News and Media
7 November 2011
Safety First
Money Magazine has profiled property as a less volatile and longer term investment option.
Many Australians have faith in property, believing it provides relatively strong returns coupled with relatively low risk. It’s not that property prices never fall – in many areas they are doing so now – but to date we have not seen them engage in the wild swings that share prices have experienced.
There have been many overseas pundits predicting our house prices will collapse because they are too high, but a limited supply and increasing demand means this is unlikely to happen in the short term.
Our relatively high employment level has also underpinned some stability in house prices, although unemployment has edged up.
It’s a buyer’s market for residential investors at the moment, and that may continue for some time. This doesn’t mean you can buy any property and its value will rise. It is still important to choose growth areas and properties with nearby amenities – such as transport, shopping, schools, recreation and lifestyle facilities – so they will always attract tenants. Remember that an empty property is not making you any money.
One type of property investing that does not have this problem is that offered by the Defence Housing Australia.
Quality property in locations with long-term growth potential, the security of long leases, usually nine or 12 years and rental guaranteed by the Australian Government are just some of the attractions of DHA housing for lower-risk investors, says Tony Winterbottom, general manager, sales, marketing and portfolio management with DHA.
A feature of the leases is DHA Property Care, an extensive range of property-related services provided in return for a fee of 16.5% for houses and 13% for units. This service enables the portfolio to be managed and maintained to a high standard and the investor benefits from receiving minimal phone calls about management issues and bills for repairs and maintenance. Rent is reviewed annually to market value and each property is restored at the end of the lease.
DHA has properties in most capital cities and major regional centres with Sydney, Canberra and Townsville among the highest tenanted areas.
“We are continuously building and acquiring properties to ensure we’re meeting Defence housing needs,” Winterbottom says. (See www.invest.dha.gov.au for details.)
Reproduced with permission. Money Magazine. http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/money-mag
For further information contact communications@dha.gov.au