Posts by Cate Bakos

Sentiment counts for so much, and it’s interesting to see the correlation between buyer attitudes and interest rate chatter. As our Reserve Bank meetings approach, plenty of buyers momentarily put their plans on hold and ‘wait it out’ for the RBA interest rate decision. In 2022, real estate agents were cognisant of auction schedules and…

Victoria’s property performance has been lacklustre for quite a while now. Since the market started to correct in May 2022 when interest rates started to rise, property prices haven’t quite returned to the highs of 2021. The chart below shows the quarterly change in values, with Melbourne in red. Unlike most capital cities, Melbourne’s performance…

Overlays are often misunderstood, and sometimes the presence of an overlay is not even noted by purchasers. They feature for a reason, though, and sometimes an overlay can restrict the use of the land and/or add significant costs. Many of us are familiar with the concept of a heritage overlay.  This generally applies to period…

We sometimes meet buyers who have been looking for over a year, in fact some take years. Unless the brief is ultra-specific and the home is particularly scarce, anything over six months suggests that something is wrong. Three weeks to three months is how long almost all of our briefs take. There are quite a…

Twenty years ago I took a fortnight’s leave from my corporate job to map out a property investment strategy for my husband and I. We had investments between us, but we hadn’t really devised a strategy. We’d each taken snippets of advice and information and when we got together, our investments were diverse and not…

From first home buyers to upgraders, down-sizers to investors, I see these mistakes made all the time. And they can be really devastating at times for some buyers. The first relates to auction price quoting. Unfortunately our system in Victoria is based very much on quoting as low as possible, in an attempt to attract…

Having dealt with road closures, disruptive civil works, bus replacements on train services and a huge trade shortage since the project commenced in 2017, Melburnians can look forward to some positive changes next year. The Metro Tunnel consists of twin tunnels, 9km long, connecting South Kensington in Melbourne’s west with South Yarra, in Melbourne’s south…

Over the past two years, we have seen a marked increase in the number of Sydneysiders buying in Melbourne, but why? Some have chosen to move for sheer affordability reasons. Some have continued to rent and live in Sydney, but have circled in on Melbourne as their next home destination. While others have contacted us…

Prior to COVID, Pete and I caught up regularly when he was down in Melbourne. Our catch up of choice is usually a late night pizza restaurant in the city and we’ve paved out plenty of budget night webinars, podcast chats, and other fun ideas. I asked Pete one evening, “why don’t we write a…