Sunday Blog - Expert property investment insights

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Valuations Square

Rates notice valuations aren’t an indicator of market value

By Cate Bakos | April 7, 2024

We often have clients refer to the council valuation when setting a bidding limit, but this is not a reliable indicator for likely price. This cartoon has been going around for years, and while we can laugh about it, the point of it is that appraisals vary greatly. In Victoria, rates notices are issued by…

000 Square Pie

Who are our Aussie property investors?

By Cate Bakos | March 31, 2024

The latest data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reveals that 2,245,539 Australians are invested in property. The most recent available data is from the 2020/2021 financial year. The data is broken down in many segments, from numbers of investment properties held, to age and state/territory of the property owner. The chart below shows the…

Moisture Meter

What are the building inspection finds that often kill the deal?

By Cate Bakos | March 24, 2024

We’ve seen literally thousands of building and pest inspection reports. Building and pest inspections are usually coordinated before an auction and they can be costly if a buyer misses out time after time. It’s important to note that contracts for non-auction properties provision for a building and pest inspection clause. However, there are three reasons…

Scales

What’s a fair compromise?

By Cate Bakos | March 17, 2024

Clients come to us for a variety of reasons, and surprisingly, being time poor is not the main reason. Many tell us that they have been searching for months on end, (and sometimes years), and to no avail. Unfeasible expectations can create havoc for a buyer. For a significant proportion of our first meetings with…

Watching Time

How quickly can we secure a property?

By Cate Bakos | March 10, 2024

We get this question often. In competitive climates, pre-auction offers occur a lot more frequently. This can create a lot of stress for buyers who suddenly become aware of an urgent time pressure. So how quickly can we pivot, and how fast can a property be purchased…. with all of the due diligence completed? Auction…

Melbourne Square

Has Melbourne bounced back?

By Cate Bakos | March 3, 2024

The recent capital growth data suggests a very modest increase for Melbourne, but what is really happening on the ground? The CoreLogic growth data for Melbourne in February 2024 shows a mere +0.1% gain, however the market feels quite different for those who are currently active in the market. There are several reasons why this…

Square Image

Victorian land tax explained

By Cate Bakos | February 25, 2024

Investors loathe it and many prospective buyers are reconsidering because of it, but what are the Victorian land tax changes? And where can we head to better understand the changes? Eight months ago, I penned this article addressing the tax changes. These changes are now rolling out, and it is important that investors understand what…

Links Square

What are Links and Chains? And Old System Titles?

By Cate Bakos | February 18, 2024

Recently, we did one of our regular checks on two title boundaries and found something unusual for both. A part of our due diligence process, we reference the satellite imagery on one of our paid portals. Then we compare to the title plan in the contract. We are accustomed to converting feet and inches to…

Housing

How do interest rates impact investors?

By Cate Bakos | February 11, 2024

The rental crisis is headline in our national media stories, and sadly it’s not going to get better soon. The Housing Accord Australia progress is questionable at best, hampered by a combination of higher materials costs and a skills shortage in the building sector. Despite the best of intentions, we are not on track to…

Flinders St Station

How is Melbourne faring?

By Cate Bakos | February 4, 2024

Melbourne has faced a lot of headwinds since 2020. This city has historically fared well, but the last four years have been tough.

Twelve Things

Twelve things most people don’t know about buying property

By Cate Bakos | January 28, 2024

There are many quirks and surprising elements to property purchasing. Here are just twelve things that most people don’t know about.

Geelong Waterfront

How is Geelong looking?

By Cate Bakos | January 21, 2024

Geelong has experienced an incredible transformation over the decades. Once an industrial town, known for manufacturing and in particular, the Ford plant. The challenges Geelong faced during some tough times, (such as the Pyramid Building Society collapse and the Ford plant closure) had some suggesting that this regional city’s capital growth prospects were questionable. But…

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