The popularity of retail property, always an attractive investment option, appears to have reached a new zenith. According to research by Savills Australia, investors outlaid $9.76 billion on retail assets in the 12 months to June, topping the five-year average for the sector by nearly $3 billion, a rise of 40%. Savills says the figure also represents…
Property buyers and sellers have been hit with an additional paperwork burden that will make them play a direct role in the collection of capital gains tax for the Australian Taxation Office. A change introduced on July 1 requires the sellers of properties worth $2 million or more to obtain a clearance certificate from the ATO to…
Some weeks ago, we proffered some thoughts as to Australia’s infrastructure needs, considering in particular the proposal, conservatively costed at $114 billion, for high-speed rail to link the nation’s east coast capitals. We argued the idea does not represent wise use of funds and there is a solid economic case for high-speed train systems to link…
Commercial Property Yields A review of market activity over the past year or so, makes it abundantly clear that demand for commercial property has kindled a significant tightening in yields. The transformation has occurred since 2013, when the market began to move after years in which investors were focused on bargain-basement prices. It was, of course, inevitable…
In our last post, we talked about sleeping giants and the potential that Beenleigh harbours to become a significant commercial centre. Today, we want to talk about the Gold Coast; a city with projects worth billions of dollars in the development pipeline that is set to undergo major transformation, much of it at the hands of Chinese interests. Renewal on…
At a cursory glance, it is difficult not to conclude that successive state and federal governments have been somewhat remiss in recent years when it comes to community infrastructure – a critical factor in both economic growth and quality of life. At a national level, there has been nothing to match the scale of the…
In our last post, we focused on the Federal Government’s review of its Commercial Building Disclosure program, which was introduced by the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010, along with other measures to improve energy-efficiency in commercial buildings. It was developed by all Australian governments as part of the broader national strategy directed at energy-efficiency. In the…
Johnny’s always running around, trying to find certainty. The above words form the introductory lyric to the Robert Palmer song Johnny and Mary, which many will remember. We raise them because we thought it might be interesting to consider local government charges in relation to development to provide, if not certainty, at least some clarity about the process. The…
Have you noticed the traffic snarl on leaving the M1 motorway at Exit 54, which gives access to Upper Coomera and East Coomera, location of Dreamworld and the Coomera marine industries precinct? Exit 54 is in the throes of a $60 million upgrade to provide for significantly increased traffic flows associated with the yet-to-be-developed Coomera…
The Federal Government has chosen to expand the ambit of its Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) program which, from July next year, will capture all buildings with upwards from 1,000 sqm of office space. The new threshold for mandatory disclosure of a building’s energy efficiency was unveiled ahead of the federal election by Minister Josh Frydenberg and will…