House Or Car

[predator]

www.infochoice.com.au has a great range of calculators too

For example, 1 bedroom studios/units on the gold coast (In Surfers Paradise itself, or very close-by, generally right near the water as well) go for somewhere between $100k and $200k, most of them are fully furnished, and the tenancy rates would be fairly high (most of them are in hotels/resorts etc) - did a search of what these are worth, to rent, and it seems that, assuming i had a tenant in there constantly, i would only be out of pocket between $50 and $100/week... do units/apartments hold or appreciate their value over time, such as we've seen houses and land do over the last few years? (That's ignoring the fact that what a few people have said that the housing market is dead at the moment)

I have thought of this myself.. but just my thoughts (which could be well wrong)..

a) melbourne as an example of this gone wrong - there is a massive oversupply of apartments in the Docklands precinct..all fueled by a little too much eagerness maybe over the property boom.. Many bought off the plan, and by the time the place was built it was worth 30% less than they'd bought in at. I can see the Goldcoast becoming quite similar to that, but it is obviously has different variables due to being a holiday destination. They keep building 'em - but who wants to live in them? Do you? no

b) Will they really be occupied 'all year'? you'll have a flux of people coming and going.. and also somebody has to manage that and the costs of managing that. No locals on the goldcoast (i.e. resident) would live dead in surfers unless they were insane or had a lot of money to afford something well in access of 200k. So you've only got temporaries and holiday makers. Maybe that is enough, who knows.

c) Houses always will return better than units.. but obviously are a lot more expensive to get into. Units are also more susceptible to market fluctuations than houses (note guy above selling units first)

d) With a massive aging population, and many moving up here to retire - can you imagine an oldie living in Surfers highrise apartment? not on your life.. so think further out, where I'd imagine retirement living could prove profitable as an investment.

You have to remember if it's a shoe-box, would you want to live in there? Now you have to ask whether anybody else would either.

[psybic]

All this talk about vacancy rates. There is no national rule. You need to simply ask the real estate in your area. Do some research if you want to buy an investment property.

I know in Newcastle, its very hard to find a place to rent, places don't sit vacant for very long, if at all.

Your 7% or so agent management fees are also tax deductable ofcourse :-) and its hard to find a real estate around here who can't fill a decent place.

Also, different areas have different average rent vs price of place. Eg, a place in cessnock that sells for $200,000, often returns around $200pw.

Further into town, places may sell for closer to $300,000 for same rental returns. This may vary over time, but at time of purchase is a good time to assess.

Concepts may stay consistant accross the country, but no point making a hard and fast rule to suit all.

Another point.... capitalise on others misfortune. Alot of people have been hit hard by interest rates and are forced to sell. Some even have already been repossed by the bank. Banks don't muck around when selling a place. You'll often get it for 10-20% less than you should because the bank will just take lesser offers to save hassle and time.