<html><body>
Exciting times in the real estate market are upon us.
Buyers have entered the market with more confidence, agents are reporting record months, auction clearance rates have increased and talk of real estate is back on the agenda for many.
The biggest shift we are witnessing at the moment is an increase in the volume of buyers inspecting properties and the number of registered bidders.
In February this year we averaged 3.2 buyers registering for each auction and one property (16 Coventry Road, Strathfield) received an astonishing 14 people registering to buy the home.
But buyers are still cautious. They are still looking for value and are not getting carried away with unrealistic seller expectations.
So where do we see all this going? Easter is only weeks away and the run into the Easter period will provide a huge volume of auction activity.
We see this activity continuing to build momentum throughout Autumn and the winter months.
The biggest challenge right now is bringing sellers to the market and getting them to list their home.
It is a great time to be selling with less competition from other properties. Houses up to $1.5 million are still the most in demand.
Auctions are increasing in popularity as a method of sale with vendors recognising the clear advantage of creating a competitive environment and the potential for achieving a premium price.
Damien Cooley is the founder of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Cooley Auctions" href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/">Cooley Auctions</a>.
</body></html>

damiencooley-AaMfa6CzJx

Buyers are entering the market with more confidence: Damien Cooley

<html><body>
I don’t know about the rest of the industry, but here at Cooley Auctions we are pretty pleased that April is behind us. The data to come out of April shows that low volume and a genuine lack of quality properties on the market can have a direct impact on prices, clearance rates and buyer activity. We expected a lot more property to begin coming onto the market after the Easter break, but it seems school holidays and the Anzac Day public holiday has all but written off April as a month that many would like to forget.
The big positive to take out of the last couple of days is the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to lower the cash rate by 50 basis points to 3.75%, effective May 2, 2012. It’s no secret that economic conditions have been weaker than expected and the recent inflation figures released show that it has moderated. While we don’t feel that the RBA’s decision will spur on an immediate market recovery, it is a move in the right direction for borrowers and agents alike. The message for buyers right now is buy immediately because when the market bounces back it will bounce back at a pace that will be difficult to keep up with. Vacancy rates remain strong and interest rates are low. It is an exceptional time to be buying.
Too often we can get caught up in “the market”. The market is what it is and we shouldn’t make excuses based on a slower market. Hunger is the key ingredient in the success of any agent, and hard work, making calls and being proactive should drive your business. Be inspired by the people you look up to. Model the agents who are succeeding and leave the negativity for someone else. The work you are doing today will have a direct reflection on your results this winter and spring.
<ul>
<li>Even Channel 7 News couldn’t resist coming along to this one bedroom apartment in the heart of the Sydney CBD at 282/569-581 George Street Sydney. It sold at auction for $408,000 through Alan Cheung, LJH Chinatown. Auctioneer: Paul Millett</li>
<li>This five-bedroom home held in the same family for over 130 years at 20 Tantallon Avenue, Arncliffe attracted terrific interest and seven registered bidders when it sold well above reserve for $980,000 through George Kambouroglou, Raine &amp; Horne Rockdale. Auctioneer: Andrew Cooley</li>
<li>In front of a huge crowd and Channel 9 News this immaculately presented federation home set on approximately 556 square metres of land at 50 Monash Road, Gladesville, sold at auction for $96,000 above reserve when it sold for $1,076,000 through Matthew Shepherd &amp; Nick Bedford, Belle Property Beecroft. Auctioneer: Nick Cleary </li>
</ul>
Ideally located across the road from Nagle Park and just a short level walk to Pacific Square, this well-presented two-bedroom home at 97 Hannan Street, Maroubra, sold at auction for $810,000 through Cameron Airlie, Ray White Maroubra/South Coogee. Auctioneer: Ricky Briggs
Commercial sector
<ul>
<li>A medical centre moments from Liverpool CBD, hospital and train station with a current net income of approximately $75,700 per annum at 8 Speed Street, Liverpool sold at auction for $860,000 through Miron Solomons, City Commerical Property. Auctioneer: Damien Cooley\</li>
<li>A cracking result was achieved for this funky warehouse at 12 Clevedon Street, Botany. It sold at auction for $1,186,000 through Keegan Ridings &amp; Sam Brewer, Jones Lang LaSalle. Auctioneer: Damien Cooley</li>
<li>A ground-floor shop leased to Pizza Hut and three-bedroom apartment freshly renovated at 232 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, sold in the Cooley Auction Centre Inner West for $1,080,000 through Colin Tseris, R T Golby (Realty).Auctioneer: Ricky Briggs</li>
<li>A prized blue-ribbon estate set over 2.5 acres (1.01 hectares) at 3 Pembury Close Denham Court sold at auction for $1.75 million through Fab Dalfonso, Colliers International. Auctioneer: Bram Page</li>
</ul>
 
Damien Cooley is the founder of <a href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/" title="Cooley Auctions" target="_blank">Cooley Auctions</a>
</body></html>

A slower property market inspires a proactive response: Damien Cooley

<html><body>
With only eight weeks left in 2011 it is imperative to begin planning for the new year because those who are thinking of selling in February/March 2012 are thinking about it now. Many of our top-performing agents have set a goal to book in a minimum of five auctions for February before they go on holidays in December. This is an excellent attitude that will set them up for a terrific start to 2012 with great exposure in the marketplace.
The past few weeks have been a big test for the Sydney residential real estate market, which has held up relatively well. Given Cooley Auctions’ reach in the market place and our diversified client base we get to experience firsthand any confidence shifts in bidding and selling activity. We believe the shift is tightening to what we have already seen. One-off results and out-of-line sales do not determine a moving market. Days on market and clearance rates are a key indicator of market confidence, and we need to build confidence in the Sydney market. Our first interest rate cut since Melbourne Cup Day 2010 is good news for the industry. For the first time this year our clearance rate dropped below 50% for the month and the past three weeks have seen an on-site auction clearance below 50%. We are also seeing properties taking longer to sell and therefore days on market increasing.
So the question we need to ask a seller is how we differentiate their home from others on the market? Professional marketing and the urgency of an auction provides more reach in a marketplace and reduces days on market. Don’t be hard on yourself, be hard on the market. Properties are on the market to be sold. Trust is a key factor in a seller’s decision to accept an agent’s advice and trust is a key factor in the buyer’s decision to bid or sign a contract. So the real question is: do your clients trust you?
Market highlights
Residential sector
<ul>
<li>A two-bedroom semi with potential to extend and renovate (STCA) at 33 Noble Street, Five Dock sold for $890,000 through Shane Howley, Ray White Five Dock. Auctioneer: Charlie Powell </li>
<li>An original single level-home on a sundrenched 570 square metres approximately at 26 Eyre Street, Chifley sold for $900,000 through Cameron Airlie, Ray White Maroubra, South Coogee. Auctioneer: Ricky Briggs</li>
<li>A single-level home set on a generous 790-square-metre block with deck and landscaped pool at 14 Saunders Bay Road, Caringbah South, sold for $930,000 through Vanessa Gilbert and Chris Murray, Greg Gilbert Real Estate. Auctioneer: Andrew Cooley</li>
<li>An ultra-chic sun drenched north facing penthouse at 56/1 Murray Street, Pyrmont sold for $2,105,000 through James Crow, Morton &amp; Morton Real Estate. Auctioneer: Damien Cooley </li>
</ul>
Damien Cooley is the founder of <a target="_blank" title="Cooley Auctions" href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/">Cooley Auctions</a>
 
 
 
</body></html>

You must plan now if you want to sell in early 2012

<html><body>
As we look back on 2011, Property Observer is republishing some of our most noteworthy stories of the year.
Renovating for capital growth in today’s market is extremely tough, to say the least. The vast majority of homes that come onto the market and sell are homes that are being bought to live in. There is an emotional connection between the home and the buyer. In many instances people pay more for unrennovated homes than they do for renovated homes. Many feel they can “do a better job” or “renovate the home to a different taste” or “renovate exactly how they would like the home to present”.
There are other buyers who are time-poor and don’t have the ability to renovate. These buyers will pay a premium for well-finished homes and generally family homes that are to be held for many years.
Poor-quality renovations are punished in this sector with a lack of interest at auctions.
It’s my view that the majority of profit that is made out of a home being renovated and sold is in the buy. Those who buy well will do well. So is it the renovation that makes the money or is it the purchase that makes the money? In my view it’s the purchase. If you pay too much on the way in, it doesn’t matter how good the renovation is, it will be difficult to make money.
Where we do see opportunities in the Sydney market is in buying good apartment buildings. This can be in areas close to Sydney CBD or the likes of Parramatta and surrounds. Personally I think the inner west of Sydney is showing excellent apartment block opportunities, and bought at the right price an investment such as this that has the ability to be improved aesthetically and increase rental growth. We are seeing more investors stepping into the market for this type of asset.
TV shows such as The Block and The Renovators make for great TV. Most Australians can relate to shows such as these because everyone has the spark of renovating in them and real estate plays such an integral role within our lives. What we need to remember though is that renovating is difficult and people expect quality. When a TV show has contestants renovating homes that cut corners or that are not done by professionals and it’s shown on national TV, there are a series of doubts put in any potential buyers’ heads. These renovations are along running to a time restriction. Again this makes for great TV, but does it make for a great result? I don’t believe it does in every case.
Remember that this is not the sole importance for the show. The TV show relies on advertising and ratings. The sale comes in down the list of importance. It’s obviously necessary to “complete the sale”, and the theatre and drama of an auction can make for good TV.
If the Sydney clearance rate is 55% then it’s an excellent result for The Renovators program to sell six out of six, or a 100% clearance. Channel Ten did not want to own six investment properties all throughout Sydney. We had a committed seller. What we saw on The Block 2011 were some good buys. Many felt that the reserve prices were too high. I disagree. The properties that were bought on the night proved to be bought well appose to those that were bought in the days post-auction.
Damien Cooley is the founder of <a href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/" title="Cooley Auctions" target="_blank">Cooley Auctions</a>, whose firm auctioned the properties on The Renovators.
For expert commentary and analysis on lessons to be learnt from property reality TV, <a href="https://register.propertyobserver.com.au/lights-camera-auction/" target="_blank">download our e-book Lights, Camera, Auction!</a>
</body></html>

Renovating not always a road to riches: Renovators auctioneer

<html><body>
Auction bookings are suggesting the volume of properties to traditionally hit the market in September to be auctioned in October are not as strong as we would expect.

Importantly, though, numbers are increasing and will continue to increase sharply over the next few weeks.

In 2010, the weekend following the October long weekend was Cooley Auctions’ first spring super Saturday with 67 auctions booked that day. This year for that same weekend we have 36 bookings to date, although there are still a few days left to book for that same weekend

It seems either the stock is coming later in 2011 or it’s not coming at all. What we’re experiencing now is a steady market where properties trade, great agents shine and agents that overprice properties at the time of listing give themselves an almighty task of selling any time soon. 

The motivation of a seller is critical in deciding what stock to take on.

A client of ours said to me last week that the listing presentation is as much about them interviewing the client as the client interviewing them so they can decide if it’s a fit for both parties.

The mid-to-upper end of our market has been the most affected recently.

Buyers are extremely picky on what properties they make offers on and values, in our experience, are dropping to a minimum of 10% to 15% and in some cases 20% of their previous sale price.

Damien Cooley is the founder of <a href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/" title="Cooley Auctions" target="_blank">Cooley Auctions.</a>
</body></html>

Spring housing stock will either come to market late or not at all

<html><body>
One of the biggest misconceptions about auction is that many agents think that if they auction a property buyers will compete and the property will sell above expectations. One of the great benefits of auction is that you give yourself the opportunity to create a competitive environment, but if you haven’t done the work leading up to the auction then no method of sale will save you.
You need to understand that auction is simply a method of sale. We use auction to reduce the number of days on market, create a competitive environment and gain maximum exposure for the property with a condensed marketing strategy. Essentially this means that by creating urgency around the sale and reducing the days on market we can sell more real estate.
Days on the market here are key. The longer a property sits on the market the more chance it has at selling at a reduced rate.
Valuing real estate can be quite difficult. It is difficult for an agent, but even harder for a vendor/seller. This is particularly the case in a changing market, like what we are in now. Auction removes price as a barrier and invites purchasers to make offers on auction day and the seller can either accept that offer or reject that offer.
Every seller thinks their home is generally worth more than what it really is, myself included. Because we build up an emotional attachment, we feel “it has to be worth ….”. The reality of any real estate transaction is that a property is worth what someone will pay. The role of the agent is one to market a property in such a way that will get buyers to the front door, it is the seller’s role to present the property in such a way that an emotional connection can be built between a purchaser and a property, and auction brings this to a close in a shorter period of time than any other method of sale.
One of the great fears a seller has is “what if it doesn’t sell?”. Simple, we move to the next stage of the selling process with either a price guide or for sale at a price. We now will have a much better gauge on what that price should be if we get to this point.
An owner who doesn’t want to pay for a marketing campaign in the majority of cases is not a motivated seller and one who will come on the market at an inflated fixed price.
It is essential that you choose the right auctioneer to represent your business and your sale. The auctioneer is your brand. The auctioneer represents your interests. The difference between a good auctioneer and a great auctioneer can be a good price or a great price.
This is the data we have put together for the first six months of the year. It is put together from 1,825 residential auctions that we have done from January 1 to June 30, 2011. The figures show us accurately when properties sell post auction.
 Damien Cooley is the founder of <a target="_blank" title="Cooley Auctions" href="https://www.cooleyauctions.com.au/">Cooley Auctions.</a>
</body></html>

Damien Cooley

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News