Australia, land of opportunity for property buyers   Australia has one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world. Since the 1950s the ‘Great Australian Dream’ has been a freestanding home on a ‘quarter-acre block’ (0.1 hectare) of land. With population densities rising in the major Australian cities, acreage of this size is now increasingly rare, but the principle of the dream remains intact. Of course, not everyone can afford to buy their own home, so rental markets around the country can be very competitive.   Like other developed economies, Australia has been affected by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. In many countries this has led to a sharp decline in property values, but at the time of writing Australia has fared better than most. There are several factors behind this, including relatively prudent lending criteria, net immigration rather than emigration, active Government stimulus in the form of the First Home Owners Grant, comparatively modest levels of unemployment and a general reduction in the cost of borrowing. The fact that home ownership is a central pillar in the Australian economy also gives it a degree of protection. For all these reasons, property purchase should be high on your list of things to consider when – or even before – you arrive in Australia.   Buying property to live in A general nervousness among domestic buyers means that you may have the opportunity to secure a better property than when complete confidence returns to the market. Having said that, demand for mid-priced property remains strong in the inner-city rings of most state capital cities. The fact that there isn’t much available land to increase supply will very likely translate to rising prices despite the overall downturn.   The First Home Owners Grant, while it remains in force, offers an additional reason to consider buying property in Australia, offering potential assistance of up to $24,000 plus stamp duty exemptions of up to $18,000.   Buying property as an investment Cashed-up investors with a long-term strategy should ignore any negative sentiment to secure some well priced investments. The unusually small gap between rent and mortgage, less than 1% in some cases, translates to a net cost of less than $5000 per year on a $500,000 property. It rarely gets better than that! Previously, properties were costing investors up to $20,000.   The need for expert advice As with other major decisions, it pays to get expert advice from professionals experienced in local conditions. Empire offers an Australia-wide end-to-end solution that locates, negotiates and renovates properties to its client’s exact specifications. We could have a property ready for you to move into on your arrival in Australia! For a FREE book, The Effortless Empire: The Time-Poor Professional’s Guide to Building Wealth from Property, written by Chris Gray a leading property expert who provides comment on TV and in a variety of print media. Visit the Empire website or call.   Information supplied by Chris Gray CEO, Empire Telephone: +61 2 9994 8944 Website: www.yourempire.com.au