Archives for September 2015

2015/16: It’s quarter time, how are we looking?

Since we're one quarter down of the 2015/16 financial year, we thought it would be a good opportunity to see how we're placed in light of the events of last year. If we look back at the 2014/15 financial year, it was certainly an interesting one. We saw interest rates fall to the lowest levels in a generation, which helped to fuel higher capital city house prices. We also saw the end of the mining boom and a fall in the value of the Australian dollar. Whilst this may have been good news for … [Read more...]

Q: Are ‘Off the Plan’ purchases off the table?

A: Not necessarily, but you have to carefully weigh up your options. Whilst an 'off the plan' purchase is a strategy you may wish to consider for your next property purchase, due to the significant changes to lending policy across the board, we feel that it now carries greater risk. Particularly if you're planning to purchase an investment property 'off the plan'. When you exchange on an 'off the plan' contract, you are effectively saying… Regardless of whether you have a … [Read more...]

What is buying ‘Off the Plan’?

Buying 'off the plan' means you are buying a property (and signing the contract) before the property is built. You have no actual property to inspect at the time you exchange on the contract and you commit to the purchase based upon the plans, inclusions and of course the price of the property. Here's some of the reasons why many of our clients have chosen to purchase properties 'off the plan' in the past. Opportunity for capital growth - buy at today’s prices With property prices … [Read more...]

Avoid paying more interest than you need to…

To avoid paying more interest than you need to, if you have an 'investment loan' for a property that is no longer an investment, you may need to switch your loan over to an Owner Occupier one. Why? In order to meet APRA's conditions, lenders have to limit the growth of their investment loan book. In addition, they also need to have more cash in reserve than they did previously. In an attempt to satisfy both these requirements, some lenders have announced increases to the rates on their … [Read more...]

Styling your home for sale

In order to get the best price for your property, you want to make your home as attractive as possible. First impressions do count! If you decide to style your property yourself, here are some things you may wish to consider to improve the look and feel of your home: Research other properties in your area and price bracket to see how they have been presented. Do they seem overpriced or desirable? Consider who the potential buyer may be. If the layout of your home is more suited to a … [Read more...]

RBA Decision – September 2015 Meeting

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.0 per cent. Here’s part of the statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision. The global economy is expanding at a moderate pace, with some further softening in conditions in China and east Asia of late, but stronger US growth. Key commodity prices are much lower than a year ago, in part reflecting increased supply, including from Australia. Australia's terms of trade are falling. The Federal … [Read more...]