REAL ESTATE – AUSTRALIA – RESIDENTIAL

Auction action hits top gear

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger, Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 23-Mar-15

CoreLogic RP Data has reported that the residential auction clearance rate in Sydney topped 85 per cent on the weekend of 21-22 March 2015. Andrew Wilson of Domain Group forecasts quarterly house price growth of about three per cent for the rest of the year. Melbourne’s clearance rate was above 78 per cent, and property adviser Richard Wakelin says the market has benefited from the interest rate cut in February

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, VICTORIA INVESTMENTS AND PROPERTIES, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, PLEYSIER PERKINS

Affordability biggest risk, says Lend Lease

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Original article by Michael Bleby, Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 17-Mar-15

Housing affordability is an important factor in the Australian construction industry. Lend Lease CEO of property, Tarun Gupta, said on 16 March 2015 that affordability is currently at an acceptable level but should be closely monitored. Figures provided by CoreLogic RP Data show that house prices have risen by 7.6 per cent nationally over the past 12 months, and by 14.1 per cent in Sydney

CORPORATES
LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED

Symond calls for ban on interest-only

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 17-Mar-15

Australian businessman John Symond says residential property buyers who intend to be owner-occupiers should be prohibited from taken out interest-only loans. There has been strong growth in interest-only mortgage loans in recent years, particularly to property investors. Symond, who is the chairman of Aussie Home Loans, argues that property investors tend to be a lower risk than owner-occupiers

CORPORATES
AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MEMBERS EQUITY BANK PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Back to realty: News Corp rules property search in Melbourne – but will Sydney be Fairfax’s domain?

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Mar-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 819,000 property-hunters in Melbourne visited Realestate.com.au via website or app and/or read the Herald Sun’s weekday or weekend real estate section in an average week during the year to December 2014. This is seven per cent higher than in 2013. Domain’s total audience, comprising both digital visitors and readers of the print sections of The Age, rose by four per cent to 486,000 in 2014. In Sydney, Domain’s total digital and Sydney Morning Herald print reach rose by 10 per cent in 2014, to 675,000 in an average week. The number of people accessing Realestate.com.au and/or the Daily Telegraph’s real estate section in an average week was virtually unchanged at 683,000

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, REALESTATE.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU

Cabinet split on flexible super plan

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Original article by Fleur Anderson, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 12-Mar-15

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is among the federal MPs who have criticised a proposal to allow Australian to use their superannuation savings to buy a home. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen also opposes any push by Treasurer Joe Hockey to permit super to be used in this way, while financial system inquiry panel member Craig Dunn argues that super should be used solely to finance retirement. Hockey has suggested that super should be available throughout a person’s life due to increasing longevity

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND REGULATION, ABC RADIO, BRISBANE CLUB

Murray shoots down Hockey’s super kite

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Original article by Fleur Anderson, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 11-Mar-15

Business leaders have expressed reservations about the Australian Government’s proposal for superannuation to be used to finance home ownership. Financial system inquiry chairman David Murray and AMP CEO Craig Meller are among those who oppose the plan due to its potential effects on the nation’s retirement system. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann also spoke out against such a proposal in October 2014

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MONASH UNIVERSITY, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

Keating: don’t kill super

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 10-Mar-15

Former prime minister Paul Keating says it would be irresponsible to allow young Australians to use their superannuation savings to buy their first home. Such a move, in his view, would destroy the superannuation system. Both Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey believe that the idea of using super to finance the purchase of one’s first home is worth considering

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Another 9m homes needed by 2055

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Original article by Rebecca Thistleton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 6-Mar-15

The Australian Government’s Intergenerational Report forecasts that the nation’s population will top 39.7 million in 2055. This will require the construction of an additional nine million residential dwellings over the next four decades. Graham Wolfe of the Housing Industry Association has called for government action to make more land available for residential development and measures to improve the planning process

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Chinese undeterred by new investment rules

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 4-Mar-15

Geoff Raby & Associates founder Geoff Raby says his firm has received an increase in enquiries from prospective Chinese investors in Australia’s agricultural sector. This includes sectors such as dairy, meat and wheat, and includes both farmland and processing facilities. The Australian Government has proposed new regulations for foreign investors in assets such as farms and housing, including application fees that start from $A5,000

CORPORATES
GEOFF RABY AND ASSOCIATES, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS AND SCIENCES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CBH LIMITED, CO-OPERATIVE BULK HANDLING LIMITED

Outrage over PM’s property hit

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Feb-15

The Australian Government’s proposals to crack down on foreign investors in the residential property market has the support of Master Builders Australia CEO Wilhelm Harnisch. However, buyers advocate David Morrell says the proposed application fees should be higher, although the Real Estate Institute of Australia believes that the fees are too high. The Government plans to introduce a fee of up to one per cent of the value of new or established residential properties bought by foreign investors

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CBRE PTY LTD