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State of Markets – TAS December 2011

01 DEC 2011 • By Phillip Tarrant • 3 min read • Hotspots

Essential information, plus expert insight on what is shaping the national property market...

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TASMANIA

Fast Figures

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  • $277,000 – Lutana median house price
  • $263,500 – Lutana median house price
  • 2.45% - 12 month growth in units, Greater Hobart

Cowboy builders have the upper hand
Dispute resolution laws covering renovation projects are skewed in favour of builders and strip investors and home buyers of basic rights, according to a leading Tasmanian lawyer.

Increasing numbers of people are seeking legal advice about problems with builders, despite changes to the payment process made in 2009, Law Society of Tasmania president Frank Moore said.

The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment system, introduced in 2009 in place of housing indemnity insurance, had skewed dispute resolution in favour of builders, according to Mr Moore.

“That has had a dramatic effect on consumers and their ability to resolve disputes with builders,” he said.

“The most important change has been that a builder is now able to simply serve upon a consumer or homeowner a payment claim and, if there is a dispute about that amount and the consumer doesn't lodge what's called a payment schedule, they can lose all further rights to dispute the claim.”

“Nowhere is the consumer told [that], and the builder can move to have the full amount recovered from them as though it were a debt.”

Mr Moore said the system has resulted in unnecessary issues and costly legal battles for investors and home buyers.

‘Supply housing’, demands lobby group
The Tasmanian Government has pledged to increase affordable home supply to tackle housing stress.

“Since January 2009, the Australian and Tasmanian governments together have built over 700 affordable houses and we’re on track to deliver more than 1,400 by July 2014,” Human Services Minister Cassy O’Connor said.

The push has come in response to figures published by the lobby group Australians for Affordable Housing (AAH).

The AAH found that rent had risen at twice the rate of inflation over the past five years.

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Phillip Tarrant

Phillip Tarrant

AUTHOR

Phillip Tarrant is executive editor – Real Estate at Momentum Media. He is also an investor with a large property portfolio.

He leads the content strategy and corporate growth for a range of market and business intelligence platforms at Momentum Media, including Smart Property Investment – the authoritative voice for Australia’s property investment community.

As head of the Smart Property Investment Podcast Network, he also steers the largest network of property podcasts in Australia, which collectively generates nearly 2 million downloads every year.

There are over 2.6 million investment properties in Australia, with over 2.1 million Australians (or around 8 per cent of all Australians) owning one or more investment properties. A vibrant and critical sector for creating wealth for Australians, the property investment sector is expected to remain a pillar to the national economy.

For nearing a decade, under Phillip’s stewardship Smart Property Investment has been informing and educating property investors on the tactics and strategies to create wealth through property.

Trusted by over 100,000 Australians each month as the turn-to independent resource for property market insights and information, the brand supports the mantra of "for investors", by investors’, drawing on the unique position that Phillip and Smart Property Investment share, warts and all, its own journey through property.

The Smart Property Investment Show, part of the Smart Property Investment Podcast Network, is one of Australia’s most popular podcasts, forming the keystone of an integrated digital platform delivering daily property updates, live broadcasting, insights, opinion and data to property investors across the nation.

Underpinned by a content team universally recognised for their knowledge of the sector and approach for clear and concise communication, Smart Property Investment has become a central part of Australia’s property community.

About Momentum Media

Momentum Media is a leading media and market intelligence company, and the business behind Smart Property Investment, REB and RPM.

Guided by a strong sense of purpose to support our communities, Momentum Media has forged its place as one of Australia’s most influential media and professional development businesses.

We have been equipping Australia’s corporate, investor and SME sectors with market and business intelligence for over a decade.

Across an integrated business supported by digital, events, broadcast, research, print and social platforms, we are guided by the purpose: Be Better informed.

This passion for informing, educating and inspiring drives us to build more engaged communities, delivering greater leadership to the markets we connect to and forging closer relationships with our audiences.

Being at the forefront of media innovation, backed by a pioneering spirit, has been central to Momentum Media’s growth.

We’re an evolving, forward-thinking business based on a purpose that supports corporate Australia and the markets critical to our nation’s economic prosperity and security. We’re also focused on delivering exceptional value to our commercial partners.

We adapt on a daily basis to rapidly changing market places; we’re a fluid media business, unanchored to any particular technology, channel or tone of communication.

With a reach spanning nearly 2 million professionals, high-net-worth individuals and SME business owners, we’re connected to the rapidly changing preferences and attitudes of our communities – and we’re making a positive contribution for our communities to thrive.

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