Buying a house in Western Australia
Those of us who watch these things have noticed a disturbing trend over the last month or two – The national and international newspapers talking up the housing market quite aggressively. Much to the ire of their readers who are rightfully questioning the information being given. These are a few examples.
More on Property Investment Advice – Beware the Newspapers Talking up the Market
It looks like WA property owners are also facing huge increases in land tax bills. At least in NSW the announced the changes to land tax, WA landowners are being caught by stealth!
Well we’ve reported before on the fragility of Western Australia’s mining towns property values. Towns such as Karratha, Newman and Port Hedland have boomed because of two factors: the jobs and the shortage of land to build more accommodation.
It looks like the Federal government’s increase of the first home owner’s grant for purchasers of new homes or home and land packages is translating to increased interest at land sales offices and display homes.
A strange thing is happening at Yanchep in northern Perth. There are a bunch of people camping at a developers sub-division. And they are not being moved on as squatters either!
Port Hedland isn’t the sort of spot you’d choose for your next holiday. Its remote, hot for 1/2 the year, cold for the rest and dusty. Oh and its just one large industrial port for the iron ore from the Pilbara. It probably won’t look anything like this one though.
Sadly in Australia there are still one set of laws for the original inhabitants and one for everyone else. Partly due to huge distances involved and their remoteness traditional Aborigine communities have different laws from elsewhere in Australia.
First home buyers are returning to the Perth market: which is good for everyone including investors.
On the back of reported property price drops in Perth it looks like first home buyers are starting to look again. Loans to first home buyers are now around 30% of all new loans approved according to REIWA.
The continuing mining boom and related job opportunities fueling net immigration to Western Australia isn’t stopping the state’s property prices dropping reports the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.
WA house prices peaked at the end of 2007 when the Perth median price reached $475,000, prices have now dropped to $446,000.
Not long after all the publicity of Nicole Kidman filming the, soon to be released, Baz Luhrman film “Australia” in the Kimberleys comes some sad news about another Kidnam. S.Kidnam and Co have put up for sale the enormous Ruby Plains and Sturt Creek stations which together cover almost 8000 sq km of cattle country in West Australia’s East Kimberleys.