Parramatta has been trying to be Sydney’s second CBD for decades. Today it genuinely claims to be that, and it’s done that by having a massive program by re-urbanising its city centre.
In my experience, I would say that these are actually the slowest approval times for both rezonings and development applications that I have seen in two decades.
The initiative does not cost the Government anything, as they are not outlaying cash… it’s simply a guarantee. Provided the risk is reasonable or better and the younger borrowers have reasonable employment prospects or better, it can work very well, in terms of getting more young people into the market.
Australia’s attitude and actions towards COVID-19 has been on the whole hyperbolic. It really is time for us to lift our head out of the sand, recognise the value of skilled migrants and look to move forward with a vibrant, inclusive and prosperous economy and country.
If you are considering buying a new house with land, or just a plot of land by itself, remember that land goes up in value over time whilst dwellings lose value through depreciation. So, the bigger and more expansive the land you purchase, the better the long-term prospects for capital growth, should you decide to sell in the future.
Given the bulk of Australia’s population lives in just six major cities, those centres will continue to have solid price growth – at least in the short term. Even with locked borders, ex-pats are comping back with millions of dollars and either thinking ‘Let me settle in Australia, or invest in Australia.’
There’s now more regulation and more bureaucracy to help with the bottlenecks but unfortunately we can see the approval times going in the opposite direction to the desired faster timeframes.
Regional migration will be short-lived. There needs to be further investment in regional areas if they are to become genuine hubs of activity and business – a place people choose to live long-term.
Land developers can take land that is not appropriately zoned and rezone it for a multiplicity of market-based uses, including shops; homes; commercial and industrial facilities.
Inadvertently or purposefully, it appears that nearly all of Australia’s local governments seem to have a real issue with density, with developers having to navigate a myriad of height and asset class conditions, depending on where or what they wish to build. This not only makes for a far more arduous process, it also makes some areas simply uneconomical to build in.
Young investors may want to consider this type of investment because it allows them to benefit from yields and capital growth in the property growth, with a much smaller entry-level point for the investment.
We have a system that needs to very much be seen as being equitable, fair, transparent and all of those things as much as it is doing those things. It tends to be more concerned with the outward appearance of process than with the results it delivers.