This week Ipswich and Logan Granny Flats bring news of a change in the makeup of the Australian property market. The article below details the disparity between the great Australian dream of owning your own home and the harsh reality that some areas of Australia may soon have more than half the population renting, like New York. Affordability, investor domination of the market and the cost of stamp duty are the major hurdles standing in the way of young people today, 90% of whom still cherish the dream of home ownership.
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Enjoy…

​Annabel Hennessy | The Daily Telegraph
17 December, 2017

SYDNEY is turning into a city of renters as rising prices force more people to ditch the homeowning dream.

Experts report an increasing number of people choosing to rent rather than buy and predict Sydney could soon turn into a city like New York, where more than half of the population rents.

In some Sydney suburbs the rate of renters has already topped 60 per cent.

​Real estate giant L J Hooker tips the rise of the renter to be one of the biggest property trends in 2017. Hooker research head Mark Tiller said affordability and investor domination of the market were driving factors.

“House prices are continuing to rise but, because of the increase of apartment supply in particular suburbs and the rise of investor numbers, we could see rents soften for units in some areas in 2017,” Mr Tiller said.

“The cost of transaction in terms of stamp duty also makes buying less achievable, which is also driving more people to rent.”

​While just 30 per cent of the Australian population rents, Bureau of Statistics data shows that in popular suburbs such as Potts Point the number of renters has risen to beyond 60 per cent.

McCrindle research director Eliane Miles said while home ownership was still a major aspiration, it was ­simply affordability stopping young people from buying.

“We did some research that showed 90 per cent of Australians still want to strive towards owning their own home,” Ms Miles said.

“It’s still the Aussie dream, it’s just more difficult and I think for young people it seems incredibly far off.”

Real Institute of NSW president John Cunningham said: “I don’t want to see Sydney turning into New York where the majority of people rent but it could happen.

“This is why we think the stamp duty system in NSW needs an overhaul, to make it easier for young people.”

Mahnam and Michael Mogaddam rent a granny flat in Baulkham Hills but are lucky enough to have bought a block of land nearby where they hope to build soon.

There were times when they nearly gave up on the homeownership dream.

“It’s really horrible. We’d have to live 45 minutes away for our family to get something affordable,” Ms Mogaddam­ said.

​“There were several times I said that we should think about just continuing to rent but we want to own a house so we can make it easier for our children and pass it on to them.”

This week, Ipswich and Logan Granny Flats bring you an excellent article on the growing demand for Granny Flats. With housing prices continuing to climb and the suburban population explosion, building a Granny Flat has never sounded better. Owners are typically able to achieve 15% rental yield, with the average rent at $283 p/week. While for renters, Granny Flats provide privacy, a massive drawcard over share housing for very little more money p/week.  It’s a win win situation.

​Read and Enjoy…

​Julia Corderoy | news.com.au
14 January, 2017 

​YOU could become a property investor without looking beyond your own backyard. The Granny flat is making a comeback, it has nothing to do with your grandparents, and it could be a gold mine for homeowners.
 
No longer regarded as just a quick, budget solution to housing your ageing relatives, Granny Flat-living is having a bit of a renaissance.
 
State governments are becoming more open to the building and use of Granny Flats — the New South Wales government overhauled its regulation regarding Granny Flats in 2009, as an example — and the designs are becoming smarter, more modern and more liveable too. So much so, that Granny Flats perhaps shouldn’t even be labelled “granny” anymore.
 
According to data from Flatmates.com.au, Granny Flat listings as private rentals on the site increased by 16 per cent in 2016, nationally, while searches for Granny Flat accommodation increased by 84 per cent in the last quarter alone. In Perth, the number of Granny Flats listed on the site rose a whopping 56 per cent in 2016.
 
More and more renters are opting for Granny Flats over share housing and savvy homeowners can capitalise on this.
 
THE ANSWER TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY?
Thomas Clement, the CEO of Flatmates.com.au, said the resurgence of the Granny Flat is “absolutely” driven by rising real estate prices and affordability pressures. And both sides of the equation — owners and renters — are looking for ways to reap benefits in a heated market.
 
“There are a lot of people in their 20s and 30s that struggle to afford accommodation, particularly in the main city centres,” Mr Clements told news.com.au.
 
“It is also driven by the fact that there is so much money in property in Australia and people are looking at their property and asking how they can utilise that asset better and make more money out of it ... It is a great way of supplementing their income.”
 
The national average weekly rent a homeowner can receive from privately renting out a Granny Flat is $283, according to data crunched by Flatmates.com.au. But in Sydney, homeowners are receiving an average of $346, equating to an average of $17,992 in rental income a year.
 
In Perth, where Granny Flat listings rose the most in 2016, homeowners are receiving an average of $257 a week, equating to $13,364 per annum.
 
By comparison, the national average weekly rent for a private room in a share house on Flatmates.com.au was $220 per week in 2016.
 
Granny Flat Finder, an online service which compares Granny Flat designs and builders for consumers, has had an increase in inquiries every year since the company started in 2010.
 
“It has literally been month-on-month growth in inquiries,” Harry Laos, Senior Project Manager of Granny Flat Finder told news.com.au.
 
“But the demand for Granny Flats really started taking off around 2011 because it became a good idea in investment property circles.”
 
Pretty soon after that, Mr Laos explained, everyday homeowners were clueing in and really beginning to add fuel to the resurgence.
 
“More and more we are seeing your everyday mum and dad couples reaching their retirement years, and even younger couples, wanting to divide their backyard with a partition or hedge, build a Granny Flat, and rent it out to pay off their mortgage sooner.”
 
The average cost to build a Granny Flat, according to Mr Laos, will set a homeowner back somewhere in the vicinity of $1,600 to $2,000 per square metre, depending on the size. For a two-bedroom, 60sqm granny flat — the most popular for homeowners inquiring with Granny Flat Finder — will cost around $105,000 to $125,000 in total to build.
 
A 2015 analysis by BMT Tax Depreciation suggested the average cost of a Granny Flat to be $121,000 to construct. The tax firm, which collected data from thousands of its depreciation schedules, also suggested that property owners are typically able to achieve annual rental yields of 15 per cent on this investment.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?
The regulations regarding the construction of Granny Flats and who can live in them varies from state to state, but a change is in the air.
 
Traditionally, as the name suggests, a Granny flat was for the sole purpose of housing family, with regulations restricting the construction and private rentals of these backyard properties. And in some states, such as Victoria, this is still the case. But for others, such as New South Wales, the government has adapted.
 
In 2009, as a part of the New South Wales government’s diverse and affordable housing agenda, it overhauled its regulation governing Granny Flats, making them much easier and faster to build. As a part of the Affordable Rental Housing State Environmental Planning Policy 2009, otherwise known as the ‘SEPP’, a Granny Flat can be built in all residential zones and can be approved as a complying development in just 10 days, subject to minimum requirements.
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These requirements state that the lot size must be at least 450sqm, the Granny Flat must have a floor space no larger than 60sqm, the lot cannot be subdivided and there is only one house and one Granny Flat on the lot.
 
Western Australian, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and the ACT have similar regulations. All allow property owners to easily build a secondary dwelling and then rent it to those other than family members.
 
Victoria, on the other hand, has some of the toughest regulations surrounding Granny Flats in the nation.
 
It varies from council to council but typically those wanting to build an extra home in their garden have to prove that the future occupant is a dependent person, such as a teenager or disabled elderly parent. The Granny Flat must also be removed if the person dies or moves out.
 
But now, a change.org petition by Small Change Design and Construction calling on the Victorian government to introduce laws similar to NSW has received more than 2,000 signatures. And according to an article published by The Age in January last year, the Victorian government has pledged to review the rules.
 
The Age quotes Acting Planning Minister Lisa Neville saying the government was “making sure planning rules keep pace with people’s needs.”
 
Queensland and South Australia have similarly restrictive regulations.
 
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
Building an investment property in your own backyard certainly has potential to be a gold mine, however, it isn’t without its risks. The biggest risk being how it could affect the value of your property.
 
While it very well could be a drawcard for some buyers and aid its value, it could also do the opposite. Adding an extra property on the land which cannot be on a separate ownership title and therefore cannot be sold separately, could decrease the pool of interested buyers and decrease its overall value.
 
In addition, homeowners should be wary of its impact on privacy. As you cannot subdivide the lot to build a Granny Flat, you are ultimately sharing your space with others.
 
“You have to ask if the financial incentive of having that extra income stream is worth the personal choice of sacrificing some privacy, potentially, in your backyard,” Mr Laos said.
 
“Some backyards are made for Granny Flats and work very well — they separate very nicely between the main house — but others simply don’t, so you can really be sharing a lot of space with other tenants.”

This week Ipswich and Logan Granny Flats bring great news for investors! CoreLogic have released the highest performing suburbs for rental yield with Logan and Ipswich dominating the leader board! While houses in Riverview, Ipswich are netting a 6.3% gross rental yield, imagine what adding a Granny Flat in the backyard could do for your Return of Investment.
 
Our Case Studies prove that Doubling your Rent Return is not only a possibility but a probability!
 
Enjoy …

​Michelle Hele | The Courier Mail
27 December, 2016

 Outer Brisbane suburbs were the real winners for investment property owners in the past year with new figures revealing they gave owners the best rental yields.
 
The latest figures from CoreLogic show Hillcrest, Woodridge and Mount Warren Park in the Logan Council area tied for top spot with the highest median gross rental yield for units of 7.2 per cent.
 
In the house market it was Riverview at Ipswich which had the best result with a yield of 6.3 per cent.

No suburbs within the Brisbane City Council region featured in the top performing investment suburbs for units or houses.

Logan dominated the list, with entries also from Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redland.
 
What all the top yielding suburbs had in common was that they had very low median house or unit prices.
 
The cheapest of those top yielding suburbs for houses was at Russell Island in Redland Council region, where the median house value was $215,408 and the gross rental yield 5.9 per cent.
 
For units it was Woodridge which had a median value of $199,757.
 
Closer to the Brisbane CBD, Rocklea, Keperra and Fig Tree Pocket were the strongest performers in the house market, while Oxley, Darra and Brisbane CBD lead the unit market.

Jillian Clifford | Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisors
16 December, 2016

One of the biggest property valuation firms in Australia produces one of the best property reports available. 

Herron Todd White has over 60 offices around Australia and they collate local feedback from their valuers to produce this monthly report.

Some of the more interesting locations on this clock are:   
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• Sydney, Adelaide & Canberra (rising market),  
• Melbourne (approaching peak of market),  
• Newcastle and NSW Central Coast (peak of market),  
• Perth (bottom of market) and
• Brisbane & Hobart (start of recovery).