First home grant ends in September
The first stage of the phasing out of the First Home Owners Grant Boost (FHOG Boost) will happen on September
Read morePines Resort, Gold Coast, For Sale
CB Richard Ellis has been appointed to sell the prestigious Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, in a move expected to attract significant interest from major developers and hotel investors.
Read more
Construction of Camberwell Station Village Delayed, Melbourne
CONSTRUCTION of a contentious Camberwell apartment project dubbed by locals as “Melbourne’s ugliest tower” is now not likely to start until at least next year.
State government agency VicTrack, with private developer Tenterfield, spent ten years pushing through a $100 million mixed used village, The Place, to replace land atop the Camberwell train station, east of Burke Road.
The Place was approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last April – just seven months before the controversial state government planning policy it relied on, Melbourne 2030, was shredded by the new Baillieu government.
Read more
NSW Government Abandons Metro in Favour of $50 Billion Transport Blueprint
THE New South Wales Government has abandoned plans for its $5.3 billion Metro rail project in favour of a $50.2 billion transport blueprint which will include a $4.5 billion express rail service to Western Sydney, and a $6.7 billion North West rail link from Epping to Rouse Hill.
The government will retain about $120 million worth of Sydney CBD property it has already acquired “so the sites are protected for a future metro.”
This should pacify some vendors who have sold properties, or shaped their leasing decisions, thinking they’d be surrounded by a construction zone.
Read moreH&M Asian Expansion Brings Retailer One Step Closer to Australia
HENNES & MAURITZ, known as H&M – the Swedish fashion giant popular throughout Europe, is expanding its reach throughout Asia.
The company revealed this week it planned to expand its China store network by 30 per cent by the end of 2010, in a move suggesting the retailer will open in Australia, within the medium term.
“It (Asia) could be the newest and biggest market for H&M in future, because there is so much potential if you look at Asia,” H&M Greater China country manager Lex Keijser told Reuters. “We’ve just started in Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan and Korea. We are still a baby, but a fast growing baby.”
Read moreQueensland Agents Sweep Awards at 2008 REIA National Awards For Excellence
Queensland has won three awards at the 2008 Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) National Awards for Excellence, held in Melbourne last night.
Read more
Two Melbourne Train Stations Identified as Terminals For Sydney-to-Melbourne High Speed Rail Link
MELBOURNE’s Southern Cross rail station (pictured) – formerly known as the Spencer Street Station – could get a $2 billion upgrade, as part of plans to build a high-speed rail link to Sydney.
The rail tunnel, proposed within a federal government study last week, could cost between $61 billion and $108 billion.
The trip between Australia’s two most populated cities could take three hours, with the train reaching speeds of 350 km/h (outside of the capitals, where they’ll travel about 200 km/h). This compares to about an hour, by plane, or about nine hours by road.
Read moreISPT sells 55 Hunter Street for $106.1m
INDUSTRY Superannuation Property Trust has sold a Sydney CBD office building to private group, City Freeholds, for $106.1 million.
The 55 Hunter Street building sold on a yield of about 7.5 per cent.
The sale is the latest healthy office transaction in the Sydney CBD. Last month Investa Property Group paid more than $95 million for a half share in 60 Martin Place, while overseas investors are paying $685 million for the luxury Aurora Place.
Read moreWayne Swan Opens Country’s First Australian Made Concept Store, at Sydney Airport
THE country’s first “Australian Made” concept store opened earlier this week within the walls of Sydney’s International terminal, at the airport.
Treasurer Wayne Swan launched the store, identified by the distictive Australian Made triangle logo with a golden kangaroo, and a green background.
Mr Swan described the logo and concept to reporters as “being at the very core of our future prosperity and success in the global economy”.
Read moreBrisbane’s Silverwells Manors, Kangaroo Point, to be Redeveloped
ONE of the most prominent private heritage residential refurbishment projects ever to be undertaken in south-east Queensland, is attracting serious attention both locally and nationally.
Read more
Fridcorp Doubles the Density of Controversial South Yarra Apartment Tower
BOUTIQUE builder Fridcorp has redesigned and rebranded the controversial $120 million South Yarra apartment proposal that it bought into a couple of months ago.
The site, on the south-west corner of Chapel Street and Alexandra Avenue and opposite the Yarra River, has for some 18 months been marketed as Tresor – a 14-level tower which would have included 99 luxury apartments (artist impression, right).
Network Nine executive director Jeff Browne was one of Tresor’s highest profile buyers, paying a reported $5 million for a four-bedroom unit, off-the-plan.
Read moreNSW Public Housing Waiting List Grows
ALMOST 50,000 people are on waiting lists for public housing in New South Wales, making it the worst performing state in Australia.
According to a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, NSW also recorded the highest rate of “over-crowding and under utilisation” in the country.
It said some households have had to wait more than two years for a home.
Read moreSuncorp to Sell LJ Hooker to the Grandson of the Agency’s Founder For $67 Million
LISTED property giant Suncorp is believed to be selling its LJ Hooker real estate agency chain, to Janusz Hooker, the
Read moreInterest Rate Rise Will Hurt Homeowners, REIQ Says
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on 4 March to increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent will hurt many homeowners and lock out an increasingly number of first home buyers from the market.
Read more
Northcote Aged Care Facility to be Sold
ANOTHER religious based group is disposing a prime located suburban asset, which is likely to be redeveloped as flats.
This time, in Northcote, Churches of Christ Community Care is selling the former Fred Combridge House aged facility at 1A Campbell Grove, and high on Ruckers Hill (aerial image, right).
The former 30-bed facility is spread across a 2712 square metre site, and, according to Fitzroys selling agents Charles Emmett and Geoff Emmett, is expected to arouse developer interest and sell for between $5 million – $5.5 million, reflecting a rate per square metre of land, of approximately $1850 – $2000.
Read moreAviva Investors Pays $29.5 Million For Sydney CBD Office
AN OFFICE in Sydney’s western corridor has sold to global asset management subsidiary Aviva Investors.
The 80 Clarence Street building has sold for $29.5 million, up on the $25.3 million vendor Oakland Property paid for the building in 2006.
The 12-level office sold on an 8 per cent yield.
Read moreReceivers For Ryan Hotel Group List Queensland Pubs For Sale
RECEIVER McGrath Nichol will sell two Queensland pubs, on behalf of the Ryan Hotel Group.
Up for grabs is the Del Plaza at Southport, and the Grinning Dog Tavern at Maroochydore. Earlier this year, six other Ryan Hotel Group hotels were put to the market including the Woombye, Maryborough and Roma. Ryan collapsed in July. The properties are distressed sales, and the prices are undisclosed.
Director of advisory firm and agency Power Jeffrey, Peter Power, told The Australian “there haven’t been many good quality hotels on the market for the past 18 months, and as valuers we are having great difficulty because we have no (sale result) evidence to work off”.
Read moreBest in Queensland Real Estate, Celebrated at REIQ Awards Night
The best in Queensland real estate was celebrated at the 2008 Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) Awards for Excellence in Brisbane on Friday night.
Read more
Supersized North Melbourne Development Site Expected to Fetch $8 Million
A SUPERSIZED North Melbourne development site, opposite two small parks and capable of accommodating a landmark skyscraper, has hit the market and is expected to sell for about $8 million.
The 3555 square metre property at 181 – 189 Capel Street (aerial image, right) currently includes a large warehouse constructed in the 1960s and which is tenanted by AAMI as an insurance assessment centre. An adjoining small warehouse is occupied by another tenant. Combined the assets return $528,634 in annual rent but AAMI will vacate soon.
Read moreCentury Funds Management to Settle on $30 Million Plus North Sydney Office Deal
CENTURY Funds Management is reportedly close to settling on a $30 million+ deal for North Sydney’s 107 Mount Street building,
Read more
Experts Warn Senate Inquiry Mortgage Holders Will Pay For Rudd’s $315 Billion Stimulus Spend
AUSTRALIANS will pay higher borrowing rates than they need to, and any economic recovery may be slower than it could be, as a result of Rudd government’s recent $A315 billion spending spree.
RMIT University economists Steven Kates and Sinclair Davidson have joined a chorus of experts at a Senate inquiry warning the Labor Government’s decision to control fiscal policy, now puts it at odds with monetary policy, with mortgage holders one of the big losers expected to pay, moving forward.
The amount of public debt incurred by the Labor government’s program is unjustified, and the stimulus money is being spent on goods and services “that will give no economic momentum”, Professor Kates told the inquiry.
“[Interest] Rates will go up because we’ve taken our national pool of savings and we’ve spent it”.
Read moreSustainable House Growth Predicted for Queensland
Queensland’s residential property market may have finished 2007 on a high but more modest growth is expected this year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
Read more
Charter Hall to Sell 150 Queen Street Office, Melbourne, at a Loss
SYDNEY-based fund manager Charter Hall can expect some $25 million from the sale of a Melbourne CBD office it bought for $32 million in September 2007 – just weeks before the last commercial property market peak.
A spokeswoman said the Charter Hall Core Office Fund will use moneys from the sale to invest in larger, prime opportunities.
The asset on offer at 150 Queen Street (pictured, right), on the corner of Bourke Street, was developed in the 1960s and known for years as the Prudential Building.
Read moreBalmain Leagues Club to Close For Five Years While Station and Apartment Village Developed
THE BALMAIN Leagues Club, in Sydney, will close for up to five years so developers can build a $200 million club, apartments, a public plaza and new station.
Former rugby player Benny Elias is involved in the development, which will start in late March after the club closes.
A metro station will be developed under Victoria Road, near the club – and the clubs existing site will be used as a construction zone.
Read moreStockland to Double Retirement Portfolio, Appoints New Head
SYDNEY-based developer Stockland is continuing to ramp up its potentially lucrative retirement living division, appointing former management consultant David Pitman to the new role of group strategy head.
Mr Pitman said he wants to double the group’s retirement portfolio to about 8,000 units over the next five to six years, which would boost department earnings from the current 7 per cent it contributes to Stockland’s total coffers.
Read moreUnits Provide Alternative Buffer, in Queensland
Queensland’s unit and townhouse residential property sector mirrored the State’s house market last year with healthy price growth recorded across most parts of the Sunshine State.
Read more
Former Austcorp Wheelers Hill Site Hits The Market With Permits
ANOTHER prominent development site has been listed for sale in Melbourne’s east.
This time, at the south-west corner of Jells and Ferntree Gully roads, in Wheelers Hill (aerial of the site, right), Ammache Architects is selling an 8106 square metre block with plans and permits for a four-level, 131-unit apartment complex.
Ammache paid $4.3 million for the Wheeleres Hill site in August 2009, but is said to be seeking about $10 million for the block now.
Read more
UTS Broadway Campus to Undergo $427 Million Redevelopment
THE SYDNEY University of Technology has approved a $427 million redevelopment of its inner-city campus, which will see the addition
Read moreInvestment Purchases Fill The First Home Buyer Gap
Below is a statement from the REIA, regarding the latest ABS Housing Finance Figures:
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Housing Finance figures present no surprises, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
“As buyers have been responding to the improved affordability brought about by cuts in official interest rates since October last year, we are seeing a slowdown in the rate of growth of finance commitments,” said REIA CEO, Mr Neil Fisher.
Total finance commitments increased by 0.5 per cent in July; the lowest growth since August 2008.
Read moreQueensland’s Top Performing Suburbs 2008
Living the good life next door to a golf course, and the allure of waterfront property, help explain the top performing suburbs in Queensland last year.
Read more
Catholic Leadership Centre to Start Construction, East Melbourne
COMMUTERS stuck at the congested intersection best dubbed a traffic sewer will be able to watch a $25 million redevelopment of a prominent East Melbourne church site.
The Catholic Leadership Centre will be developed within buildings, and on surplus land surrounding the prominent Celtic Church on the south-west corner of Hoddle and Victoria streets – about three blocks away from the Fitzroy Gardens, and five blocks from the MCG.
The centre will include a new short term accommodation complex for 45 people, a dining room for 400, and a basement car park with 59 bays. Existing heritage buildings will be refurbished, while a glazed roof walkway will be developed through the spine of the complex.
Read more
$2 Billion Central Park Unveiled, Sydney
THE $2 billion redevelopment of Broadway’s former Carlton & United Brewery site, in Sydney, will begin “immediately”.
The NSW Planning Department approved the project, Central Park, which spreads 5.8 hectares and will include apartments, commercial and a retail precinct.
Frasers Property Australia, headed by Singapore property developer Stanley Quek, paid $208 million for the site in July 2007, spending the subsequent 18 months getting concept plans approved.
Read moreWoolworths to Sell $100 Million in Australian Property Assets
SUPERMARKET giant Woolworths will try to sell more than $100 million in assets for sale, as it prepares to ramp up its resources for its new Australian hardware sector partnership with US-based Lowes Group.
Woolworths has listed for sale sell three shopping centres, including Sydney’s Thornleigh Marketplace and Pemulway Marketplace – expected to reap about $50 million combined – and one in Queensland’s Caloundra.
Read moreBrisbane’s Tallest Building Under Construction
Queensland’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Paul Lucas, today visited the Vision site in Mary Street to inspect progress on the 79 level tower, which will be the city’s tallest building on completion in 2011.
Read more
JB Hi Fi outgrows East Keilor birthplace
MELBOURNE-born retail giant JB Hi Fi is staring down progress, in Keilor East.
This month, the electrical and media retail chain, which is now ASX-listed, vacated the Centreway store (pictured, right) which the company’s founder, John Barbuto, opened as the first JB Hi Fi in 1974.
Barbuto sold his business in 1983 to a consortium, which by the end of the century had opened nine more JB Hi Fi outlets across Melbourne.
Read more
State Street, JP Morgan, Pre-Commit to New Sydney CBD Offices
TWO major corporates have signed major new leases in Sydney, signalling a shift in sentiment to the CBD office market.
Investment bank JP Morgan will be the anchor tenant for a new building at 85 Castlereagh Street, due for completion in 2012. JP Morgan will take 16,700 square metres of the new tower, to be developed by Westfield over its its Sydney City development.
Investment manager State Street ha also committed to new offices, agreeing to a 10-year lease at Fortius Fund Management’s $400 million George Street building, due for completion in September. Lend Lease managed Australian Prime Property Fund is also developing that building.
Trinity Offloads $51m In Offices
QUEENSLAND-based property group Trinity has offloaded three commercial office buildings for more than $51 million.
The sales include Brisbane’s 410 Queen Street which sold to a private investor for $23.8 million, and a small wharf building which sold for $5.26 million. Trinity also offloaded an office building in King William Street Adelaide for $21.75 million.
Trinity announced to the ASX earlier this week it recorded a $225 million loss with $46 million attributed to devaluations.
Read moreIpswich Motorway Will go Ahead
After less than 100 days in office, the Rudd Labor Government is ending 12 years of neglect by delivering a $700 million injection of funds for the Ipswich Motorway.
Read more
Silverton to Sell Out of $100 Million Balwyn Project
LIFE is about to get a little less private in ritzy Monomeath Avenue – the leafy eastern suburb boulevard often touted as Melbourne’s best street.
Despite being rejected by the City of Boorondara council, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has approved a $100 million-plus mixed use village only a block away, which will add four new apartment towers to the area – the tallest of which will rise seven levels.
The proposed new Balwyn development affects a large chunk of land on Jersey Street, which Monomeath Avenue residents use as the most straightforward thoroughfare to Whitehorse Road.
Read moreNSW Supreme Court Paves the Way for NSW North Coast Development
THE NSW Supreme Court has paved the way for developer Bob Ell’s Leda Holdings to develop houses, on an 800
Read more
Public Housing Building Boom Underway in Australia
The Federal Government yesterday released this statement, related to the development of more national public and community housing:
The Australian Government today announced that it has approved over $5 billion worth of projects under the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan Social Housing Initiative.
The $4.546 billion allocated as Stage Two follows $692 million of projects approved under Stage One in April.
These projects are the biggest ever investment in social housing in Australia.
Read moreBluewater Master Planned Community Meets Pent Up Buyer Demand
Cairns, Australia, 25 February, 2008: As Multiplex Living’ s Bluewater master planned community at Trinity Beach, 20 minutes north of Cairns, continues to rapidly take shape, sales to date have made it one of North Queensland’s most highly sought after lifestyle developments.
Read moreAustralian Unity to Sell $19 Million Prahran Properties
AUSTRALIAN Unity is offloading one of its most prized located medical centres in Prahran, just 200 metres from retail mecca Chapel Street.
The Victoria House Medical Centre and Victoria Clinic complexes, between 314 – 324 Malvern Road, are spread across 5939 square metres of land, most of which is zoned Residential 1.
The asset will be sold with leases in place to six tenants. Leading private healthcare group Healthscope is committed to the site until 2018.
Read more
Sydney Metro Spends $120 Million Acquiring Sites
SYDNEY Metro, the government arm which will commandeer the construction of the city’s new metro rail system, has paid $120 million for offices in the city centre.
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said Sydney Metro had now stopped buying sites, until the government makes its final decision about the project “shortly” – but a further $180 million on property acquisitions is put away to be spent, to fund the project, the AFR reports.
Sydney Metro confirmed it has purchased 30 and 36 Clarence Street and 131 Bathurst Street, in the Sydney CBD, and two smaller offices in Rozelle, in the city’s inner west.
Read more
Property Council of Australia Relaunches yourbuilding.org Portal
The Property Council of Australia has relaunched yourbuilding.org, a portal to the best advice on greening the performance of commercial property.
Originally launched in September 2007, Your Building was developed by the CRC for Construction Innovation for the Federal Government.
The Property Council purchased the Your Building IP in February 2009 and took responsibility for the site in August 2009. With a network of 55,000 property industry professionals, the Property Council is ideally placed to enhance and propagate the Your Building site.
Read moreDB RREEF Signs Rio Tinto For Brisbane Office Building at 123 Albert Street
DB RREEF today announced that global mining group Rio Tinto has signed on as the major tenant for its new premium office development, 123 Albert Street, Brisbane, QLD.
Read more
Mirvac Building Wall That Will Block Waverley Park Eyesore From Melburnians
SYDNEY-based developer Mirvac is building a giant freeway wall which will block Melburnian’s travelling on the Monash Freeway from seeing one of the south-eastern suburb’s most familiar eyesores.
As part of its Waverley Park stadium townhouse redevelopment, which is nearing completion, Mirvac is required to build a freeway wall to mitigate traffic nose for new residents.
Read more
Public Housing Boom For NSW
AUSTRALIA’s most populated state will make way for the biggest chunk of public housing, promised by the Federal Government as part of the recent stimulus package.
At least 48 projects across New South Wales have been identified, as the first projects in part of a $2.9 billion public housing building boom for the State.
Developments are set to be developed around Sydney, Lake Macquarie, Ulladulla and Far South Coast.
Read moreProperty Council of Australia Releases New Guide to Corporate Responsibility
The Property Council and its members have developed a new guide to corporate responsibility reporting that will transform the way the property sector records its performance.
Launched on June 17 by Assistant Treasurer Senator Nick Sherry, A Guide to Corporate Responsibility Reporting in the Property Sector is the only property-specific template available anywhere in the world.
This Guide will revolutionise corporate responsibility (CR) reporting in the property industry and ensure non-financial performance is transparent, meaningful and comparable.
Read moreDA Approved for 77 Eagle Street
The GPT Group is pleased to announce the demolition of Indigo House and the construction of a new 44-level commercial office tower located at 77 Eagle Street in the Brisbane CBD.
Read more
Michael Kroger Sells Second Piece of Former South Yarra Estate
LIBERAL Party powerbroker Michael Kroger (pictured, right) has finally sold the last piece of the South Yarra estate that was for years the marital home he shared with Ann Peacock.
The sale of the 1850s coach house, in Caroline Street (image, far right), ends a lengthy sales campaign which started in early 2009, and shortly after the couple announced they would separate.
Read more
Mary MacKillop Former House For Sale
THE Southern Highlands house with a connection to Mary MacKillop has come onto the market for more than $1.25 million, or some $400,000 more than the price it sold for, 18 months ago.
Kalaurgan House, lived in by the nun tipped to be Australia’s first saint, measures 3,771 square metres and includes a home with four bedrooms, five fireplaces, a library and established garden.
According to the Daily Telegraph, which reported the listing, the Moss Vale property was established by the local arm of the Sisters of the Order of St Joseph’s school.
Read more
RBA Leaves Rates Unchanged at 3% For Sixth Month in a Row
AT its September 2009 meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the official cash rate unchanged at 3 per cent, for the sixth month in a row.
The decision to keep rates on hold was expected, but many analysts anticipate the RBA will start increasing the official cash rate before the end of the year. Most of the major banks have already started increasing fixed and variable interest rates independent of the RBA over the last few months.
The next RBA meeting is scheduled for October 6.
Below is the statement by RBA governor Glenn Stevens:
Read moreTrinity & Consolidated Properties Announce Far North Queensland Housing Estate
Listed diversified property group Trinity (ASX: TCQ) and its wholly owned development subsidiary Consolidated Properties today announced plans for their latest project in thriving Far North Queensland, a $25 million housing estate at Cooktown.
Read more
Eaglemont reception centre sells
It has hosted many a celebration – but now the Banksia Court Reception Centre (pictured, right) in Eaglemont will be
Read more
Simon Baker spends $1.5m in Byron Bay
Actor Simon Baker has paid $1.5 million for a farm at Nashua, about 25 kilometres south west of Byron Bay.
Read more
Babyco Goes Into Voluntary Administration
NURSERY furniture and baby products retailer Babyco has gone into voluntary administration, casting doubt over its 22 national stores, which employs about 70 staff.
Deloitte executive Tim Norman, who is managing the administration with Sal Algeri and Simon Cathro, said four stores will remain open including Wetherill Park in New South Wales, Rowville in Victoria, Underwood in Queensland and St Marys in Adelaide.
Administrators are investigating options to restructure the business, with a view to selling it off, Mr Norman was reported as saying in the Daily Telegraph.
Read moreDB RREEF Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) to Redevelop Willows Shoppingtown, Townsville
DB RREEF Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) today announced it had received development application (DA) approval from Thuringowa City Council to proceed with its $70 million redevelopment at Willows Shoppingtown in Townsville, QLD.
Read more
Q-Cars Site at Kew Junction to Become 12-Level Apartment Complex
THE new owners of a prominent car yard near the busy Kew Junction (pictured, right) have wasted no time speeding through a new high-density proposal.
After selling to developers in late 2009, the 118 – 120 High Street site, which has been for years occupied by Q-Cars, will make way for a 12-level, 46 unit apartment tower with ground floor shops and 36 car park bays.
The Rothelowman designed tower – Clara Q – will be the Kew Junction’s tallest building, and will make the suburb easier to identify from other elevated parts of Melbourne with an eastern suburb outlook.
Read moreSouth Korea’s National Pension Service Pays $658 Million for Sydney’s Aurora Place Office
FIVE months since coming onto the market, Sydney’s landmark Aurora Place office building has sold for $658 million. In a
Read moreALE Property Group to Sell Seven Australian Hotels, as Part of $120 Million Asset Divesting
ALE Property Group has earmarked for sale seven hotels in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria in the first tranche of a strategic asset sales program targeted to divest $120 million worth of assets over the next 12 months.
CBRE Hotels and Burgess Rawson have been appointed to steer the sales process, which involves landmark hotels leased to Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group (ALH), which is 75% owned by Woolworths Limited.
The sale follows the highly successful June 2009 auctions of five ALE hotels in Sydney and Melbourne, which were sold under the hammer for a combined $27.8m at yields as low as 5.05%.
Read moreAffordable suburbs star performers
The latest Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) figures confirm that the State’s most affordable suburbs are also some of its star property performers.
REIQ figures show that in the 12 months to the end of September 2007, the majority of affordable suburbs in each major regional centre not only had median house prices under $300,000 but also recorded double digit percentage growth.
Read more
Peet & Co to Sell Suburban Melbourne Development Site
PERTH-based developer Peet & Co has apparently decided against developing a 28 hectare housing estate in Melbourne’s outer south-east, and is now selling the site.
Sources expect the block could fetch close to $30 million, given it is for sale with a 291-lot subdivision, and effectively ready to build upon.
At 55 Abrehart Road, about 55 kilometres south-east of town, the estate (pictured, right) is near commercial hubs in Cranboune and Dandenong and is not far from the Pakenham Golf Course.
Read moreNSW Treasurer Makes Some Bad Investments
PROPERTY investment schemes, invested into by NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal have reported huge losses, with some investment vehicles collapsing, and others falling to but a fraction of their former values.
The treasurer said he sought independent financial advice in relation to six investments, reported in The Australian.
“Unfortunately some of these investments didn’t turn out to be as successful as they could have been,” he told the paper.
Read moreAustralian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Calls For Retention of Current ABCC Powers, in the Building and Construction Industry
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australia’s largest and most representative business organisation, has used its appearance this morning before a Senate Committee inquiry into proposed Australian Government changes to industrial relations arrangements in the building and construction industry, to call for the retention of current Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) powers.
Whilst the current workplace relations environment is not perfect, the work of the ABCC over the past 5 years has had a dramatic effect on the industry.
The genie is, in large part, “back in the bottle” and business is greatly concerned about legislative changes that may put that situation at risk and create the potential for a return to the bad old days.
Read moreUnits record double digit growth
With median house prices in many parts of Queensland now more than $400,000, it is still possible to buy a unit or townhouse for less than $250,000 in one third of the State’s major centres.
And Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) figures released today show that this segment of the residential property market is continuing to perform well with double digit percentage growth recorded in many parts of the State.
Read more
Car Park Near Melbourne Airport Sells For $8 Million
RECEIVERS KordaMentha have recovered just over $8 million from the sale of a multi-level car park near Melbourne Airport.
The four-level commercial complex at 5 South Centre Road (pictured, right) and near the junction of Keilor Park Drive and Sharps Road, sits on a 5217 square metre block and includes about 650 car spaces within 20,000 square metres of enclosed area.
Based on the sale price, each car park bays sold for about $12,300.
Read moreValad Sells St Leonards Office Building at a Discount, For $19 Million
VALAD Property Group has recorded a huge loss from the sale of a seven-level office building on Sydney’s North Shore.
The 39 – 41 Chandos Street office sold to fund manager Markham Corp for $19.05 million in September, after previously being valued this year at $20.9 million.
Valad paid just over $24 million for the office in late 2007.
Read more
Australian House Prices Surge 5.9 Per Cent in 2009
DARWIN has been Australia’s best performing capital city this year, in regard to home value growth, according to the latest survey by research group RP Data.
The Northern Territory city reported a 10.8 per cent increase in home values for the first seven months of 2009, to $466,903.
This makes Darwin more expensive than Melbourne (where values surged 8.5 per cent to $454,524) and Brisbane (up 3.8 per cent to $437,175), but not as pricey as Sydney (up 6.6 per cent to $537,396) or Canberra (up 5.4 per cent to $477,627).
The two worst performing capital cities were Perth, where RP Data says home values increased 2.5 per cent to $481,493, and Adelaide, where values rose just 1.9 per cent to $402,681.
Read moreResources boom underpins top suburbs
Nine of the top 10 performing Queensland suburbs over the past year are located in or close to resource-rich areas, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
Queensland’s residential property market has recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of consistently healthy price growth.
Read more
RACV Reaps $2 Million From Frankston South Site Sale
THE Royal Automobile Club of Victoria is some $2 million richer, after selling a 9711 square metre development site in Frankston South (pictured, right).
The undeveloped block at 6 Robinsons Road sold to an investor, and is expected to make way for a residential redevelopment in the medium to long term.
The asset derives annual rent of $110,000 from leases to five telecommunication companies. It’s next door to the Village Baxter retirement village and a caravan park and is close to what will be an onramp to the $759 million Peninsula Link freeway, which is under construction.
Read moreANZ Stadium corporate box asking $155k pa
A 20-person corporate box on the third floor of Sydney’s ANZ Stadium is for lease at $155,000 per annum. For
Read moreWestfield Delivers Half Year Results, Posts $708 Million Loss
Westfield joint managing director Peter Lowy said the company performed better than expected, announcing the company’s six-months earnings.
Below is a copy of the group’s half year operational earnings, and full-year forecast:
Read moreOne year of house price growth
Nine of the top 10 performing Queensland suburbs over the past year are located in or close to resource-rich areas, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
Queensland’s residential property market has recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of consistently healthy price growth.
Read more
R.Corporation Pays Australia Post Nearly $11.5 Million For Prominent Maidstone Site
SOUTH Yarra based developer R.Corporation has acquired another prime-located residential development sites that its rivals might have avoided.
This time, at 29 Hampstead Road in Maidstone – overlooking the Maribyrnong Detention Centre – the builder has paid government monopoly Australia Post almost $11.5 million for a two hectare property until recently used as a sorting and distribution centre.
R.Corporation – which once employed bikini model Jodhi Meares to market a high end apartment project it was building on the former “Prahran Destructor” tip and incinerator site in South Yarra – is expected to build a $100 million village at its new Maidstone site which has four street frontages.
Read moreColonial First State opens $185 Million Extension of its Chatswood Chase Centre, Sydney
COLONIAL First State last week opened a new 11,000 square metre, $185 million extension of its Chatswood Chase shopping centre in Sydney’s north.
The new 62,000 centre is now valued at about $700 million, and ranks among the top five shopping centres in the company’s portfolio, CFS fund manager Michael Gorman said.
The extension includes a new Coles, and upmarket retailers including Hardy Brothers jewellers, Saas & Bibe, Trenery (a Country Road offshoot) and Zimmerman.
Read moreMirvac Posts $1.08 Billion Net Loss
SYDNEY-based property giant Mirvac has posted a statutory $1.08 billion net loss after tax for the 12 months ended 30 June 2009.
The company said it was impacted by property revaluations of $487.2 million, and the net loss in a range of joint ventures, which attributed $158 million to the company’s bottom line. Goodwill, management rights and other intangible assets were reduced by $273.6 million.
But net operating profit after tax was $200.8 million, down 43 per cent on the previous corresponding period. Revenue for the year was $1.79 billion, down down 16 per cent. Mirvac’s full distribution was 8 cents.
Read more
Truganina South Melbourne’s Newest Suburb
A NEW Melbourne suburb, 19 kilometres south-west of town, has been unveiled.
Truganina South will be developed on a 250 hectare block of land near Hoppers Crossing and in the council area of Wyndham which was recently identified as the country’s fastest growing.
Planning minister Matthew Guy (pictured, right) launched the suburb bound by Leakes, Palmers and Sayers roads, and, traveling west, farmland on the way to Derrimut Road.
Read moreMoran Group Pays $42 Million For Aged Care Facility and Land, Little Bay, Sydney
AGED care service provider The Moran Group has paid $42 million for a facility at Little Bay, about 14 kilometres south-east of Sydney.
The purchase price includes $33.5 million attributed to a new 137-room centre, and $8.1 million for an adjoining block of land with redevelopment potential on Brodie Avenue.
Moran Group is developing another facility at Sylvania in Sydney.
Read moreWoolworths to Enter Lucrative Australian Hardware Market
BUNNINGS, Mitre 10…or Woolworths?
The supermarket giant this week announced it entered into an equity agreement with US-based Lowe’s Companies Inc, to buy Australia’s second largest hardware retailer Danks Holdings, which controls brands like Thrifty Link and Home Hardware.
The move, which is subject to regulatory approval and a minimum 90 per cent acceptance from shareholders, will see Woolworths enter the lucrative Australian hardware sector.
Read more