Valuing land is difficult enough, but there are even more variables when it comes to getting a consistent opinion of the market value of an actual building. We always counsel long term passive investors to buy purely on land value, or to buy proven populist homes like Victorians and Edwardians as opposed to new homes.  Why? Buildings [...]

Market value is useful when considering capital growth, however unlike with the share market, the market value of a property is often more a concept than an exact figure – and everybody has their own ‘recipe’ for how to go about it. But there are three consistent ‘ingredients’, that agents use to get a sense [...]

While the value you place on a property is ultimately the most important factor in influencing what you are prepared to pay, you also want to know its market value. But how do you know what that is? Is there some secret market value formula? No there is no single definitive “sticker price” market value figure [...]

Last week we pointed out that valuing a home is a bit like different vegetable soup recipes. Everybody has a different way of doing it. However, in the end the most important opinion of value is yours. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore what the rest of the market (the majority of other informed buyers [...]

With Super Saturday done and dusted, and the primary focus of the real estate industry now on which of Bart’s ponies has the best chance in the Cup, we can return to our series on worth, price and values. A fortnight ago we talked about how a home’s worth can mean different things to different people. [...]

This coming weekend is a “Super Saturday”, one where the market has a larger than normal amount of stock on offer at auction. We call them majors, and for agents and market watchers they are like the Masters in golf or the Grand Final in footy.

The elephant in the room for agents is always: “How much is it worth?”. You might be having a nice conversation about the weather or the footy, and the amazing fact that you both know Peter who went to the same school as so and so. But anyone, whether buyer or seller

Backward bidding is about throwing stones, it’s about fighting back, it’s about saying enough is enough.

Special Report on the $3m market: The $3m+ is back, after its self induced May hiccup which lead to a very quiet winter. There have been over 50 buys in the month of September at this level and the buyers are coming from all quarters. Lets pick one of the segments – around $4million. We have bought [...]

There’s been a bit of press about DIY homebuying of late. I was reading the Consumer Affairs piece in last Saturday’s Herald Sun where buyers were advised to get a pest and building inspection and then use it to negotiate price.

Different cultures have different values and different interpretations of what appear to be the same thing. Just as business people need to find the most appropriate way to interact with, and do business with, people of other cultures, so too do home buyers have to find the right way to deal with selling agents.

In a previous Buyer Masterclass we talked about the fact that more buyers are asking questions at auctions, especially the “is it on the market?” question. Asking questions can work well when bidder numbers are down. If you are the only bidder at an auction you are going to get a better hearing from the agent asking that question than if you are one of five bidders and you’re the only one asking the question.

Spring Market into “Caretaker mode” – A Hung Spring Market - is that the election effect? Most market watchers were anticipating with the election over we would be returning to a normal, albeit a bit lean September. However with the election aftermath more buyers and sellers will most likely adopt a "wait and see" approach meaning an even quieter early Spring.

If you feel that a win-win style will work for you; then you need to give a little to get a little before you can finalise a strategy. Prior to starting one on one negotiations, you need a forum for pre-negotiation discussions and I much prefer a coffee to a phone line. Naivety, experience and lack of preparation are not good prerequisites for the sorts of meetings I outline below, so if you don't feel it's you or if you have loose lips then engage a professional.

Some say negotiation is as much about style as substance. There might be some truth in this. But when it comes to buying high level homes I believe it may be more about substance than style – even if a good story from a smart agent still gets me and a client over the line at times. As agents we are used to seeing the following styles from inexperienced buyers and sellers: 1. Hit and hope, 2. Damage Limiter, 3. Begging

It’s heartening to see more buyers sticking up for their rights at auctions by asking questions – especially about reserves and whether the property is ‘on the market’. Because not all sellers and agents are respecting the auction system. Some agents are passing  in properties and then reporting an inflated reserve – which we call a [...]