Strongest annual house prices growth since 2003

The medium-to-long-term outlook for property prices remains strong as the population grows, incomes rise and demand for houses outstrips new supply, says an Australian Property Monitors’ report. Despite a sluggish start, 2009 ended with the biggest price growth since 2003 on a rise in activity at the top end of the market, the APM 2009 …

How big four banks will change their home loan interest rates in 2010?

Banks will not pass on the full interest rate increases which are forecasted at 1% in 2010, according to Australia’s top macroeconomist Chris Richardson. He said that increasing competition for new customers and lower funding costs would cause major lenders to absorb about 30 basis points of Reserve Bank increases during the second half of 2010. …

Australia housing affordability reached a new low point

Australia has the most unaffordable housing market according to the Sixth Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey published in 2010 (see the housing affordability index by country and housing affordability index scales below). The survey looks at 272 metropolitan markets in Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. Housing affordability is measured by using the …

What rental expenses that I can claim for an immediate deduction?

Expenses for which you may be entitled to an immediate deduction in the income year you incur the expense include: *advertising for tenants * bank charges * body corporate fees and charges * cleaning * council rates * electricity and gas * gardening and lawn mowing * in-house audio/video service charges * insurance – building – …

What rental expenses that I cannot claim for tax deductions?

Rental expenses for which you are not able to claim deductions include: * acquisition and disposal costs of the property * expenses not actually incurred by you, such as water or electricity charges borne by your tenants * expenses that are not related to the rental of a property, such as expenses connected to your …

Google shows in 2009 more and more Australians are interested in buying investment property

A research done using Google Insights shows that in 2009 the “investment property” search volume trended up for the first time since 2004. Here is the chart since 2004 and the prejection for 2010 (click on the chart to see the full size image). As you can see that since 2004 the search volume of …

2010 will be a good year for rental property investors

With residential property prices around the country on the rise, some real-estate investors are wondering if they have missed the boat. “I have been considering investing in a unit for about 12 months,” writes Kate, “but I thought prices would fall significantly due to the global economic crisis, and they didn’t. Then I expected prices …

Westpac lowered its loan-to-valuation ratios (LVR)

Westpac Banking Corporation has tightened its mortgage loan criteria by lowering its loan-to-valuation ratios (LVR) for new full-documentation mortgage customers on Wednesday from 92 per cent to 87 per cent including two per cent for lenders’ mortgage insurance. The LVR for new low-documentation customers has been lowered by Westpac to 80 per cent including LMI. The …

What investment property expenses can I claim as TAX deductions?

In order to maximize your total tax deductible amount at the end of the financial year for a property that’s negatively geared, there’s a range of expenses that can be included in the total annual cost of the property for deduction purposes. 1. Prepaid expenses It’s possible to claim any prepaid expenses that are related …