The Real Estate Blog of Mr Mark Forytarz

Great article from The Age regarding the rise of rental property as an option for investors, here is an extract:

Following the dismal performance of shares and super funds, many older investors are likely to have a renewed appreciation for the value of a reliable income stream generated by investment properties.

Super funds have posted their worst returns since super was introduced in 1992, with default funds falling, on average, 13 per cent for the year to June 30. More aggressive “growth” funds have lost about 20 per cent.

Baby boomers in particular, hit hard by these losses and the freezing of redemptions on mortgage, property and fixed-income trusts, are likely to be considering the merits of a rental property over which they can exercise their control.

Read the full article here: http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1247337200890&index=NationalIndex&headline=The%20return%20of%20rental%20property

Interesting article over on domain.com.au regarding the state of the rental market in Sydney. Here is an extract:

The rental market remains as tight as ever in Sydney’s most affordable suburbs, offering scant relief for tenants, a report says.

Despite the flood of first-home buyers who have stopped renting, figures published today by SQM Research show the number of houses for rent in the western suburbs is shrinking.

In Liverpool and Bankstown, vacancy rates were 1.6 per cent in June and had not eased in the past year, SQM said. This bucks the trend across Sydney, which has the nation’s highest vacancy rate of 4 per cent, fuelled by young people exploiting record low interest rates and buying property.