THE GRATTAN INSTITUTE’S LATEST REPORT, PRODUCTIVE CITIES, IS RICH IN STRONG CONCEPTUAL ARGUMENTS, BUT ITS FAILURE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PERTH AND AUSTRALIA’S OTHER THREE LARGEST CITIES MAKES IT A SOMEWHAT SLANTED REPRESENTATION OF WHY PEOPLE LIVE WHERE THEY DO “If the structure of a city severely restricts access to jobs or […]
STOCK LEVELS HAVE DECLINED BY A THIRD, SALES ARE AT SIX-YEAR HIGHS; THIS WILL INEVITABLY PUT UPWARD PRESSURE ON PRICES. Six months ago, I mentioned that the fundamentals had shifted dramatically in favour of new dwellings and this would translate into further increases in land sales and eventually construction. Land sales in Perth subsequently increased […]
WITH LAND MARKET ACTIVITY HAVING PICKED UP PACE OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, STEVE ROBERTSON FROM PRM PROPERTY GROUP DISCUSSES THE THREAT OF A HOUSING SUPPLY CRISIS With further evidence emerging of a healthy recovery in the urban development sector in 2013, the ability to adequately meet the expected demand for new housing in WA […]
PAUL ROBERTS, ASSOCIATE AT RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL, DISCUSSES HIS FORECASTS FOR CONSTRUCTION TIMEFRAMES AND COSTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Growth in the Western Australian economy continues to surpass growth in all other states, supported by solid growth in private business investment. Household consumption growth was also strong, driven by the State’s strong population growth as well […]
CONTRARY TO THE OPINION OF SOME, THE LAST THING THE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY WANTS IS AN OVERHEATED MARKET BECAUSE A RAPID ESCALATION IN PRICING BRINGS IN SPECULATORS WHO TRY TO BUY AND SELL ON THE SAME RISING MARKET On Tuesday the Census Population Clock clicked over the 23 million mark with Australia’s population growing at a […]
LAND DEVELOPERS BROUGHT FORWARD NEW LAND RELEASES IN THE MARCH QUARTER TO HELP MEET INCREASING DEMAND FOR NEW DWELLINGS IN PERTH THAT HAS SEEN SALES VOLUMES REACH THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2006 Research by the Urban Development Institute of Australia (WA Division) showed that for the sixth consecutive quarter land developers have increased the number […]
THIS WEEK ABS DATA WAS RELEASED SHOWING THAT THE NUMBER OF HOME LOANS INCREASED 18.9 PER CENT IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA TO THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2009, DRIVEN BY AN INCREASE IN LOANS TO UP-GRADERS (I.E. NON-FIRST HOME BUYERS). The amount borrowed also rose with both first home buyers and non-first home buyers increasing the amount […]
OLDER HOUSEHOLDS HAVE BEEN, ARE AND WILL INCREASINGLY BECOME KEY PLAYERS IN THE MAINSTREAM HOUSING MARKET The founding and current chairman of the National Housing Supply Council, Dr Owen Donald, speaking at the recent UDIA National Congress stressed that it is therefore important to understand the residential decisions and behaviours of this cohort and its […]
LUKE ROGERS, LEAD SCIENTIST AT COTERRA ENVIRONMENT EXPLORES THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, AND DISCUSSES THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT (OR SUSTAINABLE URBANISM) WITH A FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS I heard a disturbing statistic the other day in relation to the world’s population growth, which said that the amount of […]