NEVER A BAD HAIR DAY…CAUSE WE NEVER SLEEP!

| Date:4 January 2010

We’re sure that there’s many people at this time of year that would agree they also never sleep…late night parties, wild new year celebrations or running on adrenaline…well it is a crazy time of year!

Fact is, we never sleep – 24 hour around the clock telephone service. No silly answering machines, you will speak to an actual person, one of us! Sunday open houses…how many agents that you know do Saturday and Sunday opens together with a mid week open?

Yes. We are and have been open the entire Christmas & New Year period. No holidays for us…we’ll leave that for the other agents!

Want to sell? Call us, we’ll come and see you at 6am, 10pm or even midnight any day of the week. Need a place to rent or buy? Easy. We’re available whenever you are.

Just click here to contact us! Simple.

Happy 2010 and we look forward to turning your New Years resolution into a reality!

WHY DEE WHY?

| Date:9 November 2009

Gone are the days where most of us used to walk around Dee Why in our boardies and thongs. Seems these days many more of us are swanning around in our best designer clothes in what is now the new uber chic Dee Why!

Dee Why has done a huge about face in the past 5 years where it once was somewhat of an untidy borderline daggy kind of neighbourhood to what it is being transformed into now.

So, why the change?

In the past 5 years Dee Why has come ahead in leaps and bounds and it seems it is now the “in” place to live.

You’d have to be living in a bubble to not notice that Dee Why is located in an irreplaceable position, with many residential streets being just a hop, skip and a jump to the world famous Dee Why Beach, Manly Beach & beyond.

Loads of luxury, state of the art apartments are going up in the area which is encouraging a slightly more mature, asset rich demographic. On the other end of the scale it appears that Dee Why is now made up of a young, trendy population with 40% between the ages of 20-39 years of age. The majority of these young inhabitants seem to enjoy a rather sizeable income and many own their own property within the area. This is a real family suburb with the benefit of having a surf beach right at the front door.

One would never go hungry in Dee Why with some 46 restaurants, cafes and bars many overlooking the beach where you can grab anything from Pizza to Indian spices, there is something for everyone! With all the new developing going on in Dee Why there has been a huge increase in the number of eateries with one trendier than the next. Been to Dee Why Market Place yet???

There is a ton of sporting clubs including rugby clubs, golf clubs and of course surf clubs together with some incredible child care facilities many of them brand spanking new.

A sensational mix of shops, 280 shops to be specific, including trendy boutiques and availability to your everyday items makes Dee Why a highly desirable place to grab a dress, get your hair done or jump in to the gym.

It’s seriously central location means that you can hop on a bus and be in the CBD within a half an hour or catch a ferry from Manly Beach, just moments away.

Just walking through the streets you’d be blind to not notice just how mutli cultural Dee Why is. The fabulous mixture of races and religions introduces a wonderful flavour to Dee Why where many nationalities live together in a peaceful, safe & harmonious environment.

Of course last but not least…Dee Why is home to The Novak Agency! We’d like to think that we set the benchmark for Dee Why now being as cool and trendy as what it is….however I think we’ll have to bow down to the many developers that saw the potential in this little piece of paradise….

The Great Recovery

The Great Recovery – Sharemarket trends

•    More than half a trillion dollars has been added to the capitalisation of the Australian sharemarket since March. Market cap currently stands at just over $1.4 trillion.

•    While the value of sharemarket has lifted almost 60 per cent since the March lows, it has also become more concentrated with almost half capitalisation held in banks and resources. And just over a third of sharemarket value is held in just six stocks – ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
The Great Recovery

•    We have had the Great Depression. And in some advanced countries the recent economic downturn has been termed the Great Recession. But more positively – and in the same vein – the strong, swift recovery of the sharemarket since March could aptly be described as the Great Recovery.

•    The value of shares on the Australian sharemarket currently stands at just over $1.4 trillion ($1404.7 billion). Since March 9, market capitalisation has lifted by over half a trillion dollars ($519.4 billion) or a gain of 58.7 per cent.

•    There is still some work to reach the highs set on November 1 2007 but it looks far more achievable than appeared the case just seven months ago. Sharemarket capitalisation needs to rise by almost 25 per cent to reach record levels.

•    Certainly the fall from grace for the Australian sharemarket was remarkable. Between November 2007 and March 2009 the value of shares on the Australian sharemarket almost halved, falling by just over $847 billion or 48.9 per cent. But since, just over $500 billion of the paper loss has been recovered with just over $300 billion to go.
With recovery comes concentration

•    The recovery of the sharemarket appears remarkable, but not if you consider the performance of the economy. If an economy grows, it will be reflected in sales, profitability and therefore in the size and value of Australian companies. The Australian economy avoided recession and is now accelerating out of a slowdown. The Reserve Bank certainly expects the economy to gain pace over the coming year as reflected by the recent decision to lift interest rates.

•    In essence the sharp decline in the value of the sharemarket was unwarranted as the Australian economy failed to follow other economies into recession.

•    The main problem is that the dollars flooding back into the sharemarket have tended to flow to the main banks and resource companies.

•    Currently three of the 19 sub-sectors account for almost half the capitalisation of the sharemarket. The S&P/ASX 200 sub-sectors – Banks, Materials & Energy – account for just over 48 per cent of sharemarket capitalisation, up from just over 39 per cent at the start of 2007.

•    In fact just six stocks account for over a third of the capitalisation of the entire sharemarket – ANZ, NAB, CBA, Westpac, BHP-Billiton and Rio Tinto. Capitalisation of these six stocks has soared by $228 billion from the lows recorded late last year.

•    If the shift of funds into the ‘Super Six’ companies just represents a shift into large, safe-haven companies at the start of the sharemarket recovery then there are few long-term implications. As the recovery matures and consolidates, investors should feel more comfortable to embrace small and medium-sized companies, leading to less concentration of sharemarket value in a small number of companies.

•    However if sharemarket value continues to be concentrated into the top stocks then key indices such as the ASX 200 and All Ordinaries will be far less representative. It is important that investors are aware of the power that the ‘Super Six’ companies exert.
Have investors become too exuberant?

•    The sharemarket has rebounded a long way in a short time period. As a result, this raises the question about whether investors have become too exuberant. And in this respect an interesting dichotomy has developed. The forward price-earnings ratio, measuring share prices against earnings forecasts stands at 17.82, well above the decade average of 16.09. However the lagged PE measure, comparing actual share prices against actual earnings, stands at 14.7, below the decade-average of 15.4.

•    Which measure is right? Analysts were pleasantly surprised by the resilience of earnings in the latest reporting season and many have sought to upgrade forecasts. But it is probably fair to say that analysts still harbour doubts. So the upgrade path still has further to go.

•    The lagged PE measure requires no adjustment of views, so in the current environment it is arguably the more accurate valuation measure. The bottom-line being that the market is neither super-cheap nor expensive. If companies continue to offer positive guidance about earnings, then the sharemarket will continue to track higher, however at a more modest pace than has been the case to date.

•    CommSec expects the sharemarket to end the year around 5,000 points and lift to 5,300 points by mid 2010.

Source Craig James, Chief Economist, CommSec

Reserve Bank lifts interest rates to 3.25 per cent

By Edmund Tadros

news.com.au

October 06, 2009 02:30pm

The Reserve Bank has increased its official cash rate to 3.25 per cent. Graphic: news.com.au / Eric Auld

THE Reserve Bank has lifted its official interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent.

This marks the first time since April that the central bank has increased its rate.

The market had priced in better-than-even odds that the rate would be increased today after strong ANZ job ads figures were released yesterday.

A 25 basis point increase to the official rate adds about $45 a month to a $300,000, 25-year home, according to comparison website RateCity.

Australia is now the second country in the world, after Israel, to begin tightening its monetary policy.

Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has called Australia’s 3 per cent official cash rate an “emergency” level rate.

This is likely to be the first of many increases that the Reserve Bank will make as the economy continues to recover.

One leading economist is predicting that the official cash rate is likely to rise to four or 4.5 per cent by the end of next year.

The global financial crisis was “almost if not completely over”‘, and most parts of the economy no longer needed the support of very low interest rates, Grattan Institute economist Saul Eslake said earlier today.

If rates were left too low for too long, it could fuel a bubble in housing prices, he told ABC News.

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

Thump Thump Thump

GOOD NEWS FULL OFFICIAL DATA CLICK HERE

Record August growth in home values despite first home buyer demand winding back.

Capital city dwelling values – first eight months of 2009
•Sydney values up 8.6% to $546,867
•Melbourne values up 11.6% to $467,280
•Brisbane values up 5.2% to $443,197
•Adelaide values up 3.1% to $ 407,227

National property values jumped by almost 2 per cent in August in the largest monthly movement since the
RP Data‐Rismark Home Value Indices began in January 2005

According to rpdata.com research director, Tim Lawless, the August results
surprised on the upside and are indicative of very high levels of buyer
confidence combined with low levels of listings.

“These buoyant conditions sit in striking contrast to the same time last year
when values were falling, less than half of the auctions held cleared.

GOOD NEWS FULL OFFICIAL DATA CLICK HERE

LEASE A LIFE OF LUXURY (ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES)!

Let’s face it we all dream of living in the 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom beachfront home with the infinity edge pool however the wage we earn in barely enough to pay the rent let alone the $2 million dollar mortgage.

Dreammmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…….imagine throwing the fishing rod out of your bed to catch the Sunday lunch or checking the surf conditions from your lounge as you flick through the sports channel? For the majority of us, this has only ever been a dream with the tastes of Point Piper with the budget of Penrith!

You may however not need to wait for the Monday night lotto numbers to come up. Your beachfront estate may be a pay cheque away thanks to the global economic crises.

Many multi-million-dollar homes around Sydney are
sitting empty, despite their extensive list of extras, such as pools, gyms, wine cellars and entertainment systems.

These properties would normally rent for $2000 + a week and are typically leased to high flying executives and their families seconded to Australia for work.

The financial downturn has meant fewer high-end tenants, which means property managers are slashing rents by up to 30 per cent in some of the city’s most expensive suburbs.

Some agents are even allowing groups of single professionals to move into waterfront mansions – normally frowned upon in this market – just to get the property occupied. One proviso is that they need to be very well paid and come with good references.

It’s a marked contrast to the lower end of the market, where tenants often have had to outbid each other to secure a lease.

It is not uncommon for high-end homes to sit vacant for months with some owners  feeling the pressure of not being able to find a high-paying tenant and happy to negotiate the price.

You probably won’t find a  lot of bargains advertised although if you surf properties listed from $2000 to $3000 a week, landlords may very well consider any reasonable offer. Let’s face it, it’s better to have a tenant at a negotiated price than none at all.

Steve Martin, president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW believes there are two different markets in Sydney – the vast majority who lease out of need, and the five per cent who do so in search of a lifestyle. He says renting is a good way to “feel the water” in a certain area before committing to a mortgage.

High end luxury rentals will not remain low for long however with many business people from the Northern Hemisphere moving over….

So, why not spoil yourself for the Summer. Live like a Diva, walk around your beach house in the nude while singing your favourite Christmas carols and still have a few extra bucks to buy the wife that tennis bracelet she’s always dreamed of!

BUSY LITTLE BEES AT THE NOVAK AGENCY

| Date:14 September 2009

It seems that the whole world has come out of hibernation these past few weeks.

We have listed some 15 properties and sold loads more over the past week and a half.

The Novak Agency is in full swing with loads in store for Spring including the unveiling of our “secret weapon”….stay tuned for this one!

As the weather heats up so to is the property market with clearance rates thriving, up by 32% from this time last year.

It’s not just the birds and the bees that’ll be busy this Summer – looks as though we’re in for a bonza of season!!!

Click here to see what fabulous properties we have in store.

Also, be kept in the loop with our Novak email newsletter…so informative, so entertaining, so have to be part of it! Just e-mail the very good looking Angelo at agoutzios@thenovakagency.com and we’ll be sure to add you onto the “A List”…

DUBAI OR DEE WHY – THE NOVAK AGENCY REPORTS WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR HOOD!

| Date:31 August 2009

THIS PHOTO IS ACTUALLY DUBAI (NOT DEE WHY)!!! SOME SIMILARITIES HUH?

You’d have to be living in a bubble to not realise the immense amount of construction happening in Dee Why right now.

Looking down over Dee Why you could almost be excused for thinking your in down town Dubai with cranes, massive craters in the ground and labourers everywhere you turn!

The truth is all the noise, mess and detours that we are encountering is well overdue and will serve to raise property prices for all whom reside in this beach side burb!

The Northern Beaches suburb of Dee Why was somewhat stuck in a time warp from the 1970’s. The fabulous new shopping centres, residential apartments, boutique shops,chic eateries and gourmet shopping villages will place Dee Why on the map as the new “in” place to live.

So what is actually happening around Dee Why?

The Novak Agency has put together a list of what’s behind the large construction walls,the mess and noise:

DEE WHY HOTEL DEVELOPMENT (Otherwise known by the locals as the “Jet Club”)

- Sydney architectural firm, Marchese + Partners, have commenced works on a $100 million redevelopment of the Dee Why Hotel on Pittwater Road, one of the biggest developments to be proposed for the Warringah municipality.

- The approval was achieved in the relatively short time frame of 11 months and follows a previous DA that was refused by Council in October 2003.

- The client was congratulated by the General Manager of Warringah Council for “going back to the drawing board,” and selecting Marchese + Partners to design the revised project.

- The project will include a mix of 235 residential units, 2488 square metres of commercial space, a new hotel, 4100 square metre supermarket and accompanying retail, 1400 square metre bottle shop, and 721 car spaces.

- The entire redevelopment will cover 10, 557 square metres of floor space arranged over 6 buildings of various heights, with a landscaped podium for residents’ use.

“We have put a lot of hard work into balancing the needs of future residents, shoppers, and the public whilst creating a development that achieved all the client’s expectations,” says Steve Zappia from Marchese + Partners Architects. “ The complex brief, together with development controls, made it a real challenge to achieve the required floor space on the site, but we managed to accomplish both this and also create a strong urban design that will contribute to the locality in a positive way.”

- Under a recent metropolitan strategy, Dee Why has been identified as a key commercial area, with 17,300 new dwellings planned over the next 25 years to accommodate a 75% increase in the local workforce. Marchese + Partners looks forward to playing an integral role in the continued growth of the area.

THE “EXPLOSION” OF THE DEE WHY TOWN CENTRE

- Dee Why Town Centre will be COMPLETELY transformed from an older style local shopping centre to a modern regional centre.

- One of the buildings to be constructed will be double that of any other building in the Dee Why area!!! “Dee Why is a shambles and something desperately needs to be done about the Town Centre,” said Warringah Council Administrator Dick Persson.

- The new State Government Metropolitan Strategy changes the nature of Dee Why and the amendments to the LEP will allow the area to realise this vision of ‘a major shopping and business centre serving the immediate subregional residential population’.

- The Multiplex proposal and Council’s proposal for the Howard/Oaks Avenue carpark site include large open spaces, a mix of residential, retail and commercial uses with substantial streetscape improvements and underground parking.

- There are a number of features of the Town Centre proposals that offer community benefit:

- The creation of a 2,250 sq/m north facing public plaza

- The generation of capital to allow the provision of a new and expanded library along with a new community centre and facilities for the community services currently operating out of houses in Howard Avenue

- The doubling of the size of Walter Gors Park

- Large increase in the number of public parking spaces

- Bus layover on Pittwater Road

- New traffic arrangements to improve unacceptable delays

THE DEE WHY MARKET

- Situated at 27-33 Oaks Ave, Dee Why, (adjoining Woolworths) The Dee Why Market is the latest “in” place to shop!

- If you like a stunning pizza, delicious pasta or a killer coffee then this is by far the place you need to be!

- A selection of gourmet food stores include a butcher, european deli and the Wild Oats Fruit Shop. A must to try is Hit Cafes coffee, I am addicted!!!

Check out Dee Why Market – http://www.deewhymarket.com.au

KINGSWAY @ DEE WHY

- “Ravello” a 3 story + loft, 13 metres high development with approx. 100 residential units is the Kingsway development in Dee Why.

- Due for completion February 2010.

We wish all of our developers the best of luck and cannot wait until our “little Dubai” in down town Dee Why is unveiled for us all to enjoy!