There’s been a welcome reduction in properties being urgently listed for sale, which usually occurs due to financial difficulty on the part of the vendor. There were 5,100 ‘distressed listings’ across Australia in May, which was 2.5% less than the month before and 8.5% less than the year before, according to SQM Research. That said, … Read more
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has flagged three key areas of concern at tax time – one of which is tax returns by property investors. The reason the ATO is focusing on investors is because, in previous years, 90% of investors have made mistakes on their tax returns. “This year, we’re particularly focused on claims … Read more
Non-bank lender Firstmac has become the largest major organisation to be hacked, following high-profile cybersecurity breaches at Optus and Medibank. If a lender or any other organisation that holds your personal details has been hacked, you should change all your online passwords – particularly those for your bank, email and social media accounts – and … Read more
Bushfire and storm season has arrived in much of the country. So what can you do to protect your home? Fires One idea is to remove dry vegetation and flammable items from around the property, to create a buffer zone. Another idea is to add ember guards to your roof, eaves and windows, to prevent … Read more
Rents and property prices are rising strongly in much of Australia due to an undersupply of properties, leading some commentators to call for reforms that would stimulate the construction of a significant amount of new build-to-rent (BTR) housing. Generally, developers sell all the new housing they build, often during the construction period. But with BTR, … Read more
The Northern Territory leads the way for housing affordability, with 100% of locations deemed affordable, according to the PropTrack Housing Affordability Index. Next come Western Australia on 41%, Queensland on 23%, South Australia on 14% and the ACT on 10%. They’re followed by New South Wales on 10%, Victoria on 8% and Tasmania on 7%. … Read more
If you’re wondering how much money you need to earn to purchase property, new modelling has found the answer. The following calculations are based on the median house price and assuming the buyer has a 20% deposit. Buyers in Sydney would need a gross annual income of $192,400 per year to purchase a two-bedroom house, based on … Read more
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has upwardly revised its forecasts for economic growth and inflation, with both proving to be more resilient than expected. The economy, which is currently growing at an annualised rate of 2.1% according to the latest data, is now expected to grow 1.5% in 2023 (compared to a July forecast … Read more
Stamp duty is both an increasingly expensive tax and a highly inefficient one, according to joint research by the e61 Institute and PropTrack. Four decades ago, the average buyer in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide needed to work for about one month to afford to pay stamp duty, based on comparing the average post-tax income … Read more
Australia’s fourth-largest mortgage lender, ANZ, is one step closer to acquiring the country’s ninth-largest, Suncorp Bank, after winning an appeal against an earlier rejection of the deal. ANZ and Suncorp agreed the deal in July 2022, but the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) decided, in August 2023, not to authorise the takeover because it … Read more
