Property market expectations for 2025 

property market

It’s always fascinating to explore how property prices might move over the coming year. While short-term price fluctuations aren’t particularly relevant for long-term investors, this kind of analysis can be incredibly useful for those planning to sell or buy property in 2025.   Last week, I joined James Kirby on The Australian’s finance podcast to dive …

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Investors: Potentially save thousands of dollars by repaying principal and interest

P&I or IO?

Historically, I’ve often recommended that people repay interest only on investment loans. This approach offers two key advantages: However, interest-only loans now come with a drawback: higher interest rates. On average, the big 4 lenders charge a 0.26% p.a. premium for interest-only loans compared to principal and interest loans. For some borrowers, switching to principal …

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What important matters must you consider leading up to retirement?  

retirement

If you’re thinking about retiring in the next 5 years, it’s likely that you’ll need to make some key changes, either now or over the next few years. What specific changes are needed, depends entirely on your financial situation. However, there are several common areas that everyone approaching retirement should consider, which I discuss in …

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When should you sell an underperforming investment?  

One of the most challenging aspects of investing is figuring out if you should sell an underperforming investment or whether to hold and be patient.   We’re often told to track investment returns closely and sell investments that aren’t performing. But the reality is, some investments just need more time. Charlie Munger, the legendary investor, famously …

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Maximising property returns: minimise holding costs while maximising growth 

property

When it comes to property investment, many investors strive to strike a balance between the income and the capital growth a property generates, hoping to maximise both.   However, I have written a lot about the fact that the income from a property, after expenses, probably won’t help you achieve financial independence. It’s the power of …

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Jumbo property investing: Is it worth the risk?  

property

The average investment loan size stands at just over $600,000, which means that half of all investors borrow more than this amount to acquire an investment property. However, in my experience, most investors tend to spend less than $1.5 million on a single investment property.   It’s important to note that many individuals own more than …

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Avoiding costly mistakes: Choosing the right property ownership structure  

property structure

Changing the ownership of a property is typically cost-prohibitive. This is mainly due to the potential stamp duty and capital gains tax liabilities that can arise.   Therefore, it’s vital to carefully consider the ownership structure right from the start. Once you’ve made that decision, it is likely that you will have to live with the …

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Smart strategies to manage the cost of personal insurances  

insurance

Personal insurance premiums for products such as income protection, life insurance, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance, and trauma insurance have seen significant increases over the past decade. It’s not uncommon for these premiums to rise anywhere from 5% to 30% each year.  Insurance is essential when the financial risk is too great to ignore. …

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