Dan Wilkie

The state government has streamlined the planning approvals process, rolling out consistent regulations across local governments, introducing online application systems, and removing the requirement for single homes that meet R-Code regulations to have to go through the planning approvals process.

A southern region MP has lashed out at state government bureaucracy due to the scrapping of the Department of Housing’s 3,000-hectare Keralup land development.

Rents are down and incentives are up as Perth’s office market swings in favour of tenants.

Construction and building services firm CPD Group has finished building a $4 million dual-purpose health centre in Carnarvon, seven weeks ahead of schedule.

Western Australia is increasingly on the radar of Chinese property investors, with commercial agents and developers hoping to replicate the success of their Sydney and Melbourne counterparts in sourcing significant capital from this cashed-up cohort.

The business banking sector is shrinking in Perth, with falling staff levels and bank branch closures the latest signs of a cooling Western Australian economy.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president David Airey says local government authorities have lost sight of the big picture in planning and approvals reform, and amalgamation of councils will only exacerbate the issues.

Perth-based developer Twin Ocean Group has launched two major projects in Brisbane with a combined end-value of $300 million, with the developments largely funded by a network of Western Australian high net-worth investors.

The former Clarkson Retravision store, which has been earmarked to become a First Choice Liquor outlet, has sold at auction for $5.4 million.

An application has been lodged with the City of Perth to amend the design of the office component of the much-awaited Capital Square development, the latest sign of progress at the old Emu Brewery site.

There's plenty of industry confidence in the growth in apartment living, despite some concerns about the short-term outlook.

Construction is about to begin on a $30 million revamp of St Thomas More College, the third major recent addition of student accommodation at the University of Western Australia.

Balcatta-based Sirius Resources has announced a $189 million capital raising to help develop its Nova nickel project near Norseman.

Recently-listed mobile telco venture, ZipTel, is set to announce a pre-paid sim card distribution agreement with international travel agency Trafalgar Tours.

Georgiou Group has taken a proactive approach to avoid the slated increase in landfill levies, by recycling more than 90 per cent of the waste produced on its building sites

FEATURE: Perth's newest office buildings are increasingly incorporating retail and hospitality precincts, as well as end-of-trip facilities, in a design-led effort to boost tenant and employee retention.

FEATURE: Suburban office market developers are facing similar challenges to their CBD counterparts in attracting tenants.

FEATURE: Perth is in the middle of its biggest wave of office construction in decades, but a sustained burst of new supply means future prospects for commercial developers are increasingly bleak.

Supply has been a major constraint for housing affordability, but are Perth’s developers catching up to demand?

Recently-listed Perth-based education provider iCollege will today launch a portfolio of 26 online courses, seven weeks ahead of schedule.

The state government’s tight 2014 budget and widespread job cuts in the resources sector have put the clamps on positive sentiment in the property sector, according to the Property Council of Australia.

The state’s biggest home builders are innovating to tackle Perth’s housing affordability issues, but they say alternative construction methods are only part of the solution.

Woodside Petroleum has confirmed it will be the anchor tenant at Capital Square, signing a memorandum of understanding with the site’s developer, AAIG.

Georgiou Group has announced a multi-million dollar joint venture with indigenous contractor Gumala, to provide de-watering services at Fortescue Metals Group's Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara.

The Spain-based founders of Cafe del Mar say they are the only entity authorised to use the trademark worldwide, despite a venue opening in Sydney last year and plans advancing for an expansion to Western Australia.

Overseas and interstate retailers are lining up to be part of an emerging new precinct in the Perth CBD.

Electronic media has been the key behind the success of one of Perth’s fastest-growing real estate agencies.

Rising Stars finalist Monford Group says client satisfaction has been the key to its rapid growth.

The Rising Stars People’s Choice winner has found success by doing things differently.

FEATURE: Emergency management and response firm Executive Risk Solutions has been named the Business News Rising Stars top award winner for 2014.

Perth-based Safety Medical Products is focusing its activities back in the medical sphere, signing an agreement to acquire an unlisted 3D printing company six months after backing out of a deal to purchase a gold exploration project in Brazil.

Plans to open a Café Del Mar restaurant in Western Australia will not be derailed by a legal fight over who owns the trademark, according to the managing director of the Australian arm of the music-themed eatery.