New Minister for Cities welcomed
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New Minister for Cities welcomed
Posted on Monday, September 21 2015 at 1:34 PM
New Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s appointment of Jamie Briggs as Minister for Cities and the Built Environment should lead to a greater focus on funding urban infrastructure, according to Urban Taskforce Australia.
Urban Taskforce
CEO Chris Johnson points out that Turnbull “clearly has an interest in cities
and how growth is managed”, adding: “It is therefore pleasing to see the
appointment.
“The major role
the federal government has in cities is in relation to the funding of urban
infrastructure projects.
“It’s important
that the federal government doesn’t confuse the key role that state governments
have in planning and managing cities and their growth,” Johnson says. “As the
major collector of taxes, however, the federal government should allocate funds
based on pro-growth policies of state and local government.”
Urban Taskforce’s
position is that with Australian cities becoming more urban, with a big swing
to apartment living, there’s a need to ensure public transport systems and
other amenities can support the urban growth.
“Without adequate
funding for urban infrastructure, communities will be reluctant to support
urban density, which could lead to greater government costs through our cities
spreading vast distances,” Johnson says.
“The Urban
Taskforce is keen to work with Minister Briggs as a continuation of discussions
held with him a few months ago so that input from the development industry can
help inform policy.
“With the slowdown
in the minerals sector it is the property development sector that is leading
employment activity in Australia and the continuation of this momentum is
important for future prosperity.”
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Debate rages around NSW strata reform
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Debate rages around NSW strata reform
Posted on Wednesday, September 16 2015 at 3:06 PM
The New South Wales chapter of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) says scare tactics and misinformation are being used to argue against strata reform in the state.
The public
consultation period has passed for the draft strata reform bills released in
July this year, and the NSW Department of Fair Trading is now reviewing the
comments.
Among the
legislation is a controversial proposal whereby only 75 per cent of a body
corporate need agree to redevelop a strata property.
Concerns that
dissenting residents will be “thrown onto the streets” are unfounded, according
to UDIA NSW chief executive Stephen Albin.
“One thing
people need to be aware of is this strata reform is not retrospective,” he
says.
“It will
apply only to existing strata committees if they choose to sign on to it, and
it will apply to strata committees that are established post the introduction
of the reforms.”
Albin also
argues that the collective sale of a strata building would take years to
achieve, and there’ll be occasion for residents to appeal.
“The sale
would have to go through courts and those in opposition will have the
opportunity to argue their case.”
However,
his comments are unlikely to have allayed the fears of groups such as the
Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW.
Ian Day,
the CEO of COTA NSW, says it’s not just property owners that should be
concerned.
“While Fair
Trading assure us they will provide support to owners who are in effect ‘forced
to move’, these bills – if passed – will have negative unintended consequences
for renters, who number about 50 per cent of occupants in older strata title
dwellings.
“The strata
title unit blocks likely to be affected by these laws are among the few
remaining affordable housing options in Sydney, the world’s third most
expensive housing market.
“One in
five pensioners rent.
“It seems
that the government has given no thought to what will become of them once these
bills hasten the process of selling old unit blocks to developers for renewal.”
COTA NSW has
called on the state government to appoint a Minister for Housing to take charge
of the issue.
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Calls for housing completions not approvals to be focus of commitments
Posted on Tuesday, September 15 2015 at 9:52 AM
The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) NSW has welcomed the New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird’s commitment to making infrastructure delivery and housing approvals top government priorities.
UDIA NSW chief executive Stephen
Albin says housing approvals need to be fast-tracked to keep up with demand,
and a commitment to determine most approvals within 40 days is a good start.
“The industry is highly supportive
of any initiatives that help increase residential development application turnaround
periods,” he says, but add that the Premier’s priority to deliver 50,000
development approvals per year should be based on housing completions instead.
“Housing approvals don’t necessarily
translate into completions as land can sit dormant until the landowner decides
to develop,” he says.
“What we’d really like to see is a
strong commitment to seeing homes built on the ground through boosting
completions.”
Albin says that to seriously address
housing delivery issues in NSW, the government also needs to look at combining
these commitments with action on already announced policy.
“The state government needs to continue to
work towards simplifying the planning system to remove issues such as
duplications in approvals processes.
“It also needs to extend its housing diversity
package to outside of growth areas to ensure people at all stages of their
lives, with all levels of income, can buy the homes they want.
“The Housing Acceleration Fund was
extended in the budget but we have yet to see where that money will be spent.
“By making the allocation of that
infrastructure funding a priority, the government will boost investment
confidence, and ultimately turn the supply tap on sooner in some areas,” he
concludes.
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Annual rental rate drops to record low 0.7%
Annual rental rate drops to record low 0.7%
Posted on Friday, September 11 2015 at 12:58 PM
A sharp rise in home values in two of Australia’s largest capital cities hasn’t flowed through to rental rates according to the latest CoreLogic RP Data rental review, which reveals that rental increases are now at their slowest pace on record, at 0.7% over the year.
Based on the August analysis:
- Weekly rents fell by a further -0.4 per cent over the month of August
- Rental growth across the combined capital cities dropped to a new
record low of 0.7 per cent over the year. - Sydney rents rose just 2.3 per cent over the year.
- Rents have fallen over the past year in Adelaide, Perth and Darwin.
- Combined capital city rental rates are recorded as $487/week for
houses and $462/week for units.
CoreLogic RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher is anticipating that
the rate of rental growth will continue to slow over the coming months due to
increased housing and rental stock supply, and slower migration rates.
“Based on year-to-date data results, rental growth conditions have
softened during 2015,” he says.
“The 0.7 per cent rise in rental rates over the past year is the slowest
rate of rental growth on record based on data that goes back as far as December
1995.
“The reasons behind this lacklustre result for the rental market can be
attributed to the extent of the current construction boom across the capital
cities and slowing population growth.
“Added to this is the surge in investor participation in the housing
market, which is contributing to weaker rental growth by adding to the rental
stock,” Kusher says.
The three cities to experience the largest ramp-up in new housing supply
and investor activity over recent years, and the only three cities to record
annual rental growth, are Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It should be noted
that these three cities have still seen a fairly sharp slowdown in rental
growth.
Over the past month, weekly rents have moved lower across every capital
city except Sydney and over the past three months rents are lower in all cities
except for Melbourne, where they’re unchanged.
According to Kusher, the gap in the cost of rentals remains
significantly lower than the actual purchase cost of a house relative to a
unit.
- Over the past month, house rents have fallen by 0.5 per cent while
unit rental rates were unchanged. - Combined capital city house rents were recorded at $487 per week in
August 2015 and unit rents were $462 per week. - Over the three months to August 2015, rental rates for houses are down
1.0 per cent, while for units they have increased by 0.2 per cent.
The rental data points show that the recent rate of rental growth has
started to slow even further. Over the past year, house rents have increased by
0.5 per cent while units have recorded a greater 1.6 per cent annual rise.
Kusher says annual rental growth is crawling along at its slowest pace
on record, and well below its 10-year average levels. The 10-year annual rate
of rental growth is currently higher than growth over the past year across each
capital city.
“Additional accommodation being provided by the current building boom
along with record high levels of investment purchasing is adding substantial
new dwelling supply to the market at a time where the rate of population growth
is slowing,” he explains.
“At the same time… the rise in home values is pushing rental yields
lower. Across the combined capital cities, gross rental yields sit at record
lows of 3.4 per cent for houses and 4.3 per cent for units.
“The ongoing decline in yields is largely being driven by Sydney and
Melbourne, where rental growth is sluggish and value growth is strong. As a
result both cities currently have record low rental yields.”
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Investor new-build demand remains high
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Investor new-build demand remains high
Posted on Wednesday, September 09 2015 at 4:15 PM
Recent ABS housing finance data shows investors remain keen on new-builds but the full effect of tighter lending guidelines is yet to be felt, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
Lending to investors constructing new homes increased 11.7 per
cent in July to reach a new all-time high.
“Investors have played a major role in the current new home
building cycle, contributing a larger share of new housing supply than has
historically been the case,” HIA economist Diwa Hopkins says.
Conversely, the total number of loans to owner-occupiers
purchasing or constructing new homes remained relatively unchanged in the month,
and was 9.4 per cent lower than its peak in September 2014.
Hopkins also warns that the impact of tighter investor
guidelines introduced by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
are yet to be felt.
“We maintain our concern about recent APRA interventions –
there is a risk of disruption to new home building activity.”
According to the ABS,
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were the only jurisdictions
to record increases in the owner-occupier result, at 0.7 per cent and 4.8 per
cent respectively.
Declines of
between 6.6 per cent (South Australia) and 29.7 per cent (Darwin) were recorded
across all other states and territories.
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Qld tipped for nation-leading growth
Qld tipped for nation-leading growth
Posted on Monday, September 07 2015 at 11:02 AM
In news that will be music to the ears of investors eyeing up the sunshine state, Queensland is said to be poised for nation-leading economic growth according to independent forecaster Deloitte Access Economics.
Speaking from
Hong Kong, where he’s undertaking an international investor roadshow, Treasurer
Curtis Pitt welcomes Deloitte’s upbeat assessment in its Queensland Business Outlook report for September 2015, released last
week.
“According to
Deloitte, the outlook for the Queensland economy over the next five years is
positive,” he says.
“They’ve
identified tourism, agriculture and housing as some of our strengths, along
with growing LNG exports.
“This has led
Deloitte to predict Queensland will outstrip all the other states and territories
in economic growth over the next two financial years.
“Deloitte is
forecasting the Queensland economy will grow by 4.5 per cent this financial
year and by 4.0 per cent in 2016-17.
“This is broadly
in line with Queensland Treasury’s own growth forecasts, which show the state
economy picking up over the next two years.”
Pitt says
Queensland has one of the most diverse economies in Australia.
“That’s a key
reason why our economic growth is forecast to be stronger than Australia’s
national growth over the next four years, and stronger than any other state or territory
in the country,” he says.
“The Deloitte
report acknowledges Queensland has a natural competitive advantage in a number
of industries, which will provide a future platform for economic growth.
“These industries
include agribusiness, international education, wealth management, tourism and
gas.
“Queensland’s
tourism sector has particularly bright prospects for growth.
“Deloitte
forecasts international visitors to Queensland will grow by 4.9 per cent each
year over the next three years
“Domestic
overnight trips are forecast to grow at 2.7 per cent a year, in line with the
national outlook.”
Pitt says the
Palaszczuk government will continue to work with business and industry to
promote jobs, growth and investment in the state.
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Property listings across Australia down
Property listings across Australia down
Posted on Friday, September 04 2015 at 10:58 AM
The number of residential property sale listings fell in all capital cities during the month of August according to SQM Research.
Nationally,
the number of listed properties dropped to 333,923 in August 2015, decreasing
4.3 per cent from July 2015, with the number of sale listings down 3.9 per cent
from a year earlier. A monthly fall in sale listings for August was expected
due to abnormally high sale listings for the month of July 2015.
Year-on-year
results indicate that Melbourne and Hobart experienced excessive yearly falls.
Melbourne recorded the biggest yearly change, with listings falling by 20 per
cent, reducing the number of properties for sale to 35,474. Hobart soon
followed with records indicating a yearly change of 12.6 per cent.
Within
the last 12 months sale listings for Darwin and to a lesser extent Perth have
recorded high yearly growth. Darwin experienced a yearly growth of 10 per cent,
with sale listings climbing from 1,719 to 2,081. Sale listings in Perth
increased from 21,116 this time last year to 23,232 (August 2015), a total
yearly growth of 10 per cent.
Managing director
of SQM Research Louis Christopher says: “It’s another surprise result and a reversal of the
surge in listings during July. Normally listings start to rise in August ahead
of the spring selling season. We’ll wait until the September reading before
drawing too many new conclusions on the market.”
Asking
prices for Sydney houses continued to climb over July, with a total monthly
rise of 1.2 per cent for houses and 0.7 per cent for units. The median asking
price for a unit has now reached $630,300, while the median house asking price
in Sydney is $1,124,500, according to SQM Research’s figures.
In
contrast, median asking house prices in Canberra recorded yearly falls, with a
year-on-year comparison showing a 12-month decline of 4.8 per cent for houses,
and 1.4 per cent for units. Perth median asking prices continue to record
yearly falls – in particular asking prices for houses are down 4.6 per cent
over the last 12 months and 1.2 per cent for units.
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Cash rate held for another month
Cash rate held for another month
Posted on Tuesday, September 01 2015 at 2:43 PM
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the cash rate on hold once again this afternoon, at 2 per cent, which came as little surprise to most, with the finder.com.au survey finding that 31 of the 32 experts asked had expected as much.
Money Expert at
finder.com.au Michelle Hutchison says that
while the record low rates have been welcomed by many borrowers, they’re not
here to stay.
“The finder.com.au Reserve Bank Survey has found that it’s
not a matter of ‘if’ the cash rate will rise but, rather, ‘when’.
“However, there’s no
need to panic and borrowers should use this time to do their research and scan
the market to ensure they’re getting the best rate possible. Also, now’s the
time to prepare for future rate hikes by making extra repayments while you can.
“With the national
average auction clearance rate increasing by approximately 10 per cent over the
past 12 months, and the start of mortgage season just days away, we can expect
the property market to remain competitive in the coming months.”
The survey found that
19 experts (59 per cent) expect auction clearance rates to stabilise at the
current level, while one expert – Peter Boehm of onthehouse.com.au – believes
auction clearance rates will boost even higher this mortgage season.
“However, more than
one in three experts (11 experts or 34 per cent) expect auction clearance rates
to fall, despite mortgage season being traditionally billed as the hottest time
to buy and sell,” Hutchison says, adding that buyers who are planning to wait
until the property market settles may want to think again.
CoreLogic RP Data’s August housing market data along
with recent data on investor credit growth would have been welcome news to the board
when they were deliberating on the rate setting.
Head of research Tim Lawless says: “The rate of
capital gain apparently eased across the housing market in August. After
capital city dwelling values increased by more than two per cent in both June
and July, capital city dwelling values grew by a much more sustainable 0.3 per
cent in August.
“Additionally, recent credit data released by the RBA
shows the annual pace of growth in investment credit slipped from a recent
annual high of 11.1 per cent to reduce back to 10.8 per cent in July.
“The slower month of housing data may indicate that
the housing boom in Sydney and Melbourne is starting to slow and investment
lending is starting to moderate in line with APRA guidelines.
“While the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets don’t
need any further stimulus, other capital cities as well as regional markets
have recorded much more sustainable growth rates. In fact, dwelling values
declined across four of the eight capital cities over the month of August and
three capital cities – Perth, Darwin and Canberra – have recorded a decline in
dwelling values over the past 12 months.
“Home owners and prospective buyers across Australia
will welcome the sustained low interest rate setting, which will continue to
spur buyer demand and help offset the effects of softer economic conditions
outside Sydney and Melbourne.”
Hutchison has a message for buyers: “Regardless of when you’re buying, ditch emotion and
consider what the future holds for the cash rate.
“When doing your
calculations, allow a two to three per cent buffer for future rate rises.
Remember, these record lows won’t stick around forever.”
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/API_Property_News/~3/PqZj8M7AXX8/cash-rate-held-for-another-month
Sydney houses surpass $1 million median with 7.58% three-month jump
Posted on Monday, August 31 2015 at 3:14 PM
Research released today by Onthehouse.com.au has revealed that Sydney’s housing market has surpassed even its own average quarterly growth rate of 3.05 per cent, recording an astonishing 7.58 per cent in the three-month period ending July 2015.
The average
quarterly growth rate of all other capital city housing markets was just 0.92
per cent.
This huge increase
in value has pushed Sydney’s housing market through the million-dollar benchmark,
with the median house now valued at $1,017,500.
The following
graph demonstrates the July 2015 quarter capital growth rates for houses in
Sydney and other capital cities:
Market analyst at
Onthehouse.com.au Eliza Owen says: “As the growth in Sydney continues to
accelerate, there is insufficient evidence attributing foreign investment and
tax structures to this surge. However, there is another force to consider –
population convergence, a theory utilised by urban studies theorist Richard
Florida in 2005.
“Florida found
that population and economic activity were converging to a few large cities
around the world and evidence suggests that Sydney could be one of these
cities. If this is indeed the case, it signals that the growth is likely to
continue in the same way we’ve seen values and rents skyrocket in other cities
over the last few decades, including Singapore, New York, London and Tokyo.
“Assuming Florida
is correct in his theory of population convergence, Sydney could see strong
house value increases over the next few quarters before stabilising at a level
that even the most wealthy and mobile will find excessive,” Owen says.
Melbourne and
Brisbane were the only other capital city housing markets that documented a
steady quarterly growth performance, recording 3.10 per cent and 2.83 per cent
growth respectively. However, an overhang of stock in the Brisbane unit market
saw values drop by 0.86 per cent during the same period.
The worst
performing regions in the quarter to July were once again the resource states,
as Perth houses contracted 2.11 per cent (-4.34 per cent annually) and Darwin
unit values fell by 3.31 per cent (-6.41 per cent annually).
The following
table demonstrates the July market performance for houses across Australia,
ranked in order of quarterly growth:
The following
table demonstrates the July market performance for units across Australia,
ranked in order of quarterly growth:
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/API_Property_News/~3/xqmR_yxtkK4/sydney-houses-surpass-$1-million-median-with-7.58-three-month-jump
UDIA: Time to depoliticise council planning
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UDIA: Time to depoliticise council planning
Posted on Friday, August 28 2015 at 10:42 AM
The state government’s decision to disallow those with a pecuniary interest to vote on council matters is a good first step but more needs to be done to depoliticise council planning decisions, according to the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) NSW.
UDIA NSW chief executive
Stephen Albin says any number of councillors could be considered to have “pecuniary
interests”.
“In reality, who
doesn’t have a pecuniary interest in decisions about development approvals in a
local area?” he asks.
“What about the councillors
that are keen to stop growth and reduce the supply of housing and see their own
property values rise on the back of this – is this not a pecuniary interest in
a decision?”
Albin says that
in order to support the reversal of the Act amendment, independent hearings and
assessment panels, made up of experts that are truly independent, should be
engaged to review the decisions of planners within councils.
“The whole
planning system needs to be depoliticised and quickly. Identifying pecuniary
interest is so fraught we should consider leaving it to the experts.”
Albin says councils
spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually to employ urban planners to
process approvals and prepare strategic development controls, and too often the
decisions of these staff are overturned by councils with a political agenda.
“The good thing
about this debate is it could lead to sensible policy approaches,” he says.
“The most
sensible approach is to let anyone that’s a fit and proper person become a
local councillor – including those with an understanding of real estate and
planning controls – and take the politics out of planning by introducing
independent panels to properly consider development applications.
“Only then will
we get a fair system that looks after the communities’ long-term interests and takes
the politics out of planning.”
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