Continuing our series looking at capital city suburbs with the longest hold periods, we take a look at two suburbs in Adelaide this week. And in our tax tip of the week, we look at varying your withholding tax amount on income to allow you access to a tax refund throughout the year instead of waiting until the end.
Housing starts have increased for the 100 largest residential builders in Australia. The Housing Industry Association reports from 2009 to 2010 the country’s 100 largest builders recorded 60,590 housing starts, representing a 22.8 per cent increase on the year before and the highest level since 2004. The top 100 maintained their share of Australia-wide housing starts at around 38 per cent. Looking ahead HIA has cautioned that as the positive impact from the first home owners grant stimulus program declines, housing starts are unlikely to maintain the same gains. Also making news, the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements has looked into the international impact of an ageing population, suggesting house appreciation enjoyed by baby boomers in Australia is likely to decline by around 30 per cent in the future. The study also ranked Australia fourth, for the fastest accelerating house prices, increasing just under 200 per cent over the past 40 years.
In our suburb in focus, we continue a series looking at suburbs with the longest hold periods in capital cities around Australia. This week we look at two suburbs in Adelaide. First let’s look at the housing market in Wayville, located around 3 kilometres south-west of Adelaide’s CBD. According to figures from RP Data, properties in Wayville are held for just over 9 years, one of the longest hold periods of any suburb in Adelaide. The suburb’s population in the 2006 census was 1,734. Wayville is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide. The suburb hosts the Royal Adelaide Show at the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds. To the north of Wayville lie the South Park Lands part of the parks that surround the centre of Adelaide – a great place to have a picnic, or enjoy the gardens and many playing fields. Adelaide’s only Tram line runs from the city centre through Wayville to Glenelg beach. Turning to the figures, the median house price in Wayville in the year to May 2010 was $722,500. The average hold period for a house in the suburb is 9.3 years. 16 properties were sold in Wayville for the 12 month period. Our next suburb is the house market in Woodville, located around 10 kilometres north-west of Adelaide’s CBD. RP Data figures reveal that properties in Woodville are held, on average, just over 9 years before being sold. With a population of 1,975 Woodville is located in the City of Charles Sturt a sports-orientated municipality home to Football Park, Hindmarsh Stadium, and the Cheltenham Racecourse. The suburb of Woodville is also close to the Grange, Royal Adelaide and West Lakes golf courses. Woodville was one of the first areas to be settled by European migrants in the 19th century, and today still has many examples of colonial and federation architecture which attract people to the suburb. Taking a look at the figures, the median house in Woodville for the year to May 2010 was $421,000. The average hold period for a property in the suburb was 9.1 years with 31 properties sold in the 12 month period. And now to the Tax Tip of the week from Depreciator - the Tax Depreciation Schedule specialists. This week we look at varying your withholding tax amount on income to allow you access to a tax refund throughout the year instead of waiting until the end. Where you have negatively geared rental investments, the negative part offsets against your other income e.g. salary, reducing your tax payable and boosting your tax refund. By varying your withholding tax amount on income, you can receive the extra funds during the year which can be used to help reduce your loan, pay your interest expense or even help finance that extra property which has potential to pick up some capital growth between the beginning and end of year. This can be done by lodging an application to vary your ‘Income Tax Withholding’ form. You can do this electronically on line or you can download the form, and send it via mail. Everyone’s circumstances are different. If the additional refund you receive from negative gearing is not substantial and the savings are small you should consider saving the cost of preparation and claiming the deductions at year end when lodging the tax return. When lodging electronically, make sure you keep a copy of the electronic receipt or make a record of the receipt reference number. It helps when chasing up ATO. And as always, remember to consult with a tax accountant or tax professional before making any tax related decisions.
