How to Make Sure Your Sinking Fund Won’t End Up Sinking You
The term Sinking Fund conjures up all sorts of negative connotations. Maybe because it sounds like something is sinking? Or perhaps due to the similar wording to sunk costs – ie costs that are already incurred. In reality though, it simply describes funds put aside to cover future expenses that are likely to arise, or…
Read MoreHow Much Does It Cost to Build a Home?
How much does it cost per square metre to build a house in Australia? To quote an overused phrase, you might well ask how long is a piece of string. The short answer is, it depends. What kind of house do you want to build? A sprawling family home or a compact single person dwelling?…
Read More1000 Assets Report 2022: How investment properties are changing
It’s exciting to be able to look back on a vast collation of information and draw meaningful conclusions. Well… it is for data tragics like me, at least. Our firm recently completed its 1000 Assets report for 2022. It’s a unique data source generated by analysing information from thousands of property depreciation schedules prepared by…
Read More1000 Assets Report 2022: How investors are changing
After the trials of 2020/21, I expect ‘adaptable’ and ‘resilient’ to be emblazoned across the plinth of every monument to human endurance erected for years to come. We’ve been served up challenges in all parts of life and, to our credit, have mostly found ways to alter our behaviours and make the best of each…
Read MoreThe Top Five Reasons Why Your Construction Cost Estimate Is Likely to Blow Out
With house prices sky-rocketing in the past twelve months, many people are now looking at other options for getting into the residential property market. While house and land packages are still popular, increasingly people are looking at substantially renovating their own properties, or even buying old properties and renovating or rebuilding. These are all great…
Read MoreInterest Rate Rises and The Property Market, My Two Cents.
The RBA has increased rates for the first time in more than 11 years. That’s significant because as the RBA says itself, many households have never experienced rising interest rates. They’re also going to go up further, likely in the next few months. Before we panic though, let’s get some context. As a guide, if…
Read MoreThere’s No Silver Bullet for Rising Building Costs, but Having a Detailed Construction Cost Estimate is a Good First Step
It’s been tough reading the news lately. Recent coverage of the war in Ukraine and the devastating impact of the floods in Queensland and New South Wales has pushed reports of COVID cases and lockdowns down the rankings, at least for the time being. It’s enough to make us yearn for the daily briefings from…
Read MoreThe Commercial Property Wave of 2022
I love a surfing analogy in a headline. Hell… anything that helps up my ‘cool quotient’ after all these years as a quantity surveyor is more than welcome. So, the chance to waffle on about catching the rising swell of interest in commercial property investment suits me fine. Here’s why I say paddle hard and…
Read MoreThe Cause of Our Deepening Rental Crisis
While I’m a generally upbeat person, there are some aspects of the Australian residential investment market that are cause for concern. Worse still is that some of the struggles we see in the rental market can be remedied, but they’re founded in a common misconception about real estate investors. I think we’re in the habit…
Read MoreWhy You Need to Understand Your Commercial Construction Cost Well Before You Break Ground
If you’ve been paying attention to your superannuation or share portfolio balance over the past few weeks you’ve probably noticed the Australian stock market has had a bumpy ride. There’s many reasons for that, but one worth noting in relation to the property market is the current volatility in iron ore, steel and lumber costs.…
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