According to a property expert, houses with certain names command an impressive sale price often well over one million pounds.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, has revealed that homes abodes with certain names are highly sought after by buyers.
More traditional names like The Manor House, The Old Rectory and The Vicarage took first, second and fourth place respectively on the table of high value names of properties.
Mr Cook said: “Once home to those with the highest status in society, the likes of The Manor House, The Old Rectory and The Old Vicarage, still command the highest house prices, fending off the competition from more contemporary names such as Mallards and Timbers.”
According to Savills, over the past five years, The Manor House named properties have commanded a £1,400,000 price tag, on average. More than two in every five sales is worth more than £1 million pounds, almost four times more than the average house price in England and Wales.
Houses called The Old Rectory sold with an average price tag of £1,301,424. Half of the properties sold with this name over the past five years have been valued at over £1 million.
Over the same period, properties called The Vicarage have sold at an average price of £1,086,887, although fewer sales have been over £1 million, 39 percent.
Mr Cook added: “Certain English house names have held steady over hundreds of years, and tell us a lot about the provenance and history of the property, whether it be related to the feudal system, religion, mythology, our nation’s flora, and even beer.
“Still today, house names instantly conjure an image, whether it’s the distinctive roof line of an Oast House or the intricate timbers within a Tithe Barn.”
Ranked by number of sales in past five years, average value (£) and percentage over million.
THE MANOR HOUSE – 56… £1,423,128… 43 percent
(THE) OLD RECTORY – 355… £1,301,424… 50 percent
MALLARDS – 38… £1,164,150… 24 percent
(THE) OLD VICARAGE – 325… £1,086,887… 39 percent
THE OAST HOUSE – 31… £1,038,774… 45 percent
LIME TREE HOUSE – 33… £981,121… 21 percent
MANOR HOUSE / THE MANOR – 204… £967,117… 29 percent
MANOR FARM HOUSE – 41… £966,235… 32 percent
GROVE HOUSE – 68… £962,904… 25 percent
GLEBE HOUSE – 86… £940,814… 31 percent
According to Melbourne-based commercial property firm Fitzroys, a cohort of commercial investors are “waiting in the wings”, looking for signs that the market has hit the bottom of the current cycle.
Paul Burns, a consultant of the firm, noted in the Fitzroys Capital Markets Update and 2024 Outlook that the results of the Reserve Bank’s fiscal policy are being felt across the commercial property sector. While some have held off on purchases for lack of access to funding, Mr Burns noted that there’s still a pool of buyers ready to spend.
“Turnover of investment property has been very modest recently. This is not a function of willing vendors, but very much because buyers are holding off until they can see the bottom of the market,” he said.
He described those buyers as “astute, counter-cyclical investors”, and noted that some are already coming out of hibernation to take advantage of current opportunities.
“Cashed up, lowly geared investors are looking forward to the opportunities that are emerging and will emerge. These groups generally include high-net-worth privates and ‘pooled investors’ who can tap into their network of investors to raise funds for discounted opportunities,” he further explained.
Choosing the right time to strike is proving to be a delicate art for this cohort. While some might see that there’s still further to fall, Mr Burns noted that sentiment can change quickly.
“As vendors observe a change in the Reserve Bank’s attitude, prices that vendors are willing to sell for today will not be accepted tomorrow,” he said.
He opined that when funding restrictions begin to ease and commercial property is again looked upon favourably by funders, investors will be more willing to take on counter-cyclical risks. Increased competition will then make its impact.
“Picking the precise date when ‘the bell rings’ is very difficult,” Mr Burns acknowledged.
Finding the right property that suits a counter-cyclical purchase is also a challenge for those who have the funds to invest.
“Investors generally remain focused on property with secure, long-term leases to bankable tenants. Any exposure to vacancy, current or pending, is marked down harshly. Investors place a high value on their equity, when financiers require a greater equity component, the total return expectations increase significantly,” Mr Burns said.
In terms of what they’re buying, alternative asset classes are increasingly in investors’ view.
While industrial, retail and office markets are expected to continue on the trajectories they charted over 2023, Mr Burns explained the growing appeal behind certain niche opportunities.
“Federal and state tax concessions have been attracting more local and offshore capital to Australia’s fledgling build-to-rent sector, which is supported by a fast-growing population and supply shortage throughout the broader residential market,” Mr Burns said.
“The healthcare and life sciences sectors are similarly supported by strong demographic tailwinds, including an ageing and growing population, and are also attracting large swathes of capital from domestic and offshore players, from existing and new entrants to the sectors,” he added.
”There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.
”There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now know we don’t know.
”But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know we don’t know.”
Try pulling that pithy rhetoric out at a cocktail party!
While these three sentences are a hot mess, there are some surprising parallels that can be drawn between this phrasing and the Australian property as we head into 2024.
Real estate markets across the nation are being “taffy pulled” in many directions by multiple drivers. It is perhaps one of the most divergent periods we’ve seen in the sector in recent memory. Rising interest rates, tighter lending restrictions, anti-investor legislations and tax changes, increased inflation and cost of living all dragging the market down. But driving values higher has been record immigration, strong buyer demand for quality assets, wage growth, low unemployment and historically tight vacancy rates.
Throw in the high cost of construction (bad for new homes and renovations, good for established housing) plus the ups and downs of remote working, and we should be seeing a market that’s bouncing about like a pinball.
But … it isn’t! The general resilience of Australian real estate shines through. That said, the new year brings new considerations.
My ongoing analysis of data and conversations with industry experts have led me to several conclusions about what’s in store for 2024.
Here’s what I think is set to unfold in the year ahead.
Construction
For new home builders and renovators, the first bit of good news is that the rate of price growth for building costs has slowed.
This will no doubt assist some project bottom lines; however, the cost of labour is rising, and I don’t see that retreating anytime soon. In fact, increased labour costs have offset lower price growth in materials to the extent that the net result will still be higher overall project costs.
Why do they keep increasing? Well, governments across all tiers are ramping up infrastructure programs. Couple that with the federal government setting an unrealistic construction target to address the housing crisis, and the level of demand for builds is steaming. The target of building 1.2 million homes over five years from 1 July 2024 is fanciful at best, but nigh on impossible given the fact that it’s a pace the country has never achieved. In addition, it’s being targeting during a period where close to a third of all construction companies are reporting job vacancies.
Rental crisis
Frankly, the rental crisis is unlikely to ease this year.
New construction supply is consistently overstated as the panacea for the rental crisis, but the pipeline of higher density residential projects is a third of the normal figures at present. Developers’ margins are being screwed down by construction costs and the price of developable sites in near-city suburbs remains high.
And demand isn’t going away anytime soon. Immigration remains at record levels, and these new Aussies typically rent on arrival. I suspect we will see further increases in average household densities this year as a result, and vacancy rates that continue to hover around 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
Interest rates
Interest rate increases were influential during 2022 and early 2023, particularly as we saw many loans move from fixed to variable rates. However, the shock and influence of rate rises faded somewhat towards year’s end.
There’s now speculation the next move will be a cut in the latter half of 2024.
My thoughts are that if there’s any upward shift in rates, the impact would be insignificant and diluted.
Interestingly, if rates were cut the outcome would be more substantial. A fall in the cash rate would open up borrowing capacity – particularly for those at the affordable end of markets. An easing in the cash rate also flags that the Reserve Bank of Australia is comfortable with the inflation figure. This will feed directly in property stakeholder confidence and, subsequently, property prices.
Consumer sentiment
Property is reliant on stakeholder confidence to drive price growth.
The rising cost of living has affected overall consumer confidence as demonstrated by the Westpac/Melbourne Institute’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which remains weak.
That said, when it comes to property, the story is a little different. The gap between consumer sentiment around property prices and the “time to buy a dwelling” measure indicates many Aussies actually believe values in major population centres will continue to grow in 2024. Further evidence of the faith our nation has in real estate as a secure, long-term vehicle for building wealth.
So … what’s the net outcome for 2024?
In short, I think it will be an overall positive story for residential property this year.
Market experts are predicting the national property market to grow anywhere between 1.5 per cent and 8 per cent. It’s a wide range, but then that is across multiple opinions. Meanwhile, there are bank economists expecting some locations (i.e. Perth and Brisbane) will come close to, or even exceed, double-digit capital gains in 2024.
I tend to agree with these assessments. The fundamental supply/demand imbalance across capital city markets will continue to bolster the chance of capital gains. I wouldn’t be surprised to see properties achieve more than 10 per cent over the next 12 months in some instances.
I also believe there’s plenty of steam in larger regional markets, especially where there is a diverse range of employers, and major infrastructure projects, like the inland rail corridor, are underway. Diversified locations with median price points under $600,000 will perform strongly – particularly with investors. Our own data shows Aussies are now extremely comfortable with investing in assets well away from their hometowns if the numbers stack up.
Apartment prices will remain strong too, with some good upside potential. High construction costs are restricting the supply pipeline for this property type. Less supply plus high renter and home owner demand equals robust price growth.
As I alluded to at the start of this article, there are multiple drivers pulling the property market in all directions but, in the end, I think the only way is up in 2024. As such, those who act earlier in the year look set to benefit most.
Mike Mortlock is the managing director of MCG Quantity Surveyors.
As the principal of McGrath Real Estate Jindabyne, Shannon Fergusson has seen it all. Originally based in the Hunter Valley, the agent relocated to his wife’s hometown of Cooma twenty years ago, and now proudly calls the Snowy Mountains home.
Each winter, cashed-up Sydneysiders flock south to the mountains in search of ski slopes, wildlife, and glistening expanses of snow.
“A lot of people bring their kids down each winter for sixteen weeks of the season, enrol them in either of the two schools, and they live there for the whole ski season,” said Mr Fergusson.
When COVID-19 hit, this trend turned into an avalanche.
“There was this huge influx of people taking up the idea of changing their location due to being able to work from home,” said Mr Fergusson.
“A lot of those families through COVID were here anyway, and decided to just buy and stay.”
During the height of the pandemic, the Jindabyne property market experienced an astonishing surge, with prices shooting up almost 50 per cent.
“I think Jindabyne would have rated up with one of the highest price jumps in the state,” Mr Fergusson said.
Since then, prices have softened slightly, but the market remains “extremely high and strong.” According to Mr Fergusson, the mountains “offers a lifestyle that not many other places can.”
Even in summer, the mild climate and abundant mountain biking opportunities draw crowds of buyers and renters in search of a better quality of life.
“You just get such beautiful seasons,” said Mr Fergusson. “You rarely get many days above 30 degrees in summer, and you get that cold in winter which is actually quite beautiful when it’s not blowing.”
With so many buyers based in East Coast cities, Mr Fergusson and his team have become adept at using digital walkthroughs and virtual tours to facilitate sales.
“We had one only last week where a buyer from Sydney bought a unit off us, site unseen,” Mr Fergusson said. “We can go and do a video walkthrough with just our phone and he was happy with that, bought it, and exchanged contracts within a week or two.”
Jindabyne is a competitive holiday market, and Mr Fergusson warned that successful investors need to create premium properties that stand out from the pack.
Like homebuyers, holidaymakers will choose a rental property based on how it presents online, so for sure and steady yields, Mr Fergusson emphasised that top-quality visuals are a must.
“We use professional photographers and videographers to shoot our holiday properties just the same way we would with our sale properties, so that they’re presenting extremely well and so that they’re attracting attention,” he shared.
As well as five-star presentation, holiday lets should have creature comforts like air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and ease of access to local shops.
Finally, views of the mountains or Lake Jindabyne are a surefire drawcard for tourists wanting to spend a winter or summer in the Snowy Mountains.
“The staff at Thredbo quite openly talk about how summer and winter are nearly equally as busy as each other the way mountain biking has gone in the last five to 10 years,” said Mr Fergusson.
“It’s definitely an all-year-round tourist location,” he concluded.
- Trade body Propertymark says a drop in house prices is ‘inevitable’
- It said inflation needs to fall further for homes to become more affordable
- Inflation defied expectations of a dip in December, rising from 3.9% to 4%
A drop in house prices is ‘inevitable’ following the latest inflation figures, a top property trade body suggests.
Propertymark claimed that many homeowners would continue to struggle to buy while interest rates remained at their current levels.
The trade body’s Nathan Emerson said interest rates would need to drop and for this to happen, inflation would need to come down further.
Mr Emerson said: ‘A drop in house prices is inevitable and natural when finding a balance in affordability during turbulent economic times.
‘We want to see affordability further improve for homeowners and in order to achieve that, inflation rates will need to get closer to the Government’s 2 per cent target, which in turn will impact the Bank of England‘s ability to begin reducing interest rates from February onwards.
‘We would also hope the Government looks at options to increase housing supply in a market in order to keep up with growing demand.’
The latest inflation figures showed a rise in December after increases in tobacco and alcohol prices.
The headline CPI rate defied expectations of a dip in December, rising from 3.9 per cent to 4 per cent.
At the same time, the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics found that house prices recorded their fastest annual fall since 2011 in November.
According to the data, the average sold price fell by 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to November 2023.
The typical home was worth £285,000, which was £6,000 lower than a year earlier.
Property insiders agreed that it is likely to be a ‘bumpy ride’ ahead for the property market.
North London estate agent Jeremy Leaf said: ‘On the ground, there are signs of an improvement in confidence, translating into more viewings and offers, on the back of falling inflation and mortgage rates.
‘However, the latest inflation figures show that we can’t take anything for granted: there is still a long way to go and it is likely to be a bumpy ride.’
Meanwhile, Anna Clare Harper, of sustainable investment adviser GreenResi, said: ‘Softer pricing is not a surprise, because higher interest rates are a more significant determinant of affordability for buying and owning a home than house prices.
‘Demand is down because it is harder to afford to buy or own a property for those reliant on mortgage finance.
And Frances McDonald, of Savills estate agents, said: ‘Looking ahead there are encouraging signs that buyers are gaining confidence as mortgage rates fall, but a more significant improvement in market conditions will likely come once a Bank of England base rate cut on the horizon, something that could now be pushed out given today’s surprise inflation figures’
Australia’s west coast has been experiencing a major boom in recent years, with data suggesting that the capital of Perth could be a goldmine for property investors.
In the year to June 2023, a massive 73,000 newcomers set up home in Perth, and the population surge shows no signs of stopping.
By the end of 2023, Perth’s vacancy rate was just 0.7 per cent, leaving the city’s renters scrambling to find a home.
It could be tempting for east coast investors to plunge into the Perth market headfirst, but the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) has warned interstate investors to do their research first.
According to the REIWA Property Management Network Committee, “WA has some of the highest legislative requirements in the country”.
Higher numbers of annual inspections, more detailed property condition reporting and higher fee charges may all be on the cards for Perth-based landlords. While tenants are responsible for paying water usage charges, the REIWA noted that “most property managers will pay it from the property owner’s account initially and then invoice the tenant”.
The high level of legislative requirements around Western Australian rental properties mean investors can also expect to pay for initial upgrades before leasing it out. They are required to repair or replace “anything that is broken or doesn’t work”, and also ensure that the property “meets rental standards for security and blind cords”.
The REIWA advised prospective investors to request an electrical safety certificate as part of the offer contract, in order to ensure that smoke alarms and Residual Current Devices (RCDs) are in compliance with state standards.
Importantly, the Western Australian government recently reviewed an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act (1987), and a number of new legislative changes are expected to come into effect later this year.
Changes will include a ban on rent bidding, limiting rent hikes to once a year, and easing of restrictions on pets in rental properties.
Finally, the REIWA recommended that investors broaden their horizons when selecting a property, in order to best attract a wide pool of Western Australian tenants.
“Due to the ongoing low vacancy rate and rising cost of living and rent prices, more tenants are now looking at sharehouse-type arrangements,” the REIWA stated.
They also advised landlords to consider permitting tenants to keep pets, noting that disallowing pets “rules out a large part of the tenancy pool”.
“You may not think that matters now while demand is so strong, but when the market changes you will want to appeal to as many tenants as possible,” the REIWA concluded.
First impressions are everything, and a colour update or refresh to older paint jobs can make a market difference in the eyes of a buyer. But sometimes it’s not the house paint that’s letting the resale value down, rather landscaping elements that project an image of a tired or damaged property.
As Brighton-based agent and principal of Atria Real Estate, Simone Chin, observed: “First impressions last and begin on arrival at the home. Prospective buyers feel more comfortable walking about a property when they see that maintenance has been of importance to the previous owner – it reassures them that they won’t be inheriting past maintenance neglect.”
A high level of street appeal, she said, “boosts the perception of the property’s value, nudging buyers bid higher. This is due to the fact that exterior housing features are tangible and easier for buyers to evaluate at face value”.
Yet it’s often elements that perhaps aren’t within the regular DIY-ers’ perceived wheelhouse that can have the greatest impact on how a home is presented.
In her view, people preparing a property for sale should look at the value they can add by “fixing cracked driveways, adding warmth by resurfacing and landscaping courtyard and deck spaces, pressure cleaning mouldy driveways and resurfacing them, as well as resurfacing oil-stained garage floors. These upgrades can add tangible value – in the thousands to hundreds of thousands – to your home,” she said.
With this in mind, Dulux has recently launched a specially designed sealing, texturing and painting system made for concrete elements that might need a refresh: paths, driveways, paved courtyards and brick elements, for example.
Dulux brand manager Sorren Henderson said the firm is searching a solution for DIY-ers looking to upgrade elements that would otherwise require specialist tradespeople to fix or rebuild.
“Replacing concrete or other paved surfaces can be quite costly, not only requiring you to fork out thousands for building materials, but also setting aside a hefty fee for a trade specialist to complete the work, and in some instances, additional fees for council permits,” Ms Henderson noted.
“With this new product range in the market, we hope to be able to arm consumers with the knowledge and tools to be able to execute a more affordable, yet effective upgrade to these areas of the home without needing to rip up the existing surfaces,” she said.
By A. James For Daily Mail Australia
23:24 05 Jan 2024, updated 23:28 05 Jan 2024
It was supposed to be one of the hottest property’s on The Block.
But Leah and Ash’s sprawling pad remains unsold after it was passed in during the show’s season finale in November for $2.9million.
Now after dropping the asking price from $3.2million to $3.125million, Realestate.com reports that listings for the lavish pad no longer mention The Block or the couple’s name.
Despite reports of multiple offers for the five-bedroom, four-bathroom Modern Art Deco home ahead of Christmas, the house has remained on the market.
In a strategic shift, Noel Susay, the agent from Buxton Hampton East handling the sale, confirmed to Domain a more ‘traditional campaign’.
This move comes after the post-auction period failed to secure a buyer, leading to a series of open inspections over the past weeks.
The agent also noted the challenges posed by the timing of the sale, with the year-end festive period typically seeing a slowdown in real estate transactions.
However, he remains optimistic about the shift to a traditional private sale campaign, hoping it will attract serious buyers.
Leah and Ash’s House 2 stirred up much excitement among potential bidders ahead of The Block’s auction in November.
The Block buyer’s agents predicted big things for the couple after the luxury home was listed with a price guide of $2.7million – $2.9million.
Designed as an updated version of the classic Art Deco-style, the spectacular dwelling features a spacious open plan, and expansive living areas.
Features also include a dramatic split-level dining/living room, an ultra-modern kitchen and al fresco entertainment area.
It comes after Yahoo Lifestyle reported in December that interest in the lavish retro home has ‘hit an all time low.’
A source told the publication that the longer the house sits on the market, ‘the further away an ending is in sight.’
The insider even speculated that it’s possible that the houses for the upcoming season of The Block will go under the hammer before Leah and Ash can get a buyer.