Oh to live in Darwin at this time of the year! Temperatures in that city this week are expected to average 32 degrees, with overnight lows of 21.

For the rest of us, the pre-winter chill is certainly starting to bite. As we move into the colder months, here are 10 ways to warm up your home.

1. Prune those sun-suckers

Shady plants are great in summer, especially on the north and western sides of your property. But at this time of the year you want to get as much sun into your house as you can. Now is the time to prune plants blocking out your sunlight, if possible.

2. Let the sun in

When the sun is shining, remember to open curtains and blinds during the day, especially on the northern side of your home, but also the east (in the morning) and the west (in the afternoon).

However, you might consider leaving south-facing blinds and curtains closed on days when it is colder outside than in as the sun won’t hit those windows.

It’s very common to see homes shut up all day long with the curtains drawn. But before you head off to work or out for the day, opening the blinds and curtains on windows that get the sun can mean coming home to a much warmer property.

3. Block the cold out

Overnight you want to stop the warm air from inside your home being lost through the glass of your windows. It’s important to cover the windows to do this.

Either use thick curtains and a pelmet overhead to stop the air from getting to the window, or consider good-quality honeycomb (also known as cellular) blinds, which pull up almost out of sight during the day to let maximum sunlight in, but do a fantastic job of blocking the windows overnight, or on colder days when there is a lot of cloud cover.

The great thing about honeycomb blinds is you don’t end up with the heavy look of thick curtains but still get the insulating effect. They do look a bit like they belong in an office and not a home though, and if that bothers you, you can layer them behind a very light sheer curtain to soften their impact. Or of course, for even more insulation, a heavier curtain.

4. Fan-tastic

If you have ceiling fans, now is the time to switch them over to winter mode so that they run backwards. Put them on their lowest speed and they will direct the warm air from across the ceilings where it sits high up, and down the walls.

If you get condensation on your windows overnight, you’ll probably notice that leaving a fan on in winter mode during the day can help to dry the windows out faster.

5. Draughts be gone

Gaps around doors and windows can let in a lot of draughts. Block them up with an appropriate draught-sealer. Your local hardware store will have plenty of options.

Consider also a good old-fashioned door snake if you find it hard to seal the bottom of doors, which is often the case in older houses where steps may have worn, or doors are not quite square.

If you have particularly cold rooms in the home – the spare bedroom or laundry, for example, consider draught-sealing the door that separate that room or rooms from the rest of the home.

However, it is important to note that if you use unflued gas heating or an open fire, you will need to ensure you have adequate ventilation at home.

6. Monitor it

If you happen to be someone who is at home during the day, you’ll have the opportunity to throw open the windows and let the warmth in on the days when it becomes hotter inside than out, which can often happen at this time of year.

It can be helpful to have a thermometer with an outdoor sensor set up in a prominent spot in the home to let you know when it is warmer outside than in. Hardware stores often stock them – I have one a bit like this.

It will also come in handy in summer when you’ve got the opposite problem and you want to know when it has cooled enough to open the windows in the evening.

7. Go passive

A few months ago we installed a solar heater, which draws the warm air from the roof cavity into the home. You can read about it here.

I’m pleased to say it seems to working well at this time of year (when we hoped it would) helping to raise the home’s temperature by a critical three-four degrees, meaning the heater has pretty much stayed off so far, even on cooler nights.

Because our home is well-insulated, draught-sealed and has honeycomb blinds on almost all windows, when it warms up during the day it manages to hold the temperature overnight.

8. They mightn’t be pretty but…

Okay, I’ll admit that old-style aluminium roller shutters are butt-ugly.

When we inherited two shutters on the ’50s brick box we bought a year or so back, I was tempted to rip them off. But instead we gave them a paint job (a marginal improvement) and now find in winter, we wouldn’t be without them.

When the shutter goes down about the same time as the sun it’s like instant double-glazing, you can feel the difference because the shutter helps to provide an air pocket between our old single-pane glass windows and the cold night air.

They work so well I’m even tempted to put them on a few more windows.

9. Cook up a storm

It really is a time of year for baking and slow cooking. The house will definitely warm up, but will you be able to resist all that yummy food?

10. Control the thermostat

Running your heater at 18-21 degrees will keep you comfortable without toasting, and will also keep your winter heating bills down. Just one degree more in temperature can increase your heating costs by 15 per cent.

Story by Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.

Source: www.domain.com.au

The Reserve Bank’s decision this week to reduce official interest rates by 50 basis points is good news.

Falling rates and solid signs of an improving local economy provide the Sydney housing market with the prospect for increased buyer activity and further increases in median house prices this year.

Australian Property Monitors has recently reported that the Sydney median house price rose strongly by 1.4 per cent in the March quarter.

The city’s suburban regions also recorded encouraging increases in median house prices during the quarter.

The only exception was the northern beaches, where prices were down marginally, by 0.5 per cent.

The top performer was the central coast, where median house prices rose by 5.7 per cent. The next best were Sydney’s south, up 5 per cent, Canterbury-Bankstown, up 4.8 per cent, and the western suburbs, where median house prices increased by 4.3 per cent.

Despite the increases, price levels in some areas are still below those recorded a year ago.

The worst performer over the past year was the lower north shore, where median house prices were down by 6.6 per cent.

The city and east region fell by 5.3 per cent and the northern beaches was down 4.9 per cent compared with March 2011.

Several regions, however, have recorded increases in the median house price in the past year. The best was the upper north shore, which was up 1.9 per cent.

Sydney’s west was up 1.8 per cent, while house prices in the south-west rose by 1.5 per cent over the year to March.

Dr Andrew Wilson is the senior economist for Fairfax-owned Australian Property Monitors.

Story source: www.domain.com.au

Balconies and balustrades have come along way over recent years. The choices are now far greater and the safety aspects have improved out of sight. Little ones can no longer easily climb up and wave down precariously at you from your second storey. This is very good news for parents!

Glass is currently one of the most popular material options for balustrading. It works brilliantly on a new house or apartment and is also an excellent way to modernise an existing home under renovation. For obvious reasons glass is also a clear winner for properties with a great view. Glass balustrading is not for the budget conscious, however, and cleaning it can be somewhat of a chore, but glass doesn’t rot and need replacing over time.

The other extremely popular choice these days is the wire balustrade. This simple yet stylish look can instantly complete a coastal weatherboard home giving it that classic nautical theme. Wire can also look great on ground level decking or low level balconies that still need some kind of railing. Internal stair casing also looks chic with wire incorporated into the design.

For a more traditional look, you can’t go past timber. It’s timeless and attractive and blends well with most home types. It does require some ongoing maintenance but if kept in good nick, it’s a look that will stand the test of time.

Other more unique balustrade materials include corrugated iron, steel and a combination of several. Importantly, if you are thinking of updating your existing balcony and railing be sure to check with local council for any permit requirements.

Open plan living is in vogue at the moment – but how do you turn a big open space into a cosy interior that’s easy to live in and doesn’t feel like a warehouse?  It’s all about zoning and creating intimate areas without walls.

The best place to start is from the ground up.  Use rugs to define your space and then use furniture to help partition spaces.

Display cabinets, such as the Sovita Curio or Forma, are perfect for this – adding sparkle and zing and the opportunity to showcase your treasures.

Turn your lounge seating in on itself to create a healthy conversation area.  In this way the back of your lounges and chairs help to create the living space.

Mix different styles of furniture to give the zones more personality.  Think a classic contemporary lounge in your  ‘living zone’ combined with a wooden farmhouse table in your ‘dining zone’.

The general rule of thumb with big areas is that you need big furniture, big artworks and big patterns which will help to counter the proportions of the room.

Tuck study spaces out of sight and away from the lounge area with either partitions or plants.  No thinking about work when you are relaxing (and no need to be constantly tidying your messy work area either).

The final trick is to arrange the furniture in such a way as to allow you to meander through the space rather than being able to take a straight path from the front door to the back door.

Avoid meaningless dead zones and make use of all your space by adding plants, lamps and chairs.

Story Source: Nick Scali Reviews

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates by 50 basis points in an unexpected move that should provide welcome relief to many homeowners.

The reduction takes the official cash rate to 3.75 percent.

Damian Smith CEO of financial comparison site RateCity called the RBA’s decision "a very big move".

"They haven’t moved rates this far since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis," Mr Smith told ninemsn.

"This cut will help thousands of households, with people on a $300,000 mortgage potentially saving around $1000 per year."

But he warns that some banks may be unwilling to pass on the rate cut in full.

"It’s unlikely that all lenders will pass on the full rate cut," Mr Smith said.

"The signals from the big four banks suggest that they will try to hold on to part of this rate cut."

Mr Smith points out that while the central bank has lowered the cash rate by 50 basis points since November, "the big four banks have only passed on around 40 basis points to variable rate home loan customers".

It is the largest cut to the cash rate since a 100 basis point reduction in February 2009, and the first time the RBA has lowered the cash rate since it cut it by 25 basis points at its December board meeting.

Business lobby groups, trade unionists and some economists had called for the board of the RBA to cut rates by 50 basis points to help ailing retailers, manufacturers and the stubborn housing market.

Story source: www.ninemsn.com.au

Australia’s housing sector has called on the reserve bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which represents the residential building industry, says new home sales dropped 9.4 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in March 2012, their lowest level in more than 10 years.

Multi-unit sales slumped 6.4 per cent over the same period.

HIA chief economist Harley Dale called on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut at its board meeting on Tuesday.

An AAP survey of 16 economists on Friday showed all expected the RBA to cut the cash rate 25 basis points, to 4.00 per cent, this week.

However, Mr Dale said a larger cut was needed to revive the housing sector.

"The bank needs to send a clear signal that it is back on the case of assisting an economy that is clearly weaker than it anticipated in 2012," said Harley Dale.

"It is not too late to turn the situation around and prevent new housing from revisiting a GFC (global financial crisis) low.

"Interest rate cuts, while no panacea, can provide substantial assistance in restoring confidence and activity."

The survey of Australia’s 100 largest builders found Queensland suffered the biggest decline with new home sales down 15.3 per cent, followed by Western Australia, down 12 per cent, and New South Wales, down 9.7 per cent.

Story source: http://finance.ninemsn.com.au

Many of us could spend hours (possibly weeks) pouring over pictures of hip homes in interiors magazines, and dreaming … If you’ve ever pondered the secrets of these pads’ photogenic success and wanted to emulate them, here are a couple of general tips:

Story time: Most photoshoots capture pictorial vignettes – the sofa, the casually draped throw, the lovely fluffy cushions, the pile of artistically arranged books … It’s not just about the furniture; it’s about what these items say and the story they tell about you and your home.

Go into detail:  A photographer’s nightmare is a room with no possessions on show. Editors love details – knick-knacks make a home a home.  We’re not thinking for a minute that you cover every space with your old telephone bills and children’s drawings – think knick-knacks, photos of loved ones and think about putting some of your children’s special pics in a frame – and put the bills and clutter out of sight!

Set great store: Good storage is vital – but it doesn’t need to be an expensive built-in: photographically that’s dull. Try a trendy glass cabinet, such as the eye-catching, Forma.

All the little things:  Bold doesn’t have to equal expensive. If you’re nervous, build on a neutral base – beige or brown lounge – then take risks with accessories: zingy cushions or throws, or a ceramic jar – much cheaper than getting the wrong lounge.

Screened off: Something you’ll never see in an interiors mag is the TV! They’re so huge now – and not pretty. Hide giants in a cupboard – and never hang one over a fireplace.

Personal appearance: Forget having the ‘right’ or fashionable thing. The best style is surrounding yourself with things that you love.

To create that beautifully designed magazine look, be sure to follow these tips.

Source: Nick Scali Reviews

Amid news that finding a rental property may have temporarily gotten a little easier with asking rents for units dropping 1.1 per cent during the first three months of the year, comes a warning that the easing won’t last.

Dr Andrew Wilson, the senior economist at Australian Property Monitors, says ongoing shortages of accommodation, low levels of new supply and continued inactivity by investors, will lead to upward pressure on rentals this year.

APM figures show weekly asking rents for units either fell or were steady across all capital cities in the first three months of the year.

Median weekly asking rents for houses remained unchanged in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Minor relief was handed to house renters in Canberra with a 2 per cent fall, and in Adelaide to a lesser extent, where the asking rent for houses dipped 0.6 per cent.

The ongoing tight rental situation has led to renewed calls from two experts for the Federal Government to take a fresh look at negative gearing.

Dr Chris Martin, a senior policy officer at the Tenants’ Union of NSW, says bluntly: "There’s a bunch of things that could be done to negative gearing that would go some way to changing what it currently does to our housing system, which is screw up house prices and distort the rental market to the disadvantage of low-income renters.

"We have such a large number of landlords who have small holdings, typically most of them [own] only one property, and they are amateur speculators," Martin argues.

"They are more interested in being able to sell the place when they judge the time is right to either realise gain or lever up into some new, even higher-value property. And so their … strategy, depends on being able to get vacant possession when it suits them.

"Even more than our renting laws, it’s the nature of our landlords and their strategy that makes renting as insecure as it is."

Martin says the tenants most acutely affected by a shortage of rental properties are low-income earners who don’t qualify for social housing.

The union has found backing in Saul Eslake, who recently took up a role as chief economist of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Australia.

Eslake has been following the Australian property market for more than three decades.

"Interests associated with landlords and the real estate industry more generally will always tell you that the abolition of negative gearing would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to tenants, not to them but to tenants, because they think it would lead to a landlord strike and huge increases in rents," says Elsake.

"They sometimes argue that ‘look at what happened in 1986 when the Hawke Government temporarily abolished negative gearing for rental property investment’, which they allege was a surge in rents as evidence of their assertions.

"In fact there was a significant increase in rents in Sydney and to some extent also in Perth … but it was only in Sydney and in Perth and in other parts of the country, the rate of increase in rents either slowed or actually fell.

"The truth is that negative gearing was abolished temporarily everywhere and if the abolition of negative gearing was going to cause a problem then … rent should have gone up everywhere rather than in just two cities.

"That’s a sort of an urban myth that has been living for the last 25 years to the detriment of informed policy making."

However, Eslake isn’t just advocating the abolition of negative gearing on investment properties.

"That would be quite unfair," he says. "I mean why should property investors be denied tax breaks that would still be available for investors in shares or bonds or artworks or gold? So I think it should be abolished for everyone.

"I’d even support, as a compromise, what the Henry Review proposed, which is that expenses association with property should be deducted at the rate at which the income from property is ultimately taxed on i.e. at the capital gains tax rate, that would be, to my way of thinking, a reasonable compromise, even though it falls short of what I’d regard as the ideal."

Story by Carolyn Boyd, Story source: www.domain.com.au

Before explaining what a carbon credit is, we should first explain what carbon offsetting is.

Put simply, carbon offsetting is a way for people and businesses to invest in projects that prevent or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere.

A carbon credit is a formal recognition that one tonne of carbon dioxide has been either removed from the atmosphere or prevented from being released into the atmosphere.

One carbon credit equals one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Carbon credits are created by activities such as planting forests; reducing deforestation, generating electricity through wonderful wind turbines and solar panels; cutting back on methane released from landfills; and putting in place energy efficiency measures.

Yonderr only sells carbon credits generated from projects that are accredited under the Verified Carbon Standard or the NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme.

But I’ve looked at other carbon offsetting companies’ websites and they charge a different price to Yonderr, we hear you ask.

Surely a tonne’s a tonne, right?

Well, not always in terms of cost. A tonne of carbon can really vary in price. There are two main reasons for this.

Firstly, the cost of producing the offset. And secondly the technique used to work out how much greenhouse gas was produced in a specific activity.

Projects that are more complex, use expensive or rare technologies, need high investment capital or run in places with high operating costs, have higher priced offsets.  Makes sense really.

Some certification standards need a lot of administration and scientific work.

This also increases the cost of the offset. There are all sorts of things like demand and availability which can affect the cost, too.

Because Yonderr is backed by big brother CO2 Australia (who’s the leading carbon services company in Australasia) we can buy lots of credits in bulk, which also helps keep costs down.

Yonderr carbon credits are $12 each.

The credit is validated, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. Everything you do to offset your carbon footprint is one step in the right direction to making our environment more sustainable.

To find out more information visit www.yonderr.com.au

Foreign investors have “very odd” views about Australian property and fret that housing prices may yet collapse, according to a senior Australian banking executive.

“Overseas investors have a very odd set of views about Australian property prices,” Phil Chronican, ANZ’s chief executive of its Australian operations, said today.

“They on one hand look at the stability and take a lot of comfort from it. The other is they cannot believe Australia was able to not have a property price collapse.”
Questions about the health of Australia’s property market continue to surface in talks ANZ has with investors overseas more than four years after the financial crisis battered real estate markets in the US and UK, Mr Chronican told the American Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne.
Australia’s capital city home prices have lost 4.4 per cent in the year to March, and the outlook remains subdued.

While home prices have turned positive in the past two months, building approvals and dwelling starts have plunged and a shortage of affordable homes remains.
In the wide-ranging speech, the executive in charge of ANZ’s domestic market said the mining boom was passing many Australians by, contributing to a drop off in consumer activity in recent years.
“Despite our strong economy, many Australians feel worried about our prospects in the face of uncertainty in Europe and many, particularly outside the fast lane of the mining and resource sector, feel they’re not seeing the benefits,” Mr Chronican said.

Story by Chris Zappone, www.domain.com.au

CRISIS CARE CLUB UPDATE

JANUARY 2011 ISSUE NO. 4

A special Thank You to all wonderful humanitarians who support our Crisis Care Club.

This is the first update of 2012 and we have already been dealing with many crises. Without the awareness from kind people like you, we simply could not be of assistance to vulnerable people. The support throughout 2011 for Crisis Care has been an inspiration to all of the dedicated staff and volunteers. Of course, those most grateful are the impoverished people of the villages that we are able to offer aid and, most importantly, hope.

To read more and download the newsletter, please click here!!

Next time you’re cooking up a storm in your kitchen spare a thought for the passengers on board an A330 Qantas flight from Sydney to Adelaide on Friday, 13 April.

This auspicious flight will be powered by recycled cooking oil from commercial kitchens that is mixed with jet fuel that emits 60% less carbon dioxide.

The recycled cooking oil comes from restaurants in the US and is further refined and fully certified for use in commercial aviation and endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund.

Virgin Australia is moving ahead with plans to source and refine aviation fuel from WA mallee trees.

European plane maker Airbus is joining this effort, which also involves US giant General Electric and Australia’s Future Farm Industries CRC.

The project aims to have an alternative fuel production pilot plant operating in Australia within the next year.

Qantas’ head of environment, John Valastro, said the goal of next month’s biofuel flights was to raise awareness about the potential for sustainable fuel in Australia.

“We know that sustainable aviation fuel can be used in commercial aviation just like conventional jet fuel,” Mr Valastro said.

“But until it is produced at a commercial scale, at a competitive price, the industry will not be able to realise its true benefits.

“No single player can make this happen. It needs support from government, private sector investment, access to infrastructure and market demand.”

Biofuels for aviation are significantly different to those for other industries because of a jet engine’s need for high-energy yield.

Biofuels will eventually enable the aviation industry to reduce its carbon footprint because the biofuel feed stocks – which could include algae and the crop camelina – will absorb as much carbon dioxide when growing as they emit when burnt in a jet engine.

Typically, aviation biofuels, unlike many other biofuels, are from feed stocks such as algae or from plants such as jatropha that have no impact on food crops.

Just remember there are lots of things you can do at home to reduce your carbon footprint.  Try to reduce your waste, reuse items whenever you can, recycle paper, cardboard, bottles and so on, and to take things a step further try carbon offsetting at www.yonderr.com.au

Source: thewest.com.au

The Australian Government has chosen to simultaneously introduce three significant tax changes that directly affect the Australian Construction Industry. See what those big tax changes are and how they will affect you.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the construction industry is the fourth largest contributor to Australia’s GDP accounting for around 7% of Australia’s total economy and over 9% of Australia’s employment. Construction has been a backbone of the Australian economy and the Australian way of life. Notwithstanding, the Australian government has chosen to simultaneously introduce three very significant tax changes that directly affect the Australian construction industry.

As of July 1, 2012, the construction industry will be hit with the implications of:

• Carbon Tax
• Mining Tax
• Compulsory reporting of subcontracting arrangements

This is a time when the government has already withdrawn support from those in the building and construction industry through:

Eliminating the free home insulation scheme.

Not continuing or increasing the School Building and Renovations program.

Being extremely inconsistent on when and if they are going to subsidise solar.

Taking longer than expected to roll out the National Broadband Network (a major infrastructure project consuming huge construction industry resources)

It has also come at a time when the Federal and State Governments are applying increasing requirements for builders to build green home and green renovations such as Victoria’s recent upgrade to a minimum 6 star rating for new homes at the same time that consumers are trying to build bigger homes with smaller budgets.

The Carbon Tax and the Construction Industry

Service Central has already published a review of how the Carbon Tax will affect the Construction Industry here, however let’s go over the key points once again.

Manufacturing the materials used in construction of new homes and renovations is extremely carbon intensive. As a result the carbon tax will add thousands of dollars of new costs to a new home. The HIA estimates that with the introduction of carbon tax the price of a new home will increase by between 0.8% and 1.7%.The Allen Consulting Group have released a carbon price mechanism report that estimates that the carbon tax will add around $3,821 to its model two storey detached brick veneer 200m2 house.

The Allen Consulting Group report found that in building a two storey home in NSW you would see increases in a broad variety of building costs, including:

• Direct Energy: 6.8%
• Aluminium: 4.1%
• Bricks: 4%
• Concrete: 3.2%
• Steel: 3%
• Carpet: 2.6%
• Paint: 1.5%
• Timber: 1.5%
• Glass: 1.1%
• Plasterboard: 1%

The Mining Tax and the Construction Industry

Whilst the Mining Tax is not directly related to the Construction Industry, the Government’s Mining Tax will increase the costs to an industry that supplies materials to Australia’s Construction Industry.

The mining tax that is set to commence from July 1 2012, imposes on select sectors of the Australia’s Mining Industry a 30% tax on extraordinary profits, specifically in the coal and iron ore sectors.

Similar to the Carbon Tax, this Mining Tax could have a flow-on effect to the Construction Industry that causes price increases in building materials and construction costs. An increased cost of production in the coal industry could lead to even further increases in the cost of Direct Energy as a significant proportion of Australia’s electricity is produced using coal. Building products that use a lot of energy in their production such as aluminium, steel and glass could be hit hard.

Targeting the iron ore sector also could have a direct flow-on to the cost of steel, a major component in the manufacture of Australian homes.

Tax Office targets Construction Industry in Sub-Contractor Crackdown

The third prong in the Government’s three-prong attack on Australia’s Construction industry is a significant crack-down on payments to subcontractors by builders with the introduction of mandatory reporting to the ATO of all payments made to subcontractors.

The new tax regime starts on July 1, 2012, and requires builders to report to the tax office all of the following:

The details of sub-contractors used by the builder.

The ABN of each subcontractor.

The exact amounts paid to each subcontractor.

It is proposed that the ATO will be using this information to data-match against the tax returns of each subcontractor. It is possible that discrepancies in the amounts reported by the builder and the subcontractors could lead to further scrutiny of their accounts by the Australian Tax Office.

The ATO has also indicated that it may share this information with various State and Territory authorities that could, for example match with payroll tax and workers compensation payment records.  Should this information also find its way into the hands of construction industry run superannuation and insurance schemes, significant additional costs could be imposed on small businesses.

Accountants have said that this extra reporting requirement will cost builders on average of $300-$500 per year extra in compliance costs. There are also risks that builders will be hit with extra costs as a result of increased audits from the ATO of their businesses and the businesses of their subcontractors. Furthermore, subcontractors may seek to increase their rates to builders as a result of the extra risk of the builders reporting their payments directly to the tax office.

The guidance from the ATO as to what needs to be reported and what doesn’t has been confusing to say the least. For example, the ATO has said that domestic building projects will be exempt from the program, however if the domestic building projects involve the use of subcontractors then they will need to be reported. Given that nearly every building project (of any size) involves the collaboration between various contractors (plumbers, electricians, painters, tilers, etc) it would seem that this “exclusion” actually might still capture the vast majority of projects.

This change comes into operation on July 1, 2012, so we would highly recommend that everyone in the building industry (builders as well as subcontractors) speak to their accountant about how this is going to affect them. If you’re accountant is not experienced in these matters then it is important that you post a job request for an accountant and get some quality advice for your business.

Resources:

Carbon Tax

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1350.0Feature+Article1Oct+2010

http://hia.com.au/media/Industry-policy/~/media/Files/documents/Carbon%20Tax%20documents/carbon_tax_price_adjustment.ashx

http://www.allenconsult.com.au/resources/acgcarbonprice2011.pdf

Subcontracting

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/construction-and-engineering/048605-the-building-industry-gets-ready-for-changes-to-tax-reporting.html

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the construction industry is the fourth largest contributor to Australia’s GDP accounting for around 7% of Australia’s total economy and over 9% of Australia’s employment. Construction has been a backbone of the Australian economy and the Australian way of life. Notwithstanding, the Australian government has chosen to simultaneously introduce three very significant tax changes that directly affect the Australian construction industry.

Story source: http://www.servicecentral.com.au

Knowing your limits and the market will help to expand your property portfolio.

Why do some people struggle to buy one investment property and yet others manage to own five or six? The answer isn’t simply that they have more money.

Investors who are creative in their approach to financing and who thoroughly research the important real estate indicators routinely achieve their goals faster and with less hassle.

There are several well-known ways to increase a property portfolio. You can take out an interest-only loan, buy with partners as ”tenants in common” or tap into your home equity.

Owning an investment property is not out of reach, it simply requires an astute approach. Photo: AFR

All of which help free up cash flow, enabling you to make more substantial contributions to a principal place of residence or to access cash flow for other investments. Coupled with buying investment properties in the right place at the right time, these tactics have reaped financial rewards for many people.

But savvy investors take their strategies to the next level. Let’s look at some of the less-traditional approaches to more profitable property investing.

Varying your income tax

If you’re negatively geared, a good way to improve immediate cash flow is to ask your accountant to submit an income tax variation form to your payroll office.

This reduces the tax rate charged on your wages by estimating your total end-of-financial-year tax position in advance. Rather than receiving a lump sum tax refund, you receive money evenly throughout the year.

Line of credit with a global limit

This is a line of credit home loan with a ”global” or ”umbrella” limit and several sub-accounts. It gives you maximum access to your equity to optimise your investment opportunities. The loan can be operated with multiple accounts under one global limit.

Mortgage Choice spokeswoman Belinda Williamson says line of credit accounts can be attached to a credit card. ”If you earn a decent income, using a credit card for expenses should mean that most of your income stays in the loan until the credit card payment is due, which helps to reduce the loan balance.”

Targeting distressed vendors

Successful investors don’t appraise the properties on the market in an area, they try to work out why they are for sale. Paul Osborne, of the buyer’s advocate firm Secret Agent, says it’s a smart move to understand household indebtedness in specific areas to snare a bargain.

He says many households are managing to service only the interest repayments, not the principal amount, of their home loans. As a consequence, the best buying opportunities tend to be in suburbs that have high proportions of household debt.

A secondary dwelling as an investment

Building second dwellings, such as granny flats, on the land held by either an owner-occupied or an investment property has become a growing trend. These dwellings can generate extra rental income and increase the property’s future value.

They also provide depreciation benefits and must be council-approved. Lending criteria for secondary dwellings varies from lender to lender and it’s smart to monitor how such additions in an area have shifted property values.

Choose a loan tailored to your needs

Depending on your finances, lifestyle and investment portfolio, there are a range of property loans to consider. Ms Williamson recommends checking the health of your home loan at least once a year.

”You should make sure that your loans not only meet your current needs but also take your future needs into consideration,” she says. ”Make sure that you are managing your loan, rather than letting it manage you.” Always be aware that new products are entering the competitive housing finance market constantly.

Story source: www.domain.com.au Story by Chris Tolhurst

In a world first, property-obsessed investors will be able to check house prices daily and trade on an index that tracks the ebbs and flows of dwelling prices across Australia.

The Australian Stock Exchange and property data providers today launched a capital city home value index tracking home prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth that is designed to be tradeable on the stock market.

The index, backed by property group RP Data-Rismark, will ”impute” the value of all dwellings in Australia’s capital cities and include daily price updates from homes sales across the country.

The index was developed to cater to the demand of investors – many of them overseas hedge funds – anxious to bet Australian house prices would eventually fall as they have elsewhere during the global financial crisis.

Although the indices are not tradeable yet, the Australian Securities Exchange is looking into products based on them, which would potentially allow local and overseas investors to profit – and lose – from bets on the where Australian home prices are going.

"ASX continues to investigate the creation of exchange-traded products with the objective of allowing investors to replicate the return and performance characteristics of the Australian residential property market," said ASX’s product development manager Brian Goodman.

"The ability to obtain and optimise residential property exposure with an exchange-traded product will enable investors to efficiently manage exposure to this asset class."

Developers could also potentially use investments in the index as a hedge, to protect themselves against fluctuating market price movements that affect building projects.

Previously data tracking the movement of house price has only been available on a monthly or quarterly basis from a range of providers such as RP Data, Australian Property Monitors and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

Advances in computing technology now allowed daily ”real time” updates, RP Data research director Tim Lawless said. The new index shows capital city dwelling values in February rose by 0.8 per cent, after a 1 per cent fall in January.

Home values jumped by 5 per cent in Darwin, 2.2 per cent in Hobart, 1.8 per cent in Melbourne, 1.9 per cent in Canberra, 1 per cent in Adelaide and 0.8 per cent in Sydney to the end of February.

They fell 0.1 per cent in Brisbane and 1.8 per cent in Perth. The daily capital city house price index will also account for the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, land area and location of a property to allow for ”accurate analysis of true value movements across specific housing markets,” RP Data said.

Only 6 per cent of Australian homes are sold each year. Of those, about 1390 are traded across the country each day with most transactions weighted towards weekends.

Australia’s residential housing market is worth an estimated $4 trillion, about three times the value of the $1.2 trillion equities market and the $1.3 trillion held in superannuation funds, Mr Lawless said.

"As Australia’s most valuable asset class, accounting for around 60 per cent of Australia’s major banks’ balance sheets, it is important to have the best possible measurement of housing returns and rental yields,” he said.

Only one other property index in the world in the United States was tradeable and it used historical data that was 63 days old, Mr Lawless said. The ASX will need approval from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission before the investors are allowed to trade on the new index.

Investors are likely to include super funds and big institutions such as banks wanting to hedge their property exposure risks.

sjohanson@theage.com.au www.domain.com.au