Sunday Blog - Expert property investment insights

In this changed lending landscape of ours, the negative sentiment, bad news stories and reports of market falls have created a negative picture for quite a few investors. But like most economic change, there is a flip-side. Heightened lender scrutiny, bank credit caution and the after-effects of our Banking Royal Commission have changed this environment of…

“Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. About 62% of Australian households own pets. There are an estimated more than 24 million pets in Australia.” Now that we’re back from holidays and we’ve picked up our cats from their cat-camp (thank you to Belinda’s Cosy Cat Cottages!), and after helping…

We field this question a lot. I even searched back through nine years’ of writing to make sure we weren’t doubling up a new blog. After our newest clients of 2019 spotted an online listing with this notification, it prompted this blog to explain what “Under Offer” can mean, (it varies) and what buyers can…

Our last auction of 2018 was indeed a special one. Unique, competitive, commercially zoned and sold significantly above the reserve. In a climate of low auction clearance results, limited competition and a general correction above the $800,000 price point in Melbourne, this one bucked the trend. Why? The first hint is in the Auction Schedule itself.…

With our last official auction Saturday of 2018 behind us and dismal auction clearance rates yet again echoing our tough market conditions, is it time to take advantage and buy? In typical fashion, we will hit Christmas and have leftovers. Buyers who are happy to push past the Christmas sales and holiday planning will mop…

Have you ever wondered why a property can sit on the market for weeks, and then all of a sudden when you submit an offer, there is suddenly another offer? Many buyers believe that the agent is bluffing. Occasionally they are, but it’s rarer than people imagine. In the majority of cases, the agent does have another…

When it comes to moving into the next home, most buyers are faced with the prospect of selling their existing home in order to make the move. Gone are the days of easy access to bridging finance, and buyers often ask us; “How do we do this?” In a stable market, the process is relatively…

Many properties have covenants on their title and this can be a positive, negative or moot point depending on the buyer’s intentions for the property and their understanding of the restriction that the covenant places upon the property. What is a covenant?   It’s a restriction on the property and can range from affecting the…

Every week, without fail I speak to prospective investors who wish to purchase investment properties with high depreciation benefits. Likewise we get targeted by marketing groups offering lucrative commissions for their brand new, Off-The-Plan stock. Explaining why we don’t target brand new comes as a shock to some, but the reason is simple. When depreciation…

This weekend’s clearance rate dipped to the lowest point so far for this year, yet two of the auctions we bid at flew past reserve and had multiple bidders striving for the keys. What was it about these two properties that defied current market conditions? Scarcity. But this late spring market, plagued by finance delays…

Recognising that our needs will change and lifestyle will evolve is important. Provisioning for this in advance can be clever. But how far out is too far out when it comes to predicting your timeframe? I meet with prospective clients often who have this strategy in mind and some reasons are completely rational, yet others are…