ANTI LAUNDERING OBLIGATIONS FROM JULY 2026

 From July next year, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing obligations will apply to real estate professionals following a significant expansion. 

Austrac has tabled its new Anti-Money laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing guidelines, with financial crime compliance obligations to apply to more services from 1st July 2026.

The financial intelligence agency revealed new reforms following to rounds of public consultations including accepting submissions and engaging with working group.s

The new rules, set to take effect next year, aim to reduce the risk of financial crimes within services across various industries.  (yeah put more responsibilities on to smaller businesses like they have the time to do it - do your job Government)

The new obligations will be expanded to include real estate agents and property developers who sell off-the-plan without going through independent agents. (If agents thought there was something amiss they would report it anyway)

What are the requirements?

The obligations require reporting entities to enrol with AUSTRAC between 31 March 2026 and 29 July 2026 to avoid penalties.

Enrolling requires providing details about the regulated business, including its structure, services, key personnel, and contact details.

Businesses must enroll with AUSTRAC within 28 days of providing a regulated service.

Develop an AML/CTF compliance program

By 1 July 2026, real estate and property reporting entities will need to develop and maintain an AML/CTF compliance program that is tailored to their specific business needs.

“Your business must develop and maintain policies, procedures, systems and controls that appropriately manage and mitigate your business’s risks,” AUSTRAC said.

“These policies must also ensure that you comply with your AML/CTF obligations and be appropriate to the nature, size and complexity of your business.”

A senior manager must approve the business program, and it needs to be kept up-to-date to reflect any major changes within the company.

Initial and ongoing due diligence

Following the creation of the compliance program, real estate professionals must conduct initial and ongoing customer due diligence (CDD).

Initial CDD involves identifying and mitigating potential money-laundering or terrorism financing risks at the beginning of a customer relationship.

This process involves gathering specific information about them on reasonable grounds before providing them with designated services.

Ongoing CDD includes monitoring transactions and behaviours for suspicious activity, updating customer risk profiles in response to different triggers, and updating information as needed. (This is ridiculous as are the others - who has time to monitor all transactions)

Keep records

Real estate professionals will be required to make and maintain accurate records for at least seven years.

These will serve as evidence of the business’s customer due diligence, risk management practices and compliance with obligations.

The documents include transaction records, audit results and evidence of due diligence and the AML/CTF program.

To prepare for the new requirements, AUSTRAC advises soon-to-be-regulated entities to look at its website for information and to register for webinar sessions.

I cannot believe that we are now going to have yet another programme added to our never ending costs of running a business so we can do the Government's job for them, we should be compensated for that.  Makes so me so wild that they cannot track these people themselves.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK & THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!!

FIRST HOME BUYERS SCHEME UPDATE

 

The Labour government has announced they will be bringing forward changes to the First Home Buyer Scheme, originally planned for January 2026, so that they now take effect from October 2025.

Key Changes:

• Higher Price Caps: FHBs in Perth will now be able to purchase properties up to $850,000 under the scheme. Total cost needed for such purchase now, including stamp duty and conveyancing fees is roughly $85k! Income needed to service such loan is approx. $165k p.a.
• Greater Accessibility: Previous restrictions around income thresholds and property values have been relaxed, allowing more buyers to qualify.

What This Means for the Market

• Increased Competition: Properties in the $700k–$850k range will become highly sought after, with FHBs driving demand. Especially those FHB clients we saw who weren't previously eligible. 
• Sellers: For those sitting on the fence about selling, this policy shift should provide a strong incentive. You guys are the experts but no doubt it'll drive the market for $700-$850k price bracket. 

Good luck and reach out to Brandon Ngadino 0412 270 243 brandon@checkmyrate.au

You know what the Government should do is get cracking and abolish the stamp duty, build some small houses, help those people instead of doing all this as our fhb cant afford to go to $850k. 

So exasperating as it's not going to free up any more homes for the fhb to buy, they are in such short supply its only increasing the competition.

    MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK & THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!! 

GREENS HEADS ARE IN THE CLOUDS

 I read that Greens senator Barbara Pocock called Labor's housing target's pie in the sky, following a Treasury leak that confirmed the government was off track to meet it's housing targets (they were never going to meet them anyway - let's be serious)

Pocock said that adjust property tax concessions could boost affordability for first home buyers - your dreaming lady!!! Not everyone in this world wants to buy a house/home as it's just not their dream. In fact in the not too distant future you will probably have to have property handed down to you with the way prices are going and you simply cannot control that Pocock.. New York inner city is just un obtainable to 90% of people.

Just because Pocock says that they need more homes to be built but they also need to make sure first home buyers and owner-occupiers are actually able to purchase them - what the .... you cannot control that Pocock, builders can only build for a certain amount of $$'s there is no magic wand here.  Government's are going to get charged accordingly to the builders cost plus arnt they?

Apparently 70% of home lending is going to people who earn over $200,000 a year - well a lot of our buyers are not earning that and they are still managing to buy apartments.

She's suggesting that they need to tackle the tax problem by limiting negative gearing and scrapping the capital gains tax discount - ha ha you are a huge joke, if you don't give investors the incentive to invest in the rentals you wont have that avenue either to offer people who want to rent. Be nice to those investors Pocock because the Government actually needs them.

Analysis by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found that scrapping negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount for most investment properties would raise the government an estimated $5.85 billion over the four financial years to 2028–29. this is not going to help us NOW and if you do that investors will bolt - I cannot believe people can be that stupid. The Government can find other avenues I am sure.

Also, the Greens are asking for higher rental assistance rates as the rental costs continue to climb - they are just catching up you absolute morons - this country cannot keep handing people money on a plate - they need to sort themselves out and either live with others or downsize or move to something that they can afford.  Low cost rentals is called State Housing and honestly, the service they provide is questionable and do you want to be put with such undesirables as they certainly don't vet their applicants, care about their complexes it on and upwards to the next applicant as fast as they can.

Sydney has had such high rentals for years, people moved out further afield to be able to afford their rental or they have buddied up with others its not rocket science but to keep asking the taxpayer to keep paying more and more to those that need to adjust their lifestyles, sorry I just don't agree. Yes, there are people in need without a doubt and they need our help I have no issues with that, but I happen to know there are people in our system that just shouldn't be there, but again it's just how the system works as there is no one doing any checks and balances.

Honestly, I think the whole thing is that all Governments have been so slack in building new homes for those who are on the Government assistance plan i.e. the dole, this is nothing more than negligence, I would say that all Government's have done this over the years. Putting State Housing in wealthy areas does not help either as it makes angst with the locals as they pay huge money to live in the area and the tenants (not all) create absolute havoc in and around their apartments/homes. Put caretakers in, put surveillance in do something positive so that others that live in the complex have half a chance of not being tarred with the same brush. 

Sorry but by being too soft can create a whole lot of other issues, considering the Government's make it so hard for people to get pensions (tax paying people) and how they make it too easy for others makes my blood boil.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK & THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!! 

PERTH UNITS FAVOURABLE

 Buying a unit is more affordable in 22.% of suburbs nationwide.

Domains comparison used the median unit price for each suburb, based on a mortgage rate of 5.68% with a 20% deposit.

For the combined capitals, the research showed that it was cheaper to service a mortgage on a unit than to rent in a lower proportion of suburbs, at 20.7%.

The combined capitals experience a more noticeable jump in the number of suburbs where buying is cheaper than renting, outpacing regional Australia.

Most capital cities show a double-digit increase in the share of suburbs where units are more affordable to buy than rent.”

Domain said buying a unit was over 12 times more likely to be cheaper than renting, with just 1.7 per cent of capital city suburbs showing that for houses.

“This difference is not surprising given the significant price gap between property types,” Domain said.

Out of the capital cities, Perth showed the most favourable outlook, with 82.9% of suburbs being cheaper to buy a unit than to rent.

However, for the rest of the capitals, the majority of suburbs were cheaper to rent a unit than to service a mortgage.

In Sydney, the data showed that only 9.5% of suburbs were deemed cheaper to buy a unit than to rent, while Melbourne recorded 19.7% of suburbs.

For Brisbane, 7.9% of suburbs were cheaper to service a mortgage on a unit than to rent.

Finally, in Adelaide, data showed that it was cheaper to buy a unit than to rent in 13.3% of suburbs.

Domain noted that mortgage repayments tend to be lower than rents in more affordable areas of capital cities, including Notting Hill in Melbourne and Burswood in Perth’s south-east.

“In these areas, property prices may not be as high, but rental demand is greater because of the financial hurdles associated with purchasing a home (interest rates, saving for a deposit and stamp duty), making it difficult for those looking to enter the property market,” Domain said.

When it comes to interest rates, data showed that units were especially likely to benefit from further cuts, with pressure expected to ease on mortgage rates later this year.

The average mortgage rate, currently at 5.68%, has been forecast to fall to about 4.98% by the end of 2025.

“This shift highlights how falling interest rates will have the greatest impact on affordability for units, providing an entry point for first home buyers and those seeking more attainable housing.”

However, Domain said that prospective unit buyers should still be aware of several expected obstacles as interest rates fall.

“This improvement may come with new challenges, including increased buyer competition and renewed upward pressure on prices,” Domain concluded.

(Thanks to Domain for this article) 

Time catches up with all the prices and although people in Perth struggle with the new norm on house prices, the apartments or units are still good buying. I have been trying encourage first home buyers and investors to invest in the Mosman Park area because of it's location and the prices are still relatively low. You can still buy an apartment under $400,000 could need a little love and attention but it's still affordable.

The struggle can sometimes come from others who have no real estate or perhaps just the family home which they bought 20 years ago, the prices they paid is less than the apartment prices of today. You cannot look back you need to go forward, dont let that put you into a state of I will wait unti the prices come down - but will they?  No one can ever pick the exact time that prices will stop, drop or increase you just need to go with the flow at the time.

I remember buying my first unit for $50k and then when I wanted to buy by third it was $230,000 I did struggle with it until I kept seeing the prices go forward, just jump into and get your start on that property ladder.  Keep them for at least 10 years.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK AND THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!! 

ARE WE BEING FORCED TO DO THINGS WE DONT WANT TO DO?

 Having been in real estate for 27 years I have seen a lot of things come and go.

Having Mum and Dad be the bank for their children was pretty unheard of really unless you had extremely wealthy parents, investors mainly bought locally (usually in their suburb) down sizers would not have even considered apartment living - that would only be 8 years or so ago.

The downsizers with the lack of homes in your area you have been forced into apartment living as that's all your options, the builders have not built the homes that you want to retire in and now they would be way too expensive for you anyway.

Is it because the market is just going way above everyone's reach? My answer is yes. I can honestly see in the future that children will take over the parent's mortgages (well I suppose it depends if the Government doesn't make it too hard for the kids to get their parents super once they have gone also) this is very common overseas. Maybe you need to go on the title earlier ha ha you know what our Government is like they will invent something else so you have to sell. 

The kids just have to stay at home longer or in their parents' investment property to save their deposits and parents don't charge them any rent. There is no longer the choice for them - poor parents - poor kids.

I have also noticed that Grandparents are now being used as the sitters or nannies to help save their kids some money, so there's not grand retirement plans for them is it (just make sure you don't use your best years up here; this is the time you need to travel).

Grandparents are very special people to have in children's lives, but they need to be the spoiler, the one that does special things for the kids, not bring them up. 

Europe for a long time have had their parents in their homes, Australians have always been very different (although they are now being forced to with the lack of availability of aged care), the other option is the granny flat in the back yard - makes good sense to me.

Are we being forced to do things we simply just don't want to do? - yes as we don't have any other options as the Government is not keeping up with the demand on anything, aged care homes should have been built a long time ago for those baby boomers coming up. Now we have no hope in catching up. 

With doing a lot of appraisals for elderly people sometimes it's just too late for them to move they are too old it would kill them - I tell them the truth of course. Reverse mortgage I would never recommend it unless absolutely it's necessary, perhaps ask your older kids for money, get that put onto the title of your home for when the kids sell it, these are real options you know - talk to us if you need some insight to options or the right people to give them to you.

Is real estate too expensive - yes - but there's not a damn thing we can do about it - so if you need to buy - just buy what you can afford - do it soon - do it today stop hesitating it's not the right move.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK AND THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!! 

WA GOVERNMENT EXTENDED TWO INCENTIVES

 Western Australia has extended its short term rental accommodation and vacant property rentals incentive schemes, both of which offer cash incentives to owners who will switch their short term stays or vacant properties to the long term rental market. (surprise surprise as the rental market is still so tight, owners will have to be heavily incentivised to give up that short term rental as it's worth more to them than an ordinary rental).

Although the application window for both schemes was originally specified to end on the 30th June 2025, applicants for both schemes will now be considered until 31 December 2025, or until the funds are exhausted (fat chance of that happening).

Obviously, the catch is that you have to provide a 12 month lease to qualify for the $10,000 incentive. With vacant properties its $5,000 incentive.

The WA government is reporting that short term rental scheme has added 457 new rentals since it opened in November 2023, with the vacant properties converted an additional 249 properties since it's launch in May last year. (well I suppose that's something that is far cheaper for the Government to pay rather than build more homes!) 

We are putting on more short term stays because the return is far better. I dont disagree that it's a good incentive for vacant properties as owners have been leaving them empty for their own use when in town. Short term though the money is just too good, however $10,000 injection (they dont say if it's tax free ha ha) would be good to have.

I think that when making a decision on which way you want to go short term has to be very smick almost like a hotel room would be, you cannot really do it yourself unless you are retired and have all the time to keep checking on things.

I suppose you just have to weigh it all up and be happy with making a decision.

But good to know they have extended it so there is at least a choice of what you can do.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK & THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!! 

WHO BUYS PROPERTY?

 If you are an investor like me the reason, I buy real estate is because it's bricks & Mortar something that I can go and visually see. Just so much safer than shares or bonds and I believe not so volatile (although some years that could be debatable). 

If it wasn't for the capital gains, stamp duty I would have bought more properties. I didn't buy them to create instant wealth it was more like a 10–15-year plan (like a super fund). Wealth generation to be done over the long-term heading for that retirement era.

Most of us investors are motivated to buy an investment property when the economy is strong or interest rates are low. Landlords are typically sheltered from poor economic conditions because interest rates always fall, which reduces the biggest cost of holding property. (me I can remember 17% interest rates phew !!) 

I believe by 2021 there were about 2.2 million landlords (gee that's stack of rentals we are missing out on) which is only 8.7% of the population - where would we be without them eh? who would provide the increasingly short supply of rentals. Just keep making it harder for the investor governments and they will cash in and you will be left with trying to house them instead.

Who are these investors; well I know when I was in my 40's and owned my own home I remortgaged to buy them, you have to buy them all before you are 50 if you want to make good money as you need to hold property for at least 7-10 years, those investors that hold for 2 years will not make the same profit unless they buy in at the bottom and sell at the so called top. I truly believe you have to hold real estate to enjoy that capital growth.

I do admit that when interest rates go up to such a high rate it can be tough to hold them but be proactive and pay a bit more in advance whilst they are low so you can cope in the future.

DIVORCE - such a dirty word isn't it - that doesn't help it literally halves your fortune - that's why a lot come on the market as the agreement is reached who gets what. 

Younger investors tend to sell too quick as they lose their jobs or not working enough hours to contribute to their loans - sometimes at a loss which is very sad for them and leaves such a bad taste in their mouth.

Loan repayments get too high, and people have to sell - they just have not thought that out enough as I said earlier get ahead with the payments.

Older Australians - they transfer the property over to their kids to help them into the market, or they sell their asset to help them with their deposit - more common these days due to the rising costs.

Massive land tax changes in Victoria have created a lot of those buyers heading over here to WA - thanks Victoria you are helping WA massively.

With the rising costs of holding property and the changes of the tenancy act for tenants' rights, I had a lot of calls telling me to sell their investment - they were not going to be told what to do with their property by the Government. So much property got sold which also creates a hole for the number of rentals available for the people - GOOD ONE GOVERNMENT you really know what you are doing eh?  I tried to fend as many as I could off but when it comes to the Government becoming a communist country, they were not going to have it (old school like me).

We need to encourage those Mum's and Dad's to keep buying property otherwise there will be no rentals for those that can only rent. More people on social housing more pressure on the Government to produce the accommodation which we all know isn't going to happen.

What's good right now is the rental returns much more encouraging for the investor, not so much putting your hand in the pocket anymore.

WE NEED INVESTORS PEOPLE - they have to buy to keep the rental market alive.

MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO!!

SELLING MOSMAN PARK & THE WESTERN SUBURBS!!

KEEPING IT REAL IS OUR MOTTO!!