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Roy Morgan: 345,000 Aussie mortgage holders have little or no equity in their homes

The proportion of Australians with little or no equity in their homes is rising, according to new research from Roy Morgan.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Design

Greville Pabst on what you can learn from The Block

There are lessons for renovators and home buyers on The Block, says Greville Pabst, judge on hit TV show, The Block.

Queensland (Qld)Sunshine Coast

Featured Property

Luxury, north-facing, and long water views in Noosaville

Pavillion-style north facing waterfront living on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. For sale through Petar Markanovic of One Agency Noosa Heads.

Tasmania (Tas.)Hobart

People

REIT 2017 Awards for Excellence celebrate a top year for Tasmanian real estate

The REIT celebrated Tasmania's best in the industry last night at the 2017 Awards for Excellence in Hobart.

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

The Economy

Melbourne gets set for biggest auction weekend in 18 months

“The last weekend in October is likely to see the highest number of auctions held in a single weekend since March 2016," says REIV CEO, Gil King.

South Australia (SA)

People

South Australian real estate's medieval themed awards night

The Real Estate Institute of South Australia hosted the 2017 Awards for Excellence on Saturday night, with a medieval theme adding a new dimension to the proceedings.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Featured Property

The perfect union of luxury, space and beauty in Surrey Hills, Victoria

A perfect combination of heritage elegance with contemporary family livability. For sale with Geordie Dixon and Tom Ryan of Jellis Craig Hawthorne.

International

Construction

Retire to Phuket at Kamala Senior Living on serene Kamala Bay

"Kamala Senior Living is one of the first luxury retirement communities in Asia that introduces an ideal lifestyle for independent seniors," says Ornruedi Na-Ranong, CEO of developer Nye Estate.

New South Wales (NSW)

Politics

Thousands 'double-dipped' in NSW new home grant scheme

In the five years that the new home scheme was in operation, 131,203 received a grant, with 18 per cent receiving more than one grant, and 3,378 receiving more than five grants.

National

The Economy

First-home buyers at highest levels since 2013: REIA

The proportion of first-home buyers in the home lending market is at a four-year high, says Malcolm Gunning, president of the REIA.

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