National
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First home buyers benefitting from stable market: REIA
Housing finance figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that first home buyers continue to steadily increase their presence in the housing market, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA). “The proportion of first home buyers, as part of the total owner-occupied housing finance commitments, increased to 18.0 per cent in November 2017, the highest…
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Mixed market conditions for tenants and investors for 2018: Domain rental report
Key data findings Sydney median unit rental prices drop from the price peak by $5, falling back below median house rental prices for the first time in six months House rental prices in Melbourne rise 1.2 per cent over the quarter, hitting a new high House rental prices remain steady over the quarter in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth Hobart has strongest annual growth in house rental prices on…
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Get ready. The employment landscape is about to change: Bryan Wilcox
After three long years of negotiations, submissions and representations, the Fair Work Commission is about to hand down its final decision following the review of the Real Estate Industry Award. The new Real Estate Industry Award will commence operation on 2 April 2018. With D Day fast approaching, every real estate employer needs to be aware of the changes and…
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Academic paper won’t help housing policy debate, says the Property Council
The Property Council of Australia says that an academic paper prepared by Melbourne University, as part of an RBA workshop reaches some bizarre and questionable conclusions on the potential impacts of removing negative gearing. Property Council of Australia Chief Executive Ken Morrison said any meaningful interrogation of the paper immediately raises serious questions as to the credibility of its findings, saying, “contributions to…
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Ray White Chairman weighs in on the negative gearing debate
Mr White’s comments come in the wake of recently released documents which contained Treasury advice to the government warning of a “softening” effect on property prices as the predicted impact of Labor’s restrictive changes to housing policy. At the time, the real estate industry rallied together, led by Brian White, to oppose any changes to negative gearing policy, a hot-button…
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More Aussies are prepared to give up dream locations in favour of affordable homes: State Custodians
New research from non-bank lender State Custodians Home Loans, finds more than half (54 per cent) of Australians who own or are buying their own home say they’re prepared to live in a more affordable or cheaper location, even one not on their wish list, to obtain the house they need or want. In contrast 26 per cent of Australians…
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New home approvals hit a 15 month high based on strong growth in Victoria
Today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the total value of Victorian building approvals increased by 28.5 per cent to $4.6 billion in November 2017, and is up 67.2 per cent over the year, the highest level since August 2016. Victoria, Tasmania and WA are the three states showing the largest increases, with Victoria by far showing the strongest growth…
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Ray White’s year of record network growth
The Ray White Group swelled by a record number of new offices in 2017 after a stellar year attracting some key businesses to its growing stable of more than 1000 offices this year. Ray White Network Development CEO Andrew McCulloch confirmed 2017 was a record year of growth with more than 106 new business owners in Australia calling Ray White…
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Century21 welcomes four new offices to its network
Century 21 has celebrated the opening of four new office locations in recent months, boosting the network’s presence across Australasia. In New South Wales, Century 21 has welcomed C21 Tao Real Estate in West Ryde, C21 Masterpiece in Lane Cove, C21 Property Care in Glenfield, and C21 Centennial in Kensington. These offices complement many new office openings in Queensland that…
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New Home Sales Cooled in 2017: HIA
“The consistent feature of new home sales in 2017 is that the market is cooling,” stated HIA’s Principal Economist, Tim Reardon. “The HIA New Homes Sales Report – a survey of Australia’s largest home builders – highlights that there has been a fall in the number of new homes sold in 2017, but the industry remains at relatively healthy levels…
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Purple gain and pain – revenue up but losses double
Purplebricks Group plc (“Purplebricks”), have announced their Interim Results for the six months ended 31 October 2017, including the Australian and US divisions of the group. In Australia, revenue for the period was recorded at £6.8m, up from the corresponding period last year at £0.4m. Adjusted EBITDA shows a loss of £5.1m, twice that of the same period last year.…
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Agent Comparison Tool launches on realestate.com.au
Changes have also been made to the agent search experience, with people now able to search and find an agent directly from the main navigation on the realestate.com.au homepage. These changes will drive more people than ever to Agent Profiles and allow consumers to select and compare agents in their preferred suburb. The experience has been designed to empower…
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The Agency Group acquires Sell Lease Property, brands to run separately in the market
The Agency Group Australia Limited (formerly named Ausnet Financial Services Limited) (ASX: AU1) have expanded their national footprint with entry into an agreement to acquire three wholly-owned subsidiaries of ServTech Global Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVT). The Agency Group Australia Limited will pay up to $950,000 for the acquisition, subject to due diligence. Via a share sale agreement, the transaction includes…
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Auction volumes decrease across the combined capital cities returning a 64.2 percent preliminary clearance rate
National auction clearance results for the week ending 17/12/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic. The number of homes taken to auction fell this week, after the surge in activity recorded over the 4 weeks prior when volumes remained consistently above the 3,000 level. There were a total of 2,865 auctions held this week, down on last week when 3,371 auctions where held across the…
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The Power of Connection: Rik Rushton’s new book available for purchase
We might live in a world that is more connected, switched on, plugged in and constant than ever before, but how do you combat the fact many people are clocking in and checking out? This is the question posed and answered by renowned real estate and business advisor Rik Rushton in his latest book: The Power of Connection – How to…
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LocationScore names Australia’s top holiday investment locations
The new research scores each suburb monthly out of 100 using eight key indicators that measure the level of supply and demand as well as growth prospects. LocationScore co-founder and Research Director Jeremy Sheppard said the research showed that the long-held mantra that holiday homes were a bad property investment was not always true. “Ordinarily I’d advise investors to buy…
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Housing loan affordability improves, first homebuyers flood market: REIA
The September quarter edition of the Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report shows that the proportion of median family income required to meet average loan repayments decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 30.3 per cent. REIA President Malcolm Gunning said first home buyers now make up 24.5 per cent of the total owner-occupied housing market (excluding refinancing). “This is the highest…
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Auction volumes continue to rise with Melbourne having the second busiest week this year
National auction clearance results for the week ending 10/12/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic. The lower weighted clearance rates of late can be attributed to the continual softening conditions across the two largest markets of Melbourne and Sydney, with clearance rates tracking below 70 percent across Melbourne for 5 consecutive week’s now (67.4 percent), however volumes across the city have been consistently higher; with…
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First time buyers entering the market but face long battle to save deposit
These are the findings of a national report released today by Bankwest, who note 94,135 properties were bought by first home buyers in the year to August 2017. The figure reflects an increase of 5.6% year-on-year since 2015, and accounts for 14.3% of all purchases recorded from January to August. Noting these were encouraging signs in an otherwise cooling market,…
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RE/MAX Australia’s lads feel the pain for Make-A-Wish
Last Friday, Joel Davoren, RE/MAX Australia Franchise Director, and Matthew Andrews, CEO of Pivotal Financial, the real estate network’s finance arm, grit their teeth, bared parts of their body and were waxed for a good cause, RE/MAX Australia’s chosen charity, Make-A-Wish® Australia, the organisation helping grant the wishes of children and teenagers battling life-threatening medical conditions. Mr Davoren is no…
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CoreLogic November Home Value Index: Values holding steady with Sydney trending lower and Perth bottoms out.
According to CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless, a significant contributor to the downwards movement over the month came from the Sydney housing market, which recorded a 0.7% fall in dwelling values, while a fall in values was also recorded across Darwin and regional Northern Territory which were both down 0.4% over the month. For the remaining broad regions of…
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Auction Volumes and Clearance rates steady in the first weekend of Summer with Canberra the standout performer
National auction clearance results for the week ending 03/12/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic. Over the same week last year, auction volumes were similar to this week (3,207), although the clearance rate was considerably higher at 72.3 percent. Across the two largest auction markets, Melbourne and Sydney, both cities saw an increase in the rate of clearance over the week, however the 66.0 percent…
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RateCity: Rates set to remain unchanged; but will we see a hike in 2018?
Christmas is not likely to bolster the Reserve Bank this month with interest rates set to remain unchanged on Tuesday. Comparison website RateCity’s analysis of 24 economic indicators has revealed a still-sluggish economy with no imminent signs of improvement. If there was any doubt, the usually reserved RBA governor Philip Lowe spelt it out in a recent speech saying, “there…
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Banking royal commission should focus on an honest and fair financial system
Comparison website RateCity has welcomed the federal government’s decision to hold a Royal Commission into Australia’s financial sector. RateCity CEO Paul Marshall said the only way to restore public trust in our financial sector was through a Royal Commission. “Australians rely on financial products every single day. They hold the keys to our homes. They are the keepers of our…
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Coronis sets sights on bitcoin transactions
It’s marketed as a rare opportunity to purchase one of Australia’s first properties in bitcoin but can you really use the crypto-currency to buy Lot 44 Connors Rd, Helidon? Theoretically you could. All $118,000 of it. At the time of writing that equates to 8.5 bitcoin. But don’t start altering your ad copy on your listings just yet, purchasing Australian…
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The number of properties taken to auction continues to rise in the last weekend of spring
National auction clearance results for the week ending 26/11/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic Last week, based on final results, 60.9 percent of the 3,390 auctions held recorded a successful result, the lowest clearance rate since late 2015/early 2016. Once final results are collected, the combined capital city clearance rate tends to revise down so at this stage it’s looking like the final clearance…
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November additions complete LJ Hooker’s spring dozen
LJ Hooker will welcome four new agencies to its network over November, taking its overall spring intake to 12 new operations across Australia. Queensland accounts for half of the new additions in November. Catering to the inner-city regeneration of Queensland’s capital, LJ Hooker Brisbane City Residential will begin trading this month, led by long-term brand leader and commercial property expert,…
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Is the renovation boom over? Data shows demand for tradies softening
Building approval data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals a mixed bag for tradies. Year on year, private sector house approvals are up 4.4 per cent, whereas private sector dwellings excluding houses (for example apartments) are down 5.1 per cent year on year. Some up, some down – so what does this mean? Of concern for tradies is…
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Third busiest auction week this year with combined preliminary clearance rate in the mid 60’s
National auction clearance results for the week ending 19/11/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic This time last year, 2,987 homes were taken to auction and a clearance rate of 74.4 percent was recorded. The final clearance rate has remained below 65 percent for the last 4 weeks and it’s likely that this will be the case again on Thursday when the final results are…
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CoreLogic Property Pulse: Are investors driving the current market slowdown?
He asks the question, “Is this occurrence a coincidence, or does this simply highlight just how reliant the housing market has become on demand from the investor segment?” The research results show that over the past five years dwelling values nationally have increased by 39.3 per cent, largely driven by Sydney and Melbourne where values have increased by a much…
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Westpac backs BRICKX
The Fintech company provides access to residential property by enabling Australians to buy “Bricks” in individual property trusts. The investment is a sign that banks are heading into a territory they have been wary of in the past. “The reason we are seeing the rapid rise of Fintech businesses is because they are creating products that are customer-centric and solving…
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REA Group names best in the industry at 2nd Annual REA Excellence Awards
Twenty-two winners from across the country were honoured at the second Annual REA Excellence Awards (AREAs) in Melbourne last night, recognising the property and media industry’s best innovators, marketers and community champions. The awards were presented across the categories of Innovation, Service & Marketing Excellence, and Community. This year saw the introduction of the Gold AREA Agency of the Year award…
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Rent.com.au solves the cats versus dogs debate
New data from Rent.com.au has solved the age-old dog versus cat debate and it’s no surprise that man’s best friend is Australia’s most loved household pet. Rent.com.au’s Pet Resume feature has now exceeded 50,000 resumes, with around one-third of renters choosing to attach a profile for their furry friend to their Renter Resume. “The ability to move into a rental…
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Parliament passes new legislation on depreciation; could cause loss in investor deductions
Changes to depreciation legislation announced in the May 2017 Federal Budget and detailed in Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Bill 2017, have been passed by the Parliament of Australia. The new legislation means owners of second-hand residential properties (where contracts are exchanged after 7:30pm on the 9th of May 2017) will be ineligible to claim depreciation on certain assets. BMT…
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50 most influential financial advisers in Australia named
“At a time when the digitisation of financial advice has reached its tipping point, both new and experienced financial advisers must be ready to lead the industry forward with ideas and innovation. Industry influencers will be instrumental in this exciting growth period,” said Darren Snyder, editor at Financial Standard. The list of individuals was determined through an industry-wide nominations phase…
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