I often hear people say that it’s too difficult for young people to buy their first home. Reasons given include restrictive lending criteria, high interest rates and high property prices. Now, I don’t necessarily disagree with these comments but as I am a ‘glass half full’ type of person, I try and look on the positive side and for solutions.
By PETER KOULIZOS
Restrictive Lending Criteria
There’s no doubt that straight after the global financial crisis it was very hard to borrow money from lending institutions. Some banks wanted first homebuyers to have at least a 20 per cent deposit and demonstrate genuine savings over a very long period of time. Did you realise that now many banks are willing to accept a five per cent deposit and genuine savings over six months?
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It seems to me that 2011 will be a slow year for property throughout the country. In other words, don’t expect above average property price growth this year.
BY PETER KOULIZOS
Without the assistance of a general rise in property prices, are you still able to increase the value of your property? The answer is yes!
The key to increasing the value of your investment property is to increase your rent and/or improve the property. Read more →
You are probably preparing yourself for the holiday season
by buying presents, booking flights, accommodation, getting the car serviced, etc. If you are serious about buying property, you should also be preparing yourself because Christmas is an excellent time to buy.
BY PETER KOULIZOS
Many people are concentrating on Christmas parties, tidying up loose ends at work and going on holidays. With less people focused on and looking for property, this provides the opening for an astute investor to buy a bargain. I have prepared a seven-point check list so that you can best prepare yourself when the opportunity presents itself. Read more →
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 →
I’m a father of four children and property investor for 20 years and have tried a number of strategies to get my children involved and interested in property. Some have worked and some haven’t. I’d like to share with you my top four strategies.
BY PETER KOULIZOS
1. Take your kids with you to open inspections
When the children were very young, we couldn’t leave them at home by themselves while we were out and about inspecting properties, so we took them with us. Sometimes my wife would stay in the car with the kids while I inspected the property and then we would swap over. If there were a number of properties in close proximity to each other, we would try and find a playground and my wife would stay with the kids while I checked out the properties. So as to make the outing a pleasurable experience for the kids, we would finish off with a visit to the shops for an ice cream, lollies or cake. Read more →
Spring is traditionally a time people start thinking about selling property. The days are getting warmer, hours of sunlight are increasing and after hibernating in winter, our gardens can be manicured to look magnificent.
BY PETER KOULIZOS
Over the next couple of months, I will be providing tips for vendors who are considering selling their property at this time of year.
The first consideration is, “Should I sell my property myself or should I use a r
eal estate agent?” Read more →
The year 2010 has been a very interesting year to date. There was some excellent growth in the first part of 2010 but since then it has slowed. So what now?
By PETER KOULIZOS
According to RP Data, Australian capital city dwelling values didn’t grow at all over the June quarter and actually fell by 0.7 per cent in the month of June. Figures for each of the major capital cities for the June quarter are below. Read more →
My favourite suburb in Australia is Marino, about 18 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD. Let me tell you why.
By PETER KOULIZOS
Some of you who have read my book will be thinking, “Hang on, if Marino is such a good suburb then why didn’t you include it in your book?”
Excellent question! My book, The Property Professor’s Top Australian Suburbs, includes suburbs that are primed for better than average capital growth in the future and are priced at around or below the respective capital city’s median house price.
The median house price in Marino is well above Adelaide’s median house price, making it too expensive to be included in the book. However, when I started teaching in property investment almost 15 years ago, Marino was number one on my list of suburbs to do well. Either by good luck and/or good research, I was proven right!
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