Property Focus

Property

More misfortune for Australia 108 building

Chris Vedelago Famed architect Nonda Katsalidis and his coterie of wealthy investors have sold their stake in Melbourne's troubled Australia 108 apartment mega-tower.

Retail

Westfield split faces stiff opposition

Michael Smith, Grethcen Friemann The Lowy family’s efforts to split up the domestic and international arms of its global shopping mall empire face a crucial test in coming weeks as senior Westfield executives embark on a charm offensive to sell the deal to investors.

House prices near record

Nick Toscano, Adam Carey and Craig Butt Melbourne's house prices are on the cusp of a new high after rising 8.5 per cent last year, while median unit values rose 8.7 per cent in 2013 to a record $481,000.

Property

Australian capital city house prices rise 10% in 2013

GLENDA KWEK Capital city house prices rose by almost 10 per cent last year, the highest yearly growth in four years.

Property

Forget houses; shrewd investors are turning to warehouses

CAROLYN CUMMINS Boom in e-commerce and the rising use of the internet will bring boom-time conditions to the industrial property sector in the coming year, according to logistics leasing experts.

Property

Pub float may add life to listless REITs

CAROLYN CUMMINS The next 12 months are tipped to be better for the industrial and residential-focused real estate investment trusts, as investors prepare for several new floats, particularly in the volatile pubs sector.

Property

Brutalist icon to make way for Perth CBD hotel

MICHAEL HOPKIN FESA's former head office is to make way for a new hotel aimed at easing the accommodation squeeze in the CBD.

Property

Sydney CBD office space to get a $2b makover

CAROLYN CUMMINS More than $2 billion worth of office redevelopment is earmarked for Sydney’s CBD in the coming year.

Property

Disgraced developer George Herscu reportedly dies

CAROLYN CUMMINS One of the more flamboyant personalities of the 1980s property sector, George Herscu, has reportedly died.

Property

CFS Retail to internalise in $460m deal

CAROLYN CUMMINS One of the last few remaining externally-managed real estate investment trusts that were created more than 20 years ago, CFS Retail, has signed a $460 million deal with the Commonwealth Bank to internalise the vehicle.

Commercial Property

$24m Cheltenham deal seals top month

SIMON JOHANSON Forza Capital caps off two weeks of pre-holiday deal making, selling iSelect's Cheltenham headquarters for $24m.

Property

Melbourne vacancies soar and rents fall as new apartments stay empty

Simon Johanson Melbourne’s vacancy rates are soaring as a surge in inner-city development adds thousands of apartments to the rental market.

Property

REA chief Greg Ellis resigns

Madeleine Heffernan Shares in realestate.com.au parent company REA Group have dived on news that its long-serving chief executive, Greg Ellis, is departing

Queen Victoria Market set for 50-storey tower on doorstep

JASON DOWLING A planned 50-storey apartment and hotel development on the front step of Queen Victoria Market could be the first of a swag of new high-rise towers to overlook the market.

Property

Leighton, Mirvac win Perth CBD contract

Construction giant Leighton and property group Mirvac have won a contract to develop a large part of the multi-billion dollar Perth City Link project.

Property

GPT tipped to sweeten its CPA takeover deal

CAROLYN CUMMINS GPT Group's bidding war with rival Dexus Property Group set to continue.

Neighbours take a squiz at Squizzy's place but no buyer

Nicole Lindsay The prospect of owning a 1930s getaway tunnel was not enough to draw out bidders.

Big deals tell the story of 2013

CAROLYN CUMMINS The year started with GPT Group looking at a bid for Australand and ended with GPT Group making an offer for Commonwealth Property Office Fund.

Building

Sydney construction activity on the rise

CAROLYN CUMMINS Construction activity is heading for improved conditions boosted by the rise in residential development and, to a lesser extent, commercial projects, which are coming off a low base. But some gains may be tempered by higher forecast labour costs and the effect of volatile currency markets.

Property

CBD squeeze means fringe benefits

CAROLYN CUMMINS The Sydney fringe markets have been some of the busiest for deals, with more than $1.5 billion of sales transacted in the past 12 months.

Ratings tool crucial to lifting sustainability standards

Hot Property Kevin Hastings Sustainability in the design and construction of new office buildings has been a focus in Australia for more than a decade.

Property

Federation Centres buys Carlingford Court shopping centre from GPT

CAROLYN CUMMINS Federation Centres has expanded it footprint into the Sydney retail sector with the $177 million joint acquisition of the Carlingford Court centre from GPT Group.

Property

City Tatts gives Pitt Street a makeover with new hotel, flats and restaurants

CAROLYN CUMMINS The traditional retail fortress of Pitt Street is to get a make over with a new 100 room hotel, more than 200 apartments and restaurants and a new City Tattersalls Club.

Property

Dexus sweetens bid for CPA

CAROLYN CUMMINS Dexus Property has lobbed a hand grenade into the property sector with the anticipated sweetened offer for Commonwealth Property Office Fund in a bid to dislodge the current rival GPT Group's offer.

Market wrap

An investor-developer has bought a 1559 sq m building on a corner site at 442-444 North Road for $4.98 million.

CEL Australia buys office building in St Kilda Road for $45.28 million

SIMON JOHANSON Australian subsidiary of large Singaporean property developer buys 12-level office building in St Kilda Road for $45.28m.

Developers make most of prime conditions

SIMON JOHANSON Prime development conditions deliver two large unlisted property players record profits, with one using the money on a $48 million private plane.

Property

Westfield faces backlash over split terms

CAROLYN CUMMINS Westfield is facing an investor backlash to its proposed split, with institutional managers threatening to vote the deal down if the share component of Westfield Retail Trust is not reworked.