Median house price to tip $1m

Sydney’s median house price is expected to eclipse $1 million within the next few years, new research has found.

Just a decade ago, Sydney’s median house price was $328,000 with few believing it would surpass $500,000.

However, the latest data from Australian Property Monitors found that over the next decade Sydney’s inner city region is expected to maintain an average growth of 7.6 per cent with the median property price reaching $1.2 million.

This is not the first time predictions like this have been made. Earlier this year, Residex’s chief executive officer John Edwards told The Adviser that Sydney had traditionally achieved a consistently high growth rate, which would force houses to tip the $1 million price bracket sooner rather than later.

Credit: The Adviser

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New communities to spring up in SE QLD

Three new South East Queensland communities will be created after the endorsement of urban development areas (UDA).

The communities will have the potential to deliver up to 120,000 new homes.

The communities will be created at Ripley Valley, Greater Flagstone and Yarrabilba, which represent 15 per cent of the housing demanded needed in the south east corner over the next two decades.

The UDAs for the communities located in the western and south western growth corridors are the latest of nine new planned communities announced.

"Early release precincts have been identified within each of these three planned communities for up to 2,400 dwellings and development may commence within the next 12 months, particularly within the Ripley Valley," says Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland.

"The provision of early public transport services is crucial in these areas so an interim infrastructure program is being devised to ensure that these early release precincts have the appropriate infrastructure.

"Further work will be undertaken through the planning process to make sure that future infrastructure requirements can be met as these new communities continue to grow."

The Ripley Valley UDA covers an area of around 4,680 hectares adjacent to existing urban development in the southern outskirts of the Ipswich area, around 6 km from the Ipswich CBD.

The 7,188 hectares Flagstone UDA is dominated by rural and rural-residential development and is around 40 km from the Brisbane CBD.

The Yarrabilba UDA covers around 2,222 hectares around 45 km south of the Brisbane CBD.

Following the declarations, the ULDA has 12 months to prepare development schemes for the areas. A significant community consultation program will be undertaken as part of the preparation of these schemes.

Credit: Architecture & Design

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Auctions rescheduled ahead of AFL rematch

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) expects a large number of auctions to be rescheduled ahead of Saturday's AFL grand final rematch.

Grand final weekend was one of the slowest for auctions with about 50 across Melbourne.

Almost 600 auctions are planned for this weekend.

A spokesman from the REIV, Robert Larocca, says it is an unprecedented situation for the Melbourne auction market.

"We won't know for a day or so. Some [auctions] will shift to earlier in the day, some will shift to Sunday and some will shift to the weekend after," he said.

"It will depend on the day, place and time and how the agent and vendor are feeling."

Source: ABC News

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Weezer's Brian Bell buys Westwood house

The 1920s Spanish-style home features period details, such as arched doorways throughout, and has four bedrooms.

It may sound like an odd fit, but guitarist Brian Bell of the alt rock band Weezer has purchased a Spanish-style house in a sedate Westwood neighborhood for $1.6 million.

The single-story 1920s home retains such period details as arched doorways throughout. The living room has cathedral ceilings, oversized exposed wood beams, a tile-framed fireplace and French doors opening to a porch and patio. There are four bedrooms and 41/2 bathrooms in 3,000 square feet of living space.

Bell, 41, who is also a songwriter and singer, joined the band in 1993. He also performs with two others groups, Space Twins and the Relationship. Weezer released its eighth studio album, "Hurley," this month. (The character from the TV series "Lost" graces the cover.) "Raditude" was released last year.

Jim Bremner of Gibson International represented the seller, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Nathaniel Cole of Coldwell Banker Coastal Alliance represented Bell.

Credit: LA Times

Confidence returns to real estate market

Credit:Goldcoast.com.au

IF confidence in a market is enough to keep it buoyant, then the Gold Coast outlook is as sparkling as champagne.

Real estate agents are positive; researchers are putting a Gold Coast lining on the global cloud; banks are coming to the party keeping interest rates on hold and non-bank lenders are falling over themselves to offer cheaper products which appeal to the first-home buyers who may have missed the bonus boat.

And while sellers in a shy market beg: 'show me the money', the solution and a sale is in their hands.

Take the advice from the experts: meet the market.

Just as in times of fat when sellers were happy to boost their asking price and values by thousands a week a situation which saw prices double in the years from 2000 to 2004 sellers now need to recognise that bandwagon has passed them by.

If they are genuine about selling in today's market, they need to meet that market.

While the sum attainable a mere three years ago now may be just a dream, only a minority of vendors will need to sell their property for less than they paid.

On Friday, the Gold Coast Bulletin will release its 2010 Gold Coast Property and Suburb Guide.

The headlines say it all 'The price is right'; 'Opportunity on the horizon'; 'Warming up for a hot spring'; and 'Gold Coasters can look on the bright side'.

Andrew Bell believes the strength of the Gold Coast fundamentals not only ensure a sustainable market, but position our region for a solid future.

The CEO of The Ray White Surfers Paradise Group, Queensland's largest real estate firm, his office has just defied a traditionally slow winter, with more than $68 million worth of sales last month.

That follows an impressive $427 million in sales during the first half of the year.

His optimism is tempered with the observation that the industry is not 'entirely out of the woods'.

''A sense of financial insecurity has resulted in more people leaving money in the bank and taking a far more conservative approach to real estate,'' said Mr Bell.

''Unlike the 2006-2007 market when it was all about bigger and better, today people are driven more by their needs and the quest for value for money.

Credit:Goldcoast.com.au

Winter auctions hit, but spring's in the air

Credit:The Australian
DESPITE signs of a strong start to spring property auctions in Sydney, the harbour city and Melbourne had a slower winter than last year.

Analysts say this was due to successive interest rate rises.

Australian Property Monitors data for June, July and August showed the number of auction listings rose by 40 per cent in Melbourne and Sydney during the past 12 months.

But the auction clearance rate in Sydney dropped by an average 6-8 percentage points compared with the same period last year, and by about 15 percentage points in Melbourne over that time.

"One of the biggest contributors has to be interest rates," APM's head of research Yvonne Chan said. "We've had six consecutive interest rate rises since October last year. And the median price for both capital cities has experienced a strong growth in the past 12 months.

"The level of stock is higher than previous years, so I don't think with spring now, and warmer times approaching, we'll see a big increase in the level of stock. And I expect the auction clearance rate probably to be travelling at about the same rate as now." Sydney cleared 69.5 per cent of homes on the weekend, up on 55.7 per cent the previous weekend and 65.9 per cent in the same week last year.

The most expensive home auctioned in the city, and the nation, was an eight-bedroom house in Point Piper in the eastern suburbs, which went for $17.3 million.

But in Melbourne the clearance rate came in at 61.2 per cent, more than 16 percentage points lower than the same weekend last year. It was also down on the 65.2 per cent recorded the previous weekend.

Harley Dale, chief economist at the Housing Industry Association, said it was unclear whether the formation of the new federal government had any impact.

"Sydney is probably an example of a market where there's probably still some price recovery occurring, and that's reflected in what appears to be a relatively good start to the spring season," Mr Dale said. "And I think Melbourne continues to be a relatively strong market, but just a market that isn't belting along the way it was 12 months ago."

Adelaide had a strong rise in auction clearance rates on the weekend, with 76.5 per cent of 29 listed properties selling, compared with 60 per cent last year..

Credit:The Australian

7 Ways To Prepare Your Home For Auction This Spring

Credit: Marshall White

When you are selling by Auction a large number of prospective purchasers will inspect your home in a confined period. Most of these people will make a judgement about your home based on a “first impression” and they will not return if their inspection fails to impress.

1. First and foremost, ask a trusted friend to inspect your home as a buyer would and request they highlight any flaws in presentation. Some can be overcome with minimal effort and cost whilst it may not be feasible to attend to others.

2. Inspect the house from the street, as this is where buyers make their initial judgement. Are the lawns mown, edges clipped, garden beds weeded, can the house number be readily seen from the street?

3. If your garden is a bit bare consider a few terracotta pots beside the front door to break up a broad expanse and also window boxes with flowering annuals can enhance the external appeal of your home. If you have sufficient notice, put fertiliser on the lawn to make them greener.

4. Most of us acquire too much furniture over the years which can give a cluttered appearance to rooms. Prevail on friends/relatives or hire a garage to store excess furniture and possessions so that buyers can see and feel the full potential of rooms.

5. Any obvious faults like loose tiles, missing fence palings, broken appliances or incomplete renovations should be attended to because they all indicate to buyers that the owners do not care sufficiently. Buyers can then wonder unnecessarily if other things have been neglected.

6. Nothing impresses buyers more than a house that has been recently cleaned. Steam clean the carpet, clean windows (internally and externally), remove excess rubbish and garden debris so you can walk easily around the house and garden. Make sure toys are away and beds are made.

7. Finally, on inspection days have flowers on display, set the dining room table for a dinner party, in winter light the fire, make a batch of scones or set up the coffee percolator. In this way you will appeal to the buyer's sense of smell, sight and touch which helps create wonderful warmth and atmosphere.

Credit: Marshall White

Homebuyers have spring in their step

Credit:News.com.au

MORE than 100,000 Sydneysiders are waking from winter hibernation ready for a spring home-buying spree that experts predict will jump-start Sydney's property market.

Real estate agencies are anticipating a record flood of inquiries in coming weeks.

They predicted buyers would unleash in October, a late spring bloom brought about by a recent positive turnaround in economic and market sentiment, albeit delayed by the continued stalemate in federal parliament.

The build-up of buyers is like a coiled spring, Sam White from Ray White told The Daily Telegraph.

He said agents were anticipating more than 100,000 Sydneysiders would go head-to-head for limited property in the next three months, with roughly 24,000 homes expected to change hands.

"Spring will see the usual spring rush, but perhaps even more so because people are getting much more confident about the market," he said.

Last spring brought the biggest quarter of sales since 2002, helped substantially by the mad scramble from first-homebuyers making the most of an increase in the Federal Government's First Home Buyer's Grant.

With a distinct lack of first-homebuyers this spring, agents believe their place will be taken by investors and families wishing to upgrade.

Laing+Simmons general manager Leanne Pilkington said a shortage of available property would ensure Sydney house prices rose.

"Underlying demand remains strong and the critical supply shortage will continue to buoy prices across all grades of property," she said.

"The spotlight this spring may well be on more affordable suburbs in Sydney's west and southwest."

McGrath chief executive John McGrath said spring would also be a "strong selling market" with more listings and growing buyer confidence courtesy of an improving economy.

With luck, recently engaged couple Alana Rose Bognar and Nicholas Horder will be off the house-hunting merry-go-round just as the market hits its stride.

They have their hearts set on a postcard-perfect Paddington cottage that goes up for auction at 9.45am today.

Having searched for the past four months they have noticed an increase in the number of properties being listed. "Winter has been pretty quiet but we have seen a bit more come into the market in the past month," Ms Rose Bognar said.

Credit:News.com.au

John McGrath tips Sydney property growth of up to 10% in next 12 months, but experts cautious

Credit: Patrick Stafford Smart Company
Property experts say price increases of 10% in Sydney over the next year aren't outside the realm of possibility, but growth depends on how the market performs in the next few months and different areas could see higher growth than others.

The comments come after McGrath Estate Agents managing director John McGrath made the prediction this morning that some markets in Sydney could see price rises of 10% over the next year.

That prediction comes after a number of experts and analysts have said the market will remain mostly flat over the next year due to an increased number of listings and fewer buyers caused by higher interest rates.

McGrath was contacted for comment this morning but no reply was received before publication.

The most recent RP Data figures show prices in Sydney grew by just 0.3% in the three months to July 31. For the year to that date, prices grew by 6.5%.

SQM Research founder Louis Christopher says a 10% increase in Sydney isn't necessarily impossible, but the next few months will determine how the market performs over the year.

"There are some sectors within Sydney where listings have not risen, and those areas tend to be in the inner-city and urban locations, and so I would argue that Sydney is largely just holding its value."

"Except for the top market where we are seeing heavy discounting, I think the rest of the market is okay. However, I don't think it's necessarily rising."

Christopher says debate around price growth must focus on location. He points to areas in southeast Queensland where prices are falling, in contrast to Melbourne where prices have corrected themselves, but with relatively few price falls.

As a result, he says there may be some areas in Sydney where prices increase by 10%, however unlikely that may be, and the outcome over the next year will be determined by the Spring selling season.

"Spring is going to tell a story, specifically in how many listings we see on the market and how quickly things move. A 10% increase in some areas is not outside the realm of possibility, but it depends on the next few months."

"I think the most likely outcome is that we'll see a relatively flat market with growth of no more than 5%. A 10% prediction is not outrageous, but unlikely for the whole country."

Australian Property Monitors general manager Anthony Ishac says there are some areas of Sydney that could see 10% increases, but again, those depend on location and the types of properties being sold.

McGrath told the Australian Financial Review this morning he believes properties up to $2 million may see price increase of between 7-10% over the next 12 months, although sellers of properties worth above $2 million are waiting for some more activity.

Ishac says this makes sense, given there is so much discounting occurring in the prestige property market, not only in Sydney but markets across the country.

This comes after the RP Data revealed the most expensive 20% of properties recording the highest falls during the quarter to July 31.

Ishac sticks to the prediction certain markets may see rises of 10%, but not necessarily in Sydney and certainly not nation-wide.

"I think it's going to be difficult to have that type of performance in the next 12 months, even though there is low unemployment. There is going to be subdued growth."

"It all depends on the location. Different segments perform differently, and the other thing we're facing is that with Spring there is so much more supply and the buyers have the upper hand. Higher price gains will be difficult, in any market."

Credit: Patrick Stafford Smart Company