Chinese top investors in commercial sites

Original article by Mercedes Ruehl, Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 29-Jul-15

Colliers International estimates that Chinese investors have accounted for more than $A4bn worth of commercial property deals in Australia so far in 2015. Colliers’ Nerida Conisbee expects Chinese activity in the local market to keep increasing. Mark Wizel of CBRE also notes growing interest among Chinese investors, particularly office buildings priced below $A50m and hotels.

CORPORATES
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD, CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION, PROPERTYLINK PTY LTD, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JLL HOTELS

Median house price in Sydney tops $1m

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Jul-15

New data from Domain Group shows that the median house price in Sydney rose by 22.9 per cent in 2014-15, to a record high of slightly more than $A1m. The harbour city’s median house price was just $A814,285 in 2013-14. Meanwhile, Sydney’s median apartment price rose by 13.9 per cent to $A656,078. Housing remains more affordable in Melbourne, with the median price of houses rising by 10.3 per cent to $A668,030 and apartment prices rising by 4.5 per cent to $A443,549.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Boom in large Melbourne apartments

Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 21-Jul-15

Secret Agent has released data which shows that the median price of a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne was steady at $A380,000 in 2014-15. However, the median price of two-bedroom apartments increased by 4.7 per cent to $A582,000, while the median price of apartments with at least three bedrooms rose by 7.2 per cent to $A950,000. The rising price of larger apartments is said to have been driven by demand from families and Baby Boomers who are downsizing their homes.

CORPORATES
SECRET AGENT PROPERTY SERVICES, THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF VICTORIA LIMITED

Sydney, Melbourne fast sellers

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Jul-15

CoreLogic’s data for private treaty sales in April 2015 shows that houses in Sydney were sold an average of 26 days after being put on the market, compared with an average of 31 days in May 2014. Likewise, the average number of days required to sell a home via private treaty sale in Melbourne fell from 43 to just 32. CoreLogic also reports that some 17,282 residential properties are currently for sale in Sydney, while 26,987 are on the market in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Melbourne may ‘outpace’ Sydney prices

Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 14-Jul-15

A report from property valuation firm Propell suggests that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne will rise by 10 per cent and eight per cent respectively during the next 12 months. However, the firm notes that there is the potential for stronger house prices in Melbourne than in Sydney, as house price growth in the latter city may be moderating. Meanwhile, Propell forecasts five per cent growth in Sydney apartment prices and just one per cent growth in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
PROPELL NATIONAL VALUERS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Auction clearances show softening trend

Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-15

Preliminary data from APM PriceFinder shows that Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 80 per cent on the weekend of 11-12 July 2015. An usually high number of homes for the time of year went under the hammer, which might have influenced the lower clearance rate, according to Andrew Wilson of Domain. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate rose from 74.7 per cent to 79.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COBDEN AND HAYSON, BIGGIN AND SCOTT PTY LTD, PETER BLACKSHAW REAL ESTATE, WESTON CREEK PTY LTD

Unlisted funds still on a roll

Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 47 : 9-Jul-15

Australia’s unlisted property trust sector achieved an overall return of around 10 per cent in the year ended May 2015. This includes a return of around 26 per cent for MAB Funds Management’s Diversified Property Trust, while returns for wholesale trusts have averaged 18 per cent. Folkestone’s Adrian Harrington says investors should consider a fund’s long-term returns rather than focusing on short-term returns.

CORPORATES
MAB FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MAB DIVERSIFIED PROPERTY TRUST, FOLKESTONE LIMITED – ASX FLK, SENTINEL PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Cities report warns of growing economic chasm

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 44 : 9-Jul-15

A new report shows that factors such as access to transport infrastructure and centres of employment are influencing residential property prices in Australian cities. House prices in outer suburbs where access to such amenities is more limited are growing at a slower pace than those in inner suburbs. The Federal Government report warns that a social divide may develop between people who live in inner areas and those on the fringes of major cities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Signs of slowing but Sydney strong

Original article by Michael Bleby, Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Jul-15

Sydney’s residential property market boasted an auction clearance rate of 84.5 per cent on the weekend of 4-5 July 2015, according to Corelogic RP Data. Some 566 home went under the hammer, compared with 815 on the previous weekend, when the clearance rate was 82 per cent. The clearance rate in Melbourne fell from 78.5 per cent to 76.7 per cent, with the number of properties on offer falling from 924 to 527.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE

Brinkworth may beef up holding

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 6-Jul-15

The rural property portfolio of S Kidman & Company has attracted interest from many potential buyers since it was put on the market in April 2015. South Australia-based grazier Tom Brinkworth is believed to be interested in buying some of the Kidman properties, but concedes that acquiring the entire portfolio – which comprises nearly 11 million hectares in total – may too ambitious.

CORPORATES
S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, SFM AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD