Over the past few years, the Australian property market has seen a pronounced disparity in price growth between houses and units. Historically, houses have always commanded higher prices and demonstrated superior value growth compared to units. Data from the last four years confirms this trend overwhelmingly. However, recent developments indicate that this gap may be…
Believe it or not, Melbourne has one of the highest populations of millionaires in the world. But it has also been named one of the most unaffordable cities in the world to buy a home. And a recent report from the Australian Taxation Office revealed that two of the richest suburbs in Australia are in…
I received a question from a reader asking what would make a superior investment. An apartment in a blue-chip location, or a house for the same price albeit not in a blue-chip suburb. Will houses always deliver better returns? In general, houses often prove to be superior investments, mainly due to their higher land value…
Did you know that you have many options when it comes to deciding the entity that should own your new property? Most property buyers, even seasoned investors, default to simply buying the property in their own name, but this is not always the best and most financially savvy choice. The legally recognised owner of a…
When you’re buying property in this market you need to move fast. Days on the market are short at the moment (although they are starting to stretch). Property prices are still rising, although the pace is slowing, and if you’re sifting through the available properties when you find “The One” you need to be ready…
The monthly CPI indicator showed inflation increasing in the year to May, with the ‘trimmed mean’, annual inflation measure lifting to 4.4%, up from 4.1% in April. While the monthly CPI indicator isn’t as complete a measure as the quarterly inflation result, there is concern that inflation is back on the rise, which could necessitate…
In today’s fast-changing property market, one of the common questions I’m asked is “How much is that property really worth?” Obviously, that’s a good question – no property investor or homeowner wants to overpay. For products that are plentiful, transacted often, and largely the same as each other, determining market value is really easy. But…
Be careful – observing the change in median property prices may not be as useful as you think. So here are the main things you need to understand before you draw any conclusions from the regularly reported changes in median prices. How is the median house price calculated? The median house price is essentially the…
It is generally an accepted investment principle that diversification can reduce your risk and improve investment returns. The common vernacular is, to spread your eggs amongst various baskets. I would agree with this principle, so long as it doesn’t result in the deterioration of investment asset quality. Sometimes property investors should not diversify. That’s because…
The prospect of strong capital gains is luring investors back into the market, supported by strong rental price growth that maintains healthy rental yields. Australia is in the midst of a rental crisis, driven by a chronic shortage of available rental properties and strong rental demand from a rapidly growing population. According to Ms Eleanor…
