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Commercial properties in NSW’s Port Macquarie are attracting self-managed super funds (SMSF) because of the Mid North Coast’s affordability and healthy yields.
“It’s a bit like Sydney in towns such as Port Macquarie, with SMSFs driving the sales of quality investment assets,” said Graeme Garrett, co-principal of Raine &amp; Horne Commercial Port Macquarie. 
SMSFs leasing a commercial property back to a related business is becoming a common trend in the sub-$500,000 market in Port Macquarie, added Garrett.
Several small business owners too are buying properties through SMSFs and then leasing them back to the business, which the current superannuation laws allow, he said.
In many cases, professionals such as accountants, lawyers, engineers, architects and real estate agents are buying commercial properties through a related DIY fund. Properties around the range $400,000-$500,000 are in particularly in demand.
“The trouble is that there’s a shortage of industrial stock in this price range to meet demand,” said Garrett.
Investors operating outside a super fund are also active in the Port Macquarie market because of the low interest rates and the fact that commercial properties are viewed as an investment safe haven, he added.
“Sydney investors seeking solid yields are also starting to make their presence felt in Port Macquarie.”
Yields for industrial stock priced below $500,000 range from 8%, while it’s 6.75-7% for retail and 8% for office space, according to Raine &amp; Horne Commercial Port Macquarie. 
“We auctioned a retail property to a Sydney investor, who purchased it through a self-managed super fund, and who intends on retiring to Port Macquarie down the track,” said Garrett. The property located at 5/56 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie sold under the hammer for $622,500.
Garrett said members of SMSFs would be best served considering a commercial asset that will appeal to future tenants.
“If you occupy it yourself now and then retire, you need to consider what appeal that property will have to future tenants and whether it will be easily let out if it’s part of your future retirement plans.
“Our proximity to Sydney and Newcastle is attracting investors from those cities through a combination of our healthy yields and commercial real estate affordability. 
“When you can buy two or three assets in Port Macquarie for the equivalent of a single-tenant property in Sydney, investors see this as value.”
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DIY super funds driving Port Macquarie commercial markets: Raine & Horne

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Singles earning an average income have been priced out of the property market from nearly all of Australia’s capital cities, a new report shows.
An analysis by financial comparison website RateCity.com.au shows that Hobart and Adelaide remain the last affordable capital cities for the nation's singles with a salary of $59,441 and $72,529 needed respectively to afford repayments on a 30-year mortgage (with a deposit of 20% at today's average variable rate of 4.74%). The industry rule that no more than 30 percent of a person’s income should go towards housing costs was applied to arrive at the figures.
The east coast remains the most unaffordable, with Sydney topping the list of tough markets for singles to crack. A person wanting to buy in the harbour city needs a six-figure salary of $137,556 to comfortably fund a mortgage on a median-priced house.
Someone looking to buy in Brisbane or Melbourne would require an $80,866 and $96,706 salary respectively to afford a median priced house, while in Canberra the salary needed would be $97,756.
According to Peter Arnold, data insights director at RateCity.com.au, the report raises further concerns that rising property prices across many cities in the country are forcing Australians out of the market. This could fundamentally impact the nation's demographics and service needs in the years ahead, he said.
“Our analysis reveals a reality that many young Australians are now living; the impossibility of affording a median-priced house on an average salary in most capital cities,” Arnold said.
“Without a partner or family member to share mortgage costs with, the numbers paint a grim picture for millennials, many of which may be squeezed out. Even as part of a couple, east coast property prices are out of reach for many Australians.”
“Many first home buyers, including young families, may find that they have to move away from careers in the CBD and the support of families to more affordable parts of Australia. This could have long-term effects on Australian society and bring with it challenges for the future in many areas, including transport and childcare.”
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Singles priced out of property market: RateCity research

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Property investments by SMSFs through limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) could come under increased scrutiny of the tax office this year, says major accounting firm H&amp;R Block.
Last year, the ATO had expressed concern at LRBA loans that were not structured correctly, including incorrect registration of the ownership of property bought under an LRBA. It spoke of increasing its focus on the LRBA route.
Given the growth in the SMSF sector and the increasing popularity of strategies such as LRBAs, H&amp;R Block has tipped that property will remain a top priority for the ATO’s compliance work in the SMSF sector this year.
“I know the ATO always keeps a close eye on property investment and especially LRBAs,” H&amp;R Block's director of tax communications, Mark Chapman told SMSF Adviser.
This particularly applies to related party borrowings which may currently be structured on non-commercial terms, with a June 30 deadline to have these structures rectified, it said.
According to the ATO website, an asset purchased by an SMSF trustee through LRBA is held in a separate trust.
If the loan defaults, the lender's rights are limited to the asset held in the separate trust, but not to assets held in the SMSF.
In 2015, an ATO campaign saw 500 postcodes issued with warnings urging holiday home owners to ensure deductions were not made during periods a property was not available for let.
“With property rental a valuable source of extra income for millions of taxpayers, it can be expected that the ATO will follow up with some targeted reviews and audits this year,” Chapman was quoted as saying.
The “sharing economy” – “driven in part by the high levels of non-compliance amongst those driving for Uber or renting rooms through Airbnb,” would also be an area of scrutiny by the ATO, he said. 
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ATO to focus on LRBA route to property investment by SMSFs

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The director of a former estate agency in Melbourne’s Boronia has been declared ineligible to hold an estate agent’s licence, or be an estate agent’s representative for five years, after he admitted to knowingly authorising and permitting the agency to convert trust money to its own use.
Michael Knight, 49, was found guilty by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal of breaching the Estate Agents (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2008 on several counts, such as not acting with care and diligence in his role as an estate agent.
His company, Michael Knight Real Estate Pty Ltd, was also found to have violated the Estate Agents Act 1980 by:
depositing trust money directly into the agency’s business account for its own use thrice
causing a deficiency in the trust account by withdrawing trust money prior to property settlement a further three times
not completing a number of monthly trust account reconciliations, or completing them incorrectly
failing to have the agency’s trust account audited for the 2013-2014 financial year.
The tribunal reprimanded Knight and declared him ineligible to hold a real estate agent’s licence, or to be an agent’s representative for five years.
Knight also gave an undertaking to the tribunal that he would never apply for, or seek to hold another estate agent’s licence. He must also inform any estate agent that employs him in future about the ruling against him.
Michael Knight Real Estate Pty Ltd was also reprimanded and declared ineligible to hold a real estate agent’s licence for five years.
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Victoria court rules against Boronia estate agent 

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Wyndham Harbour Marina, on the western shores of Port Phillip Bay near Werribee in Melbourne, was declared officially open recently.
Welcoming the event, the Boating Industry Association of Victoria (BIAV) said it was a major indication of the importance of residential marina developments to the Victorian economy.
"The marine sector in this state as an industry is worth $4.5 billion to the Victorian economy and provides over 17,700 FTE jobs," said Steven Potts, chief executive of the BIAV.
The projected increase of the population in the central coast area of Victoria, including Port Phillip and Western Port, to nearly 8 million by 2050 from 4.6 million, will see a doubling of boating activities and boost Victoria's 'Blue Economy'.
<img src="/images/2016/04/22/Screen%20Shot%202016-04-22%20at%208.42.35%20PM.png" alt="">
Potts said developments such as Wyndham Harbour Marina provide a pathway for the private sector to assist in development of Blue Infrastructure, for which the Victorian government or local councils do not have sufficient funds.
The event was attended by Hon. Tim Pallas, State Treasurer.
There are over 172,000 registered boats in Victoria, and with a rapidly growing population, the number of boats in the State is set to double due to increases in population and pressure on green space, seeing the community turning to the blue space of Port Phillip and Western Port Bays.
 
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New Wyndham marina in Melbourne expected to boost Victorian economy

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Australians' love affair with property investment could be tested by the continuing slowdown in home prices, and that investors may be second-guessing the validity of negatively geared investments, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
According to the bank, this may be the last property price boom Australians will see for many years, according to a recent article in the Australian Financial Review.
March data shows that median capital city prices rose just 0.2 percent, with annual growth decelerating to 6.6 percent year-on-year. These figures are down from a July 2015 peak of 11.6 percent year-on-year and 11.9 percent in April 2014.
"A period of weaker price growth or outright modest declines is likely to become entrenched over coming years," Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. 
"We'd expect that such a period could severely test Australians' long love affair with property investment."
Record low interest rates, while initially prompting new entrants into the property market, has left few marginal buyers following the extended period of these conditions.
While diminishing house price growth has not overly knocked household spending or confidence, the bank sees significant oversupply exacerbating the apartment sector in the next 12-18 months, particularly in Brisbane and Melbourne's central districts.
"This will likely be of concern to new investors in this market," the note reads.
"Yet this development is not expected to materially [affect] price performance of detached housing but may [hurt] sentiment towards the property market overall."
Though the bank expects these pockets of apartment price weakness to lead the further deceleration of price growth and building approvals, it doesn't expect this to spill over into the detached housing market, although prices will continue to decelerate over the course of the year.
That said, the over-supply issue could take years to resolve, particularly as falling Australian immigration numbers slow population growth.
Those with negatively geared investment properties may find they need to hold onto these properties for longer to realise adequate capital growth.
"In addition, over this period, they are likely to face regulatory risks from both sides of politics," said the bank, referring to taxation statistics suggesting that, among the 2 million landlords in 2013-2014, one in six individuals were eligible to pay tax, a potential target for government tax policy.
However, thanks to the low interest rate environment, the average rental loss per landlord has declined from $11,000 in 2010-11 to $8,700 in 2013-14.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens recently said that a moderation in house prices was helpful.
The last time the RBA cut rates was in February and May of 2015, and Merrill Lynch argues the property market was one of the only beneficiaries, as price growth leapt in the following months.
Merrill Lynch thinks it unlikely the RBA will cut rates soon, unless a material rise in unemployment jolts the Australian economy.
"It is our view that only a material rise in the unemployment rate should force the RBA's hand - not a, likely transitory, deceleration of inflation or as an attempt to manage the exchange rate," the note reads.
But it's the promise of a slowing growth asset that weighs on the bank's thinking.
"If dwelling and in particular apartment price appreciation is difficult to come by over coming years, new investors may increasingly question the validity of their negatively geared investment," the bank says.
As such, Merrill Lynch remains wary, citing high indebtedness combined with extraordinary monetary policy globally as the reason appetite for property may be diminishing.
"With household income growth soft, the reduced ability to borrow, or at least no further extension of it, will weigh on prices," the bank says.
"This most recent boom in dwelling prices is likely the last one we will experience for some time."
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Merrill Lynch says property slowdown will hurt negatively geared investments

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Industrial sites in Brisbane’s inner north are hot picks, as indicated by the results from two recent sales. 
The first site at 31-37 Bunya Street, Eagle Farm, (above) sold for $850,000 plus GST. At 1,618 sqm, the sale represents a land rate of $525 per sqm.
The site offers nearly 310 sqm of warehouse/storage space and features a demountable office and amenities block. The site was acquired by the owner of the adjacent block, who plans to utilise the General Industry B zoning for future development.
The second sale at 235 Robinson Road, Geebung sold for $1.4 million. A 3,408 sqm vacant corner site, it has the potential to accommodate a number of retail, wholesale and industrial businesses.
CBRE’s Dan Munnich and Nick Witheriff brokered the sale of the two sites.
Munnich said both sites sold well above the reserve, demonstrating the strong demand for industrial sites.
“Both auction campaigns attracted over 20 enquiries, with approximately eight registered bidders present on each auction day," added Witheriff.
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Prateek Chatterjee

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