It looks like the Australian housing market will be a ‘tug-of-war’ this year with low interest rates pulling hard on one end of the rope and economic uncertainty joining forces with subdued prospects for economic, income and employment growth at the other.
BY MICHAEL YARDNEY
I expect the economic side of the equation to win out in the near term, influenced in the first half of 2012 at least by continuing global financial turbulence. This is likely to cause the Reserve Bank of Australia to drop interest rates once or twice in the first half of the year and this should underpin our property markets.
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It’s almost impossible to accurately estimate the number of homeless in Australia. According to the 2006 census there were 105,000 – that’s 5100 more than recorded in the 2001 census, which found 99,900 were without a permanent abode.
BY CATHERINE CASHMORE
Of course there are many reasons individuals find themselves without shelter. Some come from abusive families, many being women and children, and some are what are commonly known as ‘couch surfers’ – sleeping a night here and there.
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2012 is set to be a year of recovery and consolidation for most of Australia’s property markets.
BY RICH HARVEY
Some areas will enjoy solid growth driven by latent demand or resources while other areas will languish.
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If our economists are armed with all the research available in today’s information age, why can’t they agree on where are our property markets are heading? In fact a better question would be – why do so many get it wrong?
BY MICHAEL YARDNEY
The simple answer is that market movements are far from an exact science.
The fundamentals are easy to monitor. Things like population growth, supply and demand, employment levels, interest rates, affordability and inflationary pressures. However one overriding factor that the experts have difficulty quantifying is investor sentiment.
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API recently received the following letter from a reader named Chris, who is also a homeowner and former tenant. We think he’s got some good insight into the relationship between tenants and landlords… tell us what you think.
Dear API,
Thanks for raising the issue of ‘dodgy landlords’ and ‘dodgy property managers’. You always seem to hear the stories about ‘tenants from hell’, but you very rarely hear about the other side of the coin.
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Why are some property investors able to grow significant wealth while others who have the same information, the same opportunities and the same resources are just not able to make a success of their investments?
BY MICHAEL YARDNEY
Here’s why… while certain knowledge, techniques and strategies are critical in becoming a successful property investor, it’s just as – if not more – important to have the right mindset.
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I’ve recently been toying with the idea of buying a property in another state. Diversification of my portfolio is one reason that I want to look further afield than my home state, and another is that I think there’s good growth to be seen elsewhere.
BY VANESSA DE GROOT
My dilemma, however, is how to go about it. I really don’t feel comfortable buying a property that I haven’t seen, but let’s be honest, I can’t fly to another destination every time I find a property that looks worthwhile to check it out.
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For the second consecutive year the big four banks, with the exception of ANZ, have come dangerously close to being seen as the Christmas Grinch. Sitting on their hands as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) dropped the cash rate by a further 25 basis points at their December meeting, all but the ANZ teetered dangerously on the brink of a swell in negative consumer sentiment.
BY ROLF SCHAEFER
Suggesting that the rising cost of funding prohibited them from passing on the two central bank rate cuts in full, the Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac tried to dig their heels in, but were forced to reconsider their position when the ANZ set a precedent, painting themselves as the finance sector’s very own St Nick.
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I’ve heard it said that investing in property is simple, but it’s not easy.
BY MICHAEL YARDNEY
Now this is not a play on words.
Let’s face it… each year hundreds of thousands of Australians turn to property investment as a way of developing financial freedom, getting more choices in their life or building a retirement nest egg. But very few achieve their goals.
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When you’re habitually drip-fed something intoxicating if can be hard to just turn off the tap. So what will it take for the New South Wales government to give up its addiction to land tax?
BY NICOLE NAVARRO
It’s New Year’s Eve and laughter from the terrace drifts inside with the sea breeze, glasses full of crisp wine clink in celebratory spirit, and singing attempts of Auld Lang Syne warm up. The clock ticks over to midnight and while the fireworks explode in the distance and embraces are shared all round, your investment properties across the state are at that very moment being lumped with a hefty land tax on the year now just a memory. The New South Wales Office of State Revenue sure knows how to dampen the party mood.
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