L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

House prices could fall 20pc: ANZ

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Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 27 : 23-Nov-18

The ANZ Bank is bearish about the outlook for the residential property market in Melbourne and Sydney, forecasting that house prices will fall by 15-20 per cent from their peak. ANZ expects increased lending restrictions to weigh on the property market, while other potential headwinds include the federal election due in 2019 and the final report of the financial services royal commission. ANZ also expects official interest rates to remain on hold until 2020.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD

End of an era as Lowy flags Scentre board departure

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Original article by Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 23 : 16-Nov-18

Steven Lowy has advised the board of Scentre Group that he will not seek re-election as a director at its AGM in April. Scentre is the owner and operator of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand, with Lowy’s father Sir Frank having co-founded Westfield in 1960. Sir Frank struck a deal in December 2017 to sell Westfield Corporation, the owner of its international malls, to Unibail-Rodamco for $US24.7 billion ($32 billion). Steven Lowy was the last member of the Lowy family to remain on the Scentre board.

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

RBA in housing market warning

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Nov-18

Apartment developers are increasingly having to seek funds from non-bank lenders as the major banks cut back on lending to the sector. The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor Guy Debelle says it is a trend that the central bank is keeping an eye on, warning that if it is overdone it could lead to a downturn in the housing market. Urbis recently reported that only 46 units were sold in new Sydney projects during the September quarter, compared to 381 sales of units in the previous corresponding period.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, URBIS PTY LTD

Negative gearing changes would create distortions

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Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 13-Nov-18

RiskWise CEO Doron Peleg contends that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would create a two-tiered property market. Economist Stephen Koukoulas believes that concerns about Labor’s proposals are unwarranted, as any fall in house prices that might result will make it easier for first-home buyers to enter the market. Tyrone Hodge of JLL thinks the proposed changes could have a negative impact on housing supply.

CORPORATES
RISKWISE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Housing builder Tamawood warns first-half sales will fall 15pc

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 9-Nov-18

Tamawood chairman Robert Lynch told shareholders at the housing builder’s AGM on 8 November that it expected that home sales for the first half would be done by 15 per cent. He noted the housing market was facing a number of challenges at the moment, including the tightening of lending criteria by banks as the result of the banking royal commission. Lynch said the biggest fall in current sales was being seen in Sydney and Melbourne, while he told shareholders that Tamawood was well placed to increase its market share in what was a "tightening market"

CORPORATES
TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

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