Mortgage Broker

08/03/2017

Real estate price quotes for Victoria to cause confusion with new laws on the way

Confused about the conflicting terms that real estate agents use to quote the likely selling prices for properties? Then get set for the uncertainty to intensify – at least for the next few months. Many agents are adopting highly divergent approaches to quoting prices in the countdown period to the Victorian government’s introduction of new laws to clamp down on underquoting by agents. The most widely used terms include “offers above,” “price on application” or no price indication at all. […]
08/03/2017

Why the RBA cares about house prices and how it affects interest rates

The majority of countries in the world have a central bank whose role is to maintain economic stability by managing the currency and interest rates, and issuing bank notes. In Australia, this institution is known as the Reserve Bank of Australia, also referred to as the RBA or the Reserve Bank. On the first Tuesday of every month, except for January, the RBA board meets to determine whether it should change the official cash rate. The result usually makes headlines […]
07/03/2017

Cafes, restaurants, hair and beauty salons on the ATO’s radar as it steps up cash economy fight

An estimated 400 restaurants, cafes and hair and beauty salons will get a visit from the Tax Office this month, as part of the agency’s continued focus on the illegal cash economy. The ATO has in recent years stepped up audits of small businesses in high-risk industries, which it suspects may be taking illegal cash-in-hand payments. ATO officers with Asian language skills have been visiting these kinds of businesses in major cities across Australia including Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and […]
07/03/2017

CBA: Victoria’s tax on vacant homes may be a blueprint for other cities in Australia

Following in the footsteps of policymakers in Vancouver, the Victorian government announced yesterday that it will introduce a 1% “Vacant Residential Property Tax” from January 1 next year, designed to raise revenue from investors who choose not to occupy or rent out a vacant dwelling. It will be based on the improved value of a taxable property, and will target homes around the inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne. For an investor with a vacant property worth $500,000, the tax […]
07/03/2017

Melbourne suburbs where you can’t buy a house for under $1 million

House hunters who do not have a seven-figure budget have already been priced out of five Melbourne suburbs. And as house prices continue to climb, more home owners will come to grips with the idea that $1 million will not stretch far in this city. Big-ticketed suburbs such as Toorak and Hawthorn may have the most expensive houses, but it is the city’s smallest pockets with the highest entry prices. Last year, not a single a townhouse or house changed […]