REAL ESTATE – AUSTRALIA – RESIDENTIAL

RBA: road and rail a house price fix

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-May-17

The Australian Government’s May 2017 Budget is tipped to include funding for road and rail infrastructure, as part of its policy on housing affordability. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says improved transport infrastructure is the best way to making housing more affordable. He adds that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move to crack down on lending to property investors is intended to provide "breathing space" to allow the supply-demand imbalance to correct itself, rather than being aimed at reining in house price growth.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Housing prices to drop 7pc, bank says

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman, Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-May-17

Data from REA Group shows that housing demand in New South Wales declined by 7.8 per cent month-on-month in April 2017, while demand among house buyers in Victoria fell 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, Citigroup has forecast that residential property prices could fall by up to seven per cent in 2018, with apartment prices in Melbourne and Sydney regarded as the most vulnerable to a correction. However, the investment bank adds that any downturn in the property market is unlikely to impact on the broader economy.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP

‘Calling the top’ of the boom in property

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 3 : 24-Apr-17

UBS is of the view that the Australia housing market may have reached its peak, although any easing will amount to a correction rather than a collapse. Auction clearance rates on the weekend of 22-23 April 2017 suggest that UBS’s forecast may be on the mark, with Sydney recording its lowest auction clearance rate since the beginning of the year. However, not everyone agrees with UBS, with analyst Louis Christopher saying it is too early to tell.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, DOMAIN.COM.AU, DEVINE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BELLE PROPERTY PTY LTD

Turnbull to face clash on housing

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Original article by Simon Benson, David Uren, Rachel Baxendale, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 13-Apr-17

A number of federal cabinet ministers and backbenchers support a proposal to allow first-home buyers to access their superannuation. They will lobby Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to consider adopting the initiative as part of the May 2017 Budget’s policy on housing affordability. However, Turnbull has reiterated his view that super should be solely used to provide an income stream in retirement. Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics has expressed a similar opinion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Morrison cools on tinkering with CGT

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Original article by Laura Tingle, James Eyers, Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 11-Apr-17

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Federal Government supports regulatory moves aimed at curbing interest-only mortgage loans. Morrison says such measures should help ease housing prices and reduce high levels of household debt. His comments suggest that he is not looking at changes to capital gains tax. Morrison says it is important to ensure that returns from rental property do not become too unattractive, as this would deter "mum and dad investors".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Confidence in property hits two-year high

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 12-Jan-17

A survey by the ANZ Bank and the Property Council of Australia has found that confidence in the nation’s residential and commercial property markets has risen to its highest level in two years. The Property Confidence Index has risen by two points to 130 points for the March 2017 quarter, and Western Australia is the only state that has not recorded a rise in confidence. Interest rate expectations over the next 12 months have also risen significantly, particularly nationally and in New South Wales.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

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

Building boom in risky areas

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Original article by Michael Bleby, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 5-Jan-17

Apartment buildings due for completion in 2017 and 2018 are often located in postcodes which are considered as risky by lenders. A study of Rider Levett Bucknall’s crane index in the September 2016 quarter indicates that about 38 per cent of cranes were located in such areas. Brisbane’s apartment scene is particularly problematic, with nearly 57 per cent of all cranes located in areas of restricted lending.

CORPORATES
RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, REALTY BASE GROUP, CHARTER KECK CRAMER, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Why the gloom merchants got housing wrong

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Jan-17

Property prices are still rising, despite predictions of a decline. CoreLogic’s Home Value Index for December 2016 shows that they rose 10.9 per cent in the five main capital cities in 2016. They increased eight per cent in 2015. Louis Christopher, of SQM Research, says house prices are rising because of factors such as low interest rates, population growth and inadequate supply.

CORPORATES
SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DOMAIN.COM.AU, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, MACRO ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, CITI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Home affordability shapes as key issue

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 22-Dec-16

Tim Lawless of CoreLogic says housing affordability is likely to be a major issue in 2017. CoreLogic has co-authored a report which shows that while 86 per cent of a household’s income was required to save a 20 per cent deposit for a home in September 2001, this had blown out to 139 per cent in September 2016. It has risen from 117 per cent to 168 per cent in Sydney over the last 15 years, and from 93 per cent to 143 per cent in Melbourne. Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison argues that insufficient housing supply is the main cause of unaffordability, a view shared by leading property groups.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, FRASERS PROPERTY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD