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Over the past few weeks a number of lending institutions have reduced their fixed interest rate loans without warning. Some have cut theirs more than once - St George is a prime example: they cut their 5yr fixed rate last week to just 5.99%, and then reacted to their parent company (Westpac) matching that headline rate, by cutting again on Tuesday - to 5.89%. Gotta love it when a bank falls over itself to outdo ... well, itself!!! Not that smart some of our bank executives.
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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.
Apartment Sizes In real estate, big homes have been on the nose for a few years. They’re a lot more expensive, and they cost a lot more to run and maintain. In 2011, only 1% of sales across Australia were for properties over $1M, so big and expensive homes are a very small segment of the market. On the other hand, apartments are more popular than ever before. The 2011 Census confirmed they account for 14% of all dwellings, up from 11% in 2006. Apartments made better capital gains than houses over the past few years, and they’re becoming a lot more affordable too. 11 September 2012. Click here to read more. South Hedland Heads The Regional Western Australian Localities Cheaper To Buy Than Rent: RP Data
The mining town of South Hedland is the leading town in WA where it’s cheaper to buy that rent, according to RP Data. The data company's figures show that it
can be $3,184 a month cheaper to buy a property with a principal and interest loan that it is to rent. Agent Ryan Crawford from Crawford Realty says it’s been the case for a long time but rents have jumped noticeably in the last three months. 13 September 2012. Click here to read more. Why Apartments Should Not Be Smaller Than 60 Square Metres Australians are increasingly showing a preference for smaller units, but in a perfect world the one-bedroom stock would be about 70 square metres and two-bedders about 100 square metres. But perfect worlds these days are rare indeed. These are often the size of a one-bedroom apartment (i.e. under 70 square metres). So apartments can be too small. When looking to buy a new apartment – apart for price, size (apartments + overall development), location, quality and development team pedigree – buyers should also be very critical of design. 13 September 2012. Click here to read more.
The Seven Deadly Sins Of Real Estate Investing If you are concerned about the health of your investments, make sure to steer clear from these seven sins: (1) Buying Based On Future Value; (2) Blindly Following A Guru; (3) Being Unrealistic With the Math; (4) Relaxing on the Record Keeping; (5) Confusing Investing with Gambling; (6) Over Leveraging Yourself; and (7) Getting Bored and Getting Fancy. 10 September 2012. Click here to read more. Boomers Hesitate Over Property Investment Baby boomers were expected to remain wary of investment in Australian real estate investment trusts (AREIT) and property despite a levelling in the market, MyAdviser said yesterday. "I think baby boomers are going to think very differently to generation X as far as putting their toe in the water in areas such as AREITs," MyAdviser managing director Philippa Sheehan told InvestorDaily. "Baby boomers, generally, are a little bit more skeptical because they have ridden through some really big ups and downs leading into pre-retirement." In contrast, generation Xers were more savvy, prepared to do a bit more research and understood that what happened in the past was not necessarily going to happen in the future, Sheehan said. 12 September 2012. Click here to read more. Lenders Hold The Key To New Buyers: Gollan Industry veteran Paul Gollan has warned QLD’s new first home buyers’ scheme will have little impact without a radical overhaul of lenders’ practices. His comments come after the Queensland government yesterday announced its abolishment of the $7,000 first home-buyers scheme, which will be replaced by a $15,000 scheme for buyers of new builds only. Gollan told Australian Broker Online the scheme will not help borrowers get loans unless lenders loosen their savings requirements. 12 September 2012. Click here to read more.
Issue # 006 September 14, 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.
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QLD Buyers Urged To ‘Get In Quick’ Mortgage Choice is urging borrowers to "get in quick" and purchase before the Queensland government scraps its first-home buyers' incentive. Premier Campbell Newman announced on Tuesday his government would replace the $7,000 grant in October with a $15,000 one for buyers of new builds only. Mortgage Choice's spokesperson Belinda Williamson warned the impending abolishment should only be used as an incentive for serious buyers. 13 September 2012. Click here to read more. Homes Selling For Less
House prices across the capital cities rose in the three months to June, but it is still cheaper for most Australians to buy a home today than it was a year ago. A
national survey of home prices released yesterday indicated the median capital city house price lifted 1.4 per cent in the June quarter, although it remained 3.1 per cent below its level a year ago. 13 September 2012. Click here to read more. 10 Valuation Myths You Probably Think Are True If you think more rooms equals higher value or that a pool holds no value, read on as Propell National Valuers debunks the most common property valuation misconceptions: (1) “Swimming pools add no value”; (2) “Bank valuations are always conservative” ; (3) “Valuers don’t spend enough time in a home to give a solid valuation”; (4) “More bedrooms = more value” ; (5) “The valuation doesn’t reflect my home’s presentation”; (6) “Property prices never go backwards"; (7) "Commercial property is riskier than residential property" ; (8) "Market Value is the same as sale price" ; (9) "Investors should only buy for capital growth"; and (10) “Buying interstate is a great way to diversify". 11 September 2012. Click here to read more. Fixed Interest Rates - What's The Current Situation? Over the past few weeks a number of lending institutions have reduced their fixed interest rate loans without warning. Some have cut theirs more than once - St George is a prime example: they cut their 5yr fixed rate last week to just 5.99%, and then reacted to their parent company (Westpac) matching
that headline rate, by cutting again on Tuesday - to 5.89%. Gotta love it when a bank falls over itself to outdo ... well, itself!!! Not that smart some of our bank executives. Here's a rundown on the where fixed interest rates are right now, so you get the picture: 1yr - 5.39 - 5.69 - seventeen products in this band; 2yr - 5.57 - 5.75% - nineteen products in this band; 3yr - 5.39 - 5.69% - fourteen products in this band; 4yr - 5.89 - 5.99% - just five products in this band; 5yr - 5.89 - 5.99% - the same five lenders/products in this band. Don't be complacent, some institutions still have 5yr rates at 6.80%, while plenty of 3yr rates are still at 5.99%. If you're bank is charging more - and they most likely are - hit them up to match the market or give us a call to see what we can do to help. Kevin Lee, 13 September 2012
Controversy Corner
Detained Girl, Aged 9, Should Get $250,000 – Report JUDY TUIFANGALOKA was only nine when she was wrongly detained at Villawood for nine months. Now it has been recommended she be given $250,000 in compensation. During her detention in 2004, she saw other detainees hurt themselves. 13 September 2012. Click here to read more.
Some Parting Advice
“Monopoly is not a game about buying and selling. And it’s most
definitely not about diversification. Monopoly is about focus, planning, patience and long-term control. You learn the rules first, practice, practice again and practice some more – always
focused on the underlying or core business. Real estate.”
Until Next Time…. Kevin Lee
www.smartpropertyadviser.com.au
