Smoke alarm laws on the way in Tasmania
Smoke alarm laws on the way in Tasmania
Posted on Friday, April 26 2013 at 10:02 AM
Landlords in the Apple Isle will soon be required by law to install and maintain smoke alarms in rental properties.
Nick McKim is Tasmania’s Minister for
Consumer Protection and announced the legislation amendment this week, which
comes into effect from May 1.
For the next three years, rental property
owners can use either battery powered or mains powered alarms.
However from 2016 onwards the alarms will
need to be either mains powered or 10-year non-removable alarms, McKim says.
“About 80 per cent of fatal house fires
occur in homes without working smoke alarms. They significantly reduce the risk
of death, serious injury, property damage and financial loss caused by house
fires.”
Transitional arrangements will reduce the
immediate cost to property owners and allows three years to budget for mains
powered or non-removable devices, he says.
“Until now, tenants have been required to see
the approval of the property owner to install smoke alarms, however the
amendments shift the responsibility from tenants to owners and makes the
installation of alarms mandatory.”
More
information about the law change is available at www.consumer.tas.gov.au
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Older people unlikely to downsize
Older people unlikely to downsize
Posted on Wednesday, April 17 2013 at 3:48 PM
Investors purchasing units around CBD locations might have less chance than they think of finding an older tenant.
The notion that retirees are downsizing has been questioned by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Its report, The desire to age in
place among older Australians, shows more than 90 per cent of older
Australians intend to stay in their current accommodation, rather than move to
aged care or move at all.
It looks at older people who own their home outright (73 per cent),
those paying a mortgage (five per cent), those who rent (10 per cent) and those
who live in social housing (eight per cent).
“Most older Australians say that they desire to ‘age in place’, that is,
to remain in their current accommodation as opposed to moving into specialised
care, or even moving at all,” AIHW spokesperson Geoff Neideck says.
“This report shows that older people who are outright homeowners not
only intend to move less, they actually move less than other household tenure
types.”
However, private renters appeared the least satisfied with their housing
conditions.
“The majority of older private renters intend to move in the next five
years and report the fewest number of reasons for wanting to stay in their
current home,” Neideck says.
“They also move most frequently, despite expressing anxiety about this.”
For most households, location is the most often reported reason to stay,
followed by comfort and then finances.
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SMSF spruikers under watchdog’s microscope
SMSF spruikers under watchdog’s microscope
Posted on Monday, April 22 2013 at 1:17 PM
Dodgy investment spruikers hoping to cash in on the growing popularity of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF) have been put on notice.
The Australian Securities and Investment
Commission (ASIC) last week reiterated its focus on providers of financial
advice, particularly when it comes to DIY-super and property investment.
In releasing its first SMSF Taskforce
report, ASIC gave most providers of advice a tick of approval for compliance
and licensing.
However the body’s findings criticised
“pockets of ‘poor’ advice” from spruikers and a rise in targeted, “aggressive”
advertisements pushing property investments through SMSFs.
“We don’t want to see SMSFs become the
vehicle of choice for property spruikers,” ASIC commissioner Peter Kell says.
“Where we see examples of unlicensed SMSF advice of misleading marketing, we’ll
be taking regulatory action.”
Member group Property Investment
Professionals of Australia (PIPA) welcomed the report, saying it has long held
concerns about the rise of SMSFs.
“Reports at Australian investors suffering
at the hands of unscrupulous marketers are all too common and such cases have
the potential to explode as interest in property investment via SMSFs continues
to grow,” PIPA chair Ben Kingsley says.
Some financial planners and accountants
providing SMSF ‘specialised advice’ lack the necessary education and
understanding of property investment, Kingsley believes, making them
inappropriate to be operating in the area.
He believes tighter regulation of the
property investment industry is needed.
“But for the here and now, we’re calling on
financial services professionals to act in the best interests of the customer
and either upskill to provide advice around property investment and refer the
client to someone who’s appropriately accredited.”
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Property confidence on the rise
Property confidence on the rise
Posted on Friday, April 19 2013 at 9:53 AM
Sentiment within Australia’s property industry has risen to an 18-month high, driven by increased confidence in the housing market and easing financing conditions, according to the latest Property Council-ANZ Property Industry Confidence Survey.
The confidence index for the June 2013 quarter jumped from 107 to 124,
the second consecutive quarter of growth.
The survey polled more than 3100 professionals from the property and
construction sector in all states and territories for their forward-looking
views.
“While consumer and business sentiment continues to be subdued, the bulk
of Australia’s property industry has shifted to a more positive outlook for the
future,” Property Council chief operating officer Ken Morrison says.
“Last year’s fence sitters have removed the splinters and made a clear
decision to walk on the sunny side of the street.
“This improved outlook is led by record confidence in the residential
sector and project funding expectations, which are now positive for the first
time.”
Key findings include:
–
Overall
sentiment is up again: national property industry confidence has
increased for the second consecutive quarter, from 107 to 124 on the index.
–
National
economic expectations now positive: national economic growth
expectations are now positive for the first time, increasing from 89 to 106.
–
Residential
continues to build: expectations for house price growth increased 17
points on the index to a record of 124, continuing positive prospects for a
housing recovery.
–
Residential
construction expectations continue upward trend: since the survey began in
2011, construction activity expectations have increased the most in the
residential sector.
–
Funding
breakthrough: confidence in funding projects is now positive for the first time since
the survey began, increasing from 100 to 110.
–
Spike in new
work expectations: Forward work expectations, which have been flat
over the last nine months, increased significantly, from 125 to 138 and are
consistent with national staffing level expectations.
–
Big states lead
the way: New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland recorded
the largest increases in sentiment.
–
Tick of
approval for Queensland Government: Queensland joins Western
Australian respondents as the only states who believe that their government is
doing a good job planning and managing growth.
ANZ chief economist Warren
Hogan says the outlook is positive.
“Not withstanding renewed
European concerns and rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, global economic
and market sentiment have improved markedly in 2013,” he says.
“Expansive monetary policy
settings have buoyed global liquidity and equity markets have rallied
strongly.”
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Analyst’s report predicts Sydney price growth
Analyst’s report predicts Sydney price growth
Posted on Wednesday, April 17 2013 at 3:50 PM
A report released by SQM Research this week says Sydney property prices are set to continue rising this year.
Sydney Housing Boom and Bust Report –
2013/2014 predicts housing prices in
the city will rise between five per cent and nine per cent this year.
The report also sees unit
prices increasing between four per cent and eight per cent in the same period.
Louis Christopher, managing
director of SQM Research, says the result confirms their findings from late 2012.
“Real estate prices are
generally rising in the outer rings of Sydney. We have also found very recent
evidence of prices rising in Sydney’s inner ring.”
The report highlights the
suburbs of Bass Hill and Ermington in Sydney’s west as having the city’s
tightest vacancy rates.
“These areas could
potentially be suitable places to invest, as rental properties in these
postcodes are high in demand.”
Christopher says, “militant
councils, locked up government land, high costs of construction and high levies
charged on developments,” have restricted supply.
Christopher sees this as resulting
in current construction activity lower than what it was in the early 1980s. “An
absolutely crazy situation, given that the population has grown by over a
million since that time.”
The report comes after data
released by Australian Property Monitors (APM), shows auction clearance rates in
Sydney for the past weekend are at record levels.
According to Andrew Wilson, senior
economist at APM, clearance rates are rising despite an increase in the number
of listings.
”Sydney recorded a clearance
rate of 73 per cent which is 15 per cent higher than the 57.7 per cent recorded
for the same weekend last year,” Wilson says.
Seller activity and
confidence is on the rise driven by increased competition from buyers,
according to Wilson.
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Housing finance lifts in February
Housing finance lifts in February
Posted on Monday, April 15 2013 at 3:59 PM
Total housing-related lending rose by 1.4 per cent in February, with growth in activity among both owner-occupiers and investors.
Analysis released by the Commonwealth Bank
today shows loans to homebuyers lifted by two per cent, slightly ahead of
expectations.
In the owner-occupier market, there was a
2.1 per cent lift in loans for established dwellings and an encouraging 1.2 per
cent increase in construction finance.
The value of owner-occupier mortgages was
also 1.2 per cent higher over the month.
Investor lending increased by 1.8 per cent
in February, hinting at continued optimistic sentiment among that buyer group.
“Lending activity is slowly moving higher,”
the report says. “Fundamental indicators of housing demand and lending
indicators suggest this pick up in the housing market will become more
entrenched in the near-term.”
While overall lending activity is trending
upwards, first homebuyer activity continues to fall. First-timers made up 14.4
per cent of the market, which is the lowest level since June 2004.
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Perth median house price at record high
Perth median house price at record high
Posted on Tuesday, April 02 2013 at 2:39 PM
Investors who have bought in Perth recently have every reason to be on a high, with prices in the Western Australian city on the rise.
March quarter data by the Real Estate Institute of Western
Australia (REIWA) shows Perth’s median house price has reached a new record of
$510,000.
The previous peak was $505,000 in the March quarter of 2010.
REIWA president David Airey says there has been a two per
cent increase on the median price from the December quarter, which had been
driven by a lift in turnover and more sales activity above the median price.
“Our preliminary data for the March quarter shows that while
the proportion of sales under $500,000 has fallen, there was a marked increase
in sales between $500,000 and $1 million,” Airey says.
“The $600,000 to $700,000 range was the most dominant price
point above the median during this period and is a healthy illustration of
consumer confidence through trade-up activity.”
Flats, units, apartments and villas are more common in the
central part of Perth and indicate a 10 per cent rise in sales during the
quarter, suggesting an upturn with investor activity given that around half of
all multi-residential property is tenanted.
Suburbs closer to the CBD also saw stronger sales activity
during the quarter including within the cities of Bayswater, Belmont,
Bassendean, South Perth, Victoria Park and the coastal strip in the City of
Stirling.
“These areas are all over the general median price and as
such contributed to the overall lift in the market median,” Airey says.
“The March quarter results show a buoyant market returning
to more normal conditions on the back of solid population growth and a strong
state economy.”
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Financial announcement boosts mining hub prospects
Financial announcement boosts mining hub prospects
Posted on Thursday, April 11 2013 at 12:21 PM
Cloncurry and Mount Isa have further improved the outlook of their property markets with the announcement this week of funding for a major zinc mining project.
Australian
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and China’s Premier Li Keqiang were present at the
singing of a financing support framework agreement for MMG Limited’s Dugald
River mining project.
The
agreement sets out a US $1 billion loan commitment from China Development Bank
to provide the funds over a 13-year term.
The
Duguld River project lies about 65 kilometres north of Cloncurry and represents
one of the world’s largest known undeveloped zinc deposits, according to MMG
Limited.
Kim
McKelvie, commercial and residential salesperson at Realway Mount Isa, says the
project is yet another boost for the region.
“We
are the hub here in a 500-kilometre radius for the whole of the mineral
province.”
McKelvie
sees the project as bolstering Cloncurry’s already firm real estate market.
“It
definitely will because more services will come out of Cloncurry. Every mine
that goes into an area creates more services even when there’s a high
percentage of fly-in, fly-out because there’s still a lot of services that have
to come from the local area.”
McKelvie
says the finance announcement is another good news story for a locality that
should continue to see positive investment growth.
“I
don’t know about the rest of Australia, I think they’re all going to hell in a
handbag but we’re doing alright.”
According
to McKelvie, Cloncurry is showing investors about seven per cent rental return
while Mount Isa reflects up to about nine per cent return.
“They
(investors) seem to be able to achieve around $400,000 and get rents of about
$550 per week, whereas in Mount Isa we can get a house for about $400,000 and
we get (weekly) rents at $650 to $700.”
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Sellers raise asking prices as market recovers
Sellers raise asking prices as market recovers
Posted on Wednesday, April 03 2013 at 12:06 PM
More data released this week indicates a continued upward direction for the Australian real estate market.
The
SQM Research Weekly
Vendor Sentiment Index indicates capital city sellers raised asking
prices by 1.3 per cent during the March quarter.
While
the results were up overall, Sydney and Darwin recorded the strongest
improvement for housing reflecting rises of four per cent and 3.9 per cent
respectively.
For
units, the three markets with the strongest increases were Darwin with seven
per cent and Hobart with 4.8 per cent.
Louis
Christopher, managing director at SQM Research, says although the results for
the quarter were strong, the 30-day figures were more subdued.
“Overall the market was confident for the
quarter, however I note that there was a little more caution in the month of
March.”
Christopher says the two strongest performers
have helped drag the total results up.
“Sydney and Darwin are leading the charge.
However if it were not for the strong results in Sydney, it’s most likely the
national average would be recording market weakness for the quarter.”
The results come in the same week as the Reserve
Bank’s announcement to keep the cash rate steady at three per cent.
In a statement released to the media, Reserve
Bank Governor Glenn Stevens indicated there was still room for further easing
if economic conditions weakened.
“The inflation outlook, as assessed at present, would afford
scope to ease policy further, should that be necessary to support demand,” he
says.
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Data integration makes Queensland research a breeze
Posted on Wednesday, April 03 2013 at 2:46 PM
The Queensland Government has launched a new computer program that’ll open up a vault of location-linked spatial data benefiting a number of sectors, including real estate.
A slew of information has been compiled and
integrated with the popular Google Earth satellite image service, making it
easier and quicker to review everything from flood maps to land boundaries.
Premier Campbell Newman unveiled the
Queensland Earth program today, which he says will open opportunities for the
private sector, educational institutions and community groups.
“For example, the property development
industry and potential homebuyers will now be able to analyse flood lines from
the 2011 and 2013 flood events when evaluating a potential home or land
purchase,” Newman says.
The initiative merges land tenure status,
property boundaries, postcodes, locality and electoral boundaries.
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