As part of our occasional series commenting on property valuation practices and standards in Australia, we have contacted valuation industry specialists and researched the legal implications of valuation negligence.

We are pleased to receive permission to publish this article from John Murdoch, Professor of Law.  

Abstract

This paper addresses the legal liability of valuers to mortgage lenders for professional negligence, in cases where the property market has fallen subsequent to the date of the mortgage loan. (more…)

The State Government has confirmed that WA’s declining property market has hit rock bottom, with property activity last month falling to 16-year lows.

According to the State’s official land information authority, Landgate, activity in the local market remains at record lows in terms of property-related document searches and applications including land transfer documents, mortgages, caveats, subdivisions and strata title lot creations.

Landgate’s Business Activity Profile for April, released today, showed a total of 22,758 documents were lodged, a drop of 15.4 per cent from March when 26,893 were received. (more…)

Households south of Perth are now among the worst in Australia for home loan defaults, and the situation is only getting tougher for WA homeowners.

Recent data from various reputable sources indicate that the South-West of WA was currently either leading the nation or fighting for a podium position in terms of long-term mortgage delinquencies – mortgage-holders running into arrears by 90-plus days.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s bi-annual “Financial Stability Review” from March, which analysed the nation’s finances up until January 2011, suggested the South-West was experiencing unusually high arrears rates as compared to the other parts of Australia. (more…)

Automated valuation model provider Veros Real Estate Solutions makes the case for the use of analytical technology in determining the value of real estate owned portfolios in a white paper published this week.

“It is surprising that investors still lack fundamental information regarding the core risk-drivers within the real estate portfolios being analyzed, given the turbulent market of the past three years; the plethora of regulatory directives relating to transparency and analysis; and the substantial time and resources dedicated by those investors to improving their portfolio and risk management applications,” the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company writes. (more…)

A successful Pennsylvania program that helps unemployed workers make their mortgage payments could be revamped to help underwater borrowers, according to a report by economists at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

The report shows that the state-run bridge loan program has a high success rate in allowing carefully screened borrowers to remain in their homes until they find a new job.

While Pennsylvania has not been hit with large drops in property values, the Fed economists suggest the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program could be revised to require lender/servicers to reduce the principal amount of the mortgage to help underwater borrowers. (more…)

Find Australia’s top 100 rental yield suburbs listed here.  This data includes the suburb, state, median price, bedrooms and dwelling type. Find rental yields from 7.30%  to 14.00%.

This report was produced with live listing data (rental and sales) from major property websites in Australia by Real Estate Investar.

Real Estate Investar have attempted to create it as accurately as possible by only publishing those results with high enough rental sample sizes. This data is calculated at a dwelling type and bedroom level. (more…)

The bigger they are, the harder they fall in the struggling Gold Coast highrise market. Amid the slide in apartment values, recent re-sales reveal the “sky homes” in Surfers Paradise supertower Q1 have taken one of the biggest dives.

Property records show sale prices in the 80-level tower have plunged by up to 30 per cent since it was completed in 2005.

Apartments on Q1′s higher-priced upper levels have copped the biggest falls in market value. (more…)

Two more developments have fallen victim to Perth’s lacklustre property market, with apartments in a city skyscraper and a beachfront complex going into receivership.

Receivers KordaMentha have been appointed to 43 of the 138 apartments in the Elevation tower, developed by Sydney-based Quadwest Developments.

It is understood the developer had failed to sell the apartments in the tower quickly enough to meet loan repayments with the Bank of Scotland. (more…)

What’s happening on the Sunshine and Gold Coast apartment markets is a mirror image of what happened in the housing markets in the southern and mid-west states of the US. And it provides a valuable pointer to answer the two questions that plague so many Australians: What could cause an abrupt end to the high level of Australian dwelling prices? Or, put another way, how do we maintain or increase Australian prices? (more…)

It seems to be cool to be a bear. For the contrarians among us, that in itself is a concern. However, for once, we will side the majority view, heck, even The Australian Financial Review appears to have taken an entirely somber view about the Australian residential property sector.

Robert Harley, writing the influential Chanticleer column (Tony Boyd is on leave), yesterday stated “nearly every housing indicator in the country is pointing down. New housing finance is 30% below the first home frenzy of 2009. Housing sales have dropped, with leading Ray White Real Estate recording a 16% decline in the value of houses last month…at the same time, the number of houses and apartments for sale has soared.” (more…)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101 indicates steady population growth.  But what it does not reflect is the demand for residential housing versus aged care accomodation in the future. 

From 2022 onwards 1.37m baby boomers will start moving from residential accomodation into aged care accomodation.  As a result housing supply will increase significantly and housing demand will not match the supply.  House prices are likely to fall…..  (more…)

We are launching the Real Estate and Property Forum and you are invited to join in.

Express your opinion or passion about property. Have your say.  You are welcome to post comments or questions.  

Currently we have on average over 100,000 visitors p.a. to our site and growing rapidly. 

Here is the new forum http://www.australian-real-estate.net.au/investing/forum/ 

The forum is user friendly and easy to navigate.   (more…)

Back in 2006 Australia and many countries worldwide were experiencing an economic boom.  Consumer confidence was high and property prices were only heading one way, and that was up.

Upon reflection there is clear evidence of buyer and seller irrational exuberance.  Sellers and buyers are often emotional and everyone accepts that.  No argument there.

However what the boom and bust cycle has highlighted, are the flaws in the property valuation process.  (more…)

Perth’s property market became a year year of two halves for buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in 2010.

The first six months saw prices rising, following on from a strong end to 2009, only to be followed by a slump in the second half, in what some agents called the worst conditions in 10 years.

But, as always, property is all about numbers, and 2010 was no different.

Analysts RP Data recently released (more…)

With so much speculation about residential median price growth rates and market spruikers predicting future growth in Australia we thought it was worthwhile crunching some stats from RP Data.

Now depending on where you live and where your investment properties are located, this will shed some light on the big picture.

What growth has occured in each capital city over the last 10 years. Some capital cities look set for growth and other locations have probably reached thresholds of affordability and peaked.  (more…)