INDUSTRY NEWS
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Bankwest housing density report shows NSW only state to see growth in medium density housing approvals
New South Wales was the only state in Australia to experience growth in medium density approvals in the 12 months to March 2017. That is one of the key findings of the Bankwest Housing Density report which analysed approvals in medium density and low density housing over both the long and the short term. The report also found that NSW…
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Ex-CEO of LJ Hooker Joins LocalAgentFinder
LocalAgentFinder is a leading comparison platform that enables property owners to compare local real estate agents or property managers for their sale or leasing requirements. The business, led by Matt McCann, the former CEO of iSelect, is continuing to explore its strategic options including an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as part of its growth strategy. Mr Harrod is the current…
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Whitsunday’s Island for sale
Drop the suitcases, wash away the cares of the world, sink into relaxation and become immersed in a tropical paradise … there’s absolutely nothing more to be done. That’s the message from the owner of Victor Island, in the blissful Whitsundays, who has placed the cherished property on the market for $3.5 million. Paul Sullivan and wife Megan bought the…
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Preliminary clearance rate increases to 71.7 percent, while auction volumes remain steady
National auction clearance results for the week ending 20/08/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic Volumes continue to track higher than what was seen over the corresponding July-August period last year. Across the two largest markets, Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate rose this week (77.7 percent), after last week’s final results saw a weakening in the rate of clearance, falling below 70 percent for the first…
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realestate.com.au unlocks homes of the future
Future Homes, created by Neighbourhood Films for realestate.com.au, showcases the convergence of changes across architecture, technologies, population and socio-cultural trends. From the tiny house movement to the latest in smart homes, realestate.com.au Creative and Video Manager Monique Knoblanche said the video series was an exploration into the progressive change taking place in the way we live in our homes. “We…
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Real Estate Bookings Launches REBconnect
The Real Estate Bookings platform captures buyer and tenant enquiries from a range of online channels. The platform integrates with Facebook, Instagram, property websites and real estate portals. This data can now be used to directly remarket listings to in-the-market buyers via social media. Combining this with other data sources, such as CoreLogic, Acxiom and Quantium, means every property advertisement…
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Perth rental market subdued in June qtr, annual leasing figures remain strong: REIWA
REIWA President Hayden Groves said although activity had dropped off across the metro area in the three months to June, annual activity levels had continued to improve. “The data for the June quarter 2017 clearly shows an uptick in activity on an annual basis across the board, which is pleasing. We’re seeing notably more properties being leased now than we…
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CoreLogic Property Pulse: housing stock under $400k declines
New research by CoreLogic shows properties in the $400,000 price bracket have declined. The research shows that across Australia, 31.2% of houses and 37.3% of units sold transacted for less than $400,000. By comparison, a year ago the proportions were recorded at 32.8% for houses and 38.6% for units. A decade ago, 62.4% of all house sales and 68.9% of…
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Sydney vacancy rates on the rise: REINSW
REINSW President John Cunningham said the July 2017 REINSW Vacancy Rate Survey saw the Sydney metropolitan area rise 0.1 percentage points at 1.9 per cent. “Vacancy rates rose across the board in Sydney with Inner Sydney up 0.1 percentage points at 2.3 per cent, Middle Sydney increased 0.1 percentage points to 1.5 per cent, while Outer Sydney availability rose 0.2 percentage points…
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Australasia’s best auctioneers vie for ultimate gavel in SA
Australia’s best auctioneers will compete for the title of champion in Adelaide which will host the 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships from 6-7 September 2017, hosted by the Real Estate Institute of South Australia. The annual competition showcases Australia and New Zealand’s best auctioneers who are ready to take up the challenge with a frenzy of calling, bidding and selling. “The…
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REA Group appoints Kerry Wong as CEO – Greater China
Ms Wong will be part of the Group’s Asian leadership team and report to REA Group Asia Chief Executive Officer, Henry Ruiz. She is responsible for overseeing and setting the digital strategy in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China and Taiwan, as well as leading a team across sales, marketing and operations. Ms Wong joins REA Group from PayPal where she…
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REA Group goes live with a design uplift for new homes
REA Group has gone live with a design uplift to the new homes section of their website. With half of property seekers on realestate.com.au considering off-the-plan property, REA’s Joseph Lyons said the section of the site (https://www.realestate.com.au/new-land-estates/) plays a critical role in meeting the needs of consumers across Australia, and also offshore investors. Mr Lyons, REA Group Executive General Manager – Developer…
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Novice auctioneers raise $50,000 for charity: REINSW
REINSW President John Cunningham said the event is getting bigger and more competitive each year. “This year’s competition saw 66 competitors take part in ten heats right across NSW,” Mr Cunningham said. “Michael Garofolo, who has worked in hospitality his whole life before adventuring into auctioneering took out the title against 10 other finalists. “It’s a great way for the…
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Recent Slump in Investor Mortgage Demand Slowed in June 2017
In June 2017 there was $33.3 billion worth of housing finance commitments which was 0.8% higher than the previous month and 2.9% higher than June 2016. In June 2017 there was $20.7 billion in housing finance commitments to owner occupiers with a further $12.5 billion to investors. The total value of owner occupier housing finance commitments was 0.3% higher over…
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Auction volumes highest they’ve been for 6 weeks with a low 70’s clearance rate.
National auction clearance results for the week ending 13/08/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic This was the largest number of auctions held since the last week of June 2017 and approximately one third higher compared with the same week a year ago. However, as more results are collected it is expected that the final auction clearance rate will be revised lower to remain within…
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Demand for Australian property hits a new peak, REA Demand Index
According to the REA Property Demand Index, after a choppy few months, demand surged again in July with even the struggling WA market starting to hit its stride. Only one section of the Australian market, NSW apartments, saw a slight drop in demand. Chief Economist Nerida Consibee said, “Given that the state has been seeing decades of housing undersupply, this…
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First Home Buyers Returning to Housing Market
“The proportion of first home buyers, as part of the total owner-occupied housing finance commitments, increased to 15.0 per cent and is the highest since February 2014. The number of first home buyer commitments increased by 1.6 per cent for the month, following a 28.9 per cent increase the previous month and is the highest since October 2014, ” REIA…
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2017 REINSW Awards for Excellence finalists announced
REINSW President John Cunningham said the Awards encourage, promote and recognise excellence in the real estate profession. “Being recognised as a finalist in the REINSW Awards for Excellence is an outstanding achievement,” Mr Cunningham said. “Over the past 20 years we have highlighted the best and brightest in the state and with professionalism at the top of our agenda in…
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Juwai.com Appoints Carrie Law and Georg Chmiel as CEO and Chairman
New CEO Carrie Law was most recently a senior international executive with the REA Group and the former General Manager of iProperty Group, which the REA Group acquired in February 2016. At REA, she led a successful two-fold business transformation, locally in Hong Kong and regionally at Group level, and achieved strong revenue growth and profitability from her first year.…
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Digitisation of NSW real estate: REINSW Integrates with DocuSign
The new integration will give NSW real estate agents the ability to digitise customer engagements and agreements for faster turnaround, increased security and compliance, and a best-in-class client experience. With this move, REINSW has integrated DocuSign’s eSignature solution into its existing online forms and contracts cloud software platform, REI Forms Live. For the first time, approximately 40,000 individual agent members…
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CoreLogic Property Pulse and auctions 10 August 2017 – Million Dollar Sales at Record Levels
Research by analyst Cameron Kusher shows that the cost of housing has continued to rise in most parts of the country over the past 12 months. He said, “Bracket creep should come as no surprise in markets like Sydney and Melbourne, where dwelling values have increased by 77 per cent and 61 per cent respectively over the past five years.…
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REIWA calls for tax reform in 2017-18 State Budget
In its 2017-18 pre-budget submission, REIWA has cautioned the Treasurer against targeting the property sector with increased taxes, recommending they introduce incentives for first home buyers of established properties and seniors over the age of 65 to help raise much needed funds for the State. REIWA President Hayden Groves said this was not the time to consider raising property taxes,…
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Auction volumes were down in the first week of August however preliminary clearance rate was higher
National auction clearance results for the week ending 06/08/2017 courtesy of CoreLogic The preliminary auction clearance rose to 71.5 percent, after last week saw the final auction clearance rate fall slightly to 68.7 percent (revised lower from a preliminary clearance of 70.7%). Over the last month, auction volumes have remained relatively steady and while clearance rates have shown a softening, final results…
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Di Jones appoints Melissah Kenny as Digital & Social Media Specialist
Di Jones Real Estate has appointed Melissah Kenny, formally of REA to the newly created role of Digital & Social Media Specialist as part of an expansion of its marketing team. Di Jones General Manager Kylie Walsh said the agency aims to be innovative and believes staying at the forefront of the social space is essential. “That’s why we created the…
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REIQ Auctioneer of the year wins title for fourth time
Mitch Peereboom, Head Auctioneer at Harcourts Queensland, was named the runner-up. Five finalists competed in challenging conditions in front of a sold-out crowd at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Friday, 28 July. “Of course I was hoping to win, but to think that I’ve won this title four times now is unbelievable,” Mr Nickerson said. “It’s an absolute honour to win…
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RBA leaves rates on hold in August 2017
In his statement, RBA governor Dr Philip Lowe expressed a degree of concern about the impact a stronger Australian dollar is having on economic activity. The Australian dollar exchange rate remains at above 80 US cents. “The higher exchange rate is expected to contribute to subdued price pressures [inflation] in the economy,” Dr Lowe said. He also commented on the…
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Home Loan Refinancing Now Fully Digital in Vic and NSW
If you, or your clients, are looking at refinancing in either of these two states, the applications must now be lodged online with the land registries. WA also has a mandatory deadline for refinancing which kicks in from December. According to PEXA, the platform which makes electronic land transfers possible, the deadline will enforce the capability to provide consumers with…
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CoreLogic home value index shows house prices jumped 1.5 per cent across capital cities in July
Melbourne house prices jumped 3.1 per cent in July and have been the key driver in the 1.5 per cent increase in combined capital city dwelling values for the month. CoreLogic’s latest home value index shows house prices rose in Sydney by 1.4 per cent, while Canberra prices jumped by 2.4 per cent but fell in Brisbane (-0.6%), Perth (-1.3%)…
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Raine & Horne Commercial open in Toowoomba
Raine & Horne Commercial Toowoomba will be led by Andrew Lynch, principal of Raine & Horne Toowoomba, the group’s best Queensland office based on number of sales and transaction dollar value. The new office will be located in a purpose-built facility at the rear of 611 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba. “Raine & Horne has been part of the furniture in Toowoomba…
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REISA market update second quarter 2017
Following the release of the Valuer-General’s median house price data for the 2017 July quarter, REISA CEO Mr Greg Troughton said that sales were up across the entire State with metropolitan Adelaide recording a solid 6.9 per cent increase in sales over the last three months. “It is fantastic that sales have soared in the June quarter and this just…
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HIA: New home sales hit lowest level since 2013, while housing affordability continues to decline
New home sales in Australia’s largest states hit their lowest level since October 2013, with sales sliding in both the detached house and multi-unit sides of the market, according to the latest HIA New Home Sales Report. New homes sales declined by 6.9 per cent in June compared with the previous month and were 11.9 per cent lower than the…
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Crowdfunding opens the door to Australia’s property market
Lead researcher, UniSA’s Dr Braam Lowies, says the groundbreaking study assesses individual investor motivation and appetite for crowdfunding and its potential as an alternative investment vehicle for entering Australia’s tenuous property market. “There’s a lot of debate about the current state of Australia’s housing market, and its inaccessibility, especially first-time homebuyers, who lack foundation capital get their first home,” Dr…
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Coronis welcomes youngest shareholder
Managing Director Andrew Coronis said the leadership team had recently overhauled their strategy and have developed an aggressive growth plan to reach 40 offices by 2019, of which Tamika will play an integral role. “Tamika came to us six years ago, with no real estate experience whatsoever and has simply thrived, growing from a buyer manager, into an agent into…
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First Home Owner Grant discriminates against buyers wanting to enter the established market
REIWA President Hayden Groves said first home buyers who wanted to buy an established home were being discriminated against and as a result were finding it increasingly difficult to enter the WA property market. “Housing affordability remains a significant issue for many West Australians. We should be making it easier for all first home buyers to enter the market, not…
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Property Wise Launceston Recognised for Excellence
PropertyWise, a specialist property management business in Launceston, has been nominated as one of 17 finalists in Tasmania, in the 2017 Telstra Business Awards in the New Business category. In only its second year of operation, Property Wise Director Sally Shaw says that “Our clients interact with us as business owners of Property Wise Launceston however also as investors ourselves.…
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