Preferred Real Estate

Boasting a relatively low cost of living and nice warm climate, Australia see’s more and more foreign investors every year investing in both commercial and residential properties and the country has recently be voted number one for surviving the recession.

The Australian Government rules that only permanent residents in the country can buy real estate. Any foreigner wishing to invest must first obtain permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). This is a fairly easy process but can take some time to process.

In general purchasing costs are roughly 5% of the sale price but this can vary from state to state. Varying as to where the property is located and also the value of the property these costs also include mortgage application fees (if applicable), stamp duty, legal fees’ and taxes.

Again depending on what state you decide to invest in, the holding deposit required by a seller is normally 10% of the asking price. The balance is then payable upon signing of the sale contracts. Once you have put down a deposit to hold the property you are obligated by law to have insurance. This is generally a cover note and then full insurance upon completion.

The property market in Australia, similar to other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States is struggling to know where it will turn in 2010. Many predict an increase in property prices of more than 5% and other experts predict a drop of more 20% or more.

The main determining factor that will affect property prices will be unemployment. If the unemployment rate continues to rise then it will be only people with deposits that can afford to buy real estate and new builds and many predict that the unemployment rate will soar to as high as 8%, compared to 2008 when the unemployment rate was 4.5%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates by a huge 3% back in 2008 which helped many people with mortgage repayments and the new strict lending rules, issued by the Australian Government, cut down the amount of mortgages given to people who would struggle to meet the repayments.

The amount of repossessions coming onto the market has also been cut down due to these strict lending rules which have enabled the market to remain stable throughout the last few years.