blog.buysellrealestate.com.au

According to mortgage broker AFG, sales of mortgages across Australia
during September recovered by 10.2% from the previous month.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has welcomed suggestions from
Victorian Premier John Brumby that governments need to do more to
assist young Victorians to purchase their own home.

There’s a rental shortage across Australia at the moment, but it’s particularly bad in Sydney. homes for rent: News.com.au” href=”http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,24394448-5013951,00.html” target=”_self”>Recent data suggests that there are just 739 properties currently available for rent in Sydney, a vacancy rate of just 1.2 per cent. You’d expect this would push rental prices up, making property investment a far more attractive deal than it has been, and with the massive instability in the stockmarket people who are looking for places to invest their cold hard cash might start looking at property.

There’s just one problem, at least for NSW buyers.

The NSW Government initiated a land tax a few years ago that resulted in a lot of Sydney investors leaving the market and investing in south-east Queensland. Well, now Sydney is paying the price, and there are calls for the taxes to be cut in order to encourage more investors.

Elsewhere in Australia the signs are good for investing in real estate. It’s a buyer’s market at the moment, with property sales staying fairly slow as there’s not a lot available for this time of year. And with real estate prices seemingly at a low point in the property cycle, the future looks good for capital gains over the long term.

In a deal that was negotiated by CB Richard Ellis, Toll Logistics will
anchor the $135 million Somerton Logistics Centre in what is the
largest lease in Melbourne’s northern suburbs this year.

Victorian building permit activities have eased slightly following five record years of building activity.

Colliers International’s survey of Townsville’s construction projects for the past 6 months shows 68 committed projects worth over $11 billion, but recent events could see some stall or be terminated. 

The Exchange Hotel in Footscray, Melbourne, is being offered for sale via agents of Burgess Rawson & Associates.

A property in Victoria’s WARECA development is being offered for sale
as an investment by an expression of interest by Crabtrees Real Estate.

The Victorian Government has released a shortlist for the design,
construction, financing, operation and maintenance of Victoria’s
Desalination Plant Project.

According to the HIA, a weakness in leading housing indicators
is persisting into the second half of 2008, with building approval
figures confirming a continuance downward trend.