Fat bloke. Red suit. Portsea pier, heading inland. “Ho, ho, ho,” (heard from pub).
Something’s up.
Real estate gloom rules hereabouts. Has all year.
… and never brought to mind …
FB descends on 140 Franklin Road. Bid bid bid. Gone for $2,260,000. Wrap it up.
Quick jog to 27 Wattle Grove. “Mid 1’s.” is the word. Yes. Right. Opens at $1,575,000. On the market at $1,700,000. Bid bid bid bid bid bid bid bid bid bid bid bid. Sold at $2,200,000. So this is Christmas.
… for auld lang syne, my jo …
Look around. Portsea is still The Place. Sorrento? Yup. Flinders? More for the if-you’ve-got-it-don’t-flaunt-it citizen. Across the water many of the display-prone are scattering about in Port Lonsdale, Anglesea, Lorne. Even Barwon Heads if you’re near the golf club.
… we twa hae run about the braes …
Back in MEL some are shutting up shop while others look white-faced at the soon-to-be-gone year. They need need need to sell and there’s no suitor in sight.
… we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit …
Ah! The mysteries!
In the dead of night, quiet deals are done. Large large large big deals. Shhh.
… and pu’d the gowans fine …
Auctions? Contain your excitement. Boroondarra and Stonnington seem warm but there are still many vendors waiting for the phone to ring. And presents still unwrapped:
- 68 Freeman Street, North Fitzroy, passed in at $2.3 million
- 9 Cleeve Court, Toorak, passed in at $3.65 million
… a cup o’ kindness yet …
33 Hopetoun Avenue, Canterbury, sold for $2.2 million
50 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy, sold for $2.1 million
Wrapped, unwrapped, re-wrapped, unwrapped:
Quietly, behind the scenes, 38 Cromwell Road, South Yarra, sold the second time around, after a failed first auction. $4.8 million? More.
And there it ends. See you next year.
Chris and David
Bayside: heading
Bayside: We twa hae paidl’d i’ the burn
That was the year we had to have?
Seven months of cloud broken by a patch of sun in the Spring before the dial turned back to grey.
… we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet …
Yet there’s now enough happening to suggest the market is off the danger list. And there is still an occasional bloom amid the gloom.
But that’s of little comfort to those who were thinking investment rather than lifestyle and bought between ’07 and ’10 – many of whom have seen values fall between 5% and 20%, plus considerable transaction costs.
… frae morning sun till dine …
What’s the positive? The current mood has brought buyers and sellers closer together, reducing the extraordinary stress which can be part of buying or selling in a more volatile market.
… seas between us braid hae roar’d? …
Where to from here?
One road leads to (horrors) Armageddon, the other to (horrors) the next boom.
Our bet?
Fairly stable, with no real prospect of significant capital growth for several years.
While it is true that any property market can be driven by sentiment, the prudent will always be guided by principles which we – closely followed by the Oracle of Omaha – have long promoted.
Value investing.
When the fundamentals are right, the long term will be kind.
Which, until next year, is enough from us.
… for auld lang syne.
Damian Taylor
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