Nicola McDougall is our guest on Property News Update this week! She joins Kevin Turner as they discuss interesting property stories around the world.
Our first story discusses how Australian property group Mirvac acquired its first Build-To-Rent deal: a 490-unit apartment tower in Melbourne’s CBD for A$333.5M. The tower is part of The Munro project, which is, in turn, part of an A$450M renewal of Melbourne’s famous inner-city precinct.
Mirvac believes that renting has become a lifestyle choice for a lot of people who want to be closer to work and other amenities. “Build-to-rent can revolutionise the rental experience with improved choice, quality, and security of tenure,” they said.
Around 100 retirees got caught up in a complex retirement scheme and now they fear to lose their homes. Our second story deals with the fallout. To secure a home on a lifetime lease, retirees handed over their life savings to Sterling First, a WA group flagship.
Unfortunately, the company collapsed last month, leaving the retirees to face eviction. Administrators from an insolvency firm claim that the retirees “failed to comprehend and/or were not made aware of complex financial arrangements that involved their investments, nor that their leasing arrangements were not secure”. On the other hand, retirees claim that they “were told all along that the money was secured.”
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is working with other authorities to alleviate the retirees’ fears. The retirees’ chances of recovering funds from the collapse rest on the administrators’ sale of Sterling First’s rent roll business.
On a lighter note, our third story tackles the house that Grease built. First introduced to the world in the 1970s with a string of #1 hit songs and blockbuster movies, super-star actress, four-time Grammy winner and world-class beauty, Olivia Newton-John, is selling her Australia farm that she has owned for almost forty years for over $5.5 million AU.
The farm was bought in the early 1980s after her stint in Grease, which is also the movie that would make Olivia an international superstar. The property has over 5,000 trees planted by Newton-John herself. The home, positioned on was renovated in 2002 in the French rustic style and includes pine floors, textured entry walls with shells and pebbles from local beaches, and a large eat-in kitchen.
 
Our fourth story discusses what is it about Queenstown, NZ that causes such interest from Aussies. Four words as it turns out: snowy mountains and short flights.
Doug Howe, an Aussie based in Manly, just purchased a Queenstown property in May. He says that due to Manly’s high temperatures and endless summer, he looks to Queenstown 3.5 hours away for his snow fix.
Realeaste.co.nz figures show more than 34,000 people searched online for property specifically in the Central Otago-Lakes District in May. Nearly a quarter of the searches were made by people in Australia.
Our last story talks about the tallest building ever to be demolished, 270 Park Avenue in New York City. It is also the first building over 200 meters in height to be peacefully razed.
The building was built in 1917, making it over a hundred years old. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats, the average lifespan of the 100 tallest demolished buildings is only 41 years.