Property

THE national property market is continuing to recover off the back of an increase in new home sales, but Western Australia is lagging behind the rest of the nation, according to new industry data.

THE more things change, the more they stay the same.

IN addition to the vigorous commercial construction activity in the city in recent years, the resources boom and resulting prosperity also ignited discussions around 'place making' and the opportunity to create a liveable, attractive and sustainable city.

State development agency LandCorp has become a surprise vehicle to deliver on government promises.

REAL estate agent Geoff Baldwin, fresh from completing the purchase of the RE/MAX franchise rights for Western Australia, believes the industry's traditional business model is finished.

THE post-boom environment has given rise to a surge in demand for outsourced chief financial officers, as small to medium-sized enterprises look to implement similar systems to larger businesses.

Planning Minister John Day said today the state government was firmly committed to an online system for submitting land sub-division applications but was thoroughly reviewing the scheme before proceeding.

Shares in Nedlands-based explorer Reward Minerals have slumped after the National Native Title Tribunal ruled the company cannot access its Lake Disappointment potash project.

ARE the stars aligning for a dramatic overhaul to the approvals process which caused so much angst during the boom? As the government takes receipt of the first concrete advice from three different working groups, there is growing optimism within industry

Jim McGinty may be the last Labor politician to hold Fremantle for quite some time.

WESTERN Australia has received just less than 6 per cent of the total grant allocation from the first two rounds of the federal government's Green Building Fund, securing a total of $1.

THE retirement plans of some financial advisers are under threat as the potential sale price of commission-reliant practices falls.

NICK Bertucci established Canning Vale-based ICM Group in 1993 as a one-man operation.

PLANS for a new beachside suburb 37 kilometres north of Perth, featuring a pedestrian- and cycle-oriented mixed-use village, are a step closer with Planning Minister John Day tabling a metropolitan region scheme amendment this week.

FIGHTING widespread public perceptions of not-for-profit businesses as philanthropic organisations, while competing commercially against the private sector, is a key challenge facing the sector in Western Australia.

State government land development agency LandCorp has shortlisted four advertising agencies after reviewing its advertising relationships and media spend.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA has welcomed the state government's environmental nod for the development of Apache Corporation's Devil Creek gas plant, but says there is room for improvement in the approvals process.

Median house price movements in the March quarter were highly divergent, with Wanneroo up more than 7 per cent while homes in the western suburbs dropped the most, new analysis shows.

A new beachside suburb accommodating for 1,000 homes in the City of Wanneroo has taken a step forward with amendments to the metropolitan region scheme tabled in parliament today.

West Perth-based ThinkSmart has expanded its reach in Spain with the execution of a new three-year deal with Phone House.

PERTH’S median land price fell 3.9 per cent in the December quarter 2008, but still remains the second most expensive in the country behind Sydney.

The high end of Perth's property market has taken a battering from the global slowdown with seven metropolitan suburbs dropping out of the $1 million club, a new survey has found.

THE revitalisation of the Scarborough coastal strip has been halted indefinitely, with the State Administrative Tribunal hearings into the Observation City redevelopment appeal adjourned until further notice.

BAY View Terrace in Claremont has the highest suburban retail strip rents in Western Australia and the fourth highest in the Pacific region, according to a CB Richard Ellis report.

True North Ashore has brought a little bit of the Kimberley to Eagle Bay, as Dan Wilkie reports.

The Prendiville family-owned Sandalford Wines has bought the Killerby vineyard in Margaret River for an undisclosed sum and has not ruled out further land acquisitions.

Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust says it has received strong institutional backing for its capital raising, which will now raise a total of $150 million.

The Matt Birney-chaired Carbon Conscious says it has reached a substantial deal with an unnamed ASX top 50 company to plant "many millions" of Mallee Eucalypt trees in the Wheatbelt region.

Perth-based Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust has unveiled plans to raise $120 million, which will be backed by Wesfarmers and fully underwritten by JP Morgan Australia.

MAJOR wineries in the Margaret River region are concerned about the threat that approaching residential populations pose to their operations, raising calls for clarification of planning proposals and regulations in the region.

MORE than two-thirds of Perth's CBD office stock will be below the federal government's new increased energy efficiency requirements, expected to be introduced in two years.

Ship builder Austal says it is in a good position to secure further Littoral Combat Ship contracts after it secured its second from the US Navy today.