We are now well into the silly season as far as Australia and New Zealand is concerned. Most kids seems to be out of school and parents are focused on buying, buying, buying. The slightly unusual thing this year there seem to be a fair few people are buying property not just Christmas presents. So what is the property market like in Australia during the Christmas and holiday season?
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At the time of writing the Australian dollar is worth around US$0.92 – up from US$0.67 in less than eight months. That is one huge appreciation and anyone who is exposed to the currency risk will certainly have noticed it. The rise of the Australian dollar is most spectacular against the US$ but its also up against almost every other currency from pounds to Euro to the New Zealand dollar. So what does the Australian dollars rise have to do with the Australian property investor? Plenty – even if you don’t think you are exposed to currency risk – you should understand what drives currencies and their close cousins: interest rates.
More on Australian Property Investment and the Australian Dollar
Property investors and first-time home buyers often go head to head for the same property. The big bad property investors in Australia though have been at a disadvantage because of the Federal government’s first home buyers grant. The on-going scaling back of that grant gives both first home buyers and investors an opportunity – here’s how.
More on Australian Property Investment – What Does the First Home Owner Grant Mean to You?
Has the time come to take a second look at the fire sale property market in Queensland? Well I’m not sure but I think it might be time to check out a bargain, particularly if you are looking to live in a modern Queensland apartment for at least the next 10 years – and here’s why I say that.
More on Queensland Real Estate Investment – Is This The Time?
Another round of losses in the third quarter shows continuing weakness in the world’s real estate markets. Although property investment in Singapore ticked up slightly in the third quarter, more bad news from major developers and property investment vehicles show continuing declines in prices, sales volumes and profitability. US luxury home builder Toll Brothers posted a Q3 loss of $472.3 million, and GPT group in Sydney, Australia posted a US$995 million loss for the first half of the year.
More on Investing in property – the big boys are starting to hurt badly
Foreigners Buying Australian Property
Australia restricts what real estate non-residents can buy. Essentially it is lot easier to invest in commercial property than it is residential property: the Australian government sees an economic benefit for investment in commercial operations but is less clear on the benefits for Australia for non-residents investing in residential real-estate. The rules are complex and the details can be found Foreign Investment Review Board
More on Investing in Australia and New Zealand Real Estate: Rules for Non-Residents
