NSW government has announced it will look to reform the stamp duty regime and shift towards land tax as the basis of tax on property in the state. NSW Stamp Duty vs Land Tax This is a long awaited piece of reform by all accounts. Stamp duty or a tax on the value of the […]

The mining boom ended not with a bang but a whimper. Since the peak in 2013, the prices of Australia’s key commodity exports declined gradually and finally bottom in 2016. For Iron Ore, the worse looks to be over. The recovery in the Australian dollar confirms and its resilient performance post Covid reflect this however […]

The Sydney apartment prices has consistently traded at a premium to other major capital cities in Australia. We covered the reasons why the geographical constraints of the city will always provide a base level of house and apartment prices in Sydney in a growing population environment. This idea is still applicable even as the current […]

COVID-19 is wrecking the economy pillar by pillar and the property market will not escape unscathed. On the healthcare front, the Australian government and the healthcare works performed admirably in containing the spread of the disease but the economic impact will still be severe. However this does not the mean economy was unscathed. Australia is […]

REA Group, owner of Realestate.com.au FY16 results dissapointed the market. Financial Highlights Revenue up 20% to $630 mil EBITDA up 22% to $347 mil Net profit after tax up only 16% to $215 mil REA share price sold off post results as the market were expecting even strong results. One could say the stock price was priced […]

The historic low overnight cash rate has led to a record boom in Australian property prices. House prices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney are seeing record highs. After the end of the most recent commodity boom, the Perth property market is the only capital city seeing relative subdued sentiment. On one hand, the state government budgets are enjoying […]

Median Sydney property prices is the most expensive capital city in Australia and it has reached its highest point in history. Our property market forecast sees expected additional apartment supply, more cautious bank lending and foreign investor stamp duty to limit continue price growth in the near future. We are not predicting a dramatic fall in apartment or house prices but much […]

The make up of number of first home buyers as proportion of overall property market transaction has been declining since its peak in 2009. [visualizer id=”1826″]   The run away house prices in Sydney and Melbourne are making it difficult for those that are looking to buy their first home. Perth real estate market is the […]

Australian residential real estate market had a great run over the last 2 decades but has hit some splutter in the recent times. The strong price and rental growth in major capital cities (see our interest rate chart Australia) were driven by strong income growth, stable employment markets and 3 decades of uninterrupted economic growth. The […]

It is no secret that we are very skeptical that the current run up in house prices can be sustained. There are a number of obstacle that will limit further house price gains major capital cities with each city facing its own set of issues. Melbourne apartment market is facing a large number of apartment supply in the […]

House prices in Sydney are near record. The weak Australian dollar means real estate investing in Australia by foreign investors is at record high. Starting July 2016, any property transaction worth more than $2 million dollars will require the purchaser to withhold 10% of the sale price to pay the Australia Tax Office. Here are […]

McGrath Real Estate (MEA ASX) reported an earnings downgrade mere 6 month after raising $129 million dollars in December 2015. Company blamed slowdown of property listing volumes, specially the franchises it bought as part of the IPO. The slowdown is attributed to the lower than expected Chinese investor enquries. McGrath Real Estate is the 3rd […]

Median House Price Melbourne Chart above shows the median Melbourne house price over the last 15 years. We have also included changes in the RBA cash rate over the same period. The cash rate form the basis of mortgage rate set by the banks. Melbourne property market has been in a bull run over the 15 year period with […]

Sydney properties is the hottest real estate market in Australia. Given the landlocked nature of Sydney where growth in limited to towards West, limited housing supply for a number of years and low interest rates. All these factors contributed to the strong performance of property prices in Sydney over the last 3 years. We have highlighted a couple […]

Debt always plays a critical role in real estate investment. Removing negative gearing is in the news again as a potential source of revenue for the government. It can be a lighting rod issue for those who see it as a means of getting on the step ladder of property ownership verses those that see it as […]

The last recession in Australia was in 1991 and it looks like Covid is going to end one of the longest continuous economic growth periods in Australian economic history. Since then there has been significant leverage built into the system and we feel the strong run in house prices pre-Covid and the subsequent decline poses […]

Australia Prudential Regulatory Authority took a proactive role in artificially slowing down bank lending during the last residential cycle peak in 2017/2018 when it intervened in the market directly by requiring the banks to hold higher capital requirements for mortgage loans and instituting total growth restriction of 10% on housing investment lending. The conservative approach in […]