The Weekly

Housing affordability…too little too late?

Interesting that policies aimed at addressing housing affordability are being released in the major parties final push. Too little, too late perhaps? We’re not the only ones looking at housing affordability. In the UK, the Queen’s Speech (basically, the Government’s agenda) included a proposition by which local authorities require commercial landlords to hold rental auctions…

Taking Stock..!

So…Interest rates. The elephant in the room for recent months. Despite this week’s interest rate rise – 0.25% increase off the all-time low of 0.10% in November 2020, this is the first increase in well over a decade.It feels like a shock for buyers who’ve never seen this before, but rates are still very low…

Song and Dance in Avalon…

Fabulous turnout at the Avalon ANZAC Day services. And the fine drizzle finally ceased as ‘Hallelujah’ was sung, a moving moment. Well done Avalon!One consequence of the strength of the property market over the past 2 years, and of the reopening of borders, with more people turning up from overseas, and expats returning (the increasingly…

Lest We Forget…

Wasn’t the Easter Sunny break fab! Such a relief after all the relentless rain.But let’s go straight to property! We all know that the press do like a story…and for 2 years, that story has largely been the unrelenting rally in prices. That tone changed a couple of months ago in December, when the market…

Talk Fests in Avalon…

So how has your first week of the end of daylight savings gone? Are you loving the early mornings? Or sad to see the end of those long evenings…?It is lovely to have a bit of sunshine peeping through between downfalls!Property prices. Well, I think we flagged our expectations previously. The frenzy is cooling, prices…

Rain Rain Go Away…

Well, that little respite from the rain was a relief. Although the forecasts indicate that it’s not all over yet, so don’t put your raincoats and boots away just yet. And make sure to check that you are insured against floods. Flood mitigation is an issue that we will continue to monitor.There’s still some uncertainty…

Centennial Celebrations…!

With Climate Change very much in the news, and the weather starting to feel like summer, a thought on Solar…It seems clear that a well installed solar system is a winner! The ability to reduce or even remove ever-increasing electricity bills certainly makes sense. Even running ‘free’ air-con seems to be feasible, with the careful…

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL…

The housing rally is by no means just an Australian issue. Globally, the mixed outlook on inflation data is the only thing holding back rising interest rates as post-Covid recovery kicks off. Starting over the Tasman with New Zealand, central banks everywhere are either tightening, or talking about tightening, monetary policy.While it’s still very much…

SHAKE , RATTLE & ROLL

A ‘tremor’ rumbled the East Coast earlier in the week…the usual indicator of anything seismic happening around here – is rock falls on the headlands. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to have registered…Without wanting to jinx it, it does look as if there is some light at the end of this lockdown tunnel. Although there are…

A PLACE TO CALL HOME..

Pre-Covid, there were an estimated million or so Australians living overseas. That would have covered an array of lives, and incomes, from highly paid executives to budget travellers, as well as partners and children. It’s estimated that up to March this year, about 500,000 had returned home to Australia, with many looking for homes. Of…

…ALL FIXED UP!

If you have missed out on yet another purchase recently, you might almost be feeling like things are conspiring – to keep you out of the market. Many potential buyers seem to be expressing this concern to us. As prices remain surprisingly firm, driven by demand, a pandemic driven lifestyle surge, easy credit and low…

HOW TO DO IT…DURING COVID!

We flagged the relative value in apartments over the past months, which was based upon the fact that house prices were sprinting ahead, and yet apartments – a pretty limited commodity, particularly North of Newport, were lagging.Obviously further South (Manly to Mona Vale) where there are many more apartments…whilst there were concerns (last year) about…

Books, Bakers & Baristas..!

Well, another week in lockdown…thank goodness for books, bakeries and baristas…what would we do without them?The RBA is expressing slight concern that the current ‘hot’ market might get out of hand completely, especially if lending criteria loosens.As keen buyers stretch themselves to get into the market, the increase in ‘interest only’ loans – which basically…