API Blog :: Have your say!

November 10, 2010

Higher density living on the rise


There’s no doubt that housing in Australia is becoming more dense, especially close to the city. Even as far as 15 kilometres from the CBD, houses are being knocked down and units or townhouses are being built. It’s happening all around us.

BY VANESSA DE GROOT

Being a young – well, sort of – single person I reside in a unit myself. It’s small, but it suits me to a tee. There’s not a great deal of maintenance, including cleaning, to be done and it has a decent sized balcony in case I feel the need

to entertain or just get some air.

But while I’m happy to live in a unit now, I’m certain that won’t always be the case, especially if I have a family. Some families do live in units and seem to make it work, but I’ve always thought it’s necessary to have a house if you have kids – surely they need somewhere to run around? Read more →

November 8, 2010

Nationalising Australia’s urban affordable housing problem


Australia’s cities are clearly in the midst of an acute shortage of affordable housing. This fact was recently affirmed by the one and only treasury in the industrialised world to have avoided recession during the GFC. The Australian Treasury’s Red Book mentions the decreasing ability for Australians to “purchase or rent affordable housing”, while also lamenting the “market inefficiencies and distortions” which have contributed to the current sorry state of “housing supply”.

BY PETER SHERRIE

Such sentiment is widespread among developers countrywide, yet there remains a group of dissidents who refute any claims of a supply crisis and instead choose to demonise industry associations, such as the one I represent, as gold diggers perpetuating the myth of undersupply. Read more →

November 5, 2010

Is the investment grass really greener in the US?


Whilst attending the Sydney Property Expo last week, I spoke with many investors who were excited about the fact that our dollar is almost at parity with the greenback in the United States of America.

BY MICHAEL YARDNEY

The way they saw it was that overseas assets were ‘on sale’ for the first time in living memory.

In fact they could barely contain their enthusiasm as they told me about the bargain buys to be had in the American real estate market. Who could pass up a detached three-bedroom house for a tenth of the price that you would pay here in Australia?

“How much can I lose? Surely the prospect of being able to pay $20,000 to $40,000 cash for a property is something you would be interested in?” I was asked by one attendee. Read more →

November 4, 2010

Australian property prices to drop


Now that headline should grab your attention! Before you start to panic, let me explain.

BY PETER KOULIZOS

First let me start with the good news. In 12 months time, property prices will be higher than they are today. So in the long term, the property market is looking good.

Now for the bad news. In the short term, national property prices will drop. In some capital cities, the drop in prices has already started.

Earlier this week the Australian Bureau of Statistics released their quarterly Established House Price Index data, which is as follows: Read more →

November 3, 2010

The homeownership dream


With housing affordability being a big issue in our country, the great Australian dream of home ownership seems to be slipping away. Well, that’s what many media reports have been telling us in recent years anyway.

BY VANESSA DE GROOT

The supply shortage is reportedly pushing prices up, preventing many from entering the market because they can’t afford to buy and rents have also been rising, making it harder for people to save a deposit to buy their own property.

But my question is this: how important is home ownership to Australians? Is it in fact the ‘great Australian dream’? Read more →

November 2, 2010

How to avoid common mistakes by property investors


Like most business owners, in order to make money, property investors often need to spend money. But while renovations and enhancements in theory should increase the value of your investment property, if you don’t do them the right way then it could just represent cash out the door.

BY DAMIAN SMITH

If you plan to renovate your investment property to resell for a profit there are some common mistakes that property investors make and here are ways avoid them:

• Over-capitalisation. A general rule is to limit your spending to 10 per cent of the property value. Some people spend too much money on the wrong things and don’t reap the rewards. For instance, if you borrowed $290,000 on a property valued at $300,000 and you have been quoted $100,000 on renovations then perhaps you need to rethink your strategy to make sure it’s worthwhile. Determine your return on your investment before you get to work. Read more →

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