Property investing has become a popular Australian past time with one in ten taxpayers owning a negatively geared property. But just what makes a good bricks-and-mortar investment? It’s not about buying any old house or unit, that’s for sure, and it’s most certainly not about buying something you’d want to live in or even in [...]

Australian households are directly responsible for about a fifth of Australia’s carbon pollution, and the Federal Government is offering a range of incentives to help people reduce carbon pollution in their homes. For example, the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme offers eligible Australian households a $1000 rebate for a solar hot water system, or a $600 [...]

Rates are on hold but the housing fire could already be out. The Reserve Bank decided to keep interest rates on hold during the week, much to the relief of many a home owner, citing concerns about European economies along with satisfaction with current inflation levels. "Consistent with that outlook, and as a result of [...]

There’s no denying that when it comes to property investing and making money from renovating, first impressions count. Changing the first impression of a property is the second highest returning “add value” technique. Here’s why… BY ANA STANKOVIC In this day and age most potential buyers start their search for properties online. They look up [...]

Some of you may be interested in viewing the photos of when the tornado whipped up over the ocean and made a bee-line for Lennox Head Village.  One of our staff was good enough to send these on to us. It’s good to report that the damaged streets are looking a little more like a [...]

All night long the rain pounded the district.  At about 2.30 in the morning an amazing electrical storm was rampant in the night sky.  Many of us experienced a sleepless night with the deafening noise of the rain on the roof, the wild winds blowing, thunder and cracking lightning. As morning approaches it has calmed [...]

Reserve Bank gives borrowers a breather, leaving interest rates unchanged amid renewed signs of global economic weakness. The Reserve Bank has given borrowers a breather, leaving interest rates unchanged amid renewed signs of global economic weakness. The central bank’s decision today to keep its key cash rate at 4.5 per cent snaps a series of [...]

Rising interest rates are discouraging first home buyers and keeping them in the rental market, which in turn is good for property investors, according to leading online mortgage broker e-choice. Property investors, who themselves say they aren’t deterred by rising interest rates, can look forward to strong rental returns as larger numbers in the rental [...]

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s Consumer Sentiment Index has indicated a 7.0% fall in consumer confidence during May. The Index now sits at 108.0 points suggesting that consumers have become less confident in domestic economic conditions over the last month. This is likely to be the result of a volatile share market, economic instability in Europe and [...]

Having an understanding of median sale prices can add an extra dimension to your property purchasing skills. Take care not to confuse median sale prices and average sale prices, the two numbers can vary enormously. Averaging adds up property prices in a list and divides by the number of properties. The median price is the [...]

South Australians and Victorians tend to keep their options basic, whilst Queenslanders prefer to spice it up the most. What state you live in can determine just how you choose to do it. Borrow money that is. South Australia It’s often said that South Australians like to saviour the good things in life – food [...]

A major computer security firm has urged Facebook to set up an early-warning system after hundreds of thousands of users were hit by a new wave of fake sex-video attacks. British-based virus fighter Sophos warned users of the world’s biggest social networking site to be on guard against any posting entitled "distracting beach babes", which [...]

Overall lending for property is on a slide and on the surface that looks like bad news for property investors. But a deeper look at the numbers suggests there is an upside. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the number of home loans dropped by 3.4 per cent in March, following a 1.8 per cent [...]

And it’s got nothing to do with Real Estate!! The Lennox Head Newsagency SOLD one of the winning tickets for the $4,000,000.00 Mother’s Day draw – and it’s still out there!!! Yes, someone either in the community, a visitor or perhaps a lucky mum who has not checked their lotto tickets yet, holds a little [...]

Revelations that foreign property buyers bought $14.9 billion worth of houses and land in Australia last year, including $2.49 billion worth of existing homes, is resulting in more calls from curbs on overseas investors. The Federal Government refused to release these figures recently when asked to by journalists but they were in quietly posted on [...]