Showing posts with label investment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investment. Show all posts

Friday, October 17, 2014

Invest in Brisbane

This report suggests that Brisbane is the best place to invest in property at present.

"Overall, it’s a decent set of numbers with promising signs of strength in new home loans and construction – the desired “rebalancing” – but owner occupier activity has highlighted the possibility of softening almost everywhere except for Brisbane and Queensland."

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Index funds

There is often a debate whether it is best to buy shares or property.  My investment focus has been property.  When investing in shares, it seems that index funds (sometimes called exchange traded funds or EFTs) are the way to go.  See recent AFR article on this topic.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Which Properties to Avoid

This is a good article by Yardney that sets out which types of investment properties to avoid.  I agree with his lists:  Know Which Properties to Avoid.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Australians Investing in Brooklyn

I recently came across an article from the NY Times from November 2013, discussing how Australians are investing in residential real estate in Brooklyn, NY.  It is titled G'Day from Bushwick.  It is worth reading.


Friday, August 1, 2014

Housing Price Supply and Demand

From the AFR on 30 July 2014, p. 28

"Recent house price appreciation has been driven by more than simply a strongly growing population.  Low interest rates have encouraged domestic investors to allocate assets into housing.  Foreign investors have also been buying.  A reduced rental return on housing would eventually discourage domestic investors but probably comes with a lag.

The apparent equalisation between an undersupply of housing versus strong demand for dwellings in major metropolitan areas comes as the official cash rate remains at a record low of 2.5%, and as the major banks lower their fixed rate home loans in an attempt to entire more people to borrow more."

This article applies more to the Sydney and Melbourne markets than Brisbane.  It is important to look at individual markets, and not take southern trends and blindly apply them to Brisbane.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Risks of Investing in Mining Towns

An article from the AFR on Thursday, 13 June 2013 is a good reminder why investing in boom towns is more like gambling than investing:

Boom town burns investors:  John Briggs of Port Hedland Real Estate predicts tough times ahead. 'Sales are few and far between.  Anybody who invested in the last 18 months is in for a torrid time.'  A banking source said lenders require potential buyers to have about 50% equity to buy into the former mining hot spot.  'Anyone looking to buy into towns like Port Hedland is buying at the wrong end of the market cycle,' said Gavin Hegney, a valuer.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Investing in Brisbane Apartment

The 2nd edition of "Investing in Brisbane Apartments" is now available in the iTunes iBook store, and can be downloaded for iPads, iPods and iPhones.  Look here.

Friday, January 4, 2013

New Edition of Kindle Book

A new edition of the popular Kindle Book Investing in Brisbane Apartments - A Guide for Successful Investing (2nd Edition) has just been published.  This second edition has been updated and revised.  This book is helpful if you are considering buying an apartment in Brisbane as an investment or to live in.  If you don't have a Kindle, then get a free Kindle App or buy a Kindle: Kindle, 6" E Ink Display, Wi-Fi - for international shipment.  Also available in iTune store.


Friday, October 19, 2012

Barefoot's Advice

From the BareFoot Investor email:

"You say that it's not good to be in too much debt. That makes a lot of sense to me, because I have two properties and I've just had a baby and I am in a huge amount of debt ... and ..."

And that was all she could get out before she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Turns out she works as an analyst at a major financial institution, and earns around $120,000 a year (i.e. she's not dumb, because dumb people generally don't earn six figures.)  Turns out she went to one of those property-flogging seminars I'm always warning you about - and ended up drawing the equity out of her home and buying a two-bedroom apartment in the currently deodorised armpit of Brisbane, for $490,000. Turns out that, after she signed the contract and bought the joint, she discovered she was pregnant. She wasn't in a committed relationship, but she'd made a commitment to her unborn child. She recognised that the financial stress was a danger to her pregnancy, so she decided to sell the property.

And guess what her half-a-million-buck apartment got passed in for at auction earlier this year?  $250,000.

This young woman is all alone. She has a two-month-old baby. She's scared about their future. And there's no fairytale ending coming her way. Despite improving property conditions, she's been stitched up good and proper.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Apartments or Houses?

"Nationally, 58% of flats, units and apartments are owned by investors. That is quite an amazing statistic, especially when you compare that with detached houses where only 21% are investor owned. Across the capital cities the proportions are even higher. Darwin tops the list with 70.6% of all units being rented followed by Brisbane where 70.2% of all units are rented."

See RP Data Blog

Barefoot Investors Advice re Property

"My opinion on traditional Aussie housing hasn't changed one iota: I still firmly believe that most investment properties bought today are a trap. Their prices are too high and their returns too low to justify the dangerous debt burden needed to 'get in the property game'. That fact is backed up by the Australian Tax Office's latest figures, which show that, despite collecting $28 billion in rents last year, Australia's landlords still reported a $4.8 billion loss. Less than four in ten property investors made any money last year." Source: Barefoot Investor

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Suburbs With Most Rental Properties

Brisbane Suburbs With Highest Proportion of Rental Properties:
  1. Bowen Hills
  2. The Valley
  3. Spring Hill
  4. South Brisbane
  5. Milton
  6. Kelvin Grove
  7. Kangaroo Point 
  8. West End.
See detailed chart here and article from RP Data.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Who is buying and what are they buying?

From the hsbrisbaneproperty.com.au newsletter from an agent that specialises in mid-priced inner city Brisbane apartments:

Usually buyers are hot-off-the-mark in January, however this year we’ve seen buyer interest only gradually increase in January with a marked jump in February. This also translated into sales and is a positive indication of the year to come. In fact, we recorded more buyers signing contracts than in any other month over the last two years.

What are people buying? The trend to properties up to $500,000 continues within the CBD. Although there is and always will be certain demand for top-end properties, $500,000 seems to be the upper limit for the majority of buyers, particularly investors, at present. One bed units were the ‘property of choice’ in February, probably due to their perceived more affordable price.

Who is buying? Both owner occupiers and investors were busy in February. Currently, the tightening CBD rental market is directing some tenants into property ownership as the most viable alternative. This is not only true for young professionals, but also for overseas students not able to find CBD rental accommodation. On the investor front, we recorded significant interest from overseas buyers, particular from China.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Local Investors Buying in Brisbane


New research indicates Brisbane property investors are the strongest buyers in their own backyard.  As investment activity returns to the city, PRDnationwide has found some 86% of recent property investors are Queenslanders.  The company's research director, Aaron Maskrey, says most of the property investors in the city came from inner-city suburbs, and they often chose to invest in the same suburbs.

Although housing stock is higher priced than unit stock and typically provides a lower gross yield, when closely analysed it is determined that approximately 50% of investors have purchased units, and the other half bought houses.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Chinese Investors


"And buyers from China once again topped the list, according to new research by Colliers International.  The figures on buying patterns during the 2010-2011 financial year have shown 733 residential sales to foreign buyers.  In all, 506 of those sales were investments with 277 for owner-occupiers."

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Brisbane Market Flat, and therefore good buying?

With the market remaining soft most of last year, Mr Lawless said Brisbane was again becoming more affordable compared to other capital cities.

There had not been such disparity between Brisbane and Sydney prices since 2007 and Melbourne since 2004.

"It just demonstrates that there is quite a strong value proposition opening up within the Brisbane marketplace,'' he said.  "Which should make the Brisbane market look much more attractive to investors and also interstate migrants.''
See Courier Mail

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Predictions for 2012

I am not going to make any major predictions for the Brisbane apartment market for 2012.  It is too uncertain what will happen next.

It is probably not a good time to sell.  If you can hold off selling, then that is probably wise.  (I guess that the market will, at worst, be flat.)  However, if you may be forced into selling sometime in 2012, such as due to loss of a job, divorce, financial difficulties, or a forced move, then it is probably best to sell as soon as possible so that you are not a distressed seller.

If you are buying, there is plenty of choice.  But only buy if you plan to hold for the long term.  I think it is better buying an established apartment than buying off-the-plan, at least in Brisbane.  (The Gold Coast is a different story.)

Rents are unlikely to fall.  Body corporate levies are unlike to decrease.  Who knows what interest rates will do.

I may buy in the next 6 months, but only if the price is extremely competitive or the property is extremely unique.  I doubt that I will buy off-the-plan this year.

Two books to assist you:

Monday, December 19, 2011

Chinese Buyers

A website for Chinese buyers of real estate outside China is in the process of being launched.  It is called Juwai.  There are already a bunch of Australian listings.

"The site has more than 1 million property listings from over 80,000 agents and developers in the US, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan.   Schwartz says there a “huge need” for such a site."  See Property Observer.