The allure of a Victorian Terrace

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This is a bit of a self-indulgent blog. Victorian Terrace houses are, without a doubt my favourite type of dwelling. They hold a certain mystique because the only visible section of a terrace is typically its slim, unassuming facade, yet behind the (often inspiring) front door is a bustling home that goes on and on.…

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Melbourne’s villa wars

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Villa units have many identities, depending on which state or country you are in. In Melbourne, they are single level units, typically in strata complexes ranging from four to 10 in number, and they usually date back to the 1960-1980 period. They smaller than houses, but bigger than most apartments and they have land on…

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Why we like auctions

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Buyers often say to us “We hate auctions. Can’t we buy it prior?” Sometimes making an offer on a property prior to auction is the appropriate action to take, but only when the following three elements align; The vendor, agent and agent’s legal rep are each prepared to sell the property prior to auction The…

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Why do so many investors stop at one?

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Australians are well known for their affinity towards property. We seem to have an obsession with it, from television shows to investor portals to podcasts. Interestingly, 27% of Australian property is owned by investors by number, and 24% by value. ‘Mum and Dad’ investors make up a huge proportion of property investors and property investors…

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What is a fair competitive stretch?

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Yesterday was a Super-Saturday for Melbourne, officially termed for weekends with more than a thousand auctions. Not only that, but it was our largest auction number so far for 2019. A whopping 1400 auctions were held across our state yesterday. Most of us would have anticipated a slight decline in the auction clearance rate, given…

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Who *are* the buyers?

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2019 has been an unusual year indeed. As stated last week by a auctioneer, it’s been a year of two distinctly different halves. The Federal election augmented our year on May 18th, and along with the surprise result came a surge in positive sentiment, pent-up intent to buy, and stronger capacity to do so with…

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Underquoted? Or did the vendor re-calibrate?

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It is peak auction season in Melbourne and despite some busy auction schedules for agency offices, we still have a relative undersupply of property for sale. When we overlay this with increased buyer sentiment, (ie. returning investors, cashed up baby-boomers, motivated first home buyers and upgraders), we still have a market imbalance. Our auction clearance…

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How does street scape rank?

As Buyer’s Advocates, we carry a two-part criterion checklist with us every time we assess a property. Our list incorporates “must-haves” and “nice to haves”, and we constantly balance the art and the science that is required to grade a property. Elements like train station proximity, access to the city/airport/schools, walking distance to cafes/shops are…

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One of my earlier property mistakes

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Back in 1999, I bought my second property. It was no means my eventual dream home, in fact it was quite disgusting. We paid $97,000 for it, which at the time was an exciting achievement. It was the only remaining house on a generous block of land within 600m to the beach and near to…

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Why a home that has been loved and lived in can be a great investment

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We help clients buy residential property with all kinds of histories; from down-sizers selling family homes to subdivided lots, from renovated period houses to rugged blank canvases. There is one particular category of home that ensures any challenges and teething problems are minimised, and that is a home that has been loved and lived in.…

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