Daily Buzz: Tuesday, 26 March

PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.

Apartment rents on the rise, a big potential acquisition in the real estate world, and preliminary clearance rates waver

Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Juliet Helmke. Today is Tuesday, 26 March.

– A four-year forecast from CBRE predicts huge price rises for apartments across Australia’s major cities, with the firm expecting rental costs to rise 28 per cent between now and 2028.

– The research lays out just how rapidly rents have increased in recent years, with the number of precincts with average rent over $600 per week for two-bedroom apartments expected to reach 75 per cent across the major cities within four years.

– The price rises will largely be driven by increasingly tight vacancy rates, with the national capital average expected to reach  0.8 per cent by 2028 from 1.8 per cent in 2023. 

– A 9% reduction in potential apartment supply between 2023 and 2028 is contributing to the grim vacancy forecasts, with CBRE noting that all major markets are expected to contract.

– And one of the country’s big real estate brands could be in for a shakeup, with McGrath’s board approving a proposal by Knight Frank and Bayleys to acquire 100% of the ASX-listed firm’s share capital via a scheme of arrangement.

– If approved by shareholders, McGrath will be delisted from the ASX, with implementation expected by the 30th of June. Shareholders can opt for cash or unlisted scrip consideration.

– John McGrath, founder and CEO, plans to receive the unlisted scrip alternative for his shares and will continue as CEO and managing director, stating the partnership is a “marriage made in heaven”.

– And to auction results now, CoreLogic has reported that clearance rates for the week ending the 24th of March are down slightly ahead of the Easter long weekend, with preliminary rates coming in at 72 per cent for last week, a drop from the prior week’s preliminary figures of 74 per cent.

– Sydney registered a slight improvement within its preliminary clearance rate with the city’s figures up 1.9 per cent to almost 76  per cent from the week prior.

– Meanwhile, Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate dropped below the 70 per cent mark for the second time this year, falling from 72.4 per cent last week down to 69.4 this week.

– Among the smaller capital cities, Brisbane reported 242 homes taken to auction with a 71 per cent preliminary clearance rate, while Adelaide saw 185 homes up for auction and recorded the highest preliminary clearance rate of 79.4 per cent. Of Canberra’s 102 auctions 71.6 per cent reportedly found buyers.

That’s Property Buzz for today. 

See you again tomorrow, 27 March, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.

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