Tips for Selling Real Estate - Choosing and Agent

Are you thinking of Selling before winter?

Who can believe how quickly this year has started? One minute it feels like everyone is going on their merry way for Christmas, and the next we’re already into the final week of January – with only one month left of summer!

If you are thinking of selling your home before the winter months are upon us, I would suggest that now is an ideal time to start the process.  You will need to appoint an agent to represent you, choose a method of sale, allow time to arrange advertising and editorial and last but not least the preparation of your property itself... there is much to be done before most of you will be ready to go to market.

The first step is obviously to appoint a sales agent with which to list your property. My Tips for Selling Property video below may assist you with choosing the best agent to represent you.  

In choosing the best agent for your circumstances, don't simply choose someone with whom you feel comfortable, they also need to be honest with you regarding price expectations to allow you to make informed decisions. But probably the most important aspect to look for in an agent is their Negotiation ability. Remember, you are employing an agent to get you the best possible price.

It is also not uncommon for many properties to require a bit of a ‘sprucing up’ so to speak before being officially offered to the market.  It is entirely up to you to decide the quantity of funds that will be dedicated to the endeavour; however a general rule is that you should follow the rules of a cost-benefit analysis. My Tips for Selling Property video below may also give you some tips on how to present your home for sale.

It is often the case that extensive renovations are unnecessary as many people like to move into a new property and integrate their own touch and preferences.  You could find that you spend a large amount on repainting and reflooring, etc, only to have new owners move in and start again.  

With this in mind, many properties will benefit immensely from just a coat of fresh paint and a decluttering of all personal items.  When painting, light colours are often best as they can help to create a sense of spaciousness and light – often improving the appeal of the property to prospective buyers.  

Although the steps to prepare a property for sale will differ from dwelling to dwelling, with an agent in place and slight visual changes complete, many properties will now be ready to take to market.  

For more information or if you have any questions about selling or buying please do not hesitate to contact me. Even if you are not in my area of expertise I am more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Market Update - 28 January 2012

Market Update - 16 January 2012

2012 Residential Property Market

Happy New Year and welcome to 2012!

I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas and New Year period. Even for those who didn’t manage to take some extended time off, I hope you were able to celebrate with family and friends.

2012 is now officially underway and I am gearing up for what is sure to be an exciting year for the Australian residential property market. I know that for many people the start of the year sees decisions made about whether to purchase or sell a property; for those with real estate plans for the year - I hope 2012 allows you to achieve your property goals.

So what does 2012 have in store for the property market? Firstly, I think it is fair to say that 2011 concluded with a bang as the Reserve Bank of Australia moved to reduce interest rates in both November and December, giving many buyers a bit more comfort surrounding the prospect of buying a property. Thanks to this we have also seen a great start to 2012 with a number of sales already being achieved and a few more in the making. There also there seems to be more genuine buyers looking to get into the market.

Will rates continue to come down? Many pundits certainly seem to think this will be the case, particularly if the situation in Europe is not resolved definitively. While movement cannot be guaranteed and conditions can change, I would continue to watch this space, particularly as the Reserve Bank meets in February to review the official cash rate.

Even if rates do not come down again, the two consecutive cuts in 2011 seem to have opened the door for many buyers.

I suspect that along with owner occupiers, investors will also be taking advantage of reduced interest rates in at least the first half of 2012, with many engaging in portfolio building property acquisitions. With a tight rental market across the country and rental rates rising, now could be a prime time to purchase your planned investment property.

There has also been some positive press and if the experts’ predictions are correct 2012 will be a much better year than 2011 for residential real estate, particularly in Sydney.

Also for this year I will be posting weekly/fortnightly market update videos. I will try and keep them to around one minute and these to simply keep everyone up to date with the ever changing property market. Subscribe to either my Blog, my Youtube channel, or to Facebook to receive notification of when the updates are available.

Blog: www.joshuawygoda.com

Youtube: www.youtube.com/c21mosman

Facebook: www.facebook.com/joshuawygoda

All in all, 2012 is looking to be quite a busy period for the Australian housing market, and my team at CENTURY 21 and I look forward to assisting you in achieving your property goals.

Happy New Year!

Final Report for 2011

We are now less than 2 weeks out from closing for the Christmas/New Year break and I am sure many of you have better things to think about than what is happening with the property market. With this is mind I will try to keep my commentary short.

 I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and happy holiday period and a prosperous New Year. Thank you to all those who took the time to read my monthly reports and I hope you found them of some use.

I have noticed a big improvement in buyer sentiment over the past month, particularly following the first interest rate cut. The RBA's decision a couple of weeks ago to cut rates again should further assist both prospective residential property buyers and current mortgage holders in the lead-up to Christmas, particularly now that each of the big four banks (ANZ, CBA, Westpac and NAB) have passed on the rate cut to their customers in full. 

There are some extremely attractive 3 year fixed rate deals at the moment. I have seen some as low as 5.49 per cent. It is also interesting to note that Australia’s largest mortgage broker, AFG, reports an increase in fixed loans from 7.9 per cent in July to 17.2 per cent in November.

Interest rates are an important factor when people are making purchasing decisions but in the property market on the Sydney's lower north shore it is not the only one. There are other issues that have far greater influence. Global issues, such as the European crises are a major concern for many and have a far greater impact than a quarter percent rate cut.

The good news is that the market under $1 million is still strong due to both first home buyer and investor activity. We are still seeing some good sales at the top end as well particularly from overseas buyers. There are also some amazing buying opportunities for properties above $3 million.

I have said this before, for the market gain confidence we don't necessarily need to see a lot of growth in prices but rather a period of stability across the board and an increase in the number of transactions. If what I am hearing is anything to go by there's a good chance this will happen in the first half of 2012.

As I mentioned earlier there are exceptional buying opportunities in the prestige sector above $3 million. If past history is anything to go by top end home values can rise rapidly as soon as economic confidence returns.

RP Data figures suggest the window of opportunity to buy at the bottom of the cycle is closing. Capital city home values recorded their best result in seven months in September, with falling prices slowing to only -0.2 per cent seasonally-adjusted while regional houses rose 0.1 per cent.

First homebuyer activity has surged and now comprises 16.4 per cent of the market, up 27 per cent on June this year and 40 per cent on the same time last year. First homebuyers stand to save almost $18,000 in stamp duty on a $500,000 purchase if they buy before 1 January. There is still time to take advantage of this.

I should probably finish up by saying that we have some exciting properties that will be launched to the market in January next year. If you are looking to buy over the holiday period I am more than happy to discuss with you what I have coming up in the new year and could possibly even organise a  “sneak peak” for you. If you are thinking of selling and would like to discuss your options please feel free contact me.

I am looking forward to putting a few more sales together before Christmas and am extremely excited about what 2012 will bring. Once again, thanks for your continued support and have a great holiday.