Units are now selling faster than houses in downturn-hit Sydney

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 11-Sep-18

Domain figures reveal that homes and apartments in Sydney were both on the market for an average of 67 days in August. The figure for homes represents an increase of 20 days when compared to the same time in 2017, while apartments were only taking nine more days to sell. Homes in Melbourne were taking an average of 55 days to sell in August, compared to 44 in August 2017. Melbourne apartments were taking an average of 77 days to sell in August, down from 88 days for the same time in 2017.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Victoria’s urban growth suburbs rise more than 40pc

Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 7-Sep-18

Municipalities in Melbourne’s south-east and south-west "growth corridors" have seen the biggest increase in land values following the latest municipal revaluations in Victoria. Land values in Frankston rose by 42 per cent, while values in Casey and Wyndham rose by close to 40 per cent. Factors that pushed up values in "growth corridors" included proximity to schools and first-home buyer incentives. The date used for the revaluation was 1 January, with the total value of all land in Victoria – residential, industrial, commercial and rural – increasing from $1.88 trillion to $2.3 trillion.

CORPORATES
LAND VICTORIA

Top 500 companies: booming housing construction boosts builders

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 6-Sep-18

Property and construction companies feature prominently towards the top of the latest list of Australia’s top 500 private companies. Meriton and BGC were in fifth and sixth place, as they were for the previous year, while Brisbane-based Hutchinson Builders rose two places to seventh. Its revenue rose 14.7 per cent to $2.65 billion, with revenue up 20 per cent in both Sydney and Melbourne. Metricon finished at 22nd place in the list, up from 48th place in 2017, while Built rose from 43rd place to 25th.

CORPORATES
MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, BGC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, HUTCHINSON BUILDERS, METRICON HOMES, BUILT PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, RICHARD CROOKES CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR

Sydney property prices fall the fastest in nine years: CoreLogic

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Sep-18

CoreLogic reported on 3 September that Sydney house prices had fallen by 5.6 per cent over the year to August. This represented the biggest decline of any capital city for that period, while it was the biggest fall recorded for Sydney house prices since early 2009. Sydney was the location of nine of the 10 worst performing sub-regions over the year to August, with Ryde the worst hit. Melbourne house prices fell by two per cent in the three months to August, making it the worst performing capital city over that period.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Auction market chilled by rate hikes, reluctant sellers

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 3-Sep-18

Corelogic has reported that the preliminary clearance rate for residential auctions in the week ending 1 September was at 58.2 per cent. Sydney had a preliminary clearance rate of 58.6 per cent, while Melbourne had a preliminary clearance rate of 59.1 per cent. Canberra had a preliminary clearance rate of 63.3 per cent, while Adelaide and Brisbane had preliminary clearance rates of 61.7 per cent and 45.9 per cent respectively.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Townhouses rise as approvals fall

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 31-Aug-18

New building approvals fell by 5.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in July when compared to June, according to official figures released on 30 August. Approvals for detached dwellings declined in all mainland states except Queensland, while townhouse approvals increased by 3.9 per cent. Townhouse approvals for the 12 months to July totalled 36,423, compared to 34,256 approvals for the 12 months to August 2016. In comparison, approvals for high-rise apartments have declined from 76,947 in the 12 months to August 2016 to 65,478 in the 12 months to July 2018.

CORPORATES
POLY GROUP CORPORATION, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP

High prices to drive spring rural listings

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 27-Aug-18

The drought does not seem to have had too much impact on the value of farm properties in New South Wales, with values in some areas rising by 30 per cent over the past 12 months. Andrew Street of Landmark Harcourts says there is a lot of interest in cotton properties at the moment. Sam Hempinstall of Michael Keating International expects demand for Victorian rural estate to exceed supply during the 2018 spring, with good interest coming from both Asia and Europe.

CORPORATES
LANDMARK HARCOURTS PTY LTD, MICHAEL KEATING INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, ELDERS LIMITED – ASX ELD, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND)

Labor win a housing game changer

Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Aug-18

Brett Gillespie of Ellerston Capital says financial markets are not giving much consideration to the possibility that Labor will win the next federal election. He notes that a Labor government would have a major impact on the property market, given that Labor proposes to restrict negative gearing to new homes. Gillespie adds that a Labor win would also have implications for the sharemarket and the broader economy.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, FLETCHER BUILDING LIMITED – ASX FBU, ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LIMITED – ASX ABC, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, GWA GROUP LIMITED – ASX GWA, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

McGrath writes off all goodwill

Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 21-Aug-18

Listed real estate agency McGrath has reported a net loss of $63 million for 2017-18, which includes an impairment expense of $59 million after writing off its entire goodwill. McGrath recorded EBITDA of $1 million, while revenue fell by 23 per cent to $99 million. Its full-year fees from property management were down, with the number of properties managed by company-owned agencies declining from 7,463 to 7,215.

CORPORATES
McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA

NSW bans high-content PE cladding over fire risk

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 14-Aug-18

The New South Wales Government has cracked down on the use of combustible cladding materials in the construction industry. The use of aluminium panels with a core of more than 30 per cent polyethylene will be banned outright, with the regulation to apply to both new and existing buildings. Building certifier David Blackett has expressed reservations about the government’s decision to give local councils responsibility for the risk assessment process.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF COMMERCE. OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING