L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Unit values outpace houses in half of suburbs

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 3-Apr-24

Data from CoreLogic shows that growth in apartment prices outpaced detached homes in 633 out of 1,168 suburbs across Australia in the March quarter. This includes 77 per cent of Brisbane suburbs, 54 per cent of suburbs in Sydney and 50 per cent of Melbourne suburbs. Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the outperformance of apartments could be sustained in the near- to medium-term, due to factors such as housing affordability and supply constraints. Buyer’s agent Amanda Gould says high interest rates are prompting some clients to opt for an apartment rather than a detached dwelling.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Rate pause could lure home buyers back

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Mar-24

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged on Tuesday is likely to boost the confidence of prospective home buyers. He notes that there has tended to be a close relationship between consumer sentiment and the volume of home sales. Meanwhile, SQM Research MD Louis Christopher expects mortgage stress to continue to rise while interest rates remain high, while the number of distressed listings is also likely to rise.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New house pipeline at near-12 year low

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 5-Mar-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that approvals for new detached homes fell by 9.6 per cent month-on-month in January, to the lowest level since mid-2012. Approvals for apartments, townhouses and semi-detached homes fell by 22 per cent. Tamawood CEO Robert Lynch says the house construction market has most likely reached its bottom; however, he cautions that factors such as high interest rates mean that a rebound may take some time. He adds that sales activity in the more affordable segment of the housing market – in which Tamawood specialises – is likely to recover first.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD

House prices could jump 5pc: McGrath

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Original article by Campbell Kwan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 & 34 : 20-Feb-24

Real estate group McGrath Limited has posted a 2023-24 interim statutory profit of $7.5m and underlying EBITDA of $4.8m. Meanwhile, CEO John McGrath says the prospect of interest rate cuts later in 2024 may boost prices at the lower end of Australia’s housing market by up to five per cent. He adds that interest rate rises have seen house prices in this segment of the market fall by around five per cent over the last 12 months. However, McGrath says prospective buyers of homes priced below $1m are likely to remain cautious about returning to the property market until interest rate cuts actually occur.

CORPORATES
McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA

Cooling inflation, stable rates may encourage buyers

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 & 30 : 7-Feb-24

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the Reserve Bank’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged on Tuesday could prompt an upturn in house buying activity. He notes that house prices remain below their peaks in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin and the ACT; Lawless says that some buyers may capitalise on this to buy into the market before interest rates fall. Judo Bank’s chief economic adviser Warren Hogan says the rental housing market is still a major concern, while SQM Research MD Louis Christopher warns that rising rents could put upward pressure on inflation.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JUDO BANK PTY LTD, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD

House prices could dip before next rate cut

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 30-Nov-23

Domain Holdings is upbeat about Australia’s residential market, forecasting that house prices will rise by seven per cent nationally in 2024. Dwelling prices in Sydney are tipped to rise by up to nine per cent, while prices in Melbourne are expected to gain four per cent. Nicola Powell from Domain says house prices could fall in early 2024, particularly if there is another interest rate rise and inflation remains high. Powell adds that dwelling prices could rebound if there is an interest rate cut later in the year.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

Domain portal a business in trouble with declining market share, Catalano says

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Nov-23

Anthony Catalano’s View Media Group operates the view.com.au real estate listings business. Catalano sees Domain as View Media’s main rival, rather than REA Group’s realestate.com.au portal. He says the real estate sector is clearly moving towards a ‘one-portal market’ in the same way that employment and car sales are now largely dominated by one portal. Catalano adds that instead of trying to compete with REA, View Media is aiming to ‘own a consumer’ across different products, such as mortgages and insurance. He also believes that View Media poses a very serious threat to Domain; he is a former CEO of Domain.

CORPORATES
VIEW MEDIA GROUP PTY LTD, VIEW.COM.AU, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU

No housing crash, just a slowdown say economists

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 8-Nov-23

PEXA’s chief economist Julie Toth says the latest increase in the cash rate is likely to result in a pause in house price growth, as was the case at the start of the current monetary policy tightening cycle. However, Toth does not expect house prices to fall, adding that the rate rise is likely to trigger a new wave of mortgage refinancing. Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says the 13th interest rate rise since May 2022 is likely to further dampen consumer sentiment; he notes that consumer confidence has been at "very pessimistic" levels for nearly 18 months and has a close correlation with housing activity.

CORPORATES
PEXA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PXA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

WeWork cuts space despite staying open

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 8-Nov-23

Co-working pioneer WeWork has advised that its 15 hubs across Australian will remain open, despite its US parent company’s move to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. WeWork indicated that it will further rationalise its commercial lease portfolio while it is in bankruptcy, although this process will exclude its locations outside the US and Canada. However, WeWork will scale back the size of two co-working hubs in Sydney and its only site in Perth. A spokesman says it will be "business as usual" for WeWork in Australia. WeWork was estimated to be valued at around $US47bn at its peak, but its market capitalisation has fallen to less than $US50m following a 98 per cent fall in its share price in 2023.

CORPORATES
WEWORK

Star hopes to fetch $200m for Brisbane casino and hotel

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Oct-23

Casino operator Star Entertainment has put its Treasury Casino complex in Brisbane up for sale, with the complex including the Treasury Casino building and the Treasury Hotel building. Both the hotel and the casino will be offered with the potential for vacant possession , with Start to vacate the casino in 2024 when it starts operating its new casino in the nearby $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf development. Sam McVay from McVay Real Estate and Paul Noonan from JLL have been appointed to handle the sale, with Star hoping to fetch upwards of $200 million.

CORPORATES
THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR,[SPACE]McVAY REAL ESTATE PTY LTD,[SPACE]JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

REAL ESTATE – QUEENSLAND – COMMERCIAL]