Perth house prices and rental accommodation becoming sparse

An article from “the age” makes interesting and in some instances slightly worrying reading for someone looking at moving his whole family lock stock and barrel to western Australia.

The long article covers how successful Perth and Western Australia as a whole has become in recent years, how business is booming and how companies can’t recruit enough staff resulting in high earning opportunities for the right roles.

The article goes onto say:

They’ve had booms in WA before, of course, but nothing like this. That’s because previous booms were centred on one resource, affecting the handful of companies that were digging up that particular rock. It was nickel in the 1970s, oil in the 1950s, gold in the 1890s. This time around, demand is hot for a raft of commodities — LNG, oil, nickel, gold, zinc, coal and aluminium — and WA has them all

Now I don’t mind booms and the associated skill shortages because hopefully this will mean that some of the skills I’ll be going out to Western Australia with may well be in demand.

The thing that concerns me a little in this article is the fact that people seems to be flocking to Perth because of this ‘boom’ and the inherent opportunities to earn a half decent income. This is impacting house prices and land availability.

Paradoxically space is at a premium in Perth and WA as a whole. Demand for land is so intense that people are camping out for days to get their hands on a tiny parcel of the latest release — behaviour never before contemplated in WA. Would-be home buyers are increasingly discovering that For Sale signs go up in front of houses only so the agent can place a Sold sign over the top.

The article also goes onto say that there is also a chronic shortage of rental accommodation — an increasing problem for a state desperately trying to tempt workers from the eastern states and overseas. Terry Swift, a recruitment agent of 20 years’ experience, says people are willing to come to WA for work. “But they are also getting a surprise when they find out what housing costs here are now,” he says. “There’s a shortage of rental properties and there’s hardly a house available for sale. This has caught everyone by surprise.”

Bugger!

Now I keep a watchful eye on the rental situation in Perth, realestate.com.au is one of my favourite haunts and there still appears to be a large number of rental properties coming on to the market on a weekly basis. I guess were probably looking at the best of what could potentially be a bad situation really.

If we weren’t moving to Perth now (say if we were to move out in two years time) Western Australia may well be very different and less affordable places to live. House prices in Perth already seem to be on the rise by 30% plus in some areas!

As I’ve mentioned before, I guess comparatively speaking, house prices in Australia are still pretty good compared to what they are over here in the UK, I just hope we get there in time to take advantage of them

Popularity: 2% [?]

Current Processing Times for Aussie Visas May 2006

DIMA have finally started advertising the allocation to case officer times.

The information is updated weekly so I’ll start posting the latest updates from time to time on getting down under. The most up to date info is also available by sending a blank e-mail to: aspc.processing@immi.gov.au.

Processing Information

A case officer will be appointed to assess the application as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately.

Applications lodged on the dates shown below are currently being allocated to case officers for further processing:

The latest figures are below. Read more

Popularity: 3% [?]

Laura Bingle Topless proving a big hit at getting down under

I’ve been dabbling with websites for a number of years but this is the first time that I’ve run a website as a diary or blog as they are more commonly know.

Since we launched the site in January visitor numbers are slowly starting to increase. The stats for the number of people currently visiting the site stand at:

January - 32, February - 90, March - 374, April - 513, May - 800 (at time of typing).

I’m tring to make the content light hearted and provide some useful immigration advice for folks wanting to emigrate to Australia. The forums are proving quite popular since I added them last month to.

My web site logs enable me to see what people are searching for when visiting gettingdownunder via a search engine such as google or MSN..

What do you think they are searching for? Visa Advice, info on where to live in Australia?

Nope, our good friend Laura Bingle from the “where the bloody hell are you” Australian tourist board adverts seems to be one of the biggest draws to the site.

Our more artistic *cough*pervie*cough* visitors are coming here trying to find Laura Bingle Topless or Laura Bingle naked.

I’m sorry guys but if you want to see see a picture of Laura Bingle Topless or Laura Bingle naked then you’ll be looking for a very long time. In an attempt to provide a service to our visitors,

I did some ‘research’ and the nearest Laura came to being naked is in some older fasion model shoots which have since appeared in a mens ‘entertainment’ mag called Zoo. Clicking on either of the images in this post will present a larger version of each picture

Following on from the now infamous Laura, the next (slightly more relivant terms) are:

taking cats to australia
taking pets to australia
evaluation of the general skilled migration categories march 2006
noosar australia
australian migration forums

Now thats more like it.

I’ll post further updates on numbers and obscure surfing habits as the site continues to mature.

It’ll also be interesting to see how many new Laura Bingle fans this post will bring to the site. Perhaps browsing around the site may encourage some more folks to start the journey to a new life down under.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Australian Visa for Business Visits

If you need to visit Australia on business, even for a very short period of time, you will need to apply for an Australian visa. This article gives some basic details of the three types of business visa available.

There are three types of visa available for business visits to Australia. It should be noted that a business visit is NOT the same as “working” in the context of applying for an Australian visa.

The first is a Short Stay Business Visa which is suitable for a visit of less than three months. This will cover a business person for normal business meetings, negotiations and conferences and may be applied for through their chosen airline or via the internet. This is a Business Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). Alternatively, applications may be made in writing.

The second type of business visa is a Sponsored Business Visitor (short stay) Visa. In order to quality for this type of visa, a business person will need to be sponsored by a member of an Australian parliament, an authorised government agency, local mayor or other authorised organisation and the sponsor will need to guarantee that their visitor will abide by all the visa conditions including that which specifies the date by which they must leave the country.

The third business visa is a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa. To apply for one of these, an applicant must have an approved employer as a sponsor who has an eligible position available. The employer can be an Australian or overseas company and the employee must be a foreign national with the applicable skills to fill the position. The eligible position must have been approved as a skilled occupation suitable for this program, must be full time and of a minimum salary as well as meeting various Australian laws and award requirements.

However, before the employee can apply for a visa, the employer will need to apply to be a sponsor of overseas employees and nominate the job vacancies to be filled. The nomination period will be 12 months or until all the vacancies are filled, whichever is the shorter. The sponsorship will be for a period of 2 years and the visa period may be anything from 3 months to 4 years. However, if the employee wishes to change employment, he will need to find a new approved sponsor with an eligible position and re-apply for a visa.

Full details of all the above can be found on the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs website.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Australian Visas

Popularity: 1% [?]

Australian Visa - Students’ Visa

Many people would welcome the opportunity to spend some time in Australia studying and they can, as long as certain conditions are met.

Firstly they must be proficient in English language, must attend a course or part of a course full time, and that course must be offered by an education or training provider registered with the Australian Government as accepting overseas students. The Department of Education, Science and Training provides full details but such courses include both vocational and academic.

There are seven different types of student visa which may have differing conditions attached and these are:

Independent ELICOS - for those undertaking an English Language Intensive Course either not leading to an Australian award or to a variety of certificates.

Schools - for those in primary or secondary education.

Vocational Educational and Training - which covers a number of vocational certificates and diplomas.

Higher Education - covering degrees and graduate qualifications.

Postgraduate Research - for those undertaking Masters research or a Doctorate.

Non-Award - which are foundation studies or other components of courses not leading to an Australian award.

AusAID and Defence - these are full-time courses undertaken by an AusAID or Defence student sponsored by the Australian Government

Each applicant for a student visa is assessed depending on country from which a passport is held and the type of visa required. The assessment level is designed to indicate how likely a student is to comply with the conditions of their visa, based on their previous behaviour. The assessment levels range from 1 to 5 and the higher the level, the more evidence will be required to support the visa application in terms of the student’s ability to support themselves and their fluency in the English language.

There are a number of conditions associated with being granted a Student Visa, the most notable of which being that the student must maintain adequate health insurance for the duration of their stay, they may not work unless the apply for a separate visa to do so and they must remain in full-time education. The conditions are far more detailed than this but this gives an idea of what is required of someone wanting to apply for a Student Visa.

The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs website will guide students through the steps required to apply for an Australian Visa.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Australian Visas

Popularity: 2% [?]

Australian Visas - An Overview

Australia is a popular destination. Gone (or nearly) are the associations with convicts from Mother England and bars filled with muscle-bound sheep-shearers (women not allowed). Now if you ask for someone’s impression of Australia they’re likely to say “cosmopolitan”, “outdoor living”, “beaches”, “scenery”, “Great Barrier Reef”, “sophisticated” even. However, if you want to go there, unless you are a citizen of New Zealand, you are going to need a visa or travel permit.

There are different visas depending on your reasons for wanting to go to Australia.

For social or recreational reasons including a holiday, sightseeing, visiting family and friends or other short term (less than three months) non business or work related reasons, you can apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (Visitor) or a Tourist visa or a Sponsored Family Visitor visa.

If you wish to participate in Australia’s Overseas Student Program, you will need to do a registered course full-time and in order to do that, you will need a Student Visa.

For business visits of less than three months you will need a Business (Short-Stay) visa, which will permit you to visit Australia for the purposes of conferences or business meetings. If you are actually organising a business event or conference, you may need a different visa. For longer term employment in Australia, you will need to be sponsored by a company who are prepared to employ you for up to four years.

If you are between 18 and 30 and fancy working your way around Australia, you can participate in the Working Holiday Program which allows you to take up casual employment.

A visit to Australia for medical consultations or treatment requires that you have Medical Treatment Visa.

You can also get a Retirement Visa if you wish to spend some of your retirement years in Australia and a Transit Visa if you want to stop over on the way to somewhere else.

If you want to immigrate to Australia permanently, you will need to participate in the Migration Program which covers people with special skills who will contribute to the Australian economy and people who have family members already in Australia and who are prepared to sponsor them. There is also a Humanitarian Program for refugees.

If you are permanently resident in Australia but are not an Australian citizen, you will need a Resident Return Visa to allow you back in, should you leave on a temporary basis.

Each visa carries different conditions and may require additional paperwork to accompany the application. The one thing all the visas have in common, however, is that you will need to be specific about the length of your proposed stay. If you apply for a visa for three weeks but once you arrive, decide that you want to extend that to two months, you may have a problem.

It is possible that you will have to undergo a medical examination and/or chest x-ray in order to complete your visa application. This is unlikely, however, for a stay of up to 3 months, unless you already have a serious medical condition.

The best place to start for detailed information is the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs website.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Australian Visas

Popularity: 2% [?]

Australian Visas Tourist and Family Related Visits

If you want to holiday or visit family in Australia, unless you are a New Zealand citizen, you will need to obtain an Australian visa before you travel.

The type of visa you will need broadly depends on what you intend to do in Australia, your nationality and the length of time you want to stay in Australia, but you will probably need either an Electronic Travel Authority (Visitor) or a Tourist visa or a Sponsored Family Visitor visa. Whichever the case, you should apply for the full period of time that you want to remain in Australia, because once there, it is possible that you will be unable to extend your visa.

The Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (Visitor) is just as it sounds - electronic and therefore you may not get a stamp or label in your passport but don’t worry, the Australian immigration officers will have a record of your visa.

You can apply for an ETA (Visitor) if you wish to stay for less than three months, if you are outside Australia and hold a passport from one of the 34 eligible countries. You will find a full list of these on the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs website, but included are most countries from Western Europe and Scandinavia, the USA and a number of Far Eastern countries. There are special arrangements for citizens of countries not on the eligible list. An ETA (Visitor) Visa may be obtained via a travel agent or an airline, direct on the Internet or at an Australian visa office in your country of residence. There is no charge for this type of visa unless you apply over the Internet.

You may apply for a Tourist Visa whether you are inside or outside Australia and the duration will usually be 3 or 6 months but can sometimes extend to 12 months if you can prove your ability to support yourself during your stay. Applications for Tourist Visas may be made via the Internet if you are a passport holder of an eligible country, or via a registered travel agent, airline or service provider, a list of which can be found on the website mentioned above.

A Sponsored Family Visitor Visa is applicable for stays between 3 and 12 months and to apply you must be outside Australia and have a sponsor within Australia who is a family member, a member of an Australian parliament or other authorised person. To apply, you will need to complete a form, get a certified copy of your passport and send it all to your sponsor in Australia. Your sponsor will need to complete a different form and make the application on your behalf, sending all the paperwork to the applicable office.

Anyone who is not eligible to apply for an ETA Visitor or Tourist Visa over the Internet can complete a paper application which can be mailed to specific offices of the Australian government overseas.

Australian Visa - Business Visits

If you need to visit Australia on business, even for a very short period of time, you will need to apply for an Australian visa. This article gives some basic details of the three types of business visa available.

There are three types of visa available for business visits to Australia. It should be noted that a business visit is NOT the same as “working” in the context of applying for an Australian visa.

The first is a Short Stay Business Visa which is suitable for a visit of less than three months. This will cover a business person for normal business meetings, negotiations and conferences and may be applied for through their chosen airline or via the internet. This is a Business Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). Alternatively, applications may be made in writing.

The second type of business visa is a Sponsored Business Visitor (short stay) Visa. In order to quality for this type of visa, a business person will need to be sponsored by a member of an Australian parliament, an authorised government agency, local mayor or other authorised organisation and the sponsor will need to guarantee that their visitor will abide by all the visa conditions including that which specifies the date by which they must leave the country.

The third business visa is a Temporary Business (Long Stay) visa. To apply for one of these, an applicant must have an approved employer as a sponsor who has an eligible position available. The employer can be an Australian or overseas company and the employee must be a foreign national with the applicable skills to fill the position. The eligible position must have been approved as a skilled occupation suitable for this program, must be full time and of a minimum salary as well as meeting various Australian laws and award requirements.

However, before the employee can apply for a visa, the employer will need to apply to be a sponsor of overseas employees and nominate the job vacancies to be filled. The nomination period will be 12 months or until all the vacancies are filled, whichever is the shorter. The sponsorship will be for a period of 2 years and the visa period may be anything from 3 months to 4 years. However, if the employee wishes to change employment, he will need to find a new approved sponsor with an eligible position and re-apply for a visa.

Full details of all the above can be found on the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs website.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Australian Visas

Popularity: 1% [?]

The blue skys and perfect sunsets in Australia

One of the (more obvious I guess) reasons why I love Australia is down to the fantastic climate, to at least attempt to personify this I thought I’d chuck up a couple of photos that I took when we took our rekkie to Perth earlier this year.

Western Australia must have some of the best sunsets in the world, you have to be quick though as I’ve never known the sun to set so quickly anywhere. You can literally see the sun setting, slowly falling under the line of the horizon (or the ocean on our case for this photo).

The second picture is one that I took whilst enjoying some quality family time in a park right next to the Swan River in Perth.

The thumbnail may look just like a blue blob but this is actually a pic of the sky… You’ll never realise how blue the sky can be until your sat on a nice grassy bank looking….err…skywards Click it, I know you want to.

It was a beautiful day and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky (apart from the miniscule wisps you may see in the top left of the photo)

Feel free to save these as your desktop wallpaper. Click the image (opens on a new page) Click the image again (to maximise it) and right click with your mouse.

You’ll be presented with an option to save the image as your desktop background (or similar depending on the browser you’re using).

Popularity: 2% [?]

How much house can you get for £150,000 in Perth

Ok, now I have finally got around uploading a few photos I thought I’d share with you some of the picture that I took inside a show house that we visited in Perth.

Nice aren’t they!

The majority of the photos (except the last one) are of a house that would set you back approx £150,000!

Now before you get too excited. This is just for the bricks and mortar; it doesn’t include the price of the land that you stick your house on.

In this case, the houses were located just outside Hillary’s boat Harbour near Sorrento.

They were about a two minute walk from Hillary’s and some the most beautiful beaches in the world (well, in my opinion anyway).

The first of these houses would set you back approx £250,000 the house in the last picture (with the kitchen to die for) would set you back a cool $Million. (Approx £400k at time of typing).

This seems to be how the housing market works in Aus. You could buy a beautiful house for £150 and stick it on a plot of land costing you approx £30 - £40k in an average area a very long way away from the beach.

When your buying land in the sought after areas, you could be looking at £100 - £200k just for the land so the cheap houses (all of a sudden) don’t appear that cheap.

By UK standards, the cost of brick and mortar is cheap. It’s the costs of the land which is steadily increasing as time goes on.

It also seems that Perth and surrounding areas have a massive shortage in skilled labour (good news for all you brickies!) The agent we spoke to for both houses said it would take nearly two years for either of these properties to be built for us.

Having said that, the in-laws who immigrated to Sydney earlier this year have put down a deposit for a new house which they have been told will be ready before Christmas.

Its all swings and roundabouts I guess based on the part of Australia you’ll end up emigrating to.

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger version of each picture.

Popularity: 4% [?]

House buyers suck. Frustrations of a first time seller

Ok, well, that’s a seriously huge sweeping statement, they don’t really suck but we’ve been pretty let down by a couple of folks who have made appointments to View the house.

You get home early to make sure everything looks Ok. Cut the grass, make tea for the little lad so it’s eaten before they turn up, make sure everything’s more spotless then spotless and what happens… You wait for your 6:30 appointment…6:30 comes and goes…6:45 comes and goes 7pm comes and goes and still no viewer.

We’ve also had a few people doing what is now fondly known as ‘drive bys’. Folks driving up to the house, having a good look in, reversing their cars, having an even better look in….(either they are interested in buying the house or looking to rob the place)!

One chap called me over and asked about the price. Said he’d make an appointment (nearly 5 days ago now). Still nothing heard from the estate agent at time of typing.

I guess getting the house on the market was a big target for us. Now the for sale sign is up were back into the waiting game again.. Time to be patient I guess.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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