Think getting a loan for an investment property will be as easy as your home mortgage? Well, think again. Currently, lenders are more cautious. Following the fallout of the Haynes Royal Commission into banking they’re making property investors jump through more hoops than ever to get an investment loan, yet they’re keen to help first home buyers…
Recently the Australia Bureau of Statistics released the latest update on Australia’s population statistics for the end of June 2018. Over the previous year we added 390,500 people meaning our growth over the previous year was 1.6%. That’s just a touch slower than the 1.7% growth or 411,000 new people in the previous year, but…
Being located in a school catchment area can make a massive difference to a property’s value. Clearly some people are prepared to pay a significant premium according to new REIV data which shows that homes located within the catchment area for some of Melbourne’s best public primary and secondary schools are fetching over $400,000 compared to…
With so much negative news at present it was good to see that Australian employment increased in January to a record 12.4 million. In fact over 210,000 full-time jobs were created over the last year lifting the level to a record high of over 8.25 million full-time jobs. And when people are confident about their employment they…
You know those people who are always waiting for the optimal time to buy a property? They either wait and wait until everyone else starts buying or they wait and wait and ultimately do nothing at all. The thing is each of those strategies is as silly as each other. You might think that is a…
Why should you invest in real estate? Well…I recently had a discussion with a friend who knew my passion for property investment and he asked me to give him three good reasons why he should invest in real estate rather than in other asset classes. Rather than give him three reasons I gave him five reasons…
If you applying for a new credit card or plan to raise the credit limit of an existing card to cope with your Christmas spending spree you could be in for a shock. The screws are being tightened on Australia’s debt obsession. As of 1 January 2019, new credit card limits will be based on what you can afford…
I’ve recently written about why women make better investors than men. According to analysis by the Property Council of Australia, 47 per cent of Australian investment properties are owned by women. Their analysis of Australian Tax Office data has found that almost half of all negatively geared investment properties are owned by women wanting to…
Like a cabbie getting asked how his night has been, as a Property Strategist I rarely make it through the day without being asked ‘how’s the market?’. Luckily for my career, the truth is that no one really knows. The market is largely the opinion and sentiment of a given group of people at…
As with any type of long-term wealth creation vehicle, real estate comes with its own set of cautionary tales about the potential hazards and pitfalls. Many things can go wrong and the risk is amplified if you leap in without first seeking professional advice and devising a sound strategy and investment plan. But does that…