Empower Blog Auction

What Causes Auction Property Sales Results to Fly Past the Quoted Range? It is the Agents’ Fault?

Buyers get very frustrated by auction results exceeding quote ranges; and justifiably so. Interested buyers invest emotional energy, precious time, and in many cases, valuable dollars when they shortlist and pursue a suitable property. Building inspections, solicitor’s review fees and travel costs can make a property pre-purchase adventure quite ...

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What is Happening in the Melbourne Property Market this Winter?

I recall my reporting mid to late last year - around September/October, our difficult Melbourne market felt as though it had started to turn a corner for the better. I was too cautious to call it until November, when the race to finishing line for the year's auctions became quite apparent that it wasn't the only driver nudging buyer demand up in th...

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Top 3 Tips for Buying Property at Auction

I must admit, I‘m incredibly fortunate to enjoy the professional life that I do.  I get significant job satisfaction in my role as Director of Empower Wealth helping our clients achieve their financial goals through residential property investment - as was recently featured in the cover story of the March Money Magazine  “Earn $2,500 per week...

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An early Christmas present?

We are engaged by property buyers for several reasons; ranging from investors who wish to be steered in the right direction for their investment purchases, through to clients who feel their blood run cold at the thought of bidding at auction. In fact, many buyers flick through the pages on the real estate search engines and dismiss properties that...

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Fifty Shades of Underquoting

There are different levels of underquoting but when will it be considered unacceptable? As the media keeps reminding us, we find ourselves in the midst of a Buyer's market.  There are many aspects of this current market which also remind us of the current status; from lower than average auction clearance rates to reducing interest rates.  On...

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Why are people so scared of auctions?

It’s true. Melbournians are scared of auctions. For some, the very idea of an auction sends adrenaline rushing, but for others it throws a great property listing onto the scrapheap before they have even seen it in real life. We constantly field questions about auctions and introduce ideas for clients to combat some of their auction concerns. ...

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Cooling Off Changes in Victoria

Recently the Victorian government made changes to the Cooling off legislation regarding purchasing residential property. Prior to this change if you sought legal advice from a solicitor then you couldn’t cool off on your purchase contract within the designated cooling off period. Following the changes you can now seek legal advice and still ha...

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What makes a Buyer’s Market become a Seller’s market?

Without doubt, the defining aspect of 2011 for us was the rapid swing of the Melbourne Seller's market to a Buyer's market. To explain this, cast your mind back to 2009 when, after the full impact of the GFC first hit Australia, our government and RBA instigated some immediate moves to aid buoyancy in our market. We had one-off stimulus cheques ...

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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...

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Negotiation Tactics in a ‘Sellers’ Market – Part One

It’s an understatement to say that the residential property market is ‘hot’, as values in almost all major locations are up on this time last year. Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are leading the charge, as supply is outstripped by demand from a growing population. In real estate terms, we are currently in a sellers market, whereby in most loc...

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