State of Markets - SA July 2012

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Fast figures

• 1.6% - Adelaide vacancy rate, April 2012 (SQM Research)
• $1 billion – proposed cost of the Bowden development project (SA government)
• 1.2 million – population of Adelaide city, 73 per cent of SA population, June 2011 (ABS)

SA to review Tenancies Act

Investors and tenants may benefit from changes to South Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act, with the state government announcing it will review the legislation to ensure it meets community needs.

“Proposed changes are designed to variously benefit tenants and landlords by increasing protection and clarity for both, and reducing red tape and delays in the system,” Deputy Premier and consumers minister John Rau said in a discussion paper.

The Real Estate Institute of SA (REISA) has said it supports the review: “The current Act is nearly 20 years old now, so the time’s right to look at what can be improved to make sure that the systems are streamlined and workloads are reduced for both industry and the government administering the laws,” REISA’s chief executive officer, Greg Troughton, said.

Interest in Bowden renewal project surges

Housing and Urban Development Minister Patrick Conlon has welcomed formal proposals to purchase the first release of parcels in the $1 billion Bowden urban renewal project.

Mr Conlon told a Property Council of Australia lunch that the Urban Renewal Authority had received an overwhelming response from the industry.

More than a dozen submissions received from private sector developers for the first release parcels of land in Stage 1 will now be evaluated by the Urban Renewal Authority and Bowden’s design review panel.

The successful development teams for the first parcels will be announced next month. The Urban Renewal Authority’s chief executive, Fred Hansen, said the response from the building industry had been “fantastic”.