Michael has been once again voted Australia’s leading property investment advisor by the readers of ‘Your Investment Property Magazine’, but he’s not a theorist… He has been successfully investing in property since 1971 and is a leading property commentator and Australia’s most widely read property investment blogger. Join over 115,000 others who get their updates from Michael and his group of expert guest bloggers and benefit from their perspective.
One of the challenges our government is facing in handling the housing crisis is dealing with inaccurate population forecasts. HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon recently highlighted a startling fact: “Australia’s population hit 26.8 million in September 2023, surpassing the Australian Government’s forecast by over a decade.” This revelation came as the ABS released its latest…
With our housing markets picking up around Australia there’s a whole young generation of first-home buyers getting onto the property ladder. The problem is, many of these First-time property buyers forget that the purchase price is not the end of their homeownership financial outgoings. There are a number of expenses that will continue for as…
Arranging for a property valuation prior to purchase, or a valuation on a property you already own for refinancing is relatively straightforward. That said, it’s important to understand potential pitfalls associated with a valuation so you can brace for a possibly unfavourable outcome. If you are applying for a loan from a bank, they will…
According to researchers from the University of Illinois, the more sleep a person gets, the more optimistic they are about life. Why is optimism, and thus sleep, so important? Reason #1 Optimists Are More Successful. Martin Seligman was a Psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. In the mid-1980s, he created a Style Questionnaire that MetLife’s…
To help you understand what’s ahead and if our property markets are going to keep rising or going to slow down or even go backward, as some property pessimists are still suggesting, in today’s episode I want to outline the dynamics and the economics of Australia’s property markets and what causes property values to increase…
How foreign investors really created Australia’s housing crisis. Some commentary in the media suggest that’s the case, but recently Tim Reardon, the Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association (HIA), offered a different perspective that challenges these common misconceptions. Misconception 1: Foreign investors leave homes vacant It’s a popular belief that foreign investors are buying up properties…
If the dreaded black spores are invading your rental property, you want to deal with them quickly. But just who is responsible for removing mould? It starts as one little spore, then two… and, before you know it, there is a horrible black fungus spreading, well, like mushrooms. Like all fungi, mould grows best in…
What makes a particular location liveable? That would be nice to know, wouldn’t it? It would be particularly important if you’re a homebuyer, but as an investor, it’s critical to only own properties in the type of location that will be in continuous strong demand by more affluent owner-occupiers. Of course, the concept of livability is…
Many of the property investors I speak with are often confused about the differences between Line of Credit facilities and Offset Accounts. Understanding how these two types of loan-related products can function will help determine the best fit for your property investment strategy. What is a Line of Credit? A Line of Credit (often abbreviated to ‘LOC’) is a…
The federal government’s Help to Buy scheme is before the parliament. Both the Coalition and the Greens are opposed to it. If the bill is passed, the government will provide an equity contribution of up to 40% of the purchase price of a new home, and up to 30% for an existing dwelling, with buyers…
