A few years back, I attended an executive course run by University of Nebraska, Omaha. It took place just prior to the annual general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, also in Omaha Nebraska. The focus of the course was to explore a range of fundamental valuation techniques and hear from key executives within Berkshire Hathaway.

There have recently been many articles in the media regarding changing property prices. Unlike shares, which can be accurately tracked day-to-day, property is historically an opaque market with less visibility on price movements. However, over the past few years computers with sophisticated programming have been able to track property markets more accurately and provide an increasing level of transparency.

Over the years, I have often heard people ask ‘Should I send my kids to private school, or save the money and buy them a property instead?’

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the affordability of property and a lot of discussion about the impact of overseas buyers on the local market.

1. The dream home—Life is not perfect but sometimes, the bruises and bumps along the way make the fabric of life all the more interesting. The pursuit of having the ‘dream home’ can be intoxicating; an endless quest for perfection.

If you suffer from a love affair with property like many Australians, then you will often ponder the above two choices when deliberating how to build wealth long-term with this asset class.

With the summer break quickly approaching, we will see a lot of people taking time off to enjoy the some R&R. This relaxing time off also provides one with a unique opportunity for reflection. One question which might creep into one’s mind is “ I go on holidays each year, but should I buy a holiday

I was recently flying back on a REX commercial prop plane from the regional town of Mt Gambier (close to the boarder of South Australia) after visiting some of our clients.

In 1976 the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) cash rate was around 12.85% and the average home loan back then was around 15.35% to 17% p.a. Today some 38 years on, things are very different with the RBA cash rate at 2.5% and the average home loan is around 5%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently released a report where they have done an analysis of average property growths and rental yields since 1955. The report is called “Is Housing Overvalued?”

Temporary Budget Repair Levy There was a lot of speculation before the budget was announced about the Government’s plan to have a short term levy to help fund some of the budget deficit. The levy has been announced as a 2% charge on taxable income over $180,000. While this will only affect a minority of Australians, it could affect some people who sell investment properties and have a once off significant capital gain and assessable income.

I have 2 young boys aged 4 and 6 years old and some days they are the best of friends, and other times they can be the worlds worst enemies. Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder what happened on these bad days!