Katie McDonald

Perth’s appetite for apartment living continued to increase in the last quarter of 2017, driven largely by new projects.

Luxury home builder A Di Bucci & Son has won top prize at the 2018 Master Builders-Bankwest Housing Excellence Awards, which were held over the weekend at a black-tie event at Crown’s Grand Ballroom.

Property groups Cedar Woods Properties and Peet have both reported increases in net profit after tax for the first half of the 2018 financial year.

The property sector has been given its first taste of the latest changes to the state’s planning systems, with experienced town planner and urban designer Evan Jones revealing his initial ideas at a recent Urban Development Institute of Australia event.

Boutique property player LKD Development Group has taken the next step in delivering its latest project, appointing Jaxon to commence construction of its nine-storey residential development on Tully Road in East Perth next month.

Master Builders Association WA executive director Michael Mclean has announced plans to retire at the end of this year while former Perth business director Suzanne Ardagh has been appointed to lead Lester Blades’ board advisory service.

Perth-based developer Norup + Wilson’s latest project The Beach Shack, a 99-apartment development in Scarborough, has been given the green light by the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority.

Singaporean company Wee Hur Holdings is set to join Perth’s wave of student accommodation developments, following today’s announcement it has recruited Sydney-based Intergen Property Group as the fund’s onshore investment manager with a $700 million mandate to find new development opportunities across Australia.

From skills shortages and new regulations to policy formation and industrial disputes, the Master Builders Association has played an important role in advocating for the state’s building and construction industry since 1898.

Commercial property owner Dexus has budgeted to spend $165 million on 240 St Georges Terrace, with works to commence in 2019 following the departure of the building's largest tenant Woodside.

Signs of recovery across Perth’s property market continue to emerge, with the latest figures from the Urban Development Institute of Australia showing land sales were up 4 per cent for the December 2017 quarter.

Perth’s CBD office market vacancy is improving, but there’s a growing gap between different market segments, with premium product luring tenants at the expense of lower-grade stock.

Singaporean-listed OKP Holdings has made its first foray into Australia, via the purchase of an East Perth property for $43.5 million from BGC directors Andrew and Sam Buckeridge.

As part of the 25-year Business News anniversary, we take a look at how the retail trade debate has changed.

Matteo Tirapelle is a keen advocate of high-rise construction in Perth, taking a resourceful approach to structural engineering that promotes the use of alternative materials such as timber.

The team behind Optus Stadium wanted to make sure the venue’s design had a distinctly local flavour.

Early signs of recovery are starting to emerge across Perth’s CBD office market, with vacancy rates falling below 20 per cent for the first time in two years, according to the Property Council of Australia.

Adventure World has become a major tourism attraction during its 35 years of operation, and there are no signs the business is slowing down.

Perth-based GM Property Group has sold its 4.1-hectare industrial site in Blackburn Victoria to east coast investment group Forza Capital for $31.5 million, on a passing yield of 6.6 per cent.

SPECIAL REPORT: LandCorp is boosting land supply across Perth’s established suburbs, but it’s just a small step towards achieving long-standing goals for urban infill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Urban Quarter has taken a counter-cyclical approach in building its project pipeline, securing more than $70 million worth of freehold land developments in the past four years.

SPECIAL REPORT: Another tough year has failed to dampen the spirits of many in WA’s land development sector, with key players gearing up for a brighter 2018.

PODCAST: In this Business News podcast Mark Pownall, Matt Mckenzie, and Katie McDonald discuss the Quintis collapse, Wheatstone’s environmental conditions, Doric’s Chinese joint venture, wage gap battle, Fringe festival and land developers.

Complementary objectives, skills and strategies are at the core of a new joint venture that’s aiming to shake-up the local construction industry.

Foreign investors are making their mark on Perth, accounting for more than half of the purchases in the CBD office market in the past two years, according to Savills Australia.

The finishing touches are under way at the fitout for Flux’s two new floors at Parmelia House, which feature a shift away from full open plan.

ASX-listed property group Stockland is set to develop its fifth shopping centre in Western Australia after receiving state and local planning approvals for its Whiteman Edge Town Centre in Brabham.

Confidence is building among the state’s industrial property players, despite persistent market challenges.

Local developer TRG Properties has secured the largest development site at LandCorp’s urban infill project in Jolimont, with plans to build 46 luxury apartments already under way.

A Defence Housing Australia apartment project in Fremantle has become the state’s third property development to be recognised as a One Planet Community, under the international Bioregional program.

Regional air service providers and sister companies Aviair and HeliSpirit are benefiting from a decision to increase the size of their fleets in recent years, flying more than 36,000 people across the Kimberley, Pilbara and Northern Territory during 2017.

Some in the state’s property sector are confident it has turned the corner, and are expecting further signs of improvement across 2018.