Buyers Agents Articles & Tips

17/09/2011
Buyers Agents

Reducing the ‘Fear Factor’ in Property Investing (Part Two)

As a Buyer’s Advocate, I get asked all kinds of property related questions. People lean on my expertise and experience for all manner of things. One of the most common questions I get asked is about the value of any given property. People like to know whether they are paying too much, offering too little, considering selling for the right figur...

17/07/2011
Buyers Agents

How can Property Zoning affect a Property?

“Oh. What does that mean?” is the response buyers often have when we make mention of a little piece of information that can have significant negative flow-on effects for a property purchase. So what sorts of pieces of information could adversely affect a property purchase? And even if the buyer never plans to sell, how could their purchase e...

17/07/2011
Buyers Agents

Scarcity Value – Not Just in the Land

Statistical evidence shows us that when it comes to property the land portion is the portion that historically appreciates in value. This is a result of the scarcity of the land combined with the demand for that land, as once a lot of land is allocated and built on , the amount of available land decreases and the lot of land can’t be re-used ...

23/05/2011
Buyers Agents

Property Selection Myth

Location, Location, Location was and still is the catch cry from most Real Estate agents when it comes to which properties outperform and which properties don’t. When a property investor is looking to make a property selection for investment, maybe we should adopt this principal but with a little more creative license. Location One: Id...

19/05/2011
Buyers Agents

Basic Rental Property Obligations

Although this would appear as common sense to all my landlords, it’s still important that one understands their obligations when it comes to letting out a property for rent. Under the act governing the letting of property the landlord has certain obligations, the most important of which is that the property being let is in a condition that would ...

17/04/2011
Buyers Agents

Five Tips for a Happier Rental Property

To ensure your tenants are enjoying renting your property, and looking after it too, it’s important to remember a couple of things so that your relationship with your tenants and property manager is a prosperous one. So I thought I’d pen a few tips to help remind fellow landlords that if they undertake these recommendations then owning their...

17/03/2011
Buyers Agents

So when is the best time to buy?

It’s a well-accepted theory that buyers shop in spring right through to Easter – and then the cooler months in Melbourne take hold and buyers slow down – but is this really what happens? The correct answer is that the season is only one tiny factor in what dictates property buyer and vendor behaviour. Economic outlook, suburb, location, go...

20/12/2010
Buyers Agents

Investors – Start your engines…

There is always a positive to any negative. Talk of a housing market bubble, higher interest rates, softening demand for property, worsening affordability and value decreases are all playing on the psychology of those looking to get into the property market. It is fair to report that in most markets across the capitals that we are certainly in...

17/09/2010
Buyers Agents

Spring Season – Real Test For Prices

It’s well commented on that Spring is the time that the Real Estate market becomes the most active in terms of new listings and buying activity across pretty much every state. It’s the time of the year when the garden presents the best and the weather sees buyers coming out of winter hibernation, so sellers think they are going to get the be...

02/08/2010
Buyers Agents

Property Supply Adding to Cooling Melbourne Market

Supply and demand are the primary forces in an ’open’ marketplace that determine the value of a good/service. This is fundamental economics. The property market is no different. Earlier this year we saw property values move higher on increased demand. Demand that has since softened as interest rate increases have pushed out some buyers due t...

05/06/2010
Buyers Agents

Which Unit is Best – High Density or Low Density?

I’ve been in conversation with a couple of buyers advocates over the past few weeks, and it’s surprising how many of their attitudes differ with regard to investment property, namely whether you should be buying apartments in high density areas (HD) such as CBD locations, or low density (LD) inner city locations. For the sake of a comparison, I...

15/03/2010
Buyers Agents

Negotiation Tactics in a ‘Sellers’ Market – Part Two

3. Establish recent sales to justify your offer Recent sales of comparative properties can help in getting the estate agent to help support your price offer, but you must compare apples with apples, don’t compare weatherboard with Brick or vastly different land size blocks etc. 4. Start with a long term settlement When you put your...

14/03/2010
Buyers Agents

Don’t Sell the Golden Egg Layer

Real estate agents across the land are complaining they don’t have enough stock to meet buyer demand at the moment. This limited supply is having a positive effect on property values growing quicker than usual. Agents are out there saying they have 10 buyers for every listing they get, especially in the established suburbs. So agents are going...