Archive for the ‘BREAKING NEWS’ Category

The Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann has just released video animation on his Youtube Channel, of the proposed commuter rail services to Flinders University and an underpass at the intersection between Main South and Sturt roads.

These improvements to the transport to Flinders University and Flinders Hospital are among a series of possible improvements outlined in the draft Darlington Transport Study being released for public feedback.

Watch this video for animation of the proposed tram to Flinders Hospital and Flinders University via an extension of the Tonsley rail line;

Watch this video for animation of the proposed underpass at the intersection between Main South Road and Sturt Road and depicting the connection to the proposed duplication of the Southern Expressway;

Source: youtube.com/user/PremierMikeRann

This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

The brand new $128M State Aquatic Centre and the GP Plus Health Care Centre are taking shape at Marion, with the new facilities expected to open early next year.

Project Director Steve Woodrow said it will be a world-class sport and health facility that allows people to get fit by exercise or keep well by visiting a health centre all at the same convenient location.

“The State Aquatic Centre will be FINA compliant and will be capable of hosting major state, national and selected international events”, Mr Woodrow said.

The GP Pus Health Care Centre will offer a broad range of health care services to the community with a range of professionals working together to help people stay healthy. The Marion Domain will also see the development of Adelaide’s first new Community Mental Health Centre to be co-located with the GP Plus Health Care Centre.

The State Aquatic Centre will be operational in early 2011 and has already been successful in attracting a number of major events, including the 2011 Australian Age Swimming Championships, 2012 World Life Saving Championships and the 2012 World Junior Diving Championships.

 Watch this video, to see Premier Mike Rann introduce the project;

 Source: Infrastructure.sa.gov.au

 This blog post is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

Raine & Horne is thrilled to be involved with this year’s production of the Nine Network Australia’s The Block 2010 -- this year with two agents representing vendors on the series.

The first series of The Block aired in 2003, and quickly became the highest rating television series of all time. The second series ran in 2004 and was Channel Nine’s highest rating series for the second year running. Now, in 2010 the series is back and it is proving, yet again to be one of Australia’s most loved television shows.

Four couples are challenged to renovate their apartments in just eight weeks with a budget of $80,000 including $30,000 in cash from the Commonwealth Bank, $20,000 from Freedom Furniture, $15,000 from Freedom Kitchens and a $15,000 voucher from Reece.

Each week the couples present a room to the judges in order to win additional cash to go toward their budget. But in the end, it’s the buying public that will decide the winner when the four apartments are auctioned. The result; the couples will all keep the profit made from their apartment sale and the winners, the couple who make the most money at Auction, win the grand prize of $100,000.

The fantastic news for Raine & Horne is that two out of the four apartments in The Block are to be sold by Raine & Horne agents. The apartments, located on New South Head Road, Vaucluse, are to be auctioned in late November 2010. We offer our congratulations and full support to Mary Anne Cronin from Bondi Beach and Michael Pallier from Double Bay -- our representing agents.

Angus Raine, Raine & Horne CEO is really excited about the 2010 series.

“Raine & Horne has been involved in a previous series of The Block and are delighted to be involved again. It’s a fantastic series for the industry, generating the biggest audience in Australian television history, as well as genuine interest in both renovating and real estate. In addition, I’m confident that the Raine & Horne offices from Bondi Beach and Double Bay will do a brilliant job for their vendors. They are both members of Raine & Horne’s exclusive Chairman’s Club, they’re top performing, highly respected and professional”.

“With Raine & Horne being appointed on not just one apartment but two, it demonstrates the company’s prominence as a true superbrand in the marketplace.”

“The team at Raine & Horne wishes our teams every success.”

Watch The Block 2010 – Wednesdays at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

This article is brought to you by Raine 7 Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

Working Hours, Holidays and Working Life: The Participation Challenge

Over the past four years the University of South Australia canvassed through four national surveys the views of almost 10,000 workers about their work-life situation, resulting in some very consistent findings. Daily life is very busy for many workers and time strains and pressures are common:

The majority of women – 60 per cent – feel consistently time pressured, and nearly half of men also feel this way: The ‘barbecue-stopper’ of 2001, as John Howard termed it, has not diminished in recent years. Indeed, some groups appear to be showing signs of increased stress, especially women in full-time work and working mothers;

Negative work-life effects are widespread: The majority of working Australians say that work – for all its benefits – has negative effects on the rest of life, creating strain and restricting time they have for themselves, families and friends, and communities. Many of those affected are not parents. More than half of all workers find that work interferes with their activities beyond work and feel often or almost always rushed and pressed for time;

Managerial and professional workers are especially negatively affected with poor work-life scores and long hours of work: These are the leaders who set the terms of working life for others. Their pressured working lives do not augur well for the changes in workplace cultures and supervision and leadership that research shows are very important factors associated with good work-life outcomes;

Professional women are especially hard-hit: Women in professional occupations have worse worklife interference than their male colleagues, regardless of whether differences in work hours are statistically controlled or not. This is an important finding in view of the growing proportion of women who are graduating with professional qualifications. Many will experience worse work-life outcomes than male colleagues, even when their hours are similar;

Workers in service industries have worse work-life interference: Workers in industries like health, education, retail, food and accommodation have worse work-life interference, statistically controlling for differences in work hours. When differences in work hours are not controlled for, then construction and mining – two industries well known for long work hours – are associated with worst work-life outcomes;

There is no evidence that self-employment enables a better work-life relationship than being employed: Self employment is associated with longer work hours for those in full-time work and for fathers. This translates into worse work-life interference for full-time, self-employed workers compared to their employee counterparts;

Casual work does not, as is sometimes assumed, help workers better reconcile work and care: Casuals work shorter hours than other workers. Statistically controlling for this difference, there is no evidence that casual work provides any work-life benefits;

Many workers do not work the hours they would prefer: Just over half of all workers worked more than half a day (4+ hours) more or less than they would prefer taking account of the effect on their income. Most would like to work less. Working more than preferred is associated with much worse work-life interference – almost as much as working 48+ hours;

A third of women working full-time would like to work less: This is despite the large proportion of working women – almost half – who already do; Many fathers want to work less: Almost half of all fathers living in couple households work more than they would prefer.

This article is an extract of an AWALI report; “How Much Should We Work” authored by Barbara Pocock, Natalie Skinner and Sandra Pisaniello, of the University of South Australia. The Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI) is a national survey of work–life outcomes amongst working Australians. AWALI commenced in 2007 and has been repeated annually by the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia in partnership with the SA and WA governments.

This article is brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg your Glenelg Real Estate Agents and Glenelg Property Management Experts

The 2010 Federal Election has been run and finally won by Julia Gillard’s team, which is great news for the Australian property market as it heads into the traditional Spring selling season.

 Angus Raine, CEO, Raine & Horne said Australians are often wary of buying or selling a home during an election. “Generally buyers and sellers wait until the poll is decided just in case there are any surprises,” explained Mr Raine.

Interestingly, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has continued to surprise maintaining interest rates, following six hikes between October 2009 and April 2010. Since May, the RBA has pursued a wait-and-see approach, as it continues to monitor the impact on consumer and business confidence of the half dozen rate rises.

Moreover in today’s post-GFC environment it is doubly difficult to accurately predict interest rate movements.  

“Reserve Bank estimates suggest Australia can look forward to GDP growth of around 3% over the next few years, and if this is coupled with rising inflation, it’s possible that rates could rise,” warned Angus Raine.

“But there are plenty of uncertainties that could change this outlook, including the economic performance of Australia’s key trading partners such as China, while the US and European economies continue to splutter along.” 

“It’s the sort of climate where home owners or intending buyers would be well advised to allow a buffer for future rate rises. If rates stay on hold – or even fall in the future, it’s not a problem. But it’s vital to know that you can cope if rates rose in the future.”

 Ultimately, issues such as interest rates, inflation threats and economic growth are out of the hands of individual home owners. “Where homeowners have more control is in relation to the mortgage costs they are paying to their lenders,” said Mr Raine.

 A recent study from analyst RateCity shows the average standard variable rate of 17 Australian banks was 30 basis points higher at 7.29 percent than the average standard variable rates of more than 100 non-banks, including building societies and credit unions at 6.99%. And since September 2009, this difference has been slowly increasing.

“It’s clear that the non-bank lenders appear to have more access to funds than they did during the GFC,” said Mr Raine. This is great news for home owners not locked into fixed rate loans and home buyers, as there is great opportunity to shop around for the most suitable and cost effective mortgage.

“Securing the right home loan interest rate and making additional mortgage repayments are two smart ways to hedge you against any future move by the RBA to hike up rates,” added Mr Raine.

This article was brought to you by Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate and Glenelg Property Management Experts.

House prices are rising rapidly in line with the strength of the South Australian economy

Somerton Park records a massive 35.64 per cent growth last year

Adelaide home price median rises to $382,000. Adelaide house prices have risen by more than 6 per cent in the past year and further strong growth is forecast for the year ahead.

Official Valuer-General figures, released, reveal the metropolitan median price rose 6.25 per cent to $382,500 in the December quarter 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

Across the state the improvement was almost as dramatic, with a 5.77 per cent increase to $352,000. A year ago, the annual increases were only 1.4 per cent for the Adelaide metropolitan area and 4 per cent for the state as a whole.

The latest results impressed Real Estate Institute of SA, who said the figures were particularly promising given the Federal Government’s First Home Owners Boost was halved during the December quarter.

A statement released by REISA said; “this clearly demonstrates the faith people have in investing in bricks and mortar, and the reliability of the property market in Adelaide and South Australia,” he said.

“It gives us plenty of confidence that the property market will continue to grow now the boost has finished and we have reverted back to the existing $11,000 grants for established homes.

“People will still continue to enter the property market because they know it is a good investment, not because they get a one-off cash bonus.”

Somerton Park topped the list with massive growth of 35.64 per cent on last year.

The list was based on suburbs with 10 or more sales in the quarter.

It was followed by Broadview (28.42 per cent) and Willaston (22.37 per cent).

Western suburbs Clarence Gardens and Dover Gardens, and Burton in Adelaide’s north, also made the list, increasing by 22.21 per cent, 21.93 per cent and 21.57 per cent respectively.

Describing Somerton Park as “ideal for families”, Raine & Horne Glenelg Principal said Someton Park had benefited from the price rises of neighbouring Glenelg.

“I think people have realised that Somerton Park has been a bit of a hidden secret for a little while,” she said.

“A lot of people try to go to Glenelg but because Glenelg has gone up so much people have started to look further a field, which has resulted in price rises hitting the adjacent beachside suburbs.

“The beaches and the Somerton Life Saving Cluyb cafe on the beach, makes sunset there absolutely gorgeous, and because Somerton beach is not as well-known as Glenelg it’s less busy.”

Monika Bonet is the Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Glenelg Property Management expert.

Read the latest comments from Angus Raine CEO of Raine & Horne about the hike in interest rates…

The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the official cash rate by 25 basis points proved the major talking point for the property market in October.

The increase pushes the central bank’s cash rate to 3.25 per cent and the RBA governor Glenn Stevens said the increase was as a result of Australia’s continuing growth.

Raine & Horne CEO Angus Raine says the increase was the market’s worst kept secret, given the regular snippets of more favourable economic news coupled with the fact interest rates remain at historic low levels.

Nevertheless with the financial markets pricing in more rate rises by Christmas, the Raine & Horne chief is not convinced home owners can stomach more increases, especially as the Federal Government is also phasing out the First Home Owners Grant Boost (FHOB).

To this end, the Real Estate Institute of Australia says when a similar stimulus package was phased out in July 2002, the presence of first home buyers in the market fell by around 38% from 13,000 to 8,000 per month.

See what John Symonds of Aussie Homes has to say…

However Mr Angus Raine remains cautiously optimistic for the property market despite the challenges. “After an interest rate hike, people usually go back to the drawing board and work out what they can afford. There’s usually a time lag of a few weeks and then they’ll go out hunting again.”

REIA President David Airey is squarely in Mr Raine’s camp, and says caution is required regarding further decisions on rates.

“While the economic indicators suggest that Australia is on the way to recovering from the impact of the global financial crisis, these are early and tentative signs and we should be wary not to slow economic growth by increasing interest rates prematurely,” said Mr Airey.

PriceFinder Chief Operating Officer Kent Lardner, says, most home buyers need to be aware of inter­est rate movements, and urges them to allow for a servicing buffer for loan repayments of up to 3%.

 “The rise in interest rates is a positive sign of a strengthening economy. From PriceFinder’s perspective, our biggest concern over the last 12 months has been jobs losses and the effect that could have on property markets.”

 “The good news on the job front to-date will continue to help buyer confidence and even with the expected interest rate rises in the coming 12 months, our rates will still be relatively low,” adds Mr Lardner.

This article was republished from Raine & Horne Terraine October 2009.

Watch this Youtube Video about how Raine & Horne Glenelg can help you with all of your investment needs…

Monika Bonet is the Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Property Management expert.

RP Data – Rismark Home Value Index Release

National property values jumped by almost 2 per cent in August in the largest monthly movement since the RP Data-Rismark Home Value Indices began in January 2005. 

Using the rpdata.com (ASX: RPX) property database, which is Australia’s largest and includes over 170,000 sales during the first eight months of 2009, Australia’s housing recovery solidified during the month of August with strong capital gains registered across the country despite evidence of fading first home buyer numbers.

According to the “market-leading” RP Data-Rismark National Home Value Index (see Background on p4), home values in Australia rose by an exceptional 1.9 per cent during the month of August. This brings cumulative capital growth in the first eight months of 2009 to a better than expected 7.9 per cent. This is also the single highest monthly index result since the RP Data-Rismark National Home Value Index began in January 2005.

According to rpdata.com research director, Tim Lawless, the August results surprised on the upside and are indicative of very high levels of buyer confidence combined with low levels of listings.

“These buoyant conditions sit in striking contrast to the same time last year when values were falling, less than half of the auctions held cleared and sales volumes were at rock bottom.  We are now seeing home values rising at a solid rate, almost 80 per cent of auctions are clearing, and sales volumes have bounced back significantly”, Mr Lawless said.

Rismark International managing director, Christopher Joye, added, “Australia’s housing market is being underpinned by the strongest population growth since 1971, record housing shortages, historically low mortgage rates, better than expected employment outcomes, and one of the world’s most profitable banking systems.”

Australian home values have now risen 3.8 per cent past their February 2008 peak. This rebound followed peak-to-trough falls in national home values of just 3.8 per cent in 2008, which compares exceptionally well with the 15 per cent and 30 per cent house price declines seen in the UK and US, respectively.

Dispelling concerns that the recovery is limited to first home buyers Mr Joye commented, “In contrast to claims that this is a first time buyer bubble, the cheapest 20 per cent of suburbs in Australia have actually under performed both the mid-priced market and Australia’s 20 per cent most expensive suburbs since the housing market bottomed in December 2008.”

“As recently noted by the RBA, all major lenders now require a minimum 10 per cent deposit and are applying the strictest credit standards we’ve seen in over a decade. Australian housing credit growth has also been running at levels that are extremely low by historical standards and noticeably less than the growth experienced in the 1991 recession,” Mr Joye said.

Rpdata.com’s Tim Lawless concurred with Mr Joye and said that over the last three months the premium residential market increased in value by 4.5 per cent compared with a 3.4 per cent gain in the middle market and a 2.8 per cent improvement at the cheapest end. (Note: numbers in chart  to right show changes since December 2008 in the cheap, middle market, and expensive suburbs.)

“Despite the strong gains, the bounce in the premium sector has not been enough to offset the peak to trough fall of 9.9 per cent between February 2008 and January 2009.  Prices in Australia’s most expensive markets are still 1.1 per cent lower than at their peak.”

Mr Joye added, “While the resounding recovery in Australia’s housing market confirms our forecasts, we expect medium term growth rates to be more measured as mortgage rates normalise back to between 7-8 per cent. This would bring the cost of housing finance back in line with its 2000-01 levels, which is notably well below the searing 9.6% highs endured by borrowers in August 2008 care of the RBA.”

In closing Tim Lawless said that the upward momentum in Australian house prices is a critical economic signal from the market to builders and developers to encourage them to reinvest in producing new housing supply. This was a message reinforced by the RBA’s Dr Anthony Richards in a speech to CEDA yesterday: policymakers need to facilitate significant new investment in housing supply to alleviate Australia’s growing housing shortage, which ANZ and Westpac estimate has risen to around 200,000 homes.

“This price growth will also go a long way to comforting risk-averse lenders to start providing credit again to developers, which has been one of the main bottlenecks on the supply-side. And it will stimulate the reallocation of resources away from other sectors of the economy into much-needed housing investment.” Mr Lawless said.

Other key findings from the August RP Data-Rismark Index results:

Unit values (+2.1 percent) have marginally outperformed house values (+1.8 percent) in the month of August. Over the course of 2009, units (+8.5 percent) have also generated slightly higher capital growth than houses (+7.7 percent).

Most capital cities recorded robust gains in the month of August with every single city experiencing rises in home values during the first eight months of 2009.    

After several years of subdued growth following the end of Australia’s last housing boom in 2003, which saw Australia’s “house price-to-income ratio” fall by nearly 20 percent through to December 2008, home values in the two major capital cities, Melbourne and Sydney, have led the recovery in 2009 with total capital gains of 11.6 per  cent and 8.6 per  cent, respectively.

Following Melbourne, Darwin has been the next best performing capital city with growth of 9.7 per  cent in 2009. Interestingly, Darwin also continues to deliver the highest rental yields, implying that the market may have room for further growth.

Home values in Canberra (+6.7 percent), Brisbane (+5.2 percent), Perth (+4.1 percent) and Adelaide (+3.1 percent) have also realised sustained gains in 2009.

As RP Data-Rismark correctly anticipated, residential real estate in Perth has experienced a recovery in 2009 after a period of falling prices since September 2007. While Perth dwellings have recorded 4.1 percent growth in the first eight months of the year they still remain 3.6 per  cent below their September 2007 peak.

National rental yields have softened slightly given the strong capital growth with the gross annualised rental yield for units being 5.1 percent while house rental yields are slightly lower at 4.3 percent.

This article republished from RP Data -- Rismark

Watch this Youtube Video about how Raine & Horne Glenelg can help you with all of your investment needs…

Monika Bonet is the Principal of Raine & Horne Glenelg, your Glenelg Real Estate Agent and Property Management expert.