Empower Blog Property Value

Secrets of a Negotiator

Whenever we address a group, meet a client or speak on stage, there are two popular questions we are often asked. The first is generally “where should I buy?” Our response to this question is usually long because we give specific and tailored advice to every client; and no client’s property journey is ever the same as another. The secon...

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The Block Post-mortem

I wonder if the same rating success would come from a TV program built on shares as what comes from the success of a show built around renovating a property.  Short answer is no – Why?  Well in very simple terms, people can relate to it because property is a part of their lives, it’s where we grow up, where we have some of our most fond memor...

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Up 33%, Up 24%, Up 28% in the past 12 Months*

In the ‘House’ market, Gardenvale up 33%, Lake Wendouree up 24%, Parkville up 28%, and in the ‘Unit’ market Abbotsford up 14%, Moorabbin up 29%, Notting Hill up 27% in the past 12 months.... is that right? If I’m not mistaken, recently, the lead stories and media commentary within the press and on TV are all talking about property pric...

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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...

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Property Values – Where to from Here?

Avid readers of my commentary will know that I am a buy and hold investor, opting for long term passive income and capital growth. It’s this methodology that suits most of the strategies we design for our clients at Empower Wealth. Furthermore our investment analysis has over-weighting towards incomes as a core growth driver for property value...

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Please Keep Talking Up this ‘Property Bubble’!

This month’s comment is not going to focus too much on the hype surrounding property values and what they are worth today or the next 3 months, you can read my previous comments from other newsletters about how I have been predicting 10% or more correction in values in new housing areas where the majority of the market has mortgages, and also in ...

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PROPERTY BUBBLE? ….Really… Please!

The property doomsayers ‘noise’ has settled a little since interest rates have stopped increasing for now.  However, with price values stabilising or showing decreases in some markets in the early months of 2011, I’m expecting this media ‘noise’ to start getting louder as logic is not going to get in the way of a good story that sells pa...

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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...

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Property Outlook 2010

If there is one thing that people are interested in it’s the value of property. We all enjoy it when the values of our property increases and it certainly makes for good media.  I don’t think there is a day that goes by without those current affair programs or the press talking about property—they love it when it goes up or down, just NOT wh...

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Will House Prices Slow Over the Longer Term?

I read with interest an article relating to a study by the Switzerland Bank for International Settlements, which indicated that house price growth may slow by up to 30% over the next 40 years due to Australia's ageing population.  The study highlighted that demographics factors resulting from the baby boomers pushed up Australian House Prices by...

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You have to Spend Money to Make Money

Let start with a simple question – Can you give me an example of how you have made money without spending any of your own money? Let’s get the obvious answers out of the way first: Inheritance. Good luck to those waiting around lazily to collect someone else’s initial spend to originally make it, not to mention the risk they took. St...

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Market Softening a Good Thing

It’s with some relief that I report early signs of a softening in the Melbourne Housing market after a rapid run, where the median house prices grew by as much as 30% in the past 12 months. Increases of such magnitude are unsustainable over an extended period of time, which can lead to bubbles forming and we all know that eventually happens to bu...

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“NETTELS” Grow Property Values

Intrigued by the headline? - What are NETTELS? Well it is the new demographic term used for higher income earners with kids yet no time, as termed in a recent article I read written by Bernard Salt. So what does the abbreviation NETTELS stands for? Not Enough Time to Enjoy Life. They are aged between 30 & 49 years of age and both work full tim...

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