Manly Real Estate – Properties Wanted
The Manly Real Estate Market continues to surge on the back of low interest rates and a shortage of stock.
More and more we hear people questioning how long the value of properties in Sydney Real Estate Market can continue to rise. Along with the Sydney market the local Manly Real Estate Market also continues to gain year on year. The logic is that there must be an end point to these gains to it at some time. And no doubt at some point the market will stop its inexplicable rise. But maybe not for the moment.
With the continuance of record low interest rates the only barrier appears to be people’s ability to pay their way. Certainly in recent times there have been some brakes put on the market: it is now more difficult for overseas buyers to obtain finance in Australia based on income derived out side of Australia; there have been curbs placed on borrowings by investors and even owner occupiers are now being asked to show that they can afford their proposed borrowings based on anticipated future higher interest rates.
Nevertheless, there still remains a great deal of pent up demand, which cannot be satisfied by current levels of stock.
As an example I reflect on the sale of 26 Parkview Road, Fairlight earlier this year. Over the full course of the four week marketing programme, our office fielded in the order of 100 enquiries for this property and issued in the order of 32 Contracts For Sale of Land.
Only one property was available for sale.
Many of the individuals we met, had already sold their own homes. Others were waiting to find a home before committing on the next. We believe we identified in that one sale in excess of $80,000,000 worth of demand for homes in the local Fairlight / Manly Real Estate Market. Demand we know has not been satisfied by the few subsequent sales, which have been transacted. That is $80 million sloshing around in a big bucket looking for a new home; $80 millions which will continue to drive the market for some time to come even if and when interest rates start to climb.
Shane Spence Real Estate has again set some enviable records in the local market over 2016. Not necessarily surprising given the strength of the local market, but we believe we have done better than most agents in the market in ensuring that our clients realise the full potential of the value of their property. We don’t believe it is just enough to put your property on the market and sell it to the first available buyer. Particularly in a strong market like we have today, when you will need every available dollar to be competitive for your subsequent purchase, it is imperative that you optimise your sale price.
If you are thinking of selling your home in 2017, we would love the opportunity of discussing with you how we go about our business of selling your home and gaining the maximum value of your property. Please feel free to contact either Shane Spence 0412226722 or Kevin McCallum 0429494854 for a no obligation discussion.
Sydney Rental Real Estate Market
Tenants get the upper hand when renting a three-bedroom home in Sydney’s south west
The following content is extracted from an article published by Jennifer Duke at www.domain.com.au. Here in the Northern Beaches area, the situation isn’t quite so bad but nevertheless there has been a slight stagnation of the local real estate rental market and whilst rent increases are still achievable, neither is the rental market tracking in line with the sales market. The two markets are disconnected and whilst media reports continue to show a shortage of stock in the sales market, much of this sold stock has now turned up in the rental market.
Jennifer Dukes article in part reads:
Sydney’s hot property prices and tight rental market have been described as a tenant’s nightmare. But in some suburbs, landlords are reducing their rents to secure a tenant.
Sixty kilometres south-west of Sydney CBD, one landlord recently dropped the advertised rent on a three-bedroom house in Narellan.
In Sydney’s south west, including Narellan and Oran Park, advertised rent for three-bedroom homes dropped by 2.2 per cent over September, according to Domain Group data. The median weekly advertised rent is now $440 for three-bedroom houses in the south-west, down $10 over the month.
The west and south-west had the most houses advertised for rent over the month, which meant tenants had plenty of choice.
“There’s also low income growth – tenants just can’t afford [any extra] each week,” Domain Group chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said.
For the full article go to:
https://www.domain.com.au/news/tenants-get-the-upper-hand-when-renting-a-threebedroom-home-in-sydneys-south-west-20161017-grq1yn/?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2020161018&utm_medium=email&utm_content=none
Negotiating Manly Real Estate
Are You Inside The Tent
Many people misunderstand what it is a real estate agent does. Most people would say we sell real estate. Unless the property I am selling happens to be my own I am not selling real estate for a living; which, if that is what I did for a living, would make me a real estate trader, not a real estate agent.
As a real estate agent I market and negotiate the sale of other people’s real estate; the only commodities I have to sell are my skills and services.
This is a pedantic distinction but our use of language often requires exacting use of words in order to achieve a given objective. But I digress from the subject at hand, which is to discuss if as a real estate buyer, you understand if you are inside or outside the tent!
One of the most difficult things to achieve when negotiating a sale is to encourage people to step across the threshold and take the first step to making a meaningful offer on a property. It is easy enough to solicit a low bid, which is of no interest to the vendor and which does neither party any good and diminishes the process when the two parties cannot come to an agreement around price.
There are several techniques an agent can employ to elicit a meaningful first offer from which to build to achieving a sale.
The most common method is to sell the property by Public Auction, which is all about setting deadlines by which time buyers need to make a commitment. I am of the opinion that it is imperative that the auction process is allowed to run its full course, that offers are not enticed before the auction day and that all potential purchasers are given the same opportunity to meet the advertised deadline. To elicit or take offers prior to auction day transforms the sale to a Private Treaty process, which requires a different understanding or how the process operates.
Sometimes, the Public Auction process either does not achieve the desired result (clearance rates in Sydney are currently in the order of 70 – 80%, meaning that between 20 and 30% of properties put to auction, need to go to the next level of marketing before a result is achieved) or the process is never adopted. Whilst on Sydney’s Northern Beaches auctions represent a sizable proportion of property sales, there remains a significant number of properties which are never tested at auction; they are sold by Private Treaty.
There is a clue as to the negotiation process in the name of each method of sale. Public Auction, which is by its name a relative public, open and transparent process. Private Treaty, which as its name suggests demands a private negotiation technique.
The problem when negotiating by Private Treaty becomes how to elicit a meaningful first offer, when no time deadline is in place; buyers have no incentive to be the first to make a bid.
The technique I use is to consider if potential buyers are inside or outside the tent.
The tent is the place in which negotiations occur. You are only inside the tent if you are participating in meaningful negotiations; i.e. you have made an offer and are actively pursuing the property within our price guide. If you are sitting, watching and waiting to see what happens or making low unsubstantial offers you are outside the tent and are not privy to what is actually happening in the negotiation process.
Many potential buyers ask me to keep them informed in the event there are any offers made; they are sitting outside the tent.
My answer to their request is an emphatic no; I will not advise you of other people’s Private Treaty offers if you are not an active participant in the process; I will not keep you abreast of any new developments. Other active participants who have made have made me a private offer, deserve the right to their privacy having stepped inside the tent. Only once you have also stepped across the threshold and have placed yourself inside the tent do you earn any right of knowledge as to what other people inside the tent are doing. Once inside the tent, your privacy is also protected from those sitting on the outside; only those people already inside the tent or those who may subsequently come along are privileged to know what other people including yourself have offered.
As a consequence, there is value in being inside the tent. You may be the only one there. You may give yourself an advantage over those waiting. At the very least you will know what is going on.
The counter argument is to ask, “why wouldn’t I just shop around someone else’s offer to other interested parties in order to see what else could be achieved”. To begin with, by promising everyone full disclosure of other people’s offers, means I have no leverage by which to encourage a first offer from anyone. Everyone will sit and wait for someone else to make a first offer. Secondly, it does not respect the privacy of the person who makes the first offer. Finally, if other people are to subsequent make offers off the back of some else’s effort, they will only make a marginally better offer, resulting in a tenuous quasi auction process. Everyone needs to consider what the property is worth to them and make their first offer based on their own judgement.
Shane Spence is the principal of Shane Spence Real Estate at Fairlight since 1997 and services Balgowlah and the local Northern Beaches area. Shane can be contacted on 0412 226 722 or shanespence.re@bigpond.com. For more details go to https://www.shanespencerealestate.com.au
Balgowlah Market Report – August 2016
Balgowlah Market Report 19 August 2016
Shane Spence Real Estate is currently marketing a property at 2/468 Sydney Road, Balgowlah, which is a brand new turn-key property comprising 3-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, 1-car space top floor Duplex style strata title unit with 2-balconies and a garden courtyard on title.
It is appropriate that we stop and examine the Balgowlah market for the last 6-month period.
We have just completed a search of data supplied from RP Data Corelogic and the following information is the result of this search.
Since 19 February 2016 to 19 August 2016
Sales
Number Low High Median
All Residential Dwellings 98
Houses 30 $1,340,000 $4,300,000 $1,850,000
Units 68 $495,000 $1,800,000 $820,000
In annual rate of increase for the last 10-years is 6.6% and in total for the last 5-years is 49.2%
Rentals
Number Low High Median
$PW $PW $PW
All Residential Dwellings 171
Houses 46 $670 $2,400 $1,250
Units 125 $375 $1,700 $590
Based on these sale and rental values we can see that for a median priced house, we could calculate the gross rental return as being:
($1,250 x 52) ÷ $1,850,000 = 3.5%
This is interesting although not entirely accurate as we are not necessarily comparing apples with apples. The median house was either 55 Seaview Street, Balgowlah (2-bed, 1-bath, 1-car) or 7 Lombard Street, Balgowlah (3-bed, 2-bath,1-car). In comparison, the median rental property was 6 Bentley Street, Balgowlah, which was a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1-car property. We can conclude therefore that if we were to calculate gross rental returns on comparable properties that we may end up with a figure of around 2.8%.
2/468 Sydney Road, Balgowlah
Champagne twilight inspections Friday 5:30PM, Saturday 11:00AM or Inspect Monday to Friday by appointment
On-Site Auction 12:00PM Saturday, 3 September 2016. Price Guide $1,220,000 to $1,320,000.
Shane Spence Real Estate is proud to offer this brand new, never lived in 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom top floor duplex style strata titled unit. Spaciously proportioned with over 200sqm on title of which over 60sqm comprises outdoor living space including your own private pet friendly courtyard.
With a nearby gymnasium, local café, walking distance to local schools, parks and golf courses this property falls within the catchment area of Manly West Public School. Make your choice to shop at Balgowlah or Seaforth shopping centers or catch the weekend bus straight to Manly Beach and back home.
This smartly designed property with voluminous floor space and enhanced by 3 meter north facing vaulted ceilings takes maximum advantage to create a quiet, bright and private oasis and yet is conveniently located close to express city bus routes.
You? You may be a young family looking for a home with space to grow into, somewhere for your children to play and keep a pet. Maybe you are down-sizing and looking for a convenient location in a newly built home, with all the comforts that come with buying a property with nothing much else to do other than adding your own décor.
Shane Spence of Shane Spence Real Estate has been Fairlight’s leading real estate agent since 1997. We have regularly set market records for both sales and rental properties, most notably our recently sale at 26 Parkview Road, Fairlight, where we achieved a remarkable result selling an unrenovated 3-bedroom, 1-bath,0-car semi-detached house under the hammer for $2,000,000.
In the event you are interested in buying, selling or leasing a property in the Manly, Fairlight or Balgowlah areas, do not hesitate to contact Shane Spence 0412 226 722 or Kevin McCallum 0429 494 854
Fairlight Rental Market Report – June 2016
Rental Market Makes Modest Gains
Unlike the sales market, which is being driven by the increased buying power of buyers as the cost of borrowing falls with low interest rates, the rental market has made gains over the past 12-months but not to the same extent. The value of rents increase with increases in tenants income and / or increases in demand through population growth in comparison to the supply of investment properties.
We know income growth has been stagnant and whilst the Sydney population has been growing, so to has the supply of investment housing. Whilst investors traditionally account for around 30% of the sales market, in recent years this figure has climbed to over 50% on the back of the Capital Gains Tax discount, self-managed superannuation funds and an influx of foreign capital into the local market. The Federal Government has recently introduced several changes to dampen the investor market, tightening up on bank lending procedures and introducing restrictions on foreign investment. Whilst the Labor Party has a proposal to restrict future negative gearing benefits to new built dwellings, the Liberal Party has not adopted this extra step towards normalising the market.
Searching the Department of Housing web site https://www.housing.nsw.gov.au/ I can see that for the local Government area of Manly (this will be the last time we might get these figures with the amalgamation of local councils) the rental market has increased as followed:
All Dwellings 1-Bed 2-Bed 3-Bed
Median Rent PW $560 $740 $1,150
% Increase PA 6.7 8.0 15.3
When you consider that the median price for all units in this area currently sits around $1,000,000 and all houses, $2,000,000, you can calculate that rental returns have fallen to below 4.0%PA for most investment properties. In comparison to other investment options, real estate still stacks up as a good long term investment.
Increases in the value of real estate are predominately a reflection of an increase in the value of land (this may account for the great result we achieved at 26 Parkview Road, Fairlight). Certainly, capital improvements can realise a greater value however when the market rises as a result of low interest rates, it is a reflection of the value of land. In comparison, value of rents is predominantly associated with the value of the dwelling. Whilst tenants certainly take into account a property’s position, aspect and land size, for the most part tenants pay higher rents for a better dwelling. Landlords who not only maintain their investment properties but constantly upgrade them are those who achieve better long term rental returns as well as capital growth.
Fairlight Property Report – Half Year 2016
Fairlight’s real estate market continues to grow strongly and Shane Spence Real Estate is leading the way.
As we all know from media reports, the real estate market has been jumping for the past 3-years on the back of historically low interest rates. Whilst it is difficult to predict the future, one would have to say that with the uncertainty in the world economy created by Britain’s decision to leave the EU, there will be no immediate pressure to increase interest rates for the foreseeable future. It is more likely that interest rates will remain steady or fall further.
On Saturday 25 June Shane Spence Real Estate had the opportunity to auction a property for one of our long term clients. AND we didn’t let them down!! In fact we have created quite a bit of a stir in the local market having set a record for an unrenovated 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom semi-detached cottage. Just for comparison sake, not the mention bragging rights, I have listed all of the sales of 3-bedroom houses sold in Fairlight in 2016 to date. Whilst our price is not the highest price for a 3-bedroom house, those of you who know the local area and appreciate the price difference between a semi and a freestanding house, will recognise the significance of our achievement– source Corelogic.
20 Rosedale Avenue, Fairlight Sold After Auction $2,250,000
Stone Real Estate 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1-parking Renovated Freestanding House 53 days
24 Arthur Street, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $2,200,000
Cunninghams 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1-parking Renovated Freestanding House 12 days
26 Parkview Road, Fairlight Sold At Auction $2,000,000
Shane Spence Real Estate 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 0-parking Unrenovated Semi-Detached 28 Days
38 Francis Street, Fairlight Sold After Auction $2,000,000
LJ Hooker 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1-parking Renovated Freestanding House 72 days
15 Clifford Street, Fairlight Sold At Auction $1,890,000
LJ Hooker 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 0-parking Renovated Freestanding House 30 days
27 Herbert Street, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $1,830,000
Stone Real Estate 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 0-parking Freestanding House 12 days
212 Arthur Street, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $1,751,000
Cunninghams 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1-parking Renovated Freestanding House 7 days
50 Hilltop Crescent, Fairlight Sold After Auction $1,750,000
LJ Hooker 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1-parking Freestanding House 190 days
265 Sydney Road, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $1,750,000
Red Property 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 0-parking Renovated Semi-Detached 9 days
28 Austin Street, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $1,650,000
Stone Real Estate 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1-parking Renovated Freestanding House 21 days
22 Wattle Avenue, Fairlight Sold Prior Auction $1,600,000
Red Property 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1-parking Freestanding House 25 days
This is not only a great result for our vendors; it is also a great result for the local market and validation of our marketing process. We have long held the view that many local agents have been selling their vendor’s properties short and denying them the opportunity of maximizing their sale prices by taking early offers prior to auction. Whilst this is often justified on the basis that the offer accepted was too good to refuse and that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, I think blind Freddy can see that in a seller market the best option for vendors is to take the property through to auction day and create a competitive environment.
Interestingly, I have found that most buyers prefer this scenario as well. The Public Auction process, when managed properly is transparent, offers buyers the opportunity to complete their due diligence in a timely manner and allows all buyers the same opportunity to compete. Conversely, converting a Public Auction to a Private Treaty type sale mid-stream lacks transparency and unduly pressures buyers into making hasty decisions; which in turn can cause some buyers to drop out of the process or restrict their value of their offer with detrimental effect to the price achieved.
So the next time you hear an agent spruiking their achievement that they have sold a house in 4-days, 11-days or even 15-days, ask yourself the question if they have really search the whole market as efficiently as they could have and; have they really done the best job of selling the property as they might have.
Shane Spence of Shane Spence Real Estate has been Fairlight’s leading real estate agent since 1997.
Why Auction? Shane Spence Talks About The Auction Process
Public Auction is the oldest, most well established form of selling real estate in Australia. Other than native title and land grants it precedes all other methods of selling property in Australia.
The brief history of land release in Australia post 1788 is that land was at first distributed to settlers by grants issued by the Governor; first to soldiers and the few free settlers in the colony and soon after to emancipists. Ignoring land grabs by Squatters, after the establishment of Victoria, land was released to new settlers via the Auction system, where the highest bidder won the right to own a particular parcel of “unsettled” land. It wasn’t until many year later when wealthy colonists wanted to keep land transactions and the amounts received or paid private from public scrutiny that a new system of Private Treaty was introduced.
Public Auction v Private Treaty have pretty much been the only two systems of selling land in Australia ever since. Land releases are still sold by Auction in Canberra, much as it always has been since day one. There are of course sales by tender, closed auction, expressions of interest but by and large these are all just variations on the two established methods of sale.
The name of the two systems, tells us something about each. Public Auction is by its very nature a transparent negotiation transaction, where as Private Treaty is by its very nature secretive.
Many people prefer to sell by one or the other method. As an Agent I see merits in both; albeit I have a distinct preference for Auction.
Auctions require a fluid, well informed market. In order for an Auction to be effective there needs to be at least one but preferably two or more interested purchasers who are ready, willing and able to buy on the day and a Vendor who is equally ready, willing and able to sell. This requires some timing. All interested parties need to maintain their enthusiasm until auction day. Market the property for too long and the Agent risks losing potential Purchaser’s whose attention was gained early in the marketing process. Market the property for too short a period of time and you risk not identifying all potential Purchasers. If a property is too rare or quirky there may only be one potential Purchaser; maybe think about Private Treaty. Too high price expectations and again, you might only have one potential Purchaser for the property; again, maybe think about Private Treaty.
The NSW Government recently introduced laws forbidding Agents and Vendors from under quoting the value of properties. Fair enough I say. It is unfair to be under quoting a property to potential Purchasers and building up their expectations, when the Vendor and Agent know that those expectations will not be realised. It is imperative therefore that the Agent and/or Vendor have a realistic appreciation of the properties worth. A goldilocks value so to speak. Not so high as to frighten off potential Purchasers who are ready, willing and able; not so low as to waste the time and efforts of those who may be ready and willing but are not able to purchase the property. A price range, which is just right!
Auction allows Agents / Vendors to market the property without declaring a price. It allows the market to find its own level. An Agent should be responsible for marketing and negotiating a price on a property, not setting the price. An Agent’s responsibility to his client, the vendor, is to achieve the best and highest price available in the market. Auction allows an Agent to achieve this by creating a competitive market place where all ready, willing and able potential Purchasers negotiate at the same time at the same place.
Presenting a property just right for Auction has become an industry in itself. A property needs to be presented in such a way as to attract the greatest number of potential Purchasers within the allotted marketing period. That purple feature wall you painted 8-years ago may have lost it’s appeal; your furnishings and bric a brac may not be to everyone’s taste and even though they are not for sale the manner in which you furnish the property at an open house is going to be the lasting impression for many potential Purchasers who may discount the value of your property on their first viewing and not return for a second.
SOLD in 11-days! An Auction is generally planned to run over a 3 to 4 week period of marketing followed very shortly after by the negotiation process at the Auction. Whilst there are no set rules, it generally takes this long to identify all potential Purchasers who are active, ready, willing and able to conclude a negotiation. Many potential Purchasers come to the party late. The last two Auctions I conducted, the successful Purchasers were identified in the days immediately prior to Auction. These two Purchasers over two separate Auctions contributed an extra $200,000 to the net worth of my Vendors – $200,000 which would not have been extracted had I advised my Vendors to sell after 11-days.
In both cases the eventual Purchaser was equally ecstatic about the result having been able to purchase the property of their choice in an open transparent market. Both thanking me for the manner in which the sale was conducted – no hard feelings that they were forced to compete for the property. One said, “Thank you. If it hadn’t been for your enthusiasm and honesty regarding this property, I wouldn’t have purchased it. I have had a smile on my face all weekend”. Certainly no hard feelings at having paid $85,000 over reserve.
And yet, time and time again in this heated market, when potential Purchasers are crying out because of the intense competition and lack of available properties, I see many Agents chest beating themselves when they sell a property in 2, 7 or 11 days. Well may theses Agents beat their chests for their own personal success. I doubt however if in the majority of cases they have contributed greatly to enriching their Vendors, who most likely have missed out on the benefits of competition.
Admittedly, occasionally, very occasionally there may be one potential Purchasers prepared to pay significantly more than others and in order to close on that opportunity, an Agent may need to recommend to their Vendor that they close a sale prior to auction. How the Agent can identify that in the first week or marketing prior to exposing the property fully to the market, I will never know; perhaps they have larger crystal balls than mine.
Auction allows the seller to control the process. Everything about Auction, allows the Vendor to control the process. It is the Vendor’s Contract For Sale Of Land, prepared by the Vendor’s Solicitor that is used to negotiate the sale. The Vendor gets to set the date of sale – the date of the auction. The Vendor gets to set the length of time that the property will be marketed for – usually no more than 3 to 4 weeks. The Vendor determines how much marketing will be budgeted for. The Vendor gets to set their reserve price; the minimum price below which the auctioneer can not sell the property without first gaining the Vendor’s consent.
In controlling the process the Vendor controls when and where offers are made and accepted. Again, I go back to my earlier comments about selling in 11-days. Why Oh Why would you establish a system so perfectly attuned to the market only to remove all of those benefits by converting a Public Auction to a Private Treaty negotiation prior to the day of auction.
Why would a purchaser buy at Auction? If the Auction system so favours the Vendor, why would any potential Purchasers subject themselves to the ordeal of buying at Auction. The answer is for many of the same reasons that Vendors see benefit.
Transparency; negotiating at Auction is transparent (particularly now that dumbing bidding has been all but removed from the process). Negotiating the purchase of a PRIVATE Treaty sale prior to auction is secretive.
Planning; thanks to the Vendor setting the agenda, all potential Purchasers know by what date they need to have finalised their due diligence, finance in place tick, property or strata inspections completed tick, Contract pre-read by solicitor tick. Because it is in the best interest of the Vendor to encourage participants, auction Contracts are often simple, Vendors often provide building or strata inspections for the benefit of potential Purchasers.
Availability; 30 – 40% of all properties on the market are sold by auction. In Manly, Fairlight and other Northern Beaches areas the percentage is probably over 50%. As a potential Purchaser, you cannot afford to exclude yourself from that number of properties available for sale; you just have to participate.
Exclusivity; Many Developers and Investors whose business model is based on purchasing a property at a discounted price to market or with special conditions such as subject to DA approval, will not be present at auction.
Completion; a deal negotiated at Auction is a done deal. There is no reconsideration, no last minute variations to the Contract, no last minute new participants making new offers before exchange. On the fall of the hammer all parties are committed to the sale.
Sleepless Nights My last piece of proof as to the value of Auction has been observed by me over many years. Dreams and nightmares. The thought of, what might be, how much will be paid high or low? Who will come along to bid? Will the property be sold or passed in? What if? What if? What if?
And that is just me!
I know that all participants at an Auction have a sleepless nights, the night before. The Agent, the Vendor, the Purchaser and the Auctioneer. Auction demands participation and consideration and pulls all of the parties to the same point in time and space when a deal is done.
In this current market Auction clearance rates are in the order of 70 – 80% over a 4-week period. If you then extend the process forward another 2-weeks, most properties submitted to auction are sold as a direct result of the previous 4-weeks of marketing.
Private Treaty, whilst having its place in our arsenal of available tools for marketing a property has never been able to compete with the success of Public Auction.
Shane Spence of Shane Spence Real Estate has been a leading Real Estate Agent located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, servicing Manly, Fairlight, Balgowlah, Queenscliff, the Northern Beaches and Lower North shore since 1997. Call Shane direct on 0412 226 722 or Kevin McCallum on 0429 494 854
Experience Counts!
Shane Spence of Shane Spence Real Estate has proudly served the real estate needs of Fairlight, Manly and Balgowlah, Sydney’s Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore since 1989.
My clients gain the benefit of my extensive local experience and knowledge, quality customer service and integrity.
My aim has always been to provide my clients with excellent professional service. My belief is that in order for real estate agents to be successful they need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem; agents need to contribute in a positive manner to the sales process not just be another cost burden to their client.
I must be doing something right! In a market dominated by larger franchised agents, my business has steadily grown from referral and repeat business.
Irrespective of whether you are a home owner, investor, buyer or tenant I endeavour to treat everyone with the same level of respect and dignity. I acknowledge, the public looks to professional, fully qualified agents for guidance, expect us to perform our duties in an honest, frank manner and to provide assistance to those with less knowledge and skills.
My office provides a full real estate service for residential property owners including; private treaty sales and auctions, residential property management and executive leasing, landlord insurance, referral to experienced mortgage brokers and regular free market updates.
I am proud of my record. I have quietly set some enviable sales and rental records, whilst at the same time I am pleased to say, many of my clients have become my friends.
I note that you have provided an estimate of the value of the property. Movement in the current market may require this estimate to be revaluated. In the event you would like me to provide an up to date market assessment of your property, do not hesitate to contact me.
Manly Property Market – Shane Spence Real Estate
Shane Spence Real Estate presents a short video about the state of the Manly Property Market as at September 2015
Since we published this video, the Manly property market has continued to go from strength to strength. Many people thought this may not be possible given that the market had been steadily increasing since 2011; wage growth had failed to keep pace with the growth in real estate prices; banks had tightened up their lending guidelines on investors; the FIRB has put in to place new guidelines regarding foreign investment; and the reserve bank has given banks new guidelines on lending to foreigners with overseas based incomes.
Many people thought that the combined effect of all of these changes would see the real estate market stagnating or even going into negative territory. And for a brief while at the start of 2016, it looked like that might be the case.
But what most people failed to see was that the growth in real estate prices had really been a function of interest rates. The lower the interest rate, the higher the affordability. In April 2016 on the back of some lower than expected CPI figures, the Reserve Bank of Australia stepped in and lowered interest rates by a further 0.25%. Predicting further decisions of the Reserve Bank is always a risking undertaking. Many commentators with far great resources than I have are however predicting that the Reserve will cut interest rates once or twice more before we see interest rates rising. Whilst the impact of further cuts to the prime rate may diminish, they will certainly not have the impact of reducing demand for a fixed supply and already highly demanded housing sector.
Shane Spence of Shane Spence Real Estate is a leading agent in the Northern Beaches market servicing Manly, Fairlight, Balgowlah, Queenscliff as well as the lower North shore and Sydney Markets. Shane studied economics at ANU and brings 25-years of first hand experience to the profession.
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