Property

Charter Hall has bought the Optima Centre office park in Osborne Park for $126.2 million and will hold the asset across two of its investment trusts.

Two fresh studies warn vulnerable renters are locked out by structural challenges in the market.

A new Housing Industry Association report has again labelled Perth as the most affordable capital city in Australia, but says WA’s first home buyers grant is not having the desired effect.

The Housing Industry Association has appointed former Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA director of advocacy Cath Hart as its Western Australian regional director.

BGC Australia has appointed three high profile independent non-executive directors to help advise the family-owned business empire as it enters a global sale process.

In the latest property deals wrap, three sites are on the market, including Aldi in Wattle Grove, 675 Murray Street and a 20-hectare slice of land in the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, while an industrial site in Welshpool recently sold for $2.8 million.

Several major deals in recent months mark a surge of activity in the shopping centre space.

The high rate of vacant CBD office space, and incentives on offer, continue to pressure landlords in near-city locations.

Despite a fall in Perth’s median house price in the September quarter, nearly 60 suburbs bucked the trend to record a price increase, according to the latest data from Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.

New data from Moody’s shows Perth mortgage delinquency rates are the highest in Australia, despite the capital city also holding one of the highest average incomes in the country.

The McGowan government will introduce its levy on foreign buyers of residential property after the WA Greens and One Nation parties supported the plan.

Growing investment in rooftop bars across Perth reflects a need to offer a point of difference in what has been a tough market, publicans say.

The Housing Industry Australia has forecast an 8.6 per cent increase in WA’s house building starts in 2019 after four years of declining activity, on the back of positive house building and sales numbers.

The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia council has elected Damian Collins as its new president.

Chevron Australia has given the green light to a purpose-built tower at Elizabeth Quay, lodging a development application for a 30-level building for lot seven of the precinct.

Sydney-based SCA Property Group has purchased four Perth shopping centres for a combined $269.4 million as part of a larger deal with ASX-listed Vicinity Centres.

Vicinity Centres’ first direct factory outlet in WA features 24,000sqm of retail across 113 tenancies and a 1,600-bay car park.

Real estate investment trust Dexus has filled more than half of 240 St Georges Terrace – the Woodside Petroleum building – with Macquarie Bank and engineering group Wood plc committing to about 22,870 square metres of space at the tower.

SPECIAL REPORT: Appointed to lead the MBA in WA just last month, John Gelavis brings a focus on effective communication to the role.

SPECIAL REPORT: The WA residential builder market remains well down from its 2013 highs, despite homes becoming more affordable.

SPECIAL REPORT: New technology now available in WA uses an algorithm to match appropriate builders to specific blocks of land.

The downward trend in Perth’s housing market has continued in September, with the latest CoreLogic data showing a 0.6 per cent decline in house prices for the month.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Hayden Groves has announced that he will be finishing his three-year term on October 4.

Two properties in WA have received HIA Greensmart awards, recognising the best in environmentally responsible housing.

Singaporean group Chip Eng Seng Corporation has struck a deal to sell the White Sands Tavern development site near Scarborough beach for $24.5 million.

A depressed Western Australian housing market has hit residential builders, with the number of housing starts dropping by more than 1,500 in the 12 months to June 30, according to figures released by the Housing Industry Association.

The state government will leverage its Metronet program to drive development of urban density in Perth.

SPECIAL REPORT: Accommodation groups are betting on international students returning to Perth.

SPECIAL REPORT: Perth’s hotel capacity has increased by about 30 per cent since 2012 and Business News has identified a further 3,150 rooms that are either under construction or committed, as the city’s hotel sector is transformed.

The Property Council of Australia has welcomed proposed laws governing apartment projects in entertainment precincts, but has expressed caution about where the policy applies and its impact on planning approvals.

An improved result in Western Australia, despite challenging market conditions and continued falls in brick selling prices, has helped building materials company Brickworks boost underlying net profit to $223.7 million for the 2018 financial year.

Perth-based The Agency Group Australia has executed an option to acquire east coast real estate group Top Level for $5.5 million, while also announcing an $8.4 million capital raising and a $5 million debt conversion deal.