Follow our Smartline blog for up to date latest Australian finance and property news.
You’ve seen the headlines, and possibly the cranes dotted along the horizon: construction is booming in cities across Australia. But how does this affect you? Inflated construction costs According to the recent International Construction Costs 2018 report by built asset consultants Arcadis, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane rank in the 25 most expensive cities globally for […]
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Building and construction is a growing industry. In fact, it has just topped the list for full-time employment in Victoria, providing 20,000 new jobs in the sector in the last year. Why the boom? There’s been a lot of government focus on developing more metropolitan dwellings to address the current housing affordability situation. Development is […]
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New information reveals that knocking down to rebuild your home is now practically an Australian tradition. In fact, the Housing Industry Association has forecasted that the number of new dwelling commencements will reach a staggering high of 232,500 during 2015 and 2016, a decent number of which might be knock down, rebuilds. The HIA’s chief economist Harvey […]
Read MoreOne of the things I love about property is the thrill of the chase, the hunt for a bargain where I can add some value (“manufacture equity”)…but for most people the process of buying property is something they would rather avoid. They find the property hunt (either for a new home or for an investment) […]
Read MoreIt has always been a “big step” to buy your first home, and despite ultra-low interest rates the biggest hurdle for first home buyers is still the Deposit. Thankfully there are several pathways to make the move from renting to owning your own home easier Tip 1: Banks accepting “rental history” as an indicator of […]
Read MoreLots of interest from home buyers recently about buying, improving and “flipping” houses. This has always been popular and is a proven path to wealth generation, but made all the easier from the confidence of a Brisbane house price growth cycle. Done correctly it will end in riches (financial and life), but in the same […]
Read MoreA mortgage broker is the “go between” for a borrower and finds the right loan from all the lenders. The individual service is dependent on your individual needs….do you need to leverage off the brokers Experience, or leverage off the Convenience, or is it all about the interest rate? Expertise: Most successful property investors use […]
Read MoreAs someone who has been trudging the rental treadmill for a while, or maybe has never quite found the right home at the right time, getting your foot in the door of the property market can be one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life. But before you make that almighty jump, what should every first […]
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released a report that shows an increase of construction approvals in October this year. The total number of residential buildings approved across Australia in October grew to 19,652, of which 9,349 were private houses. This is an increase of 12.3 per cent compared to October last year, and a 3.9 […]
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In a perfect world your next dream home would come up for sale at the same time as you have buyers ready and able to purchase your existing home. This doesn’t always happen, and particularly at this time of year, and a bridging loan might be exactly the finance solution needed. Bridging loans are designed […]
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Having a great mortgage broker can really help ease the stress and strain that comes with buying a property – particularly when...
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Using the equity they had built up in their family home, Neville and Christine Lewis started investing in property in the early...
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Kerry and Scott joke that their Smartline Adviser knows more about their finances than they do. Over the past 11 years...
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