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<img alt="collierslogo" height="94" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/02/collierslogo.jpg">
Tim Mutton will have a first-hand view of what will happen to the Canberra office market as the federal election campaign gets into full swing.
He tells Property Observer about the forces shaping the market and that he would invest a spare $750,000 in an office property in Fyshwick that offers double-digit yield potential. 
<img src="/images/stories/2013/02/timmutton.png" width="232" height="177" alt="timmutton" style="margin: 5px; float: left;">
Agent: Tim Mutton
Position: Director, investment services and office leasing
Company: Colliers International
Office Location: Canberra 
How long have you been in the industry? Joined Colliers International as a graduate in 2003.
What’s happening in the area you specialise in? Investment sales activity over the first half of 2012 has been strong, with four major transactions completed. Total sales volumes have already surpassed the total sales of the past two years, with $377.8 million having been transacted. Offshore investors have been particularly attracted to the Canberra market, dominating total sales volumes for the first half of the year as they seek the relative safety of government leased investments.
Describe the most interesting property you have sold. The most interesting property I have been involved with the sale of was a farm on the outskirts of Canberra where we were involved in finding a joint venture partner for the development of a 6,000-lot community called Googong. Over time this property will turn into its own township with shops, schools, community facilities in addition to a variety of housing options. 
What are the ingredients to being successful in your job? I strongly believe that to be a good agent you need an enquiring mind. You need to be able to think laterally and not be afraid to spend time understanding your clients and their properties. I also think you have to be patient. A lot of people get into real estate for rapid results, but you need to spend time learning your market, understanding the personalities operating in it and then turning this information into winning investment ideas for your clients. 
What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most? Uncovering value for my clients in areas overlooked by the majority. The number of times we have had good investment and development properties available but people have overlooked them to follow the herd into substandard assets baffles me. 
Where would you invest a spare $750,000? With interest rates falling I would invest in well-located light commercial in the Canberra suburb of <a target="_blank" href="/news">Fyshwick</a> with double-digit yield.
Which football team do you support? ACT Brumbies 
What’s your favourite app or techno gadget? I would be lost without my Sharp EL 735 calculator. Very old fashioned but faster than any app I have found to calculate values. 
How do you use social media? I use social media to keep track of colleagues and friends but also to better understand my clients and customers. The amount of information available in social networks is growing exponentially and to be able to have this information at my fingertips is amazing.</body></html>

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In profile: Tim Mutton, Colliers International’s Canberra office specialist

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Australia’s biggest mortgage lender, the Commonwealth Bank, has signalled a brighter outlook for 2013 as it reported a 6% rise in interim profits to December 2012 of $3.78 billion.
The bank has 25.1% of the mortgage market – one in four borrowers in Australian has a Commonwealth Bank home loan – and its earlier reporting of interim results ahead of its big four rivals is considered a bellwether for the health of the banking and mortgage industry.
The bank wrote $1.54 billion in new mortgages in the half-year period an increase of 15% on the previous corresponding period, with mortgage brokers responsible for 38% of new lending over this period.
Importantly for borrowers, it reported a steep decline in long-term wholesale funding costs, giving the bank the capacity to use the $13 billion raised from investors offshore to fund cheaper mortgage lending in 2013.
Long-term wholesale funding margins decline from 169 basis points (margin to BBSW) six months ago to 109 basis points as of December 2012.
Click to enlarge
<a title="Click to enlarge" rel="shadowbox" href="/images/stories/2013/02/cbafeb13.gif"><img src="/images/stories/2013/02/cbafeb13thumb.gif"></a>
Earnings from the bank’s retail banking division, which includes mortgage lending, rose 7% to $2.93 billion.
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ian Narev called it a “strong result” in “subdued market conditions”.
He says the bank maintains a “cautious outlook” for 2013 with modest expectations for mortgage lending growth in 2013.
The bank expects mortgage growth of between 4% and 6% in 2013 rising to 5.5% to 7.5% in 2014.
Narev acknowledged that conditions remained challenging for borrowers, but that credit quality has not deteriorated.
“As a result we have experienced a period of relative stability, which has had a positive impact on global equity and debt markets
“Of course risks remain in the economy as a major financial institution we must remain cautious.”
But he said if the current stability continues, slow but steady rebuilding of consumer and business confidence in 2013
“And that is our base case for 2013.”
The Commonwealth Bank is the second biggest listed Australian company on the ASX by market capitalisation and fourth biggest taxpayer.
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Commonwealth Bank reports lower funding costs and brighter outlook as interim profits rise 6% to $3.78 billion

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They may be unglamorous warehouses on the outskirts of Melbourne, but private investors are returning to the Melbourne south-east industrial market, accounting for more than a third of all transactions over $2 million in 2012, according to Savills.
The pie chart below shows that private investors were the biggest buying group of industrial properties in south east Melbourne  in 2012, accounting for 36% of all transactions.
According to Savills' Victorian head of research Glenn Lampard, investment yields for prime industrial property remained in a range of 7.5% to 8.75% while land values ranged from $115 to $200 a square metre for land between one and five hectares.
Lampard said private investors had been quicker out of the blocks to recognise an opportunity in the growing region.
The south-east Melbourne industrial market includes suburbs like Clayton, Moorabbin and Huntingdale.
<img alt="savillsfeb13" height="311" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/02/savillsfeb13.gif">
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Private investors return to south-east Melbourne industrial market in droves

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Stockland has delivered a horror set of interim results, reporting a 148% drop in statutory interim profits and a loss of $147 million to December 31.
A slump in the outer-Melbourne land market was largely to blame, with Victorian residential lot sales falling 46% from 850 to just 463.
In the space of six months, Victoria has gone from being Stockland's biggest selling region to third biggest, behind a surging WA and a declining Queensland,with NSW the fastest growing region, albeit from a low base.
Australia’s biggest new housing builder with 70 residential communities also reported a $306 million write-down across 13 residential community projects, which have now been listed for wholesale disposal.
Today’s release of results were something of a baptism of fire for new Stockland managing director and chief executive Mark Steinert – the first results briefing he has presided over since taking being appointed to the role  in November and replacing  the long-serving Matthew Quinn.
Ahead of delivering his market briefing on the results today, Steinert called the results “disappointing".
Speaking to the media and analysts, he downgraded this assessment to “very disappointing, driven primarily by weakness in housing market” though he says the outlook is better for the 2014 financial year (from July onwards).
<img alt="stocklandfeb13" height="580" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/02/stocklandfeb13.gif">
Five of the impaired residential projects are in NSW, six in Queensland, one in Victoria and one in WA.
In total there are 4,700 lots across the 13 projects – about 5.5% of the 86,000 lots currently in the Stockland development pipeline.
They include long-held residential sites such as Pinny and Mawson (englobo land) and West Dapto in NSW and Birtinya, Bokarina Beach and Lake Kawana projects, all on the Sunshine Coast.
The residential business was weakest in Victoria over the six-month period, with Stockland reporting a 46% decline in Victorian settlements to 463, compared with 850 in the first half of the 2012 financial year.
This contributed to an overall 6% decline in residential settlement over the first half of 2,085 compared with 2,209 in the previous corresponding period.
There was also a 13% decline in Queensland settlements (686 to 594) – Stockland has a third of the south-east Queensland new housing market – with these declines offset by rises in lot settlements in NSW (up 101% from 210 to 422 lots sold) and WA (up 31% to 606 lots due to growth in new community launches).
Stockland will look to bring its East Leppington and Marsden Park projects on the outskirts of Sydney to market more quickly.
East Leppington in Sydney’s south-west will comprise 3,000 residential lots as well as retirement living and retail facilities with the first settlements expected in the second half of the 2014 financial year. House-and-land packages will start from $350,000.
Stockland acquired the 163-hectare residential site at Marsden Park in Sydney’s north-west from the private Winten Property Group for $165 million in January this year with the potential to deliver about 2,300 new homes. Stockland also secured the first right of refusal from Winten Property Group over an adjacent parcel of land, which has the potential for a further 2,200 homes.
Commenting on the state of the Melbourne market, Steinert said the market had been impacted by the state government efficiently delivering new land supply to the market and by the withdrawal of previous state housing grants.
“We don’t see a collapse, but this has put some downward pressure on price increases,” he said.
“The pull forward effect from early incentives effected prior levels of volume. Those incentives are no longer there, which has created recent slowing in settlements.
“Those things combined – increase in supply and withdrawal of incentives  - means we have a cautious view for Victoria and Melbourne, but it is still an important part of our business and a key profit generator.
Steinert said Stockland’s south-east Queensland business – Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane – had been impacted by the higher Australian dollar on tourism as well as weaker employment growth.
Countering that, he said the increasing use of fly-in-fly-out workers was having a “positive impact”.
Steinert also warned that “election cycle” could also increase buyer caution while there are also concerns over the impact of the recent floods.
He highlighted that business is in a transition phase with everything up for review and he said their had already been signficant job cuts.
"Market conditions, however, are expected to remain challenging with ongoing weakness in Victoria and uncertainty in Queensland where we will watch closely to monitor any impact on already weak consumer sentiment following the recent floods," Steinert said in an earlier statement today.
Stockland expects earnings from its retail and retirement living businesses but returns from its office and industrial portfolios were expected to drop.
"We remain confident earnings will begin to improve from the 2014 financial year as we see the benefit of major new retail and residential projects coming on line,” he said.
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Stockland pins hopes on western Sydney and WA residential projects as interim profits slump 148% 

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Non-bank lender Resimac has made a bid to acquire the loan book of RHG Limited that previously traded as RAMS Mortgage Corp.
The RAMS franchise business was acquired by Westpac in January 2008 and is a separate mortgage lending business to RHG Limited.
RHG Limited informed the ASX yesterday that it had received an approach for a possible “asset-level sale of its loan book”.
“Discussions are not concluded and there are complex transactional and commercial issues involved,” RHG said.
“Our primary objective is to maximise the net worth of the company whilst at the same time ensuring the needs of all of our stakeholders, being our home loan customers, shareholders, staff, service providers and funders are considered and addressed.”
A successful transaction would be in the order of around $150 million, the Australian Financial Review suggested.
RHG has a market value of $143 million.
Sydney-based Resimac, a prominent wholesale non-bank lender, has declined to comment on the mooted bid.
It dates back to 1985 when it was originally created to service and securitise residential loans for HomeFund, a New South Wales State government housing programme under the name of FANMAC.
It was the first Australian lender to issue Australian Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS in 1988 and since then has issued nearly $12 billion through 18 domestic and international RMBS issues.
RHG continues to operate the loans it originated under the old RAMS brand as a closed, amortising book with its business remaining in wind-down.
It reported net profit of $40.7?million in the year ended June?30, down 45%on the previous 12-month period.
Shares in RHG Limited were placed in a trading halt when the announcement of the approach was first made, but climbed 7.5% higher to 50 cents following a resumption of trading.
They remain at 50 cents this morning ahead of trading.
The loan book acquisition proposal by Resimac was
Any final asset-level proposal would require shareholder approval, and may require third party consents.
The original RAMS business was founded by John Kinghorn, who pocketed $650 million for the sharemarket listing of his mortgage lending vehicle in July 2007, before its dramatic implosion as the GFC pulled the rug from under securitised home loan providers. 
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Resimac makes bid for RHG Limited loan book, formerly called RAMS

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Plummeting first-home buyer numbers have raised fresh questions about recently introduced first-home buyer grant schemes on offer in NSW as well as raise issues about current housing affordability. 
The number of loans to first-home buyers in December 2012 fell to 14.9% according to ABS figures, the fourth consecutive month that this segment of the market has declined.
This a 37% decline on figures from a year ago when first-home buyers accounted for more than one in five new home loans (21.1%).
This was the weakest proportion of first-home buyers in the housing market since June 2004 and just two percentage points off the record low of 12.8% in March 2004 for ABS figures going back to July 1991.
The decline suggests that the new first-home owner grants in Queensland and NSW, which provide generous handouts of $15,000 – but only for those who buy or build new homes – have missed the mark and are as claimed by the likes of Ray White chairman Brian White nothing more than a builder or developer incentive.
In addition they suggest housing remains unaffordable or undesirable for most prospective first-home buyers with low mortgage rates and a decline in capital city house prices over the last few years failing to spur this segment of the market in a meaningful way.
The fall was sharpest in NSW, where there was a 3.2% decline as well as a smaller 0.8% drop in Queensland and a 1.9% decline in WA. 
“The state detail was something of a surprise,” notes Westpac, who called the December figures “another weak reading” for first-home buyer activity. 
“We had expected unwinding first-home buyer demand in NSW (from an earlier bring-forward relating to state government changes) to have run its course by December with weakness to instead centre on Victoria where stamp duty concessions coming in from January 1 would have encouraged many FHBs to delay purchases. 
“Instead, the sharp slide in NSW continued (–3.2%) with Victoria posting a slight rise (+0.3% for the month). 
Westpac estimates that approvals in this segment were down another 5.7% in December on a seasonally- adjusted basis.  
First-home buyer numbers peaked in May 2009 following of the doubling of the first-home owners grant to $14,000 for those buying existing homes and trebling it to $21,000 for those buy newly built homes in October 2008. 
First home buyers as percentage of home lending dating back to 1991 (ABS)
 
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="415"><tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Month
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Number of FHB loans
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
% of new loans
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Size of loan ($)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1991
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
5654
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
20.7
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
71.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1992
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7733
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
22.2
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
76.9
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1993
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
10139
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
22.4
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
83.0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1994
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7789
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
21.5
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
90.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1995
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7218
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
21.9
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
89.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1996
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8427
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
23.0
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
99.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1997
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8047
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
21.0
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
104.0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1998
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8651
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
22.6
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
120.7
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-1999
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
10264
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
22.0
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
134.7
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2000
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
9654
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
22.3
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
123.0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2001
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
12745
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
25.8
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
146.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2002
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7998
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
15.9
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
160.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2003
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7618
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
13.3
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
185.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Mar-2004*
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7083
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
12.8
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
191.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Jun-2004**
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7428
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
14.3
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
204.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2004
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8845
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
16.6
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
210.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2005
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
10811
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.8
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
217.1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2006
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
10241
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.0
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
228.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2007
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
11282
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
19.4
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
230.9
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2008
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
14142
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
27.2
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
271.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
May 2009***
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18744
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
31.4
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
279.4
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2009
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
11793
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
23.5
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
293.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2010
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8199
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
17.3
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
289.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2011
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
10264
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
21.1
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
285.1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Jan-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8043
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
20.6
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
282.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Feb-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7360
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
17.4
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
279.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Mar-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7902
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
16.6
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
281.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Apr-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7077
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
17.0
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
282.5
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
May-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
9110
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.1
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
288.3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Jun-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8415
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.5
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
292.0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Jul-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8760
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
19.2
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
291.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Aug-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8921
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.6
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
288.9
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Sep-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
8391
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
19.3
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
289.2
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Oct-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
9215
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
18.7
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
288.0
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Nov-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
7921
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
15.8
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
287.8
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
Dec-2012
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
6557
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
14.9
</td>
<td nowrap valign="bottom" width="104">
293.9
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: ABS
*Record lowest proportion of first-home buyers
**Previous lowest proportion of first homebuyers after December 2012
***Highest proportion of first-home buyers
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First-home buyers at lowest share of new home loans in more than eight years: historical data to 1991

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Sydney-based non-bank lender BMC Mortgage Corporation has become the first lender to cut its variable rates outside of an official RBA rate cut.
The lender dropped its variable home loan rates by 10 basis points yesterday, despite the RBA leaving the cash rate unchanged last week.
According to mortgage comparison website Ratecity.com.au, it is the first lender to cut variable home loan rates out-of-cycle with the RBA
BMC Mortgage, based in Clarence Street in the Sydney CBD, offers<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bmcloans.com.au/bmc_rates_and_products"> homeowner and investment loans at 5.53% and a construction loan at 5.75%.</a>
The rate cuts follows RAMS and Westpac both offering fixed-rate home loans below 5%.
Michelle Hutchison, spokesperson for RateCity, said the slow lending market is changing the way lenders compete for customers.
“We’ve never seen lenders cut variable rates while the Reserve Bank cash rate is on hold.
Lenders are obviously feeling the pressure of the slow mortgage market and are doing whatever it takes to attract new customers, including cutting their interest rates out-of-cycle.
The latest rate cuts follow poor lending market results in December, released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of statistics (ABS).
There were 43,885 home loans financed across Australia in December 2012, which was 10% down on December 2011 according to RateCity analysis (original figures).
NSW saw the biggest hit with 24% fewer home loans written in December 2012 (12,135) compared with December 2011 (16,054). Western Australia was the only state to see an increase, of 3% more in December 2012 (6536) than December 2011 (6318), according to RateCity.
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Non-bank lender BMC Mortgage the first to move independently of the RBA with variable rate cut

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As demand from Chinese and other Asian buyers rises for Australian real estate a number of Melbourne agents have signed up to a new translation service which transforms their listing into audio-visual presentations that can be heard in Mandarin, Cantonese and six other languages.
Around 45 offices belonging to the Barry Plant and Stockdale and Leggo franchise networks have signed up to the service, which is provided by US-based technology firm DMI (Digital Motorworks).
Other agencies signed up to use the technology include Noel Jones, LJ Hooker, PRDnationwide and Greg Hocking.
Currently used in the US by around 25,000 car dealers, the technology has been adapted for real estate listings with the project in Australia spearheaded by business development manager Peter Daicos.
The automated service takes the images and editorial provided by the agent and creates a virtual video presentation overlayed with audio in a choice of eight languages - Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Italian, Greek, Korean, Turkish and English.
Stockdale &amp; Leggo are currently selling this <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stockdaleleggo.com.au/glenwaverley/details.asp?internetid=273328&amp;OFFICE_ID=62&amp;order=&amp;suburb=&amp;surround=&amp;price1=0&amp;price2=9999999&amp;category=&amp;bedrooms=&amp;bathrooms=&amp;garages=2&amp;propertyType=&amp;OFFICE_GROUP_ID=&amp;offset=10&amp;st=">three bedroom house in Wheelers Hill</a>, in Melbourne’s south east, with a virtual video and audio commentary offered in eight languages.
According to the 2011 census, more than one in 10 residents (12%) in Wheelers Hill were born in China, the third highest demographic group behind English-born and Australians. The suburb also has a high proportion of Greek and Italian-born residents.
Daicos says new languages to be added to the service will include Vietnamese and Sudanese while DMI is also developing a seperate portal to include listings accesible in the eight languages and due to launch in about a month.
The technology is charged at a flat fee of between $200 and $250 + GST per month, depending on how many listings are to be translated, and is available both for properties for sale and those listed for rent.
If there are 100 properties to be translated, this works out to around $2.50 per week – a fraction of the cost a conventional expensive full production video.
There are also no start-up costs for agent.
“It’s about enhancement and communication,” says Daicos.
“Agents do not have to do anything as we use the existing data feed and images that are used to display their properties statically,” he explains.
The technology is compatible with properties listed on real estate portals such as realestate.com.au, domain.com.au and other listings sites.
It also comes with full reporting to assist agents with understanding consumer trends/ behaviors based on the number and average time the video is played. 

Properties can also be syndicated to YouTube.
Readers can download free Property Observer eBook <a href="https://propertyobserver.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=24bd0766a834290948593f5aa&amp;id=f29409991c&amp;e=7a53fc6dd9">Australia’s allure for Asian residential property investment</a>, detailing key insights into Asian buying trends and their influence in the Australian market in the Year of the Snake.
Agents interested in the service can send an email to <a href="mailto:pdaicos@dmotorworks.com.au">Peter Daicos</a>. 
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Estate agents offered multi-lingual audio translations to tap into Asian market

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Australian household net worth started rising in 2012 alongside a recovery in house prices in the later part of the year, graphs prepared by the RBA in its February monetary policy statement reveal.
<img width="470" height="419" alt="rbafeb11" src="/images/stories/2013/02/rbafeb11.gif">
<img width="470" height="362" alt="rbafeb111" src="/images/stories/2013/02/rbafeb111.gif">
The RBA also notes that residential vacancy rates remain relatively low at around 2%, contributing to rents growing faster than inflation and rising rental yields.
<img width="470" height="581" alt="rbafeb112" src="/images/stories/2013/02/rbafeb112.gif">
“Nationwide, rents are growing at an annual rate of around 4%. With rents growing faster than dwelling prices over the past year, nationwide gross rental yields have increased to 4.75% (and as high as 5.5% in Perth)."
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Australian household wealth rising as house prices and yields lift: RBA 

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Self-managed super fund investors are showing an increasing appetite for adding commercial real estate and residential property into their portfolios.
Figures compiled by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) show that from 2008 to 2012, commercial property investments by SMSFs increased by 77% while residential investments increased by 56%.
In total, real estate assets make about around 15% of SMSF portfolios, compared with 8% for the rest of superannuation industry.
SMSF investment in direct property 2008 – 2-12
<table style="width: 470px;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="154">
 
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
Dec 2008
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
Dec 2012
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="154">
Commercial property
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
$30.7 billion
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
$54.3 billion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="154">
Residential property
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
$10.6 billion
</td>
<td valign="top" width="154">
$16.7 billion
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: ATO
This appetite for property comes with its risks, not all of which relate to the unpredictability of the property market.
According to superannuation expert Peter Nicol, there are three issues relating to high exposure to direct property: yield, liquidity and the indivisibility of property.
Nicol, a principal with the Perth superannuation division of accountants RSM Bird Cameron, says the issue of yield relates to the minimum pensions required to be drawn from the fund.
If an investment property fails to deliver the yield required and the SMSF members are in their pension phase (65 or older) they face the problem of “addressing the liquidity issue of the fund for pension payments and meeting compliance requirements”.
This, Nicol says, may require the fund to liquidate assets.
“Property is not noted as being an easily liquidated asset: in some cases it can take months to sell a property and realise the cash for payments,” says Nicol in an article written for the Australian Financial Review.
“Where a pension member is reliant on that regular monthly income for lifestyle, the illiquid nature of the asset can create serious issues and could result in a property being sold on less than optimal terms,” he says.
And the issue of liquidity is a problem because of the indivisibility of property compared with other more liquid investments such as cash, shares or bonds.
“In most cases direct property can’t be sold in pieces to provide the needed liquidity to meet pension payments. This means where cash is short in the fund to meet pension payments of the pension member who is in need of a lump sum to meet medical bills, holidays or for special occasions, there isn’t the ability to partially redeem a direct property,” he says.
However, he says there are options to address these issues including that SMSF members keep the property, if it is being used for some specific purpose such as it is used in the family business or it is to be handed to the next generation
“The SMSF can keep the property effectively until the last member’s death,” says Nicol.
Readers can find more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rsmi.com.au/services_/business_solutions/self_managed_superannuation_funds/superannuation_financial_review">SMSF advice and tips from Peter Nicol</a> via the RSM Bird Cameron website.
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SMSFs' ever-growing desire for property investments creating potential liquidity headaches

Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

Larry Schlesinger

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