Tips on Investing in Real Estate in Australia

July 10, 2008 by Mira

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

For Australians, investment in housing is a national symbol of security. If you have a job for more than 6 months, it is easy to buy a house in Australia. Banks are the buyres’ main source of finance. The Government encourages this by providing long-term financial backing.

There are people in Australia who buy 2 to 3 houses in Australia and let them out for rent which will take care of the mortgage repayment.

Young & Old

Youngsters in Australia show interest in buying houses where they are planning to settle down. They sell the house if they are moving to another place. Older people tend not to retain their house for a long time. Once the mortgage is paid off, they’ll sell the house, buy a smaller one and invest the remaining amount for their old age expenses.

Capital Growth?

For example, if you have invested in the Australian Sunshine Coast about 5-6 years ago, the value of your investment would have gone up many times by now. Why? - The growth in number of immigrants has pushed the prices upwards. As the reports show, “Figures to September show annual growth in medium house prices of more than 13 per cent in Hobart and Brisbane, 19 per cent in Adelaide and over 22 per cent in Canberra. The absolute standout has been Melbourne, surging 33 per cent. For the real estate industry, it’s a beautiful set of numbers.”

Here is one more report on the real estate investment in Australia: Mayor Gary Baildon said he had never seen such a boom in property prices. “It’s unprecedented, I’ve never seen it this lively…and I’ve been here since 1960″.

A market survey says that the momentum for investment in Australia has picked up since the beginning of this year. The Australian Financial Review (one of top financial publications in Australia), 11th January 2006 reports:

“Residential rental property yields in 2006 will improve markedly as contracts are renegotiated to reflect tightening vacancies, property analysts have predicted. Vacancy rates are at the lowest for several years in most capital cities due to pent-up demand and reduced house and apartment completions.”

As in any real estate investments, there are a few precautions to be taken by the investors:

Check local newspapers

Talk to a real estate agent in the area

Contact the local council and Main Roads Department

Research the Body Corporate (if applicable)

Seek financial advice

Re-evaluate regularly

Foreign investors will also need to be familiar and well versed with Australian Federal Government’s foreign investment policy.

If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia and if you want to buy real estate in Australia, you must get the prior approval from the Australian Government.

You should not sign contracts before you receive foreign investment approval, unless the contract is conditional on such approval. You must apply in writing for prior approval to buy real estate.