Australian Real Estate News
Lean and hungry Gen Y investors
- 18/12/2006
You’ve heard all about Generation Y, right? They’re reluctant
to settle down, happy to mooch off their parents by living at home,
and quick to flit between jobs. Well, that’s not always the case...
How to beat housing affordability
- 13/12/2006
Buying a house in the current property market can be a daunting ambition.
However, Australians are finding new ways of beating the housing affordability
blues, using creative techniques to crack the market...
Beach mansion dominates daydreams
- 05/12/2006
A mansion overlooking the beach is the great Australian dream of property
buyers but many would be happy to settle for a comfortable suburban
home, a survey has revealed...
The prices of established homes have risen across Australia
- 27/11/2006
Official numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm declining
housing affordability, with established house prices rising by 2.2 per
cent across Australia to an average annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent...
Quantity surveyor optimism improves
- 21/11/2006
Australia’s quantity surveyors expect workloads to continue
rising over the year to September 2007, according to the latest
Westpac/AIQS BRIX Building Survey....
Be the first to know
- 13/11/2006
Ever watched from the sidelines as a town or region has undergone
its own real estate mini-boom, wishing you'd known about it earlier?
If the answer's yes, you're one of millions frustrated about
discovering the next boom area after it's already happened...
I quit!
- 07/11/2006
How to achieve financial independence through property.
We all
yearn for financial freedom - the power to leave our day jobs and enjoy a
long, leisurely retirement. Australians can use property to earn just as
good an income from doing nothing as they did from working nine to five...
Tick, tick… boom!
- 24/10/2006
The surest way to make money in real estate investment is to pinpoint
a hotspot before it becomes one. The October issue of Australian Property
Investor magazine researches a technique for doing just that - giving
investors the edge of foresight instead of the 'if onlys' that come
with hindsight...
The biggest investing hurdle
- 16/10/2006
Whether you're a first-timer or an experienced investor, it pays to
ask yourself whether your own fears are getting in the way of your success.
The idea of buying your first investment property can instill a paralysing
fear. It seems so much could go wrong! Indecision might be a far more
appealing option...
Interested in interest-only
loans? - 11/10/2006
Interest-only loans give you more cash to play with each month. But
if you're not strategic, they can cost you more in the long run. Let's
say you borrow $200,000 to buy a property. Anything you pay off that
$200,000 is a principal repayment. That becomes your "equity"
- the portion of the property you own. Eventually, you pay off all the
principal and own the property outright...
What does the future hold for
property markets? - 05/10/2006
Investors always need to have at least one eye on the future. For property
owners, that means being on top of the demographic trends that will
determine demand for housing in the years to come.
Is second best good enough?
- 27/09/2006
Ever thought about buying a property on the 'wrong side of the tracks'?
Or a cheapie on a main road? September's Australian Property Investor
magazine reveals the pros and cons of buying in 'secondary markets'.
API editor Eynas Brodie said buyers needed to know what they were getting
into.
Future housing needs
- 18/09/2006
Will people be forced to live in ghettos in the future or will there
be flexible housing to meet the needs of all? The Australian Housing
and Urban Research Institute recently examined what the housing needs
of Australia could look like in the year 2025. The Australian Property
Investor magazine looked at the best to worst-case scenarios that were
examined.
Getting your house
in order - 12/09/2006
What can you do to make sure the property you're buying isn't a lemon
before settlement day arrives? Australian Property Investor magazine
finds out...
Give your property
a promotion - 05/09/2006
The type of investment property you have has a lot to do with the type
of tenant you'll attract. Eynas Brodie of Australian Property Investor
magazine finds out how owners of quality properties can get into the
lucrative executive rental market...
Property maintains its allure
- 29/08/2006
Australians haven't turned their backs on bricks and mortar, according
to a survey that finds almost 50 per cent of Australians either own
or are considering buying an investment property in the next 10 years.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants surveyed more than 1100 people
and concluded that...
Money down the drain
- 21/08/2006
Renovators have been warned to avoid going broke through poor design,
planning and management of improvements to their property, in the August
issue of Australian Property Investor magazine. The warning comes from
Archicentre, the building advisory service...
Watch out for dodgy
building work - 15/08/2006
As many as one in four Australian homes has some form of building work
that doesn't comply with building regulations, the August issue of Australian
Property Investor magazine reveals. Even where work has been done legally,
building problems spotted after purchase can be expensive to fix...
Chasing high rents
- 07/08/2006
Large capital gains may snare the headlines but rental returns can be
just as critical for property investors. Rent, after all, is what investors
rely on to pay off a large chunk of their investment loans. The August
issue of Australian Property Investor magazine gives investors the keys
to finding high rental returns, while also spelling out the associated
risks...
Old homes have depreciation
benefits too - 01/08/2006
Investors in older homes can miss out on thousands of dollars in tax
benefits if they assume depreciation works for those buying newer properties,
according to Australian Property Investor (API) magazine. Paul Bennion,
the managing director of depreciation specialists DEPPRO, told API that
investors buying homes 30 years and older are wrong to think they can’t
pick up any depreciation benefits...
Property - Safe as
Houses - 24/07/2006
Residential real estate outperformed shares on a risk-adjusted basis
over the past two decades, according to a recent study. Matthew Liddy
from Australian Property Investor magazine reports. Shares or property?
It’s a question nearly all investors ask themselves at some point.
A report from NERA Economic Consulting and Mercer may help find the
best balance for your investments...
Got kids and a mortgage?
Doesn’t mean you can’t invest - 11/07/2006
Many Australians would like to invest in property for wealth creation
purposes and future financial security, but juggling the expenses of
a mortgage and kids can make it seem impossible. Due to popular demand,
Australian Property Investor has published a special report in its July
magazine explaining how it can be done...
Beware the true cost
of loans - 03/07/2006
Homebuyers who choose a loan purely because it has the lowest interest
rate could be doing themselves a disservice. Borrowers need to delve
deeper into loan packages by examining fees and flexibility, according
to Warren O’Rourke, the national corporate affairs manager with
mortgage broker Mortgage Choice...
Making your home a rental
- 20/06/2006
It’s called the six-year rule and it’s so commonly bandied
about that it has its own folk law. Australian Property Investor magazine
takes a look at the issues that will affect you if you decide to rent
out your home...
Learning to love tax
time - 13/06/2006
For newcomers to property investing or home buying, the jargon can get
a touch confusing. Australian Property Investor magazine has compiled
this guide to commonly used words and terms to help you on your property
journey...
Common property words
– a basic guide - 06/06/2006
For newcomers to property investing or home buying, the jargon can get
a touch confusing. Australian Property Investor magazine has compiled
this guide to commonly used words and terms to help you on your property
journey...
Investors let savings
go begging - 30/05/2006
Many commercial property investors are missing out on the benefits and
savings that are available to them through tax depreciation, according
to a recent Month in Review report by valuers Herron Todd White...
Where to find property’s
next big thing - 23/05/2006
It’s the question burning on the lips of property investors everywhere
– where is the next big thing? Australian Property Investor (API)
magazine took up the question and revealed some of the hottest tips
for finding future capital gains nationwide. API editor Eynas Brodie
said some of the answers might come as a surprise...
Canal-front supply
running dry - 16/05/2006
Nothing tops beachfront property, right? Wrong. Research published in
May’s Australian Property Investor (API) magazine reveals that
in some areas, canal frontage comes up trumps. API also discovered that
the days of creating new canal estates are numbered, with coastal protection
laws making it harder, and in some cases impossible, to build new water-based
estates. Editor Eynas Brodie says that can mean only one thing –
greater demand for existing canal-front homes...
The positives of negative
gearing - 09/05/2006
It’s a commonly used term and lots of property investors are doing
it, but what exactly is negative gearing? The Australian Tax Office
explains...
Poorly kept records
a tax no-no - 01/05/2006
Australian Taxation Office marketing and education assistant commissioner,
Kathy Dennis-Carter, says recent audits have highlighted poor record
keeping as one of the most frequent blunders made by property investors.
She says this is particularly the case when people’s circumstances
change. For example, if a person converts what was once their main residence
into a rental property, they need to keep a record for the time the
property was their main residence. We asked her for other examples of
where investors can be their own worst enemy...
