Jodhi Meare's plush Point Piper pad

Jodhi Meares, well known as the former Mrs Packer, swimsuit model and founder of the Tigerlily beachwear label, is selling her Point Piper apartment for about $2 million.

The apartment, in the converted Edwardian mansion Danmark, was purchased in 2004 for $1.23 million. It was part of the multimillion-dollar property package that formed part of Meares’ payout after the two-year marriage to James Packer ended.

Agent D’Leanne Lewis, of Laing+Simmons Double Bay, wasn't giving anything away as to who owned the beautifully renovated two-bedroom pad, but the title deeds said it all. They are registered in the name ‘‘Jodhi Kayla Packer’’.

The package also included a Paddington terrace valued at $900,000 for her mother and a house in Bronte, which Meares sold in 2002 for $3.41 million.

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Jodhi and James married in 1999 in what is said to have been dubbed, by her former mother-in-law Ros Packer, as the "wedding of the decade". With Elton John singing and more than 750 guests toasting the happy occasion, she was on the mark.

The apartment for sale has separate living and dining rooms, two bathrooms, a sunroom and garden terrace.

It has been redundant since Meares moved to Bronte, where she reportedly lives with rocker Jon Stevens.

The Point Piper apartment goes to auction on June 12.

Federal Budget Update

Budget ignored ongoing property weakness, but no major cuts to housing sector, assistance for seniors who want to downsize

THE property sector has once again missed out on Budget love with little direct relief for home buyers, sellers and investors.

The Budget’s housing centerpiece is a $112 million trial program to assist the elderly to downsize their homes without affecting pensions, via a means test exemption of up to $200,000 for ten years. It is designed to remove the disincentive for seniors to relocate to more age-appropriate housing, however, the program’s requirements that homeowners must have owned their family property for at least 25 years excludes many from receiving the benefit.

The days of federal Budget baubles such as the $21,000 First Home Owners Grant  are a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, construction industry groups expecting dedicated housing policy measures and supplyside reforms will be disappointed .

Among key initiatives they expected more incentives for potential buyers, housing infrastructure funding reform, support for building product manufacturers; support for trade training and job retention are missing.

Any government will be very careful about reintroducing the First Home Owners Scheme again or boosting it unless these is a big economic shock and a risk of the housing market collapsing by 30 to 40 per cent.

Grants had artificially inflated house prices against a backdrop of rate cuts designed to bring the dollar into check and stimulate new home starts.

Lack of any policy change will come as welcome relief to local investors who were concerned they may be targeted by the Budget axe.

Key concerns for investors have been ongoing suggestions that negative gearing benefits could be scrapped and and capital gains tax increased.

Real estate groups have also lobbied for first-home buyers to access their superannuation to purchase a property but this remained unchanged in the Budget. Despite the lack of direct federal support for housing there are some indirect benefits.

The budget included provisions for the government’s National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), which supports investment in affordable rental housing, favoring projects supporting independent living for elderly and disabled Australians.

Superannuation reforms were announced, including the gradual increase of employer contributions from 9 to 12 per cent. The change to superannuation requirements may to see an increasing number of Australian’s utilize their nest egg to invest in property.

By Balvinder Ruby

Managing Director REEX Real Estate.

www.reex.com.au

Buying Properties off Auctions

Buying and Selling Real Estate

ABS and Canstar analysis shows home loans doubled in 10 years

AVERAGE mortgage repayments have leapt by 105 per cent over the past decade but wage increases have failed to keep up.

Australians are putting much larger chunks of their budgets towards meeting their home loan costs than they were 10 years ago - some states have seen repayments climb by up to 152 per cent.

Wages rose by 54.5 per cent and inflation has climbed by 31.4 per cent.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data and figures compiled by financial services company Canstar compared average home loans over 25 years, based on the average interest of today's big four banks at 6.42 per cent.

In NSW the average loan size in 2002 was $212,400 but has risen to $341,800 resulting in the average monthly repayment increasing by 61 per cent to $2295.

In Victoria the average loan rose from $175,900 to $306,500 and repayments increased by 74 per cent to $2058.

In Queensland the loan size rose from $152,700 to $289,900 and the average repayments climbed by 90 per cent to $1946.

First Home Buyers still priced out

Housing affordability remains a problem across Australia, with many first home buyers still priced out of the market despite recent interest rate cuts.
The findings was made in the latest snapshot of the local housing market by JP Morgan, which ranks Australia  in second place behind Hong Kong for having the worlds highest house price.
Australia's recent slash of its cash rate, mortgage repayments remain high because the average loan is getting bigger and the major banks have not passed on the RBA's rate cut in fall.

As a result, potential home buyers in major capital cities were being put of plunging into the property market.
In some of the major markets , such as NSW and western Australia, over half the people who want to buy can't because they can's afford to.
While first home buyers were put off by high house prices, existing property owners looking to buy were wanting to downsize to smaller properties.