Strategy vs Tactics
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Over the past 25 years I have been a keen observer of the behaviour of asset markets and their participants. I have closely watched both the share market and the property market and have seen fortunes made, and plenty lost, in that time. When I look back over that period, a common trait of those…
Great Ocean Report- July 2016
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Our July report is always dedicated to a look back on the performance of the Surfcoast property market for the previous financial year. The 2015/16 financial year saw a very active coastal market buoyed by low interest rates and continued positive sentiment from the metropolitan property markets. So let’s look at the performance of each…
Your attitude is everything
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Over the past 22 years in real estate, I have facilitated hundreds of property transactions and met thousands of people along the way. After a while you become an amateur psychologist and can predict how a person will react when presented with a particular circumstance. As a company we do a lot of training to…
Great time to reassess. Published in the Surf Coast Times
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With the recent interest rate reduction, it is an excellent time to look at your financial situation to make sure you are getting the best deal possible from your lender. This can be as simple as making an appointment with your accountant, financial advisor or bank. The goal is to not only make sure you…
No good news please. Published in the Surf Coast Times
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Noted business columnist Michael Pascoe wrote a brilliant piece in the Sydney Morning Herald last week about how in Australia, bad news sells while good news doesn’t. It was against the background of how well Australia is performing economically against the rest of the world, yet our consumer confidence is very poor. Business confidence is…
Growing and shrinking. Published in the Surf Coast Times
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According to the ABS, the Australian population will hit the 24 million mark in the next few weeks. Although not huge by the size of our land mass, 89% of Australians live in an urbanised environment making Australia one of the most urbanised countries in the world. There are obvious reasons for this. Cities have…
Silver linings. Published in the Surf Coast Times
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In life, stuff happens. It just does. Most of it is out of our control. But it still happens. What is important is how we react and how we bounce. This is both in actions and in attitude. Most businesses work in a competitive playing field and the industry we work in is highly competitive.…
Lessons from 2015 – Published in the Surf Coast Times
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As we get older we are supposed to get wiser, so in theory, we should be smarter at the close of 2015 than when it started. Although it feels like it only started 6 months ago rather than 12, a lot has happened in that time. Businesswise it has been exciting, but I admit at…
Great Ocean Report April 2016
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Great Ocean Report April 2016 It’s hard to believe that we are into April already but the upside is that we are getting a good handle on how 2016 is likely to play out, and so far it is looking quite favourable. In fact, mainstream media is struggling to hold our attention on the economic…
Great Ocean Report February 2016
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This is our first report for 2016 and is a good opportunity to report on what we have been witnessing over Summer, and also to try and do some crystal ball gazing as to what we can expect to see unfold this calendar year. Obviously the major event that dominated our mindset, and those visiting…
Great Ocean Report November 2015
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Summer is almost upon us and it has been a busy spring for the coastal markets. Stock levels remain tight and we believe that this will be one of the drivers that should facilitate a buoyant summer market. However it will, in our opinion, be a less obvious driver that will have an impact in…
Sell or buy first
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A common dilemma when you are trading your home for another is whether you sell first then buy, or if you buy first, then sell. The answer is quite clear…it depends! Which I know is not clear but it really comes down to how saleable your property is. This is determined by your price point…
Pricing methods
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When you come to sell your property you will be presented with several different pricing methods by different agents. A small number will suggest not putting a price on the property. Their thinking is that if there is no price then the buyers have to ring and enquire. The agent can then get there details.…
A buyers journey
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It is really helpful, whether you are buying or selling, to understand the journey a buyer goes through when purchasing real estate. There are two distinct phases. There is the emotional attachment stage and the justification stage. The emotional attachment stage is all about finding the property they like. They start looking in the area that…
Great Ocean Report September 2015
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It is always interesting to watch the psychology of property market participants when there is a high level of volatility in the share market. In our modern media age, we are constantly barraged with headlines and those who are active in any investment market often find it difficult to find the right way forward, given…
Surf Coast Times Column. The principal or the interest? 20.08.15
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With this week’s column, if your eyes glaze over after the second paragraph I certainly won’t be offended. It’s about whether you should have a principal and interest loan or an interest only loan. I know..yawn. However if you are fortunate enough have a prime residence (your home) and an investment property and happen to…
Surf Coast Times Column. Time on market 06.08.15
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I wrote an article some months ago about timing the market. In a real estate sense that often means buying at the right time, selling at the right time and sometimes often both. When it comes to the selling part of this equation, what will affect your end result more than correctly timing the market…
Great Ocean Report July 2015
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Each year we use our Great Ocean Report in July to look at the performance of the Surfcoast property market for the previous financial year. We have witnessed a very active market, resulting in low stock levels of property for sale as we write. There is obviously a seasonal element to this, being in the…