Last-minute rush for first-time buyers

REAL estate agents are expecting a flood of first-time buyers inspecting properties at the weekend.

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Australia’s most valuable suburbs named

A REPORT identifies the top 24 suburbs likely to provide the strongest value for home buyers.

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Raid finds 37 tenants in one house

A COUNCIL raid on a south Brisbane student house has found 37 people living there.

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Hidden Secrets: The Corporate Alleyways

On a recent trip to Melbourne I found myself, yet again, past dark sidling up a seemingly deserted alley way. I was in search of “La la land” a bar.

You might already know that seemingly all the very groovy bars in Melbourne are hidden in laneways more befitting a morose mugging than a civilised cocktail. It’s part of the culture and thankfully I have my Bar Secrets Melbourne cards so that I can try a new one each time I’m there.

I have to lurk in a laneway in Melbourne to manifest my mohito, but did you know in the corporate world you’ll also have to do some covert skulking?

The corporate alleyway you might have to lurk in could be:

• Knowing the right after work drinks place to network with your target demographic.

• Knowing which receptionist to turn on the charm with to get your messages delivered on time.

• Knowing what bottle of wine is the client’s favourite to ensure their repeat business.

• Knowing that promotions at your office get decided by a select few at a monthly luncheon.

There’s secret “laneway-like” world in almost every workplace and every industry. How many corporate secrets do you know? Too bad there isn’t a card that can help you out with that one. But you could try:

• Finding out where the most successful person in your industry has their after work drinks (you could even, shock horror, offer to buy them a drink).

• Charming all the receptionists at your work place (being nice to the front face of your business always pays off in the long run, they are your tie to the rest of the world).

• Ask your best client’s assistant or partner what their favourite drop is so that next time you get them a gift you know it’s spot on the money.

• Find that person who got the promotion you wanted and take them out to lunch to try and unearth their secrets (a good mohito helps with this too).

Good luck in uncovering the hidden laneways of your industry and workplace.

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What comes next?

As we edge closer towards the end of 2009 I think we may have seen the worst, but I don’t think that means everything is coming up roses.

The market is moving into a new phase which also means a whole new set of challenges.

Stock levels are plummeting. To date, new listings have dropped by 40 per cent. This is of major concern because together with other pending economic factors, such as looming interest rate rises, affordability will be the next challenge. It is likely that prices are going to be inflated by this shortage of stock and some potential buyers will again be squeezed out. This will also make it harder for real estate agents as the competition for new listings becomes tighter.

People will also start to find it difficult to borrow, banks have already started to tighten their lending criteria in preparation for interest rate rises. The cost and availability of money will be a big factor and it is likely to impact negatively on the participation of investors and developers, the two groups we really need to be more active at this time because they are part of the solution to Australia’s significant housing shortage.

We are also going to see the end of the First Home Owners boost at the end of this month and while first home buyer participation has already eased, it is still likely it will have some impact.

It will be interesting to see how these fundamentals come to play over the next few months. But there is no need for negativity or panic, there is just a real need to be prepared.

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Inside Alex Popov’s Home

One of the most interesting assignments for me is when I get the opportunity to sell homes of great designers and architects. I’ve been fortunate over the years to sell a good number of these and it’s not only great that you get to see cool homes, but you also get to know them well as a person (this is the greatest payoff in real estate for me by far).
It’s helped me improve my understanding of architecture and see inside the minds of some of the country’s top designers, which has also helped my business.
We’re just about to start selling the home of one of Australia’s greatest architects, Alex Popov. I met Alex about a year ago when we started working on a development in Randwick together. I didn’t know what to expect before I met Alex but I’ve found him to be very generous, warm and engaging.
We’re selling Alex and Alison’s terrace which, as you can imagine, is very cool and only a few minutes from the city on the edge of a huge park. They’re moving to a custom-designed penthouse within Trio Apartments in Camperdown.

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Local Property Investors Miss Out on Capital Growth Opportunities

Local property investors are missing out on maximum capital growth and returns opportunities due to a lack of proper research prior to purchase, according to CEO of Harcourts NSW, Walter Nanni.

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