Posted by admin on 18 January 2012
Have a quick look at these survey results, the opinions on home ownership collected from 1,500 people this month. And we’ll share something interesting at the end…
• 96 percent of homeowners are happy with their decision to own and even 84 percent who are “underwater,” or owe more on their mortgages than their home is worth, expressed the same sentiment.
• 79 percent of home owners would advise a family member or close friend just starting out to buy a home, and 69 percent of those who are underwater on their mortgage would offer the same advice.
• 74 percent said that despite the ups and downs in the housing market, owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make.
• Home ownership and a retirement savings program are considered to be their best long-term investments.
• 78 percent of respondents said that owning their own home is very important to them.
• Nearly seven out of 10 who are not currently home owners (68 percent) said it was a goal of theirs to buy a home.
• Job uncertainty and saving for a downpayment and closing costs are the biggest barriers to buying a home
You might be thinking there’s no great surprise in that. Generally Australian home prices have slipped a little over the past year but are overall fairly solid. We should still be feeling good about owning a home.
But what if we told you this the survey was conducted this month in the USA? In a market where home prices have reportedly dropped by a third (down 33% since their 2006 peak) – more than their prices fell during the Great Depression. In that context it’s a remarkable survey.
American or Australian, we love to own our own home.
Tags: first home buyers, home ownership Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 17 January 2012
We’re looking for an experienced residential salesperson to join our leadership team. Click through to the Seek advert for more info!
Posted in Inner Brisbane events | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 16 January 2012
So here’s Brisbane city’s skyline today. Can you spot the difference to the view you’d normally see from the cliffs at Kangaroo Point? And, no, it’s not the dreary, cloudy
day that makes you think you’re somewhere in Melbourne!
There’s no cranes.
Just out of shot to the left there are cranes on the new academic building at QUT and out of sight in the distance at North Quay there’s cranes working busily on the new Meriton Infinity Apartments. But for the first time in what must be many, many years, this view doesn’t include construction of a big apartment or office building.
Tags: construction Brisbane, Infinity Apartments North Quay, Kangaroo Point Brisbane, Meriton Developments Brisbane, new apartments Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane CBD, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 10 January 2012
Most of the ‘old heads’ we meet amongst property investors have a calm patience about them. Many owned property during the soaring inflation of the 1970’s, interest rates of 17% and ‘recessions we had to have’ in the 1990’s, and finally the boom times of the 2000’s. Slow to panic in dropping markets, un-tempted by rising valuations, undeterred by a troublesome tenant, they focus on the long term. We’re not saying it’s the only way to approach property investment, but it’s certainly worked for many.
In the early 1990’s one Brisbane property investor and author jolted plenty of us into investing in real estate. Jan Somers, a former Cleveland school-teacher, wrote a best-seller called “Building Wealth Through Investment Property”. Her message? You can’t do nothing and expect to retire on anything more than chicken feed. Compulsory super won’t be enough so invest then be patient. It’s become unfashionable to buy books like that… but the message remains sound.
So as we kick off 2012 will investors return to Brisbane real estate? We’ve seen self-managed super funds nibbling at the offerings and the ATO reports that of the $418 billion held through SMSF’s less than $15 billion of it is currently invested in residential real estate. And $114 billion is sitting in cash deposits. It’s a huge market waiting for the ‘right time’.
What would tempt you to invest in real estate right now? Higher rents? Scrapping capital gains tax? Reduced stamp duties? Or is just not the right time to buy Brisbane real estate?
We’d love you to share your thoughts in a quick survey (5 questions only). Please click through.
Tags: Brisbane Property Management, Brisbane property sales, investment property
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 6 January 2012
We recently sold an apartment for $382,000 in an inner-city building of a reasonable size. There’s usually a handful of apartments either on the market or recently sold at this address, so the prospective buyers used info on these to calculate their opening offer – of $320,000. This wasn’t just a negotiation tactic. This couple were genuinely of the view that having assessed the sales rate per square metre of the other apartments their offer was “market value”.
It seems like a simple way to do things: divide the sale price by the size of the apartment, then apply it to the next one. For example if it’s a 2 bed, ensuited place for $500,000 place that’s 100m2 we’ll take that $5000/m2 and use it on the 1 bedder that’s 70m2. But there’s a number of problems with the theory and they all come back to what it is that we place a value on when we buy. Views and elevation. Standard of finish and condition of the home. Numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms. And the list goes on.
So as much as it would be an easy way for home buyers to determine value, rate per m2 is rarely accurate unless the apartments are very, very similar. Two apartments in the same building have the same “base value” regardless of their bedroom numbers, because they both offer a place to sleep in that location. You’ll fit more people into a larger one of course, but if you double the size you’ll rarely double the price. This is why property developers often make great margins on small apartments and have bigger designs in their mix often for little more purpose than to help broaden the market appeal and ensure the project’s not perceived as ‘low-end’.
That couple upped their offer by more than $60,000 once they stepped back to think about other apartments that were truly similar. And of course an offer from another interested buyer helped prompt their decision too!
Tags: Brisbane apartment prices, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane real estate agents, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 5 January 2012
In this new world of the web we’re all led to believe that selling anything is about online traffic. If you haven’t got a thousand visits to your web ad there’s no chance you’ll sell your home. Or so we’re told. You can pay a bit more to get to the top of portal search results. You should use a professional photographer to get your hero shot to stand out from the rows of search results, and you should have a catchy headline that’s relevant to your target audience. You should be with the biggest and best sites. Get those thousands of eyes on your ad – it’s all about traffic, traffic, traffic!
Yet traffic of another kind is really the best value real estate advertising. It’s the potential buyers driving and walking past your property. The web is an important part of promoting real estate but for dollars spent you can’t beat a simple signboard stuck to the front fence. Home buyers love to trawl through the back streets of their favoured neighbourhoods, eyes peeled for an undiscovered gem. And despite the layers of data, up to the minute satelite imagery and Street View pics, those web ads just can’t tell you what it’s like to stand in that street. The noises, smells, breezes.
We often have seller clients say they don’t want their neighbours sticky-beaking through at an open home. And while we understand the desire for privacy some of the best word-of-mouth promotion you’ll get for your property comes from your neighbours. They live there and they want to share it with friends and family. They think homes in the area are worth more than they really are and they’ll talk the place up til the cows come home. They’re like real estate agents, only free!
So we’re not surprised how many buyers tell us they found their new home by its signboard. It’s the cheapest item on any marketing plan and it finds you buyers who’ve already chosen your neighbourhood.
Tags: Brisbane real estate agents, real estate advertising, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 26 December 2011
We wrote recently about the moves in the world of architecture to make Brisbane’s apartments and urban buildings less, well, urban. The move to vertical gardens is gaining lenty of interest. And here’s an extreme example from the Italians, a two building apartment development under construction in Milan. With 900 trees lining the balconies the designers say it’s the equivalent of a 1 hectare (2.5 acre) forest. So the project’s named “Bosco Verticale” or “vertical forest”. Looks bellissimo to us!
Tags: Brisbane apartments
Posted in architecture and renovation | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 19 December 2011
Posted in Brisbane CBD, just for fun! | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 19 December 2011
Like a kid who can’t wait to grow up, inner-Brisbane’s property owners are wishing the days away to the start of a fresh year. The market soothsayers are surprisingly quiet about the prospects for 2012 – and probably because 2011 caught so many of them out. Here’s a quick recap:
1. Home prices in inner-Brisbane can drop when the experts least expect. After a mini-recovery in 2010 median prices dipped further this year (“officially” around 6-7% but with plenty of variation between suburbs and price brackets).
2. Home owners will choose to stay put. During 2011 sales volumes in most inner-Brisbane suburbs dropped to their lowest in over a decade, with many not willing to sell for less. Just 12 months ago it seemed likely we’d have a busier market, with good job security giving buyers confidence to upgrade and move. Few predicted the economic uncertainties of 2011 (or the daily in-your-face negativity of that bloke on the Today Show amongst others).
3. A tight supply of rental homes has not led to strong rises in rents (yet). Rents grew 4% in the June quarter but have otherwise been fairly flat in Brisbane’s inner-suburbs this year. Remember the post-floods hysteria with predictions of rent blow-outs? This subdued market hasn’t surprised us – most landlords are not wealthy and become very cautious with rent increases and potential vacancies when there’s economic uncertainty.
4. We can use our money wisely. Many of us are taking advantage of interest rate cuts to pay down debt, building equity without price growth.
So bring it on 2012, we’re ready for you. Inner-Brisbane’s home-owners have had a tough year but we’re in good shape for anything you can throw at us!
Posted in Brisbane landlords, Brisbane's rental market, Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 14 December 2011
Bees Nees team member Rob Honeycombe has been appointed to the board of the Real Estate Institute of Australia. Rob was recently re-elected to his position on the Queensland Institute and has been asked to represent the state as a director with the national body. Queensland’s Pam Bennett was recently elected President of the REIA and the board meets regularly in Canberra.
Rob says it’s an opportunity for Bees Nees clients to have a say. The REIA provides research and well-informed advice to the Federal Government, Opposition, the real estate profession, media and the public on a range of issues affecting the property market.
“There’s plenty of hot topics coming up as we inevitably move to a more national approach to property. The REIA is lobbying for a raft of changes including improvements to the supply chain for housing, and giving first home buyers access to their super. Scrapping state stamp duties might seem like a pie-in-the-sky concept but plenty of positive changes start that way.”
Tags: Real Estate Institute of Australia, Real Estate Institute of Queensland
Posted in property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Have a quick look at these survey results, the opinions on home ownership collected from 1,500 people this month. And we’ll share something interesting at the end… 
