Viewing by month: September 2011
Things to consider when selling in spring
The spring selling season often proves to be quite a busy period for real estate agents. The warmer weather seems to draw prospective buyers out of the gloom of winter and reinvigorate their search efforts for a property to purchase, while many sellers will have used the colder months to prepare their properties for a September sale, in order to successfully relocate by Christmas time. I think it is fair to say that the residential property market across Australia has been...Read complete post
The mortgage conundrum – fixed or variable?
When the Reserve Bank of Australia elected to keep the official cash rate on hold at 4.75 per cent at the beginning of the month, it was the tenth consecutive month that the same decision had been made and...Read complete post
Beyond the view – the importance of windows
I must admit, for features that provide me with an enjoyable outlook daily, I give little conscious consideration to the windows in both my office and home. Yet, the very presence of them discreetly assists in day to day activities. They provide natural light, which helps to wake me up in the morning and get me through the day, they can be opened to allow in fresh air, and they can make a house/office/room seem more spacious. I was prompted to think about the role that...
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Making wise property investment decisions
For all intents and purposes, the theory behind property investment is fairly simple. You purchase a piece of real estate for an affordable, even undervalued, price in an area where both demand and values are set to increase and rent it out to generate an income. After holding it for a period of time, you go on to sell the property for more than you bought it for, making yourself a tidy profit. While numerous other more complex issues can come into play, very generally...
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To renovate or buy?
There are usually a couple of different camps when it comes to deciding whether to renovate or relocate to a more suitable property when the needs of the occupants change, for example, when more space is needed to accommodate growing families. While some people like to be able to design and construct a property to their exact specifications, others prefer to move to a different home that is already suitable, with no, or minimal improvements needed. There are certainly...Read complete post
Spring selling season starts on good note as interest rates are left on hold
I don’t think it surprised anybody when the Reserve Bank of Australia elected to keep September interest rates steady at 4.75 per cent last week. With heightened concerns for the global economy and continuing low consumer sentiment, an interest rate rise certainly seemed unlikely, and at this stage may not even be on the cards for another few months at least. Setting interest rates for September saw the Reserve Bank continue to monitor “very unsettled” conditions in global...Read complete post
Trust a truthful agent when selling your property
I imagine the prospect of selling a home at the moment must be somewhat daunting. Never before have vendors had access to such vast amounts of information about market conditions, and while knowledge is definitely powerful, it can also be confusing. Add to this the continuing contradictory media speculation about the state of the market. Some weeks it looks as though interest rates are set to go up and there is an undersupply of properties, the next the commentators may be...Read complete post
Housing affordability improves
In some good news for the residential property industry, the recent release of the Housing Industry Association-Commonwealth Bank Housing Affordability Index showed an improvement in housing affordability levels, which my colleagues and I at CENTURY 21 hope will help to deliver a much needed boost to Australia’s residential real estate market. The June 2011 quarter saw the Index rise by 0.8 per cent, a result that sees it sit 7.2 per cent above where it was at the same time a...Read complete post