Four reasons to invest in property
Date: 13/09/2010
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Investing in property is an effective wealth creation strategy that tens of
thousands of Australians use to get ahead financially. While managed funds,
shares and stocks also offer opportunities to grow your wealth, some experts
point to real estate as your best bet in the current market.
There are plenty of reasons to invest in property, including the fact that
you're buying a tangible asset - bricks and mortar - which will be always be in
demand. Stocks and shares, on the other, can lose all of their value in a day;
we've all heard the horror stories, and in fact some of us have experienced
them first hand.
But people will always need a place to live, which makes property a more
attractive option. There are four more compelling reasons why we should be
browsing the real estate listings, according to Brisbane-based Grow Consulting
Group.
Receive dual income
Unlike other forms of investment, property provides two streams of income,
explains Ayda Shabanzadeh, managing director of Grow. "When you purchase a
property at today's market value, while you hold the investment it is likely to
increase in value over time, due to a favourable demand versus supply
situation, a strengthening economy, inflation and population growth," she says.
"However, you don't need to sell the asset to make money. You can continue to
earn income while you hold it, through rent - a great source of passive
income."
Leverage your risk
Property is a low-risk investment option when compared to shares and stocks,
which are heavily linked to the national and global economy, and can be
extremely volatile. "Property is much easier to leverage when compared with
other investment options," Shabanzadeh says. "Banks are generally comfortable
to lend more for property as they recognise it as a low-risk investment option,
and they're also confident that they can recoup the cost should they need to."
Maximise your tax refund
An investment property is tax deductable, so the Australian Taxation Office
(ATO) will allow you to claim a tax deduction for most of the expenses you
incur when buying and managing an investment property. If you experience a
financial loss - meaning that the annual costs of owning your investment
property exceed the annual rental income you receive - you can offset these
losses against your income tax.
"This is a strategy known as negative gearing," Shabanzadeh says. "Normally, you
receive this tax amount back at the end of the financial year when you complete
your tax return, but it is also possible to receive this money in your regular
pay: in other words, you can receive the tax saving during the course of the
year to provide better cashflow."
Long-term rewards
"While property values sometimes fall slightly in the short-term, over the long
term, it always increases [in value] as demand for housing will continue to
grow," Shabanzadeh explains. "It is also less stressful as investors don't need
to keep up to date with daily share markets - they simply hold their investment
and reap the rewards."
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