Nerang Real Estate

The past 12 to 18 months for our economy and that of the world has been unlike any we have seen for a generation.  It is probably understandable then that the property market is not is also not following the well worn path of previous years.

Traditionally Spring and the early Summer months provide an abundance of listings and new stock.  Stock levels normally peak either side of the Christmas holidays and then slowly dwindle down to the middle of winter before rising again, but this year is a little different.  New listings are still coming on the market, just not at the rate they normally do at this time of the year.

Nerang First National monitors the stock levels of all property for sale in the district, irrespective of what agent it is listed with. This provides us significant market intelligence and allows us to analyse the whole market, not just what we see as the highest selling agent in the district. Every week we take a snapshot of how many properties are on the market for sale and how many are marked as under contract. Read the rest of this entry »

According to the recently released First National 2009 Property Outlook Mid Year Update, the Queensland property market should be well positioned for the earlier than predicted Australian property market recovery.

Queensland property prices are expected to enjoy moderate growth in the short term, fuelled by a burgeoning population.

Prices were predicted to bottom out by the end of the year, and the state’s economy is expected to contract slightly over the next 12 months, making prices vulnerable.

But the expectations are that prices won’t collapse, due mainly to ongoing strong population growth, the highest in Australia last year.

Housing approvals are at a rate of around 21,000 per year, compared to an underlying requirement of 42,000 – so pent up demand will build rapidly this year.

This current sustained population growth, coupled with a very solid economy, ensures the state’s residential property market is likely to continue to perform well.

The Australian property market is already well and truly on the road to recovery, with a new property cycle expected to commence by the end of the year.

Record levels of housing affordability, coupled with a continuing shortage of supply across every state will continue to support the market in the coming years.

Housing prices are set to rise, rental yields are forecast for continued improvement and the government is investing heavily in major infrastructure and property projects.

All this augers well for the market, ensuring it will thrive as we start to recover from the global financial crisis.

But the bargains that are there at the moment won’t be there forever with the market already showing strong signs it is ready for the beginning of a new cycle, which may see housing affordability reduced.

As the nation recovers and the property market strengthens, there are a number of factors to watch.

At some stage in the near future, higher interest rates will be a factor, as the nation begins to pay back some of the money it has borrowed in its efforts to sustain itself through the global financial crisis, and subsequent recovery.

This is the beginning of a new cycle in the Australian property market, and while supply and demand will put a floor under the property market in the short term, particularly during its recovery, relative affordability may well rear its head again and become the fundamental issue it has been in the not too distant past.

With many First National agents reporting strong auction clearance rates since the beginning of the year, I am confident the middle tier market is beginning to move, and that investors are beginning to venture back into the market.

For the first time in 17 years, property punters can enjoy high growth and strong yields, something that is not easy to come by in this day and age.

Conditions are such that you can get properties that are going to provide good growth over the long term and give you cash flow in the short term that in the recent past, you would never have expected.

The astute investor and buyer will then seek to lock in interest rates to manage outgoings as the economy picks up and the property cycle begins its next phase.

To grab a copy of the report you can download it from our website at www.nfn.com.au or read the report online here

Last week we released market activity statistics in the form of a motion graph on three Gold Coast Suburbs which were Nerang, Carrara and Highland Park.

We have now updated the graph to include another 8 suburbs including Worongary, Advancetown,  Clagiraba, Gilston,  Guanaba, Lower Beechmont, Maudsland and Mount Nathan. To view the graph with all suburbs click here

As the utegate saga takes over Australian politics it seems that all of the politicians have forgotten the state of the Australian economy. The possible reality of a recession is still very real.

Nerang First National operates three seperate email newsletters, “Investor News“, “The Latest Property News” and “The Nerang First National Property Bulletin” with a combined audience of over 5700 recipients.

We recently included a survey with the latest versions of each edition asking the simple question: Do You Think We Will Go Into a Recession?

Survey Results for "Do you think we will go into a recession?"

The results show 47% believes it’s too close to call and remain sitting on the fence, unsure of what is happening with the future of our economy.

Even though 12% of respondents believe that we will definitely avoid a recession the real surprise came when only 41% of respondents believe that a recession is definitely on the cards.

Forty-once percent certainly appears a lot at first glance, but remember it still represents 59% who don’t believe that a recession is a certainty. When you consider that the majority of economists only 4 weeks ago thought a recession was a “Fait accompli” and our newspapers were full of recession predictions, the change in public opinion is fairly large.

We are certainly not out of the economic woods but have we seen a turnaround of sorts?  The local property market has certainly turned around in the past 6 months, the stockmarket is showing better results and a lot of the retail statistics released have been very promising. So is the confidence returning?

Analysing the real estate market is never easy. Actual sales data takes months to process through solicitors and government databases before its available for real estate agents, jounalists or market commentators to analyse. This is why when you property statistics in the newspaper they are always for earlier in the year.

Nerang First National has for a while now tracked the total number of properties for sale and properties marked “under contract” on the major real estate portals.  Agents are required by law and by the terms and agreements with the portals themselves to have this informaiton accurate. Advertising a property for sale that they do not have an authority on can bring heavy fines and failing to remove properties under contract can see you getting banned from the portals for repeated breaches.

This information is the best indicator of just what is happening in the live in the marketplace. One of the best ways to communicate changing data over time is using a motion graph. The motion graph turns what was once a static graph into an animation as it plays through time so you can see the changes as they happened.

One of the best introductions to Motion Graphs is through Hans Rosling’s statistics presentation to the TED conference.  Hans created the Trendalyzer program which allows pages and pages of data to be easily understood by everybody.  To get a good understanding of how the graphs work check this video out. It will truly blow your mind and show you how the motion graph helps anybody understand complex data.

So using the same type of Motion Graphs we are able to have a look at the local real estate market  for Nerang, Carrara and Highland Park over the past 12 months and some amazing trends stand out. The graph tracks the available property for sale and property under contract in the suburbs of Nerang, Carrara and Highland Park from the beginning of the financial year to now.

Nerang Property Market - Financial Year 2008/2009 Click to Access the Motion Graph

As you watch the graph you will notice the suburb indicators change colour.  This colour is based on the Under Contract rate which is the percentage of properties Under Contract in relation to all properties. In the first 6 months you will notice a lot of properties on the market but very few under contract which results in low conversion rates  that is indicated by a blue or green colouring.

The second half of the year is a different story as the number of properties for sale drops rapidly around February and the number of properties under contract skyrocket.  This improves the conversion factor and turns the icons orange and red.

There is certainly different activity levels through different price ranges and property types, but if you are thinking about selling or are on the market at the moment and somebody is telling you how tough the market, maybe they are living in the past.

Contact the sales team at Nerang First National on 07 55960055

The global financial crisis is putting pressure on everyone to watch their finances like never before.  Property sellers are not exempt and so it’s not surprising the some sellers consider selling their home privately.

Any property owner is free to sell their home through a private sale as they always have.  There seems to be an endless supply of websites that pop up promising to save you thousands of dollars in commission if you list your home with them, but is it really that simple?

When buyers or sellers are surveyed about the reasons why they would attempt to buy or sell a home without the assistance of a Real Estate Agent, their answers are always the same; “to save the commission.” Regardless of the prevailing market conditions or sales trends the response remains the same but this decision can be wrought with pitfalls.

A real estate agent provides a professional service far more detailed and advanced that a private seller can undertake. But it is really a case of can a private seller provide an acceptable level of service to themselves?

When you engage the services of a professional painter to paint your whole house you know you are going to get an exceptional job but an alternative to consider is painting the house yourself. For many there is no decision because they have never painted a room before, let alone a whole house. For those few with some experience they understand the result will probably be inferior to that of a professional, but the investment in time weighted of against saving some dollars may make the exercise worthwhile. 

Read the rest of this entry »

The question on top of many home owners minds right now is how how the  property market is going to be effected in 2009. The good news for everyone, at least on a local level is that the market is off to a fantastic start.

Nerang First National sales have really taken off with a touch under  $4.5 million dollars worth of residential sales made in just the past 7 days.  January is normally very active and as the districts highest selling agency we always expected a good result but these results are even above our expectations.  

Many commentators suggested that the only sectors that would be active is those targetted by first home buyers given the governments recent first home buyers bonus scheme and the recent reduction in stamp duty for first home buyers in Queensland.   The reality is a far different story with all sectors recording significant sales. 

Read the rest of this entry »

First Home Buyers Rush Into the Market

2008 will be remembered for a lot of things but one of them was the issue of housing affordability in Australia. Earlier in the year it dominated the news and the federal government even created a Housing Affordability Fund and significantly expand the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

With increasing interest rates and rising home prices the concept of home ownership was getting  out of reach of more and more people.  Over the past year the number of 18 to 29 years oldswith a home loan fell from 7.9% to just 5.1% which represents a reduction of 35% in 10 years. 

But like many other things in the world, so much has changed in the past few months. The global economic crisis that swept the world in recent months has certainly changed the landscape for first home buyers, particularly Generation Y which is the current 18 to 29 years olds.

From September this year Queensland first home buyers buying a home valued up to $500,000 do not have to pay stamp duty.  This represents a saving of $8,750 that you previously would have had to pay for transfer duty. Read the rest of this entry »

The REIQ’s latest news release reveals that although the median price  for sales during the past quarter has dropped this has primarily been because of a drop in sales of “high-end” properties.

In fact over 80% of the sales throughout the state were for properties under $800,000. It should also be noted that these statistics are prior to the Governments First Home Owner Boost and recent interest rate drops. Read the rest of this entry »