Big city house prices to drop 5pc: Steinert

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 17-Sep-18

Stockland CEO Mark Steinert has forecast that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne will fall by around five per cent over the next 12 months. However, the expected decline is likely to be primarily restricted to the higher end of the detached housing market, a view shared by Mirvac CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz. Data from CoreLogic shows that the prices of detached houses in Sydney fell by 7.1 per cent in the year to August, compared with a 2.7 per cent decline in Melbourne.

CORPORATES
STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, CBUS PROPERTY PTY LTD, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Sydney property prices fall the fastest in nine years: CoreLogic

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 4-Sep-18

CoreLogic reported on 3 September that Sydney house prices had fallen by 5.6 per cent over the year to August. This represented the biggest decline of any capital city for that period, while it was the biggest fall recorded for Sydney house prices since early 2009. Sydney was the location of nine of the 10 worst performing sub-regions over the year to August, with Ryde the worst hit. Melbourne house prices fell by two per cent in the three months to August, making it the worst performing capital city over that period.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Auction market chilled by rate hikes, reluctant sellers

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 3-Sep-18

Corelogic has reported that the preliminary clearance rate for residential auctions in the week ending 1 September was at 58.2 per cent. Sydney had a preliminary clearance rate of 58.6 per cent, while Melbourne had a preliminary clearance rate of 59.1 per cent. Canberra had a preliminary clearance rate of 63.3 per cent, while Adelaide and Brisbane had preliminary clearance rates of 61.7 per cent and 45.9 per cent respectively.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Townhouses rise as approvals fall

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

Labor win a housing game changer

Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Aug-18

Brett Gillespie of Ellerston Capital says financial markets are not giving much consideration to the possibility that Labor will win the next federal election. He notes that a Labor government would have a major impact on the property market, given that Labor proposes to restrict negative gearing to new homes. Gillespie adds that a Labor win would also have implications for the sharemarket and the broader economy.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, FLETCHER BUILDING LIMITED – ASX FBU, ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LIMITED – ASX ABC, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, GWA GROUP LIMITED – ASX GWA, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Slowdown in east coast housing gathers speed

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 26-Jul-18

Data from Domain Holdings shows that Australia’s median house price fell by one per cent to $802,077 in the June 2018 quarter. The median house price in Sydney eased 1.4 per cent in the quarter, to $1,144,217, with the median unit price down 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Sydney’s median house price was 4.5 per cent lower in the year to June, with the median unit price down 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the median house price in Melbourne fell by 1.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter, although it rose 0.5 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Tough times for builders: housing starts to fall 22pc

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

NAB cuts house price forecasts for two years

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 13-Jul-18

National Australia Bank has revised its housing price forecasts for 2018 and 2019. The bank now expects house prices to fall by 1.8 per cent in 2018, compared to the 0.8 per cent decline it had forecast in April. NAB also predicts that the price of detached dwellings will fall by 0.1 per cent in 2019, having previously forecast an 0.8 per cent rise. It has also reported that property investor confidence has declined to a two-year low, while a recent ANZ/Property Council survey reported that the availability of housing finance has slumped over the past three months.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

House prices now set for sustained decline

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 12-Jul-18

A survey by the ANZ Bank and the Property Council of Australia has found that confidence in the nation’s residential property market has fallen sharply. The national survey of property professionals shows that there has been a significant rise in the number of respondents who expect a further decline in house prices, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Respondents were also bearish regarding the availability of finance, and ANZ’s David Plank says this suggests that building approvals will fall in the next 6-12 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP

Private sales: houses on market longer in Sydney

Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 10-Jul-18

Data from Domain Holdings shows that it now takes an average of 63 days to sell a house privately in Sydney, compared with just 45 when the market was at its peak in 2017. Likewise, the average number of days required to sell a unit has risen from 54 days to 64. Meanwhile, the average number of days that a house is on the market in Melbourne is steady at 48, while the number of days required to sell a unit has fallen from almost 100 to just 75. The average discount on advertised sale prices has risen in both cities.

CORPORATES
DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD