Finally, someone telling it as it is....

[GASWAGON]

I dont like auctions....Too many fake bidders driving the price up.

Would much prefer a private buy.

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Before it was banned (or at least done more subtly) it was even visible on those TV shows about selling houses at auction. They would laugh and say "Bids were coming from everywhere...that couple there, those people up the back, the mailbox, the trees across the road..."
The auctioneer would quite visibly point towards the back of the crowd and "take a bid", and you could see people looking around to see who had made the bid...no one, that's who...

You even see it sometimes now in auctions I've walked by and had a look at out of curiosity. There will be no bids at all, and the auctioneer will say something like "Well I'll get the bidding started at X dollars...any increase on X dollars!?". He's obviously hoping people will think he's starting very low just to get things rolling, but I rather think he's trying to inflate the price, as well as get things rolling.
Sorry people, but if your house is in a depressed area, then that's life, as harsh as it is.

Frankly criminal action that artificially inflates prices for the poor schmucks that have to try and buy houses in the area or nearby later on when "average sale prices" are looked at.

I have a different view.

The agent acts for the seller and if you are prepared to pay $500k for my house and you get it for $450k, the agent hasn't done his (or her) job. He (or she) is there to extract every $$$ he (or she) can for his (or her) client's benefit.

Buyers seem to whinge that they are not protected but they have to do their own homework and not spend more than they think a property is worth. They are not the innocents in the process but many feign ignorance.

That agents underquote by 20-25% is wrong, though. There should be a register of estimated value and where it is exceeded by more than 10%, there should be please explain process to go through.

[PridenJoy]

Originally Posted by zipping

House prices in Oz are out of control and what we do have is an abundance of land. Demand is higher than supply and people forget this. We are restricting land release at the behest of leftist ideology that is in favour of more dense living, which I'm not necessarily against but surely we should be building new suburbs with appropriate infrastructure to accommodate expanding population.

It is crazy that State governments are artificially not releasing land to cater for demand. My father has had farm land on the urban growth boundary of Melbourne that he inherited from his father. Its a huge parcel of land 1.5km from a train station and 23km from the CBD. Absolutely no chance of development because its designated "Green Wedge". Sure it would make the family rich if it were developed and its a political football but every time I go do work there I think what a waste of land this is. It serves no purpose.

So nestled in amongst suburban Melbourne we have 50 cattle and 400 kangaroos on 290 Hectares.

Trying to figure out where, Keilor? is the only guess i can come up with.

[Franco Cozzo]

Sunbury or Diggers Rest

[zilo]

Originally Posted by PridenJoy

Trying to figure out where, Keilor? is the only guess i can come up with.

My guess is Lysterfield.

[PridenJoy]

He said 23 kms so that rules out Lysterfield and Diggers/Sunbury, sorry gents

Just can't figure out where this train station 1.5 kms away would be.

[GASWAGON]

Green Wedge is North Eastern suburbs like Templstowe/Eltham all the way out to Diamond Creek/Hurstbridge. Lots of trees in these built up suburbs.

[ford man xf]

Some interesting figures here:

Rental data shows "chronic housing shortage" is real estate's biggest lie

Residential rents around Australia stubbornly refuse to budge. Two sets of figures record the absence of meaningful rental growth in our capital cities in the past year.

One of the property magazines managed to concoct a “Rental growth at record levels” headline out of the figures from Domain Group and CoreLogic, but both sets of data show zero growth or falling rentals in most of the city markets.

The Domain figures for houses record no annual change for Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide and significant declines for Perth, Canberra and Darwin.

Hobart (up 3%) and Sydney (up 4%) are the only city housing markets to achieve minor growth.

Unit rents have been even more pallid. There have been annual decreases in Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Darwin, growth around 2% in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and a 3.8% in Hobart as the best effort in capital city Australia.

There are similar results in the CoreLogic research. The combined capital city average is a 1.2% rise for houses and a 2.5% rise for apartments. Nationally, rents rose an average 2.6% for both houses and apartments, which suggests some of the regional cities have done slightly better than the state and territory capitals.

Rental markets are particularly poor in Canberra, Perth and Darwin, which mirror similarly mediocre performances on house prices in those cities in 2014.

CoreLogic suggests house rents in Canberra fell an average 5% in the past year, while unit rents are down 7%. Perth has dropped 6% for houses and 4% for apartments.

The overall scenario is residential rents going nowhere or backwards in most of Australia’s major markets.

The rental research provides one of four data sets that show that “the chronic housing shortage” fabricated by the developer lobby is real estate’s biggest lie.

The second piece of evidence is the absence of major price growth in our major cities outside of Sydney (six of the eight capitals recorded growth below 5% in 2014), despite all the factors in favour of buyers, such as low interest rates, plentiful finance options and low unemployment.

The third factor is the high level of new home construction over the past two years (approvals recently reached record levels), eliminating any lingering notions that we weren’t building enough homes. And the fourth is vacancy rates in key markets, which suggest over-supply is the core issue, particularly in capital city apartment markets and boom-bust resources centres.

Here’s one illustration of how markets behave when there really is a housing shortage – and then what happens when developers go crazy and create the opposite problem.

Two years ago, when resources-driven demand was still high and accommodation was scarce, the median house price in Port Hedland was a whacky $1.2 million, having averaged above 20% per year growth over the previous decade. The median weekly rent was $2,500 per week and typical yields were above 10%. This is what happens when a shortage is real.

Then the iron ore industry went south, which coincided with an increase in accommodation supply. Developers have many skills, but timing is not among them.

Today the median house price in Port Hedland is $810,000, after decline averaging 7.5% per year for the past three years, including a 19% decrease in the past 12 months. The investor who bought at the average price two years would have lost $400,000 in value.

The median rent is now $1,500, still ridiculously high but down 40% on peak levels, and the median rental yield is 7% - if you can find a tenant at all, given that the vacancy rate has been stuck in the 6% to 8% range for the past two years, according to SQM Research figures.

Last week I had an email from an investor who bought in this market in 2012 and was initially getting $1,750 per week. The property is now empty and advertised at $750 per week.

Such is life in mining centres, where outrageous peaks and troughs are the norm.

Such, too, is the behaviour of markets in reaction to supply-demand factors. When rents are stagnant, or declining, you can be confident that the market is tending more towards surplus than shortage.

http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/f...rry-ryder.html

[buggerlugs]

We have a house up at Blacks Beach in Mackay. Very lucky to have tenants. Hearing horror stories everywhere. The house next door has been vacant for 18 months. Can't get tenants, can't sell it..............

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

We have a house up at Blacks Beach in Mackay. Very lucky to have tenants. Hearing horror stories everywhere. The house next door has been vacant for 18 months. Can't get tenants, can't sell it..............

Why can't they get tenants.. High rent ?

[ford man xf]

Here’s one illustration of how markets behave when there really is a housing shortage – and then what happens when developers go crazy and create the opposite problem.

Two years ago, when resources-driven demand was still high and accommodation was scarce, the median house price in Port Hedland was a whacky $1.2 million, having averaged above 20% per year growth over the previous decade. The median weekly rent was $2,500 per week and typical yields were above 10%. This is what happens when a shortage is real.

This is the only part of the article I disagree with. Sure, supply and demand affect prices, when demand is high and there is a shortage one would expect prices to fluctuate, however, how much prices fluctuate can be greatly affected by income, those in the mining professions are earning quite good wages and can be willing to spend more money on rent where needed.

[kazawaki]

In real terms Real estate never gets cheaper,i agree half the problem is people expect too much for nothing and are not prepared to do the hard yards.I have been separated twice,lost 1 house moved states and then lost1 acre of land .I still managed to buy another house and have it paid for within 12 years whilst starting my own business.anything is possible if you work hard enough,i say to the ones saying no I cant harden up stop winging and step into reality and work your *** off without all the fancy gadgets and fight for what you want .

[buggerlugs]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Why can't they get tenants.. High rent ?

Lady in charge of the Trade section at Bunnings up there said that many many families had left the Mackay area now that the boom is over. She said there were new subdivisions with new houses that they couldn't sell or rent. She said that most who moved up to Mackay for the boom have moved back to where they came from. Next door is obviously asking way to much to have a house sit vacant for that long.....

[Havoc]

This might interest a few people

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/reales...-1227191971540

OVERSEAS buyers have a growing appetite for Victorian real estate, with a survey showing one in three new homes is snapped up by a foreigner. The NAB Residential Property Survey shows foreign buyer activity surged to a new high in Victoria despite falling away in other states in the last three months of 2014.
The survey found more new homes in Victoria were sold to foreigners than any other segment of the market.
Overseas investors bought 32.5 per cent of new homes in the three months to December, compared to the 24.2 per cent bought by local owner occupiers. Local investors had a slightly smaller share and first-home buyers were well behind with about 18 per cent of new home sales.
The survey, of about 300 property market and development insiders, found foreign buyers started 2014 behind the local competition — sitting at about 10 per cent in the March quarter — but climbed their way to the top.
NAB Group chief economist Alan Oster said nationally foreign buyers fell from 16.8 per cent to 14.8 per cent in the December quarter.
Another difference between Victoria and the rest of the nation was the popularity of new houses with foreign investors.
“Apartments made up just 44 per cent of all purchases in Victoria compared to between 54-57 per cent in other states, with foreign buyers purchasing more houses in Victoria (38 per cent) than any other state,” he said.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Lady in charge of the Trade section at Bunnings up there said that many many families had left the Mackay area now that the boom is over. She said there were new subdivisions with new houses that they couldn't sell or rent. She said that most who moved up to Mackay for the boom have moved back to where they came from. Next door is obviously asking way to much to have a house sit vacant for that long.....

That's why its dangerous to say we have a housing oversupply or shortage as a broad sweeping statement.
Im sure if you own a few houses in Roxby Downs right now you'd be talking of an over supply, 5 years ago there was an under supply.
In Adelaide vacancy rates are very low, rents have come off the boil in some suburbs, but ultimately people need somewhere to live.

[lisaishername]

Would anyone in the know care to speculate on whats next? Would this lead to Hyperinflation? Will australia get the economy and housing bubble collapse that we saw overseas?

If everyone's closing up shops then where are people going to live? Caravan parks aren't the roomiest of places. I reckon we are going to start seeing squatters.4

I know my relative up in wherever is thinking about abandoning their place and going into a caravan because of aboriginal people squatting in the city park and causing all sorts of mayhem up there.

[GASWAGON]

Originally Posted by lisaishername

Would anyone in the know care to speculate on whats next? Would this lead to Hyperinflation? Will australia get the economy and housing bubble collapse that we saw overseas?

If everyone's closing up shops then where are people going to live? Caravan parks aren't the roomiest of places. I reckon we are going to start seeing squatters.4

I know my relative up in wherever is thinking about abandoning their place and going into a caravan because of aboriginal people squatting in the city park and causing all sorts of mayhem up there.

The RBA still have room to lower interest rates throughout 2015.

It could go either way.

I read an article the other day saying that Chinese investors are going to start pouring even more money into OZ real estate so the bubble could easily keep going for a few more years yet.

All its doing is pricing first home buyers out of the market.

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by lisaishername

Would anyone in the know care to speculate on whats next? Would this lead to Hyperinflation? Will australia get the economy and housing bubble collapse that we saw overseas?

If everyone's closing up shops then where are people going to live? Caravan parks aren't the roomiest of places. I reckon we are going to start seeing squatters.4

I know my relative up in wherever is thinking about abandoning their place and going into a caravan because of aboriginal people squatting in the city park and causing all sorts of mayhem up there.

Australia won't and never will (unless under extreme economic downturn) get the bubble collapse that the US suffered because our banks are regulated to prevent exactly what happened in the US.
The housing market could certainly cool off, it won't suddenly burst "overnight" like some like to propose, but as long as investment keeps coming in to prop the market up prices look like they will continue to climb even if its gradual, you only have to couple low interest rates, immigration, good wages and fairly relaxed lending criteria (although the banks are starting to tighten lending) and naturally prices will continue to climb.
I've said it a few times but people told me 3 years ago when I was looking at buying a house to wait because the housing market was bound to burst, had I listened to those people I would now be paying $30,000 to $40,000 more for my house, I know this because I have watched houses in my street that are similar to mine and what they have sold for.

[ford man xf]

Basic, brick home in Glen Waverley sells for more than $5 million

HOMES in retail and entertainment precincts are attracting multi-million dollar prices.

Residential and commercial zoning changes introduced by Monash City Council last year have unlocked the development potential of properties surrounding vibrant shopping and dining hubs.

Prices have jumped in areas such as Kingsway and Railway Pde, Glen Waverley. Those homes neighbouring bustling restaurants, cafes and The Glen shopping centre are now classed as commercial zone 1 under the new planning scheme.

With the purpose of facilitating growth in retail, office, business, entertainment and other mixed use centres, the rezoning allows for higher density development on these blocks than previously.

As a result, homes in these areas are attracting the eye of property developers — and their sale values have soared by millions of dollars.

$5 MILLION SALE

An unremarkable four-bedroom brick home at 54 Montclair Ave, Glen Waverley fetched a dizzying $5,105,000 sale price under the hammer in December.

Sold for $2.2 million only 13 months earlier, the result saw the home’s value increase by 132 per cent in little more than a year.

Set on 808sq m of land directly next to the Kingsway shops, the home was marketed as sitting in the heart of the Glen Waverley activity centre and the “closest commercial 1 zone development opportunity to Kingsway”.

More than 100 people attended the auction as 11 bidders competed heatedly for the property, said Ray White Glen Waverley commercial manager Ryan Trickey.

“They’ve got exciting plans for the property,” he said of the buyers.

The vendor’s reserve price was passed “with some momentum”, he said.

Bidding started at $2 million and rose in $100,000 increments until two buyers were left to battle it out. “It’s safe to say they (the vendors) were very satisfied with the result,” Mr Trickey said.

Another vendor of a four-bedroom home located at 18 Montclair Ave, Glen Waverley, received $2,055,000 for their old weatherboard residence when it sold in January.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/r...-1227201091109

[Rowdy Fitment]

House prices in particular among everything else really are ridiculously overpriced in this country. Travel abroad and see how much cheaper houses are everywhere else, nicer houses, with better views. Then crap shacks in a decent location sell for half a million or more here in Australia. Its a joke.

[Rowdy Fitment]

Originally Posted by kazawaki

In real terms Real estate never gets cheaper,i agree half the problem is people expect too much for nothing and are not prepared to do the hard yards.I have been separated twice,lost 1 house moved states and then lost1 acre of land .I still managed to buy another house and have it paid for within 12 years whilst starting my own business.anything is possible if you work hard enough,i say to the ones saying no I cant harden up stop winging and step into reality and work your *** off without all the fancy gadgets and fight for what you want .

At the same time working flat out and sacrificing everything else in life just to own some overpriced land isn't for everyone. Only get one life, who wants to work all the time and do nothing else?

[ford man xf]

Originally Posted by Rowdy Fitment

House prices in particular among everything else really are ridiculously overpriced in this country. Travel abroad and see how much cheaper houses are everywhere else, nicer houses, with better views. Then crap shacks in a decent location sell for half a million or more here in Australia. Its a joke.

Your not wrong. I saw an article that showed what you could get for $2 million in England and France (and they were like Mansions on a big block of land) and what you pay the same for in Melbourne and Syndey is just no comparison.

[Rowdy Fitment]

Originally Posted by ford man xf

Your not wrong. I saw an article that showed what you could get for $2 million in England and France (and they were like Mansions on a big block of land) and what you pay the same for in Melbourne and Syndey is just no comparison.

Yeah I saw a similar thing recently comparing a 1-2 million dollar house/estate in France to a 1-2 million shack in Sydney. Even ignoring what can be bought overseas, a tiny 40 year old house shouldn't be a million dollars or more just because its near a beach in Sydney.

[blueoval]

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-...-1227403856040

Interesting article about a young lady whose bought 2.3m of property at 24 years of age and plans to retire at 30.

Discuss

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by blueoval

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-...-1227403856040

Interesting article about a young lady whose bought 2.3m of property at 24 years of age and plans to retire at 30.

Discuss

Well done and good luck to her

Only thing the article doesn't say is the amount of debt she has.

I agree with all her tips as well.

I've taken 2 years off anything to do with property to direct my funds and efforts into my own house. Once that is finished I'll be back into the game full steam ahead...

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Well done and good luck to her

Only thing the article doesn't say is the amount of debt she has.

I agree with all her tips as well.

I've taken 2 years off anything to do with property to direct my funds and efforts into my own house. Once that is finished I'll be back into the game full steam ahead...

Im the same. I used the investments I had to build my own house. I dont have much to pay off now so I'll probably just save and use my super and fund it into an SMSF type arrangement to buy another property.

[BENT_8]

So she did it all by her self with a $60k gaurantor from her mother and $50k from her grandparents.

So all you need is the best private school education money can buy, the resulting job with a politician, your grandparents to die and a mother who probably has never told her 'NO' in her life.

Cool story, good luck to her.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by blueoval

http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-...-1227403856040

Interesting article about a young lady whose bought 2.3m of property at 24 years of age and plans to retire at 30.

Discuss

Wonder how she would fair if there was a Europe style correction.

[blueoval]

It definitely is one of those feel good stories, but yes, without the guarantor and her grandparents helping to fund the way for her beginning, I doubt this would have been as rosy as it plays out to be.

[MITCHAY]

She may have a good work ethic, a head on her shoulders, and may not have been handed everything on a plate, but I reckon our definitions of 'everything' may differ somewhat. I'd say she has been given almost a full plate by my measure.

Good luck to her. I don't begrudge people who work hard and built themselves up or even those who have it gifted to them. Only when they try and compare it to the average persons circumstances is what I find annoying. Not talking about her but in general.

All the whinging in the comments in that article won't change hers or their circumstances