Pilbara property crash could be over

Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 5-Jan-17

House prices in Western Australia’s Pilbara region are unlikely to continue to decline. Hedland Property Shop MD Jim Henneberry says a recent increase in sales turnover suggests that the local real estate market is about to rebound, after several years of dramatic falls. The median house price in South Hedland fell 70 per cent in just four years, from $A850,000 to $A250,000.

CORPORATES
HEDLEY PROPERTY SHOP, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Foreign property interest to run strong

Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 13 : 4-Jan-17

Foreign investors bought $A10 billion worth of Australian commercial property in 2016. Large transactions included the acquisition of Dexus’s Southgate complex in Melbourne by ARA Property Group. The $A578 million transaction was executed in August. JLL CEO Stephen Conry expects strong interest in Australian property among foreign buyers to continue in 2017.

CORPORATES
JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, ARA PROPERTY GROUP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, INMARK PTY LTD, ASCENDAS PTE LTD, SINGBRIDGE GROUP, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Why the gloom merchants got housing wrong

Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Jan-17

Property prices are still rising, despite predictions of a decline. CoreLogic’s Home Value Index for December 2016 shows that they rose 10.9 per cent in the five main capital cities in 2016. They increased eight per cent in 2015. Louis Christopher, of SQM Research, says house prices are rising because of factors such as low interest rates, population growth and inadequate supply.

CORPORATES
SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DOMAIN.COM.AU, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, MACRO ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Home affordability shapes as key issue

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 22-Dec-16

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says housing affordability is likely to be a major issue in 2017. CoreLogic has co-authored a report which shows that while 86 per cent of a household’s income was required to save a 20 per cent deposit for a home in September 2001, this had blown out to 139 per cent in September 2016. It has risen from 117 per cent to 168 per cent in Sydney over the last 15 years, and from 93 per cent to 143 per cent in Melbourne. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison argues that insufficient housing supply is the main cause of unaffordability, a view shared by leading property groups.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, FRASERS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Troubled Estia puts Weiss in charge

Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 13-Dec-16

Australian-listed Estia Health has advised that Gary Weiss will succeed Pat Grier as chairman of the aged-care group. Weiss became a director of Estia in 2015, following its acquisition of Kennedy Health Care. Estia will undertake a $A136.8m capital raising in order to reduce its debt, with the new shares to be offered at $A2.10 apiece. Estia shares were fetching $A2.68 on 12 December 2016, prior to a trading halt ahead of the capital raising.

CORPORATES
ESTIA HEALTH LIMITED – ASX EHE, KENNEDY HEALTH CARE, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, REGIS HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX REG, SUMMERSET GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SNZ

Negative gearing not to blame

Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 1-Dec-16

Negative gearing is unfairly blamed for distorting Australia’s residential property market. However, house prices are rising because of record low interest rates. Cheap credit makes property acquisitions attractive to investors. Falling house prices in Perth suggest that property is not necessarily an attractive asset in all circumstances. BIS Shrapnel expects this trend to continue.

CORPORATES
BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED

Negative gearing not to blame

Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 1-Dec-16

Negative gearing is unfairly blamed for distorting Australia’s residential property market. However, house prices are rising because of record low interest rates. Cheap credit makes property acquisitions attractive to investors. Falling house prices in Perth suggest that property is not necessarily an attractive asset in all circumstances. BIS Shrapnel expects this trend to continue.

CORPORATES
BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED

Airbnb popularity with landlords puts squeeze on rental market

Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Nov-16

The number of homes in Sydney’s central and eastern suburbs that are listed as short-stay accommodation on Airbnb now significantly exceeds the number of residential properties that are available to rent. Data from the University of Sydney’s Urban Housing Lab also shows that property owners can earn significantly more each month by letting their homes via Airbnb rather than seeking longer-term rental tenants.

CORPORATES
AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, HEYTOM

Investor home loans on the rise as building approvals hit peak

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Nov-16

Lending to residential property investors increased by 4.6 per cent to $A12.4 billion in September 2016, from the previous month. Lending to owners-occupiers, excluding refinancing of existing mortgages, declined slightly to $A13 billion. Jo Masters, a senior economist at the ANZ Bank, says house prices continue to rise, auction clearance rates are high and building approvals are also high, but this trend may not be sustainable.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FORUM, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Shock win ‘will boost local real estate sales’

Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Nov-16

Donald Trump’s US presidential victory is likely to result in an interest rate rise in the US, increasing the likelihood of a cut in Australia’s 1.5 per cent official cash rate. LJ Hooker’s head of research Matthew Tiller says foreign investors will be less willing to invest in US property, and Chinese buyers in particular are likely to switch to Australia.

CORPORATES
LJ HOOKER (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA