Real Estate News

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Jeremy Desmier talks Balwyn

May 17th 2012

Melbourne Property TV, Season 3

Fletchers Director, Jeremy Desmier appeared on MPTV last week, catching up with host Des Dowling at Fletchers Balwyn North to discuss the leafy suburb of Balwyn.

Jeremy began with Fletchers more than fifteen years ago and over that time, his enthusiasm, market knowledge, negotiation and integrity have earned him the utmost respect and trust of many clients.

As a resident and property owner in Balwyn, Kew and Mont Albert, Jeremy has a thorough appreciation and intimate knowledge of the eastern suburbs and its wide range of property styles.

Watch the segment here!

Fletchers Group News Update – 14 May

May 14th 2012

We certainly hope that all the Mothers out there were spoilt on Mother’s Day on Sunday! We also commend all the enthusiastic participants of the popular Mother’s Day Classic fun run, who got out of bed on a cold day to help raise funds for breast cancer research.

The REIV recorded a clearance rate of 63 percent on the weekend, compared to 52 percent on the same weekend last year. Fletchers again achieved a fantastic success rate of 80 percent, which included busy auctions at 170C (Lot 1) Broughton Road, Surrey Hills with four bidders and 12 Boisdale Street, Surrey Hills with five bidders.

Our Geelong Office had a successful day under the hammer, selling both 20 George Street and 113 Autumn Street in Geelong West.

Moving away from auction results, we would love to share two recent private sales that we achieved, which highlight the unity of our team and the value of a good database!

The first is 142 Mountain View Road, Balwyn North which demonstrated our terrific inter-office teamwork. The home was listed by Tim Heavyside at our Canterbury Office, but sold by Balwyn North specialist, Daiman Kane within a week of being on the market. The vendor was thrilled with the result!　

The second occurrence developed from the excellent impression a potential client received of Fletchers agents Gail Logan and Tim Heavyside. Although it wasn’t time for her to sell, she was so impressed by Gail and Tim’s professional approach that she referred them to a neighbour’s home. The neighbour had previously listed her home with another agent but hadn’t been able to sell.　

With a lot of hard work over a weekend, making several phone calls to her database contacts, Gail was able to present this tired, frustrated vendor with not one, but two documented offers! The vendor was relieved and happy, and the lovely lady that provided the referral was thrilled to be informed and receive a gift as a gesture of thanks from Gail. As she said in a glowing testimonial, “Fletchers work for the vendor and make things happen…I am now a raving fan and wish you and your sales team all the success you deserve.”　

Wow! We were certainly delighted to hear such kind words about our company and its representatives. If you would like to experience the Fletchers difference, please contact us on (03) 9836 2222 to discuss your real estate needs.　

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Our happy referrer posted a picture of her gift on Facebook!

To Rent or Buy?

May 11th 2012

Generation Y’s Property Double Act

A new breed of home buyers is answering the old ‘rent or buy’ question by doing both.

Increasingly, due to issues of affordability and heightened concerns about lifestyle and long-term commitments, Generation Y investors now entering the property market as they establish careers and begin to think about future housing needs, are bucking the traditional approach.

Instead of just searching for a family home in the suburbs – looking outwards from the CBD until their budget meets the prevailing price – they are finding different ways of becoming real estate owners.

Last year a survey of aspiring Generation Y (roughly those born between 1980 and 1992) property buyers by mortgage broker Mortgage Choice found that 43 per cent intended to make their first purchase an investment property. Renting in one place, or even living at home with patient parents, while buying somewhere else is now a commonly held plan.

Read some real life experiences and more about this topic on Domain.

You can share your experiences with us, using your Facebook account! (Now that is VERY Gen Y…).

Fletchers Group News Update – 7 May

May 7th 2012

What a busy, rainy auction weekend for Fletchers!

The auction clearance rate recorded in Victoria was 62 per cent, with the REIV noting that the decrease in interest rates announced last week may help stimulate activity levels. However, any impact is unlikely to be noticeable for another few weeks; in addition to the rate cuts, other economic factors such as unemployment levels and consumer confidence will need to improve if we are to see an increase in activity and prices.

Fletchers defied the average on the weekend, however, achieving a success rate of over 80 per cent with several impressive results. 38 Uganda Street, Burwood sold prior to auction for $688,880 (must be a lucky number!), as the circumstances were right for both parties.

Earlier in the day, a large crowd of approximately eighty people battled the rainy conditions to see five bidders compete strongly for the opportunity to own 47 Queens Parade, Glen Iris. Auctioneer James Bateman did a great job of entertaining the crowd and inspiring the bidders, and the vendor was suitably impressed with the professionalism of both James and Brad Cooper throughout the whole campaign.

36 Burgundy Drive, Doncaster was another busy auction, this time held inside because of the rain. Around eighty people packed the living room area, spilling into the kitchen to see four bidders race the price up to $776,000. Auctioneer Tim Heavyside used a whiteboard to clearly demonstrate all the bids, which the buyers most appreciated as the auction was well represented by the Asian community.

It was a busy day for Tim, who also sold 41 Maysia Street, Canterbury where a crowd of about seventy people took on the rain to witness a sale at the esteemed Hassett estate. Located in a landmark location, 32 Churchill Street is regarded as being in one of the three best streets in the small suburb of Mont Albert. Although the sale price was undisclosed, we can report that the vendors were thrilled!

22 Tennyson Street, Richmond has had a fantastic marketing campaign, which came to a head in the sleeting rain as seven bidders engaged in competitive bidding. The property sold well in excess of the vendor’s expectations, with agent Nick Fletcher describing the property as one the best warehouse conversions he has ever sold!

The final auction of the day in Balwyn North showed resilient bidders still out in force despite the inclement weather. 36 Walnut Road, Balwyn North was bought by a couple returning to Melbourne from Sydney, after eight years away. They flew in on the morning of the auction, then flew out that night – their daughter Maggie (pictured) was very excited at the prospect of moving to her new house in Walnut Road.

Interestingly, both bidders only viewed the property for the first time on the Wednesday, the week of the auction. Bidding started at $720,000 going slowly at the beginning and finally finishing at $901,000, giving credence to the old advice of never stopping on a ‘round’ number. The last $1,000 bid was enough to see the losing bidder hop in the car and depart. The reserve price was $850,000 – Senior Associate, Jason Salan noting it is a familiar case for Balwyn North properties of recent weeks, exceeding reserves comfortably (for the most part).

We hope that you enjoyed our latest news…more next week!

Happy purchasers of 36 Walnut Road, Balwyn North