The Real Estate Conversation

Contact

Spotlight on mining town Karratha

Though the rental market is levelling out in the Western Australian mining town of Karratha, house and unit prices are still down more than 50 per cent from their boom-time highs.

International Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

People

Get to know Ronald Chan, CEO of developer Growland

Ronald Chan has been appointed CEO of Growland to lead the company in a new growth phase. Chan takes a 'hands-on' approach to his role, and is overseeing no less than five projects at various stages of completion.

Western Australia (WA)Perth

Featured Property

Check it out: a brand new, architect-designed home on Perth's City Beach with infinity pool and car 'showroom'

This sophisticated home has views from Fremantle to Hillarys from almost every room. For sale with Vivien Yap and Phoebe Shi of LJ Hooker Dalkeith.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

The Economy

Melbourne's bayside suburbs more expensive than Toorak, REIV data shows

Bayside suburbs, such as Albert Park, Middle Park, and South Melbourne, are attracting higher prices per square metre than Melbourne's most exclusive suburbs, according to the latest data from the REIV.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

People

Macquarie Park combined sale makes 55 vendors 'instant millionaires', says Savills

Savills has sold a 5,130sqm site at 15-21 Cottonwood Crescent, Macquarie Park, for around $80 million, delivering the 55 vendors a record price.

International

People

The most expensive house for sale in the US is the former set of 'The Beverly Hillbillies'

As they say, it could only happen in America.

Queensland (Qld)Sunshine Coast

Featured Property

Simply magical: a secluded 32-hectare, beachfront estate in Noosa surrounded by national park

Adrian Reed, from Dowling & Neylan Noosaville, calls Laguna, "Australia's ultimate beachfront estate".

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Construction

Court blocks Bondi DA for inadequate terror assessment

The Land and Environment Court has refused an application by FREE (Friends of Refugees of Eastern Europe) to build a new synagogue in Bondi because the developers failed to adequately address terrorism threats.

Western Australia (WA)

The Economy

REIWA calls on state government for reforms to stimulate property market

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia has made a submission to the WA state government ahead of the 2017 budget, calling for a range of reforms to stimulate the WA property market.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

People

Vale: Robert (Bob) Wemyss Frewin OAM

Robert Frewin, distinguished past president of both the Real Estate Institute of Australia (1981-82) and the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (1970-71), passed away on 4 August. He will be missed by his many friends and colleagues in the industry.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/01/oregon-tiny-houses-solution-homelessness?utm_source=The%20Shortlist%20Daily&utm_campaign=bc4dfa054a-The_Shortlist_Daily_02_April_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7870ce0889-bc4dfa054a-302919405

Can Oregon's tiny houses be part of the solution to homelessness?

As we walk around the neat, colourful collection of tiny houses in Opportunity Village, sitting on an acre of grassy city land in Eugene, Oregon, it’s clear that the problem he’s trying to solve is not homelessness as such: it’s housing.

The Guardian

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/australias-shortlist-of-venice-architecture-biennale-entries-revealed-20150402-1mdat0.html

Australia's shortlist of Venice Architecture Biennale entries revealed

The shortlist of proposals for the Australian exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale has been announced, with entrants vying for the chance to be part of the inaugural exhibition in the new Denton Corker Marshall-designed Australian Pavilion.

The Sydney Morning Herald

http://architectureau.com/articles/ken-maher-elected-new-national-president-of-the-institute/?utm_source=ArchitectureAU&utm_campaign=d8712b7b1e-AAU_2015_04_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e3604e2a4a-d8712b7b1e-40540417&mc_cid=d8712b7b1e&mc_eid=d865be39ad

Ken Maher elected 2016 national president of AIA

The Australian Institute of Architects National Council has elected Ken Maher as the 2016 national president at its first meeting for 2015 on 18 and 19 March in Melbourne. Maher is winner of the 2009 Gold Medal and a Life Fellow of the Institute.

Architecture AU

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/queenslands-peak-real-estate-has-announced-a-major-cull-in-cost-saving-measure/story-fndbalka-1227287426960

REIQ pulls out of REIA

After weeks of denials, Queensland’s peak real estate industry body has finally confirmed it has pulled out of the national umbrella and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland has sold its online property portal to RealEstateView — a firm owned real estate institutes in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

news.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/realestate/the-passive-house-in-new-york-city.html?hpw&rref=realestate&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

Passive houses on the rise in New York

It was less than a decade ago that a building design philosophy from Germany called “passive house” jumped the Atlantic Ocean and quietly took root in Brooklyn. Now, with a few dozen homes and small projects built or retrofitted to this still exotic standard, passive buildings appear poised to enter New York City’s housing market in a much bigger way.

The New York Times

http://www.wsj.com/articles/architect-homes-streamlined-yet-sophisticated-1427389096?tesla=y

Architects' homes are often simple

Many luxury buyers seek homes with complicated floor plans, high-end finishes and the latest technology. But architects’ homes are often simple, sophisticated structures that merely look expensive.

The Wall Street Journal

http://architectureau.com/articles/design-competition-for-the-worlds-most-remote-island/?utm_source=ArchitectureAU&utm_campaign=633d4c81ad-AAU_2015_04_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e3604e2a4a-633d4c81ad-40540417&mc_cid=633d4c81ad&mc_eid=d865be39ad

Design competition for the world’s most remote island

The Royal Institute of British Architects has launched an ideas competition for the future development of the remotest inhabited island in the world. Tristan da Cunha is a self-governing British overseas territory, made up of four islands, in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Architecture & Design

http://www.afr.com/personal-finance/get-set-for-39-per-cent-interest-rates-on-home-loans-as-rba-likely-to-cut-again-20150401-1mam5s

3.9 per cent interest rates on home loans on the way

An April cut would push deposit rates below the essential 3 per cent threshold where savers think they can still cover inflation or their cost of living in a near risk-free asset class. It will also open the door to 3.9 per cent "special" home loan rates, with fixed-rate products offering the cheapest deals as the yield curve prices in a terminal RBA cash rate that is less than 1.6 per cent, or almost two standard cuts below 2 per cent.

The Australian Financial Review