Property

TWO national property developers with significant interests in Western Australia have announced strong year-end results despite difficult market conditions.

LANDCORP has reduced land prices at its major industrial estates in and around Perth by up to 25 per cent, and introduced more generous financing terms to try and encourage investment in the sector.

AN ice rink next to the art gallery, a helipad by the river and new farmers' and artists' markets in the Cultural Centre are some of the innovative ideas being evaluated to enliven central Perth.

A $50 MILLION markets and restaurant precinct plan for Morley is the latest in a string of tourism-focused developments by the Strzelecki Group.

Experience has demonstrated that funnelling students into courses designed to fill a skills gap just doesn't seem to work.

The new owner of the Newman Hotel Motel in the Pilbara has plans to double the size of the remote lodging to cater for top end executives in the town.

Detached new home sales in Western Australia fell more than 3 per cent in July while home values in Perth climbed 2.5 per cent over the past seven months to $481,493, new figures show.

Property developer Aspen Group has booked a full-year loss after tax of $64.7 million after accounting for $97.9 million of writedowns.

FREMANTLE City Council has confirmed the end of the long-running dispute over rents at Fremantle Markets.

A REVIEW commissioned by the City of Perth has identified a range of shortcomings with its existing planning schemes.

LANDCORP believes it has a handle on the housing shortage in the Pilbara, despite negotiations being terminated on a significant residential development in Karratha.

Automobile components and building materials manufacturer, Schaffer Corporation has posted a profit of $10.5 million for the year to June 30, down 4 per cent on last year's results against a 13 per cent fall in group revenue.

Shares in Wesfarmers fell 6 per cent today after Woolworths announced plans to take on the Bunnings business through the takeover of hardware group Danks Holdings.

A recent survey of land sales has recorded the most lots sold in one week since May 2008.

He may have made WA his home, but Tim Atterton still wants England to win the Ashes.

THE real estate industry was an early engager of the burgeoning online sector when readership figures for traditional print mediums began to decline.

COMPANY executives have called on the government to provide more certainty for public sector innovation funding.

PATENT and trade mark attorney firm Wrays has extended its services by establishing a law firm specialising in intellectual property in recognition of the increased local demand for IP litigation s

A RECENT State Administrative Tribunal decision that hinged on the definition of a retail shop could have major implications for business owners.

AS belts tighten across the board and budgets are intensely scrutinised, early stage company executives are finding it harder to attain the necessary capital to progress their projects.

BUNNINGS Warehouse Property Trust has reported a small rise in profit for the year to June 30, but only if revaluations are not included in the result.

The state government has established a project team from Main Roads and environmental and engineering consulting firm AECOM to manage environmental approvals, engineering design and community engagement processes for the contentious Roe Highway extension.

The science just doesn't add up on climate change.

Top-end property sellers across Perth are feeling the pinch, discounting their homes heavily in order to make a sale in a normalising market.

Cruise operators in the Kimberley are branching out into new fields while keeping on course with their core business – showing Aussie tourists what's in their own backyard.

FIGURES released this week indicate Perth's property market is on the rebound, with an 18 per cent increase recorded in the number of land sales this year.

THE long-running dispute over rents at Fremantle Markets could be near an end, after an independent assessment indicated the markets' directors have been charging fair rents.

With record increases in CBD office vacancies, major resources projects are tipped to prop up the market.

Perth-based property fund manager Aspen Group will seek capital from external investors after failing to attract sufficient support from unit holders of one of its ailing property funds.

Anvil Mining has reached an agreement with international commodities trader Trafigura Beheer over a $US200 million ($A238 million) equity and debt financing arrangement for the expansion of the Kinsevere copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The state's property market has received another promising boost with new figures showing the number of land sales jumping more than 18 per cent in the 2008/09 financial year.

Sentiment in the state's property market is improving as the median house price in Perth increases by $20,000, according to final figures from the Real Estate Institute of WA out today.