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Melbourne records 13.2% house price growth in 2017: REIV

Strong demand for premium real estate, and a reinvigorated first-home-buyer market drove Melbourne house prices 13.2 per cent higher in 2017, the fastest rate of growth since 2010.

New South Wales (NSW)Sydney

The Economy

Sydney vacancy rates treading water

Sydney's vacancy rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 2.2 per cent in December, according to new data from the REINSW.

Victoria (Vic.)

Featured Property

Art Deco fairy-tale amidst botanical gardens

Glenfyne Gardens is a stunning historical property and residence situated on 6 acres of botanical fairy-tale gardens. For sale by Janine Lum, Unique Estates Australia.

International

Design

Finding beauty in imperfection: 'wabi-sabi' - the hottest design trend of 2018

The good news is you can stop ironing your sheets in 2018. The hottest design trend is all about simplicity, modesty, and celebrating the imperfect.

National

Design

Yucca warning - popular plant can cause serious ear damage

Yucca plants, a staple in gardens around Australia for their hardiness, have come under fire from The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital after being involved in 28 cases of ear trauma in five years.

Queensland (Qld)Brisbane

People

Get to know Mitch Peereboom, bolstering Ray White's auction offering in Queensland

Mitch Peereboom, chief auctioneer with Ray White Queensland, tells SCHWARTZWILLIAMS the top end of the Brisbane market is doing well, particularly when agents can generate strong levels of competition for a property through the auction process.

Western Australia (WA)Perth

Featured Property

Swan River panorama designed by Giorgi

Riverview alfresco with picturesque vistas through huge windows framing Swan River views. The preservation of a gnarled native Peppermint tree in the central courtyard creates a sense of timelessness. For Sale by Vivien Yap of Ray White Claremont.

National

The Economy

First-home buyer share of market keeps rising: REIA

First-home buyers made up 18 per cent of total owner-occupier housing finance commitments in November, the highest percentage in over five years.

Queensland (Qld)

People

Barbara Wolveridge to head up Queensland Sotheby’s new Port Douglas office

The new Port Douglas office will be the fourth Queensland Sotheby's has opened in the last twelve months, and will be headed up by well-known local agent, Barbara Wolveridge.

Western Australia (WA)Perth

The Economy

Report shows affordability improving in Western Australia: REIWA

“With our local market on the cusp of recovering, now is the time for buyers to take advantage of favourable conditions," says Hayden Groves, president of the REIWA.

Pages

News Roundup

http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/leading-economists-slam-academics-predictions-for-australian-house-prices-20150713-giasmo.html

Leading economists slam academics' predictions for Australian house prices

Australia's leading economists have slammed suggestions from academics that Melbourne and Brisbane house prices will suddenly crash this year while Sydney house prices surge. The paper, reportedly under review for the Economic Record, suggests a wildly disparate future for house prices around the country, including a 9.2 per cent fall in Melbourne, 8.1 per cent fall in Brisbane and 5.2 per cent drop in Perth.

Domain

http://architectureau.com/articles/three-kings-house-1/?utm_source=ArchitectureAU&utm_campaign=385b7d9660-AAU_2015_07_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e3604e2a4a-385b7d9660-40540417&mc_cid=385b7d9660&mc_eid=d865be39ad

Cliffhanger: Three Kings House

In Auckland’s Three Kings, a steep, almost inaccessible rocky hillside becomes the unlikely site for a multilevel family home. Designed by Roy Wilson of Warren and Mahoney, the house was inspired by Californian modernism and the mid-century houses of the influential New Zealand practice, Group Architects.

ArchitectureAU

http://www.yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au/news/chinese-buyers-grab-more-than-1-billion-in-aussie-real-estate-in-three-months-202647.aspx

Chinese buyers grab more than $1 billion in Aussie real estate in three months

One quarter of all Chinese capital invested in foreign real estate in the first three months of 2015 was directed to Australia’s shores.

Your Investment Property Magazine

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/greathomesanddestinations/in-sydney-more-than-just-a-room-with-a-view.html?_r=0

In Sydney, More Than Just a Room With a View

A home in one of Australia’s most exclusive suburbs is being offered for sale, having not been lived in since undergoing a full interior refurbishment.

The New York Times

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/12/chinas-rich-seek-shelter-from-stock-market-storm-in-foreign-property

China's rich seek shelter from stock market storm in foreign property

Real estate agents in Australia, Britain and Canada are bracing for a surge of new interest in their already hot property markets, with early signs that wealthy Chinese investors are seeking a safe haven from the turmoil in Shanghai’s stock markets.

The Guardian

http://www.afr.com/real-estate/shanghai-rout-hits-chinese-developers-fuxing-poly-ausbao-in-apartments-20150710-gi9737

Shanghai rout hits Chinese developers Fuxing, Poly, Ausbao in apartments

Several listed Chinese companies at the heart of Australia's apartment construction boom have been caught in China's sharemarket meltdown, raising concerns about the strength of their balance sheets amid warnings they're carrying too much debt.

The Australian Financial Review

https://sourceable.net/falling-aud-make-aust-housing-even-appealing-foreigners/

Falling AUD to Make Aust Housing Even More Appealing to Foreigners

CoreLogic RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher says housing is looking expensive to many Australians, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, but not so for foreign buyers.

Sourceable

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/latest/foreign-housing-investment-set-to-grow/story-e6frg90f-1227435580933

Foreign housing investment set to grow

The declining Australian dollar is expected to make Australian housing even more attractive to foreign buyers.

The Australian