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The Block is a warning for renovators

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The Block is a warning for renovators

It seems to be easy money, buy an old place, renovate and make a fortune but the reality is the Block is a warning for renovators. Most, if not all of the many series of The Block have actually made huge losses but the average viewer is left with the feeling that renovation is a great way to make money!

The worry is these shows give a totally unrealistic expectation to budding renovators.

Washington Brown, Lime’s preferred supplier of depreciation schedules (www.washingtonbrown.com.au) has recently run some numbers on the supposedly successful sales in the recent Port Melbourne series and the numbers do not add up!

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home.

The following is from The Washington Brown Report:-

“ From a financial point of view the development, which consisted of transforming a 1920s art deco building into a luxury apartment block, was one of the worst he has ever seen.

While I understand the magic of television, Channel 9 has outdone David Copperfield in creating the illusion of a profit to the public!

Let’s look at the numbers:

According to reports Channel 9 bought the site for around $5 million, which allowed for 6 apartments. Only 5 were sold on TV and for calculation purposes let’s say the acquisition costs is $4.2 million.

The construction cost and depreciation allowances totalled over $11 million, for the 5 apartments alone.

That’s $15.2 million alone in construction and acquisition costs.

It’s worth noting that under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 the initial vendor (ie. the developer) has an obligation to pass on the actual costs of construction to the purchaser, where the costs are known.

Let’s not forget there’s then a variety of other costs involved in buying and selling, and undertaking a property development, including:

  • Stamp duty
  • GST on the sale
  • Demolition
  • Marketing
  • Agents’ fees
  • Legal fees
  • Interest
  • Rates

Whilst some of these costs may have been avoided due to contra deals, the bulk would have to be outlaid by Channel 9.

I estimate these additional costs to conservatively be $2 million, which brings the total cost to $17.2 million.

The Block’s total sales realised just a little over $12 million, leaving the development in the red by around $5 million, yet it has been indicated that profits of up to $715,000 were made by the contestants.”

 

Just Google “How much did the block cost channel 9” , probably best to go to page two of your results and read some of these articles. It is unlikely that any of The Block series has actually made money and the The Block is a warning for renovators, not an endorsement to make money!

If you want to know more about the pitfalls of renovation and how to make money from property without the work and hassle contact: info@limepropertysolutions.com.au.

What should you be looking for in a new investment property?

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What should you be looking for in your new investment property?

It makes sense to understand changing demographics because what you buy today as a ‘good’ investment property may not be so good in 10 or 20 years when you decide it’s time to sell, so what should you be looking for in a new investment property?

An investment property that works today may not be as desirable as a home for our population of tomorrow so it’s important to keep track of changing demographics and buy an investment that is most likely to appeal to tomorrow’s owner occupier market.

Just a couple of decades ago, the average Australian household had around five people living in it. Just five or six years ago, the average home had just over 3 persons per household. This has increased slightly as more and more older children decide to stay at home for much longer. The big family for most Australians is a thing of the past, in the 2012 census it was stated that most households within a small radius of the centre of most of our cities had less than two persons per household!

The growing demographics of home owners and renters, the growth group for new households comes from:

  • Young professionals
  • Young couples
  • Empty nesters
  • Retirees
  • Single parent families

It would seem that with older children staying at home longer, as well as the above growth demographics, it’s important to consider their needs for a good investment property.

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home.

There is a move towards the city centre with these groups and the need for well-designed units and townhouses with a bathroom each is becoming an essential for shared living, whither with a relative or a friend. Good-sized bedrooms are also an essential with room to entertain.

Nearly 60 per cent of those aged 15-29 are still living with their parents across the 35 wealthy member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In Italy, Slovenia and Greece more than three quarters of that age cohort have not yet flown the coop. Australia’s proportion has reached 54 per cent. Read more https://goo.gl/B3U0kW

This is a trend that is unlikely to change for some years, particularly as house and unit prices continue to rise. Make sure you buy an investment property that will work for you in the future, do the research now before you buy. So what should you be looking for in a new investment property? Consider the future demographics that may eventually want to purchase your investment property.

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information and the chance to discuss this and other selection criteria issues in the comfort of your own home.

Will Donald Trump burst the Australian housing bubble?

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Will Donald Trump burst the Australian housing bubble?

Speculation is rife on everything financial, with Donald Trump at the wheel of the world’s largest economy; the biggest of these questions for the property investor is will Donald Trump burst the Australian housing bubble? Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/is-donald-trump-going-to-burst-australias-housing-bubble-20161111-gsnee0

Will Donald Trump affect Australian property prices?

Will Donald Trump affect Australian property prices?

It was written at the weekend, “given his propensity for lying, exaggerating and generally raving, nobody can know what Donald Trump will actually do as president. He probably doesn’t know himself.” The article does not confess to general raving and exaggerating itself in that there is absolutely no evidence of an Australian housing bubble! Australia is the largest island nation in the world, it includes WA and FNQ, Tasmania, SA and everything between. There is a possibility of a ‘housing bubble’ in our two largest cities, but in many other places, prices are less than what they were 10 years ago. This is in Australia and we can’t talk about an Australian bubble, that’s Donald Trump talk!

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home.

According to the bond market reaction, Trump may burst the Sydney/Melbourne housing bubble by causing interest rates to rise.

The Trump plan, in its essence, is very simple and markets clearly believe it will work. He is planning a major infrastructure investment and, unlike Australia, he won’t let public servants constantly get in the way of the infrastructure momentum. But he will re-fire the American steel furnaces, because he doesn’t plan to use Chinese steel.

Trump also plans to lower the US tax rate and suck the enormous sums that American corporations are holding overseas back into the US. Along the way he will make it harder for Canadian, Mexican and Chinese exporters to tap the US market. He says that will be done via higher tariffs. The world is going to move from an increasingly globalised one to one where nations will look more inwards. But given today’s communication and transport systems there is a limit to this change.

The more common fear is that he could start a trade war with China that would cause a global recession which would obviously affect Australia. That would not be a good way to achieve lower housing prices. Hopefully there is enough sanity left in Congress to prevent such madness and just consider the more benign interest rate story.

The last Reserve Bank board meeting was forecasting another RBA rate cut or two by the middle of next year. Trump’s policies, if implemented, will cause a period of inflation resulting in RBA increases and that could certainly cool down the Australian housing market.

So will Donald Trump burst the Australian housing bubble? The media are always looking for stories which may deliver this result, time will tell but maybe they are on to something here that will see prices stabilise in Melbourne and Sydney.

If you want to know more about possible ‘property bubble bursts” or discuss buying new property investment,   contact: info@limepropertysolutions.com.au.

Banks are destroying your land titles

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Banks are destroying your land titles   

Last week we had a couple of days hold up with a refinance matter with one of our clients; the reason was that the banks are destroying your land titles and there may be some hicups in going digital!

It is reported today in the business section of the Sydney Morning Herald –

read more here https://goo.gl/FzUOk2

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home)

title-deeds

The old Title deeds will disappear as banks are destroying our land titles

All of the old paper certificates of title have been converted to electronic as part of a national push for conveyancing to go on a new PEXA system. It was not a big surprise to learn that PEXA is owned by state governments, the ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Macquarie Bank and private equity.

What was a surprise to me is the fact that all my title deeds, being held by a couple of the big banks have probably now been destroyed and no one bothered to inform me that this was being done to my title deeds. I can, we are assured, request a paper print out now from the electronic records.

What is not a surprise is that, moving forward, all future sales of properties whose titles are held by the bank will need to be transacted, at least in part, electronically and of course, the fees for the service will increase.

We have been dependant on the old Torrens title system since around the middle of the 19th century and some property lawyers are questioning this move by the big Banks as they fear it may compromise the security of the system.

While it is not yet fully implemented in NSW, it is now ‘working’ in Victoria where The Law Institute of Victoria has been an outspoken critic of the electronic system. They are arguing it is increasing costs for transactions and undermines those holding titles for security against other assets, as well as adding complexity and legal uncertainty to a what was once a simple, safe system.

One thing is for sure, you will be hearing a lot more about PEXA which is likely to become another new acronym with which we will all be familiar in the future.

The chief executive of PEXA said paper titles were cumbersome to use. “People keep losing them, including banks,” so maybe in the long term it will prove more efficient as well as more expensive!

If you want to know more about this or discuss buying new property investment contact: info@limepropertysolutions.com.au.

Empty bedrooms? Put your money where your mouth is!

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Empty bedrooms? Put your money where your mouth is!

Apparently Sydney now has 20 years of future housing stock in empty bedrooms? Put your money where your mouth is NSW if you want to utilize more of this ‘space”.

Houses roofs

Downsizing is too costly for many older Australians

The first point of this new argument must be defining who has these ‘extra bedrooms”?   While some bedrooms in the homes of empty nesters may be empty some nights of the week, many do not have empty bedrooms gathering dust.  After years of being cramped with children, it’s a later life treat to own enough space for a study or an area to pursue a hobby. These rooms can also be used as exercise rooms to keep ageing bodies trim. Most are also grandparents who require bedrooms for visiting children and grandchildren; they are perhaps underused but certainly not empty.

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home)

 It’s also time to review the massive disincentives placed on older Australians to downsize. Many empty nesters will never consider downsizing because the appropriate type of housing is just not being built. Sure, we are constantly being warned about the forthcoming glut of apartments in most of our east-coast city markets, but many older Australians are not prepared to give up their gardens or a small private area where they can allow their ‘fur-children’ some space to run around outside the home. A smaller garden is often an attractive proposition but no garden at all is a deal-breaker. We need more villas and town homes in the established suburbs where the majority of these older Australians currently live.

 

The financial penalties for retirees downsizing can be enormous. Just imagine, an older retired couple in a slightly above average (larger) home worth $1.5 million. The home sale, including marketing and legal costs will cost them around $30,000. They buy a smaller town house at around $900,000 and they say goodbye to another $40,000 in stamp duty, another $2000 on legal fees and probably around $10,000 in removal expenses and buying some new furniture that ‘fits” their new surroundings. Basically, they would need to budget around $100,000 of their, (in most cases) diminishing wealth just to move.

 

Having made the move, they find that they have an additional $400,000 in the bank. This may be enough to stop many of their senior benefits, including pension payments. The argument, of course, is that they don’t need any government funding now but this misses the point that older Australians do love their children and grandchildren and they see it as an essential legacy to leave an inheritance to their family.

 

It will always be difficult to persuade older people to move out of their family home to free up empty bedrooms for the younger generations but as long as our governments insist on penalising such a move, the bedrooms will stay “empty”. Read more https://goo.gl/jBePqx

If you want to know more about appropriate house type investment contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au.

Forecasts for Housing Price growth

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Forecasts for Housing Price growth
We seem to be by bombarded by various forecasts for Housing price growth, or maybe I should say, in some cases, housing crashes or bubbles bursting.
If you are feeling in a particularly negative mood, or perhaps you are a first home buyer waiting for the market to crash in order that you can buy, then its best to try and get a hold of the many international companies, looking at the Australian housing market from the outside, to find the doom and gloom price crash scenarios. Just last week, Deloitte Access, (not for the first time) tipped property to be the ‘worst investment’ over the next few years; I’m sure they’d love to get it right just once!
If you are interested in hearing a more positive forecast for real estate prices, you can usually depend on the Real Estate Industry itself, particularly some of the better known, (not necessarily more accurate!) organisations like Domain or Hotspotting “ guru” Terry Ryder, who infamously wrote that there was ‘no mining boom’ a few years ago and high prices, high rents and growth would continue in some of our mining boom towns!
(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home)
Probably, by far, the most dependable forecasts we have are those done by BIS Shrapnel on behalf of QBE, the most recent being the Australian Housing Outlook Report 2016-2019. This report is published in October each year and the latest has just recently been released.
While the press report on this release loves the opportunity to use phrases and words like “The Boom is over” and “Prices Plummet”, the experienced property investor will find absolutely nothing out of the ordinary or unexpected in the report. In summary, Sydney has hit the top of its growth cycle and we may see a small correction in the price of units and an even smaller correction, if at all, in house prices; exactly what happened after the 1988 and the 1993 Sydney ‘booms’ but maybe not as much as the small corrections of the last two booms – just don’t expect any price growth over the next 3 years. The forecasts for Melbourne are very similar although we may see a slightly larger correction in unit prices and a small correction in house prices.
Brisbane is forecast to see a drop in unit prices due to the very high level of unit development in the CBD and fringe but house price growth will continue, making the Brisbane house market the strongest growth market in Australia over the next 3 years.
Take away the emotive language of this daily mail article and the truth behind it shouldn’t hurt any property investor in our east coast cities too much and, in fact, should see Brisbane house investors continue to smile! Read more https://goo.gl/a6XArr
If you want to know more about the QBE Forecasts for Housing Price growth or find out more about growth suburbs contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au.

Life changes for the property investor to understand

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Life changes for the property investor to understand

Today we are reading about how the housing boom is changing the way Australians live, quite important life changes for the property investor to understand for successful investment.

(Please contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au for further information or the chance to discuss this and other issues in the comfort of your own home)

It hasn’t been a “long boom” as the writer describes it in the article link below but we certainly have seen significant price growth in our two largest cities, which not surprisingly, has some effect on the way we live and our behavioural changes.

Most of these changes would be very predictable we spent the time to think about them, but the primary question for the property investor should be how important it may be to understand the impact these demographic/life changes have on the demands of certain types of property?

  • The most obvious change is that we are finding that young adults to live in the family home for longer than in the past. We also have what has been described as the “boomerang generation” – the chicks leave the home only to return when they have to face the economic realities of not living with mum and dad. This trend is now showing up clearly in Australia’s demographic data.
  • Closely related with the above, is the fact that home ownership rates among those between 25 and 45 years has fallen markedly during the past two decades. If that decline is not reversed, the proportion of life-long renters in Australia will grow.
  • There has been a huge shift towards high- density living in our big cities. I’d comment that it is incorrect to assume that this is because of the price of well-located urban land increasing relative to incomes. I’d suggest it has a lot more to do with the choice the young in particular are making for the city and city-fringe lifestyle as well as the increasing number of older Australians who are downsizing into more manageable city units.  It is interesting to note that 51 per cent of all dwelling approvals in Australia were for multi-unit houses and 62% in Sydney!  Unsurprisingly, the number of small cottages with a yard is in decline.
  • House price movements have a “clear and consistent” influence on how much some people work. The economists recon there is a tendency for older females in particular to use any unexpected wealth gains from house prices to retire early.
  • High property values also affect the work choices made by younger women and men. Those between 20 and 40 years who own property cut back their hours of work, on average, following strong gains in housing wealth. At that formative stage of the family life-cycle many young couples use housing wealth gains to help manage the juggle between work and family.
  • There is another pretty predictable change – as prices rise, homeowners take on more debt.

You can read more about this here: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/how-the-housing-boom-has-changed-the-way-australians-live-20161011-grzoe1

If you want to know more about how these changes can affect your property investment choices contact us at info@limepropertysolutions.com.au

Or even better, why not give us a call at LIME and we’ll be happy to discuss with you.

Are holiday homes still a good investment?

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Are holiday homes still a good investment?

There is an article in domain.com.au today which asks the question, are holiday homes a good investment? The author seems to support the notion that, on the whole, money can still be made from a second ‘holiday home’ but I do not think this statement actually answers the question. It is almost a certainty that any property will make you money over a period of time, this fact in itself does not make a good investment.

Gold Coast is prooving popular for Brisbane commuters

Holiday Homes do not always make a good investment.

I have the experience of a holiday home in Cairns, purchased new back in 2002. The complex was new and was awarded all sorts of awards as “the Best” in this and “The Best”. I could use it whenever I chose and at other times in was in the complex holiday rental pool; a very typical set-up for a holiday unit almost anywhere in Australia. The total cost, including a furniture package and stamp duty was around $300,000. As an investment, it held its own for the first few years and it gained from the large growth cycle witnessed in Cairns between 2002 and 2008, probably reaching a price point of around $420,000…… then came the GFC! The Australian dollar went through the roof, tourism disappeared, body corporate in far north Queensland almost doubled overnight due to insurance policies and Cairns city council rates became some of the highest in Australia.

Even with the higher 4% depreciation that can be claimed on this type of ‘commercial’ property, the out of pocket after tax holding costs were quite substantial. The Cairns housing market also collapsed by up to a staggering 50% in some cases. Fourteen years after the purchase, I can still say I love visiting this unit (each time now seems to involve a fridge replacement or a lounge suit replacement or something else), it almost looks after itself and, if I chose to sell, I’d probably just get around the $300K I originally paid for it.

Had I purchased a unit on the gold coast around the same time for the same purpose, the history would just be about the same, maybe slightly better.

For a good investment, stick to areas where you can minimise your risk and maximise your return. Stick to the major capital cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and do not try and kill two birds with the one stone; if you want a good investment property, buy a good investment property: if you want a good well-located holiday home then that is what you buy – but don’t look for this being a great investment!

Read more: http://www.domain.com.au/news/are-holiday-homes-still-a-good-investment-20160912-gre5q4/

Do you want a Big Australia?

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Do you want a Big Australia?

Both of our major political parties are in favour of a big Australia. Of course a big Australia means many more people, at present we are seeing an additional one million people being added to Australia’s population around every three years. The city of Sydney now has a population of over five million with another 1.5 million to be added to Sydney alone within the next 16 years.

The many arguments for a big Australia state that more population means more economic growth; another argument is that new migrants are of working age which helps off-sets the problem of the very large number of Australians reaching retirement age. Our future as an aging nation is not nearly as bleak as some of our Asian and European friends.

There are many dissenters to the Big Australia policy and their arguments are discussed in today’s news article (see http://www.smh.com.au/comment/is-there-room-for-big-australia-20160901-gr6atz ).

Wilton Junction. The newest of our New Towns - 70Km from the CBD

Wilton Junction. The newest of our New Towns – 70Km from the CBD

The implications of this massive growth in population should make the property investor stop and think. In Sydney, for example, using an average of 3 persons per household, we actually need an additional 500,000 homes over the next 16 years. It is only these numbers that can make some sense of the massive new developments happening in our North West and South West in particular. No longer are we seeing massive new ‘commuter suburbs’ being built on our city fringes but instead whole new towns with their own job-creating infrastructure.

The priority new town development area has been announced and will commence next year at Wilton Junction – (http://talkwiltonjunction.com.au/) – a new community to cater initially for 12,000 new homes and 35,000 new residents. Wilton Junction is just over 70Km from the CBD. If you have a trip to this new town, at around the 50km mark from the CBD just off the M5 bordering Narellan is the new town of Oran Park – (http://www.oranparktown.com.au/) – and its surrounding suburbs. Oran Park has transformed from the old Oran Park race track and surrounding paddocks to a hub of hundreds of homes surrounded by new commercial development with an eventual target of hosting a population of 25,000 people and maybe the same again in the surrounding area. It all looks very grand and we may wonder where all these ‘new’ people may come from?

We have two massive new developments here, one well-underway and another due to start shortly and between them they will offer a home in a new town to around no more than 90,000 people! Where will we house the remaining 1.4 million? Are we really building too many units in Sydney?

There is still great opportunity here for the astute property investment.

Great reasons to consider Brisbane for your next property investment

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Great reasons to consider Brisbane for your next property investment   

There are a few YouTube links to this blog which highlight at least six Great reasons to consider Brisbane for your next property investment.  Before you read any more, consider the position Sydney (and NSW generally) was in around 2008? The country was doing exceptionally well, unemployment was low, GDP was high, we just had a new Prime Minister, the country had no debt at all but our State Government and our state was being described as a ‘basket case’! Our health system was in a mess because hospitals didn’t have enough to pay for food (Liverpool) or laundry (Camden) and unemployment in NSW was around the 7.8% mark. We were under the guidance of politicians like Mr Obeid, Mr Trapodi, Mr Robertson, et al! Happy Days.

By early 2010, things had improved considerably in NSW, unemployment was way down below 5% and the State seemed to be out of its ‘technical recession”. By 2011, our government had changed and we entered an era of massive employment and construction with jobs for all who wanted to work! The huge spend on infrastructure has been paralleled by a massive growth in house prices, exactly following the old PIE formula for house price growth – Population growth, Infrastructure growth with Economic growth.

For those who identify more with Melbourne think of the position the city and State was in before the Crown Casino development and all that has transpired since! Like it or hate it, the huge international Casino was seen as a ‘game changer’ for the city’s economy.

How will you even recognise the skyline of Brisbane in 6 years time?  Massive growth in Brisbane’s CBD, brought on by major developments across the city, is set to almost completely transform the Queensland capital by 2022.

Major projects alone will amount to a multi-billion dollar expenditure which has just started, tens of thousands of jobs will be created in the infrastructure build and even more jobs will be the completed legacy. The only real surprise about all of this is the lack of knowledge about these projects outside of Brisbane itself!

So what I am talking about? The largest of these are as follows – real game-changer projects that are set to transform our ne “Brisvagas”!

Queens Wharf – Casino and Entertainment precinct ($3 Billion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRyBK9Y3WnA

The Queens Wharf project is set to be a world – class integrated resort development.

–          5 new hotels

–          50 bars and restaurants

–          1500 seat theatre

–          Conventions uses

–          3 residential towers

–          Major casino

–          Estimated to create 10,000 jobs while under construction

The Howard Smith Wharves ($800 Million)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPAIQOCotMY

Howard Smith Wharves redeveloped as a vibrant waterside destination under Brisbane’s Storey Bridge

–          Boutique five-star hotel

–          Exhibition space

–          Premier restaurants

–          Retail

–          Community facilities

–          Parklands

Brisbane Live Precinct – Roma Street Parklands ($2 billion ‘Brisbane Live’ ultra-entertainment precinct)                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gxSLTdLatY

  • Similar to Madison Square Gardenin New York City, or Melbourne’s Federation Square
  • The ability to transport thousands of spectators in and out of the precinct within just minutes
  • the centrepiece of the Brisbane Live plan is a new 17,000 seat world class arena which will showcase international superstar concerts and performances as well as world sporting events
  • 4000-capacity rock club
  • surrounded by multiplex cinemas
  • restaurants and bars
  • Giant screen and amphitheatre catering for around 15,000 people

Other notable upcoming projects:

–          The $800 million Brisbane Quarter to the west. The Brisbane Quarter will consist of an 82-storey residential tower, a 39-storey office building and the 32-storey W Brisbane Hotel.

–          Brisbane Airport’s new $1.3 billion parallel runway

–          The $1.54 billion Brisbane Metro rapid transit system

–          A new $100 million cruise ship facility at Luggage Point.

The above is a snippet of the exciting infrastructure developments in the Brisbane CBD and Brisbane Airport and surrounds.  These will see a massive growth in employment over the next 6 years during the construction phase followed by a legacy of massive employment when these projects are fully operational. All great reasons to consider Brisbane for your next property investment.

 Read more:  http://goo.gl/cXnPky