Welcome to Australia Blog

A Few Thoughts on Renovating a House.

Similarly to building, renovating can be a fairly long process with any extensions and structural change needing to be approved in advance by local council.

Are Australian Houses Affordable For New Migrants?

Is the Aussie housing bubble going to burst? Good news for new migrants and the ‘just arrived’ in Australia, the property market is said to be on the turn….

When we first arrived 6 years ago now, we felt the pressure to buy quick; the market was climbing and the boom in Brisbane was already underway.

Buying in an up-and-coming suburb has served us well as many well established areas were already expensive $1 million AU…..

In a recent survey by Demographia, the Sunshine Coast in Queensland is winner of most unaffordable place to buy a home. Also on the expensive list is the Gold Coast and Sydney.

Whilst the current house prices look good for homeowners, for first time buyers and new migrants they are sure to look a little daunting. $300, 000 used to buy you a decent house now; it is more like $4-500, 000.

However, interest rates are low and there has been an increase to the first time home buyers grant, so houses are currently still being bought and sold. As a permanent resident you can buy a house in Australia and will also be able to apply for this grant.

This is not the first time Australia has been rated in recent years as being an unaffordable place to live. We’ve watched the prices keep climbing and now with the global credit crunch we are wondering if there will be a big fall- Some say it will not come, and so far it hasn’t. Let’s see what the rest of the year has to offer! What do you think?

Australia’s Most Affordable Towns

The most affordable towns in Victoria are, not too suprisingly, all country towns:

Purchasing Property Brisbane

Several months researching suburbs, home ownership options and market prices can leave you wandering what to offer to a real estate agent.

You’ve found your dream home and are frustrated to the point when you just want to get on with it and buy.

Currently the market is flat so you can afford to take your time. However, if you’re a newbie you’re still vulnerable to get frustrated and could still end up paying more than necessary.

The two main typical problems new immigrants face are:
1. Lack of credit history here in Australia
2. Being swamped by very slick sales people who are operating very much on behalf of the seller.

For the first problem you’ll need to talk to a mortgage broker or buyers agent (http://www.aussiemigrant.com/).

Many Australian mortgage brokers or banks still get confused about what to do with new immigrants who are working on short contracts, arrive with a lump sum of capital and still can’t necessarily put all the right ticks in all the right boxes.

Immigration specialists, such as the one aimed, can help here by doing the leg work and since specializing in helping migrants will give individual advice.

For the second problem the general rule is, if you feel pressured and are getting confused then take on help. Don’t rush in to buying because you’re being hounded by a real estate agent.

As Aussie Migrant Director of Financial Planning says “Listen to advice from local experts who know how the property market and economy work here. Sit down with a Buyers agents, such as ourselves, and draw up a short list of suitable properties and then have help with the purchase negotiation. You only want to pay the value price of the property not what the estate agents want you to pay.”

Starting the Property Purchasing Process

Several months researching suburbs, home ownership options and market prices can leave you wandering what to offer to a real estate agent.

You’ve found your dream home and are frustrated to the point of just wanting to get on with it and buy.

Currently the market is flat so you can afford to take your time. However, if you’re a newbie you’re still vulnerable to get frustrated and could still end up paying more than necessary.

The two main typical problems new immigrants face are:
1. Lack of credit history here in Australia.
2. Being swamped by very slick sales people who are operating very much on behalf of the seller.

For the first problem you’ll need to talk to a mortgage broker or buyers agent (http://www.aussiemigrant.com/).

Many Australian mortgage brokers or banks still get confused about what to do with new immigrants who are working on short contracts, arrive with a lump sum of capital and still can’t necessarily put all the right ticks in all the right boxes.

Immigration specialists, can help here by doing the leg work and since specializing in helping migrants will give individual advice.

For the second problem the general rule is, if you feel pressured and are getting confused then take on help. Don’t rush in to buying because you’re being hounded by a real estate agent.

As Aussie Migrant Director of Financial Planning says “Listen to advice from local experts who know how the property market and economy work here. Sit down with a Buyers agents, such as ourselves, and draw up a short list of suitable properties and then have help with the purchase negotiation. You only want to pay the value price of the property not what the estate agents want you to pay.”