Property investors reaping the rewards of rising house prices

The ABS weighted index of property prices for the March 2014 quarter show house prices in every capital city in Australia rose during the past year.
These house price increases ranged from modest 1.1% growth in Canberra to a massive 15.7% jump in Sydney.

Overall, the ABS data reveals that the average weighted increase for all eight capital cities grew by a very healthy 10.9% during the past year.

                               HOUSE PRICE INCREASES FOR CAPITAL CITIES

Source: ABS

Low interest rates as well as an underlying shortage of houses are placing an upward pressure on property prices throughout Australia.

For property investors who own property, these rising house prices are welcome news as it increases the equity levels in their homes.

In particular, property investors in Sydney and Melbourne, investors have seen significant rises in the equity levels of their properties over the last eighteen months due to rising house values.

These rising equity levels gives astute property owners the capacity to purchase additional investment properties and DEPPRO is already experiencing this trend with more property owners in Sydney and Melbourne buying additional properties over recent months.

DEPPRO has already a large number of clients in both Sydney and Melbourne who individually now own more than five investment properties by using the generous tax depreciation benefits through owning investment properties.

Tax benefits obtained through obtaining an ATO complainant tax depreciation report can be equivalent to 60% of the total purchase price of the property.?

Depreciation is a legislative allowance introduced by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) that allows property investors to claim back the decrease in value of their properties and fittings.

These tax savings are calculated over a 40 year period in the tax depreciation report with most tax benefits flowing during the years immediately after the purchase of the property.

A tax depreciation report costs around $600 (the cost is tax deductible) and it can generate thousands of dollars in tax savings each year.[Soft Break]?[Soft Break]“A key part of ensuring that the investor obtains their full tax benefits is to have a depreciation professional prepare a comprehensive depreciation report of the property.

You should ensure that the company who undertakes the depreciation report is recognised as a tax agent by the Australian Tax Office.

This tax depreciation report has to be compliant with the guidelines set down by the ATO for the investors to qualify for any tax benefits. Investors should therefore check that they are employing a professional tax deprecation company who can prove that their reports are ATO compliant.