According to RP Data, between 2007 and 2009, Mayfield, Maryland and Wallsend have consistently been the highest selling suburbs in Newcastle, with each suburb having over 200 sales in each year.  These areas are in prime first home buyers territory and sales would have undoubtedly been influenced by the First Home Owners Grant.  Mayfield faired pretty well also in terms of median house price increases, with the median sales price growing from $265,000 in 2007 to $298,500 in 2009.

Other suburbs that placed prominently near the top of the list between 2007-2009 included; Merewether, New Lambton and Adamstown Heights, all highly sort after family suburbs.  Merewether was the only one in the top 10 each year that had a median sale price over $500,000 illustrating the variation in property types available in the area.   Merewether offers a variety of affordable units in the vicinity of $300,000, larger family homes around $600,000 and exclusive properties with beach views over $1 million.

What does this mean for buyers and sellers?

If you own a property in one of the more popular suburbs and are looking at selling, you can be reassured that there is strong demand in those areas.  If you are looking to buy in one of these suburbs, you can certain that there are a number of properties that sell each year to choose from.

If you are thinking of buying or selling, please contact Shedden Real Estate today for a FREE market appraisal on 4926 1566.

http://www.shedden.com.au

What I got from this dinner, I think will make up for the few hours not prospecting as Bob Ansett is a wealth of knowledge for business and sales people alike. So I thought I’d share a few key points that I enjoyed from his speech.

Bob Ansett had the Budget car rental business and lead it to be number 1. To overcome some strong competition in a regulated market (Avis were the only car rental company allowed to operate at airports at the time) Bob set out to stand. This involved keeping the brand fresh and relevant, exceeding client expectations and being innovative. Below are some short takes or bites from my notes I took on the night.

To keep the brand fresh, Budget would use creative marketing and slogans.

To stand out from the competitors, make an innovation every 6 months, by the time the competition catch on, you have created another.

Recognising their are many stages and contacts with a client prior to completing a sale and you have to nail every one of those, otherwise the customer is unlikely to return.

It is cheaper to retain your clients than it is to find new ones. To keep your customers happy, focus on the three most important points

Service – exceed their expectations everytime

Satisfaction - Ensure the customer’s need is satisfied

Retention – Have them a raving fan that will return to you again when they need your good or service

In larger organisations, Bob mentioned it is important to market internally, having your employees as advocates of your business generates volumes of referral business that doesn’t cost your marketing budget an arm and leg. Job satisfaction makes people work to the best of their ability and increases productivity. Set six month targets and if they are achieved, celebrate them.

I hope these points help you as much as they helped me. If you would like to find out more about what we are doing differently and the exciting changes ahead for Shedden Real Estate contact us through the channels below.

Facebook:        Shedden Real Estate Page

LinkedIn:          Tiron’s Linked In Profile

Twitter:            @tironmanning

What does this mean for the humble real estate agent??

Like previous studies into the employment market, it is not going to be how many names on a database you have, it will become how many people you are connected on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Proactive agencies will be building their social networks and provide their connections with not only listings but genuine articles of interest.

Blogs will replace newsletters, reduce direct mail (therefore landfill) by replacing them with tweets and be reaching people on a social level without the fear that they have to speak to someone that is going to try to ‘force’ them to buy or sell. Social media is easily accessed, far reaching and more importantly from an agents point of view, free of charge!

Newspapers and other print media make far too much money from vendors and real estate agents on a source that is hard to navigate, hard to measure effectiveness and in essence a dinosaur of marketing. Social media transcends all demographics and is easily shared to friends and family.

To follow Shedden Real Estate on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, click on the links below

Facebook:        Shedden Real Estate Page

LinkedIn:          Tiron’s Linked In Profile

Twitter:            @tironmanning

Vendors

Strangers who have no intention to buy looking at your home

If there is a potential purchaser in the home and a loud mouth neighbour makes a disbarraging comment about it, you can potential lose the buyer

“overexposing” to the market

If there are only a couple of people in the open it is harder to sell on its exclusivity or that it is sort after

Contents insurance does not cover you for open houses

Buyers

You can’t hold the agents attention 100%

You can’t really have a private conversation if there are people floating around

You are limited to a set time for a set amount of time

Advantages

Yes we have sold homes to buyers that may not have seen the property if it weren’t for the open house sign on a nearby street

We may get someone who was passing by that may not have otherwise noticed it

Buyers feel anonymous and less pressured “to buy something they don’t want” at an open house

You can schedule your day around one time a week

If you want genuine buyers that are in a position to purchase your property, not large numbers of people coming through your home, DON’T have an open house. If you would like to know about open houses and selling your home you can reach me through the following channels

Email: info@shedden.com.au

Phone: +61 2 49261566

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sheddenrealestate

Twitter: @tironmanning

To view our listings on realestate.com.au, please click the link below:

http://www.realestate.com.au/buy/by-kmfizb/list-1

The answers to the questions are yes and no.

Yes people are still buying houses in Winter and no people are still going to open houses in the cold weather too. Think about, in winter there are less properties on the market for sale, therefore reducing the competition for the buyer’s money. This is where you can take advantage of this and make your property stand out.

Does your home have a fireplace? A reverse cycle air conditioner? When selling your home in winter, it is important that the home is warm and inviting. Turn these or light the fire prior to your open house or private inspection. Not only is the allure of an open or combustion fire romantic and inviting, it warms most houses. If you think of this and the others don’t, you have instantly gained a distinct advantage over the competing properties and will encourage the buyers to spend a little more time to appreciate the home. Rake up the fallen leaves and trim back dead tree branches. If your garden is something special in spring, have some photos of it to show prospective buyers what they can expect in the coming months.

Do buyers attend open houses in winter?

Research shows that 70% of people that come through open houses aren’t even buyers. For the agent it is a great opportunity to meet the neighbours and other people with an interest in property. It is important that if you do have an open house that some rules are adhered to. I will cover these another time. So if only 30% of people that come through the open house are buyers, during the colder months it is more likely that the percentage of buyers to lookers will be higher as the weather will keep the sticky beaks at home.

So to sum up. Winter is a good time to sell if you are serious about moving or need to move. Less competition, more genuine and serious buyers. To discuss your plans or find out what you could achieve in today’s market, contact our office on (02) 49261566.

Bankwest First Time Home Buyer Report 2010

Housing affordability has continued to worsen over the past year, with first home buyers needing 4.5 years to save for a house deposit, up from 3.7 years.

The second annual Bankwest “First Time Home Buyer Report” also found thousands of young Australians have been forced to rent or live at home with their parents for an extra 10 months as they struggle to pull together a house deposit.

The research shows a first time buyer couple needs to raise an $85,800 deposit to purchase the median house, and $76,900 to buy a median unit.

There are 26 Local Government Areas (LGAs) – in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth – where it would take a first home buyer couple on average earnings more than a decade to save a house deposit.

Bankwest Retail Chief Executive, Vittoria Shortt said this was the stark reality of a strong Australian property sector.

“Increasingly we are seeing an entrenched two-speed market emerging with property owners on one side and a growing army of first home buyers seemingly locked out on the other,” Ms Shortt said.

Ms Shortt said first time buyers needed on average four-and-a-half-years to get together a conservative 20 per cent house deposit. This drops to four years for first time unit buyers.

View the full article at:

http://www.bankwest.com.au/Media_Centre/Financial_Indicator_Series/Bankwest_First_Time_Home_Buyer_Report_2010/index.aspx

If you are a first home buyer and would like to discuss property, please contact our office on 492615566

Do You Sell First or Buy First?
If you want to sell your home and buy another, which comes first – Selling or buying? There seem to be dangers whatever you choose.

The advice you receive from agents is often the advice which is best for the agent. The agents will tell you to sell first if they are going to be the selling agent or, if you are thinking of buying from them, you may be told to buy first. If you sell first, you have nowhere to live. If you buy first, you may not be able to sell – unless you sell fast and cheap.

So, what do you do – sell first or buy first?

The answer is neither: Do not sell first and. Do not buy first.

Instead, do them both at the same time. It’s the safest way. Plus, it gives you complete control with low pressure.

Here’s how you sell and buy at the same time:

First, you place your home for sale (NOT AUCTION – it is almost impossible to sell and buy at the same time with auction.) It is easier for agents when sellers are forced to sell. But you are not going to be forced to do anything; you are going to do it your way. And you are going to win – without having anyone else lose.

A Summary of Selling and Buying Together

The solution to selling and buying at the same time can be summed up in four simple stages.

Stage 1. Find a Buyer.
Finding a buyer for your home does not mean selling your home. It means you have found a buyer who will accept your condition of you finding another home before you sell.

Stage 2. Find a Home.
Finding a home does not mean buying a home. It means you have found a home where the seller will accept your condition of selling your home before you buy.

Stage 3. Match Finances.
Once you have found a buyer for your home and you have found a home to buy, you have to make sure there is enough money from your sale to cover your purchase.

Stage 4. Sell old home. Buy new home.
This is the final stage of selling and buying at the same time. It is the perfect solution with no risk and low stress. If the finances match, you sign a contract to sell at the same time as you sign a contract to buy.

Make sure, of course, that the conditions of both contracts are the same, especially the ‘time conditions’. You don’t want to spend two weeks in a motel. A good real estate lawyer will help you.

Selling and buying, at the same time, can be simple, safe and pleasant.

To view the entire article online, please visit:

http://www.jenman.com.au/news_article.php?id=36

If you are looking at buying and selling at the same time, please contact Shedden Real Estate on 4926 1566.

Check out www.homepriceguide.com.au and tell us what you think about the information it provides for those  buying, selling or simply wanting to obtain an idea of the value of their home.

If you would like to know how much your property is worth from a local expert in Newcastle Real Estate, contact Shedden Real Estate Newcastle on 4926 1566 or visit www.shedden.com.au.