In The Media - Most Recent

Australia's property recovery remains in-house as rest of economy struggles to motor on

SYDNEY (Reuters) - When Michael Jiang scored a liquor license four years back, he had hoped it would help drive more sales at his struggling small grocery business in Sydney. 

Fast forward to the present, and Jiang finds himself wrestling with new challenges as stingy consumers and price wars have done little to boost earnings in an economy growing at its slowest pace in a decade.

Moreover, even a welcome revival in the property market has only served to highlight a conundrum for policymakers as the ‘wealth effect’ of rising home prices has hardly been felt across the rest of the economy.  That has not only meant sales at businesses such as Jiang’s continue to run on a low boil, but it also raises the risk that already-high household debt could worsen without a broader recovery the central bank is trying to engineer with lower rates.  Read more here 

‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: Beachside unit smashes auction reserve by $1.5 million

Fewer homes for sale and more bidders are producing massive results for some selling at auction in Melbourne.

Agents reported several properties selling for well above their reserve at weekend auctions.

Kay & Burton Armadale associate Andrew Smith said vendor expectations had lowered as the market cooled across the state.

“What we’re seeing is vendors prices have come well down and buyers are back in the market, meaning there are these big results above reserve,” he said.   One of the biggest results of the weekend was a three-bedroom, Port Melbourne beachside apartment that sold for $4.34 million – a massive $1.54 million above vendor expectations.  Read Miriam's comments here

Victoria revises underquoting laws as the market turns

The Victorian government has revised underquoting laws to now require selling agents to compare properties more accurately by considering the property and land size - a component missing previously.

Under the new measures taking effect on Monday, agents must provide ... Read more here 

‘Now’s the time to buy’: Demand for lending bounces back as market recovers

Buyers are being urged to make the most of Sydney and Melbourne’s property prices, with the latest ABS figures showing a strong uptick in new lending.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Monday showed total lending to Australian households for dwelling purchases (those excluding refinancing) rose 5.1 per cent over the month of July – the highest month-on-month jump in over five years.  Read more here

Areas where owners are reluctant to sell

The spring selling season is set to unleash new home listings into the market, but buyers may still find it near-impossible to buy in suburbs where owners are reluctant to sell.

These tightly-held suburbs can take up to 22 years on average before homeowners sell and they can be found in the middle-ring suburbs of Australia’s capital cities according to the data compiled by CoreLogic for The Australian Financial Review.

Read more here 

Think twice before helping the kids

Our director was a guest on Kevin Turner’s Real Estate Talk this week. Check out the show now at www.realestatetalk.com.au

#listing #realestate #property #lending #children #kids #propertyTV #investment 

Read /Listen here 

Director Brendan Maher calls lights, camera, auction in Armadale

 Award-winning director Brendan Maher and his wife Kath have called lights, camera, auction on their Armadale family home that’s inspired scenes in a slew of hit TV shows.

Maher’s credits include episodes of The Secret Life of Us, SeaChange, Blue Heelers, The Genie from Down Under, Home And Away, Neighbours, Halifax f.p., Silent Witness and Spooks.

He has collected Australian Film Institute awards for his work on After the Deluge, Road from Coorain, Good Guys Bad Guys, and an Australian Directors Guild gong for Dirt Gam.  We are proud to be representing our clients as Vendor Advocates,  for the sale of this fantastic property at 19 Valentine Grove, Armadale in conjunction with Marshall White, Stonnington.   Read more here 

How To Avoid Real Estate Mistakes

The size and complexity of real estate transactions means there is great potential for errors. And mistakes can be costly in both time and money.

Award-winning Property Mavens buyers’ and vendors’ advocate and best-selling author Miriam Sandkuhler says the best way for real estate consumers to save money, often, is to spend some - on expert advice.

The savings can be considerably more than the cost of engaging the Property Advocate. Read more 

Overlooked ways to get a property

Sometimes we get too clever and look for new ways to do things and totally overlook the obvious ways.  That can happen to first home buyers. Miriam Sandkuhler talks about overlooked ways to get a property.   Listen Here 

Tips from a negotiator

Negotiation is an agent's most valuable skill. Learn how to negotiate from a pro like Miriam Sandkuhler

https://zurl.co/eixe   #mentor #agent #negotiation #advice #skills #pro Property Mavens

Four Ways To Profit And Prosper After Hard Times

In tough times, it can be hard to see a clear path forward – and the current environment can only be described as tough.

Plummeting property prices. The potential for negative equity. Everchanging government policies. A difficult credit market. Tightening home loan criteria. Struggles with refinancing, while coping with interest-only loans turning to principal and interest. A slowing economy and an opposition government hell-bent on confusing the issue further by tinkering with negative gearing.

It’s enough to make even the most seasoned, experienced property investor question the right way to respond. And these are just the external factors. Internal, more personal pressures, such as a relationship breakdown, holding an underperforming property, or grappling with dodgy tenants are other struggles that are impacting investors.  Read more here

Homebuyers’ appetites return post-federal election, drive bumper auction sales

A host of homes have skyrocketed past reserve in Melbourne’s inner north, as the auction market enjoyed an immediate post-election boost.

At least two historic properties surpassed their reserves by $300,000 or more, as property pundits declared confidence had returned to the market.

One of those was a five-bedroom 1862 Victorian terrace at 6 South Terrace, Clifton Hill, which fetched $4.515 million against a $4.2 million reserve after bidding from two parties.  read more here 

Owner-occupiers triumph at inner north auctions but market still subdued: agents

Vendors in Melbourne’s inner north enjoyed moderate success at auction on Saturday, with agents saying the federal election result hasn’t immediately energised a wave of buyers to show up and bid.

Experts noted positive talk over the past week but said it would take some time yet for it to translate into a more upbeat market.  Read more here 

How the different generations think about property

Different generations think differently about the current market conditions. Learn why with Miriam Sandkuhler.

https://zurl.co/FMtG

The 3 things to happen for a spike to occur

Miriam Sandkuhler is predicting that if Labor is elected  and their negative gearing changes go to plan and get through Senate, anyone buying a negatively geared investment before the  January 1, 2020 deadline will own very precious property indeed.  For any ‘spike’ to occur, she says 3 things will have to take place.  She lays them out for us.  Listen here 

REB Women in Real Estate Awards 2019 finalists announced

The finalists have been announced for the REB Women in Real Estate Awards 2019, which will be held on 27 June and Miriam Sandkuhler is one of those inspiring women.

The REB Women in Real Estate Awards is an important new initiative to show REB’s support for the women in Australian real estate. REB editor Tim Neary said that the awards will recognise the best female real estate professionals across several categories.

“The awards provide a platform for women in the industry to showcase their talents,” Mr Neary said.

“It is a great way to recognise the industry’s high-performance female agents, property managers, BDMs and businesses. It is a necessary new initiative to celebrate and recognise the female leaders, role models and future champions of the industry and to join the campaign for a more gender-balanced world.”  He said that the judging process to shortlist the finalists and decide on the eventual winners is both transparent and measurable.   Read more here

St Kilda West one-bedder with rooftop terrace tops 2017 high-water mark

A rooftop terrace helped raise the bar for St Kilda West’s unique Belleaire apartment complex yesterday, topping a high-water mark set by its twin at the peak of the market boom in 2017.  And our lucky client bought it. Read more here  

Relationship Breakdowns

Divorce is one of the major reasons why property owners are forced to sell. How can you navigate this emotional time without falling apart - mentally or physically . Read More Here 

The Property Pricing Puzzle

Why pricing property is so difficult , especially in hot markets at auction and in softer markets. Miriam Sandkuhler talks about the property pricing puzzle. Listen and read here 

In the wealth zones

Booming Infrastructure in suburbs that welcome redevelopment is an investor's dream.

Read more here 

How Can You Tell If You've Bought A Lemon?

If you think you may have bought an underperforming property, you need to work out precisely how to tell if you’ve bought a lemon in the first place?

“What exactly constitutes a lemon? Well, it could be a number of factors that affect a property’s ability to perform well from a cashflow and/or capital growth perspective,” explains Miriam Sandkuhler, buyer’s agent and CEO of Property Mavens.

“If the property is costing you to hold it via negative gearing and you have little or or negative capital growth, then you may need to question the benefits of holding onto it.”

There are a number of investment fundamentals that can negatively affect your property’s ability to grow in value (see boxout), and if your property suffers any of these in isolation, then you should carefully consider what you can do to fix or address the issue, rather than what should be a last resort: selling.  Read more here 

Investment ‘flawed thinking’ 

Flawed thinking – the non-sensical things buyers and sellers think and do when buying or selling property and how it gets in their way of securing a successful outcome is the topic we discuss with Miriam Sandkuhler.

Transcripts:

Kevin:   Investing in property isn’t always as easy as it looks. You know, good people, with anything, make lots of things look really, really easy. And that’s why they’re so good at what they do. But flawed thinking in property investment is something that we should look at from two sides, both the buyer and the seller. Helping me to do that, Miriam Sandkuhler from propertymavens.com.au.   Listen here for more 

Back to the old days’ : South Melbourne townhouse sells $211,000 above reserve

Dozens of rapid-fire bids flew on a gloomy South Melbourne afternoon on Saturday, with four families vying for the keys to a highly sought-after townhouse.

The three-level home at 240 Moray Street passed its reserve price two bids into the auction, with the price continuing to surge to $1,561,000 before the hammer fell.

Even in the last 10 or so bids three of the four parties continued to go tit for tat with thousand-dollar bids, until the property eventually sold to a middle-aged couple.  Read More here 

How to choose an apartment to suit your lifestyle

When hunting for a new home, would-be apartment buyers often begin by thinking about what they can afford, or perhaps what size they want their place to be.

But the starting point should really be something a little more fundamental, according to Miriam Sandkuhler, buyer’s agent and founder of the firm Property Mavens. First and foremost, Sandkuhler says, buyers need to reflect on their own lifestyle.

“Definitely lifestyle first, followed by budget, which will then dictate possibly the apartment size, as well as the location. You have to consider lifestyle first because that drives the location where you want to be,” she says. Read more here.

Top 5 Tips for First-time Landlords.

In real estate, there is no such thing as beginners luck.

With property magazines and real estate experts left, right and centre, it’s clear that to do well in this world you’ll need to be well versed in its game. Renting out your property is as challenging as managing any other business, so rookie mistakes are futile to successful investments. Making sure you have a clear understanding of what’s ahead ensures that these risks are minimised. 

So, to save you the trouble, we’ve compiled a list of top 5 tips from industry experts and seasoned landlords to bring you the best landlord advice. Here’s what they had to say   Read more here 

Older Australians ‘pessimistic’ about the property market as prices fall

As property prices across much of Australia continue to fall, new findings have revealed that older Australians are more pessimistic when it comes to the housing market, with the majority believing prices will continue to decrease.

The data, collected by insurance providers Budget Direct, revealed that an overwhelming majority (66 per cent) of Aussies over the age of 65 believe that the average price of homes in their area will either slump or remain the same over the next 12 months.  This trend was also evident among those aged between 55 and 64, with just over 58 per cent believing house prices would drop or remain static, while 51 per cent of 45 to 54 year olds thought the same.  Read more here