Cities of dreams as value of homes begins to soar

Date: October 6, 2009

Clearly Sydney and Melbourne are leading the property market recovery and now represent two of the nation’s most popular markets.

RP Data’s national home value indices published last week reveal that for the first eight months of the year Sydney home values rose 8.6 per cent, to reach a new median value of $546,867.

Melbourne also put in a stellar performance and has found its feet again to record a stunning 11.6 per cent price increase, bringing the median value up to $467,280.

These buoyant conditions are in stark contrast to the same period last year, when values were falling, sales volumes were at rock bottom and only 45 per cent of auctions were clearing.

Now we are seeing house values rising, market activity increasing, and almost three-quarters of auctions are recording a successful result.

While the sceptics have touted this as a potential market bubble waiting to burst, the figures confirm that the residential market is protected from a downturn in values by a broad range of factors.

Interest rates are at historic lows and — although rates will be lifted over the coming months — we will need to see a rise of 150 basis points before mortgage rates reach their 10-year average of 7.3 per cent.

Importantly, housing is in undersupply and the nation’s population is growing at a faster rate than in any other country in the Western world.

Australian development is being underpinned by the fastest rate of population growth since the baby boomers.

Other factors such as the health of the financial sector and lower-than-expected unemployment figures are also likely to support the housing market.

Over the next six months capital growth is likely to moderate across the Australian market.

Interest rate rises, together with a winding back of the boost to the first-home owners’ grant, are likely to dampen demand.

Tim Lawless is the national research director of rpdata.com.

Source: The Sun-Herald

NOVAK ‘GET DAYS ON MARKET’ STATS IN MANLY DAILY

ALL ABOARD A NOVEL IDEA @ THE NOVAK AGENCY….ALL IN THE NAME OF CHARITY.

| Date:24 AUGUST 2009

PRINTED IN THE MANLY DAILY 24/8/09

OOH, Aaah, my hearties, Jim lad! Dee Why business owners Mark and Lisa Novak are wicked pirates in a new Australian book that has just been released and which also helps an animal charity.

They bid at an auction last year to have their names used as the lead characters in a new Tony Park book called Ivory. Mark is a a modern-day pirate in the book and Lisa is a wench who gets shot.

The couple, who own The Novak Agency in Dee Why, have always liked to support charities and they were keen to help the African rhino.”Mark is a very adventurous person so I think that fits his real life character perfectly,” said Lisa who is interested in reading the novel about modern day piracy in Africa. “I believe I get shot so I hope I get resurrected or make it in the book.

“It’s such a unique experience. It’s not like winning a holiday or being the highest bidder for a charity.

“This is actually something we can pass down to our children as well. I think in a sense that makes it even more exciting – to be able to say their parents or grandparents were characters in a book.”

Mr Park writes thrillers set in Africa and tries to weave modern day issues into his novels. In Ivory, modern-day pirate Alex Tremain and his band of ex-military men (including Mark Novak) are looking for one last big heist to fulfil Alex’s dream to go legit and open a hotel off the coast of Mozambique.

“Piracy is on the increase off the coast of Africa and is in the news every second day. As with my other books, I wanted to weave some current affairs into the plot of my latest novel,” Mr Park said.

Mr Park will speak about his book at Belrose library today at 4pm and again at the SAVE Foundation ball and dinner on Saturday, September 5 at the Hunters Hill Sailing Club. Tickets are $90 a head for a two course meal and South African beer and wine. More details:

http://www.savefoundation.org.au

- Kathryn Welling (The Manly Daily)

BUY YOUR PIECE OF NORTHERN BEACHES PIE – HOME CONSTRUCTION & LAND SALES @ RECORD HIGHS

Seems we’re returning to the good old days with vacant blocks of land being snapped up now more than ever and it seems that more home buyers are looking to build their dream home than buy an existing dwelling.

In just the past seven months, loans to build new homes have risen by 42 per cent to record highs.

For those looking to live in, rather than invest in, new dwellings, lending demand is up across the board. It’s not just loans to buy existing homes that are being taken up but more loans are being taken out for renovations.

And loans to buy vacant blocks of land are at record highs.

While investors are dragging their heels, it won’t be too long before they get the message that the housing market is gaining momentum.

First home buyers now have another six months to embrace the generous grants from the government. If recent enthusiasm to buy and build is any guide, the home construction sector will be at the forefront of the economic recovery.

The sharp rise in dwelling construction is clearly good news. The rental market has been super-tight for a number of years but finally supply is catching up to the latest demand.

You would think that living in a country that has so much land it would be a piece of pie to snap up your little slither of paradise however not so in many areas of the Northern Beaches.

Vacant blocks of land are rather hard to come by however pockets of land can still be found in Warriewood, Mona Vale and Beacon Hill.

These generally sell very fast so leaving your details with The Novak Agency is definately the best way to go! Also keep an eye out on the website as this is constantly updated…

Click here to view The Novak Agencies latest properties for sale

Follow The Novak Agency on Twitter

ARE YOU LIVING IN A BUBBLE? THE NOVAK AGENCY TALKS ABOUT ’THE’ BUDGET

Hmmmmmmm….something very exciting must be on tv on a Tuesday as sooooo many people seemed to have “missed” watching the budget! For those of our lovely friends who seem to be living in a bubble, last Tuesday night saw the announcement of the 2009 budget with some very important facts for first home buyers! Surprisingly it was uncovered at many of our open homes over the week-end that most keen lookers had no idea that the first home buyer grant had been extended!!! So, here we go! Your good friends at The Novak Agency are here to give you the heads up on what the budget means for you if you are a first homie… The grant varies from state to state however here in NSW the grant has increased for First-home owners entering contracts between July 1 and September 30. You will continue to receive the boost of $7000 if you’re buying an established home and $14,000 for those wishing to buy a new home. The boost will halve for those of you entering into new contracts from October 1 until December 31, with those buying established homes receiving $3500 while those buying new homes will receive $7000!!! Now that we’ve loaded you with this vital information it’s important that we emphasise the urgency to purchase your first property! Let’s face it….there are literally thousands of scouters out there and you’re all looking for the same thing. Supply simply cannot keep up with demand right now so if it’s a brilliant buy you’re after at a brilliant price we suggest you get snapping! Alternatively it may take you some time to find your perfect home, leave yourself ample time to look around. In addition, it does take time to arrange finance so don’t be leaving all your paperwork until the eleventh hour. Now…we have some of the most desirable first home buyer properties on the market. If you can see yourself living in Freshwater, Collaroy, Dee Why, Manly and beyond then you need to call us! Click here for a full list of The Novak Agencies properties for sale…or call us 1300 4 NOVAK or 8978 6888 24/7 – we never sleep! Be sure to follow The Novak Agency on Twitter….click here…we’ll ensure you’re always ‘a step ahead’

SUPERSIZE ME! THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO UPSIZE YOUR PROPERTY…ESPECIALLY ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES

SUPER SIZE!!!…..Famous words for those of us who are fortunate enough to dine at McDonalds. These words were also made famous by independant film maker Morgan Spurlock who made millions of dollars with his film “Supersize me” where he limits himself to only eating McDonalds over a 30 day period and had to supersize his meal each and every time he was asked.

For those that have had the pleasure of dining at McDonalds, we know that there is great value in supersizing or upsizing our meal(apart from the extra kg’s we add to our waistlines). Generally we’ll only have to part with a dollar or so for the pleasure!

Surprisingly enough this exercise rings true right here, right now with the Sydney property market.

As crazy as it sounds now has never been a better time to supersize your home especially on the Northern Beaches. Let’s look at it this way. The lower end of the property market, say up to the $500 000 mark is on the move right. For those of you sitting on property in this price bracket, you’re laughing. Lower end home owners…..it’s a great time for you to sell up, cash up and supersize your home especially for those of you living in Dee Why, Collaroy, Freshwater and the surrounding suburbs. Upgrading from the lower price bracket to the medium price bracket is very achievable right now as the middle price bracket has remained stagnant and therefore the jump from say a $500 000 unit to a $750 000 townhouse is now VERY feasible.

Surprisingly the same tune rings true for those supersizing your homes from the middle range price bracket to the high end range of living. Luxury housing in Sydney has actually dropped over the past six months making it therefore much more attainable for the medium level home owners to upgrade their homes with a relatively small (if any) jump in mortgage repayments.

Another fabulous reason to supersize your home right now is to of course to take full advantage of the 60 year all time low interest rates now sitting around 5%.

The market will certainly not stay this way forever. Now is an opportune time to take advantage of a fantastic market and utilise the opportunity to supersize your standard of living today and live in that home you always dreamed of.

We have your home.

Call us on 1300 4 NOVAK or 8978 6888.

24/7.

We never sleep.

THE NOVAK AGENCY – YOUR “SUPERSIZE ME” SPECIALISTS LOCATED ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES OF SYDNEY.

For more info go to www.thenovakagency.com

Biggest lift in home prices in 18 months!

Credit growth poised to recover Home prices; Private sector credit

• Australian home prices rose by 1.1 per cent in February, the biggest gain in 16 months. Dwelling prices were up 1.1 per cent for the first two months of 2009. Melbourne and Sydney led the gains.

• Private sector credit (loans outstanding) was flat in February with the annual growth rate falling to a 15-year low of 5.4 per cent. But money supply (M3) was up 14.7 per cent on a year ago.

• Credit responds with a lag to interest rate changes and new lending. New lending over December and January was the strongest in 18 months, so credit will lift in the second half of 2009. What does it all mean?

• Australian and US housing markets are like chalk and cheese. More?

Hold that home loan…UNEMPLOYED gets a helping hand from the big BANKS!

The “big four” (that’s Novak slang for the big four banks have come to arrangement to throw a lifeline to those struggling to pay their mortgages. These unprecedented move is aimed at preventing those struggling families from losing their homes. Commonwealth, NAB, Westpac and ANZ banks will actually place a freeze on mortgage payments in certain cases undergoing financial hardships. The government has recognised that the greatest fear for those who have or will loose their jobs is how they will pay the mortgage. This being said Mr Rudd set out to ask the Treasurer some time ago to negotiate an “assistance package” with the big four banks. Mr Rudd says the move will provide for a better handling of borrowers in hardship through job loss. He says banks will postpone mortgage payments for up to 12 months, with interest to be capitalised into the loan. The banks are also considering extending the period of mortgage contracts and reducing payment amounts.

RENTS SOAR AS HOUSING CRISIS WORSENS

New homes … more new homes will be built in Adelaide than in Sydney this year, data shows / AP
More homes to be built in Adelaide, Melbourne
Sydney in lowest rate of growth in 50 years
Rents tipped to soar across the nation
MORE homes will be built in Adelaide than in Sydney in 2009, proof that the housing crisis engulfing the nation’s biggest city is reaching alarming proportions.

Figures obtained by The Daily Telegraph show an estimated 7300 new dwellings will be built in Sydney this year, the lowest rate of growth in more than 50 years and roughly a third of the homes built in 2003.

CAN YOU FEEL THE REAL ESTATE MARKET RISING ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES?

The long-awaited return of Sydney investors appears to have finally arrived, as shown by the rising number of available rental properties in some parts of the city.

The latest data from the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW) revealed that the percentage of available properties in Sydney suburbs 25km or more from the CBD has jumped significantly.