L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Construction sector firms

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 50 : 21-Oct-14

Master Builders Australia (MBA) has reported that non-residential construction has returned to a growth phase. Its quarterly survey of the construction industry suggests that the turnaround, after more than four years of indicating contraction, is not a temporary trend. The MBA’s commercial construction index rose to 54.4 points in the third quarter of 2014, compared with 49.2 in the previous quarter

CORPORATES
LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, HANSEN YUNCKEN PTY LTD, ROYAL ADELAIDE HOSPITAL

Nest intentions: Aussies getting lazier when it comes to home improvement

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-14

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 30.5 per cent of Australians aged 14+ made minor repairs or alterations to their home in the year to June 2014. This compares with 33.4 per cent in the year to June 2010. The survey also shows that the number of Australians who painted something inside or outside their home has fallen from 22.5 per cent to 20.7 per cent over this period

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Schools brace for surge in enrolments

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Original article by Bethany Hiatt
The West Australian – Page: 11 : 8-Oct-14

Schools in Perth are expected to face a sharp increase in student numbers in coming years due to rising population levels in inner-city suburbs. Development of new housing in established suburbs is driving much of the growth, and Western Australia’s Department of Education has begun to examine ways to address the growing demand for places at the state’s schools

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF PLANNING, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. PLANNING COMMISSION

RBA must ‘bite the bullet’ on housing and lift rates

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Original article by Christopher Joye
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 8-Oct-14

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finally adopted the advice of "The Australian Financial Review", and started to consider macroprudential measures to rein in rampant residential real estate prices growth. Some banking leaders also want the central bank to lift the official cash interest rate from its all-time low, to signal to property buyers that the current environment cannot last. Investors appear oblivious to the fact that the increase in asset values of 7%-plus per annum must come to an end, and a dangerous "bubble" may be forming

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS

Asian developers say ‘what’s the drama’

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 50 : 2-Oct-14

Chinese property developers have rejected claims that Asian investors are dominating the Australian residential property market. Country Garden Australia CEO Johnson Zhang said that local developers are competing for residential development sites, so claims that foreign investors are inflating prices are false. He said that the second-hand market offers enough housing for local buyers

CORPORATES
COUNTRY GARDEN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, SHANGHAI GREENLAND GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, GUANGZHOU R AND F PROPERTIES COMPANY LIMITED, FRAGRANCE GROUP LIMITED, ASPIAL CORPORATION LIMITED, UEM SUNRISE BERHAD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

O’Dwyer seeks harsher penalties

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan, Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 1-Oct-14

Harsher penalties have been proposed for foreign real estate investors who do not comply with regulations. Kelly O’Dwyer, head of the Australian parliamentary inquiry into foreign investment into real estate, said that few breaches were detected as foreign investors had to self-report to the Foreign Investment Review Board. Analysis by First National Real Estate found that prices had increased in some suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne that were popular with Asian investors

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, FIRST NATIONAL REAL ESTATE GROUP, RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

REITs in major sell-off

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Oct-14

Australia’s listed real estate investment trusts index shed more than five per cent in September 2014. However, Freehold Investment Management’s Andrew Smith notes that a pullback was likely given the sector’s strong gains in the year to date. Stocks that were hard hit include Charter Hall Group, BWP Trust, Mirvac and Scentre Group. Lend Lease and GDI Property Group are among the stocks that posted gains

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 A-REIT INDEX, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, BWP TRUST – ASX BWP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GDI PROPERTY GROUP – ASX GDI, GROWTHPOINT PROPERTIES AUSTRALIA – ASX GOZ, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF, FREEHOLD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, INGENIA COMMUNITIES GROUP – ASX INA

News in $1.1bn US property play

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 1-Oct-14

Nasdaq-listed real estate web site operator Move is being acquired by News Corp for $US950m ($A1.08bn). News Corp will own 80% of the business and the remainder is to be held by Australian-listed REA Group, in which News Corp has a 61.6% stake. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson says the company will use its media assets in the US to promote and create synergies with Move, which had revenue of $US227m in 2013-14. The largest share of the online US property classifieds market is held by Zillow, of which Australian James Packer owns 9.4%

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, MOVE INCORPORATED, ZILLOW.COM, TRULIA INCORPORATED, CAVALANE HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HARLEQUIN ENTERPRISES LIMITED, NASDAQ

RBA asked to explain backflip on lending risks

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Original article by Christopher Joye
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Sep-14

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in mid-2013 reduced the official cash interest rate to a record low, and said the residential real estate market was not experiencing a "bubble". However a year on the central bank has revised its stance, and now warns of a dangerous prices surge. It may even resort to using macroeconomic tools, which has sparked concern among federal Senate economics committee members Matthew Canavan and Sam Dastyari of the National Party and Australian Labor Party respectively. RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe has been asked to address the committee on the issue

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Don’t ‘scare’ housing: Triguboff

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Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 22 : 26-Sep-14

Apartment developer Harry Triguboff has warned against restrictions on residential property lending. The Reserve Bank of Australia has indicated that it may impose restrictions on bank lending for housing. Triguboff said that prices had risen in Melbourne and Sydney, but there was little growth in prices in the rest of the country. He said that restrictions could have unintended consequences and damage confidence in the housing market

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, RP DATA LIMITED, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD