Holiday season not so silly for buyers, sellers

Holiday areas up and down Australia's coast - Noosa and far north areas in Queensland, Margaret River in Western Australia, and the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, to name a few - always find people shopping for property during their holidays.

John McGrath, chief executive of McGrath Estate Agents in Sydney, says sellers are booking their auction campaigns for the February and March period now. He says some of these properties are already listed on the internet.

McGrath says it can be highly effective, particularly for properties in high tourism areas such as the NSW central coast and Sydney's east and northern beaches. "The holiday season provides a great opportunity to capture the expat market, with hundreds of expats returning to Australia for the Christmas period each year."

Expat demand is especially high for family homes on Sydney's lower and mid-north shore and the northern and eastern beaches in the $3 million-plus range.

McGrath says expats have been very active in the market in 2007; they are conscious of the recovery in Sydney real estate and are buying now even if they do not intend to return to Australia permanently for a few more years. Even if you're not in the $3 million-plus range and a seller in Sydney, you might take heart in statistics about Australia's housing market.

RP Data has said that Sydney continues to show improvement after three years of depressed prices and, with the exception of Perth and Darwin, the growth phase started this year.

Overall it put Sydney's price growth for houses and units now at 7.4 per cent for the year and said this time last year the growth rate was just 0.4 per cent.

While this pales beside Melbourne and Brisbane figures and doesn't reveal the pain in the city's mortgage belt, it is a sign of recovery.

The number of houses being listed in the market is up by 24 per cent on the same time last year, suggesting vendor confidence is returning.

RP Data says cycles usually start in inner and coastal areas and spill on to outer areas. Yields in outer areas are rising, something needed to bring investors back to the market.

The McGrath summer market review makes the point there is differing demand across the city. "While luxurious apartments near the beach are hot property in some areas, family homes are top picks in others," he says.

For example in the eastern suburbs two and three-bedroom apartments near the beach with views are what young professionals who want the beach and cafe lifestyle seek. The most popular suburbs are Coogee, Bondi, Bondi Beach and Maroubra.

On the lower north shore and northern beaches, bigger apartments - luxury three- and four-bedroom - with water views are proving popular with baby boomers downsizing. In the south, families after more space make three- and four-bedroom houses in walking distance of the beach or along the Georges or Port Hacking rivers popular.

The suburbs are Cronulla, Burraneer, Lilli Pilli and Blakehurst.

In the inner west, two- and three-bedroom houses or terraces with parking are targeted by wealthy executives with young families who want to be close to the CBD and eastern beaches. The suburbs include Rozelle, Annandale, Glebe and Stanmore.

If you have the right property for the right area, 2008 could be a better year.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: realestate.com

Most-burgled suburbs in State revealed

Figures released by insurance giant AAMI reveal Greystanes, in western Sydney, is the No. 1 spot for break and enter and theft claims in NSW.

NSW stands head and shoulders above all other states and territories for its break-in rate.

And Mosman, on the North Shore, ranks second in the state, narrowly besting the burglary rate for Campbelltown, in Sydney's southwest.

The release of the figures, which also show 27 per cent of people have been robbed while they are at home, comes as a timely warning as the festive season kicks into gear.

With the backyard barbie being an integral part of the holiday season, AAMI has warned residents their unlocked front doors could prove easy access to thieves as residents are entertaining guests in the yard.

AAMI spokesman Geoff Hughes said people lax about locking doors or windows should not assume, because they are home, they will scare off thieves.

"I think most of the time it's a mistake (when a thief enters an occupied home) but it certainly smacks of a certain amount of either brazenness or desperation or both," he said.

AAMI insurance claim figures for home burglaries last year showed 2.2 per cent of its customers in Greystanes were burgled in that period.

That was followed by Mosman (1.9 per cent) and Campbelltown (1.8 per cent).

All but one of the top 10 areas in the state were in metropolitan Sydney, with Wagga Wagga coming in sixth.

Randwick and Balgowlah came in at No. 4 and No. 5, and former prime minister John Howard's suburb of Wollstonecraft was ranked seventh.

Sutherland, Lane Cove and Dee Why also rounded out the top 10.

Mr Hughes said while there was no firm data to give reasons why Greystanes and Mosman came in as the top two, he suggested Greystanes probably had a high proportion of working families meaning houses were unattended a lot of the time.

Mother of four Julie Shepherd, was shocked to hear that her suburb was crowned the state's break-in capital.

"I have lived here most of my life and I have never had a problem," Mrs Shepherd, 39, said.

Mr Hughes said Mosman probably attracted thieves due to its reputation as a wealthy suburb.

Thieves commonly entered a house through the front or back door, he said. More than one third of AAMI's customers admitted they left their front or back doors open when they knew they should not, he added.

One quarter of residents also did not lock their deadlocks when they knew they should, he said

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: realestate.com

Slipping off the property ladder

Failing to meet home loan repayments could see you lose your house. The mechanics of repossession vary from state to state. Basically your bank or lender has the right to seize and sell your house if you fall behind in repayments; fail to make up the repayments within a specified time frame after receiving default notices; and don’t have a defence for doing so.

In September the House of Representatives Economics Committee released a report on home loan practices and how to deal with people in financial difficulty. In the report, the RBA estimated there were 5.3 million outstanding housing loans in Australia, with about 11,800, or 0.22 per cent of those in arrears by more than 90 days.

It’s the low-doc and non-conforming borrowers who are getting into trouble, with around 7 per cent of low-doc home loans in arrears, and about 0.95 per cent of non-conforming loans. The RBA said some of the non-bank new entrants to the housing loan market seemed to be quicker off the mark to seek repossession than traditional lenders.

In the year to August, there were 5605 applications to New South Wales courts and 2775 to Victorian courts for property repossession.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: realestate.com

Thinking big on small blocks

In Canberra it is being used as a weapon against falling affordability. Smaller blocks should mean lower land prices and a cheaper final cost to the consumer. Elsewhere it is seen as a response to consumer demand as people have less time and energy to tend large gardens.

South-east Queensland developers have already taken the initiative, with parcels of land as small as 180 square metres being offered at the Springfield Lakes Estate at Ipswich.

In the distant past many migrants came to Australia to escape the unhealthy, overcrowded cities of Victorian Britain. As a reaction they spread out on quarter-acre blocks and wide streets.

Those days are long gone and increasing numbers of people are discovering the advantages of well-planned intimate living. Real estate agents are reporting a greater sense of community in these housing clusters. “You get to know your neighbours and if there is less open space, there’s less room for unwelcome strangers to lurk,” she said.

Architects and home designers are adjusting to the trend. In the past smaller houses and flats conjured up images of boxy rooms thrown together for people who could afford no better, but as one designer says “a small budget does not mean that you have to have small ideas”.

Her plan is to emphasise the scaling down - “anything else looks like an apology” – with dark colours producing a warm, intimate effect. A smaller house means less furniture so what you do buy can be of a better quality.

Research show that smaller or “boutique” blocks as real estate agents prefer to call them, are attracting a high proportion of owner occupiers as opposed to investors, with the result that the home and surrounds are likely to be better cared for and will hold value over time.

People interested in homes on smaller blocks should consult an HIA builder or home designer. For more information on smaller homes and design generally log on to homesite.com.au Australia’s premier home and garden website.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: realestate.com

Rents go though the roof

Vacancy rates have been historically low for the last few years and rising house prices coupled with lack of stock because of cautious investors plus little new rental stock being developed has meant that rents have increased considerably around Australia.

While Canberra has traditionally been the most expensive city in Australia to rent, Darwin now leaders the field for houses where the rent for a 3 bedroom house rose 34% to $440 per week. Rents for 2 bedroom units in Darwin rose even more (by 51.1%.)

With the low vacancy rates in all our capital cities, we are in for more significant rental increases for the next few years. The rental market is considered to be in equilibrium when the vacancy rate is around 3%. The low vacancy rates we are experiencing means that whenever a property becomes vacant there is strong competition for it by a large number of tenants.

But this doesn’t mean property investors can ask any rent they like. At Metropole Property Management we are seeing well priced rental properties leasing quickly and the landlord has a choice of quality tenants. On the other hand, if rentals are set at unrealistically high levels, properties remain vacant longer, costing their owners precious lost rental. It’s not usually worth chasing that extra $10 or $15 per week when you take into account the cost of a week or two’s vacancy.

Increasing rentals and decreased affordability also means that tenants are not moving as often – they just can’t afford to. This security of long term tenants, minimal vacancies and rising rentals is bringing smart investors back into the property markets. With this group of investors chasing the same type of properties, often inner suburban apartments, the supply and demand imbalance is causing property prices to spiral upwards.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

source: realestate.com