Follow our Smartline blog for up to date latest Australian finance and property news.
Agent’s fees can consume a sizeable slice of the annual rental income for your investment property, but do they equate to money well spent? Australia is home to 2.03 million residential property investors, according to the ATO, while property research house CoreLogic estimates there are around 2.6 million investor-owned dwellings nationwide. One in four Australian […]
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With house prices in Sydney, Melbourne and other metropolitan areas nearing record highs, it’s tempting to look further afield. Buying a home regionally can be a good option for first home buyers keen to break into the market. Regional areas can also be a good place to purchase an investment property. Market factors, combined with improvements […]
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Planning to be on the move in little while? If you’re thinking of upsizing – or downsizing – then you face the big task of preparing your home for sale. The typical capital city house owner moves every 10.5 years, while unit dwellers up sticks every 8.4 years, according to 2015 research from Core Logic. […]
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There’s a reason that property investors take up a large chunk of the mortgage market. Investing in property can be a reliable place to store your money, and hopefully make a return, all going well. Like all speculation, there is always risk. But there are strategies for minimising the risk, and getting the most out […]
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Monthly data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) indicate that Australia Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)’s policies are taking effect. What are APRA’s policies? APRA implemented policies in 2017 to slow investor lending, in an attempt to address housing affordability. The policies require lenders to limit investor credit growth by 10 per cent per year. Interest […]
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Around a third of Aussie homes are rented. In areas where rentals are in such short supply, renters face waiting lists, and in some cases, need to bid against other wannabe tenants. In short, the rental market is strong. If you aren’t in a position to move into your new home straight away, or are […]
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It’s no secret that property values across Australia have raced north in recent years, in both major cities and regional towns. So much so that median house prices in Sydney and Melbourne are currently sitting at the eye-watering figures of $1,177,769 and $852,724 respectively, according to the latest QBE Australian Housing Outlook. If you don’t […]
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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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Whether to enforce a blanket ‘no pets’ policy or consider allowing tenants to keep animals is a conundrum for many Australian landlords. It’s a topic that recently made its way onto the government agenda in one Australian state. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews hit the headlines in October when he mooted the ban of unreasonable ‘no […]
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The annual QBE Australian Housing Outlook (2017-2020) report has just been released. This report, produced by BIS Oxford Economics, has a remarkably accurate track record when it comes to forecasting capital growth rates. Here is a summary of their median house price predictions. As you can see, it appears that Sydney’s boom is predicted to […]
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It was Christmas Eve 2015 and Elly Marie and her husband Nic were busy with their new baby and planning their upcoming wedding in...
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Steve Moran and Andrea Bernard have always been focused on managing their money and maximising opportunities to grow their...
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Nick Tinning and fiancée Naomi Parkes thought securing a loan to build their house would be relatively...
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