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Viewing 20 posts - 81 through 100 (of 268 total)
  • Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    keiko wrote:
    Thanks everyone for your posts.

    I have a question regarding Moranbah, I have noticed property prices have gone from around $400,000 in early 2011 to $600,000-$700,000 now
    And rents were advertised for about $1200 per week now there is a lot at around $2,000
    Whats happened??? less than 12 months and it jumped a fair chunk, are these figures correct or have I missed something?

    Keiko,

    your figures are correct, basically demand has outweighed supply in Moranbah on a greater level than most other areas in 2011

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    Hi All,

    Have a look at my blog (link below) it might give you an idea of where to invest for the long and short term. Chinchilla has an alarming ration of construction V operation workforce, be sure to do your research on that. Remember, not all mining is the same, Coal mining is completely different than Coal Seam Gas. Just because billions is being invested in a region doesn’t mean it is a good property investment region.

    Look at the workforce ratios, length of employee contracts, accommodation requirements/standards etc. Project Environmental Impact Statements will provide a lot of this for you.

    Coal mining is a lot more stable employment than Coal Seam Gas

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    I wouldn’t worry about LMI at all. If your spending $400,000 its not really that much of a difference in the life of the property. It is a difference if you refuse to pay it so do everything with a 20% deposit, then you may only be able to buy 1/2 as many properties in the long run than you could if you only paid 10% deposit and paid minimal LMI. LMI used correctly is an investment, not so much a cost.

    Qld has some great growth areas, some better than others. South East Qld spans over 300km of the coast line so you may need to clarify if you are looking into any area in particular to get a better indication if it will be a good investment.

    I like Richards earlier comment, take advantage of the grant, you may not even need much of a deposit after them and then buy an investment property soon after that is positively/neutrally geared then it wont cost you any extra.

    Regards

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    mattsta wrote:
    heres some recent Gladstone property data and trends. It might help you figure it out:

    http://www.rs.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=sp&s=nsw&u=gladstone

    That link is actually to Gladstone NSW, not QLD.

    Also be wary of realestate.com.au data as its accuracy is far from reality.

    Gladstone has a fluctuating workforce…read my blog below and you may get some insight to the potential future Gladstone property Market.

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    mattnz wrote:
    It sounds like the ULDA are going to screw up the Moranbah housing market as well with a huge amount of land set aside for under-market housing as they have just done in Gladstone and Rockhampton. This is probably what your bank is concerned about.

    http://www.ulda.qld.gov.au/_dbase_upl/MoranbahDevScheme.pdf

    Hi Matt,

    it is the responsibilty of the ULDA to uphold current markets and improve them. The land they are talking about will be released gradually with different projects over the coming years. Moranbah has the demand to double its population in three years. This will require some serious development to occur and it still would not impact the housing market, only sustain the towns development.

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    We have found ANZ to be the most pro-active for us in Moranbah, even flying up before official approval came through to meet the valuer in Mackay to ensure that the land we purchased cam up to contract price as it is vacant and has no comparables.

    Very good service! It pays to use a mortgage broker, they will sort out the good and bad managers for you!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    Hi Lizzie,

    Congratulations on being in a financial position to invest! Firstly, never buy or not buy based on an article, remember the people writing the articles quite often have less experience in property or more particularly the areas you are looking at than you may.

    Secondly, Don’t just buy for capital growth and have to pay money each week, and don’t just buy for cash flow (high yield) buy for both! For those that say they don’t exist simply don’t know what they are talking about.

    Research Research Research is the key. Jack (above) has spent months doing his due diligence on a regional centre in QLD, when he buys, he will know exactly what he is getting himself into, therefore, he wont be awake at night second guessing his decision. Ask the agent that is selling you the units if they have purchased in the area and what the purchase was, and how does it compare to what you are buying.

    Growth drivers are the key to capital and rental gains, find out exactly what they are, use government websites etc, read companies Environmental Impact Statements etc. Also remember the past is no indication for the future, unless there are synonymous signs/activities.

    Good luck!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    JT7 wrote:
    Portfolio PI wrote:
    sporty1 wrote:
    Hi everyone,

    Does anyone have an update on the ULDA land release in Blackwater?
    I have tried calling them several times re the time frame and size of the land release announced earlier this year. 

    I have given up on trying to follow the progress of the ULDA! sorry I am of no help!

    You've been a bit quiet as of late Josh, how goes it up in the Bowen Basin?

    Jack

    Hi Jack,

    Needless to say it has been very busy hence my lack of time to be on the forum. The Bowen Basin is continuing to go from strength to strength at the moment and no relief looks like it is in sight with numerous new projects coming online in the near future.

    How did your DD go?

    Cheers

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    waydo77 wrote:
    good blog and good forum, liking it.

    some of those yields are quite decent, has anyone on here gone in halfs with anyone to buy in gladstone/moranbah/emerald/mackay?

    looking at doing this to get my foot in the door over there as I only have the capacity to borrow up to 250 k at the moment. judging from what ive read on here and a bit of research, gladstone and dysart seem to have the best potential for +CF/high yields whereas emerald and mackay are lower yields/neutral geared and a little on the safer side, am i right?

    cheers

    Hi Waydo77,

    ive had some clients go half with family or a friend so it does work, you obviously just apportion the costs, profit/loss between the two. It is a great way to get started as the capital growth is still half yours. However you need to trust the person entirely and have a legal agreement, no matter who they are! Gladstones yields arent that great though, in reality, to the other centres. Dysart is concerning, Moranbah has the highest yields at CV at the moment of 15-17%. Emerald is hitting 10% furnished and 8% non furnished, far better than Gladstone with a lot less land to push prices up too!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    coalstar wrote:

    thanks for the info, very interesting.
    What are your thoughts on Moura, Blackwater and Wandoan??

    Can Blackwater be the next Moranbah and Wandoan the next Blackwater??[/quote]

    Hi Coalstar,

    Sorry as mentioned time is quite restrictive to go through every centre at the moment.

    Blackwater will experience some good growth proportionately with other centres, however the nearest regional centre to Moranbah is Mackay, 200kms away, for Blackwater it is Emerald, only 75km away. Many people live in Emerald and drive to Blackwater for the shift. I dont foresee prices to hit Moranbah levels however all of these areas are exceeding everyones expectation so who knows!

    Wondoan is still up in the air for me. Why gamble it in an area like that when you can invest in a sure thing not to far away?

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    Amnesia wrote:
    Just seen this story which might help. http://tinyurl.com/7z5lc9o   Also, having just purchased a 5x2x2 house in Clinton, the letting agents are saying the letting market has slowed and letting values have slightly come back, saying ours has a value of about $650pw. In October they were suggesting $700-730pw.  This maybe because we are nearing the end of the year with more pressure coming next year.

    Hi Amnesia,

    I am assuming Clinton in the Gladstone Region? As I have mentioned in my earlier posts and blog, Gladstone will indefinitely have some fluctuations in its rental market. its just part of wanting to invest there. Christmas could attribute to it a little bit, however in other towns we are finding a rush on property before Christmas so families have secured accommodation early on in the year and they can move in and settle before the kids start school. This is a general trend across most mining regions I have found.

    I hope your investment goes well for you :)

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    sporty1 wrote:
    Hi everyone,

    Does anyone have an update on the ULDA land release in Blackwater?
    I have tried calling them several times re the time frame and size of the land release announced earlier this year. 

    I have given up on trying to follow the progress of the ULDA! sorry I am of no help!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    HI Everyone,

    Nearing the end of the year it would be great to hear everyones experience with regional QLD and how your properties have performed!

    Its great to see the rental yields throughout regional QLD raising, unfortunately there are still areas where the council / developers / banks are not being pro-active enough in working simultaneously to ease the pressure in some towns. Below is what myself and my clients have experienced as well as what I have observed in general.

    Moranbah is seeing higher rents yet again! where will the ceiling be? with a lot more projects in the pipeline that will directly affect the town in the next 3-4 years, it would appear that not enough housing will be created to supply this demand. It is great to see some much higher density development in order to provide what would be considered as more affordable accommodation…well for Moranbah anyway. Rental yields at capital value are around the 14-15% at least. The ULDA (Urban Land Development Authority) are still in the process of providing more land in the hopefully near future as demand continues to sky rocket for this town of just 9000 people. The median sales price has nearly doubled in the last twelve months, however this is partly due to the median sales price in the September and October being $850,000, up from $630,000 in August. So before you go counting your capital gains by doubling it, make sure you have the facts first! nonetheless, great capital gains have been had here this year.

    Mackay seems to be going up well, however with a lot more development to the west. New estates are becoming increasingly more popular in Walkerston, Mirani and Marian. Rental yields still come in around 6%+ at capital value. Land seems to be coming available on par with demand (relatively compared to other areas). Mackay really suffered during the GFC so it seems the abundance of land could have been soaked up this year. Now the land is coming into much smaller supply you should start to see some capital gains synonymous with other well performing mining towns.

    Dysart has performed well, with capital gains of anywhere between 10-20% in reality and strong rental yields. There has been a lot of mining activity in the northern part of the Bowen Basin this year which has helped rental yields grow exponentially. Judging by realestate.com.au there are actually a few properties offering first weeks rent free, this is a little bit disturbing. To me this means either one of two things. 1. Rental demand has softened and investors don’t want a reduced yield in the long run. 2. Investors are trying to push rental yields a bit higher in preparation of selling within their next lease to make there property more attractive. I could be completely wrong here however I do get concerned when people are offering rental offers especially in such a buoyant area like regional QLD.

    In Gladstone, the hub of the hype, the median land sales price has gone from $200,000 at the end of last year to $250,000 today. I like to use the land sales price for Gladstone as many of the sales there has been house and land packages. This seems to be synonymous with the end sales price as building costs have not risen a lot this year. This in turn equates to a 10%+ growth in the region. Rental yields unfurnished are sitting a little low at the moment for my liking. The 738 properties listed on realestate.com.au is a little bit high, however 200 of these are listed as under contract. Many for sale are off the plan units and house and land packages also.

    Emerald has experienced capital growth of 10%+ whilst rental yields have increased from 7% at capital values to at least 8%. Furnished accommodation is achieving rental yields up to 10%. There are 20 properties available for rent currently, whilst 5 of them are asking at least 20% above market value, this creates 15 properties available for rent in a town of 17000 people. of those for rent, only 6 are available in the next 10 days. The mines in southern Galilee Basin have not even began construction so there is a lot more pressure to come to the Emerald Market. The new woolworths complex is well under way and will be completed in April. 200 new people are expected to be employed there alone and will require housing. The CHR Council are working as hard as they can to provide land releases, however the land coming available in the next 2 years will not fill the demand that is and will be present.

    Apologies for the areas I have missed, I am looking forward to hearing other peoples experiences so far this year! Exciting times lay ahead for regional QLD property investors, the years to come are to be awaited with excitement of what i consider a once in a lifetime opportunity. I read an interesting article showing India’s population increase will go from 240 million people to 590 million people in the next twenty years. So if you are asking how this mining boom is different than anything in history, that’s just one reason!

    Happy Investing everyone!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    the agent needs to be able to show that he can still “live” for a period of time should they have no income. Im pretty sure that is one loop hole

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269
    nathsn8686 wrote:
    hi Josh,

    What are your thoughts on Clermont with the Adani mine being so close.

    Also have you noticed any properties with cracking in the brickwork and gorund slab due to the proximity of blasting from the mines.

    Hi,

    the mine could have potential impacts on Clermont, however being 160km north west, i dont think you will see a large population shift to Clermont. In other words, i don’t think clermont will look like moranbah, dysart etc as the mine is to far away to house the workforce directly. Its proximity to the mine is not as good as those around moranbah etc.

    Still awaiting the EIS to be released however i would imagine that Mackay will provide a lot of the infrastructure. Potentially Emerald, and also Clermont.

    Cheers,

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    Hi All,

    for those following my regional research here is some information for Mackay on the blog.

    http://ppiqldtour.blogspot.com/2011/09/mackay-central-qld.html

    Thanks for following!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    As a company, you get to claim the GST back, on the build and even on the land purchase. However the ATO WILL audit you and assess your intentions especially if it is your first time claiming. So you do get to “hold on” to GST. It takes me 9 months to do a development, i claim all GST back on the land and construction contract during that 9 months and I hold it, then when I sell, I pay it back along with GST on my profit also. Remember, the government does not have money to give away, they will not part with it lightly any more and they will assess EVERYTHING.

    I’m not sure about the 5 year rule, as if i hold a property for more than 12 months I never want it in a company name as I don’t receive ANY CGT discount. FORGET THAT!!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
    Member
    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 269

    Hi mark,

    you will need to BUY the property in the company name. You cant just buy it in nay name and have the GST attributed to a shelf company as such. When you buy the property with the right entity that claims the GST, the ATO will go through you like a fine tooth comb to ensure that the claim is legitimate. That is, that you have purchased the property with the intention of on-selling it in a certain time frame.

    Whilst this may look attractive to claim the GST back, when you sell you must pay it back along with GST on the profit. I dont see the ATO allowing you to do this for a buy and hold. You cant claim GST for a house that you will live in, the ATO are against handing out money so they will look at you with a microscope if you try. Also, you dont get all tax benefits buying through a company, no CGT discount.

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
    Join Date: 2011
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    B2 luck wrote:
      Hi Josh,

     Firstly I'd just like to thank you for all the information that you are sharing freely. I'm just loving reading all of your posts.
    At this minute, my husband is at the solicitors office in Emerald, handing over our signed contract on a house that should be completed within 3 months in Emerald. Very exciting times for us as its our first investment property.
    I couldn't agree more with you in regards to Riverview estate, most properties seem to be a carbon copy of one another!! We don't reside in Emerald, though we  were fortunate enough to be able to stay the night in Mayfair Ridge a couple of weeks ago. your description of  Mayfair Estate  is spot on, Houses all seem to be built to a high specification and the street appeal is second to none.
    Emerald is a lovely town with a lot to offer from,  great choice of  schools, to  open spaces and a great town centre.
    Thanks again Josh on the great work your doing and I'll look forward to reading your future posts.

    Donna

    Hi Donna,

    thanks for following it is much appreciated. Thats great news you purchased in Emerald. What did you buy? house, unit etc? You have made great decision! It is unfortunate about the houses in riverview as it really had the potential to be a great estate. The developer released the land at the start of the GFC at approximately 30% above market value, so I believe he went broke and whoever took over just did whatever they could to sell as much as they could. Which meant not caring!

    Profile photo of Josh AthertonJosh Atherton
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    @josh-atherton
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    Post Count: 269
    fingerscrossed wrote:
    Hi again Josh

    After doing more of my daily due dilgence I had decided to wipe Capella off my list of places to buy due to the risk factor.  Thanks for your input :-)

    Wth our next purchase, we are looking to hold for 2 years initially – but who knows, I have said that before and have sold earlier due to the GFC when I did a bit of panic selling.  Which I now wish I hadnt done !!

    I have learnt to keep a very close eye on the market.  It can change so quickly !!  So, I guess holding times are flexible.  I would consider selling once the supply looks like out doing the demand.  There are new land releases due for approval in places like Blackwater and Dysart.  It will take a few years for houses to be built in these new estate.  So is nice to enjoy high yields while the demand for housing is there.  But once the new stuff is close to being put on the market, it would be the time to look at selling.

    Timing can be everything in the smaller mining towns.  

    I have been investing with a partner so need to sell any ideas to her.  We bought our first  house together in Dysart 10 months ago for a good price and estimate that we have made $100,000 in capital Growth.  We did do a small reno on the house which we agreed to do to get a good Company lease in place..

    We want to borrow against this to purchase our next property.

    Im liking Emerald and Blackwater.  We have finance approval but have to agree on something :-) 

    I am going to flick thru to her the above info on emerald.

    thanks again :-) 

    Hi,

    Its great that you are going the mining regions again! Here is a link to our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portfolio-Property-Investments/145575895515539 . Have a look at the last two articles/video from the Australian today, it is great reporting straight from the ANZ banks study. It shows how the economic fibre is in a way changing due to the mining investment. It really proves to me what I have been saying for some time now, that is, as investors we need to change our perception on what “reality” is in regards to the property market. People where often too shy or scared to invest in regional areas, especially due to what has been experienced with some smaller mining towns in our history. Whilst the risks of your investment being negatively affected are still there when investing in SOME mining towns, it is really important to mitigate them and stick to what are and will be solid areas that are adversely affected by the mining industry. This does however depend on each persons risk strategy, personally, I do like security whilst seeking high return and growth in my properties. I will forego 2% in rent in return for guaranteed longevity and market stability. But that is me.

    I hope your due-diligence is going well :)

Viewing 20 posts - 81 through 100 (of 268 total)