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April 5th, 2010Adelaide’s Hot Property Top Spots for first home buyers
August 23rd, 2009The hottest property in Adelaide for first home buyers has been in the Northern Suburbs, according to State Govt data.
Of the 24 auctions reported to Home Price Guide yesterday, 14 - or 54% - were sold. This is compared to a 65 per cent sale rate last weekend and 43 per cent on the same weekend last year.
The number of new home loans taken out by new home buyers reached record levels in January following the boost to the grant in October 2008. More grants (489) were used to buy homes in postvcode 5108 which includes Paralowie and Salisbury, than in any other area last financial year. Other popluar suburbs in the north for first home buyers were Andrews Farm, Blakeview and Craigmore.
In the southern suburbs, 287 grants were used to buy properties in Aberfoyle Park, Chandlers Hill, Flagstaff Hill, Happy Valley, Morphett Vale and Woodcroft.
Real Estate Institute of South Australia president Robin Turner said the first home grant boost in October last year had helped to underpin the real estate market in the face of the global financial crisis. Mr Turner said houses priced between $300,000 and $400,000 had been the most popular with people buying for the first time.
There are only 6 short weeks until the First Home Owners Boost is halved!
August 23rd, 2009Just read this great article by Sam Cocks of the Urbantech Group reminding first homebuyers that there isn’t much time left to take advantage of the FHOB. Not only, that but combined with the 50 year low in interest rates there never was a better time for young people to get into the market.
Calling all first homebuyers… and parents who would like their kids to move out of home…
The Australian Government announced back in May that it would be phasing out the First Home Owners Boost [FHOB] by the end of the year - with the FHOB being reduced by 50% after September 30th and then completely withdrawn after December 31st.
I’m looking to buy my first home - how will this affect me?
If you are planning on buying a brand new property for your first home and you sign a purchase contract after Sep 30th you will have to come up with an extra $7,000. If you sign the contract after Dec 31st this doubles to a hefty $14,000. Chances are you won’t have this sort of money lying around, therefore it is likely that you will have to borrow it. This is where it can get costly - if you need to borrow an extra $7K to buy an equivalently priced home it will ultimately cost you an additional $14,700 in interest over a 30 year loan term [assuming an average interest rate of 7%]. Not to mention that you will have $7K less in equity - so all in all you will be $21,700 worse off. Following the same logic if you are a first home buyer and purchase a new home after Dec 31st you will have to borrow an extra $14,000 putting you behind by as much as $43,400!
But does this rather simplistic logic tell the whole picture? Some would say that since the introduction of the FHOB property prices in the lower range of the market [$150,000 - $350,000] have jumped up by a good $10,000 or more, thus effectively cancelling out the benefit of the extra grant. In addition, once the FHOB is removed demand is tipped to dramatically reduce and prices may go back to their previous levels or lower, creating an equivalent, if not better, buying opportunity for the first home buyer.
However, while the first home buyer might get more bang for their buck once the FHOB has ceased the reality is that many will actually find it harder to get into the market. In fact, lower property prices will only help out the minority of first home buyers that are cashed up - you see the main issue stopping first home buyers from buying a property is their lack of a deposit and that’s exactly why the FHOB has been so effective.
Consider the following example; let’s say you purchase a $350,000 property and manage to borrow 95% from a lender. Taking into account purchase and loan costs you will need to contribute around 10% of the properties value, or $35,000 in order to settle. Assuming the property is brand new the government will currently pay you $25K in grants leaving you to come up with only $10,000 of your own savings [or your parents!]. However, after Dec 31st you will only receive $11K in grants, leaving you to find an extra $24,000! Put simply, if you don’t have the cash, you won’t be able to by the property!
So if you want to buy your first home and you don’t have a big deposit the next 6 weeks could represent your best opportunity to get into the market. However, if you miss out you still have options; just be prepared to save a bigger deposit, or convince your parents to lend you some serious cash! [Hint: just tell your folks how expensive you are, how you don’t really contribute around the house and how if you don’t buy a property in the next 12 months you’ll probably just end up living with them until your at least 40!].
New Homes Currently After Sep 30th After Dec 31st
F HO G $7,000 $7,000 $7,000
FH O B $14,000 $7,000 $0
F H B G $4,000 $4,000 $4,000
TOTAL $25,000 $18,000 $11,000
Established Homes
F H O G $7,000 $7,000 $7,000
F H O B $7,000 $3,500 $0
F H B G $4,000 $4,000 $4,000
TOTAL $18,000 $14,500 $11,000
For more details or to discuss your financial situation please call us on 8404 3133.
Your Partner in Success,
Sam Cocks
Urbantech Group
Director, Business Development Technician
Reserve Bank leaves cash rate unchanged at 3.0 per cent
August 4th, 2009STATEMENT BY GLENN STEVENS, GOVERNOR, MONETARY POLICY
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.0 per cent.
With considerable economic stimulus in train around the world, the global economy is stabilising after an earlier sharp contraction in demand. Downside risks to the global outlook have diminished, though they have not disappeared and most observers expect only modest growth overall. There is tentative evidence that the US economy is approaching a turning point, but conditions in Europe are still weakening. Growth in China, in contrast, has been very strong in recent months, which is having an impact on other economies in the region and on commodity markets.
Sentiment in global financial markets has continued to improve. Nonetheless, credit conditions remain difficult, and the effects of economic weakness on asset quality present a challenge. For the global economic recovery to be durable, continued progress in restoring balance sheets is essential.
Economic conditions in Australia have been stronger than expected a few months ago, with both consumer spending and exports notable for their resilience. Measures of confidence have recovered a good deal of ground. This suggests that the risk of a severe contraction in the Australian economy has abated. The most likely outcome in the near term is a period of sluggish output, with consumer spending likely to slow somewhat and investment remaining weak. Stronger dwelling activity and public spending will start to provide more support to overall demand soon, and growth is likely to firm into 2010.
Inflation is gradually moderating, given the earlier decline in energy and commodity prices, and the effects of weaker demand on prices and labour costs. Given the current prospects for demand and output, this moderation should continue over the year ahead. The higher exchange rate over recent months will assist this moderation, at the margin.
Housing credit has been solid, and dwelling prices have risen over recent months. Business borrowing, on the other hand, has been declining, as companies have postponed investment plans and sought to reduce leverage in an environment of tighter lending standards. Large firms have had good access to equity capital, and access to debt markets appears to be improving.
The Board’s judgment is that the present accommodative setting of monetary policy is appropriate given the economy’s circumstances. The Board will continue to monitor how economic and financial conditions unfold and how they impinge on prospects for sustainable growth in economic activity and achieving the inflation target.
When Buying is better than Rent
July 30th, 2009With interest rates at an all time low, it never has been a better time to get into the property market. With the First Home Owners Grant due to be phased out soon, buyers should take advantage of the perfect storm conditions and get themselves off the rental merry go round. Adelaide is still the most affordable city to purchase homes in and this article published in the Advertiser (July 30, 09) is a timely reminder that it can be cheaper to buy than rent.
House hunters can make repayments on a home less than the cost of renting in nine South Australian suburbs and towns – as much as $230 less a month in the most extreme case.
Angle Park tops the list where homebuyers can expect to spent $990 a month in mortgage loan repayments for a unit – or choose to spend $1220 a month in rent.
A Commonwealth Bank/RP Data report entitled “Where is it cheaper to buy than rent?”, also points to Gilles Plains – where monthly loan repayments are $1119 compared with a rent of $1300 – and Greenhill (loan repayments of $2166, rent $2200) as places to watch.
Home owner Kristy Wright moved from renting in Woodville to her new home in Angle Park – for only $174 a month extra. “I chose to build because I was living in a two-bedroom unit and wanted something bigger for me and my son” said Ms Wright “so for another $40 per week I could get a three-bedroom, two bathroom home and a backyard. I like the western suburbs and this is an up-and-coming area, it’s got the whole community-neighbourhood feel.”
Latest Valuer-General figures show the median price in Angle Park is $375,000 while that of units is $198,000.
During the six months to June 2009, home sales were up by 7.7 per cent in SA, 35.2 per cent in Victoria and 25.7 per cent in NSW.
Hannah Silvermann
Real Estate Reporter
Tile Paint for cheap bathroom makeovers
July 27th, 2009Since I started renovating homes I have continuously sought out cost effective products that produce great results. I save time and money by doing small jobs myself that can cost up to thousands using traditional techniques and paying for tradespeople to do the work for me.
One of the best products I have used that has literally made me thousands of dollars in return is Tile paint by White Knight Paints. Instead of gutting a bathroom and starting from scratch, I have had great success in painting existing bathroom tiles for less than $100.
Bathroom Before
White Knight Tile Paint is a high performance interior paint specifically developed to give a hard wearing, high gloss finish. Tile Paint will completely transform you kitchen or bathroom without the cost or upheaval of retiling. White Knight Tile Paint can also be used on old furniture and
kitchen or bathroom cupboards where a gloss finish is required. Tile Paint may also be used on laminates where a gloss finish is desired.
Suitable Surfaces
Ceramic wall tiles, including the wall tiles in your shower recess. Tile Paint is not recommended for tiles on floors or benchtops and is for interior use only.
Bathroom After Painting Tiles
Auction clearance rate jumps in Adelaide
July 27th, 2009Property worth more than $6million was sold at auction in Adelaide yesterday. Of the 22 auctions reported to property monitor Home Price Guide, 12 ended in under-the-hammer sales and one property sold before auction – a clearance rate of 59 per cent – while nine were passed in.
The result was a significant increase on the 51 per cent clearance last Saturday and the 44 per cent at the same time last year.
The highest reported sale at auction was a three – bedroom home at Henley Beach which went for $771,000 while the cheapest was a two-bedroom house in Mill Street, Seaton, that sold for $295,000.
City Land Prices up by 10pc
July 26th, 2009Land prices in Adelaide have increased by almost 10 per cent during the March quarter.
Figures prepared by the Housing Industry Association and RP Data show the median land price in Adelaide jumped by 8.5 per cent to $164,950. Prices were up 12.2 per cent on the previous year.
Land in regional SA fell 3.3 per cent in the March quarter to $96,700. Land in Adelaide is the second cheapest of the nation’s capital cities behind Hobart, the report shows.
“Dodgy” Renovations up 25%
July 26th, 2009Complaints about home renovations have jumped by more than 25% so far this year exposing several cases where builders have failed to take out indemnity insurance.
The office of Consumer and Business Affairs has received 87 complaints about home renovations in 2009 compared with 65 for the same period last year.
Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said the rise in complaints could be a reflection of people taking cheaper options during tough economic times. “Cutting costs creates a false sense of economy because often homeowners will land themselves even bigger bills fixing inadequate work or having no recourse against unregistered tradespersons” she said.
By law builders must take out indemnity insurance if the work costs $12,000 or more and requires council approval.
To report a renovation concern, contact the OCBA on 8294 9777. To check a builder is licensed check the Licensing Public Register at 222.ocba.sa.gov.au.
BRAD CROUCH Adelaide Advertiser
Love This Cushion!
July 24th, 2009This month we fell in love with this gorgeous black sequined cushion… We just had to purchase it!
