TG

Alan Kohler, in today’s Business Specatator: “… the US dollar is weak and central banks everywhere else are being forced to accommodate US monetary policy to try to stop their currencies appreciating against the dollar. Bubbles in real estate and shares are inevitable in those circumstances.” The sense we’re getting at the coalface is that […]

How often do you hear that phrase, rapidly followed by “… is up.” “… is down.” “… is directionless.” “… is (add your own description here).” Truth is, Melbourne is not one real estate market. There’s a myriad pockets and the view you hear is very much from the perspective of the pocket of the

Time to re-set the speedometer? In thirty-something years, we have never seen a market as unpredictable as this. Not at the top end. Yes, it’s booming and if it’s a good property it can hurt to get in. But why? Who is buying these houses? And why are so many top-end properties suddenly on the

With just five selling weeks remaining before one of the most ebullient years in real estate in Melbourne will be going, going, gone, the market still continues to fly. Reported clearance rates for weekend auctions remain at 80% + while at the upper end there’s still strong under-the-radar activity in private transactions. The pressure is

Hot: Birdcage, Flemington. Not: The top end. While the REIV trumpets 80% + clearance rates, up here at the top end it is, as usual, a different story. The weekend at the top had all the thrill of a Britney Spears concert, complete with auctioneers struggling to lip-sync against a considerable number of walk-outs. Looking

At the top end? Everyone’s gone to the races. See you next week… Something to say? Your comments are welcome. Click on ?Comments? below.

The big weekend! The Melbourne Cup of auctions! The biggest of the year! The bidders are at the barriers! The lights are flashing! They’re off! Or not! Super! Saturday! It was a weekend with plenty of !s. Big bets from both buyers and sellers, but not every one a winner. Especially at the top end,

What a difference a year can make. From last October’s TET: Monday, October 13th, 2008 A bunch of years ago, Bob Dylan wrote The Times, They Are A Changin’. He could have been singing of now; as we write, banks are going “Whoops”, Governments are going “Oh bother”, car dealers are saying “Where is everyone?”,

Up here at the top end, interest rate rises or falls typically have only muted effect. Over the weekend, that effect was not only muted, it wasn’t heard at all; drowned in a deafening chorus of bidding. Anything AAA had four or five bidders prepared to pay premiums for the keys to the door. Given

The Spring real estate racing carnival is off and running – the touts and their vendors are out in force and you can feel the excitement in the air. But. But where’s the quality? At the top end, it’s as if the Melbourne Cup were being run with a country race field. Out of 10