Drones Now Being Used For Gold Coast Property Inspections

Luke Taylor from TPC Property Services, a well known building and pest inspection company operating in the Gold Coast region for more than 15 years, has started to use drones for visual inspections of difficult to access areas such as 2 and 3 storey house and apartment blocks.

Luke said that the aerial inspection of buildings through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) equipped with high quality cameras is the way of the future in the building and pest inspection industry. “Our customers love the service as we can find problems faster, do a better job and pass those cost savings on to the client making everybody happy.

Aussies In The Dark As Big Changes Loom For Credit Card, Loan And Mortgage Applications

Frank Chung, news.com.au

NEW rules affecting every Australian applying for credit cards, loans or mortgages will soon kick in, but most people don’t even know about them.

That’s the warning from credit rating bureau Experian, which says two thirds of Australians are unaware of looming changes to national credit reporting requirements that will enable lenders to see a lot more information about a customer’s financial history.

At the moment, lenders only share negative data, like defaults and bankruptcies. But under amended privacy laws as part of new comprehensive credit reporting introduced in 2014, positive data such as repayment history will be shared with credit reporting bureaus and lenders.

While the data isn’t yet being shared among lenders, it is being shared with the main credit bureaus, Experian, Veda and Dun & Bradstreet, meaning it will impact applications for credit cards, loans and mortgages.

So what should you do right now? In short, make your repayments on time.

“Credit providers in Australia will soon be looking back at up to 24 months of your credit repayment history, which is why consumers need to start positively impacting their future credit score now by making sure they diligently make repayments on time,” said Experian managing director Suzanne Steele.

“Being aware of what your credit score is and the parts of your finances that impact the score is critical. It enables you to know where you stand and address any issues before applying for a new credit card, loan or mortgage.

“Beyond that, my top tips include paying bills on time, doing due diligence before applying for credit and avoid multiple credit inquires in a short period of time.”

Ms Steele said it might come as a surprise to some people that lenders currently have limited visibility of a borrower’s financial situation.

“All that they can see are the number of applications they’ve made for credit, the type of credit, the amount applied for and if they default on their payment obligations or become bankrupt or have a court judgment against them,” she said.

She described the new regimen as an “overwhelmingly positive change for Australian borrowers”. “For example, positive data may help potential first home buyers who don’t have a long credit history, to be approved for finance, where previously they may have been declined,” she said.

“Positive data sharing will also enable Australians with a strong credit history to access more competitive deals and interest rates ... and assist others avoid entering into unmanageable levels of debt and getting into financial difficulty.”

But Ms Steele said a survey of 1000 Australians conducted by Experian in March found 66 per cent of people were unaware of the coming changes. The survey found 71 per cent of people had never checked their credit score, saying their either didn’t know how, didn’t know what a credit score was or didn’t care.

She said out of the 19 countries where Experian operates, only Australia and Brazil had adopted positive data sharing.

“Positive data gives credit providers a 360-degree view of their customer’s financial situation, creating an environment for better decision making about the right level of debt the borrower can manage,” she said.

“This can reduce the number of people who default on a loan, increase competition among providers and drive down costs for all credit customers.”

frank.chung@news.com.au

Coast Unit Prices At Risk If Sydney Market Plunges

Alister Thomson and Paul Gilder, Gold Coast Bulletin

A SHARP fall in Sydney unit prices may be matched on the Gold Coast where apartment values could fall by 6 per cent, according to ANZ research.

The bank has released a report after modelling the impact of a 10 per cent decline in unit prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to gauge price falls in markets with an oversupply of units.

Australia’s stock of yet-to-be-completed apartments stands at about 220,000, worth a record $35 billion.

However Gold Coast property market researcher Colleen Coyne says the Coast does not have a significant oversupply and questioned whether such a problem would develop.

The ANZ report researchers used data including the quarterly change in unit price and house price growth and the unemployment rate in each city between 1980 and 2016.

The report finds strong flow-on effects to Melbourne and Brisbane from a price drop in Sydney, although it expects the impact to be short-lived in Melbourne.

The Gold Coast was not included in the modelling, however ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank said he expects the impacts on the city and Brisbane to be similar.

The research models a 6 per cent price drop for Brisbane if Sydney prices plunge by 10 per cent.

“One would assume the impact on the Gold Coast and Brisbane would be similar,” he said.

Mr Plank said Sydney has Australia’s largest housing market and its price movements reflect not only local drivers but also shifts in investor sentiment.

He said the modelling assumes all things remain equal and does not take account of possible policy changes due to an apartment market downturn.

Ms Coyne said the Gold Coast market, although not isolated from market conditions in southern cities, has its own drivers.

“It is flawed logic to not give enough emphasis to the dynamics of the local market,” she said.

“We are not at a point where we can see a significant oversupply of units on the Gold Coast. “People need to ask how many development applications will not proceed.”

Ms Coyne said the Gold Coast has a rental vacancy rate of around 2 per cent.

The research also follows consistent warnings from the Reserve Bank over the role property investors play in propping up housing prices.

RBA governor Philip Lowe made clear the central bank’s concerns this month, noting that borrowing levels among investors had “picked up over recent months” while “a considerable additional supply” of east coast apartments was coming over the next few years.