Billion-dollar projects given approval
Billion-dollar projects given approval
Posted on Tuesday, June 25 2013 at 9:23 AM
The New South Wales Government has granted rezoning approval for three major development and retail hubs in Western Sydney.
Penrith,
Narellan and Liverpool should see more than 4000 jobs created and $1.1 billion
dollars invested as a result of the approvals.
The
three rezonings will provide an extra 100,000 square metres of retail space and
boost shopping options for nearby residents.
Richard Pearson, deputy
director-general for planning and infrastructure, says the proposals will
facilitate the community’s increasing population.
“These rezonings will
allow retail development to provide the capacity needed to service the strong
population growth as more suburbs are developed.
“Providing more retail
space helps put downward pressure on prices and lowers the cost of living.”
Development
proposals can now be lodged for each of the sites.
The Penrith Panthers rezoning allows for an $850
million development including general retail development, a brand outlet centre,
offices, hotels and apartments.
The rezoning of the Narellan town centre in
Camden will enable a $300 million expansion of the existing retail centre,
roughly doubling its size to more than 90,000 square metres.
The rezoning of Liverpool’s 19,000-square-metre
Orange Grove retail centre is expected to create 400 permanent jobs by
permitting the operation of discount outlet stores up to seven days a week.
The department approved the rezonings after
ensuring they were in line with the vision of the draft Metropolitan Strategy
and requiring that councils consulted with local communities before making
their recommendations.
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Positive outlook for housing market: RBA
Positive outlook for housing market: RBA
Posted on Tuesday, June 18 2013 at 1:20 PM
This month’s meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board found building approvals for both higher-density and detached dwellings had increased.
There was generally a more positive outlook with regard to
dwelling investment, according to minutes from the RBA meeting.
Following the board’s decision in May to reduce the cash
rate target by 25 basis points, most lenders in Australia had subsequently
lowered their standard variable housing rates in line with the reduction in the
cash rate.
According to the board, this had “resulted in lending
rates for most households and businesses reaching or approaching historic lows”.
There were also signs the appetite for borrowing in the
household sector was picking up, and the housing market generally appeared to
be improving, as the effects of the most recent and earlier reductions in the
cash rate worked their way through the economy, the board heard.
Members observed that the effects of low interest rates
had been evident in a range of housing market indicators.
In addition, loan approvals had grown more strongly in
recent months, including for new housing, and auction clearance rates were well
above average in Sydney and had picked up to be a bit above average in Melbourne.
The meeting was told while measures of dwelling prices had
been relatively flat over recent months, they were still higher than the
previous year.
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New development codes introduced in ACT
New development codes introduced in ACT
Posted on Friday, June 21 2013 at 3:48 PM
Changes to the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) development codes that address solar access requirements and protect properties in character zones will commence on July 5.
Known as Variation 306, the amended codes will also simplify the
requirements for secondary residences and were introduced in a bid to support
planning goals and review residential development and subdivision policies in
the ACT.
Variation 306 will affect applications for residential and estate
development, with all applications lodged from June 18 to be assessed against
the new provisions.
Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development Simon Corbell says
there will be a grace period for applications lodged before this date, allowing
them time to be assessed under the current rules.
“This means development applications lodged before June
18 will be assessed against the current residential and estate provisions in
the Territory Plan, and will be granted a full year to get through the system,”
Corbell says.
“All development applications lodged after June 18, 2013
will be assessed against the new provisions of Variation 306.
“Exempt development that complies with the current
residential and estate provisions in the Territory Plan will need to have the
building application approved before July 5, 2013; otherwise it will have to
comply with the provisions of Variation 306.
“This will give certifiers time to finalise existing
building applications that are currently being assessed, before the new rules
come in.”
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Stronger clearances flag more investors
Stronger clearances flag more investors
Posted on Thursday, June 20 2013 at 10:01 AM
Sydney’s auction rate for the first full weekend of winter demonstrates strengthening confidence and increased investor activity, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM).
The
market analyst says the 76.9 per cent clearance result is more than 20 per cent
higher than the result for the same weekend last year, and the figures continue
a trend from the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, which recorded a similar increase on
its 2012 clearance figure.
According
to APM, the Sydney weekend
auction market is now tracking higher than in the same period during the boom
period of 2010.
Andrew
Wilson, a senior economist at APM, says the normal yearly seasonal factors are
being overridden by other influences.
“The
cycle is strong at the moment because we have historically low interest rates
and we’ve got a recovering market so there’s a clear sense that prices are
rising and confidence is back as well.”
Wilson
says there are a significant number of investors in the market and momentum is
driving growth.
“It’s
that perception of a rising market, the opportunity to get established in the
market and to accrue those medium-term capital gains.”
“Nearly
40 per cent of all residential investment activity is centred in New South
Wales and NSW has had about a 30 per cent lift in the level of investor
activity, based on ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) finance data, for the
first four months of this year compared to the first four months of last year.”
Wilson
says the results are starting to be mirrored in other markets across the nation
too.
“Melbourne,
Sydney and Perth are rising at the moment quite strongly. We release our series
in a couple of weeks and expect to see price rises confirmed for the June
quarter in most capital city markets.
“There
is this flight to bricks and mortar in Australia given those low bank deposit
rates and the underperforming, volatile local sharemarket.”
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NSW Budget earns ire of agents
NSW Budget earns ire of agents
Posted on Tuesday, June 18 2013 at 4:35 PM
The New South Wales Government has resisted lobbying from the real estate sector to reintroduce the First Home Owner Grant for established dwellings in today’s 2013 Budget.
The fiscal outlook for the next year did
include funds to extend a scheme that offers cash incentives to first
homebuyers of newly built or off-the-plan dwellings valued up to $650,000.
It was due to be reduced to $10,000 on
January 1, 2014 but will now remain at $15,000 for a further two years.
That wasn’t enough to please the Real
Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW), whose chief executive officer Tim
McKibbin issued a statement expressing his disappointment at a ‘missed
opportunity’.
“The Budget was an opportunity for the
government to reinvigorate the property market with a reduction in stamp duty
rates and the reinstatement of first homebuyer incentives on existing
properties,” McKibbin says. “They have failed.”
The grant for new builds, introduced last
year to replace the old scheme, is of little interest to first homebuyers, he
claims.
“Instead of purchasing new properties,
(they) are choosing to purchase no property at all.”
Official statistics show first homebuyers
accounted for just 14.3 per cent of total housing finance commitments in NSW in
April – close to the lowest ever figure on record.
The Budget was a winner in some circles,
with Urban Taskforce praising the Budget for its focus on infrastructure and
development.
Key features of a wide-ranging package of
spending include $2.6 billion for new roads infrastructure and $1.5 billion for
the maintenance of existing roads. There’s also funding for a range of
transport projects.
Urban Taskforce also welcomed additional
spending to fast-track housing supply across the state, including $302 million
for critical infrastructure to support new dwelling development.
In fact, the government estimates its focus
on housing-related infrastructure will pave the way for some 42,900 new homes
in Sydney and the Hunter region.
Plus, $99 million in funding will “plug the
gap” between what councils charge developers in infrastructure fees and what
works actually cost, which Planning and Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard
says will aide supply.
“This funding ensures the supply of new
housing isn’t blocked by exorbitant developer contribution charges, while still
making sure the necessary infrastructure gets built,” he says.
A further allocation of funds to implement
a new planning system in the next year is also expected to be welcome news for
developers.
A White Paper outlining the new system, which
represents an overhaul and streamlining of current processes, is out for public
consultation until the end of the month.
The government promises the reforms will
also improve community involvement in the assessment of development
applications.
While the state’s balance sheet remains in
deficit, today’s Budget outlines a forecast return to surplus in 2014-15 and
celebrates a $9 billion write-down in projected debt.
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Uncertainty around planning processes a concern: experts
Posted on Friday, June 14 2013 at 4:18 PM
Despite 11,000 new dwelling approvals in New South Wales this financial year, the Urban Taskforce says delays in the implementation of a new planning process could result in a housing supply shortfall in the years ahead.
In 2011 the NSW Government repealed Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
and determined to fast-track the remaining transitional Part 3A applications by
June 2013.
Additional funding to the Department of Planning and Infrastructure was
allocated in a bid to streamline the approvals process for outstanding
development applications. However, Urban Taskforce chief executive officer
Chris Johnson says with the June 2013 deadline for Part 3A projects now coming
to an end and a new planning system in the implementation phase, delays could
be inevitable.
“The Urban Taskforce is concerned that the new planning system could
take two years to implement down to the local plan level and that without Part
3A project approvals, housing supply in NSW could go backwards,” Johnson says.
“What’s desperately needed is an interim strategy to drive housing
supply that fills the void from Part 3A projects and the likely void while the
new planning system works its way through the four levels of plans with their
greater amount of community involvement.
“It’s essential that the recent uplift in housing approvals and
completions continues and this will need strong state government leadership,”
Johnson says.
To view a planning and infrastructure fact sheet on Part 3A projects click here.
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Survey says investors are keen on property
Survey says investors are keen on property
Posted on Wednesday, June 12 2013 at 3:55 PM
A study by one Australian mortgage broker indicates property is a priority for investors over the next two years.
The 2013 Homeowner Intentions Survey commissioned
by Mortgage Choice shows 26 per cent of respondents are considering buying an
investment property, with 56 per cent of these signifying they intend to make
the purchase in the next two years.
A total of 1032 Australians
who have a mortgage and have been a homeowner for two or more years completed
the survey.
Belinda Williamson, head of
corporate affairs at Mortgage Choice, says the results bode well for real
estate.
“It’s really positive news
for the property market to see a considerable chunk of homeowners weighing up
the decision to purchase an investment property in the near future.
“With lenders’ interest
rates on both home and investment property loans at their lowest point in
recent years, it isn’t altogether surprising.”
The numbers show that of the
25 per cent of survey participants who own investment property, 68 per cent own
one property, 19 per cent own two and 13 per cent own three or more.
Dominique Bergel-Grant, a
director at Leapfrog Financial, believes property investment is in favor, but
buyers are both educated and cautious.
“I think people have
definitely got more confidence in the property market than they did 12 to 18
months ago, but people are being very savvy and quite slow in the purchase
decision.”
Bergel-Grant sees the
various sectors moving at different paces with first homeowners being locked
out of the market by strong prices and high deposits.
“The people that are buying
at the moment… are those people particularly with the cash in their bank account
or the equity.
“I don’t think they’re
(investors) pulling money out of shares or managed funds to invest.”
Bergel-Grant says most
buyers are likely to take advantage of comparatively affordable blue-chip
properties in the current market.
“It’s not as if they’re
going out and buying cheap little properties. It’s really a case of them saying
we want something for long-term capital growth.”
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Investor home loans hit five-year high
Investor home loans hit five-year high
Posted on Tuesday, June 11 2013 at 4:05 PM
Investors are coming back to the market place, with loans for housing finance on the rise.
CommSec reports
the value of home loans taken out by investors rose by 1.1 per cent in April
thanks to rising rents and falling interest rates.
“Tight rental
market, state government grants for home builders, a relative lack of new homes
being built and low interest rates are attracting investors,” CommSec chief
economist Craig James says.
“First homebuyers
are still reluctant to buy homes, preferring to rent instead. Fortunately
second and subsequent homebuyers are active in buying and building homes
together with investors.”
The number of new
owner-occupier housing loans rose by 0.8 per cent in April, after a 4.8 per
cent lift in March – the strongest gain in four years. The proportion of first
homebuyers in the market rose from a near nine-year low of 14.2 per cent in
March to 14.3 per cent in April. Fixed rate loans rose from 18.4 per cent of
all loans to 20.6 per cent in April – also the highest level in five
years. The average home loan across Australia stood at $301,800 in April, up
2.6 per cent on a year ago.
“The housing
market is in recovery mode,” James says.
“The good news is
that low interest rates and government grants are serving to boost new
construction. Interestingly, it’s not the first homebuyers that are embracing
the opportunities; rather they’re relying on investors to get the new houses
and apartments built.”
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Properties selling faster
Properties selling faster
Posted on Thursday, June 06 2013 at 4:26 PM
Properties across Australia are selling faster, with April sales results from RP Data Property Pulse showing a sharp drop in the time properties spend on the market compared to this time last year.
Most capital cities, apart from Brisbane and Hobart, showed a decrease
in the time a property remained on the market, from the time it was listed to
the contract date.
According to research analyst Cameron Kusher, this is reflective of
stronger housing market conditions over the first quarter of the year.
“This is a great result but we need to
question whether the current rapid pace of sale can be maintained,” he says.
“Although time on market is at quite low levels it will be interesting
to see whether or not these levels can be maintained with lower levels of new
stock coming onto the market and the recent successive monthly falls in capital
city home values.
“On the other hand, sales volumes have been improving from a very low
base indicating that if vendors set appropriate prices on their homes, they
should be able to attract buyers and sell the home in shorter period of time,”
Kusher says.
Across the country, the average time on market for all homes is
currently recorded at 60 days and at the same time a year ago, the figure sat
at a slightly higher 67 days.
The national average time on market for a house is currently 62 days
compared to 68 days a year ago. For units it was 61 days a year ago compared to
51 days currently.
Time on market for capital cities:
- Sydney – 35 days
- Melbourne – 38 days
- Canberra – 49 days
- Brisbane – 72 days
- Adelaide – 68 days
- Hobart – 110 days
- Darwin and Perth – 52 days
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Housing grants remain in SA Budget
Housing grants remain in SA Budget
Posted on Thursday, June 06 2013 at 4:59 PM
South Australia has decided to extend its housing-related stimulus as part of the 2013 Budget handed down today, bucking the trend of other states.
Premier
and Treasurer Jay Weatherill says lower than forecast revenue and GST royalties
framed his Budget, which includes cost saving measures in a bid to return to
surplus.
“We’ve been careful with our spending to ensure we
meet the demands of today, while improving the Budget for the future,”
Weatherill says.
The
projected deficit for the current financial year came in at more than $1
billion. The debt projection for the coming year is $911 million but the
government hopes to return to surplus by 2016.
Unlike
other states, the government decided against gouges to housing stimulus. Cash
grants of $8500 for anyone buying or building a new home were due to wrap up on
June 30, but will now be on offer until the end of the year.
“The
Housing Construction Grant is about providing an urgent boost to the state’s
housing construction industry and helping stimulate the property sector,”
Weatherill says.
Similarly,
the $15,000 First Home Owner Grant will continue, as too will stamp duty concessions for buyers of off-the-plan apartments in
Adelaide’s CBD.
The Budget also included new funds for a
range of road and transport projects, including the previously scrapped Gawler
rail line electrification between Adelaide and Dry Creek.
That project is now back on track, thanks to
a funding commitment of $152 million over the next three years.
Other spending areas of focus include small
business assistance, health, education, disability support, affordable housing,
a ‘vibrant city’ cultural improvement strategy and law and order.
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