Posts by Cate Bakos
Ardeer.. a surprise little suburb
Ardeer is a little suburb just 14km from Melbourne’s CBD, sitting on a geographical spread of just 2.1 square kms. Ardeer offers rail amenity, access to freeways, and most surprisingly, has a median house price value of $677,000. Ardeer’s history dates back to the 1950’s, and this era of construction is visible throughout Ardeer’s streets…
Read MoreAre you getting the right rent?
In this rapidly evolving economic climate its easy for investors to find themselves being short-sold. We know that increasing interest rates can’t simply be passed on to the tenant. Rent movement is purely driven by supply and demand, however our current climate is aligned with rental increases, and for good reason beyond interest rate movements.…
Read MoreIs off-street parking important?
Finding a property in the city’s inner-ring with off-street parking can be challenging, but is street-parking a sensible compromise? We field this question often, particularly when we’re working with clients in the inner-ring suburbs. The problem is; our gentrified inner-city allotments were subdivided as worker’s cottage sites back in the late 1880’s when working-class folks…
Read MoreAuctions are back!
Despite the auction clearance rates being relatively moderate, segmenting our market tells a different story. Auction clearance rates are firm for inner suburbs and while it may still be too early to tell, 2023 does have a different buzz about it…. a more competitive one. Reports overnight support this feeling for our Melbourne inner-suburbs market.…
Read MoreNo contract review? No purchase.
This saying holds us in good stead when supporting buyers to purchase property. There is much that we can spot in a contract, but a qualified legal professional will often identify things that could preclude the purchase being a sound one. We’ve written about the importance of contract reviews before, but there are some compelling…
Read MoreWe’re not feeling what the media are reporting
The title may sound surprising, but this isn’t the first time our coal face has felt quite different to what’s being reported. Sometimes data is lagged and the pace of change isn’t yet showing in the data, but this time is a little bit different. Our supply and demand ratio is lower than past months,…
Read MoreOur three quirkiest auctions
This fun retrospective recalls three of the quirkiest auctions I’ve experienced in my career in real estate
Read MoreHow much should you tell the agent?
There is a fine line between telling a selling agent too much information and providing enough information to optimise your property search success. So, how much is too much? And how do buyers often get it wrong?
Read MoreMelbourne city apartment outperformance
This week’s #catesunday blog explores the underlying and growing demand for a dwelling type that has historically underperformed.
Read MoreOur *unusual* year that was 2022
There is no doubt about it… .2022 has been one of the most unusual years we’ve experienced in a long time, and that’s saying something since the craziness of 2020 and 2021. However, five key things have enabled me to categorise 2022 as one of our most unusual. As we head into 2023, there is…
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