Viewing by month: April 2009
Home energy audits on the horizon
I’ve mentioned green issues before, and the fact is that as people become more aware of our impact on the environment, the impact of this on the real estate industry also increases. This is not only through our practices as businesspeople, but in what buyers demand of their property. This in turn impacts on sellers – if you’re not offering what the market wants, the chances of selling your house...
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Keys to real estate success
regularly say that many of the rules that apply to any aspect of life apply to the real estate game – I’ve touched on areas like communication, honesty and common sense in the past in this regard. Another aspect is training. Like anything, ongoing learning is an essential part of life and should be actively sought by those wishing to be successful. That said, teaching someone something can be one of the most rewarding, and simultaneously one of the...Read complete post
Shrinking land size
In yesterday’s blog I mentioned the trend of top growth suburbs often falling within city areas. An effect of this is an increasingly tight supply of inner city land, and average land areas close to our nation’s capital cities are getting smaller and smaller. According to recent information supplied by RP Data, changing lifestyle preferences and affordability are also driving the change to smaller land areas...Read complete post
Australia's Top Growth Suburbs
The other day I was citing the benefits of rural life, and that there are many regional markets that investors and home buyers should not overlook. That said, I don’t discourage anyone from considering city living as it certainly has its own appeal – it’s just a very different one to country life and both have their benefits, and suit different types of...Read complete post
State of the real estate market
After the Reserve Bank again recently cut the cash rate by 0.25%, the interest rate is now at its lowest since 1960. However much to the disgust of the public and in a move that also incurred the wrath of our Prime Minister, the big 4 banks decided not to pass the full cut on to the public. NAB refused to pass on any reduction at all and the other three passed on a cut of just 0.10%. Read complete postDon't ignore regional markets
Often when people talk property, particularly in relation to growth and decline, the focus tends to be on capital cities. And whilst capital cities around the world do tend to house the largest numbers of people, there’s no denying that within our great southern land, there are many regional centres also worthy of note when it comes to analysing real estate. Read complete postSmart Buyers Inspect
Seeing as I keep saying what a good time to buy it is, I thought some practical advice about inspecting a home before leaping into a sale may also be worthwhile. I know as well as the next person that falling in love with a home can result in a crashing desire to do whatever it takes to make it yours, and in today’s market where many a buyer is anticipating getting a...Read complete post
Rents on the rise - still
Although many property reports are either full of doom and gloom, or would have you believe that things have been on the up since the day the bottom fell out of the market, somewhere between the two lies the truth. There is no denying that since the global financial crisis became a reality late last year, median property value across the country have, for the most part, been falling. When...Read complete post
International property
Flicking through any paper in the morning, it quickly becomes apparent how much of an interest Australians have in regards to all things international. The number of travel features in any given paper in particular, and the number of websites dedicated to Aussies broadening their horizons is astounding. As a nation, we are very big on staying a part of the international loop...Read complete post
Holiday homes
As I made my way to the office this morning, I noticed how quiet the streets still are after the holidays. And that got me thinking about holiday homes. Mostly about how much I’d love to have one somewhere like the Hunter Valley, but also about the types of holiday homes that people invest in, how often they’re used, if the reality is as great as the thought (I find it hard to...Read complete post