State Of The Nation Compiled By Kevin Lee of Smart Property Adviser

www.smartpropertyadviser.com.au E: kevin@smartpropertyadviser.com.au T: (02) 9980 1311 M: 0416 083 995

Disclaimer: This document is a compilation of recent articles published in the media. The media sources are quoted beneath their respective article capture. Smart Property Adviser does not claim to be the author of any articles included within this document.

There’s No Exact Science To Picking The Next Hot Suburb

Investors and savvy owner-occupiers all want to pick the next big thing in real estate but working out the formula is no exact

science. Predicting what will become a highly sought-after suburb is something of a "guesstimate" although a recent list compiled by realestate.com.au gives an insight into what house hunters are seeking. 12 October 2012. More. Melbourne Property Shows Where It’s Scarring It’s no secret that Melbourne property has been in a tough time lately, but one city region has taken a particularly hard hit, despite its historic popularity. Many things can happen on Melbourne landmark Brunswick Street. The day-to-day boutique trade brings in a healthy dose of fashionistas, while at night the many bars can see anything from quiet after-work drinks to rowdy brawls. The one thing that isn’t happening is a growth in unit values. 16 October 2012. More. Home Loan Approval Rates At Highest Level This Year

The property market is showing some signs of moving up the gears as the key spring selling period gathers pace with home loan approvals registering their biggest rise in almost a year. Official data shows the number of home loans for owner

occupiers approved in August rose 1.8 per cent to 45,821 - its highest level this year. 16 October 2012. More. Commercial Property Investment By The Numbers: Chris Lang As you will quickly discover, finding suitable commercial property investments comes down to a numbers game. And interestingly, many people consider these current times to be a buyers' market. However, as a serious investor, you will have found it difficult to identify many really top-notch properties right now. 16 October 2012. More. House Prices Set To Rise House prices look likely to recover, thanks to falling interest rates, and more rate cuts could be coming, further accelerating the recovery. The number of home loans for owner occupied housing rose 1.8% in August, compared to a fall of 0.8% in July, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 15 October 2012. More.

New Home Cash Splash In South Australia Anyone in South Australia who builds or purchases a brand new home will be eligible for a new $8500 grant, the State Government has announced. The new Housing Construction Grant, which is effective immediately and on offer until June 2013, applies to properties valued up to $400,000. It’s part of a range of housing stimulus measures announced yesterday, including extra perks for first-time buyers. 16 October 2012. More. Wesfarmers Reviews $700M Property Portfolio

The conglomerate Wesfarmers has called in investment banks Goldman Sachs and RBS to review the property strategy for Coles Group. The supermarket giant is looking to tap

institutional investors for a venture that would invest in the freehold of its existing centres and to back the roll out of some developments. 16 October 2012. More. Home Loans Show Some Strength Home loans rose more than expected in August, showing the impact of earlier rate cuts bolstering activity in the housing sector. Home loans increased 1.8 per cent in August, following a 1 per cent fall in

July, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists had expected a rise of 1.5 per cent in the month, as the effects of earlier rate cuts filtered into the economy. 15 October 2012.

More. Foreign Buyers Get Nervous

Commercial property sales in Australia have fallen as even foreign investors have begun to get cold feet, with sluggish growth prospects further clouding the investment horizon. Commercial sales

above $5 million totalled $2.8 billion in the third quarter of the calendar year, according to CBRE - down year on year in both the second and third quarters. 13 October 2012. More. Specialise, Don’t Diversify, Claims Broker Of The Year The AMAs’ 2012 Broker of the Year, Mark Davis, has revealed a lack of aggressive marketing, and a focus on specialisation, not diversification, is a key component of his success. “We don’t advertise, we don’t market and we have a very limited web page,” he told Australian Broker Online. “It’s about clients finding us. We have clients who know what they’re doing when they walk in the door.” 16 October 2012. More.

Issue # 011 October 19, 2012

State Of The Nation Continued…

E: kevin@smartpropertyadviser.com.au T: (02) 9980 1311 M: 0416 083 995 Disclaimer: This document is a compilation of recent articles published in the media. The media sources are quoted beneath their respective article

capture. Smart Property Adviser does not claim to be the author of any articles included within this document.

If you would like to voice your opinion on any article you have read in the State Of The Nation Newsletters or elsewhere that has concerned you, please send the article and your opinion on it to us and we will include it in a future issue of the State Of The Nation. Send your opinion to kevin@smartpropertyadviser.com.au

Big Four Banks Moving To Out-Deal Mortgage Brokers

The four major banks are relying less on mortgage brokers to generate sales as they push borrowers into fixed-interest loans, and offer greater mortgage discounts through their

own branch networks. According to the latest quarterly figures compiled by the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre, fewer than 60 per cent of loans sold by mortgage brokers are financed by one of the big four banks. 15 October 2012. More. ANZ Fails To Pass On Full Cut ANZ has made its rate call at today's monthly meeting, becoming the fourth major to pass on only part of the RBA's cut. The bank has announced it will trim standard variable rates by 20bps from next Friday. The move takes the bank's variable rate to 6.60%, even with CBA and lower than Westpac's 6.71%, but higher than NAB's 6.58%. ANZ Australia CEO Philip Chronican claimed intense competition for retail deposits had offset stability in offshore funding markets. 15 October 2012. More. Where Aussies Will Invest Next

Two steps forward, one step back. That's what it feels like trying to be a good money manager at the moment. Our economy is supposed to be weathering the overseas storm, and the Reserve Bank has waded in with probably the first of a couple of rate cuts to give us a

better chance. But those hoarding banks withheld some of the

cash. 14 October 2012. More. 6 Reasons You’re Probably Not Getting Higher Rent Feeling the bite of mortgage payments on your property investment? It could be that you’re getting much less rental income than you should and there are some likely reasons why: (1) Sloppy looking property; (2) Failing to look at a property from the tenant’s perspective; (3) Lack of repairs, maintenance; (4) Outlandish choices; (5) Botched renovations; and (6) Not paying attention to the market. 16 October 2012. More. Your Questions: Keeping Hold Of Your Assets

If you decide to sell your units, you can theoretically choose between indexing your cost base or accepting a 50 per cent discount on your capital gain. However, since one can only index the cost base up to the CPI as at September 1999, it has

been a long time since this was a viable option. One of the problems of selling an asset with a hefty CGT bill is the fact that you can then reinvest only a smaller post-tax amount and would need a larger rate of return, or a reduced rate of tax, just to end up with some dollars in hand. 14 October 2012. More.

10 Brilliant Quotes From Warren Buffett – The World’s Greatest Investors When the world's richest investor speaks, people listen. Warren Buffett, an 82-year-old American worth about $44 billion and nicknamed the "Oracle of Omaha", is the most quoted investor on the planet and countless financial experts swear by his words of wisdom. 15 October 2012. More.

Naïve For Investors To Buy In Mining Towns Investors are naively “falling for” mining towns that are about to see a downward spiral, according to a property advisor. Warning against the surface-level attractiveness of mining towns, Kevin Lee from Smartline Home Loans said that there is an obvious issue with these areas and investors would be naive to jump in without understand this risk. “The reality for many property investors in those far flung Australian outback mining towns is that once the mineral or ore etc has been extracted from the surrounding countryside or if the mineral prices crash, then "it's all over" for the towns that boomed because of it,” said Mr Lee. 10 October 2012. More.

Controversy Corner

Whistleblower Says Lance Armstrong’s Allies Made Her Life Hell The original whistleblower who helped bring down Lance Armstrong

has revealed how she was tormented and intimidated for more than a decade by the cyclist and his allies as they stopped at nothing in their bid to silence her. Betsy Andreu refused to be cowed even

when Armstrong, who she calls a "tyrant" of the sport, used his power to attempt to destroy the career of her husband and his former team-mate Frankie Andreu, as revenge for her defiance. 16 October 2012. More.

Some Parting Advice

“Investors need to understand that it’s their beliefs, actions and decisions that will shape their financial future – your financial

situation is a direct consequence of the choices you make.”

Until Next Time…. Kevin

Lee www.smartpropertyadviser.com.au