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The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) has announced the appointment of Ben Stockwin as its new CEO.
Mr Stockwin was previously CEO at the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA) for nine years. He replaces Tim Arnold.
AILA President Shaun Walsh said Mr Stockwin would bring a tremendous range of skills to the 12- strong team, having successfully led a diverse national organisation while gaining an appreciation of the intersect between the natural, managed and constructed environments.
“Our cities and regions are facing unprecedented social, cultural and environmental challenges – Mr Stockwin’s extensive experience will help provide leadership to the Institute that will continue to raise our membership profile, our engagement with allied organisations and our advocacy to all levels of government,” Mr Walsh said.
“Mr Stockwin was appointed following an open recruitment process, and was selected based on the strengths of his experience as a CEO, his proven ability to lead an organisation with members across Australia as well as his common cultural values, dynamic energy and emotional intelligence expressed in successive interviews.
“We are delighted that Mr Stockwin will be joining us in the next chapter of AILA’s progression and we look forward to welcoming him to the world of landscape architecture.”
Mr Stockwin said it was AILAs strong social purpose, good governance and vibrant membership that made the move attractive.
“The role will allow me to continue to work with an organisation that improves the lives of Australians in multiple ways and I look forward to building on the inspirational work of AILA thus far,” he said.
“Issues around sustainability, nature deficit disorder, increasing population and climate change have been at the forefront of my work over the past decade, and I look forward to integrating these into the role at AILA.”
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Mr Stockwin will officially commence on Monday 6 April, relocating from Tasmania to work from AILA’s national office in Canberra.
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AILA appoints Ben Stockwin as CEO

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Figures released by SQM Research show a decrease in national residential property listings across all capital cities in December 2019. 
National residential property listings across capital cities show an overall 12 per cent decline in 2019.
In December 2019, listings decreased by 14.8 per cent, declining from 338,971 in November to 288,966.
"The month of December traditionally records falls in properties listed for sale as it is the start of the festive and summer holiday period, whilst November shows a surge in listings as vendors are keen to sell before the holiday season approaches," explains Louis Christopher, managing director of SQM Research.
"The recent devastating bushfires in NSW, Canberra and Victoria could also result in declines in property listings and impact property values in these regions in the coming months."
All capital cities saw decreases in property listings over the month with the most significant decrease experienced in Sydney with 28.7 per cent, followed closely by Canberra with 28.1 per cent.
Property listings in Sydney fell from 32,101 in November 2019 to 22,888 in December while Canberra saw a decline from 4,998 to 3,595. 
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2020/1/9/N2_Market_Month.jpeg" alt="" width="790" height="202">
Year-on-year listings similarly show declines for all capital cities with Sydney showing a decline of 30.1 per cent, followed by Darwin with 25.2 per cent, and with Canberra only recording an overall 14.6 per cent decline. Meanwhile, Brisbane is revealed as declining the slightest with only 8.4 per cent. 
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2020/1/9/N1_Stock%20Market%20Table.png" alt="" width="796" height="263" style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;">
Stock on Market Table, SQM Research.
 
 
 
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Sydney vendors vacate market as December 2019 property listings decrease: SQM Research

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Average asking prices in capital cities only increase marginally in December 2019 according to SQM Research.
The capital city asking prices have increased by 2.4 per cent for houses and 0.8 per cent for units in December 2019 with the average asking price at the year end being $977,900 for houses and $577,600 for units. This is significantly lower than a year ago with the capital asking prices showing an increase of 5.8 per cent for houses and 1 per cent for units. 
Over December 2019, Sydney and Hobart were the only capital cities to show increases in both house and unit prices. 
Meanwhile, all other capital cities recorded increases in house prices but saw marginal declines in unit prices over the month. Perth, in particular, saw the greatest fall in the unit market with a 1.6 per cent decline while the city's house price increased by 0.3 per cent. Hobart's unit prices recorded the strongest growth of 2 per cent. Darwin continues to record declines in both house and unit prices of 2 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2020/1/9/N3_Asking%20Price.jpeg" alt="" width="915" height="693">
Weekly Asking Prices Index, SQM Research.
Overall, Melbourne shows the strongest price growth of 4.2 per cent for houses despite its decline in the unit market at 0.6 percent. Melbourne's median house asking price has now returned back to over one million dollars. This was last seen between the period of April and June 2018. The city's median asking price is currently sitting at $1,027,600. Following behind, the Sydney house market similarly climbed back to its 2017/2018 highs of over $1.3 million, records show a 2.4 per cent increase in asking house prices over December 2019. The current median asking house price in Sydney is $1,341,400.
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Capital cities average asking prices increase marginally: SQM Research  

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The Australian Property Institute (API) has announced its new independent chair.
Former Liberal MP Bruce Billson has been tapped to take on the role, which is begin vacated by Tyrone Hodge, who had been API’s National President and Chair since 2015.
Billson is a current member of the ACCC's Small Business and Franchise Advisory Committee and was the Executive Chairman/Independent Director of the Franchise Council of Australia from 2016-2018.
”Bruce’s extensive experience in government, franchise models, banking and small business innovation, combined with his background in competition policy and law reform, will contribute strongly to the continued success of the property profession in anticipating opportunities and adapting to contemporary challenges,” said API CEO Amelia Hodge.
Billson has been an independent non-executive director for Judo Bank and is a founder and principal of policy advice/advocacy and strategic communications/ stakeholder relations firm, Agile Advisory; Special Counsel to Royce Communications; Director of Small Business &amp; Enterprise at Deakin University's Business School; Chair of the Deakin/IPA SME Research Centre Advisory Council and member/chair for several private business advisory committees. 
Billson’s political career hit a road bump when he was censured by House of Representatives after it was revealed he has received an undeclared salary from the Franchise Council of Australia while still working in government.
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Former Liberal MP Bruce Billson appointed API chair

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Mortgage Choice Limited (ASX:MOC) has announced the appointment of Ian Parkes as Chief Financial Officer.
Mr Parkes (pictured above) has over 20 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry.
He has held a number of senior finance roles at BT Financial Group, Westpac and St George and most recently Mr Parkes was the Chief Financial Officer at Homeloans Limited.
As the CFO for Homeloans Limited, he led the finance function with responsibility for "all external and ASX reporting, financial control and investor relations."
Mortgage Choice Chief Executive Officer, Susan Mitchell said, “I am delighted Mr Parkes has undertaken this key appointment with Mortgage Choice as we continue to execute our business strategy, grow settlement volumes over the medium to long term and drive operational efficiencies."
Mr Parkes replaces John Stevenson who was acting CFO following Ms Mitchell's transferal from CEO to CFO in April this year.
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Mortgage Choice appoints new CFO

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The REA Group has announced six months’ paid parental leave for primary caregivers and three months of paid leave for secondary carers/partners.
“Becoming a parent is incredibly exciting and we want our people to enjoy the experience without worrying about how to combine work and family,” said Tracey Fellows, REA Group CEO.
The group will also pay superannuation for the entire period of leave, paid and unpaid, for up to 12 months, to ensure employees’ super isn’t impacted, said a media release.
“By providing six months’ paid leave to our employees who are primary carers, and three months paid leave for secondary carers, we’re giving our people financial security to take the time they need with their families," Fellows added.
“People are at the heart of everything we do and we are very proud to be one of the first Australian technology companies to offer this kind of benefit to our employees.” 
After joining work, primary carers can work at reduced hours (75% of agreed work hours) at full pay for the first four weeks. 
“We want to show leadership across every facet of our business and this includes how we care for our employees when they become parents. A high proportion of our people are millennials and each year over 10% of our Australian workforce take parental leave," said Barb Hyman, REA Group’s executive general manager, People and Culture.
 
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REA Group announces six months paid parental leave for primary carers

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Property market research leaders CoreLogic RP Data have launched their new consumer property information website, Property Value.
"It is an all-you-can-eat data buffet will help home buyers, sellers and investors quickly achieve an active reading of a property’s performance as well as deliver updates on current market conditions prior to a purchase or sale," CoreLogic RP Data head of solutions Greg Dickason said.
(Property value homepage screenshot below)
<img src="/images/2015/07/06/homepage.jpg" alt="">
<a href="https://www.propertyvalue.com.au/" target="_blank">Propertyvalue.com.au </a>comprises both free and paid versions, created in response to an increasing demand from every day buyers and investors.  It is the same data accessed regularly by estate agents and even the big four banks. 
“It’s our hope it will help Australians make better property decisions and ultimately put them in a better financial position,” Greg Dickason said.
Property Value provides extensive data coverage on mobile and desktop.
"Every day buyers and sellers can estimate the sale value of a property and take a much deeper dive into data before deciding on which property to buy and where, by using the benchmarking option, analyse comparable properties for sale, for rent and recently sold.
"Users can even look back over 30 years to see what the property has previously sold for, how long it has generally taken to sell and whether it has been rented."
Investors will also be provided with an estimated rent and yield for individual properties in addition to ‘Investor Scores’ that score a property and its surrounding suburb in relation to cash flow, capital growth and lower risk investment strategies.
Each street and suburb has its own profile –offering further insight into the surrounding areas.
It gives important insights including how many units and houses there are and whether they’re likely to be rented or owner-occupied.
<a href="/images/2015/07/06/value.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2015/07/06/value.jpg" alt="">
Property Value will help property buyers and sellers:
<ul>
<li>Understand what a property might be worth by comparing its estimated market value with comparable recent sales</li>
<li>Perform due diligence on investment opportunities</li>
<li>Locate capital growth information for states, cities, suburbs, streets and individual houses </li>
<li>Easily find auction clearance rates</li>
<li>Identify vendor discount rates, rental yields, vacancy rates and demographic information</li>
</ul>
Accessing Property Value for free, or for $49 for one week’s access, or all year round unlimited site access at $399 with pricing options in between.
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