Posts by Cate Bakos

For the last two years, Melbourne’s outer-ring, fringe suburbs have been delivering outperformance capital growth in the house market category. While we have incentivised first home buyers with the broader rollout of the Federal Government’s 5% deposit guarantee, and stamp duty concessions remain in place, there is another reason why these areas have delivered growth.…

I’ve talked extensively about my personal experience in property long before my career in Buyer’s Agency began. I’ve shared plenty of ups, and plenty of downs. Most importantly, I have enjoyed sharing my learnings, because there is a lot of merit in saving someone else the hard lesson, (and the repercussions). I have purchased not…

Earlier this week, I was asked by a client, “Cate, how do you and your team shortlist my properties?” Our client was wondering how there are so many out there, yet we have just provided her a detailed list of only two properties that meet her criteria. Is her search particularly fussy? No, not at…

One of the most common mistakes I see property investors make is assuming that equity equals liquidity. It doesn’t. Just because your portfolio has grown in value doesn’t mean you can access those funds to buy again. Equity is the difference between what a property is worth and what is owed to the bank. On…

For most homebuyers, settlement day feels like an enigma. After the excitement of the purchase, the contract signing and execution, the finance approval and all of the planning for the big day, settlement mysteriously happens behind the scenes. Many buyers ask us whether they need to ‘be’ anywhere on settlement day. But PEXA takes care…

Underquoting has been one of the most corrosive issues in Victoria’s residential property market for well over a decade. It frustrates buyers, erodes trust, and for omany buyers, it has spelled an emotional guessing game. In response to the State Government’s recently proposed legislative changes, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) has released its…

We help our clients find their property, every day, every week, every month. Many come to us after they have been searching for over a year. In fact, some clients we’ve assisted have been searching for over two years. The surprise they experience when we locate them a property that meets all of their requirements,…

Melbourne’s median value property data throughout 2025 consistently showed a modest recovery. The only month to record a negative pace was December, albeit 0.1% for the month. Otherwise, the city’s growth in spite of the headwinds was encouraging. Melbourne’s annualised growth figure, (according to Cotality) was 4.8%. However, median value movement is merely generalised. Segmenting…

I’ve been creating property investment strategies now for over fifteen years. I meet investors from far and wide, and their questions are always abundant. But one key question is missing for so many, and I often have to strip back the layers of motivation to get past what they want to achieve and how they…

Over the past twelve months, many have asked m when the best time to buy would be. My answer was simple. “In 2024”, is what I told them. This years’ recovery for the Victorian market has been modest. Melbourne hasn’t outperformed the capital city markets by any means, but unlike the previous three years, every…