Apartment market shake up
If you are thinking about buying an apartment “off the plan” you better hurry as one of the key financial incentives is about to disappear. On 1st July 2017 the stamp duty concession for “off the plan” investment apartments will disappear for both domestic and foreign purchasers. For many years developers have promoted “off the…Read More→
Twist to stamp duty for “off the plan” sales
The changes to Victorian stamp duty laws coming into effect on 1st July will shake up the investment metrics of buying a new apartment “off the plan” vs buying an existing apartment. For the next 10 weeks (up to 30 June) you can buy an “off the plan” apartment and avoid most of the stamp…Read More→
Who do you think is right?
There are two very conflicting stories running on the housing market. A. Homes are unaffordable B. There is a large supply of apartments So which one is it? Or is it possible they are both true? On a weekly basis there is a story on how housing is unaffordable for many people, and the…Read More→
Why Property is looking good
Money in the bank on 12-month term deposit earns about 1.8% Forecast inflation is about 1.5% The RBA’s official cash rate is 1.5% Australia’s 10 yr Gov Bond rate dropped over night to 1.84% (lowest ever) In a recent speech, the Chair of Australia’s Future Fund and former Treasurer Peter Costello, said earning our target return…Read More→
Why tenants should buy.
Now the official interest rate has been cut to 1.5%, the argument for a tenant to buy rather than rent has never been more compelling. Let’s take a typical 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment around Carlton, Richmond, South Yarra, or South Melbourne with a capital value of say $650,000 and rental value of $600/wk ($31,285 pa). That…Read More→
Is Airbnb OK in apartments?
“Would you lease your apartment through a short stay group like Airbnb?” “Yes – No – Maybe…” “Well are you OK for everyone else in your building to lease their apartments via Airbnb if they wish?” “Well that would be up to the collective group of owners (owners corporation) to decide wouldn’t it?” “Actually No…”…Read More→
The 7 Laws of apartment buying.
After inspecting hundreds of apartments and dealing with aparmtent buyers and sellers for 25 years here are my 7 Laws of apartment buying. The laws are the same for buying an existing or “off the plan” apartment. And even if you are an investor and won’t live in the apartment, a tenant will pay you…Read More→
Should I sell now?
It’s the big question many apartment owners are wrestling with right now… “With many new apartments being built, should I sell mine?” There are also other things impacting the market, like banks tightening the rules on residential lending, and potential changes to superannuation. The latest pain vs gain report from CoreLogic which compares all sales…Read More→
At last!!! The country killer might go.
You know that feeling like screaming into the wind. Experts for years have been advising any government that will listen that stamp duty is a major drag on the economy. Most recently the Henry review said stamp duty has no place in a modern tax system. This morning’s AFR reports that as part of the Federal…Read More→
Is there a better property tax solution?
Surely there must be a better property tax solution. Previous sentiment of “no change”, is stating to thaw. It is interesting to see the arguments run, all of which may now be superfluous (including this one) however as we know, things change quickly in Canberra and State politics. There are actually four property taxes that…Read More→
China and Melbourne Apartments
There were several good news stories for Melbourne’s apartment market this week although you had to strip back the media penchant for a bad news bent to find them. Also remember if you own an apartment, anything that limits future supply is good news for you. I wrote about the Chinese stock market and its impact on the…Read More→
4.8% Vacancy… not 20%
You may have seen this article in The Age suggesting nearly 20% of investor owned homes in Melbourne are vacant. I just can’t let this go unchallenged.If you didn’t see the article, it quotes a report by Prosper Australia that analyses water usage and calculates a residential vacancy rate based on the amount of water used over…Read More→