Inside Track: Property & Real Estate - In the media, In practice and courts, Cases and Legislation

• Published date: 12 December 2020
• Law Firm: Holding Redlich

In the media

Commonwealth

Australia makes top 10 for real estate investment
Australia just became one of the top ten countries to buy real estate with inbound investments to increase sharply in 2021 (04 November 2020). More...

Office outlook optimistic for 2021
There is likely to be 'no major demise' to the global office sector, despite remote working arrangements, with higher rental incentives expected in CBD offices, according to a global survey by Savills Investment Management (04 December 2020). More...

Australian commercial property firms see environmental management as increasingly important to their business
Many companies that work in commercial real estate are lagging behind other industries in terms of good environmental management, but there is an increasing number that are catching up fast, a new international report has found (03 December 2020). More...

Value of home loans hit pre-GFC high despite COVID-19
The ABS October Lending and Business Figures have revealed the value of new loan commitments for housing grew for the fifth consecutive month and the value of owner occupier (03 December 2020). More...

Australian cities need post-covid vision, not free parking
Many Australian cities have fallen back on offering free car parking to attract visitors back to the CBD after the pandemic. In contrast, cities around the world are basing their recovery strategies on bold and evidence-based urban transformations (04 December 2020). More...

Foreign buyers responsible for greater proportion of commercial property transactions in 2020: JLL
The percentage of commercial property transactions involving foreign investors has jumped in the past year, although overall sales volumes are well down on 2019 (02 December 2020). More...

First Home Buyers dominate Australia's Property Market for the first time in a decade
Australia has recorded a ten-year high for first homes buyers in the last quarter, according to the latest REIA's 'The Housing Affordability Report' (02 December 2020). More...

PCA: Property industry supporting economic recovery
'The extension of HomeBuilder to March 2021, and its modification to reflect market conditions and construction timelines will help to keep the new housing construction pipeline flowing through 2021 (02 December 2020). More...

New trade agreement could be a boon for Australia's industrial property market
A recently signed trade agreement between 15 Asia-Pacific countries, representing the largest trading bloc in the world, could have positive flow-on effects for Australia's commercial property industry, according to one analyst (30 November 2020). More...

HomeBuilder extension will support the economy: HIA
The extension of HomeBuilder is both a step forward for jobs and astep towards a return to pre-COVID levels of home building for the housing industry. Most importantly the extension of HomeBuilder will provide a step up for thousands more Australians who aspire to home ownerships (29 November 2020). More...

Victoria

Property giants enter Melbourne Build-to-Rent market
Canada's Oxford Properties has struck its first build-to-rent deal in Melbourne, acquiring a 7,000sqm development site in Footscray. The acquisition, and impending plans for a $450 million, 700 apartment project on the site, will act as an entry point for Oxford'the property arm of giant Canadian pension fund OMERS (03 December 2020). More...

Protecting and restoring Victoria's heritage
The state's most important cultural landmarks and buildings are being restored and protected thanks to the Andrews Labor Government's $60 million Living Heritage program (01 December 2020). More...

Timber unlocks adaptive reuse options for new Melbourne hotel
A new hotel sitting atop six storeys of commercial office space in Melbourne's CBD may not look that different from the neighbouring glass-encased development, but is in fact hailed one of the largest timber projects in the world (23 November 2020). More...

Cities win appeal over supersized phone booths
The cities of Melbourne and Brisbane have been successful in a Federal Court appeal in relation to Telstra's 'super-sized' phone booths. The effect of the Federal Court ruling means that the pay-phones are not considered low-impact' facilities and they do require Council planning approval (20 November 2020). More...

Community front and centre in Marvel Stadium revamp
Development Victoria is partnering with Sport and Recreation Victoria and the AFL to manage the redevelopment of Marvel Stadium, as part of its continuing role driving the rejuvenation of Docklands (20 November 2020). More...

Mirvac, Milieu lodge plans for 527 Build-to-Rent apartments
Mirvac and Milieu's plans to develop 527 build-to-rent units on a one hectare site in Melbourne's inner north are moving ahead. The Albert Fields precinct will transform several industrial buildings and homes into a multi-storey residential development including retail over two levels of basement (19 November 2020). More...

NSW

Good news!! ABS housing approval stats show welcome signs of recovery in NSW
Figures released by the ABS show a significant 'end of COVID-bounce' in the month of October with the NSW planning system approving 4,865 dwellings (total public and private sector, apartment and separated dwellings).This represents an increase of 32.1 per cent and shows that the planning reforms in NSW are starting to have an impact (01 December 2020). More...

Red tape slashed to boost productivity
More than 170 planning rules, policies and guidelines have been ripped up to simplify the planning system, speed up assessments and boost productivity as part of the NSW Government's agenda to reform the system (24 November 2020. More...

Queensland

Developer lodges dual-tower west end plans
Private developer Manly Properties has unveiled plans to develop a dual tower residential development and public riverside space for its 1.1-hectare landholding in Brisbane's West End (04 December 2020). More...

Clive Palmer could be forced to pay millions more after election spend
The Electoral Commission of Queensland has filed an application in the Supreme Court asking for a ruling on whether former federal MP Mr Palmer is a property developer, and therefore banned from donating to Queensland political parties or candidates (03 December 2020). More...

Frydenberg proposed delisting part of wetland to allow Queensland's Toondah Harbour development
The former federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, proposed removing protections from an area of internationally significant wetlands after he was lobbied by a developer wanting to build 3,000 apartments at Moreton Bay in Queensland (03 December 2020). More...

Huge residential towers set for Brisbane's oldest suburb - and some residents aren't happy
Almost 1000 new units are planned for just one street in Brisbane's Kangaroo Point. Now residents are saying enough is enough (03 December 2020). More...

Tower plans for Gold Coast mansion
Marquee Development Partners have submitted plans to demolish a Gold Coast mansion and build a 17-storey apartment tower (03 December 2020). More...

PCA: Queensland Parliament extends COVID Legislation
The COVID-19 Emergency Response and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 was passed by Parliament. Following strong advocacy from the Property Council, the rental relief provisions of the Regulation will not be extended past the current 31 December 2020 expiry date (03 December 2020). More...

Investor demand pushes house prices to record highs in Brisbane
Real estate prices continued to climb in every capital city in November while Brisbane prices reached record territory, according to CoreLogic (01 December 2020). More...

Stockland wins approval for fitness 'shred' hub
Stockland has gained approval to build a 'shred' factory as part of the Kawana Waters masterplanned community on the Sunshine Coast (01 December 2020). More...

Conservation or just blanket opposition to development?
The Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia's State of the North 2020 report has cited a failure to address the regulatory issues impeding the north, including vegetation management, water, land tenure and planning issues (01 December 2020). More...

PCA: Queensland Budget a missed opportunity to attract job-generating investment
The Budget represents yet another missed opportunity for Queensland to attract the private sector investment the state desperately needs to create new jobs and facilitate new revenue streams. 'The lack of action on Build to Rent is a prime example of a missed opportunity to attract job-generating investment into Queensland (01 December 2020). More...

Queensland budget 2020: Property market wrap-up
Property tax concessions are notably absent from the Queensland budget as the state details its plans for the year to come (01 December 2020). More...

Brisbane turns over a new leaf for rooftop gardens
Brisbane...