Normally at this time of the year after the completion of the financial year and school holidays you would expect things to start to hot up a bit in terms of numbers of houses on the market. This year will be different – there are very few homes coming onto the public auction market. This is further evidenced by the number of mainstream auction agents taking holidays in July and doing so because they have little action on their auction books.

However properties are still changing hands albeit a number at lower price levels than last year but things are still happening.

Purchases for our clients within the last month include.
$5M – $10M: One in Boroondara and One in Stonnington. Both were off market.
$2M – $5M: Two in Boroondara – one off market see attached reference and one at a Camberwell auction with 3 other bidders.
$1M – $2M: Donvale, St Kilda East, Brighton East, Hampton,
Up to $1M: Brighton, Newport, Yarraville
We keep the higher value properties more general for privacy reasons.

Director’s Purchases:
I thought we would also point out that both Adam and Mal have bought properties for their families within the last month.

Auctions and Off Markets this weekend.

40 Victoria St, Fitzroy
This is a property that had a quality renovation, but was still a bit awkward. It was a property that was a terrace home with a south facing but had lots of light. It is in a great position but opposite a big area that could at some stage in the future have major development. It had lovely bedrooms but only one bathroom in the wrong position. It had a great study with good city views which is unusual but there were several flights of stairs to get there. The block size is not huge but it had acceptable parking. This mixed bag we rated it 541 out of 1000 even though it had lots of interesting gadgets. The very straightforward auction under the direction of Arch Staver of Nelson Alexander had 60 people in attendance. Arch called for bidding and there was one at $1.5m – half time break – song and dance – still the lone bid at $1.5m. Property was passed in with no vendor bids and sold later for an undisclosed amount reported to be in excess of $1.7m.

3 Off Market Private Sales in the Toorak area:
Last week we looked at and rated three really good off market homes in the Toorak area.

Two were on smaller blocks of land (around 650sqm) but had interesting houses on them. We rated both in 770’s out of a 1000. Lifts, highest quality finishes, and both although with different agents had an $8m asking price. The market is still alive in Toorak – well at least it is in the sellers’ minds – we thought the asking prices were brave.

The third property which we gave a 900+ out of 1000 rating is one of our favourites. We love buying these homes when we can. Great living and a great investment (maybe we should become selling agents). Classic Victorian home on large land, north facing rear and great position. The architectural thought and workmanship in the renovation was exquisite and this will sell under competition at the appropriate time (despite a tougher market).

Reference:
It’s not unusual to get notes but it very unusual to get note on a property of this calibre (most people are extremely private and we respect that) that clients would like us to publicise. Thank you very much Sarah and Tom and we are including it to get more business yes but also to show you that even in this market good purchasing is not all about grinding a few dollars a price or missing out on your dream home because you were not in the right mindset.

Dear Mal,

We would like to convey to you our appreciation for your services over the past two years.

When we were first introduced to the concept of Buyers Advocate we were understandably sceptical thinking, here is another real estate agent going to take a percentage on a purchase which we are quite capable of making ourselves without using a “middle man”.  We decided to investigate things further and found that at our initial few meetings the approach you took was a lot more “holistic” than we had expected – you really got to know us and our situation, our likes and dislikes, our family situation, and you set all of this in the context of our real estate needs.  It wasn’t surprising then that having approached you to buy us a holiday house, we ended up buying an investment property instead.

We have been looking for a new family home now for 18 months and have been considering renovating or rebuilding our current property instead.  Again, through this process, you have remained convinced that our current property is not the best street and in the best location to realise the value spent on renovating it and have been convinced that we should move rather than stay.

You didn’t push us in this direction rather acknowledged that the emotional connection to this property may be strong enough that to stay would be the best option for us.  Notwithstanding this you undertook to look for something for us and consistently updated us with what was available, let us know when you had seen properties and maintained your patience when ideal properties came and went because we weren’t convinced.

Your life coaching skills sit very comfortably with your skills at educating your clients as to what to look for in a property – we now look at the floor plan and can reject half the properties we see on the web before going to visit them.

We had such a level of trust in your judgement that when you phoned and told us you had been told of a property that was coming on the market that you thought we should look at, we immediately know we had to see it and within the week, with your guidance and negotiating skills, we ended up buying that property!

If the comments made above are not enough to convince me now of the merits of a Buyer Advocate it is that we wouldn’t have been able to see and subsequently buy this property before auction (at a significant discount) if we hadn’t engaged the services of a Buyer Advocate beforehand.

Many thanks for all of your help.  We look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

Kind regards,

Sarah and Tom.

Overall an interesting auction weekend – the shortest day of the year (in terms of daylight hours) and a typically cold and wet Melbourne one. Crowds at auction were down, and typically there were one-to-two bidders. Vendor bids and pass-in are becoming more and more the norm and buyers need to be prepared for this. The difference between a good and bad agent is becoming more and more obvious.

8 Glen Street Hawthorn. Step back in time 30 years to experience some real 70’s architecture here. Typically small bedrooms and a floor plan which does not really suit contemporary living contributed to a rating of 553/1000. The big positive here was the location – Scotch Hill.

This auction was always going to be interesting and the upper end of the quote range was always going to be tough to achieve. A vendor bid opened the bidding at $1.275m and two bidders nibbled at this in the $1.3m’s. It would take a skilled agent such as James Tostevin to sell this, and it did after passing in for $1.32m to eventually sell for $1.42m. Not a bad result, we have seen many properties of this ilk pass in at land value and not sell on auction day recently.

8 Colvin Grove Hawthorn. Not the same esteemed position here, but a renovated period style house of some quality which may appeal to more. This rated 668/1000.

About 40 at the auction, yet it was clear to me that there was only one serious bidder. The auctioneer Maurice Di Marzio of Jellis Craig opened with a vendor bid of $1.2m and the one bidder was easily dragged along to $1.27m. The property was then passed in. Perhaps a pre-auction offer might have been the way to go here – or maybe just a match of the original vendor bid. The property is now for private sale for $1.42m.

40 Frederick Street Yarraville. Attractive period style home close to the village. North facing rear with off-street car-parking and a lovely feel. We rated this 722/1000. In front of a crowd of around 40 people, auctioneer Craig Stephens of JAS H Stephens opened the bidding with a vendor bid of $540K and then 2 bidders fought this out. On the market at $625K then selling for $635K. A good campaign by Tate Moore, and a good result for vendor and purchaser alike.

Many buyers turn up to an auction with little planning having been done, other than “I think I will bid up to …” or plan B “I will see what others do”.

If you want to spend all your money in this market that, as a general rule, has shifted downwards between 5 and 20% in the past few months (inner Melbourne higher-end properties), then this planning – or lack of it – will achieve that (spending all your money).

2007 was to some extent easy – you turned up, put your hand up and, at the end of the auction, you had either bought the property or you hadn’t. Much of our work as buyer agents was buying before auctions, stringing together bidding strategies, assessing value or negotiating off-market properties.

In 2008, the rules have changed for buyers. In 2008, if you turn up and put your hand up, quite often you are the only person to do so. Look at the results below of the million-plus dollar properties passed in at auctions; more than half had the auctioneer issuing vendor bids at the pass-in price.

So what happens next after you have put your hand up and it’s passed into you?

Usually, you are fawned over by a number of surprised agents (who are surprised because they thought there were going to be five bidders but, for some reason, nobody else showed up). You are taken inside and immediately told just how lucky you are and the reserve is only “x” dollars above the quoted range and this is your lucky day.

Can we rewind a bit before we discuss what are your options from here…………………Roll back

……………………Once you have found your dream home and it is going to auction on this (or a later weekend), there are a few things you should do before auction day.

1. Get an architect or builder to assess the home’s current condition. A pest inspection in many cases is also money well spent.

2. Documentation needs to be checked by a solicitor – not a conveyancer, but a solicitor who can give you a legal opinion on its validity.

3. Get some professional help – and we don’t mean the help that involves somebody giving you medication. We mean a professional buyer advocate, experienced in the type and price of property you are looking at. A buyer advocate experienced in the ways of the other side (granted good selling agents also know a thing or two about managing buyer advocates – so make sure it’s an experienced advocate at the price levels and property types you are looking at).

Of course we are going to say get a buyer advocate – but we can show you numerous examples where we have had a lot of money left in our pocket (or should I say your money stayed in your pocket) when acting on behalf of clients who freely admit they would have planted it down on the table if asked. This is not a slight on selling agents – to the contrary, this only confirms why 99 per cent of all sellers hire selling agents because they do work, they do make a difference and, in this market, good selling agents make a difference more than ever. For some reason, many buyers are embarrassed or feel it’s an assault on their manhood or feel they can, on their first or second go at auctions, match it with the best in the business (high-end selling agents) and therefore they don’t hire a professional buyer advocate.

Many people (buyers) just simply do not know how good a Jenny Dwyer or Barb Gregory of bayside Hocking Stuart are at making you feel all warm and fuzzy as they work you up and up the price spiral. David Hart and James Paynter of Buxton have stronger styles, but are no less effective when dealing on a one-buyer (maybe you) property, but making that buyer feel he or she is one of four.

Many buyers don’t understand how good Andrew McCann or Kaine Lanyon of Bennison Mackinnon are at building you up to a pre-auction negotiation when, in fact, you are the only potential bidder. Michael Gibson and Michael Armstrong of Kay and Burton are quite polished at giving you the constant impression that they are there to help. But, unless it’s at such and such a level (price wise), while they would love you to buy this truly magnificent property, they cannot recommend a sale by their vendor. James and Hamish Tostevin of Marshall White are legendary with their skills at engaging you within 30 seconds, making you feel you have their undivided attention, that you are special and they will help you pay this incredible price you need to pay now if you want to buy your dream home.

Contrast Alastair Craig and Scott Paterson of Jellis Craig who have styles that are very smooth, very professional and sometimes a bit dismissive – but this is a tactic to push you into new price levels and they are doing this on behalf of their client, the vendor, not you the buyer.

Any of these agents (and many more) are simply very good at their job and, in this market, when they are focused, they are formidable opponents and significant obstacles if you want to buy the property at what you consider to be a good price.

Two final points on buyer advocates. It is better if you speak to us before you open your mouth on price to the selling agent. Our fees? Simple: no purchase, no charge (so you’re on par with the other buyer that didn’t buy) or 1 per cent plus GST if you are successful. That’s one bid, a fraction of the first agent bluff and two bits of not much if you have secured the home you really want.

4. Get a FIRM idea on different value ranges – in today’s market, last year’s data is a guide but not a bible. The market has shifted and next week it may shift again – we are in volatile times, so you need different price guides for different situations. ON THE SAME PROPERTY.

5. Get a plan – flowchart scenarios, prepare scripts on what to say when under pressure.

6. Practise your breathing, your scripts. We know some clients laugh when they read this bit. It’s true. If you cannot go to Harvey Norman today and HAGGLE $150 off the asking price of a computer, or you cannot get up in front of 20 office colleagues and give an off-the-cuff talk on why your dream home is in fact not your dream home, then are you sure you are the right man (or woman) for the job this weekend against experienced buyers and quality selling agents? Alternatively, have you the skills to take advantage of poor selling agent preparation?

OK, so now to auction day

1. Does the auction feel alive or not?

2. Should I open the bidding or not? The advantage to opening the bidding is you can make it lower than a vendor bid and, if you are smart, that may stop the vendor bidding. The disadvantage is it gives your buying opponents, Nervous Nellie or Nervous Neil, a confidence boost that somebody else likes this and then they start bidding.
3. You’ve bid $1.83 million. The vendor bid is $2.1 million. OH MY GOD. What do I do now???? …………………………………………..

………………………. Roll forward: it’s passed into you and you are sitting in the lounge room of your dreams and your final bid was $1.125 million and the agent has said you can buy it for $1.35 million. What do you do?

Thoughts that run through our mind:

1. The quote
2. The agent and his or her experience (What have been their recent successes? Or not successes?)
3. Was there any other bidding?
4. Has the vendor bought (research beforehand)

Some of the tactics and techniques an agent may use on you – do you know what to do?

1. The squeeze
2. Silence
3. Walk away
4. Double tag – one responding and one listening
5. Higher authority
6. You instead of us
7. Multiple offers
8. Over the top – new player
9. The trial agreement – if I can get my guy to
10. The deadline
11. Build the pace
12. Slow the pace
13. The alternative (competition)
14. The no response
15. Show me the money
16. The fait accompli
17. Grinding
18. Timing
19. Bridge building
20. Laugh and pause
21. The withdrawal
22. The 1,2,3 drop
23. The dribble, dribble, solid amount – last gasp

If we haven’t at least made you think about your auction this weekend, then apologies, but if we have, then let’s meet and have a chat – no obligation and you assess if we can add some value.

After all, GREAT NEGOTIATING is not about missing out – anybody can do that. GREAT NEGOTIATING is not about paying over the odds by a long way and spending all your money and then some – anybody can do that. GREAT NEGOTIATING is about getting what you want at a price you are happy with.

Why should a SELLER have all the odds in their favour – the market has shifted direction – HAVE YOU?

30 March 2008

Dear Mal, Peter, Melissa and Adam,

Re ………… Avenue Balwyn,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for securing our future home.

When one of our colleagues pulled out at the last moment in assisting us for the purchase of ……… Ave Balwyn, we thought we would need some help in making one of the most important decisions (financially) in our lifetime.

We were both extremely impressed given the short time frame you and Peter had to work with ie less than 48 hours before auction.

Your professionalism in putting together a substantial report on the property and the follow-up strategy at auction and post-auction negotiations, we believe gave us the edge in securing the property.

We were glad that you were bidding for us at that auction, as you took control of the proceedings immediately and certainly made it clear to other bidders that they had a real fight on their hands if they were to be successful.

We cannot talk highly enough of your overall approach and in particular your post-auction skills in negotiating a great price for us. We firmly believe that you have added value in the process of purchasing our home and would not hesitate to recommend you to any friends or family.

Well done to your team.

Yours sincerely

Ezio and Sonia

Many buyers turn up to an auction with little planning having been done, other than “I think I will bid up to” or plan B “I will see what others do”.

If you want to spend all your money in this market that, as a general rule, has shifted downwards between 5 and 20% in the last few months (inner Melbourne higher end properties) then this planning or lack of it, will achieve that (spending all your money).

2007 was to some extent easy – you turned up, put your hand up and at the end of the auction you had either bought the property or you hadn’t. Much of our work as buyer agents was buying before auctions, stringing together bidding strategies, assessing value or negotiating off market properties.

In 2008 the rules have changed for buyers. In 2008 if you turn up and put your hand up,  quite often you are the only person to do so. Look at the results below of the million dollar plus passed in auctions; more than half had the auctioneer issuing vendor bids at the pass in price.

So what happens next after you have put your hand up and its passed into you?

Usually you are feigned over by a number of surprised agents (who are surprised because they thought there were going to be five bidders but for some reason nobody else showed up). You are taken inside and immediately told just how lucky you are and the reserve is only “x” dollars above the quoted range and this is your lucky day.

Can we rewind a bit before we discuss what are your options from here…………………Roll Back

……………………You have found your dream home and it is going to auction on this or a later weekend then there are a few things you should do prior to auction day.

1. Get an architect or builder to assess the home’s current condition. A pest inspection in many cases is also money well spent.

1. Documentation needs to be checked by a solicitor – not a conveyancer, a solicitor who can give you a legal opinion on its validity.

1. Get some professional help, and we don’t mean the help that involves somebody giving you some medication. We mean a professional buyer advocate, experienced in the type and price of property you are looking at. A buyer advocate experienced in the ways of the other side (granted good selling agents also know a thing or two about managing buyer advocates – so make sure it’s an experienced advocate at the price levels and property types you are looking at).

   Of course we are going to say get a buyer advocate – but we can show you numerous examples where we have had a lot of money left in our pocket (or should I say your money stayed in your pocket) when acting on behalf of clients who freely admit they would have planted it down on the table if asked. This is not a sleight on selling agents – to the contrary – this only confirms why 99% of all sellers hire selling agents because they do work – they do make a difference and in this market good selling agents make a difference more than ever. For some reason many buyers are embarrassed or feel it’s an assault on their manhood or feel they can, on their first or second go at auctions, match it with the best in the business (high end selling agents) and therefore they don’t hire a professional buyer advocate.

1. Get an FIRM idea on different value ranges – in today’s market, last year’s data is a guide but not a bible. The market has shifted and next week it may shift again – we are in volatile times so you need different price guides for different situations. ON THE SAME PROPERTY.

1. Get a plan – flowchart scenarios, prepare scripts on what to say when under pressure.

1. Practise your breathing, your scripts. We know some clients laugh when they read this bit. It’s true. If you cannot go to Harvey Norman today and HAGGLE $150 off the asking price of a computer, or you cannot get up in front of twenty office colleagues and give an off the cuff talk on why your dream home is in fact not your dream home, then are you sure you are the right man (or woman) for the job this weekend against experienced buyers and quality selling agents. Alternatively, have you the skills to take advantage of poor selling agent preparation?

OK so it Auction Day

1. Does the auction feel alive or not?

1. Should I open the bidding or not? The advantage to opening the bidding is you can make it lower than a vendor bid and if you are smart that may stop the vendor bidding. The disadvantage is it gives your buying opponents Nervous Nellie or Nervous Neil a confidence boost that somebody else likes this and then they start bidding.
2. You’ve bid $1,830,000. Vendor BID $2,100,000. OH MY GOD. What do I do now???? …………………………………………………………………… Roll Forward – It’s passed into you and you are sitting in the lounge room of your dreams and your final bid was $1,125,000 and agent has said you can buy it for $1,350,000. What do you do?

Thoughts that run through our mind?

1. The quote
2. The agent and his or her experience (What has been their recent successes or not)
3. Was there any other bidding?
4. Has the vendor bought (research beforehand)

Some of the Tactics and Techniques an agent may use on you – do you know what to do?

1. The Squeeze
2. Silence
3. Walk Away
4. Double Tag – one responding and one listening
5. Higher Authority
6. You instead of us
7. Multiple Offers
8. Over the Top – New Player
9. The trial agreement – if I can get my guy to
10. The Deadline
11. Build the Pace
12. Slow the Pace
13. The Alternative (Competition)
14. The No Response
15. Show Me the Money
16. The Fait Accompli
17. Grinding
18. Timing
19. Bridge building
20. Laugh and Pause
21. The Withdrawal
22. The 1,2, 3 Drop
23. The dribble, dribble, solid amount – last gasp.

If we haven’t at least made you think about your auction this weekend then apologies but if we have then lets meet and have a chat – no obligation and you assess if we can add some value.

After all GREAT NEGOTIATING is not about missing out – anybody can do that. GREAT NEGOTIATING is not about paying over the odds by a long way and spending all your money and then some – anybody can do that. GREAT NEGOTIATING is about getting what you want at a price you are happy with.

Why should a SELLER have all the odds in their favour – the market has shifted direction – HAVE YOU?

30 March 2008

Dear Mal, Peter, Melissa and Adam,

Re ………… Avenue Balwyn,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for securing our future home.

When one of our colleagues pulled out at the last moment in assisting us for the purchase of ……… Ave Balwyn, we thought we would need some help in making one of the most important decisions (financially) in our lifetime.

We were both extremely impressed given the short time frame you and Peter had to work with ie less than 48 hours before auction.

Your professionalism in putting together a substantial report on the property and the follow up strategy at auction and post auction negotiations, we believe gave us the edge in securing the property.

We were glad that you were bidding for us at that auction as you took control of the proceedings immediately and certainly made it clear to other bidders that they had a real fight on their hands if they were to be successful.

We cannot talk highly enough of your overall approach and in particular your post auction skills in negotiating a great price for us. We firmly believe that you have added value in the process of purchasing our home and would not hesitate to recommend you to any friends or family.

Well done to your team.

Yours sincerely

Ezio and Sonia

Pre Xmas 2007 and Post Easter 2008

24 Seymour Grove Brighton
This property sold on one side of the street (south and no good for sunshine) for $2,920,000 in December 2007. We assessed at land value only.

Date: Dec 2007
Landsize: 974sqm
Price: 2,920,000



29 Seymour Grove Brighton

This property sold this weekend for $2,160,000 – having been on the market at $2,040,000 and was on the north side of the street (great for sunshine) and rating a whopping 866 out of 1000 (click here for full rating) – so it’s a great property. There were 3 bidders – the market knew it was there and what it might sell for.



13 Wolseley Grove Brighton

To confirm the gravity of this market shift with some types of property – 13 Wolseley Grove, the next street up in Brighton (same James Home Rating 866/1000, same north facing, same land size, same bulldozer house theory)  – was auctioned a month or so ago with a price expectation of 2.9 to 3.0m (we thought that was possible earlier this year when asked) . It remained unsold at auction after a vendor bid of 2.1m and a reserve or $2.85m. We have since been informed it maybe for sale at 2.5m, however the price received for Seymour may mean a further price alteration.

Are we saying the market has dropped all of its gains of 2007 – we in some ways; yes we are saying that for the higher end properties that are not the wiz bang wow. That of course may turn around next week.

Are we saying that for all properties? NO. For example, for properties under a million dollars or properties that require little work and have the right 3p’s – Price, Property and Position, we see the market as having only eased slightly (up to 10% off from Jan 2008). A lot of the sub million dollar properties didn’t rise as quickly last year as the Top End.

At this stage we are focussed on making sure we are paying the right price in the face of no competition or a different right price in the favour of proven competition or recommending we pass until we find another similar property with the right price. However if you are not experienced at auctions your inexperience could be costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

AUCTIONS LIVE
We attended a number of auctions over the weekend – below are 2 auctions

29 Seymour Grove Brighton (866 out of 1000) – Quoted had dropped during the campaign from $2.5m down to around $2.25m. Bidding opened by the crowd at $1.7m and with two bidders and some vendor bidding rose to $2,040,000 before it was put on the market with a third bidder and eventually sold to the first bidder for $2,160,000. In the end and even in this market we think that was a brilliant buy and congratulations to the purchasers for their bravery and foresight.



42 Sussex Street Brighton auction – which we rated quite highly  – the only real faults were perhaps one living area short downstairs and upstairs was less than average but we assessed it could be easily fixed. This property was subject to an offer late last year well above what it was passed in for today and is a further reminder that sellers are facing tougher times right now. Two vendor bids by James Paynter (a strong auctioneer) at 2.35m and 2.45m saw no bids, no action and a pass in.

OVERVIEW
Houses
The big test will be next week as there are many houses in the million dollar bracket up for auction.  But the facts are clear in our mind – the market is continuing to turn dramatically from last year. If the market views a home as less than perfect or overpriced, it will attract little  interest. However quality, well priced homes in this bracket are still doing what they did last year – sell well.

As we said last week some “fringe” suburbs are proving difficult for sellers eg Balwyn North and Brighton East (see below). It’s not that these are less than great suburbs it’s just people in many cases are not prepared to pay Balwyn or Brighton prices like they were last year.

AUCTIONS LIVE
We attended a number of auctions over the weekend – below are 2 auctions

11 Lawson St Hawthorn East -  A Property We Rated 775 out of 1000 (click here for full rating)

We viewed 11 Lawson St Hawthorn East and rated it quite highly but as land only 775/1000. However the quote seemed high with $1.8million being the top end of the range. The home was built late 70’s/early 80’s but had some drawbacks associated with that era – dated decor, small rooms, less than perfect floor plan. We could not see how renovating the existing property made any sense and therefore overcapitalisation was a real chance if you paid too much for the land and built again. The auction itself was attended by around 70 people and in our opinion it felt like there were buyers there, but nobody bid. A number of vendor bids from Jeff Gole (who is a good auctioneer) and no interest from the street resulted in a pass in at $1.6M. It did sell in later negotiations at $1.687m.

37 Illawarra St Hawthorn -  A Property We Rated 696 out of 1000 (click here for full rating)

Alternatively another good property 37 Illawarra St Hawthorn on Scotch Hill rated at 696/1000 – auctioned by Tim Fletcher from Fletchers (another very experienced auctioneer) had a very strong result at $2million. The auction was very well attended as it should be for a property on Scotch Hill without freeway noise. Being picky you could say that despite the land size it was a trifle narrow for what will eventually be a $3-4million home. Also being picky you could say the neighbours dominated the site a little – however Adam (James Architect) outlined an ingenious way to design for a narrow block and make the neighbours work for you in terms of street presence. This is a selling agents saying of “quote em low watch em go” applied. At $1.5million the quote was always $200,000 to $300,000 under the minimum expected even in this shifting market. We estimated the property at minimum $1.8m prior to auction (based on previous sales) and said it may get $2m if it was a strong auction. It was a strong auction and it did get $2m. So did the buyers get a good buy? We still think yes and we still think that a $1 to $1.5million dollar home (needs to be well designed and finished) will go well in an area close to transport and a number of private schools and a street that has Kooyongkoot Road as its neighbour.

So why did a property rated we rated slightly more lower get a better price? The market. That is why you must have a two pronged strategy – one if you really want to buy it and you have competition (Illawarra) and one if you don’t have competition and don’t want to pay a huge price (Lawson)