Property

West Perth-based ThinkSmart has expanded its reach in Spain with the execution of a new three-year deal with Phone House.

PERTH'S median land price fell 3.9 per cent in the December quarter 2008, but still remains the second most expensive in the country behind Sydney.

The high end of Perth's property market has taken a battering from the global slowdown with seven metropolitan suburbs dropping out of the $1 million club, a new survey has found.

BAY View Terrace in Claremont has the highest suburban retail strip rents in Western Australia and the fourth highest in the Pacific region, according to a CB Richard Ellis report.

True North Ashore has brought a little bit of the Kimberley to Eagle Bay, as Dan Wilkie reports.

THE revitalisation of the Scarborough coastal strip has been halted indefinitely, with the State Administrative Tribunal hearings into the Observation City redevelopment appeal adjourned until further notice.

The Prendiville family-owned Sandalford Wines has bought the Killerby vineyard in Margaret River for an undisclosed sum and has not ruled out further land acquisitions.

Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust says it has received strong institutional backing for its capital raising, which will now raise a total of $150 million.

The Matt Birney-chaired Carbon Conscious says it has reached a substantial deal with an unnamed ASX top 50 company to plant "many millions" of Mallee Eucalypt trees in the Wheatbelt region.

Perth-based Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust has unveiled plans to raise $120 million, which will be backed by Wesfarmers and fully underwritten by JP Morgan Australia.

MORE than two-thirds of Perth's CBD office stock will be below the federal government's new increased energy efficiency requirements, expected to be introduced in two years.

MAJOR wineries in the Margaret River region are concerned about the threat that approaching residential populations pose to their operations, raising calls for clarification of planning proposals and regulations in the region.

Ship builder Austal says it is in a good position to secure further Littoral Combat Ship contracts after it secured its second from the US Navy today.

House prices in Perth have dropped more than 3 per cent in the March quarter, suggesting activity in the housing sector may not be as strong as anecdotal evidence implies, economists say.

The Financial Planning Association has recommended a fee-for-service remuneration model for financial planners, a back flip on its previous advice.

THE rural townsite of Gidgegannup to the north east of Perth is perched for significant expansion if the master plan from property developer, Port Bouvard, lodged last week with the City of Swan and the Western Australian Planning Commission, receives app

EARLY analysis of the property market for 2009 is showing signs of revival, as the effects of the increased first homeowners grant, lower interest rates and stamp duty concessions for first homebuyers start filtering through.

Property players believe the time is ripe for a visionary state planning strategy. Janelle Macri reports.

THE first stage of the transition of Fremantle storage facility Fort Knox into warehouse apartments is taking shape, with major upgrades of the facility recently finalised.

LAST year's boost to the first home owners grant and cuts to interest rates have given rise to a two-tiered property market, with the first home buyer and sub-$500,000 market firing while the middle to upper end of the market languishes.

CRYSTAL Printing Solutions has become the first printing firm in the state to obtain international Forest Stewardship Council accreditation.

Acquisitive national facilities manager Spotless Group has completed the acquisition of the business assets of Riley Shelley, a company founded through a joint venture of a Perth and Brisbane-based painting businesses.

Port Bouvard has lodged its master plan for the Gidgegannup townsite with the City of Swan and the Western Australian Planning Commission following 18 months of planning and environmental investigations.

THE property industry has called on the government to offer further tax relief to stimulate the market, despite forecasts of a decline in property tax revenue as a result of the housing market downturn.

AFTER causing a stir in the 1990s with his ANREPS business, real estate veteran Tony Wiles is aiming to shake up the industry again with a new venture, online auction site geewhizauctions.

Two major Perth CBD commercial sales in recent weeks have given early indications of where values could be headed, after months without a major commercial office sale.

THE size of Western Australia's legal practices has fluctuated only mildly during the past 12 months despite the sector's changing dynamics as a result of the economic slowdown.

Osborne Park-based Cell Aquaculture has entered a joint venture deal to establish a $20 million land-based seafood production facility in South Africa.

Property taxes remain one of the biggest revenue earners for government, with the state and local governments in Western Australia raking in more than $4 billion from property taxes last financial year.

Stockland has secured Shell Development Australia, a subsidiary of global energy company Royal Dutch Shell, as a major tenant at its new 2 Victoria Avenue office building in Perth.

RETAILERS have taken the whip hand in negotiations for tenancies, with rental growth expected to stabilise and even drop in some precincts.

THE state government is progressing with its plan to relocate social housing stock from high-end Perth suburbs into lower-cost suburbs In October, Treasurer Troy Buswell announced a review into Homeswest housing in wealthier suburbs, ordering the Departme