L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Foreign apartment buyers to halve

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 24-Jul-17

The number of new apartments funded by foreign investors in Australia is tipped to fall significantly over the period from 2016 to 2019, according to Master Builders Australia. It attributes the expected decline to federal and New South Wales government curbs on foreign property investors. The MBA also expects foreign investment in new standalone properties to decline, but by not as much as apartment investment. The MBA expects NSW to feel the biggest impact in terms of a decline in new foreign investor-funded apartments, but Tim Lawless of CoreLogic suggests that Victoria instead will be most affected.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Housing supply ‘does not lower prices’

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 24-Jul-17

House price and new home approval figures for 2016 seem to bear out the view of Joe Flood that boosting housing supply does not lead to lower prices. New home commencements rose by 14,000, but house prices showed no sign of falling, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Flood, who works for affordable home supplier Community Housing, says governments may need to develop a revised version of the National Rental Affordability Scheme, while curbs on housing finance and tax changes could also help the situation.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY HOUSING LIMITED, CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Sydney unit rents on par with houses as affordability bites

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Jul-17

Data from Domain Group shows that the median weekly rent for apartments in Sydney rose by 4.8 per cent in the year to June 2017. The median weekly rent for detached houses increased by 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the median weekly rent for apartments and houses in Melbourne increased by 5.3 per cent and five per cent respectively. The figures also show that the median house price in Sydney rose by 1.6 per cent to a new high of $A1,178,417 in the June quarter, while the median price in Melbourne rose 3.5 per cent to $A865,712.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

CLSA slaps a buy on listed retail landlords

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Jul-17

Shares in Australian-listed real estate investment trusts have fallen sharply in 2017, with Westfield Corporation and Vicinity Centres shedding 16.7 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively. The A-REIT sector has fallen by about 10 per cent in the last month, but Sholto Maconochie of CLSA is upbeat about the outlook for the sector, and retail property trusts in particular. CLSA favours Scentre Group and Vicinity Centres, and the firm’s rating on the latter has been upgraded to "outperform".

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CBRE PTY LTD, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF

Housing price rises to halve, says NAB

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-Jul-17

National Australia Bank forecasts that house prices in the nation’s capital cities will rise by just five per cent in 2017, compared with growth of 11.6 per cent in 2016. NAB also expects growth in apartment prices to fall from 5.9 per cent in 2016 to three per cent. Chief economist Alan Oster says growth in residential property prices will be constrained by factors such as low growth in wages, the high level of dwelling construction and measures aimed at curbing foreign investment in the housing market.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC

Property price growth set to halve

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 30 : 13-Jul-17

A new survey of property industry professionals shows that most expect a slowdown in residential property price growth in the next 12 months. The ANZ/Property Council of Australia index of house price growth expectations has fallen from 20.2 points to 4.3 points. The anticipated slowdown is particularly acute in Sydney, with house price growth expectations falling from 29.6 points to 1.7 points. The survey also shows that property professionals are bearish about the outlook for capital growth in the retail property sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, RAY WHITE GROUP, AVENTUS PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, QUINTESSENTIAL EQUITY PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

House prices face turning point: HSBC

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-17

HSBC expects house prices in Sydney to rise by between 14 and 16 per cent in 2017, while apartment prices will rise by between 10 and 12 per cent. Growth in house and apartment prices is expected to moderate in 2018. HSBC’s forecasts for Melbourne are similar to Sydney for house prices, but it is predicting that apartment prices in Melbourne could fall by as much as three per cent in 2017 and by up to four per cent in 2018. Nationally, HSBC expects house prices to rise by between eight and 10 per cent in 2017, before rising by between three and six per cent in 2018.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

‘Oversold’ retail trusts set to rebound

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 3-Jul-17

Vicinity Centres, Scentre Group and Westfield Corporation all returned negative returns of at least 10 per cent in the year to 30 June 2017. This made them the worst performing stocks in the S&P/ASX 200-A REIT index, but fund managers believe that this now makes them good value, and expect them to perform much better in 2017-18. Fund managers contend that the three stocks – Australia’s biggest shopping centre owners – were oversold because of the perception that their tenants will be damaged by the arrival of Amazon in Australia.

CORPORATES
VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, SG HISCOCK AND COMPANY LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, WHOLE FOODS MARKET INCORPORATED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ETFs could threaten A-REIT share prices

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 26-Jun-17

Australian-listed real estate investment trusts have become increasing popular with exchange-traded funds in recent years, according to Angelo Scasserra of Credit Suisse. Scentre, Stockland, Goodman and Mirvac are among the A-REITs to have attracted funds from ETFs, which Scasserra says are a very passive category of investors. He also says ETFs are very "reactionary", leading to potential share price volatility within the A-REIT sector.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, VANGUARD AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY SECURITIES INDEX ETF – ASX VEU, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC, ISHARES INCORPORATED, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, INVESCO, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LYXOR ASSET MANAGEMENT, RUSSELL INVESTMENT GROUP, CUSHMAN AND WAKEFIELD INCORPORATED

Melbourne cladding still in place after fire

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 16-Jun-17

The tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London and the possible links to its external cladding has led to concerns about buildings with similarly dangerous cladding in Australia. Cladding on one such building, the Lacrosse building in Melbourne, was directed to be removed after it was affected by a potentially lethal fire in November 2014, but the cladding remains. Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne says many apartment buildings in Australia could have the same cladding problems as the Lacrosse building.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE AND REGULATION, LU SIMON BUILDERS PTY LTD, VICTORIA. BUILDING APPEALS BOARD, VICTORIA. BUILDING COMMISSION, MELBOURNE METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADE, CSIRO, GREAT BRITAIN. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF HOUSING AND PUBLIC WORKS, ELENBERG FRASER PTY LTD, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, CITY OF PORT PHILLIP, CITY OF MELBOURNE, METROPOLITAN FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES BOARD