Property

National construction activity finished the year weak as home building wound down in December, new data by Ai Group has shown.

Acting Premier Liza Harvey has spruiked the government's recent move to relax the eligibility criteria for Keystart and increase the first homebuyers grant, saying it had received more than 1,100 enquiries.

Banks hiking mortgage interest rates out of cycle and failing to pass on official rate cuts are expected to dampen demand for housing this year, according to a new report.

The last 10 days of 2016 were a busy period for WA corporate deals, with the Rae family attracting a bumper price for its Gull New Zealand business, Chinese group MMG selling the Golden Grove mine, Diploma Group going into receivership and seven new listings on the ASX.

Disgraced international markets trader Paul Thompson appears to be gearing up for a return to Perth's property market.

Perth's housing market continued to show life to round out 2016, with median house prices posting their first quarterly increase since April last year, according to property analytics firm CoreLogic.

Training provider Open Colleges has joined Bethanie, NBN Company and Vocus Communications in signing up this year for space at Workzone Building A, which is now fully leased.

The paint is hardly dry on the final touches to M/Group's $130 million restoration of Fremantle's historic Dalgety Woolstores, but managing director Lloyd Clark is already on the lookout for his next statement project.

A planning stoush has emerged in the seaside town of Dunsborough over a proposed Puma fuel station on one of the last vacant development blocks on Dunn Bay Road.

A silver lining is emerging with regards to the fall in property prices in the state's north-west, particularly in the resources hub of Karratha.

SPECIAL REPORT: One of Perth's most prominent names in property has had a transcendent effect on the city in 2016.

Planning Minister Donna Faragher has scuttled the City of South Perth's ambitions of reinstating height limits across a large parcel of the suburb.

Perth-based architecture firm DAPM Architects is in the hands of liquidators, less than a week after it was spun-out of national group DesignInc, but its managing director says the collapse represents an opportunity for a new beginning.

OPINION: Reiwa members reported a decline in weekly sales to 552. The overall 9 per cent decrease in weekly sales is attributed to a 4 per cent decrease in sales for houses, 23 per cent for units and 27 per cent for vacant land.

Waning interest in off-the-plan apartment sales in Perth is adding to the challenges facing developers.

New data out today confirms Perth's residential property market has yet to show signs of a turnaround, but one industry figure says the sector is close to the bottom of the cycle.

The state government has awarded $91.6 million worth of contracts to four building companies for the refurbishment and redevelopment of six health service centres across rural Western Australia.

Fastbrick Robotics has locked in a new cornerstone investor through an $8 million capital raising, as it progresses its robotic bricklaying technology.

Developer Stirling Capital and construction partner Jaxon have started work on a 19-level apartment project at Canning Bridge that has set new standards for environmental management.

Construction firm Georgiou Group has won a contract to build Primewest's $31 million multi-storey office development in Joondalup, which will be occupied by state government departments.

A Margaret River-based entrepreneur is building a first for Western Australia – a house constructed out of hemp.

Aged care and retirement living projects are replacing office buildings and apartment complexes on the drawing boards of architecture firms across Western Australia, as increasing demand for beds stokes intense competition among providers.

LandCorp is seeking businesses to populate a new industrial estate in Nambeelup, a key plank of the state government's plan to create more than 33,000 jobs in the Peel region by 2050.

Creating a tourism precinct on the southern side of Fremantle Port has again been floated as a possibility, after the City of Fremantle put out the call for government and private sector support for its next wave of development opportunities.

Perth-based land developer Peet has sold a parcel of land in Victoria for $30.5 million, but it doesn't expect to receive any proceeds from the deal for nearly a year.

Singapore-listed property developer Oxley Holdings has embarked on a mission to get a foothold in Australian property, acquiring 40 per cent of local development and construction group Pindan for $32 million.

Telstra's administrative headquarters on Stirling Street has been sold and the new owner, a private equity player from China, plans to redevelop it into a 500-bed student accommodation facility, the second such proposal for the area.

A snap poll of residents in South Perth has revealed strong support for development in the area, despite activism against the high-rise project plans.

An embattled Perth-based developer has capped off a turbulent 2016 by selling one of its most prominent projects.

Construction will start later this week on Defence Housing Australia's 166-dwelling Liv Apartments in Fremantle, after Georgiou Group was appointed as DHA's building contractor.

Plans for what would become Perth's tallest building have been lodged for approval, with Singapore's Fragrance Group seeking to build a 62-level, 485-room hotel at St Andrew's Church on St Georges Terrace.

A South Perth resident group claims a Court of Appeals decision to uphold the quashing of a development approval on Mill Point Road confirms the original intent of the suburb's town planning scheme, but the developer behind the proposal says the judgement only highlights problems with development guidelines in the area.