This week we’ve had continual phone calls from ‘investors’ asking about properties and rental returns in the area and nearly always they asked how much people are prepared to move on their prices which causes me no end of frustration. One ‘investor’ said that he wasn’t prepared to look at any property which returned less than a 7.5% yield whilst another asked if we had sewage or septic systems in Shepparton. Rates were also a significant question with a lot of the callers and after telling them the relevant figure I was asked several times why are the rates much dearer than Melbourne and what does the council provide by way of hard rubbish days, which of course they don’t have any. Whilst speaking about rates, it’s also worth noting that our local residential rates will increase during the 2014/2015 financial year by 9% due to the realignment of the rate burden which means that rates relating to a median priced house in Shepparton of $230,000 will pay $1,565 a year which is up $2.40 per week plus garbage fees. Market wise, things have picked up compared with the dreadfull open home numbers on last weekend. A report in the Shepparton News this week showed that Commercial Property Valuations across City of Greater Shepparton have fallen 6% over the past year reflecting much tighter rental markets. The report also stated that landlords have had to offer substantial rental discounts to attract or retain tenants across the central business district, which still has an unhealthy stock of vacant shops. I was intrigued to see an article in last Sunday’s ‘The Age’ which detailed Auction results for the previous weekend in Melbourne. The interesting part here was a property in Northcote which was advertised with an asking price of $520,000 to $570,000 and attracted an initial vendor bid of $530,000 and was finally passed in on a genuine bid of $565,000. After the auction the selling agent during negotiations with the losing bidder disclosed that the reserve was in fact 585,000 and the property in now on the market for $595,000. No wonder there’s distrust in the industry when things such as this happens and I look forward the measures that are about to be introduced to try and stamp out under quoting. The Reserve Bank of Australia believe that it’s current interest rate policy is working and that the official cash rate will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future according to the RBA monthly board minutes on Tuesday which resulted in a subsequent fall in the Australian dollar. All reports that I have read recently state that the housing market is losing steam with regard to upwards pressure on prices as an increase in supply of available housing had helped prices stabilize. Shepparton still has the most affordable housing in Australia together with Mildura. I saw an interesting photo the other day of an aerial shot of the SPC factory taken many years ago which showed that the factory was built on the eastern side of the railway line a long distance away from any houses which is obviously not the case now. The few roads surrounding the factory were all dirt and it appears that the roadway now known as Andrew Fairley Avenue went between a several of their buildings at that time, as it still does now. Pity someone back then hadn’t got the grader blade out and marked out a new road when the factory was only surrounded by paddocks then it may have sold all of our recent issues. Lastly, as if we don’t have enough bad news, who read the article in the latest edition of the Women’s Weekly about the Ice (drug) problem in our area. For those of you who didn’t I will detail one paragraph which reads as follows: It’s hard to imagine that behind this idyllic portrait of rural Australia lurks the worst drug problem this country has ever experienced, Crystal methamphetamine – a powerful stimulant commonly known as ice – has taken a vice like grip on the picturesque Goulburn Valley, in northern Victorian, along with so much of the rest of rural Australia. The article then details the drug situation both in Shepparton and Kyabram and details how it has wrecked the lives of many people. That’s all we needed. A report recently released by Barclays said the capital city property market was ‘flashing red’ with prices 4.3 time household income and 28 times annual rent, both just below record highs. This week’s useless information is:- There are approximately 250 Hotels in Britain named ‘The Lord Nelson.’ A Tanzanian dish is white ant pie (with real ants) Chewing gum can keep a person from crying while cutting onions. I am always available to answer any of your real estate questions on 5831 6405. Please feel free to pass this email on to any person who you think may be interested in its contents. NOTE: The advice given in this newsletter is to be taken as general advice only and should not be relied upon. Regards Ken McNamara. Footnotes: If you would like to receive this email automatically every Saturday afternoon please email our office with the subject line of ‘subscribe to newsletter’ Ken is the number 1 selling residential agent in the Shepparton area, was the winner of the 2011 Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award and was a finalist in the 2012 awards.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 23:33:40 +0000
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