Posts by Cate Bakos

I remember when this practise was ruled out by new legislation. Much of 2002 and 2003’s newsfeed covered the reasons for the crackdown, including citing fines for those caught dummy bidding (or arranging dummy bidders). Agents wondered how the declaration of “vendor bid” would impact auctions, and at the time I recall a broad commitment…

I get asked this question a lot. In fact, one of my students asked me specifically how a corner site compared to a regular site when we were conducting comparable sales analysis in class. The answer is… it depends. A corner site has it’s challenges, but it has pro’s too. It all depends on the…

As the selling season approaches it’s close for year, what can we anticipate in 2024?

We’ve all been hearing about the rental crisis. A depleted supply of rental properties is not meeting current demand. Queues for newly advertised rental properties are long, often wrapping around blocks. Rents have been rising aggressively since the pandemic, and unfortunately it doesn’t look like the situation will improve for a very long time. Several…

I’ve written about off-markets plenty of times, and in particular, the allure of off-markets. After all, many buyers think that a buyers agent is a ticket to a train of great off-market properties. The reality is, not all off-markets are good. In fact, right now, most are poor quality. From mirage off-markets that ultimately run…

So many prospective buyers have been waiting it out for the fixed rate cliff to create price fall opportunities for them. Plenty of others have simply subscribed to the notion that that the increased cost of borrowed money will have a direct correlation with price falls. Surprisingly for them all, our national median house prices…

Auction properties can pass in for numerous reasons. When a pass-in occurs, many bidders play their cards badly. Firstly, let’s identify what a ‘pass-in’ means and what the auction rules permit. A property can be passed in by the auctioneer if the vendor’s reserve is not reached. When they announce that the property is passed…

Most property owners pay their insurance premiums each year, in good faith that they have appropriate insurance cover should anything go wrong. Yet, 83% of Australians are under-insured on their properties. Two years ago, my chat with Marty Sadlier from MCG Quantity Surveyors was eye-opening. In fact, it changed my view on property insurance forever.…

A recent keyword search study by REA identified some growing and emerging trends. From brick dwellings to apartment balconies, some are anticipated yet some are surprising. It is suggested that the lockdown experience from COVID has shaped some of our new preferences while other demographic drivers such as our aging population are clear initiators. The…