NEWS ARCHIVE
May in Review
During May, the Reserve Bank delivered its first interest rate increase in 18 months. The 0.25 percent increase was delivered slightly earlier than anticipated by many market forecasters who felt an increase would not arrive until later in the year. The Reserve Bank also published figures in May which showed that Sydney house prices fell 1.1 percent on average in the March quarter. This confirms that Sydney’s median home value has now fallen from $570,000 to $516,000, representing a decrease...
April in Review
Property experts are proclaiming a resurgent Sydney market on the back of higher sales turnover figures across NSW, and we have certainly reported an increase in both buyer activity and sales turnover in early 2006. However, there are a few key indicators suggesting some uncertainty will remain for the next 18 months. New housing and renovation activity is predicted to continue slowing throughout 2006, as reported by the nation’s peak industry body, the Housing Industry Association (HIA). ...
Rental Market Report – April 06
As expected, the rental market has continued to contract, with few rental properties available and vacancy rates within our portfolio dropping to less than one percent, with the average for the Inner West currently below two percent. The immediate effects of the tightening of the rental market have been increased numbers at open homes and increased application rates for each available property. Quality properties have continued to take advantage of this shortage with modest increases in rents du...
Pete's Pulpit - Smoke Detectors
NSW Government legislation for the compulsory installation of smoke detectors in residential properties comes into effect on 1st May 2006. By now most of you have responded to previous notices of this requirement and advised our office of your instructions for the installation of the detectors. Thank you to those who have responded. The legislation makes the installation and maintenance of these detectors the property owner’s responsibility, and we suggest the installation of either the hard ...
Rental Market Report – March 06
Recent media attention on the stronger rental market supports our own recent experiences of higher demand and increasing pressure on rents to rise. Current vacancy rate data* shows that the average residential vacancy rate for Sydney fell from 3.2 percent in 2004 to 2.6 percent in 2005. The Inner West vacancy rate was a low 2.3 percent as at December 2005. So far in 2006, conditions indicate that the tightening of the rental market will soon show figures at or just below two percent for the p...
Pete's Pulpit
Our Property Management staff conducted a survey of the methods used by prospective tenants to source information on rental accommodation. Conducted over three consecutive Saturdays (the week’s busiest leasing day), we surveyed 219 groups. Of these, 135 (61 percent) used the internet, the Sydney Morning Herald accounted for 59 responses (27 percent), and the remaining 25 parties (11 percent) sourced their information from our office by way of our rental list, window display, signboard or call in...
March in Review
It’s interesting that major property research groups seem to be fixated on Auction Clearance Rates and how they reflect on the state of the market. In reality, auctions comprise only a small percentage of all sales in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. It may be fair to say that some of the larger publications thrive on bubbly auction stories, promoting the whole auction process. Generally, auction campaigns involve a substantial marketing spend – anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 – much of whic...
Pete's Pulpit February 2006
Enclosed with this months statements, we sent a request for current contact details for all our property management clients. If you believe that the information we have on file may be out of date, please complete the form and return it to our office by post, fax or email. Alternatively, please call our office and speak to your Property Manager to supply your information. Our ability to communicate with you, particularly in an emergency, is essential to enable us to act on your instructions. ...
Rental Market Report – February 2006
High demand for rental accommodation has continued into February, with results in the last few weeks showing that it’s not uncommon to receive several applications on a single property in the first week of marketing. These great results allow for an emphasis on tenant selection, which maximises the chance of a successful tenancy. Correct pricing of your property remains critical as prospective tenants have a great deal of resources at their disposal which allow them to accurately compare prices ...
February in Review
Activity has definitely returned to the property market, with buyer enquiries running at similarly high levels to those of the property peak of 2003. New property listings are gathering momentum and plenty of positive feedback is being received from the market. The Commonwealth Bank issued an economic insight in February this year entitled ‘First homebuyers are back’ – a bold statement which was backed up by the following Commonwealth Bank figures: • Both the number and value of new hous...