Weekend Reads – Must read articles form the last week

There are more interesting articles, commentaries and analyst reports on the Web every week than anyone could read in a month.

Each Saturday morning I like to share some of the ones I’ve read during the week.

The weekend will be over before you know it, so enjoy some weekend reading…and please forward to your friends by clicking the social link buttons.

A third of first home buyers worry about mortgage payments—survey

Financial concern is not a new concept for the average household, everyone has had those late nights sitting in the kitchen worrying about the latest bills. 

But whilst most of the time those concerns do pass, it would seem that the stress of mortgage repayments is at an all time high.

An article for Your Mortgage Magazine has reported that as high as one third of home buyers are worried about their mortgage payments.

Mortgage repayments are a primary concern for almost one in three first home buyers, a survey by lender Mortgage Choice revealed.

Its annual First Home Buyer survey showed that 29.2% of respondents said that they worry about not being able to afford their repayments.

Further, 64% of first home buyers who bought a home in the last 24 months revealed that they would have made the purchase sooner had they been given more financial assistance.

The survey also revealed that first home buyers are becoming more dependent on assistance from immediate family to secure a home mortgage.

Specifically, almost 5% said they used equity in a family member’s property as additional security for their loan, a notable increase over the 3.9% rate in 2015, and 3.8% in 2014.

“It is quite disconcerting to hear so many first home buyers worry about how they will manage their debt,” Mortgage Choice chief executive John Flavell said.

“The reality is, interest rates have never been lower, meaning it should be easier than ever for borrowers to manage their debt.”

Click here for the full article

How to add $100K in value in 6 weeks + John Symond says property will continue to grow + Ray White’s grandson remembers

Another great Real Estate Talk show produced by Kevin Turner.

Michael Yardney talks about the bank of mum and dad in helping young people get into property.  

Ken Raiss answers a question about possible tax implications when doing a subdivision by acquiring a portion of a neighbour’s land.

John Symond Aussie Home Loans chairman, has claimed the housing market has the potential for 10-15% growth over the next three years. We talk to John about that and find out what he bases that on.

Brian White talks about growing up in a family where all the discussion is about real estate and he reflects on his early memories of his grandfather Ray and his dad Allan.

Jane Slack-Smith shares the story of how she added one hundred thousand dollars in value to a property in just 6 weeks.

If you don’t already subscribe to this excellent weekly internet based radio show do so now by clicking here.

Sydney now rubber-stamping units for fun

Sydney’s building approval rates seem to be going from strength to strength, according to reports.

This Blog by Pete Wargent, looks at the statistics behind the approvals and what it really means for the state.

Unlimited supply-y-y…

The ABS reported that Building Approvals remained resolutely strong in August 2016, with some 20,788 private sector dwellings approved, driven yet by another rebound in attached dwellings.

The trend in detached house approvals has declined by about 5 per cent since peaking in April 2015, while attached dwellings have just kept on trucking.

 

Over the year to August some 238,204 dwellings were approved, with the annual total levitating above 200,000 for 23 months on the bounce since October 2014.

Commentators have been calling for an end to the boom for, well, basically all of that time, but those pesky numbers just won’t sit down.

Read the full article here

Here’s how the next wave of tech advances will transform small business in Australia

There was a time when simply having a computer was revolutionary – how far we’ve come since then…and it’s not slowing down.

Whilst it’s hard to believe that we could get anymore technological in the workplace, that’s exactly what we’re about to get.

In this articles on Business Insider it’s been revealed that there are several technological projects in the works, set to change small businesses.

The desktop and smart phone revolutions were really just the beginning.

From conversations with giant tech companies like Cisco, Google and Xero, you get the impression that we have only scratched the surface of what technologies like the cloud, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence have to offer.  

The business world has already been transformed but small businesses and entrepreneurs in Australia and around the world are about to be handed a new level of power and opportunity in the connected world.

The coming decade will see leaps and bounds in what our devices can do as they connect to the enormous power of the cloud. Meanwhile, the sheer number of devices connected will explode, from around 7 billion now to upwards of 50 billion by 2020.

And all of this will feed into a new wave of artificial intelligence.

The cloud

In the short run, at least, the biggest change in cloud computing may be on the human side rather than the technological. 

The Internet of Things

The cloud will change the way people approach business, but the Internet of Things will fundamentally alter the way technology connects almost everything.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is by no means a new concept, appearing in fiction for at least a couple of hundred years, and tech companies throwing resources at it for decades.

Read the full article here

Revitalise Yourself: The Top 10 Most Restful Activities

We all have different ways of unwinding after a long day or busy week; be it going for a walk, watching our favorite show or reading.

But what is the most popular way?

A study published in an article on PsyBlog has revealed a list of the top 5 activities used to rest, so the next time you’re looking for the r&r maybe give one of these a try.

Even extraverts preferred these 10 activities mostly done alone.

Over two-thirds of people would like more rest, the largest ever survey of its type has concluded.

The survey of over 18,000 people in 134 different countries found that the five most restful activities are:

Reading (58% selected this as a restful activity).

Being in the natural environment (53.1%).

Being on their own (52.1%).

Listening to music (40.6%).

Doing nothing in particular (40%).

People who were psychologically ‘flourishing’ were more likely to choose reading as one of their favourite restful activities.

Click here for the full article

Weekend Video: 10 Mind Blowing Optical Illusions