Invest in Property through your SMSF – Seminars in Sydney, Melbourne & Canberra

We are holding free Investing in property via your Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) presentation in Melbourne, Sydney & Canberra in late May, early June, see below for dates.

Probably the biggest single change underway in the Property market right now is -

Australian’s purchasing Investment Property through their Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF)

In fact, the latest figures from the Australian Tax office show a 50% increase in property investment via SMSFs since June 2008.

Following the Global Financial Crises (GFC), investors are now looking to take control of their super funds and gain exposure to residential investment in an attempt to enhance the performance of their asset, reduce the costs associated with their super funds and manage their risks themselves. Click Here To Read More

Sydney Off Plan Apartments available for Zero Stamp Duty NSW Building Bonus

Following on from our recent article where we reminded investors that the NSW Builders Bonus, (which provides for zero stamp duty for properties that are purchased at the pre-construction off plan stage) is due to expire on the 30th June 2012 we have briefly listed below the current properties that we have available in Sydney which have stock below $600,000 and will qualify for the zero stamp duty bonus.

Lane Cove Apartments

2 x one bedroom apartments available from $550,000 (58sqm internally plus balcony plus car space) North facing.
Completion mid 2013
For further details and to receive full information on this project, see Lane Cove off plan apartments in our current projects section. Click Here To Read More

NSW Stamp Duty Savings end 30th June 2012

Currently purchasers buying an off plan property, with a price not exceeding $600,000 are eligible for zero stamp duty via the NSW Home Builders Bonus.  This bonus is available to all purchasers, both intending owner occupiers and investors.  And it’s available to all investors, both  local and non residents.  So if you are in the market for a Sydney investment property this is an excellent opportunity, but you will need to be quick.

The full zero stamp duty payable is for property that has not yet begun construction, that is an off plan property.  For property that has begun construction, whether it is part completed or fully completed, a 25% reduction of stamp duty is available.

For those looking to purchase an off plan investment property, this is an excellent opportunity but like all good things, it will not last forever!  The NSW Home Builders Bonus is due to end on the 30^th June 2012.  So contracts need to have fully exchanged by the 30^th June 2012 to be eligible for this bonus and it is a very significant bonus at that.  On a purchase price of say $575,000, the normal stamp duty payable in NSW is $21,365, so it’s a significant saving, but you will need to exchange contracts within the next 8 weeks to take advantage of it.

Home Loan Approvals support Property Growth

According to the latest figures, the number of home loans rose by 0.7 per cent to 51,981 in October.  This was up on what economists had predicted, they had been expecting similar figures to the previous month.

It’s the seventh straight monthly increase in home loan lending.

As the latest figures are for the month of October, these figures do not take in to account the positive effect of the last two interest rate drops that we have now seen in November & December.

These latest figures are yet another indication as to the strength of our property market.

Now is an ideal time to secure an off plan investment property in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.  What we are seeing now is the same predictable cycle that we have seen in the past.  We are seeing rents increasing, this means that for many it is more economically viable to buy a home than rent a home.  With the latest interest rate decreases this trend will be accelerated.  As more first home buyers enter the market this then allows those who are looking to upgrade to sell their first homes and move up. Click Here To Read More

Low Sydney Vacancy Rates to Push Rents and Prices Up

As regards Sydney rental property, if you’re a tenant then the news is not so great, but if you’re a landlord and have a Sydney Investment property then it is happy days for the foreseeable future.

Sydney is in the midst of a rental crises and there is no solution in sight.

Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) president Wayne Stewart said in a statement yesterday:

“Despite increases in some areas, the overall rental vacancy outlook in NSW remains depressed….There will be no relief for tenants until we see interventionist action to encourage private investment as well as slashing planning red tape which is slowing new residential development.”

Data released by the Institute showed October’s rental vacancy rate remained unchanged at 1.4 per cent for the second consecutive month. Click Here To Read More

Interest Rates Fall, Property Prices Rise!

Yesterday the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the official cash rate by 0.25% bringing it down from 4.75% to 4.5%.  Two of the 4 major banks Westpac and CBA have already passed on the rate cut in full and it is expected the other two majors NAB & ANZ will follow suit.
It was unclear from the RBA’s statement yesterday whether they expect to make further rate cuts but the futures market is pricing in an 80% probability of a further rate cut next month.  Whether it comes next month or not, the market has factored in further rate cuts next year.

We are in the process of preparing a full market update which will be out soon.  But in a nutshell, if we look at the history of the last 20 years,

every time we have had a rate cut the property market goes up, so now is a great time to consider an investment property

Our other factors are all fairly positive, a relatively healthy economy, relatively low unemployment, relatively low vacancy rates, an overall housing shortage relative to our population growth, housing affordability back to where it was in 2003 (and that was before the current drop in rates) but the most important factor to look at as a property investor in the current market Click Here To Read More

Sydney Off Plan Waterfront Investment Property

We have just released our latest Sydney off plan investment property.  It’s located in Little Bay at the site of the old Prince Henry Hospital site.  It’s got all of the boxes ticked, a fabulous location by the water with a unique heritage aspect, just a few hundred metres from Little Bay beach and just 20 minutes to the CBD.

We are increasing our focus on Sydney as we feel that Sydney has a lot of upside with pent up demand and a general under supply, putting pressure on both prices and rents and we are not the only ones.

Capital Growth:
As reported in our previous blog, in the just recently released QBE LMI Housing Outlook 2011-2014, prepared by BIS Shrapnel, Managing Director Robert Mellor suggests that Sydney prices will rise by 19% over the next 3 years. The report said house price gains in the nation’s state capitals would be supported by a shortage of residential buildings, a strong Australian economy and stable interest rates.

Rental Growth: Click Here To Read More

Sydney Property Prices to Increase by 19% over next 3 years

One of the questions that I often get asked by our investors is “how much do you think property prices will increase by”.  I’m always reluctant to answer, after all I’m just a humble real estate agent.  What I am happy to do is look at the past performance of investment property, which has been very impressive; I leave the future estimates to the experts.

One such expert group who we have been listening too for many years is Bis Shrapnel, we continue to listen to them as their past performance has been very good.  Anyway, getting back to our headline, Bis Shrapnel have just released details from  a report which they put together for mortgage insurer QBE, “QBE ImiHousing Outlook 2011 to 2014”,  in which they suggest that prices in Sydney were expected to grow by 19 percent in the next three years, while in Perth it’s 20 percent, in Darwin 17 percent and in Brisbane 16 percent. Click Here To Read More

Property closest to CBD and Waterfront up to 70% more valuable!

Australia’s Reserve Bank have just released a very interesting report which shows that property in Australia’s major capitals is more expensive, the closer you are located to the Central Business District (CBD) or the waterfront.

Here’s a link to the full report: RBA Urban structure & Housing Prices

Before you click on the link above I will preface my first statement, the results are very interesting, but reading through the 46 pages of the full report is slow going.

So if you want to skip the reading, here are some of the key points of interest:
As those who have been with us for a while will be well aware, we tend to focus on quality property that is in the inner ring of Australia’s major capitals of Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane and have also had various projects close to the waterfront in each of these capitals.
The report by the RBA shows that proximity to the CBD and waterfront can boost house prices by 40 per cent to 70 per cent, based on the median house prices in our largest capital cities, being Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.  So you may want to purcahse your next investment property with these factors in mind. Click Here To Read More

The “Manhattenisation” of Australia’s cities

We have talked on many occasions previously about the fact that in Australia our population is increasing and this is putting sustained pressure on our undersupplied property market.  But in addition the mix of property is changing and it is expected that what will be required over the next 20 years as far as size and type of property will be very different to what was required over the past 20 years.

The Australian dream of the large house on the quarter acre block in the suburbs is expected to give way to the demand for smaller inner city accommodation as Australia looks to absorb a further 2.3 million additional households over the next 15 years and it will be those investors who are ahead of the pack who will gain the most.

Here’s a link to a great article on the subject by Rismark International’s Christopher Joye
“Over the next 50 years our cities will densify much more than most can currently imagine.”

Now’s the right time to secure your quality inner city investment property.