The Housing Bubble

The Daily Telegraph reports from Australia. “Sydney apartment buyers could be in for a shock, experts fear, as the huge number of high-rise flats coming on to the market puts downward pressure on prices. Industry insiders say there are too many inner-city apartments being built, with people buying off the plan at risk of purchasing properties that will be worth less than their sale prices. About 32,000 apartments are under construction and another 23,000 have development approval. BIS Shrapnel managing director Rob Mellor said people buying off the plan are most at risk. Developers often price properties at what they estimate they will be worth by the time they are built in two or three years, but those forecasts can be overly optimistic, Mr Mellor said. ‘These properties are often sold at a premium, based on the past pattern of high price growth, but that growth isn’t going to be there going ahead,’ he said.”

“A price drop won’t put off young investor Felicia Markos, 21, from Alfords Point. ‘I’m not worried too much (about the value dropping) because I don’t want to sell straight away,’ she said.”

The Sydney Morning Herald. “Sydneysiders looking to shelter them from the unseasonal heat could well find it in the shadow of one of the record number of cranes across towering over the city’s skylines. Property and construction group Rider Levett Bucknall’s latest Crane Index report shows there are 288 cranes looming over the greater Sydney region, stretching from the CBD to Parramatta in the west, Mascot in the south and even to the leafy lower north shore. The current boom is unprecedented, with more cranes looming over the city in any time since RLB launched its index in August 2012 and a 35 per cent increase in numbers in the past six months alone.”

“But with signs the housing market is cooling, will the construction boom last? February data on housing approvals indicates a continuing fall in NSW from June 2015, lobby group Urban Taskforce has reported. ‘While 5000 approvals in a month is still a healthy number, the fact that there has been a drop of 900 approvals indicates a worrying trend,’ Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson said.”

“But RLB NSW managing director Matthew Harris said he is yet to see signs of a slowdown. ‘Despite what you read, [it] refuses to cool down,’ he said. ‘There has been a rise of 44 per cent in residential work done to more than $10 billion in 2015 and the momentum does not seem to be slowing,’ he said.”

From News Limited. “Renters in Melbourne and Brisbane right now are like kids in a candy store, they can basically have whatever they want, almost for whatever price they want. Renters have the power in the apartment market right now because there’s a huge oversupply of dwellings and investors are forced to bring down prices to compete with others who are also trying to fill their empty properties.”

“BIS Shrapnel managing director Robert Mellor said there were record levels of apartment construction in the last 18 months. He said investors will just have to suck up a fall in rental prices over the next few years. Those with older apartments will feel the burden of the oversupply the worst and Mr Mellor said the price on those had to be dropped even more to compete with modern-style apartments. ‘Unless someone does some work on those apartments to do them up, they’ll be the ones to suffer the most,’ he said.”

The New Daily. “It’s good times for renters with annual rents across Australia falling for the first time in more than two decades, according to statistics collated by CoreLogic RP Data. The slide was the first since the company had begun collecting annual rent figures in 1995, said its Australian head of research Cameron Kusher. Angie Zigomanis, senior manager of residential property at BIS Shrapnel, said new building was beginning to outstrip population growth in some areas. He said some landlords were being forced to woo potential tenants by offering ‘a few items of furniture, a free refrigerator or even a Foxtel subscription.’”

“‘We’re getting to the point now in a lot of markets where vacancy rates have crept up,’ he said.”

The Sunday Times. “Perth’s tanking property market has hit the Barnett Government’s fire sale of publicly owned land, with some properties being sold for multimillion-dollar losses. An investigation by The Sunday Times found 12 of the 23 properties sold by the Department of Lands in the past year were either sold at a loss or under the asking price. A 161.7ha farming lot in Neergabby, near Gingin, sold for $300,000 last September — $50,000 less than what it was bought for 13 years ago.”

“The sales program was launched two years ago to reduce ballooning State Government debt, which is forecast to peak at $39 billion. Lands Minister Terry Redman conceded the recent land asset sales ‘reflect the current state of the real estate market in WA.’ He also insisted the program was not just about revenue raising, insisting it was also ‘a great opportunity to refresh and revitalise our city and state.’”

“Opposition treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt said he was concerned the losses signalled bigger sites up for grabs would also sell for reduced prices. ‘When you’re selling a significant amount of land for less than what it was purchased for you know there is a sense of desperation in the Government’s plan,’ he said.”

“Curtin economics and ­finance professor Steven Rowley said given the apartment oversupply, developers were unlikely to spend big on sites with complications around the CBD. ‘I think (the scheme) is to plug the hole in the Budget. It’s necessity rather than any thought about whether it’s a good time or bad time to sell,’ Dr Rowley said.”