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Hi Margaret,   
This is a question about the tax deductibility of break costs on an investment loan for an investment property. My husband and I had a fixed rate investment loan which we broke last financial year. I am wondering whether the break cost associated with this loan is tax deductible in the year it is incurred, or whether it has to be classed as a borrowing cost for tax purposes and deducted over a five-year period. Also, does it make a difference if the break cost was capitalised into the new refinanced loan?   
Thanks in Advance,   
Kirsten
 
Kirsten, one of the main reasons why someone breaks a fixed rate loan is because they can get a better <a target="_blank" href="?option=com_googlesearch_cse&amp;q=ask%20margaret">rate</a> elsewhere and so reduce their expenses, and this may be the reason why the tax office allows you to claim these costs completely in the year they are incurred.
In addition to this, the interest on the money you borrow to finance the $20,000 will also be deductible, but only while the property is used to produce income.  
Make sure that you have a complete record of the exact costs which you incurred and give it to your accountant in plenty of time to make the allowable claims.
 
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popularProperty Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of <a href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Destiny</a>.
Have a property question? <a href="mailto:askmargaret@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">Ask Margaret!</a>
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Ask Margaret: When are my loan break costs tax deductible?

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Hello Margaret,
I have an investment duplex in which I pay body corporate fees, but they do not cover flood damage. Do I need the body corporate or do I get insurance that will cover the lot? And if I have to have a body corporate do I seek an insurance company that will cover for flood only?
Cheers,
Erik Smith.
Erik, I’ve checked this one with Michael Teys, who is my resident expert on Property Success. He tells me that you cannot take out the flood insurance yourself. This is because you have no insurable interest in the common property - this is vested in the owners corporation. The owners corporation is obliged only to insure for fire, lightning and explosion.
Some bodies corporate may insure for flood - remember this is not always available as some insurance companies will not provide flood insurance in some areas -  but they can't be forced to do so.
If you believe that your property is at risk, and you live in an area where flood insurance is available, you should  propose that the body corporate consider adding this insurance cover.  This will then be put to a motion and voted upon by all committee members.
Failing that, I'm afraid there is little you can do. Make sure your contents are well insured though, as anything within your four walls is your responsibility.
I've added the following clarification following queries from readers:
To clarify, any common property, which can include garages, car ports, structures on common land and anything essentially outside of the inner surface of your own four walls is not an insurable  interest for individual lot holders.  Anything inside your walls is, and you should hold all possible insurances to protect your interest in them.
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Ask Margaret: Do I need flood insurance if I pay body corporate fees?

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Dear Margaret,
If I buy a property to rent out, what insurances do I need to cover me for the tenants etc?
Phillip, ACT 
Phillip, as you know the basic insurances are going to be really important for you, as with all property, so you need to start with a good house and contents policy. 
This means insuring the building, and any contents too.  Where it is rented you might not have a lot of contents but remember there are some things which still need covering, like window treatments and anything not part of the building. 
A lot of people think they don’t need to cover the building if it’s a strata-titled property, since the body corporate has building cover, but that’s not entirely true.  You will still need that gap insurance to cover parts of your property not considered common property - so anything inside your four walls.
In addition to that you will need landlords insurance.  This will cover:
<ul>
<li>Damage caused by a tenant</li>
<li>An amount for public liability</li>
<li>Loss of rent if the damage renders your property uninhabitable</li>
<li>The costs of pursuing a tenant through a tribunal for unpaid rent</li>
</ul>
It won’t cover loss of rent through periods of normal vacancy but that’s something you should be planning for before you buy anyway. 
It’s important to be aware that not all policies are the same – the important things you are looking for will be a low excess, and a high cap on claims for each event – many companies cap the claim you can make at too low an amount leaving you very out-of-pocket in the event of damage.
Shop around and don’t just take the cheapest option – a few dollars more might save you thousands in the long term and remember, the cost of this insurance is tax deductible.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of <a href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx" target="_blank">Destiny</a>.
Have a property question? <a href="mailto:askmargaret@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">Ask Margaret!</a>
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Ask Margaret: What insurance policies do I need to cover my tenants?

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Dear Margaret
There is a very confusing and ongoing debate about houses and apartments which is quite confusing at times.
I need to ask you: in your opinion, which is a better investment and why?
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Opinder
 
This is an oft-asked question and, in my opinion, it shouldn’t be confusing at all!
Many investors start out with the notion that they will consider buying an apartment (also known as flats or units) as there is a perception that they are cheaper and represent a more ‘entry level’ price.
Alternatively, it’s believed that because a freestanding house has land around it, and land appreciates while buildings depreciate, a house ultimately becomes worth more.
Both of these notions are actually based more on myth than fact, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, an apartment can often have hefty body corporate levies which can add considerably to the holding costs.  If we considered that ‘profit’ in a property is the difference between the purchase price (plus costs) plus holding costs, and the eventual sale price (less costs), then these levies can add considerably to the holding costs and eat into profits.  One could argue that a body corporate’s sinking fund is like a savings plan for eventual repairs and maintenance, the costs of which you would otherwise bear alone, however a portion of these fees are for the type of ongoing maintenance which you’d probably carry out yourself if it were your home alone.
Secondly, it’s not proving true that a house and land necessarily grows in value more quickly than an apartment, and if the myth that buildings depreciate were true where it relates to value growth, then we’d be seeing all apartments go backward in value while all houses grow. Buildings do depreciate for tax purposes, and they do get older, requiring repair and maintenance (this applies to both units and apartments), however for value purposes this depreciation is not necessarily evident.  It’s a fact that in some areas the houses grow better than the apartments and in others the apartments are the better performer.
And that brings me to my final point – it’s demand which ultimately drives growth, not the property type. Therefore, the only way to establish whether to buy an apartment or a house is to discover what kind of people live in the area, and their preferred choice of property type. In some areas, such as those where young, childless couples live, apartments are the bigger sellers, and in others, such as areas where family units are settling, it will be houses. It makes sense to realise that the property type most in demand will also be the property type which grows better in value!
This is why property type choice should never be the first thing you do.  You should never decide to buy, say an apartment, and then go looking for the best area. You should always work out the best area to buy, discover the largest demographic in that area, and buy a property which suits that demographic. Buying a property which is not the preferred choice in any area is one of the biggest reasons investors do not get the outcomes they would like in terms of growth.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of <a href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Destiny</a>.
Have a property question? <a href="mailto:askmargaret@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">Ask Margaret!</a>
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Ask Margaret: Are houses or units the better investment?

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Hi Margaret
We have an investment property that needs some tidying up to maximise the rent – things such as replacing the carpets, renovating the kitchen and bathroom, painting and a carport.
Should we get a depreciation schedule before and after the renovations?
Your help is appreciated.
Regards
Debbe
 
 
Hi Debbe
I am so glad that you clarified this before you went ahead.  There is a significant benefit to be gained from what is known as ‘scrapping’, but all too often investors think of this after they have already thrown everything out, and this is too late.
First of all, your property has to be technically in the middle of being rented.  So, if it’s never been rented and you carry out these minor renovations before you make it available to rent, then you will not be able to make claims.  The property must be ‘income-producing’ in order to make claims.  So the best time is either while the tenant is in there, or in between tenancies.
If you do not know the value of the items which you will be removing from the property, start out by having a depreciation schedule prepared.  You are allowed to estimate the value of plant and equipment yourself (but not construction values), but in my experience it’s easier to have the schedule prepared, as this provides your construction values too.   Once you have had this done, go ahead and carry out the makeover.  Then, have the quantity surveyor come back to prepare an updated schedule.  It’s probably helpful if you can keep a list of anything you threw out to assist them.
You can then go ahead and ‘scrap’ any items which had a value before you disposed of them.  This means that their full, remaining value as at the time you threw them out carries an immediate deduction of 100% of the value for you, in that year!  For example, if you dispose of $5,000 worth of old items, you can claim an immediate tax deduction for the entire amount! For those on the 40% tax bracket, this is a tax break of $2,000, which isn’t to be sneezed at!
Good luck with your renovation!
Update
Last week a reader asked me to clarify whether I meant that you could avoid capital gains tax if you move out of your Principal Place of Residence for up to 6 years (as written), or if I meant 6 months!
You can move out of your PPOR for up to 6 years and still claim the PPOR exemption on that property, as long as you are not claiming the exemption on any other property.  You can rent it out during this time.  You must move back in (or sell it) not a day later than the 6 years are over.
The ‘6 month overlap rule’ is a different rule – it states that you can apply the PPOR exemption to two properties at the same time for an overlap period of not more than 6 months.  This allows you to move from your former home and into a new one and have 6 months to sell the old one without incurring CGT.  Again, the timing is strict; one day more than 6 months and the CGT applies form the date you moved out.
 
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx">Destiny</a>.
Have a property question? <a target="_blank" href="mailto:askmargaret@propertyobserver.com.au">Ask Margaret!</a>
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Ask Margaret: When should I get a depreciation schedule?

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Investors of anything should only ever buy investments that stand alone as strong and viable propositions not because of tax benefits.
It’s no secret that I am not a fan of NRAS property.  I’ve written extensively about it since it was first introduced and watched how an essentially great scheme has been prostituted for gain for greedy developers and their marketers.
In its purest form, NRAS was a scheme designed for large institutional investors, such as public superannuation funds and insurance companies.  They would undertake these developments, which were built in lots of 100, and gain the tax credits for the lot.  It was a good deal and a good idea, providing discounted rent to para professionals who would, it was claimed, make suitable tenants. The scheme was not designed for individual investors.  In fact the NRAS Policy Guidelines stated:
The scheme encourages large-scale investment in affordable housing so it is not directly available to small-scale, private, individual investors in the rental property market. 
Somehow, probably due to one of those tax office loopholes, some of the developments were sold to individuals as single lots.  The powers that be clearly didn’t sew up the scheme tightly enough, and someone drove a Mack truck through the space.  I still remember the day the tax office woke up and realised that it had no method in place to deal with the tax returns of individuals who bought them, and it scurried about with transitional arrangements to cope with the issue.  Lo and behold a precedence was created, and before we knew it whole companies were set up to move this latest tax advantaged product.   NRAS Policy Guidelines were amended to include:
Individual investors may wish to participate in the scheme as part of a non-entity joint venture or another joint venture arrangement or by purchasing NRAS dwellings from an approved participant. 
It’s pretty easy to counter the flippant claims of NRAS marketers when they use simplistic three line statements espousing the benefits of buying one – just buy it, discount the rent and get tax benefits–with a plethora of dangers;
<ol>
<li>The middlemen do make big commissions – I’ve not seen one less than $20,000, and you’d have to be very dull to be convinced that this isn’t built somewhere into the price.</li>
<li>They are released in lots of 100 – that’s a very large influx of competition all at the one time – affecting both the capital value and the potential rent return. Your 20% discount may end up being a 20% discount to a rent that has already dropped by 30% because of oversupply!</li>
<li>They are rarely built in hotspots, and when they are, well, refer to point 2!</li>
</ol>
 
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But in a recent email to me from an investor who recently felt similar concern to mine over the legitimacy, or otherwise, of these investments, far greater issues were brought to my attention.  Proponents may claim that in return for a financial loss each year of between $3,500 and $5,000 you get "tax-free" money of $9,980, but the writer of this email found that to be potentially misleading in the extreme.
This investor had such a great concern that he sought a private ruling, and to his alarm he found the following:
<ul>
<li>A portion of the rebates for this scheme ($2495) are provided by the state in which the property is built. As state governments cannot raise income tax, the portion of the rebates received from the state cannot be considered a tax offset. This portion of the rebates received is known as NANE income.</li>
<li>As entering the scheme is for the purpose of receiving a rental income and the NANE, claims related to the investment property must be apportioned.</li>
<li>On low rental properties, this can reduce claimable rental expenses by as much as 17%.</li>
</ul>
The investor who wrote to me wanted to be sure that he had it right, and so he telephoned the person who provided the ruling. This person advised that a further ruling was not necessary as the position is clear:  those costs relating to the scheme – being the initial NRAS set-up cost, the annual audit cost for scheme payment eligibility and the periodic rental market rates audit – are not considered expenses related to the derivation of assessable income.  Neither the NANE nor the Commonwealth tax offset, are considered assessable income.
He went on to apply this information to one set of figures provided by one of the many companies promoting NRAS, and found that the swing was $141 per week!  That pretty much wiped out the positive cashflow, and if the property could not actually be leased for the rent amount forecast by the seller (which is what I am finding with many of these once they are constructed and settled) it could leave unsuspecting investor in quite a financial pickle!
This was one smart investor who, rather than believe everything presented to him by a property seller, chose to do the due diligence himself.  Getting a private ruling was a good move, one all investors should take before taking the plunge on any scheme that sounds so good.
While I agree that NRAS isn’t olive trees or an emu farm, it’s still a tax scheme, and its opponents draw their comparison from this notional similarity, rather than from any physical likeness between the two.  It’s not the physical product itself which is being attacked – it’s the marketing of the tax scheme over the property itself.  Luring investors into a property based on getting tax benefits can be compared to stock market- based investments, as the results can be the same – the investor buys the asset for the overlying scheme, giving little consideration to whether the scheme is appropriate for them, or whether the underlying asset stacks up. Investors of anything should only ever buy investments which stand alone as strong and viable propositions – tax benefits, income guarantees or free holidays should only ever be icing on an already tasty cake.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel on Your Money, Your Call, both on Sky News.
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NRAS is a tax scheme; a property investment must stack up on its own: Margaret Lomas

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You’ve probably met someone who bought property in a mining town and made a bucket load. 
Years ago when everyone else was turning up their noses at those giant red holes in the ground that were mining towns, some crazy risk-takers bit the bullet and took the gamble.  It wasn’t much of a gamble, really – you could buy property that probably fit within your credit card limit, but at that time everyone figured nothing much could come of it.
Stories abounded of untold success.  It was the first we’d ever heard of a "donga", but apparently these tin sheds skyrocketed and fetched astronomical prices and rental yields.    Everyone wanted a piece of that action, and you had to jump out of the way to avoid the stampede of investors racing to these one-horse towns for their piece of investing gold.
There’s no question that a great return can potentially be made buying property in a mining town, but people make money investing in pork bellies and trading foreign currency, too.  Why don’t we all jump on that bandwagon?  Quite simply, because we know they are high risk, and we are mostly pretty acquainted with our own personal appetite for risk.
So what madness is this that causes property investors, many of them without money to lose and gambling the equity in their own family homes, to completely ignore the risk factor attached to buying in mining towns?
I have a few theories around this.  Firstly, property investors rarely educate themselves before taking the plunge.  Somehow they feel that just because they own a home of their own they are suddenly experts at picking the right property.  It’s a bit like believing that just because you bought Telstra shares you vicariously received a crash course in share investing and are now an expert at it.
 
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Secondly, it seems that when you use someone else’s money (the bank’s) it’s OK to be less careful.  There’s a misplaced confidence that comes when a bank gets a valuation and then agrees to advance you the money – as if it somehow provides its tick of approval for your decision and, well, banks know what they’re doing, right?
Lastly, it’s public enemy number one – the undying belief that property, as long as it’s held long enough, will always go up.  It provides a false sense of security around property buying and removes any common sense many investors might otherwise use when choosing an appropriate investment that sits nicely within their risk profile.
Investing in a town based solely on only one industry carries a risk that  is greater than buying property in an area where the industry is diversified. An event that may initially have little to do with that one industry, such as another GFC, a slowdown in China’s demand for our resources, to name a couple, could eventually develop to create an impact great enough to negatively affect the fortunes of the true risks involved.
Where an entire area extracts its income and employment from that one industry and its related industries (such as retail and hospitality), a closure of that industry can have swift and devastating effects upon those who own property. An investor may go quickly from having a property with a high value and exceptional rental returns to one with no tenant and no buyers.
I’ll never argue that significant gains cannot be made by those who invest in towns such as these, typically mining towns. However, all investing must be undertaken with a sound grasp of the true risks involved. If you are prepared to accept those risks, and you have considered what your position would be if you owned a property that suffered a significant loss, then a mining town may be an excellent investment for you.
Contrarily, if you need a little more surety in your investing, stick with areas of more diversity, which can manage industry closures because there are many other employers to take up the slack.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel on Your Money, Your Call, both on Sky News.
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Are mining towns really property investment goldmines?: Margaret Lomas

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I love it when debates around whether there is a property bubble begin, and so I particularly enjoyed reading about the latest debate, right here on<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/room-for-debate-is-there-an-australian-housing-bubble/2012110157585" target="_blank"> Property Observer</a>. 
This one pitted Terry Ryder, whose job is to examine property markets and their movements at their most fundamental, determining the potential impact of future, planned activity on micro property markets, against Phillip Soos, a master’s research student and employed researcher at Deakin University.
People always take sides, and it comes down to which side of the fence you sit on.  In this particular debate, the two sides have completely different backgrounds, experience and perspectives and use entirely different methods to assess and forecast the property market.
Terry uses factual data to establish whether or not there is likely to be property price growth in the future, along with issues of housing affordability, supply and demand and general price movements.  From what I can see he looks at areas in their individuality, considers the micro-economic situation in its present form and then overlays the information he has about what’s happening next in that area.  When this is all measured against the supply factor, I think he is saying that strong, local area economic growth, where there is an undersupply of property, has to mean that property in that area will go up.
Phillip uses some pretty impressive data, some great-looking graphs and some economic theory to predict a bubble.  From what I can see, he overlays this theory and graph drawing upon the Australian property landscape and from that he draws the conclusion we are in a bubble.  In addition, he quotes Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis, one that says that where income flows cover neither principal nor interest repayments the result is an asset bubble, to assert that there is, in fact, a bubble.
I like economic theory as much as the next guy, and I definitely use economic factors on which to base my own prognosis of where I think a property market is headed.  It’s not an exact science, but there is a good degree of empirical evidence to show that strong underlying economic factors, such as decreasing unemployment, increasing median household income and an improvement in gross regional product can often lead to property price growth.
However, I can’t help but get an uncomfortable squirming feeling when I see someone who devotes their life’s work to studying property markets at the most micro of level debating against someone who uses economic theory to pronounce to the property investing world that there is a bubble.
If my two cents worth means anything, here it is:  If we live in a country where there is such a vast difference in property prices, where we have areas that are ramping up and those that are plateauing or falling in value, where we have two-speed economies (Queensland) and varying degrees of local government activity, infrastructure development and employment opportunities, how can we possibly rely on a single, economic projection of a single property market to establish if there is a bubble or not?
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
 
The other factor that has me twitching at my desk, wanting to shake someone, is that those basing forecasts on economic theory like to ignore the bottom line impact of taxation.  Yes, I get it that at any time the government can take away tax benefits. 
I also know that investing for a tax benefit is no way to approach your retirement  income needs.  However, we do live in a country where the tax treatment of investors is quite unique and decidedly different than most others in the developed world, and from what I can see it makes it difficult to rationalise the theory that ‘where income flows cover neither principal nor interest repayments the result is an asset bubble’. 
To the average punter, what matters most is cashflow, and since investing in property in this country is tax advantaged, (and includes on-paper deductions for depreciation in many cases), the cashflow for many properties purchased today in economically strong areas with great yields and potential for further values growth is positive, or at least even.  Whether gross rent covers principal and interest repayments is a moot point when you consider that you can get a tax break equal to, or greater than, the difference.   And while ever that possibility exists, investors will continue to support those markets, creating further, albeit moderate, values growth and continuing strong yields.
I’ll never understand why economists cannot see the forest for the trees and why they insist on having a single-minded, broad view of the Australian property market. I am not suggesting that the market in Australia is fantastic or risk- free, and I don’t think Terry Ryder is, either.  But I do believe that talk of a unilateral property bubble decidedly ignores the true underlying situation – that opportunities for great property investing do exist, and that now is as good a time as ever to find them.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel on Your Money, Your Call, both on Sky News.
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Australian housing market too complex to make sweeping bubble statements: Margaret Lomas

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For the past four years we’ve been waiting for the property bubble to burst. To be honest, it’s been a little like waiting for the end of the world.
When I was a kid, there was a slated date for the end of the world to occur. We knew what it would look like – black thunder clouds, strong winds and then judgement day would be upon us. Depending upon your religious persuasion, a couple of things would happen on that day – you’d either be saved while non-believers everywhere perished, or the entire world would disappear in a fireball. There was also the threat of the nuclear bomb giving us incurable cancer, turning the earth to fallow pasture and causing slow and painful deaths always foreshadowing our everyday existence.
More recently, another end of the world date came and went, but the real one, sometime this December, is still before us, scaring our children and creating lively debate.
For property investors, though, we haven’t given the imminent destruction of the world a second thought, given the more dire situation surrounding the property bubble and its impending bursting. It’s consumed us and dictated our every investing move, and it seems like we are finally sick of it. Property investors have decided that enough is enough, and that if something was ever going to happen, it should have happened by now.
I’m somewhat cheered that there seems to be a renewed confidence in the market, but extremely worried, too. You see, the dodgy spruiker is back, in fine form, and investors, many with memories too short to recall the bad old days of rip-offs and questionable deals, are just begging for their money to be taken.
A recent Sun-Herald investigation established that “aggressive marketing by Heritage Financial Solutions of often overpriced and second-rate Queensland properties has left a trail of burned investors, bankruptcies and broken hearts”. This is by no means a one-off situation, and I am seeing more and more people being taken advantage of, and a return to a situation we saw in the early 90s.
The problem is this – there is no regulation to protect property investors, and therefore literally anyone can call themselves a property investment adviser and get away with it. In doing so they create around them an illusion of expertise and qualification, and usually their websites are so professionally created that this illusion appears real and legitimate.
So what is happening here? Well, it’s quite simple – the spruikers are once again convincing a whole new generation of property investors that they have only their best interests at heart and selling them deals with exceptionally poor underlying assets. And the investors, often time poor and looking for the solution to their retirement income woes, are lapping it up, neglecting due diligence and choosing to place their trust in those who have a big financial incentives to tell them what they want to hear.
 
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
How can you tell if a deal is dodgy? You can’t, but here are some clues:
 
<ul>
<li>If there is a middleman between you and the supplier (excluding standard real estate sales), then there is going to be big commissions built in. While the property may be OK, the commissions usually run from around $15,000 up to $40,000. You won’t know about it, as it’s often provided as an after-sales “kick-back” and it doesn’t have to be disclosed – there is no law around property investment advice, and so no disclosure requirement. Such a big commission will, in this subdued environment, take years to recoup and put a dampener on leveraging ability. </li>
<li>If the property exists in a state other than where it is being marketed, there has to be a reason why the locals haven’t snapped up the deal.</li>
<li>If the person advising you to buy the property is also representing the seller then it is not possible for their advice to be independent – it is biased, and the deal is likely better for the marketer than it is for you.</li>
<li>If the company selling the property waxes lyrically about how you are their first concern, it’s likely to be dodgy. It’s fine to sell property as a middleman but not fine to claim that your interests are with the buyer. </li>
<li>If there is any kind of incentive scheme, such as a rent guarantee or bonus, something is likely to be up. Property that makes a viable investment can sell itself.</li>
</ul>
Now is the time to take extra care. If you’d like to invest in property, you can do so safely, but you have to have your eyes open and take responsibility for your own successes and failures. Protect yourself with the following guidelines:
<ul>
<li>Beware of property being marketed by a seminar or telemarketer – such campaigns are expensive, and these people are paid big commissions that are hard to recoup through capital appreciation. Don’t believe claims that commissions aren’t built into the price – this is simply not possible.</li>
<li>Never sign a deal on the day you see it. If an extra incentive is offered to do so, be doubly wary!</li>
<li>Always confirm the value of a property through recent sales. Only recent sales can determine the actual value.</li>
<li>Be aware that forecasts on income are based on historical figures and do not consider future supply.</li>
<li>Be extra careful of off-the-plan – especially tax advantaged ones. They are often part of a huge development which will affect future supply and impact on your yields. </li>
</ul>
Most importantly, become educated before you become an investor. Too many people decide to invest and then go looking for a property, and this is why they are so vulnerable. Get that education under your belt first and then you will know how to spot a dodgy deal at 10 paces.
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of<a target="_blank" href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx"> Destiny</a>.
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No sign of a property bubble, but dodgy spruikers are taking advantage of investors: Margaret Lomas

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Jordan Wirsz is at it again. This time, thankfully, not many here in Australia are listening to him.
In this latest diatribe, Wirsz claims that he has been studying human behaviour for 22 years. In the past he has tried to have us believe some fairly hard to swallow claims, but that one has to take the cake!
You see, Wirsz was born in 1983, making him barely 29 year of age.
I have five children. I think back to when each of them was seven.  My eldest was a bit of a larrikin – I still recall the day when he set the sprinklers to the “on” position right in the middle of his dad’s work barbecue. Of course, all of the staff were picnicking on the lawn at the time, but it was true seven-year-old behaviour, and most of us were able to laugh about it. My three girls were most likely playing with Barbies at that age and my youngest boy, the studious one, would have been reading a young person’s book.
Studying human behaviour? It conjures up the picture of one of them sitting at the dinner table, thoughtfully stroking their chin and saying to me, ‘you know mum, Mrs Wilson next door has an interesting response to the post man, and I’ve been pondering this peculiar behaviour’!
It’s rubbish, as is much of what Wirsz claims to know about the Australian property market, one which, by his own admission, he researches using Google.
Further, he states that he has learned to “virtually ignore all media/news, because most of the time, they are wrong”. He then goes on to say that ‘this is because they are listening to so called “experts” who have agendas’. Has anyone asked Wirsz how he makes his money? It looks to me like it’s from running seminars and real estate classes, ones that give you the strategies to employ after he has wound you up with his press releases and lathered you into frenzy about the latest gloom and doom.  If that’s not an “agenda”, then I’d like to know what to call it.
He seems to have lately jumped ship a little – from talking about the woes of US real estate to now saying that “the normalcy bias is keeping many people too fearful of buying real estate, which is going to create an exaggerated bottom, just like we saw an exaggerated top”. He now wants to buy into a market that he said, not that long ago, was doomed.
And, in the latest blog (littered with grammatical errors, which I will ignore because, let’s face it, he’s a product of that younger set), he couldn’t resist another swipe at Australia. He says that he has done a lot of research on the Australia real estate market, and can see some “very significant signs that they are almost exactly where the U.S. market was in 2008”. Who knew it could fall so much?’
He thinks Australia is in for it in a “big way” and invites you to “stay tuned for more later”. I gather this means another webinar – more money-making for Wirsz.
 
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I gather he is doing his research on Google again, because I am finding much more encouraging news from some fairly reliable sources.  Housing affordability is improving monthly, and the average Australian now spends below 30% of his or her income on the average home loan payment, with even better results expected in the coming months. Australians are repaying debt too, with more than 50% of all mortgage holders now in advance on their loans, many of them over one year in advance. We are great ones for hunkering down and shoring up for that rainy day, even if the signs show we may not need it. Lenders are being careful, and under the new credit reforms our lending policies, already tight with an abundance of integrity, just got stronger, providing further protection.
And look at all of those areas in the country today with low buy in prices, growing population and housing shortages.  With technology allowing us to live and work in areas other than capital cities, the choices for housing have become more and more diverse and available, and the Australian people’s confidence in property values remains as strong as ever.
The figures don’t lie. The September quarter showed some slow, albeit low, growth in many markets, as we carefully creep along, prudently buying, bargaining hard but keeping property values just about where they should be given the world economic outlook.
Let’s listen to true experts – you know the Australian ones. Like Tim Lawless from RP Data, who forecasts rising housing prices for the major urban areas of Australia. He says “based on index data over the month up to September 28th, dwelling values across the combined five largest capital cities of Australia are likely to increase by around 1.4% over the month of September, and the quarterly rate of growth will be around 2% over the quarter – that's the strongest quarterly change since May 2010”.
And what of those other real experts – those guys over at BIS Shrapnel? They say that house prices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth will recover over the next three years, which sounds pretty good to me.
My money’s with the guys who know.  The ones who live here and make the details of our markets their life’s work.
Jordan who?
Margaret Lomas is a best-selling author and writes and hosts the popular Property Success With Margaret Lomas and heads up the panel onYour Money, Your Call, both on Sky News. She is the founder of<a target="_blank" href="https://destiny.com.au/dotnetnuke/en-au/home.aspx"> Destiny</a>.
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US doomsayer Jordan Wirsz's Australian housing bubble predictions rubbish

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

Joel Robinson

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

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Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

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Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

A collection of just 25 large-format apartments and penthouses overlooking Goodwin Park is entering the Coolangatta market, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marea-residences-coolangatta-27-27a-dixon-street-coolangatta-qld-4225">Maréa Residences</a> combining a low-density, residential-only approach with uninterrupted park and Pacific Ocean outlooks.

Located at 27 Dixon Street, Maréa comprises three and four-bedroom residences alongside a limited number of dual-level penthouses, with the project positioned between Goodwin Park and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/coolangatta-qld-4225">Coolangatta</a>’s coastal precinct.

Construction has commenced, with completion currently estimated for late 2027. Three-bedroom residences are priced from $1.8 million.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374005]

The project has been designed around its northern outlook across the park, with the building’s architecture, landscaping and material palette intended to establish a connection with the neighbouring green space. The residences have been configured to maximise natural light and views across Goodwin Park towards the ocean.

Inside, the material palette incorporates timber, stone and brushed brass, complemented by curved detailing and ambient lighting. Kitchens and bathrooms carry the same natural material approach, while residences also include basement parking, storage and lift access.

Maréa’s penthouses are arranged over two levels and include private pools, adding another layer to the project’s focus on larger-format apartment living. Across the development, residences are configured with three or four bedrooms rather than the broader mix of smaller apartment types commonly found in larger projects.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374010]

Resident amenity is concentrated at rooftop level, where landscaped entertaining terraces and pools take advantage of elevated views across Coolangatta and the Pacific Ocean.

The project has so far been particularly well received by local owner-occupiers and downsizers, according to Urban Activation Property Sales and Marketing Director Matt George, with the residential-only format, construction quality and northern park outlook among the features resonating with purchasers.

“The uninterrupted northern aspect overlooking Goodwin Park has been a key point of difference, with buyers attracted to the sense of serenity and open space the park provides, while still enjoying easy access to the ocean and being within walking distance of the lifestyle and amenities Coolangatta has to offer,” George said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150999 project_image_fid=374002]

“The combination of high-quality construction, a residential-only building, park outlook and proximity to the beach has resonated strongly with the local downsizer market.”

The Dixon Street address is within walking distance of Coolangatta Beach and the broader southern Gold Coast coastline, including the surf breaks at Snapper Rocks and Kirra. Coolangatta’s cafés, restaurants and retail are nearby, while Gold Coast Airport is also within close proximity.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150999]

Maréa Residences brings parkside apartments to Coolangatta

Melbourne developer PDG has secured Victorian Government approval for its $1.5 billion Southbank development <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-one-1-queens-bridge-street-southbank-vic-3006">The One</a>, clearing the way for the long-dormant riverfront site opposite Crown to finally be developed.

The Minister for Planning has approved the project at 1-29 Queens Bridge Street, with the Department of Transport and Planning issuing the planning permit following its assessment.

The approval will allow PDG to develop the prominent 5,059 sqm site with a major mixed-use tower comprising premium apartments, including branded residences, a luxury hotel and boutique office space.

PDG acquired the site in late 2024, with its position directly opposite Crown's main entrance and near Melbourne's Arts Precinct making it one of Southbank's most significant remaining development opportunities.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3933013e-6332-4386-b9be-089df05caf17" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.22%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sITIgBqDL0N3VNSMwWEmF5UA.uvcsRyu" />

Designed by COX in collaboration with ODO and PDG, the tower's architecture draws on the movement of the Yarra River, with six vertical pleats running the height of the sculpted facade.

The project will also see the heritage-listed Queens Bridge Hotel restored and incorporated into the development&nbsp;with new hospitality and public uses, including a rooftop venue.

A significant component of The One will be its residential amenity.

More than 5,000 sqm of resident facilities will be delivered across a single level, making it one of the largest consolidated residential amenity offerings proposed in an Australian apartment development.

The planning approval also incorporates a major upgrade of Queensbridge Square, which PDG will deliver in partnership with the City of Melbourne.

<img alt="PDG" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="73167fcd-1031-4b6f-a408-a064cfe45ed1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%209.29.17%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Pf1AEWxw6SNmBqR0zQW5lyEze.MtxgFp" />

The existing square will be revitalised as a new civic and pedestrian space along the Yarra River, strengthening the connection between the project, Southbank and the riverfront.

PDG Founder and Managing Director Vince Giuliano said the approval represented a major milestone for a site which has remained largely underutilised for more than 15 years.

“This is the most significant Planning Permit approval Melbourne has seen in recent years,” Giuliano said.

“For more than 15 years, this site has remained underutilised. This approval enables us to deliver a project that will contribute meaningfully to the revitalisation of Southbank, restore and reactivate an important heritage building, and create a new civic and hospitality destination for Melbourne.”

The latest approval follows an earlier planning permit issued by the City of Melbourne covering demolition works across part of the site at 9-29 Queens Bridge Street. Those demolition and early works are already underway.

PDG has also started generating early interest in the residential component from owner-occupiers ahead of a planned public launch in early 2027.

PDG secures approval for $1.5bn Southbank apartment development, The One

Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

Margaret Lomas

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