SUNDAY BLOG

There is a strong investor consensus that houses on full blocks out-perform units or strata properties. In the same quality street within the same suburb this may be true, but this long-held investment philosophy has many angles. And often this philosophy is wrong. The four common reasons that influence buyers to hold this firm view…

Yesterday’s auctions in Melbourne were a challenge for agents and auctioneers when our skies turned grey and rainfall struck. Some auctioneers battled the rain as it came in sideways, with staff offering umbrellas and buyers taking cover under eaves and garages. Others chose to take the buyers inside, with their auction calls held in vendor’s…

Years ago as a young real estate agent I had a great boss who reminded us all that an offer was never an offer until it was on a contract. He also used the line “strike while the iron is hot”, and while these were good pieces of advice for selling agents, they are ingrained…

When searching and shortlisting for property in a familiar area, our strike rate for spotting an investment-grade property on the internet is around 25%. Out of a possible hundred properties, we can filter the off-the-plan options out, recognise main roads and reject them, spot a busy neighbouring allotment and skip past, recall a less desirable street, steer…

When we facilitate our strategy session with our new investor clients, we spend time discussing the importance of criterion. Any past client could cite me including ‘proximity to train station’ as a must-have criteria for a good investment property. And those who quiz me about locations in a public transport ‘blackspot’ will get my all-too-familiar “nope,…

This week’s excitement included an appearance in the Australian Financial review and while it was novel to get some industry peer acknowledgement, the topic itself was very relevant for a lot of past and present clients of ours. Duncan Hughes (the journalist who wrote the article) asked me to comment on some of the reasons…

This Sunday’s blog could be forgiven for appearing like a foodie’s write up (except I am no foodie.) Yesterday I enjoyed my observations in sunny Belmont. The recent changes within this nine square kilometre patch just south of Geelong’s CBD, and home to over 13,000 people is a fascinating case study. Geelong has experienced impressive…

Bear Markets always create a change in emotion for buyers. Those who have been anxiously pushing themselves at auction during a Bull Market seem to forget the desperation they felt to just secure their property, sometimes anyproperty in the face of what felt like a brick wall between them and their acquisition plans. Fast-forward the…

This descriptor is used by agents a lot these days. What they really mean is that we have an unusual Melbourne property market right now. The days of auction results consistently setting new price records, auction clearance rates in the heady 70’s and 80’s, and multiple bidders at almost every property are literally yesteryear. Our market…

Auctions. Usually dreaded, sometimes feared and often avoided. But when a buyer has success at auction, can they ever put it down to Tactics? Absolutely. Of course we know that some auction results are a perfect correlation with budget. A willing buyer who is prepared to fight in a price war will always have an…

Whether the property plan is a home or an investment purchase, most couples are not completely aligned. In fact, sometimes couples are so misaligned that issues can strike. Whether it be fear of debt, a disbelief in property as the most suitable asset class to tackle at the time, anxiety around the proposed price tag or concern…

Over the past week I’ve had two prospective clients ask me about the suitability of their property selections as they canvas the market for their home. My responses to both were very similar. “I don’t recommend it at all.”  My reason was all about the zoning of the property. Unlike some of my words of caution where…