Australasia’s largest real estate and property group, Ray White, has defied rising interest rates and the traditionally quiet summer holiday season to report a 16 per cent rise in residential sales in New South Wales during January.

Ray White NSW CEO Stephen Nell said the group in January achieved total residential sales of $355 million, compared to $306 million in the corresponding month in 2009.

“This is a great result considering so many offices are normally closed during much of January and consequently there is a lot less marketing of properties going on,” Mr Nell said.

“But a large number of our businesses stayed active through the festive season and they have reaped the rewards.”
Full Story

A mansion in Melbourne’s inner east has broken the city’s record for a house price.

A Melbourne businessman bought Avon Court in Shakespeare Grove, Hawthorn, on Tuesday night for a sum believed to be between $21 million and $25 million.

The property was sold by Melbourne businessman Clinton Casey, the former chairman of the Richmond Football Club and an owner and developer of retirement homes and property, and his wife Leslie.

Neither the seller nor the buyer of Avon Court wanted the price made public, Kay and Burton real estate managing director Michael Gibson said.

“In terms of Melbourne residential prices it is right at the top of the tree,” he told AAP.

“I would love to tell the world the price, but they (vendor and purchaser) don’t want to.”
Full Story

Bell Financial Group Ltd has established a real estate investment advisory and broking division as the stockbroker with brands such as Bell Potter and Southern Cross aims to expand its services in property investment.

The new division will commence operations on September 1 and will provide research and broking services to clients in the listed Australian real estate investment trust sector, Bell said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company will also offer corporate advice across the listed and unlisted market, with an emphasis on small- and mid-cap funds.
Full Story

Investigators raided the offices of dozens of Victorian estate agencies in a major offensive against underquoting.

The Herald Sun newspaper said 60 offices have been raided by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) and files relating to more than 1,000 recent property sales were inspected.

One agent tried to prevent CAV inspectors from seeing sales files, CAV director Dr Claire Noone said.
Full Story

Listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer good longer term returns because many of them have recently raised equity to buy heavily discounted properties, the world’s biggest real estate company says.

Steve Carroll, senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis’s (CBRE) global real estate securities division, says REITs offer historically good value after the 55 per cent fall in the sector’s price globally since February 2007.

REITs had raised $US25 billion ($A31.2 billion) globally in equity to repay debt and give themselves ready cash to buy properties that would be come available over the next 12 months.

“There are now a growing number of companies positioning their capital structures to buy what we believe will be heaps of distressed commercial real estate assets that will come to market in the coming 12 to 24 months,” Mr Carroll told media in a telephone conference.
Full Story

When it comes to most topics of interest, I tend to be an optimist by nature. When I read about great stocks like Apple getting cut in half or the overall market being dragged ever further into the tank, I tend to look at it as a buying opportunity (your mileage my vary of course, opinions abound as to what’s value and what’s a value trap) for stocks that have been needlessly battered.
Full Story