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<p><span>Wilderness Island, an island off the coast of Exmouth in Western Australia, remains for sale with mid $1 million hopes. </span></p>

<p><span>It is currently the home of an eco-tourism business, Wilderness Island Safari Holidays, which has been operating for the past 14 years.</span></p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2019/7/30/Wilderness%20Island%202.JPG"></p>

<p>It costs between $635 and $700 a day to live on the island. To rent out the whole island it costs $3,000 a day.</p>

<p>The island is located on the eastern side of the Exmouth Gulf, an hour by boat or 10 minutes by plane. It sits adjacent to the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area.</p>

<p>[smartcode_project:default project_id=7864]</p>

<p>Spanning two hectares, the island has a main lodge, six stand alone cabins all with en-suites, a workshop, desalination plant, moorings for three vessels and a 700 metre dirt airstrip.</p>

<p>Western Australia Sotheby's agent Neil McAllister has the listing.</p>
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Wilderness Island off the Western Australia coast listed

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<p><span>Property has always been a hot investment for Australians, even when staying abroad.</span></p>
<p>Australia’s population is growing around 2% a year, driven by immigration. But 65% of the population live in one of the eight state or territory capital cities, meaning supply is almost always struggling to catch up with demand, according to Richard Wakelin from Wakelin Property Advisory.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">Hence, investing in property is an attractive option.</span></p>
<p><span>But for those overseas trying to channel their hard-earned money here for investment and handy returns, be wary of property spruikers.</span></p>
<p><span>Regulators have voiced concerns about the price rises in Sydney and Melbourne in particular, amid reports of property spruikers "trapping" ill-advised investors in self-managed super fund (SMSF) structures.</span></p>
<p><span>In December 2014, the Financial System Inquiry chaired by David Murray suggested banning SMSFs borrowing to buy property, by removing the current exemption for limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs).</span></p>
<p><span>"We regard [recommendations to buy property through SMSFs] as investment advice and you need to be licensed and if you are not licensed we will come after you," ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer told Property Observer earlier this year. </span></p>
<p><span>Be cautious while buying off-the-plan property. You might save on stamp duty, but this is usually offset by the GST you indirectly pay, as a developer pays 10% GST on the building costs component which will be passed on to the buyer in the purchase price.</span></p>
<p><span>Also, as you will invariably pay a premium for the new house, you could end up losing up to 20% value if you skipped proper research.</span></p>
<p><span>High-rises can sometimes prove to be a trap as there is a supply glut in some suburbs. Which means finding tenants is hard, besides the level of rent and the yield.</span></p>
<p><span>Buildings with lifts, communal gymnasiums and pools usually come at the cost of higher fees.</span></p>
<p><span>Also, avoid properties that banks may be reluctant to lend for. These could include serviced apartments, student accommodation and those in a mixed zoning. </span></p>
<p><span>If it's not good enough for the bank, meaning 'risky', it's likely not good enough for you, says Wakelin.</span></p>
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Expats, avoid these common pitfalls before investing in property

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<p><em>Guest Observer</em></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>One of the most disturbing aspects of the $500,000 lifetime non-concessional contribution (NCC) cap announcement in the 3 May 2016 Federal Budget is that the new lifetime NCC cap catches prior NCC’s made since 1 July 2007.</span></p>
<p>We consider the implementation of this announcement would effectively give rise to retrospective legislation for almost 9 years (ie, 1 July 2007 to 7.30pm (AEST) on 3 May 2016 is around 3,230 days or just over 8.8 years). Thus, people who have previously relied on the law during this 9 year period in making contributions to their super funds may now have no or little lifetime NCC cap left remaining.</p>
<p>We acknowledge that if your NCCs made during the prior 9 year period did not exceed $500,000, then there may be some remaining cap. For example, if someone had only made $10,000 of NCCs, they will have a $490,000 remaining cap.</p>
<p>However, if someone makes an NCC after the Budget announcement at 7.30pm on 3 May 2016, including any NCCs made in the prior 9 year period that exceeds $500,000, then their super fund must either reject any excess amount or the excess will be taxed at 49% if the member leaves the excess in their super account if possible. (There is doubt as to whether the announcement will allow the excess to remain in the superannuation fund given the little detail on this announced change).</p>
<p>If we trace back recent history, recent limits on making NCCs can be summarised as follows:</p>
<p>•        NCCs prior to 7.30 pm 9 May 2006 — unlimited;</p>
<p>•        NCCs from 9 May 2006 to 30 June 2007 — $1 million;</p>
<p>•        NCC from 1 July 2007 to 7.30 pm 3 May 2016 — $180,000 (indexed figure) per financial year or $540,000 averaged over three consecutive financial years where the member was under age 65 and was eligible to apply the bring forward rule in s 295-85(3) of the <em><span lang="X-NONE">Income Tax Assessment Act 1997</span></em><span lang="X-NONE"> (Cth)</span> (‘ITAA 1997’); and</p>
<p><span>·<span>                </span></span>NCCs from 1 July 2007 to 7.30pm 3 May 2016 — $500,000 as reduced by any NCCs made from 1 July 2007.</p>
<p><span>As you can see, given the far more generous contribution caps applying before 4 May 2016, the $500,000 lifetime cap is a retrospective and an unfair change of law made by way of Budget announcement especially as it may not survive the political and legal process that lies ahead.</span></p>
<p>Before anyone who has made NCCs in the past 9 years makes any further contributions to superannuation, they would be well advised to request ATO confirmation of their NCCs to check whether they will exceed the new cap. The Budget Paper confirms that:</p>
<p><em>To ensure maximum effectiveness the lifetime cap will take into account all non-concessional contributions made on or after 1 July 2007, from which time the Australian Taxation Office has reliable contributions records …</em></p>
<h2><strong><span>Other points on retrospective law</span></strong></h2>
<p><span>The Treasurer, Mr Scott Morrison, may argue that the new cap is not retrospective as it does not require NCCs that already exceed $500,000 on 3 May 2016 to be rejected and therefore prior contributions are not adversely impacted.</span></p>
<p>However, this is an argument equivalent to an argument about ‘splitting hairs’. The prior law permitted NCCs of $180,000 per financial year or $540,000 over three consecutive financial years (if the bring forward rule applied). Moreover, let’s assume that someone had contributed $540,000 of NCCs during the prior 9 years and now wishes to contribute more, they now have a nil lifetime cap. When did the current Government warn the public that the ‘rug may be pulled from underneath them?’</p>
<p>Indeed, the Government has repeatedly promised (particularly leading up to the 2013 election) that there would be no adverse changes in its next term of office without appropriate consultation. In particular, in January 2013, the Coalition released its pre-election policy document Real Solutions, which pledged to "deliver greater stability and certainty" around superannuation laws. "We won't move the goalposts... We will ensure that no more negative unexpected changes occur to the superannuation system," the document said.</p>
<p>However, following Mr Malcolm Turnbull’s appointment as Prime Minister in September 2015, he confirmed that under a Turnbull Government prior policies could be changed. “We've got to be agile all the time" Mr Turnbull told AM's Michael Brissenden on 21 September 2015.</p>
<p>This is despite the repeated requests for stability in respect of our superannuation law due to the ‘long-term’ nature of being locked into a regulatory environment where someone cannot withdraw their money if there is an adverse change in law.</p>
<p><strong>The usual process of retrospective legislation</strong></p>
<p><span>The Australian Law Reform Commission (‘ALRC’) report on retrospective law recognises that retrospective tax laws may be introduced, typically for tax avoidance or integrity type measures. Moreover, when retrospective tax laws are introduced, they usually only apply for a relatively short-time frame.</span></p>
<p>Also, these type of retroactive tax changes to address tax avoidance and integrity announcements should be contrasted with superannuation measures where people are ‘locked into’ a regulatory system without being able to easily withdraw their savings. Indeed, most people cannot access their superannuation until they attain age 65 (subject to strict exceptions under strict preservation rules).</p>
<p>The Senate has processes intended to minimise periods of retrospectivity. Standing Order 44 provides that where tax legislation has been announced by press release more than six months before the introduction of the relevant legislation into Parliament (or publication of a draft bill), that legislation will be amended to provide for a commencement date after the date of introduction (or publication).</p>
<p>Further, Ms Michelle Gordon, a High Court judge, commented that retrospective tax law is not only hurting taxpayers but may be making foreign investment less attractive. This comment was made during her presentation to tax experts at the University of Melbourne law school in late August 2012 when she was then a Federal Court judge.</p>
<p>Given that all Federal legislative processes are now in ‘care taker’ mode until after the election on 2 July 2016, there is going to be considerable uncertainty as to whether this lifetime cap announcement will become law and if it does, in what form. The Labor Government has ruled out any retrospectivity to this reform should it win the election.</p>
<p><strong>More detail on the $500,000 lifetime cap</strong></p>
<p>This article has put forward numerous reasons why retrospective law stretching back nearly 9 years should not be tolerated by the Australian community.</p>
<p>Assuming, despite these reasons, that the Government persists to introduce a $500,000 lifetime NCC cap, we note that such a cap is surprisingly low given the summary provided above where some 10 years ago, the amount of personal NCCs (then known as ‘undeducted contributions’) were unlimited in amount.</p>
<p>The NCC cap was then, following a brief transitional period, reduced to $150,000 (as indexed on 1 July 2014 to $180,000) per FY subject to then a $450,000 (as indexed on 1 July 2014 to $540,000) three year bring forward rule until 3 May 2016. This 10 year slide has been a major restriction on what people could previously have contributed to their super savings.</p>
<p>Certainly, there were numerous submissions to Government by different industry bodies and members of the community to restrict the tax concessions in relation to superannuation for those people who had attained a certain monetary threshold within the super system. However, the Government’s response overlooks the fact that these people had contributed on the basis of the law as then applying (which was unlimited prior to the budget announcement in May 2006) and as a result, the Government should not overly restrict the ability for everyone else to accumulate a reasonable amount in superannuation to provide a satisfactory lifestyle in their retirement.</p>
<p>Assuming the Government sees the light of day and drops the retrospective nature of the $500,000 lifetime cap, we also consider the Government has overreacted with a $500,000 lifetime cap. Such a cap does not allow any flexibility for the numerous investment timing and life cycle risks that may arise which we examine in further detail below.</p>
<p><strong>What if a member suffers an investment loss?</strong></p>
<p>Many who have previously contributed more than $500,000 have lost considerable value — many losing far more than 50% on their investments — as a result of the global financial crisis (‘GFC’).</p>
<p>A $500,000 lifetime cap provides no scope or flexibility for these people who may suffer another GFC or another market correction (as in the October 1987 share market crash), where a substantial value of their lifetime savings may be lost in volatile trading over a short-time frame.</p>
<p>Indeed, there are many who were hoping to retire but got GFC’d and are still in the workforce at age 65 and 70, who expected to retire much earlier.</p>
<p>Moreover there have been many thousands of people who have suffered from one of the many fraudulent investment schemes and who will have no chance to accumulate any further super savings as they will generally have burnt up their lifetime NCC cap but unfortunately, and through no fault of their own, have zero or next to no dollars remaining in superannuation.</p>
<p><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">SMSFs that have entered into contracts pre-budget</strong></p>
<p>SMSFs that have entered into contracts and transactions to buy investments, incurring limited recourse borrowing arrangements to gear up an investment property and other investment contacts that span 7.30pm 3 May 2016, may now be in default of such contracts and stand to lose deposits and suffer considerable loss and damages as a result of the threatened retrospective impact of the new lifetime NCC cap.</p>
<p>So with a mere Budget announcement without any forewarning or transitioning rule, many peoples’ superannuation planning may now be in ruins by the announced change in law.</p>
<p>In contrast, when changes were made to restrict SMSFs investing related unit trusts on 11 August 1999, a special 10 year transitional rule was introduced to allow an SMSF that invested in a related unit trust with borrowings to invest in further units up to 30 June 2009 to enable the unit trust to reduce its debt. Without the introduction of s 71E of the <em>Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993</em> (Cth) (‘SISA’), SMSFs would have similarly been caught by an announced change but were granted a 10 year transitioning period.</p>
<p>The timing of the $500,000 lifetime NCC cap is particularly adverse for many SMSFs with related party LRBAs that need considerable cash flow before 30 June 2016 to place their LRBAs on arm’s length terms to comply with recent ATO guidelines. For these SMSFs to comply with the ATO’s recently released Practice Compliance Guideline PCG 2016/5, relevant SMSFs need to make the entire outstanding 2016 FY payments of principal and interest on non-arm’s length loans before 30 June 2016.</p>
<p><strong><span>Impact on small business</span></strong></p>
<p>The new cap is particularly unfortunate for business owners who generally are not in a financial position to contribute super throughout their lives and fall outside the CGT small business concessions in div 152 of the ITAA 1997. Many small business owners treat their business as a ‘de facto’ superannuation savings vehicle as they generally do not have enough cash to contribute to superannuation as they are building their business.</p>
<p>Small business owners will also have limited capacity to utilise their SMSFs from now on to acquire their business premises. The proposed lifetime NCC cap will adversely affect many small businesses, farmers and others that wish to invest in real estate, with many properties now in capital cities (and farm land on the city fringes) valued far in excess of $1 million.</p>
<p><strong>Transfers from overseas to Australian superannuation funds</strong></p>
<p>Those seeking to make transfers funds from foreign superannuation funds will also now be limited on what they can transfer to Australian superannuation funds.</p>
<p>Without the ability to transfer savings from foreign superannuation funds, many will leave their moneys in these overseas funds as the upfront tax cost on repatriation may be unviable compared to drawing a steady pension.</p>
<p>Australia should encourage foreign savings to be invested here, but the new lifetime cap imposes severe limits on these savings being available to produce any benefit to the Australian economy.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>
<p>If there is to be announced legislation by budget or press release, then it should prospective. Being prospective, if the limit is $500,000 then most people will hopefully adjust and learn to live with this new limit. However, to then seek to impose a retrospective 9 year inclusion period on prior contributions when people have gone about their affairs in an ordinary and lawful manner is unreasonable and should not be tolerated by our community. Indeed, the current Government has misrepresented that there will be no adverse super changes. A change of Prime Minister in September 2015 is no excuse for such poor law making.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was written by DBA Lawyers Director Daniel Butler and Special Counsel Rebecca James, who can be contacted below</p>
<p><span>Daniel Butler, Director (</span><a href="mailto:dbutler@dbalawyers.com.au" target="_blank"><span>dbutler@dbalawyers.com.au</span></a><span>) </span></p>
<p><span>Rebecca James, Special Counsel (</span><span><a href="mailto:rjames@dbalawyers.com.au" target="_blank">rjames@dbalawyers.com.au</a></span><span>)</span></p>
<p> </p>
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The new $500,000 lifetime contribution cap is retrospective and bad law

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<p>The South Melbourne ANZ branch premises have sold under the hammer for $5.7 million.</p>
<p>It is the latest in a series of properties owned by superannuation funds to be offered to the market.</p>
<p>CBRE managed the sale campaign for the 307 Clarendon Street property, which is leased to ANZ for a two-year term.</p>
<p>The auction for the 469sqm freehold property attracted a crowd of more than 100 people, with a total of 32 bids received from a pool of local and offshore investors.</p>
<p>Mr James said the sale highlighted a recent flurry of movement from investors looking to divest properties purchased through superannuation funds. </p>
<p>This is ahead of tax changes to be introduced next year.</p>
<p>“Some 28% of properties we have listed in November and December are owned by superannuation funds.</p>
<p>"This is with a number of these owners receiving advice that there could be significant tax implications should they continue to hold these assets in their super post June 30 next year,” Mr James said.</p>
<p>“We have started to list properties under these circumstances for the start of 2017, and anticipate seeing further stock coming onto the market all the way through to June, should the new regulation be passed.”</p>
<p>Mr Hage said the strong sale result, which translated to a yield of 3.5 percent, further evidenced the ongoing demand for quality leased assets in premium locations.</p>
<p>“This asset represented an outstanding investment opportunity, given its attractive tenancy profile and prominent position in South Melbourne,” Mr Hage said.</p>
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SMSF commercial property owners exiting the market ahead of tax changes

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<p>The NSW government has committed to the largest ever government agency leasing deal in Western Sydney, with more than 62,000 square metres of A-Grade office accommodation to be built by Walker Corporation at 4 Parramatta Square.</p>
<p>The new building will accommodate at least 4,000 public service roles, including more than 1,600 planning and environment roles relocating directly from the Sydney CBD by 2019.</p>
<p>Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Dominic Perrottet, said the development would establish a major public service base in Parramatta, the heart of Sydney’s second CBD.</p>
<p>The development will bring together around 2,500 roles from the Department of Planning and Environment, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the Environment Protection Authority, creating a Western Sydney Planning and Environment “hub” and improving opportunities for these agencies to work together.</p>
<p>Around 1,600 Department of Finance, Services and Innovation roles already located in Western Sydney will also be co-located in the new building.</p>
<p>The selection of Walker Corporation as preferred proponent followed an expressions of interest process and subsequent detailed tender phase.</p>
<p>Development approval for the site has been obtained and construction work is expected to commence in March 2017.</p>
<p>Since 2014, the government has announced the relocation of more than 4,200 public service roles from the CBD to Western Sydney.</p>
<p>This includes more than 1,800 jobs from the Department of Education, which will be relocated to 105 Phillip Street, Parramatta in 2018.</p>
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NSW government jobs bound for Parramatta Square

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<div>The latest population growth figures put an altogether different slant on Australia's assumed apartment gluts. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>In Melbourne, the risks have receded dramatically, at least for now.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In fact, with the state's estimated populated growth apparently tracking at the highest level in six decades, it would be all but impossible for the market to become 'oversupplied' until this rate of growth in the headcount slows down. </div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator"><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/29/B2.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></div>
<div class="separator"> </div>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/09/29/B2.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p> </p>
<div>Now Queensland <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">really</span></strong> went on an apartment construction mission from 2014 forth, to the extent that there is a now a clear oversupply of units in some locations, particularly inner city Brisbane, with more supply still to come online. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The latest figures show that although the glut will have an impact for some time to come, the market will right itself eventually.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Indeed, the reacceleration of population growth to +75,400 per annum is exactly what Queensland's housing markets needed to help absorb the stock, while new apartment starts are now understandably and visibly slowing to a crawl. </div>
<p><a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/09/29/B1.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a></p>
<div class="separator"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/09/29/B1.jpg" alt=""></div>
<p> </p>
<div>In Hobart, commencements have yet to pick up dramatically, despite electric growth in house prices and rents.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Because the Hobart market demands houses and not apartments, in theory the supply response should come much more quickly (apartment projects can take ages to build, comparatively speaking).<br><br>And we know from previous cycles that the market has the potential to deliver much greater supply - but to date it hasn't happened.<br><br>Developers from the mainland are not that keen to get involved, perhaps, given the logistical challenges.<br><br>I haven't been down to Tassie for a while - and I got seasick when I last went - so I have no feel whatsoever for activity on the ground. </div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">First homebuyer demand</span></strong></div>
<div> </div>
<div>I noted here previously that the 2016 Census confirmed an enormous surge in 25-34 year olds.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Due in part to housing affordability challenges, many are not yet forming households, though they might begin to do so if capital city apartment prices do ever slide in any meaningful way.<br><br>
</div>
<div>ANZ research this week suggested that there is significant latent first homebuyer demand, and ANZ believes that this could potentially keep an effective floor under prices, which is what I concluded from the Census figures back in June too.</div>
<p> </p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">PETE WARGENT is the co-founder of <a href="https://allenwargent.com/" target="_blank"><span class="s2">AllenWargent</span></a> property buyers (London, Sydney) and a best-selling author and <a href="https://petewargent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span class="s2">blogger</span></a>.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span class="s3"><em>His latest book is </em><a href="https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/Books/General-Interest/Four-Green-Houses--and-a-Red-Hotel/1015/productview.aspx" target="_blank"><span class="s2"><em>Four Green Houses and a Red Hotel</em></span></a><em>.</em></span></p>
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Australia's assumed apartment gluts

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<p>Adelaide dwelling values held over June quarter, according to CoreLogic’s latest update report.</p>
<p>The property data firm says that however the unit sector’s performance fell over the quarter.</p>
<p>For more information see the video below:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ydpoi0iHa1U" frameborder="0" width="450" height="253"></iframe></p>
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Adelaide housing market update: Tim Lawless

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<div>
<div id="m_2699586803586787203x_divtagdefaultwrapper" dir="ltr">
<p style="text-align: left;">Georg Chmiel chats with Bill Malouf about the ins and outs, ups and downs of the property market.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The legendary Sydney Eastern Suburbs celebrity real estate agent Bill Malouf and his wife Gina raised four children in their five-bedroom, three-level contemporary home. </p>
<div style="text-align: left;">The house recently featured on the TV show “Dream Home,” but the Maloufs have not always lived such a luxurious lifestyle. Their first marital home was an apartment above Auburn’s Royal Hotel, where Malouf himself served the beer.  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">In this interview, I’ll take you behind the scenes with Bill Malouf and share with you his knowledge about current market conditions. This is the first of a series of interviews I will conduct for <span class="m_2699586803586787203x_Apple-converted-space"> </span> <span>Property Observer</span> <span class="m_2699586803586787203x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>in which you will get to know some of the sharpest minds in the real estate industry today.  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Are the Market Bears Right?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">When I asked Malouf about market apocalyptic Harry Dent and his predictions that the Australian market will drop by as much as 50%, he said Dent must have gotten Australia confused with a third-world country.  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“In my opinion,” he said, “there is no chance of the residential market dropping in the Eastern Suburbs by 30, 40, or 50%. I just don’t believe it. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“There are 55,000 residents in the area that I deal with, and water surrounds us. The driving factors here without a doubt are that it is a small territory and there is no room for expansion. Have we had hiccups? Yes, but in later years we more than picked up what we had lost.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Why Are Prices so High?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">The flip-side of limited land supply is often high home prices. As the agent who sold the “Bang &amp; Olufsen” house on Sydney’s Harbour for the highest price achieved for a waterfront home at the time, Malouf knows about high prices.  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Some people are struggling to afford a home even in much less prestigious locations than the Harbour-front. Malouf pins much of the blame for high prices in his Eastern Suburbs market on a lack of listings. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“In the prime selling period last year,” he said, “the <span class="m_2699586803586787203x_Apple-converted-space"> </span> <span>Wentworth Courier</span> <span class="m_2699586803586787203x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>was 150 pages. Every other year, it was 350 pages.” Since the Courier is the local paper and a standard outlet for real estate advertising, those missing pages reveal how far the number of homes for sale has dropped. In Sydney as a whole, CoreLogic reports that sales are down 9.4% in February, compared to one year earlier. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf added, “The lack of stock is driving the market in this area. That’s what has been keeping the Eastern Suburbs market very, very, very buoyant.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Advice for First Home Buyers</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">The best salesmen really believe in their product. Perhaps one secret to Bill Malouf’s success is that he is deeply convinced of the value of property. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“I believe that paying rent is dead money,” he told me. “I have always told my children that.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf says that first-time buyers should “Go out there and do everything you can to invest in property. You can borrow money at less than 4 percent.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Even a one-bedroom unit will allow you to earn capital gains and build equity. “Over time, it could turn into a two-bedroom, a three-bedroom, and eventually a house. As long as you are paying rent, that money can’t turn into anything.“ </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf also pointed out that first home buyers have a rare moment this year in which Sydney apartment prices are flat or even dropping. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“The number of units now being developed in Paramatta, Liverpool, Alexandria, and Botany have opened the market up so much that prices have probably adjusted downwards by 10% or so.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Given that Malouf’s own first home was hardly a dream property, young buyers who complain about having to buy on the city’s fringe may not get much sympathy from him. Besides, fringe areas are undergoing rapid price appreciation. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf pointed to Redfern as one area where buyers of 10 or 20 years ago have made a fortune. “These areas have burgeoned in the last few years. Any fringe city area has got good growth at this time.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>What Happens When Sydney Gets Richer?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">If Sydney has starter apartments in surplus, it also has an abundance of high net worth individuals ― all of whom need a place to live.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Last year, Credit Suisse reported that Australia’s population of millionaires grew by 17% to a new total of 1.16 million. The number of Aussies with more than $50 million increased by 30%, to about 3,000. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">I asked Bill Malouf if the growing number of high net worth individuals in Sydney would cause “premium creep.” Would some humdrum suburbs of today become the next destination for the richest Sydneysiders in the years to come? </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">He doesn’t think so. “I don’t think there will be a new Eastern Suburbs,” he said. “Everyone knows Wolseley Road, Point Piper is one of the most expensive streets in Australia.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Instead, Malouf predicts that prices for the 235 houses on the waterfront between Double Bay and Kirribilli will reach new heights over the next 15 or 20 years. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“In 1971 the most expensive house sold on the waterfront cost $1 million,” he said. “Today that property is worth $60 million. It will be much more in another 20 years.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Dover Heights is another suburb where Malouf has seen rapid price growth. “I remember when you could be on the waterfront there for a couple of million dollars. One recently sold for $11.5 million,” he said. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Chinese Buyers</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">I’m Chairman of the No. 1 Chinese international property portal <a id="m_2699586803586787203LPlnk482484" href="http://juwai.com/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=http://juwai.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1522799160429000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFMMBbrTH0g09CvG-_ZSPbtxetliw">Juwai.com</a> <span class="m_2699586803586787203x_Apple-converted-space"> </span>and acutely aware of Chinese demand trends, so I asked Malouf what he sees in that area. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">He said that “At the top end of the market, the Asian buyer has definitely been looking at the Eastern Suburbs for the next generation.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">But he pointed to one factor that is crimping demand. “Our federal government,” he said, “has not helped us. These buyers are paying 15% stamp duty, land tax, and a portion of the purchase price for their FIRB application. Even if they don't get the house they apply for, that money is non-refundable. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“There is no doubt the laws regarding this should be changed. Why should you be denied the opportunity to earn the maximum amount of money possible on a property you or your parents had the foresight to invest in?” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">He also laid to rest the worry that foreigners are buying up everything. “There is a fallacy that Asians are buying everything. That is not correct. A lot of waterfront sales are to Australian citizens who are upgrading and not to the Chinese market.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>His Secrets to Success</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Bill Malouf is proof that many of the best business minds never went to university. What does he consider to be his secret of success? </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">For one thing, he works incredibly hard. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“In the early days, I was working from <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1320958856"><span class="aQJ">7:30</span></span> in the morning to 11 at night. We are in a service industry. There is no doubt when you are starting out that you have got to be prepared to work long hours.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Even today, when most of his business now comes to him via referrals, his most important tool is his mobile phone. “I can be sitting in New York or on the Mediterranean, and I can still negotiate deals,” he says, “as long as I take the phone call.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“If you ring most agents after 5 or <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1320958857"><span class="aQJ">6 p.m.</span></span>, you can’t get them. Agents should not turn their phone off at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1320958858"><span class="aQJ">6 o’clock</span></span>. You don’t know who might be trying to call you. It could be a vendor, or it could be someone driving home who saw a signboard and wants you to answer questions about that property.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf also credits his extraordinary productivity to learning to rely on a personal assistant. He says his “most important asset” is his PA, Sophie Beaumont, who has been with him for several years.  </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">“In the early days,” Malouf recounts, “I did everything. I sold. I managed the team. I ran the office. But I was lucky enough to discover that having a good Personal Assistant on my team allowed me to let go of some of the tasks where I was least productive and focus on my most important skills.“ </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Malouf says he believes good management requires the ability to ask others to take responsibility for things at which you are weak, so you can stay focused on the areas where you can make the biggest impact. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Even with all his success, Malouf knows that real estate is an industry where you have to really give service. “I don't turn my mobile phone off. Everybody knows that. If somebody calls me at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1320958859"><span class="aQJ">1 am</span></span>, I will answer it.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>How Does a Top Performer Relax?</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong> </strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">As former CEO of LJ Hooker, I know that top performing real estate agents seldom get a chance to slow down and recharge their batteries. I asked Bill how he fits it in. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">He said, “My downtime is the Harbour. I love the water. I have a boat, and on it I get to relax and recharge my batteries, so I’m ready to go on Monday morning.” </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">Bill Malouf’s life is probably far different than he once imagined it would be. He started out in the family business of managing pubs. But a “nasty incident” (as he says) with a knife-wielding patron led his wife to give him an ultimatum. Either he changed careers, or their marriage wouldn’t last. He made the switch to real estate soon after that. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">For Bill and his many real estate clients over the years, that dangerous incident has turned out to be perhaps one of the luckiest moments of his life.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
</div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: left;">Georg Chmiel, the chairman of Juwai, a <span>Chinese website for buyers of overseas property, was speaking to LJ Hooker agent Bill Malouf</span> in what will be a monthly insight into the leading minds of Australian property experts.</p>
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Georg Chmiel chats with Bill Malouf about the ins and outs of the market

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<p>The Gold Coast prestige market sector was impacted heavily by the GFC in 2008.</p>
<p>It only started seeing signs of improvement in late 2014 and early 2015, the valuation firm HTW recently noted.</p>
<p>Improving rapidly during 2016 and throughout 2017 with a number of large prominent sales evident at strong prices (a number of which were in the range of $9 million to $25 million) there was then a staggering $16.5 million spent in May 2017 for a large, luxury dwelling on Virginia Drive at Hope Island on the northern Gold Coast.</p>
<p>More recently, HTW have noticed a slowing of market activity with local real estate agents reporting fewer sales, increased stock levels in some market segments and reduced buyer demand with fewer enquiries from overseas buyers over the past six months after a sustained run of strong transactions, particularly to Asian buyers.</p>
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<p>"This is, however, highly segmented and the level of improvement is very property and price speci c and properties that are selling are generally still achieving strong price levels," the HTW report noted.</p>
<p>The latest HTW report on prestige housing noted the most prestigious suburbs on the Gold Coast for housing are Hope Island, Paradise Point, Mermaid Beach, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach Waters.</p>
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<p>The majority of the prestige townhouses or duplexes are located at Hope Island and have price points starting at around $2 million.</p>
<p>The vast majority of prestige units are located at Main Beach, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach with a smaller amount found at Burleigh Heads and Coolangatta.</p>
<p>The more significant improvement has been evident for established, near new, luxury housing in the prime waterfront and coastal suburbs particularly Isle of Capri at Surfers Paradise which recorded an $8.8 million dollar sale of 31 The Corso in February 2018.</p>
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<p>The market segment for luxury apartments on the Gold Coast upward of $3 million saw improved buyer demand over the past 12 to 18 months, however remains very thinly traded and sales are few andfar between. There have only been seven sales to date during 2018 with a standout sale being the Chevron Renaissance penthouse which sold in January 2018 for $9.5 million to a local buyer.</p>
<p>The two-level penthouse, situated over the 39th and 40th floors was previously used as an of office space for the developer and after the company folded, it was sold off to HomeCorp CEO, Ron Bakir for $1.2 million, who together with Sunland Group chairman Soheil Abedian took the floor space back to its shell and spent $7 million transforming it into a luxury apartment and importing Italian furniture.</p>
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<p>Other standout sales of luxury apartments include the $5.3 million dollar sale of the Xanadu North penthouse sold by Robert Graham at Ray White. This two level penthouse unit is situated over the 23rd and 24th oors providing 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom accommodation with four basement car spaces, a private indoor plunge pool and panoramic 360 degree views incorporating distant hinterland views to the west, Broadwater and Southport skyline views to the north-west, coastal views up to the Spit to the north and unobstructed beach and ocean views to the east and north-east.</p>
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<p>Robert also sold the three level, XXV Breaker Street Residences penthouse in late February for $3.05 million which comprises 3-bedrooms, 5-bathrooms, a rooftop terrace featuring a private plunge pool and four basement car spaces situated on the 23rd, 24th and 25th floors.</p>
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<p>Buyers of prestige acreage property can be very discerning and hence, not all properties receive similar levels of demand or achieve similar sale prices. Consequently, sale prices (and selling periods) in this market segment can be heavily in uenced by individual buyer preferences and speci c property attributes that will appeal differently to individual buyers. These attributes include, but are not limited to, land size, topography, views, size and quality of improvements, level and quality of ancillary improvements, vegetation, creek or river frontage and dual living potential.</p>
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<p>HTW advised the Gold Coast’s rural residential market up to one hectare has had no sales over $3 million from 2016 to date.</p>
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<p>Further afield, there have been very few recent sales for larger sized properties over $3 million and have been for more rural or rural lifestyle properties in excess of five hectares being heavily improved with equine facilities.</p>
<p>One standout sale in particular was the 9.55 hectare property at Riverstone Crossing in Maudsland which provided a 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom dwelling constructed circa 2007 on a low lying and cleared river and creek front allotment.</p>
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<p>Another well located, rural residential property is currently under contract at 173 Stewart Road in Clagiraba.</p>
<p>The property is improved with two dwellings of good quality as well as a cottage. The 14.48 hectare parcel provides predominantly low lying cleared land with frontage to the Coomera River.</p>
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<p>"We note that bank lending policies have tightened and for larger rural holdings, require substantial deposits which in turn only enables potential purchasers with stronger nancial standing to complete the sale. This has resulted in limited transactional evidence from a small pool of buyers over the past 18 months in the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim localities."</p>
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<p>From 2017 to date there have been very few larger sized property transactions and all have been within the Scenic Rim locality.</p>
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Less demand from overseas buyers in Gold Coast trophy home market

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<p>GUEST OBSERVATION</p>
<p>How we fund retirement in an ageing century ought to worry all of us.</p>
<p>But one group of us should be much more worried than the rest.</p>
<p>In a new set of <a href="http://cepar.edu.au/resources-videos/research-briefs" target="_blank">research briefs</a> published by the Centre of Excellence of Population Ageing Research, we report that most people do well out of our retirement income system and that the living standard of retirees has improved over the past decade.</p>
<p>In international comparisons, our system <a href="https://www.mercer.com.au/our-thinking/mmgpi" target="_blank">ranks highly</a>, for good reason.</p>
<p><strong>Most retirees do well</strong></p>
<p>About 60% of older Australians can afford a lifestyle better than that deemed to be “modest” by widely used standards.</p>
<p>Households headed by baby boomers reaching retirement age between 2006 and 2016 did so with incomes 45% higher than those who retired a decade earlier.</p>
<p>Typical boomer households aged in their late 60s earn almost as much as they did when they were still working - only 20% less, that is, with about 80% of their working income maintained.</p>
<p>And their needs are lower. Lower spending in retirement is common because older households need to pay less for transport, less for working clothes, and have more time to cook.</p>
<p>Many continue to save while in retirement.</p>
<p>And they tend to spend less over time, rather than more over time as <a href="https://www.superannuation.asn.au/resources/retirement-standard" target="_blank">benchmarks publicised by the superannuation industry</a> assume.</p>
<p>When we included the value of living rent-free for the 80% or more of retirees who own their own home (about A$10,000 per year on average), we found older Australians live in no more poverty than working age Australians.</p>
<p><strong>But not renters</strong></p>
<p>The living standards of those who rent in retirement are very different. Only about 15% of older renters can afford a lifestyle better than “modest”.</p>
<p>Single renters are particularly badly off.</p>
<p>Among all older people only about 10% fall below the poverty line set at half the median income.</p>
<p>Among older Australians who rent, 40% fall below.</p>
<p>Among older Australians who rent alone, it’s more than 60%.</p>
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<p><iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Oyddt/1/" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="400"></iframe></p>
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<p>If that relative poverty measure seems too abstract, an absolute dollar figure might help.</p>
<p>Alarming research aired on the ABC in September found that, on average, aged care homes were spending <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-17/food-in-aged-care/10212880" target="_blank">$6.08 per day on food</a> per resident.</p>
<p>Our research finds that among pensioners who rent alone, one quarter spend <a href="http://cepar.edu.au/sites/default/files/retirement-income-in-australia-part2.pdf" target="_blank">even less than that</a> per day.</p>
<p><strong>And it’s getting worse</strong></p>
<p>The pension has always favoured home owners.</p>
<p>On the one hand it is insufficient for renters and on the other it doesn’t cut pension payments to the owners of very valuable homes, because the value of any home - no matter how big - is excluded from the pension means test.</p>
<p>Rental assistance, introduced to complement the pension in the 1980s, was meant to alleviate this, and to some extent it does.</p>
<p>But it climbs only in line with the consumer price index every six months, which usually fails to keep pace with rents.</p>
<p>Sydney rents have doubled over the past two decades. The consumer price index has climbed 68%.</p>
<p>As a result, rental assistance is less effective in reducing financial stress than it was when it was introduced, and is set to become even less effective if rents continue to climb more quickly than the price index.</p>
<p><strong>And more of us look set to rent</strong></p>
<p>Households headed by Australians aged 35 to 44 are now 10 percentage points less likely to own their own home than were households headed by people of the same age a generation earlier.</p>
<p>They might be merely postponing buying homes until they are older as more of what would have been their income is sequestered into super and they enter the workforce and retire later.</p>
<p>If so, they might end up owning and paying off homes by retirement at the same rate as boomer households did before them.</p>
<p>If not, more and more of them could end up in poverty in retirement.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105840/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;"></p>
<p><em><strong>Rafal Chomik</strong>, Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), UNSW</em></p>
<p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/renters-beware-how-the-pension-and-super-could-leave-you-behind-105840" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p>
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