Some investors have been spooked by the RBA hiking interest rates over the past months, particularly since it has spent the past two years telling us that rates would not rise until 2024. Higher interest rates at the same time as rising prices (inflation) are a two-fold blow to household budgets. Where are interest rates…
Vocal market commentator and fund manager, Chris Joye wrote in the AFR in November last year that Australian house prices could fall by 15% to 25% after the RBA starts increasing interest rates (here’s a copy of that article). Of course, there are many property doomsayers that perpetually (and often inaccurately) predict property market crashes….
It is stating the obvious to say that goal setting is important. The fact is, if you aim at nothing, often that is exactly what you will achieve; nothing! Each year my wife and I set personal, relationship, business, and financial goals. We almost always achieve all the goals we set for ourselves each year….
For my final blog for 2021, I thought it would be interesting to look back to see how various investment asset classes performed. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, it is wise to benchmark your investment returns so that you can assess relative performance. Secondly, it serves as a salient reminder about the cost…
The topic of rising inflation and its potential impact on interest rates has been dominating the financial press over the past few weeks. The bond markets expect that higher inflation readings will force central banks to raise interest rates. It’s my opinion that higher inflation is likely to be temporary. And it’s also useful to…
Approximately half of Australia’s population is currently in lockdown, and this may continue for another few months until vaccine target levels are reached. I wanted to discuss what impact this may have on the property market and the broader economy. Of course, there are wide-ranging impacts The impact of Covid lockdowns can be wide-ranging. Dealing…
Land tax is levied on the value of an investor’s landholdings on 31 December each year. It is an insidious tax as any land tax is relatively small when you initially purchase an investment property but typically increases each year. As such, the problem is that it can become quite costly by the time you…
With interest rates at all-time lows, in some situations, it is now a lot cheaper to be an owner-occupier than a renter. And with the prospect of interest rates not rising anytime soon, it could stay that way for a few years, unless the market changes. I thought it would be interesting to analyse the…
It is my contention that similar provisions should be available to banks and mortgage brokers. Often, the way you assess an application for a borrower with a net worth of $2,000 compared to a borrower with $20 million will vary. Making this distinction allows lenders to apply a more common-sense approach. However, unfortunately, no such…
One of the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) big election promises in the 2019 federal election was to abolish negative gearing. It would be logical to think that the ALP’s shock election loss in 2019 will serve as a warning for policymakers. That is, banning negative gearing is an unpopular policy. However, I would caution investors…
