Greetings [FIRST_NAME]

The doomsayers only got it half right? They were saying to expect to see property falls of 10%-15% this year. Well to be fair to them they got it half right. There has been a price correction in the secondary Investment Property market with prices coming off by around the 10% mark. But in the primary 'Owner Occupier' market prices have been quite steady and in the upper end of this market place we are seeing even stronger prices that a year earlier.

The 'Investor Market' was all the go in the early 2000s, people were buying whatever they could and prices were going up on a weekly basis. Property Spruikers were touting their stuff saying that you shouldn't look at a property for investment the same way you would if you were going to live in it and they were selling them by the bucket load. Well I am here to tell you that I would never buy a property that I wouldn't be prepared to live in because when you apply the "would I live in it?" test you will automatically see problems that you would not otherwise see and that is why properties have now become categorised as 'Investment' and 'Owner Occupier'. And ironically it is the 'Owner Occupier' market that is easier to rent out and easier to sell. 

It's not hard to work it out really. In our inner suburban market place almost 70% of all buyers in the early 2000s were investors, buying what was hopefully a 'nest-egg' for the future. These investors only have 2 markets to rent too. One is the Student Market and the second is CBD Workers. Not bad catchment areas for tenants but never-the-less still a finite one. And the facts are that these markets became over supplied.

When I started my real estate career 35 years ago the real estate market was driven by owner occupiers who were upsizing (with a growing family), downsizing (because their family had grown up and left home), divorcing (2 out of 5 marriages don't make it), dying (it happens to us all), or transferring (job mobility). Then in the 90's came the flood of 'Investors', buying properties that they themselves would never live in.

Well I'm here to tell you that the core buyers i.e. the Owner Occupiers are still there today, still looking to upsize, downsize, still going through Divorce, still dying and still being Transferred in their jobs. But as owner occupiers they want to live in the properties they purchase. So if you currently own a quality inner suburban home (or apartment) then you will not be experiencing a reversal in value. You still have a sought after and hard to find product. And if you are thinking of selling I would love to hear from you.

Kind Regards

Bill Hegarty

Managing Director

Real Estate Gallery

Real Estate Agents are one of the only truly 'localised community' businesses left. Normally 95% of our business is done within 5klm of our offices. We meet a lot of local people every day, so at Real Estate Gallery we thought you would like to meet some too.

That's why we started our 'Good Neighbour' program

• 'Local Discounts' with restaurants and local traders,

• 'bulk-buying',

• local chat room,

• neighbourhood watch,

• baby sitting pool,

• and we also keep you updated on property movements in your street and neighbourhood.

To register please click here

In this issue

What's new at Real Estate Gallery?

Industry acclaim for business connectivity specialists

Real Estate Gallery has always focused on providing affordable Real Estate Solutions to individual property owners and small and medium (SME) sized businesses, in conjunction with high levels of customer support.

It’s an honour to be rewarded and recognised by the industry for our technical innovation and dedication to Australia’s SME business sector.

Is there a difference between Property Managers?

A good Property Manager needs to have a passion for their job, they need to have compassion, be organised and work within an efficient business structure. They need to be experienced, knowledgeable about property construction and property law.

If the Property Manager also has an Investment Property of their own they will better understand why it is vital to remit rents on time because they will know what it's like to be repaying a mortgage and how it hurts financially if they have a vacancy.

Janeen Kent our Property Manager knows what it's like. She owns real estate she understands the Taxation implications and knows that she must protect an investment property against deterioration (both physically and with it's annual financial return). That's why Janeen has a policy of always trying to maintain the right balance between quality tenants and the proper rental income.

Janeen's Philosophy:
	Never purchase a Residential Investment purely on it's immediate return. A good Investment is close to transport, has generous living and a good main bedroom, also off-street-parking is important. The properties that have good 'Capital Growth' prospects will also have solid rental growth as well.
	Always be properly structured for taxation purposes. Many investors realise 'too-late' that they are incorrectly structured.
	It is important to be mindful of CPI increases and applying them to your rental property to maintain its rental growth
	A good tenant is imperative. A bad tenant can cause huge damage that will also retard rental growth. A damaged property is harder to let and attracts second rate tenants.

The latest findings are summarised in our latest Homelink newsletter.

Walk Through Video

Visitors to the Real Estate Gallery are always happy to view a Walk-Through-Video of our properties for sale before they conduct a physical inspection.

These videos enable us to showcase our properties in a relaxed environment and helps Buyers to easily view a greater selection of properties than would otherwise be possible.

Because 87% of Buyers do not actually purchase the property they first enquired on or inspected, the Walk-Through-Video service means that we can let people inspect properties that they would have previously discounted from their shopping list when they pulled up their car at the kerbside. It just goes to prove the old adage that you should never judge a book by it's cover.

Staff profile

Introducing Frank Golotta

Frank is one of the busiest real estate agents in Melbourne's Inner Suburbs. His reach and connections stretch far and wide. He has been discovering 'long-lost-relatives' that resisted the drift out to the 'burbs' in the 1970's and 80's and who remained steadfast in their Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Carlton or North Melbourne 'digs'. Today these 'relatives' are sitting on some of the best real estate in Melbourne.

Frank has also developed quite a reputation in the Warehouse Market with a strong following of both Buyers and Sellers. If there is a Warehouse Shell or Conversion worth knowing about Frank knows where it is and when it will be coming onto the market. He's a good person to know in real estate.

Your say

We welcome your suggestions for our next issue. Please email info@realestategallery.com.au

Unsubscribe
To unsubscribe, email info@realestategallery.com.au.