Australian ­Property Monitors economist Andrew Wilson has warned house price growth in Melbourne and Sydney is likely to slow to half the pace of last year, The Australian Financial Review reports.

According to the newspaper, the property researcher says house prices in Sydney have become “unsustainable” following an increase of almost six per cent in the last quarter of the year.

Meanwhile, Melbourne's median increased 3.2 per cent during the quarter and 8.6 per cent over the year, to hit a new record of $568,824.

"Prices just can’t keep growing at that level into the medium term," Dr Wilson told the AFR.

“The Sydney market will likely recover around half the price growth of 2013. Melbourne will be lucky to get half the growth it had this year, and most of that will occur over the first half of the year."

New home sales have increased for the first time since the global financial crisis hit in 2008, according to the Housing Industry of Australia.

Sales rose 14.4 per cent in 2013, the first year of growth in five years, according to the HIA's new home sales report.

In the final quarter of 2013, sales were at levels not seen since mid 2011, when activity in the housing market was being boosted by government stimulus, HIA economist Diwa Hopkins said.

"The broader trend shows a healthy profile of recovery throughout 2013 and the underlying details are also fairly encouraging," Ms Hopkins said.

"The key now will be for these improved sales levels to expand further in the year ahead."

In the month of December alone, the HIA new home sales report showed that total seasonally adjusted new home sales eased by 0.4 per cent.

The aggregate decline was driven by a 6.6 per cent decrease in multi-unit sales while detached house sales increased by 0.9 per cent.

“Total new home sales were largely unchanged in the month of December, however, the broader trend shows a healthy profile of recovery throughout 2013 and the underlying details are also fairly encouraging."

Ms Hopkins said the aggregate monthly decline was due to an unsurprising pull-back in multi-unit sales, following the previous month’s very strong result.

"Looking at detached house sales, the growth in this segment has broadened in its reach, with four out of the five surveyed states showing monthly and quarterly increases in December 2013," she said.

In December, private detached house sales increased by 22.5 per cent in South Australia, 7.3 per cent in Western Australia, 5.8 per cent in New South Wales and 1.5 per cent in Queensland. Detached house sales fell by 13.4 per cent in Victoria.

In the final quarter of 2013, detached house sales increased by 50.9 per cent in South Australia. They also rose by 12.3 per cent in Queensland, 3.5 per cent in New South Wales and 2.3 per cent in Western Australia. In Victoria, detached house sales fell by 9.5 per cent in the quarter.

By a staff reporter, with AAP

Forget about off-the-plan apartments. What cashed-up overseas Chinese buyers really want is a house in Australia, and more precisely, the land on which the house sits.

For the right house in the right suburb, they are outbidding Australian buyers by $100,000 to $200,000 – and sometimes more – to secure the property. They are importing inflation to their country of choice.

"Many people say, erroneously, that Chinese investors are only buying new-built – I can say categorically that that is not true," says Andrew Taylor, co-founder of juwai.com, a property website visited by 1.5 million potential Chinese investors each month.

"To most Chinese buyers, re-sales (existing properties) are far more appealing," says Taylor.

Taylor estimates that Chinese investors spent $5.3 billion buying Australian residential real estate in 2013 – but this is a mere drop compared to the estimated $38 billion to $50 billion they spent buying houses overseas last year.

"The bulk of our enquiries are for established homes, priced at $600,000 to $1.1 million in Australia – the sort of price range most Australians are also targeting."

One buyer, who didn't want to give his name, experienced the competition first-hand recently when he looked to buy a home in Epping, a Northern Sydney suburb.

"We saw this house on a Saturday afternoon and when we went to make an offer on the Monday morning, it was already sold - $200,000 more than the asking price ($1 million)," he says.

He subsequently found out that the young Chinese buyer intended to knock it down and spend another $500,000 building a new house on the site.

Veteran Sydney agent Barry Goldman says: "The majority of Chinese buyers prefer to purchase brand new property, or if not new, the property must be substantially renovated or knocked down and rebuilt. 

"In Sydney's leafy mid-north shore suburbs, it is not uncommon to see old houses knocked down and brand new double brick two-storey mansions in their place," says Goldman, chief executive of Leda Real Estate.

Joseph Ngo, branch manager of LJ Hooker Glen Waverley agent in Melbourne, says it is not unusual for his agency to sell homes in sought-after Melbourne suburbs for $100,000-$200,000 above the expected sale price. 

"I recently sold a home for $2.3 million - $500,000 over the asking price," he says.

"They pay $1.2-$1.3 million for a house and think nothing of tearing it down. Then build a 60-square (557 square metres) mansion on the land. They are buying the land, not the house," says Ngo.

John McGrath, chief executive of McGrath Estate Agents, says: "We have seen buyer inquiries from clients of Chinese origin (local and overseas) double in the last 12 months." 

Citing figures from the FIRB, McGrath said 9,768 approvals for residential real estate purchases or development were given to foreigners in the 2012 financial year - compared with 4,715 approvals in 2009-2010.

NSW experienced 45 per cent growth - the highest in the nation - in foreign investment in residential real estate.

In total, FIRB recorded residential sales of $4.2 billion to overseas Chinese buyers in the 2012 financial year - up 70 per cent on the $2.4 billion recorded in 2009-10.

Many of these buyers have friends or relatives in Australia to bid for them. Those without the local connections are still able to purchase - and there have been countless anecdotes of overseas Chinese buyers flying in to inspect and buy Australian properties they found on the internet.

According to the FIRB website, foreigners can buy established properties in Australia if they have valid visas – for example, work or student visas. The rationale is that they need somewhere to live, but must sell when the visa expires. While foreigners are otherwise technically not allowed to buy established homes, a Canberra government source said non-resident foreign persons can buy, but they need to apply for approval to buy established dwellings for redevelopment. 

Juwai’s Taylor says China's economic ascendancy has unleashed unprecedented purchasing power for its citizens, and is now washing up on the shores of Australia, the United States, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.

"The true power of the Chinese buyer is represented by more than 63 million people whose wealth and incomes provide them with the ability to purchase international property," says Taylor, who points out that 90 million Chinese search for property online every month. More than 60 per cent pay in cash. 

Globally, Taylor says Chinese purchases of residential properties totalled at least $38 billion and possibly as much as $50 billion last year.

And just as they are moving out of tier one cities in China, overseas Chinese investors are now moving out of capital cities, like London, to Manchester and Birmingham.

In Australia, Taylor says, the Chinese are also buying in tier two cities - Gold Coast, Perth and Adelaide. And surprisingly, juwai.com is getting enquiries for properties in Wagga Wagga, in the south west of NSW.

"We didn't really understand why, until we found out that a Chinese company has made a big investment in Wagga." (The state-owned Wuai Group has partnered with Sydney-based company ACA Capital Investment to build a $400m trade centre in Wagga.)

The mainland Chinese passion for real estate remained unfulfilled in their home market until about 15 years ago, when private ownership was first permitted, according to Taylor. "They are going through their first property cycle. Property is like gold to them."

A multi-million dollar extortion has been linked to a disputed debt that involved Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Group, according to Fairfax Media.

A long-lasting $9 million disagreement between Mr Triguboff’s company and a building company it hired reportedly led to Meriton being approached by underworld figures after the building firm engaged debt collectors.

A source close to Meriton told the paper that the company told the underworld identities to “get lost”.

Meriton confirmed to Fairfax Media that it had received a visit from debt collectors but did not pay any money after showing evidence it had already paid its debts.

A rush of listings on the Australian sharemarket last year has boosted the real estate industry's hopes of a price lift in some of the nation's most expensive suburbs.

The industry's hopes are based on the expectation that investment bankers will once again receive bonus payments and business owners will be cashed up after taking their companies public.

With new companies worth more than $4 billion hitting the boards last year, and at a time when investment bankers receive bonuses, some high-end car dealerships are increasing advertising spending while real estate agents report that sellers are placing properties on the market in the hope that higher pay in the finance sector triggers more buying.

Raine & Horne Crows Nest director David Hill said investment bankers had already made property purchase inquiries ahead of anticipated bonus payments.

One investment banker based in Singapore had placed his investment property on Sydney's lower north shore up for sale in anticipation of strong buyer interest, Mr Hill said.

"He is selling it because he thinks there is going to be a good flow through of bonus money this year, which we haven't seen for a few years," he said.

"In that same sort of market -- the $2.5-$3 million mark -- some buyers have said, 'We will be there in February, we will just wait and see what our bonuses are'."

Home prices on Sydney's lower north shore gained at least 8 per cent in the last year, he said.

But with the sharemarket recently coming off the boil, Mr Hill said there could also be a move by people to sell equities and reinvest in real estate. "There is always that correlation between a good run in the sharemarket, then obviously the smart people take it out, and with interest rates so low, property is starting to look attractive," he said.

While Ben Collier from McGrath Estate Agents in Sydney's eastern suburbs questioned the size of bonuses paid to those in the financial sector, given the challenges many investment banks had faced in the last few years, a proportion of inquiry was from the banking sector.

Mark Goldman, principal at Raine & Horne Double Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs, said he had a couple of real estate deals over the past few months after people had sold their businesses in the $20-$50 million price range.

"Not listed companies or businesses of a medium size, but the smaller businesses," he said.

Mr Goldman was optimistic about receiving business from those in finance.

"It is very beneficial for our business if they do get bonuses," he said. "If you look at what is happening and the stockmarket is up and the banks have done extremely well, they should be paid bonuses."

Westfield Group is looking to shake up its British portfolio, selling about £600 million ($A1.128 billion) of assets there ahead of a planned split of its Australasian and international shopping centre holdings into two trusts.

The shopping centre giant is in talks to sell two key assets - the Derby shopping centre and a stake in Merry Hill near Birmingham, along with the management of that centre - to British-listed group Intu Properties.

While the deals are yet to be completed, the funds could be poured into the Australian group's development pipeline or used to sweetened the pot for Westfield Retail Trust shareholders who are unhappy about the terms of the proposed split.

The Derby centre was put up for sale last November with an asking price of about £400 million.

Westfield, which has a two-thirds stake in the centre, and co-owner Westfield UK Shopping Centre Fund appointed Savills to sell the retail complex. In a twist, Intu also revealed its interest in the £1 billion Westfield Merry Hill centre, which Westfield co-owns with investors, including Queensland Investment Corporation.

Westfield has a one-third stake after selling a 50 per cent interest in the Merry Hill and surrounding development land to QIC for £524 million in 2006 and a further interest into the British shopping centre fund in 2007. Intu, which also owns the Victoria and Broadmarsh centres in Nottingham, flagged a potential equity raising if the deals went ahead.

In response to British reports, the company said that "although discussions are ongoing, there can be no certainty that any transaction will be undertaken".

Building approvals fell more than expected in December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ABS data showed the number of buildings approved fell a seasonally adjusted 2.9 per cent to 16,141 in the month.

That compares to an initially reported 16,396 approvals in November, seasonally adjusted.

Bloomberg economists had expected the figures to show a 0.5 per cent fall in approvals during the month.

Building approvals are now 21.8 per cent higher, seasonally adjusted, than in the same month last year, falling short of an expected 23.4 per cent lift.

Approvals for private sector houses fell 3.4 per cent in the month, and the "other dwellings" category, which includes apartment blocks and townhouses, was down 1.2 per cent.

Home prices have continued to climb in January with Melbourne leading the charge.

Capital city home values rose 1.2 per cent last month and 9.8 per cent in the year to January, according to the RP Data Rismark Home Value Index.

Prices in Melbourne rose 3.2 per cent in the month and almost 12 per cent in the year to January while prices in Sydney rose 0.8 per cent in January for a yearly rise of 13.4 per cent.

Home values are now 4.8 per cent higher than their previous peak in October 2010, the figures show.

The strong figures were likely to dampen speculation about any possible cash rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia in the medium term, RP Data research director Tim Lawless said.

"Together with the higher-than-expected inflation reading and a lower Australian dollar, the sustained growth in dwelling values is another factor the RBA is likely to consider when deliberating on any movement in the cash rate," Mr Lawless said.

Sydney and Melbourne were the clear drivers of growth, Mr Lawless said.

But, he said, the figures showed that both capital cities were well advanced in their growth cycle and the current exuberant conditions were expected to wind down in 2014 because of increasing affordability constraints and higher levels of housing supply.

Perth prices, however, declined 1.1 per cent, as did Darwin, while Adelaide was flat.

Eroding rental yields, as dwelling values continued to grow faster than rental rates, could start acting as a disincentive for investors, which would also moderate price growth, Mr Lawless said.

"With gross yields low in Melbourne, and not a lot better in Sydney, together with the fact that both these markets are well advanced in their growth cycle, it would suggest that investment fundamentals in these markets are waning," he said.

"It is my view that investors will start seeking out the higher yields of Brisbane where the market is also far earlier in the growth cycle."

Rismark chief executive Ben Skilbeck said price declines were unlikely in the near future.

"While a moderation in growth is expected for Melbourne and, to a lesser extent, Sydney, strong population growth, an increasing appetite for housing credit and positive consumer sentiment means we are unlikely to see price declines in the near term," he said.

AAP

Investa Property Group and Stockland have taken the first steps in a joint venture that could see the pair owning about $700 million of Sydney property assets.

In the first leg of the tie-up, the unlisted Investa Commercial Property Fund has bought a half-stake in Sydney's 135 King Street for $130 million.

The deal will give the Investa fund an initial half-stake in the complex, which includes both an office tower and the Glasshouse Shopping Centre.

Co-owner Stockland is likely to later emerge with full control of that retail centre, once negotiations are finalised.

In the second leg of the tie-up, Investa's listed office fund is in talks to buy the office component of Sydney's near-$400 million Piccadilly Centre from Stockland, which would keep the retail component of that asset.

The relationship between the pair -- with Investa specialising in office and Stockland in retail -- could grow. Stockland commercial property chief executive John Schroder said 135 King Street had potential for redevelopment.

"We're looking forward to a new and productive joint-venture with Investa Commercial Property Fund on this prime retail asset," he said.

Stockland surprised the market when in December it exercised its pre-emptive right, as the co-owner of the complex, to nominate Investa to buy the interest in 135 King Street.

That put it ahead of Industry Superannuation Property Trust, which had agreed to purchase the property from the Colonial First State-managed PPS fund, in a deal brokered by Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers International.

The stake was acquired on a core yield of 7 per cent and took ICPF's total assets under management to more than $2.2 billion.

Fund manager Peter Menegazzo said: "We are very pleased to have secured an interest in an asset of this calibre, which strengthens ICPF's weighting to Sydney, which reduced following the recent sale of 231 Elizabeth Street and the acquisition of assets in Brisbane and Melbourne."

The 29-level building has a net lettable area of 31,030 square metres with more than 27,000 square metres of the accommodation office. It has high vacancy rates, with 26 per cent of the tower without a tenant. It is being refurnished to try to attract top tenants.

Prominent Australian building firm Grocon has appointed Carolyn Viney to the role of chief executive after Daniel Grollo stepped aside to become chairman, according to The Australian.

Mr Grollo said his new role of executive chairman would not diminish his oversight and influence within the business as he looks for offshore growth opportunities.

"Carolyn is dealing with most of the day-to-day issues with the company now and I think executive chairman is a more appropriate title for where I'm going," he said, according to The Australian.

Mr Grollo splits his time between Melbourne and New York and will continue to do so in the new role.

Ms Viney joined Grocon in 2003 and has been deputy chief for two years, while current chairman Rowan Kennedy will shift to the deputy chair position.

REA Group Ltd chairman Hamish McLennan says the group's strong first-half results are vindication of the board's long-term strategy.

In the six months to December 31, net profit was $70.69 million, a 37 per cent decrease on the $51.59 million in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue in the same period was 209.42 million, a 30 per cent jump on the $161.43 million recorded in the first half of the previous fiscal year.

The group will pay a fully-franked interim dividend of 22 cents.

"This half-year represents another record result for REA Group and its shareholders," Mr McLennan said.

"As these results clearly show, we have the right long-term strategy in place and the board is confident the group’s talented and capable team will continue to deliver on our strategy.”

Challenger Diversified Property Group Ltd has reaffirmed its full-year earnings and distribution guidance, despite a slip in first-half net profit primarily due to fair value adjustments.

In the six months to December 31, Challenger posted a net profit of $15.17 million, a 27 per cent decline on the previous corresponding period's $20.80 million.

The group said net profit after tax was adversely impacted by investment property fair value adjustments of $9 million for the period including incentives, capital expenditure and straight-lining.

In the same period, revenue was $47.16 million, a 0.4 per cent lift on the $47.34 million in the first-half of the previous fiscal year.

The group will pay an interim dividend of 9.2 cents.

Fund manager Trevor Hardie said the group had reaffirmed its full-year normalised earnings guidance of 22.3 cents per unit and distribution guidance at 18.5 cent per unit.

"The leasing market is starting to show signs of improvement and with the consistent execution of our strategy and sound metrics, Challenger remains well positioned," he said.

Private equity may be circling the $1.3 billion property arm of listed utilities company UGL, but if the price doesn't measure up to expectations, the demerger proposal may be abandoned.

Some market sources now say that if the deal proceeds, it will leave UGL with a low share price, with the real estate sector likely to lift on the back of an improving global economy.

Angry shareholders lashed out at the company's managing director Richard Leupen at the annual general meeting last year, with accusations the company was a "sinking ship" on the back of a 73 per cent profit dive last financial year.

Profits fell due to weakness in the mining services, where mining companies focused on cost-reduction programs and cancelled projects.

The demerger plans have been on the cards since early last year, with the logic being that they would create more value for shareholders. However, it is understood the spin-off is still a long way down the track.

Rather than scrapping the demerger plan altogether, it could be further delayed, should the business not sell to private equity.

A research note by Deutsche recently pointed to strong results from global real estate rival Jones Lang LaSalle as a positive indicator for UGL's business DTZ.

The company maintains the demerger is going ahead.

Expanding property funds manager 360 Capital Group has snared the management of the small listed CVC Property Fund as its growth ambitions step up a gear.

The Tony Pitt-led group has struck a conditional deal that will see it take control of the fund, adding to its stable that already includes a listed industrial property fund.

The CVC fund held about $33 million of investment properties in Sydney at the end of June 2013 and recently sold a small development site in Belrose, NSW.

360 Capital said it would undertake a strategic review of the fund to determine how best to improve the fund's value.

Once the review has been completed, the pair will update the market on the outcomes. One course could see it relaunched as a diversified vehicle as 360 Capital is now focused on listing a separate office fund.

The Australian reported in December that 360 Capital had secured two Brisbane assets ahead of the float that vehicle, slated for later this month.

The group last month reworked the debt on its 360 Capital Office Fund which is expected to garner strong investor support.

The proposed float will be the first of the year in the office sector and once the trust completes its property acquisitions, it will have gross assets of about $235m and be geared at about 36 per cent. It is hoping to attract unit holders with the offer 8.5 per cent distributions.

International developers are snapping up apartment development sites in Sydney with booming prices allowing seasoned local players to cash in or ride the market themselves.

In the most prominent deal, property billionaire Bob Ell has cashed in on the Chinese investment boom by selling an office tower in Milsons Point on Sydney Harbour for about $80 million to successful mainland developer Bridgehill.

The Australian property legend will reap a gain of about $30 million on the sale of the tower, 52 Alfred Street, which he bought just four years ago from a Colonial First State-managed fund.

In a sign of the market shift, the highest value use of the 13-storey A-grade tower leased to top US company Kimberly-Clark, is seen as conversion into apartments.

Bridgehill managing director Yi Bin Xu confirmed he would pursue a residential scheme and said he was keen to present his ideas to local authorities.

Bridgehill is among the top buyers of apartment sites and its luxury projects have also won backing from local and offshore buyers. It paid $82 million last August for an old council depot in Zetland just south of the Sydney CBD, where it is advancing plans for six towers with about 800 apartments.

It is also developing a three-tower project in Mascot that it will launch midyear. Bridgehill recently pre-sold all the units in a luxury apartment conversion of the nearby TAL building in Milsons Point.

Agents CBRE's Justin Brown and Tim Rees brokered the deal, revealed by The Australian online, on Tuesday night.

"Developers are taking a view on the inner city markets of Sydney which is that high rates per square metre can be achieved for apartments without parking," Mr Brown said. "That is driving the value of the regeneration sites."

An Asian investor last Friday forked out almost $50 million for an amalgamated site in North Sydney at 144-154 Pacific Highway and 18 Berry Street. It carries a fresh approval for a 23-storey mixed use tower, with the bulk devoted to 181 apartments, and work could start this year. Mike Stokes of Chesterton International is believed to have brokered that sale but could not be contacted.

Savvy locals are also looking to feed demand for apartments from Asian buyers. Developer Allen Linz of Rebel Property Group, one of the backers of the $450 million The Pacific complex on Bondi Beach, is rumoured to be looking at buying a tower in the Sydney suburb of Burwood, as part of a group of wealthy investors.

The Michael Easson-led EG Property Group has been looking to sell the tower for more than $35 million for some months and it would suit Chinese buyers. EG just sold a Macquarie Park site to a Chinese fund manager for a shade over $25.17 million via Colliers.

Listed Australian players are active with the next major project to be launched in Sydney likely to be at Lend Lease's Darling Harbour Live where about 500 apartments are planned.

On the development side, veteran investor Greg Shand's Milsons Point office tower is tipped to sell to a residential developer for about $90 million. The 19-level tower in Lavender Street carries approval for 95 units and is to be offered by CBRE's Scott Gray-Spencer and Jones Lang LaSalle's Rob Sewell and James Aroney.

Increasing opposition to a merger between Westfield Retail Trust Ltd and the Lowy family's Westfield Group Ltd's Australian and New Zealand businesses has seen the former entity forced to fine-tune its sales pitch, The Australian Financial Review reports.

According to the newspaper, Westfield Group's chief financial officer Peter Allen - who is also set to lead the merged entity, known as Scentre - has laid out the cost of the deal for the first time in meetings with key fund managers this week.

A presentation last year reportedly put the value of the new management company or "platform" at $3.6 billion, and the current proposal would see Westfield Retail Trust contribute half of that figure - $1.8 billion - to establish the larger entity,

The AFR reports the presentation by UBS and Morgan Stanley on Westfield Retail Trust's behalf is designed to alleviate concerns over the forecast dilution of in its net tangible asset (NTA) value. A 17 per cent slide in NTA to $2.86 has reportedly been met with opposition by investors, particularly Unisuper, one of the largest stake holders.

Market speculation has had it that Australand Property Group will be the next takeover target in the property space, but it's now thought that the current activity surrounding the $2.2 billion listed company centres on a potential spin-off of half of its $900 million residential development book.

It's a mooted deal that sources say could see a share of the business wind up in the hands of a pension fund or private equity firm.

Sources in the market say Australand has fielded direct approaches from parties looking to take half of the business.

While Australand would not comment on the speculation, the company has joined other real estate groups such as Federation Centres and shopping centre giant Westfield in spinning off stakes in its portfolios previously, and says it is "continually exploring new opportunities".

Should the group secure a capital partner, it would generate $450 million in new funding to drive higher earnings from other areas of the business.

While some questioned whether the deal would gain traction, given the previous sales process was unsuccessful, others said more joint-venture deals could be seen in the listed real estate sector.

Australand became a takeover target last year when the GPT Group made a $2.94 billion play for the company's office and industrial assets in late 2012.

While the offer was rejected at the time, its major shareholder, Singapore giant Capitaland, was searching for an exit and the company subsequently opened its data room to other bidders, with the hope that a sale of the entire business would eventuate.

Private equity firm Blackstone, Japanese home builder Sekisui House and West Australian developer Nigel Satterley's company Satterley Property Group were known to have shown some interest in the residential assets, trawling through the properties at a time when the development market was suffering.

Around that time, it is understood Stockland and Lend Lease were approached to take over Australand's residential business.

Capitaland has recently sold a 20 per cent interest in the company, leaving the Asian property developer with a 39 per cent stake.

A prominent former government economist fears Australia’s banks have loosened lending standards on home loans, boosting the risk of the property market overheating, according to The Australian Financial Review.

Quentin Grafton, who formerly ran the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics, will today say that the recent gains in house prices need to moderate.

“Should the house price growth spurt continue for much longer there will be an overshoot that will likely ­create an ‘overhang,’ ” he will say in a speech to the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, the AFR reported.

Now a professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School, Mr Grafton believes a significant fall in house prices could see an “Australian-made credit crunch” given the big four banks’ reliance on offshore funds.

Dexus Property Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have gained a majority holding in the Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA).

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, the suitors said their voting power in CPA had reached 50.15 per cent, up from 48.27 per cent previously.

Dexis and CPPIB have declared their $3 billion takeover bid unconditional.

The bid is valued at $1.27 per CPA unit, including a cash payment of 77.45 cents and 0.4516 Dexus stapled securities.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has said it would agree to the offer if its acceptance would take the suitors' interest to at least 50.1 per cent.

The $22 billion superannuation fund Sunsuper is buying the remaining 70 per cent interest of Discovery Holiday Parks that it does not already own in a deal believed to be worth about $240 million, sources have said.

Discovery counts Sydney-based private equity firms Next Capital and Allegro, as well as investment bank Macquarie among the co-owners with Sunsuper, and is believed to be worth between $300m and $400m.

Sunsuper’s move comes after the company has been in talks with other potential suitors, such as retirement village operator Ingenia and West Australian-based Aspen Property Group, about a potential trade sale or stock exchange listing of the business in the past year.

Discovery is one of Australia’s largest owners of holiday parks and mining camps, with 30 properties under its ownership, with some sites seen by industry players as a development play.

Sunsuper, based in Brisbane, is Queensland’s largest super fund by membership, with more than one million members.

In November Macquarie sold the 44 per cent stake it owned in the $550 million Australian aged-care provider Regis back to its original founders, Ian Roberts and Bryan Dorman, in a deal advised by Greenhill.