Have you been left reeling by your tax return? If so, you’re certainly not alone. It can be quite a shock to see just how much of your hard-earned income has gone to the taxman. This is why investing in property with their tax refund is a popular choice among Aussies. Through a process called negative [...]
Who wants more affordable housing? First-home buyers! When do we want it? Now! Well, if you’re hoping to purchase your first home in VIC soon you may just be in luck. The Victorian government have recently revealed new housing affordability measures which clearly favour first-home buyers, while foreign and domestic investors are hit with tighter [...]
Scott Morrison sounded positive about his second Budget, promising “better days ahead” as he delivered it last week. But what will it actually mean for you as you go about your daily life? Here we provide the ultimate Australian budget breakdown so you can decide for yourself whether you share the Treasurer’s optimism. For first-home buyers It’s [...]
While many young investors may be struggling to crack the property market, they are finding plenty of other innovative ways to invest their money and make good returns. Gen X and Gen Y are losing interest in property investments and big-name shares, and are instead investing more and more in high-growth sectors offshore including video [...]
Properties are still being snapped up pretty quickly, the latest data shows, but it's expected that more Australians will start falling behind with their mortgage payments next year. The struggles are likely to stem from the fact that while capital city home prices continue to rise, the increase in wages has been pitiful. Data company [...]
New figures on rental property vacancy rates have shown that Hobart has the tightest rate of all the capitals, with just 0.6% (162) of properties vacant. The analysis from SQM Research shows it's a good market for landlords but anyone looking to rent could be facing stiff competition. There was a slight rise in the [...]
Rising property prices are pushing homeowners to find new ways to achieve their dream home. Unable to afford the upgrade to a larger property, more and more homeowners are instead choosing to renovate their existing property – spending an average of almost $70,000 while they're at it, according to new research. The 'Houzz and Home' [...]
We've seen peer-to-peer lending revolutionise the banking sector, and now a new product could be about to do the same for insurance in Australia. Founded in Germany in 2010, Friendsurance is bringing peer-to-peer insurance to the Australian market. Its business model unites groups of customers (usually 10) to help cover each other’s small claims. “Today [...]
If you're a Gen Y-er struggling to get on the property ladder, we'll pause to let you feel sorry for yourself for a moment. And rightly so – you've landed in a generation where house prices are through the roof, education is no longer free and you'd better not require any healthcare or you'll be [...]
If you've ever dreamed of becoming a property tycoon with investments all over the country, it just got a bit easier. Scraping together deposits and worrying about complicated tax issues needn't be a problem, with a new company offering investors the chance to buy into properties one brick at a time. The latest property up [...]
In Australia we like to do things big, and we have wonders such as the Big Pineapple, the Big Prawn and the Big Merino to show for it. Our love of big things even carries through to our homes, and we've built up quite a reputation over the years for having the biggest houses in [...]
Rising property prices are pushing homeowners to find new ways to achieve their dream home. Unable to afford the upgrade to a larger property, more and more homeowners are instead choosing to renovate their existing property – spending an average of almost $70,000 while they're at it, according to new research. The 'Houzz and Home' [...]
Scott Morrison has just made a commitment to something that could make or break the Coalition's campaign for the next election. The Treasurer has acknowledged the need for housing to become more affordable – and soon – but his solution steers clear of the controversial changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax that Labor [...]
Sydney is falling out of favour with property investors. It's becoming too expensive – even for them, say experts, and Queensland is benefitting from their investment dollars instead. A survey of 1000 property investors carried out by the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) found that the years of booming prices have taken their toll and [...]
There are no signs of new home construction slowing in Sydney, with the latest figures from the NSW Department of Planning & Environment reporting a 16-year high. Over the 2015/16 period more than 30,000 new homes were completed in Sydney – that's 10.4% up on the previous year. And two out of three new homes [...]
