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Feb 9, 2017
How Not to Choose Your Agent
When the time comes to sell or lease your property, would-be vendors and landlords increasingly look to the internet to help shortlist agents that might meet their needs. Well established methods of choosing your agent such as noting the more active agents in your area by number of signboards, adverts in the Herald, recommendations from friends and relatives or visiting Home Opens to meet agents remain effective methods. In the on-line space, REIWA offers the excellent reiwa.com Agent Finder; an independent, credible source of finding professional agents. Also occupying the portal space are a myriad of commercial operators that purport to “find the best agent near you”. Conducting a Google search of “Real Estate Agents Fremantle” for example will throw up paid for adverts for www.localagentfinder.com.au, www.whichrealestateagent.com.au and www.openagent.com.au. These “intermediaries” claim they can find you the best agent. The truth is they merely run a portal and a call centre whereby they contact local agents offering them a lead for a property listing in exchange for a minimum 20 per cent of their selling fee. The consumer then contacts the participating agents, chooses one from the list and is astonished to find the agent will be paying a referral fee to the intermediary. Suddenly, the vendor’s confidence in their agent, one prepared to give up a portion of their fee to obtain a lead is undermined. Now working for less money, how hard will the agent now work for me? The main problem here is that successful, leading agents (therefore the best ones) don’t need to use them to get business. Why would they? The best agents get business on their merit and are understandably reticent to hand over 20-25% of their commission to an anonymous commercially motivated intermediary for nothing more than a lead. Consumers need to know that in using these sites, you’re simply not getting access to the best agents just the cheapest and most desperate. These commercial intermediaries are not the vendor advocates they purport to be. A consumer that chooses to pay an advocate to properly and genuinely seek out the best agent for their circumstances is, however, perfectly legitimate. By Hayden Groves – REIWA President
Feb 1, 2017
Top 5 questions to ask before making an offer on a property
If you're looking to purchase property in the near future (or even distant future) we wanted to make sure you're making an informed decision. In this light we thought it best to ask our staff what they thought the most important questions to ask were when purchasing a property. The following are dG Real Estate's Top 5 Questions to ask when purchasing real estate. Are all the improvements on the land approved by the local authority? Love the north facing extension on that home you're about to put an offer on? You could be in for a shock when council forces you to tear down your lovely extension because its an unapproved structure. When was the last timber pest inspection undertaken? Termites. What more do we need to say, they’re good at hiding and can undermine the entire structural integrity of the building. To cover all bases when you make an offer include a 'Timber Pest Inspection' condition. What are the neighbours like? Does the young couple on the corner throw a party every other weekend? Does the local park double as a community yahoo hangout? Asking these simple and straightforward questions can be a good indicator of what you’regetting yourself into. Mavis next door might think her trash is treasure, but that won’t help with street aesthetics. Are there any major developments planned for the area you’re looking to buy in? That beautiful garden may not be so enjoyable to sit in once a major highway goes through two doors down. What will remain in the property when sold? All your books won’t be so easy to read when you must store them in a box! Turns out that book case you thought was fixed to the wall was a piece of standalone furniture and followed the sellers out the door to their new home. We hope some of these have got you thinking about your next purchase and hopefully we can be a part of it! - Team dG
Jan 23, 2017
Why “Now” is always a good time to buy
Should history be a useful indicator of the future, the value of the property you live in today will be worth at least double that in ten years’ time. The quintessential Freo limestone semi will go for around $1.5 million, an Arundel Court flat will fetch around over $500,000 and the ‘80’s brick four bedder in Samson will achieve over $1,000,000. The current flat market conditions makes it more difficult to comprehend how these future values might be realised yet, on average, when looking historically, Perth’s property prices rise by 10 per cent each year and values double every seven years. Sure, you need to choose when to buy and, of course, when to sell. A purchase in June 2007 meant paying the median Fremantle house price of $725,000. Seven years later the median was $823,500 and well short of the anticipated growth rate if following the “double every seven years” theory. The problem is that growth is not linear. If you had bought a year earlier in 2006, the median price was substantially less at $530,000. Ten years on, Fremantle’s regional median house price is $783,750 close to 50 per cent higher. Putting these specific numbers aside, the point is that buying and selling property historically shows some pretty impressive capital gains across relatively short periods of time. Simple math shows capital returns looking even better when holding property for fourteen, twenty-one and twenty-eight year periods. Putting these specific numbers aside, the point is that buying and selling property historically shows some pretty impressive capital gains across relatively short periods of time. Simple math shows capital returns looking even better when holding property for fourteen, twenty-one and twenty-eight year periods. With some very competitive fixed term interest rates available from money lenders at the moment and with plenty of choice out there, making the decision to buy property now with a view to holding it for at least seven years is probably a good one. Make sure you contact your local REIWA agent when it is time to sell in 2026, for if history repeats itself you should sell for about double what you pay today.
Aug 17, 2016
REIWA kicks off local discussion on Negative Gearing
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia has kicked off a campaign to engage with the WA community as proposed changes to negative gearing are debated. In the lead up to the Federal Election, REIWA is seeking the thoughts and opinions of West Australians who use property to help shape their lives a nd secure their future. As part of the campaign, REIWA will share local research and survey results to ensure a balanced conversation on negative gearing. REIWA President Hayden Groves said that the current debate around negative gearing doesn’t focus on the role property plays in the lives of everyday West Australians. "The proposed changes to limit negative gearing to newly built properties will not fully address the issue of housing affordability," said Groves. "Housing affordability can only be solved with a combination of supply levers and planning and development policy reform. "Rather than tinker with negative gearing, we’ll be promoting the need for broader tax reform where the system is simple, fair and efficient. Changing just one part of a very complex system can lead to inefficiencies and distortions. "Over the coming weeks, we’ll be running a series of surveys with members of the WA public to find out what matters to them in regards to property ownership."
Aug 17, 2016
Freopolitan Hayden Groves
Introducing Hayden Groves, Principal of Dethridge Groves Real Estate in Fremantle and a more genuine gentleman you will not meet. I come from a family line of spade calling a spade types, so when you meet down to earth people like Hayden, it’s a great relief. When I learnt about Hayden’s typical day, I rapidly realized just how accommodating he is. To say Hayden is short on free time is a mild understatement. His day varies greatly so one minute he may be attending a committee meeting for Real Institute of W.A., the next sitting in front of the 6PR microphone to do live media crosses. But despite this, he made sure I felt comfortable and I could tell our time together was important to him as he happily chatted with me for longer than I could have hoped. Victorian-born Hayden came to Western Australia following a friend’s invitation to travel with him. Hayden was at a loose end following completion of his Honours Degree in Politics, decided “why not” and made the trip over, ending with a visit to his sister’s family in Perth and ultimate decision to stay on in Fremantle because he liked it so much. “There is so much richness about the personalities in Fremantle and we are all so diverse. Fremantle people are fascinating and there are lots of interesting people.” Hayden Groves. What I find most amusing is like so many, Hayden came to real estate by accident. An envy for relaxed and seemingly endless chats amongst three well known Fremantle realtors, drinking coffee where Hayden worked was the catalyst. That led to Hayden becoming a rookie realtor for one of the three, (just coincidentally? me thinks not). Hayden applied for a realty position with John Dethridge of Dethridge Real Estate. The interview process was a little unconventional. For one, Hayden attended three interviews, yes you read it right, three. But then, at the final interview a major twist developed. John offered Hayden the position, and said “If you start today you will be the only one here”. A veritable win for Hayden. I was surprised and intrigued to learn that all the other agents had walked out the day before. John’s daughter had recently started working as sales secretary and his staff were raking her over the coals, citing incompetence and demanding John dismiss her immediately or they would all walk out. Well you know the rest. John called their bluff. And so began some excellent timing for Hayden because he picked up all the listings left behind by the outgoing agents. Winner. Coming away from today’s chat with Hayden, I can see that good things do happen to good people. Hayden is serving his community and deriving a personal sense of satisfaction from pushing himself out of his comfort zone. Hayden writes regularly too, so just google him to find out all that he does.
Aug 17, 2016
Perth Rental Activity Rises
Activity in Perth’s rental market was up last month, with tenants shopping around for better deals. The volume of properties leased during May was up 3.3 per cent on April, new figures by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia have shown. The volume was up 7.4 per cent compared to May last year. REIWA President Hayden Groves said the analysis pointed to Perth Tenants taking advantage of improved choice in the market to secure a lease at a more affordable price. “It’s pleasing to see that although rental listings remain above long term averages, there is still plenty of movement in the market with leasing figures on the rise across the metropolitan area” Mr. Groves said. “With a wealthy supply of stock on the market and moderating rent prices tenants have a good opportunity to improve their living situation”. The increase in leasing activity during May was felt across most sub-regions, with just the central and south-east sub-regions missing out on higher activity volumes. “The north-east sub-region was the stand out performer in May, lifting 16.6 per cent in April followed by the north-west sub-region which saw an 11.5 per cent increase”, Mr. Groves said. “When compared to May 2015, the south-west sub-region saw the most notable lift in listings – up 21.8 per cent on last year, followed by the north-east sub-region, up 13.5 per cent”. While the central and south-east sub-regions were down last month, leasing activity in those regions was up 2.5 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively compared to May last year.