INDUSTRY NEWS
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Pets are part of the family too: REISA
Pets are an important part of the family and REISA has taken steps to ensure that tenants and landlords are protected by a pet agreement that reflects the obligations of a tenant towards keeping a pet in their rental property. Following discussions with the RSPCA and Shelter SA, REISA has taken steps to formally recognise that allowing a tenant to…
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Foreign investor surcharge raises concern in SA
A new foreign investor surcharge to be introduced in South Australia has raised the concern of the real estate industry, with representatives warning the way the tax is being implemented could harm the state’s real estate market. On November 15, SA Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis announced the state would beef up the 4% foreign investor surcharge proposed in the July state…
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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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Beachfront markets lead growth surge: REIQ
Southeast Queensland’s world-class beaches are driving median price growth for our coastal housing markets, with Noosa reining supreme with 9.6 per cent annual growth, followed by Gold Coast with 7.3 per cent annual growth and Sunshine Coast LGA with 6.8 per cent annual growth to median house prices. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said the growth surge was helped along by…
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New REA Group showroom highlights invention and innovation
Designed by leading interior and architectural design firm, Futurespace, the new showroom was previously occupied by Woolworths, but has now been renovated to become a shared invention and customer space for REA Group. The showroom is fitted for multiple uses, but most importantly demonstrates some of the emerging ideas and technologies that REA Group is developing. Managing Director of Futurespace,…
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Melbourne’s million-dollar boom: REIV
In the year to September 30, 154 Melbourne suburbs recorded a median house price of $1 million or higher from a total of 402 suburbs. A remarkable 90 per cent of suburbs within 10km of the CBD have a million-dollar median house price, while almost 50 per cent of suburbs in the middle ring are also in the million-dollar club.…
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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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Tony Chen Appointed to Strategic new role in The Agency Projects division
After working closely with Steven Chen, the Director of The Agency Projects, for three years, Tony Chen has been promoted to Channel Partner Manager. This new role has been created in response to significant changes in the development market over the last couple of years. “This role is a vital addition to the Projects team,” Steven Chen explains. “The Agency…
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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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New Beta Trial in the US connects Agents with Amazon Echo
(Note: no need to put your home address in, Alexa knows that already!) Link on Amazon.
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Refinance time slashed in WA with new technology
The WA banking industry deadline for a new paperless refinancing era starts from 1 December 2017. It’s the compliance date marking when refinance transactions move online. Home owners looking to refinance, for example, in the event that interest rates rise, will now benefit from faster refinance times. The transactions are completed through Property Exchange Australia’s (PEXA’s) digital platform. Mike Cameron,…
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REA Group expands Perth presence with new Subiaco office
The office mirrors the design of other REA Group spaces around Australia, with a focus on flexible working and creative environments. The new office has an urban industrial feel and popular Western Australian landmarks adorn the walls and double as names for meeting and quiet rooms. The office will house a growing workforce of REA Group staff across Residential, Developer…
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Australians of real estate
With the release of new ABS 2016 Census data showing occupational details1, we now have a view of how the data depicts an average worker in the real estate industry. The debate is finally over. If you imagined the average person in real estate to be a man in his 20s working 40 hours a week and taking home $1…
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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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Artwork auction to raise funds for Di Jones team member
Di Jones staff are rallying behind one of their team members Kate McCullagh, who is battling cancer for a second time. This includes the auction of staff donated limited edition artworks to assist with medical and general living expenses. Art collector and Di Jones sales agent Gary Sands has donated two artworks from his private collection to help raise funds…
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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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REIQ 2018 Awards for Excellence Finalists Announced
REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said this was a very special event because the winners would be part of the REIQ during its centenary of celebrations. “As we look back on a century of shaping the Queensland real estate market it’s wonderful to draw a link between today’s highly professional real estate practitioners and those ambitious few men who started this…
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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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Laing+Simmons’ Leanne Pilkington announced as new REINSW president
The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales has elected Leanne Pilkington as President of the industry body, effective immediately for a two-year term. REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said Ms Pilkington’s major strength was her ability to connect with people right across the industry. “Leanne’s charismatic style and strong leadership skills will see her focus on our lobbying efforts,” Mr…
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Unique mystery shopping concept introduced by REISA to validate excellence awards submissions
REISA CEO Greg Troughton is a fan of Edward R Murrow, the famous American journalist, who once said “we cannot make good news out of bad practice”. The recent REISA Awards for Excellence introduced a new concept – the mystery shopper. This is because, as Troughton says, you can’t hand someone an award based on a written submission if the…
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REIV launches online petition to give landlords a voice
The REIV has launched an online petition calling on the Andrews’ Government to amend proposed changes to Victoria’s rental laws. The ‘Rentfair is Unfair’ petition will highlight the level of concern in the marketplace with reform of the Residential Tenancies Act set to remove important landlord rights, including the ability to consent to pets and to minor property modifications. Landlords…
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Nesterly: an accommodation match made in heaven
Just as Airbnb revolutionised the short-term housing market, a new entrant to the accommodation game is tackling the age-old issue of affordable rental housing, pairing medium-term renters like students with empty nesters who have spare rooms. New to the American market and possibly coming to a house near you, nesterly is a digital platform that matches medium-term renters with established…
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Returning empty homes to Melbourne’s rental market could be life changing
HomeGround Real Estate, a division of Launch Housing, is calling on owners of empty properties in Melbourne to return 1,000 homes to the rental market. Despite the current housing affordability crisis, more than 7,000 homes in the City of Melbourne municipality remain empty according to City of Melbourne demographic data 2013*. Returning just 14 percent, or 1,000 homes, to the…
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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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40 per cent of Perth suburbs have limited housing supply for sale
“1.3 per cent of the 818,000 properties across Perth are listed for sale, however when take a closer look, 95 suburbs have listing levels below this. While some of these suburbs have marginally less choice than the overall Perth average, others have significantly less,” Mr Groves said. Reiwa.com data shows Nedlands and Greenwood are the most undersupplied suburbs in Perth,…
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Looper app launches to support mental health in the real estate industry
A new app called Looper has just launched to help keep a close eye on those you most care about anywhere in the world. The free app allows you to keep in the loop with five people who check in daily and rate how they are feeling that day. The app was developed by Amanda Hart, who has seen her…
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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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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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Off market sales a success for prestige properties in Adelaide
Angela and Michael Stentiford from Ouwens Casserly Real Estate have begun to reap the benefits for their clients by selling a large majority of their high-end homes off market. Their last three sales totalled over $7,700,000 this Spring Season. Two of those sales had only one group through and the other a single open inspection for three selected buyers. With…
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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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