NewsBite

Martin Kelly

June 2022

Bidding at Burgess Rawson commercial property auction in Sydney on June 21, 2022.

‘Buyer numbers have diminished’ but bidding still robust

The mood has shifted in commercial property because of rising interest rates but tight yields and high prices are still being paid for the right assets.

NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford has found serious flaws in the management of the state’s ePlanning portal.

Audit exposes NSW ePlanning portal failures

NSW’s planning bureaucracy botched the introduction of its ePlanning portal and still has issues communicating with key stakeholders about the system.

Adjoining office buildings at 157 and 153 Walker St North Sydney, which have been bought by GPT.

GPT buys into North Sydney with plans for premium tower

GPT’s wholesale office fund plans to build a 46,000sq m office tower in North Sydney by the end of this decade after buying two older buildings on Walker Street.

ASX-listed Charter Hall, which is planning to build this new office tower at Chifley Square in Sydney, has been upgraded to a buy by UBS.

UBS names its top picks amid REIT rout

The value of property stocks has plunged this year and buying opportunities are surfacing, but the investment bank says it’s not cheap yet.

Higher interest rates should be partially offset by rent rises for logistics and industrial facilities.

Industrial property’s golden run to ‘lose steam’ as debt costs rise

Signs are the bull run of Australia’s industrial property sector is easing, but a leading analyst predicts a soft landing and positive outlook.

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Charter Hall is in the box seat to buy the Geoscience Australia building in Canberra for more than $370m.

Charter Hall set to break Canberra office record with $370m deal

The REIT’s office spending spree in Canberra will soon exceed more than $1 billion in just over 12 months as the business targets secure, long-leased assets.

Swiss investor Partners Group has invested $100m equity into the StoreLocal Group to accelerate expansion.

StoreLocal Group secures $100m equity injection from Partners Group

The pandemic ignited demand for self-storage, a trend that shows no sign of slowing with global investors such as Partners Group looking to capitalise.

Australia’s national rental vacancy rate has hit 1pc, the lowest it has been since 2006.

Rental crisis deepens as vacancy rates slump

Australia’s rental crisis deepened through May as national vacancy rates fell to 1 per cent, the lowest level in 16 years.

Australia’s total dwelling value passes $10trn for the first time

Housing values boomed in the year to March 31 but, based on recent expert forecasts, that may represent a near-term peak as interest rates bite.

627 Chapel Street is now 80 per cent leased after being built during the pandemic.

New office projects fill up amid switch to inner suburbs

Alongside the leasing success at Goldfields’ 627 Chapel Street tower, another project by Peregrine Projects in Collingwood is 92 per cent leased.

QT Newcastle exterior. The property, owned by AFR Rich Lister Sam Arnaout, has recently opened.

Sam Arnaout makes a splash in Newcastle on the QT

It seemed like a gamble at the time, but Sam Arnaout’s East End development in Newcastle is paying off big time.

A render of the data centre at Truganina, in Melbourne’s west.

‘Big gorilla’ Stack buys into Aussie data centre business

Builder Hickory has sold a controlling share of a key division to the US-based company as part of a $1.5 billion pipeline of growth.

Mt Hotham alpine resort is celebrating a bumper start to the 2022 winter with an early season opening.

Mt Hotham moves to capitalise on developer demand as snow dumps

Snow is falling, alpine optimism abounds and Mt Hotham management is looking to capitalise on the buoyant mood, putting key development sites on the market.

Brookfield Place Sydney

Green financing takes off in commercial property

It was a long time coming, but it’s now clear that Australia’s commercial property sector has finally embraced sustainable financing.

Sydney, Melbourne home prices could fall 20 per cent

Home prices in Australia’s biggest cities rose the highest and have the furthest to fall as mortgage interest rates rise faster than expected.

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Property stocks are down.

Property stocks down 20pc for year as interest rates, inflation bite

A tough year may get even tougher for property stocks with further interest rate rises tipped.

Stockland’s proposed North Sydney office tower has received planning approval.

Stockland hits new heights as North Sydney’s tallest building approved

It’s all part of developer Stockland’s push into premium office space.

91 George St Parramatta, GPT Wholesale Office Fund, render.

Billion-dollar Parramatta growth plans threatened by state government move

The state government’s conservative approach to floor space ratios in Parramatta undermines its high-rise goals for Sydney’s second CBD.

Campbell Hanan, Richard Seddon and Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz from Mirvac with NSW Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres at the site of the Aspect Industrial Estate in Kemps Creek, Sydney.

Mirvac’s new Aspect on Western Sydney Aerotropolis site takes off

Mirvac is making up for lost time in the booming logistics sector, rapidly expanding its industrial developments in western Sydney.

Centuria Industrial REIT now owns 10 assets across 25 hectares at Derrimut in Melbourne’s west.

Centuria Industrial REIT takes $20m gain on $13m purchase

The listed investor is following a broader strategy of acquiring adjoining assets within key infill markets to drive scale and tenant diversity.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/martin-kelly-p4yw4v