EMANILA REALTY

Is the recession over?

Oct 6, 2009 Daily Reads, Interest Rates Leave a comment

Australia’s Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens was reported to have told a Senate Committee that the recession was over and tipped of a rise in interest rates.

Is the recession really over?

Although job ads in Australia are reported to have increased recently, still unemployment in the US increased again to 9.8 percent in September with 263,000 jobs reportedly lost. Unemployment in EU also increased in August to 9.1 percent.

Meanwhile, it would be interesting to see how the banks will respond to the RBA assessment. It was not very long time ago when the major banks raised rates on borrowings.

Updated 6 Oct 2009, 5:00pm - The RBA lifted interest rates by 0.25 percentage points which pushed the cash rate to 3.25%. If the commercial banks do not absorb the rate increase, this will add about $45 to monthly repayment on a $300,000 mortgage.

ACMA steps up education campaign for real estate agents

Sep 15, 2009 Daily Reads Leave a comment

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that many real estate agents in Australia are unaware of the requirements of the Spam Act (Spam Act 2003) and the DNCR Act (Do Not Call Register Act 2006).
In order to rectify this lack of awareness, the ACMA has stepped up an education campaign which was started [...]

What does a 0.15% increase in interest rate mean?

Aug 27, 2009 Interest Rates Leave a comment

We ask this question because as I was watching this morning’s news, one finance commentator said that a 0.10% to 0.15% increase in variable loan rate would mean something like $300 – $400 a week.
I find that incredible. The commentator was probably referring to the gross repayment amount and not the resultant increase in [...]

Real Estate and WordPress

Aug 25, 2009 Web Management Leave a comment

Many real estate agents have of late realized that to take a step above their competition, they need to develop (and to some, re-develop) their sites to take into account the flexibility of integrating their listing with social bookmarking sites.
Undoubtedly, WordPress is a favorite for the job as it is reputed to be one of [...]

Big First Home Owners Grants to end next month

Aug 24, 2009 Homeowners Specials Leave a comment

The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) which has given property buyer and sellers a bonanza will soon see a mad rush to meet the deadline.
The FHOG, extended another three month after its original 30 June expiry date following the 2009 Federal Budget, will finish 30 September.
People who enter into contracts on or before 30 September [...]

50% savings on stamp duty in NSW

Aug 24, 2009 Homeowners Specials Leave a comment

Don’t forget that the 50% off stamp duty on all newly built homes will apply only until 31 December 2009.
The 50% discount on stamp duty is part of the economic stimulus plan of the New south Wales Government to help all eligible buyers of newly built homes up to $600,000.
The stamp duty discount starts from [...]

Philippine Properties Online website re-opens

Aug 23, 2009 Advertising & Promotions, Featured Leave a comment

PhilippinePropertiesOnline.com re-opened yesterday sporting a new look. The Philippine properties website is “an easy, do-it-yourself way to buying, selling, renting and promoting Philippine properties” using the popular blogging technology.
Real estate agents, developers, owners, renters, or just anyone interested in buying, selling, renting or investing in Philippine properties can join and post their ads or comments.
To [...]

First home buyers receive at least $14,000

Nov 18, 2008 Homeowners Specials, Trends 1 Comment

The Australian Government’s announcement of a First Home Owner Boost is a welcome news.
According to the announcement from the Commonwealth, first home buyers now receive an automatic doubling of the First Home Owners Grant to $14,000. First home buyers building their first home receive an additional $7,000 raising their grant to $21,000.
As with other grants, [...]

Mixed trends in global house prices

Sep 21, 2008 Daily Reads, Trends Leave a comment

According to the latest survey of house price indicators, there appears to be mixed trends on global house price movements. In most countries in Europe, major real house price falls occurred during the year to end of Q1 2008. Ireland had a fall of 13.2%. US prices were also reported to have declined [...]