Dethridge Groves Real Estate
Fremantle's Preferred Agent Since 1979
Welcome To DGRE
With over 45 years of service to the greater Fremantle community, Dethridge Groves Real Estate is your local expert in real estate sales and property management. Three-time REIWA award-winners in marketing and communications, dgre has an expert team of real estate selling agents and property managers, led by former REIWA President Hayden Groves. dgre is your preferred, trusted real estate partner, having sold and managed more homes in and around Fremantle than any other agency. Contact us today for your free market appraisal, property management services, market analysis and general real estate advice from the community’s leading agency.
Properties we think you'll love
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2 Bed
2 Bath
1 Car
Your Team
Principal & Director
General Manager / Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Sales Executive
Business Development Manager
Leasing Manager
Sales Associate & Buyer Manager to Michael Harries
Property Manager
Property Manager
Residential & Commercial Property Manager
Inspections Manager
Client Communications Coordinator
Marketing Manager
Executive Assistant to Hayden Groves
Marketing Manager
Latest News
Sep 10, 2024
Politics of Housing
This week, the Greens proposed a new housing policy that would introduce a national watchdog with the power to prosecute property owners who breach proposed new tenancy laws. Rent control remains high on the Greens’ political agenda who want penalties imposed for landlords who put rents up by more than two percent over two years, or who lease properties with undersized kitchens or bathrooms. The Greens also want a two-year rent freeze, tenants to have a presumed right for five-year leases and prohibit landlords from not renewing leases should they wish to sell. In further landlord-hating parlance, the Greens would fine landlords up to $15,650 and their agents $78,250 for breaches of their new suite of tenancy laws overseen by their new tenancy watchdog. Greens housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather reckons “landlords never do basic repairs” and that tenants are “powerless in their own home.” This is just garbage and from a bloke who took to the stage last week defending the unscrupulous actions of some leaders of the CFMEU. This latest ‘thought-bubble’ housing policy from the federal Greens has zero credibility, is designed to shock the electorate, drive division between tenants and landlords and fails the pub test – even in Fitzroy street Last time I looked, it is the private investor market that supplies 9 in 10 rental homes in the nation. It seems obvious that if you disincentivise private investors (with things like rent cap / freezes) investors will stop providing enough houses for renters. This leads to shorter supply (investors will sell) which pushes rents even higher. Yet, somehow, the Greens and have missed this fundamental economic point. Other Greens’ policies such as calling for changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts seek to demolish the current rental housing system, causing a rental crisis far worse than currently experienced. The Greens say they want solutions to address the rental crisis ‘right now’. Well, you don’t and simply can’t solve it by turning on the very people that supply the houses; you can’t magic more housing supply out of thin air if all your policies are designed to whack investors. To get more supply in the market immediately, you could start with stamp duty reform. Imagine offering a stamp duty rebate for investors that offered property at a below-market rent that guaranteed a certain reasonable return with fixed moderate annual rent increases. Investors would buy and re-supply the market. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is on the record as a supporter of reforming stamp duty; that unfair tax that stifles economic growth and impacts affordability. Everyone from the Henry Tax Review through to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) agree with what real estate agents have always known; that stamp duty is a significant barrier to property ownership and rental affordability and is a transaction-killing tax that should be reformed. There is no avoiding that the only way to address rental affordability is by increasing supply and unhelpful policies that seek to diminish supply rather than incentivise it is counter-intuitive madness....
Sep 5, 2024
We Need Investors
The latest inflation figures released this week reveals some softening in consumer spending on fuel, discretionary items and electricity. The treasurer labelled inflation ‘sticky’ – code for ‘still too high’ at 3.5% for the twelve months to July. Rents are up 7% contributing to keeping inflation above the target band of 2-3%. Perth’s rents have stabilised over the past two months with median house rent at $650 per week, supply has crept up from last year and median days on market are beginning to rise. For context, four years ago, house rents were $370 per week The primary reason rents have risen so sharply is due to lack of adequate supply whilst demand -through increased population – has rapidly increased. Governments have very successfully shifted the blame for today’s housing affordability challenges away from their own housing policy failures and instead pointed the finger at property investors and the real estate agents that represent them. Politicians have very effectively shifted the narrative away from supporting private property investment to supply homes to the market whilst simultaneously blaming investors for spiralling rents and house prices. This is a remarkable achievement. Like it or not, unsophisticated private investors – ordinary Australians – supply 27 percent of all homes in the nation to tenants. Government supply about 3 percent as social housing. It is fact that across Australia, 9 out of 10 rented homes are provided by private investors. Yet, in this time of greatest need, with supply of rental homes at severe lows, there are few housing policies that seeks to encourage the investor cohort into supplying more homes. Instead, governments shun the idea of stamp duty reform, land taxes continue to rise and tenancy laws continue to swing in favour or tenants. Negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts are insufficient incentives to encourage enough investors to buy. Appealing tax settings and returns in superannuation funds, commercial property and syndicated funds offer ‘mum and dad’ investors an alternative to direct residential property investment. Prior to 2014, the volume of investors buying residential homes to add to the rental pool, ran at a higher rate than those selling rented homes. Talk of changes to negative gearing tax laws from the then opposition, along with broader market factors, began to see this trend reverse. Nowadays, there are more rental homes nationally being sold than purchased. In Victoria, thanks to rising land taxes and changes to tenancy laws, for every three tenanted properties sold, only one remains in the rental market. In WA, there are now 1,000 fewer tenancy bonds being held today by the Bond Administrator than in 2019. When investors are inactive in the market, it falls to government to provide the housing; something they have failed to do. Put simply, governments – supported by the media and tenancy advocates – have been busily whacking investors, whilst simultaneously failing to provide enough rental housing for Australians as the only alternative to the private investor market. And, somehow, they’ve so far been able to get away with it. ...
Aug 27, 2024
How to Buy in a Tough Market
This week, REIWA reported a paltry 3,359 properties listed on reiwa.com, stubbornly low comparative to the decade average and down from 8,117 this time two years ago. Dig a little deeper and of the 3,359 listings, 429 of them are blocks of land and 914 are units, making it particularly tough to find an appropriate family home from just 2,016 homes across Perth. With supply so constrained whilst demand continues to rise, prices inevitable increase impacting affordability and making buyer conditions especially difficult. No doubt, it is a sellers’ market with these conditions likely to prevail until we can get more supply into the market. Real Estate agents’ buyer data bases are bursting at the seams, but because we act for the seller, agents will encourage their clients to expose their property to the widest possible market to achieve the highest price possible through competition. no point thinking you can snag a bargain That means a marketing campaign designed to attract as many buyers as possible, leading to dozens of groups through the home and multiple offers made. If buying by private treaty, most agents won’t declare an asking price for fear of adding a ceiling price to the process that could prove below market sentiment – a definite ‘no-no’ when discharging your fiduciary responsibility. This adds to the buyer challenge when competing, fearful of paying too much but not wanting to pay significantly more than the next best offer. So, what can buyers do to try and get an advantage in such a competitive environment? Firstly, buyers need to be well prepared. Have your finance (if needed) pre-approved and up to date, be clear on your preferred settlement date and research your preferred buying areas to gage likely market values for homes suited to your budget and needs. There is no point thinking you can snag a bargain in this market so if the likely market price is $1,000,000, don’t think you can buy it for $950,000. Secondly, sign up to email alerts on the major portals and when finding something that looks promising, call the agent don’t just email them. Build rapport with the agent; if they like you, they’ll be more inclined to want to help. Thirdly, get to the first home open early and if you can, try and get an inspection prior. Fourth, don’t be disheartened if attending a very busy home open thinking ‘you won’t get this one’ because there will be others thinking the same thing. It is not uncommon to have dozens of buyers through a property, plenty of interest, yet no offers. This ‘group-think’ mentality can work to your advantage if you’re aware of it. Finally, when making your offer, put forward your best offer early in the negotiation, remove unnecessary conditions and propose a generous deposit. In this market, buyers will get very little chance to negotiate hard if competing with others....
Aug 20, 2024
When Density Works
According to reiwa.com, there are only 2,427 properties currently available for rent throughout metropolitan Perth. Thankfully, this number has crept up of late but remains a far cry from the 12,000 homes offered in late 2018. Perth’s expanding population coupled with paltry market conditions over the 2010-2020 decade has led to this abrupt shortening of supply. It’s evident we need more homes built to soak up the demand and increasing density is part of the solution in delivering more housing stock in areas people want to live, work and play. Easier said than done as cost of construction for projects that deliver density has dramatically increased to the point where many projects don’t ‘stack up’ and developers won’t take on projects unless there’s a return on investment. Density is good. Fremantle has seen some terrific infill projects complete in recent times; LIV Apartments, Little Lane, Heirloom, Montreal Commons, to name a few. The demand for these projects has been solid, mostly for owner-occupiers and some investors adding much needed rental stock to Fremantle’s dwindling supply. Higher density re-development opportunities exist across areas within the City of Fremantle such as “Neighbourhood Centre”, although to-date these have been largely underutilized. Other areas have been zoned “Development” with overarching structure plans in place designed to manage future land use. The Knutsford Street industrial area, the eastern end of the city and the Davis Park precinct are key examples. In past years, the City of Fremantle suffered a reputation of not supporting infill developments within its boundaries. The creation of Joint Development Assessment Panels for large projects has helped deliver some quality developments that may otherwise not got out of the ground. Density helps the affordability of housing via the delivery of additional supply, providing more people the opportunity to own their own home. Occasionally, higher density development is proposed in areas unsuitable for the built environment around it. The current aged-care facility planned at Woodside Hospital in East Fremantle is one such example. A proposed R80 scheme in a R15 housing precinct will deliver a poor outcome for existing residents. Thankfully, developers get it right most of the time. They understand the need to provide a quality product and positive lived experience for residents to build their reputation. The East end entry to Fremantle is ripe for excellent four to five storey development enabling a vibrant blend for commerce and residing. And what of the upper levels of shops in the inner city that largely lay vacant? Density is good. It is necessary and we ought to envisage more ways in which the community can interact with and live deep within our historic built environment. Let us preserve and restore and where necessary, be bold enough to sweep some of it away for something better. Note: The author lives in Dalgety Street, impacted by the pending development of Woodside. ...
Sep 10, 2024
Politics of Housing
This week, the Greens proposed a new housing policy that would introduce a national watchdog with the power to prosecute property owners who breach proposed new tenancy laws. Rent control remains high on the Greens’ political agenda who want penalties imposed for landlords who put rents up by more than two percent over two years, or who lease properties with undersized kitchens or bathrooms. The Greens also want a two-year rent freeze, tenants to have a presumed right for five-year leases and prohibit landlords from not renewing leases should they wish to sell. In further landlord-hating parlance, the Greens would fine landlords up to $15,650 and their agents $78,250 for breaches of their new suite of tenancy laws overseen by their new tenancy watchdog. Greens housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather reckons “landlords never do basic repairs” and that tenants are “powerless in their own home.” This is just garbage and from a bloke who took to the stage last week defending the unscrupulous actions of some leaders of the CFMEU. This latest ‘thought-bubble’ housing policy from the federal Greens has zero credibility, is designed to shock the electorate, drive division between tenants and landlords and fails the pub test – even in Fitzroy street Last time I looked, it is the private investor market that supplies 9 in 10 rental homes in the nation. It seems obvious that if you disincentivise private investors (with things like rent cap / freezes) investors will stop providing enough houses for renters. This leads to shorter supply (investors will sell) which pushes rents even higher. Yet, somehow, the Greens and have missed this fundamental economic point. Other Greens’ policies such as calling for changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts seek to demolish the current rental housing system, causing a rental crisis far worse than currently experienced. The Greens say they want solutions to address the rental crisis ‘right now’. Well, you don’t and simply can’t solve it by turning on the very people that supply the houses; you can’t magic more housing supply out of thin air if all your policies are designed to whack investors. To get more supply in the market immediately, you could start with stamp duty reform. Imagine offering a stamp duty rebate for investors that offered property at a below-market rent that guaranteed a certain reasonable return with fixed moderate annual rent increases. Investors would buy and re-supply the market. Treasurer Jim Chalmers is on the record as a supporter of reforming stamp duty; that unfair tax that stifles economic growth and impacts affordability. Everyone from the Henry Tax Review through to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) agree with what real estate agents have always known; that stamp duty is a significant barrier to property ownership and rental affordability and is a transaction-killing tax that should be reformed. There is no avoiding that the only way to address rental affordability is by increasing supply and unhelpful policies that seek to diminish supply rather than incentivise it is counter-intuitive madness....
Sep 5, 2024
We Need Investors
The latest inflation figures released this week reveals some softening in consumer spending on fuel, discretionary items and electricity. The treasurer labelled inflation ‘sticky’ – code for ‘still too high’ at 3.5% for the twelve months to July. Rents are up 7% contributing to keeping inflation above the target band of 2-3%. Perth’s rents have stabilised over the past two months with median house rent at $650 per week, supply has crept up from last year and median days on market are beginning to rise. For context, four years ago, house rents were $370 per week The primary reason rents have risen so sharply is due to lack of adequate supply whilst demand -through increased population – has rapidly increased. Governments have very successfully shifted the blame for today’s housing affordability challenges away from their own housing policy failures and instead pointed the finger at property investors and the real estate agents that represent them. Politicians have very effectively shifted the narrative away from supporting private property investment to supply homes to the market whilst simultaneously blaming investors for spiralling rents and house prices. This is a remarkable achievement. Like it or not, unsophisticated private investors – ordinary Australians – supply 27 percent of all homes in the nation to tenants. Government supply about 3 percent as social housing. It is fact that across Australia, 9 out of 10 rented homes are provided by private investors. Yet, in this time of greatest need, with supply of rental homes at severe lows, there are few housing policies that seeks to encourage the investor cohort into supplying more homes. Instead, governments shun the idea of stamp duty reform, land taxes continue to rise and tenancy laws continue to swing in favour or tenants. Negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts are insufficient incentives to encourage enough investors to buy. Appealing tax settings and returns in superannuation funds, commercial property and syndicated funds offer ‘mum and dad’ investors an alternative to direct residential property investment. Prior to 2014, the volume of investors buying residential homes to add to the rental pool, ran at a higher rate than those selling rented homes. Talk of changes to negative gearing tax laws from the then opposition, along with broader market factors, began to see this trend reverse. Nowadays, there are more rental homes nationally being sold than purchased. In Victoria, thanks to rising land taxes and changes to tenancy laws, for every three tenanted properties sold, only one remains in the rental market. In WA, there are now 1,000 fewer tenancy bonds being held today by the Bond Administrator than in 2019. When investors are inactive in the market, it falls to government to provide the housing; something they have failed to do. Put simply, governments – supported by the media and tenancy advocates – have been busily whacking investors, whilst simultaneously failing to provide enough rental housing for Australians as the only alternative to the private investor market. And, somehow, they’ve so far been able to get away with it. ...
Aug 27, 2024
How to Buy in a Tough Market
This week, REIWA reported a paltry 3,359 properties listed on reiwa.com, stubbornly low comparative to the decade average and down from 8,117 this time two years ago. Dig a little deeper and of the 3,359 listings, 429 of them are blocks of land and 914 are units, making it particularly tough to find an appropriate family home from just 2,016 homes across Perth. With supply so constrained whilst demand continues to rise, prices inevitable increase impacting affordability and making buyer conditions especially difficult. No doubt, it is a sellers’ market with these conditions likely to prevail until we can get more supply into the market. Real Estate agents’ buyer data bases are bursting at the seams, but because we act for the seller, agents will encourage their clients to expose their property to the widest possible market to achieve the highest price possible through competition. no point thinking you can snag a bargain That means a marketing campaign designed to attract as many buyers as possible, leading to dozens of groups through the home and multiple offers made. If buying by private treaty, most agents won’t declare an asking price for fear of adding a ceiling price to the process that could prove below market sentiment – a definite ‘no-no’ when discharging your fiduciary responsibility. This adds to the buyer challenge when competing, fearful of paying too much but not wanting to pay significantly more than the next best offer. So, what can buyers do to try and get an advantage in such a competitive environment? Firstly, buyers need to be well prepared. Have your finance (if needed) pre-approved and up to date, be clear on your preferred settlement date and research your preferred buying areas to gage likely market values for homes suited to your budget and needs. There is no point thinking you can snag a bargain in this market so if the likely market price is $1,000,000, don’t think you can buy it for $950,000. Secondly, sign up to email alerts on the major portals and when finding something that looks promising, call the agent don’t just email them. Build rapport with the agent; if they like you, they’ll be more inclined to want to help. Thirdly, get to the first home open early and if you can, try and get an inspection prior. Fourth, don’t be disheartened if attending a very busy home open thinking ‘you won’t get this one’ because there will be others thinking the same thing. It is not uncommon to have dozens of buyers through a property, plenty of interest, yet no offers. This ‘group-think’ mentality can work to your advantage if you’re aware of it. Finally, when making your offer, put forward your best offer early in the negotiation, remove unnecessary conditions and propose a generous deposit. In this market, buyers will get very little chance to negotiate hard if competing with others....
Aug 20, 2024
When Density Works
According to reiwa.com, there are only 2,427 properties currently available for rent throughout metropolitan Perth. Thankfully, this number has crept up of late but remains a far cry from the 12,000 homes offered in late 2018. Perth’s expanding population coupled with paltry market conditions over the 2010-2020 decade has led to this abrupt shortening of supply. It’s evident we need more homes built to soak up the demand and increasing density is part of the solution in delivering more housing stock in areas people want to live, work and play. Easier said than done as cost of construction for projects that deliver density has dramatically increased to the point where many projects don’t ‘stack up’ and developers won’t take on projects unless there’s a return on investment. Density is good. Fremantle has seen some terrific infill projects complete in recent times; LIV Apartments, Little Lane, Heirloom, Montreal Commons, to name a few. The demand for these projects has been solid, mostly for owner-occupiers and some investors adding much needed rental stock to Fremantle’s dwindling supply. Higher density re-development opportunities exist across areas within the City of Fremantle such as “Neighbourhood Centre”, although to-date these have been largely underutilized. Other areas have been zoned “Development” with overarching structure plans in place designed to manage future land use. The Knutsford Street industrial area, the eastern end of the city and the Davis Park precinct are key examples. In past years, the City of Fremantle suffered a reputation of not supporting infill developments within its boundaries. The creation of Joint Development Assessment Panels for large projects has helped deliver some quality developments that may otherwise not got out of the ground. Density helps the affordability of housing via the delivery of additional supply, providing more people the opportunity to own their own home. Occasionally, higher density development is proposed in areas unsuitable for the built environment around it. The current aged-care facility planned at Woodside Hospital in East Fremantle is one such example. A proposed R80 scheme in a R15 housing precinct will deliver a poor outcome for existing residents. Thankfully, developers get it right most of the time. They understand the need to provide a quality product and positive lived experience for residents to build their reputation. The East end entry to Fremantle is ripe for excellent four to five storey development enabling a vibrant blend for commerce and residing. And what of the upper levels of shops in the inner city that largely lay vacant? Density is good. It is necessary and we ought to envisage more ways in which the community can interact with and live deep within our historic built environment. Let us preserve and restore and where necessary, be bold enough to sweep some of it away for something better. Note: The author lives in Dalgety Street, impacted by the pending development of Woodside. ...
