http://www.geewizauctions.com/Gee Wiz Auctions – online property for auction in Australia, New Zealand – real estate auctions on the weben-gbThursday, 29 July 2010 2:39:48 PMhttp://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx31/01/2010 12:00:00 AM]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx3/07/2009 12:00:00 AM
A new survey of investors showed that 64 % of fund-of-funds managers listed Australia as their preferred location while 41 % rated Australian office investment as their preferred choice.

The Asian Real Estate Association and European Association for Investors report reveals that investors are this year now regularly getting on a plane and taking their money to Australia. Australian office and retail properties were viewed as ‘core assets’.

The respondents expected the market in Australia to recover next year, with some expecting to see signs of recovery starting this year.

50% of US respondents, compared with 30 % of European respondents surveyed, plan to increase their allocations in Australian and Asian unlisted real estate over the next 12 - 24 months.

"There’s never been a better time invest in Australian property, be it commercial, retail or housing,” says Darrell Todd, ceo of ThinkingAustralia.com

Thinking Australia]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx11/06/2009 12:00:00 AM
While business confidence improved last month, most economic commentators predict the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for May will reach a new high after dropping in April.

National Australia Bank is forecasting the May unemployment rate will rise to 5.6 per cent while TD Securities predicts the jobless rate could climb as high as 5.9 per cent.

Unemployment was expected to hit 5.7 per cent in April but instead the figures surprised pundits by dropping to 5.4 per cent. In March, the rate was 5.7 per cent, which translates to 650,900 people out of work. . . .

However . . .

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, employers in the Northern Territory were the most optimistic about making new hires while Brisbane employers were the most pessimistic followed by those in Melbourne and Hobart.

Across industry sectors, hiring expectations were strongest amongst employers in the Finance/Insurance/Real Estate sector and weakest in the Manufacturing sector followed by Transportation and Utilities.

www.news.com.au]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx14/05/2009 12:00:00 AM
Leading up to the budget there was a great deal of speculation about the future of the boost to the First Home Buyers Grant; what (if any) incentives or concessions might be introduced for non-first home buyers and investors and how the government expects the national economy to travel over the next year. The budget has provided more certainty to the market which is likely to have a positive flow on affect.

RP Data was expecting that the Government would maintain the $21,000 boost for new dwellings and wind back the grant for existing dwellings to $7,000. The logic being that it makes sense to focus the greatest stimulus on areas of the housing market that will provide the greatest benefit to the economy.

A focused stimulus on new dwellings would have a substantial multiplier effect, creating jobs and stimulating demand for buildings products and services as well as home appliances, furnishing and providing benefits to a wide range of other peripheral industries. In addition, more new dwelling sales will assist in alleviating the chronic housing undersupply Australia is facing.

Another announcement in the budget that is likely to impact on the property market is the $22 billion allocated to infrastructure spending. The key benefactors of the infrastructure fund will be regions located along the Eastern Seaboard, particularly South East Queensland.

Perhaps the greatest and most immediate requirement, however, is to establish much needed linkages between the outer fringes of the nations metro areas where the large proportion of Australia’s population growth is concentrated. Many of these regions are in desperate need of transport infrastructure improvements and public transport options. This is where the most affordable land is located, yet few people desire to live where travel routes are congested or are substandard.

Source: RP Data Property Pulse
RP Data]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx12/05/2009 12:00:00 AM

Geewizauctions.com can be found on twitter @geewizauctions and also has a group on Facebook
]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx23/04/2009 12:00:00 AM
"The first home owner's boost, as you know, we have indicated that will conclude within a very fixed and finite time frame," he told reporters in Perth.

"It's had strong useful results so far, but I have got to say all good things must come to an end."

The grant was raised from $7000 to $14,000 for existing dwellings and from $14,000 to $21,000 for new homes as part of the Government's $10.4 billion stimulus package last year.

Mr Rudd said the Government was still measuring the full effects of the boost but it was important the community understood deadlines were imposed for a particular purpose.

Official data has shown first home buyers have been rushing into the housing market to take advantage of the grant, as well as low mortgage rates with the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate at a 49-year low of 3 per cent.

First home buyers account for a record 26.9 per cent of all new home loans granted as of February.

Read article http://bit.ly/5NC0S


smh.com.au]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx12/04/2009 12:00:00 AM
Three recent Perth home sales have lifted the profile of a real estate auction website. Two of the successes were acheived during a five-week set marketing period on www.geewizauctions.com, with buyers firing in bids in the final hours of the auctions.

The other property sold soon after the close of the auction. Director Tony Wiles said the results on geewizauctions.com highlighted the benefits of an online auction, including a much quicker sale than usual.
"The set marketing period of five weeks is attractive to sellers who don't relish the prospect of potentially sitting on the market for several months," he said.

The sold homes in Canning Vale and Girrawheen were listed by Supersell Real Estate. Laura Grimes, who listed the Girrawheen property, said: "I didn't have to sell the Geewiz auction idea to my client as he had seen the website and was excited to try something new in a challenging market."

On geewizauctions.com, offers can be made in a comfortable environment rather than in a stressful face-to-face negotiation, or at a high-pressure auction amongst strangers.

Potential Buyers who do not have computer access, or who may prefer to make a written offer, are not excluded.
The Sunday Times]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx8/03/2009 12:00:00 AMTREASURER Wayne Swan has stepped up his attack on the banks over interest rates, warning they are threatening monetary policy by refusing to pass on cuts.

The National Australia Bank has refused to pass on any of the 25 basis point cut in the cash rate announced by the Reserve Bank yesterday, while the Commonwealth says it will only pass on a cut of 10 basis points.

"It is not helpful when we are trying to get everyone in the community working together to deal with this global financial crisis," Mr Swan said. He said the Prime Minister had asked the two banks to reconsider their position.

"Certainly I am pretty disappointed with their decision or the decisions that have been announced so far," Mr Swan said.

In a rare show of political non-partisanship, Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull today backed Mr Swan's warning.

"The rate cuts are only effective in terms of stimulating the economy if they are passed on by banks," Mr Turnbull told the ABC. "The least they can do is pass on these cuts in official rates."

Mr Turnbull said the banks had received enormous support from the government, through the deposit guarantee and a wholesale funding guarantee.

"The banks are doing very, very well at the moment, particularly the big four, they are doing well competitively and in every other way," he said.

The Australian Online]]>http://www.geewizauctions.com/News.aspx1/04/2009 12:00:00 AM


RP Data – Rismark Property Value Index Release
Released 31 March 2009

Property Value Index Release
For expanded Media Release click here to view the PDF document (160kb)

Residential Property Market Back in Black as Property Values Bounce Back

The release today of the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Property Value Index heralds some exciting news for the Australian residential market. According to the latest monthly indices, property values are experiencing a recovery from the modest 3 per cent falls seen in 2008. The findings confirmed that over the first two months of 2009, national dwelling values increased by 1.1 per cent with most of the capital gains coming in February (refer attached tables).

RP Data National Research Director Tim Lawless believes this turnaround in market conditions has largely been created by mortgage rates being at their lowest levels since 1970 and as a result, providing a significant boost to affordability. Mortgage rates peaked at 9.6 per cent in August 2008, and have fallen to 5.8 per cent with the prospect of more cuts when the RBA Board meets this coming Tuesday.

According to Christopher Joye, CEO of Rismark International, “The recovery in prices over the last quarter has been driven by the 40 per cent reduction in mortgage rates, the boost to the first home owners grant, the Government’s fiscal stimulus and a significant housing shortage. It is now clear that the boost to the first home owners grant has been one of the Government’s most successful policy measures - this price strength will hopefully encourage developers back into the market.

“The resilience of Australia’s housing market has also been underpinned by our robust banking system, which CBA recently reporting that its 90-day mortgage default rate was a stunningly low 0.38 per cent.

“Despite doomsday rhetoric from some, housing finance volumes have been strong with AFG disclosing that approvals in February 2009 were the best seen since November 2007.

“The improvement in home values in 2009 following modest 3 per cent falls in 2008 highlights the absurdity of the sensationalist predictions by one or two economists in 2008 that prices would fall by 30-40 per cent.

“These index results also vindicate statements last week by the RBA that it expects to see a measured recovery in Australia’s residential property market,” Mr Joye said.

The latest ABS housing finance data suggests real estate investors have yet to make a return to the property market. The value of investment loans has not been this low since 2002, reflecting the low level of investor confidence across all asset-classes.

RP Data’s Mr Lawless suggests the prospect of positively geared property is likely to lure more investors back into the market.

“More and more, properties are showing ‘positive cash flow’. In fact, assuming an 80 per cent loan to value ratio home loan and a discounted 5.4 per cent interest rate, investors in apartments are likely to find that rental income goes a long way towards covering mortgage repayments across every capital city.

“Another interesting dynamic over the last year has been the reversal of the ‘two tiered’ market that was evident between 2003-07.

“During this period affluent areas had a tendency to perform best as the financial services industry boomed. At the same time, the mortgage belts suffered from low sales volumes and declines in values. South West Sydney was a classic case in point - in today’s market it is the opposite. The top 10 per cent of homes in Sydney and Melbourne are off by more than 12 per cent while more affordable homes around the $450k mark have recorded price growth.

“People sometimes forget that homes worth more than $1 million account for less than 5 per cent of all sales. Their performance has therefore little impact on the broader housing market where 80 per cent of all sales occur within the $200k to $600k price bands” Mr Lawless said.

Ends. Detailed tables available in the PDF.

NOTE:

*RP Data and Rismark recommends that caution be used when interpreting property indices results as these results can
vary depending on the methodology used and sample size.

In all RP Data and Rismark published indices, methodology is clearly indicated. More information on the RP Data-Rismark indices can be found here: http://www.rpdata.net.au/indices/

For media enquiries contact:

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