In a recent post Peter Ricci included the following graphic comparison of the top real estate portals.  The figures come out of Nielsens and only compare the top sites however they give a very good comparison of the major portals and their position in each state.

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OVERSEAS INVESTORS

Interesting article by Tony Koch in the Courier Mail on Thursday stating that over $1b in Queensland property has been purchased by Overseas Investors in the last year.

Buyers from Britain led the purchase pack last year, spending $252 million, followed by New Zealand ($141.9 million), Japan ($86.1 million), The Netherlands ($75.5 million) and the US ($54.8million).

Indicates that the Realestate.com.au drive internationally will help to market Australian property abroad as will the new Raine & Horne offices in the UK and Dubai.

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22567106-37037,00.html

INTEREST RATES BLUES

This week presented a bit of a mixed bag with the NAB monthly business survey showing conditions slipped again with the worst result since February 2007. The results could be based on increasing inflation, some global turbulence, tightening wages market and the upcoming election. Pundits are placing the liklehood of an interest rate increase by the end of 2007 at 45%.

theage.com.au/news/business/rate-rise-market-woes-batter-conditions/ 2007/10/09/1191695908896.html

ADELAIDE UP, SOUTH AUSTRALIA DOWN

Where Adelaide has achieved an 11.5% increase, overall South Australia have recorded a slump of 3% in the quarterly median house price and the Real Estate Institute of South Australia has blamed drought conditions as contributing.

The Adelaide increase of 11.5% is nearly double the 6% increase of the previous year.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22538552-5006301,00.html

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/10/2055398.htm?section=business

CONSUMERS OWN WORST ENEMY

For the 11th time in the past year consumer spending increased in August. Household goods showed consumers were buying more electrical goods like DVD players, plasma screen televisions and gaming machines.

Food spending jumped by one per cent in August, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, while spending on household goods was up by 2.4 per cent. But department store sales were down by 4.2 per cent.

If both property owners and those that aspire to own property do not curb spending and start saving, inflation will increase, interest rates will be increased and the dream of property ownership will move further away.

theage.com.au/news/Business/Consumers-spend-more-despite-rate-rise/ 2007/10/03/1191091164490.html

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Discounters out….. 

United States real estate discounter Foxtons’, a subsidiary of the UK based firm of the same name, is facing bankruptcy and lawsuits of over US$40m. The demise should remind industry professionals that there is no replacement for professionalism and customer service. In a market where Real Estate sales ranks have increased and many homes sell by simply listing them on the internet and putting up a sign, discounters perpetuate the proposition that there is little value a Real Estate professional can bring to a transaction, thus the less they should be paid.

Competent professionals cannot work for peanuts; Real Estate Agencies need adequate revenues to stay in business. When you give away your commission you also give away your ability to get the property sold at the best possible price in all but the easiest of markets.

The Bankruptcy filing on Friday evening came a little more than a week after the company announced it couldn’t survive and laid off 350 of its 380 employees.

The announcement by Foxtons created waves in the US real estate market. The company made its name by taking direct aim at traditional real estate agencies by offering commissions that were lower than what competitors charged. Once the housing market slowed, though, the company’s losses mounted.

Foxtons had 4,400 listings in New Jersey and New York. The company wants to sell the listings, along with customer databases and any equipment, furniture and vehicles that aren’t leased. It believes those assets can generate $2.6 million, according to court documents.

This should be a wake up call for Australian Real Estate professionals. The service that is provided by the Real Estate industry has long been underestimated and undervalued by the general community.  The process of listing, marketing and negotiating the sale of a property either by private treaty or auction, is a complex and sensitive process that requires skill and knowledge.  Add to this the raft of legislative control, introduced in the name of consumer protection, that only adds to the complexity of the process and not the outcome, and you have a very difficult space in which to work.

And finally, Discounters not only undervalue the industry and themselves, they also undervalue their clients.  If a Real Estate agent cannot negotiate their own commission, how can they possibly negotiate the highest price for their clients?

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Yesterday’s mail delivery to Raine & Horne Queensland’s head office at Nudgee Road Hendra included a surprise envelope.  It was addressed to ;

Any Estate Agents
Anywhere in Australia
Queensland preferred
Australia

Australia Post staff hand wrote in red;
“Try Raine & Horne
8, 469 Nudgee Rd
Hendra Q 4011″

Australia Post got it right…………………………………………..

The letter, from England, requests a bungalow not too close to schools and clubs but in a village with a doctor and a pub.  What more could you ask for? 

I guess the word has got our that Raine & Horne will find the perfect property for you regardless of whether it is residential, commercial or rural, in Brisbane, on the coast or in the bush…….. we will refer the writer to www.rhq.com.au as well.

Good one…..

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