In our last article we talked about the possible tax benefits when investing in property through a self managed super fund (SMSF). While taxation is undoubtedly an issue, and holding your investments within the most appropriate tax environments is vital to ensuring you maintain your wealth, today’s article will focus on one of the most [...]

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 [...]

The rest of $M Melbourne Melbourne slipped a cog this weekend with a 64% clearance rate on 25 $M+ reported auctions – a fair way down from last week’s stellar 83% on our 30 monitored $M+ auctions. Some Highlights In Yarra (Richmond to Fitzroy) there were six properties up for auction at around a $million, and six were bought Elsternwick 9 [...]

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.

Australia’s love affair with real estate as an investment has paid enormous dividends for investors over the decades. Real estate investment has helped many investors not only protect their wealth but also grow their wealth through much of the Global Financial Crisis. With Australia’s appetite for real estate investment remaining strong and many real estate experts [...]

The Melbourne $M+ market outside Inner East and Bayside performed pretty well today with 25 of the reported 30 $M+ auctions or 83% selling. This figure is a little generous, with a few unreporteds, but it nonetheless shows a strong “fringe” $M+ auction market. Highlights 18 Carn Avenue, Ivanhoe with Sue Lacey of Miles selling for $2,040,000 after [...]

Another strong (well stronger than Winter) fortnight for auctions and private sales over $3m. Rather than wax lyrical lets look at some facts. See below for results, reports, ratings and analysis. Full Auction Report: Click here http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8807/42-Wattle_Valley-Road-CANTERBURY Full Auction Report click here: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8705/24-Somers-Avenue-MALVERN Full Auction Report: Click here http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8829/4-Forrest-Court-TOORAK Full Auction Report click here: http://www.james.net.au/rating/49-Harcourt-Street-HAWTHORN_EAST Full Auction Report click here: http://www.marketnews.com.au/auction-reviews/8670/1-Myamyn-Street-ARMADALE/ Full Rating click here: http://www.james.net.au/rating/6-Head-Street-BRIGHTON Full Video [...]

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.

Let’s take a look at a property which sold recently with Danielle Henry of Hocking Stuart:  8/27 Hill Street, Hawthorn. It was a beautifully renovated first floor unit in a nice quiet pocket of Hawthorn. On  the surface it had all the right investment grade attributes: it was a secure first floor unit, with a workable [...]

August has seen a bit more noise in the $3m+ market and deals are seemingly back on the agenda at this price level. In Ivanhoe two bidders fought it out for over a million dollars to get to the $4,300,000 result, as the above picture states  - a full $800,000 over a fair and reasonable reserve. [...]

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

Over the past two weeks we have reviewed more than 900 properties in Melbourne’s blue Chip suburbs. Of those properties, 35 were flagged for inspection. Properties are excluded using strict criteria which includes the review of attributes like aspect, light, size, number of levels & legal ownership. Post inspections, 7 of these properties have been selected [...]

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 [...]