TED TABETTHU 17 SEP 20

Westpac is the latest bank to upgrade its short-term home price targets, citing record low interest rates, ongoing regulator support and a steadying economy for its more positive outlook. The bank says residential property prices are now expected to experience a 5 per cent correction through to late 2021 before a 15 per cent surge over the following two years.

Westpac’s economics team initially forecast an average 10 per cent slide in property prices nationally through to June next year when the first wave of Australia’s coronavirus pandemic was at its peak in April.

The bank has substantially revised their outlook.

Posted by Edgar Adams on 4 September 2020

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Government has announced that major construction at the Kangy Angy rail maintenance facility has been completed.

Ninety new jobs are on offer after major construction finished at the NSW Government's $300 million dollar Kangy Angy Rail Maintenance Facility.

Darrell Giles | July 21, 2020

Ipswich City Council has announced a step forward on the 25km public transport corridor between the Ipswich CBD and Springfield Central.

Proposed Ipswich-Springfield public transport corridor

The area is a preserved 25km public transport corridor that connects the two centres via Ipswich’s key growth region through Ripley and Redbank Plains.

Mayor Teresa Harding said that the significant population growth in the Ipswich to Springfield corridor made this project a high priority for the city.

“The strategic assessment provides a compelling case and is time imperative for the development of the corridor across transport, land use, and social outcomes,” the mayor said.

“Ipswich is the fastest-growing region in Queensland, with a yearly rate of population increase of more than 4 per cent – that’s approximately 3 per cent above the state and national averages.

The NSW Government, Transurban and the M7 Westlink Shareholders (the Project Sponsors) are building an underground tolled motorway linking the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga to the Hills M2 Motorway at West Pennant Hills. The $3 billion project consists of a construction budget of $2.65 billion in addition to land and project delivery costs. The project is funded through toll charges with a contribution of $577.3 million from the NSW Government and $412.3 million from the Australian Government.

Key benefits

NorthConnex will deliver significant benefits to local communities by easing congestion and removing around 5000 trucks daily from Pennant Hills Road. This will help improve safety, local air quality and reduce traffic noise.

Motorists will be able to travel from Newcastle to Melbourne without a single set of traffic lights, reducing travel times for motorists and delivering state and national freight efficiencies.  

“Once completed, NorthConnex can be used by the thousands of Central Coast commuters as an alternative route to the CBD that avoids 40 traffic lights on the Pacific Highway.” says parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch.

27 July 2020 | NSW Government

First home buyers will be the big winners under a targeted boost, which will eliminate stamp duty on newly-built homes below $800,000 and slash thousands of dollars for properties up to $1 million.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the change to stamp duty thresholds would also support new home construction and create jobs as part of the government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan.

“Thousands of people will see their bank balances benefit from this change – it will help get more keys into more front doors of more new homes,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Under the changes the threshold above which stamp duty will be charged on new homes for first home buyers will increase from the current $650,000 to $800,000, with the concession reducing on higher values before phasing out at $1 million.

Under the changes the stamp duty threshold on vacant land will rise from $350,000 to $400,000 and will phase out at $500,000. 27 July 2020 | NSW Government