield’s co-founder Sir Frank Lowy, resigned from Scentre’s board in April. Peter Lowy also stepped down from the board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield earlier in 2019.

CORPORATES
SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD – ASX URW

Billionaire Briton woos super funds in $600m cattle buyout

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 15-Oct-19

A management buyout of Consolidated Pastoral Company, has been revealed. Guy Hands, the founder of Terra Firma Capital Partners, which bought CPC from billionaire James Packer and his family in 2009, will have a significant stake in CPC under the management buyout. The value of the buyout is expected to be worth between $600 million and $700 million. It is understood private family companies, high net worth investors and superannuation funds will be invited to buy into CPC. It is Australia’s largest private cattle company.

CORPORATES
CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY PTY LTD, TERRA FIRMA CAPITAL PARTNERS LIMITED

Price rises set housing up for new boom

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 30-Sep-19

Data to be released by CoreLogic on 1 October is expected to show that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have increased by 3.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent over the last four months. Prices rose by 1.6 per cent in Sydney and 1.4 per cent in Melbourne during August. Yarra Capital’s Tim Toohey has flagged the potential for a housing bubble in the medium-term, particularly if the Reserve Bank further eases monetary policy, while the ANZ Bank’s David Plank says regulatory intervention may be necessary if prices keep rising and there is an upturn in mortgage lending.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YARRA CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Sector in race to zero emissions by 2050

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Liz Main
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 25-Sep-19

New research has examined how committed Australian property groups are to becoming carbon neutral. The report, which was produced by Monash University and ClimateWorks Australia, shows that 47.5 per cent of property groups are taking measures to achieve the 2050 target of net zero emissions. However, the report notes that some companies are excluding indirect emissions, such as those generated by tenants of their buildings. Meanwhile, several listed groups have set a net zero emissions target of 2030.

CORPORATES
MONASH UNIVERSITY, CLIMATEWORKS PTY LTD, DEXUS – ASX DXS, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, VIVA ENERGY REIT – ASX VVR, TOGA PTY LTD