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Property Week

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  • DTZ demerger “likely”, says UGL

    16 May 2013

    A demerger of DTZ from parent company UGL is “likely”, UGL said in a statement today.

  • Oz ‘super’ fund in City debut

    5 April 2013

    Pension investor to buy Exchequer Court

  • DTZ spins off

    28 March 2013

    Beefed-up firm could be listed at value of up to £830m 16 months after prepack sale

  • DTZ spins off

    28 March 2013

    Beefed-up firm could be listed at value of up to £830m 16 months after prepack sale

  • Mothercare's Australian business in administration

    31 January 2013

    Mothercare’s Australian business has gone into administration after trading conditions deteriorated and attempts to find a buyer failed.

  • $1.75bn retail transaction completes

    25 October 2012

    AMP Capital, Westfield Group and Westfield Retail Trust have acquired interest in seven Australian retail schemes in a deals collectively valued at A$1.75bn.

  • $1.75bn shopping centres transaction completes

    25 October 2012

    AMP Capital, Westfield Group and Westfield Retail Trust have acquired interest in seven Australian retail schemes in a deals collectively valued at A$1.75bn.

  • Redefine to raise £122.5m from share sale

    13 September 2012

    Redefine International is raising £122.5m from a sale of new shares to reduce its debt.

  • LaSalle European head Lloyd-Hurwitz to leave for Australia

    15 August 2012

    Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz is to step down as European managing director of LaSalle Investment Management to join an Australian property company as chief executive.

  • DTZ’s owner posts 15% drop in net profit

    13 August 2012

    Shares in DTZ’s Australian owner UGL, dropped more than 10% today after the company reported a 15% drop in net profit.

  • DTZ’s owner posts 15% drop in net profit

    13 August 2012

    Shares in DTZ’s Australian owner UGL, dropped more than 10% today after the company reported a 15% drop in net profit.

  • MGPA goes back down under

    03 August 2012

    MGPA is returning to its roots by opening a Sydney office.

  • Blackstone takes on Lloyds’ Oz default loans

    8 June 2012

    Blackstone and Morgan Stanley have bought £809m of distressed Australian property loans from Lloyds Banking Group.

  • Forum Partners expands in Australia

    20 April 2012

    Forum Partners, the global real estate investment management firm, has established an office in Sydney, Australia, under the leadership of Andrew Faulk, a director of Bluestone Capital.

  • Colliers International: Australian Hotel Investment - Q1 2012

    18 April 2012

    The hotel sector delivered the greatest total return of all commercial assets for 2011, according to the latest IPD Commercial Property Index. The sector showed a total return of 17.8% for the year.

  • UGL counts cost of DTZ buy

    24 February 2012

    Net profit for half-year down by 15% but full-year profits expected to rise; UGL could rebrand as DTZ

  • Westfield sells stake in $4.8bn US malls to CPPIB

    15 February 2012

    Westfield is to buy back up to 10% of its shares after selling a stake in a portfolio of US malls to a Canadian pension fund for $1.85bn.

  • Colliers International: Sydney Central Business District - H2 2011

    1 February 2012

    Foreign and domestic investors have begun to return to the Sydney CBD office market, after a slow start to the year which saw no major investment sale transaction take place during Q1 2011.

  • Kumpulan Wang Persaraan buys ASX Building in Sydney

    13 January 2012

    Malaysian takes stock: Malaysian pension fund the Kumpulan Wang Persaraan has bought the 14-storey ASX Building, which houses the Australian Stock Exchange, in the heart of the city’s financial district in Sydney for £125m.

  • Aviva Investors’ debut Oz shed buys

    7 October 2011

    Aviva Investors has made its debut purchase for the new Aviva Investors’ Australian Logistics Property Trust

  • Lloyds gives up down under

    30 September 2011

    Lloyds Banking Group is considering a sale of its £1bn-plus Australasian property loan book, which is secured on assets such as the Oracle Broadbeach residential scheme on Australia’s Gold Coast

  • LaSalle buys Australia’s TFM

    22 July 2011

    LaSalle Investment Management has bought an Australian fund management business for $10m.

  • Blackstone agrees £137m bid for Valad

    06 May 2011

    Chief executive says sale will “maximise shareholders’ value”

  • Shareholders approve A$1.4bn ING REIM industrial fund sale

    17 March 2011

    Shareholders in ING Real Estate Investment Management have approved the A$1.42bn sale of its industrial fund to a consortium led by Australian group Goodman.

  • National Australia Bank buys 35% stake in Area Property Partners in strategic partnership

    9 March 2011

    Area’s senior management, led by chairman Bill Mack and global CEO Lee Neibart, will continue to lead the company and its investment committees

  • Westfield’s Lowy moves aside

    2 March 2011

    Westfield Group’s founder and executive chairman Frank Lowy is to step back into a non-executive role, handing control to his two sons, Peter and Steven, who will become joint chief executive officers.

  • Lend Lease enjoys 17.2% profits boost

    17 February 2011

    Lend Lease enjoyed a 17.2% boost in profits in the second half of 2010, the listed Australian developer said today.

  • Valad reports A$165m loss

    26 August 2010

    Valad Property Group today reported full-year losses of A$165.2m, largely driven by write downs on its Australia and New Zealand focused property business.

  • Goodman optimistic despite portfolio value decline

    19 August 2010

    Goodman Group’s property portfolio fell in value by A$518.9m in the last financial year, the Australian industrial developer said today.

  • Fashion brand Ed Hardy franchisee in administration

    12 August 2010

    Ed Hardy Operations (Australia) has entered into administration this week.

  • LaSalle Investment Management closes deals worth £218m

    10 August 2010

    LaSalle Investment Management has completed three transactions in the Asia-Pacific region worth a total of £218m.

  • Stockland reports "record" residential sales

    19 May 2010

    Property developer Stockland Group is on track for record residential sales for the year 2009-2010, the Australian reported today.

  • PWTV: DTZ's research heads on where the money is going in property

    12 May 2010

    It is the time to invest in the majority of the markets both globally and in the UK, DTZ’s research gurus Tony McGough and Hans Vrensen told Property Week.

  • Australia home loans dip 3.4% on borrowing costs rise

    12 May 2010

    Australian home-loan approvals fell in March for a sixth straight month after central bank Governor Glenn Stevens boosted borrowing costs and the government cut grants to first-time buyers.

  • Oz building approvals surge 15.3% in March

    5 May 2010

    Australian home-building approvals rose in March at the fastest pace since 2002, a sign that housing demand hasn’t been damped by the central bank’s world-leading round of interest rate increases.

  • Westfield plans A$1bn development spree

    4 May 2010

    Westfield Group, the world’s biggest shopping center owner by market value, reported the biggest increase in US sales in almost three years and said it will start A$1bn of developments.

  • New Zealands home building approvals dip

    30 April 2010

    New Zealand’s home-building approvals fell for the third time in four months in March as a slowing property market and prospects of tax changes curbed consumer confidence.

  • Wyndham to target Australia and NZ

    30 April 2010

    Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific, a unit of Wyndham Worldwide Corp., plans to spend at least A$20m this year in Australia and New Zealand to buy properties and introduce its Days Inn and Super 8 brands in the region.

  • Sydney midtown challenges CBD

    29 April 2010

    Sydney's midtown precinct has overtaken other parts of the city as the most lucrative for office rental deals, with more than $1bn worth of decade-long leasing transactions signed in the area during the past year.

  • Australia house growth slows

    29 April 2010

    Australian house prices grew at a slower pace in the first quarter from the last three months of 2009 as the central bank’s five rate increases since September took effect, Australian Property Monitors said.

  • Australia to clamp down on foreign buyers

    26 April 2010

    Australia will tighten rules on foreign investment in real estate, and introduce penalties to enforce the changes, to ensure pressure isn’t placed on housing availability for local residents.

  • Savills to sell Stamford’s Perth hotel

    23 April 2010

    Stamford Land Corporation, a hotel operator and developer listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, has appointed Savills to sell its Dynons Plaza development in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia.

  • Australia REITs in better shape

    21 April 2010

    Australian property trusts have improved their standing over the past year after cutting debt and repairing their balance sheets, according to a Standard & Poor’s report.

  • Oz Treasurer will boost home building

    16 April 2010

    Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan will boost home building and avoid unpopular new property taxes as he juggles the need to revamp the taxation system with political demands in an election year, economists said.

  • Oz first-home buying set to plunge

    14 April 2010

    First-home owner activity is expected to plummet more than 40% this year amid rising interest rates, tight lending criteria and reduced government incentives.

  • Australian resi rents could rise 10% in 2010

    14 April 2010

    Australian residential rents may rise by more than 10% this year as landlords pass on higher home prices and increased borrowing costs to tenants, Australian Property Monitors said.

  • GPT fund plans A$400m raising

    12 April 2010

    GPT Group said today its unlisted GPT Wholesale Office Fund plans to raise about A$400 million via an equity raising.

  • Australian home loan approvals dip 1.8%

    12 April 2010

    Australian home-loan approvals fell in February for a fifth straight month after central bank Governor Glenn Stevens boosted borrowing costs and the government cut grants to first-time buyers.

  • Starbucks Oz withdrawal opens door fo new players

    9 April 2010

    With Starbucks’s operations across Australia reduced to a fraction of their peak, one Malaysian entrepreneur is looking to fill the gap, starting with Melbourne’s café society.

  • Mirvac set to buy Westpac Office Trust

    7 April 2010

    Mirvac Group, which snapped 18 months of losses in its first half, is in talks to buy Westpac Office Trust as Australian property funds target rivals in an economy that dodged the global recession.

  • Aussie government moves to calm foreign buyer alarm

    6 April 2010

    The Australian government has sought to calm concerns that foreigners are buying up Australian homes and pricing locals out of the market, but has conceded it is investigating an emerging trend.

  • BT accepts greater risk in Oz portfolio

    31 March 2010

    BT Investment Management is taking on additional risk to benefit from the “cheap” valuations of more volatile Australian real estate trusts, said Peter Davidson, head of property securities at the fund manager.

  • Australian property inheritances to top A$407bn

    30 March 2010

    Australians are likely to inherit about A$407bn in property assets over the next 15 years, according to a report by Bank of Western Australia.

  • Lend Lease to seek A$217m for capital shortfall

    30 March 2010

    Lend Lease last night launched a bookbuild to fill a A$217.14 million shortfall from its underwritten A$806m capital raising.

  • Aussie central bank warns on house prices

    29 March 2010

    Australia’s central bank Governor Glenn Stevens said house prices are “getting quite high” and signaled that interest rates may need to be increased further to contain inflation.

  • Lowys' takings out-perform Westfield

    26 March 2010

    Frank Lowy's remuneration was $14.9m in 2009 as the executive chairman of Westfield Group presided over a $458m reported loss due to property writedowns.

  • Knight Frank Adelaide Industrial Report: February 2010

    26 March 2010

    “Although South Australia’s fundamentals remain strong, threats and risks still remain. Manufacturing, one of the major contributors to South Australia’s GSP was hit hard in2009. The reduction in national car production will have a significant impact on the South Australian manufacturing industry as well as Adelaide’s industrial property market. The impact of the weakness in manufacturing can be seen in the decrease in full time jobs in South Australia.”

  • Knight Frank's Eastern Seaboard Offices Report: December 2009

    26 March 2010

    “The majority of listed entities have now largely re-capitalised by raising equity to fill the funding shortfall in debt markets and indications are that selected groups are again in a position to compete for assets with the private and off-shore capital. However selected AREITs and unlisted funds remain under pressure from their financiers, hence many will continue to off-load assets in 2010, mainly into the secondary market.”

  • Australian central banks warns on commercial property loans

    25 March 2010

    While Australia’s financial system has remained resilient, a rise in poorly performing commercial property loans needs to be monitored, the central bank said.

  • Oz fund fallout traps mum and dad investors

    25 March 2010

    Small investors have more than A$900m trapped in troubled fund manager Orchard's suite of unlisted property trusts as the sale of the head stock continues to play out.

  • Australia home price rises slow

    24 March 2010

    Australian home price growth will slow to about 5% in the next 12 months as falling affordability and the end of government stimulus measures constrain gains, said AMP Capital Investors.

  • Lend Lease appoints new US chief

    23 March 2010

    Lend Lease Group has appointed a new chief executive, Robert McNamara, to reposition its US business as the country recovers from the downturn.

  • Perth top Aussie for 10-year property prices

    15 March 2010

    Perth has been the standout property market of the last decade, with 11 of the city's suburbs making the top 20 list for the fastest average annual price growth, according to residential researcher RP Data.

  • Centro to sell Queensland mall as investors exit fund

    15 March 2010

    Centro Properties Group, the Australian developer that posted a A$3.5bn loss last year, is selling its Surfers Paradise mall after failing to attract investors to replace those withdrawing funds.

  • Shortage drives Australian house prices

    12 March 2010

    Australian home prices will keep rising due to a building and land shortage, according to a unit of the Property Council of Australia.

  • New Zealand house prices flat

    12 March 2010

    New Zealand home prices were flat in February compared with January but sales rose strongly on the month, data from Real Estate Institute of New Zealand shows.

  • Investa property fund targets office buys

    11 March 2010

    The unlisted A$1bn-plus Investa Commercial Property Fund this week became the first among its peers to reopen redemptions -- for the next three weeks.

  • Brookfield Multiplex may list office assets

    8 March 2010

    Brookfield Multiplex has not ruled out that the company plans to list $4bn worth of office property in 2010.

  • Lloyds calls in loans Aussie mega-scheme

    2 March 2010

    Lloyds Bank has called in loans associated with the A$1bn Salt Village residential project on the northern NSW coast, sending four project management and marketing companies of Queensland developer Ray Group into receivership.

  • Aussie auctions surge as confidence builds

    1 March 2010

    The Australian property market continued to show signs of strong recovery over the weekend, with the total auction revenue significantly higher than the same time last year.

  • Chinese and Russians target Aussie Gold Coast

    1 March 2010

    Chinese and Russians are the biggest foreign buyers of residential property on Queensland's Gold Coast.

  • Valad focusses on revenue as losses narrow

    26 February 2010

    Valad Property Group has made a smaller first-half loss than last year and says its business is now stable and the fund manager is focused on growing revenue.

  • Centro losses down

    25 February 2010

    Centro Properties Group, the Australian developer restructuring its business, said its first- half loss narrowed after declines in property values slowed.

  • Lend Lease back in black and eying projects

    25 February 2010

    Lend Lease Group, Australia’s largest property developer, returned to profit in the first half and announced a share sale to fund new projects.

  • GPT returns to profit

    23 February 2010

    GPT Group, the Australian property trust unloading overseas investments, returned to profit in the second half after selling assets and paying off debt.

  • Australian property firms set to tap hedge funds

    18 February 2010

    Australian unlisted property companies, facing a funding gap as banks cut back on loans, may turn to alternative investors such as hedge funds as they seek to repay maturing debt, according to Nomura.

  • Westfield to build again as profits return

    17 February 2010

    Westfield Group, delivered a 6.2% boost to full-year operating earnings that was driven by the recovery in Australian retail spending.

  • Westfield results disappoint with full year loss of A$458m

    17 February 2010

    Westfield, the largest global shopping centre owner, reported disappointing results last night but reduced its full year loss to A$458m (£261.6m).

  • CFS Retail Trust profits on development

    16 February 2010

    CFS Retail Property Trust, the Australian real estate investment trust, swung to a profit in the first half on an increase in its development pipeline.

  • Trade-up buyers drive Aussie house prices

    15 February 2010

    Property markets around the country continue to soar as home owners seek to 'trade up' before anticipated interest rate hikes in the coming months.

  • Macquarie cuts property trust ties

    12 February 2010

    Macquarie Group agreed to sell stakes in real-estate funds and the rights to manage them for A$297m as the Australian investment bank moves away from its listed funds model.

  • Stockland returns to profit

    10 February 2010

    Stockland, Australia’s largest diversified property group, swung to a profit in the first half on rising demand for residential properties.

  • LaSalle to partner with Oz developers

    9 February 2010

    LaSalle Investment Management plans to partner with Australian developers and take on more risk to invest in the nation’s property market.

  • Asian invasion

    Global Interactive Feb 2010

    I have recently been to two investment conferences, one in New York and the other in the UK. The speakers and panellists at both were top notch. Virtually every one said that over the next few years the most important part of the property equation will be “income”.

  • Australia office vacancy hits 5-year high

    4 February 2010

    Australia’s office vacancies have reached a five-year high on weak tenant demand and rising supply, the Property Council of Australia has said.

  • Oz capital city house prices up in December quarter

    1 February 2010

    The weighted average price of established houses in Australian capital cities rose 5.2% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the third quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has said.

  • Australians struggle with mortgage payments

    29 January 2010

    A rising number of Australians are struggling to make their mortgage payments as increasing property prices and interest rates take a bigger chunk out of homeowners’ incomes, a mortgage brokers’ association said.

  • No capital raising for Lend Lease

    29 January 2010

    Lend Lease has ruled out an imminent capital raising despite clinching development deals worth $10bn in the past six weeks.

  • Australian house prices set to jump

    28 January 2010

    Australian home prices will rise by as much as 10% this year as buyers try to trade up to better properties, Australian Property Monitors said.

  • Lend Lease wins first stage of Perth scheme

    20 January 2010

    Lend Lease has been selected by the Western Australian state government as preferred developer of the first stage of the 710-hectare Alkimos coastal development in the state's capital.

  • Colonial freezes $785m fund default fears

    14 January 2010

    Colonial First State, Australia’s biggest asset manager, froze an A$850m ($785 million) mortgage income fund to withdrawals after signs some of the commercial property loans may sour.

  • South Korean pension fund buys £393m office building

    12 January 2010

    South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has invested A$685m (£393m) in a Sydney office building, in what is thought to be one of the largest Australian property deals in two years.

  • Aussie listed property sector to gain ground

    12 January 2010

    The listed property sector, which had regained almost $18bn of its market value in the past 12 months, is expected to gain further ground this year.

  • Australian home loans dipped 5.6%

    12 January 2010

    Australian home-loan approvals fell in November by the most in 18 months as central bank Governor Glenn Stevens led the world in raising borrowing costs.

  • Oz watchdog warns on company statements

    11 January 2010

    Australia's corporate watchdog is warning companies it will target going-concern statements related to debt refinancing and the value of asset writedowns, of which it expects more, in the coming reporting season.

  • Australian to pull in overseas buyers

    11 January 2010

    Australian commercial property sales to overseas buyers are set to increase by about a quarter in 2010 as international investors are lured by the nation’s economic growth, according to Kevin Stanley, head of research at CB Richard Ellis.

  • Australian building shrinks for second month

    8 January 2010

    Australia’s building industry shrank in December for a second month as demand fell for new apartments and engineering construction.

  • S Korea's National Pension Service buysSydney office block

    6 January 2010

    South Korea's National Pension Service today said it had signed a contract to buy an office building in Sydney for about A$658m.

  • Centro names new chief executive

    5 January 2010

    Centro Properties Group has appointed Robert Tsenin as the new group chief to replace Glenn Rufrano.

  • Healthy Australian home market

    4 January 2010

    Australia's housing market ended the year well despite recent interest rate hikes, talk of a recession and the phasing out of the first-home buyer grant.

  • Loans relief for Centro

    22 December 2009

    Centro Properties Group says noteholders have agreed to extend five loans worth $370m due to mature this month.

  • Aussie home lender faces A$2.5bn default

    21 December 2009

    RHG Ltd, the Australian home lender, said a court ruling that it breached a loan covenant may trigger defaults on as much as A$2.5bn of debt. The shares fell to a three-month low.

  • Lend Lease set to sell to fund Sydney scheme

    21 December 2009

    Lend Lease Group, Australia’s largest developer, will sell buildings as it completes them to fund a A$6bn ($5.3bn) development aimed at reviving Sydney as an Asia-Pacific financial and business hub.

  • GPT Group sells A$100m unit for A$3

    15 December 2009

    Property trust GPT Group has sold its loss-making British funds manager Halverton for A$3.20 after paying about $100m for the business more than two years ago.

  • New Zealand house rises slow

    14 December 2009

    New Zealand house prices increased at a slower pace in November and property sales fell for a second month as home-loan interest rates increase.

  • Aussie house price growth 'set to continue'

    11 December 2009

    Australian house prices are expected to gain further next year as population growth outstrips the supply of new homes, Australian Property Monitors said.

  • Lend Lease to launch bargain hunt fund

    9 December 2009

    Lend Lease is to launch a A$400m private equity fund to invest in distressed assets in Australia.

  • Aussies fund's values stabilise

    7 December 2009

    Further signs are emerging that the commercial property market has stabilised after reports by the Commonwealth Bank-backed CFS Retail Property Trust that the value of its shopping centre portfolio remained flat for the half year.

  • Lend Lease ponders move for ING retail property fund

    4 December 2009

    Lend Lease Group, Australia’s largest property developer, may buy the ING Retail Property Fund to gain assets including the Joondalup shopping center in Perth and the Harbour Town complex on the Gold Coast.

  • Australia 'best prospect in Asia-Pacific'

    3 December 2009

    Sydney and Melbourne are among the 10 most favourable investment locations in the Asia-Pacific region for next year, a survey finds.

  • Oz building approvals show unexpected dip

    1 December 2009

    Australian home-building approvals unexpectedly fell in October for the first time in five months after the government reduced grants to first-time buyers and the central bank raised interest rates.

  • Aussie REIT targets long-term growth

    25 November 2009

    Some $2bn worth of development projects within its existing portfolio would drive the growth of the GPT Group, chief executive Michael Cameron has said.

  • Colonial First State eyes Sydney sale

    23 November 2009

    Colonial First State Property is in exclusive talks with a potential buyer to sell the Aurora Place office tower in Sydney by mid December.

  • Top Aussie property chiefs bag A$64m

    20 November 2009

    The listed property sector's 12 highest-paid chief executives earned a total of A$64m, including bonuses and incentives in a year when listed property companies accounted for half the losses of corporate Australia.

  • Lend Lease dumped from Melbourne project

    19 November 2009

    Lend Lease has lost its role in a A$370m town centre redevelopment project in Melbourne's northeast.

  • Centro Retail seeks to slash loan ratio

    17 November 2009

    Centro Retail Trust yesterday flagged a $3.75bn capital transaction - possibly through a float of property assets - that would be part of a major restructure of the debt-laden Centro group.

  • New Zealands October house index jumps 1.3%

    13 November 2009

    New Zealand house prices increased in October, adding to signs that record-low interest rates are helping the property market recover.

  • GPT unwinds hedges to cut interest

    13 November 2009

    Property trust GPT Group today said it unwound its A$1.2bn of excess offshore interest rate hedges at a cost of A$152m to simplify its financial position and reduce interest costs.

  • Westfield cuts rents in US malls

    12 November 2009

    Westfield Group said today it was lowering rents and offering shorter leases in its shopping malls in the recession-hit United States to attract business.

  • Property, infrastructure 'hurt by bank lending terms'

    10 November 2009

    Ausatralian banks have imposed tighter terms and conditions on their lending, presenting significant repercussions for the property and infrastructure sectors, the head of domestic markets at the Reserve Bank of Australia, John Broadbent, has said.

  • AMP buys stake in Singapore REIT

    6 November 2009

    AMP Capital Investors has become a partner of the Sydney-based AIMS Financial Group in Singapore by taking a strategic stake in a listed trust and its management company.

  • A rice-to-riches tale

    Global November 2009

    When rice farmer Yang Guoqiang created Chinese developer Country Garden in 1997, he was one of a new generation of tycoons that benefited from the liberalisation of the country’s property market

  • China goes home

    Global November 2009

    House prices are rising in China, but buyers may be priced out

  • From Sheffield to Shenzhen

    Global November 2009

    Kevin McCabe was among the first UK property entrepreneurs to see China’s potential for growth

  • Money pours west

    Global November 2009

    Asia-Pacific’s cash-rich investors are sizing up the west’s distressed property markets

  • You can still register for our FREE webinar on investing in the Asia Pacific region

    5 November 2009

    Property Week Global is launching the Global Investment Club live webinar series on 9 November, dedicated to the opportunities and challenges of investing in the Asia Pacific region.

  • Aussie land levies 'pricing out buyers'

    3 November 2009

    Australia's federal housing minister Tanya Plibersek has warned that state governments and local councils risk pricing first-home buyers out of the market by milking the property industry for too much tax.

  • Australian house prices up in third quarter

    2 November 2009

    Australian house prices rose in the three months through September for a second quarter as government grants spurred demand among first-time buyers.

  • Big spenders in A$300m Oz spree

    30 October 2009

    Private investors and offshore groups have swooped on more than A$300m worth of office buildings and retail centres in Brisbane and Sydney, with retail billionaire John van Lieshout among those involved in the shopping spree.

  • ING Industrial Fund seeks fund to clear debt and build

    27 October 2009

    ING Industrial Fund, owner of industrial properties in Australia, Canada and Europe, is seeking to raise A$700m to repay debt and resume development activities.

  • Oz auctions put pressure on interest rates

    26 October 2009

    Another strong weekend for property auctions has intensified pressure on the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates.

  • Centro regulators eye PWC

    23 October 2009

    The corporate watchdog's case announced yesterday against Centro directors may trigger a class action targeting the shopping centre owner's auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

  • Former-Macquarie and Lehman bankers plan $148m property fund

    21 October 2009

    Moss Capital, formed by ex-Macquarie Group and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankers, is close to completing a A$160m fund that will invest in Australian property.

  • Former Centro CEO sued by regulators

    21 October 2009

    Centro Properties Group’s former chief executive officer was sued by Australia’s securities regulator after the mall owner’s failure to refinance debt led to shareholder losses of more than A$8bn.

  • GPT eyes Oz after overseas sale

    20 October 2009

    GPT Group is 'well placed' to buy commercial properties in Australia after selling most of its overseas assets, chief executive officer Michael Cameron said.

  • Australia a 'beacon' investor says

    19 October 2009

    The outlook for Australian listed property trusts is improving as the nation’s currency strengthens and the local economy weathers the global recession, according to AMP Capital Brookfield.

  • Future Fund pours $1.1bn into vulture fund

    15 October 2009

    In its biggest property play to date, the Future Fund has committed $US1bn to Canadian giant Brookfield's $US5bn real estate vulture fund.

  • Tishman's Australia fund hits the buffers

    14 October 2009

    In late 2004, when Tishman Speyer Properties became one of the first US real-estate companies to launch a publicly listed fund on the Australian Stock Exchange, the future looked bright.

  • Lend Lease to become a 'stapled entity'

    14 October 2009

    Lend Lease has joined Mirvac and Stockland in moving to become a stapled entity.

  • Oz mortgages falls on interest fears

    7 October 2009

    Australian housing finance fell in August for the second consecutive month as demand for mortgages crimped.

  • McCabe quits Valad on final payment

    6 October 2009

    Kevin McCabe has quit the board of Valad Property Group after receiving the final $56.5m payment for the European property assets he sold to the company.

  • Gale force

    Global October 2009

    Since taking over as head of JE Robert Companies, Barden Gale has had to rebuild investor confidence at the troubled fund manager

  • Oz firms raise A$609m in US

    30 September 2009

    Australian property groups Macquarie CountryWide and Dexus have between them raised almost A$609m in capital in the US.

  • FREE webinar on investing in the Asia Pacific region

    29 September 2009

    Property Week Global is launching the Global Investment Club live webinar series on 9 November, dedicated to the opportunities and challenges of investing in the Asia Pacific region.

  • House prices 'set to soar' says Reserve Bank official

    29 September 2009

    Australia's housing market is about to take off, the RBA says, and rising prices and interest rates could hit affordability hard.

  • Multiplex Prime bid rejected by Oz regulators

    25 September 2009

    Nicholas Bolton's attempts to take control of the Brookfield Multiplex-backed Multiplex Prime Property Fund have failed, after the Takeovers Panel last night ruled that the renegade shareholder's $700,000 bid was launched in unacceptable circumstances.

  • Valad to settle debt to McCabe by raising new equity

    24 September 2009

    Valad Property Group has avoided handing over 19.9% control to Kevin McCabe by raising money from a sale of shares to pay him off.

  • Investors pour into Valad raising

    24 September 2009

    Valad, which limped to the end of the financial year with a A$1.49bn loss, has managed to secure up to A$59.5m in a capital raising backed by Goldman Sachs JBWere.

  • Stockland takeover talk picks up

    21 September 2009

    Mergers and acquisitions could soon wash over the Australian REIT sector, with the suggestion that Stockland could make a tilt at GPT gaining ground in recent times. GPT has been well supported by hedge funds, which last week pushed the stock up 7.03% to 69¢ per security - still half the price it was a year ago.

  • Devine in $1bn retreat from residential

    17 September 2009

    Devine is retreating from more than A$1bn worth of Queensland residential projects, as some banks shy away from lending to the Queensland-based developer because of its relationship with Leighton Holdings.

  • Collapsed Oz resorts come to market

    15 September 2009

    Receivers of the Mariner Coastal Land Fund have put two more resorts on the market from the collapsed tourism venture.

  • New Zealand house prices on the up

    14 September 2009

    New Zealand house prices and sales increased in August, adding to signs that falling interest rates are helping the property market recover, according to a report from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc.

  • Sydney top property feels downturn pinch

    11 September 2009

    The global financial crisis has cut deep into Sydney's top end housing market through a 45 per cent reduction in gross sales values.

  • McCabe to rebuild Valad

    11 September 2009

    Property entrepreneur Kevin McCabe to direct restructure of Australian group

  • Sino Land down on drop in revaluation gains

    10 September 2009

    Sino Land, the sixth-largest developer in Hong Kong, yesterday said net profit dropped 52% to HK$3.73bn for the financial year to June because of a decline in revaluation gains on investment properties.

  • Multiplex sells low end Sydney residential sites

    10 September 2009

    Brookfield Multiplex has either sold, or is selling, Sydney residential development sites it had earmarked for projects worth at least A$500m, as it moves to exit lower end apartment developments to focus on masterplanned communities.

  • Oz home loans slip

    9 September 2009

    Demand for housing loans fell for the first time in 10 months during July as the appetite for property by first-home buyers and investors waned.

  • New Zealand's house prices rise for fourth month

    7 September 2009

    New Zealand house prices rose for a fourth month in August, signaling the property market is recovering and may help the economy emerge from a recession.

  • A third of Aussies at default risk

    7 September 2009

    A third of Australia -- including battlers' suburbs and some of the wealthiest urban areas -- has entered the danger zone for financial distress, despite signs that economic conditions are improving.

  • 11% wiped off Aussie home investment

    4 September 2009

    Residential property investment plunged by nearly 11% during the 2009 financial year, as the global financial crisis caused listed companies to shelve projects and residential developers blamed government red tape for a lack of new homes built.

  • New cash flowing to Oz REITs

    4 September 2009

    Nearly 60% -- more than $5bn -- of the capital raised by Australian listed property trusts in the last three months came from new offshore and local investors.

  • My big move: Sept 2009

    Global Sept 2009

    In January, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Alastair Hughes stepped down as European chief executive and moved to Singapore to head the firm’s Asia-Pacific operations. He tells Lucy Scott why the region is the new hotbed of global property

  • Trinity ponders legal move over A$1m fee

    2 September 2009

    Troubled property group Trinity is investigating whether it can take legal action over a secret $1 million success fee paid to Queensland lobbyist Ross Daley.

  • Oaktree may merge Japan REIT and target Oz

    2 September 2009

    Oaktree Capital Management, a private-equity fund with about $61bn of assets, is seeking to merge its Japan property trust and buy buildings in Australia as a credit shortage makes distressed investments attractive.

  • Australian Building Approvals Rise 7.7% on Grants

    1 September 2009

    Australian home-building approvals rose in July, adding to signs that government handouts and the lowest borrowing costs in half a century are stoking demand.

  • Australian REITS Retreat Home After $16.4 Billion in Losses

    1 September 2009

    Australian property trusts are unloading failed overseas investments from Munich to Michigan after piling up losses equal to almost a third of their market value in the last 12 months.

  • Goodman Group dives to $1.12bn loss

    28 August 2009

    Goodman Group, Australia's largest industrial property trust, posted a large headline loss on property writedowns today, but met market expectations with its underlying profit and made some encouraging outlook statements.

  • McCabe to take 19.9% in Valad

    27 August 2009

    Valad has agreed to restructure its outstanding A$60.7m (£31.2m) payment to Kevin McCabe for the purchase of his Scarborough Group two years ago.

  • GPT Group to start fund manager sale next month

    27 August 2009

    GPT Group will formally start the sale of its fund and asset management business GPT Halverton next month.

  • Aussie group to quit Dubai

    27 August 2009

    Australian real estate company Sunland Group is to leave the Dubai market after the completion of its two current projects in the emirate after posting a full-year net loss of $145m.

  • GPT Group losses up on writedowns and Europe

    27 August 2009

    GPT Group, an Australian property trust, said its first-half loss widened after booking writedowns on property assets and a joint venture in Europe.

  • Westfield reports first half loss of A$708m

    26 August 2009

    Westfield Group, the world's largest owner of shopping centres, posted a first half net loss of A$708m (£363m) after suffering an A$2.47bn (£1.3bn) decline in the value of its property portfolio.

  • Westfield rules out share sale

    26 August 2009

    Westfield Group, the world’s largest owner of shopping centres, said property values in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand markets have reached their low and the company doesn’t need to sell shares to raise capital.

  • Mirvac posts $1bn loss

    25 August 2009

    Mirvac Group has swung to a full-year net loss of $1.08bn after writing down the value of property assets.

  • UBS poaches JPMorgan's Oz property team

    25 August 2009

    UBS has moved quickly to replace its real estate investment team by picking up Tim Church and seven colleagues from JPMorgan.

  • Macquarie CountryWide Trust in loses $1.4bn

    21 August 2009

    Macquarie CountryWide Trust posted today a full-year net loss of $1.44bn on asset, derivative and joint venture revaluations.

  • Lend Lease posts loss on write-down

    20 August 2009

    Lend Lease, Australia’s largest property developer, posted a second-half loss after writing down the value of its holdings and said a slow market limited the company’s ability to sell properties.

  • Goodman eyes China expansion

    19 August 2009

    Australian property developer and fund manager Goodman Group aims to build a portfolio of logistics assets on the mainland of up to $700m over the next five years as a junior partner in its new joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

  • Dexus plunges $1.46bn full-year loss

    18 August 2009

    One of Australia's largest listed office landlords, Dexus Property Group, has swung into a full-year net loss of $1.46bn after writing down the value of its portfolio.

  • Property takes a $51bn pummelling

    17 August 2009

    Australia's bruised and battered property industry has seen $51 billion wiped off the total worth of its assets under management in a single year as falling property values, sales and corporate collapses have taken their toll.

  • Leighton forecast Oz rebound

    14 August 2009

    Leighton Holdings, Australia’s biggest construction company, said profit will rebound from its first decline in five years, driving its shares to a 10-month high in Sydney trading.

  • Centro attacked over tenant complaints

    13 August 2009

    Centro has been forced to field questions from its joint venture partners and retailers about its capability as a shopping centre manager after reports that the landlord is refusing to carry out basic repairs.

  • Stockland to sell UK assets as its posts A$1.8bn loss

    12 August 2009

    Australian and UK property company Stockland has said it will exit the UK as market conditions ‘remain difficult’.

  • Stockland battered by writedowns

    12 August 2009

    Stockland, Australia’s biggest housing developer, reported a full-year loss because of writedowns related to a slump in the value of property assets.

  • Westfield raises $1.4bn from Asia

    11 August 2009

    Westfield Group, the world’s biggest shopping mall owner, received commitments of more than $1.4bn for a $1.25bn loan after courting investors in Asia, three people familiar with the situation said.

  • New Zealands house prices up for third month

    10 August 2009

    New Zealand house prices rose for the third month in July, signaling the property market is recovering and may help the economy emerge from a recession.

  • Australian office vacancy rates soar 40%

    7 August 2009

    Demand for office space has fallen to its lowest level since the early 1990s recession, pushing the amount of empty offices around the country up by 40% in the six months to July as the global financial crisis reverberates through Australian cities.

  • GPT Group to pull out of international markets

    6 August 2009

    Australian based GPT Group is to sell off all its international assets to concentrate only on Australia, it announced today.

  • China fund pumps capital into Goodman

    6 August 2009

    China's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC), will take up a A$500m preference share placement as Greg Goodman moves to rebuild his industrial property trust, Goodman Group with a A$1.8bn capital raising.

  • GPT sells overseas assets

    6 August 2009

    GPT Group, the worst-performing Australian property trust this year, is ditching the overseas investments that contributed to about $3.46bn in writedowns announced this year.

  • Macquarie CountryWide slides 9%

    5 August 2009

    The first phase of a US portfolio sale by Macquarie CountryWide Trust has netted $US778.5 million ($921.6m) in gross value.

  • GPT sells tourism assets at 40% discount

    3 August 2009

    GPT Group has sold a number of hotel and tourism assets and its 80% interest in the Hamburg Trust business.

  • High end leads Australian house price recovery

    3 August 2009

    Recovery in Australian house prices is being led by the upper end of the market, the Australian Financial Review said.

  • GPT slashes Babcock & Brown European exposure

    31 July 2009

    GPT Group is exiting the European part of its joint venture with Babcock & Brown by paying a distribution in the form a security.

  • $3bn property trust rout expected

    30 July 2009

    Up to $10bn has been wiped from the value of unlisted wholesale property trust assets in the year to June.

  • Centro assets value slashed

    29 July 2009

    Some of the managed funds in the Centro Properties Group are in danger of breaching their banking covenants after the shopping centre owner yesterday slashed the value of its Australian and US property portfolio by $2.62bn.

  • Oz Bank warns of housing market bubble risk

    28 July 2009

    Researve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has warned Australia is at risk of a property market bubble, with prices inflated by the low cost of finance and a reduced supply of new housing.

  • Macquarie breaks ties with property unit

    24 July 2009

    Macquarie Group, Australia’s biggest investment bank, agreed to sever ties with an affiliate that owns airports from Sydney to Brussels as it unwinds a business model that helped drive 16 years of rising profits.

  • Aussie listed trusts braced for bloodbath

    24 July 2009

    Als but three large listed property trusts will report heavy losses, totalling about $7.3bn, in the reporting season which will kick off with Australand's result on Monday.

  • Oz REITs write down assets worth $500m

    21 July 2009

    Two listed property trusts yesterday set the scene for the coming reporting season by announcing asset value writedowns totalling almost $500m for the six months to 30 June.

  • Macquarie CountryWide sells US stake for $1.3bn

    20 July 2009

    Macquarie CountryWide Trust has agreed to sell its 75% stake in a US portfolio of 86 properties for $US1.3bn ($1.6bn) to cut debt.

  • Goodman Euro head is off to Oz

    17 July 2009

    Michael O’Sullivan, CEO of Goodman’s European operation, will return to Australia at the end of the year

  • Port Douglas investors rush to offload units

    16 July 2009

    Up to a third of the 3000 holiday apartments in Port Douglas are for sale, with one unit recently fetching about $177,000 after selling for $366,000 six years ago, according to local agents.

  • Millions cut from trust property values

    14 July 2009

    Two Commonwealth Bank-managed property trusts have shaved more than $500m off the value of their real estate assets and are bracing for further price declines.

  • Auctions hint at Oz recovery

    13 July 2009

    The property market continued to show signs of recovery at the weekend, with comparatively healthy auction clearance rates and turnover.

  • CIC eyes Goodman

    10 July 2009

    Speculation intensified yesterday that sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation would take a stake in property group Goodman Group before the end of the month.

  • Buyers eye Martin Place office tower

    9 July 2009

    Macquarie Group is a step closer to selling a half share in Sydney's No 1 Martin Place office tower with investment giants LaSalle Investment Management and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, the Government Investment Corporation, running a ruler over the building, industry sources say.

  • aN.Z. House Prices Rise Amid Call for Cheaper Loans

    6 July 2009

    New Zealand house prices rose for the first time in six quarters, a sign the economy may be starting to recover from the worst recession in more than three decades.

  • Leighton in $289m IT project in India

    6 July 2009

    Leighton has teamed with India's Tata Realty and Infrastructure to build the Ramanujan IT Park in Chennai.

  • High road to China

    Global July 2009

    Sam Zell, Gazeley and Goodman are among the cross-border investors ploughing their cash into China’s burgeoning logistics market.

  • Oz REITS try to offload Japan assets

    25 June 2009

    Up to A$1.5bn worth of Japanese property owned by trusts listed in Australia is for sale.

  • FKP and Goodman seek cash for debt

    25 June 2009

    FKP Property Group yesterday became the latest listed real estate company to tap investors for cash, moving to raise about A$300m -- almost half the money needed to repay the debts it has due in the next two months.

  • Goodman Group interest fees to jump on rating cut

    23 June 2009

    Goodman Group has had its credit rating cut by one notch, due to high gearing and a weak outlook for its business.

  • Perth offices set to plummet as min projects stall

    19 June 2009

    Office prices and rental rates in Perth’s business district will fall as much as 50% by 2013 from last year’s highs as mining projects stall and new blocks are completed, real-estate forecasters and agents said.

  • Deka spends €150m down under

    18 June 2009

    Deka Immobilien has bought two properties in Australia for €150m.

  • IOF taps market for A$415m

    18 June 2009

    The largest of the ING-managed trusts, ING Office Trust , yesterday joined the capital raising stampede, seeking $415 million to replenish its balance sheet and to give it relief from debt repayment until 2012.

  • Goodman refinancing shocks investors

    17 June 2009

    Greg Goodman's job became a lot shakier yesterday -- and a potential $1bn-plus rights issue a lot harder -- after his troubled listed property trust outlined an emergency refinancing package that has left investors outraged and looking for blood.

  • Goodman shares jump China investment report

    15 June 2009

    Goodman Group, Australia’s biggest industrial REIT, rose in Sydney trading on reports it is set to announce a 'cornerstone' investor that will help it retire debt.

  • Opportunities on offer in Paris, Madrid, Sydney and London...

    12 June 2009

    However, DTZ ‘Money into Property’ report warns there is ‘no near-term end to market’s misery’

  • Westfield offers to foot WTC retail bill

    11 June 2009

    Shopping centre giant Westfield Group is offering to foot the $US1.3bn (A$1.6bn) bill to build a retail complex at the World Trade Centre site in a bid to break an impasse and seize a bigger role in the site's redevelopment.

  • US Fed subpoenas Lend Lease on overbilling

    10 June 2009

    Bovis Lend Lease yesterday confirmed it had received subpoenas from the US Federal Attorney and New York District Attorney regarding allegations of overbilling on the $US700m (A$882m) September 11 Memorial and Museum and other large New York projects.

  • Australand in A$300m housing jv

    10 June 2009

    Australand has entered a joint venture with privately owned St Hilliers to build $300m worth of public housing in Victoria.

  • Australia's home loan approvals rise

    10 June 2009

    Australian home-loan approvals rose in April for a seventh month as the lowest borrowing costs in half a century and government cash handouts bolstered demand among first-time buyers.

  • Australia’s Adina Apartment Hotels to enter UK market

    8 June 2009

    Australian hotel developer Adina Apartment Hotels is firming up plans to enter the UK market and further expand in Germany.

  • PwC wants out as Centro places the blame

    8 June 2009

    PricewaterhouseCoopers has asked ASIC for permission to resign as Centro's auditor after the shopping centre owner launched a legal action against it, claiming it was partly to blame for failure to disclose information to investors.

  • Australian building up on fresh demand

    5 June 2009

    An index measuring Australian building activity rose in May to the highest in a year, adding to signs that interest rates at a half-century low and government grants are spurring demand for new homes.

  • Brisbane tower is shelved

    4 June 2009

    The Leighton Holdings-backed Devine Property Group has shelved plans to build a A$300m Brisbane office development, triggering a A$7m earnings guidance downgrade to the Queensland-based developer.

  • Mirvac to raise up to $1.1bn

    4 June 2009

    Mirvac Group plans to raise up to $1.1bn through a share sale to cut debt, and write-down asset values by $582m.

  • Westfield to cut London service charges

    2 June 2009

    Westfield will today attempt to end its long-running dispute with retailers over service charges at its new London shopping centre with news that it will cut fees by 7%.

  • Sales spark hopes for Aussie housing rebound

    1 June 2009

    Clearance rates in the national property market are back to the boom time of 2007, despite the lack of interest from investors.

  • Queensland collapse pulls down construction sector

    29 May 2009

    Queensland's residential building sector has been brought to its knees by rocketing government charges, the credit crisis and a slump in demand from mining towns and holiday hot spots.

  • Centro accuses PwC

    28 May 2009

    Centro launched its cross-claim in the Federal Court yesterday, alleging auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers should assume part or all of the blame over claims it failed to disclose the debt that led to its near collapse.

  • Sydney tower rents slip

    28 May 2009

    Floors in one the country's most expensive skyscrapers are being rented at almost a third of the original price, as the amount of sublease space on the market begins to ease.

  • Westfield raises A$891m in bond issue

    28 May 2009

    Westfield Group has become the second listed property trust to swiftly cash in on the stabilising US equity markets, securing $US700m (A$891m) through a bond issue.

  • GPT offloads Perth shopping centre

    27 May 2009

    Property investor GPT Group has sold the Floreat Forum shopping centre in Perth's western suburbs to Australasian Property Investments for $100m.

  • Mark Baillie steps down from Macquarie

    26 May 2009

    Mark Baillie, chairman of real estate in the northern hemisphere at Macquarie Capital Funds, is to retire from the firm after 14 years.

  • GPT chief apologises to shareholders

    26 May 2009

    Departing GPT chairman Peter Joseph apologised to shareholders for the property trust's poor performance after being grilled for more than three hours at the company's annual general meeting in Sydney yesterday.

  • NZ property developer expects first half loss

    26 May 2009

    New Zealand property developer CDL Investments' managing director BK Chiu says the company expects to make a loss for the first half of this year.

  • SA buyers eye Aussie REITS

    21 May 2009

    South African property groups are poised to pour more money into Australia's crippled listed real estate sector.

  • Aussie REITS to raise A$380m

    19 May 2009

    Three listed property trusts yesterday announced plans to tap financial markets for a minimum of A$380m.

  • Oz REITS raised $3.7bn with more needed

    18 May 2009

    Australia's heavily indebted listed property trusts, which raised almost $3.7bn in the past two weeks, are expected to need more capital.

  • CFS launches A$100m bond

    18 May 2009

    CFS Retail Property Trust has launched a minimum $100m increase to its existing 2012 bond, the first wholesale bond offering in the Australian market since 2007.

  • Rents for prestige Aussie property plunge

    18 May 2009

    The number of properties being put up for rent in the nation's wealthiest suburbs has soared, as unemployment fears intensify and struggling mansion owners try to avoid selling during the recession.

  • Oz first-time buyers 'most vulnerable'

    18 May 2009

    People entering the housing market through the first-home buyers grant boost will be most most vulnerable to any falls in home prices over the next 12 months, the Housing Industry of Australia said today.

  • Valad plunge as founder quits

    18 May 2009

    Valad Property Group, an Australian real-estate investment trust that carried out more than $2bn of acquisitions in 2007, fell to the lowest in almost two weeks in Sydney trading after its co-founder resigned.

  • Aussie home grants 'risk more defaults'

    15 May 2009

    The extension of time for the enhanced first home grants puts more borrowers at risk of default, as the spectre of double-digit unemployment looms, an academic says.

  • Oz REITs in selling spree

    14 May 2009

    GPT Group and Goodman Group have sold European properties worth a collective A$332m as they both move to drive down debt and focus on their core Australian businesses.

  • Stockland to raise $2bn for balance sheet

    13 May 2009

    Stockland Group today said it planned to raise up to $1.98 billion in share sales to strengthen its balance sheet and fund growth.

  • Oz first-home buyers rush for loans

    12 May 2009

    Home loans increased more than expected in March, as Australians took advantage of grants and lower interest rates to enter the housing market for the first time.

  • Lend Lease slashes forecast

    12 May 2009

    Lend Lease, Australia’s largest property developer has cut its profit forecast as the global real estate slump has forced it to delay asset sales. The company now expects net operating profit of A$300m (£150m) for the fiscal year ending on June 30, down 25% from a previous forecast of up to A$400m.

  • Stockland accepts GPT rights offer

    11 May 2009

    GPT stakeholder Stockland has taken up GPT's one-for-one rights offer.

  • Lend Lease cuts profit outlook

    11 May 2009

    Lend Lease cut its full-year net operating profit forecast today by as much as 25 per cent because it would defer asset sales.

  • Australia may be storing up it own sub-prime crisis

    11 May 2009

    Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s bid to ensure his housing market avoids the global property slump may push a generation of buyers into a debt crisis.

  • Aussie mortgage holders warned off fixed rate loans

    8 May 2009

    ANZ Banking chief executive Mike Smith has warned mortgage holders not to fix their home loan rates yet, saying interest rates may continue to fall.

  • Lend Lease eyes A$60m golf course

    7 May 2009

    At least $160m worth of property is close to changing hands, with Lend Lease believed to be about to snap up a major development site on the Sunshine Coast.

  • Westfield chief calls bottom of market

    7 May 2009

    The world's biggest shopping centre owner yesterday flagged the end of the slump facing the value of its property empire as domestic retail sales surged on the back of the federal government's stimulus package.

  • GPT seeks A$1.7bn in offering

    7 May 2009

    GPT Group, the Australian REIT, is seeking as much as A$1.7bn ($1.28bn) through a capital raising as it tries to speed up its exit from a joint venture with the collapsed Babcock & Brown.

  • Property exposure dents Westpac

    6 May 2009

    While Westpac missed the initial bad debt shocks from the credit crunch, the lending giant's exposure to commercial property is now starting to hurt its bottom line.

  • Oz house prices fall fastest for 25 years

    5 May 2009

    House prices are falling at their fastest pace in at least a quarter of a century and there are just half the number of job advertisements as a year ago. But a Reserve Bank board meeting in Sydney today is expected to conclude that another interest rate cut is not needed.

  • Victoria wants end of stamp duty

    1 May 2009

    The states would scrap all stamp duties in exchange for a $20bn a year share of income tax revenue under a radical revamp of fiscal relations put to the Rudd Government's tax review.

  • Japanese bank calls in Galileo loan

    1 May 2009

    The Japanese lender to Australia's pioneer Japanese property trust yesterday pulled back Y800 million ($11.1m) in cash.

  • Australian bubble 'set to burst'

    1 May 2009

    First home buyers are leaping aboard a sinking ship, with house prices set to fall about 20% in the next two years, an Australian National University economist says.

  • Brisbane house prices continue fall

    1 May 2009

    House prices in Brisbane have dropped half a per cent in the March quarter, the fourth consecutive fall in value, steeper than the national average.

  • Sydney office rents tipped to slide

    30 April 2009

    Sydney's central business district rents will plunge by 7.5% this year and will not recover for at least two years, according to new client research from Jones Lang LaSalle.

  • Westfield reconfirms profit guidance

    30 April 2009

    Shopping centre owner and operator Westfield Group has reconfirmed its earnings and distribution guidance for the full year, saying its Australian business had helped to offset challenging conditions in the UK, US and New Zealand.

  • Oz house price rise bucks trend

    30 April 2009

    The value of Australian homes increased in the first quarter, bucking a global trend downwards, according to a report issued today.

  • Australian home sales hit 13-month high

    29 April 2009

    New home sales rose to their highest level in 13 months in March, as the first-home buyers grant buoyed demand.

  • City Pacific writes off $339m

    28 April 2009

    Embattled financier City Pacific has written off more than a third of the value of its struggling $940 million mortgage fund as it emerges from a two-month trading suspension.

  • Oz private sector 'key to housing delivery'

    28 April 2009

    Private sector involvement is critical to quickly delivering new housing and commercial developments in New South Wales, planning minister Kristina Keneally has said.

  • Aussie lenders face penalties for bad loans

    27 April 2009

    Mortgage brokers and lenders will face fines or even jail terms if they fail to properly assess if a product is suitable for customers and whether a borrower can repay a loan under tough laws unveiled today.

  • Deserted islands hit GPT Group

    23 April 2009

    GPT Group's $200m islands and lodges portfolio is likely to fetch only half its earlier book value, with one outback lodge in Queensland labelled 'unsalable' by analysts.

  • Stockland slashes profit forecast by 69%

    23 April 2009

    Stockland Group cut its earnings guidance for this fiscal year by 69% on write downs to its inventories and UK business.

  • Melbourne office vacancy set to rise

    23 April 2009

    Office vacancy rates in Melbourne could reach double figures in six months, according to a market report.

  • Dexus seeks second capital raising

    22 April 2009

    Dexus Property Group, one of Australia's largest office trusts, will seek to raise up to A$750m in a rights issue - its second raising since December.

  • GPT Trust names CEO

    22 April 2009

    GPT Group has named former banker Michael Cameron as its new CEO, effective 1 May.

  • Colonial cuts asset values

    21 April 2009

    Two of Colonial First State's property managers have revalued a raft of commercial property assets due to softer investment yields, lower rental growth and constrained credit markets.

  • Valad sees no reason for share spike

    21 April 2009

    Beleagured real estate group, Valad Property, has told the Stock Exchange it has no idea of the reasons behind the sudden spike in its securities price.

  • Moody's downgrades GPT

    20 April 2009

    Moody's Investors Service has downgraded GPT Group, adding $20 million to the debt-laden group's annual interest payments.

  • Administrators blocking Allco rescue claims businessman

    20 April 2009

    Controversial businessman Jim Byrnes claims the administrators behind Allco are thwarting his attempts to gain control of the failed leasing and property empire.

  • Oz home ownership dream 'out of reach'

    20 April 2009

    Half of Victorians and Tasmanians believe the great Australian dream of owning a home is out of reach , a survey has found.

  • Bovis Lend Lease wins A$675m schools jobs

    17 April 2009

    Lend Lease Corporation Ltd's subsidiary Bovis Lend Lease has won two New South Wales education-infrastructure projects worth A$675 million.

  • Australand downgrades outlook

    16 April 2009

    Commercial and residential property developer Australand Property Group has downgraded its profit outlook amid a deteriorating property market and rising financing costs.

  • Huge Perth scheme gets nod

    14 April 2009

    Work can start on the A$2bn redevelopment of a large derelict tract of Perth after the state Government yesterday signed off on the final planning approval for the Northbridge Link project, giving the green light for private-sector investment.

  • Banks 'gambling' on first homes

    14 April 2009

    The rush of first-home buyers is emerging as a bad-debt time bomb for banks, as government cash incentives for new home owners drives about a quarter of all new mortgage applications for banks.

  • GE call for tighter ABIP rules

    9 April 2009

    One of Australia's largest property owners and financiers, General Electric, has called on the Rudd Government to fix a loophole in the proposed Australian Business Investment Partnership -- the so-called Rudd Bank -- legislation that would see the $30 billion taxpayer-funded scheme used for purposes other than commercial property finance.

  • Aussie CBD towers in fire sale across the nation

    9 April 2009

    Two big-ticket office towers have sold, or are in the final stage of negotiations, amid the sea of properties for sale across the nation's CBDs.

  • Oz home loans worse than expected

    8 April 2009

    Home loans grew less than expected in February, as the grim economic outlook deterred more people from entering the housing market.

  • Australian cuts rates at lowest in 50 years

    8 April 2009

    Australia’s central bank has cut interest rates to their lowest level in almost half a century as the country’s officials step up their efforts to prevent a deep recession in the commodity-dependent economy.

  • Aussie bank passes on less than half of rate cut

    7 April 2009

    The country's largest mortgage lender, the Commonwealth Bank, has ignored pressure to cut its home loan rates by the same as today's Reserve Bank cash rate reduction of 0.25% by dropping its standard variable product by just 0.1%.

  • Macquarie HQ is Oz rescue's first customer

    6 April 2009

    The Rudd Government's plan to rescue the commercial property market could have one of Australia's most prestigious properties as its first customer.

  • Luxury resort investigated over rent and fees

    6 April 2009

    The cash-poor Cypress Lakes Resort in NSW's Hunter Valley has been investigated by the state's Department of Fair Trading over claims the complex withheld rent and charged excessive body corporate fees.

  • Crown in new Vegas move

    6 April 2009

    James Packer's Crown has emerged as a potential white knight for the most expensive, privately funded construction project in US history, a $US8.6bn ($A13.4bn) Las Vegas hotel and casino development known as CityCentre.

  • Invista moves on Babcock fund

    6 April 2009

    Invista Real Estate Investment Management, the London-listed property fund with £6.3bn of managed assets, sealed a deal over the weekend to expand into Asia.

  • Asian leader CapitaLand ponders taking Australand private

    2 April 2009

    Asian property group CapitaLand is believed to be investigating privatising Australian-listed property group Australand ahead of a debt repayment due in June, sources in Singapore say.

  • Failure to spark A$1.8bn firesale

    2 April 2009

    Record Realty Trust has become the latest Allco Finance-related business to collapse after its secured foreign lender called in a $186m loan, triggering a potential firesale of properties worth up to $1.8bn.

  • Swap deal raises Raptis revival hope

    1 April 2009

    The likelihood of the Gold Coast-based Raptis Group rising from the ashes of more than $1bn worth of property losses has been boosted by the approval of a deed of company arrangement.

  • Oz retail landlords learn from British 'lobotomy'

    1 April 2009

    After earning a rapacious reputation during Australia's long boom, retail landlords are slowly coming to their senses, learning from the disaster of the British retail collapse and doing quiet deals with troubled tenants.

  • Aussie stimulus 'boosts housing market'

    31 March 2009

    The Australian government's stimulus package and a reduction in interest rates has given the housing market a modest boost, a new report shows.

  • Oz house market 'to hold up'

    31 March 2009

    Australia's house prices will hold up better than those overseas, despite the slumping economy, the Reserve Bank said, largely because of the quality of the loans underpinning the market.

  • ASIC probes Centro investors

    30 March 2009

    A group of Chinese investors claiming a stake of 18% in the troubled Centro group is being investigated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

  • Oz new home sales rise again

    30 March 2009

    Australian new-home sales rose for a second consecutive month in February.

  • Foreign lenders 'scaling back' from Oz commercial property

    26 March 2009

    Up to 22 foreign banks have flagged their intention to either withdraw from or reduce their exposure to commercial property lending in Australia, according to the peak lobbying body for the property industry.

  • Rubicon Europe Trust declares insolvency

    26 March 2009

    The Rubicon Europe Trust has declared insolvency after unveiling a loss of almost A$1bn, bringing a spectacular end to the latest listed trust in the failed Rubicon property behemoth.

  • Macquarie sells supermarkets to cut debt

    25 March 2009

    The heavily indebted Macquarie CountryWide Trust yesterday sold five more assets for A$92.6m -- bringing the total asset sale since 2006 to A$1.1bn.

  • High-rise plunge hits Oz housing starts

    20 March 2009

    Housing starts suffered their biggest fall for nine years in the December quarter, dragged down by a savage 54% fall in the number of high-rise apartments under construction in Queensland.

  • Mirvac slashes dividend by up to 40%

    20 March 2009

    Mirvac said today it will cut its full-year distribution by up to 40% less than a month after reaffirming its guidance.

  • Aussie pension funds brace for property losses

    19 March 2009

    Australian pension funds face A$4-5 bn ($2.6-3.3 bn) in losses on unlisted property this year, research firm Chant West said, hurting an industry already reeling from tumbling share prices and lost confidence.

  • Share surge hints at Goodman privatisation

    19 March 2009

    THE unit price of the Goodman Group has leapt by more than 240% in the past week, raising the question of a possible privatisation for Australia's largest industrial property owner.

  • Aussie retailers seek rent cuts

    19 March 2009

    Australian retailers, following the lead of their hard-hit US and British counterparts, are demanding Australia's biggest shopping centre landlords give rent holidays and reduce fees under the threat of closing their stores.

  • Thousands of Oz building jobs at risk

    19 March 2009

    The Master Builders Association says the construction sector is living on borrowed time because bleak economic conditions are slicing order books and many projects are being placed on hold.

  • Aussie REITs roar back

    17 March 2009

    The beleaguered Australian REIT sector staged a share market recovery today, rising 5%, as investors shrugged off recent bad news and a spate of capital raisings.

  • Oz house sales crash

    16 March 2009

    House sales have plummeted nationally as middle and high-end owners avoid listing their properties as the financial turmoil continues.

  • ECC Group sets up $250m arm to invest in Vietnam and Thailand

    13 March 2009

    Dutch property company ECC Group is setting up a new £250m investment division to expand further into South East Asia through developing two shopping malls in Vietnam and Thailand.

  • Troubled GPT threatened by $600m option

    13 March 2009

    Troubled listed property trust GPT may have to pay Melbourne's retailing dynasty, the Besen family, up to $600m.

  • ANZ jobs on the move to India

    13 March 2009

    ANZ Bank will dump 500 back-office staff in Australia and shift the jobs to India by the end of the year.

  • Developers stampede to offload properties

    12 March 2009

    Developers are rushing to offload some of their 16,623 abandoned or deferred apartment and townhouse projects in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to state housing departments as part of the federal Government's $6bn move to fund the purchase of up to 20,000 new dwellings throughout Australia.

  • Aussie government launches $4bn move to protect commercial property

    12 March 2009

    The Australian Government has introduced draft laws in Parliament to set up a $4bn contingency fund with the four major banks to refinance commercial properties if money from foreign lenders dries up.

  • NZ house sales surge

    11 March 2009

    The New Zealand housing market mounted a strong rebound in February after a bleak January, with sharply lower interest rates helping lift sales from a 16-year low, a report showed.

  • Oz housing shows signs of recovery

    11 March 2009

    Higher levels of lending for housing in December and January show the housing market may be starting on the road to recovery.

  • Oz REITS hit to new lows

    10 March 2009

    Around $3.5bn evaporated from the listed property trust sector yesterday.

  • Australian home loan levels jump

    10 March 2009

    Australian Finance Group today said the number of loans arranged by the firm rose by 36.8% in February to 7673 loans, valued at $2.67bn.

  • Troubled Centro reorganises at the top

    9 March 2009

    Centro Properties Group has reshuffled its senior executive team in Australia to lead the company after it successfully renegotiated debt arrangements with its lenders earlier in the year.

  • Rating agency puts GPT on watch list

    9 March 2009

    Moody's Investors Service yesterday placed GPT Group on review for a possible ratings downgrade.

  • Rate cuts boost Oz first-time buyers

    9 March 2009

    Three-quarters of first-home buyers are planning to buy a house as lower interest rates and cheaper dwellings make their dream more affordable, a survey says.

  • Resort Corp collapses under Aus$300m debt

    6 March 2009

    Another big Queensland property group has collapsed, taking with it Aus$1bn worth of planned residential and tourism development in the state's north.

  • Uluru landowners and GPT close in on Ayers Rock deal

    5 March 2009

    A deal between the Uluru's indigenous landowners and GPT Group over the sale of the iconic Ayers Rock Resort is expected to be reached this month.

  • Oz property sector in share price freefall

    5 March 2009

    The listed property sector was hit by a fresh wave of selling yesterday, pushing the unit prices of key stocks Stockland, Goodman Group and GPT to all-time lows and wiping about $2.6billion from the sector.

  • Aussie listed trusts in covenant breach danger

    3 March 2009

    There is growing uncertainty over the future of some listed property trusts this week, with a number due to report now being suspended from official quotation on the Australian Securities Exchange.

  • Australian new homes sales jump

    2 March 2009

    New homes sales in Australia rose 8.3% in January, the latest survey by the Housing Industry Association shows.

  • Oz interest rates set for all-time low

    2 March 2009

    The Reserve Bank of Australia is tipped to cut interest rates to a record-low level in March, as the effects of the global downturn threaten to really hit the domestic economy.

  • Lend Lease cuts 2000 jobs

    27 February 2009

    Lend Lease will cut 2000 jobs and sideline about $2bn worth of projects globally to survive the worsening economic conditions after booking an interim after-tax loss of $596.4m.

  • GPT Group posts Aus$3.25bn loss

    27 February 2009

    Property trust GPT Group has posted a full-year net loss of Aus$3.25bn, compared with a profit of Aus$1.18bn a year earlier.

  • Centro reappoints chief

    27 February 2009

    Troubles shopping centres owner and manager Centro Properties Group has extended the tenure of its chief executive by at least another year.

  • Shopping malls trigger Westfield Aus$2.2bn loss

    27 February 2009

    Westfield, the world’s largest listed shopping centre operator, reported full-year net losses of A$2.2bn (£1bn) yesterday because of the slumping value of its malls.

  • Westfield puts new developments on ice

    26 February 2009

    Westfield, the world's biggest shopping centre owner, is putting on hold all new developments this year in the wake of a A$2.2bn (£1bn) annual loss.

  • Oz property developers post AUS$5.25b losses

    26 February 2009

    Australian property developers Westfield Group, Centro Properties Group and Lend Lease Corp. reported $5.25bn in losses today as the global recession wiped billions off the value of assets and retail sales plunged.

  • Australian REITs 'in ruins'

    25 February 2009

    The probability of ruin is absolute - any self-respecting risk theorist will tell you that. Ruin is certain. It's just a matter of time.

  • CountryWide to sell assets after AUS$714m loss

    25 February 2009

    Macquarie CountryWide Trust has booked a $714m half-year net loss and yesterday announced $548m of property sales to try to get out of debt.

  • Goodman makes half-year loss of A$465.9m

    25 February 2009

    Goodman Group swung to a net loss in the first half after more than A$1bn of asset writedowns.

  • No relief for rentals as Perth crashes

    24 February 2009

    Perth house prices are in freefall after a fourth consecutive quarterly fall in the median price - something not seen in 25 years - but renters are yet to see any benefit.

  • Oz home building stalled

    24 February 2009

    Lack of finance and weak demand are behind the delays for approved residential construction projects proceeding to commencement, a survey says.

  • Australian property returns lowest in 15 years

    23 February 2009

    A collapse in capital growth has seen returns in the Australian commercial property sector dive to their lowest level in 15 years.

  • Goodman Group warns on profit and values

    23 February 2009

    Goodman Group has warned the market to expect a drop in operating profit and almost $1.1bn worth of asset write-downs in its interim profit report next week.

  • First-time buyers lead Melbourne auction

    23 February 2009

    First time buyers were the stars of Melbourne's first big auction weekend for 2009, lured by falling interest rates and increased grants.

  • GPT in AUS$1.4bn write-down

    17 February 2009

    GPT Group has written down the book value of its assets by $1.4bn, including $700m on its Babcock & Brown joint venture in Europe.

  • Mirvac posts AUS$645.7m loss

    17 February 2009

    Mirvac posted a first-half net loss of more than half a billion dollars due to property revaluations and write-downs on investments.

  • Investment properties 'to trigger recovery'

    16 February 2009

    A rise in the number of investment properties whose rental returns exceed the cost of the mortgage will trigger a recovery in the housing market.

  • Oz homes most affordable for five years

    16 February 2009

    The Australian dream of owning a home is more affordable now than it has been for five years following lower interest rates and greater government subsidies, a report says.

  • Challenger Diversified reports AUS$58.6m loss

    13 February 2009

    Challenger Diversified Property Group has booked a net loss of $58.6m for the December half year.

  • Centro slashes asset values

    13 February 2009

    Troubled shopping mall owners Centro Properties and Centro Retail have revised down the value of their portfolios.

  • Cbus lands 'new standards' Sydney development

    12 February 2009

    Cbus Property has landed one of Australia's biggest developments -- the $700m+ 1 Bligh Street project in the CBD.

  • Australia senate blocks economy package

    12 February 2009

    The Australian Senate today rejected the government’s proposed $42bn (US$28bn) stimulus package designed to boost the economy in the face of the global financial crisis.

  • Stockland dives on writedowns and earning woes

    11 February 2009

    Stockland posted a first-half net loss of $726.9m after write-downs on property asset values and said it was unlikely to meet its full-year earnings per share forecast.

  • Oz home loan approvals boosted by rate cuts

    11 February 2009

    Home-loan approvals gained in December as consumers warmed to lower interest rates and Government packages aimed at helping people buy houses.

  • Three REITs see AUS$1.7bn slashed from portfolios

    9 February 2009

    The dishevelled listed property trust sector took another hit as three big trusts, Dexus, Macquarie Office Trust and Mirvac, slashed a combined $1.7bn from the value of their property portfolios.

  • Rate cut pushes Sydney property into overdrive

    9 February 2009

    Sydney's property clearance rate soared to a two-year high at the weekend, while savage weather and the bushfire crisis took a heavy toll on the Melbourne market, where sales crashed to record lows.

  • Lend Lease plunges 16% on hedge mistake

    6 February 2009

    Lend Lease shares crashed more than 16% after hedge funds took a wrong bet on a successful $302.5m capital raising.

  • Mirvac shares up on debt deal

    6 February 2009

    Mirvac Group said today it agreed terms for a new unsecured debt facility of $805m, replacing an existing $1.1bn syndicated facility that had been due to expire in June.

  • At least 50 Aussie office schemes stalled

    5 February 2009

    At least 50 major office projects are believed to have been either indefinitely suspended or cancelled.

  • Australand sets scene for bleak year

    5 February 2009

    Australand, one of Australia's largest diversified property companies, yesterday reported an 83% drop in its full-year net profit and warned of a 25-30% fall in 2009 operating profit.

  • Oz housing stimulus 'is working'

    5 February 2009

    The proportion of mortgages taken out by first time home buyers have doubled in Victoria since the expansion of the first time home owners grant in October, according to a report.

  • Lend Lease shares plunge

    5 February 2009

    Lend Lease Corp shares have lost almost one-fifth of their value after the property giant raised $302.5 million in new capital through an institutional share placement.

  • Lend Lease share issue to raise $302.5m

    4 February 2009

    Lend Lease has said it planned to raise $302.5 million in an institutional placement.

  • Westfield in new profit warning

    4 February 2009

    Westfield Group, the world's biggest shopping centre landlord, has torn up the profit downgrade it made only eight days ago to warn of deteriorating conditions across its retail properties, while also tapping the market for $2.9bn in fresh capital.

  • Raptis's empire collapses

    3 February 2009

    The property empire of Gold Coast tycoon Jim Raptis has collapsed for the second time in less than two decades, owing creditors as much as $1bn.

  • Westfield seeks AUS$2.9bn to cut debt

    3 February 2009

    Westfield Group said today it planned to sell $2.9bn in new securities to institutional investors to repay debt.

  • Decision expected on fate of Babcock & Brown

    3 February 2009

    Babcock & Brown is expected to know its fate as early as tomorrow.

  • Aussie house prices continue to fall

    2 February 2009

    House prices fell less than expected last quarter, suggesting government efforts to prop up the industry in the face of the global recession are gaining traction.

  • Property scheme victims slam banks

    2 February 2009

    Invstors who lost millions of dollars when a property investment scheme collapsed have lashed out at the big banks for collaborating with the architect of the scheme.

  • Babcock & Brown to wind down as banks seek £1.5bn

    2 February 2009

    Babcock & Brown is expected to become the latest big- name victim of the credit crunch with the start of a two-year winding down process this week.

  • Westfield write-down push property to 1986 levels

    30 January 2009

    Westfield's $3bn write-down sent the benchmark property index down to a level last reached in 1986.

  • Victoria house prices drop 10%

    30 January 2009

    House prices in Victoria have fallen almost 10% in a year and the number of sales plunged about 25%, new figures show.

  • Rubicon expects AUS$700m Europe loss

    30 January 2009

    Rubicon Europe Trust Group says its real estate portfolio has lost 13.7% in value and expects to make a net loss of $700m in fiscal year 2008.

  • Lend Lease warns of further write-downs

    29 January 2009

    Property giant Lend Lease Corporation has warned further write-downs of about $290m after tax are likely on the value of its assets.

  • Westfield slides on further write-down fears

    29 January 2009

    Shares in shopping centre leviathan Westfield Group have slid further amid growing fears its shock downgrade Tuesday was only the start of write-downs in 2009 in the property trust sector.

  • Commercial property bailout aimed at protecting housing market

    28 January 2009

    The Government's bailout of the commercial property sector is intended to forestall a rout in property values that could spill into the private housing market.

  • Macquarie property holdings under scrutiny

    28 January 2009

    This week's $646 million sale of Macquarie Countrywide's holding in a portfolio of US shopping centres could be a sign of things to come as Macquarie Group - the investment bank parent of the under pressure property fund - braces for at least 18 months of economic pain.

  • Victoria agents slammed for 'hyping up' rental crisis

    27 January 2009

    Property watchers have attacked the real estate industry for 'hyping up' a rental crisis to lure people into buying at the top of the market.

  • Westfield slashes dividend forecast

    27 January 2009

    Westfield, the world's largest shopping centre manager, has been forced to cut its dividend forecast for the 2009 year.

  • Beachfront site falls $5.5m in six months

    26 January 2009

    In a sobering sign of the times, a beachfront property on the Gold Coast sold yesterday for $5.5 million less that what was offered for it six months ago.

  • Aussie housing is least affordable

    26 January 2009

    Australia is home to three of the most 'severely unaffordable housing markets' studied by an international group that predicts the housing bubble here is yet to burst.

  • Oz banks back $4bn developers' fund

    26 January 2009

    The main Australian banksr were preparing each to tip $500m of wholesale funds into the new Federal Government-backed vehicle aimed at keeping credit flowing in the commercial property sector as some struggling offshore lenders become reluctant to refinance loans.

  • Oz property trusts set for tsunami of woes

    23 January 2009

    The next tsunami of bad news to hit the Australian property sector will be property trust collapses and the sacking of more than 65,000 people across the country, more dividend cuts and asset deflation as the knock-on effects of the global financial crisis feed into mining and commercial and residential property.

  • Babcock & Brown shareholders 'to be wiped out'

    23 January 2009

    Babcock & Brown says there would be nothing left for shareholders after its lenders take their cut under a plan the debt-laden investment company is discussing with its bankers.

  • House builder exits Queensland

    23 January 2009

    Melbourne-based residential builder Simonds Homes has announced the immediate closure of its Queensland operation, blaming the worsening economy and a slump in demand.

  • CPA raises AUS$200m at 80c a share

    22 January 2009

    Commonwealth Property Office Fund will raise $200m in an equity raising at 80c a share.

  • Crunch wipes AUS$7m off mansion's price

    21 January 2009

    A waterfront mansion in Australia's most expensive suburb, Point Piper, has been sold at a $7m discount -- further evidence that the financial crisis is hurting the prestige property market.

  • Abacus Property aims for AUS$211m capital raising

    21 January 2009

    Abacus Property Group has embarked on a $211.4m capital raising and flagged an $83m hit to its interim earnings next month due to property value write-downs and hedging adjustments.

  • Aussie builders brace job cuts

    20 January 2009

    Builders are expecting a sharp fall in activity in 2009 with more than 80% forecasting job cuts, Master Builders Australia says.

  • Centro completes debt restructuring

    19 January 2009

    Centro Properties Group, Australia's second-largest shopping mall owner, said Friday that it reached a final agreement with lenders on debt refinancing, which it provisionally announced in December.

  • Freeze on Aussie mortgage funds 'to last year'

    19 January 2009

    THE 250,000 investors with more than $25bn tied up in the frozen mortgage funds sector are unlikely to see their cash until at least next year, with not one fund being unfrozen since the sector was ravaged in October.

  • West Oz Property market in freefall

    19 January 2009

    The West Australian property market is being decimated following the evaporation of the resources boom, with values of $1m+ properties plummeting 20% and the equivalent of more than two years' supply of homes flooding real estate agencies.

  • CFS Property to sell shopping centre

    19 January 2009

    CFS Retail Property Trust will sell the Golden Grove Village Shopping Centre in South Australia for $100m.

  • Aussie exchange seeks on Westfield clarification

    16 January 2009

    Westfield Group was issued with a 'please explain' by the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday after its share price fell to a one-year low.

  • Centro secures reorganised debt

    16 January 2009

    Debt-laden Centro Properties Group has completed a long-term refinancing agreement with its lenders.

  • Pressure to extend grant that stemmed Oz housing slide

    15 January 2009

    The Rudd Government is under pressure to extend the temporary boost to its first-home owner's grant as a flood of applications has stemmed the fall in the housing market.

  • Perth rental home vacancy falls

    15 January 2009

    Perth rents might be going up, but homes in the city are getting harder to find, new research shows.

  • Colonial refinances $125m debt

    14 January 2009

    Shopping centre owner Colonial First State Retail has refinanced $125m of debt with a local bank for another two years.

  • Aussie Exchange investigates trading in Becton

    14 January 2009

    Increased trading in Melbourne-based Becton Property Group has prompted an Australian Securities Exchange query, the second in six weeks.

  • Oz home loans rise as first-time buyers come back

    14 January 2009

    Home-loan approvals rose more than expected in November as first-home buyers got back into the market, offering a glimmer of hope for a sector whose growth has been stalled by the economic slowdown.

  • Babcock & Brown's to suspend shares

    12 January 2009

    Babcock & Brown Limited is expected to suspend its shares from trading this morning, after bankers continued to mull over a last-ditch proposal to save the stricken investment manager.

  • Housing slump fuels Oz interest cut speculation

    9 January 2009

    A sharp fall in the number of homes approved for construction in November has increased the odds for another rate cut next month.

  • Aussies look to property in 2009

    9 January 2009

    Australians are more confident investing in property than in shares during 2009, a survey says.

  • Babcock warns of insolvency

    8 January 2009

    Struggling infrastructure house Babcock & Brown has warned it will become technically insolvent as it prepares to make a series of huge asset write-downs as part of efforts to push through the sale of its aircraft leasing and property businesses to pay down debt.

  • Shock slump in Oz building approvals

    8 January 2009

    New home building approvals dived the most in six years in November as buyers remained on the sidelines in spite of the Government's stimulus package and hefty interest rate cuts. New South Wales bucked the trend.

  • Aussie new home sales slide

    7 January 2009

    New home sales slumped in November, suggesting deep interest rate cuts and a government stimulus may take time to lure buyers back into the market. Queensland reported the biggest dive.

  • Watpac rolls over $216m of debt

    6 January 2009

    Property group Watpac has rolled over $216m of debt with its financiers, including the ANZ Bank.

  • Leighton shares sink on asset write down

    6 January 2009

    Shares in Australia's biggest construction company Leighton Holdings Ltd plunged almost 10% after it cut its profit forecast amid asset write downs of $200m.

  • Babcock & Brown submits debt proposal

    6 January 2009

    Babcock and Brown has submitted a proposal to its lenders on repaying a short-term debt facility, the asset manager said today, adding it expected a response next week, slightly later than flagged.

  • Oz conveyancers set for further layoffs

    5 January 2009

    The bottom has fallen out of the previously lucrative conveyancing industry, with a prediction of more retrenchments nationwide this year.

  • No Aussie interest rate meeting expected for January

    5 January 2009

    Borrowers will have to wait until February for more mortgage relief with the central bank unlikely to interrupt their summer break and cut the cash rate on Tuesday, economists say.

  • Oz fund manager sells four US assets

    2 January 2009

    Rubicon America Trust said today that it has agreed to sell four US properties to Kaufman & Jacobs for $US175 million to pay debt.

  • Aussie market to for buyers, claims broker

    2 January 2009

    Australians could find 2009 an opportune time to buy property, but they should not expect a swift recovery in housing prices.

  • Asset sales offer trust invest hope

    31 December 2008

    Investors in an unlisted property fund might avoid losing their entire investment after the sale of two shopping centres is finalised in coming weeks.

  • Macquarie debt woes shake confidence

    30 December 2008

    Debt-stricken Macquarie Office Trust sent shivers down the spines of investors in the listed property trust sector yesterday when it put out an operational update stating that it could only manage to get its banks to extend a $US74.5m ($108m) loan due in two days until March.

  • Subprime lenders to be hit by arrears

    30 December 2008

    Rate cuts may have come too late for home borrowers already behind in repayments, with the rate of arrears across the nation's housing market tipped to rise further as the economy cools.

  • Coastal towns 2009's Oz property hotspots

    29 December 2008

    Coastal towns from Tully in Queensland to Upper Burnie in Tasmania are tipped to be among next year's property hotspots, as house prices in capital cities experience modest falls and upmarket property languishes under the strain of the financial crisis.

  • Queensland developer in crisis long before disclosure

    29 December 2008

    The Queensland developer FKP Property Group was having serious financial difficulties well before it disclosed them to the sharemarket, a Federal Court has found.

  • GE sells Wizard to Aussie Home Loans

    24 December 2008

    GE Money Australia and New Zealand will sell its Wizard Home Loans brand and franchise network in Australia to Aussie Home Loans for an undisclosed amount.

  • Western Australia 'House prices will drop 10%'

    23 December 2008

    WA homeowners should brace for a house price fall of up to 10% as the state bears the brunt of an economic slowdown, one of the country's leading economists has warned.

  • Commonwealth Property cuts book value by AU$190.7m

    22 December 2008

    Commonwealth Property Office Fund has cut the book value of 15 office properties by $190.7m.

  • Aussie retail and finance hit by job cuts

    22 December 2008

    Two of Australia's main employment sectors — finance and retail — are showing heavy falls in the number of jobs in the three months to the end of November.

  • Aussie household wealth crashes

    19 December 2008

    Australian households have lost a quarter of their wealth since the global financial crisis began late last year, with the latest official count putting the carnage at a total $700bn.

  • Queensland shoppers threaten boycott over parking fees

    18 December 2008

    Thousands of angry shoppers have threatened to boycott Westfield Chermside if the retail giant proceeds with a controversial plan to introduce paid parking next year.

  • New Lend Lease chief promises prudence

    17 December 2008

    Aa he prepares to take over the reins of Lend Lease, one of Australia's largest property companies, Steve McCann says he expects more bad news before seeing a recovery in the difficult and turbulent property market.

  • Centro stocks wobble on deal doubts

    17 December 2008

    Securities in debt-laden Centro Properties Group pulled back from early highs amid confusion over a debt extension agreement that will leave the shopping centre owner hanging by a thread until mid January.

  • Oz couple loses home via Facebook

    17 December 2008

    An attorney in Australia has used the popular networking website Facebook to notify a couple they lost their home after defaulting on a loan.

  • Centro’s rescue bid

    16 December 2008

    Centro Properties, the Australian property company, has agreed a massive debt for equity swap with its lenders after it failed to refinance A$5.05bn (£2.2bn) of debt.

  • Fears of debt keep auction rate down

    16 December 2008

    Interest rate cuts and the increase to the first-home buyers grant appear to have failed to restore confidence to the property market with auction clearance rates dropping sharply over the month.

  • Lend Lease appoints new CEO

    16 December 2008

    After a nine-month worldwide search Lend Lease has appointed a chief executive from its own back yard.

  • Centro close to rescue

    16 December 2008

    Centro appears to have dodged its latest and most dangerous bullet, with its banks agreeing in principle overnight to a major extension of the group's $5.9 billion debt load.

  • NZ prices slide as credit crunch keeps buyers away

    16 December 2008

    New Zealand house prices fell 6.8% last month from November last year as an economic recession and a deepening global financial crisis deterred buyers.

  • Banks set to back Centro

    15 December 2008

    Bankers to the financially stricken Centro Properties are expected to sign a deal today that will throw the giant retail landlord a financial lifeline.

  • Property sales plummet in Australia

    12 December 2008

    Commercial property sales in Australia have plummeted by 65% on 2007, hitting the lowest level for 14 years.

  • Troubled Oz Trust seeks new chief

    11 December 2008

    Property trust GPT Group has appointed executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles to find a replacement for CEO Nic Lyons.

  • Valad seeks buyback backer

    11 December 2008

    Valad Property Group's management is believed to be seeking an equity backer to launch a company buyback worth as much as $330m.

  • ING Property sells five NZ assets

    11 December 2008

    ING Property Trust is raising $NZ49.4 million ($A40.81 million) to pay down debt by selling five properties.

  • Australia building approvals lowest since 2001

    11 December 2008

    Australian home-building approvals dropped in October to the lowest level since 2001, adding to signs a contraction in the property market has worsened.

  • Queensland property industry expects 'job carnage'

    10 December 2008

    Queensland's peak property body has predicted that up to 3500 people could lose their jobs as a result of a revenue measure introduced by the Bligh Government in yesterday's budget review.

  • Consumer confidence up as house loan approvals rise

    10 December 2008

    Consumer confidence improved this month while housing-finance approvals rose for the first time since January.

  • Shopping centre owner's debt burden eased

    9 December 2008

    Shopping centre owner Macquarie Countrywide Trust has pushed out the maturity date on its $250min debt by 12 months to February 2012.

  • REITs booted from share indices

    8 December 2008

    The turmoil of the past year has taken the final toll on several once-mighty real estate investment trusts, which have lost close to 90% of their market value and are no longer eligible to hold a position in any key sharemarket index.

  • Melbourne set for collapse

    8 December 2008

    Melburnians can expect to see fewer cranes in the sky next year as commercial projects are shelved and builders struggle to maintain their usual volume of work.

  • Banks set to control Babcock

    5 December 2008

    Banks are likely to emerge with a significant slice of Babcock & Brown as part of an emergency $150m funding package aimed at heading off the collapse of the struggling infrastructure group.

  • Oz building approvals slump

    4 December 2008

    New home building approvals tumbled in October to their lowest level since March 2001 as the Government's stimulus package and rate cuts failed to ease fears about the future of the economy.

  • Property trusts seek capital

    4 December 2008

    The Dexus Property and ING Office funds have taken advantage of the fall in interest rates by tapping the market for up to $800m in capital raisings to retire debt from their balance sheets.

  • Babcock & Brown shares soar on rescue

    4 December 2008

    Babcock & Brown's emergency funding lifeline has breathed life into the struggling investment bank's shares, as the market digests the new loan.

  • Oz economy hits the skids

    3 December 2008

    Australia's economy slowed sharply in the September quarter, validating the Reserve Bank's decision to wind back three years of interest rate rises in a little over three months.

  • Mortgage securities set for overhaul

    3 December 2008

    Financial institutions are set to overhaul standards for mortgage securities to give investors, servicers and rating agencies greater certainty over credit quality and how home loans can be changed when borrowers fall behind on payments.

  • Oz cuts rates by 100 basis points - banks pass it on

    2 December 2008

    The Reserve Bank cut rates by a full percentage point today, extending the biggest round of reductions since the early 1990s.

  • B&B buys time to thrash out support

    2 December 2008

    Babcock & Brown will extend its share suspension until at least tomorrow as it attempts to thrash out final support for a fresh funding agreement with its bankers.

  • Babcock thrown a lifeline

    1 December 2008

    Babcock & Brown is expected to extend its share suspension this morning as it hammers out final details of fresh funding agreement with its banks, in a deal that will throw the beleaguered infrastructure funds group a lifeline.

  • Trilogy eyes mortgage fund

    28 November 2008

    Brisbane-based funds manager Trilogy Capital Group has launched a takeover offer for the management rights to the $970 million City Pacific First Mortgage Fund.

  • B&B fights to resolve crisis

    28 November 2008

    Last ditch talks were under way last night between Babcock & Brown and its banking syndicate to try to resolve the financial crisis that could plunge the beleaguered asset management group into administration.

  • Office space floods market

    27 November 2008

    Enough office space to house about 5000 employees has come up for sub-lease, as debt-stricken financial firms try to figure out ways to pay landlords for some of Sydney's most prestigious office towers.

  • Construction 'surprisingly strong'

    26 November 2008

    Activity in Australia's construction sector was surprisingly strong in the third quarter, lifting expectations that domestic economic growth avoided contraction even as the world's banking sector went into deep convulsions.

  • Perth price fall worst in 25 years

    24 November 2008

    The once booming Perth property market has recorded its third consecutive quarterly fall in the median house price - a phenomenon not seen in 25 years - as talk of a recession eats into consumer confidence.

  • Lend Lease slashes offer retirement home stake

    24 November 2008

    Lend Lease lowered its offer today to Babcock & Brown for its 12.5% stake in retirement village operator Babcock & Brown Communities after due diligence and talks with lenders.

  • Second Australian giant seeks rescue capital raising

    14 November 2008

    Mirvac has become the second Australian property giant in a fortnight to undertake a large capital raising to shore up its balance sheet.

  • Westfield’s A$2bn equity raising plan

    12 November 2008

    Australian shopping centre giant Westfield is planning to raise A$2bn (£856m) of equity through a dividend reinvestment plan.

  • Goodman’s A$1.5bn recovery position

    31 October 2008

    Troubled Oz group pins hopes on disposals, rights issues and Asian focus

  • Goodman plans A$1.3bn shares and assets sale

    28 October 2008

    Logistics and business park giant Goodman is raising A$955m (£379m) of new equity and is planning to sell A$510m (£202m) of assets to repair its balance sheet.

  • Goodman suspends trading

    24 October 2008

    Shares in Australian logistics and business parks giant Goodman were suspended this morning pending an announcement early next week about new ‘capital management initiatives.’

  • GPT MD, Nic Lyons steps down

    23 October 2008

    Nic Lyons, the managing director and CEO of Australian listed property trust GPT, will leave the company immediately.

  • Lend Lease chief resigns from board

    9 October 2008

    Lend Lease chief operating officer, Ross Taylor has resigned from the board as executive director, and will leave the group later this year.

  • Advance Australia fair

    14 November 2003

    There was a time when Brits were paid to emigrate to Australia, but now companies from Down Under are coming into their own in the UK market.

  • Australia's John Ritblat

    14 November 2003

    Over the past 30 years Greg Paramor has become Australia's foremost property figure. Tristan McConnell met Australia's deal machine in Sydney and reviews life Down Under.

  • Office walkabout

    14 November 2003

    Tristan McConnell takes a guided tour with FPDSavills around the major office markets on Australia’s mainland

  • Redesigning an icon

    14 November 2003

    The original architect of Sydney Opera House is masterminding a refurbishment programme on its 30th birthday.

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