Some of us from DQ Real Estate recently took part in Run a Muck over at the Belvoir Estate in the beautiful Swan Valley. This event was a charity 5km obstacle race where Team DQ worked hard to get over obstacles like cargo nets, walls, giant bouncy castles and through massive trenches filled with mud followed by river crossings. Even our licensee and directors got stuck up to their knees in mud! Real estate presents lots of challenges for us to navigate every day and motivating each other through this muddy event will definitely help us work well as a team back in the DQ office.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Hot Tips To Keep Cool
Every Summer, WA residents struggle with the blistering heat
but blasting the air conditioner is not a practical option when you’re trying
to keep electric costs down. But here are some great tips to get you through
the sweltering nights and scorching summer days.
Whilst you’re at work during the week or out sun-baking on
the weekends, the heat throughout the day streams through your unprotected
windows heating up the whole house for when you return home. Try and shade your
north and west facing windows with blinds or curtains that block out the sun.
Even outside you can protect your windows with pergolas, awnings and thick
foliage.
Make sure you keep your doors and windows closed during the
day and once the evenings start to cool, open up the house to let the cooler
air breeze through. If you’re worried
about insects or the safety of your home, have a lockable security mesh door
that still allows cool air through the house.
Fans cost little to run so try it before pumping the AC. If
it is still too hot, have both the fan and AC on to circulate cool air faster.
To save electricity and money, have the air conditioner running at 24 - 26C. Setting
your thermostat just 1C colder can make your power bills noticeably higher.
Even turning off electrical appliances by the plug when they
are not in use will reduce the temperature in your home as they are still
producing heat, items such as; T.V’s, computers, laptops etc.
The little things like drinking more water, running cold
water on your wrists every few hours or even a spray bottle will help keep you
cool cheaply. Just enjoying the summer will certainly make it fun, swimming in
the pool, playing at the beach and BBQ’s in the garden to get out of the hot
kitchen.
A New Year - A New Landscape
A
shift towards smaller lots are evident in all final subdivision approval lots
in greater Perth, lots under 320m/2 have increased by 15.3% since 2006/2007 and
represent 27.1% of the market. Approximately 45% of lots for 2012-2103 are in
the 320 – 499 m/2 range. Only 16.6% of lots measure in between 500-599 m/2, a
decline of 10.9% from 27.5%, which use to be commonly referred to as the
average sized lot in 2006/7.
The
recent changes to the R Codes indicate how the minimum and average lot sizes
have changed lowering the minimum lot size for development. The R20 code changed
from 440m/2 to 350m/2 with an average lot size requirement of 450m/2 as appose
to 500m/2.
The
most significant R code change must notably be the introduction of the new R80
with a minimum lot size of 100m/2 and an average lot size of a mere 120m/2!
Here
are just some more popular R codes changes:
R30
Minimum 260m/2 Average 300m/2
R40
Minimum 180m/2 Average 220m/2
R60
Minimum 120m/2 Average 150m/2
For
more details on the R Code Changes feel free to contact us.
Looking into the future it’s
not just the lot sizes that are shrinking; mortgage rates have been and have remained
at an all time low, improving affordability despite rising property prices.
Unlike lot sizes that are tipped to continue to trend down, interest rates and
stock levels could be rising towards the middle of next year and out towards
2014-2015. The jump in headline inflation in the September quarter was a bit
faster than the local debt market had been expecting, but underlying measures
are still in the lower half of RBA’s 2-3% medium-term target. The RBA will be
keeping a close eye on the movements of the Australian dollar in the new year.
With
the right planning, perhaps aspirational plans to upgrade could be well outlived
in 2014. As of August WA Upgrader Housing finance commitments were up 14.3%
year on year. We expect astute sellers may cautiously take advantage of the
current demand on prices with listings moving in a narrow band and a general
softening in the rental market becoming a catalyst for a changing market towards
the latter part of the year.
The
key indicators for investors remain strong, with increased development
activity, rising record population growth, encouraged first home buyer activity
and Perth dwelling construction to seven year highs. The modern landscape for
property is changing with more of a focus on energy efficient building designs,
communication networks, close to employment opportunities, regional and local
transport, community wellbeing, and access to jobs, services and learning.
Distinctive designs, with vibrant and flexible well designed streetscapes and
outstanding public places are taking precedent in premium land development
communities.
Three
bedrooms homes accounted for nearly 45% of the Perth market for houses and
multi residential sales with just over 40% of the proportion of sales having
been for four bedroom homes and 35% multi residential, according to REIWA’s Sept
quarter data. An emerging trend is a
shift to units with dwelling commencements having increased by some 76% across
the Perth Metropolitan region in 2012-13.
The September
quarter market data indicated early improvement in demand for the $700-800,000
price ranges which has in recent weeks become more evident. Wanneroo South and
North West submarkets showed increased activity with the North West having the
largest share of the outer markets with an estimated 20% of Perth’s house sales
for 2012-2013.
The
City of Wanneroo is forecast to grow by about 9000 people per annum to 2021.
Current data from the Real
Estate Institute of Western Australia show that sales turnover lifted during
both October and November pushing Perth’s median house price to a new record.
The data show sales had returned to normal levels and indicate that for the
three months to November Perth’s median house price climbed to around $530,000
- $535,000, up from the previous peak of $525,000 on the June quarter.
The quarterly median for the
three months to November was up by almost 4% and due mainly to the composition
of sales during this period after strong first home buyer activity pulled the
median house price down to $510,000 in the September quarter.
The
data also show that in some of the coastal sub regions, such as parts of
Wanneroo, Joondalup and in Rockingham there was a weakening in sales activity
that had emerged through the month of November.
While this retraction in sales
is only modest at around 2 to 3% on the previous month, a drop in listings also
in these areas, which suggests that the fall in sales activity has nothing to
do with oversupply, accompanies it.
Listings have remained stable for
the last few weeks with a slight drop in dwellings.
The
median rent in the metropolitan area has dropped by just over 2% over the last
three months to $460 across the board. This now breaks down to typical rents
for houses coming in at around $470 per week and for units and apartments at
around $450 per week.
Current
REIWA data show Rental listings may have reached
their peak this week with a drop of 1% after a solid growth of 19% over the
last two months.
With a new landscape, 2014 could
prove to be a significant year.
On behalf of the team at DQ, I would
like to thank all our past and future clients for recommending us and
supporting us and would like to wish you and your families peace hope and joy
this Christmas celebrating the New Year!
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