Positivity is alive and well in the world of economic commentators, with Paul Rickard from switzer.com.au suggesting property prices could rise this year. 

Reasons include:

• Lending Criteria. APRA, the banking regulator relaxing lending rules so borrowers can get a loan easier. Investor loans were a target, with banks limited as to how many loans banks could approve on interest-only terms. While it is still harder to get a loan today than it was 18 months ago, borrowers can expect to see a “warming up” to lending. 
• Interest Rate Outlook. Six months ago, most economic commenters were predicting a pending rise in rates, with many more predicting a possible drop in in rates, or at the very least, more stability at the current level for a long period. 
• History. While this isn’t always a reliable indicator, the last two big housing market slumps (GFC 2008/2009 and Paul Keating’s time in office 1990/1991) may be a fair indicator of the of where we are at. The peak falls for Sydney and Melbourne sit at 13.9% and 10.3% respectively, which is roughly what we are seeing now. 
• Labor’s Policy Change Date. Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen announced last week that the Australian Labor Party’s changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax (if elected at the upcoming federal election) will not be put into place until 1 January 2020, providing a substantial window for investors to get in the market prior to this date. From 1 Jan 2020 onwards, investors will no longer be able to negatively gear newly acquired properties. Under the policy, investment properties purchased prior to this date will still qualify for allowable deductions on rental income but rental losses won’t be deductable against other income such as wages or salaries. The capital gains element of the policy is considerable, with the current policy allowing an investor a 50% discount off capital gains if they have held the property for more than 12 months, but if the ALP take up government, investors who purchase post 1 January 2020, will only receive a 25% discount. This could be a huge incentive for investors to get into the market by the end of the year. 

Hannah Schuhmann said there are a lot more positive reports coming from property researchers lately. A recent report from Moody's indicated QLD House prices will rise by 0.9% this year, and 5.9% in 2020. It's an excellent time to get into the property market as opposed to wait and try to time it. In Hannah's view, only 10% of buyers who try to time the market actually succeed.

Watch this space. 37 days until the Federal Election. 

Art Series Hotels have opened their new art-inspired offering at Brisbane’s latest hotspot, Howard Smith Wharves, reports the hotelconversation.com.au.

The $100m flagship hotel,“Fantauzzo” has been carved into the cliff underneath the Story Bridge, and is set to provide guests with incredible Brisbane River views.

The six-storey, 166-room luxury hotel is the latest of a string of new accommodation to open around the city. 

Earlier this year, The Canberra Times reported that in the past four years, an average of over 1200 new rooms per year has opened in Brisbane. Since 2014, 24 new hotels have opened which may have been driven by the infrastructure reductions Brisbane City council offered to four and five-star hotel developers.  

The Queensland Hotel market is the busiest in the country with $486 million in investment, according to a recent Colliers International report on hotels. 

Tourism Accommodation Australia chief executive Carol Giuseppi (now ex) told The Urban Developer that local hotel groups, such as Art Series Hotels, are seeing a change in tourism demographics and using that to their full advantage. 

“Cities such as Brisbane and Perth will experience a doubling in their international-standard hotel stock which will enable them to cater for a vast increase in tourism, conferences and events and deliver a major economic boost to compensate for the softening of the resources sector.”

The Fantauzzo Hotel is part of a major refurbishment the 3.43 hectare, $110 million Howard Smith Wharves site, which will include; 2.7 hectares of open public space, function space to accommodation 1000 people, and a variety of food and beverage establishments. 

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are set to visit our great city and surrounds in the space of a few months with six major events scheduled, reports miragenews.com.au.

The events are predicted to provide a huge boost to the Brisbane economy. The events include; The World Science Festival, “Nasa – A Human Adventure” exhibition at the Queensland Museum, Curiocity Brisbane, the Brisbane Cycling Festival, QODE technology festival and CMC Rocks.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said events such as the above are putting Brisbane on the map as world destination for major events. 

“Brisbane is the only place outside of New York where you can experience the World Science Festival, and this month we will open an Australian-exclusive at the Queensland Museum – NASA – A Human Adventure,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Curiocity,” is a brand-new event which also incorporates the World Science Festival Brisbane and new innovation conference QODE. 

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said echoes Ms Palaszczuk’s sentiment that Brisbane is positioning itself as a key city for large events.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to Brisbane for this event, contributing to a $150 million annual boost to the local economy as well as the local tourism, hospitality, retail and service industries.”

The Brisbane Cycling Festival is another first for the city, which will offer amateur and professional events over a three week period and will draw both national and international participants. The event, set to draw 20,000, will call Brisbane home for at least three years, and will boost the economy by a predicted $8 million per year. 

Rio Tinto has completed the $2.6 billion bauxite mine in Amrum, Far North Queensland, which is expected to be fully operational this year, reports australianmining.com.au. 

The mine, which is located around 40 kilometres from Weipa, is expected to reach a full annual production rate of 22.8 million tonnes by the end of 2019.

Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jean-Sébastien Jacques said the mine is a long term project that will be a huge benefit to the economy.

“Amrun will provide jobs, support businesses and contribute to growth in the region for the next 50 years, building on $2.2 billion of contracts with local, state and national businesses [during construction],” said Jacques.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said Australia is currently the world’s largest bauxite producer and alumina exporter. In 2018, Rio Tinto produced 50.4 million tonnes of bauxite. 

“Together, bauxite and coal deliver thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in wealth and a strong manufacturing sector to Australia.”

“Resources contributed almost $63 billion to Queensland’s economy in 2017-18, and one in every eight jobs. This new project will build on that success.” 

“Rio Tinto’s aluminium activities support more than 5,500 jobs around the country, including 1,400 roles in north Queensland and another 2,000 or so in the Gladstone region, so the Amrun project will help funnel wealth, jobs and prosperity to all corners of Queensland,” said Caravan.

Rio Tinto’s bauxite-to-aluminium supply chain is a massive jobs generator within Australia, with $3.7 billion distributed as wages, paid to suppliers, or paid as community contributions. Australia-wide, the aluminium side of the business supports 5600 jobs. 

In a huge win for the state, Brisbane has been chosen as the city for CSIRO’s Data61 division to open a world class robotic and automation facility, reports the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

The $3 million, 600 sqm purpose-built facility to be constructed in Pullenvale, will be a key research site for a world-wide industry that is rapidly growing, set to be worth $23 billion globally by 2025.

Chief Executive of Data61, Adrian Turner told the AFR that Brisbane has been chosen as the located as due to the “high concentration of robotics research expertise compared to other Australian capitals, and a greater prevalence of robotics startups.”

The occupations that are of focus for the robot development are those that are “dirty, dangerous and dull jobs.”

Mr Turner said the Australian robotics industry employs a skilled workforce of a 50,000 people and generates $12 billion in revenue per year. Data61 currently has 80 robotics engineers based in Brisbane. 

 “The growth of the industry will unleash enormous possibilities across academia, business, and ultimately boost our economy," said Mr Turner. 

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the new centre will give a great boost to Australia’s robotic research capabilities. 

“CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has a long history of robotics research excellence and has established itself as one of the world’s leading robotics research groups.” Minister Andrews said.

“Robots and autonomous systems are unlocking new value and supporting traditional industries like mining, agriculture and manufacturing to grow the economy and create more jobs,” Minister Andrews said.