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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
This year has been hailed as “the year of the property investor” by one industry group, as it points to low interest rates and strong median rental yields.
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Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers' executive director, Joe Sirianni, said that interest rates are now below rental yields in many areas and will attract investment.
Looking at Australian Property Monitors’ (APM's) statistics (Rental Yield Report) Mr Sirianni pointed to yields that ranged from 4.25 per cent (for Melbourne houses) to highs of 6.22 per cent (for Darwin units), comparing them with the currently available 4.99 per cent fixed rates.
“These kinds of figures are a rare treat for property investors, particularly in a capital city,” Mr Sirianni said.
“With interest rates at low levels, strong rents, low vacancy rates and a shortage of rental properties in some areas, there’s a lot for property investors to be excited about.
“Now that people can access their self-managed superannuation funds to buy property, and first home buyers have retreated from the market, 2013 is increasingly shaping up as the year of the property investor,” he said.
Currently, houses in Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, and units in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Darwin have yields above the potentially lowest available fixed rates.
APM predicts further upward movement in rental yields, making the opportunities even more attractive.
However, interest rate lows are less certain, with economists predicting a maximum of two more cuts or that the rate cutting cycle has already bottomed.
