Downsizing your home is an exciting opportunity, whether it's prompted by retirement or your kids leaving home. It offers a chance to reduce your living costs, minimize home maintenance, and free up your lifestyle. However, there are common pitfalls—like unexpected strata fees, restrictions on pets, and even scams in the retirement village sector—that can turn this process into a stressful experience. Here's how you can avoid these pitfalls and how a buyer’s agent can help ensure your downsizing is smooth and less risky.
Australia is at a crossroads: we're one of the world's richest countries, yet our wealth has stagnated over the past 15 years. A review of our history and how we became prosperous offers clues to the best ways to grow our economy.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
What is the X-factor - the largely unexpected influence that wasn't thought about when the year began but came from left field to have powerful effects on investment returns - for 2024? It's time to select the winner.