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Reports suggesting the Commonwealth Bank is seeking to shed management of its listed commercial property platforms – the CFS Retail Property Trust Group and the Commonwealth Property Office Fund  - have been dismissed as “speculation”.
The two A-REITS have a combined value of $20 billion.
The responsible entity of the fund is the Commonwealth Managed Investments Limited (CMIL), a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank while another subsidiary, Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) manages the trusts.
It follows the Australian Financial Review’s StreetTalk column revealing last week that a “number of unsolicited approaches were made by a string of potential buyers” to replace the bank as responsible entity of the two A-REITS.
The column reported today that the Commonwealth Bank planned to unleash “a buy-out frenzy for its listed office vehicle, Commonwealth Property Office Fund”.
In a statement posted to the ASX, Commonwealth Managed Investments Limited (CMIL), as responsible entity of both funds advised “it has not received any approach or proposal that would support this speculation”.
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lschlesinger-FZcF9M3vE6

Commonwealth Bank shedding of commercial property trusts dismissed as “speculation”

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Raine &amp; Horne Manly principle Toby Hutton has attributed the private treaty sale of a six-bedroom Northern Beaches family home for $1.715 million in part to expectations that the Coalition will win the federal election in September.
The house is in Liberal Party heartland and only a short drive from Tony Abbott's own home in Forestville and his federal electorate of Warringah.
The property in a cul-de-sac at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-beacon+hill-113719739">10 Scarborough Place</a> was built in 1995, stands on a 901 square metre site and includes a saltwater pool and spa plus landscaped gardens and manicured lawns.
It sold to a Clontarf owner-occupier after failing to sell at auction in May with expectations of $1.6 million plus.
Hutton said he attributes local buyer confidence to the prospect of a "couple of terms of a federal Coalition government after 14th September".
“Unlike other real estate markets and business sectors, political instability is not affecting the Peninsula.
“Our region is traditionally blue ribbon Liberal, so the prospect of long-term stability after the difficulties of a minority government over the last three years, is a prospect many homeowners and businesses are already savouring in our region.”
Abbott is the federal member for Warringah, just three kilometres east of Beacon Hill.
He lives five kilometres west of Beacon Hill in Forestville
Hutton says the property attracted a steady stream of genuine enquiries over the three weeks it was on the market.
“This is a significant difference to 18 months ago, when it was possible to go two weeks without fielding an enquiry for prestige homes such as these,” he says.
Apart from an expected Coalition victory, Hutton also attributes increased buyer confidence to improving economic news from the likes of the United States, coupled to stronger share market returns over the last year or so.
“The sharemarket has had a pretty good twelve months, despite the latest volatility, and this has translated to bonuses being paid to investment bankers and portfolio managers, and this money is starting to find its way into prestige homes in our region,” he says.
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The Tony Abbott effect? Raine & Horne agent attributes Northern Beaches sale to likely Coalition election victory

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Ballajura settlements agent, Natalie Jane Briggs, has been fined $8,000 by the Midland Magistrates Court over the misuse of trust account funds.
This follows her pleading guilty to 13 charges related to failures to comply with the Settlement Agents Act and the agency’s inability to finalise the financial settlement of four property transactions due to the agent’s misuse of her clients’ trust money.
Briggs, who trading as Frontline Settlements, surrendered her licence and triennial certificate in September 2010.
An August 2011 audit found the agency’s trust account only had a balance of $80.69 and was therefore unable to settle a total of $89,357.78 in financial commitments.
Lawyers for Western Australia’s Consumer Protection told the court that an investigation was launched after Briggs surrendered her licence, but then refused to cooperate with a mandatory termination audit of the agency’s trust account.
The investigation into Frontline Settlements found that:
<ul>
<li>Vendors in the settlement of a Jurien Bay property in 2011 were owed $49,085.86 by the agency and were later compensated by the Fidelity Guarantee Account.</li>
<li>A mortgage broker loaned Ms Briggs $36,790 which was subsequently misappropriated by the agent. The broker was not eligible to be compensated by the Fidelity Guarantee Account as the transaction was not in the course of a real estate settlement.</li>
<li>A cheque for $981.92 from the agent’s trust account to pay for a client’s council rates was dishonoured due to inadequate funds. Ms Briggs then paid the rates from a personal account. The transaction related to the settlement of a Nollamara property.</li>
<li>Another settlement agent claimed Ms Briggs failed to finalise the settlement of a Shelley property and then made a payment of $2,500 which did not come from the trust account, as required by law.</li>
</ul>
Magistrate Benn said the series of offences represented a serious decline in the performance of the settlement agent, despite being well aware of her obligations and responsibilities.
The magistrate said the offences demonstrated a conscious and deliberate disregard for the responsibility of looking after trust monies and cast the profession in a poor light, resulting in community distrust. He said the community has a legitimate expectation to have matters such as this dealt with by way of a serious penalty.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said settlement agents were entrusted with the proper handling of funds related to property transactions.
“To betray this trust and misuse these funds is a very serious offence, so it’s imperative that agents comply completely with the strict rules that apply to these transactions which often involve large amounts of other people’s money,” Driscoll said.
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Perth settlements agent fined $8,000 for misuse of trust account funds

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Forecasts of a sharp rise in Australian house prices creating a housing bubble are “overblown” new modelling by Citi Research suggests.
Under its expected baseline scenario, which assumes no further rate cuts until the second quarter of 2014, Citi Research expects nominal house prices to rise 3% between now and  March 2014 and then start to fall slightly, driven downwards by among other things a slowing Chinese economy, a weaker Australian dollar and reduced Chinese migration.
Even under the most bullish scenario - the cash rate dropping to 2% by March 2014, Chinese growth above 10%, the dollar to remain elevated and the non-FHB loan size to lift significantly over the forecast period – the forecast is for house prices to rise by around 8% from current levels or 5% relative to the peak in June 2010.
“Hardly the definition of a housing ‘bubble’,” say Citi Research analysts Paul Brennan and Josh Williamson, who created the modelling and authored the report.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/larry_uploads/citigraph.jpg" width="470" height="310" alt="citigraph">
Under the expected baseline scenario, they say the initial house price increase will be the result of sustained low interest rates which in turn causes increased borrowing.
However, “the downward pressures created by a slowdown of the Chinese economy, lesser appetite for capital inflows as reflected in a lower Australian dollar and reduced Chinese immigration will eventually overtake the upward momentum from positive domestic factors, causing prices to fall slightly” say Brennan and Williamson.
In the short term, they say the main driver for the Australian housing market will be the low interest rate, “which will likely remain low in the foreseeable future”.
“We maintain our view that the official cash rate will remain at 2.75% until second quarter of 2014.
“This implies that the variable lending rate will also stay at current levels over the same period, easing households’ (particularly non-first home buyers’) concerns over mortgage pressures and consequently stimulating the demand for housing.
“We also assume consumer confidence rises gradually later this year. We have allowed for the non-FHB loan size to grow at higher than the historical average rates, which we think is reasonable in response to the record-low cash rate.
“The auction clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne have been hitting the 70% to 80% mark for the first 5 months of 2013, coinciding with the RBA cutting rates to lows of 3% in December 2012 and again to 2.75% in April this year."
What will be holding back growth in house prices in the longer term are a number of factors, including the “lower growth outlook in China, slowdown of Chinese immigration and reduced appetite for offshore capital inflows associated with the lower Australian dollar as the mining capex boom winds down".
“We expect the nominal house price to peak in March 2014, by which time it will have increased by 3% from its current level," say Brennan and Williamson.
“However, we expect the slowdown in China to flow through to the Australian housing market during 2014, causing downward pressure on house prices.
“Our Chinese economists are of the view that Chinese industrial production (IP) growth will moderate to below 10% over our forecast period, a significant reduction from the double digit growth rates seen not too long ago. 
Under a bearish scenario, a combination of factors - Chinese IP growth to drop between 9.5% and 8.5%, non-FHB loan size growth to reach negative territory over the forecast horizon, a much sharper drop in the Australian dollar and an earlier cash rate hike than the second quarter of 2014  as well as a drop in consumer confidence to below neutral levels - would give rise to a weak housing market where prices drop on a year-on-year from December 2013.
"By the end of our forecast horizon the nominal house prices would have fallen by around 7% from their current levels," they say. 
Brennan and Williamson claim their modelling has “strong predictive power” with an 85% correlation to house price movements incorporating domestic factors impacting on the housing market as well as international factors including Chinese immigration growth, changes in Chinese industrial production as well as the weakening Australian dollar.
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Australian housing bubble risk “overblown” with prices to peak in March 2014: Citi

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Harry Triguboff’s Meriton group has bought its second Mascot development site this year, adding to a war chest comprising $300 million worth of development sites across Sydney.
Triguboff, Australia’s sixth richest man with a fortune estimated by BRW at $4.95 billion has acquired a <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/property/2010468589/for-sale/nsw/mascot/development-land" target="_blank">17,150 square metre site at 200 Coward Street, Mascot</a> in Sydney’s southern suburbs for $47 million.
It last sold for $11 million in 1998 when acquired by the Queensland Local Government Superannuation Board, the trustee of LGsuper, a super fund for current and former Queensland local government employees and their spouses.
It comes just a month after Meriton spent $39 million on a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/harry-triguboff-buys-lane-cove-service-station-with-tower-approval/2013051261299?utm_source=po&amp;utm_medium=aida&amp;utm_campaign=news">North Shore Sydney service station</a> in Lane Cove from Bob Rose’s Rose Group with plans to build a $300 million residential tower development featuring 440 apartments.
The Mascot site on the corner of Coward and O’Riordan Streets currently operates as a multi-unit industrial estate with tenants including chocolate maker Lindt.
An apartment development on the site would overlook Mascot Park with Mascot railway station and town centre just a short walk away.
It was sold by Michael Crombie and Jonathon Canavan of Colliers International following a tender process which closed on June 12 and with the potential for 380 apartments.
Crombie tells Property Observer, while there has been no planning in relation to the site, the expected number of units if a compliant scheme is proposed is around 401 units.
He confirmed that Meriton was the buyer.
“The site has exchanged with a three month settlement date, not subject to anything,” he said.
It has proposed mixed-use residential zoning.
In February this year, Triguboff announced that Meriton had acquired a 31,500 square metre industrial site in Mascot for $100 million from industrial landlord Goodman Group. He plans to build 1,000 apartments on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/harry-triguboff-celebrates-80th-birthday-with-proposed-%24100-million-inner-sydney-site-acquisition-and-calls-for-more-rate-cuts/2013030459705?utm_source=po&amp;utm_medium=aida&amp;utm_campaign=news">19-33 Kent Road site</a> near Sydney airport.
Meriton is currently selling more than 2,000 apartments off-the-plan having spent around $300 million on development sites in the past 18 months”.
Triguboff's first project dates back to 1963 when as a clerk, he built his first block of units in the<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/harry-triguboff/2013013159060" target="_blank"> Sydney suburb of Tempe</a>.
May 2013 – Lane Cove
Harry spends $39 million on a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/harry-triguboff-buys-lane-cove-service-station-with-tower-approval/2013051261299?utm_source=po&amp;utm_medium=aida&amp;utm_campaign=news" target="_blank">North Shore Sydney service station</a> with plans to build a $300 million residential tower development featuring 440 apartments. The 150 Epping Road site in Lane Cove is acquired from Bob Rose’s Rose Group, which received development approval for the site in August last year.
February 2013 - Mascot
Harry acquires a 31,500 square metre industrial site for $100 million from industrial landlord Goodman Group. The sale is confirmed by Goodman after Meriton leaks it to The Australian. He plans to build 1,000 apartments on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/developments/harry-triguboff-celebrates-80th-birthday-with-proposed-%24100-million-inner-sydney-site-acquisition-and-calls-for-more-rate-cuts/2013030459705?utm_source=po&amp;utm_medium=aida&amp;utm_campaign=news">19-33 Kent Road site</a> near Sydney airport.
February 2013 – Olympic Park
Harry pays a <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.meriton.com.au/blog/meriton-buys-olympic-park-site/" target="_blank">reported $22 million plus to buy a 15,000 square metre</a> site with plans for 300 apartments in Sydney’s Olympic Park. The site offers strong transport links, is a corporate hub with over 100 companies based around the sporting complex bringing in more than 10,000 employees every day.
October 2012 - Rosebery
Harry acquires a former industrial property in Rosebery in inner south-east Sydney with plans to build 200 apartments. Meriton pays $21 million for the site.
August 2012 - Waterloo
Harry purchases on McEvoy Street in Waterloo, with plans for 220 apartments.
July 2012 - Lewisham
Harry spends $48.5 million to buy the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/harrytriguboff-s-meriton-buys-lewisham-estates-development-site-for-%24485-million/2012071755616" target="_blank">controversial Lewisham Estates development site</a> which has amended potential for between 377 and 430 units. He boasts that he'd beaten Frasers Property, Toga, Crown Group and Ralan to win the tender. Charlie Demian of the Demian Group paid $8.5 million for the site in 2005.
March 2012 – North Ryde
Harry pays $25 million for a Macquarie Park development site in North Ryde, with plans for a $200 million apartment development covering 330 apartments. The site at 88 Talavera Road, across the road from the Macquarie Shopping Centre and close to Macquarie University, was acquired from property developer St Hilliers, whose construction arm was placed in administration two months later (May 2012) St Hilliers had acquired it in 2007 for $23.5 million.
March 2012 - Chatswood
The biggest site acquired by Harry in 2012 is on Thomas Street in Chatswood on Sydney’s north shore, with approval for 547 apartments. Meriton pays $50 million for the Thomas Street car park with plans for two towers of 29 stories each, one of which will be retained by Meriton as serviced apartments – a growing part of the Meriton business.
December 2011 – North Sydney
Harry acquires a 922 square metre site for serviced apartments at 80 Arthur Street. The sales price is not disclosed. The vendor was the Medi-care Centre Foundation, which acquired the land and office building in 1988 for $14.1 million.
December 2011 – Zetland
Harry acquires a site at South Dowling Street with plans for 400 apartments and “excited by the prospect of further development in the Green Square precinct”. The initial design includes five buildings ranging in height from seven – 20 levels with 360-degree views. Meriton plan to provide a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with a retail component strip.
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Harry Triguboff buys Mascot site for $47 million with plans for 400 apartments

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Receivers are seeking expressions of interest for more than $100 million worth of mortgages attached to collapsed Queensland-based lender, Waratah Cooperative Housing Society.
Based in Toowong, Brisbane, the society was placed in receivership in December last year after it defaulted on its loan with the Commonwealth Bank.
The cooperative received commercial financing from the Commonwealth Bank and then lent it on as residential home loans to Queensland-based borrowers.
Receivers Michael McCann and Graham Killer of Grant Thornton are seeking expressions of interest for three loan portfolios comprising 500 residential home loans worth $80 million.
Receivers Damian Templeton and Philip Hennessy from KPMG are seeking expressions of interest for one loan portfolios comprising 140 residential home loans worth $22 million.
Expressions of interest close on July 25.
Last year Queensland-based Poinciana and Jacaranda Co-operative Housing Societies were placed in receivership after defaulting on a commercial loan used for residential lending. The two lenders had loan books of $120 million providing mortgages for homes in regional Queensland.</body></html>

Receivers seek buyers for four Waratah Cooperative Housing Society mortgage portfolios worth $102 million

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Lenders have taken large slices out of the interest rates of their fixed-rate home loan offerings recently as demand for the product rises.
<a href="/news">The latest to do so was CUA</a>, which will cut its one, two and three-year fixed-rates to 4.89% from Wednesday (June 26).
Borrowers can now secure one year-fixed rates closer to 4.5% than 5% with many also offering three-year fixed rates under 5% and even five-year fixed-rates just above 5%.
A number of lenders offer discounted variable rates below 5% - with conditions.
With the RBA likely to hold fire on rates when it meets next week, these are the lowest advertised variable and fixed mortgage rates based on listings on mortgage comparison websites: <a href="https://www.ratecity.com.au/" target="_blank">ratecity.com.au</a>, <a href="https://mozo.com.au/" target="_blank">Mozo.com.au</a>,  <a href="https://www.infochoice.com.au/" target="_blank">infochoice.com.au</a> and <a href="https://www.finder.com.au/home-loans" target="_blank">finder.com.au</a> as of June 24:
Lowest variable rate offerings:
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
Provider
</td>
<td valign="top" width="129">
Loan name
</td>
<td valign="top" width="98">
Rate
</td>
<td valign="top" width="116">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
State Custodians
</td>
<td valign="top" width="129">
State Custodians Peak Performance Offset Home Loan
</td>
<td valign="top" width="98">
4.74%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="116">
5.11%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
Loans.com.au
</td>
<td valign="top" width="129">
Blackboard special – purchases only
</td>
<td valign="top" width="98">
4.75%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="116">
4.77%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="127">
UBank
</td>
<td valign="top" width="129">
UHomeloan – refinance only
</td>
<td valign="top" width="98">
4.87%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="116">
4.87%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Lowest one-year fixed-rate offerings
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="137">
Provider
</td>
<td valign="top" width="123">
Loan name
</td>
<td valign="top" width="95">
Rate
</td>
<td valign="top" width="114">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="137">
Greater Building Society
</td>
<td valign="top" width="123">
Ultimate Home Loan Package
</td>
<td valign="top" width="95">
4.54%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="114">
5.49%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="137">
Newcastle Permanent
</td>
<td valign="top" width="123">
Fixed Rate Home Loan
</td>
<td valign="top" width="95">
4.59%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="114">
5.71%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="137">
UBank
</td>
<td valign="top" width="123">
UHomeLoan for refinancing
</td>
<td valign="top" width="95">
4.68%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="114">
5.10%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Lowest three-year fixed-rate offerings
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="470"><tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="133">
Provider
</td>
<td valign="top" width="133">
Loan name
</td>
<td valign="top" width="97">
Rate
</td>
<td valign="top" width="108">
Comparison rate*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="133">
UBank
</td>
<td valign="top" width="133">
3 Year Fixed Rate - Refinance Only
</td>
<td valign="top" width="97">
4.73%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="108">
4.97%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="133">
Resi Home Loans
</td>
<td valign="top" width="133">
Flexi Fix - 3 Years Fixed Rate
</td>
<td valign="top" width="97">
4.78%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="108">
5.54%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="133">
iMortgage.com.au
</td>
<td valign="top" width="133">
Fusion ProPack
 
</td>
<td valign="top" width="97">
4.79%
</td>
<td valign="top" width="108">
5.33%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
*A comparison rate includes both the interest rate and the fees and charges relating to a loan, combined into a single percentage figure.
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The current cheapest fixed and variable mortgages as RBA expected to hold fire in July

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The shine appears to be wearing off the Pilbara region as a property investment hotspot with rents falling around 20% on average over the past year and with rental vacancies rising steadily.
This, however, needs to be put into context.
Rents in Pilbara – principally the towns of Port Hedland and Karratha plus smaller surrounding towns like Dampier, Newman, Tom Price – remain very high by national standards with some landlords still seeking in excess of $3,000 per week for three, four and five bedroom houses.
And investment in the region continues with Leighton Contractors this week awarded a $1.3 billion contract variation to mine the Kings deposit at the Solomon Hub for Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group, taking the total value of work under the Solomon Hub agreement to $2.8 billion, the largest single contract award in the history of Leighton Contractors.
However, evidence is emerging of a broader correction and the seemingly unthinkable: some Pilbara landlords reducing rents by up to 40% to secure tenants.
These figures (below) prepared by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia show that the Karratha unit market in particular has been hard hit with rents almost halving in the past two years from $1,600 per week to $850 per week.
In Port Hedland, the rental market appears to have peaked in the June quarter of last year.
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="width: 470px;"><tbody>
<tr>
<td width="123">
Karratha
</td>
<td width="123">
Overall median rent $ p/week
</td>
<td width="123">
Houses only
</td>
<td width="123">
Units, apartments, villas only
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2010
</td>
<td width="123">
1,500
</td>
<td width="123">
1,550
</td>
<td width="123">
1,050
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2011
</td>
<td width="123">
1,600
</td>
<td width="123">
1,650
</td>
<td width="123">
1,600
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2012
</td>
<td width="123">
1,500
</td>
<td width="123">
1,550
</td>
<td width="123">
1,250
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
Current
</td>
<td width="123">
1,200
</td>
<td width="123">
1,200
</td>
<td width="123">
850
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
Port Hedland
</td>
<td colspan="3" width="370">
 
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2010
</td>
<td width="123">
1,350
</td>
<td width="123">
1,400
</td>
<td width="123">
1,100
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2011
</td>
<td width="123">
1,500
</td>
<td width="123">
1,600
</td>
<td width="123">
1,425
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
June Q 2012
</td>
<td width="123">
1,800
</td>
<td width="123">
1,900
</td>
<td width="123">
1,575
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="123">
Current
</td>
<td width="123">
1,675
</td>
<td width="123">
1,800
</td>
<td width="123">
1,400
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Source: REIWA
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
Property Observer has found a number of examples of properties in Port Hedland where asking rents have been reduced substantially.
Most notable is a 2012-built six bedroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-port+hedland-410520339" target="_blank">79 Dowding Way</a> (pictured below), which, according to RP Data was advertised for rent at $5,500 per week in June last year, and which is now on the market for $2,500 – a 54% reduction – through Shayne Macaulay-Smith of Crawford Realty – South Hedland.
<img alt="pilbarajune25one1" height="337" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/06/pilbarajune25one1.jpg">
Macaulay-Smith is also seeking tenants for an elevated three-bedroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-port+hedland-410473539" target="_blank">8 Trembath Street</a> (pictured below), “a short stroll from Cemetery Beach” with an advertised weekly rent of $1,500 down from $2,500 per week in May last year (when the listing was held by Jan Ford Real Estate- Port Headland).
<img src="/images/stories/2013/06/pilbarajune25two.jpg" width="470" height="321" alt="pilbarajune25two">
Jane Aspey from Hedland First National - Port Hedland is seeking tenants for a centrally-located three-bedroom house at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-port+hedland-410411143" target="_blank">113 Anderson Street</a> (pictured below) with an asking rent of $1,200.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/06/pilbarajune25three.jpg" width="470" height="304" alt="pilbarajune25three">
This rental provides a good proxy of the recent performance of Port Hedland rental market – the property was first listed for rent at $1,000 per week in 2009, peaking at $1,550 per week in mid-2011 with asking rent reduced to $1,500 per week in November 2012 and now down to $1.200.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
This reduction in rents is being driven by greater choice with the REIWA reporting that at the end of February 2013 there were 164 rental listings in Karratha, up 4% on December and up a significant 56% from a year earlier.
In Port Hedland, the REIWA records 144 listings at the end of February. Currently there are 215 properties listed for rent on realestate.com.au, suggesting a rise comparable with Karratha.
On the forum propertyinvesting.com discussions about the Pilbara market focus on a correction and on the monthly rises in properties available for rent.
One participant warns that investors who paid between $600,000 and $800,000 for one-bedroom apartments off the plan, paid “crazy money for them”.
“There were heaps of them…they're now trying to get around $1300 - $1,500 per week. Good luck with that.”
One forum participant, writing from personal experience, attributes the rise in vacancies and the reduction in asking rents to a number of factors including seasonality (the extreme heat from October to February), BHP laying off contracting groups in September and October (partly in response to “spiralling rents) and a large number of new dwellings coming on to the market at the same time.
This writer says it will take another bull run for one-bedroom apartments asking $1,850 per week to be taken up and says investors should "avoid them with a barge pole”.
“I was caught in this perfect storm. I bought a property and the reno wrapped late October 2012 - and it lay empty until January 1 and is on a one year lease. The rent last year would have been $3,800 per week - the rent is now $2,800 per week.”
Another contributor warns that investors “have to be careful to stay away from any off-the-plan properties or transportable homes posing as new builds”.
The writer adds that there is “definitely a lot of trepidation in the market at the moment which makes it a buyers’ market” – she is currently negotiating on a less than 12 month old four-bedroom, two bathroom unit in a new subdivision returning $2,700 per week.
The most recent figures from BIS Shrapnel forecast a 36% reduction in new dwelling commencements over the next 12 months with 984 starts expected compared with 1,531 a year ago.
This slowdown in supply appears welcome given the rise in rental vacancies and fallen rents.
However, according to the REIWA’s Pilbara branch chair, Jan Ford, while there has been a 20% correction in rents, she still expects some properties to top $5,000 per week by 2014.
“We already have a few $3,000 to $4,000 per week houses in top locations. They are rare, large, new, modern, spacious, multi bedrooms and bathrooms, multi-keyed and designed to appeal to mature professional singles who are sharing and prefer the privacy and comfort of a residential house.
“These are not average rents as we don’t have enough of them.
“Average rents have dropped around 20% after rising 30%.
“Houses are always in higher demand than single units but price often dictates what people take,” she says.
Looking ahead Ford suggests investors and developers consider adaptable living by building large houses that can be separated, with dual or multi keyed for several tenancies during construction and single families in the long term.
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Pilbara rental market starts to lose some of its sparkle

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Never one to shy from giving his opinion on the property market, Sunrise presenter and financial journalist David Koch, believes that the property market moves in cycles of between seven to 10 years.
However, within the overall market cycle, each city and even down to the city block can be in its own cycle, which investors need to understand so they buy at the right time.
"Knowing where you are on a property cycle means following a strict process of understanding the macro and micro elements affecting your decision," writes Koch in an advice column for news.com.au.
For example, while the overall housing market is considered to be undergoing a moderate recovery, Kochie believes the Gold Coast is oversupplied with apartments - many of which have been on the market for a long time - meaning <a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/queensland/gold-coast-basket-case-a-good-bet-for-property-bargains-kochie_online/2013061462238">there are bargains</a> to be snapped up by investors.
He suggests astute investors make themselves aware of such things as "local influences" such as new infrastructure in the works or the release of plans for new housing, "property condition" (the extent and cost of any future improvements), "city variances"(local economic and demographic factors) and the overall economic indicators like consumer confidence, interest rates and unemployment, which can all impact on demand for property.
Most importantly, Kochie says investors must understand the four property phases, which he labels as:
Opportunity Phase
This he says is the best time to buy, at the beginning of cycle when the market has bottomed out (not always easy to pick)
<div>Growth Phase</div>
<div></div>
<div>This is the point when investors are most confident and prices start to rise. 
</div>
 <div>Peak Phase: </div>
<div></div>
<div>When the best gains have been achieved, this is the point, says Kochie, when "inexperienced and timid investors pile in".</div>
<div></div>
<div></div>
<div>Correction Phase</div>
<div></div>
<div>This he says is when buyers over extend themselves and banks start to tighten credit, making it harder to get a mortgage or refinance.</div>
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The four property phases you need to know according to David Koch

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Australia’s largest customer-owned financial institution, CUA will cut its one, two and three-year fixed rate home loans to 4.89% from June 26.
The credit union group has cut its basic three-year fixed-rate by 10 basis points, its two-year fixed rate by 16 basis points and its one-year fixed-rate by 21 basis points. CUA has also made rate cuts across its premium one, two and three year fixed-rate products.
It joins a growing number of lenders to have cut fixed-rates recently as demand for the products rises to around one in three borrowers, according to Mortgage Choice.
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CUA cuts one, two and three-year fixed-rates to 4.89%

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

Joel Robinson

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

A collection of just 25 large-format apartments and penthouses overlooking Goodwin Park is entering the Coolangatta market, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marea-residences-coolangatta-27-27a-dixon-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Maréa Residences</a> combining a low-density, residential-only approach with uninterrupted park and Pacific Ocean outlooks.

Located at 27 Dixon Street, Maréa comprises three and four-bedroom residences alongside a limited number of dual-level penthouses, with the project positioned between Goodwin Park and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/coolangatta-qld-4225">Coolangatta</a>’s coastal precinct.

Construction has commenced, with completion currently estimated for late 2027. Three-bedroom residences are priced from $1.8 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374005]

The project has been designed around its northern outlook across the park, with the building’s architecture, landscaping and material palette intended to establish a connection with the neighbouring green space. The residences have been configured to maximise natural light and views across Goodwin Park towards the ocean.

Inside, the material palette incorporates timber, stone and brushed brass, complemented by curved detailing and ambient lighting. Kitchens and bathrooms carry the same natural material approach, while residences also include basement parking, storage and lift access.

Maréa’s penthouses are arranged over two levels and include private pools, adding another layer to the project’s focus on larger-format apartment living. Across the development, residences are configured with three or four bedrooms rather than the broader mix of smaller apartment types commonly found in larger projects.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374010]

Resident amenity is concentrated at rooftop level, where landscaped entertaining terraces and pools take advantage of elevated views across Coolangatta and the Pacific Ocean.

The project has so far been particularly well received by local owner-occupiers and downsizers, according to Urban Activation Property Sales and Marketing Director Matt George, with the residential-only format, construction quality and northern park outlook among the features resonating with purchasers.

“The uninterrupted northern aspect overlooking Goodwin Park has been a key point of difference, with buyers attracted to the sense of serenity and open space the park provides, while still enjoying easy access to the ocean and being within walking distance of the lifestyle and amenities Coolangatta has to offer,” George said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374002]

“The combination of high-quality construction, a residential-only building, park outlook and proximity to the beach has resonated strongly with the local downsizer market.”

The Dixon Street address is within walking distance of Coolangatta Beach and the broader southern Gold Coast coastline, including the surf breaks at Snapper Rocks and Kirra. Coolangatta’s cafés, restaurants and retail are nearby, while Gold Coast Airport is also within close proximity.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150999]

Larry Schlesinger

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