Latest News, September 15 - 2005

Rising interest rates in 2006?

A rebound in economic growth and the jobs market provide a gentle warning this week that home loan interest rates may not be as frozen as many borrowers have hoped. While there remains little prospect of further interest rate rises in 2005, the latest economic data increases the chances that rates may still have further to rise in 2006. For now, this has put paid to predictions that the next move in variable rates may be down.

Economic growth bounced back in the June quarter, with GDP posting a very solid 1.3 per cent rise over the three months. This lifts the annual growth rate to 2.6 per cent from the sluggish 1.9 per cent as at March. Business investment recorded a healthy 6.8 per cent rise, government spending rose unexpectedly, and the sectors dragging the economy down previously – housing construction and household spending – were also up.

When combined with the latest bumper jobs growth figure for August, it really looks like the slowdown in the economy from mid 2004 into 2005 is behind us. Another 32,600 jobs were added in August, continuing the inexorable rise in employment in Australia over the last two years. The only thing that has stopped unemployment from falling below 5 per cent is the surge in participation – the optimism for job seekers has brought many more Australians back into the market seeking work. The 0.5 per cent rise in the ANZ monthly job ads survey also suggests there are still more jobs to come in the ensuing months.

Our 2005 low-inflation, solid growth "nirvana", as RBA governor Ian Macfarlane describes it, should be enjoyed but borrowers and consumers in general should not expect it go on indefinitely. While inflation remains surprisingly subdued, we can't count on it to stay in check indefinitely. There may well be some inflationary dangers looming in 2006 from a tight labour market and sky-high petrol prices.

Housing finance produced mixed results in July, but the overall picture remains one of resilience with demand for home loans holding up. Total value of dwelling finance commitments excluding alterations and additions fell by 1.6 per cent. But this decrease was due to another fall in investment housing commitments of 5.6 per cent, offsetting the slight rise of 0.3 per cent in owner-occupied home loans. The number of loan commitments for owner-occupiers increased by 0.2 per cent in July, although the number excluding refinancing fell by 1.4 per cent.

News, August 12 - 2005

Finance and Real Estate Everyday introduces an SMS text message that a customer can request and immediate response to apply for a loan. Fusion Realty said it was happy with the speed of response from a trial of the technology among staff and some customers.

News, July 27 - 2005

Vendor tax blamed for house sales slump

The New South Wales Opposition has blamed the drop in homes sales in the state on vendor tax. June figures from the Housing Industry Association show a 38 per cent drop in annual housing sales, the lowest level for 15 years.

The association says interest rate rises and high household debt combined with Sydney having Australia’s most expensive housing are the main reasons for the slump. But opposition treasury spokeswoman, Peta Seaton, insists it is because of the vendor tax.

“There’s no doubt across the property sector, whether you speak to architects, real estate agents, builders or white goods sellers that they attribute the current slump and the current softening to the vendor duty, which was a death blow to a market that was already starting to slow naturally,” she said.

News, February 10 - 2005

"Warning to all Landlords!"

Don't get caught by unscrupulous bad tenants!

Unscrupulous bad tenants know all the tricks to bluff their way past an unwary landlord or Real Estate Agent.

If somebody came and knocked on the door to your home, would you give them the keys to your car? Not surprisingly, you probably wouldn't. More surprising is that many landlords hand over the keys to investment properties on just that scenario. Why would you? You need to protect yourself, your investment and your fellow landlords by fully identifying who is in your property.

Every applicant should fill out a comprehensive Tenancy Application Form (application forms available through "Fusion Realty") giving full identification, current address, references, date of birth, drivers license number etc.

News, December 1 - 2004

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on an annual rate, established house prices rose 8.2 per cent, the lowest annual increase since the June quarter of 2001.

Prices fell 2.2 per cent in Hobart, two per cent in Sydney, 1.6 per cent in Melbourne and just 0.2 per cent in Brisbane, while they improved 3.8 per cent in Darwin, three per cent in Perth, 1.3 per cent in Adelaide and 0.6 per cent in Canberra.

News, November 25 - 2004

Fusion Realty can now offer personal loans from $3,000 to $40,000.

The following terms and conditions may apply:

  1. A brokerage fee may be charged
  2. You will be referred to a third party and you must complete their forms.
  3. The third party will contact you directly to discuss your needs.
  4. When contact by the third party you must ask them to disclose all associated costs.

News, October 27 - 2004

Fusion Realty reports a zero vacancy factor.

Graeme Michie (licensee in charge of Fusion Realty) announced today that the company had full occupancy of all their rental properties. "This has been achieved by aggressive marketing that targets tenants through websites, including - www.freeinfo.net.au; www.domain.com.au; www.realestate.com.au; and www.justlisted.com.au. "

Newspapers are also used but Graeme reports that 78% of tenant enquires come from their Internet website listings, indicating a trend away from the print media by tenants. Getting the tenants to call is only the first part of the process stated Graeme. Once a tenant has made an enquiry it is important to have a tenant friendly property inspection system. Without the tenant friendly property inspection system this result of zero property vacancy could not have been achieved.

News, October 18 - 2004

Appearances in the Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal on behalf of three landlords.

All three applications made to Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal were successful which result in the recovery of all outstanding rent arrears plus possession of one the properties. Appearing in the Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal is always a last resort said Graeme Michie. If negotiations break down with the tenants and they are unwilling to comply with their lease documents applications are made. Certified orders from the Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal can be used to enforce action through the Local Court. The process is very fair, but time consuming for the landlords and tenants said Graeme Michie.