Article:  Houses in Australia "The big deal of a property".

It is said that the biggest investment Australians will make in their lives is the purchase of a house. The majority of  Australians by the age of 17, already have a foot out the door of their parent's home, or are intending to leave and share an apartment with a couple of friends.  In this period, some of them will change address many times including the cities, in accordance with the jobs offered.

Some of them, will start saving money to buy a car or plan to buy a house.  Buying property in Australia has became very easy, since the government started offering a "First Home Buyers Grant". If a person has saved a 10% deposit on the value of the property and a steady job, the banks will finance the mortgage. Many cases exist, where two or more friends buy a property in partnership to get profits in the short term reselling the property. With the profit shared between them, they go solo, each one purchasing their own property.

These financings are known as Mortgages, and are offered directly to the public by most Australian banks. The average Australian mortgage is for 25 years with repayments often being cheaper than a normal rent. The Australian interest rates are currently sitting at 5.25% (Feb, 2004).  The interests are adjusted periodically by the banks in accordance with the market. Each bank has the freedom to charge interest at different rates, so it is a great idea to shop around for the best rates before signing any contracts.

 Also, in accordance with your financial possibility, you may be able  to refinance part or the whole debt. You can pay higher installments each time you have an excess of money in your pocket, which will  decrease the debt and the period it is paid off in.

Properties in Australia went through a boom in 2003 with houses increasing in value somewhere between 10% and 55% in just one year. How are you going to earn that much? Real Estate agents and other experts in the market are advising caution before selling your home to purchase another one. In some cases, if you take longer to buy something else, you may have to increase the amount of money that you want to spend, due to the rapid acceleration of the market. Also, some experts are advising that interest rates will rise in the next 5 years or so.

Another important thing to be aware of, is that certain small cities may present a negative growth due a closing of a factory, lack of medical assistance and other factors. This can represent a loss to you if many people sell their properties and leave town. This is rare, but it is important to be aware of it.

To have an idea of the size and importance of the housing market in Australia,  a person who initiated the purchase of a property at 23 years of age, when reaching 35 years of age, will  have repaid approximately half of the debt, and by 40 years of age practically the entire debt. The result is that by settling the property earlier, you will be able to get another mortgage, by re-mortgaging your first property.

By retirement, you can have  paid off two homes with a market value superior to one million dollars. Who Knows?!

Important Notice: yesaustralia.com has changed in January 2007 into a newer and more comprehensive  website  www.portaloceania.com The English version on the new website is not completed yet, so we recommend you stick with this one for a while.