L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Alarm bells in housing as losses widen

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 30-Oct-18

UBS has reported that the percentage of capital city apartments that are being resold at a loss when compared to their previous purchase price has risen to 14.3 per cent, the highest since the 1990s. UBS also notes one in three homes sold off the plan in Sydney have a lower valuation at settlement when compared to the original sale price. Meanwhile, Fragrance Group has abandoned plans for an apartment project at 555 Collins Street in Melbourne. The site has been sold to a Charter Hall fund with the expectation that it will now be used for an office tower.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FRAGRANCE GROUP LIMITED, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, MOODY’S ASIA-PACIFIC LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Housing doldrums here to stay

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Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 5 : 29-Oct-18

Preliminary data from CoreLogic shows that Sydney boasted a residential auction clearance rate of 50.7 per cent on the weekend of 27-28 October, compared with 58.3 per cent for the previous corresponding period. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate was 49.8 per cent, down from 70.2 per a year ago. More than 2,900 homes went under the hammer across Australia, although the national clearance rate was just 50 per cent. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects the housing market weakness to persist into 2020.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Property giants sell land amid slower market

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Original article by Ben Wilmot, Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 25 : 26-Oct-18

Residential developer Stockland is targeting over 6,000 settlements in 2018-19, but it only achieved 1,030 in the first quarter. Stockland and fellow developer Mirvac are targeting first-home buyers, but both are worried about Labor’s policies on negative gearing and capital gains tax, as well as the tightening of credit. Mirvac is selling a land site at Ingleside in Sydney, while Stockland has put its The Grove Estate project in Melbourne’s west on the market.

CORPORATES
STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BIGGIN AND SCOTT PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CBRE PTY LTD

House prices about 30pc inflated with a loan cap

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 16-Oct-18

Modelling by LF Economics suggests that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne could be "overinflated" by up to 30 per cent if mortgage loans were capped at 30 per cent of household income. Other capital city house prices are not as inflated under LF Economics’ modelling, which used data from CoreLogic and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The modelling is line with other forecasts that Sydney and Melbourne house prices are set to continue to decline.

CORPORATES
LF ECONOMICS, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BRONTE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VARIANT PERCEPTION

House prices tipped to fall faster as tighter credit rules hit buyers

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Oct-18

Sydney’s residential property market boasted a preliminary auction clearance rate of 52 per cent in the week ended 13 October, compared with a preliminary clearance rate of 53.5 per cent for the previous week. The preliminary clearance rate in Melbourne was 52.1 per cent, down from 54.4 per cent previously. The national preliminary clearance rate was also lower than the previous week, and Maria Magrin of Belle Property says prospective buyers are finding it harder to secure credit prior to auction.

CORPORATES
BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Morgan Stanley fears 15pc house price fall

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Original article by Mackenzie Scott
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Oct-18

Investment bank Morgan Stanley has warned that residential property prices in Australia could potentially decline by 10-15 per cent. It had previously forecast a fall of just 5-10 per cent in house prices. Morgan Stanley says a pullback of the magnitude it now forecasts would have a flow-on effect across the economy, including a rise in the official unemployment rate to eight per cent. The firm also says the earnings of companies with exposure to the residential property sector would be hit.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Victoria sets Fishermans Bend population at 80,000, rejects calls for more

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Oct-18

The Victorian government has set the population target for Fishermans Bend, Australia’s biggest urban regeneration project, at 80,000. In doing so, it has rejected a recommendation that the target for the 480-hectare site be set at 120,000. Danni Addison from the Urban Development Institute of Australia was critical of the government’s decision, saying the planning framework for Fishermans Bend represents a "missed opportunity". Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne claims the government is "fixing the mess Matthew Guy created".

CORPORATES
URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

New home sales have fallen 27pc from their 2014 peak, HIA says

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Oct-18

The Housing Industry Association has reported that new home sales posted a 2.9 per cent month-on-month decline in August, following a 3.1 per cent fall in July. New home sales fell by 7.3 per cent in New South Wales and by 7.1 per cent in Victoria, although Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia all recorded increases. New home sales are now down 27.1 per cent since their April 2014 peak, while the HIA is tipping that new home construction will fall by 10.6 per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Top-end markets bear the brunt

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Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 2-Oct-18

CoreLogic’s latest data indicate that there is greater resilience in the more affordable segments of Australia’s residential property market. House prices in the bottom quarter of the Melbourne market rose by 4.1 per cent year-on-year, while they fell by just 3.3 per cent in Sydney’s bottom quartile. However, prices in Sydney and Melbourne’s top quartiles fell by 8.4 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively. Tim Lawless of Corelogic says demand is becoming focused on the more affordable housing segments as banks become more cautious about borrowers taking on too much debt.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE

ME boss tips two years of house price weakness

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 25-Sep-18

ME Bank has reported a statutory net profit of $89.1m, which is 43.9 per cent higher than previously, while its underlying earnings rose 13 per cent to $96.5m. CEO Jamie McPhee does not expect a significant fall in house prices, although he says prices are likely to ease slightly over the next two years. McPhee adds that the revelations of the banking royal commission do not appear to have had much impact on ME Bank’s customer numbers and deposit inflows.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY