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Many of you would have read the story of how Paul Castran’s brother, John, survived an avalanche in NZ. They were heli-skiing in New Zealand when the side of the mountain let go. Angus was buried up to his waist in snow, but John was fully covered beneath about 1.8m of snow.

Angus was able to free himself, and with the guide, dig John out from more than 1m of snow. John is due back in Melbourne today to reunite with wife Sally and elder son Lachlan, and the rest of the Castran family.

There has been a large amount of media coverage, here is an extracts from the Herald Sun:

Speaking from Mt Hutt yesterday, the South Yarra father of two, 53, gave a haunting account of the most terrifying day of his life.

Trapped beneath 1.8m of snow after two avalanches ploughed into his five-man skiing group in the Ragged Ranges on Friday, Mr Castran described the 15 minutes he spent, alone, in the frigid dark.

He had been on a heli-skiing trip with his son, Angus, 23, and another man, Lynden Riethmuller, when the world turned white then deadly black.

Mr Riethmuller, a NSW company director, could not be revived after he was buried by snow.

Mr Castran, an experienced skier, was on an annual holiday with his youngest son when he was hit by a wall of snow.

“There was a point where I thought ‘This is it. I have seen my last sunset’, ” Mr Castran said.

“Then this second wave came five to 10 seconds later and there was this rustling noise, then terror really set in.”

Mr Castran knew a second avalanche had struck.

“I could feel the snow packing down, squeezing the air out of my body,” he said.

“I was trapped in my icy tomb.”

Mr Castran remembered to slow his breathing to conserve oxygen.

“It then became peaceful . . . I can’t remember anything until they revived me, lifted some of the snow off me around my neck and I looked up and saw these beautiful blue skies,” he said.

The multi-millionaire real estate agent credits with saving his life his avalanche beeper which shoots radio signals to nearby beepers and his “very strong” son.

Angus and one of the group’s two guides, Kevin, found the spot where Mr Castran lay buried and started digging.

They scooped out snow “big as a (Holden) Commodore” and began CPR on Mr Castran, who was unconscious.

His brush with death would change his life, Mr Castran said.

“I reckon I might relax a bit more, slow down, smell the roses,” he said.

“I have been to the other side and I can tell you this: there is nothing there. It is far better over here.”

Mr Castran is due back in Melbourne today to reunite with wife Sally and elder son Lachlan.

With affordability at its lowest level on record, first-home buyers have to think outside the square.

The home-ownership dream rarely used to feature a sibling in your bathtub and a parent on your certificate of title. These days though, first-home buyers are prepared to be flexible.

Housing affordability fell to record lows in the March quarter this year according to the latest Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Bank report.                Mortgage payments now account for 30.7 per cent of total first-home buyer income!

Generations X and Y are also settling down later meaning for many home ownership is a solo battle.

It’s not surprising then that increasing numbers of first-home buyers are teaming up with siblings, parents or friends in a bid to break into the property market.

“There has been a noticeable trend towards family members buying property together, as property prices are still very high, particularly for first-home buyers,” says Aussie Home Loans boss John Symond.

The number of family members taking out mortgages together has jumped from about 1% of all loans originated by ‘Aussie’ to 5 per cent over the past two years!   Mortgage Choice has reported a similar trend. A survey carried out by the company last year revealed more than 6 per cent of people who bought property within the past two years had done so with family or friends. And of those who intended to buy property within the next two years, over 8 per cent intended to do so with family or friends!

INVESTORS own around two million homes in Australia and every year thousands claim deductions they’re not entitled to and fall foul of the Australian Taxation Office.

The result can be a kindly warning or a significant fine and large interest bill.

The tax office says it is investors’ responsibility to get their tax returns right and they can’t blame their accountant or plead ignorance if they get it wrong.

One of the most common mistakes investors make is claiming items that should be depreciated over several years.

According to the tax office, initial repairs to fix damage, defects or deterioration that existed when a property was bought are capital expenses that should be claimed as capital-works deductions over either 25 or 40 years.

Capital improvements such as re-modelling a bathroom or adding a pergola should also be claimed as capital-works deductions.

Other mistakes include:

Interest

Taxpayers sometimes use loans for investing and private purposes — for example, to buy or renovate a rental property or to buy a motor boat.

The interest expense on the private portion of the loan (the boat) is not deductible!

Legal expenses

Conveyancing expenses incurred when buying and selling a property are not deductible. These form part of the cost for capital-gains tax purposes.

Travel expenses

If you take a holiday and visit your investment property while you’re there, you cannot claim a deduction for the full trip.

The tax office says you may claim only those expenses directly related to the property inspection and a proportion of accommodation expenses.

CASHED-UP Melburnians keen to snatch beachfront holiday homes from struggling vendors may be in for a big disappointment.

Plunging average prices for regional seaside homes don’t tell the full story.

Valuer-General Victoria sales figures released this month by Land Victoria show median house prices rose in a third of seaside towns!

From the end of 2007 to the end of last year, prices fell in 16 of 30 coastal towns and stayed level in four others!

Hardest hit is Port Fairy with a 34.6 per cent drop from $390,000 in late 2007 to $255,000 at the end of last year. Average house prices also fell dramatically in Blairgowrie, Barwon Heads, Portarlington and Rosebud West.

Anne Murphy of Stockdale & Leggo says Port Fairy sales during the summer were the best in the eight years she’s been there, saying the big drop in the median house price for Port Fairy is not because property values have fallen. Instead, figures have been skewed by tightly held, top-end properties being kept off the market.

“We’ve been recommending they delay selling because demand isn’t strong.”

People have owned houses here for 30 to 50 years. They’re kept in the family and passed down. Unless unforeseen circumstances such as a divorce occur, why sell in this market if you don’t have to?”

But Murphy says those Port Fairy vendors who are on the market are more realistic than past years.

“We’re not expecting a good summer season with the economy the way it is, but we’ve had extremely good results in the number of sales and most sales were within 10 per cent of asking prices.”

“In the past 18 months in our office, there has been only one sale of a property that sold for less than the vendor paid for it!”

“Most properties here are about $450,000. You won’t get much for your money under $400,000.”

That hasn’t stopped holiday-home hunters prowling Port Fairy.

“We’ve had people come in looking for that bargain,” “I personally don’t have any bargains but there are realistically priced properties and motivated vendors who’ll negotiate.”

A historic fishing port that is now a popular holiday and retirement town famed for its annual folk festival, Port Fairy is about 290km west of Melbourne.

What will happen if rates go up? In today’s low-interest-rate environment one of the common questions property investors ask is, “What happens if we buy now and interest rates skyrocket, like back in the 1980’s?”

An understandable concern and today’s historically low interest rates can’t be sustained forever because at some point the economy will begin recovering, inflation will grow and rates will rise!

That’s the economy’s cyclical nature for you.

When rates do rise it’s doubtful they’ll hit the dizzying heights of the late 1980s. The major lenders certainly don’t think so; they’re setting their 10year fixed rates about 7per cent.

With vast resources and access to the world’s top economic minds, it’s highly unlikely that major lenders will make the wrong call about the future direction of interest rates.

But for argument’s sake that they do and rates climb back to the heady levels of 20 years ago.

If interest rates go up that far it’s a sign that business and consumer confidence is high. When rates go up so does inflation. And when inflation rises, so do property values. Yes, your holding costs will be higher because of higher interest rates but as an investor you will benefit on three fronts.

High rental returns

First-home buyers won’t be active because property is less affordable in a high-interest-rate environment. This will keep them in the rental market, put pressure on the available rental accommodation and drive up asking rents. The higher the interest rates, the higher the investment yield.

Negative gearing benefits

If your expenditure on the property exceeds your rental income, you’ll be able to soften the impact and increase your cash flow by claiming the difference as a tax deduction.

Substantial sale proceeds

If you can’t afford to hold the property you can sell it. While this isn’t an ideal scenario, your property will have grown substantially in value during the time of high inflation so you’ll be better off than when you purchased it and that is the aim of investing!

What will happen if rates go up? In today’s low-interest-rate environment one of the common questions property investors ask is, “What happens if we buy now and interest rates skyrocket, like back in the 1980’s?”

An understandable concern and today’s historically low interest rates can’t be sustained forever because at some point the economy will begin recovering, inflation will grow and rates will rise!

That’s the economy’s cyclical nature for you.

When rates do rise it’s doubtful they’ll hit the dizzying heights of the late 1980s. The major lenders certainly don’t think so; they’re setting their 10year fixed rates about 7per cent.

With vast resources and access to the world’s top economic minds, it’s highly unlikely that major lenders will make the wrong call about the future direction of interest rates.

But for argument’s sake that they do and rates climb back to the heady levels of 20 years ago.

If interest rates go up that far it’s a sign that business and consumer confidence is high. When rates go up so does inflation. And when inflation rises, so do property values. Yes, your holding costs will be higher because of higher interest rates but as an investor you will benefit on three fronts.

High rental returns

First-home buyers won’t be active because property is less affordable in a high-interest-rate environment. This will keep them in the rental market, put pressure on the available rental accommodation and drive up asking rents. The higher the interest rates, the higher the investment yield.

Negative gearing benefits

If your expenditure on the property exceeds your rental income, you’ll be able to soften the impact and increase your cash flow by claiming the difference as a tax deduction.

Substantial sale proceeds

If you can’t afford to hold the property you can sell it. While this isn’t an ideal scenario, your property will have grown substantially in value during the time of high inflation so you’ll be better off than when you purchased it and that is the aim of investing!

MELBOURNE’s auction market had its highest clearance rate over the weekend since the end of the property boom in December 2007.

Of the 452 properties up for auction, 83 per cent sold and 77 properties were passed in!

But the number of properties for auction was 126 fewer than at the same time last year!

The CEO of Real Estate Institute of Victoria attributed the high clearance rate to the extension of the first-home buyer’s grant announced in last week’s federal Budget, combined with low interest rates and an increase in investor numbers.

“It’s off a low base. There were not a lot of auctions,” Mr Raimondo said.

The part of the market which is performing really well is priced at or below the medium of about $410,000.

“In the last 12 months that’s stayed very stable.”

Mr Raimondo expects the strong clearance rate to continue.

“The next two weeks we expect to see just under 1300 auctions, which is a very high number of auctions at this time of the year.

“I expect the clearance rate to remain high until the 30th of September (when the full first-home owner’s boost will be phased out).”

Flat and apartment clearances were also strong: 90 per cent of 136 properties at auction sold.

The latest residential land report from the Housing Industry Association revealed Melbourne’s median land price grew 0.7 per cent in the December quarter to a record $152,000.

The HIA-RP Data residential land report showed the price of land in Melbourne was up 4.8 per cent over the year.

The median land price in regional Victoria fell 2.8 per cent in the December quarter to $97,250, the lowest price since mid-2007.

Home buyers are flocking back to variable rate mortgages which now account for 91% of the residential lending market, their highest proportion in four months.

Mortgage broker Mortgage Choice reported in April, basic variable mortgages accounted for 48.15 per cent of all home loans approved - up nearly one per cent from March, while standard variable mortgages comprised 42.77 per cent of the market, down 1.47 per cent from March.

Basic variable loans generally have fewer loan features than a standard variable loan.

Fixed rate loans accounted for four per cent of all approvals up a percentage point from a month earlier.

Basic variable loans have been the most popular loan type for four months after overtaking standard variable for the first time in January 2009!

Rates charged on variable home loans move in line with interest rates as set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (which has successively cut its overnight cash rate since September last year to a 49-year low.

And despite interest rates being at their lowest in decades, the sensitive global and domestic economic climate is having a strong influence over loan product preferences.

Consumer conservatism with rates and fees continues to win out against loan flexibility and extra features.

Line of credit loans in April, popular with property investors, posted a fall of five per cent from the previous month.

Commitments for owner-occupied housing rose 4.9 per cent in March, seasonally adjusted, to 59,793, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed this month.

Total housing finance by value rose 6.7 per cent in March, seasonally adjusted, to $20.688 billion, based on the latest data available.

Melbourne’s outer suburb vacancy rates have improved from 0.7 per cent to 1.8 per cent in the past six months, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s April vacancy rates.

The vacancy rate across Melbourne is reasonably steady having been between one and 1.4 per cent for 12 months.  However it‘s significant that there’s a noted improvement in the outer suburbs.

The improvement could be due to the number of first homebuyers that are moving from their rented accommodation into their own home with the assistance of the grants, bonus and boosts.

The March quarter median prices showed that most of the activity in the marketplace has been in the outer suburbs; for instance Craigieburn, Melton South, Hillside, Epping, Caroline Springs, Werribee and Meadow Heights – all outer suburbs of Melbourne very popular with first homebuyers.

It‘s great news for renters if a by-product of the grants, bonus and boosts is an improvement in the availability of rental accommodation, however monitoring of the situation over the next few months to will tell of continual improvement..

We’d consider that the rental market would be in balance once we reach a Melbourne-wide vacancy rate of three per cent.

In the last month the figures from our REIV members have shown a very minor change in the inner suburbs where the vacancy rate moved from 1.5 to 1.3 per cent and in the middle suburbs where it moved from 1.4 to 1.3 per cent.

The value of commercial building permits in Victoria has increased in the March quarter, despite there being a fall in the state’s building industry overall.

Building Commissioner Tony Arnel says that when compared to the same period in 2008, the value of building permits in the state has decreased by 11 per cent to reach below $4.2 billion!

Looking at the data for building use, commercial building permits is the only building use category to increase, up eight per cent to $793 million!

Hospital and healthcare recorded the biggest fall in the quarter dropping 55%, industrial fell by 46%, public buildings by 4%, retail by nearly 27%, residential by 17% and domestic by 3%!

According to Mr. Arnel, North Central was the only Victorian region that experienced an increase in the value of permits issued.

It had nearly a 23 per cent increase when compared to the same period of 2008.