Across Australia, thousands of people are waiting to find out if their homes will be built, after several separate construction company collapses. By far the biggest of those recent collapses has been the Bathla Group, a Sydney developer that’s been one of Australia’s largest affordable home builders. Owing about A$3.4 billion to private lenders, Bathla’s…
Australia’s cities are changing quickly. With population growth, housing shortages, shifting demographics and climate pressures, new expectations around how people live are all reshaping the development landscape. Property developers, because of this, are now dealing with an unusual mix of opportunity and risk. The demand for new housing is undeniable, particularly in established capital cities…
Australia’s economy expanded by 0.4% in the June quarter, with spending growth driven by record sales of imported electric vehicles. For the year to June, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, slightly stronger than market expectations. The bureau noted overall growth remained subdued, with spending growth and…
For Americans living in Australia, property investment can look like a smart way to build wealth. But without proper tax planning, it can turn into a source of unexpected US tax bills. Whether you’re thinking about buying Australian real estate or already own investment property back in the States, you need to understand how both…
For most people who buy a home, a mortgage represents the single largest debt they will take on in their lives. But what happens if the market value of a property you’ve bought falls below the amount you still owe on your home loan? This situation is called “negative equity”. In Australia, decades of house…
Australia’s migration system is complicated. It’s heavily influenced by politics and global pressures, which can make it difficult to understand. This often results in lively debates across the dinner table. But given migration is dominating public discussion at the moment, it’s worth explaining how the system operates so we all have a better understanding of…
Over the past week, all four of Australia’s biggest banks have reported falls of between 12% to 20% in new home loan applications since the May federal budget. After announcing it would keep interest rates on hold, the Reserve Bank confirmed demand for new home loans has “declined noticeably”. For anyone currently in the market…
Building sustainable wealth from property requires more than selecting the right suburbs and focusing on cash flow yields. Your real financial independence is in managing your daily cash flow. Before a bank will even consider what you might borrow for a mortgage or equity release, they will look closely at your regular living expenses, subscriptions…
The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35% as it assesses whether the three interest rate rises delivered earlier this year are doing enough to slow the economy and bring inflation back under control. The RBA faces a difficult balancing act. Inflation remains too high and another rate rise is…
Whether you rent, own your home or have never invested a dollar, private housing investment affects You. Every rental home exists because someone chose to invest their savings in housing instead of somewhere else. The biggest mistake in the housing debate is to treat housing as a fixed pie. It is not. Demand alone does…
