Death is not a pleasurable thought but if you have worked all your life to build an estate, you should give death some thought. The idea is not to die intestate or without having drawn up a will. I have seen various cases where those beyond the circle of spouse, siblings, children and close relatives have taken advantage in such situations. In the light of this fact, I confess liking an article by Ken Raiss on the Property Update.
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Sydney: The Cynosure Of Global Property Investment
Aidan Devine for the website Your Investment Property talks about Sydney’s growing prominence in the global residential property market. Having quietly fancied Sydney’s chances since last decade, I feel vindicated by Sydney’s strong show. Investors in Hong Kong, China, Russia, among others are picking the harbour city ever so frequently to park their money.
Dissecting Costs Of Property Investment
My leanings towards property investment are an extension of my childhood perceptions. The way I read the world did not leave too much space for liquid assets and till today the regard for this non-volatile, “two-fold benefit” asset class has remained. This is also partly why I chose the career I am in.
While properties can offer extremely sound returns, I will be the first one to agree that they can be difficult to maintain too. There are the upfront costs along with a host of maintenance expenses. Let me take you through them.
Sydney High On Momentum, Reveals ANZ Bank Data
Sydney has registered smart figures for more than one niche of property market performance. Michael Yardney for the Property Update reveals that it has topped the chart for maximum rise in trend home prices yet again. Its figures of 12.2% rise (year/year) is decidedly higher than that of Melbourne (8.2%), its closest competitor (courtesy ANZ Bank data).
Sydney is also doing phenomenally with auction clearance rates, posting 79% clearance for the week ending 3rd November. This is a tad lower than the +80% clearances Sydney has been posting of late but quite good nevertheless. Even the number of auction sales have risen sharply for the harbour city.
You can read the original article here.
What in your opinion is the reason for Sydney’s rise- paucity of available land, law of averages, or something else?
AFS License A Must For Realtors Advising On SMSF
All is good till the real estate agents stick to purely property based advice. The problem begins when they start advising on financial products like Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF) for investing in real estate. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken the issue by the scruff of its neck, warning real estate brokers to procure Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) before making financial recommendations. Brendan Wong for the Real Estate Business sheds light on the topic.
ASIC also believes that certain financial advisors are receiving commissions from real estate agents for exhibiting their properties in a positive light to the clients. This is not tolerable and should be banned under the heading “conflicted remuneration”, feels ASIC.
You can read the original article here.
Do you think real estate agents have the know-how to advise on financial products?
The Deadly Trio Of Fee, CGT, and Stamp Duty
Going by an article on the website Smart Property Investment, fee and taxes are prime concerns of home buyers. According to the article, a highly esteemed loan comparison website, finder.com.au, evaluated 7,000 questions on home loans (those which were posted in its forums). The website inferred that maximum concerns were related to fee. Fee included set-up fee as well as loan pre-closure fee.
