Teamrw Seaforth / Balgowlah

Over the past few weeks we have seen real estate move from a strong seller’s environment back to a more balanced market place with supply & demand beginning to balance out for the first time in many months.

Following the May interest rate increase (no change in June) we saw the last nine months of bullish market activity move from growth to stabilisation. R&W has continued to record some strong sales over the past month (in particular a new Street record for 17 Yatama Street & a strong result at 17 Sandy Bay Road)  – however the aggression that buyers had displayed so far this year has recently returned to more normal levels & buyers are becoming a little more cautious.

Looking at the most recently released economic data – particularly figures on auction clearance rates, home loan approvals show that a change in the market began in April however there was no real noticeable effect on our area until May. As active buyers will have picked up, attendance to open homes has dropped in recent weeks over the general market place, however we are still enjoying a strong response to the apartment market.

Taking a peak at Sydney wide figures, in the last year, Sydney house prices have grown at three times the historical annual average. Sale figures achieved in 2010 have been as strong as we have seen since the peaks of the market in 2003 & 2007. Current price levels seem to be stabilising rather than racing forward as they have been. We are likely to see a trend come back into the market of buyers upgrading, rather than renovating in our local area and with a currently limited supply of property this will ensure values & demand remains positive.

Indications from the Reserve Bank are suggesting that interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time. Some economist’s suggesting that the next movement we may see is a slight decrease while we move through the uncertainty in Europe and the repercussions of the reaction to Rudd’s super profits tax.

From a local vendor or purchasers’ point of view – what remains more important is that you achieve the right property move for you. Those that purposely try to time their transactions tend to fail. By acting at the same time you benefit from the relativity of the market & by waiting for prices to change up or down is likely to cost you the opportunity of securing your perfect home!

We look forward to seeing you at our opens and auction this weekend! Click Here for our inspection times.

Best Wishes,

The Team at Richardson & Wrench Seaforth Balgowlah.

To keep an eye on this week’s reported Seaforth real estate, Clontarf real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Balgowlah Heights real estate and North Balgowlah real estate Click Here*

*Sales are as reported by Australian Property monitors on 4/06/2010

4.06.10

Tags: auction clearance rates, Australian Property monitors, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Balgowlah Heights real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Clontarf, Clontarf real estate, interest rate, North Balgowlah, North Balgowlah real estate, R&W, real estate, Rudd, Seaforth, Seaforth real estate, super profits tax  •  

Posted in Real News

Last week Google made the announcement that they are about to build & test a broadband network in a number of locations in America to achieve speeds of 1Gb / second or 10 times faster than the Rudd government plan. Google stated “Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone. Here are some specific things that we have in mind:

• Next generation apps: We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it’s creating new bandwidth-intensive “killer apps” and services, or other uses we can’t yet imagine.
• New deployment techniques: We’ll test new ways to build fiber networks, and to help inform and support deployments elsewhere, we’ll share key lessons learned with the world.
• Openness and choice: We’ll operate an “open access” network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we’ll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way.”

Continuing on this theme in our own backyard, on Tuesday The Australian featured an article ‘Broadband network will be $43bn white elephant’

“THE present federal budget describes the Rudd government’s $43 billion national broadband network as the single largest building infrastructure project in Australian history.

But it could end up as one of Australia’s biggest and costliest infrastructure debacles. And that’s saying something when you look at the financial disaster that has engulfed the home insulation program and the amount of taxpayers’ money wasted on the mismanagement of the primary school building revolution.

What has emerged from these multi-billion-dollar spending splurges is an absence of good governance. Political rhetoric and spin have taken precedence over economic common sense.

The NBN is no exception. It is just that the financial cost of failure is so much higher. The project’s operating body, NBN Co, is flying by the seat of its pants on a mission from Kevin Rudd to deliver a national high-speed fibre-optic broadband network at the cutting-edge of world standards.”

Although aiming to be cutting edge, the significant investment if it goes ahead to completion may not end up being so cutting edge once implamented. As the article continued “one industry expert predicted last night: “Within 10 years at the latest the use of 4G wireless services will show that Rudd’s decision to extend the broadband rollout from the node into the home was just plain stupid.” ”

Moving past the cost & how it’s achieved, from a real estate marketing point of view – having these internet speeds available will continue the dramatic shift in the way properties are marketed & how consumers search for their next home. With bandwidth that allows Doctors to consult on an operation live in High Definition on the otherside of the world or instantly send huge files of CT’s, MRI’s or X-Ray’s round the world, there certainly would be no more waiting for clunky technology to load a virtual tour or video.

The timeframe is the big question – how long are we going to have to wait till this becomes our reality not just the dream?

One thing is for sure, the team at R&W Seaforth will be embracing the change & moving with the times, after an extensive investment in our new website & a number of changes still the be unveiled, we look forward to assisting you find the right home with the minimum of fuss.

 We look forward to your posts on the blog with any additional thoughts & comments from our readers.

Please feel free to email us if you have any further questions about technology, the market or real estate in general – it would be great to hear from you.

Till we meet again, wishing you all the best in your property search!

The Team at R&W Seaforth/Balgowlah.

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See you at the open for inspections: Click Here for our open times

To keep an eye on this week’s reported Seaforth real estate, Clontarf real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Balgowlah Heights real estate and North Balgowlah real estate Click Here*

*Sales are as reported by Australian Property monitors on 18/03/2010

19.03.10

Tags: Australian Property monitors, Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Balgowlah Heights real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Broadband, broadband network, Clontarf, Clontarf real estate, Google, North Balgowlah, North Balgowlah real estate, R&W, R&W Seaforth, Rudd, Seaforth, Seaforth real estate  •  

Posted in Real News