FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH … my view is that there is growing evidence to suggest inflation will not be as sticky as many pundits would have you believe.
Despite a recent surge in residential rentals, Australia’s inflation seems to have reached its peak and is expected to rapidly recede. And that’s evidenced by the June figures just out, showing that inflation has fallen from 7% to 6% per annum, over the last quarter. [Read more…]
AI IS POISED TO HAVE a significant impact on Commercial property investing by revolutionising various aspects of the industry.
Here are 7 ways in which AI is expected to affect commercial property investing: [Read more…]
AUSTRALIA HAS ALWAYS BOASTED a solid immigration rate – to the point, where about 30% of our population has actually been born outside the country.
During the pandemic, immigration numbers fell dramatically. As a result, vital skills shortages emerged among building & construction, hospitality and rural workers.
Over the years, the best-performing countries (where Australia stands out) were generally resource-rich, new-world countries with strong population growth and good record with corporate governance.
The Productivity Commission recently estimated immigration contributed almost 20% of the improvement in GDP per capita over the past 40 years.
Mistakenly, there are some who fear immigration will adversely affect employment levels – by taking jobs from existing workers. Instead, it’s been proven that immigration delivers broad-based improvements in productivity, across all levels of society.
Ultimately, these newcomers bring diversified skills to the workforce, which helps grow the total pie and everyone benefits – by driving productivity and innovation.
With our current skill shortages, immigration has an important role to play – initially, by plugging the glaring gaps in our workforce. But more importantly, by creating growth and improvements well.
Australia has long benefited from the cultural richness and diversity that immigration has given the nation, but we sometimes forget the economic benefits.
Bottom Line: There is no doubt immigration has introduced cultural richness and diversity into our society. However, we should also be aware of the economic benefits across every sector of the market – including Commercial property.
Best wishes …
ATTRACTING GOOD TALENT is proving to be a real issue for many businesses, with unemployment at a near 50-year low. Plus, one of the major challenges right now is how to actually lure staff back to the office. [Read more…]
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, this is a question I often get asked.
So, let me perhaps start by saying that with all my properties … I, personally, engage a skilled property manager.
And people then ask … If you know so much about commercial property, why don’t you manage the properties yourself?
The answer’s fairly straightforward – as there are basically 4 reasons … [Read more…]
IT MAY SURPRISE YOU to learn that new businesses grew at a record rate during the last financial year. And that’s because COVID-19 served up a whole host of new opportunities among the economic turmoil.
Apparently, there were 365,500 new start-ups along with 277,700 established businesses closing shop – delivering a net gain of 87,800 new businesses.
As encouraging as that may sound, these newcomers will face challenges going forward – given they began in a climate of low interest rates and government support.
Nonetheless, they will clearly add to the demand for suburban office space – as workers seek to avoid the grind of a long daily commute.
Add to that the large CBD firms currently decanting whole departments out to the suburbs – to also be closer to where their employees live.
Bottom Line: Every change (however disruptive) brings with it seeds of opportunity. Sometimes these are hard to recognise – but highly profitable, for those who do.
LEAVING ASIDE the effect of Covid has had on the general economy, the consequent drop in population growth and immigration will have a lasting impact upon … [Read more…]
THERE HAS BEEN much talk about Commercial Property emerging post-Covid. So, let’s quickly explore just how things are likely to unfold. [Read more…]
ON THE FACE OF IT … there’s no logical reason why you would.
Unless of course, you were intending to occupy the property when the current lease expires. In which case, the initial low rental is really of little (or no) importance to you. [Read more…]
ONLINE SHOPPING boomed during the lockdown. However, smaller retail outlets in strip centres and malls are actually struggling.
A recent study showed 37% of some 10,000 tenancies are run by small business owners – with just 1 to 3 outlets. And they mostly comprise food, health and beauty. [Read more…]
YOU MAY RECALL back in May and July, I foreshadowed a quick recovery would occur – as soon as we emerged from lockdown.
You see, what we’ve just been through, is a medical crisis with financial implications. NOT a total financial collapse – like we had during the GFC.
As such, “Demand” didn’t disappear … it simply got deferred. And you’ve already observed that with consumers now engaging in “Retail revenge” – as depicted in the graphic below (AFR, front page: 3 Dec 2020).
During the pandemic my clients seemed to fall into two camps:
Already you are seeing eager buyers re-entering the property market (both residential and commercial) – with prices on the rise once more.
Therefore, those who did buy during the pandemic are now having their faith vindicated. And now, the strength of this renewed demand is bringing more properties onto the market.
Not all the properties coming onto the market during November & December can be absorbed before Christmas.
Naturally, this will make those vendors somewhat unsettled – because the commercial market doesn’t officially reopen again until February/March.
So, if you are cashed up and able to move quickly … there should be a number of good choices for you early in the New Year.
Bottom Line: What I’m planning to do is compile a list of those unsold properties for my clients. And then, we’ll quietly sift through these opportunities together – to help clients secure several genuine bargains.
If that could be of interest to you … just let me know.
