One question that often perplexes many buyers is the value that should be placed on a home in the catchment area of a good school. How much extra should you expect to spend simply because good schools are on your doorstep? Is it worth $20,000 or even $50,000? Of course, if you don’t have a…
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For the first time in more than a year, New Zealand’s property prices have started to edge higher after a long period of interest rate rises. The average price of a home has been benchmarked at $952,000 in the latest House Price Report for October released by the OneRoof website and industry researcher Velocity. Auckland…
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If you’re saving for a first property or your next dream home, it pays to carefully watch market indicators that offer a strong sense of where the property scene is heading. Why is this important? Fundamentally, because you need to be ahead of the curve. You want to avoid being caught up in the surge…
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Renovating an apartment can be a tricky business. Owners must follow tightly controlled rules and regulations enforced by a strata committee or owners’ corporation on behalf of all residents in the block. You can’t simply alter the outside of your apartment, such as installing new windows or doors, without written permission. Strata rules, which are…
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You don’t need to be beachside or on a rural property to be concerned about predictions for this bushfire season. Trees and flammable native shrubs surround many homes in cities and regional centres. While the bushfire risk is dramatically reduced in the cities, situations can run out of control in the suburbs. If your home…
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If you’re searching for your first property, there’s a lot to think about. Prices are trending up again, you’ll likely wait until next year to see interest rates fall, and it feels as if there are a lot of buyers circling every property you visit. However, the goal and achievement of buying your first home…
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Investors with national property portfolios need to understand the recent housing policy released in Victoria. State-based changes always have a fundamental impact on investors’ thinking. Most recently, we have seen concerns with Queensland policy proposals that its state government eventually stepped away from. However, that reversal didn’t happen before many landlords started putting their Queensland…
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A water heater might be the last piece of domestic equipment you’d expect to fail in late spring or summer. Usually, that little disaster reserves itself for cold winter nights when hot water is essential. However, the unfortunate truth is that a water heater can break down at any time of the year. It usually…
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A “looming shortfall” of medium-high density housing stock has been forecast by industry researcher CoreLogic, signalling a possible opportunity for investors. More than a quarter of the national housing stock (25.9%) falls into the medium-high density bracket, and CoreLogic sees trouble ahead with the latest data showing the nation’s population increased 2.3% to $26.4 million…
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There’s a possible silver lining for investors in the prediction from industry research group CoreLogic that rent growth will slow next year. Increases in interest rates, coupled with a historic shortage of rental properties across Australia, have been the main contributing factors to the rise in rents. CoreLogic has recorded 35 consecutive months of average…
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