After six interest rate rises since October last year, the past couple of months have been somewhat of a relief for mortgage holders, with the Reserve Bank of Australia keeping interest rates on hold at 4.5 per cent.  But rates won’t stay on hold forever and the RBA has already said that it will lift rates in August if it is uncomfortable with inflation levels.  For those of you dealing with a mortgage, such uncertain conditions can often be tricky and usually require some forward... 

A very interesting study came across my desk the other day that I thought was worth sharing.  Apparently, in the UK, living on a ‘street’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  A study by the UK property website Zoopla looked at the average property values for each of the 858,000 residential locations in the UK.  It found that properties located on ‘Hills’ and ‘Lanes’ are worth more than the national average, while ‘Streets’ and ‘Terraces’ have the lowest average property values.  ... 

I always find interesting the perceptions that people often hold about the timing of buying and selling real estate.  I know of many people who equate cold winter months to a cooler property market and are thus afraid to put their home up for sale, or those buyers who don’t even bother looking.  And then there’s the hype that usually surrounds the Spring Selling Season, where both buyers and sellers gear up for action.  It’s true that in spring there is a certain buzz in the... 

Well it’s that time of year again.  June 30 has now passed and it is time for all tax payers to get their tax returns in order.  I like to use this time of year to talk about the tax benefits of owning property for investors;  it always surprises me how many people, even current property investors, don’t understand the impact of property ownership on their tax bills.  One of the main benefits for property investors to consider is the handling of expenses; investors can claim some... 

I’m beginning to realise that a technologically enhanced lifestyle doesn’t necessarily benefit our electricity bills.  And the electricity price changes set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal which came into effect at the beginning of July are not going to help matters.  Given that these changes will see the cost of electricity rise between seven to 13 per cent, it may be worth considering the little alterations that can be made on a day-to-day basis to help reduce... 

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