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Record high mining sector employment levels and low residential vacancy rates are driving increasing interest in the Perth property market, so for investors with a strategic counter-cyclical investment approach, these signs suggest it’s a great time to buy in the Western Australian capital.  Declining vacancy rates Perth’s vacancy rate of 4.2 per cent at the end of September 2018 represents a significant reduction over the past three years, and rents are remaining steady while other capital cities have recorded a decline. With sales figures historically following the lead of the rental market, there’s every reason to have improved confidence in the Perth market, particularly as we head into spring and summer. The Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) recently noted that Perth’s vacancy rate is at its lowest since early 2015, with leasing activity rising significantly in recent months. REIWA’s president, Hayden Groves, said that this indicates that confidence and stability is returning to the market. “Steady rents, easing supply as listings for rent continue to fall and stronger demand with more leasing activity all point to the rental market…

PERTH’S vacancy rate fell to its lowest level in four years in the September quarter 2018, according to reiwa.com data. It was one of several positive signs for the rental market with leasing activity increasing, median rents remaining stable, stock levels decreasing and average leasing times declining. “The September quarter 2018 results are very encouraging and should provide landlords and investors with a lot of confidence,” REIWA president Damian Collins said. Perth’s vacancy rate was 3.9 per cent in the September quarter, the lowest level since the March quarter 2014 and below the 10-year average. There were 13,234 properties leased during the quarter, an increase of 5.2 per cent on the June quarter. “Tenants were a lot more active this quarter than last, with 132 suburbs across the metro area recording increases in the number of properties leased,” Mr Collins said. The five suburbs with the highest volume of properties leased during the quarter were Perth (346), East Perth (343), Scarborough (319), Baldivis (243) and Maylands (235). “South Perth, Rockingham, West Perth, Rivervale and Midland also performed well,” Mr Collins…

PERTH has been named in the world’s top 10 healthiest cities, ranking behind only one other Australian city. Perth and Adelaide were the only cities not from Europe to rank in the top 10 list compiled by online home rental booking platform Spotahome. Cities were judged on 10 criteria including annual sunshine hours, life expectancy, work-life balance, number of fast food outlets, obesity, air and water quality and annual holidays. Amsterdam was No 1 with a score of 6.97. Adelaide ranked No 8 with a score of 6.31, and Perth No 10 with 6.30. Perth received its best score in the annual hours of sunshine category, ranking ninth behind cities including Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Dubai and Los Angeles. Perth also ranked highly in the life expectancy at birth category, making 14th on the list. Brisbane came in at No 11 overall, Canberra at No 14, and Melbourne No 29, while Sydney was ranked a rather lowly 48th. Casablanca, Istanbul and Shanghai were the bottom three on the 89 city list. TOP 10 HEALTHIEST CITIES1. Amsterdam, Netherlands2. Oslo, Norway3. Munich, Germany4….

The latest figures from Real Estate Institute of Western Australia shows strong price growth for Perth’s housing market, indicating that the capital city is currently tracking the road to recovery. For the quarter ending in June, median home price in the Western Australia capital sat at $520,000, up 1% from the preceding quarter and up 2% of from the same period last year. The improvement is also apparent in the unit market, which grew 4.99% to $419,500 over the same quarter. Raine & Horne Cannington principal Tim Chant observed that there has been a surge of buyers looking for properties in the city, particularly in Cannington, Southern River and Victoria Park. Cannington, specifically, is less than 15 kilometres south of the central business district. The accessibility of these areas is but one of many reasons why inquiries for properties in the area continues to balloon. “There’s a lot of good news about the return to form of WA’s mining sector, and how this will positively influence the jobs market in Perth. More jobs are always good news for real estate…

Strong migration into Queensland has helped house and apartment prices in Brisbane stay in positive territory despite a slide in the other major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Brisbane apartment prices gained 0.3 per cent in the month of September, up 1.3 per cent for the quarter. But according to Corelogic apartment prices in Brisbane are still 10 per cent below where they were 10 years ago, creating “bargains”. “Apartment price growth has been negative for several years and have only just come back,” Corelogic’s Tim Lawless said. “There are some good buying opportunities. Oversupply was a concern and I would still use caution some places.” While growth in Brisbane residential property has slowed, it is still the only major capital city showing growth. Migration driving prices “Migration is definitely one of the key factors, ” Mr Lawless said. Queensland is now the number one state when it comes to interstate migration and increased 36 per cent over the year ending March 2018 according to an analysis of ABS data by Urbane Homes director Jon Rivera. He said the…

Manchester is among the world’s top 10 cities for foreign direct investment, according to a new report. Specialisms in cyber security, FinTech and advanced materials helped the city bring the largest number of investments into the UK, outside the capital, during 2017, IBM’s annual Global Location Trends report found. In order to compare regions around the world more appropriately, IBM looked at metropolitan areas based on equal labour catchment areas. On this basis they looked at a joint Manchester-Liverpool area, which attracted a combined 68 FDI projects last year, beating Dublin, Barcelona or Toronto. Top of the global pile was London, followed by Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam-Rotterdam, Chicago, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Dubai. Manchester and Liverpool pulled in the 10th highest number of FDI projects which jointly created 7,000 jobs, according to IBM. Liverpool’s core sectors include digital manufacturing, health and life sciences. Commenting on the report, Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency, said: “This report once again confirms Manchester as a globally significant business destination and, together with Liverpool, illustrates the potential of the Northern Powerhouse….

The Perth rental market continues to show signs of improvement, with the vacancy rate falling to 4.5 per cent in August – the lowest since April 2015, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA). Carmel Gardiner of Abel McGrath said it’s a much healthier position for everyone, with the vacancy rate at that level. “There is a lot more interest in the rental market now,” Ms Gardiner told WILLIAMS MEDIA. “Prices are still good for renters, but they are starting to go up gradually for landlords, who are an important part of the housing market.” Simon McGrath of Abel McGrath told WILLIAMS MEDIA he has also seen increased activity. Abel McGrath leased 30 properties last month, in comparison to 20 in July. REIWA President Hayden Groves said the Perth rental market had shown positive signs across all key indicators. “What we are seeing is a steady yet healthy improvement in tenant activity,” Mr Groves said. “Steady rents, easing supply as listings for rent continue to fall and stronger demand with more leasing activity all point to the…

In 2018 and beyond a wave of major development and infrastructure projects promise to drive economic growth and provide new commercial real estate opportunities. A recent report authored by Dominic Brown and John Sears of Cushman & Wakefield has analysed the future growth potenital of Brisbane’s tourism and commercial real estate market with the seven major projects taking place in Brisbane CBD over the next 10 years. Together these projects will help deliver the Council’s vision of establishing Brisbane as a “new world city”. These projects include: Brisbane Live Awaiting approval; Value: $2.0bn. Development of an entertainment precinct located on top of the Roma Street rail interchange hub. Facilities include a $450 million, 17,000-seat arena along with multiplex cinemas, an amphitheatre and proposed commercial, residential and hotel towers. The precinct links King George Square to the Barracks on Petrie Terrace and benefits from the Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro projects. Edward Street Vision Due: 2018; Value $11.4m. This Brisbane City Council led initiative is to cement the precinct as a world class retail environment characterised by a broad, tree-lined boulevard. The project…

The Eastern Freeway will swell to more than 20 lanes at its widest point – rivalling some of the world’s widest roads – under the state government’s plans for its $15.8 billion North East Link. In addition to the 14 carriageway lanes that will flow through Doncaster and Balwyn North when the road is complete, four emergency lanes, two bus lanes and on- and off-ramps will widen the road at the junction of Doncaster Road to as much as 94 metres. The state government released more detailed plans on Sunday of the city’s “missing link” road, billed as Victoria’s biggest-ever road project and featuring nearly 5.8 kilometres of tunnels carrying six lanes of traffic. The new road, which now has the support of both major political parties, will connect the Eastern Freeway to the M80 ring road. The newly-released plans show a 1.2-kilometre lowered section along Greensborough Road. In response to concerns from residents, the government has also promised additional sound walls to reduce traffic noise. The plans show a five-kilometre tunnel from Lower Plenty Road in Rosanna connecting to the…

Brisbane has weathered the worst of its apartment market slump as stability returns to the sector, new research suggests. The latest Quarterly Apartment Report from local property marketing and research group Place Advisory suggests stability is returning to the apartment market as sales rates absorb the current supply. With no major releases hitting the market over the next six months supply is tightening up, and Place Advisory’s Lachlan Walker says that the market is positioning itself for growth as Brisbane moves into its next cycle. Inner Brisbane recorded 175 unconditional sales during the June quarter. “Up 31 from the previous quarter, and totalling $118 million,” Walker said. “The weighted average price of $674,714 was up 1.7 per cent compared to the last quarter – it’s a modest increase, but it’s promising.” Research released by Urbis affirms the view that the tide is beginning to turn in Brisbane’s apartment market. The owner-occupier market made up almost half of all buyers (48 per cent) of inner Brisbane’s apartment stock in the second quarter according to Urbis Property Economics. At current sales rates,…

The Victorian government has released plans for a $50 billion underground rail network, marketing it as the largest public transport project in Australian history. The “Suburban Rail Loop” will connect every major train line from the Frankston line through to the Werribee line via Melbourne Airport, with up to 12 new underground stations. The new multi-billion project’s aim is to make it easier for commuters to get to the airport, navigate around Melbourne and in between suburbs without having to travel into the city. Premier Daniel Andrews, who announced the major project on his social media, said the completed project is expected to take thousands of people off existing city-bound trains and remove 200,000 vehicles off roads. “It’s not good enough to ‘extend’ the congestion, we need a plan that doesn’t just force more cars and commuters into the city,” Andrews said. Planning and feasibility work has been undertaken by Development Victoria, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Office of Coordinator General over the past 12 months. The Stations The south-east section will run underground between Cheltenham and Box Hill. New rail tunnels…

The upper end of the market in particular is performing strongly, with the latest CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index reporting 1.05 per cent growth in the top quartile over the past 12 months, in comparison to Sydney (-8.0 per cent) and Melbourne (-4.1 per cent) which have both reported falls across the most expensive quarter of the market. Knight Frank’s latest Prime Global Cities Index, which tracks prime residential prices across the world, has again featured Brisbane in the ranking. According to the report, the prestige market in Brisbane increased 0.3 per cent in the three months to June. I believe there’s a combination of factors driving Brisbane’s prestige market including a prolonged low interest rate environment, strength in the equities markets, growth in employment and migration (highest net interstate migration since 2005), increased government infrastructure spending, and of course it’s relative affordability compared to Sydney and Melbourne. Major infrastructure projects which are set to change the face of Brisbane are also contributing to it’s desirability. Upon completion in 2022, the $3 billion Queens Wharf project will feature five new…