The Property Trio (formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor)

In this episode The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor take a deep dive into the impact of the lockdown in Melbourne and Victoria border closures on the property market and broader economy, and how the key indicators were tracking up to this point. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. Victoria back into lockdown just as consumer confidence and new listings recover to pre-Covid levels - what does this mean for the property market, economy and what are the differences from the last lockdown? 2. Lender scrutiny and efficiencies are clogging up the approval process, how can this impact your ability to snap up the right property? If you're looking to purchase or refinance, getting your ducks in a row is critical to ensure timely assessment. 3. Extension of repayment holidays for an additional 4 months through to 2021 as the liquidity bridge is extended for those who cannot meet their repayments, but how and who qualifies? 4. How does accessing your Super impact your ability to borrow? A little hint, it's not helpful... 5. How the property market has bounced back and is normalising with auction clearance rates steadying and new listings recovering - prior to Melbourne lockdown at least. 6. Buyer demand continues to hold up prices, with the combined capital city index showing only a 1% drop since Covid started and 1.3 buyers for every one new listing. 7. First time buyer purchases are going through the roof, as many take up Government and State based initiatives to get into their first home. 8. Rents continue to fall, particularly for the problem child of property - medium to high-density apartments in Melbourne and Sydney CBD and inner suburbs. 9. Will there be an economic or fiscal cliff? Public and private sector institutions continue to build the bridge to the other side with talks of extending JobKeeper and Jobseeker but making it more targeted, and extension of repayment holidays. 10. And of course, our 'gold nuggets' Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/2ZtArxs

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor dive into the capital growth v cash flow debate when it comes to planning your investment strategy. Who will have their arm raised in victory? In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: 1. The Property Professor makes the case for capital growth, by comparing property value and rental return over 20 years if you had purchased a capital growth v cash flow property for $600,000. 2. The Property Buyer explains how you can achieve the same outcome with a cash flow strategy - not everyone can afford to hold a capital growth property, but everyone can make great property decisions that grow your wealth. 3. Don't forget about gearing! Whether the property is positively or negatively geared carries a large bearing on the end results. 4. How the cost of holding a capital growth focused property decreases over time - negative gearing is not forever. 5. Counter intuitive but true, how the rental yield of a capital growth focused property increases faster than yield on a cash flow property. 6. How bank policy and assessment can impact your ability to execute your strategies and why you need a strategic mortgage broker in your corner. 7. How your age and stage of life is a critical factor to consider when piecing together your investment strategy. 8. Who, I mean which strategy, won? You will need to tune in to find out the Property Planner's adjudication! 9. And of course, our 'gold nuggets' Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/31R7NYH

As we come to the end of another financial year, The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor delve into all things property tax and uncover the myths that can lead you astray on your wealth creation journey. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •All the deductions you can claim on an investment property so that you do not miss a trick when completing this year's tax returns. •Depreciation, what you can claim as a tax deduction on fixtures & fittings, the building and when do you need a depreciation schedule? With thanks to some great tips from our good friend Mike Mortlock from MCG Quantity Surveyors. •Capital Gains Tax and how you can avoid nasty tax bills that eat into your wealth if you 'property plan' ahead. •Negative gearing, how it works and why it doesn't last forever - at some point all properties become positively geared. •Tax variations and the risks of using this as an investment strategy. •How your mortgage strategy is the foundation to maximising your tax deductions (good debt) and reducing your non-deductible borrowings (bad debt) if you have the right mortgage strategy and structure in place from the moment you purchase a property. •Expats, the changing tax landscape and how laws relating to capital gains tax and land tax have changed this year. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets', plus a sneaky third nugget from our host Cate! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/3dL8Lb8

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor unpack the economic cliff. What will happen when JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and lender repayment holidays end? In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •How banks will look to help keep many of the most affected borrowers and businesses to stay afloat with new initiatives such as interest only repayments, lower rates, extended loan terms and pauses, although some zombie businesses will need to be let go. •What holds for employment, as 124,000 people are re-employed in May and a further 850,000 expected by the end of next month. •HomeBuilder scheme, the ins and outs of the scheme and questions yet to be answered. •How state governments will provide further stimulus to support home buyers and builders, beefing up stimulus packages offered to Australians. •Where to get your information from, and why the Treasury, ABS and RBA are the most trusted sources. •The effect on buyer behaviour as more people work successfully from their home office and recalibrate what is needed in a home and location as part of their Property Planning. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets'! Visit the show notes: https://bit.ly/3du5eOr

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor discuss all things diversification, from the reasons why you should diversify your portfolio to the many ways you can implement diversification in your investment strategy. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •Beware of one size fits all strategies! The suggestion that you should have a 50/50 balance of shares and property (or any other type of investment) is vastly oversimplifying the concept of diversification and neglecting the most important element of the equation, YOU! •Discussing the different asset classes for diversification, there's more to consider than just property v shares. •How you can diversify with property - state, city, regional centres, different suburbs, city segments, property types, growth focused V cash flow and more. •Tax comes second! Tax benefits should never be a primary reason to invest in a particular asset, it is the icing on the cake. Don't sacrifice the cake for the icing. •Considering the macro and micro of diversifying your property portfolio. The macro is the state or the city and the micro is the suburb. Start with a big picture view and work down to suit your property plan, not the location you live or a buyer's agent. Or worse, where a buyer's agent is buying, but not based in. Your next purchase could be anywhere in Australia. •Capital gains v cash flow, how your investment strategy needs to be tailored to you. •Land tax, an often neglected area of property investment. How and when should land tax factor in to your property decisions? More than two reasonably priced properties in any state will generally start to eat into your returns via land tax. •Blue chip v gentrification, higher rewards come with higher risks. •Fractional investing, is it worth getting a fraction of your foot in the property door? •And of course, our "gold nuggets"! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/3e1Jzy1

This week we go back to our podcasts recorded pre-Covid and in this week's episode, the Property Planner, Buyer and Professor discuss data provided by CoreLogic on Australia's top performing cities. Which cities took out the gold, silver and bronze? In this episode David, Cate and Peter take you through: •Dissecting data provided from Core Logic for the last decade for all capital cities and regional centres of each state. You may be surprised by the winners and losers as we hand out the gold, silver and bronze medals. •How regional centres fared compared with their capital city counterparts and why capital growth and rental yield often have an inverse relationship. •The performance of units compared with houses, which are gaining in popularity in some cities. But beware of the data! Metrics surrounding units can very easily lead you astray. •How much $1,000,000 invested 10 years ago in each capital city would be worth today and which cities actually went backwards during that time. A good reminder that not all property rises in value! •The importance of risk management and mortgage strategies to save yourself stress and hold on to assets when the market inevitably starts to dip. •How your next investment purchase could be anywhere in Australia, depending on your price point, risk profile and stage of life. •Why values based on growth over the last ten years are now on trajectory to double every 15 years, not every 7-10. •Why your specific location and property selection is the key ingredient to financial out-performance as you do not purchase a city, suburb or a street. Every property provides a different financial return to the overall market return which is a formula-based average! •And of course, our "gold nuggets"! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/3hbZcVB

The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor met this morning for a 'breaking news' recording on the $688 million HomeBuilder stimulus package announced by the federal government yesterday. The new package aims to safeguard the jobs of a million tradies, and to prop up the construction industry which was teetering on the edge of oblivion. Home buyers and home renovators will be offered a cash grant of $25,000 for signing a contract to purchase a new dwelling, build or renovate from today through to 31 December 2020. Hear the full story as David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •Setting the scene, why this package was initiated by the federal government. Supporting over one million employees, around 9% of all employees in the country are working in the construction industry, which provides an estimated $100 billion and a whopping 5 per cent of our economic output each year. •How home building in Australia was collapsing prior to Covid-19 after four boom years to 2017-18, when the industry started around 225,000 homes a year. Starts have since fallen to around 165,000 this financial year due to a cascading set of events from the tightening of finance by APRA, The Banking Royal Commission and the exit of investors, particularly from offshore, and the consequent inability to finance apartment projects. •Unpacking the In's and Out's of the scheme, who can take advantage and the criteria for grant approval, how, where, when and why. •Discuss why the package is well balanced, whilst also dissecting some potential weaknesses. •How state government has said it will play a role in speeding up council approvals if needed, which must be obtained prior to signing the build contract. •Why regional areas and first-time buyers may be the big winners due to the lower value entry points, and the state-based grants and stamp duty benefits already on offer. A close second could be those who were about to embark on a major home renovation. •The impact this could have on the established property market. We could see a resurgence in home buyers wanting to buy a doer upper home. To do this within the almost 7-month time frame is no mean feat. •How the economic effects of the stimulus will flow through the broader economy and property market on a macro-economic level and this will mostly be a good news story. •Why Australia continues to build on its international reputation as a safe haven for the flow of overseas investment and capital which is vital to our economic prosperity as a capital importing nation. This has been reflected in the international willingness to purchase our government bonds, the Aussie dollar and ASX share market. The latter two of which hit 5 month and 3 month-high's respectively this week. •And of course, our "gold nuggets"!

A good property manager is worth their weight in gold, and equally, so is a good tenant. A great tenant who is happy and obliging will stay in your property for a long time - avoiding long gaps between tenancies, advertising costs for vacancies and loss of rental income. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •What makes a good tenant, it's more than simply paying on time. •What does a bad tenant look like? A bad tenant is a liability to avoid at all costs. •Does your property manager stack up? A bad property manager can be worse than a bad tenant. •The correlation between the quality of property and the quality of tenant. Low socio-economic areas do not necessarily equate with bad tenants. •How to capture a great tenant. Pricing your rent, asking great questions, arranging open for inspections and knowing your property inside out. •And of course, our "gold nuggets"! Visit the show notes - https://bit.ly/2MljDRI

In the ninth Podcast since Covid-19 took hold, we turned our thoughts to the property market forces at play, how sentiment is increasing as restrictions are easing and what's on the horizon for property. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •Supply of properties on the market continue to remain low, however competition is picking up as more buyers are jumping into the mix. •The outlook for construction remains uncertain as building and development contracts come to an end, however Government intervention is likely to support new building projects. •How the downturn has sparked interest in diversification, as we see investors looking for more balance in their portfolios, flocking to assets with a higher yield. Could this be an opportunity to snap up a great capital growth asset while yield focussed properties have higher demand? •The tried and true fundamentals of property remain the same throughout Covid-19, and that is that quality real estate is holding strong. •The long-term impact of reduced rents as demand for rentals decreases and supply increases, and the sub-markets likely to be impacted the most. •How the reduction in interest rates is helping to offset many of the negative market forces in play. Visit the show notes: https://bit.ly/3d6WbDD

This week we resume normal transmission and return to our education based Podcast, and take a break from our market and economic commentary and observations in our Covid-19 series. In this episode David Johnston, Cate Bakos and Peter Koulizos take you through: •Optimising tax deductions, how utislising your offset account will help you to save tens of thousands in future tax deductions over your lifetime. •How offset accounts can help you to hold property you would have otherwise needed to sell. This alone may add $1,000,000 to your bottom line in retirement. •Calling all upgraders, how you can put your best foot forward and maximise your ability to keep your current home as an investment when you upgrade. •Why offset accounts and your mortgage strategy are fundamental to your risk management. The government and banks targeted mortgage pauses and repayment reductions during this crisis to help the economy manage through difficult times. Counter intuitively, as we have said for a long time, a lower forced payment allows you to build up more savings via your offsets without costing extra interest, allowing you to build up savings buffers and have more surplus monthly cash flow. Great to see the government and banks get on board with our strategy during a crisis! •Offset is not the same as redraw and misuse could not only cost you tax deductions, you might also get in trouble with ATO! There is a critical difference which many people do not fully understand. A misuse of your offset or redraw could lead you astray with the ATO and cause you to fail the 'purpose test'. •How offset accounts provide the platform for your Money Management System as lenders now offer multiple offset accounts linked to your loan keeping more dollars in your pocket through interest savings and better tracking of your spending. •Interest earning accounts v offset accounts and why an offset account has greater financial benefits to you. •Interest only v principal and interest, and how your repayment strategy can provide you with choice and flexibility whilst optimising your tax deductions, manage risk by improving your cash savings buffer, enhance your ability to keep and accumulate property. Counter intuitively, sometimes paying less is more in the long run - if you are using offset accounts of course. •And of course, our 'gold nuggets'!