There are more interesting articles, commentaries and analyst reports on the Web every week than anyone could read in a month.
Each Saturday morning I like to share some of the ones I’ve read during the week.
The weekend will be over before you know it, so enjoy some interesting reading.
It’s worth knowing more about your electorate than just its name
What do you know about your electorate besides its name?
This article from Simon Kuestenmacher of thenewdaily.com.au gives some interesting facts.
Let’s hunt for the electorate with the widest economic gap within the electorate.
It’s a simple exercise.
First, we collect data on the median weekly household income for all suburbs.
Next, we look for the electorate that has the widest income gap between the richest and the poorest suburb within its boundaries.
This prize goes to the electorate of Bean in Canberra’s southwest.
The richest suburb of O’Malley has a median annual household income that is $141,000 higher ($183,000) than the one in Bean’s poorest suburbs of Canberra East ($42,000).
Read the full article here.
Lending to investors is booming, despite more looming rate hikes
What are lenders looking for now that rate hikes are looming?
After a sharp decline in the number of investors in the property market in recent years, would-be landlords are back in a big way – and this is where they have set their sights.
Data just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows new lending to investors continued to surge in March, with an increase of 2.9% month-on-month, to be 48.4% higher than a year ago.
New lending for housing climbed 1.6% in March, to sit 11.1% higher year-on-year, as buyers took advantage of the surge in listings seen so far this year.
As a property investor, do you need to look beyond returns and yields?
This article from domain.com.au gives the latest insights.
How important are the latest figures on rents in Australia’s capital cities, yields and their annual growth – or decline – to residential property investors?
They’re important, but they need to be considered in combination with a number of other critical factors, say the experts.
New Domain data for the year to the end of March shows Perth houses offering the best yields of 5.24 per cent, up a stunning 4.7 per cent over the same period in 2021.
Darwin is also showing a good yield of 5.14 per cent, Hobart 4.48 per cent and Adelaide 4.3 per cent.
At the same time, however, rents have hit a new national high in Canberra at a median of $700 a week, having risen a staggering 16.7 per cent on 2021, in Darwin at $610, up 10.9 per cent and Sydney at $600, up 9.1 per cent.
“Those figures are all important,” says Anna Porter, Suburbanite property
Read the full article here.
With high prices and soaring rents, what are the political parties promising to do about housing?
With the federal election coming, what are the political parties have to say about housing?
This article from abc.net.au provides the latest information.
Election policies around housing focus on potential buyers.
Stimulating demand without increasing supply may increase prices.
Renters might benefit from a rise in social housing construction.
Is there an answer?
In housing, there’s never going to be one that will fix every problem without creating losers elsewhere.
But in the looming federal election, major and minor parties are proposing policies that could:
- Build tens of thousands of social and affordable homes for rent by low-income earners and welfare recipients
- Help people buy homes with deposits much lower than the standard 20 per cent
- See the government become a co-owner of some homes as a way to lower the up-front cost for the buyers
- Cap mortgage rates at 3 per cent
- Build 125,000 homes costing just $300,000 each
Read the full article here.
Home remodelling projects that pay back the most in happiness
What remodelling projects can give you back the most in terms of happiness?
This article from forbes.com gives a few suggestions.
“Our study revealed that homeowners tend to undertake a remodeling project for any number of reasons,” said Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at the National Association of Realtors.
“In some instances, homeowners were content with sprucing up a room with a simple paint job, while in other cases, families decided to take on the task of renovating an entire attic or basement to add additional living space to their home.”
The report notes that Americans spent $420 billion in 2020 on home remodeling ventures.
Ninety percent of NARI members cited a greater demand for contracting remodeling work during the course of the pandemic.
Three out of five NARI members – 60% – said the scale of the projects grew either in a larger project or remodeling more than one room due to the pandemic.
The exact reasons why homeowners decided to modify their living spaces varied.
Thirty-five percent of owners said the single most important result from their remodel was better functionality and livability.
Upon completion of their project, 22% said they had durable and long-lasting results, materials and appliances.
Fourteen percent reported beauty and aesthetics as a result of their remodel.
Read the full article here.
/GettyImages-187653343-5917563a3df78c7a8c557312-5bbae9d29b574b9db8e3a40fc19c7957.jpg)
