The construction industry has hit a wall, with the number of new houses and units built nationwide plummeting to a seven-year low.
New figures from the Bureau of Statistics show the number of dwellings built in the three months to September 30 dropped 10.7 per cent compared with the previous three months.
Read the full article here:
Paul Castran
Heres an interesting article about developers who are spending up to $100,000 to help buyers imagine they’ve already moved in.
Below is an extract:
Discounts on new apartments, deals to pay stamp duty for buyers, special offers galore . . . With developers desperate for buyers of new apartment projects as the banks continue to rein in credit and with many consumers lacking the confidence to actually commit, there’s still one great weapon left in their armoury: the display suite.
Fitted out with top-quality designer furniture, painted in the latest stylish colour palettes, decorated often with original artwork and regularly finished down to the last detail with cutlery, glasses and plates, it’s guaranteed to leave every potential buyer salivating.
"Apartments look so different when they’re empty to when they’re well-furnished," says Andrew Finlayson of developer Carrington, with penthouses for sale at Kensington apartment complex Capella and Wahroonga’s Beumont both beautifully fitted out by stylists.
"It sets the mood and feel, and shows off the architecture of an apartment and it helps people get the sense of how much space is available."
In today’s soft property market, the chief executive of the developers’ lobby Urban Taskforce Australia, Aaron Gadiel, says display suites have never been more important as marketing tools. Today developers are under huge pressure to sell as many apartments as they can off the plan because of the credit crunch tightening bank finance.
"They’re not able to borrow as much as previously, so a good display suite is vital to enable them to sell as soon as possible," Gadiel says. "You’re seeing a lot more developers at the moment using them and their look, feel and quality are now much more important than ever."
At Mirvac’s new Springdale development in Killara, the display apartment cost between $80,000 and $100,000 to be fully furnished and decorated. Marketing director James Bell says the outlay, with apartments still for sale priced from $1,025,000 for two bedrooms and from $1.03 million for three, is absolutely worthwhile.
"If you’ve got good design, good finishes and a good location, it only makes your product even more attractive," he says.
At Beumont, where the three-bedroom-plus-study, three-bathroom penthouse is for sale at $2.5 million, spending about $80,000 on the display styled by Coco Republic was similarly worthwhile. By the same token, the fit-out of the three-bedroom-plus-study, two-bathroom Capella penthouse at $2.2 million was worth slightly less.
"You can fill a place up with utilitarian furniture but really you want people to feel they can see themselves in the space," Finlayson says.
"And you furnish according to the taste of your target demographic."
It’s all very well to fall in love with the look of an apartment display suite but don’t forget: love can be blind. Craig Yelland and Ian Briggs of Plus Architecture advise:
Paul Castran.
Here’s a list of ideas to make your place look great this summer for the festive season:
1 Wallpaper is hip. Everything old is new again and a quick, neat way to brighten up a wall or even just a strip of wall is to get on to the new generation of wallpaper design. Retro shops often have pristine rolls of old paper too, boasting those sunny oranges, greens and yellows. Don’t be afraid: this is a great way to make a small wall interesting, and if you tire of it, peel it off and paint.
2 Paint, paint, paint. Speaking of paint, get out and have a look at the kaleidoscope of colours on offer, from ginseng to mountain fire. Sure, the names don’t bear much relation to the colours but this is a quick, cheap way to brighten up a room, wall or just a bit of window trim.
3 Colourful glass bottles. These are a great idea to bring a bit of life into a home. Get an instant stained-glass effect by positioning two or three different colours near a natural light source. Don’t use them as vases; they look better when the light can shine through unencumbered.
4 Clean out the shed. Not only will you get kudos from significant others for finally doing something in that black hole, you might just find something in there worth reclaiming - an old chair, plant stand or simple timber box might be cleaned up and become a cool interior feature.
5 Tablescaping. A slightly grand appellation for the meeting of interior design and craft. Use a table (or any flat surface) to create a tableau or simple display using flowers, knick-knacks or fabrics. A current American craze.
6 Handle it. Make over a kitchen or a bathroom with something as simple as changing the door handles. You can go for bling at designer shops or check out the local hardware stores for a more economical selection.
7 One giant green leaf. While it might seem as if everything is withering and brown in your garden, you’ll always be able to find some hearty old souls still shining verdantly. Pluck them out (large palm, monstera, lily leaves) and pop a couple in a large vase to create a cool, serene feature, particularly soothing in summer against a crisp white wall.
8 Get rid of the stuff. Summer is a time to enjoy your home so let the light in. Look at peeling the kids’ pictures off the fridge and storing them. Take away the bits and pieces that accumulate around windows and near doors as these can block the flow of light through the home. If you have a little unused corner consider installing a small desk with drawers to stash bills, paperwork and miscellaneous items.
9 Rearrange. It’s hot outside, baseliners are dominating the tennis, even looking at cricketers standing out in 40-plus degree heat makes you feel slightly woozy so turn off the box and start rearranging the furniture. You’ll be amazed how you can give your home a fresh new look by moving or even removing a few key pieces of furniture.
10 Herbs. Simple, beautiful and useful. A window box full of summer flavour looks great against a kitchen window and there’s nothing like the satisfaction of snipping off the basil and sprinkling it in the salad. They smell fantastic, too.
You can find the remaining 10 ideas from author Lou Sweeney of The Age, by going here: http://www.domain.com.au/Public/Article.aspx?id=1228585111557&index=NationalIndex&headline=To%20great%20effect
Paul Castran
Two of Australia’s biggest residential developers have called the bottom of the housing market, saying some life should return to the troubled sector next year.
Billionaire apartment developer Harry Triguboff and the listed Mirvac Group said signs of growth in demand were emerging.
It runs counter to a report this week from AMP chief economist Shane Oliver, who said Australia’s overvalued house prices could fall 10-15 per cent next year.
Mr Triguboff, founder and owner of the country’s biggest apartment builder Meriton, completed and sold 1000 apartments this year, well down on the 3000 a year built during the boom in 2002, The Weekend Australian reports.
Next year, he hopes to build 1500.
While Mr Triguboff said he “always met the market” when conditions cooled, he expected Meriton’s prices to rise 10 per cent next year underpinned by the government stimulus of rising rents and the lack of supply.
“I don’t think we have to worry, we have such help from the Government,” he said, referring to Canberra’s $14,000 grant for established homes and $21,000 for newly constructed homes announced in October.
“Petrol has come down, income tax has come down. Some people will lose their jobs, sure, but let’s talk about the ones who won’t.”
AMP’s Mr Oliver said an increase in unemployment posed a significant threat to house prices. AMP forecasts the jobless rate will rise from 4.3 per cent to 6.5 per cent in 2010.
Mirvac Group chairman James MacKenzie said the company was starting to see “what we hope are early signs that the residential market, and consequent demand for Mirvac product, being stimulated”, though he was cautious, given the state of the market.
He also cited the Federal Government’s boost to the first home-buyers grant, the cuts in interest rates and measures in the NSW Government’s mini-budget as factors.
Read the full article from Jessica Irvine and Turi Condon of Perth Now here:
http://www.realestate.com.au/doc/Resources/News/market-going-up.htm
Paul Castran
BARGAIN-hunting buyers were back in the property market over the weekend looking to cash in on last week’s interest rate cut.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures showed a 55 per cent clearance rate of 741 properties across the state.
REIV chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs, such as Heidelberg, Doncaster and Greensborough, were among the best-performing, with a 77 per cent clearance rate.
“It just confirms that people are looking for affordable housing close to the median price or below,” he said.
Read the full article here: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24765579-5013926,00.html
Paul Castran.
Presentation is the key to achieve the highest possible sale price.
Nothing is clearer than when you look at how Australia’s great retailers present and merchandise their products. For example; Sportsgirl illuminate, air-condition, merchandise in size and colour and display in the highest retail fit out possible. This enables a substantial margin.
Presentation of your most valuable asset is paramount. We would suggest that one of Castran Gilberts representatives advise you on a case by case basis before you sell.
If you’d like to discuss the best way to present your home for sale, contact Paul Castran, Mark Forytarz or any of the team at Castran Gilbert.
Melbourne is, with some justification, known as the auction capital of the world. But that doesn’t mean that an auction is our automatic recommendation.
We would be inclined to recommend a PRIVATE SALE, if:
In the absence of these factors, we recommend an AUCTION, for several powerful reasons:
If you’re still unsure on the best way to sell your property, call Paul Castran or Mark Forytarz at Castran Gilbert to discuss your options.Paul Castran