Aussie John warns Labor’s property plan a nuclear bomb

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Nov-18

Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has warned that Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing regime could lead to a recession in Australia. He says that although the "grandfathering" provisions of the Labor reforms would benefit people who are buying their first home, they would cause property prices to fall and result in many existing homeowners having negative equity in their home. Symond supports negative gearing reforms, but he argues that they should primarily target people on high incomes.

CORPORATES
AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE TAX INSTITUTE, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD

RBA in housing market warning

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Nov-18

Apartment developers are increasingly having to seek funds from non-bank lenders as the major banks cut back on lending to the sector. The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor Guy Debelle says it is a trend that the central bank is keeping an eye on, warning that if it is overdone it could lead to a downturn in the housing market. Urbis recently reported that only 46 units were sold in new Sydney projects during the September quarter, compared to 381 sales of units in the previous corresponding period.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, URBIS PTY LTD

Negative gearing changes would create distortions

Original article by Ingrid Fuary-Wagner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 13-Nov-18

RiskWise CEO Doron Peleg contends that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would create a two-tiered property market. Economist Stephen Koukoulas believes that concerns about Labor’s proposals are unwarranted, as any fall in house prices that might result will make it easier for first-home buyers to enter the market. Tyrone Hodge of JLL thinks the proposed changes could have a negative impact on housing supply.

CORPORATES
RISKWISE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Housing builder Tamawood warns first-half sales will fall 15pc

Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 9-Nov-18

Tamawood chairman Robert Lynch told shareholders at the housing builder’s AGM on 8 November that it expected that home sales for the first half would be done by 15 per cent. He noted the housing market was facing a number of challenges at the moment, including the tightening of lending criteria by banks as the result of the banking royal commission. Lynch said the biggest fall in current sales was being seen in Sydney and Melbourne, while he told shareholders that Tamawood was well placed to increase its market share in what was a "tightening market"

CORPORATES
TAMAWOOD LIMITED – ASX TWD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Investor hit: Labor seats in crossfire

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Nov-18

The federal government’s analysis of income and tax data for 2015-16 shows that 1.3 million Australians owned a negatively-geared investment property during that financial year. Some 640,000 people lived in seats held by the Coalition, while 570,000 were in seats held by Labor. Two Labor-held seats in the Australian Capital Territory had the highest number of people who used negative gearing. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing regime will hit not only its own supporters, but all Australians who own a home.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RISKWISE

Australia most exposed to a downturn

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-18

Morgan Stanley has warned that Australia is at greater risk of an economic downturn than other Group of 10 nations due to rising household debt. The household debt-to-income ratio in Australia has risen to nearly 200 per cent amid the surge in house prices in recent years. Meanwhile, although house prices have fallen over the last 12 months, the Reserve Bank’s assistant governor Michele Bullock says a regulatory crackdown on lending to investors has not resulted in a significant downturn in the property market.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Housing doldrums here to stay

Original article by Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 5 : 29-Oct-18

Preliminary data from CoreLogic shows that Sydney boasted a residential auction clearance rate of 50.7 per cent on the weekend of 27-28 October, compared with 58.3 per cent for the previous corresponding period. Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate was 49.8 per cent, down from 70.2 per a year ago. More than 2,900 homes went under the hammer across Australia, although the national clearance rate was just 50 per cent. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects the housing market weakness to persist into 2020.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Property giants sell land amid slower market

Original article by Ben Wilmot, Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 25 : 26-Oct-18

Residential developer Stockland is targeting over 6,000 settlements in 2018-19, but it only achieved 1,030 in the first quarter. Stockland and fellow developer Mirvac are targeting first-home buyers, but both are worried about Labor’s policies on negative gearing and capital gains tax, as well as the tightening of credit. Mirvac is selling a land site at Ingleside in Sydney, while Stockland has put its The Grove Estate project in Melbourne’s west on the market.

CORPORATES
STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BIGGIN AND SCOTT PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CBRE PTY LTD

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

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

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