The Real Estate Conversation

Contact

Swiss chateau designed by Eiffel architect for sale

Chateau de Promenthoux, a historically significant chateau located 12km from Geneva, will go to auction on 15 June through Concierge Auctions. Originally listed for CHF 50 million (AU$65 million), the property will sell to the highest bidder.

Queensland (Qld)Sunshine Coast

Featured Property

Modern waterfront Noosaville home for sale for $3.55m

A grand waterfront manor with a northerly aspect is for sale by Adrian Reed of Dowling & Neylan Real Estate Noosaville.

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

The Economy

Auction volumes up, clearance rates hold steady

Auction clearance rates are stabilising, which is good news for the market, says John Cunningham, president of the REINSW.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Politics

NSW government to review practices for managing contaminated land

The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that the locations of contaminated sites in NSW may have been kept hidden in order to protect property prices.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

The Economy

Young Melbourne buyer turns 'property hound' to keep dream alive

Samantha McCarthy of hockingstuart Werribee says she can hear the stress in people's voices as they inspect properties they fear may have drifted out of their price range.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Featured Property

A beautiful home built around a serene pool and garden is for sale

A luxurious sanctuary in Toorak is for sale by Marcus Chiminello and Nicole French of Marshall White.

Western Australia (WA)

Politics

‘Long overdue’ WA strata title reform welcomed by industry leaders

Leading industry bodies, including the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, have welcomed the Western Australian State Cabinet's decision to continue with strata title reforms.

National

The Economy

CoreLogic numbers dispel smashed avo theory

The 20% deposit and stamp duty required to buy a house in Sydney is $158,933, based on new CoreLogic data. That's equivalent to 20 years' worth of smashed avo.

International

People

Robert Downey Jnr buys historic windmill in the Hamptons

Robert Downey Jnr has bought a 19th-century 'windmill house' in the Hamptons.

Western Australia (WA)Perth

Featured Property

New York-style warehouse apartment in Perth CBD

This historic warehouse conversion, designed by Scanlan Architects, has city views and spans an entire floor on King Street in Perth's CBD. It is for sale by Richard Mathlin and Callum Davidson of Knight Frank.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.afr.com/p/business/property/stockland_mooted_as_potential_bidder_Y9AyVTMNfmSWwh2Nch88FK

Stockland could make a play for Novion

Credit Suisse believes that Stockland could make a cash and scrip offer for Novion Property Group, blocking the latter's proposed merger with Federation Centres. A combined Novion-Federation Centres would boast a retail property portfolio worth $22 billion, while Stockland owns some $5.7 billion worth of retail assets.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/leighton_holdings_delivers_project_ZMiljrBzgb6bhslc3sl88M

Leighton Holdings delivers big profit

Australian construction group Leighton Holdings has posted a net profit of $A676.5m for the 2014 calendar year, which is 33 per cent higher than previously. The group expects its net profit for 2015 to be within the range of $450 million and $520 million.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.mortgagebusiness.com.au/breaking-news/8157-cba-flexes-its-tech-muscles?utm_source=Mortgage%20Business&utm_campaign=Mortgage_Business_Newsletter12_02_2015&utm_medium=email

CBA flexes tech muscle

Australia’s biggest bank emphasised technology and digital platforms are a key point of difference when it announced its half-yearly profit results yesterday.The lender posted a statutory NPAT of $4.5 billion, up 8 per cent, and a cash NPAT of $4.6 billion – also up 8 per cent, in the six months to 31 December 2014.

Mortgage Business

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/dubais-real-estate-moguls-bet-on-another-property-boom/story-fnay3ubk-1227216461238

Another boom for Dubai?

Dubai’s real estate moguls are betting on another property boom. Many property magnates are back building weird, wonderful and some say wildly over-ambitious projects in another go-go era for the city.

The Australian

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/11/tsb-10-year-fixed-rate-mortgage

Mortgage deal to attract first home owners

An English bank is offering a 10-year fixed-rate mortgage aimed at customers who have only 5% of the purchase price to put down as a deposit. The lender said borrowers would be able to lock in to a rate of 5.69% until 2025 at a loan to value of up to 95% of their property’s price. It is the only 10-year fix at that level in the UK.

The Guardian

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/13-real-estate-tips-from-zillow-ceo-spencer-rascoff-2015-2

Real Estate by the book

U.S. real-estate website Zillow has been collecting information about the residential real estate market for a decade, and has taken what it’s learned and put it into a book with advice on buying and selling homes. It's called “Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate” by Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and chief economist Stan Humphries.

Business Insider Australia

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/stockland_first_half_profit_rises_xgI6HcX0ydrA67iItuO6WN

Housing boom a win for Stockland

Australia's biggest diversified property group, Stockland, said its first-half underlying profit rose 8.5 per cent to $290 million from $267 million in the year-earlier period. "Our residential business was a standout performer in the first half, with substantially increased sales across a number of the markets in which we operate," said managing director Mark Steinert.

The Australian Financial Review

http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/housing-boom-tipped-to-get-bubbly-as-mortgage-rates-fall-20150210-13aftd.html

House prices rise

Economists are talking of a Sydney housing bubble as mortgage rates fall to all-time lows and Australian Bureau of Statistics data released yesterday showed house prices in Australia's capital cities continued to rise in the December 2014 quarter. Sydney prices rose another 3.4 per cent, while Brisbane and Melbourne recorded 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent growth respectively.

The Sydney Morning Herald