Category: Australia & New Zealand

Australia Property Market Outlook 2020: A Complete Overview

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Australia is the to-go place for people who wish to live in a stable nation, offering great education, and a comfortable climate. Foreign investors, many from China, have flooded the market and real estate prices have reached record-breaking levels.

Worth mentioning is that Australia has never experienced a major decline and didn’t suffer much during the subprime crash 2008, when prices continued upwards. There are several interesting reasons behind this, of course.

In this article, I explain how Australia’s property market has performed in the past years and what the predictions are for 2019.

Australia’s Property Market in Previous Years

Australia’s property market was booming in 2016 to 2017 and we saw house prices breaking all-time high records. The millennials were even told to give up eating avocado toast if they ever wanted to afford a house.

According to Huffington Post Australia, the house price growth in recent years are related to:

  • Investor activity in Sydney and Melbourne
  • Low interest rates
  • Tax incentives such as negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts

Theconversation.com has an illustrative chart that shows how housing prices have continuously been in decline, after hitting a peak in the 3rd quarter of 2017. It’s also the first annual decline since 2012.

A lower demand for homes and a tightening of lending to investors played a big role in the price falls according to the ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman. Regulators have progressively clamped down risky lending, such as interest-only mortgages.

With around 40% of Australians having interest-only mortgages, it’s a wise choice. The banks have toughen-up previously lax expense and income verification. Continue reading Australia Property Market Outlook 2020: A Complete Overview

Top 10 Real Estate Agencies in Australia: The Ultimate Guide

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Australia continues to be one of the most popular destinations for overseas property buyers in Asia Pacific.

Here, you’ll find dozens of international real estate agencies and tens of thousands of real estate agents. If you’re about to buy Australian property, you need to assure that you work with a credible agency that has a decent track record.

In this article, I’ve listed some of the biggest and most reputable real estate agencies in Australia.

1. Ray White

Ray White is one of the oldest and biggest real estate companies in Australia. With over 116 years of experience, they’ve expanded to numerous locations overseas, namely: New Zealand, Indonesia, China (including Hong Kong S.A.R), the Middle East and Atlanta (USA).

Despite having around 1,000 individually owned offices, it continues to be a family owned business. You’ll notice that Ray White has a strong presence in places with a high concentration of Australians, for example in Bali.

Continue reading Top 10 Real Estate Agencies in Australia: The Ultimate Guide

How to Buy Property in New Zealand: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg

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Foreign investors, especially from China, have invested heavily in New Zealand during the past years. One of the main reasons is that they want to find a stable place to allocate cash and for overseas studies.

Yet not only Asian investors decide to invest in New Zealand, we also see many investors from the US, Malaysia and other regional countries.

However, before you go into detailed planning, it’s important that you know if foreigners can even buy property, what property types that are available, about taxes and more.

In this article, you’ll learn the following:

Can foreigners buy property in New Zealand?

Previously, foreigners generally didn’t have any issues to buy property in New Zealand.

However, the government has forbidden non-resident foreigners from buying established property, to curb escalating property prices.

According to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) you need to increase the number of residences and then sell the lot as a non-resident. You can do this by, for example, converting the land or by constructing an apartment building where a house was previously built.

No one knows when this will be lifted, but for now, you need to look at other countries if you’re a non-resident and cannot fulfill these criteria.

Continue reading How to Buy Property in New Zealand: A Complete Guide

Buying Commercial Property in Australia: A Complete Guide

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Australia is the go-to place for Asian property buyers who want to invest in a politically stable country with a strong economy.

With a growing population, especially in the bigger cities, we’ll see a greater demand for commercial property in the future.

Not to forget, commercial property can give you high returns, but is rarely talked about compared to residential property.

Commercial property generally gives you a return of 5%-12%, while residential property averages at around 3%-4%.

In this guide, you’ll learn how you can invest in commercial property in Australia as a foreigner, where to invest, how high the taxes are and more.

Can foreigners buy commercial property in Australia?

Foreigners generally don’t have any issues to invest in commercial property. However, you sometimes need an approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Continue reading Buying Commercial Property in Australia: A Complete Guide

Buying Off-Plan Property in Perth: By Amanda Gauci

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Perth is the capital and the biggest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Being the 4th most populous city, Perth offers a great quality of life with white beaches and property prices that are not as propped up compared to Melbourne and Sydney.

Interestingly, the distance to Jakarta is shorter than if you would travel from Perth to Sydney or Melbourne, giving you more proximity to the rest of Asia.

Off-plan property is a preferred choice when foreigners invest in Perth and Australia, a reason why I decided to invite Amanda Gauci, the founder and managing director of Pulse Property Solutions, a boutique property development company located in Perth.

Today she will explain about:

  • Perth’s property market
  • The process when buying off-plan property
  • Benefits of buying in Perth
  • Interesting projects built by Pulse Property Solutions, including illustrations

Welcome Amanda, first, can you please tell us a little bit more about yourself, your history and how Pulse Property Solutions helps foreign buyers to buy off-plan in Perth?

I founded Pulse Property Solutions ten years ago with my family with the aim to create unique boutique developments that people love living in. I come from a business and marketing background which provides a unique approach to development and design.

I’m passionate about the development industry and am part of the HIA Environment, Planning & Development Committee and a board member of Entrepreneurs Organisation Perth.

Continue reading Buying Off-Plan Property in Perth: By Amanda Gauci

Top 10 Property Developers in New Zealand: A Complete Guide

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New Zealand has attracted many foreigners, especially Chinese, who wish to have a safe haven in the future. Property prices have increased much over the years, forcing the government to introduce cooling measures.

Not surprisingly, a preferred option is to buy off-plan property, giving you the opportunity to design and move into a brand new property. Therefore, I decided to write an article about some of the biggest residential property developers in New Zealand.

Let’s have a look.

1. Conrad Properties

Conrad Properties Group is one of the biggest property developers and investment companies in New Zealand. Conrad Properties is also known as the largest apartment developer as they mostly develop medium and high-rise apartment buildings.

Conrad Properties was founded in 1994 with its head office situated in Auckland. It also has regional offices in Sydney, Singapore, and Hong Kong. They develop properties outside of New Zealand, mainly in Australia, but also in Canada, Bermuda, China and Singapore.

Property types

Almost all of their projects are high-rise apartment buildings. Although one of their first projects, G Urban Work Spaces, was mixed-use project but after that, they’ve only developed residential apartment buildings.

Current projects

  • Queens Residences
  • The Ivory Epsom
  • Urba Residences
  • The Vincent
  • Soho Apartments

Future projects

Continue reading Top 10 Property Developers in New Zealand: A Complete Guide

Top 13 Property Developers in Australia: The Definitive Guide

Posted on by Marcus Sohlberg

Suggestion: Watch the 5 minutes video tutorial before reading this article

Do you plan to buy property in Australia?
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Buying off-plan or new property is the first choice among many foreign investors in Australia.

In fact, established property is only available to local citizens and temporary residents, unless you get an approval from the FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board).

The government introduced new buying regulations as late as 2015, to reduce the influx of foreigners (especially from China), and to protect the local market.

As the trend becomes obvious and we see a higher demand for off-the-plan property, I decided to write this article where I list some of the biggest residential property developers in Australia.

1. Metricon Homes

Metricon has been ranked as the biggest residential developer in Australia by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) since 2011. In 2017, it retained its top position with 4,365 starts, more than any other developer.

Metricon Homes was established in 1976 and the head office is located in Melbourne.

Property types

Metricon builds mostly single and double story homes. In addition, they offer services like knocking down old properties for rebuilding purposes, build display homes for investors and customize apartments according to your living style.

You can also find home and land packages, where you simply buy a block of land with a different interiors and exteriors offered. Later, they build a house based on the design you select.

Current projects

Metricon homes builds individual homes instead of projects. You can explore different designs on their website, like Amalfi, Allure, Dromana and more than 80 other designs.

Future projects

You can find multiple packages on their website, including single and double story homes in different locations, as well as home and land packages.

Prices & areas

Based on the prices quoted on their website, you can find a home and land package in all major cities of Australia. Prices range from around $200,000 – 1,800,000, depending on location, land size, and the design you choose.

Continue reading Top 13 Property Developers in Australia: The Definitive Guide

Buying Property in Australia: The Definitive Guide

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Australia is a popular choice when people from places like Hong Kong, Singapore and China look for properties overseas.

The Australian property market has grown remarkably fast over the years and prices have reached unsustainable levels in places like Sydney and Melbourne. Not surprisingly, many locals move to smaller cities.

The truth is, Australia will continue to attract foreign real estate buyers over the years, might it be future retirees or for people who want to send their kids overseas.

However, before you buy property here, it’s important that you get your feet wet and learn about local buying regulations, property taxes, the best places to buy, and more.

In this article, I explain the details you need to know when buying real estate as a foreigner in Australia.

Continue reading Buying Property in Australia: The Definitive Guide