Home Values Rising At The Fastest Pace In 32 Years
The latest set of figures from CoreLogic has confirmed what most homebuyers already know, which is that house prices are rising at a record pace. In March, house prices increased in value by 2.8% across Australia, which is the fastest rate we’ve seen since October 1988. Spurred on by record-low interest rates and a host…
What do Rising Yields Mean for Investors?
After a period where we’ve seen some of the lowest interest rates in history, investors are now starting to take a closer look at what rising bond yields are telling us. Over the past few months, the yield on both US and Australian Government bonds has been rising sharply. As it stands the yield on…
Property Prices Rise As Markets Favour Sellers
Property prices across the country are continuing to rise thanks to a combination of low interest rates and low supply, and in the process creating a tricky environment for buyers. According to the latest data from CoreLogic, house prices rose nationally by 2.1% in February, marking the biggest one-month gain since 2003. Notably, both Sydney…
House Prices To Continue Rising in 2021
When COVID was beginning to unfold across Australia and the world in the early part of 2020, property experts and media pundits began to predict sharp falls in house prices. The Commonwealth Bank forecast a potential 32 per cent house price crash with the other major banks also believing we would see similar drops over…
New South Wales Stamp Duty Set To Be Axed?
The NSW Government has announced a plan to abolish stamp duty and replace it with a land tax, in a bid to make property transactions easier and help people move homes when they need to. Under the proposed changes, homebuyers in NSW will be able to choose between an ongoing land tax and paying stamp…
The Perfect Storm for Borrowers and Property Investors
It appears as though the Government and the RBA are pulling out all stops in a bid to get people to borrow, invest and spend money to stimulate the economy and create employment. The latest decision by the RBA to slash interest rates to a record low 0.1 per cent and embark on a range of QE…
Aussie Expat Finance Workshop ~ Pick a Melbourne Cup Winner!
Small Things That Can Help Anyone In a Big Way! Some of the topics covered today included: – Structuring your #Mortgage to your advantage – Benefits of Negative Gearing for #Expats – How to position yourself for #CapitalGainsTax in the future – Navigating the difficult Bank lending environment – #Refinancing your mortgage using accumulated lazy…
The RBA Flags A Cup Day Interest Rate Cut
The odds of an interest rate cut at the next meeting of the RBA appear to be increasing by the day, after Governor Lowe’s speech last week all but implied it was about to happen. If a rate cut does eventuate on Melbourne Cup day, it would see the official cash rate fall to 0.1…
Australian Property Investment | COVID-19 | Financial Security | Home Loans | Housing Market | Lending | Property market | Real Estate
House Prices Continue to Defy the Critics
The latest house price data from CoreLogic has been released and it’s showing what many in the real estate industry have known for some time, that house prices are starting to climb in six out of eight of our capital cities and across many non-metro markets. Earlier in the year, when COVID was just starting…
Moving From Responsible to Sensible & Responsible Lending
On Friday, the Federal Government announced the biggest change to lending standards we’ve seen since the GFC and it could make finance a lot easier to obtain for property investors. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is poised to put some of the responsibility back on the borrower and away from the lender in a move that aims…
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom for Property Markets
Despite the ongoing media speculation about large 30% plus falls in house prices, there are still plenty of strong residential property markets across the country. Of the nation’s 15 market jurisdictions (8 capital cities and 7 regional markets), 11 have house prices higher than they were at the start of the year Interestingly, some of the…
Are the Numbers Telling Us the Whole Story?
As Melbourne heads back into lockdown, the headlines are still painting a very negative picture for the Australian property market as a whole. The latest data from CoreLogic is suggesting that house values have fallen modestly over the past two months and now with limited auction activity in Melbourne for the foreseeable future that could…
Property Prices Holding Up Well During May
It was very likely that when the latest CoreLogic data was released on house prices, there were a number of doomsayers who were a little disappointed. While prices across the major capital cities did decline by -0.5 per cent, this is a long way from the 30 per cent falls that some were suggesting. Overall, while there…
Boosting Your Borrowing Capacity as an Expat
The current lending environment in Australia is arguably as restrictive as its ever been. After the GFC, lending standards around the world changed, making it far tougher to get a home loan than it has ever been before. At the same time, we’ve also seen APRA in Australia, clamp down on easy lending in a…
The Impact of COVID-19 for Property Investors
The impact of COVID-19 has seen unprecedented changes made to the way we live our lives, and for many people the way we earn an income. With social distancing measures grinding industries to a halt, the financial fallout is going to be significant. Despite the fact that the Australian Government has rolled out a number…
The Property Price Surge Continues but the RBA are Watching
Property prices have started the year in the same fashion they ended 2019, but the RBA is starting to take note. The latest data from CoreLogic has shown that over the January period, house prices in both Melbourne and Sydney have continued to push higher and there appear to be more increases in store for…
Tax Changes Hit Expats Main Residence CGT Exemption
I have always struggled to comprehend how this legislation is going to actually reduce the pressure on housing affordability as the ultimate outcome will probably be that fewer homes will be listed for sale as owners choose not to sell their main residence to avoid incurring any capital gains tax as a result of a…
As Property Prices Rise Can Sellers Meet Buyer Demand?
2019 has started to look like a tale of two halves. In the early part of the year, property pundits were doom and gloom as the political and regulatory fallout from the most recent housing boom weighed heavily on market sentiment. APRA had been hard on lenders and that was keeping borrowers under wraps. At…
Will Brisbane Be the Big Winner from the Sydney Boom?
When asked most people would consider Sydney to be a far stronger economy than Brisbane, with far higher wages. Sydney is a global city by most measures, not dissimilar to the likes of New York or London. Sydney is one of the economic powerhouses of Australia and along with Melbourne is growing at a rapid…
Could APRA Be Forced to Act Again ?
As investors and homeowners have been cheering the recent rebound in house prices in Sydney and Melbourne, the housing regulator is once again keeping a close eye on how it is unfolding. Over the most recent quarter, house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have rebounded sharply. Sydney has increased in value by 3.5% in the…
Melbourne & Sydney Benefiting from the RBA’s Cut
There is growing speculation that the RBA is rapidly running out of bullets to fire after the latest rate cut saw the official cash rate fall to a record-low 0.75%. But that hasn’t dented the sharp rebound in property prices with prices jumping by record levels during September. The move by Governor Lowe and the…
The Spring Selling Season is Getting Set to Heat Up
The early indicators are starting to look good for property prices as buyers are starting to show their hands ahead of the Spring selling season. Across the board, the indicators are starting to suggest that the recent weakness in property markets in many states is starting to scream opportunity for savvy buyers. The most obvious…
The Pro’s and Con’s of AirBnB in Australia
The share economy has changed the way many of us operate from how we get around (Uber), to how we get our food delivered (Deliveroo) and even where we choose to stay when we travel (AirBnB). For investment purposes, using a platform like AirBnB can also be an excellent way to boost the yield on…
Are We Set For an Extended Period of Low Rates?
Australia could very well be in for a period of ultra-low interest rates, which has the potential to drag on for many years. At least that is what money markets are currently predicting. The news that the RBA cut rates for the second time in as many months, might be bad news for yield hunters,…
What To Expect From The Housing Market In 2019
A new year has begun, and many Australians will be revisiting their investment portfolios to see if it’s still meeting their needs and achieving the expected outcomes. You might be deciding the enter the property investment market for the first time in 2019 or wanting to check if your existing property investments are still on…
How Owning Your Own Home Can Be The Best Way To Get Some Much Needed Security When You Retire
Owning a house is one of the most essential methods in wealth accumulation, but many people who are beginning to look at retirement, question whether they should still own their houses, or sell and rent. It’s a fact that one of your biggest expenses in retirement will be centred around housing, and this can become…
How Owning Your Own Home Can Be The Best Way
Many homeowners have experienced some form of shock when the global financial crisis hit our markets, and are wondering how to best secure their financial future, especially in terms of their retirement. Owning a house is one of the most essential methods in wealth accumulation, but many people who are beginning to look at retirement,…