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What should you do if you are concerned about flammable products in your building?

The Australian Building Codes Board has launched a new web site where you can report concerns about non-conforming building products.

New South Wales (NSW)

People

McGrath goes west with new office in Mudgee

John McGrath expects strongth growth in regional, "semi-rural" areas of NSW.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

Featured Property

A Collingwood terrace with contemporary extension and views of Darling Square and the Melbourne CBD is for sale

A two-storey, Victorian terrace within walking distance of the CBD is for sale through Kathy Malcolm and Antony Woodley of Marshall White Hawthorn.

Victoria (Vic.)Melbourne

The Economy

June 30 caps off record-breaking period for Melbourne auctions: REIV

More Melbourne properties went to auction in the first half of 2017 than in any other six-month period.

National New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

People

Get to know Sana and Mona Ali: how they built a $5m property portfolio in their 20s from nothing

Twins Sana and Mona Ali moved from Pakistan to Australian when they were 15, and built a $5 million property portfolio by focusing on cash flow and buying "nothing flashy".

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

Sydney the second-best place in the world to visit, according to U.S. News

Sydney has been ranked second in the 'World's Best Places to Visit' by U.S. News, which says the city is "both a laid-back beachside town and a thriving metropolis".

New South Wales (NSW)

Featured Property

Soak up the serenity of this pavilion-style home in the Byron hinterland

'Beyond Byron' is an architect owned-and-designed home with spectacular views of the valley. The home is for sale for $2.8 million with agent Nicolette van Wijngaarden of Unique Estates Australia.

National

The Economy

Experience matters: HoldenCAPITAL

An experienced development finance broker, like Melvin Seeto of HoldenCAPITAL, can attract competitive pricing and terms from lenders.

Queensland (Qld)Brisbane

Construction

Construction to begin soon on Brisbane residential tower 443 Queen Street

The Brisbane apartment tower 443 Queen Street, which features subtropical design and units promoted as 'houses in the sky', will close its display office on 23 July, as the developers prepare for construction.

National

Politics

Rental contracts are being amended to restrict subletting tenants

There are good reasons for landlords to require written permission for tenants to sub-let their properties, says REIA president, Malcolm Gunning.

Pages

News Roundup

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/this-startup-wants-to-let-people-into-australias-property-market-without-buying-a-house-2015-2

Startup to buy into Australia’s property market without buying a house

A new real estate investment startup BrickX wants to enable investors to partly purchase properties by trading “Bricks” which start from $66 each. BrickX is structured so that each individual property is in a trust and investors can buy or sell into that trust.

Business Insider

http://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1728615/gender-equality-view-real-estate-sectors-next-generation

Gender equality in view for real estate sector's next generation

Among 2,862 real estate companies listed globally, only 62 have women comprising 30 per cent or more of their board membership, Bloomberg Intelligence Asia analyst Robert Fong said.

South China Morning Post

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/commonfloor-launches-retina-a-virtual-reality-take-on-real-estate-665119

Virtual reality applied to real estate

Real-estate portal CommonFloor has unveiled a new app called CommonFloor Retina, which can be used to view new real-estate projects in a spherical 360-degree virtual reality perspective.

NDTV Gadgets

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/3/3/property/why-sydneys-property-market-running-so-hot

Why Sydney's property market is running so hot

House prices, especially in Sydney, are going to go up more before they come down, which means, of course, that they will come down harder when they do.

Business Spectator

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/using-the-wrong-word-when-you-list-your-home-for-sale-could-cost-you-thousands/story-fncq3era-1227246024232

Words in real estate ads matter

For top-tier homes, using the words “investment”, “potential” and “TLC” in ads were linked with significantly lower final sale prices compared with their estimated values, while “captivating” properties fetched higher prices. “Cosmetic”, “bargain”, “fixer”, “nice” were best avoided and “unique” homes, the authors found, tended to need some kind of rehab.

news.com.au

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/property-sector-welcomes-delay-in-nbn-charges-for-new-houses/story-fniz9vg9-1227242073448

Delay in NBN charges for new houses

The government has delayed by a few months extra charges for connecting new-build houses to the $41 billion National Broadband Network. The proposed additional charges for infrastructure in new real estate developments include a one-time $300 connection charge, a $600 “deployment” charge on developers of $600 for homes and $400 for apartment blocks.

The Australian

http://www.smh.com.au/business/property/resi-reits-may-not-be-far-away-20150228-13qjba.html

Residential A-REIT in future?

The success of residential developers during the reporting season for the first half of the 2015 financial year has led to vague murmerings that a residential Australian real estate investment trust could be a reality in coming years. Multi family REITs, as they are known in the US, are very popular but there is a lot of generic stock - lots of apartment blocks from Manhattan to Los Angeles - that make such an investment class a viable option.

The Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/castle-towers-set-to-become-second-biggest-shopping-centre-in-australia-under-proposed-911m-rebuild/story-fngr8i1f-1227245110682

Sydney shopping centre set for $911m rebuild

Australia's second largest shopping centre could be built in north-west Sydney under plans by a major development company. Queensland Investment Corporation is planning to redevelop the existing Castle Towers shopping centre, adding a further 80,000sq m at a cost more than $911 million.

The Daily Telegraph