Articles
- Show all categories
- Uncategorized
- Buying
- Fremantle Real Estate
- Hayden Groves
- Investment
- Real Estate
- Property Prices
- Selling
- Property Management
- Housing Crisis
- REIA
- Renting
- Renting
- Auction
- Community Reinvest
- In The Community
Sep 13, 2023
Pricing Your Property Right
Fremantle’s property market continues its positive trajectory with short supply and solid demand. This current imbalance is keeping up property values as buyers continue to compete for the limited homes available in the area. Although interest rates have stabilised and inflationary pressures have tempered some of the FOMO enthusiasm, the limited buying opportunities have buyers competing for homes. The short supply means agents are desperate for listing stock and, unfortunately, one response to this market is for agents to offer ‘happy prices’ to would-be sellers, the aim being to secure the listing and hope the market catches up during their period of authority. Additionally, emotional attachment often leads homeowners to believe their property is worth more than a market consensus of a fair price. Opinion of market value for a property is largely a subjective exercise; various agents will have differing views of market price, and friends, lovers, and others have their own opinions as does the property owner. take in professional advice from a local REIWA agent Sellers who have committed to another property at a higher-than-hoped price will also be pressured to sell their own home for more than the market will bear. The result can be price expectations that well exceed market reality. In truth, the value of a property is not determined until a buyer is found, negotiations finalised and the contract for sale is completed. The combination of market information, comparative property sales analysis, demand and supply levels, buyer activity, and property presentation provide an insight into what fair market price might eventuate for a property, but what does the anticipated or listing price have to do with the final market price? In short, plenty. Statistics show that sellers who over-price their property lose money in the end. Sellers that allow their property to languish on the market due to unrealistic price expectations (either derived from themselves or an over-zealous agent) end up fighting against the buyer sentiment of a stale listing; a property that has been on the market for above average periods of time. Such properties are often simply over-priced and buyers will discount them because they think “there must be something wrong with it if no one has bought it.” Sellers that have to discount listing prices to sell will almost always end up selling for less than if they had a realistic market price expectation from the beginning. Sellers are well advised to take in professional advice from a local REIWA agent and form a considered, unemotional opinion of value based on facts, evidence and reputable market data.
Aug 31, 2023
10 Ways to Fix Rental Crisis
Earlier this week, I appeared before a Senate Inquiry on behalf of the real estate industry looking into renters’ rights. It is widely recognised that insufficient supply of housing is the main cause of rising rents. It’s a simply supply and demand equation; low supply plus high demand equals higher rents. Astonishingly, the main supplier of the rental homes - family investors – are ignored by governments and are actively vilified by the Greens. Policies that disincentivise the suppliers of rental homes, such as rent caps or rent freezes, end up diminishing the supply and rents continue to rise. It is baffling that the Greens continue to oppose the Housing Australia Future Fund legislation which aims to supply affordable housing, but reckon imposing a two-year rent freeze (which sees investors sell) would improve long-term rental affordability. Instead of playing politics, the Real Estate Institute of Australia has come up with a ten-point plan to help tenants: Coordinate State and Territory bond agencies to track data on tenancy numbers and tenures. Monitor rental pain points, particularly tenancies not professionally managed. Develop a cohesive national industry-government program of awareness materials for renters. Develop incentives for vacant properties and short stay rentals to bring them back to long-term rentals. Commit to long term stamp duty reform; and offer immediate stamp duty waivers for purchases of rental properties in areas of high need. Commission an immediate occupancy audit across Government owned and funded housing. Develop a feasibility study for re-purposing non-residential real estate into residential housing. Examine options for non-conventional rapid build homes in high areas of economic growth and housing need. Implement the National Cabinet target to build 1.2 million homes by 2030 and have performance mechanisms that hold governments and industry accountable to achieve this. Pass the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill. Meanwhile, you can contribute to the debate by making a submission to the Inquiry. Just search, “Worsening Rental Crisis” and go to the parliamentary page.
Aug 24, 2023
National Cabinet Discuss Potential Rent Freezing
National Cabinet met in Brisbane last week and, despite significant political pressure from the federal Greens, emphatically ruled out imposing a rent freeze and/or rental cap system in the states and territories. I note that the federal government has no jurisdiction to legislate changes to residential tenancy laws, that rests with the states and territories. However, it is the first time that a Prime Minister has worked with the states and territories in implementing a nationally coordination plan in the interests of renters’ rights. On the whole, the nine-point plan that popped out of the National Cabinet meeting strikes a fairly reasonable balance between the rights of tenants and the suppliers of their homes, investors. Importantly, the plan gives the states and territories relative autonomy to tweak their legislative framework to align with the plan but account for their unique markets. The language used in the plan provides a degree of flexibility. For example, the first point of the plan states, “Develop a nationally consistent policy to implement a requirement for genuine reasonable grounds for eviction, having consideration to the current actions of some jurisdictions.” This gives the states plenty of scope. For instance, in Victoria if a tenant wishes to renew a fixed-term lease, the landlord must agree to it unless they wish to move in themselves, sell the property or substantially renovate it. Whereas the WA government has just finalised their review of residential tenancy laws and sensibly retained ‘no-grounds’ completions at the end of a fixed term lease whereby the landlord is not obliged to renew a lease for an existing tenant. for every three rented houses sold, only one remains a rental. Other points in the plan cover the opportunity for tenants to appeal against retaliatory evictions, seek to outlaw rent bidding and protect tenants in situations of domestic or family violence, most of which are legal protections already in place across Australia. Point 3 in the plan seeks to limit rent increases to annually which seems fair enough and is law in most states already. Queensland and WA are the only two states yet to make this change. The remaining points cover limiting break-lease fees for fixed term leases (which will simply give rise to fewer fixed-term leases being offered), designing rental applications to protect renters’ personal information, the phasing in of minimum quality standards for rented homes and better regulation of short-stay accommodation. Now that we have a nationally agreed framework for regulating rental homes, the impact on supply of rental properties is yet to fully play out. Amongst the Greens’ hysterical demands for rent freezes / caps, investors have been busily selling out their assets at the rate of 3:1 – for every three rented houses sold, only one remains a rental. Mortgage costs over the past twelve months have risen at three-times the rate that rents have gone up. Land taxes in some states have doubled. Insurance premiums, council rates and strata levies have all risen too. So, despite this neat, nationally coordinated plan to look after tenants, a crucial piece is missing; who is going to provide all the houses that tenants call home?
Aug 10, 2023
Perth Property Leading National Capital Gain
By Hayden Groves Data house Core Logic’s latest housing price index figures reveal what many property commentators expected; that Perth property values now lead the nation in terms of capital gain over the past twelve months. Off the back of more moderate property value increases comparative to east coast cities during the property rush of early to mid-2020, Perth was better positioned to weather the storm of 12 successive interest rates rises in fifteen months and the resulting impact on property values. For the twelve months ending June 2023, Perth is the only capital city to record annual growth with dwelling values up 2.5 percent and moving 2.8 percent for the quarter. Somewhat remarkably, Sydney’s housing values increased an impressive 4.9 percent in the June quarter off a very high base, but have pulled back 8.0 percent from its peak prices in January 2022. Across the year Melbourne is off 5.7 percent, Brisbane backed off 8.2 percent and Hobart has declined the most by 12.7 percent. Overall, evidence is emerging that Australia’s property values are trending back towards a growth phase with almost every capital returning positive gains last month and quarter. Perth is well positioned for property price gains Property values are rising despite a high inflationary environment, higher interest rates and low business confidence off the back of increased immigration levels and low listing supply fuelling demand. Sales volumes have decreased across the year, down 20.3 percent nationally, with the three big east coast capitals’ transaction levels tracking below the national average. Perth’s property sales activity has only declined 3.2 percent last year, the lowest fall in the nation. The interplay between sales volumes, listing availability and property values provides useful insights into likely future market behaviour. Listing stock continues to trend downwards, dropping 13.2 percent from last year and 28.7 percent lower than the five-year average. Lack of housing supply is the key driver of property values in today’s market. In Perth, total listings are down a massive 30.3 percent compared to last year and new listings coming to market are off 18.7 percent. With such short listing supply, population gains driving demand and relative affordability, Perth is well positioned for property price gains in the short to medium term. Meanwhile, national rents look like they’ve peaked growing by 9.7 percent year-to-date, down from the twelve-month peak of 10.2 percent for the 2022 calendar year. REIWA reported an uptick in vacancy rates to 0.9 percent last month, some welcome relief for tenants looking for a home. I see the biggest challenge for the housing market being the rate investors are selling their property assets, homes that provide rental housing. The decade average of investor property sales is 25 percent of all property sales. This has risen sharply since January to sit at 32.7 percent. Anti-landlord sentiment fuelled by the Greens and others for political purposes and higher interest rates is seriously damaging rental supply.
Aug 3, 2023
Use a REIWA Property Manager
By Hayden Groves Property management is more about managing the tenancy than it is about managing the property. The property manager’s primary role is managing the tenancy agreement as expressed by the terms of a lease and regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act. The property manager can only inspect the property on four occasions per year on behalf of the owner, so it is important that the tenant understands that it is them as the occupant, that effectively manages the property itself. For tenancies longer than three months, the Residential Tenancies Act (the ‘Act’) applies automatically (whether there is a formal lease or not) and it is foolhardy not to utilise the services of a competent property manager for a property asset, particularly during times of short supply and high demand. There is great value in having a property manager act at ‘arm’s length’ Management fees are not exorbitant and are tax deductible. And for the sake of saving a relatively small portion of the rental income in management fees, the risks of self-management are significant. A sound working knowledge of ever evolving legislation is essential, as is the capacity to properly reference check a prospective tenant. But, perhaps most importantly, much of the risk and responsibility attached to the management process is borne by the managing agent, giving property owners someone to rely on if the tenancy goes wrong. Even thoroughly assessed tenancies go off the rails on occasion due to a change in circumstances of the occupants; job loss, relationship failure and health issues are common reasons. A professional, well trained local agent is equipped to deal with this challenging issues when they arise. Finding the right tenant can be tricky too. Prospective tenants almost exclusively rely on the internet to find themselves a property, so owners without access to the favoured websites will find it difficult to attract the right tenant in the first place. There is great value in having a property manager act at ‘arm’s length’. Many a self-managing landlord has fallen into the trap of sympathising with their defaulting tenant and allowing rent arrears to build up over time hoping that they’ll “make good”. Acting at arm’s length affords the property manager a compassionate ‘just business’ approach to rent payments and the lease agreement more broadly. This is particularly important in these times of rising rents and inflationary pressures. Self-management often works well and for extended periods, but when a tenancy goes wrong, it is costly and stressful and it has been my experience that with all things considered, it is not worth the risk.
Jul 31, 2023
Greens Policy Would Push Rents Higher
By Hayden Groves Greens’ leader Adam Bandt’s impassioned address at the National Press Club earlier this year, demanding the government immediately impose a national rent freeze, continues to feature in the rental crisis discussion. The recently announced National Rental Inquiry initiated by the Greens will be dominated by their supporters’ calls for a rent freeze. Victoria Premier, Dan Andrews chimed in during the week suggesting he’d consider ‘rent caps or freezes’ too. Investors have responded by suggesting that such a move, on top of recent massive land tax hikes and higher interest rates, would be the ‘tipping point’, forcing them to sell their properties. all your policies are designed to whack investors Last time I looked, it is the private investor market that supplies 89 percent of all rental homes in the nation. The government provides 11 percent. If seems obvious that if you disincentive private investors (with things like rent 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 the Victorian Premier have missed this fundamental economic point. Investors selling is exactly what is unfolding across the nation right now. The CEO of First National Real Estate told me this week that their Bendigo, Victoria office that normally sells about 10 properties per month, sold 38 listings from their rental portfolio in June. In WA, there are 16,000 fewer residential tenancy bonds now than a year ago. Other policies such as calling for changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts (another Greens policy) would 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. The Greens have also called on more government built housing, something desperately needed. Yet they refused to back the $10b Housing Australia Future Fund which aims to deliver 30,000 more affordable homes, blocking it in the Senate. 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.
Jul 24, 2023
3 Reasons Why You Don’t Sell or Lease
By Hayden Groves The current market is tight on supply and high on demand with rising property prices the result. The rental market is equally experiencing supply constraint and with limited availability, rents are rising too. In such conditions, almost any property that comes to market to buy or lease is fair game, snapped up by buyers and tenants at a record pace. In markets such as these, it is unusual to see a property languish on the market for a substantial length of time. According to reiwa.com, median selling days are at 11, compared to 23 days a decade ago and 58 days as little as four years ago. So, if your property since listing on reiwa.com remains unsold after 11 days, you might begin to question why. In itself, not selling in under a fortnight is not necessarily a problem. Your property is still relatively fresh to the market and if, for example, a major sporting event, inclement weather or long weekend coincide early in your campaign, your buyer simply may not have found your property yet. Such a strategy will always deliver a poorer result However, after you’ve been on the market for more than 60 days, there are generally three major reasons why you’ve not achieved a sale. Firstly, you may have chosen the wrong agent to represent you. Choosing an agent based on the cheapest fee, choosing an ‘out of town’ agent or one that’s carrying too much stock are common reasons why your agent isn’t able to expediently attract a buyer. Choose an agent that carries a strong reputation, deliberately takes on a manageable number of listings and is an expert in their local market. Secondly, your marketing campaign may have missed the mark. In this market, buyers are plentiful and some sellers are tempted to try and sell ‘off-market’, without a well considered and implemented marketing campaign to attract every possible buyer, opting instead to rely on an agent’s data base of buyers. This can often deliver a good selling outcome, but leave you feeling like you may have missed the chance of a better outcome had all the buyers had an opportunity to compete. Choose an agent that can deliver both, qualified buyers known to them as well as a brilliant marketing campaign that gives the best chance of a premium result. Thirdly, and the most common reason, is sellers and owners have a desired price outcome that is out of step with the market. Holding out for a price or rent that is well above the reasonable market price will deter buyers and tenants from engaging with the property, simply moving onto the next one that has a more realistic price tag. Use caution in choosing an agent that gives you a ‘happy price’, one that they know if above the market with a strategy to ‘work you down’ after being on the market for a prolonged period. Such a strategy will always deliver a poorer result than one that gives buyers the chance to compete for your property in an open market where price expectation is reasonably aligned with market sentiment. Right now, deploying the right strategy and choosing the right agent should have you sold or rented in a little over a week.
Jul 14, 2023
New listings are down a nation-leading 30.3 percent
By Hayden Groves This week, REIWA reported that there are 2,395 houses, 1,461 units and 1,364 vacant lots listed for sale on reiwa.com. This meagre total of 5,220 properties is about 40 percent lower than the same week last year. Meanwhile, sales volumes remain relatively high at 880 last week, unchanged from the corresponding week in 2022. Five years ago, reiwa.com listings numbered 12,417 and there were 29,000 property transactions. Last year, there were 58,000 sales across land, units and houses. Unsurprisingly, this shortage of supply matched with stronger sales volumes leads to one thing – higher prices. The same thing is happening in the rental market. Rental stock hit record highs in January 2018 with 12,000 homes available for lease, last week there 2,123. Rents are rising as a result of constrained supply. The problem of low housing supply for either sale or rent is not confined to the WA market. According to the latest Core Logic data, national listings for dwellings is down 13.2 percent on last year and 28.7 percent below the five-year average. In Perth, total new listings are down a nation-leading 30.3 percent from last year, way below the 18.9 percent average decline. Rental prices are rising at a rapid rate, up 13.4 percent in Perth since last year. Median house rents in Perth have moved from $370 per week in July 2020 to $575 per week today. A decade of relatively flat weekly rents, rapidly rising interest rates (which have risen 35 percent in a year), cost of living pressures and higher migration intake fuelling demand are the core reasons for the current rent price increases. new listings are down a nation-leading 30.3 percent Investors remain cautious about buying in the current fiscal environment and many, faced with spiralling mortgage costs are opting to sell. With 70 percent of all rental homes in Australia owned by persons holding a single property other than their primary home, selling the rental property is often a sensible option is your home mortgage repayments are rising. Chatter about rent freezes, high stamp and land taxes, a wobbly national economy, tenancy risk and yet-to-be tamed inflation disincentivise private investment. The structural nature of our rental housing sector has for generations relied on family investors to supply the market and in the absence of an alternative – such as governments supply more housing – we need thriving investment in housing from ordinary Australians to supply the homes tenants need. Yet, some politicians, advocates and the media have lashed these ordinary investors as being ‘greedy’ or even labelled them ‘dodgy’. Sure, there are some unscrupulous landlords out there – in the tiny minority. But this modern, anti-aspirational rhetoric threatens the fundamental underpinnings of our rental system. The government is unable to supply the $3 trillion worth of rental stock in Australia anytime soon, if that is the aspiration of those looking to undermine private investment in residential property.