A person's home is their retirement!

Home ownership has long been the Australian dream. However for 4.8 million individuals retiring during the next 20 years, the home has become more than j ust a man's castle. It's also a solu t ion to funding retirement years.

A recent MLC survey found more than a third of the respondent's clients will downsize their home, about one-third will sell their investment property, and about one-third will sell an existing business during the next five years to shore up their retirements savings. This supports studies conducted during the mid 2000s, which found a third of baby boomers would be willing or would expect to downsize or sell their family home once they stop work. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also highlight this heavy reliance on bricks and mortar (Property) as their primary nest egg.

The family home, however, represents 47 per cent of net wealth Investment properties represent another 15 per cent, while an individual s own business makes up 9 per cent Other investments such as shares form the remainder of total net wealth. It's clear to see that the retirement of baby boomers will be funded by consuming the capital represented by non-super assets, such as property, rather than merely drawing down their super balance and spending income from non-super assets such as dividends, interest and rent.

It's surprising that investment properties are highly represented in this breakdown. They are the asset of choice for the majority of Australians, courtesy of the capital appreciation and the many tax deductions.

However, they ve been a particular favourite of baby boomers. 5tatisticsfrom the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show that 27 per cent of boomers have multiple investment properties, while this same demographic owns one half of Australia's total number ofinvestment properties. Property has been a great investment, particularly during the past 40 years.

An ANZ report found that the highest returns over the past 40 years came from owning your own home.

The report suggested that on average owning a home generated an annual return of 12 per cent, even with costs and taxes factored in Homes trumped both investment properties at 9.6 per cent and shares at 8. 9 per cent.

What has fuelled housing prices over the last 20 plus years is a halving of interest rates - from around 14 percent to 6 per cent. So while the cost of debt was falling the bankers' ent husiasm to len d increased.

Home ownership was the catalyst for Baby Boomers who have been the big winners;they successfully elbowed young first homebuyers out of the way at auctions using the equity in their homes to purchase investment properties like an ATM machine.

MBIC's advise to first home buyers is to look at what the baby boomers have achieved and to emulate them, we do not have to reinvent the wheel property is one of the safest investment vehicle with theleast risk in any volatile market, you only have to look at the options available to us to work that out The Australian economy has been powered by the baby boomers, whose entry into the workforce enmasse in the 1980s saw Australia's dependency ratio fall to all t ime lows. During this period, Australia s economy benefited enormously from the boomer's productive capacity consumption spending, and taxation receipts which peaked after the 1990s as they reached t heir peak earning/spending age (45 to 55 years of age). Asset values, too, were pushed-up by the baby boomers as they accumulated vast amounts of housing and financial assets with the aim of funding their retirements.

From 2011 onwards, however, Australia s economy will face significant demographic headwinds as the baby boomers gradually: enter retirement; cut back on spending; draw-down on assets; cease paying tax; and receive increasing levels of health care and social security, funded by increasing taxes on the younger generations. Confirming the importance of investing in Property !

MBIC's advice to you;Takecontrol of your financial affairs NOW!

Ifyou are serious of creating a retirement opportunity for yourself and your family, come to MBIC's final information evening for the year 17th October 2012 at 7pm, please contact me by phone or email for your reservation as seats are limited. We promise not to d isappoint you

Ensure that you are taking control of your Destiny NOT others.

DISCOVER HOW TO USE YOUR SUPERANNUATION AS A DEPOSITTO BUY PROPERTY.

Should you have any question, or would like to seek any further assist ance in property investment options, please feel free to call me on: Mobile: 0417 483 355 E-mail: