Blog

Welcome to the Onyx Blog. This is where we review and comment on recent developments affecting property investors. We also provide information on investment strategies, mortgage finance and legal issues appropriate to different situations, for example, if you are self employed or approaching retirement. You can also subscribe to our blog via RSS or email.

NAB Residential Property Index turns slightly positive

The NAB Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey in the December quarter has turned slightly positive as the pace of national house price decline slows and rental growth accelerates. We summarise key findings and provide full report.

Thousands of Australians Missing Out on ‘Second Home Owners Grant’

Thousands of potential property owners are missing out on a Government ‘Second Home Owners Grant’ worth up to 15 times the First Home Owners Grant because the media have ignored it, and the Government has failed to promote it. Property expert and author Ruby Janssen estimates an incentive she has dubbed the ‘Second Home Owners [...]

Newspaper Gets It Wrong on NRAS

The other day I read an article in The Age which I found quite interesting. The premise of the article was that the banks have conspiratorially created a ‘blacklist’ of buildings and that as a rule banks across the board refuse to finance all NRAS properties, which is entirely incorrect. By its own admission its [...]