We’re back with Kieran Clair and Kevin Turner as they discuss interesting property stories for this week.
Housing sentiment is set to increase after The Coalition’s shock win at the elections. The party has pledged to leave key housing tax breaks untouched and experts are expecting a rebound to Australia’s property markets.
With Labor’s plan to restrict negative gearing, raise capital gains tax, and cancel franking credit refunds - all of which are seen as negative for banks - no longer a possibility, there’s a boost to sentiment in the housing market. As the rate of decline in house prices has been slowing, this might just slow that down further. Hopefully the rate will stabilise for a while, says Morningstar Head of banking research, David Ellis.
Our second story is about a 500sqm country property that’s going for less than an old used car. It’s going to need some work, but this might just be the cheapest house in Australia.
The Murray Street property in Hay, 700km west of Sydney was sold for the extraordinarily low price of $7000 in May this year. In August 2004, the property sold for $48,000, and in June 2012 it was sold again for $30,000. The 1920 property is cheaper than most used cars, and almost $2000 less expensive than some luxury handbags, as reported by realestate.com.au.
Compare this with the $113,500 median property price in the Hay area, the Murray Street property is a steal. The property boasts three bedrooms, one bathroom and one garage space. It’s also close to several schools.
Therese Murphy, the agent in charge of the property, called it a “renovator’s delight”. The house is trashed and has loose bricks everywhere, but with a $7000 asking price, it’s not a bad deal.
US President Donald Trump has a $2.4B problem, but diehard supporters are still convinced of his business prowess. Tireless research through his federal income tax returns reveal that Mr. Trump has lost $US 1.17 billion ($A2.4 billion) in just one decade. However, 54% of voters across the political spectrum believe that he has been successful in business.
The US president hit back and dismissed the report as a “highly inaccurate Fake News hit job” on Twitter.
Our fourth story deals with dirty properties and clean money. The BBC drama McMafia examined the penetration of western economies by organised Russian criminal gangs. This brought the issue into light, eventually leading to proposals for the first register of foreign-owned property aimed at preventing “McMafia-style” money laundering. The government has been urged to put the policy into practice urgently and reinforced to plug potential loopholes.
More than £90bn is estimated to be laundered illegally through the UK each year, according to the all-party parliamentary committee scrutinising the registration of overseas entities bill.
Our fifth story is about a house called a “Liveaboard”. The property is attached to a very sandy beach, so you can go to the beach from one side of the house and go fishing out the other side.
Ironically, it’s situated on the banks of Poverty Bay in Washington, but it looks like the perfect property for seaside excursions. Just imagine falling asleep to the mesmerizing sound of the surf and waking up to a day of kayaking, skimboarding, and hiking. Sounds great, right?
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