HOUSE CONSTRUCTION – AUSTRALIA

Tough times for builders: housing starts to fall 22pc

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 23-Jul-18

The Housing Industry Association had forecast in February that housing starts will decline to 174,880 in 2020. BIS Oxford Economics in turn has predicted that housing starts will fall from 2018’s estimated figure of 219,000 to 171,350 in 2020, equating to a 22 per cent fall. The forecast decline in housing starts is expected to be led by a significant downturn in the construction of high-density dwellings. There have been a number of building company failures in recent months, the latest being home renovator Dowling Homes.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, DOWLING HOMES, BRI FERRIER PTY LTD, BAYSIDE CONSTRUCT, PROJECT GROUP, WATERSUN HOMES

Builders a sitting duck as banking royal commission comes hurtling down the track

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 28 : 17-Apr-18

Australia’s builders and property developers do not seem to realise the potential impact that the banking royal commission could have on their business. They seem unaware that one of the commission’s areas of focus is on banks that having been making loans to home buyers on the basis of living expense estimates that are flawed, and that a clampdown on this practice could reduce the number of mortgage loans being issued by banks. Developers and builders could be hit hard by this, and some could potentially collapse as a result.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Keep home-building level high, association says

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 9-Apr-18

The Housing Industry Association notes that 2016 was a record year for new house construction, with 230,000 being built, and that this rate of construction needs to be maintained for the next two decades. The HIA states this level of construction is needed to meet demand levels and to help maintain housing affordability. The HIA also wants immigration levels to be maintained, in order to offset the impact of Australia’s ageing population and falling birth rates.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Perfect storm hits apartments market

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 2-Feb-18

Approvals for new homes, apartments and semi-detached dwellings have recorded their biggest monthly fall since July 2012. Approvals for apartments fell in all mainland states in December 2017, while approvals for new attached dwellings declined by 39 per cent. Developers have cited a number of reasons for the decline, including increased investor taxes and tightened consumer credit. However, ANZ economist Daniel Gradwell said the bank is not overly concerned by the figures.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, EVOLVE DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, COSTA FOX, URBAN TASKFORCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Foreign apartment buyers to halve

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 24-Jul-17

The number of new apartments funded by foreign investors in Australia is tipped to fall significantly over the period from 2016 to 2019, according to Master Builders Australia. It attributes the expected decline to federal and New South Wales government curbs on foreign property investors. The MBA also expects foreign investment in new standalone properties to decline, but by not as much as apartment investment. The MBA expects NSW to feel the biggest impact in terms of a decline in new foreign investor-funded apartments, but Tim Lawless of CoreLogic suggests that Victoria instead will be most affected.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Housing supply ‘does not lower prices’

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 24-Jul-17

House price and new home approval figures for 2016 seem to bear out the view of Joe Flood that boosting housing supply does not lead to lower prices. New home commencements rose by 14,000, but house prices showed no sign of falling, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Flood, who works for affordable home supplier Community Housing, says governments may need to develop a revised version of the National Rental Affordability Scheme, while curbs on housing finance and tax changes could also help the situation.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY HOUSING LIMITED, CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

New home sales coming off peak

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 5-Jun-17

New home sales all rose in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in April 2017, according to Housing Industry Association figures. Western Australian sales declined by 12.7 per cent, while Queensland sales fell for the fifth month in a row. Australia-wide, sales were up when compared to March, but were 3.3 per cent down on April 2016. HIA senior economist Geordan Murray notes its current forecasts for 2017-18 suggest new home starts will be down by about 10 per cent.

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Housing approvals post small rise but trend points downwards

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Jan-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that there was seven per cent growth in dwelling approvals in November 2016, in seasonally-adjusted terms. House approvals were consistent with the data for October, although there was 17.3 per cent growth in approvals for units. Meanwhile, in trend terms dwelling approvals declined in the six months to November.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Day departs the house as home-building dreams turn to nightmare

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Original article by Ben Butler, Samantha Hutchins, Rick Wallace
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 18-Oct-16

Family First senator Bob Day has resigned from Parliament after his residential development company, Home Australia, was placed in the hands of liquidators from McGrathNicol. The collapse has affected 207 unfinished homes in five states, and the liquidators will seek to have other builders complete these homes. Day has apologised to affected customers and conceded that he will lose his own home, as he had provided a personal guarantee for Home Australia’s debts. He has committed to repaying all of the company’s debts.

CORPORATES
FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HOME AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, GOSHEN CAPITAL RESOURCES, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE

Don’t panic about property, HSBC says

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Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-Apr-16

HSBC economist Paul Bloxham says that while Australia’s booming residential construction market faces a number of potential risks, these can be managed. He argues that when the construction boom wanes it will be replaced by growth in the services industry as a driver of the economy. House prices increased by nine per cent in 2015, but Bloxham forecasts growth of 3-4 per cent in 2016.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA