Market Snapshot February 2007

As predicted in our previous issue, the Melbourne property market has experienced moderate growth over the previous quarter. The recent interest rate increases have only slightly dampened the Melbourne market. Quality properties are still attracting multiple bidders and achieving excellent prices. These conditions are symptomatic of normal market conditions. Much of this demand has been driven by owner occupiers however we have noticed more interest from investors over the December quarter.

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Is Your Advocate 100% Independent?

As property consultants we have always prided ourselves on being totally independent. We are not aligned to any particular selling agent, property developer or any other group where a conflict of interest could arise. When we search for properties on behalf of our clients the whole marketplace is examined. Our clients can be assured that we will submit properties that best suits their individual needs without fear or favour to anybody. A growing trend amongst buyer's advocates is to advertise their services on the websites of selling agents. In this situation I believe these buyers advocates are setting themselves up for a conflict of interest. Will they favor that particular selling agent when submitting properties to clients? What about a situation where they are negotiating the purchase of a property that is listed with that particular selling agent. Because the selling agent has allowed them to advertise on their web site, are they going to go soft on them with negotiation? I believe there is potential for a conflict of interest.

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All Your Building and Renovating Questions Answered.

One of the most important reports we produce for our clients is our pre-purchase building report. Being Registered Building Practitioners we are qualified to offer this valuable service to our clients as part of our standard packages i.e. the report comes at no extra cost. Our pre-purchase building report investigates the property from a building perspective, commenting on all major building faults. We inspect the building in accordance with Australian Standard 4349.1-1995, Inspection of Buildings Part 1: Property Inspections - Residential Buildings. We take great pride in this report and believe it is the best in the business.

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Market Snapshot February 2006

As predicted in our previous issue, the Melbourne property market has experienced moderate growth over the previous quarter. We are finding that there has been an increase in the number of properties that are selling prior to auction. Quality properties are once again attracting multiple bidders on auction day. These conditions are symptomatic of normal market conditions. Much of this demand has been driven by owner occupiers, over the last twelve months the number of buyers looking to invest has reduced significantly. With these improved market conditions we believe more investors will return over the next twelve months.

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Market Snapshot August 2005

As predicted in previous issues the Melbourne property market has experienced further softening over the previous quarter. In our opinion only lower quality properties have been affected by this price reduction. Well-located properties close to village-style shopping centres, schools and public transport are still attracting strong interest and hence good prices, however other properties are struggling. The bayside suburbs continue to be very popular places to invest for our clients. We are also finding a growing number of our investors purchasing in the inner west of Melbourne. These investors are taking advantage of the substantially reduced entry prices and hence buying costs. Capital gains in some of these suburbs have been as good as anywhere in Melbourne.

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Market Snapshot February 2005

As predicted in previous issues the Melbourne property market has experienced a correction of between 0 and 10 per cent over the past twelve months. The beginning of the slowdown can be traced back to the second week in November of 2003 where there was a noticeable reduction in activity levels. We believe that this correction has now stabilized. There has been a noticeable increase in activity since the recent federal election in October of last year. Towards the end of 2003 the market was in danger of becoming overheated and hence this downturn avoided another boom\bust cycle.

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Market Snapshot July 2004

The Melbourne median house price fell 0.8 per cent, down from $371,000 to $368,000 for the March quarter 2004. This latest result takes the annual increase to 6.1 per cent, the lowest annual growth since March 1996. However, Melbourne’s median house price has increased by an average of 2 per cent for the previous 11 quarters. The Melbourne apartment market recorded a fall of 2.1 per cent for the March quarter, down from $289,000 to $283,000 taking the annual increase to just 0.9 per cent. The inner-city apartment market has been largely affected by a significant number of new apartments coming on to the market during the last six months.

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Market Snapshot March 2004

Melbourne house and unit prices have grown 11.2 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively, over the year to the end of the September quarter. The median house price has increased to $368,000 and the median unit price has increased to $290,000. This represents a 2.5 per cent and 3.9 per cent increase respectively from the previous quarter. This also represents the 10th consecutive quarterly rise. As can be seen by these figures, the market is still in a healthy state. Housing affordability continues to be a concern, with only four suburbs in Melbourne recording a median house price under $200,000, compared to this time last year when there were seventeen suburbs under $200,000.

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What can I claim?

Property investors are entitled to claim a number of tax deductions in relation to their rental properties. This article contains a checklist of the most common allowable deductions with respect to deriving rental income from tenanted properties.

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Market Snapshot June 2003

The bayside suburbs continue to be very popular places to invest for our clients.We are also finding a growing number of our investors purchasing in the inner west of Melbourne.These investors are taking advantage of the substantially reduced entry prices and hence buying costs. Capital gains in some of these suburbs have been as good as anywhere in Melbourne.

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