window

by Gina Kantzas and Mal James

Sunday, October 25th, 2020

Melburnians and Melbournians what a great job – look at the rest of the world and then look at yourselves – BLOODY GOOD EFFORT. We are proud to be from Melbourne town and we will be staying, in unarguably the best city in the world, with the best people. Great job everyone.

Market in a Minute - kept last weeks video - it's happening.

The Tigers to the flag, the weather is normal (all over the shop) and the Spring markets have opened within an atmosphere of building optimism.

Three things we’ve leant about the Inner high end markets this week.

On has more chance than off
Now is a window.
There’s some pumping

No 1 Observation – On v Off:

Right Now – If I was taking my home to market and it was half decent and I had room for a small advertising budget, then I would be putting my home on the market, as opposed to running a quiet off-market campaign.

Of course add in the special sauces of good presentation, good agent and good price.

Why On as opposed to off?

Time.

Agents time – yes it’s as simple as that. Agents are busy and appointments (especially at weekends) are scarce. But it’s not just the agents – real buyers are busy as well.

When there are only so many hours in the day mid-week, for those that have money and work, then Saturday viewing slots become a premium AND right now not all buyers can be accommodated on all homes.

As well not all buyers are willing to visit as many homes, as they can no longer power through opens, like a hamburger eating competition. Why? Downtime between one on one appointments. AND – as we have found in lockdown, if a buyer doesn’t get to the home, they won’t buy the home. So there are less buyer discretionary looks on some homes and that can be the difference between a buyer and no buyer.

Half the homes we buy and sell are normally off the market, for a larger part or all of the campaign. However Covid is one time when we are thinking those that don’t publicly push their barrow may get left behind – of course it’s all still dependent on other factors as well, such as agent, presentation and price.

Which leads to Observation No 2: Window

For many now has more appeal than later and this may be one of those occasions when the many are right. There is a distinct feeling we are in a Window – its open and the air is good.

But what about OS – surely we have to wait till the borders are open?

Prior to the dreaded V, the Inner Melbourne markets were actually rocking along without the OS dominance, prevalent in 2015 and 2016 AND this was not imagination – FIRB stats showed a drop in Chinese Nationals’ approvals from 30,000 to 6,000 in 4 years, give or take between 2015 – 2019.

So despite all the globalism pre Covid, at the top end it was the local market driving the local market. What’s changed? – I’m still here, you’re still here, we’re all still here!

EXPATS will return and more people will migrate to Melbourne, as the US and the UK societies are compared to ours (two of our biggest suppliers of capital and skilled migrants).

Which leads to No 3 for the week: Results

Consider the media chatter

Then focus on the agent’s patter

She’s saying nothing’s on a platter

But the markets are not in a tatter

Check the results for what will matter.

Results will Matter!

Gina attended a video auction on an apartment/townhouse that need a reno and was brilliantly located at Huntingtower. Hamish Tostevin and Hugh Tomlinson quoted in the low 2’s.

50 Asling St Brighton – sold by Chris Hassall – up a $1 million dollars on its 2015 price – over $5m.

130-134 George St East Melbourne – sold Sarah Case – with a good reno it basically doubled its 2009 price at over $7million.

16 Somers Avenue Malvern – sold by Marcus Chiminello – Freshen up and reno on from high $4ms 2017 price. Achieved into the $6ms this week.

And in the Gascoigne at 31 Finch St with Sarah again and the always well dressed Jeremy Fox – a home that has been freshened up since its 2010 result of nearly $3.4m – this week got over $6.2m.

But wait there is more – 3 Nola Court Toorak with Oliver Booth, Nicole French and Marcus Chiminello achieved circa $14 million mid week. Good home – built to sell but not on big land – 690 sq meters. Yep less than 700 sqm and $14m – do the math. We went through the home – it was really well proportioned and brilliantly presented and again proved the power of provenance in any market.

Jack Merlo and Nicholas Day into Cambridge Constructions into Oliver, Marcus and Nicole saw a nearly $10m, yes nearly $10m uplift on the 2017 land price in the high $4m’s.

Please don’t tell us we’ve got no chance of a good market between now and Christmas and please don’t tell us for sure the market will be cactus next year – how do we know for sure?

Markets go up and down for buyers and sellers and we simply don’t know – all we know is now seems a good window.

31 Were Street Brighton Recommended by James Buy Sell

Thank you Marketnews readers - $20,000 raised in a week

Overseas Students haven’t had the best of times recently.

Susmita’s story is incredible. She is a nurse from Nepal trying to complete her MBA in Health Admin at Docklands in Melbourne.

Susmita up until this week was doing it all under her own steam and had already paid $20,000 from doing odd jobs and with no work in Melbourne and no income back in Nepal (trekking shut down) it was getting very hard.

Marketnews readers took a stand and said you will help. Thank you so much.

In the last week together we’ve raised $20,000.

Now she just needs $4,000 more to complete her MBA.

Please read her story – its unreal. Actually it is very real and wonderful.

If you have given and 83 have, please give a little bit more again or send this story onto others.

GoFundMe website: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nursing-mba-for-nepal

Socials https://gf.me/u/y4tx8w

Update: OCTOBER 23, 2020

Half Remaining ($11,150) MBA Fees for Susmita have now been paid into Kaplan Business Account. See Receipt Below from CBA. Less than $4000 needs to be raised to pay the final fees. What a bloody ripper effort in less than 7 days thank you.

Susmita sent me a text today: Mal I can’t believe it, I am blessed to have so much help from so many Australians.

We need your help for the final $4,000 please

Thank you to the following generous Marketnews readers:

$20 – Emily Powell

$1,000 – Paul Broderick

$20 – Chris Monger

$20 – Sharyn Wright

$35 – Phoebe James

$250 – Alec Arnot

$250 – Sonja Bollknow

$20 – Mk Karailis

$100 – Simone Clarke

$20 – Natalie Sullivan

$100 – Julie Spence

$1,000 – Nick Mazzeo

$100 – Iain Carmichael

$30 – Sally Hutchinson

$1,000 – Phil Dreaver

$1,227 – James Buy Sell

$10 – Ben Kneebush

$100 – Anne Sidebottom

$40 – Carly Douglas

$500 – Lyn & Helen Hayward

$100 – Kathy Russell

$20 – Sarah Roberts

$500 – Tina & Tony Roberts

$50 – Annie H

$30 – Jo Murfett

$250 – Doug Parkinson

$20 – Emily Roberts

$50 – Fiona Ansell Jones

$250 – Ali Tiley

$500 – John Bongiorno

$100 – Justin Long

$200 – Craig Whitten

$10 – Hannah Harvison

$100 – Bevan Warner

$50 – Chris Daly

$200 – Stewart Connelly

$100 – Malcolm Flanagan

$1,000 – Stanley Tay

$250 – David Whitelaw

$150 – Anton Zhouk

$400 – Megan Bailey Rule

$100 – Andrew Branson

$600 – Charlotte Thaarup

$1,000 – Gina Kantzas

$100 – Peter Vigano

$100 – Richard Winneke

$50 – Alison Burt

$200 – Stefanie Poon

$200 – Richard Earle

$100 – Zara Lawless

$1,000 – Ian & Sue Anderson

$100 – David Lack

$500 – John Russell

$50 – Jeny Heislers

$250 – Bruce Karyn Peterson

$50 – Belinda Hill

$300 – Dean Tey

$1,000 – Donna Schols

$1,000 – Philip Schols

$100 – Cerys Latimer

$100 – Joel Brakey

$250 – Stu and Liz Glen

$250 – Kylie Stillwell

$200 – Devinder Chauhan

$350 – Greg Smith

$250 – Rina Darryl Cuzzubbo

$50 – Chris Mills

$50 – Rob Fletcher

$250 – Mike Gibson

$300 – William Khoo

$180 – David Naphtali

$50 – Dinithi Kodikara

$50 – Steve Ehrenreich

$200 – Michael Chadwick

$25 – Joánne Gowing

$50 – Kellie O’Neill

$100 – Damien Davis

$250 – Michael Dodge

$100 – Tim Heavyside

$200 – Andrew McCann

$227 – Lewis Levitz

$50 – Sally Newstead

$100 – Stephen Smith

$25 –

Christina Assimakopoulos

Verify: We will provide proof of MBA education payment to all donors. Susmita will still take on odd jobs to survive. We have seen her exam results, the MBA costs (she’s already partly paid). It’s very real, but we are now her only option to complete it. Thank you.