Decorating with mirrors

Mirrors should not be prisoners of the bathroom. Yes they are necessary and vital for any bathroom, but what about using mirrors in other parts of the house?

 A mirror is the perfect substitute for a canvas. If you do not want to base your room around artwork, or feel as if more colour would be disastrous, a mirror is a fantastic addition to a blank wall in any living room, bedroom or corridor.

The benefits? It opens up the room making any sized area feel and look larger. An important feature for a small room, a mirror can make the room feel less cramped and lighten up the area.
Even in a large room this will illuminate the space – you will feel as if the room goes on forever.

                                    
 Maintain the colour scheme by framing the mirror in a texture and shade that compliments the rest of the room. A mirror works best when it sits above something like a cabinet or bed. It anchors the mirror to a defined space and centres the room better.

Think Local - Coolum property now in undersupply

Michael Matusik recently analysed the Australian housing market and determined that for detached housing, the 12 months to August 20012, the number on the market increased by 3%. This would seem to indicate a continuation of a buyer`s market.


However, the picture varies considerably by state and region as the attached newsletter highlights, and in all this it clearly shows Post Code 4573 Coolum as having the 3rd biggest drop and being now in an undersupply situation despite the Sunshine Coast as a whole being tagged as in oversupply. So much for the value of a national, or even regional, analysis being meaningful!

All this confirms my earlier advices from analysis of my farming territory of some 2,000 properties that Coolum is now a “hot spot” in a balanced market – well presented and properties well priced and marketed by the local expert are selling very quickly as the example in my newsletter of 66 Lagoda Drive, a magnificently presented property selling within 5 days for list price illustrates. (Note – tip for interior decorating in a following post shows how mirrors can be used to open up all rooms in the house – presentation is so critical today in marketing)

For further detail on Mount Coolum activity, my website at www.geoffgrover.com.au details all my recent sales and current listings. Keep an eye on this site for coming sales and new listings – several are about to hit websites.

In detail, Matusik found an:
* undersupply of detached houses for sale in Sydney(2%), regional NT (2%), Darwin(3%) and Perth(3%).

* Detached housing markets at equilibrium are: Adelaide(4%),Brisbane(4%),Melbourne(4%),Hobart(5%) and regional NSW (6%).

* Oversupplied detached housing markets are regional WA (especially the Margaret River area) (14%), regional Victoria (9%), regional Qld (including the Gold and Sunshine Coasts and Cairns) (8%), regional SA (7%) and the rest of Tassie 7%

But where are the stand-out post codes? And where are the shockers – the spots where housing supply has increased, and sometimes by lots?

The table shows the Top Ten Winners and Losers

Again highlighting the dangers of taking too broad a view, whilst Melbourne as a whole is regarded as being in equilibrium, 7 of the top ten postcodes revealing increases in stock are outer Melbourne suburbs, although paradoxically 2 of the top ten postcode stock drops were also outer Melbourne suburbs, namely Werribee South and Wyndham Vale Portland, the very busy port in Victoria, had by far the biggest drop.

Source – Matusik Missive September 25th and September 26th, post code table from SQM Research.
For further detail on Mount Coolum activity, my website at www.geoffgrover.com.au details all my recent sales and current listings. Keep an eye on this site for coming sales and new listings – several are about to hit websites.

First Home Owners Grant (FHOG)

State Budget impacts Real Estate Industry: First Home Owner Grant abolished & Transfer Duty increased


The following is a summary of the changes.

1. Changes to First Home Owner Grant

• Currently, eligible buyers purchasing their first home worth less than $750,000 (whether an existing or newly constructed dwelling) are entitled to receive the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) of $7,000.

• First home buyers purchasing existing dwellings will have until 10 October 2012 to finalise their contract to be eligible for the existing $7,000 FHOG. The contract must be dated on or before 10 October 2012.

• From 11 October 2012, there will be no grant available to first home buyers purchasing existing dwellings.

• From 12 September 2012, first home buyers purchasing newly constructed or off -the-plan dwellings will be eligible for the First Home Owner Construction Grant (FHOCG). The FHOCG is a grant of $15,000

• The following eligibility criteria applies to the First Home Owner Construction Grant:-

(i) the property must become the Buyer's principal place of residence within one year of taking ownership.

(ii) the property must be the Buyer's principal place of residence for at least six months.

(iii) the Buyer must not dispose of all or part of the property within one year after the Buyer starts to occupy the residence as the Buyer's home.

(iv) The property must be bought or built at a value under $750,000.

2. Top Transfer Duty rate increased

The rate of transfer duty payable for property worth $1,000,000 or more will increase from $5.25 for every $100 over $980,000 to $5.75 for every $100 over $1,000,000.

An example of the increase is illustrated below, although this is not likely to worry too many buyers I iur Coolum/ Marcoola market

Home purchase of $1,200,000

Existing duty: $41,500

New duty: $42,350*

The transfer duty rate changes will come into effect once the legislation receives final assent. At this stage, therefore,it is not known when the new transfer duty rates will commence.

* Note, this calculation is based on the proposed changes which are not yet law. It is for indicative guidance only and should not to be relied upon as legal advice.

SOLD -but at what price!

The key measure for a seller in this market is not the time taken to sell, but the price obtained. Better to get the right price with the right prospect, rather than best ”instant” price.


In a buyer`s market, such as that which has prevailed and been prolonged by very aggressive price marketing by many agencies, this invariably means buyers offer very low prices and sellers under pressure think it is the market value & accept.


This process is driven very much by a local upsurge in the auction process with use of price leading copy such as “Bargain hunters welcome”, ”Make an offer” – it is no co-incidence that auction clearance rates are up & sale price levels have “dived’ in the last 12 months both in Mt. Coolum and the Sunshine Coast per the domain.com.au graph

Green - Mount Coolum   - Blue - Sunshine Coast

Never has it been as important as now to utilize an experienced agent with extensive marketing & negotiation skills. Experienced territory agents know the likely price range for properties, market the features & work hard to negotiate a win - win result.

The role of a real estate agent is to maximize the sell price for the seller, bearing in mind the market conditions – anybody can sell a property at give-away prices.

Owner-occupiers, the overwhelmingly buyer demographic, pay for value relative to their living needs. They do not buy only on price.

Investors are bargain hunters by nature who buy on price & return, attracted to price driven marketing.

Significant asset sales demand the most professional services!

Current auction sales performance - Mount Coolum

Generally speaking, the auction process has limited acceptance on the Sunshine Coast. Historically, clearance rates as measured by pre and at auction sales hovers around 20%,  a very low rate.

Only 1 in 5 sell without a price, which is supposed to be the big advantage of the process.

Sales results in  Mount Coolum have received a big boost over the last 12 months from the long term average as detailed below. This is based on a small number of sales, mainly because of distressed sales in the new up market estate of The Boardwalk, and very aggressive price marketing of the agencies involved.

The key is not that a sale took place, but at what price?

Marketing has consisted of headlines designed to attract the "scavenger" and "bargain hunter" familiar with the process and cashed up, a very limited segment of the market  and not offering true market sentiment.

To advertise  aproperty with headlines such as "Bargaiin hunters welcome", "Owners seek immediate action",  "Home required to be rescued from neglect", "Make an offer", "Interstate owner says sell" all scream give-aways, which is what eventually occurs.

Find all about Mount Coolum real estate from the local expert

Create the right balance

People struggle with using colour in home decoration, but the impact can be achieved without being garish.
* To achieve a successful balance, the use of natural rugs or dark-stained furniture will ground the colour scheme.
* When selecting cushions, choose a varying colour palette & mismatch the patterns. Mismatched cushions look best on a plain fabric sofa or a stripe or small pattern.

* With furniture selection, invest in a good quality sofa with a classic shape that won`t date & can be     recovered over time.         

* Mix antiques & modern furniture to create a layered, interesting & unique look.

* Invest in beautiful paintings
* Create unique tablescapes on coffee, hall & sofa tables using your collection, for example, family photographs, books, old boxes or vases of flowers.
* Most of all, buying things you love will create their very own unique thread that joins them together.

The ‘goss’ on Coolum area sales

House for sale statistics in our local, established area show a significant tightening of house stock availability, which strongly suggests we are moving away from the strong buyer “discount” market of recent times to a more balanced market.

The situation with high rise apartments/units is quite different, due mainly to pressures on the higher investor ownership & their general unsuitability for owner-occupiers.

This class of property ownership sees much better use of capital elsewhere, and often this divestment is more of a financial necessity than a desire!

Over many years I have tracked statistics for the same house population of some 2.200 in Mount Coolum and Yaroomba, & a range of between 3% to 4% of the housing population has generally been on the market at any one point in time. Over 4%, or under 3% historically means market change skewing towards either the benefit of the buyer or the seller.

By contrast, It got to 4.5% last year, is now down to 2.15%, this is  a reduction of over 50% of houses on the market.

 Put simply, the choice for buyers is much diminished, which theoretically should lead to more realistic offers from buyers and potential sellers now looking to make that move.

This change in the older, established areas is overlooked by the casual observer as relatively new estates such as The Boardwalk and Peregian Springs continue to suffer from oversupply at higher prices.

These developments were fuelled by builder and investor “spec” home construction, believing prices would continue to rise exponentially, & also to benefit from high depreciation allowances during the first 5/7 years of a new building.

The cream of depreciation has been claimed, prices have fallen well below replacement cost & financial stress has kicked in, hence properties are readily available in these estates

The combination of high stock availability, very low prices on record & price marketing by leading agencies, , eg, “bargain hunters welcome”, “owner must sell”, “make an offer” continues to shape buyer expectations downwards in these estates.

Sooner or later the penny will drop with buyers as to the true value of the more spacious, well presented, older, established home between $400,000 and $500,000, &those buyers early enough to recognize the opportunity will buy, those that don`t will miss out because this stock is in very limited supply.