In property news, According to Australian Property Monitors September Quarterly House Price Series report house prices rose 3.7 per cent during the quarter, the highest in six years. With house and unit prices up in every capital city for the September quarter. So far in 2009 house prices nationally have risen 7.1 per cent. Melbourne experienced the strongest house price growth, rising 12.3 per cent in the last six months. And according to data from Rsidex, the median house price in Sydney has reached $610,000 for the first time in September. And in other news according to research conducted by real estate forecaster Terry Ryder, a number of regional centres including Port Hedland in Western Australia and Orange in NSW are tipped to experience soaring property prices.Mr Ryder’s ‘National top 10 Boom Town Hotspots’ report recommends that investors look at the cities of Bunbury in WA, Newcastle in NSW, the town of Gladstone in Queensland and Portland in Victoria.
Suburb in FocusIn our suburb in focus section each week, we look at interesting property markets around Australia which could be of interest to property investors and this week we are concluding our series looking at Melbourne suburbs that have solid growth and very high auction clearance rates. We’re looking at the unit market in Balwyn but first up is the house market in Lalor which is located 18kms North of Melbourne’s CBD.
This is a family suburb with 81% of homes containing families. 18% of dwellings are rental properties so this is a high owner occupier suburb and the population includes people from many different cultures. Houses make up 95% of properties while flats and units make up only 3%. Lalor’s residents work in trades, clerical, laboring and machinery operating jobs. The median house price in Lalor is $320,000 dollars, which is 9.17% higher compared to a year ago. There have been 226 houses sold in the 12 months to September 30 and auction clearance rates are currently 87% for houses, which is one of the strongest rates in the counrty. The median rent price for a house in the suburb is $280 which brings the gross rental yield to 4.55%.
Now to the unit market in Balwyn where auction clearance rates are again very strong at 85%. Balwyn is located about 10 km east of Melbourne’s CBD and is a more up market suburb inhabited by professionals and their families. There are some multimillion dollar homes in the suburb and the area has gardens and reserves that make it a popular place to live. Houses make up 65% of property stock while terraces make up for 23% and units only account for 12% of dwellings.70% of properties are families while 25% are single person dwellings. 21% of homes in the suburb are rental properties.
The median unit price in Balwyn is $510,000 dollars, which is an increase of over 8.5% compared to a year ago. There were 79 units sold in Balwyn in the 12 months to September 30 and 162 rented out so demand for rentals is strong. The median rental price is $330 bringing the gross rental yield to 3.36%
Tax TipThe National Rental Affordability Scheme is a federal Government initiative to stimulate the supply of new affordable rental properties by 50,000 by June 2012. It works like this - you buy a property off a developer that has participated in the scheme, which means they have to have built at least 20 dwellings in selected areas. You then lease it out to a long term tenant who has full employment but low to average income and they pay rent at a price that is 20% less than market rent. To compensate the landlord, the federal government will pay you $6000 and the state government will pay you $2000 annually, tax free for 10 years. So this type of property investment could have some upside if the government incentives more than make up for the 20% discount on rent. If you are a property investor that likes these sorts of long term investment options, more information about this affordable housing initiative can be found on the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website
