Posts by Cate Bakos

“Off-market” is a popular way for buyers to purchase property right now. We’re in hot, seller’s market and buyers are feeling disadvantaged by the market conditions. So many buyers assume that the ‘secret sauce’ to buying well is to target off-market opportunities. Little do they know that only a small proportion of off-market sales are…

We often hear about strata title; it’s the mainstream variant of ownership when we consider a property in a block of other properties. Typically these types of properties are apartments, townhouses and villa units. The owner of a strata property will own the specifically bounded property and an equal (and undivided share) of the common…

This is a common question, particularly in a heated, seller’s market. I’ve heard so many ‘rule of thumb’ ideas, and some of them are concerning at best, and costly at worst. Some prospective buyers apply +15% stretch, assuming that either all agencies are underquoting, or all competitive bidding is driving the price to this arbitrary…

We are often asked about capital growth by prospective investors and clients. Nobody can accurately pinpoint exactly how a property’s future performance will track, but thorough regression analysis can give us some insight into the impact of certain variables when it comes to tracking past performance. For example, location, or dwelling type. What we do…

We get this question often. Prospective property investors typically focus on the amount of funding that that they may have at their fingertips, closely followed by the number of properties that they could buy. So many make the incorrect assumption that more properties in their portfolio equate to greater wealth. The reality is; every property…

Yesterday was a two-auction day for us, and while neither auction went our way, both were intriguing to participate in. Each showcased a remarkable example of social impact theory. The first auction was that of a four bedroom, triple fronted brick 1960’s house in Sunshine West. The area is well represented by many of these…

One serious burden that buyers face when shopping for a property is the expense of the due diligence. From legal reviews to building inspectors, the costs can really rack up. So many buyers lament the “money going down the drain” when the auction sale result flies past their budget. We often hear stories about buyers…

So often, we find that buyers have been searching the listings and attending the open for inspections, only to find that the properties they thought were in their grasp are flying past their budget. Some blame the agents. Others blame underquoting. The reality that in most cases in the early weeks of their searching, they…

We talk a lot about comparable sales analysis, but unlike shares, no two properties are identical. Even similar apartments in a tower have slightly different vistas, elevations or orientations. It is absolutely essential to conduct a thorough analysis of recently sold, comparable properties before submitting a bid or an offer, but how do we determine…

When it comes to strata subdivisions, Owners Corporation activity and courtyards challenge many buyers. Strata is ill-understood by many, and even agents can get confused by the concept. Strata developments vary, and some may exhibit shared land, while others can offer a title without any element of shared land. When land is shared, however, a…