The budget has kept the first home owners grant in place which is good news despite the REIA wanting the grant increased. …“The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) failed in its desire for the federal government to enhance the first-home buyers’ scheme to stimulate the housing market.

“One of the most effective housing policy instruments in assisting first home buyers is the first-home owners’ grant, but it has been allowed to lose more than half its value relative to purchase prices since it was introduced in 2000,” REIA president Pamela Bennett said before the budget. When the FHOG was introduced in July 2000 the median house price across Australia was $220,443. It is now about $521,230.

The REIA noted first-home buyers had been cautious during 2012, with the number of first-home buyers as a percentage of total owner occupied housing commitments decreasing to 17.2% – down from the long-term average of 20.2%.

The REIA is urging the government to review the amount currently provided.

Bennett suggests with more than two-thirds of first-home buyers preferring established housing, it is essential the scheme continued to apply equally to buyers of new and established home”.

Article source: Property Observer newsletter

By Jonathan Chancellor
Tuesday, 08 May 2012

There were usually at least 250 convicts hutted there. They slept on bare boards with a blanket apiece, 10 men to a box or cell. One of the two official floggers was later found murdered. A few artefacts remain from this period, such as some convict graves, a powder magazine, the convict-built Towrang bridge and numerous culverts charted on an information billboard at the Towrang rest area.

The rest area is on the south side near a well-preserved bridge that is thought to have been designed by David Lenox, the impressive designer of early bridges in New South Wales.

The stockade is on the north side of the Highway. There are the remains of the powder magazine next to the Wollondilly River, three graves on the north bank of Towrang Creek and the remains of a weir on Towrang Creek built for the stockade.

Aboriginal stone tools have also been found on the banks of Towrang Creek, indicating that this was a route well-travelled long before Hamilton Hume came this way in 1818.

The Argyle Apple (Eucalyptus cinerea) is a silver-leaved eucalypt that was named for the local Argyle County. Its main occurrence on the planet is in the Marulan, Towrang, Bungonia and Windellema areas. Its striking silvery leaves are one of Goulburn’s unique export items sold in the cut flower markets around the world.

Koalas were all but wiped out in the Goulburn region during the Great Depression. Many landholders shot thousands for their fur which was used in the lining of mink coats in the USA. For decades they were thought to be extinct locally, but some Towrang residents recently discovered small numbers surviving among the ribbon gums, cabbage gums and river peppermints that dot the wooded creek lines in this beautiful valley. Today stands of these nutritious trees are being planted on private farms to help the koalas increase their numbers again.

Source:  http:// www.igoulburn.com/Towns-and-Villages-in-Goulburn-region-Australia/Towrang.aspx

Have you experienced the ritual and commerative dawn service, Goulburn does each year. The details for attending…

ANZAC Day in Goulburn will begin with the Dawn Service which will be held at the Remembrance Wall in Belmore Park (Auburn Street, Goulburn). A Memorial Service at the War Graves Section of Goulburn General Cemetery will follow.

There will be an Anzac Breakfast service at the Goulburn Soldiers Club for those who have attended the Dawn Service

Commemorative Church Services will be held at both St”s Peter and Pauls Old Cathedral (Catholic) and the Cathedral Church of St Saviour (Anglican).

The ANZAC March will then assemble between Clinton and Addison Street before commencing along Auburn Street. At the conclusion of the March the Main Commemorative Service will Commences at the Remembrance Wall, Belmore Park.

ANZAC Remembrance Library and Museum located at Mulwaree High School will also be open in the afternoon.

For further information please visit the Goulburn Visitor Information Centre website.

Let’s face it: hundreds of thousands of investors are attracted to property because of the tax breaks. According to the Australian Taxation Office, more than 1.1 million people claim negative gearing deductions yearly and receive tax benefits to the tune of $5.5 billion.

Having a negatively geared property allows you to deduct an investment loss from your income, including your salary, but it shouldn’t be seen as a panacea for a dud investment choice. There are smart ways to use negative gearing, yet there are also hidden traps that can catch out the unwary and those who don’t research thoroughly.

If you borrow to buy a house or unit and the expenses are greater than the income, you are negatively gearing. The ATO gives you back a percentage of this loss, to the extent of your marginal tax rate (that is, if you pay tax at 37 per cent, you’ll get back 37 per cent of the loss).

Fledgling investors often seek advice about whether they should use a negative gearing strategy. But negative gearing and positive gearing are not ”strategies”; they are terms that describe a cash position.

An investor’s strategy needs to centre on the investment fundamentals, such as selecting the right property in the right area. How to fund it is a separate issue.

For most investors, though, the financial returns rely on long-term capital growth, so the total capital growth must cover the upfront cost of the property, all the holding costs and other fees, such as council rates and stamp duty.

Negative gearing gives you a tax break while you wait out the 10 or 20 years needed to achieve good capital growth.

It’s vital at the onset that you find a balance between your cash flow and your investment.

You need to decide early whether you’re comfortable paying a $30,000 or a $15,000 shortfall out of your personal cash flow each year.

Also, consider what will happen if you lose your job or your partner stops working.

The risks of negative gearing can be the difference between a good night’s sleep and lots of tossing and turning.

The structure you use to hold a property affects tax, too. A property held in a family trust can’t claim any negative gearing benefits because a trust isn’t a tax-paying entity.

You can tap tax benefits by forming a hybrid discretionary trust, in which a family trust is established alongside a unit trust. But the most common and beneficial structure for investors is to use an individual title to hold property. It’s here that the benefits of negative gearing are most prevalent, especially if you’re paying the top marginal tax rate of 45 per cent.

Another trap to watch out for is using negative gearing for property held in a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF).

Negative gearing is typically not suited to DIY super because the tax on income is 15 per cent or less.

In fact, the income tax paid on an SMSF can fall to nil, depending on the phase the fund is in. Capital gains tax is discounted by one-third then taxed at 15 per cent within the fund, which is another reason negative gearing should be avoided.

Negative gearing is often derided for inflating property prices. Critics regard the preferential tax treatment of investment property as middle-class welfare that should be scrapped.

Is this going to happen? Don’t put any money on it. No government that wants to stay in office will change negative gearing.

The stark fact is that there are 1.1 million voters who provide five out of every six rental properties in Australia and they expect a tax break to do the job.

Source: Domain Property Newsletter

This delightfully charming regional city has many rural homes surrounding it. Take your pick, choose acres or land with a home, a productive farm, or a bush recreational block. Whether you are looking for a farm for serious farming, or a hobby farm for lifestyle purposes, Goulburn has it all.

Goulburn has a lot to offer. There are many services, health and community centres, cinema, theatre, art galleries and antique stores, to name a few. Small businesses and a number of government departments offer a range of employment opportunities.

Major shopping centre, Centro located in Auburn Street is a major shopping centre for the Goulburn region with Coles, Kmart and over 50 specialty shops. Goulburn is also known for its street shopping and is abundant with cafes, gift and clothing shops. A new Target store has recently opened and a large new Bunning’s hardware is opening soon.
Choice of schools. There are approximately 17 schools and 7 childcare centres located in Goulburn. Mulwaree High School and various primary schools and child care centres are located within 20 minutes.

Recreation abounds. Goulburn has approximately 27 parks covering nearly 2% of the total area. There is a heated swimming pool, cycling racing track, sports fields, basketball courts, show grounds and walking tracks.

Only 55 minutes from Canberra, just over 90 minutes to Wollongong, the South Coast and its beautiful beaches.  You can also drive to Sydney airport finding only one set of traffic lights and taking just two hours from Goulburn.

This delightfully charming regional city has many rural homes surrounding it. Take your pick, choose acres or land with a home, a productive farm, or a bush recreational block. Whether you are looking for a farm for serious farming, or a hobby farm for lifestyle purposes, Goulburn has it all.

Goulburn properties:

http://www.franklinrealestate.com.au/property-search/?property_type=&price_min=&price_max=&bedrooms=&bathrooms=&suburb[]=GOULBURN

More here, search by surrounding villages:

http://www.franklinrealestate.com.au/property-search/

First recognised as a settlement in 1825, Taralga was established as a village in the 1860s and has preserved and protected its unique building style up until today. Buildings from the 1860s to the 1890s were built from stones and rocks gathered locally rather then quarried. The result is an architectural style somewhere between Georgian and  Victorian, with larger windows and grander constructions than settlers enjoyed in other parts of the country.

The Historical Museum is housed in the former Methodist Church and is open for visitors. The grounds contain some fantastic historic buildings, displays, demonstrations and archives that tell the story since the pioneering days.

Taralga boasts a range of specialty shops and excellent eating so make sure you plan a trip to Taralga which is located on the Tablelands Way touring route from Goulburn to Mudgee and beyond.( www .visitupperlachlan.com.au/page31.html)

Taralga is a popular place for rural retreats, hobby farms and full scale productive farming.

Taralga is renowned for primary production traditionally cattle and sheep grazing now supporting newer ventures of wine, lavender and olives. It is ideally situated just 30 minutes from Goulburn, Australia’s oldest inland city.

The historic town of Taralga, with its wide tree-lined streets, and charming old buildings utilising local materials creating a special warmth and charm.  Its dress circle location is in one of the states fastest growing regions, approximately 2.5 hours from Sydney or Wollongong, 1.5 hours from Canberra.

The Goulburn district (30 minutes away) has excellent education and medical services and a very proud tradition of industry and rural production which all contribute to the local economy. The improved highway system from Sydney or Wollongong ensures that you arrive relaxed and ready to appreciate

Currently we have three properties for sale in the Taralga area one within 10 minutes of Goulburn and the others close to Taralga and the Abercrombie River.

http://www.franklinrealestate.com.au/property-search/

http://www.franklinrealestate.com.au/311254/  Nyoka, Taralga Road, Goulburn NSW

Realestate  com.au has the biggest national market share of any real estate website around the world, according to data compiled by its former chief executive, Simon Baker. Each month, 3.8 million unique users visit the website, which is 17% of Australia’s population. Baker has published a list of the top real estate portals ranked by the percentage of a nation’s population the websites reached.

Luxembourg’s athome.lu was second at 15.4%, or 100,000 people, followed by Belgium’s immoweb.be, which reached 14% of Belgium’s population with 1.4 million users.

Countries with much bigger populations congregated at the bottom of the list. Websites like China’s soufun.cn have 13 million users but only reach 1% of the nation’s huge population. The list only includes the top real estate website in each country.

The list used numbers from Google Ad Planner’s January 2012 figures. It was published on propertyportalwatch.com by Baker.

Full article here http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/industry-news/realestate.com.au-has-highest-share-of-any-real-estate-website-in-the-world/2012041154221?utm_source=Property+Observer+List&utm_campaign=6e1aeb34fe-April_12_20124_10_2012&utm_medium=email

Article By Alistair Walsh on Property Observer.

Franklin Real Estate markets properties for sale on Real Estate.com.au -  reaching potential buyers.

 Here is this weeks feature property “Shady Gums”, Taralga

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-nsw-taralga-7414401

The developments will take advantage of an eight per cent increase in Goulburn’s median house price in the past year and a 20.5 per cent rise over three years.

Smart Property Investment magazine this week also named Goulburn as among the top 50 centres to invest. The ‘investment hot-spots’ were chosen based on population growth, demand for housing, income level, employment, vacancy rates, previous capital growth and current gross rental yields.

Bathurst and Muswellbrook also featured among the NSW regional towns chosen by a panel. Recently released land valuations reveal a slight increase in residential values in Goulburn Mulwaree. Goulburn Mulwaree Council conditionally approved a 112- lot subdivision at Mary’s Mount at its December meeting.

Local firm, Mount Properties and an adjoining owner are developing lots ranging from 705 to 2046 square metres on the northern side of Marys Mount Rd (near the Middle Arm Rd intersection) across three stages.

The site takes in the former boarding kennels and will be named Merino Country Estate. The development is one of the largest in the area, joining the Belmore Estate, Mistful Park on the corner of Crookwell and Marys Mount Roads and the large Monastery Gardens Estate.

All up, the council is expecting 1700 blocks to be developed at Marys Mount. Up until now, most have been concentrated on the southern side. However planners told a recent meeting they’re receiving more applications and inquiries for lots on the northern side.

Mount Properties consultant, Greg Todd of Southern Region Land Engineering, said his client had done his research.

“He did his homework on the interest from the Canberra market. He’s been very specific with the lot layout,” he said.

Mr Todd told the Post he’d been working in Goulburn for the past nine years, but set up his own here business in mid-2011.

“During that time, the huge housing demand of 2004/05 has dropped off to a steady flow and you see subdivisions like Belmore Estate ticking along nicely,” he said.

“The demand is still there for small size lots rather than the larger ones (2000 square metres), which is an awkward size.”

The development was approved subject to revised staging and reworking of the internal road network, especially connections to the adjoining land. Meantime, Ganter Constructions has started road work on its Mistful Park estate.

Director Basil Toparis did not wish to comment on whether he still intended the originally planned 220 lots. A concept plan lodged several years ago with Council also included a 15- acre commercial development near the Marys Mount and Crookwell Rd corner, which included a small supermarket. It’s not clear whether this component is going ahead.

Kenmore subdivision

Elsewhere, the council last month also conditionally approved a 20-lot residential subdivision at Kenmore Hospital, lining Taralga Rd.

However the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has yet to sign off on the development. Consultant Alf Lester, of LFA Pacific Pty Ltd, said the site owners would maintain and restore nine existing houses and build 11 new homes along the strip.

The new houses would complement the current ones in terms of setback. Landscaping and uniform fencing are also planned.

The project is designed to raise funds for developing the rest of the Kenmore site. However at this stage the NSW Heritage Council has not approved a master plan, submitted by Mr Lester’s firm last year.

It contends there is insufficient information about development of buildings with high heritage value. Approval of the master plan also affects the Taralga Rd houses but Mr Lester is hopeful of a breakthrough by the end of the month.

He said it was difficult to provide information at this stage on individual building use, as the Heritage Council required. Like the chicken and egg scenario, parties interested in leasing or buying parts of Kenmore Hospital were unlikely to do so until a master plan was approved.

“We’re preparing a best case scenario of what development will take place, which we’ll soon be lodging,” he said.

Mr Lester told the Post the owners could either call for expressions of interest in construction or directly enlist a developer.

In other parts of Goulburn, the council is hoping to open up more housing development around the Shannon Drive area (near Ridge St, west Goulburn). It is awaiting approval from the NSW Department of Planning to reduce lot sizes from two hectares to 2000 square metres, complementing nearby areas like Bonnett Park.

ARTICLE BY LOUISE THROWER

18 Jan, 2012   SOURCE:

http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/a-city-of-hot-spots/2424117.aspx?storypage=0