Buying your first apartment
Buying your first apartment or house can be a challenge. Cost of living pressures (now dubbed cozzi-livs 😁) have made it tough to save a deposit and pay off a loan in the traditional way. If the Bank of Mum and Dad is not an option for buyers, there is always the bank of Jacinta and…Read More→
Owners and renters help each other.
In normal markets owners and renters help each other and everything ticks along easily. Lately the shortage of rental accommodation is a regular feature on the nightly news and there are challenges for both owners and renters. This week, a lead story on ABC news was the Rental Affordability Index report prepared by National Shelter,…Read More→
Apartment rents to jump 30%
Apartment rents are expected to rise by 30% in some precincts over the next 5 years according to aparmtent research just released by CBRE. We have seen a sharp jump in apartment rents over the last 1-2 years with some of that rise attributed to a catch up in falling rents during covid. This report…Read More→
Costs to buy and sell an apartment
The cost to buy and sell an apartment is one of the reasons apartments are a long-term play. If you sell one apartment and buy a different one, it can cost around 10% of the value of one of the apartments. The cost to either buy or sell equates very roughly to about one year’s…Read More→
Is it time to buy or sell apartments?
We often discuss the best time to buy or sell apartments. Property remains a long-term investment and therefore longer-term trends should trump short term issues. Everyone has their own reasons to buy or sell property. Investment apartments tend to be more about financial drivers than lifestyle considerations. Also, apartment return metrics are different to houses….Read More→
Will the Victorian Housing Plan work?
The ambitious Victorian Housing Plan announced yesterday will take time to be tested. The shortage of housing (and particularly rental accommodation) has been prominent in the press over the last 6 – 12 months with calls for urgent action. While the housing industry has failed to keep pace with demand, we can not let it…Read More→
Will China’s property crash effect Australia?
About 2 years ago, I discussed China’s property crash and how one of China’s biggest property developers earned the unenviable title of the worlds most indebted property developer. At that time, Evergrande carried liabilities of $A410 billion (yes that’s right, billion). That has now grown to $A525 billion and they filed for bankruptcy (in the…Read More→
Rent controls – good or bad?
The National Cabinet meeting last week could not ignore the wave of experts advising them not to introduce harsh rent controls like rental caps or a freeze. Most prominently when asked about rent controls, outgoing Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said, “…giving people more money or capping prices doesn’t help with the balance of supply…Read More→
Converting offices to apartments. Does it work?
With a critical housing shortage, and plenty of vacant office space, does converting offices to apartments really work? Melbourne’s CBD office vacancy rate rose to 16.2% for the June 2023 quarter (according to JLL research). At the same time the apartment vacancy rate is a desperate 2.6% (SQM research) No brainer right? Well I wish…Read More→
The apartment market – Act 2
When analysing the apartment market, it feels like we are at intermission of a murder mystery in the theatre. Act 1 was a roller coaster. During intermission with choc top in hand, thumbing the program, we have got to know the main players. But how will it play out? Will there be new players? Will…Read More→
Rising rents – Construction falling. Wait …what?
How can we have a situation of rising rents but construction falling? You can’t turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper without seeing stories about the shortage of rental property and rising rents. In response to the housing shortage, we would expect to see a boom of new construction meeting that demand. Oddly,…Read More→
Should I have landlord insurance?
Apartment investors often have lots of questions about landlord insurance. Should apartment investors have landlord insurance? Is apartment landlord insurance different from house landlord insurance? What does apartment landlord insurance cover and how much does it cost? Landlord insurance is generally voluntary for apartment investors. Otherwise a bank may require it a part of the…Read More→
