Ive heard conflicting points of view re house prices.
On one hand I read an article on an Aussie paper websight that 99% of houses on the Sunshine Coast are unaffordable now, on the other i've been told by a family we are corresponding with the prices are dropping, by upto $80,000AUD, in some areas.
Could it be the latter is now a consequence of the former, and the propety boom bubble has burst?
One thing that is certain is that there are veritable bargains to be had anywhere as reposessions are at an all time high. There are lots of people over here over-committing themselves and spending upwards of 60% of their income on house repayments. If you get yourself pre-approved for a mortgage, you can bid at auctions confidently and save a fortune. Of course, one has to be rigid with limits and attend expecting to be disappointed. You may have to bear being outbid several times on several houses before you get something. If you are the sort of person who gets very emotionally attached to houses, it's probably not for you. Personally, I tend to be philosophical. There are millions of houses to be had and I don't focus all my energy on one... Last Saturday a very nice house up the road went at $321,000. It's true market value is nearer $450,000. There is another one up in our road in a couple of weeks and several more soon after...
regarding auctions how did you go about Pest Inspection and Building Inspection surveys, did you bother? Do you get enough time to have surveys done for auctions? Plus, if say 20 people are interested in an auction and they all want an inspection survey, that sounds like hell for the seller... would they normally get the survey done themselves and make it available for potential buyers?
It is the prospective buyer's responsibility to satisfy themselves as to the condition of the property etc. There is no cooling off period and settlement is practically immediately after the auction. It is a buyer beware situation. However, there are plenty of opportunities to inspect the property beforehand and you should always inspect the contract before too and get is checked professionally. Some houses still have builders guarantees and so on, but the onus is on you to find out.
The Victorian Government currently have a free PDF version of a guide for buyers and sellers which has lots of valuable tips. You can view it at
