Newsletter March 2010

Record February for Ray White in Victoria

Australasia’s largest real estate and property group, Ray White, has recorded its best ever February residential sales result in Victoria. Ray White Victorian General Manager Marcus Williams said preliminary state-wide sales figures for February totalled in excess of $350 million – a 58 per cent increase on sales for the corresponding month in 2009. Mr Williams said the highly active residential market was expected to continue despite the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this week raising official interest rates to 4.0 per cent. “Across the board there have been record prices achieved. There are lots of buyers at the moment and a limited amount of properties so we expect this strong sales trend to continue. There was still demand from first time buyers despite the ending of boosted government grants while up graders and property investors were also active.” Ray White sold more than 800 properties in February, while in excess of 4,000 properties were appraised, with more than 1200 new listings generated.

How much can my rental property achieve?

When trying to establish the asking price/rent for a property there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration.
1) The current rental market conditions,
2) The current supply and demand – are there more prospective tenants compared to properties,
3) The quality and condition of the property, and
4) The location of the property and accessibility to local amenities and transport, to name a few.

As a managing agent it is our responsibility to ensure that we achieve the best possible rent in the quickest possible time. When undertaking rental appraisal it is not uncommon to see similar properties in an area, with weekly rents that greatly fluctuate – sometimes up to $50 to $100+ At the end of the day, how much you can achieve in rent for your property is based on how much a tenant is prepared to pay. BUT BEWARE! Overpriced properties can lead to greater vacancy periods, higher tenant turnovers and greater wear and tear.
When you determine the rent achievable for a property it is important to do research by comparing the property to what is currently being offered in the market. How many other similar properties are there, how long have they been vacant and what rent is being asked?

Attracting and keeping quality tenant

There are a wide range of ideas and things that you can do with your rental property to attract a keep quality tenants, which we will be including in future newsletters. The one that we would like to share with you this month is the installation of reverse-cycle air conditioning. Tenants want to be comfortable in their home. They want to be cool in summer and warm in winter. If they are unsure that renting two properties and have to decide…you can be sure that reverse-cycle air-conditioning is a great selling point. For a relatively small tax deductible investment you can improve your property, possibly increase the rent and reduce your vacancy period. Even if you currently have a tenant in the property, the proposal of installing reverse-cycle air conditioning may win the tenant over as a loyal and long-term tenant. If you would like to install reverse cycle air conditioning to your property, feel welcome to contact our office to discuss this further.

PDF version: March Newsletter