How parents could help their kids to buy their first property

The median price of property has been rising so quickly in Sydney and Melbourne that many young adults worry they will never be home owners.

The housing affordability issue isn't just about home prices. There are social and generational factors because today's young adults are less likely to be savers.

So even as home-loan interest rates are at their lowest in more than 50 years, affordability is as much about a lack of a deposit as an inability to service repayments.

Luckily, there are options for borrowers who have decent incomes and low deposits, and it's even easier if you have supportive parents.

Recent research of more than 6000 people by Yellow Brick Road showed that many parents want to help their children to buy property. If that is something you hope to do for your kids, these are the options.

First, most lenders will consider a family guarantee in lieu of a saved deposit. If you're buying a $500,000 property, need $100,000 deposit and your parents have built substantial equity in their own  property, they can offer it as security for the deposit.

A family guarantee works when the deposit is as least 20 per cent of the purchase price. The lender accepts this security as the deposit, but the borrower is responsible for the mortgage repayments. If the borrower defaults, the lender recovers costs by selling the property, and they can take any shortfall from the security offered by the parents.

While this form of deposit-financing has increased by about 30 per cent in the past five years, many home owners don't want to risk losing their property wealth if their son or daughter fails to make mortgage repayments.

This leads to another option: the non-refundable gift. If a parent wants to help their child buy their first home, while keeping their own property high and dry, they can give a sum of money to the borrower and sign a statutory declaration that the money is a gift.

Lenders, generally speaking, don't allow these deposit gifts to exceed 50 per cent of the deposit. The other half must be savings of six months or more, so the non-refundable gift is a good way for first home buyers to double their deposit, and the parents can help without putting their own retirement plans in jeopardy.

Be aware that the ability to save a deposit counts for a lot with lenders, and where a borrower has low or no savings, the lender will scrutinise their income and their serviceability.

This situation can be looked at from another perspective: that instilling good financial habits at a formative age is a good investment. The combination of high income and low savings is no way to build financial security. The key is to save some of your income, so you can turn it into hard assets. This is something worth teaching children, especially given the number of consumer temptations foisted on young people.

If you're a first home buyer who won't get parental help with a deposit, save hard and buy the property you can afford, not the one you want.

by Mark Bouris

Please contact Antony Fung on 0425 470 111 if you have any property related inquiries.

Antony Fung

Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Local buyers follow the Chinese treasure hunt in Sydney Property Market

Local Australians are increasingly following the Chinese lead in apartment-buying decisions.

Coming from a much longer tradition of living in high-density cities, apartment buyers with some kind of Chinese heritage usually opt to buy close to transport hubs, shops and restaurants.

''They're good buyers to follow because they have a checklist of what they want, and they take emotion out of their purchasing decisions,'' says the chief executive of development in NSW and Victoria for Mirvac, John Carfi.

Mirvac's new 37-level Chatswood tower ERA, the fifth tower in the Pacific Place complex, has a high proportion of Chinese buyers.

''Fundamentally, they are savvy buyers and particularly good at buying off the plan, probably because they're better educated when it comes to real estate as they're accustomed to apartment living, and most in China and Asia are sold off the plan,'' Carfi says.

''Their criteria for buying - well located, in good transport nodes and well serviced by amenities - are excellent, and good feng shui in facing north-east makes perfect sense, too.''

To the north-west, Top Ryde City Living, the $500 million five-tower complex atop the newly built shopping centre, is also popular among Chinese buyers, who may be Australian-born or come from mainland China or Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia.

''The primary reason is that there's a certain aspirational quality that comes from where you live as well as the general lifestyle attributes,'' says the director of sales and marketing with developer Crown International, Haig Conolly. ''Buyers who have some Chinese heritage like to live in developments with facilities like public transport, five-star restaurants, top-class shopping malls and employment close, and increasingly Anglo-Australians are moving the same way, with the traditional quarter-acre block no longer holding the same appeal it once had.''

When Hong Kong-born Chris Ma saw the plans to convert the fifth and final tower of ERA at Pacific Place in Chatswood from commercial to residential, he liked the look of it so much, he bought three apartments.

He set aside an $815,000 two-bedroom apartment off the plan for his eldest son, intends to rent out the $642,000 one-bedder, and the third, a three-bedder bought for $1.07 million, is pencilled in to be sold on completion for a profit, he says.

''I think that'll sell for $1.38 million,'' says Ma, 60, a father of two who makes a living from property transactions. ''I like to invest in Mirvac properties.

''My friend lived in a Mirvac house once and, after 20 years, he phoned them up and said there was a problem. They came and fixed it. It was magical.''

Ma settled in Australia in 1989 and says that of the ERA buyers who are of Chinese heritage, 92 per cent have permanent residence or citizenship, with the rest living overseas.

''Australia has a good, stable economy to invest in, has better weather than Canada … and this is a very good development,'' he says.

''I have lunch in a Chinese restaurant every day opposite the site to watch what the workmen are doing. And they are doing a very good job.''

Antony Fung

Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Sydney's property market sets a new clearance rate record, the 2nd time in less than a month

Sydney’s auction market on Saturday hit a new clearance rate record of 88.2%, beating the previous benchmark of 87.5% set less than a month ago.

Of the 737 auctions scheduled in Sydney, the Domain Group reports it had collected 599 results.

Domain senior economist, Dr Andrew Wilson, said the buying trend could see the local market even hit 90%.

“That would have been a completely outrageous suggestion but it’s now becoming more likely,” he said.

The highest price was for a six-bedroom house in Strathfield, which sold for $4.42 million.

Other top sales included a five-bedroom home in Newington, for $1,666,000, a three-bedroom Federation residence in Fairlight for $2,805,000 and a house in Haberfield for $3,965,000.

The record-breaking results however have economists torn on what is next for prices in the Sydney market, after experiencing a 12.4% surge in 2014.

Economic researchers BIS Shrapnel last month told The AFR that Sydney house prices will rise, expecting to see as much as a 20% increase over the next two years.

This would push the median house price well above $1 million by June 2017.

BIS Shrapnel suggested pent up demand, a push by investors into the market and an undersupply of new housing stock would be a driving the price surge.

Meanwhile just this week HSBC Australia chief economist Paul Bloxham said the opposite.

He told News Limited that he expects the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates in 2016, a move which would cool the booming market.

He said current prices are growing at an “unsustainable pace” and warned purchasers should expect a correction down the line.

HSBC is forecasting Sydney house prices to be broadly flat in 2016 rather than suffer a big fall.

Also this week, Business Insider discussed the boom in residential construction currently littering Australian cities’ skylines. 

Referencing research notes from ANZ, David Scutt suggested that the change has almost entirely been driven by foreign investment in residential property. 

Antony Fung

Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Keep Calm It's Friday........

Tasty House Chinese in Ashfield is truly tasty!!

Tasty House was one of the first places I discovered in Ashfield and quickly became a favourite. They specialise in Vietnamese dishes such as pho and noodle soup but also offer some popular chinese dishes like fried rice, sweet and sour chicken/pork on rice and black bean chicken on rice. My ultimate go-to dish whenever I frequent this restaurant is the grilled pork rib on tomato rice or crispy chicken on tomato rice. It never disappoints.

Service is quick and the drinks/dessert menu is pretty mouth watering too.

Address: 297 Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Phone: (02) 9716 5668

Price range: $10-15 for mains 

Antony Fung

Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Auction frenzy in Sydney keeps property prices rising

Data shows prices are up 6.4 per cent in Sydney so far this year (2015), compared to 3.9 per cent gains in Melbourne, a 0.1 per cent rise in Brisbane, a 0.2 per cent decline in Adelaide and a 1.6 per cent slide in Perth.

Property analysts, such as Louis Christopher from SQM Research, say that most other data confirms that Sydney is where the main action is taking place.

"At this point in time we think the [Sydney] market's about 25 per cent overvalued and, if our forecasts come in for this year, it'll actually get up to about 40 per cent overvalued. It's probably about the second highest overvaluation point we've ever recorded, the highest being back in 2003 when, on our numbers back then, the market was about 55 per cent overvalued."

Mr Christopher said that, beyond Sydney and some parts of Melbourne, there is generally not much upward momentum in the Australian housing market.

"We don't believe, for example, there's a national housing bubble," he said.

"We can definitely pinpoint areas where the markets have not moved for a very long time and they are undervalued compared to incomes.

"So, even with the cheap credit, it hasn't influenced every market everywhere, because local economic factors have taken a greater hold."

Mr Christopher points to collapsing home prices in most mining towns, falling prices in Darwin and Perth, and relatively stagnant prices over recent years in Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart as evidence.

Antony Fung

Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Visit Excelsior Jones! Antony Fung reccomends it!

What not drop into Excelsior Jones in Ashfield?

 

139A Queen Street, Ashfield, NSW

Antony Fung from Ashfield Real Estate recommends to visit Excelsior Jones! 

SO WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR Surry Hills hipster-barista days start to segue into your dude-dad era? You move west, young man, to a place that has houses with child-friendly backyards - and you start taking as much care with the babycino as with the single-origin ristretto.

Case in point: Anthony Svilicich and business partner James Naylor, who used to run the buzzy Le Monde in Foveaux Street, have moved 10 clicks west and converted an old convenience store into a cool, white, big-windowed, tall-ceilinged cafe.

Svilicich is now a local (although still quietly amazed at seeing a Shetland pony in the street instead of the usual fixed-gear bicycle) and has been overwhelmed by the number of people welcoming the cafe with open arms. ''It's a beautiful, heritage-listed area with a far greater sense of community,'' he says.

 

In response to the new demographic, the menu is kid-friendly enough to have pikelets and a simple ham-and-cheese toasty as well as that milk bar classic of yesteryear, the fluorescent lime spider. There's also a good-looking cheeseburger that comes with a pile of unequivocally deep-fried chunky spuds on the side that gets every head turning each time it goes to a table.

Chef Adrian Borg bustles about the large professional kitchen dishing up snappy breakfast/brunch plates of smoky salmon rillettes and poached egg on toast and lunches of serious slow-roasted lamb sandwiches; the kind you have to sit down and eat from a plate. 

On weekends, breakfast luckily extends all day, so you don't have to get up early for what is rapidly turning into the hot order: a rich, shreddy, pork hock and potato hash tossed with nutty fried buckwheat and topped with a perfectly poached egg. Sleeping in is probably a distant, pre-kids memory anyway

.

There are a few cakey things upfront - anzac biscuits, choc-chip muffins - but I'm thinking they'll need a few more as they go along.

Excelsior Jones is new, noisy, and still a bit gawky - no matter where you sit, you think you're in someone's way - but the coffee side of things couldn't be more adult. Barista Julian Beresford runs a Five Senses custom blend through the powder-coated, matt black Synesso that's smooth, rich, and milk-friendly. Makes you feel sorry for all those hipsters stuck back there in poor, isolated Surry Hills.

Do … have the lime spider.

Don't … drive straight past, there's very little signage.

Dish … pork hock hash with poached egg, $16.

Vibe … cornershop cool.

Antony Fung
Ashfield Real Estate

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

1300 938 931

Chinese New Year 2015 - Ashfield Real Estate

 

Kung Hei Fat Choi and welcome to the Year of the Sheep.

Chinese New Year is the most important time in Chinese culture. It’s a time to celebrate the coming New Year, reflect on the past year and spend time with our family and friends.

2014 was a great year for Sydney property market. According to RP Data, house prices jumped 13.4% and apartment prices jumped 8.3%, this drove the median of house price in Sydney to $858,000 and apartment to $615,000. Regions of Inner West and Canterbury were among some of the top performers in property prices recording growth by 18.5% and 18.1% respectively. Onside Property has performed outstandingly in the Year of the Horse (i.e. 2014) for achieving multiple record-breaking sales in suburbs like Summer Hill, Dulwich Hill and Newtown.

Despite speculations that there might be a slow down in growth with Sydney property prices, the Domain Group released its house price data for the December quarter that house-price growth had not slowed down as predicted but instead it increased at 4 per cent, the strongest growth in all 2014. In January 2015 alone, Onside Property has already sold apartments in Denison Dulwich Hill and the Sugar Mill in Canterbury for record prices, compare to similar apartments in their respective complex.

Last week, the Reserve Bank cut official interest rates to a new record low of 2.25 per cent. This will act to reinforce the decade-high levels of prices growth, confidence and enthusiasm that are currently fuelling the Sydney housing market and it has already been reflected by the solid auction clearance rate last weekend where 97 properties were sold under the hammer.

Onside property predicts in the coming year, the Inner West will continue experiencing high growth and investors will look for more affordable regions, particularly in Canterbury Bankstown.

If we can assist you with any of your real estate needs in the Year of the Sheep, please call us on 1300 938 931. Even if you do not intend to sell, we would be very happy to provide you with up-to-date market information, advice or a free no-obligation market appraisal whenever required.

 

恭喜发财，我们欢迎羊年光临。

农曆新年是中国人最重要的喜庆节日。我们都会跟我们的至亲至爱一起庆祝， 与此同时我们亦都回望过去, 展望未来.

2014年是悉尼房地产市场经历辉煌的一年。根据RP Data的数据，房屋价格上涨13.4 ％,公寓价格上涨了8.3 ％，这把悉尼房屋及公寓的价格的中位数推动至$858,000及公寓$615,000。Inner West 和 Canterbury 是其中一众表现出色的地区.它们平均楼价录得18.5 ％和18.1 ％增长。 在马年（即2014年）Onside Property 成绩 表现优异,并且在Summer Hill, Dulwich Hill和Newtown的物业销售成绩中打破多个纪录。

儘管有猜测悉尼房地产价格增长有可能放缓或怎至回落，但Domain Group公佈其去年第四季度的房价数据, 房地产价格不但没有放缓, 并且录得 2014年最高的季度 的4％增长. 单在2015年1月，Onside Property 已用破纪录价钱售出 Dulwich Hil 的 Denison 及Canterbury 的Sugar House 之两伙公寓，并前列在其屋苑内同类型单位价格之冠。

上週，澳洲央行下调存款利率至2.25 ％的历史新低。有分析估计这行动将加强对房地产价格的增长，推动投资者信心并支持悉尼的房地产价格维持高企. 上週末悉尼有97房地产拍卖成功.以其高的拍卖清除率己反映调低息口的正面影响 。

Onside Property预计在未来的一年里，Inner West将持续录得可观增长，投资者亦将会寻找有潜力增长之地区，特别是Canterbury 一带。

Onside Property在羊年希望能够恊助您任何有关房的地产需求,即使你并不打算出售，我们亦非常乐意为您提供最新的市场消息或谘询, 怎至为您的物业作出免费市场评估。请致电1300 938 931跟我们查询。

www.ashfield-realestate.com.au

info@onsideproperty.com.au