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]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

China

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A partnership between Connect MyProperty and E-House (China) Holdings Limited will allow the Australian company to access 80 million Chinese buyers registered with E-House.
Connect MyProperty, headquartered in South East Queensland, markets Australian real estate offshore and offers services for international buyers, including assistance with Foreign Investment Review Board regulation processes. According to Connect MyProperty, the company converts online listings for "premier" properties to secured sales.
E-House (China) Holdings Limited is listed on the New York stock exchange.
The Australian property section of SINA Haiwai, E-House's international subsidiary real estate site, may now be used exclusively by Connect MyProperty for listings. The wider SINA Leju property portal, of which SINA Haiwai is a part, records about 40 million hits per month.
Last month, SINA Haiwai and Connect MyProperty began conducting tours of Australian properties and developments, beginning at the Foreign Investment Review Board-approved Sanctuary Cove development.
SINA Haiwai real estate general manager Irene Zheng said the company was pleased to be working with its new Australian partner.
"We've always viewed Australia as an attractive place to do business given it is the 12th largest economy globally, it is in close proximity to China, and has a transparent and well-regulated business environment that is the envy of many countries around the world," said Zheng.
"We have been looking for an independent partner in Australia for some time that could help bridge the gap between Australia and China such as language, cultural customs, and regulations in both countries.
"Connect MyProperty's mutual desire for an online-to-offline model and a strong focus on direct, face-to-face communication provides a truly effective and integrated offer for the 80 million members of our Property Buyers Club."
Preston Richardson, Connect MyProperty Director, said the partnership would strengthen Australian-Asian economic ties.
"In particular, the indirect flow-on effects of our partnership have the strong potential to increase the productivity of the construction industry by creating more infrastructure investment opportunities, more developments, and more construction jobs for Australians," says Richardson.
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jrichardson-uRX5hFdKfN

Deal delivers Chinese buyers club to Australian industry

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China is seeking Australia's help to track down corrupt officials and funds they have hidden in its escalating corruption crackdown.
Its corruption-busters running Operation Fox Hunt have suggested Australia had been a popular safe haven for the funds of the fraudsters.
At the very tip of the epidemic, the Australian Financial Review Weekend has pin-pointed a Sydney couple, Su Guanlin and Qian Yi, the son and daughter in law of a powerful Chinese railway official, Su Shunhu, who was ­sentenced for corruption by a Beijing court last Friday.
The AFR special investigation of the money transfers between China and Australia cited court documents from the trial, along with property and company searches in Australia, providing the alleged signs of Australia’s status as a favoured destination for the funds of corrupt Chinese officials.
Court documents obtained by the AFR correspondents Angus Grigg and Lisa Murray in China revealed that $1.19 million was transferred to the local couple's Australian bank accounts between 2008 and early 2010.
The money was wired to Australia from mainland China and Hong Kong in ­16 instalments.
The AFR reported the Sydney couple have since bought an extensive property portfolio. 
The elder Su's trial concluded when the Secondnd Beijing Intermediate People’s Court sentenced the former deputy director of the transport department within the ­Ministry of Railways to life in prison after finding him guilty of receiving 25 million yuan ($4.7 million) in bribes.
He was providing preferential access to the rail freight network where demand vastly ­outstripped supply, leaving loads of coal stranded.
His Sydney-based son and daughter in law paid $1.35 million for a 1950s house in Killara in April last year. The <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-killara-105679852" target="_blank">38 Cook Road, Killara</a> house (pictured above) has remained empty, set for ­demolition and a $500,000 rebuild.
Property records show the couple also owned a townhouse in Breakfast Point bought for $2.2 million off the plan in 2008 and sold for $2.46 million in April last year.
They are also linked to a $550,000 apartment in Rhodes, which is the registered address for their company, and another $400,000 apartment in the Proximity complex at Wolli Creek, bought off the plan in 2006 for $400,000.
The couple told the AFR Weekend, they were confident the couple’s assets could not be targeted under proceeds of crime laws.
“I don’t think so, because everything we own is in our name,” she said. “Because everything we own here isn’t associated with him, and it’s ours, it has nothing to do with him. He has no ­association with our home.”
Qian said she worked as an accountant and her husband was employed by wholesale trading company. 
The list that Chinese officials are seeking assistance on is topped by Gao Yan, a former provincial governor of Jilin, party secretary of Yunan and former chief executive of State Grid Corp, who is thought to be in Australia.
Caijing, a Chinese business magazine, recently identified Gao has having fled to Australia in 2002 after allegations that he and his son, Gao Xinyuan, reaped millions from a rigged electricity transmission building program.
Caijing’s report also identified Lan Pu, a former deputy mayor of Xiamen, and Tong Yanbai, a former head of the highway bureau in Hunan province, as having fled to Australia in 1999 and 2004 respectively. Their whereabouts are not known. 
Liu Tienan, a former vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, was arrested last year with a fake Australian passport and $2 million.
The Washington-based ­Global Financial Integrity group has estimated that US$2.8 trillion flowed out of China illegally between 2005 and 2011.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China’s top corruption fighting body, estimates as much as US$1.5 trillion may have been funnelled just this year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption began in ­late 2012, with some 180,000 party cadres having been sanctioned, some by execution.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Chinese corruption busters set sights on Sydney's Killara, despite the denials

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China's slowing growth has many wondering whether there will be a knock-on effect on Australia's property markets.
Last week, China reported 7.3% year-on-year growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for quarter three, its lowest economic growth rate posted since the first quarter of 2009.
China's domestic property market, including construction and development, is big business, making up an estimated 20% of its GDP. But now, a combination of misplaced property development and unregulated lending have lead to oversupply and so-called "ghost cities", where new developments sit empty, despite a strong demand for housing.
In the minutes of the Reserve Bank's October Monetary Policy Meeting, board members noted that "conditions had continued to soften" in China's property markets.
Many are blaming the poor performance of the Chinese property for its slowing economy. Others are asking how China's slowing economy will affect Australian property.
According to AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver, the state of China's economy will impact Australian national income. However, he believes China's recent slow down has been somewhat overstated.
"So far it's been relatively modest," says Oliver. "The sharp slow down really occurred earlier this decade."
Oliver notes the average 10% annual growth that China enjoyed in the 30 years to 2010 wasn't sustainable in the long-term.
He says the affect of China's slowing economy is "probably already having some impact on Australia, with softer commodity prices".
"That's most obviously reflected in the weakness in iron ore prices."
<blockquote>
"If we went back to 10% plus growth out of China, we could kiss low interest rates goodbye."
</blockquote>
Iron ore is now priced at about US$80 per tonne, after peaking at US$187 per tonne in February 2011. Oliver explains that slower demand from China can also lead to slower export volumes, saying the resulting downturn in national income will have an impact on our property market.
However, he notes that China's long term economic performance should be taken into account.
"Even though the economy has slowed down, it's still twice the size it was 10 years ago," says Oliver.
"The real risk would be is if China's growth slows down a lot."
If Chinese economic growth takes a sharp downturn, Australia's national income would take a hit, and we would see higher rates of unemployment, he explains.
"The Chinese government probably don't want the economy to slow down dramatically," says Oliver, in part due to the huge urban migration movement as people seek employment in the major cities.
"If it doesn't maintain decent growth, they could end up with social unrest."
There is also an argument, Oliver says, that when commodity prices were peaking, "we had too much of a good thing".
"It was very good for the Australian economy initially, but actually had a dampening effect on property.
"The mining boom meant the non-mining part of the economy had to make room, and we saw high interest rates."
Now, the downturn in China-related growth, particularly in the mining sector, has resulted in lower interest rates, fuelling demand in domestic property.
"If we went back to 10% plus growth out of China, we could kiss low interest rates goodbye," says Oliver.
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How will a slowing Chinese economy impact our property markets?

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Since the year 2010, the Chinese property developer Vanke has been the largest residential property developer on planet Earth by annual sales volume.
From a sales revenue of ‘only’  RMB 1.2 billion (equivalent to A$207 million) per annum in 1998, to a staggering revenue of RMB  170.9 Billion (A$29.4 billion) in 2013, Vanke has surely created history in the world of property development. But the Chinese publicly listed company is not the only one that made big profit. In fact, since 1998, the fast pace of property development industry in China has made a large number of billionaire and multimillionaire developers. While at the same time, the term “property developers” in China has been associated with terminologies such as “corruption”, “astronomical price”, “ridiculously huge profit”, it seems Chinese developers are among one of the most negatively seen groups in China.
ZhiQiang Ren, Chairman of HuaYuan Developments Ltd, one of China’s four largest property developers, says he is almost the third most hated person in China – after Junichiro Koizumi (former prime minister of Japan) and Chen Shui-bian (a former Taiwanese politician who was president from 2000 to 2008 and is imprisoned in 2008 for corruption and money laundry).
“And that’s purely because I am seen as the most active and publicised developer in China, where developers are known to be associated with the “dark side” of business making so much profit,” he laughs.
But is property development really a profitable business China-wide?
The answer is no, and there are good reasons – the same reasons that lead to the fact that a wave of Chinese developers are acquiring land overseas, including Australia.
The first reason is simply because it is too expensive to acquire land in China, in comparison to countries such as Australia. Chinese buyers blame Chinese developers for irregularly increasing the property prices, without realising that the Chinese local government is doing the same on land prices to developers. “If you buy a property in China, say if it costs RMB 30,000 (A$5,172) per square metre which is about average price in Beijing,” says XianPing Lang, one of China’s most well known economists, “20,000 of this RMB 30,000 goes to paying for the land component, which means most of the profit gets pocketed by the government.” “In the recent years, there has been an average of RMB 1.69 trillion (equivalent to A$290 billion) of land transactions every year from land sales to developers,” says XianPing, “which equates to almost 48% of total fiscal revenue of the Chinese local government.” My view is that in any country, if the land acquisition component is as high as 66% of the sales revenue, any developer would struggle with making a profit.
In our dealings with Chinese developers, particularly those who recently came from China, they seem to be impressed with the price value ratio of the land, and how “clean” or straight forward a transaction could be.  Plus, there is so much land available in Australia, comparing with China, and most land is privately owned. The second biggest reason is exactly that – the availability of land in countries overseas, in comparison to China.
“In recent years, China’s Department of Land Resources plan to have approximately 185,000 – 200,000 hectares of land per year made available for development, but according to figures by developers, only less than 50,000 hectares were released per year,” says ZhiQiang.
In Australia, where land transactions mostly take place between private owners and buyers, more and more small to medium Chinese developers have taken the opportunity to acquire land. Most focus on inner city locations such as Melbourne, Southbank, South Yarra and St Kilda, as well as areas popular for Chinese residents such as Doncaster, Box Hill, Glen Waverley of Victoria and Hurstville, Chatswood and Epping of New South Wales. “Many Chinese developers are venturing into the medium density sites with developments ranging from four townhouses up to 20 apartments” comments Tim Heavyside, Director of Fletchers Real Estate. “These properties tend to sell quickly and allow developers a speedy turnaround for their investment.  “Some of these developers have also commented on the availability of these sites being many more than currently being offered in China.”
Michael Yang is CEO of <a href="https://www.GiFang.com" target="_blank">GiFang.com</a>, Australia’s leading property portal open for high networth Chinese investors.
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MichaelYang-M4BCtFfzCh

Why Chinese property developers are targeting sites outside of China

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GUEST OBSERVATION
"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home" - Confucius.
Wise words indeed, and ones that are especially apt at present. Australia is not the only country that finds itself having to come to terms with a rapidly changing economic landscape. More importantly – for the world, at least – so does China. One of the key indicators for both countries is the performance of their respective real estate sectors. Like so much these days, they are intertwined and sending out ominous signals.
China’s problems have been a long-time in the making and are of a different order to Australia’s. In some ways China’s problems are far from unique and are simply replicating a long-running story that is as old as human civilisation: over time people move off the land and into cities. This is still the case in China but, like everything else in that remarkable country, it is happening on an epic and unprecedented scale.
To the central government’s credit, it has tried to manage this process and in many ways it has been remarkably successful. However, there are limits to what even the most authoritarian and interventionist of states can do in managing economies, much less the people that make them up. Bad decisions can have monumental consequences. The collective response to the misnamed global financial crisis now looks like a quintessential case in point.
China was largely unaffected by the GFC thanks to a massive government-ordered domestic stimulus package. Unfortunately, much of the subsequent investment ended up in the hands of property developers and speculators. A nexus of local governments keen to sell land for development, so-called “shadow banks” <a href="https://theconversation.com/columns/mark-beeson-60300" target="_blank">keen to lend</a>, and a growing class of wealthy investors looking for high returns on investment, fuelled a surge in apartment-building across China.
China’s notorious “ghost cities” are the most graphic illustration of massive, unconstrained construction that is surplus to the needs of the population – or that part of the population with lots of money, at least. By some estimates there are something like 50 million empty properties in China, or a vacancy rate of nearly 25%. Unsurprisingly prices are steadily declining despite the efforts of state and provincial governments to prop them up. Prices fell by an average of 10% in the first half of this year, and new construction starts have fallen by something like 25%.
While this may look like a necessary and overdue return to economic reality, the consequences for China’s numerous, increasingly exposed and over-reliant trade partners are potentially grim. For example, China has the capacity to produce 1 billion tonnes of steel each year; now however, a third of this capacity is unused. The implications for Australia are all too predictable and manifest primarily in the plunging price of iron ore.
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It’s important to recognise that Australia – or more accurately, the mainly foreign-owned resource companies that dominate production in this country – has contributed mightily to this problem.
The massive increase in investment over the last few years has had its intended consequence: an equally massive expansion in production. It’s hard to believe that the lavishly rewarded captains of industry who run these companies can have been entirely surprised that an increase in supply would have an impact on prices, with or without China’s domestic problems.
Apparently they are. Unfortunately the resource sector may not be alone in succumbing to short-term and wishful thinking. Real estate in Melbourne and Sydney looks wildly overvalued in historical and comparative perspectives and yet the property bubble continues to inflate. We might do well to remember another timeless piece of wisdom: things that look like they cannot go on forever usually don’t.
There may be further to go before real estate in Australia takes a similar hit, however, and China is playing a part in this too. A lot of the smart money is fleeing China as investment yields decline, the local environment deteriorates, and the political situation remains unpredictable. Rising real estate prices in Australia look like a good bet and also have the additional benefit of providing a potential bolt hole if things go wrong in the People’s Republic.
Rather worryingly, Australian officials have little understanding of the impact of Chinese money on real estate prices here, or little capacity (or desire?) to do much about it. The rules designed to regulate the foreign purchase of domestic real estate are notoriously easy to get around and the Foreign Investment Review Board seems to have little capacity to enforce them or detailed understanding of what is happening on the ground. According to a <a href="https://www.afr.com/p/business/property/agencies_in_the_dark_on_extent_of_gQh7McPHXam68NO16GyekL">recent report in the AFR</a>, though "foreign investment in real estate surged to $24.8 billion in the first nine months of 2013-14, an increase of 93% on the previous year".
There are few subjects about which people get more excited than real estate. It would be unfortunate if the idea took hold that foreigners were pricing the locals out of the market, especially as the forces driving house price rises are complex and still largely domestic, it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-things-keeping-house-prices-high-and-foreign-investment-isnt-one-of-them-31345" target="_blank">argued</a>.
Nevertheless, the possible export and influence of China’s property problems could add an unwelcome and possibly avoidable additional complication to what is an especially important, but occasionally fraught, relationship between Australia and China.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/31479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Mark Beeson is professor of international politics at <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-universityhttps://www.murdoch.edu.au/" target="_blank">Murdoch University</a>.
This article was originally published on <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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MarkBeeson-yMCRHrkkic

China's property crisis is coming to Australia and we've only got ourselves to blame 

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Chinese developers are making their presence increasingly felt in Australia and it doesn’t seem that they’re set to slow down.
While Sydney and Melbourne has typically been a popular spot for Chinese apartment developers, it appears that larger companies are looking far and wide across Australia’s market for opportunities.
Here are eight you should know about.
<ul>
<li>Zone Q Investments Pty Ltd</li>
</ul>
Just this week, a $70 million residential tower Pinnacle in South Perth was announced by developer Zone Q as the project that will mark their entry into the Australian market. Zone Q, whose parent company is a privately-owned group with a presence in South China’s apartment market and a focus on Shenzhen, has also earmarked two other Western Australia sites for development.
Zone Q is the Australian arm of mainland Chinese developer JiaHe JianAn Group.
This South Perth, Labouchere Road apartment project will be 20-storeys of luxury dwellings, overlooking Perth Zoo, and will include a $30 million seven-storey commercial tower with retail ground floor.
The entire development, totaling $100 million, will be complete in late-2016. It also marks the tallest tower receiving approval in the City of South Perth in 45 years.
The two lots that form the site for Pinnacle were purchase in late-2013 for $10.7 million, and will soon house the 60 two-bedroom apartments, 40 one-bedroom apartments and two three-bedroom penthouses.
<ul>
<li>Country Garden Australia</li>
</ul>
Country Garden, the Hong Kong-listed development company, has recently <a href="/expert-insights/buying/ryde-garden-debut-for-country-garden-australia">been named as one of the interested parties in purchasing Harry Triguboff’s Meriton</a>.
Country Garden are the developers behind <a href="/expert-insights/buying/strong-off-the-plan-sales-at-country-gardens-ryde-garden-project">North Ryde development Ryde Garden</a> that saw 296 sales in six hours of its launch. This was their first Australian development site, which they purchased in late-2013 for $73 million.
They're a high-end focused developer, and Ryde Garden was notable for being part of one of the biggest urban renewal projects in the history of the state.
<ul>
<li>Wanda Group and Ridong Group</li>
</ul>
The chairman of Dalian Wanda Group is Wang Jianlin – the richest man in China, and recently decided to buy into a Surfers Paradise hotel development site in a joint venture of the $1 billion project.
Known as the Jewel development, it includes 1.13 hectares, set to span three-towers and covers 110 metres of beachfront.
We’ve put Ridong Group in the same entry as Wanda Group as they listed the Broadbeach opportunity seeking equity partners.
Sydney has also reportedly been on the Wanda radar, and for the meantime <a href="/news/chinas-richest-man-wang-jianlin-close-to-buying-into-surfers-paradise-development-site">we’re likely to hear a lot more about Jewel, with construction to start in 2015</a> and scheduled to be completed in 2018.
<ul>
<li>Greenland Group</li>
</ul>
Launching a new North Sydney development called Lucent late next month. With a display suite opening this weekend, they’re also behind what is set to be Sydney’s tallest residential tower Greenland Centre.
Greenland Centre, at 115 Bathurst Street and 339 Pitt Street,
The new North Sydney development will include 211 apartments, from studios to three-bedroom residences. Pricing is as yet unavailable, other than studios – which will start from $528,000. The state-owned Shanghai based group is positioned 87th among the top 500 China enterprises since 1992, and has construction projects in 65 cities in 24 provinces of China.
Their aim is reportedly to enter the Fortune 200 list by 2015.
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<ul>
<li>Harman Global Holdings</li>
</ul>
This Chinese-backed group has made the list for being one of the few to offer house and land packages, with a particular focus on the north-west suburbs of Sydney, the Hills District.
An $80 million Castle Hill development and a $5 million Kellyville site have both been purchased for house and land packages.
The Australian Financial Review reports that the majority of the purchasers into these house and land estates are Chinese.
They also recently spent $33 million purchasing the Kooindah Waters Residential Golf and Spa Resort on the Central Coast, which is set to remain operating, including a hotel and house and land offerings.
<ul>
<li>Bridgehill Group</li>
</ul>
Notably more quiet with their developments, Bridgehill Group hasn’t been any less successful. With their Milsons Point, Arthur Street apartment development – which began construction in December – it was an office block that they have been converting into apartments.
More recently, they spent more than $90 million for an ex-council depot in Zetland. The intention is to built a $500 million apartment development.
They were previously the developers of Azure and Monaco at Rhodes, and are notable for the currently selling Esprit by Bridgehill in Mascot.
<ul>
<li>Starryland Australia</li>
</ul>
Fuxing Huiyu Real Estate Co Ltd, the 23rd largest publicly-listed company in China, is making waves. Their first Australian foray has been the much-publicised $550 million spend across 11 apartment towers in <a href="/expert-insights/buying/chinese-developer-taking-550-million-step-into-sydney-with-11-towers-in-parramatta">Sydney’s Parramatta through newly created Starryland Australia</a>.
Promenade Parramatta, their creation, saw the land for the development bought in September last year by Starryland after their June 2013 formation. They are, however, Melbourne-based.
<ul>
<li>Ausbao</li>
</ul>
Recently dipping their toes into the residential market, Ausbao is looking to redevelop a Sydney CBD office building into apartments at 286 Sussex Street. In June this year they lodged a development application for a 26-storey creation on the site.
The company, a subsidiary of Beijing Capital Development Holdings, are known for Chinatown’s The Quay, a mixed-use development with 270 apartments. The site had been long dormant due to the effects of the GFC.
Honourable mentions go to Marine Parade Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese-based Sunbano Group, for their $85 million Coolangatta development Sanbano Coolangatta, which their marketeers where calling the <a href="/expert-insights/buying/chinese-developer-creates-the-palazzo-versace-of-the-southern-gold-coast">"Palazzo Versace of the southern Gold Coast".</a>
Hengyi, an affiliate of Shandong HYI, also narrowly missed our top eight – recently bringing Light House and The William to market, although remaining quiet about their future plans.
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jduke-EHk3XBmHkn

The eight Chinese property developers to watch emerging across Australia

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The Ausin Group, which specialises in offering residential and commercial property to the mainland Chinese market, has sold over 1,200 new properties across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and New Zealand in the past year.
The annual sales totalled over $800 million with Ausin Group selling over 450 Melbourne properties to Chinese buyers valued at over $260 million within the last three months.
It is now expanding four of its major offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai and Beijing to meet strong demand from Chinese investors seeking Australian and New Zealand properties.
Ausin Group’s buyers are mostly from Southern China, Beijing and Shanghai.
The company now employs over 300 people across 13 offices in Australia and China, with offices at Shanghai, Beijing, Kunming, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Suzhou in China.
Joseph Zaja, general manager of Ausin Group said the demand had been driven by several factors including the Chinese property market being currently soft and "will continue to be so for a number of years".
"Australia is considered a safe property investment haven with solid returns and is a preferred immigration destination. 
"The Australian standard of education, safety and low pollution levels are all appealing to Chinese immigrants seeking a new place to call home.”
Ausin Group expects to double the number of properties the company sells to Chinese investors over the next year.
Ausin Group was established in 2009.
It sells properties for private and ASX listed companies in Australia and New Zealand.
Property sales included a mix of inner city apartments and house and land packages. 
Mr Zaja said sales included inner city apartments within a two kilometre radius from the CBD to residential communities situated between 20 to 40 kilometres from the CBD. 
"<a href="/news">South Yarra</a>, <a href="/news">St Kilda</a> and <a href="/news">Toorak</a> are some of the areas attracting Chinese buyers.”
He said Chinese purchasers in Melbourne were seeking properties which have good infrastructure links, are close to major universities and are easily accessible to the CBD.
Joseph Zaja is a panellist at the upcoming Property Observer webinar on Off the Plan Marketing and Sales Masterclass.
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Ausin expects doubling in mainland Chinese property purchases in Australia

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The rapid rise in Chinese listings portals in Australia has many unaware as to what is now on the market, and which ones they should be keeping a close eye on.
In fact, the topic of technology and <a href="/expert-insights/buying/one-in-six-property-sales-to-an-asian-buyer-re-max">online portals to tap into the Asian buyer market was high on RE/MAX’s radar at their Asia-Pacific Rim Summit</a> held in Hong Kong late last year.
Property Observer has compiled the sites that are becoming movers and shakers in the Australian market, and have used Traffic Estimate to provide information around the number of ‘visits’ each site manages to achieve.
We note that a number of these sites have multiple portals, and therefore their total traffic figure may be substantially higher. The algorithm used by TrafficEstimate works best on sites with more than 20,000 visitors per month.
<a href="https://soufun.com/" target="_blank">SouFun</a> and <a href="https://www.myfun.com/au-cn/buy" target="_blank">MyFun</a>
First up, is SouFun.com and MyFun.com. We have put these two together due to their relationship with realestate.com.au or REA Group.
SouFun is the largest property portal in China, and a new partnership with realestate.com.au will see their myfun.com listings added to SouFun and REA Group owned squarefoot.hk in Hong Kong.
Myfun.com was launched by REAGroup as their property portal for Chinese consumers interested in Australian properties.
The SouFun site reportedly has a strong presence in the United States, Asia and Europe, and claims 30 million visits per month across their network. They also note that they have 15 million SouFun card holders. Their listings cover 30 countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Thailand, Malaysia and Greece.
Myfun looks to provide manual translations into Mandarin, including a property liaison specialist who can deliver enquiries in English to Australian agents and developers.
SOUFUN.COM CURRENT ESTIMATED MONTHLY TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS: 9,073,100 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
MYFUN.COM CURRENT ESTIMATED TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS: 87,000 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
 
<a href="https://www.iproperty-group.com/" target="_blank">iProperty Group</a>
Recently snapping up ex-LJ Hooker CEO, George Chmiel, after 18 months with the real estate company, iProperty Group also claims themselves to be Asia’s number one property portal site. It was established in 2003, and also as a commercial property site CommercialAsia.com.
They have received a number of awards, and their portals include Iproperty.com.my, the Malaysian branch (which we have ranked below), as well as portals for the Philippines, India, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
The company was recording significant growth over the first quarter of 2014.
IPROPERTY.COM.MY CURRENT ESTIMATED TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS: 2,190,000 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
Their annual report notes that total site visitors peaked at almost 1.6 million during the year for iProperty Malaysia. Hong Kong recorded total site visitors over 850,000 for the year.
 
<a href="https://www.juwai.com.au/" target="_blank">Juwai</a>
Juwai was founded by <a href="/expert-insights/investing/four-tips-to-help-you-sell-australian-property-to-chinese-buyers">Andrew Taylor, who has often written columns for</a> Property Observer.
This Chinese listing site has been <a href="/expert-insights/investing/chinese-real-estate-listings-portal-juwai-com-expands-european-property-coverage">expanding into Europe as of early last year</a> and it promotes itself as the largest international property search and information platform for Mandarin-speaking Chinese consumers.
Juwai.com search figures show that European properties were viewed over 882,000 times by Chinese investors in January 2013.
They’ve had LJ Hooker using the site, announcing a partnership back in 2012. They have noted that 32% of their visitors actually live outside of China.
Some of their other customers include McGrath, Lend Lease, Knight Frank, Jones Lang LeSalle, Richardson &amp; Wrench, Raine&amp;Horne, Savills, RE/MAX, Sotheby's and Ray White.
Juwai.com promotes itself as the largest international property search and information platform for Mandarin-speaking Chinese consumers and says that 84% of its traffic comes from high-net-worth Chinese buyers. They note that they have over 2.4 million property listings across 53 countries, and note that they have 1.5 million high net work Chinese consumers.
They run events a number of events including Juwai China Agent Summit 2014.
JUWAI.COM CURRENT ESTIMATED MONTHLY TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS 2014: 1,195,700 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
Article continues on next page. Please click below.
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<a href="https://gifang.com/" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">GiFang</a>
Headed up by Michael Yang it’s said to be <a href="/news/china-based-estate-agencies-selling-australian-properties-through-inflated-two-tiered-pricing-schemes">the largest Chinese language property site in Australia</a> offering international properties in Mandarin.
The site claims that it has partners including SouFun, Migration Institute, the Australian Government, Westpac, RealEstateView, REIV, Sydney Property, Sydney Today, 21CN, HK Property, BaoMoney, Pacific House, Wenzhou property, Sina property, Ifeng.com and ChinaProperty Institute
Established in August 2010, previously with the name YBI Group, the English version is called OurProperties.com.au.
They run a number of property events and seminars and have won a number of awards.
In late-2013, the expectation was that they would reach 1,000,000 unique visitors every month by the end of 2013.
They host data from Residex, who they list as a third party partner.
GIFANG.COM CURRENT ESTIMATED TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR MAY 2014: 532,900 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
OURPROPERTIES.COM.AU CURRENT ESTIMATED TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS: 376,400 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
 
The last few spots will be contentious. Here are some of the up and comers, and some that showed early promise.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/acproperty.com.au" target="_blank">AC Property</a>
Smaller cousin, AC Property, is an Australian-based Chinese language portal that aims to provide a ‘one stop’ solution.
They translate the advertisements for the real estate agents and provide online promotion through Google, Baidu, local Chinese forums, advertisements in major Chinese property newspapers and posters.
AC Property <a href="/news/acproperty-com-au-representing-the-australian-market-in-china">regularly exhibits in China</a>.
NAB and Ray White currently has advertisements on the website.
ACPROPERTY.COM.AU CURRENT ESTIMATED MONTHLY TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS 2014: 16,500 (Source: TrafficEstimate)
 
<a href="https://www.thehomepage.com.au/" target="_blank">Thehomepage</a>
Taking an <a href="/expert-insights/investing/property-portal-thehomepage-now-offers-chinese-language-listings">early leap and putting Chinese language listings on the site in mid-2012</a>, at the time saying it was the only portal in Australia to have yet done so. At the time it was all off the plan product, and appeared popular with developers. Founded by Morry Schwartz, they also place listings on juwai.com.
It includes listings from Ray White, LJ Hooker, Acton, Raine&amp;Horne, Hocking Stuart, Roberts, Barry Plant and Richardson &amp; Wrench.
It appears, however, that they have taken down their Chinese language off the plan portal. Whether they'll look to step again into this market using their own site remains to be seen.
THEHOMEPAGE.COM.AU ESTIMATED MONTHLY TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS 2014: 145,700 (Source: Traffic Estimate)
 
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/Century21global.com" target="_blank">Century21global</a>
Also taking an early leap, <a href="/news/century-21-launches-global-real-estate-portal">Century 21 has used the strength of having offices across the world to launch Century 21 Global</a>, that focuses across the world and not just on China, sharing the properties from all of Century 21’s offices.
It covers 74 countries and 16 languages on their new website, and includes automatic translation services.
CENTURY21GLOBAL.COM ESTIMATED MONTHLY TRAFFIC (VISITS) FOR LAST 30 DAYS 2014: 74,600 (Source: Traffic Estimate)
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The top Chinese investment portals you need to know about

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I was asked this week if I could remember the last time we saw such a hostile response to a federal budget. I responded ‘no’ – as it would have been well before we had access to the internet.
When the world moved into the online space, the internet always appeared with a capital I, which has been replaced with a lower case 'i'. So what happened to the capital “I” one might ask? Well the “I” became you – the consumer, where through this very process (for better or worse) this online revolution has changed how we do business in the modern age.
When one looks at the problems facing the budget, it’s quite clear that Australia has a massive productivity problem. Wages have flat lined which has seen living standards rise just 2.6% over the last five years. The modern day terminology is “on hold”, which is exactly what the Reserve Bank of Australia is doing with the cash rate given our labour market is, best case scenario, neutral and employment growth won’t exceed population growth.
When you’re paying (an estimated) $1 billion just in interest each month, it’s time for any responsible government to say ‘enough is enough’. Just like our neighbours across the ditch did in recent years when they too had to re-calibrate their economy and today, are predicting a $370.5 million surplus with 4% growth.
Unfortunately in Australia’s modern day political arena, there is no room for compromise given the central influence is to play populist politics, not policy. We see differing opinions on how Australia will create a sustainable budget that successfully negotiates a path into the future. If Australia was to continue on the current path without significant change, the present budget would be seen as a soft – touch.
<img src="/images/2014/05/27/simeon%20may%2027%20one.png" alt="">
Source: <a href="https://www.treasury.gov.au/PublicationsAndMedia/Speeches/2014/Fiscal_sustainability" target="_blank">Department of the Treasury</a>
For arguments sake, this is the <a href="https://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/5/22/politics/budget-graph-brought-stunned-silence-coalition" target="_blank" title="budget graph that brought a ‘stunned silence’ to the Coalition">budget graph that brought a ‘stunned silence’ to the Coalition</a> where Secretary of Treasury described it as “the most alarming single piece of information” he had seen about Australia’s future economic prospects, adding that it created a “stunned silence” when he presented it to both the state treasurers and cabinet. Again the significant point to be drawn from this graph is that with our declining terms of trade and an ageing population, our productivity needs a complete ‘about–turn’.
I wouldn’t hold your breath on that because, when one looks at <a href="https://www.ami.org.au/imis15/News_2013_May/Default/Australia_s_Top_100_Brands_2013__/News_2013_May/Australias_Top_100_Brands_2013.aspx?hkey=7621e19d-3bb4-4c3a-b08c-af2b0a18073d" target="_blank" title="Australia’s Top 20 Brands">Australia’s top 20 brands</a> not one is directly involved in technology. On the other hand when one looks at <a href="https://www.brandz100.com/site/reports/global/2014/report/download-report.pdf" target="_blank" title="2014 BrandZ Top 100">2014 BrandZ Top 100 </a>(this is a PDF file so takes a little while to download but well worth the read) we get a pretty good idea of how bad we are performing on a global stage.
Following three years at the top, Google has bumped Apple from the number one position when, in 2014, Google’s brand shot up 40% in a year to US$158.84 billion (A$171.86 billion). All up The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2014 added $310 billion to reach $2.9 trillion in brand value. Prior to the BrandZ Global 2014 results, the Top 100 had increased an average of about 6%, $125 billion annually, since the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. This year, led by apparel, with a 29% overall increase, all categories rose in brand value. And 10 of 14 categories experienced double-digit growth, indicating that brands across the economy have moved beyond recovery into a period of new growth. In the meantime, Australia sits in a mental void trying to work out what to do following the mining downturn.
<blockquote>
The rise of China as a superpower could see it control as much as half the world’s financial assets by 2030.
</blockquote>
For those who recently raised concerns about China’s attraction to Australian property, Secretary of Treasury, Martin Parkinson, told a forum this week in Hong Kong that China’s foreign exchange reserves now approach $4 trillion. Today, China now accounts for around 11% of both world trade and global GDP but only accounts for 3% of gross holdings of overseas assets and liabilities. He went on to say that this figure, which includes foreign exchange reserves, could triple to $16 trillion. The rise of China as a superpower could see it control as much as half the world’s financial assets by 2030.
Puts the Australian budget into a different perspective, especially when you read how China is preparing for its ageing population – <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/china/21600160-pensions-crisis-looms-china-looks-raising-retirement-age-paying-grey" target="_blank" title="Paying for the grey.">paying for the grey.</a> Although Australia is a long way off telling families they have a limit of just one child.
For the second time in 2014 Mosman houses for sale managed to stay above the 100 mark which either tells us more people are selling or houses are not selling as fast. It will be interesting to see in coming weeks, what the correct reason is, although we should note that clearance rates have dropped significantly. Sceptics no doubt, will attribute that to the federal budget!
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

Australia has one almighty brand problem

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The Urban Taskforce has said the federal government's review of foreign investment in residential real estate must be blind to the nationality of the foreign investor.
"While this review is said to consider foreign investment in residential real estate, we fear that the review will focus on Chinese investment. 
"Focusing on a particular country’s investment is counterproductive and dare we say, xenophobic," Urban Taskforce Australia chief, Chris Johnson warned.
He said the Urban Taskforce urges the standing committee to consider foreign investment generally.
"It must resist pressure from those who would have us believe that it is simply Chinese investment in real estate that is driving increases in the cost of housing.
"Media coverage on this matter has been one- sided, suggesting that there is a flood of unregulated money from China causing real estate prices, especially in Sydney, to soar. 
"The claims are that foreign investment, in residential real estate, particularly from China is on the increase," he said.
Their submission said foreign investment in residential real estate was on the decline.
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"The evidence provided in the recent Foreign Investment Review Board Annual Report 2012-13 does not support claims of ever increasing foreign investment.
"For instance, total foreign investment in residential property in Australia has actually been falling from a high of $20.92 billion in 2010-11 to $19.7 billion in 2011-12 to $17.2 billion in 2012-131.
"Reports based on the Foreign Investment Board and Australian Bureau of Statistics data suggest that the Chinese contribution of the total foreign investment in residential real estate to be approximately $5 billion per annum.
"However this is in a market that saw $250 billion in residential property being sold.
"While 2% of the market is a worthy contribution to new housing, it is not considered to be at a level to warrant the community concerns and intense media scrutiny of late.
"There is no doubt that residential property investment from China is the highest with Chinese investors purchasing $5.9 billion in all real estate, which includes commercial real estate.
"It should be noted that commercial real estate is almost twice that of foreign investment in residential real estate.
"Other countries invest in Australian real estate.
"Canada invested just under $5 billion in Australian real estate and the Americans invested $4.4 billion.
"Based on these figures alone, the focus on Chinese investment is not warranted," Chris Johnson suggested.
"Notwithstanding any of the above, the overarching principle of Australia's foreign investment policy, as it applies to residential property, is that the investment should increase Australia's housing stock.
"We support such a policy and agree that it brings benefits to the local building industry and its suppliers.
"The data provided in the Foreign Investment Review Board Annual Report 2012-13 shows this. 
"In the 2010-11 reporting period only $3.77 billion of foreign investment went to existing housing while $12.54 billion went to new developments."
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