Market Ripe to Bear Fruit

August 4, 2010 1 Comment

Market Ripe to Bear Fruit

Market Ripe to Bear Fruit

Commenting on yesterday’s announcement by the RBA that it will hold interest rates at 4.5 per cent, Mark Millington, Principal, First National Real Estate Lakeshores says there are plenty of opportunities around for home buyers and sellers, given current market conditions, as long as the fundamentals are focused on.

“At times like these, homes that are properly presented, appropriately priced and well marketed will always do well, regardless of what happens with interest rates,” Mark Millington said.

“It’s a matter of making sure you get the basic factors right and plum properties should bear fruit.”

When there is relatively high business confidence, strong levels of immigration and low unemployment, the market becomes suitable for buyers. However, those seeking to sell can also make sure they take advantage of these prime conditions.

“In a slower market, there is less pressure on sellers and buyers and during the cooler months, there is less volume of stock around from which buyers can choose, so houses are more likely to sell,” Mark Millington said.

Mark Millington said currently there are growing investment returns in the property market, which should prove lucrative for the astute investor.

“Investors, in particular, can benefit greatly from the current market conditions and pick up some terrific properties that offer strong returns,” Mark Millington said.

Issued by: First National Real Estate
For further information contact Mark Millington, Principal, First National Real Estate Lakeshores on 0418 970 591.

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Property Remains a Sure Bet

July 23, 2010 Leave a comment

Mid year property outlook 2010

Mid year property outlook 2010

As property punters across New South Wales hedge their bets both ways, First National Real Estate Lakeshores’ Principal, Mr Mark Millington is bringing some much needed clarity, predicting property prices’ growth will slow but that the market will remain buoyant despite ongoing uncertainty and increased consumer nervousness.

According to Mr Millington, property prices across all sectors of house, land and apartment/strata in the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast region rose by up to 1 – 5 per cent in the last six months, driven mostly by an increase buyer pool and lower level of available homes for sale, plus lower interest rate and government stimulus. 

The rental market has seen vacancy rates decrease marginally by no more than 1 per cent as housing affordability and immigration create more tenants than available homes – a factor which has seen rents increase by as much as 5 per cent in some cases.

For the remainder of 2010, property prices, across all sectors (house, land and apartment/strata) are expected to continue to increase by up to 5 per cent as there is a shortage of new listings and a growing buyer pool to draw from.  However, this is dependent on the RBA not increasing rates too high. 

“The last two rate rises have already impacted on buyer confidence and also housing affordability and it is hoped they have now done their job and will hold rates where they are for some months, significantly improving buyer confidence,” Mr Millington said.

Vacancy rates are expected to ease even more, decreasing by a marginal 0-1 per cent, while rents are expect to further increase by up to 5 per cent due to the ongoing shortage of available rental accommodation.

Sales should continue to increase as Generation Xers continue to seek, and take advantage of, opportunities to trade up.

The new tax by the NSW government for home owners selling property over $500,000 will have a negative impact on the market, similar to the results of the NSW vendor exit tax for investors.

Housing affordability has come to the forefront in NSW, particularly in Sydney, while other parts of NSW, such as the regional and coastal areas, enjoy lower median prices and are attracting investors and first home buyers. It is expected affordability will remain a major factor in property decision-making throughout 2010.

Property hot spots are considered regional and coastal areas that have the greatest potential for growth as capital cities become more expensive.

A highlight for the second half of 2010 will be an expected 5-10 per cent increase in investor activity in the property market, on the back of an already 1-5 per cent increase in the last six months.

The expected increased activity is due mainly to finance markets becoming more volatile and consumer confidence being affected, investors will return to property for security, with a housing shortage that appears unable to change quickly, ensuring real estate holding values or increasing in value.

Interest rates are expected to continue to increase further by the end of 2010, by between 1-1.5 per cent, further impacting on the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast property market and adding to housing affordability concerns.

The environment is continuing to be a factor for consideration by homebuyers, with the most popular ‘green’ features being water tanks and solar hot water.

According to Mr Millington, the Government needs to take greater control of the supply versus demand issue for the Australian property market.

“They need to consider a holistic approach to the issue and look at a number of factors, such as releasing more land; overhauling the planning process and introducing a national planning authority; and introducing incentives for more medium density developments,” Mr Millington said.

There is a strong trend developing for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers opting to stay in their homes, rather than sell, making it harder for Gen Yers to get into the property market.

To view the full report for the Australian property market mid year update click here.

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HOME OWNERSHIP STILL WITHIN GRASP

June 21, 2010 Leave a comment

First Home Buyers

Home Ownership Still Within Grasp

Home owners and buyers are once again feeling the pinch to keep their dreams of home ownership alive as housing affordability returns to the property market agenda.  But, First National Lakeshores Principal, Mark Millington says it’s a matter of rethinking options and developing creative strategies.

Impending future rate rises, along with tightening lending conditions and increasing mortgage stress concerns have started to take their toll on home buyers’ ability to own their own home.  According to Mark Millington home buyers need to take action on an individual level to tear down the wall of housing affordability in any way they can.

Recent research has found a decline in the number of home loans with a high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 95 per cent or above.  LVR refers to the amount of money borrowed for a property, compared to what the property is worth.

Mark Millington says while lending criteria has toughened in recent months, there are still lenders willing to negotiate a better deal around a number of factors such as fees or rates or the actual LVR itself.

“Lending institutions need to be willing to negotiate and be a little more flexible,” Mark Millington said.  “And there are plenty of lenders out there who are willing to do just that, if home buyers are willing to shop around a little and do a bit of homework themselves.  It’s up to the individual to take matters into their own hands and ask.

“But they need to have the facts that support their case as well.”

Some key tips for overcoming housing affordability concerns include:

  • Time your purchase for when there is a lull in the market, such as winter, when the market generally slows and lower demand can potentially tip the balance in favour of buyers.
  • Calculate what you can afford to spend, factoring in any interest rate increases, probably 2 per cent higher than current levels.  Match this to your list of preferred suburbs and concentrate on properties that are genuinely within your range.
  • Be flexible and adjust expectations as required.  You may dream of buying a home in a particular area, but consider a smaller home, or even a unit or apartment, with a view to upgrading later.  Alternatively, consider an area a suburb or two removed from your where you would like to live.
  • Start a disciplined saving strategy immediately.  Set realistic savings goals and set up an achievable budget for household expenditure.

Mark Millington also had some sage advice for home owners currently experiencing mortgage stress.

“Home owners can consider extending the life of the mortgage,” Mark Millington said.

“In recent years, all the focus has been on how quickly a family can pay back the mortgage and then move another rung up the ladder.

“Obviously, that is the most desirable situation, but times are changing and it may be more useful to focus instead on how to get into the market in a way that is financially manageable.

“But whatever they do, they should seek the services of a qualified, reputable and trustworthy financial advisor.”

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Residential Market Slows

June 2, 2010 Leave a comment

For the last year, strong demand has led to high auction clearance rates and marked growth in residential real estateProperty Outlook 2010 values nationally. However, it’s now official – clearance rates have slumped after the compounding effect of six interest rate increases since October, tightening lending criteria and a worsening European financial crisis.

Eight weeks ago, Melbourne was riding the crest of the demand wave with a clearance rate of 85.3 per cent. That’s now fallen to 69.4 percent. Similarly, Sydney was enjoying a clearance rate of 73.7 per cent but that’s now just 63 per cent. However, while these are the nation’s two largest auction markets, they’re only a small proportion of all dwelling transactions nationally. Still, the traditionally weaker auction markets of Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane have eased as well.

In contrast though, the total number of auctions taking place has remained very strong and measures released yesterday by RP Data indicate that although prices growth has slowed, home values are up nationally by an average of 0.2 per cent in the month of April and 2.4 per cent for the quarter. Of concern though is the change in direction for both Brisbane and Perth values, with the former dropping 0.5 per cent and the latter 0.6 per cent in the April quarter. Could this be the beginning of a downward trend?

The Government’s planned imposition of a Super Profits tax on mining companies is affecting confidence as it attempts to position the tax as a battle between big business mining and average Australians. With several future mining projects either now on hold or cancelled, it may still be too early to be sure whether this is having direct effect but both Western Australia and Queensland have shown anecdotal evidence of cooling consumer sentiment and, as the above figures confirm, a slide in prices.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) contributed conflicting commentary on Australia’s housing position. The IMF suggested that its analysis of housing slumps since 1970 shows home prices will fall much further and for much longer. In a report in The Australian, its economist Prakash Loungani said previous slumps had lasted on average for 18 quarters, with prices dropping 22 per cent. The current housing slump has lasted only 14 quarters and prices have dropped just 15 per cent.

Prices have dropped 15 per cent? Not according to Australian data. Taking the opposing view, The OECD was more upbeat, even though it predicted at least four more rate rises, and most likely five in the year ahead. It suggests the RBA will finish the year with a cash rate of 5.1 per cent by December and push on to 5.7 per cent by next June.

This is completely at odds with Australian financial markets, which are anticipating a tightening of only 0.25 per cent over the next year. Yet, despite the OECD’s gloomy interest rate outlook, it still expects demand for Australian real estate to remain strong, ‘bolstered by immigration’ and above average economic growth – exceeding 3 per cent. New South Wales is paying the price for the State Government’s introduction of a new property tax which is making new construction less attractive for developers. Brisbane also appears to have fallen out of favour, with big residential developers pinning hopes of future profits on Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

Stockland have recast their product to the affordable end of the market and will be relying on the ‘boom market in Melbourne’. Its recent investor update says that 50 per cent of all jobs created in the past 12 months were created in Victoria and that the state has been more successful than any other in tapping the population surge driven by migrants from China and India. Billionaire developer Lang Walker is firmly focused on Adelaide as well as Melbourne, and most other developers are following in his footsteps.

The RBA Board met to yesterday determine what action to take with interest rates for June. The weakening market indicators and falling Australian dollar led to a hold in the official cash rate.

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Landlords under threat in NSW

May 1, 2010 2 Comments

LANDLORDS WILL HAVE LESS SAY IN WHO LIVES IN THEIR INVESTMENT PROPERTY, AND WHAT COSMETIC CHANGES TENANTS CAN MAKE TO IT, UNDER SWEEPING CHANGES TO NSW RESIDENTIAL TENANCY LAWS. FIXED-TERM LEASES WILL ALSO BECOME A THING OF THE PAST.

In November 2009, the NSW Government released the Residential Tenancies Bill 2009, which proposes some of the most radical changes in decades to the control and management of hundreds of thousands of rental properties in NSW.

Just a few examples of the changes proposed are detailed below.

Sub-letting

Under the proposed reforms, a landlord’s right to decide who inhabits their property may be able to be challenged.

The concept of permitting sub-letting without the consent of the landlord, and for there to potentially be an increasing stream of sub-tenants, will simply open a Pandora’s Box of issues for landlords.

Cosmetic changes

The proposed changes also provide that a landlord must not unreasonably withhold consent “to a fixture, or to an alteration, addition or renovation that is of a minor or cosmetic nature”. There is no definition of what is“minor or cosmetic” in the Bill.

 What is minor or cosmetic to a tenant may not be what is minor or cosmetic to a landlord. In addition, a minor or cosmetic change made by one tenant will not necessarily suit the next tenant. Such changes may also result in damage that is irreversible.

Landlords must retain the right to say ‘no’.

Fixed-term tenancies

Another proposed change will result in fixed-term tenancies becoming a thing of the past. Tenants will be able to break a lease, during the fixed term, without any special ground by giving just 14 days notice to the landlord and paying a break fee.

This single, dramatic change to current practice has the greatest potential of any of the proposed changes to utterly destroy landlord confidence.

What is the point of a landlord entering into a fixed-term tenancy that is unable to be enforced?

A need for appropriate reform

The stated objective of the reforms to “fairly balance the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords” is laudable. There is clearly a pressing need for reform in some areas of the residential tenancies regime.

However the changes proposed will instead substantially shift the balance of power further in favour of tenants.

In a market where many landlords are already only deriving a marginal return, measures such as those proposed may well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

The way forward – your voice is important

The changes proposed in the Residential Tenancies Bill are set to significantly affect your rights as a landlord.

If you do not agree with the proposed changes, you should contact your local Member of Parliament as a matter of urgency and make them aware of your concerns. It is your MP who will ultimately vote for or against these changes. Contact details for your local MP are attached.

We would also encourage you to register your opinion at http://www.reinsw.com.au/rtafeedback

Down load a copy of this article and a list of local MP’s: PMChapter_RTAflyer_FINAL[1]

Source: REI NSW

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FIRST NATIONAL SAYS NATIONAL PLANNING NEEDED

May 1, 2010 Leave a comment

First National Real Estate CEO, Ray Ellis, supports the call from the Australian Local Government Association for a national planning authority but says Australia’s problems with its planning processes go far beyond the single issue of coastal climate change planning and require a major overhaul.

“It’s very myopic to just consider this one issue in isolation of what is happening in other areas of the property market around this country,” Mr Ellis said.

“In Queensland, they are working off two year old planning approvals, while NSW planning approvals have dropped dramatically in recent times.

“And, while Victoria has just posted strong planning approval figures for some years, this is a result of a minister wielding a big stick rather than systemic structural changes.”

Mr Ellis agreed that the confusion created by inconsistent sea level rise predictions makes planning and development increasingly difficult on coastal regions, but more importantly have the potential to impact negatively on the property market in general.

“Home owners and other property market pundits need certainty around property prices so that they can make decisions based on facts and consistent information,” Mr Ellis said.

“It’s all well and good to say that the responsibility for planning rests with state and local government, but ultimately, a consistent, unified and national approach needs to be considered in the property market.

“This is unsustainable and I can’t think of any other industry that would operate with this level of uncertainty and confusion.”

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Child-proof your Home

April 7, 2010 Leave a comment

Children are always at risk of injury, but never more so than in the family home.  According to Mark Millington from First National Real Estate Lakeshores there are many simple measures that can be taken to prevent simple accidents, often with far-reaching and serious long-term effects, from occurring in the home.

“It’s a simple case of taking a critical view of objects around your home and understanding where the potentials for hazards are,” Mark Millington said.

“Take the time to get down and crawl around the home so that you can see for yourself where curious hands and adventurous spirits might roam.”

While childproofing the home is important for families, investors should also take the time to understand how child-friendly their investment property is, as it may represent a marketing point for their investment property.

Injuries are the leading cause of death in Australian children aged one to fourteen, accounting for nearly half of all deaths in this age group.  More children die from injury than of cancer, asthma and infectious diseases combined.

Unintentional injuries make up around 95 per cent of all child injury deaths, with young children under the age of five years most at risk of unintentional injury.

“The most common place for young children to be injured is in their own home, so ensuring the safety of our homes should be paramount for parents to keep their children safe,” Mark Millington said.

“There are so many things that are precariously balanced, just waiting to be pulled down, knocked over, bumped into or climbed on.

“And as the child becomes more mobile and dexterous, they love to put things in their mouths and they don’t discriminate between toxics or poisons and lollies or biscuits.”

First National Lakeshores has produced a Tip Sheet to assist parents, and investors, create a safe environment in the home for children to thrive and grow.  A version can be downloaded from the First National Lakeshores website www.lakeshores.com.au or click here.

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Property Management a billion dollar business

March 31, 2010 Leave a comment

Agent on Rental Inspection

Property Management a billion dollar business

Property Managers and business owners from across the country who met in Sydney this week heard that property management is the unsung hero of the property industry. 

“We had 140 property managers in the room and between them we estimated the market value of the properties under management to be more than $2.6 billion dollars,” said First National Board member and Tasmanian State Chair Deanne Lamprey. 

“Each of our property managers are looking after millions of dollars worth of assets, they play a very important role in the real estate industry, economy and the community”.

First National Real Estate CEO, Ray Ellis, agreed.  

“All the data and analysis focus on the sales side of the property industry,” Mr Ellis said.

“When people work hard to put away money for an investment, they want to make sure that asset is looked after so they earn good returns and the value of their investment will continue to grow in the future.  

“In real estate, the people who look after those assets are property managers.

“With our housing stock in such short supply and vacancy rates tight across the country, effective property management is a vital part of our economy.

“Without good property management, the value of Australia’s housing stock would deteriorate in condition and then in value.”

Mark Millington, Principal from First National Real Estate Lakeshores said they were surprised by the value of assets under management. 

“It is very easy in a real estate business to focus on sales, but that side of the business is often very short term and easily affected by changes in interest rates, market sentiment and local developments,” Mark said. 

“Property Management is the business that tends to remain steady regardless of whether sales are up or down.  Looking after the assets of the community is important work that is often under valued.”

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Winning the War Online

March 29, 2010 Leave a comment

First National Lakeshores Web Site

First National Lakeshores Web Site

When Australia’s top real estate brands were announced in December last year, Sticky, an Australian media agency, analysed their in-bound marketing and gave some of the big brands a wake-up call, announcing that the best online marketers were not necessarily the biggest agencies. Story by Stewart Bunn.

Success in real estate has long moved past just being the best salesperson or property manager. Winners have launched into the realms of social media, online profile management and database marketing. While many still don’t fully grasp how websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn help win listings, there’s widespread acceptance that social media websites facilitate a highly effective form of agency marketing, and, are way more dollar productive.

It’s not just agents and property managers embracing this important new medium either. Australia’s major networks are fiercely promoting the relevance of social media, taking every opportunity to train their agents on how to best exploit their online presence, capturing ever more consumer property searches and steering them to their websites.

This is not without good reason. The rise and rise of consumer blogging websites, where members of the general public discuss customer service in an un-moderated environment, delivers the potential to either destroy or underpin the success of each and every real estate business.

Within minutes of a customer service failure, your agency, its employees and its brand can all be ‘kicked to the kerb’ with devastating consequences.  And, if you don’t think one consumer’s rant has much potential to get noticed, think again. Google introduced ‘real-time search’ last year and appears to index and ‘crawl’ web-logs faster than other websites, so a single disgruntled customer might end up with better search engine results, placing their opinion of your business above the link to your own agency’s website. Fortunately, though, the destructive power of social media can be mitigated by making sure you have an active and positive presence in the same online sphere.

The traditional playing fields for the major Australian real estate brands are shifting rapidly and future success will have little to do with the consumer brand awareness that comes from sheer office numbers. As the relevance of newspaper marketing begins to fade, and it is, a mixture of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Online Profile Management, Inbound Marketing and Social Media is becoming vital to the dominance of this bloody, bloody battleground.

Somewhat of a paradigm shift is occurring as the whole industry gets its head around adjusting its emphasis from ‘Outbound Marketing’ – where you invest hard earned dollars trying to interrupt potential customers with your message – to ‘Inbound Marketing’ – where potential customers find you and decide whether they want to discover more. The major corporates may find this adjustment the most difficult of all.

Last December, Business Review Weekly (BRW) published their ‘Top Australian Agencies’ list, outlining the thirty most influential real estate brands nationally, but in no particular order. As if to emphasise the power of the internet and its ability to rapidly challenge accepted norms, Australian inbound marketing experts, Sticky, took this list and assessed the performance and ‘site stickiness’ of the top 30 brands’ websites, accidentally proving that biggest doesn’t always equate to industry best. The results showed which networks threaten to shake-up the industry, potentially changing the brand pecking order with their Inbound Marketing skills.

IPSOS, an international company whose sole focus is survey-based market research, found that Australia’s top three best known brands are, in order, LJ Hooker; Ray White and Elders. Sticky’s assessment, however, showed that the top three most successful inbound marketers are, in order, First National Real Estate, LJ Hooker and Century 21. So, if inbound marketing is the way of the future, these three may be headed for brand dominance.

So how is it that First National Real Estate, a cooperative that IPSOS research placed at number seven in terms of overall brand awareness, was able to beat six other major brands with a score of 96.2 out of 100?

According to Craig Wilson, Managing Director of Newcastle based Sticky, his organisation conducted its analysis based on six key criteria including On-page SEO, Off-page SEO, Keyword search results, Competitor scores, Social media and Traffic conversion. “Scores can vary from month to month depending on search terms” says Craig. “Our NLYZR assessment measures websites against up to 568 international search engines and then provides the best recommendations on how to improve search rankings.”

The company utilises constantly updated optimisation software, which assists Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and Mastercard through to small enterprises across the USA and Australia. Sticky’s NLYZR adapts this set of search engine optimisation tools to meet their Inbound Marketing criteria and the company’s website allows real estate agents to submit their own website for free testing. Whilst NLYZR was initially created to meet Australian web marketing demands, the company has increasingly found itself using the technique for international projects too.

What, in practical terms, does First National Real Estate do differently though? The question was put to First National Real Estate’s National Online Services Manager, Suzi Cowperthwaite. At pains to point out the fluidity of results such as these, Suzi is reluctant to take credit, preferring to point to an overall long-term strategy of communicating with the network’s agents, educating and reinforcing the importance of web-based marketing as the future of the profession at every turn.

“First National made an unpopular decision to significantly change its eMarketing strategy five years ago” says Suzi. “While there was some opposition at first, the network determined that it would patiently take every opportunity to outline and communicate how the marketplace was changing and how the network’s brand awareness would be increased over time.”

Using a combination of template-based individual member websites, the network encouraged its membership to buy domain names related to their region of operation and also set about buying hundreds of domains itself.

“Ultimately, this is just one small part of an overall strategy that involves websites, promotions, consumer competitions, social media, Web 2.0, First National Television and other initiatives” says Suzi.

The real estate profession now stands at a crossroad, a juncture where leaders will work to re-educate their salespeople and property managers, re-orientating the promotion of their agencies and personal profiles, and finally letting go of the notion that self promotion is a one way street where the consumer is forced to listen to a carefully crafted message. The world has changed and the information age heralds the beginning of a new era for both the profession and its major networks, one in which those who connect and communicate with consumers on their terms not only survive, but prosper.

Stewart Bunn is First National Real Estate’s National Communications Manager. A licensed estate agent with 16 years experience in the real estate industry, Stewart has a diverse background that includes professional experience in product management, sales, marketing, strategy, executive management, team building and network communications.

Source: Sold Magazine – March 2010

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CAN RENTING BE BETTER THAN BUYING?

March 26, 2010 Leave a comment

Current market conditions, coupled with growing concerns over housing affordability, are causing uncertainty for home buyers who are wondering whether they should continue to rent or commit to buying their own home.

Mark Millington, Principal from First National Real Estate Lakeshores says it all comes down to what suits the individual’s personal and financial situation best.

“With property prices and interest rates continuing to increase, mortgage repayments are beginning to be beyond the reach of many young Australians,” Mark said.

“But they shouldn’t panic.  Renting offers great flexibility with the option to relocate from home to home and area to area as the need arises, which is not the case with buying a property.

“If finances get tight, or the home situation changes for any reason, it is far harder to just pick up and go if you own your own home.

“Renting is also often a cheaper alternative to buying, especially in the inner city areas particularly favoured by Gen Y-ers who want that urban lifestyle close to where they work.”

While the housing supply and demand equation will continue to put pressure on vacancy rates, the fact remains that monthly rental payments will usually be less than a mortgage repayment for a comparable property.

“One of the greatest advantages of renting is that maintenance costs, repairs, rates and insurance bills are the responsibility of the property owner, and not the renter,” Mark said.

Despite these many advantages of renting a property, there are some disadvantages which will make buying preferable.  The most obvious one being that when you rent, you can never really put your own personal stamp on the property or make it reflect your individual style and design preferences.

“There is also the inconvenience, and in some cases pressure, of knowing your landlord can inspect the property whenever he/she wishes (providing they give sufficient notice) invading your privacy and peace of mind,” Mark said.

“But the biggest disadvantage is that you will never pay the property off, as you do with your own home.  You will always have to pay rent and therefore the money is lost for good, without any chance of recuperating it in the sale of a property.”

Ultimately, this is where the biggest difference is between renting and buying.  An individual needs to consider which will make the greatest impact on their personal net wealth and cashflow over their lifetime. 

“Usually, this will be purchasing a home, but it will come down to making sure you buy well and that you buy right,” Mark said.

“This is where the advice and assistance of a real estate agent comes into its own.  We have the necessary knowledge, experience and skills to understand the market, its trends and its weaknesses and opportunities and it is what we pride ourselves on. Despite the end of the boost to the First Home Owners Grant, it’s important to remember that the First Home Owners Grant still exists as well as many additional state Government financial incentives.

“So home buyers need to learn to make the most of the services we have available, so that they can make the most of their finances over the long term. There are many creative ways in which home buyers are saving for that first purchase whilst renting and we can help explain the options available.”

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