The Housing Industry Association claims the housing market will continue to be affected by a housing supply deficit next year.
Citing the IMF’s view this week that house prices were overvalued by only 10% – in contrast to its earlier calculations of 25% – the HIA said the housing market was supported by fundamentals including strong population growth and high real incomes.
However, HIA’s work on underlying demand indicates Australia will continue to run “large annual deficits” between underlying demand for dwellings and the completion of dwellings, according to HIA senior economist Andrew Harvey.
“So in the longer term Australia’s housing market is underpinned by the immutable forces of insufficient supply and robust underlying demand,” Harvey said.
Updated projections of the underlying demand for housing from the HIA suggest that Australia built 22,000 too few dwellings in 2009/10, with a projected deficit of 16,800 dwellings in 2010/11 and 21,000 dwellings in 2011/12.
“We need to be clear that supply side obstacles which prevent housing construction from keeping pace with the rate of household formation will burden Australians with a growing under-supply of housing and a resultant worsening affordability problem,” Harvey said. “Governments at all levels need to increase their efforts to address these supply side issues as a matter of urgency.”
Harvey said supply-side factors such as the increasing scarcity of land in the main urban centres in Australia will continue to play a major role in driving Australia’s housing prices, a point also raised by the IMF.
( By: Ben Abbott @ brokernews.com.au, 22 Dec 2010 )
If you ask a real estate agent, “Should I keep my home on the market over the holidays?” an agent will tell you, “Yes, absolutely, because then you know buyers are serious.”
You know what I think about that? I’ll cut to the chase. It’s rubbish advice. If you don’t have to sell between late-December and February, take your home off of the market.
Why Your Home Should Be Off the Market Over the Holidays
· Buyers will think you are desperate.
· It’s inconvenient to always be ready to show at a moment’s notice.
· The offers you receive will likely be for less than list price.
· You’re appealing to a much smaller inventory of buyers who have very specific needs that your home might not match.
· It’s almost impossible to close a transaction in December if the offer is received mid-month. Buyers who want to close in January make offers in January.
· If you remove your home from the market, it can go back as a new listing in January, thereby drawing more traffic because it’s fresh.
· Your agent might be on holidays in December and unavailable.
Some sellers insist on leaving their homes on the market, regardless. The deciding factors depend on local custom, on what neighbors are doing and how real estate activity is viewed by others during the holiday season in your area. Every city is different.
Still, less stock on the market over the holidays means less competition. However, when the pool of buyers drops, the remaining balance of stock might not make much difference. In parts of the country where its really hot, buyers think twice about leaving their home to trudge through your property when they’d rather be out in a cool shopping centre or staying at home in front of the airconditioner.
If You Leave Your Home on the Market
Should you put out the fantastic plastic Christmas trees and the gold and silver bells on the walls? What about hanging a wreath on your door or showcasing a Christmas tree in front of a window? What’s overdoing it? What’s not?
People carry biases and prejudices with them. Why give them more information than they need to know about you? By not decorating, you are keeping people’s imagination active during home showings. You are also making your home feel more spacious without blocking pathways. When buyers enter your home, you want them to imagine putting their own furniture in each room, making it theirs, and they can’t do that if your holiday decorations dominate the stage.
Holiday Decorating Compromises for Stubborn Sellers
If you discard advice not to decorate and do it anyway, at least keep the decorations to a minimum. Don’t block or cover up important selling features such as fireplace mantels, stairs, stained-glass windows.
· Tone down the size of tree. In place of a 10-foot tree, try decorating a table-top, four-foot version.
· Stack wrapped presents in a closet or in one corner.
· Use more splashes of red than green because red is an emotionally appealing color.
· Resist the urge to hang banners and use greenery instead.
· Display centerpieces made from pine cones or other wintry pieces of nature.
· Never leave candles burning unattended.
· Set a plate of biscuits on the counter, next to festive paper napkins for guests.
(Source: Elizabeth Weintraub)
By Staff
If you ask a real estate agent, “Should I keep my home on the market over the holidays?” an agent will tell you, “Yes, absolutely, because then you know buyers are serious.”
You know what I think about that? I’ll cut to the chase. It’s rubbish advice. If you don’t have to sell between late-December and February, take your home off of the market.
Why Your Home Should Be Off the Market Over the Holidays
· Buyers will think you are desperate.
· It’s inconvenient to always be ready to show at a moment’s notice.
· The offers you receive will likely be for less than list price.
· You’re appealing to a much smaller inventory of buyers who have very specific needs that your home might not match.
· It’s almost impossible to close a transaction in December if the offer is received mid-month. Buyers who want to close in January make offers in January.
· If you remove your home from the market, it can go back as a new listing in January, thereby drawing more traffic because it’s fresh.
· Your agent might be on holidays in December and unavailable.
Some sellers insist on leaving their homes on the market, regardless. The deciding factors depend on local custom, on what neighbors are doing and how real estate activity is viewed by others during the holiday season in your area. Every city is different.
Still, less stock on the market over the holidays means less competition. However, when the pool of buyers drops, the remaining balance of stock might not make much difference. In parts of the country where its really hot, buyers think twice about leaving their home to trudge through your property when they’d rather be out in a cool shopping centre or staying at home in front of the air conditioner. If You Leave Your Home on the Market
Should you put out the fantastic plastic Christmas trees and the gold and silver bells on the walls? What about hanging a wreath on your door or showcasing a Christmas tree in front of a window? What’s overdoing it? What’s not?People carry biases and prejudices with them. Why give them more information than they need to know about you? By not decorating, you are keeping people’s imagination active during home showings. You are also making your home feel more spacious without blocking pathways. When buyers enter your home, you want them to imagine putting their own furniture in each room, making it theirs, and they can’t do that if your holiday decorations dominate the stage.
Holiday Decorating Compromises for Stubborn Sellers
If you discard advice not to decorate and do it anyway, at least keep the decorations to a minimum. Don’t block or cover up important selling features such as fireplace mantels, stairs, stained-glass windows.
· Tone down the size of tree. In place of a 10-foot tree, try decorating a table-top, four-foot version.
· Stack wrapped presents in a closet or in one corner.
· Use more splashes of red than green because red is an emotionally appealing color.
· Resist the urge to hang banners and use greenery instead.
· Display centerpieces made from pine cones or other wintry pieces of nature.
· Never leave candles burning unattended.
· Set a plate of biscuits on the counter, next to festive paper napkins for guests.
(By: Staff, 8 Dec 2010)
We piled 100 property investors and developers who were action takers into one room – it was a terrific night full of networking, card swapping and good info aimed at bringing people closer to taking the next step on their journey. Thankyou to all who attended for a great night, a little celebration, and more importantly, learning of our plans for next year.
2011 is going to be a great year for property investors and developers, and we look forward to working closer with you all throughout the year. To the members who joined us on the night, congratulations in joining the Profits To Share Club – we look forward to working with you.
For those still interested in joining to access a range of benefits including priority access to our team of property experts, 1st priority to become a part of our property deals and investment opportunities, as well as receive a stack of online resources & invitations to our “behind closed door” events, check the fresh website at www.profitstoshare.com.au for more information on how to join.
Check out the photos from the last week’s event launch…
We piled 100 property investors and developers who were action takers into one room – it was a terrific night full of networking, card swapping and good info aimed at bringing people closer to taking the next step on their journey. Thankyou to all who attended for a great night, a little celebration, and more importantly, learning of our plans for next year.
2011 is going to be a great year for property investors and developers, and we look forward to working closer with you all throughout the year. To the members who joined us on the night, congratulations in joining the Profits To Share Club – we look forward to working with you.
For those still interested in joining to access a range of benefits including priority access to our team of property experts, 1st priority to become a part of our property deals and investment opportunities, as well as receive a stack of online resources & invitations to our “behind closed door” events, check the fresh website at www.profitstoshare.com.au for more information on how to join.
Check out the photos from the last week’s event launch…
( By: Staff )
The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to leave the official cash rate on hold in December.
The Board was widely expected to leave the cash rate on hold at 4.75 per cent after lifting it 25 basis points last month.
RP Data’s research director Tim Lawless said while inflation remains a concern for the Board, its rate hike last month had done enough to dampen any immediate inflationary threats.
“With home values down by a little bit less than one per cent between June and the end of October, the RBA is likely to be reasonably comfortable with the Australian housing market. Although the latest housing market figures from RP Data-Rismark don’t include the market performance from the latest rate rise in November, it is safe to say that residential housing markets are no longer a threat to inflation,” he said.
According to Mr Lawless, the RBA will be much more focused on wage pressures fuelling inflation rather than house prices moving into the New Year.
“The recent Home Value Index figures from RP data-Rismark were probably the best case scenario as far as the RBA is concerned – home values have flattened rather than fallen markedly, which suggests a controlled transition out of the recent growth phase,” he said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to leave the official cash rate on hold in December.
The Board was widely expected to leave the cash rate on hold at 4.75 per cent after lifting it 25 basis points last month.
RP Data’s research director Tim Lawless said while inflation remains a concern for the Board, its rate hike last month had done enough to dampen any immediate inflationary threats.
“With home values down by a little bit less than one per cent between June and the end of October, the RBA is likely to be reasonably comfortable with the Australian housing market. Although the latest housing market figures from RP Data-Rismark don’t include the market performance from the latest rate rise in November, it is safe to say that residential housing markets are no longer a threat to inflation,” he said.
According to Mr Lawless, the RBA will be much more focused on wage pressures fuelling inflation rather than house prices moving into the New Year.
“The recent Home Value Index figures from RP data-Rismark were probably the best case scenario as far as the RBA is concerned – home values have flattened rather than fallen markedly, which suggests a controlled transition out of the recent growth phase,” he said.