HOUSE CONSTRUCTION – AUSTRALIA

Housing construction ticks up slightly in June

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 10-Oct-19

New figures show that residential building starts increased by 1.1 per cent in the June quarter, following declines in the previous two quarters. A 10.6 per cent decline in detached-housing starts was offset by a 21 per cent increase in apartment starts. Meanwhile, housing starts for the year to June totalled 196,867; this was the first year-on-year fall since September 2014. Ernst & Young’s chief economist Joanne Masters expects a further decline in residential construction activity.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD

Jobs on the line as home builds slide

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that new housing approvals fell by 1.2 per cent during June and 26 per cent year-on-year. Apartment approvals were 40 per cent lower in June than at the same time in 2018. Matthew Hassan of Westpac expects further weakness in dwelling approvals over the remainder of 2019 and during the first half of 2020. George Tharenou of UBS warns that the downturn in housing approvals could put about 100,000 construction industry jobs at risk.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Nation’s residential building boom well and truly over: BIS

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 11-Apr-19

BIS Oxford Economics is bearish about the near-term outlook for Australia’s housing construction market. The firm has forecast that the sector will be hit by a two-year correction, with the number of new dwelling starts tipped to fall to 161,000 a year. This compares with between 220,000 and 230,000 annually over the last four years. Meanwhile, official data shows that there was a 16.3 per cent decline in housing starts during the December quarter, which is the largest quarter-on-quarter fall since September 2000.

CORPORATES
BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED

Housing slide threatens surplus hopes

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Feb-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that construction activity fell by a higher-than-expected 3.1 per cent nationwide in the December quarter, with housing construction falling by 3.6 per cent. The decline in construction work is likely to weigh on GDP growth for the quarter, which may in turn affect economic forecasts in the federal government’s April 2019 Budget. Growth forecasts had already been scaled back in the mid-year Budget update.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Apartment approvals hit four-year low

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Feb-19

Official figures show that just 53,590 units in apartment towers of at least four storeys were approved in 2018, which is about 12 per cent lower than 2017. The number of approvals for stand-alone dwellings fell slightly, to 119,668. Overall, a total of 212,316 apartments, houses and townhouses were approved in 2018, which is the lowest level in four years. JLL has forecast that just 16,000 apartments will be completed across Australia in 2019.

CORPORATES
JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

New housing loans drop 7.4pc in quarter

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Dec-18

A new report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that $89.2bn worth of new mortgage loans were written in the September quarter, which is 7.4 per cent lower than previously. However, authorised deposit-taking institutions have reported a 5.4 per cent increase in the total value of housing loans in the year to September. Chris Bedingfield of Quay Global Investors says the annual rate of house construction is now too high, given that banks are tightening their lending criteria. He adds that the Reserve Bank is now more likely to reduce rather than raise the cash rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, QUAY GLOBAL INVESTORS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ALP’s property-tax hit may be imposed as early as July

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Oct-18

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has defended Labor’s proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms, amid concern about their impact on dwelling construction. He says modelling commissioned by Master Builders Australia is flawed as it does not take into account the fact that negative gearing changes will be "grandfathered". MBA CEO Denita Wawn argues that the grandfathering provisions will have no effect on future investment decisions. Sources have indicated that a Labor government would implement the negative gearing reforms from July 2020, and possibly a year earlier if the federal election is called before the end of 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, CADENCE ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Labor risks $12bn housing hit

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Oct-18

Independent modelling by Cadence Economics has examined the likely impact of Labor’s proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms on the residential property market. It concludes that the policy could result in new dwelling commencements falling by between 10,000 and 42,000 over a five-year period. This would in turn reduce construction activity by up to $12bn over this period and result in between 7,500 and 32,000 fewer jobs in the sector. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn notes that housing approvals have peaked since Labor announced its policy two years ago.

CORPORATES
CADENCE ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

New home sales have fallen 27pc from their 2014 peak, HIA says

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 5-Oct-18

The Housing Industry Association has reported that new home sales posted a 2.9 per cent month-on-month decline in August, following a 3.1 per cent fall in July. New home sales fell by 7.3 per cent in New South Wales and by 7.1 per cent in Victoria, although Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia all recorded increases. New home sales are now down 27.1 per cent since their April 2014 peak, while the HIA is tipping that new home construction will fall by 10.6 per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Townhouses rise as approvals fall

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 31-Aug-18

New building approvals fell by 5.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in July when compared to June, according to official figures released on 30 August. Approvals for detached dwellings declined in all mainland states except Queensland, while townhouse approvals increased by 3.9 per cent. Townhouse approvals for the 12 months to July totalled 36,423, compared to 34,256 approvals for the 12 months to August 2016. In comparison, approvals for high-rise apartments have declined from 76,947 in the 12 months to August 2016 to 65,478 in the 12 months to July 2018.

CORPORATES
POLY GROUP CORPORATION, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP