Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The China banking system is under stress and they are desperate to maintain the currency peg, leveraged  off shore investments will continue to be sold down... Oz real estate developments are all in the firing line.

Exclusive: Guarding stability, China likely to slow yuan's slide to 7 per dollar - sources reut.rs/2qbNqBf via @kevinyao_yao

Monday, October 29, 2018

State of the States: QLD has slipped to sixth place on the economic performance rankings, behind SA. Find out why at commsec.com.au/stateofstates #ausbiz #ausecon



Tuesday, October 23, 2018

The 7 Best Hard Flooring Options for Your Home | Houzz

The 7 Best Hard Flooring Options for Your Home | Houzz
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/property-is-falling-shares-are-shaky-here-s-where-to-put-your-money-20181022-p50b65.html
Fresh analysis shows the concentration of property sales across Australia is shifting from its traditional centres. Property sales rates were higher in Australia’s regional locations than in its capital cities, according to a CoreLogic analysis. The latest research from CoreLogic analyst Jade Harling has found that over the 12 months to July, four out of seven of the “rest of state” regions reported a higher turnover rate than their capital city counterpart. According to Ms Harling, the disparity was most prevalent across NSW, with Sydney’s turnover rate at 4.1 per cent, compared with 5.6 per cent outside the capital city. Ms Harling also reported that the regional areas of Tasmania saw the highest level of turnover of all regions (6.1 per cent), while the lowest turnover levels were reported in Western Australia (Perth 3.3 per cent, rest of state 3.3 per cent) and Darwin (3.5 per cent). “Unsurprisingly, regional Tasmania has been one of the strongest housing markets for capital gains, with values up by 8.1 per cent over the past 12 months, while areas of Western Australia and Darwin have been among the weakest markets, with dwelling values down materially since peaking in 2014,” she said. However, the research revealed that, overall, turnover rates in the year to June 2018 were 70 basis points lower year-on-year, down from 5.3 per cent to 4.7 per cent. Ms Harling said that she was not surprised by the decline in overall turnover rates and pointed to softening in the credit and housing markets. “The more pronounced decline in turnover rates over the year to July is hardly a surprise given current market conditions, with dwelling values softening each month now for the past 12 months, coupled with the lowest levels of new stock being added to the market seen since 2012 over the past six months, as confidence wanes and homes take longer to sell,” Ms Harling said. She continued, “[The] high transactional cost to both purchase and sell property has likely added a further barrier to housing market participation. “From the sell side, there are marketing costs, agent fees and commission, legal costs and potentially some costs associated with getting the property ready to present to market. From the buy side, stamp duty costs as percentage of the purchase price are a major barrier to entry, especially in the more expensive markets as well as the costs associated with building and pest inspections and conveyancing.” Ms Harling concluded, “More recently, credit rationing has provided an additional dampening effect on housing activity. “Given the potential differences across each market, the analysis takes a look at turnover across each of the states’ capital city and non-capital city regions, including the top five council areas across each state where the largest proportion of dwellings sold over the year.”

We won't charge dead people anymore

Australia’s banks will change their code of practice so dead people and customers receiving no services are not charged fees. The Australian Banking Association will overhaul the way the code of practice deals with managing a customer’s estate when they have died, and fees for no service across the industry. The reforms, prompted by the banking royal commission, will be the first of several changes from the ABA. Others include seeking new changes to the Future of Financial Advice reforms of 2013, to further reduce the incentive of commissions in financial services. “It has always been unacceptable for any organisations to charge fees without providing a service,” said ABA chief executive, and former Queensland premier, Anna Bligh. “This announcement will put beyond the shadow of a doubt that this practice has no place in Australia’s banking industry. “Banks will change the way they manage a customer’s account, proactively contacting them to confirm what services are required for their investments and only charging for those provided. “This issue of charging fees without service, particularly when customers have recently died, was raised during the royal commission and identified as unacceptable. “When someone loses a loved one, they need support and compassion as they finalise their loved one’s financial affairs. Charging ongoing advice fees to dead people is clearly unacceptable.” The ABA said banks are currently working with customers to refund those charged a fee where no service was provided. Latest ASIC data indicates customers will receive more than $1 billion in refunds. “In addition to these changes, the industry is supporting legislation to remove grandfathering provisions in relation to financial advice,” Ms Bligh said. “This is another important piece in the puzzle of ensuring there are no conflicts for advisers.” You can read the latest on the progress of the royal commission here.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Brisbane Housing Market Update | October 2018









The Australian housing
market continued to weaken over the month, with national dwelling values
falling 0.5% in September, marking twelve months of consistently falling values
across CoreLogic’s national hedonic home value index.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Lucky Australia has such as broad range of housing options

With rapid population growth and a surge in high rise towers, many of Australia’s inner city regions have seen a surge in the population density. Australia is moving through the peak of an unprecedented boom in apartment construction. Over the twelve months ending March 2018 there were almost 97,000 medium to high-density
dwellings that completed construction across Australia; a year earlier there were 105,300 projects that finished construction (84% higher than the decade average). As at March of this year there were still 155,275 medium to high-density projects still under construction. The majority of this construction work has been centred around the inner city areas of our largest capital cities, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that population densities have surged higher across many inner-city areas of our largest cities. Based on an analysis of population data at the SA2 level (an SA2 region is a standard geographical classification roughly the size of a suburb in the cities or a town in regional areas), the highest density area in Australia is now Melbourne. 45,231 people reside within the 2.4 square kilometre (sqkm) area, equating to a population density of just over 19,100 people / sqkm. The population of the area has increased from 7,644 in 2001 – an increase of almost 500% over sixteen years. Apartment values in the area are relatively low with a median of $444,000, providing a relatively low-cost entry point to a housing market located right in the middle of one of Australia’s largest working populations. Back in 2001, the Melbourne SA2 region ranked 114th in the country with a population of only 3,229 and a population density of 7,644 persons per sqkm. Potts Point – Woolloomooloo showed the highest population density, followed by Surry Hills. In fact, back in 2001, the top 12 areas of highest population density were all located in Sydney, with St Kilda East recording the highest population density outside of Sydney (6,259 people per sqkm). The 20 most densely populated areas of Australia are all confined to Sydney and Melbourne. Fifteen of the top 20 areas are in Sydney and five are in Melbourne. While high-density living may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it makes sense for many, especially for students and young professionals who work and play in and around the city centre. Focusing on the Melbourne SA2 area again, two-thirds of the resident population are aged between 20 and 34, with the most significant age group being 20-24-year-olds (31% of the population). High-density living generally involves less time commuting, lower housing prices and plenty of choice for amenities. Of course, there are going to some downsides to high-density living, like the potential for noise pollution, tight living spaces, elevator congestion at peak times, overcrowded or poorly maintained communal areas and limited access to green space. The latest small area population numbers from the ABS are already a year old, and, considering the record number of apartments under construction across Australia, our inner city areas are going to increase in density further from here. Densification makes sense from a town planning perspective – it reduces urban sprawl and the necessity to continually invest in transport infrastructure linking the outer fringes of the cities. From a livability perspective, some people will thrive in a high-density environment, while others will crave the peace and quiet of the burbs. Lucky Australia has such as broad range of housing options.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

The Sydney gross rental yield is tracking at 3.2%. It is 3.8% for apartments, and just 3% for houses.

Landlords in New South Wales will be limited to seeking rent renewal increases once a year under proposed state government legislation. There will be no rental hike price restriction, just a 12 month period before any rent increase can be sought from existing occupants, as part of what Matt Kean, the Better Regulation Minister, heralded as "sweeping reform for tenants' rights". Less frequent rent increases will certainly help tenants plan for their cost of living pressures. But there will be some ramifications. The restrictive new law, which is yet to be passed by parliament, could see some investors sell up and exit the market. Others maybe be tempted to try the short-term accommodation market. At a microeconomic level, some landlords will now insist on six month rental agreements, with the possibility of tenant turnover potentially allowing a higher rent. Ofcourse, it is one thing for the investor landlord to seek rent increases, the other is the economic circumstances to be able to get it, and without losing weeks in an empty property. On the macroeconomic front, prospective investors who will be calculating revised potential yields, are not going to spend as much to initially buy their investment property. The cap on the timing of rental increases mimics the policy implemented by the Labor Government in Victoria, whose aim in a much broader reform package was to reposition investors as housing providers with responsibilities. The historic primary aim of property investors has been wealth creation through finding and holding a property for the long term, without undue interference from government intervention. With capital growth on investment property currently slowing across Sydney, the Berejiklian government proposal comes at a time when investors are sharply focused on their rental return. And landlords don't need to be reminded they aren't that flash. From rentvestors to experienced property investors, it was easy to overlook the significance of rental yields when Sydney property were rising with annualised 15% growth. Rental markets remain relatively subdued across Sydney, partly due to an increase in rental supply accompanying the surge in apartment construction. It is also because there has been a reduction in demand as first home buyer numbers have risen. CoreLogic recently noted Sydney rents were down 0.9% over the past 12 months. CoreLogic expect rental yields will continue to be sluggish. The Sydney gross rental yield is tracking at 3.2%. It is 3.8% for apartments, and just 3% for houses. The national gross rental yield is tracking at 3.73%, lower than the decade average of 4.27%. Nationally it is 4.2% for apartments, and 3.6% for houses. Slowing price growth, the conversion from interest only loans to principal and interest, and the prospect of interest rate rises could see tolerance from investors wear thin. And the Sydney rental market vacancy rate is rising, according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales. The vacancy rates across the Sydney metropolitan sits at 2.8%, up from 2% this time last year, with inner Sydney at 2.7%, middle Sydney at 2.9% and outer Sydney at 2.7%. Tim Lawless at CoreLogic says the recovery in rental yields is likely to be drawn out. This article first appeared in The Daily Telegraph.