Petition demands auction reserves be published
Petition demands auction reserves be published
Posted on Tuesday, March 25 2014 at 3:47 PM
In a bid to stamp out underquoting and dummy bidding for good, Sydney real estate author and buyers’ agent Patrick Bright is challenging the NSW Government to make advertising reserve prices on properties for sale by auction mandatory.
Launching
his own online petition, Bright called on the NSW Minister for Fair Trading to
amend the current legislation and make it compulsory to publish the reserve
price seven days out from auction.
With
auctions becoming the sales method of choice, according to Bright, particularly
in Sydney and Melbourne, it is time the NSW Government ‘got serious’ and ‘take
the lead’ about making the auction process more transparent for all buyers and
sellers.
“Vendors
who choose to sell via auction should be required to publish the auction
reserve price seven days out from auction day to create a more transparent
process,” he says.
“Under
this scenario, buyers will have the choice to go ahead and pay the lead up
costs with confidence knowing that they are actually in the running to purchase
the property.
“With
seven days notice, sellers will also have the choice to either continue with
the auction or pull the auction and pursue a private treaty sale.
“The
real estate auction process is rife with underquoting and it’s time for buyers
to take a stand and say ‘no’ to this unfair, misleading and deceptive
practice.”
Mr
Bright says despite it being a breach of the Act, many selling agents and
vendors still underquote the value of properties up for auction and this needs
to change.
“As
expected, buyers accept the selling agent’s price guides on face value for
properties listed for auction and why wouldn’t they?” he says.
“Unfortunately
though for the buyers, the vendor’s real expectations and subsequent reserve
are often significantly above the price guide and often far more than they can
afford.”
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Business confidence on the up
Business confidence on the up
Posted on Thursday, March 20 2014 at 9:14 AM
Business confidence remains in positive territory and is a good thing for the property industry, according to the latest Avdiev Remuneration Report 2014.
The report, which is the product of an Australia-wide survey on property,
investment and construction employer companies, points towards an optimistic
and positive year.
“The euphoria of the federal election is over, but confidence in the
general business community is now fluctuating, the unemployment level remains
at six per cent,” Avdiev Group managing director Rita Avdiev says.
“However, the general mood of consumers is improving, retailers are
optimistic and the new government is seen as taking positive steps to improve
our economy.”
Conditions vary from state to state, with the east coast reported to be
doing better than further west.
“The last year has been a time of review of products and services for
the property industry,” Avdiev says.
“Many companies restructured operations, created new positions,
introduced new products and services and some created new positions for staff
with skills to service the new initiatives.”
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Vacancy rates tighten in February
Vacancy rates tighten in February
Posted on Thursday, March 20 2014 at 9:23 AM
National vacancy rates tightened in February this year, with one capital recording its biggest drop in almost three years, according to SQM Research.
SQM
says residential vacancies decreased nationally during the month falling 0.1
per cent to come in at 2.1 per cent nationally.
It
was Melbourne’s fall of 0.5 per cent for the month that led the charge, with
the city’s vacancy figure of 2.4 per cent being the lowest recorded for the
city since May 2011.
Louis
Christopher, managing director of SQM, says the figure signals improved
conditions for some Victorian investors.
“It
has been some time since we recorded a definitive decline in vacancies in what
could be a sign that the excess stock seen in Melbourne is starting to be
occupied.”
SQM’s
report confirms a fall in vacancy numbers throughout most Melbourne suburbs,
although it remains cautious of CBD units.
“We
note the Melbourne CBD did too record a fall for the month but its figures are
still up from this time last year and SQM Research continues to retain our
warning for CBD vacancy rates.”
Brisbane
had a 0.3 per cent drop while Darwin dropped 0.2 per cent.
SQM
Research’s Asking
Rents Index revealed that asking prices for rental properties
continued to record mixed stories during February, with the capital city
average showing a 0.7 per cent decrease in asking rents for houses and a 1.2
increase in rents for units since February 2013.
Sydney
saw its asking rents for houses and units rise by 2.3 per cent and 3.6 per cent
respectively.
Melbourne’s
asking rents for houses improved by 0.4 per cent, and for units by 0.8 per
cent.
In
contrast Perth recorded a 10.7 per cent decrease in asking rents for houses and
a 7.4 per cent drop in rents for units in February 2013.
Christopher
says the drop is directly related to a downturn in the mining boom.
“Meanwhile
the sharp falls in rents for Perth are in line with rising vacancies being
recorded there and are a manifestation of a rather rapid decline in demand for
accommodation.”
Toby
Primrose, managing director of Property Management Melbourne, says he’s surprised
by the city’s result and feels the numbers may be skewed by the apartments
being built.
“The
average rents may have gone up only because there’s so many brand new properties.”
He
says tenants from established apartments are willing to pay slightly more to
live in new accommodation, but demand and rents are suffering in older,
established units.
“For
the existing apartments, the rents are generally coming down. Some of them stay
steady just depending on how nice they are.”
Primrose
says the numbers don’t factor in nuances.
“Statistics
can lead you down the garden path… you’ve got to be very careful with
statistics.”
Amanda
Pearce, principal of Amanda Pearce Property Management, says different property
layouts are renting more successfully than other in Melbourne.
“It
depends on where the property is and its appointments as well.
“A
three bedroom apartment, there’s not a lot of them around so you generally get
a lot of interest in them and they let fairly quickly. One bedroom apartments
are exceedingly slow.
“”I
think people like to go into a share situation so they can share their costs.”
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SA market needs an election result
SA market needs an election result
Posted on Monday, March 17 2014 at 1:06 PM
South Australian real estate needs an election outcome for momentum to continue, according to the Real Estate Institute of South Australia (REISA).
REISA president Ted Piteo says
the market slowed during the campaign and a result is required to stimulate confidence.
“When we look back over the last
couple of months certainly stock on the market has dried up and people are
waiting for the state election to be over.”
One party needs to win 24 seats
to govern outright, but reports suggest a projected tally of 23 seats for the
ALP and 22 seats for Liberal.
This result will mean Independent
MPs Geoff Brock and Bob Such will hold the balance of power.
The Independents
plan to reserve their decision until the counting of pre-poll and postal votes
is completed in any undecided seats.
Piteo says the property market
was showing signs of revival late last year on the back of low interest rates
and increased confidence.
“I think the last three or four
months of last year was really good for us. There is still a lot of buyer
confidence out there (now), but sellers seemed to have gone shy.”
He says while the election may
have stalled price growth, there are other impacts on the state’s real estate.
“I believe it’s a combination of
factors… when you start talking stamp duty and all the rest of it, I think it’s
started putting a few people off.”
Piteo says property wasn’t really
on the agenda for either party in the lead up to the poll, with a Liberal
announcement on land tax being a bandaid solution for a bigger issue.
“The Libs were the only ones who
said they’d love to adjust the land tax rate and cap the council rates… but it
really wasn’t anything that was critical to what we do and don’t do.
“Showing a bit of tokenism to say
‘We’re going to reduce it (taxes) by decreasing the rate of stamp duty for
first homebuyers’ doesn’t really go far enough.”
Piteo says his industry body
would welcome the chance to discuss real estate policy in more detail with whoever
forms government.
“We appreciate any assistance as
far as land tax or stamp duty relief, but post-election irrespective of who’s
there, the big campaign for us is state taxes.
“I would love to sit down with
them and have a discussion.”
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Tasmanian election result to bring steady growth
Tasmanian election result to bring steady growth
Posted on Monday, March 17 2014 at 2:48 PM
The Liberal Party’s victory in Tasmania brings a stable government to the state that will benefit property owners, according to the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT).
Adrian Kelly, president of the REIT, says confidence
in the state’s real estate will strengthen with the election outcome.
“We’re optimistic about our future coming
into this calendar year and now that we’ve got the election out of the way,
regardless of whether you like the result or not, at least we can just move
forward now with some consistency.
“I think if this government, being a
majority, can provide probably better stability than the previous government
did, that won’t hurt the property industry.”
Kelly says other factors impacting property began
an upturn in the state’s market late last year.
“Our property market started to improve about
six to nine months ago and that’s largely due to people just getting on with it
in Tasmania and low interest rates finally starting to flow through.”
Kelly says the big issue for property in future
is planning, and he believes the new government will be keen to address it.
“We have 29 local councils and each local
council has a different planning scheme, so there’s a fair bit of inconsistency
around the state and that needs to be sorted.
“The previous Labor/Green Government
acknowledged that it needed to be sorted, and the incoming Liberal Government
have acknowledged that it needs to be sorted, but it’s not a quick fix, not by
any stretch of the imagination.”
Regardless of its complexity, Kelly says
action must be taken as soon as possible.
“The incoming government knows that they need
to do something about it, it’s just a matter of doing it and doing it within a
reasonable timeframe.”
Kelly says the REIT will be given opportunity
under the new government to have its say when it comes to property policy.
“We’re not expecting that to be an issue at
all… we’ve already had some meetings pre-election with the incoming Liberal Government
so I think we’ll be able to work quite well with them.”
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New credit reporting system to benefit prudent investors
Posted on Monday, March 10 2014 at 2:03 PM
The majority of people should benefit from a new credit reporting system, which takes effect this week, according to Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers.
Smartline’s
Michael Daniels says those who manage their money well are more likely to be
rewarded with lower finance costs.
The changes to
the Privacy Act
on March 12 mean there will now be increased transparency with the new
comprehensive credit reporting system and it should allow lenders to offer more
attractive terms to those customers deemed to be a low risk.
It will see
Australia move from the existing ‘negative’ credit reporting system, which
means only negative information about credit history, such as defaults and
bankruptcies, and applications for credit can be reported.
The more detailed
information that will increasingly be available will allow credit providers to
access more comprehensive information, that should assist them to make better
lending decisions, according to Daniels.
“This means they
can make better informed decisions about an individual’s financial situation
and the likelihood of them not meeting their obligations,” Daniels says.
“Those who are
viewed as not being a strong manager of their money will most likely either
find it harder to access funds and/or pay a premium in the form of higher
rates.
“With access to
much more detailed information about a person’s management of their debt
obligations, it makes sense that lenders should be able to provide money to
those who manage their money well at a cheaper rate.”
The main changes
include:
–
Information
about your monthly repayment conduct and whether or not you have paid on time
over the past two years can now be reported.
–
If
you apply for credit, the decision to decline or approve it by the credit
provider can now be reported.
–
The
current limit on all of your credit cards can now be reported.
–
The
repayment term and repayment type on all of your credit facilities can now be
reported.
–
A
credit provider can now also provide an opinion that you have fraudulently
attempted to get credit.
–
Credit
defaults can be lodged on any outstanding amounts over $150.
However, not
everyone is happy about the changes.
National manager
of Property Club, Troy Gunasekera, says additional information on credit
reports might go too far.
“Australians who
have missed bill payments in the past, even those less than one week late, may
be at a disadvantage when it comes to the loan approvals process, giving the
impression to lenders that they’re likely to miss payments on the due date in
the future,” he says.
“Although
consumers with a good credit history are more likely to be offered lower rates
of interest on home loans and credit cards, it’s worrying that consumers who
have experienced repayment difficulties in the past may be assessed as higher
risk and incur higher rates of interest as a result, making it even harder for
these consumers to stay on top of their financial obligations.”
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Quarterly results point to more gains in 2014
Quarterly results point to more gains in 2014
Posted on Wednesday, March 12 2014 at 12:46 PM
The release of the Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts report shows house prices grew by almost six per cent in the December quarter 2013, and the upswing is likely to continue.
Peter Bushby, president of the Real Estate
Institute of Australia (REIA), says the outcome will give property owners a
reason to smile.
“Solid results for Sydney and Melbourne as well as strong
performances in Perth, Brisbane and Darwin in the last year’s final quarter
have proven that some markets are well into a growth phase.
“The weighted average, capital city median
price increased by 5.7 per cent for houses and 4.5 per cent for other
dwellings.”
Bushby says gains weren’t limited to just
Sydney, with the weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities
now at $598,044.
“All capitals contributed to the increase, with the largest rise
in Melbourne, up by 7.3 per cent.”
Bushby says dwelling values are much higher
than a year ago.
“Compared to the same time last year, the
weighted average median house price rose 13.1 per cent.”
The good result wasn’t just limited to detached
housing, with other property types also gaining.
“The weighted average, median price for other
dwellings for the eight capital cities was $482,584.
“Over the quarter, with the exception of
Darwin, all Australian capitals had increases.”
Bushby says these outcomes, and steady
economic influences, bode well for continued growth this year.
“In 2014 we expect interest rates to stay low
and continued steady improvement in activity in most markets.
“It should be generally a positive year,
provided there are no unforeseen global issues that emerge.”
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/API_Property_News/~3/1_ELwiJO8rM/quarterly-results-point-to-more-gains-in-2014
Agents confirm what few men will acknowledge
Agents confirm what few men will acknowledge
Posted on Tuesday, March 11 2014 at 1:33 PM
A Which Real Estate Agent survey of 155 real estate agents has revealed what few men will acknowledge… that women call the shots on life’s big decisions! That includes property decisions, such as what homeowners will spend and how high prices will go.
“Eight times as many agents witness women as the dominant decision maker
when selling real estate over their male counterparts,” managing director
Thomas Roberts says.
“This one finding was fairly consistent across the country.”
The survey also found that leading agents around the country are feeling
confidence return.
“In New South Wales, 47 per cent of agents surveyed said their local
market was booming, followed by 24 per cent in Western Australia and 17 per
cent in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory,” Roberts says.
“In states where growth hasn’t been as strong, such as Queensland, ACT
and Tasmania, agents expect growth to pick up slightly during 2014.
“The theme from this survey appears to be that agents on the whole
forecast continued strong growth for the Australian property market in 2014,
with 84 per cent of agents forecasting growth rates above five per cent.”
However, agents expect growth to moderate in NSW, Victoria and WA
throughout 2014.
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Interest rates remain on hold
Interest rates remain on hold
Posted on Tuesday, March 04 2014 at 1:58 PM
Investors can continue to enjoy low interest rates, with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) keeping the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent for another month.
RP Data national research director Tim Lawless says it’s a win for investors
and the property market.
“As long as mortgage rates remain low, we would expect housing market
conditions to remain in positive growth territory, at least in trend terms,” he
says.
“RP Data’s February results showed flat capital city dwelling values,
which will probably reassure policy makers such as the RBA that the
unsustainably high rate of capital gain that has been evident since June last
year may be winding down. Other key housing market metrics produced by RP Data
are continuing to indicate buyer demand remains strong across the housing
market.”
Auction clearance rates have consistently been around the high 70 per
cent mark since mid-February and mortgage demand, as measured by activity
across the RP Data valuations platforms, was at record daily averages during
February.
Lawless adds the RBA would be viewing the strong market conditions as a
positive scenario, which has driven investment in dwelling construction.
“More housing market activity has translated to greater developer
confidence and a consistent upwards trend in new building approvals,” he says.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Governor, Glenn Stevens, says the board
considered the fact unemployment is edging higher and growth in wages has
declined. At the same time, dwelling prices have increased significantly over
the past year.
“Looking ahead, the Bank expects unemployment to rise further before it
peaks,” Stevens says.
“Over time, growth is expected to strengthen, helped by continued low
interest rates and the lower exchange rate. Inflation is expected to be
consistent with the two to three per cent target over the next two years.”
The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president, Malcolm Gunning,
adds the current rates are very attractive for property investors and are providing
stability.
“The stability of property as an investment, coupled with record low
interest rates, means that it’s considered highly attractive compared to other
investments, especially shares,” he says.
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How much value does a pool add to your property?
How much value does a pool add to your property?
Posted on Thursday, March 06 2014 at 9:54 AM
Thinking of putting a pool in your backyard in Melbourne? It might seem like a lot of money to pay for a large hole in the ground, but according to buyers’ agency firm, Secret Agent, any mini blue lagoon can increase your home’s value by as much as 30 per cent.
A report on
pools, written by Cosmo McIntyre and Richard Rossmann, says exactly how much
value a pool can add depends on where you’re diving.
“For the right
property and location, a pool can be a wonderful addition, as well as a way to
add value,” the report says.
“The lowest
expected value created by a pool is over $140,000, making it worth the initial
investment.”
Pools cost about
$1000 a year in electricity, chemicals and cleaning expenses. Factor in general
wear and tear and you could be up for a lot more.
However, in a
suburb like Kew, $650,000 is the minimum amount a three-bedroom house has sold
for. Houses that feature a pool are expected to sell for $450,000 more, which
is a premium of about 30 per cent.
Conversely, in
Hawthorn, a pool is expected to add only $180,000 to the value of a property,
even though the square metre rate is similar to that of Kew.
So a pool’s value
is much more complex than dollars and cents and does seem to depend on what
suburb the property is in.
“With a swimming
pool, the majority of houses gained between 10 and 16 per cent,” the report
says.
“Added value was
as low as six per cent in Camberwell, or as high as 35 per cent in Hawthorn
East.”
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