Tuesday, January 31, 2012

2012 - The year ahead


Welcome to 2012! I hope you had a chance to have a break and spend time with family and friends. Time Brown CEO of our Aggreagtor group has enlighted us with some thoughts for 2012.

"As you know, it's been an interesting start to 2012 with America showing positive signs of recovery and China continuing to grow (albeit slightly slower than in prior years), but still ahead of analysis's predictions. Europe continues to struggle with its sovereign debt burden and there is really no magic solution. This will be a long term issue and will continue to act like an anchor for rest of the world's growth.

So what does all of this mean for Australia and more importantly for you as a business owner? 
Firstly, rates will probably come down further but the banks will absorb most of the decreases with the increase cost of funds. Unemployment will more than likely rise in the short term as Banks, Manufacturers and Retailers come to a conclusion that their revenue will not meet budget for at least the coming year and in response will shed up to 10% of their work force. On the positive side both Queensland and WA still have strong growth in mining and will look to absorb a lot of the job losses. On the housing front there is still a shortage of housing supply with an estimate that there will need to be another 100,000 homes built to meet current demand, hardly an indicator of a housing bubble. Do not expect a lot from the Federal Government as they continue to show very little leadership in the current climate, especially now they have lost the support of a couple of key independents. Consumer confidence is the key and there are a number of survey's over the next few weeks t hat will give us an indication of how the general population feels about the year ahead. This could give us our strongest lead to what people's attitudes to buying property in the coming year will be. Certainly early indicators are that Sydney and Melbourne are shown signs of growth in the property market."

Tim Brown - CEO Vow Financial Pty Limited


Monday, January 16, 2012

Newsletter - Jan 2012





Equitimax Pty Ltd




Equitimax Pty Ltd


Dear Robert,

January 2012






We head into the New Year with some uncertainty about what lies ahead, with the risk of another recession building in the United States and European Union.
Amid this uncertainty comes the good news of interest rate cuts. When the Reserve Bank gave us the early Christmas present of a 25 basis point rate cut, it marked the first back-to-back monthly cut since April 2009. The December reduction alone will save the average mortgage holder - with a $300,000, 25-year mortgage - about $47 a month. With more interest rate cuts predicted in the coming months, this will surely help us start the New Year with a smile.
In this issue of the newsletter we look at the topics of home valuation, renovating to sell and the pros and cons of selling your home by private treaty or auction.
Enjoy this newsletter and feel free to pass it on to family and friends.
Kind Regards,

John McLennan & Robert Ward
Directors - Equitimax Pty Ltd





John McLennan & Robert Ward

Equitimax Pty Ltd
PO Box 929
Chatswood NSW 2057

Tel: 02 9411 5322
Mob: 0401 956 667
Fax: 02 9411 5200







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The Year Ahead

With so many mixed messages going around about the state of the economy, we thought it was time to look at what the statistics tell us. Here's a round-up of the latest research on the Australian property market (sourced from SQM Research and Genworth's Home Grown Mortgage Industry Perspectives report)

Click here to read the full article.














Put a Price on Your Home

How do you go about finding out the true value of your home? You might not want to go to the expense of hiring a qualified property valuer, but you are worried about the accuracy of relying on market appraisals from real estate agents or online property price reports.

Click here to read the full article.


















Renovate to Sell

Renovation is one of the ways you can differentiate your home to attract buyers in a slow market, but you need to do your homework to ensure that renovating before you sell is worth the time, effort and money. Renovation, whether major or minor, is no guarantee that you'll be able to ask more money for your home.

Click here to read the full article.














Private Sale or Auction

Selling your home via auction or private treaty is never an easy decision to make. Your real estate agent may have a strong opinion about which is the better option so be sure to quiz them about the reasons for their preference. It might also help to look at auction clearance rates in your area as market conditions can influence the success of either sales method.

Click here to read the full article.









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Disclaimer: This newsletter is intended to provide general news and information only. Readers should rely on their own enquiries before making any decisions regarding their own interests. Please do not rely on any part of this newsletter as a substitute for specific legal or financial advice. All material is copyright 2012.

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