Hot Property: Biggest headlines from the week that was - 9

To compile this list, not only are we taking a look at the week’s most-read stories and the news that matters to you, but we are also curating it to include stories from our sister platforms that could have an impact on your investment journey.  

1.  How has WFH changed the real estate game? 

Momentum Intelligence has revealed a very even split across the ways agents have continued working through the pandemic:

One in four agents (24 per cent) has been going in to the office as usual for the duration of the crisis, while 26 per cent have now returned to the office after a stint of working from home.

A further 22 per cent of agents who participated in the research said the COVID-19 crisis saw them working from home for the first time and they are still doing so. The remaining 28 per cent consider themselves as “long-term WFHers”, with life in the home office continuing as it did pre-COVID-19.

2. Budget black hole: Treasurer provides economic update

Unemployment is expected to reach 9 per cent by Christmas, while the budget deficit returns to World War II-era levels, the Treasurer has forecast in an economic update.

3. 3 commercial property trends to look out for

Steve Dick, director of Raine & Horne Commercial Newcastle, said the knock-on effects of COVID-19 will change the commercial property landscape moving forward.

Continued impact on corporate travel, WFH options gaining popularity, and the continued pick-up of online shopping are three trends to look out for.

4. REIA throws support behind National Property Managers Day

The Real Estate Institute of Australia has backed a new initiative that seeks to celebrate the country’s property management community.

National Property Managers Day, this Friday, 24 July, is designed as a day to recognise the “amazing efforts of the residential and commercial property managers across Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

5. Central West hotspot revealed

Orange, NSW, is the property market-keen investors should be keeping a close eye on, according to Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley.

“For (both) capital growth and rental income growth, the property market in Orange, NSW, has already been one of the best in the country over the last five years,” Mr Pressley said.

6. $250k in taxes on a $500k property: The real cost of investing

The $13.1 billion in negative gearing benefits dished out to investors in 2017-18 was nothing compared with the staggering surge in taxes being paid by those same property holders.

The president of Property Club, Kevin Young, said that “during the five years from 2013-2014 to 2018-2019, overall government taxes on property in Australia surged by 38.5 per cent to $32.6 billion during 2018-2019.”

7. How this investor got on the property ladder making $5.10 an hour

Australians looking to get onto the property ladder but lack the financial resources to do so are being encouraged to get creative and use other means at their disposal.

Real estate agent and property investor Alex Lumsden did not enter the market initially by himself: “I bought into our family home, and I bought another property with some family. Why? I guess I always thought that it was the way to make money,” he said.

8. Lender ramps up home lending scrutiny

COVID-induced crackdowns on home loan serviceability have continued with yet another lender reducing its risk appetite.

BOQ Group (includes Virgin Money) has revised its credit policy for home loan applications as part of its “ongoing commitment to responsible lending”.