With concerns about building construction quality in the ACT becoming more prevalent, those buying a new dwelling or constructing their own may increasingly look to statutory warranties and insurance schemes for protection. However, the recent case of The Owners - Units Plan No. 3115 v The Trustees of the Master Builders Fidelity Fund Scheme FCA 115 (The Owners -...

Paul Corazza is no stranger to real estate. He’s just marked his 26th year in ‘the biz’ and has sold 1508 properties worth close to half a billion dollars. That’s more than one a week, every week, for 26 years on average. Paul, the Principal at Independent Gungahlin, remembers his first sale as clear as if it was yesterday. It...

A leading Canberra real estate principal says first home buyers will have a better shot at home ownership in the new financial year. McIntyre Property founder Col McIntyre says the new rate of concession on stamp duty that comes into effect on July 1 will be welcomed. Stamp duty is a transactional tax which adds to the cost of buying...

Vantage Strata’s remarkable growth over its four years in existence is a part of the evolving Canberra story about how we choose to live, and the need for more professionalism and expertise in managing the increasing number of multi-unit properties that more and more are calling home. Vantage's partners saw the changing landscape and a gap in the market, but...

When Jasmine Henjak left high school in 2002, she didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living. She decided to take a year off and make some money, while pondering life. Then, out of the blue, she landed a job in real estate and her future became crystal clear. That was in 2003 and Jasmine has been in...

The Personal Properties Securities Act 2009 (PPSA) came into effect on 30 January 2012, providing regulation for personal property that is used as security, and clear reporting of security claims by creditors over particular goods and assets. As a result, the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) was established. The PPSR makes it easy for consumers to check if an item...

Each quarter, David Robertson, Head of Economic and Market Research for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, keeps us updated on the state of the ACT economy with a quarterly market update drawing on statistics from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and Real Estate Industry of Australia (REIA). October to December, 2018 quarter Happy New Year!...

Deciding to subdivide a parcel of land is the easy part, it's what follows that can be tricky, with many hoops to jump through, and costs and conditions to be met. Meyer Vandenberg's Property Commercial & Finance Team takes you through the process and answers the key questions. What is the purpose of subdivision? In NSW, any plan that creates new...

You’ve received your annual rates from the ACT Government but are puzzled by the ‘unimproved value’ figure. What does it mean exactly? How does the government calculate it? How often is it revised? Should you even care? "These are all good questions," says real estate agent Ryan Broadhurst, from Belle Property. "One thing is for sure, you should take note...

It seems simple enough. You want to erect a fence to give you privacy and keep the kids and pets safe when they’re playing in the backyard. You pitch the idea of a common-boundary fence to your neighbour and immediately run into problems. Your neighbour doesn’t want one and they certainly don’t want to contribute to paying for one. What...

Canberrans love a good auction, with many ACT home owners choosing auction over other sales methods to sell their properties. In addition to driving competition between potential buyers, an auction provides the opportunity to truly test what the market is willing to pay – rather than relying on assumptions of value. This can be particularly useful in a volatile market,...

On 7 June 2018, an amendment to the ACT Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (ACT)(the WHS Act) was tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly. If the amendment passes the Assembly, it will come into force on 1 January 2019 and impose new Work Health and Safety (WHS) obligations for Canberra construction companies running projects worth more than $5 million. The Work Health and...

Property development in Canberra is booming, with a swag of new land releases open to the public over the past few years, and new developments popping up right across the territory – from Tuggeranong to Kingston, Braddon, Belconnen and Gungahlin. It’s exciting times for many Canberrans, who have had the opportunity to secure never-before-lived on land, or snap up brand...