Commercial Property Investors are Relishing the Current Drift

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Confusion
EVER SINCE Julia Gillard announced the September election in February … the ensuring political hiatus has meant almost everything (including our thinking) has simply been moving sideways.

Neither up, nor down … just drifting!

And that is completely understandable — because, when uncertainty reigns … people tend to do nothing.

What are the Experts saying? [Read more…]

Commercial Property: The Interest Rate Dilemma

Interest-RatesSHOULD YOU be fixing the interest rate for the term of your investment loan … or simply running with the best variable rate?

Lurking behind that question is another concern: Will interest rates fall any further; and if so, by how much?

The Case FOR a further Interest Rate Cut [Read more…]

Commercial Property: Looking Ahead

Confidence is now returningTHROUGHOUT the last half of 2012, you would have seen our articles consistently predicting a turn-around in confidence, early in 2013.

And more particularly, we also explained why there would be a rebound in China’s growth — following transition to the new Administration. [Read more…]

Will China’s Growth Pick Up Again?

China and Australia have Solid RelationsAND WILL it keep underpinning both Australia AND Commercial property? Well, that really depends upon who it is you’re asking.

Most miners are somewhat guarded; many journalists are painting a gloomy picture; and Labor politicians seem to be arguing among themselves.

So, no wonder most of us are confused.

And whenever the general community is confused … it takes what seems to be the safest route, and simply does NOTHING.

This is the dilemma our economy faces right now.

Let’s peek behind the Chinese Curtain … [Read more…]

Improved Productivity Always Brings Pain!

Sector-by-sector Contributuion to GDPUNFORTUNATELY, you simply can’t avoid experiencing some pain … whenever structural changes occur within the economy.

However, these changes also provide considerable opportunities for the shrewd Commercial property investor. But more on that later. [Read more…]

Inflation, Growth and Commercial Property

You need to Look Behind the Official Inflation figuresTHE LABOR government is crowing about its latest statistical achievements — low inflation, low unemployment, strong growth and booming investment.

So, why aren’t Australians feeling an overwhelming sense of warmth and well-being? Probably, as my earlier articles have explained … it all comes down to an overall lack of confidence.

Most people are still expecting the RBA to further reduce interest rates. However, barring a European meltdown, that would seem to be rather unlikely in the foreseeable future.

You only need to study these graphs to understand the RBA’s hesitancy — because clearly, the average measures of inflation currently sit at the bottom of the target band adopted by the Reserve Bank. [Read more…]

Australia, the Global Economy and Commercial Property

GERRY HARVEY appeared to sum it up fairly well in a recent interview:
“It was unusual to have such a poor sentiment at a time when Australia’s economy was relatively strong compared to America and some countries in Europe.”

Overseas Property Investors are currently very active Harvey feels Australia has an economy regarded as strong by outsiders. And yet there is a total lack of confidence, and businesses are therefore suffering.

Overseas investors are actively targeting Australian Commercial Property — accounting for around half of all sales of over $30 million. Whereas, local investors remain hesitant. [Read more…]

Retailing Set to Rebound in 2013

THE FIRST half of 2012 has been rather dismal for retailers. Figures coming out of the ABS tend to confirm anecdotal evidence that retailing is doing it tough.

And none more so than department stores, fashion and electronics. Whereas, food and entertainment remain the only bright spots. [Read more…]

Commercial Property Attracting Overseas Buyers

Melbourne Ofices in hot demand by overseas investorsACCORDING to a recent report by Property Watch, overseas investors appear to be strongly buying Office buildings, within Docklands and the CBD of Melbourne.

Currently, these Office purchases account for around 36% of all very major deals being transacted — and they seem to be driven by Melbourne having the 2nd lowest vacancy rate, after Perth. [Read more…]

Time for Some Contrary Thinking with Your Commercial Property Investing

View the current Opportunity for what it is.AMIDST ALL the recent doom and gloom, major global banks are quietly alerting their clients to prepare for a sharemarket surge, if Greece exits the Euro-zone.

That’s because they believe world authorities will be flooding international markets with massive liquidity.

And given the G8 Communique from Camp David, this may well occur anyway — just to keep Greece within the fold. [Read more…]

City Office Markets Starting To Reclaim Their Pre-GFC Values

Office Values heading back to pre-GFC LevelsIT HAS TAKEN almost 4 years … but 2012 should see the prime Office markets in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide expunge the capital value lost through the GFC — according to CBRE research.

In turn, this will impact upon their suburban Office markets as well.

But it might take until 2016 before Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra are able to recoup that same lost ground. [Read more…]