Hot News - September 2010

Jock Gilbert Real Estate have just been named as finalists in the Real Estate Institute of SA awards for 2 categories - Community Service Award and Property Management Agency of the Year. The winners will be announced on October 15.

The National Picture - Property Investors

In the 2007-08 financial year 303,359 investors owned (solely, jointly or part) 2 rental properties. 14,580 owned 6 or more properties! These figures make up part of the total number of investors - 1,663,581.

Investing in New Properties

Did you know owners of new investment properties are eligible to claim depreciation on the building structure and the fixtures and fittings in their property?

The effective life of a new building for ATO purposes is 40 years (some exceptions apply). This means a brand new property is able to claim the entire construction cost over the life of the property.

For example a property purchased for $450,000 and built in 2010 can claim $15,824 depreciation in the first year, $14,017 in year 2, $12,113 in year 3, $10,981 in year 4 and $10,342 in year 5 (based on the diminishing value of depreciation).

Source: BMT - Maverick Magazine, Issue 28

Gen Ys say YES to Units

Inner city high rise apartments are becoming the property purchase of choice for younger buyers. The trend, which is being spearheaded in Melbourne, is a result of buyers being priced out of the urban housing market but not wanting to move to the outer suburbs.

Sydney is another market that is highly likely to see growth in the apartment market, as a result of off-the-plan stamp duty concessions introduced at the beginning of July.

Source: Your Investment Property Magazine

Congratulations to David O'Grady
Leading Agents of Australia State Winner 2010
Salesperson of the Year

Market Snapshot

• Nationally house prices increased by 2.4% in the June quarter
• Melbourne out on top with 4.4% growth
• Annual growth is at 15.6%
• Rents increasing by 6% annually
• Country councils and eastern suburbs of Adelaide were leading areas for median price growth

Source: Financial Review

A BIG THANK YOU

Thank you for supporting
Emerging Local Artists at GALLERY AT 60.

The opening was a huge success with a significant number of pieces sold. The raffle & silent Auction also raised $1150 for Time For Kids.

If you know of any artists who may like to be a part of future exhibitions please ask them to contact Diana Gilbert at dianag@jockgilbert.com.au

We look forward to seeing you at our next exhibition!

Gallery At 60

Jock Gilbert Real Estate is proudly supporting emerging artists.

Join us for our exhibition opening, featuring

Emily Solomon, Margot Solomon & Jen Wright

On Thursday 24th June 6 - 8pm at 60 Kensington Road Rose Park. Exhibition will be opened by Amanda Blair.

Raffle to support 'Time for Kids' www.timeforkids.com.au

Exhibition hours: 25th June - 9th July, Mon - Fri 9-5pm

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

Join us on Tuesday May 25th 2010 at 10.00am for the Jock Gilbert Real Estate Biggest Morning Tea and help us raise money for the Cancer Council.

Join us for tea/coffee, cakes plus raffles and prizes, in support of Cancer Council's research, prevention, education and support services.

Alternatively you can host your own morning tea. It's easy to organise, fun and completely flexible to suit your environment.

By taking part you can help Cancer Council support the 1 in 2 Australians who will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85.

Visit www.biggestmorningtea.com.au for more information or to donate.

Property Investors on the Rise

More than two in three (61%) homeowners said they plan to access the equity in their homes to buy an investment property, compared to just 12% who said they would not tap equity and a quarter (23%) who said they would use equity to carry out renovations.

Source yourmortgage.com.au

Hot Property

Australian capital city home values jumped by another 12.5% in the year to March 2010. The largest increase in the last 12 months was Melbourne, with home values surging by 19% to $482,000

Rental Market Update

Between August 2005 and February 2010 national capital city rental rates have increased by a total of $133/week for houses and by $132/week for units. All Australian cities except Hobart have recorded a softening in rental yields during the last 12 months. This is the impact of all cities recording growth in values and first home buyers becoming extremely active which has eased rental rates within most cities at some stage during the last 12 months.

Source RP data

First Home Buyers a Small % of Market

First home buyer numbers have decreased to 18.1% of all owner occupiers down from 26.8% in February last year, on a national scale. The average first home buyer loan size has also fallen from $290,100 in December 2008 to $282,100 currently.

Housing Loans

Home loan volumes are also declining with owner occupier housing loans falling by - 1.8% for the month of February. They are down -16.1% over the year.

Million Dollar Properties

Nationally there were 19,417 house and unit sales priced at or over one million dollars last year. This was 21 per cent lower than what was recorded in 2007.

Source RP data

What type of smoke alarm do I need?

The type of smoke alarm you need depends on the age of your home and when you purchased it:

• If you owned or had a residential rental property before 1 February 1998, you are required to fit a replaceable battery powered smoke alarm.
• If you purchased your home or residential rental property on or after 1 February 1998, your smoke alarm must be fitted within 6 months of date of purchase of the property and you are required to fit a:
  - 240 volt, mains powered smoke alarm OR
  - a 10 year life, non-replaceable, non-removable, permanently connected battery powered smoke alarm.
• If your home or the residential rental property was built on or after 1 January 1995, you are required to fit a 240 volt mains powered smoke alarm.

JDRF - Spin to Cure Diabetes

It's on again! Last year Jock Gilbert Real Estate entered their inaugural team for the Spin to Cure event to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

We're back again for this year's event on April 23rd in Rundle Mall.

The Spin to Cure Diabetes is an outdoor stationary bicycle competition. Each team, made up of five people, must "spin" for 40 minutes in a stationary "race" to see who can rack up the most mileage. Each team member has only 8 minutes to spin as hard and as fast as they can with the team that spins the furthest declared the winner.

To help JDRF find a cure for type 1 diabetes, you can make a donation online. No matter how large or small, your gift will help JDRF continue to move research from the laboratory through to a clinical reality for the 140,000 Australians currently living with type 1 diabetes.

For more information on the event and to find out how you can help please visit www.jdrf.org.au/spin

We're the biggest!

Travelling around the globe Australia came out on top when it comes to the size of our homes. In 2009 the average size in square metres of new homes in Australia was 214.9sqm. New Zealand 196.2sqm - Greece 1126sqm - Italy 81.5 - UK 76.2sqm.

Source The Weekend Australian, Feb 20 2010

Toorak Gardens - highest median rent in 2009

The median rent in Toorak Gardens in 2009 was $580 per week - almost $100 more than the year before and the highest in the state. Henley Beach South had the next highest median rent of $550 while other eastern suburbs, Wattle Park, Millswood, Dulwich and Rose Park were close behind.

The cheapest weekly rent in both 2008 and 2009 was paid in Elizabeth.

Rental stock levels rose in 2009 due to the first home owners grant causing renters to leave the rental market and buy their first home.

Source The Advertiser, Feb 17 2010

2009 - National Property Picture

National property values were up 10 percent over the first 10 months of the year. However the number of transactions are down even though demand for property is growing thanks to record population growth and improved confidence in the broader economy.

Outlook for 2010

• fairly upbeat
• expect investor and 'upgrader' numbers to continue to improve
• consumer confidence remains high
• medium to long term growth prospects remain healthy

Source RPdata

Owning vs Renting 1995-2008

The Australian Bureau of Statistics have released figures comparing renting and owning a home. A 13 year time series study showed the average Australian mortgage holder is paying just 18 per cent of their gross income towards their housing, while renters are paying 17 per cent, highlighting that the difference between the two may not be that great.

State by state shows NSW residents have the greatest housing occupancy costs and Tasmania the lowest.

Nationally over the last 13 years housing costs for those without a mortgage remained virtually unchanged. For those with a mortgage housing costs have risen by $112 per week in 13 years, representing an annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent over the period. The cost of renting has shown an annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent.

Source RPdata

Awards for Excellence in Real Estate

Real Estate Institute of South Australia

Jock Gilbert Real Estate is proud to have been named Finalists in the 2009 Awards for Excellence in Real Estate in the following categories:

• Property Management Agency of the Year
• Property Management Practitioner of the Year

These prestigious Awards are the State's most prominent in the real estate sector. They provide outstanding recognition of the profession's most esteemed and successful practitioners for the year in a variety of professional categories.

Recently Sold

Click here to view a selection of our recently sold properties.

New Listings

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Market Update

Strong Market Across Australia

House and Unit prices have jumped +1.4% in October 2009, which is equal strongest to other months since June 2007 bringing the average home price to a record high of $496,400.

Prices are up by a very strong +10% in 2009 year to date and 5.8% above the prior peak in February 2008.

Currently median house prices are

$359,000 in Adelaide

$544,000 in Sydney

$441,875 in Melbourne

$419,000 in Brisbane

$336,500 in Tasmania

First Home Owners Grant Extended to December 2009

• 1st Oct - 31st Dec - $7,000 plus either $3,500 to purchase established home or $7,000 to purchase a new home.
• 1st Jan 2010 - Reverts to $7,000 total.

Tips for First Home Buyers

• Get your loan pre-approved by a lender so you known the amount you can borrow and repay.
• Ensure you have saved a sufficenit deposit and you also have enough to cover the buying costs such a stamp duty and mortgage insurance.
• Do you research on the area and type of preperaty which you're intending to buy.
• If you're buying a new home or a property off-the-plan, make sure you get independant advice about all documentation and contracts.
• Don't buy for the sake of buying. There will always be more property coming up on the market.

Top Adelaide Sales in 2009

Houses Sold in the Metro Area

• Unley Park $4,123,550
• Aldgate $3,750,000
• Stonyfell $3,700,000
• Leabrook $3,305,000
• Unley Park $3,250,000
• Medindie $3,206,000
• North Adelaide $3,200,000
• Walkerville $3,000,000
• Kensington $2,900,000
• Norwood $2,900,000
• St Georges $2,850,000
• St Peters $2,850,000
• Adelaide $2,850,000
• Toorak Gardens $2,675,000
• North Adelaide $2,650,000
• Norwood $2,650,000
• College Park $2,600,000
• Athelstone $2,500,000
• Brighton $2,450,000
• Walkerville $2,238,000

Home Styling

Tips1/ Obtain a home stylist consultation

• Complementary when you list with Jock Gilbert Real Estate

2/ Implement their action plan

3/ Accessorize

• Home stylist can help you here
• Cushions, small homewares, artwork

4/ Shuffle - Also called 'room editing'

• Rearranging existing furniture
• Most importantly decluttering

Helpful Hints
Small rooms, use small furniture. Mirrors can add depth and a sense of space.

10 Ways To Save Money After You've Bought Your New Home

So you've just moved into your new home. You've unloaded the boxes, unpacked most of your stuff, and are just starting to settle into your residence.

Right now is the perfect time to walk through a checklist of ways to save money on your home. Starting on these things as early as possible will allow you to start saving money sooner rather than later.

Here are ten things to check on or do immediately that will reduce the energy and maintenance costs of your home over the long haul.

1. Check the insulation in your attic and install more if needed.
If you have an unfinished attic, pop your head up there and take a look around. You should see some insulation and there should be at least six inches of it everywhere. If there's inadequate insulation or the insulation you have appears damaged take steps to install new insulation.

2. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater down to 55 degrees.
This is the optimum temperature for your hot water heater. Most people do not utilize water that's hotter than that, and thus energy used to keep the water that hot isn't effective. Lower the temperature, save some on your energy bill, and you'll never skip a beat.

3. Install ceiling fans in most rooms.
Ceiling fans are a low-energy way to keep air moving in your home. Because of the air circulation effect, you can get away with keeping your thermostat a degree or two higher in summer and a degree or two lower in winter, netting a rather large savings. It's amazing how much a ceiling fan can do during those hot hot summer nights.

4. Hang a clothes rack in your laundry room (or, better yet, an outdoor clothesline).
A clothes dryer can really eat up your energy costs, but it's convenient for many people. Battle that convenience (and save money) by hanging a clothes rack from the wall in the laundry room and use it to dry t-shirts, underwear and socks. If you can hang up 20% of the clothes in a load on this rack, you can get away with running the dryer 20% less than before, saving you cash. Even better: if you can, install a clothes line outside where the wind can catch it and hang most of your clothes outside.

5. Check all toilets and under-sink plumbing for leaks or constant running - and check faucets, too.
Do a survey of the plumbing in your home before you settle in. If you find a toilet is running constantly, it's going to cost you money. You should also peek under the basin of all sinks in your home, just to make sure there aren't any leaks.

6. Mark any cracks in the basement with dated masking tape.
Many homes have a few small cracks in their basement walls from the settling of the foundation and the weight of the house. In a stable home, the small cracks aren't growing at all - they're safe. If they're growing, however, you'll save a ton of money by getting the problem addressed now rather than later. Take some masking tape and cover up the end of any cracks you notice inside or outside, and write today's date on the tape. Then, in a few months, check the tape - if you see a crack growing out of the end of the tape, you might have a problem and should call a specialist now before the problem gets out of hand.

7. Install CFL and LED light bulbs in some locations.
CFL and LED bulbs can save you a lot of money on energy use over the long haul, plus they have much longer lives than normal incandescent bulbs. Consider installing some in various places - we usually use CFLs for hall lighting and LED bulbs for closet lighting.

8. Choose energy efficient appliances, even if you have to pay more up front.
Unless you were lucky enough to buy a fully-furnished home, you'll likely have to do some appliance shopping. Focus on reliability and energy efficiency above all, even if that seriously increases the cost you have to pay up front. A refrigerator that uses little energy and lasts twenty years is far, far cheaper over the long run than a fridge that runs for seven years and guzzles electricity.

9. Air-seal your home.
Look for any places where air may be leaking directly into or out of your home. These aren't just air leaks - they're money leaks. Thankfully, fixing small air leaks is pretty easy - here's a great Department of Energy guide to caulking and weatherstripping, which will keep such air leaks from costing you.

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