Dinah Lewis 28 MAY 19

A $1.2 billion deal to secure the infrastructure needs of two priority development areas over the next 45 years has been made between Queensland government, Logan City council and nine property developers.

The deal will ensure necessary funding towards local roads, water and sewerage facilities for the two development areas Yarrabilba and Greater Flagstone, both located roughly within a 55-kilometre distance from Brisbane CBD.

The nine developers include Lendlease, Villa World, Mirvac, Peet, Pioneer-Fortune, Celestino, Pacific International, New Beith and Gittins.

• A Liberal win in the Federal Election means no changes to Capital Gains Taxation or Negative Gearing. More importantly the unsureness or nervousness surrounding the proposed Labor changes have gone away.
• APRA Scraps 7% Loan Buffer – The largest impediment to adding to your property portfolio has been APRA’s requirement for banks to assess your ability to repay your loans using a rate of 7%. APRA have recognised this is no longer a valid position to take. Banks are now allowed to set their own minimum buffer. However, they still need to test if a borrower could service a loan assuming a rate 2.5% higher than the lending rate applied to the borrower. For most Silverhall clients, your current interest rates on your own homes and your investment properties will be between 3.90% to 4.25%. In my mind the most significant change to the existing restrictive lending criteria
• RBA signals Rate Cut - Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has given his clearest signal yet that interest rates will be cut next month (June 2019). Most banks and analysts have been predicting one or two rate cuts this year. However, such a forward looking statement by the governor is very positive. The market is also expecting the banks to pass on all or most of any RBA rate cut which means an immediate improvement in your borrowing capacity when you combine it with APRA’s elimination of its buffer

What do we think this means for property? We believe this will have a significant improvement in confidence, with the ability to borrow more for investment. And, a reduction in the amount of your interest payments. This will lead to a positive effect on demand for property with upward pressure selling prices.

Council progresses North Ipswich Reserve Stadium plan
Darrell Giles May 16, 2019

Ipswich City Council will commit $10 million to redevelopment of North Ipswich Reserve Stadium, subject to equal contributions from both the Queensland State Government and Federal Government, and other conditions.

The Growth and Infrastructure Committee heard that a stadium upgrade – with a 20,000-30,000-seat boutique rectangular facility – would bring enormous social and economic benefits to the city and South East Queensland.

“North Ipswich Reserve is the premier sporting facility within the City of Ipswich. Council has been investigating the upgrade of North Ipswich Reserve since 2000. The stadium upgrade can bring great social and economic benefits to the City of Ipswich. It is proposed that the stadium upgrade will allow entry of Ipswich based soccer and rugby league teams into the national competitions,” the report said.

More than 1,800 additional people already call Ipswich home in 2019.

Darrell Giles May 10, 2019

The Ipswich population is closing in on another significant milestone with surging growth across the city. More than 1,800 additional people now call Ipswich home in 2019, taking the total population to 219,890. That represents an equivalent annual growth rate of 3.34 per cent and an annual change from the same period last year of 4.61 per cent. Ipswich had previously topped the 210,000 mark in the January-March 2018 quarter.

April 25, 2019

WORK will begin within weeks on building the multi-billion Queen’s Wharf development set to transform the Brisbane cityscape.

Australian-based global construction giant Multiplex has been awarded preferred contractor status for the major components of the $3.6 billion tourism precinct in the CBD.

It will include the main integrated casino resort building with its eye-catching arc-shaped facade overlooking the Brisbane River and the iconic 100m-high Sky Deck with 360-degree views of the city.