VZ REAL ESTATE

The real estate industry has convinced itself and the marketplace that the more exposure a property gets during the sales process, the better the outcome. Paying for exposure through expensive property advertising presents two dangers: the loss of any upfront monies paid and the real responsibility of an eventual lower selling price. Some people say: “It is no secret that the greater the exposure a property has to the market, the greater the number of buyers who are aware of the listing.” While this may seem logical, it’s worth digging a bit deeper. For example, is there a level of exposure that does more damage than good? When marketing a property for sale, does it need expensive exposure? Scattered exposure to thousands of non-buyers can devastate the eventual selling price. Simply put, every person who sees a property, but doesn’t buy it further erodes the eventual selling price. Maximising the sale price of a particular property needs smart, effective and targete

Anyone who has ever borrowed money to buy a car knows the initial excitement. You take delivery and you feel you could drive forever. It’s exhilarating, almost intoxicating. But in our drunken desire for possessions it is easy to forget the debt hangover that follows. Within a few months, the glamour of the purchase is replaced by the grind of the payments. Delight turns to depression. And so too with home-buying. In the excitement of getting what you want, it’s hard to see any danger ahead. This is especially true if – as is happening at the moment – the people who make money when you buy, the real estate agents, are urging you to buy, patting you on the back and saying “You’ll be right.” As any salesperson knows, it is easy to sell someone something they want. Everyone wants a nice home and every real estate agent wants to sell homes. And so, when the Reserve Bank issues a warning to homebuyers to be careful about overcommitting themselves, the real estate industry is quick

The real estate industry has convinced itself and the marketplace that the more exposure a property gets during the sales process, the better the outcome. Paying for exposure through expensive advertising presents two dangers: the loss of any upfront monies paid and the real responsibility of an eventual lower selling price. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland website states: “It is no secret that the greater the exposure a property has to the market, the greater the number of buyers who are aware of the listing.” While this may seem logical, it’s worth digging a bit deeper. For example, is there a level of exposure that does more damage than good? When marketing a property for sale, does it need expensive exposure? Scattergun exposure to thousands of non-buyers can devastate the eventual selling price. Simply put, every person who sees a property but doesn’t buy it further erodes the eventual selling price. Maximising the sale price of a particular property needs

One of the big four banks has hinted that getting a home loan may become a little easier following the banking Royal Commission. ANZ’s head of Australian Economics David Plank says that, in terms of policy, most of the credit tightening measures are already in the system. “The Royal Commission report doesn’t point to any further need for banks to tighten,” Plank says. “But there is still some way to go to implement all the steps that they’ve got in place, so you’ll probably see through some further tightening, but the vast bulk of it’s through.” He says it’s unlikely there will be any additional shocks and for some buyers to expect increased competition among lenders. “I think we’ll see at the margin some relaxation perhaps in criteria as they think about what they’re going to do with investor only loans,” he says. “The regulator has made it clear that they don’t want to see any further tightening so it’s possible that greater certainty might lead to some easing up on som