L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

$A fall attracts Chinese buyers

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 11-Nov-14

Property investors in China are capitalising on the nine per cent fall in the value of the Australian dollar to buy into the domestic property market. Peter Li of CBRE notes that a lot of Chinese investors are opting to buy higher-priced apartments, as they have become more affordable due to the currency’s recent weakness. Jock Langley of real estate firm Abercrombys notes that may expatriate Australians are taking advantage of the lower dollar to buy into the property market

CORPORATES
CBRE PTY LTD, ABERCROMBYS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, COMPASS GLOBAL MARKETS PTY LTD, OZFOREX GROUP LIMITED – ASX OFX

Sydney exceeds Melbourne in auction sales for first time

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Nov-14

The respective residential real estate auction clearance rates for the Sydney and Melbourne markets over the 10 months to early November 2014 are 74.9% and 68.8%. The system of selling by auction is becoming more common in Sydney, meaning that the city has had more such transactions than Melbourne, at 24,590 against 24,335. Meanwhile the average price of Sydney properties has grown 11.9% during the calendar year so far

CORPORATES
RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, TOGA DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FINANCE GROUP PTY LTD, BELLER RESIDENTIAL, MORRELL AND KOREN PTY LTD

Capital-city rents hit a wall as apartment stock floods in

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 8 : 7-Nov-14

RP Data has issued its latest figures on residential rents in Australian state and territory capital cities, showing an increase of 1.8% for the 12 months to November 2014. The average per annum over the past half-decade by comparison is 3.8%, and the current CPI rate 2.5%. One factor is the ample supply of apartments, as new projects are completed. Perth has suffered a decline of 3.1%. Meanwhile rental yields have fallen to 3.3% in Melbourne and 3.7% in Sydney

CORPORATES
RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Eliza’s crowning glory yours for $15mn

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 47 : 6-Nov-14

Savills and McGrath are marketing a luxury apartment in the Sydney CBD on behalf of its developer, Ceerose. The 499sq m penthouse comprises three floors of the developer’s Eliza apartment building, which is adjacent to the Sheraton on the Park hotel. The penthouse is expected to fetch at least $A15m, and features four bedrooms, a lap pool, a marble staircase and a private elevator

CORPORATES
CEEROSE CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD, SHERATON ON THE PARK, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, SAVILLS (AUST) HOLDINGS PTY LTD, McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, GROCON PTY LTD, COCO REPUBLIC, ARTBANK

Sydney leads home listing surge

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Original article by Robert Harley, Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 41 : 5-Nov-14

Data from SQM Research shows that there was a 7.3 per cent increase in house and apartment listings across Australia during October 2014. This includes a 21 per cent rise in Sydney, where residential property values increased by 1.3 per cent during the month. Listings in Melbourne rose by just 2.6 per cent in October, and by 1.8 per cent year-on-year

CORPORATES
SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Melbourne tops fastest list

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 4-Nov-14

New figures show that there was a one per cent rise in Australian house prices in October 2014. House prices in Melbourne recorded the strongest growth at nearly two per cent, ahead of 1.3 per cent for Sydney and 0.6 per cent in Brisbane. However, there was a 2.3 per cent decline in house prices in Hobart and an 0.1 per cent fall in Perth. Nationally, house prices have risen by 8.9 per cent in the last year

CORPORATES
RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED

House plan rejected due to relaxed tree policy

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Original article by Nicole Hasham
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 6 : 3-Nov-14

The New South Wales Land & Environment Court has ruled against a residential property owner who applied to clear land under new laws rolled out in August 2014. These are designed to help prevent bushfires, and allow for the removal of otherwise protected trees within 10 metres of a dwelling and shrubs within 50 metres. A number of local government councils have similarly rejected clearing proposals, while others argue that the new rules hamper legitimate property development

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE, HORNSBY COUNCIL, GOSFORD CITY COUNCIL, TWEED SHIRE COUNCIL, PITTWATER COUNCIL, BLUE MOUNTAINS CITY COUNCIL, NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NSW INCORPORATED

Negative gearing main factor in high house prices: Saul Eslake

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 29-Oct-14

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Saul Eslake has downplayed the role of foreign investment in the rising cost of residential properties in Australia. He argues that negative gearing has been a major contributor to the housing boom. Other factors cited by Eslake include the chronic housing shortage and the preference for Australians to live in more expensive inner-city suburbs

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Tax Office forced to build Gosford offices

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Original article by Noel Towell
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 4 : 27-Oct-14

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann stresses that the Australian Government is honouring an election pledge by opening a new office building in the regional New South Wales town of Gosford for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The move has been criticised by the Opposition as it comes at a time of major job cuts at the ATO and as it has a surplus of 6,200 seats across its premises nationwide. There has also been neither a business case nor cost-benefit analysis, in breach of the Finance Department’s requirements for new property leases by civil service agencies

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Minister’s backflip spares Whitlam house

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Original article by Mark Hawthorne
The Age – Page: 9 : 24-Oct-14

Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy has intervened to prevent the demolition of "Ngara". The house in Kew is the birthplace of former prime minister Gough Whitlam. The Heritage Council has granted Guy’s request for an interim protection order, which will prevent the current owner of the historic home from carrying out further demolition work. Guy stepped in after a furore erupted over plans to demolish the home

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF TRANSPORT, PLANNING AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE, HERITAGE COUNCIL OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, VICTORIA. CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL