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.
Borrowing capacity has reduced by around 30% over the past year due to the impact of higher interest rates and the increased 3% interest rate buffer that banks must use to calculate your borrowing capacity. This was eloquently depicted in this chart by CBA in February 2023. I wanted to explore the common strategies that people can use to…
It’s human nature for us to exaggerate when talking about our achievements. We tend to embroider facts about our relationships, families, work and homes, placing them in the best possible light while we push any uncomfortable truths which don’t fit our picture of perfection into the background. Salespeople do exactly the same, but we often…
You’ve found the ideal new home – a beautiful established terrace and then comes the shock. The building and pest inspection reveal rising damp. Rising damp is when moisture from under the house gets into the internal walls. So what should you do? You’ll often be able to tell a home has rising damp when…
Many of our property markets have been improving recently. The sense that interest rates are near their peak and that inflation is coming under control has helped motivate people to buy and sell their property after a period of waiting cautiously on the sidelines. While we are a long way off markets booming but sellers…
If you sell a dud investment property, you may have to pay capital gain tax (CGT), selling costs and then stamp duty again when you reinvest… it can be a very expensive exercise! And if you have owned the property for a while, it is probably putting money in your pocket each month (i.e. more…
You won’t have to look far to hear an opinion on property. From dabblers through to multi-million-dollar portfolio owners, it’s an industry with plenty of advice coming from all corners, and plenty of emotion attached to each opinion. In fact, I’ve often said there are 25 million property experts in Australia But I should warn…
Australians continue to face the pressures of higher costs of living, particularly with credit card spending. In fact, Australia’s total credit card bill has climbed for the second month in a row to $17.77 billion as households reach for the plastic to make ends meet in the face of rising costs. The latest RBA statistics…
When I travel the country speaking to high school and college students about exactly what they need to do to become financially successful in life, I always begin my presentation by asking three questions: “How many want to be financially successful in life?” “How many think they will be financially successful in life?” Almost every…
Even though the property market has cooled from its pandemic-induced peak, Australia’s sky-high inflation, soaring cost of living, near-record-high interest rates and tightening lending requirements mean many would-be first-home buyers are still struggling to get their foot onto the property ladder. And those who are homeowners might be struggling to keep up with hiking repayment costs….
In today’s changing property market where there are fewer good properties for sale than there are buyers, there are some who may wonder what are the benefits of hiring a real estate professional to help them in their home search. Other homebuyers figure that in today’s fast-paced world, where answers are a Google search away, and…
