Positive or Negative ? Half filled or half empty ?

[axe168]

Is it positive or negative ? Your call..

For me - Yahhhooo !

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http://news.domain.com.au/domain/re...es-to-soar-in-rental-rush-20110118-19upy.html

Brisbane prices to soar in rental rush
Marissa Calligeros
January 18, 2011 - 9:57AM

Displaced Brisbane flood victims to compete with students and tradies for accommodation.

Brisbane rental prices are set to surge as thousands of displaced flood victims rush to find accommodation, market analysts say.

Demand for rental properties close to flood-affected suburbs could soar in coming months and push prices up 10 per cent.

“It's a simple matter of supply and demand,” Cameron Kusher of RP Data said.
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“It's not unlikely for rents to increase 10 per cent as a result.”

The demand for furnished properties close to the CBD will be even higher, he said, although such houses and units typically account for just 5 per cent of the market.

The median weekly rent in greater Brisbane in the three months to December last year was $365 for houses and $350 for units.

Reports have already emerged of landlords in suburbs closest to the flood zone are now asking for more than $400 per week.

“Unfortunately there is not a lot of scope for tenants to negotiate,” Mr Kusher said.

Those fortunate enough to have adequate flood insurance may be able to claim their rent costs.

Vacant properties could absorb the initial influx of flood victims, but the vacancy rate in Brisbane remained less than 5 per cent last year, according to RP Data.

Mr Kusher said displaced flood victims would need to compete for rental properties against the traditional influx of university students at this time of year.

“It couldn't have happened at a worse time,” he said.

“Flood victims can only stay with family and friends for so long. When they realise the repair of their home will take up to 12 months in some cases they will need to look for rental accommodation and often they will be forced to take whatever they can find.”

Dan Molloy of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland said tradespeople, who moved to Brisbane to assist in the rebuilding effort, would also place demand on the rental market.

“We will see acceleration in what was already a tightening market, putting upward pressure on prices,” he said.

“I suspect the rental squeeze will be more prominent in Ipswich because of the number of homes that were inundated.”

He said displaced victims in the city could look to Logan or the Gold Coast, where there would be less demand for rental properties, due to the relative ease of travelling via the motorway.

Most concerning was the long-term impact on the rental market.

“This is not a short-term phenomenon,” Mr Molloy said.

Simon Waide of Rental Express said the property manager had employed three extra staff to deal specifically with the rise of applications for rental properties in the coming months.

“It will be a case of first in, first served, because we are looking to have same-day approval due to the demand,” he said.

“This is traditionally the busiest time of year in the rental market with the start of school and university.”

Mr Waide warned landlords about being opportunistic now, for the sake of a long-term investment.

“It will not be favourably looked upon in the future,” he said.

 

[axe168]

So is it positive or negative ?

My chicken factory is in flood free zone.. ;-)

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http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/land-sales-drop-nationwide-20110118-19uzq.html

Land sales drop nationwide

Chris Zappone
January 18, 2011 - 3:58PM

Land sales have dropped to decade lows, further eroding the nation's housing affordability as prices continue to rise, according to RPData and the Housing Industry Association.

The volume of nationwide land sales plummeted in the September quarter, falling 57 per cent below the level of a year earlier to 10,000 lots – a level not seen since the September quarter of 2001.

The value of land sold, however, rose 5.2 per cent to a median lot price of $186,629 over the year to September, or 2.8 per cent in the quarter alone.

“Land price appreciation is a key cause of Australia's housing affordability problem, with higher prices cascading through the residential market to push up the price of both new and existing houses,” said HIA Senior Economist Andrew Harvey.
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Even as the pace of sales slows, Australia faces a roughly 200,000-unit housing shortage, HIA estimates, driven by complicated planning processes, a tax policy that encourages buyers to hold multiple homes, and the slow release of suitable land by real estate developers.

Even with the shortage, the International Monetary Fund late last year said the local property market could be as much as 10 per cent overvalued, although private group estimates prices may be further out of whack.

In Melbourne alone, the median residential lot price rose 15.1 per cent in the year to September and 5.5 per cent in the quarter to $189,950.

Land sales in the city staged an even bigger retreat, falling 74.2 per cent in the year to September, to about 1500, the lowest since the March quarter of 1991.

In Sydney the median residential lot value fell 2.2 per cent in the quarter to $269,000, unchanged from a year earlier, while the volume of land sales dropped 56.3 per cent over the year to about 700 lots.

In Brisbane, land values declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, shrinking 8.7 per cent over the year to September to $199,000. The number of lots sold dropped by 57.2 per cent over the year to September to 1000.

'Out of control'

“When the median price of a block of land in Sydney is $269,000 it's easy to see why affordability is spiralling out of control,” said RPData senior research analyst.

“When you add on top of the land cost: professional fees, government charges and the actual cost of constructing a home it's no surprise that many Australian's are forced to remain in the rental market, paying off others' mortgages,” said Mr Kusher.

“Undoubtedly something needs to be done to address affordability constraints and governments at all levels need to realise that it is a serious problem,” he said.

Mr Kusher said there is a disconnect in the market when a full-time working adult earning $68,120 per annum would have to pay between $145,000 in Hobart to $269,000 in Sydney for land to build a house on.

“People looking to purchase the land on which to build a house are paying between two and four times their annual wage just to secure the land,” Mr Kusher said.

Queensland

In the September quarter, Sunshine Coast ranked as the most expensive land market with a median lot price of $280,000, while the least expensive land market was Murray Land, where the equivalent piece of land cost $82,500.

Some analysts expect Queensland's flood-affected areas to see land prices dip, as the property exposed to flood risks may decline in value.

HIA senior economist Andrew Harvey said values for residential lots in floodplains may decline in the aftermath of Queensland disasters.

“Personally, I’d be pretty worried about buying land anywhere near a flood area,” he said.
Conversely, property outside of a flood hazard could rise in value, he said, supporting the market.