What is needed to create an apartment community?
Property news continues to report on the surge in Build to Rent (BTR) projects being planned across Australia with many developers raising capital and searching for suitable sites. Melbourne is leading the charge with the largest number of projects mooted or under construction. As all the apartments in a BTR project are owned and managed…Read More→
More good news for Melbourne rents!
I’m pretty sure most apartment investors are tired of hearing about the decline in rents that ensued in Melbourne through Covid, so when I tuned in to REAs 2022 Market Outlook, I was delighted to see Inner Melbourne on top of the national table for the greatest number of lease deals during 2021 and the largest…Read More→
Universities impact on the Apartment Market
As we know, universities play an enormous role in our community, economy and obviously education and everything that flows from that. The success of Australia’s universities to attract students in the global market also has a significant impact on the apartment market (outside of the traditional or purpose built student accommodation market). A recent article in University…Read More→
How wide is the apartment vs house gap?
During the middle of 2021 it was becoming evident the rise in house prices was creating a unsustainable value gap between houses and apartments. This was most pronounced in Melbourne where the impact of extended lockdowns had driven many people to not only hoard toilet paper, but buy their own bunker of “terra firma”. The…Read More→
Investors buying apartments in 2022
The apartment market has traditionally been dominated by investors, first home buyers and downsizers. Over the last few years investors have been mostly absent from both “off the plan” and existing apartment sales however this is changing. ABS reported an overall rise in residential property lending throughout 2021, with a slow down in the second half of…Read More→
Do first home buyer government incentives work?
Property ownership and especially the family home has become an integral pillar of Australian’s personal wealth building and financial planning. Consequently the issue of housing affordability is not just about housing. It has become a proxy for financial independence and generational wealth accumulation. Housing has many social ramifications and home ownership enabling financial independence is an…Read More→
What are the learnings from Zillow’s mistake?
If you haven’t heard of Zillow, they are the US equivalent to realestate.com.au or domain.com.au. Launched in 2004, Zillow are now the dominate real estate advertising platform in the US and grew to a market cap of $US48 Billion in Feb 2021 with a share price of over $US200. In 2018 they entered the physical…Read More→
Would you like to try an apartment before you buy it?
There are only so many things you can check before buying and moving into a new apartment. Some things you only find out about after you have moved in which can make the buying decision a little daunting, especially if you are downsizing from the family home or relocating to a new area or building….Read More→
Apartment market report shows a rebound in 2022
The JLL quarterly apartment market report landed this week with some welcome news for apartment owners. Leigh Warner – Senior Director, Research, and Hollee Hart – Senior Analyst, Research, compiled the National report which finds “For apartments specifically, market balance is likely to tighten significantly. Supply levels continue to fall in most markets and at a national…Read More→
The challenges of social housing is not all about housing
There was an interesting article in The Age on the weekend that highlights the challenges of integrating social housing into society. In summary it shows how despite everyone’s very best intentions sometimes it doesn’t work. It is easy to forget that our homes provide some of our most fundamental needs such as shelter, security, stability…Read More→
How an interest rate rise impact the apartment market?
There has been some recent commentary about the potential for interest rates to rise over the next one or two years. This is a normal consequence of strong fiscal stimulus implemented by many governments during Covid including Australia. There is some interesting reading from experts on this topic here and here and here. Assuming the…Read More→
Selling a leased apartment and what to do
As we approach the Christmas / New Year break, apartment investment owners should plan ahead if they wish to sell their apartment with vacant possession. While some period of vacancy through a sale process is unavoidable, if you don’t plan it right you may incur a lot more lost rent due to vacancy than you…Read More→