Viewing by month: November 2010
House Trends - How the great aussie dream is changing
The housing market, like any market, sees trends and preferences which change over time. Obviously these trends can have quite an impact on the types of properties that people buy, as well as on how we as real estate agents market and sell our listings. I read quite an interesting article by Martin Kelly in The Australian newspaper last week entitled ‘How big is my castle?’. The piece considered residential property across Australia and the preferences of home owners when it...Read complete post
Take advantage of current property buying conditions
The Australian residential property market is an interesting place at the moment. The release of a variety of different statistics in November has indicated that the Reserve Bank’s decision to increase interest rates this month (and the subsequent larger increases by the four major banks) may have translated to a behavioural change in the property market. From my position at CENTURY 21, I think that it can be reasonably assumed that buyers are eyeing the property market with...Read complete post
Living with a tenant - how to be a flatmate and a landlord at the same time
From a landlord’s perspective, living in your own home while tenants occupy any spare rooms can be an effective means of property ownership. Not only do you have regular sums coming in to help cover your mortgage repayments, you also have an extra set of eyes to keep watch on the property if you are out or away. Living with a friend or family member also has a certain appeal –a shared history means you probably already have a fair idea of what the tenant may be like to live...Read complete post
Doing the research when it comes to House Hunting
The process of buying a property can be as involved or as relaxed as you want to make it. There are those who like to view multiple properties before settling on one, and others who walk in to the auction of a property they’ve never seen before and make the winning bid. Regardless of what type of buyer you are, there are a few pieces of research beyond your typical building inspection that over my time in the real estate industry I have found and seen to be quite helpful when...Read complete post
Getting the most out of your garage space
An interesting irony exists in Australia’s residential property sector. Many home buyers are hesitant to purchase a property without a garage or some form of parking space, however it is not unusual for those who already own a residence with a garage to have crammed in so many possessions in need of storage that it no longer functions effectively as a space to park a car. For those in this predicament, what can be done? Over the years I have come to realise that with some clever...Read complete post
RBA lifts interest rates
For the past five months, the first Tuesday of every month has seen us here at Century 21 breathe a sigh of relief as the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered their decision to keep interest rates on hold. We assumed that the inevitable – a change in rates – would come at some stage, however each month brought the good news that reprieve had been granted for a little while longer. But apparently this wasn’t to last with November bringing the (somewhat unexpected) news that the...Read complete post
Home security in the summer months
The summer months are almost upon us – can you believe how quickly this year has passed? I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely looking forward to relaxing a bit before CENTURY 21 hits the ground running in 2011. It’s been my experience that the long, hot days of summer generally see people doing a couple of things. Firstly, people take advantage of the weather and spend much more time outdoors when at home, whether it be entertaining, gardening or playing in the backyard...Read complete post
Conducting a successful garage sale
Garage sales can be helpful in the property sale and moving process as preparing a property for sale inevitably requires a large clear out and tidy-up. You may be looking to dispose of your tired, disused possessions before starting afresh at your new residence, or you could be downsizing and just can’t fit everything in - your possessions aren’t ready to be thrown away, they just need a new home. And garage sales don’t just have to be for those selling a property; they can also...Read complete post
Selling at the same time as your neighbours
After working hard to prepare your home for sale, it can be a little bit daunting to find out that a neighbour is selling their property at the same time. What does this mean for you? Upon making the realisation, many people immediately assume that they now must compete with their neighbour for buyers, or that their pricing must reflect (or even undercut) that of the other property. In my opinion, vendors do not have to have these worries if they find themselves with...Read complete post
Housing expectations for Australia in 2020
The future is a funny thing. In my experience, we often spend a great deal of time talking about what our lives will be like in the years to come and then suddenly we’re living it. It can be incredibly hard to imagine ‘the future’ and as such many of the ideas we have about what it might be like are simply extensions of our day to day lives in the present. Two researchers, Rebecca Huntley of Ipsos and Bernard Salt of KPMG, recently set out to determine what Australia might look...Read complete post