Aussies can’t afford to buy in Aus?

Hi All

When you look at D's numbers, no wonder a lot of people are trying to move away from the major cities.  We just sold a 3 bed brick and tile place in the Coffs Harbour area for $289,500 and another 3 bedder in the Hunter region for $265,000.  Getting work in the regional centres is the catch I guess.

Cheers,  Paul

D,

Chinese investors have so much fresh cash.. and they can afford to buy the apartment with CASH…(Chinese prefers to buy everything in Cash.. whereas western prefers credit).. so don't worry about sunset clause.

In the past I said this before but I'm going to say it again: Yer pays yer money, and yer takes yer chances. Nobody has any clue which way the market is headed. If it were this easy to make money, financial advisers and stock market chartists wouldn't exist. They'd be living the high life in the Bahamas, not talking on the news about which way the market is headed. By the way, they're wrong like 50% of the time, but like fund managers, these folk still get paid for being fantastically incorrect in their predictions.

Speaking of investors from China however…I thought it was no longer possible for temporary residents to fly in, buy a million dollar house and fly out same day, leaving it vacant for months. Didn't they tighten the rules on foreign investment recently and even add in a witch-hunt style 'dob-in' line? IMHO this was a sensitive thing to do and just provides the means to provoke long-time residents.

I'm a busy permanent resident who moved into my house 6 months ago but spend 12 hours a day working and away from home. One day my observant neighbour actually asks if I'm moving in or gonna leave my house vacant. Fancy that! For a moment I was very insulted and angry at such an accusation, for the assumption that I'm some loaded foreigner who buys houses for the sake of doing so and then leaving it vacant.

I barely have the money to afford my mortgage and feed myself, let alone to leave it vacant. But before I blurted anything out I realised that my neighbour probably said this only because the media had put poison in his mind: that absolutely any foreigner you see on the street is guilty of such travesty.

More to the point. If you buy substantial, well-located properties in these areas, you wouldn't lose money over the long term. Now that's my prediction in terms of where the property market is headed.

Importantly though, who doesn't already know that good property always appreciates in value?

FWord… you have answered it…
That is the reason why China investors are here to buy the 'blue chip' properties in Syd/Melb/Bris
Who cares about the sunset clause as D said…They have CASH and will be buying it with CASH.

 I agree with PaulDobson, property investors should look for opportunities presented in regional areas or wait for another property down turncycle to enter.

If I was a gambler and had the time again – id wait until property prices in Sydney/Melbourne come down.  Its not a question of if – its a question of when and by how much.   

Hi all,

I must have missed all the fun!

Firstly, the dob in line reeks of another place and another time which shall remain unmentioned. Why not dob in your neighbors because they are different……….umm no thanks.

Secondly you would have to get everyone to quit their jobs in Melbourne and Sydney and move to another country to see a significant loss on a prime property. You can never get it again. Like huge blocks of land. YOU CAN NOT GET IT AGAIN. Sorry just wanted to get that point across. You can't put a land release back again………..

The cash will continue to flow in from wealthy investors not just the chinese as Australia is the property version of a swiss bank. We have a stable economy (shown through the gfc) relatively stable govt and laws. The building industry is relativly stable with good construction laws and unlike other countries our construction is governed and must meet strict requirements.

The thing that the media and most people forgot is that you can buy as much property as you like if you live here permanently.

I could buy property for my overseas relatives if I actually spoke to them or wanted to.  Also as an Australian person who lives here, I can go out and buy as many properties as I can afford. There is really nothing stopping everyone who lives here from buying as many houses as they want.

There is no media beat up on A Current Beat up or Today's Crazy Rant on investors because they underpin the housing stock through providing rental properties.

It is a crazy puzzle D, and inflation takes a dollar and makes it worth 50 cents. I think millionaire is the new middle class since most peoples houses are worth probably half a mil and up and then by the time you add in other assets etc then they would probably be close. Personally I'm not going to use a dollar amount, I will refer to rich people as "Leer Jet Rich".

This is what happens when you don't post for awhile, you write a book!

D