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Sydney’s housing market is on track to recoup the 15 per cent loss in prices suffered during the 18-month downturn early next year and reach a new record high by March. Property prices in the harbour city surged 2.7 per cent in November, the highest monthly growth rate since 1988, while Melbourne property values grew by 2.2 per cent over the same period, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Value Index. Prices also increased in every other capital city except Darwin, with a 2.3 per cent rise in Hobart, 1.6 per cent in Canberra, 0.8 per cent in Brisbane and 0.5 per cent in Adelaide. Even in Perth, where property prices have been trending lower since mid-2014, values grew slightly by 0.4 per cent. Over the past 13 years, Perth has gone from having the most expensive property of all the capital cities to the cheapest. CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said since Sydney’s market had bottomed out in May, prices were up 8.2 per cent and just 8 per cent lower than when prices peak in July 2017….

If you haven’t heard the news, the long-awaited Sydney Metro North West, Australia’s largest public transport infrastructure project, has opened on Sunday May 26! Source: Financial Review The 26-kilometre long line will run from Rouse Hill (Tallawong) to Chatswood, providing the people of Epping with a direct link to the CBD via an ultra-fast metro train service. With departures every four minutes during peak periods, the future residents of The Langston have a lot to look forward to, especially considering Epping Train Station is located only 100 meters from the project’s front door. This will ensure that a range of outstanding local amenities, including major regional destinations such as Macquarie University and Macquarie Shopping Centre, are only five minutes away on the train, providing the ultimate in convenience for the future Langston community.

Victoria has taken the title of Australia’s best performing economy, overthrowing New South Wales which is now in second place, according to Commsec’s state of the state market report. For the first time in three quarterly surveys Victoria has solely taken the top spot on the overall economic performance rankings, thanks to the strength of the state’s economic growth, retail trade, the job market and construction work. While New South Wales, which had previously jointly shared the top spot with Victoria, remains consistently strong across all indicators. Each quarter CommSec analyses eight key indicators: economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements. When looking across growth rates for the states and territories, Victoria exceeded the national-average on seven of the eight indicators, with Victoria’s lowest ranking, in population growth, ranking in fourth. Economic activity in Victoria in the March quarter was 26.6 per cent above its “normal” or decade-average level of output, a slight lead on New South Wales, with output 25.1 per cent above the “normal” level. Victoria has the…

An aerial shot of the five-minute community planned for Mambourin, 48km southwest of the Melbourne CBD.   A NEW “five-minute community” where residents will be able to walk and cycle to “everything they need” is planned for Melbourne’s outer west.   Shops, public transport, schools, parks, entertainment and fitness precincts, and even a “major town centre and commercial business district” will be within a five-minute stroll of every doorstep in Frasers Property Australia’s ‘Mambourin’, the developer says.   The $440 million project is set to transform 115ha of vacant land in Mambourin — a rural district 48km southwest of the CBD near Wyndham Vale and Werribee, with a current population of four. That’s expected to swell to 3500 by the time the 1200-lot development is completed in about eight years.   Stage 1 of the project has been approved by Wyndham City Council and is set to be done by the end of this year or early next.   The stage will include 60 residential lots — to be released to the market in late April or May — and…

ANZ has again become the first of the big four banks to reduce variable mortgage rates following the Reserve Bank’s cash rate cut, this time passing on the full amount. ANZ was widely criticised last month when it passed on just 0.18 percentage points of the RBA’s 25 basis point cut, but on Tuesday said it would reduce its variable rates for owner-occupier and investor loans in full from July 12 after the cash rate was cut from 1.25 to 1.0 per cent. “We looked at a number of factors before reaching this decision, including business performance, market conditions and the impact on our customers,” ANZ retail boss Mark Hand said. The official cash rate has been trimmed another 25 basis points to now sit at just one per cent – down from 1.25 per cent last month. The Reserve Bank board met today and agreed cut the interest rate to the lowest level in Australian history. It means in the space of four weeks the rate has fallen from 1.5 per cent to one per cent, an unprecedented level. Source:…

The British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) has released its 2019 report and paints a vibrant picture of modern Manchester as a global city in the making.  After London, Manchester is England’s most visited city with a growing tourism economy attracting more international and business visitors than all English cities other than London.  In 2018, Manchester’s revenue from tourism reached over £8.1bn.  The BFPG’s report confirmed that Greater Manchester ranks second in receiving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with the current level now an estimated £2.7 billion with international trade worth £5.36 billion in value of goods.  The foreword to the report has been written by Sir Howard Bernstein, now strategic advisor to Deloitte, Sir Howard Bernstein is one of the chief architects of Manchester’s resurgence over the last four decades.  Formerly Chief Executive of Manchester City Council (1998-2017) and former Head of Paid Service for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2011-2017).   Sir Howard Bernstein comments: “For Manchester, challenge always brings opportunity. One of our strengths as a city is our ability to adapt and reinvent, as we have seen with digital, creative and service industries, along with cultural…

Auction clearance rates rose strongly last week following the federal election, led by far stronger performances from the Sydney and Melbourne markets. According to data from CoreLogic, median home prices in Sydney and Melbourne also increased last week. The federal election result, along with likely rate cuts from the RBA and an easing in lending standards from APRA, may have contributed to the recent improvement in conditions in Australia’s largest and most expensive housing markets. Further housing-related data in the period ahead will help to determine whether a turning point for the property market is currently underway. Auction clearance rates rose strongly last week following the federal election, led by far stronger performances from the Sydney and Melbourne markets. Prices in both major cities also increased, bucking the trend seen for well over a year. According to CoreLogic, Australia’s preliminary combined capitals clearance rate jumped to 62.6%, a sharp improvement on the 57.0% level recorded seven days earlier. 2,041 homes went under the hammer during the week, more than double the 917 level seen in the lead up to the election….

INTERSTATE migration will keep the Gold Coast property market afloat while other areas across the country, including Melbourne and Sydney, are in decline. REIQ Gold Coast zone chairman Andrew Henderson said people would continue to move to the Glitter Strip as long as it was affordable and offered a good lifestyle, jobs and quality amenities. “We’re still seeing reasonably good numbers of people moving to the Gold Coast,” he said. “Our strength in a lot of our sales is the owner-occupier side … and it has been for a number of years now. “We’re an attraction city at this point in time, I see that as a positive going forward.” His comments followed the release of leading property valuation firm Herron Todd White’s February Month in Review report. It showed property prices in many suburbs were easing while the number of days on market were blowing out. “Motivated sellers are being forced to meet the market if they wish to sell, which is resulting in a clear reduction in value, consequently affecting surrounding property values,” the report said. The prestige…

Investment activity in the Gold Coast office market was subdued in 2018 with few assets on offer, although Knight Frank expects the tide to change this year with around $90 million in assets hitting the market in 2019’s first quarter. The office investment market on the Gold Coast, Australia’s sixth largest city, has traditionally been dominated by private investors and syndicators given the relatively smaller investment scale. But as confidence builds with a higher level of tenant demand and the depth of the market, Knight Frank’s Mark Witheriff says the region is “likely to appear on the radar for a greater swathe of investors”. Sustained population growth is forecast to average two per cent per annum over the 25 year period from 2016 to 2041, with the majority of growth to come from both internal and overseas migration attracted to lifestyle and educational opportunities, according to Knight Frank’s Gold Coast office market overview. Local businesses dominate demand While tenant demand in the Gold Coast office market has been dominated by local businesses, Knight Frank’s Tania Moore said there’s a growing…

Deep-pocketed buyers on the hunt for prestigious real estate in Melbourne could splash $2 million on a family home in Brighton — or they could sign the deed to a one-bedroom inner-city flat for around the same price. Melbourne’s most expensive one-bedroom apartment has hit the market, set to clock a price record if it sells near its guide of $1.8 million. But for anyone shocked by such a pricetag hanging from a one-bedroom flat, it is worth noting the listing follows a Sydney one-bedder with just a sliding door to the bedroom – essentially a studio apartment – that was recently asking $2.1 million north of the border. Found in East Melbourne’s exclusive “tower of power”, the 104-square metre one-bedder faces the historic Fitzroy Gardens. Agent Paul Caineof Caine Real Estate compared the listing to that of an apartment opposite Hyde Park in London or Central Park in New York. Developed by Salta Property Group in 2009, the 12-level, 88-unit building at 150 Clarendon Street is considered Melbourne’s most exclusive apartment block. Salta developer Sam Tarascio Senior owns the complex’s $30-million plus penthouse, which has never…

Australia’s center-right government clung to power in a surprise victory, with voters backing its stewardship of a slowing economy for another three years and rejecting the opposition’s progressive agenda. Despite trailing in most opinion polls for years, Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition closed down the gap with a relentless attack on Labor’s pledge to take tougher action on climate change and strip tax perks from wealthy Australians. For Labor leader Bill Shorten, the loss is akin to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 failure to win the U.S. presidency. “I have always believed in miracles,” Morrison, 51, told cheering supporters in Sydney, flanked by his wife and two daughters. “Tonight we’ve been delivered another one.” President Donald Trump cheered the victory by a fellow conservative, tweeting “Congratulations to Scott on a GREAT WIN!” Shorten, 52, ran on Australia’s most progressive agenda in decades, including tax cuts for low income workers, increases to the minimum wage, sweeping emissions curbs and scaling back concessions for property and stock market investors. That presented a big target for Morrison, with blanket TV ads warning Shorten was “the Bill…

Online real estate outfit Purplebricks has announced it will quit the Australian market after a tumultuous six months, and acknowledged its global expansion was “too rapid”. The Australian arm of the British-founded company will close its operations after two and a half years of attempting to crack the property market down under. Purplebricks Group chief executive Vic Darvey on Tuesday afternoon said it was a difficult decision to close the Australian business. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to make the progress in the Australian market that we’ve wanted, despite the tireless efforts of our employees,” Mr Darvey said in a statement. “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but with market conditions becoming increasingly challenging, we do not believe that the prospective returns in Australia are enough to justify continued investment.” In a statement, the company said: “With hindsight, our rate of geographic expansion was too rapid and as a result, the quality of execution has suffered. We have also made sub-optimal decisions in allocating capital. We will learn from these errors and will not make them again.”…