Blog

Buckle up for a real estate tale that’s got it all — killer purchasing strategies, a bit of elbow grease, and a house that went from 'meh' to 'cha-ching'! We're going to spill the beans on one of our awesome clients who turned a property into an investment goldmine, with a whopping 17% growth over just three years of ownership. They did it all with just a few nifty tweaks and a solid property foundation.

The key factor to this success story was buying a house that had the goods from the start. North facing living and outdoor entertaining areas, solid brick construction, free flowing floor plan and renovations that still made sense, all sitting pretty on a decent-sized block in a sought after area. These are the fundamentals that we focus on that help ensure the property is going to perform no matter the market conditions.

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If you're itching to give your home a fresh new look without breaking the bank, but also adding overall value to the property, you're in the right place! 

Let's talk about four easy and budget-friendly ways to 'glow up' your home

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We are officially on a sleigh ride towards Christmas and even though we’ve still technically got just over 7 weeks until the big day…. In the real estate world, if you’re not ready to take photos by the second week of November, you’ve officially missed the boat for an auction campaign. 

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about whether or not to push your sale through this side of the new year, or wait until the dust has settled and everyone’s back from school holidays next year… we thought we cover a few pros and cons of both. 

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Property is considered a stable vehicle to build wealth and has long been viewed as a milestone of financial success. Tenure can be linked closely to profitability, as holding property for longer periods of time means you generally avoid the risks of market volatility over shorter time frames. 

Tenure measures the number of years that a property is owned before being resold. In Melbourne, the current average house tenure is nine years, eight years for apartment owners. If we localise that figure further into individual suburbs, the average can be as short as 7 years and as high as 13 years in some areas.  

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Victoria will become the first state in Australia to tax short-stay accommodation such as Airbnbs. From 2025, a 7.5 per cent levy on short-stay accommodation revenue will be introduced.

According to Dan, in Victoria, there are more than 36,000 short-stay accommodation places – with almost half of these in regional Victoria. More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes. 

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Buyers often feel starved for choice when it comes to property supply, certainly at the moment with low stock levels across Melbourne, they’re not entirely wrong…

However, there may be quality options right in front of them that they have overlooked. This is a common buyer response for a few reasons, all of which are largely psychological rather than fundamental reasons not to buy a property.

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Melbournians love to throw this word around! Anything that sells over the top end of the quoted range is often considered to have been ‘underquoted’.. But it’s not quite the right use for the term. 

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Picking the market is a game as old as time… Selling at the peak and buying at the bottom, the holy grail of transacting real estate! It's something we’ve seen buyers and sellers aim to do since we started in the industry close to 15 years ago.. And we’re sorry to tell you, but it's next to impossible to get it right everytime! Unfortunately, both buyer and seller confidence is still largely guided by the media and whatever story they’re spinning that week. Record low stock levels. Influx of distressed sales on the horizon. Interest rates set to rise again and again. Interest rates set to stabilise then level out. Recession. No recession. Mortgage cliff. No mortgage cliff….

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This is an important question to explore before you purchase a property. It will help steer you in the right direction of what to buy and where. It's a question we work through with our clients at the start of any search. Answering what you are looking to buy and why will help you get your scope right, from the start. 

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And how can it affect a property campaign? 

When a property is taken to market, it is advertised with a quote range. The quote range is there to guide buyer expectation on the value of the property. Agents will use recently sold property, or ‘comparable sales’, to support their quote ranges. 

More often than not, we hear of ‘underquoting’ which is where agents pitch the quote range well below market value. This often generates strong buyer attendance and interest through the campaign and results in a competitive auction where multiple bidders will fight it out, well over the advertised range. 

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If you’ve ever had a conversation with us about property you’d know we prefer to buy old over new. There are obvious exceptions to this, but more often than not, we recommend buying existing property. This includes period homes and older style property that was ideally built or renovated 7+ years ago, we generally steer clear of off the plan property and any brand new builds.

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So you’ve found the property of your dreams. Congrats! But that's only half of it. Now you need to dot your i’s, cross your t’s and make sure you have done your due diligence.

To ensure your investment is going to be as safe as… houses!

There are many important points to cover when running due diligence on a property pre purchase, all of which we go through in detail with our clients of course.

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There are various pros and cons to buying property pre-auction, it's not for the faint-hearted... Submitting an acceptable offer pre-auction can turn what was going to be a very transparent process (public auction) into a messy and stressful situation, fast!

Whether or not submitting an offer pre-auction is going to be the best way to ensure you buy the property completely depends on the circumstances. You need to ask a few questions before you take the leap of faith.

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Selling off-market refers to a sales strategy where a property is sold without being publicly advertised. Instead, the sale is handled discreetly and marketed only to a select group of potential buyers. There are several reasons why vendors choose to sell off-market, including:

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Why is it important to understand ownership titles?

Understanding the different types of ownership titles for apartments is crucial because it determines the extent of your ownership rights and responsibilities. Each type of ownership title comes with its own set of rules, regulations, and costs that can significantly affect the value and maintenance of your property.

It can also impact your ability to sell or transfer ownership of the property, as some types of ownership titles are easier to sell than others. Therefore, it is essential to have a good understanding of the ownership title of your apartment before making a purchase.

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Naturally, we think everyone should use us… We level the playing field and ensure the average buyer doesn’t land themselves against a professional negotiator with decades of experience. 

But who actually uses a buyers advocate? Here’s a snapshot of the people who use us and why:

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The white picket fence has definitely seen some changes in the last decade, and we’re here for it. Changes to the material used, the design, the height, the functionality and also the look and feel of the mailbox and house numbers.

Why is this important? It can keep some of our most prized possessions from wandering off (children and pets!), it can act as a privacy screen and security measure, and it also enhances the aesthetics of the facade of the house and front garden landscaping.

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What is multigenerational living? 

It’s where at least two generations of adults are living in one property, which is commonly seen when ageing parents move in with adult offspring.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provided new data to the ABC on households containing three generations. It showed a small increase in three generational living arrangements over recent years, from 275,000 in 2016 to 335,000 in 2021.

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We are the first to spruik the ugly duckling with good bones and a view to add value through renovations down the track. There are many reasons for this, you can do the work to your personal taste and ensure you’re spending a dollar to make 3 just to name a few. 

However these conversations always come with a few caveats, some are depicted in this gorgeous Rockley Road apartment… Which we must confess still sold well, despite the laundry being in the walk in robe!!!

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Asbestos…. feels like a scary word… particularly for those who are filled with flashbacks of ads with people on breathing apparatus showing the negative effects of asbestos exposure. Unfortunately, it was a common building material until around the mid 80s, so the likelihood of it having been used to build the house you are renting or looking to buy is very high. 

At the time, it was seen as a miracle product – it was fireproof, water proof, and had excellent insulating properties, making it a popular choice for certain building components. 

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