L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

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

EY warns of cyber threat to real estate

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 25-Nov-15

Professional services firm EY has released a report which highlights the risks associated with the growing use of digital technologies in buildings. Richard Watson of EY notes that so-called SMART buildings are especially vulnerable to computer hackers. He says a building’s tenants would be the first to be impacted by a cyber attack on the property’s digital infrastructure, but landlords would ultimately have to compensate tenants for loss of revenue and damage to their reputation.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG

Commercial property’s best year since 2008

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 24-Nov-15

The latest PCA/IPD Australia Property Index data shows that Australia’s commercial property sector delivered a total return of 12 per cent in the year to 30 September 2015. This was the best total return since the September 2008 quarter. The Sydney and Melbourne office markets both achieved a return of 14.7 per cent for the year, while neighbourhood shopping centres boasted the highest return in the retail property sector, at 14.4 per cent.

CORPORATES
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IPD, MSCI INCORPORATED

Agents enter FIRB ‘grey area’

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 20-Nov-15

Australian real estate agents must familiarise themselves with new foreign investment laws on residential property which come into effect in December 2015. Property lawyer John Turnbull says non-compliance could result in civil penalties of up to $A45,000 for individuals and $A225,000 for companies. Some confusion may arise from the new rules not being sufficiently clear.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, KAY AND BURTON, THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Hotel giants’ tie-up opens luxury doors

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 18-Nov-15

JLL’s Mark Wynne Smith anticipates further consolidation in the global accommodation industry in the wake of the proposed merger of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The combined group will boast 5,500 hotels and 1.1 million rooms worldwide, including 16 hotels and 5,000 rooms in Australia. The two companies plan to add an additional 2,500 hotel rooms in Australia during the next five years.

CORPORATES
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL HOTELS INCORPORATED, STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED, JONES LANG LASALLE INCORPORATED, ACCOR ASIA PACIFIC, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, THE RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY LLC, SHERATON HOTELS, W HOTELS, WESTIN HOTELS AND RESORTS, FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON, SAVILLS (AUST) HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BRIGHT RUBY RESOURCES PTE LTD, SUNSHINE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS AND RESORTS, HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION

Rinehart adds $30m station for Wagyu beef

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Nov-15

Australian businesswoman Gina Rinehart has paid $A30m for the 10,000-hectare Glencoe Station in New South Wales. The acquisition will allow Rinehart to further expand her Wagyu beef business, after she paid $A25m for two cattle properties and a Wagyu herd in 2014. A number of other Australian business leaders have expanded into the agricultural sector in recent years.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, MEAT AND LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MCG GROUP PTY LTD, HARTLEY GRAZING COMPANY PTY LTD, MILNE AGRIGROUP PTY LTD, LIVERINGA STATION BEEF PTY LTD

McGrath to get $112m from company float

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 28 : 12-Nov-15

McGrath Real Estate will have a market capitalisation of around $A282m when it lists on the Australian sharemarket in December 2015. The real estate group is offering 134 million shares priced at $A2.10 apiece in its IPO. McGrath Real Estate has raised $A128.2m via an institutional bookbuild that closed on 11 November. Founder John McGrath will retain a 26.7 per cent stake in the business.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, REALOGY CORPORATION, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY REAL ESTATE SERVICES

Six signs show the Sydney residential market has cooled

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 11-Nov-15

A number of factors suggest that growth in Sydney’s residential property market has slowed in 2015. The auction clearance rate has fallen from 89.2 per cent in May to a three-year low of 59.2 per cent. Likewise, the number days a property is listed before selling has risen from 25 in July to 28 in November, while there is also evidence of a widening differential between the reserve price of residential properties and the eventual sale price at auction.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, RICHARDSON AND WRENCH PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX AFG, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Auctions in Sydney fall to below 60pc

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Nov-15

Preliminary data from Domain Group shows that Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 59.2 per cent on the weekend of 7-8 December 2015. This is its lowest level in around three years, and Domain’s Andrew Wilson says it could fall further before the end of the year. The clearance rate in Melbourne rose from 66 per cent to 70 per cent.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, LAING AND SIMMONS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSIN GROUP