Hi all

Welcome to our first blog!

We look forward to hearing from you all through this medium and will no doubt enjoy sharing our stories of success and achievement with you, as well as explain a little further where the South Australian property market is heading in 2008.

After a hectic and successful finish to 2007 we enjoyed a quiet and relaxing January. Di and I spent 2 weeks absorbed in the amazing culture of Laos - a hidden, untouched country with the most wonderful, spirited people - majority of whom are living in extreme poverty. Through our travels we discovered that the US dropped approximatley 1 tonne of bombs for every man, woman and child living in Laos during the Vietnam War, many of which had not yet exploded. With such devastation and cruelty inflicted on both the people, their country and their livelihood you might expect the Laotians to be anything but warm and kind, however we found them to be charming, welcoming and spectacularly friendly.

Highlights from our trip including travelling down the Mekong in a fishing boat and venturing 6km through a cave river system in the rainforest.

Remember, if you ever visit Laos take some items for the orphanages and the children as many have absolutley nothing.

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On the real estate front we are ready to go for 2008!

Adelaide continues to be the standout performer, with house and unit prices increading by an outstanding 20.2% over the year ending December 2007. Even with such impressive growth, Adelaide prices are still the second lowest of any capital city, with the median dwelling value now at $364,824.

If you are not already in the market, keep a tight budget and get in as soon as you can.

According to Andrew Donnelly, from Braxton Chase Adelaide is likely to show a huge amount of growth in 2008 with history showing a traditional 12 month lag behind the Melbourne market.

Weekend Auction results proved to be outstanding, with this row cottage in the heart of Adelaide acheiving a huge price with lots of competitive bidding. Our Adelaide specialist, Guy Measday should be your first port of call if you are interested in buying or selling in Adelaide. Click here to e-mail Guy.

Again, I look forward to sharing information on the real estate market and the happenings at Jock Gilbert Real Estate on a frequent basis and hearing your thoughts and feedback.

Cheers,