July 29, 2015

Perfect Timing

The recent splutter of buyer interest in our market gives sellers and agents a glimmer of hope that the property market may be on the way up!  The last four properties we have listed for sale have all gone under contract within the first two days of being listed for sale or after the first open home.  However, this is in the lower price ranges and not applicable to the upper market where there are still buyers, just not as many.  Nevertheless, homes are still selling, just not as quick!

Congrats to Victoria Newton and her supporters/volunteers for once again organising a wonderful Einpunbin Festival.  It was so nice to see many of the local schools, support networks, associations and small businesses taking part, and what a beautiful day.  Well done!

Even though the logistics of running this event is huge, wouldn’t it be great for our local community if we ran a market type event on a more regular basis?  We have so many home based businesses and it would be a fantastic opportunity for them to let everyone know what they have to offer, and to have the doors to our bricks and mortar opened and on display.  How wonderful would it be!  Sandgate open for business.  Wow!


As we move into the second half of the year, many people start thinking about preparing their home to sell in Spring.  If this is you, you really need to think about what to do, and how much you want to/need to spend to get you there.  Don’t just jump in blind, get some advice on your best options as you don’t want to over capitalise or throw money away.  If you’d like more information on the best possible step forward then just call!

July 23, 2015

Local Knowledge

We don’t live far from the hub of Brisbane and those that visit appreciate what our lovely small town has to offer.  They embrace the unique mixture of people, wonderful character homes and of course our waterfront.  Those lucky enough to live here value the history, quirkiness and the wonderful artists we have, and that has a bonding affect on our entire support network.  How lucky are we!

Our current property market appears to be stable—it hasn’t gone up or down, but we are looking at a 50% reduction in the number of homes on the market with only 177 properties in the 4017 postcode for sale - Shorncliffe 11, Sandgate 19, Brighton 55, Deagon 40 and Bracken Ridge 52 (sourced www.realestate.com.au).  

Lack of stock seems to be a problem across the board and many homes being listed are selling fast.  With this type of market, it’s wise for buyers to be prepared and get their finances in order so they are ready to roll when the right home comes along.  If you need to sell to buy, then you really should know what your home is worth in today's market.  A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a great place to start and as local agents with a great knowledge of the area, we can prepare this information for you with no obligation.  

We were recently asked how negotiable agents commissions are in Queensland so we decided to investigate what other states charge.  Commissions are rarely advertised but thanks to Mr Google it was surprisingly easy to find how we compare.  The average Australian real estate agent commission is around 2.2%.  Tasmania is the highest ranging from 3.9%-11.4% depending on the selling price (good old Tassie).  Queensland agents     commissions were recently deregulated and we are still going through a settling in period but we are sitting on an average of 2.2% inclusive of GST.

Experts recommend that sellers spend an average of 1% of the selling price of their home on advertising.  In some states and inner suburbs this could be well worth the costs, but we’re a different market.  Advertising should maximise the exposure of your home and should be as individual as the home itself.  Call us for more information on the best possible plan for you and your property. 

July 15, 2015

Exposure

The experts recommend that the average amount of advertising money that should be invested when selling your home is roughly 1% of the selling price – eg, selling price $500,000, advertising = $5,000. OMG that much!

You have one chance to maximise the exposure of what your home has to offer.  The decision to move on is heartbreaking for some, but others just want to move on.  Regardless, when the right time comes, the home needs to be prepared to entice someone else to buy it, and a good number of people are visual so first impressions are so important. 

The majority of properties are listed on www.realestate.com.au and www.domain.com.au , but first you must have photos (cost), then maybe a floor plan (cost), your agent does the internet blurb, sets a plan for open homes and they may contact their database to see if they have any buyers that may be interested in purchasing the home. The property is loaded onto internet websites (cost) and paper media advertising is organised (cost). 

This is what’s usually involved in the first few days of your home being placed on the market and exposed to buyers.  Over the first 30 days, this equates to roughly $1,400, below half of the recommended amount suggested by the experts and well worth the cost!

So you see, there is so much more to selling a home than just putting it on the market.  Every home is different and the marketing plan should be set out to suit both the home and the pocket!  If you’d like more information on the best possible plan for you, then just call!

Topsy Turvy Market

Buyers are quickly snapping up homes in the under $500,000 bracket as they seem to know it’s a great time to buy.  But, once again, we are back to where we started with very few homes on the market to sell.  When this type of market comes around, we normally see an increase in selling prices, but this is not happening.  There are a number of reasons for this, but it’s mainly due to the fact that buyers have so much more information at their fingertips with today’s mobile technology.  

Our last three new listings went under contract very quickly, one from our database.  Databases are very important as they contain legitimate clients actively looking to buy right now.  It is illegal to hold onto a person’s personal information unless we have their authority to do so.  We therefore make it a regular monthly/bi-monthly task to ‘wash’ our database and remove anyone that no longer requires our services.  By doing this we maintain a good quality and up to date database.  I’m sure you’ve all heard it sprouted that “we have thousands of buyer’s on our database”.  This sounds great but how many of those “thousands” of people are legitimate, have already purchased or are just stale buyers? 


We’ve proudly completed the first stage of the renovations to our cottage and hope the local community like what we’ve accomplished in such a short time.  It’s amazing what can be done to these character homes and we’ve really enjoyed the process.  If you’re passing by, please have a look and let us know what you think!

State of Play

Experts are finally indicating that our area is the location to buy in!  With  interest rates lower than expected, it’s a great time to buy, and it’s such an affordable location.  However, if buyers can’t find a home to buy within a reasonable time, they will look    elsewhere.  While our 4017 area has seen a trickle of homes come onto the market in the last month (169), pretty much the same as last month (170) (sourced www.realestate.com.au), there are indications that some suburbs are improving more than others—it’s still a slow, if not flat market. 

Stamp duty is payable on residential property purchases and QLD is still cheaper than other states.  However, for most people, stamp duty is that “unknown cost” associated with purchasing a home.  Stamp duty is payable 30 days from contract date or at settlement, whichever occurs first.  This tax varies accordingly to the actual purchase of the home, and  differs according to whether the  property will be owner occupied, a first home or an investment.  If you are purchasing, ask the right questions of your lending body and ensure they make allowances for the tax when discussing your borrowing capacity. 

You all know that we recently purchased and are now renovating our cottage, which appears to date back to the late 1800’s.  As part of the process we have researched the history of the home.  This will be an ongoing task but we have already discovered some interesting facts.  Did you know that “the Avenues” were not always called their current names?  Originally, these streets were named after locals—First Avenue was Petty, Second was Wilson, Third was Cooksley, Fifth was Henry and Sixth was Tulley.  There doesn’t appear to be any record of Fourth Street.  These names were changed in 1913.

With the character and heritage of our homes, building and of course people, history is such a big part of our community.  Even in days gone by the popularity of our area was evident with some prominent people choosing to reside in our resort location.  Even today, known people can walk down our streets and be recognised without being recognised, if you know what I mean!  That’s what draws people to us!  We don’t follow other trends, we create our own!