Category Archives: Property finance

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Real Estate Transactions Are 9.8% Higher Than A Year Ago

Real estate transactions are up as Australians have proven their preference for bricks and mortar as a sound investment, pouring their money into the property market and lifting its value to a staggering $5.6 trillion.

This is in direct comparison to superannuation funds which are worth about $1.8 trillion and our share market which is worth about $1.6 trillion.

New figures from RP Data reveal buyer demand for property has levelled out, but property purchasing is still at a high. Transaction levels are 9.8 per cent higher than a year ago with 351,738 houses and 140,277 units bought in the year to July.

The latest market report identified Darwin as having the property market with the highest long-term capital gain of any capital city. Its median house price rose by 8.2 per cent per year for the past ten years while its unit values went up by 8.3 per cent.

Sydney still had the highest capital gains in the past year with dwelling values up by a hard-to-beat 14.3 per cent. Sydney’s median house price was also the highest in the country at $750,000. 

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First Home Buyers Grants – Changes July 2014

The start of the new financial year sees changes to some states’ First Home Buyers Grant – some advantageous and others not so welcome. 

From July 1, first time buyers of new property (existing properties don’t qualify) in NSW are now eligible for a First Home Buyers Grant of $15,000 grant on purchases up to $750,000, increasing the threshold from $650,000.

“The latest figures show the number of grants has increased significantly over the past financial year,” says NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance. “First homeowner grants for new homes were 46 per cent higher in the four months to April 2014 compared to the same period the year before.”

However, the end of June marked the end of an era for South Australia’s First Home Owners Grant of $5000 with it ceasing to exist in its current form. REISA chief executive officer Greg Troughton says, “The one saving grace for South Australian homebuyers was the First Home Owners Grant for established homes. Although this has dropped to $5000 in recent years, it did go some way to ameliorating the effects of a $20,000 stamp duty for those wishing to buy their first home at the current median price.”