How do I invest? What approaches do I use and which strategies do I use? Those questions were recently put to me by a journalist wanting to write a feature article. He also asked what’s been the “secret” to my success in building a very substantial property portfolio and having succeeded through multiple property cycles. So…
Three months on from the federal budget changes, the verdict is in, and it isn’t pretty. Fewer first home buyers are active in the market than before the changes landed, and everyday property investors have almost entirely been swept aside. For anyone who has ever wanted to work hard and improve their position by buying…
One of the reasons I’ve always been attracted to property is that it’s an imperfect market. And I mean that in the best possible way. When I look at investments, I’m drawn to asset classes where knowledge, strategy, relationships, patience and negotiation can give me an edge. That’s why property appeals to me. It gives…
Do you want to buy an investment property but don’t have the cash readily available for a deposit? The good news is, if you already own a property, there is a way of buying a second property using equity instead. So if you’re wondering how equity works when buying a second home, read on and…
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…
What if the greatest financial risk facing you isn’t the next property downturn, another interest rate rise or even a recession, but the possibility that you live much longer than your money does? Many Australians approaching retirement are planning around a model that belongs to another generation. They assume they’ll stop working somewhere around 65…
We Australians are very good at finding fault with the cities in which we live. We complain about congestion, expensive housing, crowded trains, planning delays and infrastructure that often seems to arrive years after it is needed. Sure, many of those concerns are justified, but every so often an international comparison allows us to step…
What if rising property values are making Australians wealthier on paper, while leaving many of us feeling less secure, more stressed and less satisfied with life? Australia is a prosperous country, and millions of homeowners have built substantial wealth through property. Yet measures of happiness have remained flat or declined, while younger Australians increasingly feel…
Higher interest rates and uncertainty over the Federal Government’s proposed property tax changes are clearly taking some heat out of Australia’s property market, with new mortgage lending falling sharply in the June quarter. According to the latest ABS lending indicator data the total value of new housing loans settled in the June quarter was $97.6…
Have you ever wondered why it’s easier for people who have money to make more of it? I mean, why is it that the second and the third million are so much easier to earn than the first million? Do you want to know what the biggest difference is between how wealthy people build wealth…
