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 25 November 2011
Home buyers love a good “forced sale” and we’re often asked if we have any mortgagee sales pending. But we just aren’t seeing that many in Brisbane’s inner-city. And a recent article from researcher Phil Ruthven of Ibisworld might help explain. “In the middle of the year, the nearly 9 million occupied households in Australia were valued at a net worth of $6.3 trillion – an average of $714,320 per household.” That’s a fairly impressive level of net assets and he comments that our average wealth continues to climb.
Brisbane-based property commentator Michael Matusik adds some valuable insight into why we’re not witnessing banks stepping in to sell up property: “Our higher saving rate is well documented, but exactly how it is being achieved doesn’t get much commentary. It is not just a simple case of saving more money. For the most part, Australians are saving more by repaying more than the minimum on their housing loans.”
Matusik never shirks from offering an opinion. “The fact that we are paying off our mortgages faster is often ignored by the doom and gloom merchants who predict a repeat here of what occurred overseas, and continue to preach about the pending mother of all property crashes. Yet, according to AFG, the average new loan-to-value ratio is a comfortable 67% and the latest ABS figures show that house prices fell just 2.2% across the Australian capitals over the last twelve months. Yawn. And yet we keep on reading about mortgage stress and impending doom.”
Bargain hunters might get tired of waiting…
Tags: Brisbane home loans, Brisbane home prices, Ibisworld, Michael Matusik, mortgagee sales Brisbane, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 September 2011
Our median sales prices are down on last year, but have retained much of the growth of the last decade. Overall we’d suggest it’s hard to call any strong price trend in South Brisbane’s market so far this year. One clear change is the number of transactions – the 2nd quarter of 2011 has been busier than the first but we’re still on track to record less apartment sales in 2011 than we’ve had in over a decade. Why? Market uncertainty, plus many local property owners have withdrawn their properties from sale (or not listed at all) awaiting stronger prices.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our South Brisbane specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Tags: apartment sales south brisbane, apartments sales southbank, apartments South Bank, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane property sales, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane sales market, home buyers Brisbane, homes in South Brisbane, house sales south brisbane, property sales south brisbane, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane, South Brisbane Real Estate Agent, Southbank Real Estate Agent
Posted in South Brisbane and South Bank | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 September 2011
While prices are definitely down from their peaks of a couple of years ago, buyer interest in West End property remains strong. The new projects along the river/ Montague Rd precinct are holding the median sale price high for apartments, albeit with some discounting on those buildings that had flood inundation in January. The number of sales is very low this year, partly due to the floods and partly the general economic uncertainty. There’s also many local property owners reluctant to sell while prices are down and this may be having the effect of putting a floor under prices. The second quarter’s sales volumes were stronger.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our West End specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Tags: apartment sales west end, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane property sales, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane sales market, home buyers Brisbane, house sales west end, property sales west end, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane, west end apartments, west end houses, west end property, West End Real estate agent
Posted in West End | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 September 2011
It’s not surprising to see a couple of new apartment projects popping up in Woolloongabba, given the growing buyer interest in the area and the strength of the local market. The graphs show prices holding firm for apartments but our experience is that many are taking small drops to achieve a sale. The local market hasn’t been immune from the broader discounting of the inner city. Houses in Woolloongabba continue to attract good enquiry. Sales volumes are still very low as many owners hold off from selling, although the second quarter has been a lot busier than the first.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our Woolloongabba specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Tags: apartment sales woolloongabba, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane property sales, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane sales market, gabba apartments, gabba property, gabba property sales, home buyers Brisbane, house sales woolloongabba, property sales woolloongabba, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane, woolloongabba real estate agent
Posted in Woolloongabba | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 September 2011
While real estate market-watching’s become a national sport, it’s hard to call any strong price trend in Spring Hill’s market so far this year. Our median sales prices are down on last year, but have retained much of the growth of the last decade. The number of transactions continues to below – the 2nd quarter of 2011 has been busier than the first but we’ve still had less than 100 apartment sales in the first half of this year. Overall buyer enquiry is sound and while prices aren’t setting records there are still sales to be had for those who want them. House sales volumes are so low as to make the median price data fairly meaningless. We do know that many house owners are holding off selling until prices improve.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our Spring Hill specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Tags: apartment sales spring hill, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane property sales, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane sales market, home buyers Brisbane, house sales spring hill, property sales spring hill, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane, Spring Hill Real Estate Agent
Posted in Spring Hill | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 25 September 2011
While real estate market-watching’s become a national sport, it’s hard to call any strong price trend in Highgate Hill’s market so far this year. Our median sales prices are down on last year, but have retained much of the growth of the last decade. One clear change is the number of transactions – the 2nd quarter of 2011 has been busier than the first but we’re still on track for just half as many house sales as we saw in 2010. Why? Many local home-owners have withdrawn their properties from sale (or not listed at all) awaiting stronger prices. Overall buyer interest remains fairly solid, albeit at softer prices than last year.
If you’d like a sales market update for your property please call our Highgate Hill specialist, Rob Honeycombe on 0423 332 022 or 07 3214 6800
Tags: Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane property sales, Brisbane real estate agents, Brisbane sales market, Highgate Hill real estate agent, home buyers Brisbane, house sales highgate hill, property sales highgate hill, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Highgate Hill | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 10 August 2011
For this week’s newsletter we just wanted to share the graph below from www.myRP.com.au. This charts the changes in Brisbane’s median prices over the past 10 years. When the line’s above zero prices were going up. Below the line is when we’ve had drops in values.
The media love stories about booms and crashes. As home owners, or would-be home owners, we often fret and stress over the ups and downs of the market. Right now many Brisbane property owners are postponing major changes in their lives because prices are down. They won’t move home until they go back up. Or they won’t sell til they get more than the last sale in their neighbourhood.
In the context of a single year’s market the current changes in price can seem enormous. But maybe this graph will help some readers see things in a different light, a new perspective. It’s a nice reminder that things are still pretty good.
And at worst it’s a pretty graph!
graph courtesy myRP.com.au
Tags: Brisbane home prices, Brisbane median home prices, RP Data, selling a house Brisbane, selling an apartment Brisbane
Posted in Brisbane's sales market, trends in Brisbane property | No Comments »
Posted by admin on 1 July 2011
It’s a bit early for real estate agents to start popping champagne, but a new report says we had a 0.2% rise in our median price for the month of May. RP Data-Rismark’s data shows our prices may have bottomed. For the March – May quarter they report a drop of 1.5% so while that May increase might not seem like a big number it’s fairly encouraging!
On the ground this feels right to us. Many sellers are withdrawing from sale and, while buyers are still hesitant, wise heads amongst them say the current prices look like great value.
National valuation firm HTW says this is a time to buy. “Our staff are daily surprised by the seemingly affordable property on offer all around the place and if ever there were a time to have a lazy half million, it would be now. You would find yourself very comfortably looking in a number of areas that seemed until recently out of reach. Think inner city hotspots driven by the café lifestyle.”
Tags: Brisbane apartment prices, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane house prices, Brisbane median home prices, Brisbane real estate agents, home buyers Brisbane, RP Data
Posted in Brisbane's sales market | No Comments »
Posted by Rob Honeycombe on 14 June 2011
pic courtesy themorningbulletin.com.au
The announcement is fresh so the details are still sketchy. But here’s the latest news for home buyers from the Queensland State Treasurer and today’s budget:
If you’re buying a home after July 31st you will now pay more stamp duty. For the median Brisbane house of $430,000 it will be $6,575 extra (for a new total of $12,875 going out of your pocket into the government coffers.) Concessions will remain for first home buyers spending less than $500,000, not that there’s many of them left any more. The duty on an investment purchase remains unchanged.
On our best estimates the number of real estate transactions in Brisbane were lower in 2010 than they had been for more than a decade. This year has so far been the slowest in many agents’ memories, well down on 2010, maybe by as much as a further 30%. So how does increasing the tax on each of these make any sense at all? It’s hard to keep an open mind when the mindlessness of it is breathtaking.
Why the change? Well the government seems to be struggling with balancing the books and had to fund some “headline” good news stories. Here’s the explanation from the budget papers: “The government has introduced a temporary $10,000 Queensland Building Boost grant towards the construction or purchase of a new home for six months commencing 1 August 2011. The Community Ambulance Cover levy is to be abolished from 1 July 2011. These changes are to be funded by the removal of the principal place of residence transfer duty concession.”
I must be missing something here. If the Treasurer thinks the new home market operates in isolation of the established housing market he’s badly misguided. Smacking home buyers around the teeth with an extra $6000 or $7000 of tax will further slow the whole real estate market – established and new. So they won’t be handing out too many of those $10,000 cheques for new homes……
Ahhh – I think I understand!
Please share your thoughts on these changes. And to calculate your new tax go to the stamp duty calculator.
## Thursday 16th June update: Some news today from the State Opposition in their budget reply speech:
“Today we also announced our commitment to reintroducing stamp duty concessions on family homes, a saving that was ditched by Labor in the 2011-12 Budget. We understand that this 125 per cent increase will cost Queenslanders dearly, which is why we oppose it. Our policy will save Queenslanders around $7,000 on the average home.”
Tags: Brisbane home buyers, Brisbane home prices, Brisbane real estate, stamp duty Queensland
Posted in property taxes and rates etc | 5 Comments »
