Rentals On Bribie

Investors benefit with colour ads

Margaret — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:31:18 +0000

INVESTMENT property owners on Bribie Island are reaping the rewards of colour advertising in the local newspaper.
Boutique property management agency, Rentals On Bribie, has taken full advantage of colour ‘To Let’ pictorial advertising to successfully find tenants for most of their rental stock.
Fully licensed Property Manager, Chantel Greig, said she recently found a tenant for one property within 24 hours of it being listed, while another was leased within two days.
“Rentals On Bribie is at the forefront of strategy development for our investment property owners, and we continually strive to offer a point of difference,” Mrs Greig said.
“As well as using full colour advertising for our rentals, we also have our own website where potential tenants can view available properties and where they can also send through an online tenancy application form via email,” she added.
Rentals On Bribie is a division of Properties On Bribie Pty Ltd.

New property investor types could emerge in 2012

Margaret — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:09:13 +0000

AS the year 2011 draws to a close there could be good news on the horizon for local property owners in 2012.
According to Australian Property Monitors senior economist Andrew Wilson, a new breed of property investor is likely to charge into the market in the second quarter of next year and drive the activity of the traditional buy-and-hold investor.
“Despite some signals across many of the nation’s capitals that buyer enquiry is picking up, a good majority of investors are still waiting for an even clearer signal that housing prices have moved upwards and that capital growth will begin to outweigh the cost of holding properties again,” Mr Wilson said.
A surge of new investors – the SMSF (self-managed superannuation fund) investor types – are expected to hit the ground running in the second quarter of next year and likely to even beat the traditional investors back into the market, he said.
Mr Wilson said his forecast is based on anecdotal feedback across the industry – from accountants, lawyers and SMSF advisers already putting “the wheels in motion” for many new and existing property investors.
He added the “perceived groundswell” of SMSF investor activity is reflective of the big hit many superannuation funds experienced around the time of the GFC and even more recently.
“Many individuals don’t want their super funds exposed to stockmarket activity any more and instead want to take back control of how their funds are invested,” Mr Wilson said.
Meanwhile, David Thomas of Trilogy Investment Property Funding agreed with Wilson’s forecast, stating his company is currently being swamped with enquiry on borrowing through a SMSF to buy a residential investment property.
“The demographic tends to be individuals in their 40s with enough superannuation accumulated already,” Mr Thomas said.
He added that of every 10 enquiries he currently receives regarding financing a property through a SMSF, only one enquiry might proceed through to a transaction because the process can at first be a little daunting and many individuals need time to digest the idea and then time to set up the SMSF.
“There’s still not a lot of rubber hitting the road yet because these investors first need to do their homework,” Thomas said.
“They need to find out what’s involved – it’s not an instantaneous purchase because they need to speak to the mortgage broker to find out what’s involved and how much they can borrow, then see a solicitor to set up their SMSF trust deed, then approach an accountant who establishes the corporate trustee for the SMSF, then weigh up the figures – all before they get an approval on the SMSF loan.
“If the process has started now then it’s highly likely we’ll see these SMSF investors ready to buy second quarter of next year.”
(Information first appeared on Australian Property News November 24, 2011)

Tenants will pay more to stay and most can afford to

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:05:31 +0000

The Matusik Snapshot in April stated that their rental market survey found that seven out of 10 tenants were looking to buy, but until that took place, most wanted to stay in their current accommodation and were willing to pay more in rent to do so.

“With three-quarters paying under a third of their income in rent (and half paying less than a quarter of their take home pay on accommodation costs), it looks like they can afford to do so.”

According to the report “This is good news for landlords and the residential market in general. Where end prices go from there (in the short-to-medium term at least) is dependent on rental growth. Two-thirds of the renters surveyed say they are prepared to pay up to 5% more in rent in order to stay put, with a further 30% stating they would accept a greater lift. Apartment renters seem more willing to accept a higher increase in rent than those renting detached dwellings.

“Two out of five renters think that the rental market in their area is balanced with another third saying it is undersupplied.

“Those who aren’t prepared to pay more rent will either move to a less expensive area (43), move to a lesser property in the same area (37%) or sublease/share with others (19%) to help pay the rent.

“Renters, like owner-residents, don’t really move that far when it comes to finding new digs. Close to a third find new accommodation in the same suburb they already live in, with a further 47% moving to a neighbouring suburb.

“This survey has found that more are choosing to move a bit further out. Our rental survey last year found a stronger inward movement” according to Matusik.

The seven most important things when looking for rental accommodation are the actual rent, followed closely by the general location, then the number of bedrooms, the lease arrangements, dwelling type, off-street parking and how quiet the immediate area is.
“What would be nice to have but isn’t important enough to pay more in rent for include lots of bathrooms, fancy internal housing designs or nearby visitor parking.”

What ISN’T important at all (according to the Matusik survey) is the ability to keep pets (53%) and environmental sustainability measures (47%) such as rainwater tanks, solar power and other water/energy saving devices.

“Many commented that fast internet connection was far more important than the ‘green’ stuff.”

“Just over half looking to buy anticipate doing so within the next 12 months. The lack of deposit is what is stopping most. A further 20% will do so when end prices substantially drop. This segment might be renting for some time to come.