Investment education articles & tips

US Economy heading into the festive season and 2010

US consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in November while the trade deficit widened by more than forecast in September, which appears to be in line with the Federal Reserve's view of a fragile economic recovery. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said US monetary policy will remain "highly accommodative" for quite some time, and possibly beyo...

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“NETTELS” Grow Property Values

Intrigued by the headline? - What are NETTELS? Well it is the new demographic term used for higher income earners with kids yet no time, as termed in a recent article I read written by Bernard Salt. So what does the abbreviation NETTELS stands for? Not Enough Time to Enjoy Life. They are aged between 30 & 49 years of age and both work full tim...

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‘Mixed Economic Messages – Is this a V Shaped Recovery or a Hidden W for equity markets

Economic forecasting is ‘Rocket Science’ which is my way of saying that the forecasters and experts don’t always get it right.  Take for example the latest forecasts below from three major banks, who all have access to the same data and most likely same resources, yet their cash rate forecast for the next 12 months are significantly differen...

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Owners Corporations…..

Body Corps’ as they used to be known are important entities with important responsibilities. The Owners Corporations Act 2006 [the Act] commenced on 31 December 2007. The new regulatory regime aims to improve transparency and financial accountability in the management of owners’ corporations, as well as new dispute resolution provisions. ...

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‘Time is Profit’

Last month I wrote about how timing of a purchase was not so critical if you have a long term view of your investment property and you bought in a sound location, such as a major city like Melbourne close the major employment centre. This month I am focusing on the message that time is profit when it comes to the capital growth measure for property...

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Is it Time to Invest Again?

There is no doubt that residential property has withstood the doomsayers’ predictions of massive price falls of up to 40%, following the GFC.  The reasons it has stood up are well documented; Record low interest rates, a housing shortage, high rental demand, growing population, government stimulus in the form of First Home Owners incentives etc....

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Negative Gearing – Worth Keeping

It has been well documented that currently the federal government is conducting a full review of the taxation system, tagged as the ‘Henry Review’. As part of this review the government has called on public submissions to assist in this review. These submissions provide State Governments, Community Groups,  Business Interest groups etc the...

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Bank Loyalty, Does it pay off?

Over my journey in this profession, I have meet many great people and continue to work for most of them in helping them achieve their goals whether it be securing their first home, refinancing or planning out their pathway of financial independence through investment in Residential property.  As I do with every client I ask them the same question ...

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Property Prices on the Up – Investors coming back….

It appears in just a couple of months that sentiment and actual property prices have come full circle, from the gloom and doom being reported back in March / April of this year.  The logical reason for this is that the data that most analysts report, such as the Real Estate institutes in each state, is up to 2 to 3 months following the actual resu...

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What’s the Cheapest Loan?

If I had a dollar for every time……. so the saying goes, and in my case it relates to people asking me what is the best interest rate at the moment or who’s got the cheapest loan? I wish there was a simple answer to this question, and believe you me, when I first started out in the finance industry I was also naive to think that surely this...

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To Fix or Not to Fix – ‘The question on everyone’s mind…..’

Depending on long term funding costs and increased demand for fixed loans, fixed mortgages can actually go up when the cash rate / variable mortgages are going down, as we have seen just recently. Fixed interest rates don’t automatically move in the same fashion as variable mortgage rates do. So in my attempt to make an informed comment on this ...

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What’s happening in Easter this year?

A shortage of good property and increased interest from First Home Buyers leading up to the June 30 deadline for the Boost Package to lapse is making it hard going for both home buyers and investors in the ‘quality’ locations both in Melbourne and within all major Australian Cities. My comment is twofold this month: 1. Staying the course:...

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Where will the ‘Smart Investors Money’ go in 2009?

The Stock Market is shaky with both the ASX and NYSE pushing below 15 and 12 year lows respectively, as I write my comment piece this month. The low cash rate correlates to reduced bank interest returns for money invested in Term Deposits or Savings Accounts. The same goes for Government bonds. The media continues to talk up the doom & gloom...

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