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The best and worst suburbs to buy off the plan

Waterloo in NSW, inner-city Melbourne, and Fortitude Valley in Queensland are higher risk areas to buy off-the-plan apartments, according to new research from Risk Wise Property.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Construction

Tim Gurner to expand into offices

Tim Gurner, best known for residential property development, has revealed plans to develop a $90 million office tower.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Featured Property

Ornate Victorian home with sleek contemporary addition creates a timeless investment

An attractively renovated Brighton home in a quiet cul-de-sac is for sale through Justin Follett and Marcus Heron of Follett & Co for $2.45 million.

National

The Economy

When is the right time to refinance?

Bill Tsouvalas, CEO of Savvy Finance, says borrowers should wait until they have built up at least 20% equity in their home before refinancing.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Design

Danish architects 3XN to redesign Sydney Fish Market

Sydney Fish Markets will be redeisgned by Danish architects 3XN Architects, who are also designing Quay Quarter Tower.

South Australia (SA)Adelaide

People

Get to know Vanessa Grant, sales partner with Toop&Toop

Vanessa Grant, sales partner with Toop&Toop, says "service is my mantra".

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Featured Property

Join the Palm Beach A-list in a home with self-contained apartment

A newly built home in Sydney's Palm Beach with ocean views and within an easy stroll of the beach is for sale for $5.5 million through David Edwards of LJ Hooker Palm Beach.

Sydney records world's strongest office rental growth: JLL

Sydney recorded office rental growth of 28.9% in the year to March, the strongest rate of growth in the world according to the JLL Global Office Index.

National

Construction

Questions remain about non-conforming building products in Australia: HIA

Kristin Brookfield of the HIA spoke to SCHWARTZWILLIAMS about the continued availability of non-conforming building products in Australia, and what to do if you are concerned about them being used in your building.

Winter chill hits auction clearance rates

Auction clearance rates continue to soften, with CoreLogic's preliminary clearance rate coming in at 69.1% last week, and the final result for the previous week hitting 66.7%, the lowest rate for the year.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/real-estate-books-help-news-corp-lift-revenue/story-e6frg996-1227210000841

News Corp makes big profits off real estate

News Corp's second quarter result earning from digital real estate, which includes a contribution from REA Group, surged 50 per cent to $51m.

The Australian

http://www.wsj.com/articles/house-of-the-day-panoramic-sea-views-in-australiaphotos-1423099802

Victorian property gets global attention

A $2.7 million home in the coastal town of Wongarra, Victoria has been featured in an international publication.

The Wall Street Journal

http://www.afr.com/p/business/property/rba_rate_cut_to_spark_record_housing_CewxsQU0uaCNSVuPGDVNyN

Rate cut boom to building industry

BIS Shrapnel predicts the biggest building boom in Australian history is going to accelerate following the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut. The number of dwellings built this year could come close to 200,000 for the first time, beating the previous record of 187,000 in 1994, when the economy was recovering from a recession.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/industry-backs-fees-for-foreign-property-investors/story-fnko7zi0-1227208359679

PM introduces fee for foreign buyers

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed the government will introduce an application fee of up to $1500 for foreign buyers purchasing property in Australia.

The Australian

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/banks-douse-housing-bubble-fears-after-rate-cut/story-e6frg926-1227208377797

No housing bubble, say banks

Bankers and mortgage industry veterans dispel fears the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut will further ignite hot property markets like Sydney, insisting regulators were keeping a tight leash on lenders to head off a housing bubble.

The Australian

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-04/national-australia-bank-quarterly-profit-up-6-on-loans-growth

NAB does well on rising mortgage demand

National Australia Bank Ltd. posted a six percent increase in first-quarter profit on increased mortgage lending and higher markets income.

Bloomberg

http://mashable.com/2015/02/03/google-mortgage-calculator/

Google mortgage calculator

Google has now added the ability to calculate mortgage payments. The feature can be used by anyone via verbal interface on mobile devices, or on the desktop by typing in "mortgage calculator."

Mashable

http://www.afr.com/p/business/property/foreign_property_buyers_target_of_alE56ZZPkcK570m0znhkJJ

FIRB announcement soon

Treasurer Joe Hockey is set to announce the government's response to a parliamentary report into foreign investment in housing soon. The government's response is expected to focus on greater enforcement of the existing rules of the Foreign Investment Review Board, a fee of several thousand dollars for all applications and a national register of land title transfers that would be shared with the Department of Immigration.

The Australian Financial Review