PW1 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I just burnt my tongue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metoo Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Absolutely love the house. Congratulations, hope you have many happy years there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Wow it looks beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Congratulations - looks fantastic! I dread to think how much a property like that would cost in the UK (let alone Sydney!) but I'm sure it was worth every penny / cent, and I wish you and your family many years of happiness in it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Sheesh the Sydney market is stressful at the moment! Feels good to be back on the property ladder :-) Well done. But remember, this is Australia so at least you know you HAVE actually bought a house - not just hoping the chain holds up and no one changes their mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Beautiful house. Hope you have many happy years there :wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somgirl Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Lovely house NSP, hope you have many happy years there. You know what they say, new house......... New baby Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Well done. But remember, this is Australia so at least you know you HAVE actually bought a house - not just hoping the chain holds up and no one changes their mind! True. We still had to fight off a last minute gazumping attempt though It's very hard at the moment in Sydney for buyers. Anything that is rentable gets bid up like mad by investors, especially those with big SMSFs. It would be a brave man who would bet against capital values in 5 years time being anything other than a fair chunk higher than now, so it's pretty much a no-lose bet for people trying to top up their pension fund in the last 5-10 years before retirement. You see it at every auction - I can't remember the last one I saw that didn't end up with 2 investors at the end. We told the agents a few weeks back that if vendors (of any house) were insistent on taking houses to auction, we weren't interested. Only a drop in the ocean but if more buyers refused to take part in the auction charade there'd be less of 'em. We weren't under any time pressure to buy a house, other than our perception of prices accelerating away, and our hatred of renting....and there were always more houses coming on the market, so we always had the option of walking away and buying another one. There is a lot of rubbish out there too, unfortunately. I think as a buyer you have to bide your time and be prepared to wait for the right house, but when you do see the right place (or one that's almost right!) you have to be ready to strike hard and quickly. A bit like fighting then :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolvesaussie Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Congrats, if I can ever afford a house not looking forward to the auction process. How do you know what sort of offer to make if there is no advertised price? Why would the sellers take it instead of going to auction and let everyone fight it out? Interested why do you think values will be lots higher in 5 years, its already the most overpriced in the world, surely the only way is down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Congrats, if I can ever afford a house not looking forward to the auction process. How do you know what sort of offer to make if there is no advertised price? A number of ways. Even if they don't quote a price, if you fiddle with the settings on the property websites you can see what they've put it on there for. Agents will also tell you a guide price, but this is usually (always in the case of Sydney at the moment) under what it will actually go for. Rule of thumb here at the moment is that houses go for 10-20% more than the guide price, depending on how high/low it's been pitched in the first place. If you're following the market you'll get a good idea as to which agents tend to pitch high or low, and what stuff is actually going for - we've been actively looking since October Why would the sellers take it instead of going to auction and let everyone fight it out? Usually it's certainty that makes them do it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and all that. Plus if the vendors are looking for a place to buy themselves, selling prior and having that locked in means they know what they have available to spend, and can concentrate on searching for their new home rather than getting their house ready to show twice a week. If you try and buy a house prior to auction you need to put a good offer in, but it doesn't have to be a massive premium. Also, auctions are a risk to sellers too and they cost sellers extra money. Properties do still get passed in. There's one near us, it went on with a guide of $1.2m initially and then after a week due to feedback at the open homes the agent upped it to guide over $1.35m. Word on the street (it is 3 doors down from our friend, who is the biggest gossip in the world so I expect her to know) was that there were 2 or 3 buyers fighting for it and putting in offers of up to $1.5m. The vendors, however, got greedy and thought they'd do even better at auction so wouldn't strike a deal, when it went to auction the agent was confidently predicting over $1.6m. It got to $1.3m and got passed in. Now it's on for "offers over $1.38m". The problem for the vendors now is that as far as almost all buyers are concerned, they know it was passed at $1.3m and therefore in their minds the market has spoken and that's its true value. I bet you someone buys it for about $1.35 or maybe $1.38 if the vendors really push it, but once the market value has been tested and the market has spoken at an auction, it's very hard for vendors to push it up further. Why did the buyers who were interested at up to $1.5m walk away and not bid up towards that at auction? Hard to know. Perhaps the behaviour of the vendors p1ssed them off, perhaps they found something else, perhaps one of them was the high bidder at $1.3m but without the competition it didn't go up further. Also, the way the Sydney market is at the moment, houses are like fish. If they've been on the block for more than week they start to smell a bit - everything good is going so fast, the longer something is on the market the less people are prepared to pay for it. I would say around here, 80-90% of houses are advertised for auction rather than private treaty, but of those at least half are sold prior Interested why do you think values will be lots higher in 5 years, its already the most overpriced in the world, surely the only way is down? It is a grossly overpriced market, but so is London and Sydney is a bit like the London market I think. There is a constant influx of new people here, quite a lot of them have money, and there is a severe shortage of housing - and a savage shortage of good quality, affordable housing that's not hours travel away from the city centre. Demand just outstrips supply, and I can't see that changing in the foreseeable future. There are no guarantees in any market but unless there is a major recession here, big changes in the tax system that incentivises house buying (which won't happen even if they should because it would provoke a major recession) or some other systemic shock - well, I can't see it dropping much. Again like London, in poor periods for the market prices tend to stagnate rather than fall, or they have in the past Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bromney Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Beautiful house, congratulations! We're in the process of selling our UK property in order to buy here so you give us hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolvesaussie Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 A number of ways. Even if they don't quote a price, if you fiddle with the settings on the property websites you can see what they've put it on there for. Agents will also tell you a guide price, but this is usually (always in the case of Sydney at the moment) under what it will actually go for. Rule of thumb here at the moment is that houses go for 10-20% more than the guide price, depending on how high/low it's been pitched in the first place. If you're following the market you'll get a good idea as to which agents tend to pitch high or low, and what stuff is actually going for - we've been actively looking since October Usually it's certainty that makes them do it. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and all that. Plus if the vendors are looking for a place to buy themselves, selling prior and having that locked in means they know what they have available to spend, and can concentrate on searching for their new home rather than getting their house ready to show twice a week. If you try and buy a house prior to auction you need to put a good offer in, but it doesn't have to be a massive premium. Also, auctions are a risk to sellers too and they cost sellers extra money. Properties do still get passed in. There's one near us, it went on with a guide of $1.2m initially and then after a week due to feedback at the open homes the agent upped it to guide over $1.35m. Word on the street (it is 3 doors down from our friend, who is the biggest gossip in the world so I expect her to know) was that there were 2 or 3 buyers fighting for it and putting in offers of up to $1.5m. The vendors, however, got greedy and thought they'd do even better at auction so wouldn't strike a deal, when it went to auction the agent was confidently predicting over $1.6m. It got to $1.3m and got passed in. Now it's on for "offers over $1.38m". The problem for the vendors now is that as far as almost all buyers are concerned, they know it was passed at $1.3m and therefore in their minds the market has spoken and that's its true value. I bet you someone buys it for about $1.35 or maybe $1.38 if the vendors really push it, but once the market value has been tested and the market has spoken at an auction, it's very hard for vendors to push it up further. Why did the buyers who were interested at up to $1.5m walk away and not bid up towards that at auction? Hard to know. Perhaps the behaviour of the vendors p1ssed them off, perhaps they found something else, perhaps one of them was the high bidder at $1.3m but without the competition it didn't go up further. Also, the way the Sydney market is at the moment, houses are like fish. If they've been on the block for more than week they start to smell a bit - everything good is going so fast, the longer something is on the market the less people are prepared to pay for it. I would say around here, 80-90% of houses are advertised for auction rather than private treaty, but of those at least half are sold prior It is a grossly overpriced market, but so is London and Sydney is a bit like the London market I think. There is a constant influx of new people here, quite a lot of them have money, and there is a severe shortage of housing - and a savage shortage of good quality, affordable housing that's not hours travel away from the city centre. Demand just outstrips supply, and I can't see that changing in the foreseeable future. There are no guarantees in any market but unless there is a major recession here, big changes in the tax system that incentivises house buying (which won't happen even if they should because it would provoke a major recession) or some other systemic shock - well, I can't see it dropping much. Again like London, in poor periods for the market prices tend to stagnate rather than fall, or they have in the past Thanks very detailed response. I didnt realise you could put offers in before Auctions, and your reasons they may accept sound valid. Have to give it a go when the time comes. Talking of the tax system, I wish they would abolish negative gearing its a crazy policy, tax payer subsidising Investment losses. If you buy to rent you should be making a profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Beautiful house, congratulations! We're in the process of selling our UK property in order to buy here so you give us hope! Good luck. It is a hot market but if you are realistic on budget/location it can be done. Just be prepared to move fast We've learnt a lot in the past 3 months so if you want any tips, feel free to PM. In addition to what I've posted in the thread, try and develop a relationship with as many of the agents in your area as you can and be straight in your dealings with them. There is a lot of bad behaviour in the housing market so getting a reputation as someone who is honest and realistic is valuable We got to the point with 2 or 3 agents where we would be called and showed properties before they came on the market because they trusted us and knew exactly what we were looking for. In fact I've just called one of them who was going to show us something off market in a week or two, to let him know we're sorted now, it's only fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bromney Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Good luck. It is a hot market but if you are realistic on budget/location it can be done. Just be prepared to move fast We've learnt a lot in the past 3 months so if you want any tips, feel free to PM. In addition to what I've posted in the thread, try and develop a relationship with as many of the agents in your area as you can and be straight in your dealings with them. There is a lot of bad behaviour in the housing market so getting a reputation as someone who is honest and realistic is valuable We got to the point with 2 or 3 agents where we would be called and showed properties before they came on the market because they trusted us and knew exactly what we were looking for. In fact I've just called one of them who was going to show us something off market in a week or two, to let him know we're sorted now, it's only fair. Thanks for the kind offer and will certainly take you up on that. I totally agree you have to be quick and prepared hence we're only looking at properties on the web for now. Until our place is sold, we have the funds the sale and have a mortgage sorted we're not even going to bother to go to inspections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambethlad Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Well done. Most of us can only dream of a house like that. My only hope is winning Tattslotto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Thanks for the kind offer and will certainly take you up on that. I totally agree you have to be quick and prepared hence we're only looking at properties on the web for now. Until our place is sold, we have the funds the sale and have a mortgage sorted we're not even going to bother to go to inspections. You can (and should) get pre-approval on a mortgage. Because so many houses are bought at auction or in a similar transaction where contracts are exchanged on the spot or very quickly, the lending market has to be able to cope with that and not hang about for individual applications for lending on specific properties Find a lender and get pre-approved for a given amount of lending based on your income and circumstances - obviously they'll need all the usual evidence like payslips, bank accounts etc. Then the only thing you need to worry about on specific properties is the valuation they will do on it. It is normal here at the moment to have to move faster than the bank can value things, so you may need to be prepared to take the risk on committing yourself on a contract before the house is valued. Which can be a problem if the valuation comes back lower than the sale price, obviously. You can mitigate this risk by putting down as big a deposit as you can, by being close to the market so you can be more sure yourself you're not overpaying, and by obtaining the auto-generated value reports done by the likes of RP Data and ANZ bank. Your lender/broker will certainly be able to access these reports if you ask. We went through a mortgage broker and she has been outstanding - so far. A great service, like the brokers of old in the UK used to be before the internet made everyone an expert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolvesaussie Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Oh I didnt see the photos, the house we are renting is a bit like that in that the whole living area opens up onto a deck, its amazing for having parties in nice weather you can have people inside and outside but still together, you can sit outside and watch the cricket etc.. its great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 That was one of the real plus points for us. This side of Sydney is so hilly, most houses have the back garden (yard if you must ;-) ) either above or below the house, lots of steps between house & garden. This is the first one we've seen where the back of the house opens out at level ( or near level) into the garden, great for entertaining and the kids :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon4017 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Not trying to pry, but how does the cost of your mortgage compare to your previous rental costs? I know that there's more to the equation than just the weekly payment (enjoy banging in a nail without someone giving you a dirty look!) but I just wondered if there was much of a differential. Also, for anyone lurking from the UK, Sydneys' market is quite special, as the OP pointed out. Up north (SEQ), we have to rely on the sun to keep us warm, not the housing market. Far from being a frenzy of activity, house auctions were almost becoming an embarrassment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 It's a bit more than our rental... it is a much nicer house, but also a bit smaller. It is also in a slightly cheaper area (same suburb, but not so close to the railway line) We wanted to find something that cost us about the same as our rental but that would have meant a bigger compromise on location, size or quality. Obviously it depends to a great extent on the deposit you have I would say there is a disparity opening up between rental prices (which are not going up much) and buying prices (which are). i.e., rental yields are dropping. It doesn't dissuade many investors though, good old negative gearing eh? With capital growth so strong, the yield matters much less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Beautiful house. I hope you'll be very happy there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeegieDave Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Lovely house Phil. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNC FABS Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Wow, that sounds like one hell of a tough market. I guess the local agents must be walking around like gods, earning a plenty. Figures of love, not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgil Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Congratulations, what a beautiful home. I love those multifold doors to bring the outside in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Hi, AMAZING house...dream house! I'm just wondering, slightly nosey, how did you afford it! Huge savings? Well paid job? How much deposit did u need? Don't feel u have to answer..I would love to know the cost..ha..fabulous house...congrats x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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