Hot News

The SA Real Estate Insitute is lobbying SA Water to make a change to our current system of charging out water rates.

At the moment, the account remains in the owners name, and they are responsible for payment of all accounts. The tenant then reimburses the landlord for their portion of water used according to the lease agreement.

In the eastern states the water account is changed into the tenants name, as is done with gas and electricity supplies. Bringing SA in line would simplify it for all concerned. read more »

Look on the bright side.. 89% increase in Australian capital city prices over the last 10 years to March this year.

This keeps in perspective the 4.5% fall in Australian capital city prices in the year ending March 2012. read more »

5.06 million Australians were unique browsers on real estate search engines in February.

The most searched areas in SA were Norwood, Adelaide, Prospect and Mawson Lakes. read more »

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Ranked best in suburb performance in Adelaide in 2011.

House prices increased by 9.9% with 22 sales to $830,000 median price.

Median house rent was $420.00, while the average age in the suburb was 38 years. read more »

Well you're right... The Economist Intelligence Units Worldwide Cost of Living Survey ranks Adelaide as 17th in the world, after Brussels, London and Wellington.

Adelaide has risen 7 spots since the previous survey.

There are 5 Australian cities in the top 20.

The good news though...

Adelaide and Perth were jointly ranked as the 8th most liveable cities, with Melbourne topping the list, and Sydney at number 6. read more »

Darwin now has the higest median rental in Australia, at $505 per week, compared to Sydney at $480 per week.

The national average is $411 per week.

Adelaide's median rent has increased to $340 per week. read more »

Break costs may make an attractive looking bank loan seem less attractive if you ask the questions.

Break costs can be fees charged by lenders, when extra payments are made on a fixed loan or when a borrower terminates a loan contract before the expiry of the fixed rate period.

Most banks use different names for break costs - e.g. repayment adjustment, prepayment fees, economic costs and exit fees.

Read the fine print and ask the questions, particularly re making extra repayments without penalty. read more »

Go to our home loan calculator on the left hand side of our webpage.

Remember to include your estimated stamp duty costs, which you can calculate from the same screen.

Compare home loans by going to infochoice.com.au/home-loans. This gives you a good starting point before you visit your preferred lending institution.

With the average annual residential electricity account increasing from $1,071.41 to $1,504.75 from 2007/08 to today - what are power suppliers responsibilities regarding non payment of accounts?

- Must give 12 working days to pay account
- Disconnection can only occur 5 days after notice issued
- Throughout the process, suppliers must offer payment options
- Disconnection cannot be made during a heat wave. read more »

New home starts are likely to remain in decline for the 2012 Financial Year. A factor contributing to this is the anticipated rise in interest rates. On the supply side, there is a load of finance available for residential developments, meaning many commercially viable projects aren't going... read more »

87% of buyers use the Internet to research properties. 67% of sellers use the Internet to research properties. Since 2008, print use has decreased by 9% for metro newspapers, and 6% for local papers. read more »