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Featured Property

Imposing 1930s family residence for sale by RT Edgar Toorak

This 1,616sqm Toorak estate set in stunning established garden surrounds and with a north-south championship-sized tennis court, is for sale by Jeremy Fox and Tim Wilson of RT Edgar Toorak.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

The Economy

A tale of two markets: Sydney's Upper and Lower North Shores

While the Sydney property market is plateauing, prices, numbers at open homes, and auction clearance rates in some areas have been hit harder than others, say agents.

Victoria (Vic.)

The Economy

Melbourne's top growth suburbs for real estate prices

New data from the REIV shows that government incentives have created strong demand for property at the lower end of the Melbourne market, with 44 per cent of all sales in the September quarter valued at less than $600,000.

International

Design

Furniture for cats used in campaign to promote Okawa City's furniture crafts

Furniture for cats is now officially a thing, with Japan's Okawa City using scaled down versions of the real things to promote its traditional crafts and skills.

Queensland (Qld)Gold Coast

Featured Property

Designer Sam Ray: "This house is impressive from every angle both inside and out"

"The project at 85 Gibraltar Drive is a design that I am very proud of. I spent a lot of time ensuring that we captured as much of the views and solar orientation as possible but incorporated design features that impressed," says designer Sam Ray. For sale by Sam Guo and Julia Kuo of Ray White Broadbeach.

National

The Economy

Australians are holding onto their homes for longer

The transaction costs of buying and selling a home have become prohibitive, but cuts to stamp duty and low-cost agents could make buying and selling more affordable, says Cameron Kusher of CoreLogic.

International National

The Economy

Sydney, Melbourne among world's top cities for real estate investment: CBRE

Tokyo is the world's largest real estate investment market, with Sydney fourth and Melbourne fifth in the Asia Pacific, according to the CBRE report 'How much real estate? A global analysis'.

International

The Economy

Ellen DeGeneres buys Santa Barbara beach house for $24m

TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres has bought a Carpinteria, California, beach house for $24 million.

International

Featured Property

A slice of paradise on Kauaroa Bay, New Zealand

Kauaroa Bay Estate is one for the dreamers: it has its own bay, two acres of coastline, a five-bedroom family home, and guest accommodation. For sale with Ross Hawkins of New Zealand Sotheby's Realty Auckland Parnell.

National

The Economy

Affordability is improving, and first-home buyers are back in the market

New data from the HIA shows that housing affordability improved during the September quarter, while Mortgage Choice says loan approvals for first-home buyers are at four-year highs.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.afr.com/real-estate/commercial/investment/chinese-investment-in-australia-shifts-to-commercial-real-estate-20150524-gh8bxl

Chinese investment in Australia shifts to commercial real estate

Chinese investment in Australia has shifted massively to commercial real estate and infrastructure, showing that the country remains attractive to Chinese capital despite the end of the commodities boom. A study to be released on Monday shows that private Chinese money has overtaken state-owned-enterprise investment for the first time, which is likely to reduce some of the political tension that has surrounded Chinese government influence over investment.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/will-housing-bubble-pop-in-2017/story-fndban6l-1227365483287

Will housing bubble pop in 2017?

Australia is in the midst of the greatest credit-fuelled real estate bubble the country has ever seen. When it pops it’s going to devastate the economy, and quite possibly take the big banks with it. That’s the warning from Lindsay David, founder of LF Economics, author of Australia: Boom to Bust, and resident doomsayer of the Australian economy. But is he right, or have we heard this all before?

news.com.au

http://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/japan-home-transformed-into-kindergarten-with-faca

Architects transform home in Japan into kindergarten that children can draw on

Global architecture practice MAD Architects has broken ground for its first project in Japan – a kindergarten wrapped in a sheath of paper-like pieces that act as canvases for its students to draw and create on.

Architecture & Design

http://www.theprovince.com/business/Gregor+Robertson+calls+provincial+government+bring/11076030/story.html

Vancouver mayor calls on provincial government to bring in 'speculation tax' on real estate

As citizen anger over foreign investment and skyrocketing real estate prices boils over in Metro Vancouver, Mayor Gregor Robertson has called on Premier Christy Clark to intervene in property markets with a “speculation tax.”

The Province

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/australia-one-of-worlds-richest-most-equal-countries-oecd/story-e6frg926-1227364239037

Australia one of world’s richest, most equal countries: OECD

Australia is not only one of the wealthiest countries in the world but also has one of the most equal distributions of wealth. A new OECD study on inequality shows that Australia also stands out as one of the only advanced countries where the distribution of income has become more equal over the seven years since the global financial crisis.

The Australian

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-weight-of-chinese-money-adds-to-the-cost-of-housing-20150520-gh5x7z.html

The weight of Chinese money adds to the cost of housing

The movement of funds from China, from both the formal economy and the grey economy, will continue to have a ripple effect on the housing markets of Sydney and Melbourne, and those ripples appear to be widening. For young people seeking to enter the property markets in Sydney or Melbourne, it is just one more thing to make housing affordability a mirage.

Sydney Morning Herald

http://architectureau.com/articles/converting-roads-to-parks/?utm_source=ArchitectureAU&utm_campaign=1642c62373-AAU_2015_05_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e3604e2a4a-1642c62373-40540417&mc_cid=1642c62373&mc_eid=d865be39ad

Converting roads to parks

Something’s afoot in the backstreets of Collingwood, just north of Melbourne’s CBD. The former industrial area has been rapidly gentrified, earning a reputation for hip warehouse conversions, boutique galleries and offices, hipster cafes and artisan retail outlets. The neighbourhood has a bohemian, eclectic feel: effortlessly cool with a sense of spontaneity.

Architecture & Design

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/realestate/news/dundas-is-the-latest-suburb-to-have-its-residential-record-broken/story-fni0cly4-1227362486619

Dundas is the latest suburb to have its residential record broken

As buyers and sellers continue to wonder if the strength of the property market will hold, signs are pointing to yes, with another suburb record being smashed. A property in Dundas set a new high for the area, breaking the residential record at $1.3 million.

Herald Sun