Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
This week’s State of the Nation includes a couple of interesting articles about how brokers and other members of the finance industry are expected to receive higher than average pay rises in 2013, according to survey results produced by consulting firm Aon Hewitt. In other news, Queensland property investors building new dwellings from 2013 could save thousands of dollars.
Citation preview
State Of The Nation Compiled By Kevin Lee of Smart Property Adviser
www.smartpropertyadviser.com.au E: [email protected] 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.
Erosion Sees Beach Houses On The Brink
Gold Coast beachfront
residents have been told not to expect help from the city council to combat erosion, even if their
properties are about to fall into the sea. City
councillor Greg Betts has little sympathy for residents of luxury
homes along Albatross Avenue at Nobby Beach, who yesterday watched helplessly as big seas ate away the last remaining centimetres of land between them and the oc ean. 17 December 2012. More.
Pay Rise Predictions 2013: Finance Industry Workers In The Money Brokers and other members of the finance industry are expec ted to receive higher than average pay rises next year, according to survey results produced by consulting firm Aon Hewitt. The
average Australian employee will receive a salary increase of 4.2% in 2013, which is higher than CPI - but less than the 4.6% increase that was predicted for 2012. 17 December 2012. More. Savour, Don't Devour A mate of mine's five-year-old daughter eats up to six Weet-Bix
for breakfast each day. That's twice my limit, and only one less than cricket champion Brett Lee. But she's only (a thin) five! Obviously I'm a Weet-Bix pansy. And when it comes to the question of `̀ how many do you do'', I think I may also be a bit of
a property pansy when researching real estate. 18 December 2012. More. Keeping One Step Ahead Of Home Loans
Making extra home loan payments is an increasingly key
focus for Australian savers, writes Anthony Keane. More than two-thirds of homeowners are ahead of their mortgage
payments and Aussies are saving the biggest slice of their
income since the 1980s, research by Australia's biggest bank has found. 18 December 2012. More. Melbourne House Prices Have Been Flat As A Pancake All Year: Catherine Cashmore
The internet’s done some wonderful things for us. Google is now
the brain of the universe – any question can be plugged in and answered (albeit with a hefty disclaimer along the lines of ‘react at your own risk’). However, it’s also fragmented the time we
take to digest information that, in a pre-internet age, caused many to devour a newspaper cover to cover on a Sunday afternoon and come out feeling at least partially educated. 18 December 2012. More.
Credit Cards Can Kill Your Portfolio, Say Experts Mortgage holders have been warned that credit card debt is the
major obstacle to paying off their home loan quicker. The interest paid on credit cards, which still sits at around 20%, is the ‘biggest killer’ of people’s ability to make extra mortgage repayments, according to Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers. 17 December
2012. More. Suicide, Heartbreak As Investors Seek Answers Over Lost Millions
Late in the evening of March 14 this year, Jean Govinden
walked into Anthony Ghalloub's family mansion on a quiet West Ryde street. The 32-year-old business owner and keen
archer was a desperate man. He was due to marry a cousin of Mr Ghalloub's in a matter of weeks but had fallen on hard times. 17 December 2012. More.
Property Is Still Feeling The Grinch Auction clearance rates up. Interest rates down. House prices not
tumbling. Record numbers of homes for sale across the city. As the market slows for Christmas, it is timely to look back on the year and ahead to what 2013 might hold. It was certainly a brighter year than
2011, when both clearance rates and house prices tumbled. 17 December. More. Secure Tenants Hold The Keys To Sales Secure high-profile tenants, including Subway, Caltex Woolworths,
Beaurepaires and Midas, brought strong sales in Burgess Rawson's final auction of 2012 this week. Nine properties - from Ulverstone in the south via Ferntree Gully and Sunbury in Victoria to Noosa Heads and Mount Isa in the north - were offered for sale, with one
withdrawn at the last minute, five sold, another expected to sell on Saturday, and two passed in. 15 December 2012. More. Victoria On The Attack Over Land Tax, Stamp Duty
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has copped a lashing over his calls on
state governments to abolish stamp duty. A war of words erupted following a meeting of state treasurers hosted by Swan in Canberra yesterday. Victorian Treasurer Kim Wells issued a scathing statement claiming it’d been suggested by Swan that an increase to land tax
could cover the stamp duty shortfall. 18 December 2012. More. More Than $5000 To Be Saved On Housing Construction From 2013
Queensland property investors building new dwellings from 2013 could save thousands of dollars following the Newman
Government’s scrapping of compulsory rainwater tanks and gas, solar or heat pump hot water systems. Minister for Housing and Public Works Tim Mander says those building new dwellings could save more than $5000 when the new laws come into effect from
early 2013. 17 December 2012. More.
Issue # 020 December 21, 2012
State Of The Nation Continued…
E: [email protected] 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 [email protected]
Things Looking Up On Downs A diverse local economy, including nearby mining projects, and affordable
housing is helping drive the local Toowoomba property market. The city still has a very
affordable median house price of $290,000, according to the
Real Estate Institute of Queensland's September quarter data, and its median unit price is $255,000. 17 December 2012. More. $90K Lost To Charity Scams In 2012: How To Make Sure You Don't Fall Prey
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
and the newly established Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) are warning Australians to stay one step ahead of charity scammers and donate safely this festive season. 18 December 2012. More. Sit Back, Relax… And Plan Your Property Portfolio
Are you going away for the Christmas break? Perhaps you’re staying at home, but still taking some time off? Either way, Christmas is a great time to relax with the family – and madly plan for 2013. Gavin Hegney of Hegney Property Group says it’s
not uncommon to see a ‘seasonal jump’ post-Christmas as people plan their goals and ambitions. 18 December 2012. More.
Property Players Worried And Staying Put Property players have farewelled a better than expected end to
2012 but anticipate 2013 will bring another year of low supply and flat prices.
While low interest rates are expected to fuel buyer confidence, there i s some concern that job insecurity is holding others back in some of the cheaper suburbs. 17 December 2012. More.
Don’t Meddle With Grants, REIWA Urges Government The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) has called on the state’s government not to consider ending the universal application of the first home owners grant in its upcoming
midyear budget review. Currently, the state distributes the $7,000 grant to first home buyers irrespective of whether they are purchasing an established property or building a new one. 18
December 2012. More. Snakes, Dragons And The Property Market: 2012 And The Year Ahead With 2012 drawing to an end, Investment Strategy chief economist Shane Oliver looks back on the highs and lows of the past year - and shines some light on where the economy is
heading in the year of the snake (spoiler alert: RBA could lower cash rate to below 2%). While the past year has had its share of financial anxiety attacks, Oliver says it turned out far better than
many had feared. 17 December 2012. More.
Fernhill Sale Sealed As Simon And Brenda Tripp Secure The Trophy Mulgoa Home
Fernhill , the Georgian-era showcase estate at Mulgoa, is set
to be transformed into an equestrian centre following its formal sale to wealthy businessman Simon Tripp and his
wife, Brenda. The couple will move into the mansion this
weekend. They took a caveatable i nterest as purchaser under a
November 30 put and call option deed. 18 December 2012. More.
Controversy Corner
Our Taxes for Free Flights! From Kevin: “After a recent “illegal immigrant” boat disaster, the Australian
Federal Government used the Royal Flying Doctor Service to transport eight of these so
called “Asylum Seekers,” on three separate flights, from Christmas Island to Perth
Hospital, at a cost of $120,000 for each of the three trips! $360,000
in all! But then it got worse; someone decided that another Afghan needed
hospital treatment and a 148 seat Boeing 737 was chartered from Perth to Christmas Island and return to Perth. This consisted of a full crew, medical staff, one Afghan and a government official. How much would this have cost?? They’re not saying!!
It caused this little gem to appear in the Perth newspaper:”
Some Parting Advice
“Here’s a tip for Property Investors defining a strategy: “Learn as much as you can about the various property investment strategies
and decide which one you're comfortable with”.”
Until Next Time…. Kevin
Lee www.smartpropertyadviser.com.au
