Busy, Busy, Busy!

It has been a busy time in the Adelaide Real Estate market in the last month, with more people attending opens with offers on properties and many sales for good prices being achieved.

For Sale, by tender, offers closing is the preferred method of sale in most circumstances with the auction market flat and not doing justice to some of the beautiful homes who have chosen this sale option.

The latest available Real Estate figures show clearance rates for auctions last weekend in Adelaide was 48%.

House approvals for October fell sharply to be 7.6% down when pundits had expected only a slight drop of 1.6%. A reflection, I think, of consumer confidence which is still pretty low out there… not helped when you see an Australia icon like Rosella tomato sauce go into administration. Great today to see the Reserve Bank has lowered interest rates which should stimulate the retail market leading into Christmas.

Enjoy the frenetic race into Christmas with all the fun and catchups involved, but most importantly leave lots of energy and time for the most important part of your life, your family and friends.

Good news if you are wanting to update or extend your home...
With demand cooling, the big price jump experienced in building costs in the early 2000's has plateaued or only increased slightly.
More good news, Adelaide is one of the cheapest places in Australia in terms of building. A full brick quality home in Adelaide of 150-350sqm costs $2,080/sqm approx, while in Brisbane, the most expensive to build to this standard is $3,240/sqm. That is a whopping 55% more!

We at JGRE have experienced a huge start to Spring, after a flat but steady Winter. Buyer interest and attendance at opens is up, which is concrete (excuse the pun!) confirmation of a Westpac report stating home buyer sentiment ('When is the time to buy a dwelling') surged by 9.6% in October.

Please join us at our office at 60 Kensington Road, Rose Park for our next Gallery At 60 opening, where we sponsor emerging artists.

Brogan Stanley-Best is an incredibly talented young portrait artist. Come along and commission one for your children or family.

Janice Lane is fresh back from exhibiting in New York, while Mal Wass' striking symbolic paintings on wood and his stunning sculputures would be a standout in any setting.

By popular demand, Todd 'Romy' Romanowycz is joining us again with new works and ideas.

The organisation being supported is Sight For All.

You are invited to the opening on Thursday 25th October 6-8pm.

Appreciating What We Have

“I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains...”.(Dorothea Mackellar)

Living in Australia, and particularly Adelaide is the envy of the global community.

Yet despite our laid back attitude, polls show that we are a country ready to see the glass half empty, and often in the case of the printed media... There is no water in there at all!

Yes, real estate prices have flattened, and in some areas, and with some properties, prices have come back. I think we need to note, however, prices of property in SA have enjoyed spectacular rises in the last decade and provided a significant nest egg for those owners.

The flip side is that it has meant home ownership, let alone upgrading, has become an impossible dream for many.

Traditionally, owning your own home has been a goal to which all Australians have aspired. With interest rates steady after significant reductions, there are signs of increased activity and more buyer confidence. Dwelling values across Australia increased in July for the 2nd consecutive month.

If house prices remain flat for a while, so be it.

We live in a city rated the 6th most liveable in the world...BORING??

To quote Mike Smith, CEO ANZ, ‘Boring is the new black and we are happy to be boring’.

Look what is happening elsewhere.

Isn’t it ok to be boring for a while?

With Winter having come to an end it is time to reflect on the previous three months.

According to RP Data, home values in our capital cities rose by 1.6% over the last three months.

Sydney and Melbourne both saw positive results, with an increase in capital growth of 2.4% and 2.5% respectively.

Adelaide and Canberra also saw gains of 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.

Let’s hope Spring brings more positive figures!

Love the terminology which constantly emerges.. The latest... 'Bank Rage'.

More than half of Australians have experienced Bank Rage: Anger or significant frustration towards their financial institution it has been claimed.

Your thoughts...

Exciting times for Adelaide with the development of the Festival Theatre precinct. With our casual lifestyle it is not surprising we have been voted Australia's most liveable city for the 2nd year running.

Interesting to see number of sales transactions to March was 42,000. 3000 less than 27 years ago in 1985. Just trying to source how this compares with the last year, but finding the figures is proving to be a challenge!

Interesting to see that units have been more resilient than houses in the flat market.

Units actually rose 1% in the last month.

The current median selling price of a house over a unit is more than $55,000.

In Sydney and Melbourne, our 2 most expensive cities, it is $148,450 and $94,450 respectively.

Sadly the trees out of the front of our office have received a haircut :( These branches were in danger of dropping onto busy Kensington Road. Thanks to our great tree men, who were so careful and caring, and did not live up their name of Slaughter :)

It's Not All Doom & Gloom

Look on the bright side.. 89% increase in Australian capital city prices over the last 10 years to March this year. This keeps in perspective the 4.5% fall in Australian capital city prices in the year ending March 2012

Rental Property Owners - News Update

The SA Real Estate Insitute is lobbying SA Water to make a change to our current system of charging out water rates. At the moment, the account remains in the owners name, and they are responsible for payment of all accounts. The tenant then reimburses the landlord for their portion of water used according to the lease agreement. In the eastern states the water account is changed into the tenants name, as is done with gas and electricity supplies. Bringing SA in line would simplify it for all concerned.

Some Web Fast Facts - Goodbye Print

5.06 million Australians were unique browsers on real estate search engines in February. The most searched areas in SA were Norwood, Adelaide, Prospect and Mawson Lakes.

Staying Put and Reducing the Mortgage

House sales nationally have dropped by 37% since 2001.Since about 2005, the average house has cost around 5 times the average capital city household income.

In Adelaide they have dropped by 33%, and in Brisbane it has been a huge 54%!

Prior to 1990 it was consistently around 3 times the average income.

Don't forget... Earth Hour this Saturday 8.30pm - Turn off your lights for an hour.

Good old Sydney started this, and now 135 countries and 1.8 billion people are participating.

Earth Hour is organised by the World Wildlife Fund, and is an initiative aimed at uniting individuals, businesses, and governments to reduce society's impact on our planet.

It is not just about turning off your lights for an hour, Earth Hour is about uniting together to protect the planet. Why not plan something fun, like a candlelit dinner party, or a BBQ with friends and get involved in protecting the planet.

Spotlight On Kensington Park

Ranked best in suburb performance in Adelaide in 2011.

House prices increased by 9.9% with 22 sales to $830,000 median price.

Median house rent was $420.00, while the average age in the suburb was 38 years.

Borrowers Were On Holidays Also

Nationally home lending figures dropped in January 2012 for the first time in 10 months.

They fell 7.1% for established homes, reversing a similar rise in December 2011.

Loans for newly built homes fell by 6%

Thinking Living Costs In Adelaide Are High?

Well you're right... The Economist Intelligence Units Worldwide Cost of Living Survey ranks Adelaide as 17th in the world, after Brussels, London and Wellington.

Adelaide has risen 7 spots since the previous survey.

There are 5 Australian cities in the top 20.

The good news though...

Adelaide and Perth were jointly ranked as the 8th most liveable cities, with Melbourne topping the list, and Sydney at number 6

“The Best Investment I Will Ever Make”, Or Is Renting A Better Option?

Low interest rates, accessible loans, dual income families and no capital gains tax have made owning your own home a ‘must have’ investment in the last 20 years.

Buying a house has been part of a rite of passage, along with leaving home and having children. In the current market of economic uncetainty, and Gen Y’s focus on lifestyle and travel, only 1 in 40 Gen Y’s surveyed expected to own their own home outright when they retired.

For me, it is a goal to which we should all aspire.

Ipac Investment Services recently released figures comparing buying or renting over a 15 year period. They used the following figures. The buyer had a house priced at $530,000 (Australian median house price) with a capital growth rate of 6.5%pa.

For rental, the outlay was $19,240pa with the return on invested savings being 8%pa.

The home owner ended up between $170,000 - $285,000 richer, despite paying almost $280,000 in interest and $150,000 allowance for buying costs and maintenance.

A home is more than a tax free capital gain. A home is where you put your roots, where you belong, and where the growth of your children is marked on the kitchen door. It is a place of family celebrations and where shared time with friends evolves. Where the sapling you planted developes into a tree.

Yes, definately the best investment you will ever make.

- Jock Gilbert, Managing Director

Darwin Tops Sydney

Darwin now has the higest median rental in Australia, at $505 per week, compared to Sydney at $480 per week.

The national average is $411 per week.

Adelaide's median rent has increased to $340 per week.