Property Valuations   Research Reports   Distressed Properties Report   Funds Research   Boom and Bust 2019 Report    Black Dragon's Words for the Week “If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain.”  George Carlin US comic and author   Real Estate Realities  Miami-based company floats multi-million dollar water-borne houses to counter rising sea levels.  With seas rising and an increase in extreme weather events, the need for forward-thinking housing solutions is increasingly important. Some American cities such as Miami, Florida, are already feeling the effect of rising sea levels. Meanwhile, the President of Indonesia recently announced his government was seriously considering plans to move the country’s capital inland because, among other things, rising sea levels combined with a sinking city meant that it could be underwater very soon. So what’s the solution? One company has proposed a new luxury floating dwelling that would allow the rich to live in relative comfort while bobbing along on even the most turbulent of waters. For all intents and purposes, it’s a houseboat. But given this is a solution for the fabulously wealthy, the descriptor “houseboat” is obviously a bit too pedestrian. Instead, Florida-based manufacturer ARKUP is referring to it as an “electric liveable yacht”. Read More...     National Vacancy Rates Jump in April by Louis Christopher, CEO   Data released by SQM Research today has revealed the national residential rental vacancy rates surged in April 2019 to 2.3%, an increase from 2.1% in March.  The total number of vacancies Australia-wide is now at 77,664 properties for rent, a rise of just under 10,000 dwellings over the past 12 months.   Darwin’s vacancy rate of 3.6% in April, was the only capital city to experience a decrease in vacancy rates of 0.1%, but it continues to rank the highest of all capital cities since it overtook Perth in September 2018.    Sydney's rental vacancy rate leaped to 3.4%, an increase from 3.1% in March.  This represents a new record high for Sydney, based on SQM’s rental index which goes back to 2005.   Hobart’s vacancy rate increased to 0.6% in April and continues to record the lowest vacancy rate in the country since September 2014.   Tenancy demand has been weak over the course of March and April. That combined with the expectation that dwelling completions are at their peak, prompted the rise in rental vacancies, which happened largely across the country, last month.     Going forward we expect rental vacancy rates will further rise in Sydney and Melbourne for most of 2019, before peaking and falling in 2020 as completions are forecasted to fall. Asking Rents Capital city asking rents increased 0.2% for units, but declined 0.4% for houses for the week ending 12 May to record asking rents of $554 per week for houses and $442 per week for units.  In comparison, over the 12 months, asking rents for units declined by 0.7% and rents for houses remained steady.   Sydney’s asking rent for units and houses have both marginally declined by 0.3% for units and 1.5% for houses to 12 May.  Over 12 months, the decline has been 5.0% for house rents and 3.8% for units. Perth’s rental market continued to increase over this period for both houses and units, at 0.5% and 0.2% respectively, as did Brisbane, with a 0.4% increase for houses and 0.6% for units. Darwin experienced a marginal increase of 1.4% over the month in house rents, after a decrease of 8.0% over the 12 months. However, units continue to slide at 1.7% over the month and 7.9% over the 12 months.