Laminates ain`t just laminates no more!

 By Geoff Grover – www.geoffgrover.com.auFebruary 2013Another handy property tip from Mr. Mount Coolum Real Estate

High Pressure Laminate (HPL) is a popular choice for benchtops, formed around a thick substrate to make a laminate benchtop, which can deliver profiles from bullnose to more contemporary slab-like stone looks.

The look can be enhanced with a range of finishes from textured to high gloss, plus, a range of edging options offer the flexibility to create a colour matched square-edge without the black line at the join.

Printing technology now makes available a myriad of stylish and contemporary looks in a cost-effective way compared with other benchtop surfaces.
This includes solid colours, woodgrains,  modern abstracts & real stone patterns. Laminex recently released 180fx, which  replicates the striking colour variations,   intricate veining and sophisticated layers of real stone surfaces.

Another new product, Freestyle Curves, is a 100% thermoformable surface which has transforming capabilities & seamless edges
At a product launch it was displayed in a ribbon like format (pictured) to illustrate the flexibility it offers.

When planning that benchtop update, it definitely pays to shop around to check out  new technology.

 Information courtesy of The Laminex Group

  

Demographia International property survey thoroughly debunked~!

The paucity of responsible property journalism in Australia has again been revealed by the uncritical acceptance of the 2013 Annual Demographia  International Housing Affordability Survey

This survey covers 6 countries only, concluding that in comparison all major markets in Australia continue to be severely unaffordable, reflecting vastly over-priced housing relative to incomes. The least affordable smaller markets were Port Macquarie, Coff's Harbour & the Sunshine Coast.

There were no affordable or moderately unaffordable markets in Australia according to the survey.
 Three of Australia`s most experienced property analysts have debunked this conclusion,

How come? - the survey does not allow for:
* Relative size & quality of property - a 250sm house on 800sm block is not the same as a 2 bed 62sm Hong Kong apartment.

* No capital gains tax on your home in Aussie, so it is a big tax incentive & wise investment strategy to build wealth by improving your home.

* No allowance for equity, which in Aussie averages 60% for all owners, including investors

*Income levels are not consistently compared across the survey cities

* Regional areas like the Sunshine Coast support a high proportion of semi/fully retired households that earn less than those fully employed but own expensive properties.

These 3 experts
Michael Matusik
Louis Christopher - SQM Research
Terry Ryder,

All say we do not have overpriced stock EXCEPT for affordability versus status.
Just because a certain percentage of the population cannot afford to buy where they prefer, eg, inner city Sydney rather than the Western Suburbs, beachside, etc, does not mean housing in general is overpriced.

Impact on housing prices?

Put simply, we do not have a price bubble about to burst & plunge prices down further.

Now is an excellent time to buy, but sellers do need an experienced agent to market property features to obtain a win-win price & not fall prey to bargain hunters attracted by price advertising adopted by many agents which requires minimal marketing skills.

Full analyst reports on my website at
http://www.geoffgrover.com.au
under the Newsroom tab

The Auction Process De-Constructed

What a charade the auction proces is - an absolute means to belt buyers or sellers to cop extremes either way, and also makin gou tis is a premiewer way of sellin gin southern sttaes - this series of articles brings to life the lie in all these claims.

The Auction process de-constructed


A SERIES OF ARTICLES SAYING IT AS IT IS

Reserve prices scrutinised
Date November 20th 2012
Talking Property

The auction season might have only a few weeks to go before winding up for Christmas but there has been plenty of attention on the process – and in particular the issue of price guides – in the last week.
Following a blitz in NSW, which involved Fair Trading officers in that state turning up to real estate businesses unannounced and attending 20 weekend auctions, up to five agents remain under investigation for breaches to the fair trading requirements of the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002.

The investigators were targeting illegal practices such as deliberately under-quoting to potential buyers, over-pricing to vendors and dummy bidding.
News of whether the agents will be fined or issued with a warning was not available at the time of writing.

In South Australia reserve prices at auctions are set to become more transparent if the Weatherill government gets its way.

Last week, South Australia's deputy premier John Rau introduced a bill that will make it against the law for properties to be passed in at a higher price than the reserve, which must be set at no more than 110 per cent of the price acceptable to the vendor, as listed on the contract between the agent and vendor.

That means the vendor will be forced to decide before the property's marketing campaign kicks off just what price they are willing to accept, and stick with it.

While potential buyers won't be privy to a vendor and agent's sales agreement, any mention of a price on marketing materials will give away the reserve price, as the reserve must also be no more than 10 per cent higher than the advertised price.
In announcing the bill, Mr Rau argued "bait pricing" is used by some real estate agents to "unfairly suck in prospective home buyers".

"I have received numerous complaints from homebuyers highlighting the practice of bait pricing," he said. "These laws will stamp out bait pricing and give home buyers an even playing field."

"The government believes that the most effective way of eliminating the practice of bait pricing is to create a nexus between the price sought by, or acceptable to, the vendor and marketing a property based on that price.

"The expectations of the purchaser will be realistically met when the auction of a property is based on advertising that reflects the genuine selling price of the vendor."

Mr Rau rejected the notion that the laws would be unfair to home sellers.

However, the Real Estate Industry of South Australia's general manager of communications Emma Slape argues the changes will disadvantage vendors and scare homeowners away from holding auctions.

"If they have put down that they will accept $500,000 on the day of listing the property, and they've had really strong demand for the property, and they're thinking perhaps we would be able to get $600,000 they won't be able to do that under the laws," Ms Slape says. "They're limited to making that reserve no higher than $550,000 [for example].

"You need two parties to negotiate and we feel that one party is getting their hands tied behind their backs."

Domain.com.au with Sunshine Coast Auction results – as at 28th November 2012

All the voluble agents in the main press claim 60-70-80-90% auction clearance rates.

Somebody is telling porkies vis a vis the Domain graph, unless their clearance rate means at the end of the day, aka private treaty sales clearance rates, so what is the difference?

New online tool reveals top auction suburb
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Strong homebuyer demand is critical for a successful auction, according to data obtained from a new online tool that reveals the Melbourne suburbs where auctions are the most popular method of sale.

The new online tool, launched by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), should help agents and vendors make the decision about the most appropriate sales method for their property, according to REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo.

“The maps clearly show that auctions are the most popular sales method in the inner city whilst in the outer suburbs most sales are conducted privately," Mr Raimondo said. "This in part explains why the median price of a home sold at auction is higher than one sold at private sale, as residential property is much more expensive in the inner suburbs.

“Whilst overall auction sales have represented around 22 per cent of all sales in Melbourne this year, there are some suburbs with a higher number and some with less."

Mr Raimondo said analysis of the data over 2010 and 2011 revealed a trend towards private sales as the level of competition dropped.

“This highlights that auctions work better when there is a high level of demand generally, or for a specific property,” he continued. “When teamed with data showing weekly clearance rates this information is an invaluable and unique resource for all those active in the residential real estate market.”

Mr Raimondo said suburbs which saw more than half the homes sold by auction in 2011 included Elsternwick, Surrey Hills, Armadale, Richmond, Malvern, Northcote and Camberwell.

“At the other end of the spectrum, less than five per cent of homes were sold by auction in Narree Warren, Werribee, Rowville, Craigieburn and Mooroolbark," he added.

“It is also the case that clearance rates tend to be higher in the suburbs where auctions are more prevalent.”

So, is this auction result % really a surprise.

What is a real surprise is that the apparent auction capital of Australia, ie Melbourne, has only 22% of all sales sold via auction???

What gives then, when our local experts dominant in the local press say an auction is the way to go, and then suggests a $5 to $10k advertising press campaign is necessity.

In this world, nobody trusts anybody until their advice is proven. Your local area expert, rather than an auction“LOUDMOUTH , may be somebody to investigate in the first instance.

Liven up your living room

Living rooms take a serious beating and the

decorative elements get stale fairly quickly. Use the following tips to give your living room a fresh new look for not much cost.
FOCUS ON ONE PIECE
Turn one decorative piece or large piece of furniture into the focal point and decorate around it. One high quality piece will carry the room in most cases, be careful not to over decorate
If you have one already, change it - a new entertainment unit for the TV, a different window treatment will create a difference.
GO BOLD & COLOURFUL
If you’ve already got a pretty monochromatic colour scheme, go the other way. Add a few unexpected splashes of colour. Step away from the standard accessories for colour and add a chair or area rug that is full of colour and brings a new sense of energy.
SHOP YOUR HOME
Scour your own home to see if there are any pieces that can be swapped around. You can even take old furniture and find a throw rug to liven it up or, depending on your budget, have it re-upholstered to give it new life.
REARRANGE THE FURNITURE
Just a simple change of your furniture arrangement can really give the room a new look. If you change the traffic flow of the room, you’ll give it a different feel.
LOOK OUTSIDE THE NORM
look for eclectic pieces with a unifying theme, colour, style or just of appeal to you.

Auctions the way to go? Think very seriously

So you like the auction process?


Reserve prices scrutinised

Date - November 20, 2012 – Domain/com.au



Talking Property

Carolyn Boyd is a property journalist and keen follower of Australia’s housing market.



The auction season might have only a few weeks to go before winding up for Christmas but there has been plenty of attention on the process – and in particular the issue of price guides – in the last week.

Following a blitz in NSW, which involved Fair Trading officers in that state turning up to real estate businesses unannounced and attending 20 weekend auctions, up to five agents remain under investigation for breaches to the fair trading requirements of the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002.

The investigators were targeting illegal practices such as deliberately under-quoting to potential buyers, over-pricing to vendors and dummy bidding.

News of whether the agents will be fined or issued with a warning was not available at the time of writing.

In South Australia reserve prices at auctions are set to become more transparent if the Weatherill government gets its way.

Last week, South Australia's deputy premier John Rau introduced a bill that will make it against the law for properties to be passed in at a higher price than the reserve, which must be set at no more than 110 per cent of the price acceptable to the vendor, as listed on the contract between the agent and vendor.

That means the vendor will be forced to decide before the property's marketing campaign kicks off just what price they are willing to accept, and stick with it.

While potential buyers won't be privy to a vendor and agent's sales agreement, any mention of a price on marketing materials will give away the reserve price, as the reserve must also be no more than 10 per cent higher than the advertised price.

In announcing the bill, Mr Rau argued "bait pricing" is used by some real estate agents to "unfairly suck in prospective home buyers".

"I have received numerous complaints from homebuyers highlighting the practice of bait pricing," he said. "These laws will stamp out bait pricing and give home buyers an even playing field."

"The government believes that the most effective way of eliminating the practice of bait pricing is to create a nexus between the price sought by, or acceptable to, the vendor and marketing a property based on that price.

"The expectations of the purchaser will be realistically met when the auction of a property is based on advertising that reflects the genuine selling price of the vendor."

Mr Rau rejected the notion that the laws would be unfair to home sellers.

However, the Real Estate Industry of South Australia's general manager of communications Emma Slape argues the changes will disadvantage vendors and scare homeowners away from holding auctions.

"If they have put down that they will accept $500,000 on the day of listing the property, and they've had really strong demand for the property, and they're thinking perhaps we would be able to get $600,000 they won't be able to do that under the laws," Ms Slape says. "They're limited to making that reserve no higher than $550,000 [for example].

"You need two parties to negotiate and we feel that one party is getting their hands tied behind their backs."

Pitfalls in valuing properties for sale

With all the information available on past sales and for sale properties, this sounds easy. We now have agents with no area experience offering valuations and even have banks spruiking online valuations, but BEWARE!. Basing valuations on this raw data alone, eg, no of bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, block size, etc is only the basic beginning of valuing a home.


These valuations make little allowance for property ambience, room sizes & layout, style, quality of finish, fittings or landscaping, interior light, etc, etc, etc.

A client reports taking advantage of an NAB offer & received an 11 page report chock full of sales history for the suburb covering 218 sales from $2.3 m to $210,000 and included the property on market history in excess of $1m. It happens to have 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms on 1,126 sm block & NAB said “Probable Value Range - $415,000 to $475,000”. Now this is an extreme example, but illustrates the point.

Auctions invariably in this area and in this market gives only a skewed view of buyer price feedback as there is very limited acceptance of the process. This means the bulk of bidders are those seeking a bargain, cashed up to drive prices down and seeking a distressed sale, egged on of course by very price aggressive marketing by the agencies. You only need to look at some of the price outcomes to be convince dof this.

The only way you will receive an accurate valuation is to talk to your area expert agent who will know the ins & outs of all comparable sales, which one had termites, which ones were financially distressed sales, those that were a wreck internally, etc. He/she will know this from having been in many of the properties, assessed all the photos online as part of ongoing competitive market analysis, spoken with buyers in the area who have been through open homes – this process is very time consuming but builds up a huge body of relevant knowledge – those agents who go everywhere cannot hope to offer such knowledge and rely on commission discounting or some sort of gimmick that does nothing to sell your home.

Let us not forget the dining room

Rarely today do we find a formal dining room, the eating area has become assimilated as part of the open plan living combination of dining, kitchen & lounge room.


If we have two separate areas, it is the lounge or a games/media roomThe formal, standoffish dining space has become very casual, comfortable & adjacent to the kitchen to meet today's relaxed approach

This often means reducing the dining area to table & chairs plonked in a space with no presence or style.

To create the right atmosphere, try to create a room within a room to draw people to the defined space.

Try introducing a nice soft rug underneath the dining table to help liven up the space, add paintings or a mirror on a blank wall, perhaps paint it a feature colour.

A small bureau adds storage &interest with a lamp & display items.

A low hanging pendant will generate a more formal atmosphere.

When entertaining, use of candles as a centre piece &/or a formal vase arrangement will add dramatic effect.

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