Dan Wilkie

NATIONAL property developer Stockland has joined rival developers Peet and Delfin Lend Lease as a key investor in the Alkimos-Eglinton area, north of Joondalup.

The Western Australian housing industry is eagerly awaiting the state government's release of a discussion paper to determine its direction over builder's warranty insurance.

AFFORDABLE housing provider Bethanie Group has signed a new partnership with the state government to deliver 200 new community housing units for the aged.

COMMERCE Minister Troy Buswell has assured the state’s housing industry and homebuyers that building activity in Western Australia will not stop when the nation’s largest builders’ warranty insurer withdraws from the market later this year.

The 2010 1st Amongst Equals winner has built a successful brand by taking a different approach than her competitors.

The lock-down of one of Perth’s largest construction projects has focused attention on developer Luke Saraceni and his contractor, Salta Constructions.

The Town of Port Hedland says its long-running partnership with BHP Billiton Iron Ore could be used as a model for local governments and the private sector to boost revitalisation efforts in the regions.

THE state government is facing a choice between providing builders’ warranty insurance in its own right or scrapping the requirement, following the withdrawal of Australia’s largest home indemnity insurer from the local market.

SOUTH Perth-based Jaxon Construction’s announcement that it had bought into the North Fremantle Rivershores project is the company’s first step in refocusing its operations following a year-long strategic review.

A GLUT of new commercial developments to come on line in Perth’s CBD this year will result in backfill vacancies in older stock, according to a leading office leasing agent.

Saracen Properties says its $550 million Raine Square project will resume construction within a fortnight, after Salta Constructions told 250 workers to walk off the Murray Street site yesterday over a pay dispute.

The Master Builders Association has warned the state's largest home indemnity insurance provider's decision to withdraw from the market could bring the residential building sector to a halt without urgent action from the state government.

Hard work and some considered risk-taking has served Alan Bourke well.

THE closure of a Japanese-owned language college in Highgate will allow the owner of the site, listed property developer Finbar, to pursue redevelopment plans earlier than anticipated.

UNDERLYING demand in Perth’s CBD office market is set to be boosted by the return of institutional investors in 2010, while supply constraints will ensure the office vacancy rate does not reach its forecast levels of 15 per cent, according to a leading ma

THE quarterly round up of median house price analyses has revealed a spike in Perth residential property values during the past three months of 2009, although the exact figures are in dispute.

Listed property developer Finbar has been drawn into the collapse of a Japanese-owned language college GEOS, which was a big commercial tenant of the group.

GREEN Building Council of Australia WA state manager Nadja Kampfhenkel says the most important part of her role is changing attitudes in the property industry.

A FLURRY of activity in the prestige property sector is a sign of the overall strength of the Western Australian economy, according to a leading western suburbs-based high-end property specialist.

THE nationally based developer for stage one of the Alkimos regional city project says it will use the project as a catalyst to launch its Western Australian expansion.

THE Wheatbelt will soon be home to the nation’s largest wind farm, as the Economic Regulation Authority seeks to clear the final hurdles to license Collgar Wind Farms, near Merredin. The ERA is currently seeking public comment on Collgar Wind Farms’ appli

PERTH’S median house price is expected to break all records in 2010, as last year’s shortage of available finance for developers puts the squeeze on metropolitan housing stocks.

SUBIACO’S Australian Fine China redevelopment will set new standards for environmentally friendly and sustainable design, according to the Subiaco Redevelopment Authority.

THE full extent of Rick Stowe’s cash squeeze has become clear, with the Monaco-based tycoon being forced to put his prized Bullsbrook estate on the market in the wake of the $1 billion collapse of his Griffin Coal empire.

The fire sale of the Stowe property empire has shifted into top gear, with the sale of a prime metropolitan beachfront residence, 72 hours after it was listed on the market.

PLANNING Minister John Day has released new inner-city development guidelines that will shape the city’s major projects, including the Northbridge Link and the Riverside developments.

SUBIACO-BASED drug discovery firm Phylogica has announced an agreement with Europe’s largest pharmaceutical company, Roche, to evaluate the firm’s disease-attacking technology.

WESTERN Australia’s residential property sector will experience a period of modest growth in 2010, but despite a shortfall between construction starts and underlying demand, industry groups are not expecting a return to boom conditions.

INTERNATIONAL architecture studio Woods Bagot has credited a year of global success to the international opportunities taken by its Western Australian architects.

CREDITOR meetings for West Perth-based property investment group SAS Global have resulted in two entities being wound up, and for deeds of company arrangement to be executed on two others.

As 2009 comes to a close, major construction companies are exploring new opportunities in the public sector to offset the expected downturn in commercial building.

COMMON perceptions of the housing market have been challenged by a new report that says Australian houses are not overly expensive, with the median price at $371,000.