According to Carolyn Cummins in SMH Business Day, Australian real estate has been in hot demand in the past few months as global volatility has led to an investor push to secure property in safe havens.
More than $9 billion of assets have changed hands across the Asia Pacific region in the last three months, mostly in real estate investment trusts.
Ray White Beecroft recently sold Shop 26 in the Arcade, the second commercial property we have sold recently, but both bought by Australian buyers.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sold in a Week in Beecroft
Peter Raco of Ray White Beecroft has sold a property in less than a week for 10% more than the owner was hoping for!
The property was advertised as being ideal for demolition, like the house two doors down that Ray White Beecroft sold a couple of years ago and which now sports a nice new house.
The property was advertised as being ideal for demolition, like the house two doors down that Ray White Beecroft sold a couple of years ago and which now sports a nice new house.
Monday, August 22, 2011
New Survey of Landlords
An internet survey by Real Estate Business asked agencies and property managers what percentage of your property management business is made up of problem landlords. At this stage with about 300 respondents 75% are saying 0-10%.
What the survey didn't clarify was whether they meant "how many of your landlords are problems", for which 0-10% is a good answer, or "how much of your project management staff are employed working on premises owned by problem landlords", for which the answer is probably much higher.
The same applies to tenants, and even the properties under management. Most are easy, but there are a small number that require much more work.
This is the aspect of property management that this blogger finds most rewarding. Within Ray White Beecroft the property management team pass problems to me, leaving them free to devote their time to the other 90% of the business. But my guess would be that 25% or more of the team's activity is dealing with problems.
What the survey didn't clarify was whether they meant "how many of your landlords are problems", for which 0-10% is a good answer, or "how much of your project management staff are employed working on premises owned by problem landlords", for which the answer is probably much higher.
The same applies to tenants, and even the properties under management. Most are easy, but there are a small number that require much more work.
This is the aspect of property management that this blogger finds most rewarding. Within Ray White Beecroft the property management team pass problems to me, leaving them free to devote their time to the other 90% of the business. But my guess would be that 25% or more of the team's activity is dealing with problems.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Green House Price "Sting"
An article in the Daily Telegraph says that the Federal Government is planning to introduce a mandatory system of energy "star" ratings. Such a scheme has been operating in the ACT since 1999, with properties rated out of six stars. Surveys suggest that in the ACT experience a single star difference in the rating led to a 3% variation in sale price, which in Beecroft could mean some $30,000! According to the article, the cost of having your property assessed will be something like $200.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
House Sizes (and hence prices?) Reducing
ONE of the nation's biggest developers has said the size of new homes has peaked and that affordability issues would mark the end of the so-called McMansion and the growth of smaller, more efficient homes.
While the average new home grew 10 per cent to a world record 215 square metres in the decade to 2009, the managing director of Stockland, Matthew Quinn, said homes were shrinking and the trend was locked in.
Announcing Stockland's results for the financial year, Mr Quinn said by cutting up to 70 square metres from the size of a new home, buyers could save $40,000-$60,000 a house, making them affordable.
Already the average size of a four-bedroom house has dropped 20 per cent since 2007 while three-bedroom houses have shrunk by 26 per cent over the same period as living areas, media rooms and hallways disappeared in more compact designs.
While one in 10 new homes in Stockland developments had five bedrooms in 2007, only 2 per cent of new homes this year were as big and the percentage of three-bedroom homes had leapt from 21 per cent to 34 per cent in the same period.
While the average new home grew 10 per cent to a world record 215 square metres in the decade to 2009, the managing director of Stockland, Matthew Quinn, said homes were shrinking and the trend was locked in.
Announcing Stockland's results for the financial year, Mr Quinn said by cutting up to 70 square metres from the size of a new home, buyers could save $40,000-$60,000 a house, making them affordable.
Already the average size of a four-bedroom house has dropped 20 per cent since 2007 while three-bedroom houses have shrunk by 26 per cent over the same period as living areas, media rooms and hallways disappeared in more compact designs.
While one in 10 new homes in Stockland developments had five bedrooms in 2007, only 2 per cent of new homes this year were as big and the percentage of three-bedroom homes had leapt from 21 per cent to 34 per cent in the same period.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Interest Rate Predictions
While not raising rates on Tuesday, the RBA hinted rates might go up later in the year. Then came Tuesday night's American Debt Deal, sparking a run on the stock market and headlines like "fear grips investors". Ian Verrender writes in Sydney Morning Herald that local money markets have dismissed the RBA's thinly veiled warning as ancient news. They are now betting that there will be up to three interest rate cuts this year!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Interest Rates on Hold this month
It looks as though Glen Stevens read my last post! Insurance rates are held steady this month.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Please Dont Raise Interest Rates, RBA!
The real estate market is pretty bad at the moment, still suffering from last November's interest rate rise. The last thing vendors or buyers need is another interest rate rise this month!
When properties can't be sold, owners eventually withdraw them from the market, so tracking withdrawals gives a clue to the buyer demand. So far this year, two out of three Beecroft estate agents had more properties withdrawn from sale than they sold. It is instructive to examine the ratio of sold to withdrawn.
Beecroft Real Estate 6 sold, 10 withdrawn - Ratio 0.6
Raine & Horne 15 sold, 17 withdrawn - Ratio 0.9
Ray White Beecroft 11 sold, 7 withdrawn - Ratio 1.5
When properties can't be sold, owners eventually withdraw them from the market, so tracking withdrawals gives a clue to the buyer demand. So far this year, two out of three Beecroft estate agents had more properties withdrawn from sale than they sold. It is instructive to examine the ratio of sold to withdrawn.
Beecroft Real Estate 6 sold, 10 withdrawn - Ratio 0.6
Raine & Horne 15 sold, 17 withdrawn - Ratio 0.9
Ray White Beecroft 11 sold, 7 withdrawn - Ratio 1.5
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