Property

SPECIAL REPORT: One of Perth's most prominent names in property has had a transcendent effect on the city in 2016.

Planning Minister Donna Faragher has scuttled the City of South Perth's ambitions of reinstating height limits across a large parcel of the suburb.

Perth-based architecture firm DAPM Architects is in the hands of liquidators, less than a week after it was spun-out of national group DesignInc, but its managing director says the collapse represents an opportunity for a new beginning.

OPINION: Reiwa members reported a decline in weekly sales to 552. The overall 9 per cent decrease in weekly sales is attributed to a 4 per cent decrease in sales for houses, 23 per cent for units and 27 per cent for vacant land.

Waning interest in off-the-plan apartment sales in Perth is adding to the challenges facing developers.

New data out today confirms Perth's residential property market has yet to show signs of a turnaround, but one industry figure says the sector is close to the bottom of the cycle.

The state government has awarded $91.6 million worth of contracts to four building companies for the refurbishment and redevelopment of six health service centres across rural Western Australia.

Fastbrick Robotics has locked in a new cornerstone investor through an $8 million capital raising, as it progresses its robotic bricklaying technology.

Developer Stirling Capital and construction partner Jaxon have started work on a 19-level apartment project at Canning Bridge that has set new standards for environmental management.

Construction firm Georgiou Group has won a contract to build Primewest's $31 million multi-storey office development in Joondalup, which will be occupied by state government departments.

A Margaret River-based entrepreneur is building a first for Western Australia – a house constructed out of hemp.

Aged care and retirement living projects are replacing office buildings and apartment complexes on the drawing boards of architecture firms across Western Australia, as increasing demand for beds stokes intense competition among providers.

LandCorp is seeking businesses to populate a new industrial estate in Nambeelup, a key plank of the state government's plan to create more than 33,000 jobs in the Peel region by 2050.

Creating a tourism precinct on the southern side of Fremantle Port has again been floated as a possibility, after the City of Fremantle put out the call for government and private sector support for its next wave of development opportunities.

Perth-based land developer Peet has sold a parcel of land in Victoria for $30.5 million, but it doesn't expect to receive any proceeds from the deal for nearly a year.

Singapore-listed property developer Oxley Holdings has embarked on a mission to get a foothold in Australian property, acquiring 40 per cent of local development and construction group Pindan for $32 million.

Telstra's administrative headquarters on Stirling Street has been sold and the new owner, a private equity player from China, plans to redevelop it into a 500-bed student accommodation facility, the second such proposal for the area.

A snap poll of residents in South Perth has revealed strong support for development in the area, despite activism against the high-rise project plans.

An embattled Perth-based developer has capped off a turbulent 2016 by selling one of its most prominent projects.

Construction will start later this week on Defence Housing Australia's 166-dwelling Liv Apartments in Fremantle, after Georgiou Group was appointed as DHA's building contractor.

Plans for what would become Perth's tallest building have been lodged for approval, with Singapore's Fragrance Group seeking to build a 62-level, 485-room hotel at St Andrew's Church on St Georges Terrace.

A South Perth resident group claims a Court of Appeals decision to uphold the quashing of a development approval on Mill Point Road confirms the original intent of the suburb's town planning scheme, but the developer behind the proposal says the judgement only highlights problems with development guidelines in the area.

Perth is now the only capital to record a year-on-year fall in house prices, and was the weakest-performing city in the three months to November, according to new data.

Unions have been put on notice with the revival of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, as the building sector celebrates the what it says is the return of law to the industry.

A new gloomy forecast has emerged for Perth house prices, with global economic research firm Moody's predicting further declines in 2017.

Experienced Perth business executive Dario Amaria has spoken to Business News about his plans to revive one of Western Australia's oldest building companies.

Western Australians have dominated the Master Builders Association's national awards, with the top prize of residential builder of the year going to local Adrian Zorzi, and Built Holdings and Doric

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia boss Hayden Groves says residential leasing activity continues to improve across the Perth metro area, as the central sub-region's median rent falls to $380 per week.

Australian architects and engineers are lagging behind global counterparts in the adoption of new technology, resulting in errors, delays and lost productivity at development sites.

Sales activity was up over the week, with Reiwa members reporting an increase in weekly sales to 659. The overall 17 per cent increase in weekly sales is attributed to a 15 per cent increase in sales for houses, 11 per cent for units and 49 per cent for vacant land.

Prices in one of Perth's newest residential enclaves, The Springs at Rivervale, are holding value better than apartments across the wider Perth metropolitan area, despite concerns of excess supply restraining capital growth.

Hotel and resorts operator Mantra Group has been confirmed as the partner for a new property at 900 Hay Street by local developer George Atzemis, following the opening earlier this month of Mantra's new Peppers Hotel opposite Kings Square.