L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Off-the-plan values plummet in Melbourne

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 4-Jan-16

Analysis by WBP Property Group shows that there has been a sharp fall in the value of apartments bought off-the-plan in Melbourne during the last two years. The firm has reported that the average value of almost 2,000 apartments fell by around $A40,000 in 2014 and 2015. Kim Quick of Herron Todd White says there has not been a similar downturn in apartment values in Sydney, noting that the residential market has benefited from the New South Wales Government’s infrastructure program.

CORPORATES
WBP PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, HERRON TODD WHITE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

World Square sale caps $7.6b investment surge

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 57 : 23-Dec-15

Some $A7.6bn worth of shopping centres have changed hands in 2015, including a record $A2.7bn in the fourth quarter. In one of the latest deals, ISPT will pay $A285m for a 50 per cent stake in Sydney’s World Square shopping centre. Other groups that have been active in Australia’s retail property sector in recent months include Blackstone, AMP Capital, Vicinity Centres and Challenger.

CORPORATES
ISPT PTY LTD, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, ABU DHABI INVESTMENT COMPANY, WORLD SQUARE PTY LTD, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, CITY OF SYDNEY, SHOPPING CENTRE NEWS

Eviction, then litigation ramps up blueblood battle on Collins Street

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Original article by Sarah Danckert, Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-Dec-15

The Supreme Court of Victoria’s Justice Clyde Croft has criticised Impact Investment Group’s actions in locking Roy Morgan Research out of its premises in Melbourne’s CBD. Justice Croft ruled that the market research firm must be allowed back into 401 Collins St, and said Impact’s actions were inappropriate given that the dispute between the parties was already the subject of court proceedings. Roy Morgan Research has withheld rent payments since September due to a dispute over work on the building’s lifts and the amount of time the work is expected to take.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, IMPACT INVESTMENT GROUP PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Apartment crunch tipped for two cities

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 16-Dec-15

A new report from the Commonwealth Bank warns of a looming apartment glut in the Melbourne and Brisbane CBDs from 2016, when a large number of apartment projects are slated for completion. The CommBank Property Insights report notes that about 80,000 apartments are under construction in Australia’s major capital cities, while an additional 117,000 have been proposed.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Vicinity to sell up to $1b of mall assets

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan, Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 15-Dec-15

Australian-listed Vicinity Centres plans to divest between $A750m and $A1bn worth of shopping centres during the next 12 months. Proceeds of the asset sales will be used to reduce debt, finance acquisitions and be reinvested in the redevelopment of its other assets. Vicinity has identified one bulky goods property in Queensland that it intends to sell, and CEO Angus McNaughton has flagged an exit from this asset class.

CORPORATES
VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, NOVION PROPERTY GROUP, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, WARRIEWOOD SHOPPING CENTRE

House price growth will wane, says report

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 15-Dec-15

Domain Group’s "State of the Market" report forecasts that residential property prices in Australia’s capital cities will rise by 2-5 per cent in 2016. House prices are tipped to rise by four per cent in Sydney and five per cent in Melbourne, following growth of around 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively in 2015. Senior economist Andrew Wilson expects renewed interest among property investors in 2016, citing factors such as negative gearing and the high yield relative to other investment options.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

McGrath falters on first ASX day

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Original article by Robert Harley, Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 8-Dec-15

Shares in McGrath Limited closed at $A1.835 on 7 December 2015, giving the real estate group a market capitalisation of $A227.9m. The stock was issued at $A2.10 per share, with founder John McGrath reducing his stake from 58.4 per cent to 27 per cent in the IPO. McGrath Limited expects to post a net profit after tax of $A21.1m in 2015-16, compared with $A18.3m previously.

CORPORATES
McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA

ASIC puts heat on unlawful spruikers

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 7-Dec-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will continue to target individuals and companies that promote the use of self-managed superannuation funds to invest in the property market. The Australian Taxation Office estimates that SMSFs account for about 33 per cent of the $A1.7bn that is held by super funds. Meanwhile, the value of limited-recourse loans taken out by SMSFs has blown out from around $A755m to $A15bn in the last five years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, PARK TRENT PROPERTIES GROUP PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, OMNIWEALTH PTY LTD, SUPERANNUATION WAREHOUSE AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Sydney, Melbourne property prices hit the skids

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 2-Dec-15

New figures from CoreLogic RP Data show that dwelling values fell in five of Australia’s eight capital cities during November 2015. There was a 1.4 per cent decline in home values in Sydney during November and a one per cent downturn in the three months to November. Meanwhile, home values in Melbourne fell by 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 3.5 per cent in November. However, both cities are continuing to record double-digit annual growth in home values.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

McGrath rating has rivals crying foul

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 26-Nov-15

Rival firms have questioned figures in the prospectus of McGrath Real Estate which suggest that the firm has a 3.2 per cent share of Australia’s residential sales market, ranking it the nation’s third-largest. Harcourts MD Mike Green argues that most of McGrath’s sales are in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and it would have a much lower ranking based on the number of properties sold rather than the dollar value. McGrath is slated to list on the sharemarket in December 2015.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, HARCOURTS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, LJ HOOKER (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FIRST NATIONAL REAL ESTATE GROUP