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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Are you thinking about buying an investment property? If the answer’s yes, listen up. While buying an investment property is a great first step to take in future-proofing your wealth, it’s important to know exactly how much the endeavour will set you back before you get too carried away. As with any property purchase, you’ll have to spend more than just the cost of the dwelling in order to secure the premises. Some of the...
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One definition of the term “structure” is “something built or constructed, as a building, bridge or dam”. Ironic, then, that as property investors we use the term “structure” to define how we arrange our property investment portfolios. Like a building, our investment portfolios need to have a good structure… otherwise they’ll topple down on our heads! The structure we establish will depend upon a variety of things: our personal situations; our goals; our financial and...
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Australia’s big four banks have quietly destroyed all paper land titles they hold for 1.6 million Victorian mortgagees, forcing property owners to use a bank-owned electronic transaction system. Any future sales of properties whose titles are held by the bank will need to be transacted, at least in part, electronically. The mass destruction of paper titles and their replacement with electronic certificates has been questioned by property lawyers who fear it will compromise security and effectively...
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A PROMINENT northern Gold Coast real estate agent once praised by late former mayor Ron Clarke as “restoring his faith” in the industry, has been permanently disqualified. Alex Far, the former sales director of Runaway Bay’s Sovereign Realty in Runaway Bay, has been barred from holding a real estate licence following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading Mr Far appeared before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday after a complaint was lodged...
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COMPETITION in the cut-throat real estate market is so intense one Gold Coast agent is giving out $1000 incentives for referrals. Andre Sharples, of Professionals John Henderson Real Estate, has given away $10,000 this year — and hopes to give out more. “It gets me business as I’ve got people out there promoting me to get their $1000,” Mr Sharples said. “Listings are very tight and it’s another way to promote yourself. “It doesn’t affect...
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The risks of oversupply the Brisbane and Melbourne apartment markets are “coming to the fore”, the Reserve Bank of Australia warns. The RBA said the financial system was in good shape overall, particularly with home price growth slower than a year ago, tighter lending standards and slower credit growth to households. However, the central bank said the risks from apartment oversupply in some markets were now starting to show. “These risks appear greatest in inner-city Brisbane and...
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