Outlook for Investors:
Last year we saw experts begin to question the future of negative gearing and stamp duty as first -home buyers were pushed further out of the market. Home loan costs increased, construction numbers for apartments exploded and foreign investors were hit with big taxes.
Looking forward Ben Kingsley, chair of Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA says investors need to get creative to overcome affordability problems and to steer clear of areas inundated with apartments.
“With more potential downside risk in our major markets, investors need to be strategic about their investment approach,” he says. (I am an accredited member of PIPA)
In Whose Interests are these Proposed Changes?
As part of a comprehensive review of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) the Victorian State Government has recently released an options paper – Heading for Home – open for public submissions until 10 February 2017
Proposed reforms include:
- the removal of the ‘no specified reason’ notice;
- pets permitted in rental properties without landlord consent;
- increased notice periods for change of use terminations;
- mandated minimum property standards; and
- limited access to rental properties being sold.
Concerns About Safety
In the past ten days we have seen the results of such terrible violence. The nightmare in the Bourke Street Mall and around midday the Saturday prior to that, Erich and I were standing on Toorak Road and a violent robbery occurred opposite. Both these events were at times and in places I would have considered safe.
I believe the security of where we live is going to become a major concern for owner occupiers and tenants alike. We have been concerned about entry keys not being security keys for a long time. At one point we tried to make all entry keys restricted but the cost was very prohibitive for homes with multiple entrances. Something to think about.
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