Keep up with what's happening in the Australian Real Estate Industry
Author Archives for Peter Mericka
About Peter Mericka
Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B is a Melbourne based property lawyer and real estate consumer advocate, whose law firm Lawyers Conveyancing has been leading the real estate and conveyancing industry in online conveyancing services for the past two decades.
October 19, 2020 12:42 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Why auction theory won two American economists a Nobel Memorial Prize. Think of what happens when you bid for a house at an auction. As a bidder you’re going to behave strategically, based on the available information, in competition with other bidders. You’ll take into consideration what you know about the house, but also what you believe other people know about the house. But what’s the best format for an auction? If you had to...
October 16, 2020 11:18 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
With the initial six-month mortgage holiday having run its course, Australia’s major lenders would have been banking on most customers resuming their repayments by now. But the latest dataset shows most have yet to return to normal. Data collected by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) found 270,000 home loans were still on hold as of October 11. Although that’s well below the peak of nearly 500,000 in June – or one in 10 mortgages nationally...
October 14, 2020 11:35 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Financial abuse happens when someone is controlling with money and assets. It’s a serious problem that can happen to anyone at any age, regardless of your wealth, ethnic background, gender, age or ability. It can manifest as economic control – like a carer denying a person access to their money, or a spouse making financial decisions for their partner without consulting them. Or it can be through financial exploitation, such as an independent adult child...
October 13, 2020 3:00 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
A decision by the NSW Court of Appeal to allow pets in a high-rise is set to have major ramifications for corporations and apartment owners. Earlier this week, three Court of Appeal judges delivered what’s being described as a landmark decision likely to affect strata schemes going forward. The matter centred around Darlinghurst-based complex The Horizon, which sought to ban tenant Jo Cooper from keeping her 13-year-old Miniature Schnauzer named Angus at the premises. The...
October 13, 2020 9:16 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
An expert on property and financial markets warns real estate Nervous Nellies that house prices are on the way up, not down! And how would you like to be an expert on auctions, so if you’re a seller, you pocket the best sum possible but if you’re a buyer, you pay the least possible? Auction-loving Aussies will be interested to know that this year’s Nobel Prize for Economics went to two US economists from Stanford...
October 13, 2020 7:44 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Changes to responsible lending put forward in the federal budget have drawn cries of celebration from lenders and condemnation from consumer advocates. The proposed reforms would make it easier for everyday Australians to access credit – including home loans, credit cards and business loans – by rolling back rules that require banks to conduct meticulous checks of people’s expenses before administering a loan. But with approvals for new home loans soaring and cash-strapped Australians contending...
October 12, 2020 5:21 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Mental health has been endemic in the legal profession for some time, and the well-being of practitioners is especially important right now, in the world we live in, with not only pressure from professional working lives but also personal too. It goes without saying that working as a legal professional can be very stressful, with never-ending workloads and emotionally complex challenging cases, and off course, the added stress of a pandemic added to the mix...
October 12, 2020 9:18 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
First home buyers continue to surge on volume, with 12,302 first home buyers settling loans in August, equating to the highest monthly figure since October 2009. This is according to the August 2020 Lending to Households and Business figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Housing Industry Association Chief Economist Tim Reardon said the results are evidence of the short-term stimulus from HomeBuilder emerging in the housing finance data. “This is particularly evident...
October 11, 2020 8:54 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
The Real Estate Institute of Australia has cautiously welcomed the Federal Budget, saying it provides an encouraging outlook for all players in the Australian property market, but is contingent on the Government’s forecasts coming to pass. “The Australian Government’s focus on creating employment and generating re-employment through various Budget measures is welcomed by REIA and is good news for tenants, investors, home owners and those wishing to sell,” REIA President Adrian Kelly said. “Economic activity...
October 11, 2020 8:13 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has left the cash rate on hold at 0.25 per cent despite the fact many predicted the Board would announce a drop to 0.1 per cent and potentially overshadow the Federal Budget announcement.. Instead, the RBA decided to maintain the current policy settings, including the targets for the cash rate. Westpac predicted last week that they would do so, with plans to drop the rate next month. Today’s statement...
