Why Australia is facing a ‘devastating insurance crisis’ this summer

A national property firm has warned that Australia is facing a “devastating insurance crisis” as this summers triple-dip La Nina threatens to financially ruin underinsured homeowners. MCG Quantity Surveyors, which has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra, said that a combination of factors could lead to “one of most financially devastating”…

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Building approvals point to a potential future housing shortage

Building Approval

It doesn’t seem that long ago we were talking about an oversupply of apartments across Sydney, South Melbourne, and Brisbane. However, a lot has changed in the past few years. The ABS October figures on building approvals show a seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwelling units falling by 8.1% in October. The graph below from…

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Our predictions – Property Market Scorecard for 2017 and 2018

Property Market

What a year property has had in 2017. We’ve seen some double-digit growth in major capital city markets and a big move from APRA in the investor lending space. We’ve also written extensively about changes to depreciation. There’s also been plenty of debate about foreign investors and housing affordability. So, what did the numbers show…

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Sydney leading the charge as dwelling values rise in May

Sydney Dwellings

Whilst month on month figures are a little haphazard, the last quarter has seen Sydney prices grow by 6.6% with Perth and Hobart the only capitals in negative territory. Our current property growth cycle comes to around 4 years now since May 2012 and values have risen 36.6% to May 2016. Sydney’s growth for this…

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Negative Gearing and the Mum and Dad Investors

Negative Gearing

Much has been posited about the typical Australian property investor, especially their salary. According to the ATO, 67% of investors claiming rental interest deductions take home under $80,000 per year. At least as far back as 2014, the data has been pulled apart and commentators have asserted that the data is flawed. Their argument is…

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The property market in Darwin – Still a hotspot?

Darwin Property Market

I thought I’d take a look at a property market that’s been getting a lot of press lately: Darwin. This property market has been attracting a lot of attention based on the fact that capital gains within the Darwin housing market have been outperforming the broader capital city average since early 2004. It’s easy to…

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HIA voice concerns over the decline in residential construction activity

HIA

In a one page bulletin produced last week, the HIA called for interest rate cuts and supply side reforms to arrest the on-going decline in residential construction activity in Australia. The HIA represents the construction industry and by proxy has a vested interest in construction activity; however there is growing evidence of supply side problems with concerns…

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Housing State of Supply Report 2011

Housing State of Supply

Yesterday saw the release of the National Housing Supply Councils 2011 State of Supply report. The National Housing Supply Council was established in 2008 by the Treasurer and the Minister for Housing to monitor housing demand, supply and affordability in Australia, and to highlight current and potential gaps between housing supply and demand from households.…

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