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.
May 16, 2018 10:06 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Is traffic congestion likely to be a factor in your home-buying decision? A home that is within walking distance of public transport may be worth more than you realise. History tells us that anything done to reduce travel times between where we live and work has fundamentally changed the value of homes in affected areas. http://www.switzer.com.au/the-experts/john-mcgrath-property-expert/budget-targets-traffic-congestion-to-improve-city-living20181504/?utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=switzer-daily Peter Mericka B.A., LL.B – Australian Legal Practitioner, Consumer Advocate and Principal of Lawyers Real Estate Pty Ltd and...
April 18, 2018 10:17 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
Could the Reserve Bank be planning an interest rate hike later this year, perhaps on the day that traditionally stops everyone across the nation except those on the RBA Board – Melbourne Cup Day? by David Bassanese Maybe, just maybe. Indeed, just when every economist around the country was prepared to write-off yesterday’s release of the RBA’s minutes from its recent policy meeting as nothing new, the Bank saw fit to drop an added line...
April 17, 2018 11:04 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
The test of the value of this Royal Commission is going to be what authorities do to change what happens in the finance industry. What is being revealed is not new knowledge — it’s just being made more public. by Peter Switzer Anyone like me who works in finance knew that financial planning had its problems. But I still doubt ASIC’s Deputy Chair, Peter Kell’s submission that nine out of 10 advisers are not considering...
April 10, 2017 9:11 amPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
A new penalty regime targeting foreign investors has seen 500 overseas property buyers issued with penalty notices and told to pay the Australian Taxation Office $2.7m in fines. The majority of breaches occurred in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. In December 2015 the federal government introduced a range of new penalties for foreign investors, including new civil penalties supporting divestment orders, fines for third parties who knowingly assisted foreign investors to break...
April 4, 2017 4:59 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
THE real estate industry is bracing for the next move of a familiar disrupter, threatening to give the highly regulated field an unwelcome shake-up. Leasing agents and those who manage rental properties are sharpening their sales pitches to owners and tenants alike as they prepare for Airbnb to disrupt the long-term rental market. [More] [See also ‘Significant legal issues’ posed by rental platforms]
April 4, 2017 3:29 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
The corporate watchdog has joined the banking regulator in cracking down on interest-only home loans, announcing targeted surveillance of lenders and mortgage brokers inappropriately spruiking the loans. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also said eight lenders, including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ, will be forced to provide remediation, including possible refunds, to consumers who suffered financial difficulty as a result of shortcomings in past lending practices. [More]
April 4, 2017 3:25 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
The Reserve Bank has left interest rates on hold at a record low 1.5 per cent for the eighth month in a row, as it remains torn between a surging housing market and sputtering economy. The decision came as no surprise, with all 50 economists surveyed by Reuters ahead of the RBA board meeting expecting a steady cash rate. The key challenge for the RBA is surging home prices across Australia’s major south-eastern centres at...
April 4, 2017 12:47 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
HUNDREDS of investment properties across Queensland could be meth time bombs with experts warning clean up costs could run into the thousands. Australia’s meth use has tripled in the past five years, and according to one industry testing group that means the number of clandestine drug labs would also be on the rise. Bryan Goodall, the national sales manager for Octief, environmental and occupational hygienists, which test properties for chemical residue from methamphetamines, said it...
April 4, 2017 12:40 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
You know the remarkably high price of homes is now a top issue for our politicians, state and federal. But you may need reminding that house prices are an intergenerational issue. As a general rule, the younger generation buys its homes from an older generation, which means rising house prices constitute a transfer of wealth from younger to older generations. Unfortunately, this conflict of interests between the generations makes it unlikely the measures in the...
April 4, 2017 12:10 pmPublished by Peter MerickaLeave your thoughts
More borrowers are falling behind for the first time on their mortgage repayments, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s says. The proportion of owner-occupier home loans in arrears increased to 1.29 per cent in January, from 1.15 per cent in December, the agency says. Crackdown on investor loans Treasurer Scott Morrison believes it’s the willingness to loan money to investors coupled with watered down regulations that is negatively impacting household debt and housing prices. (Vision...
