Sydney sets its own pace in home values

Real Estate


Sydney house prices soar
 
Election Day in NSW did nothing to dampen the auction market with some parts of Sydney experiencing clearance rates of over 90 per cent. It was the biggest auction day so far this year as over $1 billion of property changed hands. And Sydney property prices continue to rise and rise, disengaging from the rest of the capital city housing markets in terms of demand and subsequently terms of value growth according to a recent report.  
 
Real Estate figures
 
In fact, that report, the Core Logic RP Data Index of Home Values showed Sydney house prices gained 6 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 and 3 per cent in March alone. That takes the annual growth pace of Sydney home values to 14 per cent against a 5.6 per cent rise for Melbourne and a 7.4 per cent rise for capital city house prices across the board. Perth, Hobart and Darwin recorded a drop in prices over the past 12 months. 
                                                                                                     
And it’s not just Sydney house prices that are rewriting the record books, a survey from the Housing Industry Association shows that sales were up 1.1 per cent in February. That’s after a 1.8 per cent rise in January. 8,000 new homes were sold in February, the biggest gains are in apartments, up 11.1 per cent, meanwhile stand along house sales dipped 1.3 per cent.
 
Meanwhile Treasurer Joe Hockey has announced a new tax discussion paper dubbed RE:THINK. The paper opens the door to a review of all taxation across the county and highlights the fact that Australia gets around 70 per cent of revenue from company and personal income taxes. The paper is expected to open debate on other methods of gaining government income including the tax breaks on negative gearing and super contributions. 
 
Commentary

FNN spoke to Shane Goodwin, Managing Director at HIA about the need for a Taxation Discussion Paper.
 
“Housing is one of the most highly taxed areas of the economy. In Sydney and Melbourne, the amount of embedded taxation and charges on a typical house and land package is around 40 per cent. This is quite and inefficient way to raise general revenue. We need to address that and we can only do that by having a look at all the other taxes which impact on the product”.

Australian auction results
 
Looking at this week’s auction results across Australian capital cities - Sydney recorded an 88 per cent clearance rate from 1128 properties for auction, Melbourne cleared 79 per cent from 1408 properties, Brisbane had a 46 per cent clearance rate from 153 properties listed and Adelaide cleared 63 per cent from 116 listed auctions. 
 
Commercial property sector
 
Minor real estate developer Lionhub Group Limited (ASX:LHB) have received formal approval for the Master Plan for the Xuancheng Singapore Technology Park in China. 
 
Fletcher Building Limited (ASX:FBU) says subsidiary Fletcher Living hasagreed to sell 5.5 hectares of land on its Manukau Golf Course to Metcarelife to be turned into a retirement village.
 
Lend Lease (ASX:LLC) say they have achieved a significant construction milestone at Barangaroo, reaching the highest point of construction for the 42-level Tower 2 at International Towers Sydney.
 
And in another release,  Lend Lease (ASX:LLC) say they’re with a global investment partner to pay $1.6billion for a large urban regeneration site in Singapore. 

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