STAMP DUTY IS WIDELY CONSIDERED INEFFICIENT AND INEQUITABLE, BUT ANY MOVE AWAY FROM THIS TAX NEEDS TO KEEP ALL OPTIONS ON THE TABLE. In a recent article published in South Australia, commentator Jessica Irvine described stamp duty, on “a scale of one to evil, as the green vomit-spraying head spinner of the tax toolbox.” When […]
WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS HEADING TOWARDS A SEVERE HOUSING SHORTAGE AS THE STATE CONTINUES TO EXPERIENCE RECORD POPULATION GROWTH. According to well respected economist, Paul Braddick from the ANZ, we are likely to be 90,000 dwellings short in Western Australia by the middle of this decade. According to the National Housing Supply Council we were already […]
THE LAND MARKET IN PERTH IS WELL ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY WITH SALES INCREASING FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE QUARTER IN THE THREE MONTHS TO SEPTEMBER, 2012. Every three months UDIA surveys our forty largest developers to determine trends in the residential market sector and for the third quarter in a row the news is […]
THE STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT PROCESS SHOULD DELIVER GREATER SURETY FOR BOTH URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION OUTCOMES THAN THE CURRENT PROJECT BY PROJECT ASSESSMENT PROCESS. Last week I spoke at a national Biodiversity Conference to highlight some of the challenges of trying to manage Western Australia’s rapid population growth within an ecologically sensitive footprint. The South West […]
GENERATION Y PREFERENCES ARE CHANGING THE PROPERTY WE DEVELOP The influence of the Gen Y on the property market, and life in general, is now very obvious in the USA. Ironically Gen Y’s reflect some of the idealism of the 1969’s and 70’s; less about possessions and more about the experience. Of course the latest […]
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IS PART OF MOST MODERN DEVELOPMENTS AND ON THE SWAN COASTAL PLAIN, WHERE PERTH IS LOCATED, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT GIVEN WE ARE LOCATED IN ONE OF THE TOP TWENTY BIODIVERSITY HOT SPOTS IN THE WORLD. With local, state and federal government environmental approvals applying to many developments it can be a minefield […]
MOST PEOPLE HAVE NOW HEARD OF ELIZABETH QUAY BUT MOST WOULD NOT BE AWARE OF THE DETAILED PLANNING THAT IS SITTING BEHIND THIS MASSIVE PROJECT. Whilst the government is currently constructing the inlet, it will be the private sector that takes up the opportunity to deliver the hotels, restaurants, shops and office space. The Metropolitan […]
FIRST HOME BUYERS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE PROPERTY MARKET BECAUSE THEY HELP TO “UNCLOG” THE MIDDLE MARKET. In a normal market first homebuyers are about 20 to 25 percent of the market but they are still running well above that level in some areas. WA Treasury figures show that first home buyer activity […]
WHILST THE FUNDAMENTALS FOR A CONTINUED UPLIFT IN PROPERTY ACTIVITY ARE STRONG, PROPERTY MARKET MOMENTUM WILL BE MAINTAINED AND EXACERBATED BY EMOTIONAL FACTORS Strong economic growth, record population growth, a tight rental market, decreasing mortgage costs, falling property listings; the list could go on. Even though the land development industry is largely not optimistic, these […]