Latest news with #RealEstateInstituteofQueensland
7NEWS
5 hours ago
- Business
- 7NEWS
Queensland's new home buyer scheme under fire over mortgage stress risks
A 'nation-leading' home ownership scheme has been defended by a state government amid concerns it will lead to more mortgage stress. Treasurer David Janetzki highlighted the 'boost to buy' plan when he handed down the first Queensland budget under a Liberal National government since 2014. It featured $8.1 billion in housing funding that included what was described as the country's most generous shared equity scheme. Janetzki promised 30 per cent equity in new builds and 25 per cent in existing homes of up to $1 million for 1000 Queenslander s. The scheme will cost $165 million over the next two years and applies to singles earning up to $150,000 and couples up to $225,000. Janetzki said the move came after concerns a generation of young people were giving up on the dream of home ownership. 'We're trying to send a message of supply and of hope for younger generations,' he said. However, the treasurer was forced to defend the scheme amid fears participants may still experience significant mortgage stress. Brisbane 's median house price officially surpassed the $1 million mark in January. 'We make no apologies for being so aspirational for aspirational Queenslanders,' Janetzki said. 'My view is, a thousand people, that's what we need to drive this program. I don't accept that it won't get more people into homes.' The Real Estate Institute of Queensland welcomed the scheme, calling it a 'smart, timely step to match market conditions'. The Queensland Council of Social Services said measures that improved home ownership were positive but believed the scheme could be targeted better. 'What we would like to see is that it would be targeted to people who are the least likely to be able to do it without government support,' QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said. 'It could be a really significant change for those families and generate intergenerational wealth, which is really important when you think about how we lift people out of poverty or provide people with financial security into the future.' Labor's Shannon Fentiman expressed support for the shared-equity scheme but believed it would only assist a small number of Queenslanders. The LNP government's budget forecasts an $8.6 billion deficit in 2025-2026 before dipping to a $1 billion deficit in 2028-2029.
Courier-Mail
12 hours ago
- Business
- Courier-Mail
Housing concession wars: Aus ‘most attractive' handout revealed
In a daring move, an Aussie state is shaking up the housing concession wars, giving the 'most attractive in the nation' chance to house hunters to buy their first home. The move, announced in the Queensland budget by treasurer David Janetzk on Tuesday, has seen wide support from real estate lobby groups in the first LNP state government budget here in a decade. MORE: Brutal honesty sends 46-year Aus family home viral All the tax write offs Aussies can claim MORE: Mayor lands massive $1.15m payday ATO's dragnet: Millions of side hustles face shock tax bill The scheme will allow 1,000 buyers to land their first home off just a 2pc deposit as part of a $165m 'close the deposit gap' program, with the government sharing the equity load up to 30pc for new homes and 25pc for existing homes – and access expanded for workers that earn up to $150,000 or couples bringing in up to $225,000. The program – which opens for expressions of interest in a week (July 1) – covers properties up to $1m across Queensland to take into account record price surges since the pandemic – a threshold that's $250k jump on what LNP campaigned for during the election period. Given the government expects to raise over $45b in taxes from the property sector over the next four years, Real Estate Institute of Queensland head Antonia Mercorella came out in support of the initiative as well as future reform. 'With suitable income eligibility thresholds of up to $225,000 for couples and $150,000 for singles and a statewide property value cap of $1m, the scheme reflects modern property prices across Queensland and makes it the most attractive in the nation.' MORE: Cash-strap student turns $40k to 38 homes Govt pays $3.3m for unliveable derelict house Property Council Queensland executive director Jess Caire also welcomed the move to a more housing focused budget. 'Responding to the housing crisis is clearly a focus of this budget with significant spending allocated towards creating new supply, community housing and helping first home buyers get their foot in the door of the housing market,' she said. 'The $165m Boost to Buy scheme was an ask in our 2024 Be a Queenslander election campaign and an initiative that will help many Queenslanders realise the dream of home ownership.' Ms Mercorella said Brisbane local government area median house prices had already passed the million-dollar median mark, while Greater Brisbane was close, with units also surpassing the $700,000 level across the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. 'The generous cap ensures the scheme is relevant in all corners of our state including high-demand areas like Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast, where the median house price now sits above $1m. Without this adjustment, the scheme risked being out of touch with the reality faced by many first home buyers today.' MORE: Rate cut windfall: Aus big bank's shock new forecast Shock as city's distressed home listings surge 36pc in one month She did not expect the program to distort property demand given FHBs made up a small share of overall market activity, but said it 'may assist in rebalancing housing pressure by helping some renters transition into ownership'. 'I don't think we can underestimate the material impact this can have on thousands of lives and for generations to come.' Among the areas still on REIQ's wishlist for the state was stamp duty reform in favour of a land tax-based model, and abolishing stamp duty for downsizers over 55. 'We've seen a promising start with some relief for first home buyers through higher stamp duty concession thresholds, abolishment of stamp duty on new builds, and the removal of restrictions on renting out rooms, and now we'd like to see some relief extended to people at the opposite end of the housing cycle – downsizing Queenslanders.' 'We're hearing calls to remove barriers that delay older Queenslanders from downsizing – a stamp duty exemption would achieve this and also, in turn, allow younger families to upsize.' MORE REAL ESTATE NEWS
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Mixed reviews over 'nation-leading' home buyer scheme
A "nation-leading" home ownership scheme has been defended by a state government amid concerns it will lead to more mortgage stress. Treasurer David Janetzki highlighted the "boost to buy" plan when he handed down the first Queensland budget under a Liberal National government since 2014. It featured $8.1 billion in housing funding that included what was described as the country's most generous shared equity scheme. Mr Janetzki promised 30 per cent equity in new builds and 25 per cent in existing homes of up to $1 million for 1000 Queenslanders. The scheme will cost $165 million over the next two years and applies to singles earning up to $150,000 and couples up to $225,000. Mr Janetzki said the move came after concerns a generation of young people were giving up on the dream of home ownership. "We're trying to send a message of supply and of hope for younger generations," he said. However the treasurer was forced to defend the scheme amid fears participants may still experience significant mortgage stress. Brisbane's median house price officially surpassed the $1 million mark in January. "We make no apologies for being so aspirational for aspirational Queenslanders," Mr Janetzki said. "My view is, a thousand people, that's what we need to drive this program. I don't accept that it won't get more people into homes." The Real Estate Institute of Queensland welcomed the scheme, calling it a "smart, timely step to match market conditions". The Queensland Council of Social Services said measures that improved home ownership were positive but believed the scheme could be targeted better. "What we would like to see is that it would be targeted to people who are the least likely to be able to do it without government support," QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh told AAP. "It could be a really significant change for those families and generate intergenerational wealth, which is really important when you think about how we lift people out of poverty or provide people with financial security into the future." Labor's Shannon Fentiman expressed support for the shared-equity scheme but believed it would only assist a small number of Queenslanders. The LNP government's budget forecasts an $8.6 billion deficit in 2025/26 before dipping to a $1 billion deficit in 2028/29.
Courier-Mail
16-06-2025
- Business
- Courier-Mail
Nudity, grow houses: Agents reveal their selling horror stories
Queensland real estate agents have shared some of the craziest things they have encountered while selling property, and let's just say they well and truly earned their commission. In one case, an agent found wardrobes with 'glowing lights', while another had to make excuses for a topless sunbathing vendor at an open home. On behalf of News Corp, the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) hit up their thousands of members to find out just what goes on before, during and after the doors open on a listed property. Here we look at the most recent ones, and revisit a few from the past. 1. There's Something About Mary Vibes One of my most memorable was when I was down the Gold Coast many years ago. We went to do an open home at this really lovely high end property in the area, rocked up and buyers were starting to arrive. I was still pretty young at this stage and new to real estate. I opened up the house and the owner said she would just be out at the pool during the open home and that was fine. What she didn't tell me was that she had planned to sunbake topless during the open home. She was a more mature lady and gave 'There's Something About Mary' movie vibes. Being not long in the industry I had no idea what to say so I just said to buyer, 'please excuse the owner she is just laying by the pool' and pretended it was normal. 2. Reluctant to Move My older couple had a contract on their house. Less than a week before settlement my agent went to see them to make sure things were on track for their move and they told her they were going to start looking after they had money in the bank from settlement and would let her know when they were going to move out. She then spent the rest of the day organising removalists, someone to pack for them, called their family to help and got them a rental. 3. Above and Beyond On settlement days we have packed trucks, mowed lawns, cleaned houses, moved livestock, found homes for chickens, rehomed goldfish, replaced plants that have been taken from gardens, gone on hunts for media system remotes because buyers are refusing to settle without them cause they can't prove its working and the seller accidently packed it and its in the truck somewhere. 4. Illegal Shrubbery Finding wardrobes with glowing lights that when you open you find a 'tomato garden' where the plants don't seem to have any fruit on them at all. MORE: Shock as city's distressed home listings surge 36pc in one month Work site, skip bin, fencing: River block fetches insane price Bogan to boujee: 'Hobbit House' a work of architectural magic 5. Jailhouse Block About 10 years ago we were selling a property for a gentleman who ended up in jail during the process. It was before all the electronic signing stuff came in so one of my agents had to go to the jail during visiting hours to get him to sign the contract. 6. Snake Gone Rogue Ray White New Farm agent Brandon Wortley recalled conducting an open house in one of Brisbane's blue chip suburbs when a snake went rogue, flying out of a bush and hitting the vendor in the chest. 'I was walking out to meet the owner on the river walk when I caught sight of the tail of a snake slithering in to a bush,' he said. 'It appeared to be making a beeline for the courtyard next door where there were two dogs. 'My plan was to jump the fence, grab the dogs, do something. I was just operating in the moment. 'But the snake had made its way up inside the hedge and then bam, as the vendor was walking past it, it literally flew out of the hedge and whacked her in the chest. 'She just bolted up the boardwalk. I have never seen anyone turn so white.' 7. Police Raid Henry Hodge of Hodge Real Estate recalled conducting an open house at a 'dingy apartment in Fortitude Valley' when police suddenly raided the building. 'There was lots of noise but we just minded our own business,' he said. 'I was mortified.' 8. 1% Club Place agent Ben Cannon recalled selling a house for a man who denied being a bikie. But the cache of firearms hidden around the property — and in the roof — suggested otherwise. 'He told me at the 11th hour that he wanted to cancel the open house because he had guns,' Mr Cannon said. 'I told him to stick them in the roof but he said he couldn't because it would cave in, it was so full of guns. 'I said, surely you can't have that many guns so I went around and sure enough, he showed me cupboards full of guns.' Feeling overwhelmed after seeing the arsenal of firearms, Mr Cannon said he wanted to find a way to 'fix it'. He said the owner pulled a handgun out from a bedside table and walked downstairs with it. 'He was saying, why isn't my house selling but it was so full of guns and he was always there,' Mr Cannon said. 'When I did present an offer, he pulled a handgun out and put it between us during the negotiations,' Mr Cannon said. 'I was glad to see that one gone.' 9. Squatters Paradise Ray White Bulimba principal Scott Darwon has dealt with everything from a cantankerous cat that refused to budge from under a house to a homeless man who invited himself into a New Farm property he was showing potential buyers. 'He (the homeless man) just came in and started ripping up the lino and stealing the newspapers,' he said. 'It was all a bit weird.' 10. Buff Audience 'I went to do an open in a brand new home and two gentlemen were tanning naked,' one anonymous agent said. 'One was scooping the leaves up into his pool net, butt naked, and the other splashing around the shallows. 'They were very angry when I showed up as I was 10 minutes early. 'I said we had an open and I had to open everything. They jumped into a car with just towels draped around them and fortunately left with a very amused buyer with three kids watching them get hastily into the car.' 11. UNRULY TENANT Meanwhile, another agent recalled opening a house for inspection only to find it was not vacant. 'I did not see a massive green python draped over the top of the shower screen in the main bathroom, which I would have walked right past to get to the light switch,' the agent said. 'A buyer found it when he was checking the shower. The buyer bravely locked the snake in the room, and I had to tell all the buyers at the inspection to not open the door that was shut downstairs as there was a snake that had snuck into the property. 'One lady just freaked out and left. I called a snake catcher and he came to the property later that day to rescue and release the snake. 'Funnily enough the buyer that found the snake put an offer on the property.' 12. WHEN PARANOIA STRIKES In another case, a paranoid agent who thought he was being secretly filmed by the vendor reportedly copped a dose right in the eye. Dobbed in by a fellow agent, the tale goes that Mr Paranoid 'noticed a small mobile air freshener unit on the mantelpiece in the lounge that was emitting a small flashing light every minute or so'. 'Convinced that he was being secretly observed and recorded, he sidled up to the unit to take a look straight down the barrel of the 'camera' that he believed his untrusting sellers had hidden in this sneakily arranged security contraption, only to have a metered dose squirted squarely and fairly directly into middle of his right cornea. There was no camera,' the source said. 13. CAN'T BE UNSEEN While another agent owned up to their own faux pas after accidentally escorting several groups into the wrong apartment in South Brisbane. 'I didn't realise I had walked straight into the unit next door to a naked couple in a very passionate embrace on their couch. That's was a tough day,' the agent said.
Courier-Mail
09-06-2025
- Business
- Courier-Mail
‘Never a good day': Gen Y property manager spills on troubled industry
A 22-year-old property manager has exposed the grim realities of an industry plagued by high turnover, with nearly a third of its workforce contemplating resignation. From workplace affairs and clueless young investors to poo-smeared walls and a rogue dildo, the Gen Y property manager said her negative experience drove her to quit the industry after two years. It comes as the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) highlighted growing dissatisfaction among property managers caught between tenants grappling with sky-high rents, and landlords managing increased holding costs and changing rental laws. Taking to Reddit after resigning from her position at a Queensland agency, the woman, identified as IcyBrick3874, described a high-pressure, underappreciated job marked by disturbing tenant behaviour. During an exit inspection, she found 'human poop on the carpet floor and on walls EVERYWHERE! Used period pads, weed and used needles'. In another routine inspection, she found a tenant's 'hot pink dildo was suction cupped to the shower wall'. The property manager also cited challenges with 'young, high-income individuals' buying their first properties as investments then demanding unrealistically high rents despite having 'minimal understanding of the rental market'. Ultimately, she concluded, there was 'never a good day'. Her experience aligned with insights shared by 751 property managers surveyed by MRI Software for the National Apartment Association, detailed in the Voice of the Property Manager 2024 report. The research found 29 per cent of property managers wanted to quit within the next five years, rising to 31 per cent among those who had been in the industry for six or more years. REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said property management remained 'a tough and emotionally taxing profession', despite more training in areas like mental health and resilience. 'The abuse directed at property managers, including verbal aggression and public vilification, previously even from political figures, is completely unacceptable and disheartening,' Ms Mercorella said. 'Queensland's property managers continue to operate in an incredibly high-pressure environment, with rental conditions remaining stubbornly tight and competition for more affordable, quality stock still intense. 'High turnover continues to strain agencies and the professionals who stay, taking a toll on service levels and wellbeing.' MORE NEWS Palaszczuk scores insane 684 per cent return on Brisbane property $100k pay rise: Brutal new hurdle for first-home buyers Young richlisters drive luxury surge IcyBrick3874 said she felt 'set up to fail' as a young team leader with little experience: 'the turn over is so high they take anyone'. She also noted a disturbing workplace culture, revealing some older male sales agents were 'inappropriately flirty with younger women', creating a 'really uncomfortable environment'. It was 'pretty widely known' that 'married agents were involved in affairs with younger staff,' describing it as a side of the industry 'rarely talked about, but definitely exists'. Ms Mercorella said the introduction of Stage 2 rental law changes in May had added significant extra strain on workers tasked with educating landlords and managing disputes. 'While we welcome efforts to improve support for property managers, including professional development and mental health resources, the core issues — chronic rental undersupply and unrelenting regulatory change, continue to weigh heavily on the profession. 'If we want to retain skilled professionals and ensure the stability of our rental market, we must better support and value those on the frontline of housing delivery.'
