Property investment is fast becoming a popular route to wealth generation as Australians opt to invest in property to make up for weak returns on their super funds and share prices, Mortgage Business reports today.
ANZ head property and financial systems analyst Paul Braddick told the industry news outlet that property investment would stand the test of time in wealth generation.
"The residential property market is proving to be a lot more resilient compared to the equity market which has experienced a recent collapse", Mr Braddick said.
Super funds have continued to experience the worst returns since its introduction in 1992, with default funds falling by ...
read more...
Categories: Home Loans and Mortgages, Real Estate. Tags: Investment Loans, Mortgage, Property Finance, Property Investment, Residential Property.
Tasmania has recorded its highest level of property sales in 18 months as the Federal Government's First Home Owner Grant Boost (FHOG) continues to entice first home buyers to the Tasmania property market.
The state saw the highest number of property sales since November 2007 with close to 1,000 homes sold, the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT) has revealed.
Some notable movers were Launceston which recorded an increase in sales of up to 23 per cent compared to the previous month and the North West region where sales went up 18.4 per cent.
"A lot of it is to ...
read more...
Categories: Home Loans and Mortgages, Real Estate. Tags: First Home Buyers Boost, First Home Owner Grant, Tasmania Property.
Buying property in Australia will soon be easier for overseas businesses and visitors thanks to a lifting of restrictions.
More than 7500 overseas buyers are expected to benefit from the Federal Government's relaxation of rules governing foreign investment.
The move will mean that market flexibility will be enhanced while compliance costs for temporary residents and the construction industry will be reduced, Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen said.
The definition of temporary residents will also be aligned with contemporary visa categories.
Under the present structure, all temporary residents and non-residents, including foreign businesses, must notify the Federal Government if they wish to buy a property.
They ...
read more...
Categories: Banking and Finance, News, Real Estate. Tags: Investment Loans, Property Finance.
First Home Buyers and property investors are set reap the benefits of a drop in property prices after prices dropped in most capital cities in the September quarter.
According to data from Australian Property Monitors, house prices in Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Melbourne.
Brisbane and Perth saw the highest drops with 5.2 and 3.4 respectively while units lost most value in Perth (4.2 per cent), followed by Canberra (2.9 per cent) and Melbourne (2.3 per cent).
Australian Property Monitors senior economist Liam OHara said the softening in prices was easing affordability constraints, albeit slightly.
"Over the year Sydney witnessed a 3.1 per cent drop in ...
read more...
Categories: Home Loans and Mortgages, Interest Rates, News, Real Estate. Tags: Investment Loans, Property Finance.
First home buyer affordability improved by 3 per cent in the September 2008 quarter as easing house prices offset a net increase in borrowing costs, according to the HIA-Commonwealth Bank First Home Buyer Affordability Index.
The average first home buyer home loan repayment also fell by 1.5 per cent over the September quarter to $2,785 per month.
The results do not take into account the recent interest rate cuts which are expected to provide a further improvement in housing affordability.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) chief executive Chris Lamont expects that the new interest rate cycle will provide ...
read more...
Categories: Banking and Finance, News, Real Estate.
Expatriate Australians returning home due to the global financial storm are driving up interest in property markets nationwide, according to Australia's leading independent mortgage broker.
Jennifer Nielsen, Chief Executive of Loan Market Group, which includes X Inc Finance, said inquiries for home loans from expats had escalated in recent weeks.
"There is strong interest from expatriate Australians, many of them banking and finance professionals, who are looking to return home to escape the credit crunch in places like London and Singapore", Ms Nielsen said.
"They want to buy property before they come back. We now have three in-house brokers dedicated to ...
read more...
Categories: Interest Rates, News, Press Releases, Real Estate.
First Home Buyers who buy newly constructed homes will receive an extra boost as their first home buyers grant will triple to $21,000 while first home buyers purchasing existing properties will see their grant double to $14,000.
The move is part of the Rudd government's economic package aimed at kickstarting the economy.
Under the package, the federal government will invest $1.5 in the housing market between September 2008 and October 2009.
The Economic Security Strategy comes just two days after the Federal government announced that it would guarantee savings deposits and bank wholesale borrowings amid fears of a worsening global financial crisis.
"The ...
read more...
Categories: Banking and Finance, Media Articles, Mortgage Tips, News, Real Estate.
(Infochoice)
Shortly after the surprise RBA rate cut of 1 per cent, the major banks moved swiftly to pass on the bulk of the unprecedented rate cut to borrowers.
Westpac was first of the mark with a 0.8 per cent cut to its variable rate and was closely followed by announcements from Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, NAB and St. George.
The rate cut now places Commonwealth Bank with a slightly slower standard variable rate of 8.53 per cent, followed by Westpac and NAB with 8.56 per cent and ANZ ...
read more...
Categories: Interest Rates, News, Real Estate.
High interest rates and a slowing economy caused a July drop in house sales for the ailing property market, a survey has found.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) survey found new home sales dropped by 7.2 per cent in July 2008.
HIA Chief Economist, Harley Dale said the drop reinforces industry evidence that home building conditions hit the wall in early July.
"Budgeted sales levels are well down on expectations and that runs the clear risk of the next step being a shedding of labour in the industry", said Mr Dale.
Multi-unit sales fell by 5.2 per cent while detached house sales dipped ...
read more...
Categories: Interest Rates, News, Real Estate.
X Inc Insider
(Michael Yardney)
The question that naturally follows this one is, how badly do you really "have" to purchase that particular house? If you or your family have already fallen in love with this home and it's that special home you've spent months searching for, it's better to offer a price and terms the seller is likely to accept rather than trying to go for the very best deal.
On the other hand if there are plenty of similar homes on the market, start with a low offer.
Having said that, if your initial offer is too low the seller and his ...
read more...
Categories: Media Articles, Real Estate. Tags: Investment Loans, Property Finance.
by Michael Yardney, Director of Metropole Properties
Depending upon the economy, you may find yourself in a buyer's market - where there are fewer buyers around than there are sellers, which puts buyers in a stronger negotiating position.
Or it could be a seller's market - where there are more buyers looking for homes than there are sellers, such as during property booms. At these times the sellers have the upper hand and property prices rise.
‘Market sentiment', as agents like to call it -is how much hype there is in the property market, or the proportion of buyers keen to ...
read more...
Categories: News, Real Estate.
by Michael Yardney, Director of Metropole Properties
While you can't always choose when you are ready to move house, a buyer's market is a great time to buy properties. That is because there are more homes for sale than there are buyers looking to purchase and the general mood about property is gloomy. Often the media tends to play this up and run stories about high interest rates, a rise in petrol prices, the poor economy or an impending property crash.
In fact anything that gives the general marketplace the jitters and stops the majority of people making a decision is ...
read more...
Categories: News, Real Estate.
All capital cities across Australia other than Perth and Darwin have now clearly moved back into a positive growth cycle.
Residex
Although Sydney presents the lowest growth city, we note that over 50% of the growth achieved in the last 12 months occurred in the last quarter. This is on the back of a continuing trend which has for some time been positive. Both Perth and Darwin are now clearly in a correction phase and while the corrections are small we expect them to continue at least until spring. The magnitude of the corrections will be dependent of the action of the ...
read more...
Categories: News, Real Estate. Tags: Investment Loans, Property Finance.
Cash Sweetens The Deal - Lenders' Drive For First-Home Buyers
Jim Dickens
NEWS Ltd
LENDERS are trying harder than ever to hook first-home buyers with an expanding range of attention-grabbing incentives, ranging from frequent-flyer points to cash-back offers.
While housing affordability declines, new mortgage products are proliferating as lenders adopt marketing tactics more familiar to the retail industry.
The latest deal comes from mortgage broker X Inc Finance, which is offering first-time buyers $500 cash back on mortgages across its panel of lenders.
Chief executive Jennifer Nielsen said first-home buyers were a key market, but applications had been flat recently. For ...
read more...
Categories: Home Loans and Mortgages, Media Articles, Real Estate.
