Posts by Cate Bakos

When the property market heats up, buyers often find themselves in a tough spot. Stock levels drop, competition surges, and prices start moving upward faster than many people expect. Our current Melbourne market feels like this right now, particularly in the sub-$950,000 segment of the market. The ‘affordable’ markets have been strengthening at pace since…

It’s a question I hear every single week: “Cate, should I make a pre-auction offer?” The motivation is usually clear. A buyer has found a home they’ve fallen for, and the thought of losing it under the hammer is unbearable. On the surface, a pre-auction offer seems like the smart, proactive move. It takes the…

Melbourne’s reported capital growth data has consistently shown our city experiencing modest gains since the start of 2025. The monthly median dwelling value growth has hovered between 0.2% and 0.7%, with strength in the middle quartile of the market, including both houses and units. In the first half of the year, auctions felt more competitive,…

Yesterday, after my last auction, I wandered around Arden station. Metro released some earlybird tickets for the train-enthusiasts among us, and I took the opportunity to inspect the new underground station in the quiet streets of North Melbourne, between bustling Errol Street and the Macaulay Road bridge. While the enormity of the concourse and the…

Geelong’s growth has been documented and discussed in the media throughout the years. This city by the bay has been featured countless times for its capital growth surges, particularly during COVID. The reality is that the inner suburbs of Geelong have done better than the occasional surge. Locations such as Newtown, Geelong West, Rippleside, South…

A week ago I presented to a great team of wealth experts in Melbourne. I was asked to present on alternative options to typical, Melbourne blue-chip areas. I decided to conduct some analysis and past sales history charting to illustrate why some Victorian regions are worth running a ruler over. The budget is a popular…

Spring in Melbourne has always represented the highest energy, and the highest transaction numbers in real estate. Football season behind us, blossoming gardens and warmer days seem to bring both buyers and sellers out of hibernation. But this year, there’s a particular buzz building – and it’s not just the bees coming out to enjoy…

I’ve gone on the record many times about the prevalence of off-market properties. Not all off-markets are good options for buyers, and many vendors who turn to off-market aren’t necessarily doing so for the right reasons.  For a lot of Buyers Agents, citing a high percentage of off-market acquisitions is a marketing strategy. Buyers gravitate…

This week in Melbourne, a first homebuyer’s upsetting tail hit the press.  The buyer is documented to have utilised the Victorian Homebuyer Fund (VHF) in order to purchase a home with the help of the shared-equity option that our State Government has on offer. However, it’s important to note that the issue isn’t solely related…

Investor activity has increased markedly over the past two years. The previous peak of property investment activity was during our post-COVID era, when interest rates were reduced to record lows. This Cotality chart below shows the impact of successive interest rate cuts from May 2022. Buyer activity slowed across both investors and owner-occupiers, but once…