Posts by Cate Bakos

Yesterday’s auction in Brunswick was not a regular auction at all. A charming and well-kept Californian Bungalow dripping in gorgeous ornate timber fretwork inside went under the hammer yesterday. Sadly we didn’t get the keys, but the meaning behind the sale was very special. The couple who had lovingly owned the house had a strong…

Auction quoting regimes is always a hot topic, but it raises its ugly head in the media when market conditions get tough for buyers. In the last month, more than a few journalists have asked for comment about under-quoting, and whether it’s rife. The short answer is, yes, it is happening, and it is rife,…

Only ten months’ following our last credit-inspired downturn, COVID-19 struck our shores and tipped cold water on a reasonably vibrant market. Unsurprisingly, the lockdowns, immediate panic about job losses and the state of the economy, and news out of Europe rattled many a buyer. Many of our searches were placed on hold. One of the…

Yesterday was a tough day for buyers in many cities, not just Melbourne. Our preliminary auction clearance rate sat at 90% as at 7pm Saturday; a sure sign that many hearts were broken. By any measure this is a stellar auction clearance rate and indicates a wildly heated market. Historically, Melbourne’s auction clearance rate has…

Every buyer out there knows it’s a tough Seller’s market right now. The ratio of buyers per property is much higher than the historical average, and in the popular, established locales it isn’t a shock to see more than ten bidders making a play for a property at auction. The problem with high competition in…

I was reflecting on a few of my recent and memorable prospect meetings yesterday while I drove down to Geelong. I started thinking about the key things that so many investors get wrong, and when I categorised the conscious-decision based mistakes, I recognised five clear variants. That is, five critical errors that investors consciously decide…

Once upon a time, a median house in Ballarat delivered around a five per cent gross rental yield. In fact, prior to 2010 rental yields even eclipsed this figure. Ballarat has been a popular location for investors for many reasons but of late, it hasn’t been investors that are driving this market. Interestingly, gross rental…

A fortnight ago, a good friend of mine contacted me in a moment of upset. Twenty-four hours prior, his daughter and her husband had found a property they loved. They’d liaised with the agent, formulated the right offer and they’d documented their offer on a contract of sale. The agent contacted the vendor, (who verbally…

This time, it’s not just Melbourne and Sydney that are experiencing heady growth. In fact, many more regions than capital cities have been outperforming typical market growth rates, and even in the face of COVID-19 lockdown headwinds, our markets have surprised many of our economists. House price growth in a large portion of our national…