NRAS, or the National Rental Affordability Scheme, is currently making the rounds as the property investment buzzword of choice around work place water coolers and a growing segment of the press. Amidst this ground swell of interest, there appears to be a correspondingly high level of misconceptions as to what NRAS is and how exactly it works. As a consequence, most budding investors are missing out on low risk and low cost opportunities as their first foray into the property market. Here are the top 3 misconceptions surrounding NRAS.

1) Rental affordability scheme? Sounds like public housing to me!

- If it were public housing, it wouldn’t need investors besides the government! It is social housing. Housing that is provided to anyone eligible person under a certain income threshold at a 20-30% discount to market rates in order to ease rental pressures on family budgets. These may be young working families, essential service professionals such as nurses, firemen and police, as well as graduates fresh out of university and wishing to live close to their first professional workplace. Or how about retirees who aren’t quite ready for a retirement home? This is a scheme about ethical, social investment that also happens to pay dividends. Win Win.

2) Aren’t they overpriced BECAUSE they are NRAS?

- Not at all. Most reputable agents representing developers of approved NRAS properties will never jack the prices up on an NRAS property compared to an identical one without NRAS. The key here is to deal with a reputable, ethical agent who is transparent about their dealings and processes.

3) Sounds too good to be true, aren’t there lots of higher fees for property management and the like?

- Not going to lie here, the fees are higher for property management as prospective tenants will need to be screened so as to comply with the eligibility legislation. The good news is that’s NOT A PROBLEM!

The difference is a drop in the ocean compared with the grant of just under $10K per year for the upcoming financial year, a difference of less than $1000 in most cases to be exact. If you choose the RIGHT property, even with the reduced rental income, you’re still very likely to be AHEAD compared to a similar, non-NRAS property by around $5000 or more per year. In fact, it makes certain properties cashflow positive, not costing you a cent per year to hold and enjoy the capital gains over the long term.

So with these myths out of the way, you must be asking, ‘Well where the hell do I find these NRAS properties?!’ They don’t exactly grow on trees and the savvy snap them up within weeks and sometimes days of release.

So where are the best performing places to invest in NRAS from a balanced cashflow and capital gains point of view?

One location is Brisbane and its surrounds including South East Queensland.

But didn’t prices plummet after the floods of late 2010? Yes they did, that’s a GREAT thing for investors, as the old adage goes, buy low, sell high. Although the prices have come off their 2008-09 peaks, the underlying fundamentals of restricted supply and growing demand still apply. According to the Queensland government’s planning white papers Brisbane is set to pip Melbourne as the second largest city in Australia by 2030.

And did I mention the $134 BILLION in infrastructure spending already being deployed across South East Queensland all the way out to 2030?

The lion’s share of this spending will be on the major growth corridors in all four directions surrounding the city of Brisbane, as well as within the inner city areas itself. New rail extensions, motorway upgrades, service spending, new schools as well as private investments such as shopping centres and venues will create over a hundred thousand new jobs over the next decade in the Brisbane area to cater for the growing population.

The hot areas are around Ipswich to the west, Caboolture and its surrounds to the North, Pimpamma – Coomera to the South and the inner Brisbane suburbs of Fortitude Valley, Newstead, Windsor and Bowen Hills.

The optimal strategy would be to pursue 1 to 2 bed apartments in the inner areas where the entry price points are reasonable and the rental returns high. In the outer areas such as Redbank Plains near Ipswich, 3 bed + house and land will provide the astute investor with the best trifecta of price, yield and capital growth.

For example, you can land yourself a premium 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath, 1 Car, apartment 3km from the city centre and within a 3 minute walk to the station for a litte over $350,000. The property rents out at $380 pw. Depending on your tax situation, that is already cashflow neutral, NRAS will make it cashflow positive.

In the mood for a nice big slice of the Australian Dream as your investment? House and land packages featuring quality fixtures and finishes can be had from $360,000 and rent for $350 – $400 pw. Or if you’d like more of the same but a 5 minute walk from some of Queensland’s envied beaches? They start at $409,000 on a large block and currently rent for just under $400pw. The only problem would be that YOU might be tempted to move there instead!

All of these properties are sound investments in their own right, NRAS is just the icing on the cake.

Whichever part of South East Queensland tickles your fancy for your next investment property, Find Investment Property’s inhouse NRAS specialist and his network of contacts can help you choose the right property to best achieve your investment goals whilst minimizing your risk profile when looking for a Brisbane NRAS property.

After the QLD government came out last year advising the boost was not going to be extended past the original deadline of 31 January 2012, however things obviously changed over the Christmas break and they have now decided to extend the grant by 3 months. The reason for the extension is due to the poor take up rate over the first 6 months with only 3700 applications being submitted.

I’m not sure why they have only extended it for 3 months. I would have looked to keep it in place for the whole year. Now that they have extended it 3 months, I wonder if they will extend it again if there is still budget for it or if it fails to perform to the expectations of the government.

The new end date for the QLD Builders Boost is no 30 April 2012.

Queensland is certainly going through tough times at the moment but there are some really good buying opportunities around Brisbane that many people are dismissing. Brisbane is at the bottom of the property cycle and is showing all the right signs of great capital growth in 2012, 2013 and beyond.

If you are considering a new apartment in Brisbane, I highly suggest reviewing what is available and taking action in securing your new apartment… and don’t forget… you’ll get the $10,000 Builders Boost Bonus!

Fortitude Valley is one of Brisbane’s highest growth suburbs due to its proximity and link between the Brisbane CBD, Brisbane’s popular northern suburbs and the affluent riverfront suburbs of Teneriffe, Newstead and New Farm.

Fortitude Valley is renowned to be the premier entertainment and lifestyle precinct of Brisbane, and now developing into a key city fringe office precinct with a critical mass of white collar employees.

Our attraction to the Fortitude Valley has never been stronger. The area is now experiencing a boom in development of new apartments and commercial offices unlike anything before. Billions of dollars are being poured into urban renewal and new highrise projects across the Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley and Newstead areas.

Many consider buying a new apartment in Fortitude Valley. Below are 5 reasons why Fortitude Valley is becoming so popular for property investors looking to buy off the plan apartments in Fortitude Valley.

Why is this happening? A few reasons below could explain why:

1) Trend: We all know that the Valley is now a ‘trendy area’ to be in. Officially, it is Brisbane’s designated ‘entertainment district’, and Australia’s first entertainment district protected under legislation to remain this way.

2) Locality: Not only is the Brisbane CBD waterlocked by the Brisbane River, but it is one of the smallest in Australia in terms of land area. This has lead people to see the Valley as an opportunity to extend the CBD, a plan which is supported by the Brisbane City Council as a way to energise the area during the day. Already, we have seen numerous companies relocate their offices to the Valley/Newstead area. Leighton, Aecom, Arup, Energex, Watpac, Cardno, RPS, Fujitsu and many Brisbane City Council departments have recently moved into the Valley in recent years.

3) Changing Demographics: The days of owning a large house in the suburbs are numbered, as younger demographics are opting to surround themselves with nearby amenities. This as well as investment from Asian buyers are contributing to strong demand for one and two bedroom apartments, particularly in the Valley where developers have recorded strong sales.

4) Undeveloped: Given the close proximity to the CBD, the Valley could be said to be largely undeveloped. Unlike neighbouring suburbs such as Kangaroo Point and Spring Hill, apartment development has been slow to take off – until now.

5) Transport: The Valley is home to above-average public transport in Brisbane. The area has access to rail, city cat and bus services, with the high frequency City Glider being a recent addition to this. The Valley’s grid road system will also make it easier in the future to provide Light Rail transport through the area

If you are looking to buy new apartments in Fortitude Valley then check out the qualified new apartment listings on Find Investment Property.

Brisbane has won the race to the bottom with Adelaide to become the cheapest mainland city to buy a house, with median price plummeting 6.7 percent in 12 months for the year ended September 2011.

It seems discounting is rife in Brisbane; so just what does it take to sell a house in this market? In other words what is the amount the seller has to discount with ‘time on the market’ and on this score the findings that Brisbane houses need to drop 9% are an indicator of the price collapse.

While the national median home price has now fallen for five successive quarters, making an even worse stretch than during the global financial crisis in 2008, Brisbane has gone from boom to gloom, reversing years of steep growth in its property market to lead the downturn with a 2.7 percent decline in the quarter.

Brisbane achieved the tile of Australia’s cheapest mainland capital with a median house price if $429,339 compared with Adelaide’s 4445,585.

Demand for rentals this year increased due to the January floods leading to a rise in yields. Yields for apartments are 5.2 percent, up 10 percent for the year, while rental yields for houses are 4.9 percent. Many buyers were clearly spooked b the January flood and the scrapping of Queensland’s stamp duty concessions for owner-occupiers. Investors will no doubt be alert to a price recovery thought 2012 as the Queensland economy improves, backed by a return to full production of damaged banana and cane fields in North Queensland and increased activity in major resource projects.

Population growth slowing, but still above average.

Queensland’s population growth rates lower in as international migration and interstate migration eased.  However, at 2.4% in the year to December 2010 it remained above the longer term average of 2.3%.

Despite slowing, net international migration remained very strong at 53,265 people.  Natural growth also remained very strong at almost 40,000 people, again well above average.

While expectations are for immigration numbers to continue to slow, the population growth may well be buoyed by increasing interstate migrants as the mining sector takes off again. However, this is more likely from 2012, onwards.

The number of first home buyers (FHB) continued to decline, although at faster rate than expected. This group of buyers to remain relatively weak over 2H, 2011 given the changes to stamp duty and that as a contributing impetus earlier this year.  However, the rate of decline should slow.

As mentioned the existing owner occupiers were the biggest surprise in terms of decline. Full time jobs in Queensland rose by almost 35,000.  Volatile consumer confidence may have resulted in major decisions being put off.

Brisbane’s property market, which is bearing the scars from the end of the first home buyer’s grant boost last year, marked falls in interstate and overseas migration and the summer floods, is among the weakest of all Australian state capitals.

While the headlines on property prices invariable fall on Melbourne or Sydney, there is a unique aspect to Queensland in that its economy and population are so spread out. Queensland is the most regionalized economy in Australia with a number of substantial regional cities: Bundaberg, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns etc.

Brisbane and its surrounding areas are adjusting. January may mark a turnaround in Brisbane’s flagging property market, but there is no sign of conditions improving before then, according to leading economic forecaster BIS Shrapnel.

Their forecast reflects a sluggish start to the spring property season, as households are wary of taking on more debt and potential home buyers hold out for interest rate cuts.

Brisbane may not have major stock shortages and may still be suffering from the natural disasters earlier in the year but will benefit in due course as the state economy gathers pace as a result of the resources boom in that state. The level of building approvals in Queensland this year for new houses or refurbishments was the same as the level in the last six months of last year, indicating a stagnant market. It is expected that it will take another good 12 months of low construction for a deficiency in new dwellings to build up and for vacancy rates to drop and rental pressure to build before it starts having more significant affects on the market in 2012/13.

In the June quarter, according to the REIA, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Hobart all failed to deliver any growth in house rentals  Apartment rents fell in four of the eight capital cities and flat-lined in two others.

On the Gold Coast, which has a surplus of everything from warehouses and offices to apartments and house-and-land packages, prices have shown negligible growth for the past four to five years. In some suburbs, prices have fallen. Many who bought apartments off the plan five years ago find they are today worth considerably less than they paid. In Surfers Paradise, the median price is less today than it was in 2006. That will not change any time soon.

The Milton will offer a mix of Retail, Commercial and Residential Apartments over 30 storeys.

The building will comprise of 298 Residential Apartments in one and two bedroom configurations from Level 3 to 30 as well as commercial office space on level two and ground floor retail tenancies and a promenade which will be integrated with the Milton Train Station.

The Milton will offer contemporary 1 and 2 bedroom apartments reflective of the cosmopolitan attitudes driving urban living. These new apartments will offer either private balconies or courtyards and a choice of design and layout, each unique and complementary. The generous open floor plans make any of the dwellings a great location choice for investing or living in.

The Milton has been designed by award winning architectural firm DBI Design, with careful consideration to the surrounding environment. Each apartment will have a sense of space with floor to ceiling glazing maximising natural light and capturing city, river or suburban views.

The Milton apartments will feature inclusions such as air-conditioning, stylish kitchens with European appliances and reconstituted stone benchtops, interior designed bathrooms and covered balconies flowing effortlessly from the living areas.

Residents will also enjoy exclusive access to an array of onsite facilities including a leisure deck, pool, sauna, gym, residents room, a selection of barbeque areas and a roof top observation deck. The residential facilities are to be located on Level 6, capturing the amazing views while entertaining friends by the pool.

For those thinking about investing in a new Brisbane apartment, considering The Milton is certainly worthwhile. This development is located right next to a train station and is only moments away from the Brisbane CBD. If you wish to find out more detailed information about whats available at The Milton, including viewing floor plans, finishes schedules, rental assessments, depreciation schedules and pricing, please visit Find Investment Property to find out more about The Milton Apartments.

We recently travelled to sunny Queensland for work and to see what the property market is like there.

The trip started in the Gold Coast for a few days with a review of the apartment market along with the townhouses and house and land packages further inland. There is a huge supply of apartments along the golden beaches of the Gold Coast and those that have bought off the plan in the last few years stand to lose a lot of money. They have purchased at the top of the boom cycle in a secondary market which has fallen heavily. Some property investors have lost millions!

While the apartment market is hurting the inland properties are still performing relatively well with townhouses and house and land packages remaining popular among investors and demand for these properties has increased as the growth corridor between Brisbane and the Gold Coast continues to expand.

Upon further review of Gold Coast projects including House and Land packages, Townhouses in Pimpama and New waterfront apartments and lake homes in Varsity Lakes near Bond University, we made our way up to Brisbane. What a fabulous place!

We stayed right in the heart of the city – on Mary Street. Something random we noticed are the street names – All the female street names are all parallel to each other and all the male street names are all parallel to each other too (running perpendicular).

Anyway, putting the well named street aside, we drove to different areas of Brisbane to see what the development and growth is like in those areas. So many great buying opportunities in Brisbane it was hard not to feel excited. The market is certainly at the bottom (or very close to it) and hasn’t been the flavour of month for many years. Lots of gurus in the industry who we met with thought that the Brisbane market would have taken off earlier in the year but this was delayed because of the floods.

It was quite eye opening to drive down the streets where the floods were and try and fathom what it would have been like – it’s very hard to comprehend. All those who worked to help each other following the floods did a fabulous job and the appreciation and gratitude is very apparent when talking to those who were affected. There is such an energy in the city and the fringe suburbs that’s it makes any visitor feel very relaxed and at home.

The food there is also amazing! Not sure I can say the same about the coffee I had but it’s very hard to have everything perfect! We found this little hole in the wall (actually in a basement) that came highly recommended from a website we looked at while we were there (nowadays what isn’t searched on the internet??!) and found an Italian place called the Verve Cafe. Very reasonably priced and it was PACKED on a Tuesday night, we had to wait 10 mins for a table. The food was spectacular – especially their slow roasted tomato sauce. In fact, it was so good we went there for dinner 2 nights in a row! Highly recommended.

Ok back to property -  we visited some developments in Newstead, West End, Dutton Place, Albion and a few others. Each of them on the fringe of the city and have so much to offer. Whether there are city views or views of the river or the exquisite heritage listed buildings, there is something for everyone.

If you are interested in the Brisbane market or looking for something with great value, let us know – we have some great new apartments in Brisbane worth considering!

The Government is introducing changes to transfer duty to stimulate the new house market and building industry.

Assisting Home Owners

The Government has a record of introducing measures to make housing affordable to increase supply to make how ownership possible. These measures have included abolishing mortgage duty and stamp duty for all first home buyers purchasing a home under $500,000. Following the global financial crises, it has been a tough period for the housing market. The housing sector is also a significant generator of jobs and Queensland needs more houses being built for the future.

Queensland Building Boost

To help assist housing affordability, supply and construction job, the Government is delivering a $140million stimulus for the housing industry.

For six months from 1 August this year (2011) any Queensland buying a newly constructed home or signing a contract to build a new how will get a $10,000 grant from the state government for properties valued up to $600,000.

For First Home Buyers this will mean they will pay zero stamp duty for properties under $500,000, zero mortgage duty and receive a full $17,000 with the $10,000 boost.

The grant will be available to people building a house, buying a house and land package or buying apartments or townhouses off the plan.

To be eligible for the grant, the contract must be made between the 1 August 2011 and 31^st January 2012. For contracts to build residence, building must start within 26 weeks of the contract being signed with the contract specifying a completion date within 18 months.

South Brisbane is an inner city suburb of Brisbane located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, directly connected to the central business district by the Kurilpa, Victoria and Goodwill bridges.

Modern public transport services include suburban train stations at South Brisbane and South Bank and South East Busway stations at Cultural Centre, South Bank, and Mater Hill. CityCat ferry services link South Brisbane to other riverside suburbs.

Its population is estimated at 4,800.

The South Brisbane precinct is earmarked as an urban renewal area under the South Brisbane Riverside Plan and the suburb will continue to see both residential and commercial building flourish.

The area has rapid growth over the last decade and will continue to do so as demand for inner city living continues. The Brisbane City Council has also established the River City Blueprint, to ensure the correct infrastructure and town planning is put in place to meet the demand for the inner city

The rejuvenation of the South Bank parklands, coupled with the increasing profile of neighbouring West End, is attracting an increasing number of visitors and residents to the area and is thus pushing both rents and capital growth higher.

Also located in the suburb of South Brisbane are the Mater Hospital, the State Library, and the Queensland College of TAFE and Hospitality. Schools in South Brisbane are Brisbane State High School, Somerville House and St Laurence’s College. This type of infrastructure helps create a suburb that is in demand for any type of tenant profile ensuring you are maximising your rental returns.

Furthermore, South Brisbane also represents the central hub for arts activity in Brisbane, housing the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Maritime Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, and the Queensland Museum.

There are a number of new apartments for sale in South Brisbane that are available now while some are still to come to market. One of the more successful developments of late is The Capitol Apartments in Peel Street, South Brisbane. The Capitol Apartments are located 500m from the Brisbane CBD in the heart of South Brisbane. It is a boutique development containing only 77 apartments. These 1 and 2 bedroom apartments make the perfect investment for those looking to buy a new apartment in South Brisbane.

We have available other South Brisbane apartments which we are unable to mention as it is an off market opportunity. This is also a boutique development situated only 800m from the Brisbane CBD. Estimated completions of these new apartments are in mid 2013. To find out more about these new apartments in South Brisbane which start from $367,000, please view our main website for South Brisbane Apartments.

What happened? Where did all the people go?

Queensland (and the other states) today is still feeling the aftershock from the GFC. The drop in interstate migration has really hurt the property market in Queensland. In the year to June 2005, Queensland had 94,000 new residents of which about 30,000 where from interstate. Today Queensland adds the same number of residents however only 9,000 are from interstate and the rest are from overseas. Why does this matter? Well an interstate visitor is likely to buy a home when they move to Queensland while an overseas visitor is likely to rent. So this puts significant more impact on the rental accommodation putting rental values up but hinders the growth of the property value in the short term.

So why is there less of a market for interstate migration to Queensland today than there was a few years ago? The major influencing factor was the GFC. Today, in the Post GFC environment, it is risky to sell your house, buy another and find a new job. Those that thought about moving are staying put. It is the safer option for now.

Three to five years ago there was also a much larger gap in property prices between the major cities. This meant that those thinking about migrating to the sunshine state were encouraged as their dollar went further in the Queensland housing market. This isn’t the case anymore with Queensland property prices (Brisbane in particular) catching up with the other major cities. There has also been a lot of negative sentiment in the media about home prices falling in Queensland, especially in secondary markets such as the Gold Coast and Cairns where Baby Boomers are not buying anymore. In many cases property values have halved leaving owners in a desperate position to sell and walk away with losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases.

Having said all this, I can see that a turnaround in Queensland property will occur first with the major centres such as Brisbane and Ipswich while secondary markets such as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Cairns may still remain in limbo for a few years to come.