Insider Tips to Help You Discover How to Succeed with Commercial Property
THERE WAS an article in The Age last Saturday (BusinessDay) — which provided some fascinating insights into Australia’s retail scene.
Based upon GPT’s national portfolio, some interesting long-term trends are taking shape. And while GPT’s overall earnings actually rose by 7% over the past year … it required a fair amount of “fancy footwork” to achieve that. [Read more…]
AS YOU WILL appreciate, being able to sleep at night is one of the key objectives for any Commercial property investor.
And that’s what many property investors refer to as staying below your “Threshold of Insomnia”.
There can be several things that might cause you to lose sleep. One is over-borrowing; and the others are making a poor assessment of the market and the property itself. [Read more…]
IN CASE you missed the lead story in last Friday’s Financial Review … the Treasury secretary (Martin Parkinson) was outspokenly critical of the government’s recent handouts to the car industry.
And more particularly, given the recent strong growth in the unemployment figures.
In his view, taxpayers ought not be subsidising so-called “strategic industries” — when these represent inevitable structural changes, which need to occur in order to make Australia more productive in the long-term. [Read more…]
LAST TUESDAY, the RBA left the cash rate on hold — much to the surprise of most pundits. And yet, only the week before, that’s exactly what I suggest would happened.
You might also remember I suggested that you lock in a fixed rate mortgage — because it was then about 1% below the variable mortgage rate.
Many scoffed, and said that rates will continue to come down. Well, the past 7 days have certainly put paid to that theory — with the big 4 Banks raising their rates, quite out of step with the RBA. [Read more…]
BEFORE YOU purchase your next Commercial property, you do need to take some advice on which purchasing vehicle is right for you — because it’s definitely not ‘one size fits all’.
The Australian Tax Office is quite happy for you to arrange your affairs so as to minimise the tax you pay. In other words, it is quite legal for you to avoid tax — you simply cannot evade it. [Read more…]
LAST WEEK, the Property Council of Australia released its Office Space survey, for the 6 months to January 2012. And this will have some interesting implications for the Commercial property market.
Across the 26 markets depicted in this chart … demand was up 20% up and supply 30% down, on the 20-year average for the six-monthly period.
As you can see, total vacancies fell from 9.0% to 7.9% — the lowest since January 2009. And perhaps a quick summary of the CBD Office markets would be worthwhile. [Read more…]
THE GENERAL consensus seems to be that the RBA will further reduce rates by 25 basis points. But can this view be fully justified; and what does all this mean for Commercial property investors?
Most pundits would point to the recent CPI figures and say “Yes”! And on the surface, an underlying inflation rate of 2.5% per annum is plumb in the middle of the RBA’s stated target zone.
Yet despite what seems to be a rather hesitant mood by consumers, inflation in the service sector actually surged by massive 4.4% per annum. And some other sectors (not affected by overseas competition) also finished the year strongly, growing by 3.9% per annum. [Read more…]
EVERY capital city has both a CBD and suburban Office market. And as you can appreciate, keeping tabs on all the various suburban markets is almost an impossible task for most investors.
But generally speaking, the health (or otherwise) of the CBD Office markets within each capital city will provide you with a fairly good gauge of the overall Office scene around Australia.
Accordingly, this graph will provide you with a clear picture of what has occurred over the past 4 years.
As a rule of thumb, Office markets are said to the “in balance”, when their Vacancy Rate lies between 5% and 7%. [Read more…]
WILL COMMERCIAL property investors and businesses be starved of ready funds during 2012?
The banks seemed to be protesting about the increased cost of offshore borrowing. And using that as their excuse for not wanting to pass on any future RBA rate reductions in full.
But are they really telling you the whole truth? [Read more…]
MY ADVICE to clients is to always accept whatever the vendor is telling you about his or her property, as being “true”.
Then simply “reserve your right” within the Contract, to validate all the wonderful things you’ve been told about the Commercial property you’re about to purchase.
You see, most vendors believe their property to be perfect. And will therefore raise little objection to the final contract giving you a Due Diligence period … to confirm the overall status of the property.
You cannot go anywhere nowadays, without somebody offering you their advice about Commercial property.
And it’s hard to know whether they are giving you good information, or just passing on ideas they have picked up on from rather dubious sources.
But once you understand that Commercial property and Residential property completely different, you then begin to understand how the commercial market actually works.
That’s why these articles are intended to give you the real information — to help you become an expert on the subject.
So let’s start with doing homework properly. [Read more…]
WITH EVERY NEGOTIATION, you always need to be thinking on your feet. And here are several simple Tips to help you do just that.
WHEN YOU EMBARK on your journey as a property investor, it can be overwhelming – with a flood of information and diverse opinions. To help simplify the process, here are five essential tips for new (and seasoned) investors.
IT DOES NOT MATTER whether you’re an investor or an owner-occupier, there are several important factors to consider when purchasing a commercial property to ensure you make the right choice.
In a previous article, I shared a handy App to assist you in shortlisting potential properties. If you haven’t already downloaded it, simply click on the HiReturn Filter over on the right, to install it on your tablet or mobile device.
THERE IS A BELIEF among many experts that a surge in the stock market typically precedes a recovery in the commercial property market by about six months. And the start of this year saw equity markets gaining some momentum.
I HAVE BEEN ASKED countless times about the secrets to a successful negotiation. And I want to share with you the key elements to help make your negotiations effective.
But first, just watch this short video to gain a quick understanding of these three essential elements that form the foundation of every negotiation.
If you’re new to investing, you might be wondering if it’s possible to manage your own commercial property. The short answer is “yes”, but only if you know what you’re doing.
It’s important to note that owning a commercial property comes with certain legal responsibilities, particularly when it comes to compliance with Essential Services requirements under current Building Regulations.
The current trends in the business have made it clear that office landlords have to cater to the needs and preferences of their tenants. Building owners and managers (who understand and meet these demands) will be able to command higher rents and reduce vacancy rates.
To expand on this, here are four key tips to help attract quality tenants.
