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Warren Buffett isn’t really a property expert, but you’d have to agree that he’s the greatest investor of our time. In his 1986 Annual Letter to the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Buffet said: “What we do know, however, is that occasional outbreaks of those two super-contagious diseases, fear and greed, will forever occur in the investment community. The timing of these epidemics will be unpredictable. And the market aberrations produced by them will be equally unpredictable, both as to duration and degree. Therefore, we never try to anticipate the arrival or departure of either disease. Our goal is more modest: we... View article »

Rightsizing is the downsizing lifestyle trend towards luxury apartment living and it is taking off across all demographics. According to Knight Frank's Rightsizing - Australian Prime Residential Insight 2020 report buyers are looking for low maintenance properties with all the benefits of house-like proportions and all the amenities. The main rightsizing buyers are active retirees but there are two other main categories including the entrepreneur and the family, according to the report. “As we’ve seen in the past two years, while the mainstream residential market was in correction mode influenced by tightened lending, prime property continued to see positive growth through this time... View article »

Sydney’s property market is well and truly on its way back up, with the latest data revealing house prices grew in every single region of Sydney during 2019. The market recorded its first annual gain since the boom ended in 2017, continuing its extraordinary recovery which experts say could break price records by the middle of this year. The latest Domain House Price Report, released on Thursday, showed the city’s median house price regained another $73,000 – an increase of 6.8 per cent – in the 12 months ending December 2019, reaching a new median of $1,142,212. At the same time, unit... View article »

Naivety to the rules of the real estate market can often drive the first time buyer to believe that cheaper properties make a better investment. The idea is that they are getting a better deal because they are paying less. In reality, when you take a closer look into what you’re purchasing it becomes evident that nothing comes without a price and if something seems too good to be true (or too cheap to be true) it probably is. Let’s have a look at day to day differences of new and old property for investors, and observe why new property wins... View article »

In the fast-paced world of an always-on culture, we see people struggling to find ways to disconnect. In 2020, increasingly dense urban environments continue to push the rental prices up, while the square footage of the newly built apartments continues to shrink. But while the space might be at a premium, the importance of creating a properly balanced home sanctuary inflates. We become aware of the significance of creating a healthy and nurturing environment for us to withdraw and recuperate. Following the footsteps of the previous seasons, home crafters are continuously turning away from the fast-fashion industry and prioritizing investments in... View article »

The turn in Australia’s housing markets has been remarkable, with the rebound in prices considerably stronger than many expected. What’s ahead? House prices across all our capital cities are expected to grow over 2020/21. The combination of lower interest rates, easing lending serviceability buffers and increased consumer sentiment is expected to bring more buyers back into the market.   Continued strong population growth will be another key driver supporting our property markets. Net overseas migration is forecast to average a net inflow of 243,000 people per annum in the next 3 years and most of these people have jobs and are at household... View article »

While home ownership rates are dropping around the world, Australia is bucking this global trend. A study by Swinton Insurance has revealed that the number of people owning their homes in Australia has increased in the last 10 years. The figures may seem surprising, as house prices in Australia have been climbing for a few years. And with our national property markets having bottomed out earlier this year, there now seems to be a fear of missing out among buyers once again, especially in Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane. Swinton’s research shows that the average monthly Australian salary is $4368.66 and the cost to buy... View article »

Spurred on by a rise in national dwelling values after a long period of decline, property values around Australia are now up 4.7% since finding a floor in June through to the end of November. While Sydney has long been the most expensive capital city housing market, there was a short period in 2006 which was related to the mining boom where Perth values shot up to be the highest of any capital; a very different scenario to what we are now seeing where Perth is now the cheapest capital city based on median house values. To put this into perspective, the... View article »

The latest data from the Commonwealth Bank Household Spending Intentions (HSI) series released today shows the sharp increase in home buying intentions is continuing. After a measly two-year downturn, homebuyers now appear to be back in a big way. The proportion of Australians planning on purchasing a house is all-time highs, propelled on by three rate cuts according to the latest Commonwealth Bank research. Beyond housing, the overall picture is one of a gentle upturn in consumer spending intentions. CBA’s Chief Economist Michael Blythe said the sharp upswing in home buying intentions continues and intentions are now approaching the record highs... View article »

Australia’s reorientation to apartment living, fuelled partially by young couples delaying families, the lifestyle-oriented boomers downsizing and increasingly more lone-person households; but is this the whole story? It is certainly true that lone-person households are far more prevalent than most Australians realise. Out of the 9.9 million households in Australia reported during the 2016 census, more than 2 million of them (a quarter of all homes) were occupied by a sole person. Lone person households are the largest group of apartment dwellers; however, three-quarters of lone person households are still in either a detached house, attached house or townhouse. The next largest... View article »