L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Nation’s home values fall for first time in 14 quarters

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 22-Jun-16

Residential property prices in Australia’s eight capital cities fell by 0.2 in the March 2016 quarter, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The index of dwelling values had not fallen since the September 2014 quarter. There was an 0.8 per cent decline in the value of attached dwellings compared with the December 2015 quarter, including a fall of 0.6 per cent in Sydney. Paul Bloxham of HSBC expects a sharp fall in house price growth in both Sydney and Melbourne in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, SAVILLS CORDEAU MARSHALL

Childcare sector on track for record investment year

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 21-Jun-16

Colliers International has reported strong demand for investments in the childcare sector. The commercial real estate company states in its report, titled "Child Care: Australia’s Burgeoning Real Estate Investment Class", that 18 childcare centre were sold in the first half of 2016, at yields ranging between 3.9 per cent and 7.3 per cent. There were 33 childcare centre sales in 2015 and only two in 2008.

CORPORATES
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ARENA REIT – ASX ARF, FOLKESTONE EDUCATION TRUST – ASX FET, G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, GOODSTART EARLY LEARNING LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST INDEX, AUSTRALIAN CHILDCARE PROJECTS LIMITED

Taxes may hit foreign developers

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Jun-16

Frasers Property Australia CEO Rod Fehring has warned about unintended consequences of new charges applying to residential property acquired by foreign buyers. New stamp duty and land tax surcharges are being introduced in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Fehring fears that the new charges could also affect foreign-owned property developers.

CORPORATES
FRASERS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALAND PTY LTD, FRASERS CENTREPOINT LIMITED, PITCHER PARTNERS CORPORATE ADVISORY PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES TREASURY. OFFICE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, NEW SOUTH WALES TREASURY. OFFICE OF STATE REVENUE, MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD

China investor calls for clarity in FIRB rules

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Original article by Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Jun-16

Chinese-backed Rifa Australia has acquired 14 farms in Australia in the last two years, and it is seeking approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board to acquire an additional six properties. However, Rifa’s David Goodfellow says the company has been advised that the FIRB will not resume processing applications until late July 2016. He says investors are concerned that there will be further changes to regulations governing offshore investment in the agricultural sector if the Coalition wins the federal election.

CORPORATES
RIFA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, SHANGHAI PENGXIN GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, DAKANG AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ELDERS LIMITED – ASX ELD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PARAWAY PASTORAL COMPANY LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD, NORTH AUSTRALIAN PASTORAL COMPANY

Sydney home prices lead way with 3.4pc surge

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 31-May-16

Data from CoreLogic shows that the capital city-average house price index rose by 1.6 per cent in May 2016, compared with 1.7 per cent in April. The data also shows that house prices in Sydney increased by 3.4 per cent in May, although SQM Research’s Louis Christopher believes that prices are growing at a slower pace. Meanwhile, Housing Industry Association data indicates that there was an 8.1 per cent decline in sales of new homes in New South Wales during April.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

DomaCom, Lloyds in frame for Kidman sale

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-May-16

Lloyds Business Brokers and property crowdfunding group DomaCom have joined forces to submit a joint bid for the cattle station portfolio of S. Kidman & Company. Their $A370m bid values Kidman’s land holdings at $A210m, while its operating businesses are valued at $A160m. The Kidman sale has been re-opened after Treasurer Scott Morrison issued a preliminary ruling that its sale to Chinese investors was not in the national interest.

CORPORATES
S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, LLOYDS BUSINESS BROKERS INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, DOMACOM PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DAKANG AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, RIFA SALUTARY PTY LTD, ZHEJIANG RIFA HOLDING GROUP

Top-end sales and a lack of properties drive Sydney housing market

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 23-May-16

Preliminary data from CoreLogic RP Data shows that Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 74 per cent on the weekend of 21-22 May 2016, with 700 homes going under the hammer. The preliminary clearance rate in Melbourne was 70.7 per cent, with 825 properties auctioned. Some 1,900 homes were auctioned across Australia’s capital cities, with a national clearance rate of 70 per cent.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA

Apartments market warning

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Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-May-16

BPM CEO Jonathan Hallinan says the stricter lending requirements for apartment buyers has resulted in a downturn in off-the-plan sales in Melbourne. Matrix Property director Andrew Antonas adds that a crackdown on shifting money out of China and lending restrictions by Australian banks has reduced demand for apartments in Sydney among Chinese buyers. Some overseas developers are also seeking to offload their development sites due to the difficulty in obtaining financing.

CORPORATES
BPM PTY LTD, MATRIX PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RALAN PTY LTD

Foreign buyers and super push $1b beef boom

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 16-May-16

The growing demand for Australian cattle stations is being driven by superannuation funds and foreign investors. A number of local companies are also buying cattle farms in partnership with overseas pension funds, while the sector continues to attract interest from Chinese investors. It is estimated that almost $A500m worth of cattle stations have changed hands in recent weeks, and sales in the sector are on track to top $A1bn in 2016.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PARAWAY PASTORAL COMPANY LIMITED, WESTERN GRAZING COMPANY, QIC LIMITED, NORTH AUSTRALIAN PASTORAL COMPANY, STICHTING PENSIOENFONDS ABP, PENSION PROTECTION FUND, QUEENSLAND. LONG TERM ASSET ADVISORY BOARD, HEWITT CATTLE AUSTRALIA, CANADA. PUBLIC SECTOR PENSION INVESTMENT BOARD, GUNN AGRI PARTNERS, ZHEJIANG RIFA HOLDING GROUP, RIFA SALUTARY PTY LTD, SHANGHAI CRED REAL ESTATE STOCK COMPANY LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD, DAKANG AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, THYNNE AND MACARTNEY

Westfield Corp will still call Australia home

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 13-May-16

US-focused Westfield Corporation has ruled out shifting its primary listing from the Australian sharemarket to the US, although the group will consider a dual-listed structure. Chairman Frank Lowy says the board decided that there would be minimal benefit from relocating Westfield’s primary listing at present, and said he does not intend to retire from the board. Meanwhile, Westfield has advised that specialty retail sales at its shopping centres rose by 4.4 per cent in the year to March 2016.

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG