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Crystal Ball

Can we believe all the economists’ predictions?

By Cate Bakos | November 12, 2023

For decades, economists’ predictions have hit the newsfeeds and influenced forecasting, opinion and buyer/seller behaviour. But how often do they get it right? Over the last twenty years in particular, (a familiar time for many of us as property investors), we have watched the negative news headlines come in waves throughout the post-Keating era, The…

Portarlington

Investment properties aren’t all selling to first home buyers

By Cate Bakos | November 4, 2023

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…

Apples

How do you know if it’s a *good* off-market?

By Cate Bakos | October 29, 2023

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…

Price Gains

Why are prices rising when interest rates are higher?

By Cate Bakos | October 22, 2023

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…

Pass In 2

Navigating a pass-in

By Cate Bakos | October 15, 2023

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…

Are You Really Insured

Are you really insured?

By Cate Bakos | October 8, 2023

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.…

Charging Station

How have our search terms changed?

By Cate Bakos | October 1, 2023

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…

Seddon Square

But hasn’t it already peaked?

By Cate Bakos | September 24, 2023

I get asked this question often when I suggest a suitable area for an investment brief. Too many prospective investors anticipate that an exciting hotspot will yield them a phenomenal amount of growth in a short timeframe, yet property investment should always be a long game. Just because a suburb exhibited boom conditions doesn’t mean…

Yarraville Map

Why MEDIAN data is not reliable

By Cate Bakos | September 17, 2023

We often categorise suburb performance by utilising median price movement, but this is such a flawed approach. There are multiple reasons why this measure is unreliable. Firstly, the median data point is only the mid-point of any given data set. If we apply only median to average values, we risk a skewed bell curve completely.…

Country

Moving to the Country

By Cate Bakos | September 10, 2023

This isn’t a common brief, but it happens for us more regularly than people would imagine. Every now and then, a client contacts us and shares that they’ve been contemplating a move out of the city, and for some it may be rural living, acreage or farming. This is indeed a considerable change. Not only…

Dropped Icecream

The six biggest mistakes investors make in transitioning market

By Cate Bakos | September 3, 2023

Investors like to keep an ear to the ground when it comes to market performance, but in a transitioning market, buyers and investors sometimes make some terrible mistakes. We currently find ourselves in a transitioning market now, after 2022’s downturn which was triggered by aggressive interest rate rises. These rises were initiated over consecutive months…

Keyboard

Navigating underquoting

By Cate Bakos | August 26, 2023

Underquoting… the topic pops up every time a market turns up. However, it generally exists in Melbourne for auction campaigns and underquoting frustrates buyers often. This year, calls to Consumer Affairs Victoria have increased on past years. This is unsurprising, because our city’s capital growth is now in positive territory, as opposed to last year’s…

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