When it comes to property investment, the market you choose to buy in is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. In the last five years, we have seen markets in Sydney and Melbourne increase by 60 per cent or more, while in mining towns across Australia we have seen property prices fall by the same amount. The difference in returns here can mean a life of financial freedom or one of financial ruin, so it’s critical to get this right. At Aquila Property Investment, we analyse five key areas to assess a property market’s likely return, and how volatile those returns will be. But first ..read more

“Land appreciates, buildings depreciate”, is the maxim you’ll hear in property investment frequently. Land goes up in value but buildings go down in value. You may also have heard that only buildings can be depreciated, which means you’re better off getting as much improved value as possible to reduce your tax. You’ll also have heard that the cost of construction is increasing, which increases the value of buildings over time. So what’s the real story? If we look at the example of Brisbane from 1991-2011, we can see how much both land and buildings have increased in value per annum: Based on ..read more

There are a number of ways to value a property. The first and most obvious is market value; this is what most people talk about when they refer to value. Market value, very simply defined, is the price an informed buyer is willing to pay and an informed seller is willing to accept at any given time, where neither party is forced into the deal. If houses were bought and sold thousands of times a day like shares on a stock exchange, this value would fluctuate dramatically. Because they’re not, however, we don’t see this variability, but it does exist. Market value can change quickly due to chang ..read more

What is microburbs? Microburbs help you understand more about your prospective property. It provides a comprehensive report on factors such as the safety, family appropriate, lifestyle, convenience, internet availability and the hipness of your suburb. The data provided in the microburbs help you find the right property that suits your lifestyle. If you want to live a quiet life, pick a property that has the highest tranquillity score. If you are socially active, choose a place with higher lifestyle score. Proximity and performance of nearby schools are mentioned in the family score. A suburb ..read more

Walk Score lets you measure the walkability of your chosen property or any address. It analyses different walking routes available to nearby amenities. A higher walk score means that the property is accessible within a 5-minute walk from amenities. The farther amenities are from the property, the less walk score it will have. If the property has zero walk score, it simply means that it is not very accessible and may require a car to do errands. Walk Score also describes how easy it is to walk in the neighbourhood. It tells you if there are footpaths available, if there is heavy traffic and if ..read more

Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on many transactions, including the transfer of land ownership. Although the Australian Federal government do not levy stamp duty, each individual state does, and there are stamp duty concessions for certain people. The origins of this levy go back to the early 17th century in Europe and it was originally put in place to cover the administrative expenses that a change of land title ownership entails, which is still relevant today. Essential Component Of The Land Purchase Simply put, in the absence of the genuine stamp, the title office will refuse to change ..read more

‘Buying Property Made Simple’ is the marketing claim of the website LocationScore (similar scores can be found at DSRData and BoomApp). Is this a realistic claim? Or is it just another flashy marketing tool in an industry riddled with them? WHAT IS A DEMAND TO SUPPLY SCORE A demand to supply score is generated for a suburb by aggregating data across 8 different property indicators,  before an algorithm is used to produce a specific score. This score determines the current level of demand within a suburb versus its current level of supply, and ranks it against other suburbs, in the context ..read more

Median house and unit prices for a suburb will tell you what the ‘middle’ sales price has been over a period of time, such as a year. A suburb may have 100 sales in a year; the middle price is halfway between the 50th and 51st sale ranked in order of price. Changes in the median price data over time is used by many people to determine changes in asset values, and is often cited to justify why you should buy in a particular suburb (it has grown x % in the last 12 months). Leaving aside the obvious point that past performance is not an indicator of future performance, there are some fundamental ..read more

The vacancy rate will tell you the number of properties currently available for rent in that suburb, as a percentage of the overall number of rental properties. It is a quick and effective way to check the health of a suburb’s rental market. A low vacancy rate means very few properties are available for tenants, which translates into short or no vacancy time for landlords, and will often lead to rental increases. On the other hand a higher vacancy rate will lead to longer vacancy periods and lower rents, as there is more choice for tenants and less imperative to pay higher rents to secure a pr ..read more

The Owner Occupier to Renter shows you what percentage of properties in the suburb are owned by people who reside in the property, versus the percentage of those owned by investors (and thus are rented). It is generally used to assess the quality of a suburb, with a higher percentage of owners signaling a higher quality of suburb. This is because owners will generally take care of their properties better, improve the value of their properties over time, and be more actively in the local community than tenants. Additionally, as an area grows more attractive, owner-occupiers will pay a premium t ..read more