Housing faces year of downturn

Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 17 : 25-Jan-19

National Australia Bank now expects dwelling prices in Sydney and Melbourne to fall by 15 per cent from peak to trough. NAB’s latest survey of property industry professionals shows that respondents generally expect New South Wales and Victoria to incur the biggest fall in housing prices over the next several years, although prices are also tipped to fall or remain flat outside of the two largest capitals. NAB’s separate survey of consumers shows that they are more upbeat about the outlook for the housing market than property professionals.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Prices of big city houses to fall 25pc

Original article by Melissa Yeo
The Australian – Page: 26 : 24-Jan-19

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says residential property prices in Melbourne and Sydney could fall by up to 25 per cent from peak to trough. Oliver had previously flagged a potential fall of up to 20 per cent, and he has warned that the downturn in the housing market could impact on Australia’s economic growth. Oliver also expects the Reserve Bank to reduce the cash rate by 25 basis points in August and November, although he says weak economic data could prompt it to move sooner.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEMOGRAPHIA

Investors eye modest REIT return in 2019: Citi

Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 24-Jan-19

Citigroup has forecast a total return of five per cent for Australian real estate investment trusts in 2019. The sector delivered an overall return of 2.9 per cent in 2018, although Citi analysts note that the spread between the best and worst performers was the widest since the global financial crisis. Citi is bearish about the outlook for retail REITs, although the firm has upgraded its rating on several residential REITs to a ‘buy’.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEXUS – ASX DXS, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, ABACUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX ABP, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, WESTFIELD CORPORATION, UNIBAIL-RODAMCO

The great Aussie dream severely unaffordable

Original article by Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Jan-19

Demographia’s latest International Housing Affordability survey shows that residential property in Australia’s five largest capital cities remains expensive, relative to income. Sydney now ranks third behind Hong Kong and Vancouver among the least affordable housing markets of the 91 that were surveyed; Sydney’s median house multiple is 11.7, ahead of Melbourne with a median multiple of 9.7. Gladstone and Rockhampton are now the most affordable housing markets in Australia, with median multiples of 3.2 and 3.9 respectively.

CORPORATES
DEMOGRAPHIA

36,000 home hangover for Melbourne market: SQM Research

Original article by Nathan Mawby
news.com.au – Page: Online : 9-Jan-19

SQM Research has reported that there were over 36,000 homes still up for sale in Melbourne at the end of 2018. This represents an increase of 25 per cent when compared to the end of 2017, when around 29,000 homes were on the market. SQM Research head Louis Christopher says the increase in unsold homes shows that sellers are not prepared to accept "low-ball" offers for their homes. He says that quite a number of vendors have withdrawn their homes from the market altogether, and that these sellers would put their houses back on the market in 2019.

CORPORATES
SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD

Towering loophole: taxpayer may foot the bill for defects

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Jan-19

The troubled-plagued Opal Tower is built on land that is owned by the Sydney Olympic Park Authority rather than the apartment building’s developer, Ecove. Legal experts say that under changes to the Home Building Act in 2010, the New South Wales Government may have to bear the costs associated with fixing the tower’s structural defects, as the SOPA is regarded as the developer of the building. The government will receive the report of an independent investigation into Opal Tower on 11 January.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK AUTHORITY, ECOVE GROUP PTY LTD, ICON CO PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA AVENUE DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, WSP GROUP, CHAMBERS RUSSELL LAWYERS, HOMEBUSH BAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED

Item 6 – Summer Health Series – Hips don’t lie (but they can hurt!)

Original article by Zac Jones – BandTherapy
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jan-19

Do you ever get tight at the front of your hips after a long ride or run? Maybe after an intense workout the next day you struggle to walk with stiffness or pain. If this is the case then chances are you are not connecting the deep muscles of your legs to your spine properly. If you don’t connect these muscles (called iliopsoas) then you have to work twice as hard to move your body. That extra effort just to get things moving can be a key reason why you get tight, stiff and sore in your hips! This also applies if you have had or are considering a hip replacement, because that extra contraction of the muscles around the hip socket without release and access to free movement can render you vulnerable to reinjury and delay rehabilitation. There is no doubt the key areas of the hips and pelvis need to be strong to be able to do everything we ask of them, but too often we confuse strength with rigidity. The best way to approach freeing up the hips so we can move better pain free whilst also developing strength is to read more at https://bit.ly/2BUZWL5

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Approvals for new apartments slump

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 10-Jan-19

New figures highlight the downturn in Australia’s residential construction market. Just 5,921 units, townhouses and semi-detached dwellings were approved in November 2018, which is 18.4 per cent lower than in October. In contrast, some 12,823 dwellings were approved during November 2017. There was a 9.1 per cent decline in approvals for detached dwellings in November, which is the lowest monthly level since July 2013.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Apartment prices to come under pressure

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 7-Jan-19

BIS Oxford Economics estimates that 17,000 additional high-rise apartments will hit the Melbourne market in 2019, compared with 13,500 in 2018. Likewise, some 26,300 apartments in Sydney are expected to be completed in 2019, down from 28,000 in the previous year. The large number of apartments coming onto the market is expected to put further pressure on prices, while Angie Zigomanis of BIS notes that there may also be an increase in vacancy rates and a corresponding fall in rents.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WORLD CLASS LAND (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ASPIAL CORPORATION LIMITED

Open loan books, banks told

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jan-19

The national dwelling price fell by 4.8 per cent in 2018, according to data from CoreLogic, with prices in Sydney and Melbourne falling by 8.9 per cent and seven per cent respectively. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the nation’s banks must continue to provide home buyers with access to credit, adding that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would deepen the downturn in the housing market. Meanwhile, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects house prices in Sydney and Melbourne to fall by another 10 per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FINDER.COM.AU, BANKWEST, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED