#iec2017 Indian Executive Club opened nominations to its 7th Annual Business Awards on 26th May at the Aitken Partner’s office in Melbourne. Nominations to  seven category of awards is currently open. The nominations will close on September 3rd, 2017. The results will be announced at a gala dinner night. Date of The Awards: 18th November, 2016 Venue: TBA Keynote speaker: Amarjeet Singh Batra, OLX Founder

Cities and suburbs in Australia are showing different trends in terms of real estate. While Melbourne is showing signs of growing outwards, Sydney is growing up. What’s in store for an investor? Melbourne has been the best performing city in Australia. No city has grown more than 10 per cent in last 12 months, but Melbourne is the closest to hitting that number. Sydney prices have risen by 49 per cent and Melbourne prices by 36 per cent since the last downturn. The Economist is predicting a 40 per cent fall in Melbourne and Sydney Market, Would this happen? Well, economists have been predicting a housing crash for the last four decades and they will continue to do so. In saying that, there will some correction in outer suburbs where there is too much stock of house and land packages still left to sell. We will see slowing down in price growth in Melbourne and Sydney in 2017. But there won’t be any crash. In that case, one wonders what could trigger a house prices crash. The way I see it, three things can — oversupply of houses in a particular area; high-interest rates where people can afford to hold the properties anymore; and recession. All the above are not going to happen, so we should not worry about any house price crash. The next question that arises is how to estimate the value of property. Rough estimates can be availed from your bank for free. All the banks do offer unlimited property appraisals for free. There are two websites — www.realestate.com.au and www.onthehouse.com.au — which offer the rough estimate of your property. There are only 5 per cent of properties which are investment grade properties. About 95 per cent of the properties on the market are below average and not a good property to invest. In the boom markets, we have only 1 per cent of properties, which are investment grade. According to the pain and gain report in the last quarter, 8.4 per cent of properties in Australia were sold at a loss. This is a surprising fact because even in boom times we have this property losing in value, even though it was held for 6.7 years. So, buying investment grade properties is very important. Across the country, pain and gain reports show that property hold for less than 6.7 years will show a loss when selling and for a gross profit sale average length of ownership of a property is 10.1 years. For a double the gross profit property should be held for 17.7 years. So, property is not a short term investment. Beware of buying off the plan profits and properties which are on the fringes of the city. Always buy in well-established suburbs. Where is the interest rate heading this month?  We predict the cash rate to be steady at 2.0 per cent. The Australian dollar is at a nine month high sitting at 76.69 as of 3 April. This is the only concern RBA has, which can trigger a rate cut. But RBA will wait and see until June to decide if the other rate cut is important, to save the export market and rising dollars. We might see one more interest rate cut in 2016 and from 2017 onwards expect rate rises. While the labour party would like to pursue and stop the negative gearing on established properties from July 2017, they are expecting some votes from the 13 million voters, don’t own an investment property or don’t claim negative gearing against 2 million voters who are property investors. Around 16 per cent of people who are lodging tax returns or 2,033,973 individuals owned a rental in FY2014. the vast majority of them owning one or two investment properties. The negative gearing and rental losses are not going to impact any rich as the debate is heating up in the political circles. According to ATO data, people who are claiming rental loss are: ~ 707,000 individuals with income bracket of $37,000 – $80,000 (61 per cent) ~ 42,000 individuals with income bracket of $80,00 – $180,000. ~ 9,000 individuals with income bracket of $180,000 – $250,000 ~ 5,000 individuals with income bracket of $250,000 – $500,000 If you look at the statistics, it is the middle-income Australia which is investing in real estate, with 82 per cent of all the investors between the age of 18 to 29 are declaring a net rental loss. The government tax benefits are helping middle income earners and young generation. Not the way the media and politicians portray about rich income earners are benefiting with the negative gearing policies.   BOX1 What to check out online this week Website: Buymyplace.com.au is an ASX listed company which is fast real estate online company. App for Budgeting ~ 1) pocketbook cost: free ~ 2) GoodBudget cost :free ~ 3) Wally cost : free ~ 4) TrackMySpend cost : free BOX: 2 How are Melbourne and Sydney growing? Melbourne is growing OUT Sydney is growing UP. Melbourne green fields in the south east, north and west are growing out. Population increase in 4 suburbs is noticeable from 2014 to 2015. Cranbourne East (VIC) +32 per cent, South Morang (VIC) +7.6 per cent, Epping (VIC) + 9.3 per cent, Point Cook (VIC) +7.3 per cent. Inspire of Apartment boom in CBD. Victorians are moving out. Sydney population growth has come from green square earmarked for new Metro Station. Waterloo – Beaconsfield (NSW) population increased by 11.4 per cent for the year 2014 – 2015. City-wide growth in the last 12 months Melbourne : +9.8 per cent Sydney : +7.4 per cent Hobart : +4.8 per cent Brisbane : +4.5 per cent Adelaide : +3.2 per cent Canberra : +1.7 per cent Darwin : – 1.8 per cent Perth : – 2.0 per cent

A first home buyer’s chances of buying an entry-level house priced under $400,000 in Sydney halved during the past 12 months, making it the worst city for buying an entry-level home. Melbourne buyers had it much easier, with a third of homes available under $400,000 – down from 40.8 per cent in 2015. In the harbour city, less than 4 per cent of houses in April were advertised under $400,000, compared with 8.6 per cent of homes in 2015, Domain Group data shows. In 2012, 21.3 per cent of houses were priced under $400,000. Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson said the $400,000 benchmark typically represented “the homes a first home buyer could traditionally choose from where the repayment level would be around their rent price”. But for first home buyers in Sydney, “you won’t get much … it’s the bargain basement of the market,” Dr Wilson said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher and homes at this price point are disappearing.” The entry-level houses in Melbourne are in suburbs to the north and west, such as Melton, Wyndham and Whittlesea, Wakelin Property Advisory associate director Jarrod McCabe said. Homes close to the city do come at a price point that is usually above a typical first home buyer’s budget, “which is why they look to buy in these fringe suburbs”, Mr McCabe said. This has given Melbourne first home buyers a “leg up” on those in other capital cities, he said. These lower-priced opportunities may also see lower-priced house hunters look beyond their city’s borders. Curtin University’s Steven Rowley said first home buyers focus predominantly on affordability and location, which “often means moving a considerable distance from work in order to purchase, or seeking employment in areas with cheaper housing markets”. “Net interstate migration is negative in NSW and positive in Victoria and house price differentials are part of the factors behind this,” Dr Rowley said. Potential buyers looking interstate or at least beyond their comfort range of travel include nurses, teachers and single people, Finalytics Financial executive chairman Tim Boyle said. “Regardless of which state they live in, they tend to earn the same amount [in these professions],” he said. “They end up resigned to one of two things. They either look to buy an apartment or they decide to travel further …They’ve got to be prepared to spend an hour in the car [each way] every day,” he said. First Home Buyers Australia co-founder Taj Singh said $400,000 was the average amount they had seen first home buyers spending, requiring an $80,000 deposit and costs. This expense has seen “more and more first home buyers choosing to buy their first home [rentvesting] as an investor in places such as Melbourne CBD, the outer suburbs of Melbourne and South East Queensland”. Sydney versus Melbourne Houses advertised for $400,000 or under within 50 kilometres of their respective CBDs. Sydney 28 Wangaroa Crescent, Lethbridge Park Price: Under contract for $400,000 Size: 650 square metres , three-bedroom, one-bathroom, single garage Last sold: 2005 for $194,950 Melbourne 2 Caruana Crescent, Melton West Price: $395,000 Size: 509 square metres, three-bedroom, two-bathroom, double garage Last sold: Brand new

Balvinder Ruby – on how he built brand REEX from the bottom up Balvinder Ruby migrated to Sydney with his family in 2000 and though it took him some time to get acclimatised to the new socio-economic setting, he soon adopted this country as his own and found the people here compassionate with a high regard for human values. After working in the real estate industry for a couple of years Balvinder realised there was scope for personal and professional growth in the field. He started his own company Real Estate Experts (REEX) in July 2011. REEX has its office in the Norwest Business Park precinct which is the nerve centre of business activities in Western Sydney. REEX is an independently operated real estate business dealing in sale, purchase and property management. The company caters to all real estate needs for clients interested in buying or investing in the Western Sydney. The business is strategically located in the Sky City Building on Lexington Drive in Norwest Business Centre, next to the upcoming Bella Vista railway station of Norwest rail link. REEX is a fully cloud-based real estate business. The business uses bulk up-loaders and sends property listings to over 30 real estate website portals including its own website and uses its own hosting. The motto of REEX is “Helping You Creating Wealth Every Step of the Way”. When asked about his most challenging moment, Balvinder says, “The biggest challenge was creating my own brand and competing with the big brand franchise chains who had been in the business for generations. They had all the systems in place whereas I had to research every individual component.” But his hard work and dedication enabled him to create his own brand and he sees that as one of the most rewarding achievements. Balvinder Ruby is an active community leader and the current President of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin’s (GOPIO) Sydney chapter. GOPIO has branches in many countries across the globe and is primarily dedicated to the promotion and wellbeing of people of Indian origin. The organisation enhances cooperation and communication between Indians in Australia and other countries. Mr Ruby champions the cause of mental health, is a journalist and the brand ambassador of The Times of India.

At Jai Ho, Saurabh Abbott and family pay extra attention to ensure that traditional recipes are not tampered with – and that means even grinding their own spices  “Some of the recipes are really difficult to prepare and people really appreciate that we put in that extra effort to cook them in the original methods” saurabh abbott The recipes are designed entirely by my mother, who’s been cooking Indian food taught by my grandmother for years… Saurabh Abbott In Melbourne’s hyper competitive restaurant scene, one Indian family venture has concocted a winning recipe. Serving authentic flavours with end-to-end quality has won Jai Ho a loyal following, and powered its growth from a single restaurant to a chain in just five years. The Indian Sun spoke to one of the men at the helm, Saurabh Abbott, to get the lowdown on his family’s success secrets. Standing apart From day one, the family knew the first restaurant they opened in Richmond had to stand out. “We were surrounded by about 35 Indian restaurants in our location,” explained Abbott. “We had to do something unique, so that’s why we went for quality.” To make the Jai Ho brand synonymous with quality, special attention was paid to ensure recipes were traditionally prepared – right down to the grinding of spices. “We grind them ourselves – it does take extra time but it produces better flavour,” said Abbott. In today’s warp-speed culture, Melbournians flocking to Jai Ho appear to have found relief in an Indian diner that has rejected fast-food style mass production. As Abbott said, “we don’t take shortcuts”. “Some of the recipes are really difficult to prepare and people really appreciate that we put in that extra effort to cook them in the original methods,” he said. Jai Ho’s team also took time to build relationships with suppliers. “It took us a long time to finalise and stick to our suppliers. I spend a lot of time checking quality, and I have rejected things and sent them back in the past,” said Abbott. His stickling for quality paid off. “In the last three years we haven’t had any issues with supplies. Everything arrives on time and in the best condition… we have really good relationships with all our suppliers” Abbott said. The payback of all this attention to detail in the quest for quality is powerful word-of-mouth marketing. This is how the Jai Ho brand has seen success in, as Abbott puts it,a “middle of nowhere” location in Hoppers Crossing. The family opened Jai Ho’s second branch in the nondescript shopping strip along Old Geelong road because it had a large car park that could easily accommodate parties and other group bookings. They were also well aware it was surrounded by some of Melbourne’s fastest growing Indian communities. “If we give them good stuff they spread the word so quickly,” said Abbott.“It was very easy to become popular in that area.” The success in Hoppers Crossing recently led the family to open another branch in Berwick in March. “Already we’re seeing good results there, getting good comments and feedback,” said Abbott. Family ties Powering Jai Ho is a family affair. “We work on a principle of teamwork so our entire family is involved in this restaurant business,” Abbott said. “I run the Richmond branch along with my mum Sunita and dad Sunil. And my Hoppers Crossing branch is run by my brother-in-law Gautam Thapar and sister Shraddha.” The Berwick restaurant is being run by a close family friend. The family packs a unique mix of talent and training. Abbott and his brother-in-law are both qualified commercial chefs – Thapar has worked at some of Melbourne’s best-known 5-star hotels. “He’s very experienced with continental dishes,” said Abbott. Meanwhile, Abbott’s mother is the master and commander of Jai Ho’s authenticity. “All the traditional Indian methods I learned from my mother,” Abbott said. Spices are ground according to generations old recipes “entirely designed by my mother, who’s been cooking Indian food taught by my grandmother for years,” he said. “Mixing mum’s traditional recipes, and Thapar’s experience in how to run commercial kitchens, we get the best of both worlds.” Care is taken in training staff to ensure these qualities are imbued across all the restaurants. “We spend a lot of time training the staff, treating them well, treating them like family,” said Abbott. “All our chefs get trained at one given branch by our experienced family members and chefs… they come from other restaurants, where often they work in a faster environment and quality is not the priority, so we need to be very precise in training.” Wish Jai Ho’s authentic Indian was available in your neighbourhood? It could well be soon – the family is now on the look out for their next location in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. “We know there’s a lot of potential in that area,” said Abbott. “Anyone who is interested to join our team, in terms of running a branch, they’re more than welcome to send enquires!”

At the helm of Reliance Real Estate, Sunil not only leads his highly experienced and passionate team in delivering first class service and expertise but he motivates and inspires his team to consistently raise the real estate industry benchmark. With a strong sales and marketing background and close to a decade of experience working in real estate, Sunil’s best decision was launching Reliance Real Estate in 2011. Stepping away from the traditional real estate franchise model Sunil was determined to establish an independent agency that valued clients over profits. Read, apply, share. Alongside Sunil’s success selling property and mentoring the real estate leaders of the future, Sunil’s contribution in local business networking is notably rewarding as is his passion for assisting the wider community including schools and churches. Most recently, Sunil has penned his real estate expertise in his first book – ‘Sold’, created to educate home owners of the local area on how to increase the value of their property.

In Pentagon, Vijan Patel is known as the man who can crack any deal in retail and property development projects, which operate in Tasmania and Victoria. His strong commitment and persuasion has helped the company reach great heights in the world of properties. But Vijan never stops. Whether he is at networking luncheons at “place of best reputation you go” or travelling for work with the multiple businesses in his portfolio, Melbourne-based “VJ” is always doing things at once with the highest level of precision. As VJ says to staff, “Don’t stop even when you have enough.” His strong commitment means there is always room for more opportunity and improvement if you can challenge yourself every day. The time he does take away from his corporate life is dedicated to his family, his wife Fiona and two sons Kiaan and Kalan. Vision with action. Varun Zaveri is called the man of vision because he broken new group for the group in wholesale and retail marketing. Varun’s organisational skills have accelerated the group to success. The people person. Vishal Patel, who began his career as a project engineer, is among the key people at Pentagon, making sure the operations side is managed with precision. His strong interpersonal skills have helped build a rapport among stakeholders. Going for gold. Sunny Singh seems to have the Midas touch. He has had success at every door step from 2006 after starting his own business in retail. He has developed his own phone accessory brand called Samyol which raked in a turnover of more than half million in six months. Man on the move. The man in retail operations, Pratik Sarsavadia is a manager with vision. Pratik’s smart watch on market movement has helped fortify the group’s future and maximize growth.

Fifty leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs, path-breakers from the Indian diaspora, showing the way, was nominated and selected for a diverse and compelling fourth edition of Who’s Who, published by Narwee Media and launched at the IEC awards in November by Melbourne’s Consul General of India Manika Jain. Take Dharmesh Parmar who gave up years of experience in the banking industry to open a pub in Melbourne’s CBD, and says he wouldn’t have it any other way. And Rod (Rohit) Saini, who has shown that fortunes can be built with very little start-up capital. The CEO and founder of Medallion Group Pty Ltd is the first Indian to start a franchise group in Australia in the car wash industry. He started Medallion Hand Car Wash franchise business in 2009, which is today among the only three car wash franchise groups operating in Australia. The Who’s Who publication, a repository of diaspora achievement, now in its fourth edition, has been generating more and more interest with every passing year. From the December to March editions of The Indian Sun, we will profile some of these people who appeared in the Fourth Edition of the publication. The IEC Awards are Australia’s first event to recognise the achievements of small to medium-sized businesses and executives from the Indian Diaspora. Since launching in 2011, they’ve shone the spotlight on rising stars and revealed the depth of talent in this emerging community. On 21 November, IEC celebrated its milestone year awards and announced winners of its business awards at the Atlantic Peninsula. Over 400 guests attended to mark the occasion. Before the winners were revealed, an icon of Australia’s migrant community, Ahmed Fahour delivered the keynote address. Fahour revealed the values and events that powered his journey to become Australia Post’s Group CEO and Managing Director. He also emphasised the significance of being Australian Indian in the current global environment. On 19 December, FOSAI will host its first ever Bollywood Festival at the Werribee Race Course in Victoria. Highlighting the significance of working with local talent and offering them a platform to exhibit their talents, FOSAI has partnered with various community organisations to bring this festival to you. Over 500 artists and their families are taking part in the festivities. So before this festive season starts, it’s an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate. Stay safe this holiday season.