Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 25 August 2010
The boost to the First Home Owner grant was an important part of the government response to the GFC in 2009 and there’s no doubt it kept that sector of the market moving. The boost finished but the grant remains at $7,000.
During this recent election campaign the Real Estate Institute of Australia was pushing for the grant to be permanently upped to $15,000, noting that a decade’s passed since the amount was set and in that time Australia’s median house prices have jumped from $220,000 to $519,000. So when introduced the grant was 3.2% of a home price and is now 1.5%.
The other idea the Institute has been running is for first home buyers to be able to access their voluntary superannuation (not employer contributed funds) to buy a home.
“The REIA proposes that a scheme be established which would encourage young Australians to contribute to voluntary superannuation by allowing access to these resources for the purposes of raising a deposit for a first home. The scheme would be an adjunct to the First Home Savers Account but would allow flexibility for the saver to decide whether all or part of the voluntary superannuation payments was needed to augment the home purchase.”
We remember visiting pollies in the mid 1990’s as part of an Institute push for policy change for a similar idea back then. Nothing changed and from what we can tell neither of the major parties have had much time for this idea now.
We’re not sure how many buyers would take advantage of it, but to have a great tax vehicle like super as the place to save for your home seems a great idea.
Your thoughts?
Tags: first home owners, First Home Owners Boost, Real Estate Institute of Australia, superannuation
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | 1 Comment »
Posted by admin on 19 August 2010
We often feel we’re at the pointy end of body corp issues, the time when apartments are put up for sale and the market makes a judgement. There’s no better way of finding out if your body corp fees are too high, your building’s not maintained well enough, the sinking fund’s too low or the AGM and owner relationships are just plain dysfunctional. Buyers can be brutal in their assessment and they’re entitled to be when they’re spending their money. And one issue has been making apartment buyers nervous across Queensland.
We’re delighted to see Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor’s move to amend the Act and bring back some predictability to body corp fees. The current Act says lot entitlements must be equal unless you have a good reason and despite knowing the fees when buying in, there’s been a run of apartment owners over recent years going to the Tribunal to ask for a reshuffling of lot entitlements (the numbers used to set your fees). Their own fees have gone down at the expense of their neighbours and in some cases resulted in penthouse owners getting a whopping discount, 1 bedder owners a skyrocketing bill. It made headlines early last year when shots were fired in one Gold Coast building.
The proposed amendments are open for public consultation until September 23rd, and when adopted will lock-in your lot entitlements. Developers will again set interest entitlements according to value of the apartment (as they used to) and we’d expect levies will pretty much follow suit. And importantly the Minister is stopping the ability to move the goalposts later.
Mr Lawlor says, “In the future, the ability to adjust contribution schedule lot entitlements will be limited to all lot owners in a scheme unanimously agreeing to make an adjustment through a resolution without dissent or by unanimous agreement between two or more lot owners to redistribute the lot entitlements for their lots amongst themselves.”
Nice to see some common sense prevailing.
Has your building had its lot entitlements changed? We’d love to hear your experiences.
Tags: Body Corporate and Community Management Act Queensland, body corporate issues Queensland, Brisbane apartments
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, property taxes and rates etc | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 5 August 2010
Everyone wants to know the value of their own house, or more importantly what the market is willing to pay for the property. What’s interesting about Woolloongabba is that despite its proximity to the city there have only been 6 sales since 2006 that have gone over the one million dollar mark.
That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of properties in the area that have the capability to reach the mark, it’s just that most of them haven’t been for sale for a number of years. Of those that have sold my favourite is a property on Albert Street that sold for $1.13 million back in 2006. It was on a large block and featured a combination of old world charm on the outside with a tastefully designed modern interior. The finishes were exceptional and I think the buyers got good value from a home that had been thoughtfully renovated.
From dealing with a number of buyers at the moment I’d suggest there is definitely potential for Woolloongabba houses to sell at $1m plus this year. We just need more people to sell!
Tags: Albert Street Woolloongabba, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane houses
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 12 July 2010
Would two per cent make a difference? If your preferred holiday was $3000 or $3060 it wouldn’t matter. And $1,000 wouldn’t stop you buying your favourite $50,000 car. But in a property market like Brisbane’s inner city is currently experiencing, home buyers and investors alike seem reluctant to make offers. One told me last week that a $500,000 Brisbane apartment they’d seen was too dear. “Not worth more than $490,000”, they said. For others it’s just 3 or 4 per cent ‘overpricing’ that stops them buying. So in this newsletter we thought we’d remind everyone about an idea called “making an offer”!
Sellers are sometimes reluctant to drop their listed price until they’ve seen the colour of buyers’ money and a real estate agent can’t offer you the property at a price cheaper than authorised by their client. They need to be careful in encouraging you without harming their sellers’ interests. And some buyers feel embarrassed and awkward suggesting an offer. Maybe they’re concerned they’ll offend the real estate agent (hard to do in our opinion!) So the standoff drags on.
We’re currently watching some inner-Brisbane properties sit on the market without action, even when their prices seem pretty close to the mark. Maybe it’s the internet gone mad. Buyers can sit back with the property portals and, with plenty of accuracy in many cases, forecast a home’s true value. There’s danger for sellers in staying on the market too long so they need to monitor the activity at their inspections and have an agent whose feedback they trust. The Bees Nees team had an average discount from asking price to selling price of just over 1% in the past 12 months – we’ve been negotiating great results for our clients. But right now the market’s sensitivity to price seems to be at an all time high. An auction can help avoid the price problem but it’s not, in our opinion, the right solution for every property.
One final thought: for those of you who’ve owned your home for more than 5 years just think back to the day you bought it for a moment. Would you have paid another 2% to get the right place? We always get the same response to this question!
How do you set the right price? We’d love to have your comments.
Tags: full asking price, premium property prices, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 3 July 2010
Recently we met with a home owner who proudly fished into a drawer and produced her stiff, creased and blotted old title deed. It had been a family milestone in the late 1980’s when they’d paid off the house and cleared the mortgage. And there was something special about holding that grubby piece of paper. Of course titles have been recorded in a database in Queensland since 1994 but if you still have your old deed you can hang on to it – until you sell of course!
When we’re drawing up contracts buyers often wonder why the home’s title is described as being in the County of Stanley and Parish of South Brisbane for example. The historical description dates from our English heritage and Brisbane sits in the County of Stanley, so-named for Edward the British PM of the 1850’s and 1860’s. Remember Queensland’s birth was 1859. Apparently our state now has 322 Counties, further split into 5,319 Parishes, but of course the use of these two terms has only ever related to property titles.
It seems an antiquated idea and maybe it’ll be changed in years to come. We know first hand though the importance of getting a property’s legal description spot on. This salesperson sold a vacant block of land in 1991 to a keen buyer who discovered just prior to settlement (whew!) that it was next door to the one he thought he was buying. Older readers might even remember a certain Minister of the Crown who got his own properties mixed up in a sale too – embarrassing when your own portfolio covers the Titles Registry!
Tags: property titles Queensland, selling a house Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 30 June 2010
Brisbane CBD’s Soleil Apartments are rising quickly on Adelaide Street, with the Meriton team adding another floor at a rate of about 1 every 10 days! Our team had a quick hard hat tour today and there’s no doubt this will be an impressive building when it’s completed.
Meriton have sold a good number of the apartments and it’s encouraging to see their cranes on the city skyline. There’s not many others under construction!
Tags: Adelaide Street Brisbane, Meriton Developments Brisbane, Soleil Apartments Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane CBD, Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 23 June 2010
I bumped into a friend at Oliver’s in Melbourne Street today and had a quick chat about his plan to purchase a second apartment in South Brisbane and he asked for my opinion. Paul’s been looking for a while, and this time he’ll be moving in (he’s already spoken to us about property management!) Here’s a brief summary of what I told him I think is important:
1. Avoid the busy streets. There’s a strong business presence in South Brisbane, but some streets are quieter than others. Silhouette in Manning Street and Que in Edmondstone are well located, but avoid most of the traffic.
2. Smaller buildings are better. Many buildings in South Brisbane have 100 or more apartments and these tend to be busy. Gala in Hope Street and Greenwich in Cordelia Street both have less then 50 apartment in each, so it is possible to avoid the usual ’stranger’ feel that you get in big buildings.
3. Big blocks make for big turnover. Avoid Buildings with a large number of apartments as this usually means a large number of apartments for sale at any one time. Competition from other apartments within won’t make it easy if you make the decision to sell sometime in the future and need to sell quickly.
4. Find a building with lots of owners. Whilst most South Brisbane apartments are tenanted, there are still a few buildings full of owners. Riviera II and Northbridge in Vulture St have a good mix of tenants and owners, and both building managers are very proactive in their approach to keep things neat and tidy.
This is just a snapshot for what you might like to consider if moving into South Brisbane. It’s not rocket science, but it can make a big difference when the time comes to sell.
Tags: Gala Apartments South Brisbane, Greenwich on Cordelia South Brisbane, Melbourne Street South Brisbane, Northbridge Apartments South Brisbane, Que on Edmonstone South Brisbane, Riviera II South Brisbane, Silhouette Apartments South Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, South Brisbane and South Bank, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 21 June 2010
There’s a mumbling about the market right now that we might be in a quiet spot. But the buyers of Highgate Hill houses don’t seem to have heard! Over the past two weekends there’s been 3 auctions on local houses and all 3 have sold – 1 before auction, 1 under the hammer last weekend and another in the 5 days after its auction.
The bidding hasn’t been frenetic but the buyers were prepared to bid strongly. At prices between $639,000 and $1.5m it’s a sign that this is still a sought-after location.
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, Highgate Hill | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 20 June 2010
Negotiating with buyers is a skill-set that real estate agents really need to improve. In our opinion this is a key part of the service we’re paid for: the ability to secure our seller clients a higher price and on better terms. So if you’re about to sell your property ask your preferred agent to demonstrate their negotiating skills – before you appoint them.
And one area often overlooked in getting an offer from a buyer is a sizeable deposit. In new projects developers ask for 10% so why do agents and sellers often settle for a measly couple of thousand dollars? Buyers may not have buckets of cash lying in their account but if they aren’t prepared to put down a large amount (and closer to 5% where at all possible) the seller must ask: “Should I take my property off the market while we wait to see if they will settle?” A contract is a legal commitment but money held as deposit is the real show of good faith.
Even in more balanced markets like we have now, a seller should expect this from a buyer. Time on the market is critical and if they have finance limitations or are going to have second thoughts it’s better you know up front. And a tip for buyers – if you offer a decent deposit it may help you secure a better price.
PS: We have a bunch of Frequently Asked Questions like this on our website for sellers, landlords, buyers and tenants. Have a sticky-beak.
Tags: Brisbane real estate agents, contract of sale, negotiating a sale, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, real estate marketing | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 18 June 2010
AUSTRALIA is the fourth-fastest-growing property market in the world after a 20 per cent price jump in the past year, according to a survey of 47 countries by the international estate agent Knight Frank.
Locally, we are seeing increasing demand for 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in SOUTH BRISBANE, with property priced around $450,000 attracting the most interest. Supply is still tight so, while it’s always difficult to forecast with complete accuracy, we do expect that prices will firm in the next 3 to 6 months as investors continue to value one of Brisbane’s hottest urban renewal precincts.
Tags: The Galleria South Bank
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, South Brisbane and South Bank, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
The boost to the First Home Owner grant was an important part of the government response to the GFC in 2009 and there’s no doubt it kept that sector of the market moving. The boost finished but the grant remains at $7,000.
