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Industry news
The construction arm of St Hilliers has been placed into voluntary administration due to funding issues relating to the Ararat prison project.
Auction tipping
Guess what this Fitzroy North house will sell for at its weekend auction.
Guess what this Surry Hills property will sell for when it goes to auction this weekend.
Commercial
Property Observer reviews the latest commercial leasing deals by the numbers, including the amount a development site in South Melbourne’s famous Dorcas Street sold for.
Leisure
Wolgan Valley Resort highlights Aussie luxury resorts have a place, despite our egalitarianism: Christopher Joye Christopher Joye Gaia health retreat in NSW has world-class facilities, is serious about health, and yet not draconian in imposing its vision unilaterally on guests.
Residential
NSW properties appeared on the top 10 sales list four times, and Victoria was represented five times.
Victoria
The ultra-modern house in St Kilda West has been listed for $1,500 a week rent.
Melbourne high-rise approvals to halve compared with last year as construction slows: Oliver Hume Larry Schlesinger The rate of construction of Melbourne apartment projects is expected to slow due to projects taking longer to transition from marketing to construction.
Overseas
Christopher Robin’s 16th-century East Sussex childhood home (on nine, not 100 acres) on the market Jonathan Chancellor Cotchford Farm, the childhood home of Christopher Robin Milne and setting for the Winnie the Pooh stories, has been listed for sale through Savills.
Tax
Stamp duty remains a barrier to everyone in the housing market, young and old, as its result is that people are reluctant to move.
With such a sort fall in housing supply upon us and with housing now less affordable than ever, the stamp duty debate is much discussed but never resolved.
Stamp duty is no longer the best way to raise revenue form an already heavily taxed property sector and struggling home owners.
Budget CGT change could be extremely expensive for expat and offshore investors: Michael Matusik Michael Matusik The government intends to withdraw the 50% capital gains discount for non-residents, a change that will hurt our property markets
Title Tattle
Warren Anderson’s WA beachfront retreat Kennebunkport's revised pricing: Title Tattle Jonathan Chancellor Kennebunkport, the Western Australian beachfront retreat of the property developer Warren Anderson, has been listed with revised $5.2 million-plus hopes.
Publican doesn't spend $18 million on the still unsold Green Gables: Title Tattle Jonathan Chancellor Alcatel’s ex-South Asia Pacific boss Ron Spithill sells in Cammeray, media ad buyer Jill Waddy lists in Point Piper, Bell Potter's Alastair Provan lists in Neutral Bay, and there's word Gerald Delany's back as Kay & Burton chairman.
Trophy homes
Palm Springs California Modernist style with Sydney upper north shore heritage status Jonathan Chancellor The architect of the 1955 Kintore Street home isn’t known, but it shows the opulence and optimism of the Palm Springs Internationalist style.
Mrs Morris stops Palm Beach clifftop sale of ex-GP Noble boss Tony Morris’ former Australian home Jonathan Chancellor The proposed sale of the former Palm Beach home of Tony Morris, ex-principal of GP Noble, and his wife, Vanessa Morris-Jackson, has stalled.
New South Wales
1st Fleet's Stephen Brown owns just one-thousandth of his recently refinanced $16 million harbourfront Watson Bay property listing Jonathan Chancellor Stephen Brown only owns 1/1,000th of the property – with wife Corrine holding the remaining 999/1,000 equity.
Mortgages
Just two lenders pass on full rate cut: May 2012 to standard variable mortgage rates Larry Schlesinger Just two lenders – both credit unions – have passed on the full RBA 50-basis-point May 1 interest rate cut to borrowers.
Victoria
A Melbourne man has has won his legal proceedings to reverse the sheriff’s extraordinary $1,000 sale of his six-bedroom Braybrook home.
Sir John Monash’s malt tanks set for removal under Grocon’s heritage CUB site redevelopment plans Jonathan Chancellor Grocon has announced plans for works to the former malt store and also to the bluestone brewery buildings on Bouverie Street.
Countdown to the $1,000 Braybrook sheriff auction - and its overturning by the Supreme Court Jonathan Chancellor A timeline of events leading to the recent court case surrounding the $1,000 sale of a Braybrook home valued at $630,000
News
Larry Schlesinger The Perron Group has agreed to pay a post-GFC record of $690.4 million to acquire a 50% share in a portfolio of three Centro flagship regional shopping centres.
Larry Schlesinger Work has stopped on 26 building projects worth around $300 million across Australia following the collapse of the construction arm of St Hilliers.
Larry Schlesinger Charter Hall has paid $96 million to acquire the remaining 50% interest in 225 St Georges Terrace, a 19-level A-grade office building in the Perth CBD.
Alistair Walsh Sunland Group Limited has agreed to spend $30 million on a 33.4-hectare block of land in outer-Melbourne suburb Point Cook.
Alistair Walsh Over the last year 47 localities on the Sunshine Coast lost value, 77 remained static and none increased in value.
Banks withholding part of RBA rate cut dampened consumer sentiment rise in May: Westpac’s Bill Evans
Larry Schlesinger Consumer confidence increased by 0.8% in May, which Westpac chief economist Bill Evans says is disappointing.
Larry Schlesinger Asia-Pacific capital values grew by 8%, making it the second most attractive region for investors during the quarter.
Jonathan Chancellor CSR estimated total housing starts in Australia will fall to about 140,000 in the year to March 2013, down from the 148,300 in 2012.
Larry Schlesinger New property portal CommercialAsia.com includes 1,000 Australian commercial properties.
Larry Schlesinger Shopping centre owner and landlord Westfield has reported “modest growth” in speciality retail sales in its Australian shopping centres for the first three months of the year.
Larry Schlesinger However, Ken Henry also cautions an increase in offshore investment would result in a rise in the Australian dollar.
Larry Schlesinger Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson has rejected criticisms that the government’s spending cuts and taxation policies announced in the budget are undermining the efforts of the RBA
Larry Schlesinger Continued weak housing, construction and mortgage conditions were factors in the bank cutting the cash rate by 50 basis points in May.
Larry Schlesinger John McGrath will extend his real estate business into the Queensland capital city, with four new offices set to open over the next 12 months.
Larry Schlesinger Demand for fixed-rate mortgages soared to a four-year high in March as customers took advantage of an extremely competitive market and low fixed rates on offer.
Observers
New Developments Harry Triguboff People who buy the apartments prefer taller buildings because they allow more light and afford views and are cheaper to run than lower ones.
New Developments Jo Chivers Most DA-approved sites I come across are on the market for one reason. They don’t work.
Residential Mal James The Reserve Bank gave us all a bit of a surprise with its recent rate cut of 50 basis points. But the impact of the rate cuts at the top end could be mixed.
Queensland Michael Matusik Form 27c's application does not reflect the current market conditions or how real estate business is really done.
Economy Signs of life in Australia's housing market could provide fresh stimulus to the economy: Gottliebsen
Robert Gottliebsen There is no doubt that building dwellings is an important part of non-mining Australia.
Residential Catherine Cashmore The state and federal governments commission discussion papers and reports on housing affordability, but nothing gets done to help those doing it tough.
Residential Christopher Joye Just as housing costs across the south east started to slow down, a striking boom was gathering momentum in the mining states.
Commercial Chris Lang Sensible borrowing can then greatly enhance the overall results you achieve with commercial property investment.
Residential Martin Bregozzo Baby boomers are the demographic that changed the rules to suit their needs, and retirement will be no different. Boomers have no intention of moving to the sticks - so how can Gen X and Y buy a home in the city?
Negative gearing Neil Smoli The best way to balance the concerns over inflates prices with the need to support investors is to make negative gearing applicable only to new property investments.
Landlords Cameron McEvoy More home owners are renting out part of their homes to tenants, but what are the implications?
Landlords Leah Calnan Cheap is never a good long-term solution in property management, just like in any other service industry.
Most Read
Christopher Joye By compelling banks to rely on short-term retail deposits rather than wholesale funding, regulators are shifting risk onto taxpayers.
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