The real estate blog.

 Following on from my last post…I wanted to give you a better idea of the Queensland market…

Queensland has enjoyed the largest population growth of all Australian states and territories over the past decade, most of which has been centered on South East Queensland.

Almost half of last year’s population growth in Queensland was the result of interstate migration. Most of these were from NSW and Victoria and reflected the desire of individuals for a sea-change or tree-change in their lifestyle.

Australian real estate investing in South East Queensland is therefore growing and every indication is that it will continue to grow into the future with high demand and excellent capital growth.

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I grabbed this YouTube video from Chris Lengquist’s real estate blog.  This one is a little different from the real estate scam that I recently wrote about but you could consider it a variation on the general theme. 

A couple of rules of thumb:

If it looks lucrative and easy then you’re about to be taken for a ride. Beware of “package deals” where an advisor delivers the property, the lending, the appraisal and the tenants.  These Read the rest of this entry »

The SunshineCoast, to anyone that’s ever been there is an ideal place to be with or without real estate investment opportunities.

Australians look to the sunshine coast as their dream destination. With so many Australians looking for improved lifestyle choice and suddenly realizing that it can be done, the SunshineCoast once considered to be just a holiday destination is now becoming a choice destination for families wanting to build a better life.

For Australian real estate Investing, it is only the beginning. More than 2.8 million people call this area home, which is roughly 1 in every 7 people in all of Australia and permanent residency to the area is rapidly growing. Don’t forget the ever growing tourism, all in a world of its own just 50 km away from Brisbane.

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There’s a conventional wisdom out there that higher-end properties bring good tenants and lower end properties bring problem tenants. In my experience, this isn’t necessarily true. Ask most buy-and-hold investors about what makes a good tenant and many will respond by recalling a specific tenant that they wish was the model for all their properties.

In my case, my example was in one of my most inexpensive properties; the tenants were a young family with no credit and not a lot of resources, but their references checked out and I rented to them, more or less, based on gut feel. And they were the best tenants I ever had: took great care of the place (flowers in the front yard), made minor repairs on their own and never were late paying the rent. Plus, they were a pleasure to deal with.

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Expect to see more of this issue…

As the presidential election looms, the issue of immigration - particularly illegal immigration - will move into the spotlight.   This has implications for all Americans, but it may have a particular relevance for landlords. 

An article in today’s New York Times discusses the issue of local statues which impose penalties on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.  In particular the article chronicles the story of Riverside, New Jersey, which is re-thinking legislation which it passed a year ago which criminalized employing or renting to an illegal immigrant.  The law has had the unintended consequence of driving away residents in large numbers, which has had an unexpectedly large impact on local businesses.  It appears that citizens who once lobbied for the law are now re-thinking their position. 

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You’ve heard the buzz of Australian Real Estate Investing, but its not all life on the beach.

The market is in a transitional stage right now, and though there are many changes happening, these will happen over time. Find out where to get in and what to expect with Australian Real Estate Investing below…

Australian Real Estate Investing and the quality of life the area brings is a mature market, but investors have been the cause in economical, residential and commercial growth. All States and Territories have been battling to keep up with the demand by huge tax and duty hikes over the past 5 years.

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Most of the housing laws in our country were designed with the general intent of protecting our citizens from powerful interests and ensuring a fair playing field.  This will strike most fair-minded people as a reasonable proposition…but at some point most long-term real estate investors will realize that, in the eyes of the government, they fall into the “powerful interests” category. 

I’ve stated before that real estate investing is all about dealing with people - that’s one of the ongoing themes of my writing.  Even the most savvy negotiation, however, will eventually end up in a situation where she needs to understand relevant state laws concerning evictions. 

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 It is difficult to lump Australian states into an overall category of “bottom three states to invest in” since there are positive indicators for real estate investment in different areas within all states.

For example, Perth’s housing boom is beginning to deflate at 0.2%. However, having said this, rents have increased in Perth by 25 percent over the past year and 6 percent of this was during the last quarter. Furthermore, Perth housing prices have risen by 18 percent during this same period.

That such amazing growth is slower than during the previous year, still does not diminish the benefits of Australian real estate investing in Perth with the median rent increasing after December 2004 by approximately $44 per week. Yet, during the past year the number of days a residential property stayed on the market before selling rose from an average of thirty eight to eighty nine days.

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The states of the eastern coast of Australia… NSW, Victoria and Queensland have long been considered to be the top three states for Australian real estate investing for their higher rental returns and traditionally low vacancy rates…

Although the state’s capital cities might be seeing what appears to be some less than desirable results and debate as to the continued potential of these states, the debate continues…
While the capital cities themselves may be an interest for investors seeking the best rental prospects, there is still a wealth of investment opportunity right up and down the east coast in properties attracting the sea changers as families are looking to lifestyle choices.

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Real estate investing software is what EquityScout is all about. Ironically, it’s not something that I talk about a lot in this blog. There’s a reason for that. In my view real estate investment software is a tool - one of many - that can help investors to reach their goals. Much more important that the tool is the thought process that it supports. That’s what I write about - the though process - and readers who identify with the thought process and the philosophy end up check out the tool.

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