National
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Shopping mall windfall kicks against COVID trends
Two Sydney shopping centres have been bundled up and sold for $91.5 million, a price in step with valuations made in a pre-COVID market. This is despite shopping mall vacancies hitting a 20-year high in May. The Pemulwuy Marketplace and West Ryde Marketplace were taken to market by the Charter Hall Retail Partnership No.1 Trust. “Both centres represented an opportunity…
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JobKeeper extension applauded as “right move”
The Property Council and Master Builders Australia are among the many industries to applaud the government’s extension of the JobKeeper program. “Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister and Treasurer provides businesses and their employees with the certainty they need for the coming months as we continue to grapple with the public health and economic impact of COVID-19,” said Ken Morrison,…
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Pets, provisions, periodic leases: the proposed changes to WA Residential Tenancies Act
Ahead of an upcoming review of the WA Residential Tenancies Act, REIWA has released a list of policy options they hope will “help reinvigorate the rental market”. While they state that few aspects of the current rental legislation require “a complete overhaul” and that it is “generally working well,” they have outlined the below seven key policy options: Maintain the…
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Finalists announced for Openn Negotiation Excellence Awards
Online real estate sales platform, Openn Negotiation, has announced the finalists for their upcoming virtual awards night on the 6th of August. This year marks the tech platform’s third annual awards night and first virtual…
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JobSeeker cuts likely to cause real estate crisis
The removal of the current JobSeeker supplement will result in 242,000 renters and 246,000 mortgage holders suddenly living in poverty. Those are some of the grim findings from The Australia Institute’s new report, which tips that Thursday’s announcement could place untenable pressure on the housing market. The report, led by TAI’s senior economist Matt Grudnoff, estimates 650,000 Australians, including 120,000…
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Environmental reform for building codes “sensible and long overdue”
Reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act that aim to streamline regulatory legislation for both housing and commercial property projects have been welcomed by The Property Council of Australia as “sensible and long overdue.” “There has never been a more critical time to ensure that our regulatory regime is free of unnecessary process and strikes the right balance…
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Why COVID-19 might not change our cities as much as we expect
The coronavirus pandemic has thrust us into a moment of rapid change. Like all change, it is difficult to predict. But lessons from history provide us with two important insights. First, temporary change sometimes has remarkably little lasting effect. Second, what looks like a lasting effect is often the acceleration of existing trends, rather than new, crisis-caused trends. COVID-19 impacts…
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‘Adjusted’ clearance rate paints an interesting picture
Withdrawn properties in Victoria continued to weight down the clearance rate this week, but as CoreLogic and others reflect, it’s important to keep things in perspective. This week 1167 properties went to auction across the…
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JobKeeper extension likely, but it will come with conditions
An extension of the JobKeeper scheme looks increasingly likely, with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann foreshadowing the likelihood of continued conditional support and the unions welcoming the prospect of further assistance. According to the ABC, details…
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Crown looking to build billion dollar retail portfolio
Since launching in Sydney in 1996, Crown Group has built a $5 billion development pipeline across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Los Angeles, that includes residential communities, luxury apartments, hotels, a fund management platform, and shopping centres. It’s the latter of those interests they are looking to further develop, announcing a long-term plan to develop a $1 billion portfolio of retail…
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The best suburbs for auctions
CoreLogic’s recent auction data for the June quarter showed that both the number of auctions and the clearance rate dropped significantly. But certain suburbs performed much better than others. In Sydney, the highest performing suburb was Cremorne, with 23 of 30 properties under the hammer selling, a 76.7 per cent clearance rate. Other hot areas in Sydney included Leichhardt with…
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Fine print may dash numerous HomeBuilder hopes
Australians with plans to pull their super and use it as part of a deposit for a HomeBuilder claim may run into some pesky fine print that sets their plans back considerably. Real Estate Buyers Agents Association (REBAA) president Cate Bakos warns of a little-known rule that banks are beholden to when lending money: a rule that may completely throw…
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Confidence within the property industry is on the rise
The easing of COVID restrictions over the last few months has resulted in a surge of confidence in the property industry since April. The latest ANZ/Property Council survey took place between June 15 and July 1, surveying 955 industry folk. Not surprisingly, the states and territories with the biggest shift in sentiment were those least impacted by COVID-19: South Australia,…
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New homes under construction dipped well before COVID-19
New research from HIA shows that the low numbers of new houses under construction was a major issue well before the fiscal and physical pressures associated with COVID-19. At the end of March, as the first restrictions started to come into play, there were around 188,000 new homes under construction. This was the lowest number since 2015. While the figures…
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Surprise drop in national residential property listings
National residential property listings dropped by 1 per cent from May to June, according to new figures from SQM Research. Listings are also down 7.5 per cent from last June. There were just shy of three thousand fewer properties listed in June, with listings down from 304,137 in May to 301,140. Perth and Melbourne were the only capital cities to…
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Rental vacancy rates dropped nationally in June
More rental properties are being filled, with the national residential rental vacancy rate decreasing to 2.2 per cent throughout June, according to SQM Research. In May, 2.5 per cent of properties were vacant, with the vacancy rate this time last year sitting at 2.3 per cent. As of June 30, there were 77,132 vacant residential properties across the Australia. In…
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New home sales rose in June, thanks to HomeBuilder
New home sales have risen by 77.6 per cent in June, up from a record low in May. “(This is) off the back of the Government’s HomeBuilder program announced at the beginning of the month,” Housing Industry Association’s Chief Economist Tim Reardon explains. “Without intervention, a significant contraction in the volume of work on the ground would have occurred in…
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Next Friday is National Property Manager’s Day
Property managers around Australia: you have little over a week to start heavily hinting to your boss about next Friday’s breakfast cake, banquet luncheon, and a mid-afternoon knock-off. That’s because the inaugural National Property Manager’s Day is happening on Friday, July 24. The initiative was dreamed up by the REINSW, with all other state and territory Real Estate Institutes eagerly…
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Auction action drops in June quarter
The June quarter saw both auction volumes and the clearance rate drop as many sectors of Australian business were severely impacted by COVID-19, the latest CoreLogic data reveals. Social distancing measures were increased immediately prior to the June quarter, including a ban on all on-site auctions and inspections. Coupled with the economic crisis, many property owners withdrew their homes from…
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Record number of home loans refinanced in May
Both the total number and total value of refinanced home loans hit a new high in May. Finder analysis of recent ABS data reveals 33,712 Aussies refinanced their home loan in May, to the tune of $15.1 billion. These figures were up $12 billion from April – the previous record. Almost two third (64 per cent) of May’s refinanced loans…
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HTW Month in Review sees southern capitals top of the property clock
Heron Todd White (HTW) has released their month in review, with a series of new suburbs entering different positions on the property clock courtesy of recent Covid-19 events. Top of the clock are a swag of new areas, with Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart among them, while Sydney continues to be positioned in the beginning…
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New home loan data may suggest a slight recovery
Data released last Thursday by the ABS showed the value of new loan commitments across Australia fell by 11.6 per cent over May, representing the largest single monthly drop on record. Despite the May figure sitting $2 billion below the average lending level of the past decade, CoreLogic’s data suggests June results may indicate a recovery.As Eliza Owen, Head of…
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Shopping mall vacancies hit 20-year high
It’s not looking good for the future of the humble shopping mall, as coronavirus hastens the closure of stores inside centres around the country. New figures from JLL show the national vacancy rate in shopping malls rose to an average of 5.1 per cent in June, after sitting at 3.8 per cent just six months earlier. In CBD shopping malls,…
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Preliminary clearance rate shows 62.2 per cent of homes sold at auction
As the weekend results continue to come in, the resumption of lockdowns in Melbourne appears to have had a mixed impact on the auction market, with the Victorian capital recording higher volumes than last year, an increased number of properties withdrawn and a preliminary clearance rate of 63.7 per cent. CoreLogic notes these results are…
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87.7% of homes sold for profit in March quarter
Less than 13 per cent of houses resold at a loss during the first quarter of 2020, despite floods, bushfires and COVID-19. New figures from CoreLogic analysed approximately 72,500 sales over the first three months of the year. It shows profit-making sales in March were only down 1 per cent from the December quarter, a nominal amount. Gross profit was…
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Housing markets tell a stronger tale of resilience: PM Scott Morrison
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded to recent data that reveals a record slump in new home loans, noting the drop was not unexpected and the Australian property sector remains resilient. Speaking on the Australian Bureau of Statistics data which indicated new loan commitments for housing dropped 11.6 per cent in May, Mr Morrison said…
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New home loans slump to lowest number on record in May
As expected, new home loans have fallen sharply in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures indicating the value of new loan commitments for housing dropped 11.6 per cent in May. Noting this was the largest fall in the history of the series, ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman, said…
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REIA welcomes loan deferral extension
REIA has welcomed the Australian Banking Association’s decision to extend the loan repayment deferral period. “Supporting home owners during this phase where they may be finding it difficult to continue paying their mortgage, is to be applauded,” said REIA president Adrian Kelly. “If owners and landlords are supported, then tenants, some of who are from the most affected industries through…
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Rentals see biggest price drop in over 15 years
Rental prices have plummeted nationwide, with unit rentals experiencing their biggest price drop in over 15 years, according to new figures released by Domain that show a historic fall of 3.2 per cent over the June quarter. “The rental market has become highly fragmented in recent months,” Domain Senior Research Analyst, Dr Nicola Powell said. “Rental prices fell across most…
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US billionaire eyes investment in LJ Hooker
US billionaire Michael Fuchs has his sights on the Australian market, with plans to inject $35 million equity into LJ Hooker. In 1991, New York-based Mr Fuchs and a childhood friend foundered RFR Holdings, a real estate portfolio now worth north of $20 billion. Their assets include the Seagram Building, the Chrysler Building, and Hotel Paramount in Manhattan, Dexter Station…
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Finalists announced for REINSW 2020 Awards for Excellence
The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales has announced the finalists for its annual Awards for Excellence – the most prestigious awards night on the NSW real estate calendar. As REINSW President, Leanne Pilkington explains, it will take more than a worldwide pandemic to still this year’s awards. “We have been astonished by the number of entrants into the…
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RBA Governor Philip Lowe issues July statement
SPOILER: No alarms and no surprises from the RBA. Philip Lowe’s statement is below. At its meeting today, the Board decided to maintain the current policy settings, including the targets for the cash rate and the yield on 3-year Australian Government bonds of 25 basis points. The global economy has experienced a severe downturn as countries seek to contain the…
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Good news: HomeBuilder has caused a boom in new home inquiries
The Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme has led to a surge in new home inquiries since it was announced in early June. REA have today released their ‘Insights New Homes Snapshot’ for July, which shows inquiries to developers nationally jumped by almost 63% in June. Even more impressively, inquiries about land experienced a 93% lift over the month. “I expect to…
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Walkability: the new gold standard for urban planning
Once upon a time, the Australian dream was to buy a property in the suburbs, taking advantage of the vast networks of highways and the lowering costs of vehicles to get away from the rat race. The suburbs offered plenty of space to raise a family, even if it meant markedly more time in the car, travelling to and from…
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Rental markets near universities are suffering due to COVID-19
Australian universities are financially reliant on full-fee paying international students. COVID-19 has crippled many industries, but the university sector has been amongst the hardest hit, with Universities Australia predicting losses of $16 billion across our tertiary institutions over the next three years – a dire scenario. The knock-on effects for the rental markets near these campus has already been seen,…
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