Open homes good for sale odds

REIQ managing director Dan Molloy
REIQ managing director Dan Molloy.

MARKET research shows that properties marketed through open home inspections have a very high ratio of inspection to sale, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
REIQ managing director Dan Molloy said that a well presented property has a very high chance of selling.
``Also, the ongoing marketing activities that the selling agent organises to support the open inspection ensures your home has the best chance of selling within the prime selling time of 30 days,’’ Mr Molloy said.
A benefit of an open inspection during a set day and time is that vendors do not have to be in a constant state of readiness all day every day.
Since they know exactly when buyers will be viewing their home, they can be better prepared and more relaxed with the selling process.
Mr Molloy said vendors can sometimes cause more harm than good if they stay in their home during an inspection.
``Sellers can sometimes unintentionally risk losing a sale by trying to be helpful and appearing too eager to potential buyers,’’ Mr Molloy said.
Other tips for preparing an open home inspection include: placing all moveable valuables into a secure location; a clean-up inside and out; making small repairs such as oiling squeaky doors and replacing faulty light bulbs; and removing any excess furniture or items causing clutter.

Good times to follow disaster: Matusik

QUEENSLAND’S natural disasters could be good news for the state’s property market, says property analyst Michael Matusik.
Addressing members of the Property Council of Australia Queensland division, the Matusik Property Insights director said the recent floodings and cyclone were acting to break the malaise that the state’s property market has found itself in.
``The rebound will be strong, as to how strong no one can say,’’ Mr Matusik said.
He was also unsure as to how property growth would be affected in the future.
``Brisbane prices over the last 10 years have increased by 10.6 per cent per annum, and 6.5 per cent per annum over the last five years,’’ he said.
``Anybody saying that prices will fall by 35 per cent in 12 months time… I don’t know where that figure is coming from.’‘
Mr Matusik said that out of the 26,000 Brisbane homes affected by the floods, only 5400 were damaged substantially.
``Now we have to change our message and say that we are open for business, and that not everything is flooded,’’ he said.
Mr Matusik predicted interest rates could fall by more than a quarter of a per cent.
``I think it’s very logical, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they do,’’ Mr Matusik said.
``The worst case scenario is that they don’t move much this year and maybe into next year, and that will be a good thing for our businesses.
``The undersupply will be brought forward and infrastructure will be rebuilt, creating a stronger market.’‘
Mr Matusik was keen to emphasise a more positive take on the aftermath of the Queensland floods, referring to recent statistics from Realestate.com.au which showed that buying interest was still high, with the website hosting an online traffic increase of 11 per cent on last year.

Great news for investors

BRISBANE is benefitting from strong rental yields, with the situation likely to get even better over the coming year, says RP Data’s head of research Tim Lawless.
Addressing the Australia national conference on the Gold Coast, Mr Lawless said rental yields for houses in the Brisbane region were averaging 4.3 per cent.
Units were tracking even better at 5.3 per cent, well above the national average.
The annual conference and awards night, sponsored by Quest Community Newspapers, attracted agents from across Australia.
Commenting on the rental market across all capital cities, Mr Lawless said there was likely to be an increase in rental yields over the year with vacancy rates generally averaging below 3 per cent.
``Rental markets are likely to improve over the year with higher rents, which in turn will see improving investor yields,’’ he said,
``It’s great news for investors.’‘
However, the good news did not extend to other sectors of the property market, with Mr Lawless expecting ``challenging conditions’’ for the rest of the year and into 2012.
He said housing undersupply remained an issue, as did a lower rate of population growth in South-East Queensland compared with previous years.
``Brisbane, and South-East Queensland, has poorly handled population growth… it simply means people have stopped wanting to come to the region,’’ he said.
While the average growth of house values in Brisbane had dropped 1.6 per cent in the last 12 months, Mr Lawless emphasised that the situation was different in every suburb, with some areas performing far better than others.

Massive price drop won't happen: Matusik

Michael Matusik
Michael Matusik
CLAIMS of a massive drop in property prices in flood-affected areas are unfounded, says Matusik Property Insights director Michael Matusik.
Speaking at a Property Council of Australia Queensland lunch on Friday, Mr Matusik attacked comments made by Queensland University of Technology property economics expert Professor Chris Eves in an article in The Courier Mail on Thursday, where he said house values in flood affected areas have historically been known to drop by up to 35 per cent.
``I don’t know where that figure (35 per cent) is coming from,’’ Mr Matusik said, although he was unsure how property growth would be affected following the recent spate of natural disasters in Queensland.
``For a year or two after the `74 floods, property prices were cut by 10 per cent, so people didn’t sell and the volume of sales dropped.
``When Wivonhoe (Dam) was constructed, fears alleviated and people got on with their lives.
``Brisbane would have flooded again in 1983 if it wasn’t for a half constructed dam, which only escalated people’s perceptions that those flood-affected areas were safe.’‘
Between 1974 and 2010, property prices in the same flood affected areas rose from $28,000 to $800,000, Mr Matusik said.
``I’m not saying that we will repeat that growth, but assuming that sense prevails and we have some resolution about how the flood occurred and how to fix it in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if things get back to normal relatively quickly.’‘
However, he said the recovery could still take upwards of a year.
``We need to rebuild confidence and earn every sale,’’ Mr Matusik said.

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