Auctions Hotting Up

For some time we have felt auctions were not doing well, but with immaculate timing Douglas decided the tide was turning, so put two properties up for sale by Auction on Saturday 2 March.  Both sold!

Internet problems

Since the heavy rains last weekend our internet has been intermittent, going off at least 8 times a day by Telstra's own records.  But Telstra say that due to heavy work load from the floods up north they may not be able to send anyone for two weeks!!!
So please bear with us, we are trying to complete what we need to do during the brief periods the internet comes back on line.
I just thank heavens that we didn't complete the transition to the Cloud, or we would be totally compromised (to use the nicest word I can think of!).  We have to accept we are better off than the many inundated businesses around NSW.

Doug and Pete three sales each

This last month, Douglas sold 66 Beecroft Rd, 8 Hull Rd, and 15 Seale Close, while Peter Raco sold 132 Sutherland Rd, 41 Hampden Rd, and 16 Hull Rd!  Quite a month!  As his reward Doug is taking the next week off to go fishing!

Chilworth Reserve Opened Again!

It is with great pleasure that we advise the M2 project has removed the fencing and reinstated the original walk under the M2 flyovers across the Chilworth Recreation Reserve!

Stockland takes hit on residential properties

Stockland's CEO could ditch the group's strategy of focusing on retail, residential and retirement property developments.  The group reports a loss of $147M for the last six months of 2012 including $306M of impairments to asset values in residential projects identified for sale.
Stockland reports residential community lot sales down 6%, with lot prices down on average $4000 to $5000 per lot.
Last week Mirvac wrote down $373M in its residential business!

Raine and Horne Beecroft is gone!

Belle Property took over the corner office in Hannah Street when David Meldrum merged with them.  Belle are now gutting and rebuilding the office.

Great Month for Sales and Rentals

The Ray White Beecroft sales department had a very successful month, selling properties in The Crescent, Hampden Road, Sutherland Road, and two properties in Hull Rd.
The Property Management department leased 11 properties, including one leased for over $1000/wk less than 24 hours after putting it on the net!
After selling a block of land in Chorley Avenue, Ray White Beecroft now has two blocks of land for sale, both on Reecroft Road.  One is a battleaxe block close to Beecroft station, the other is a subdivided property for which the tennis court and swimming pool are now available for development.

Fairfax retracts after "Media Ambush"

In November this year the Sun Herald reported that Joel Hollis, the Principal of Ray White Concord, was fined $3000, in an article talking of "dodgy agent caught by crackdown by Office Fair Trading".

Ray White Corporate wishes it to be known that they believe Joel had been unfairly ambushed and subjected to media coverage resulting in punishment incongruent with the clerical error he had made.

Ray White Corporate has obtained from Fairfax a commitment to print a new article, same prominence and position, explaining that the individual was not a dodgy agent, his Real Estate licence and Corporation licence for Ray White Concord were fully paid up and current, although he was correctly fined because his other Corpoation licence, for Hollis Residential, had not been renewed.

Dilapidation Reports around Construction Sites

On behalf of Uniting Care, structural engineers are carrying out dilapidation reports on all properties around the planned 41 Unit Development between Hannah Street and Copeland Road.  Some of our tenants and owners are concerned about these surveys.  The idea is that owners need to be able to prove that any cracks found AFTER the adjacent building completes were not there before.  Conversely the builder is entitled to be able to show that such cracks were pre-existing, and not caused by the building activity.

At the tenant's request, Ray White Beecroft recently escorted one of these engineers through a property we manage, and the engineer thanked us for our prompt assistance, saying that many agency PM departments are not so cooperative!

RBA Cuts Interest Rate

As expected, the RBA cut interest rates another 0.25% today.