.

Ask any business owner what the key to business longevity is and nine times out of ten the answer will always be – customer service. It all started just before the running of the 150^th Melbourne Cup when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced its Statement by Glenn Stevens, Governor: Monetary Policy decision.  The punters were shocked with this rate rise shock – the fourth increase in 2010. The cash rate increase was later to be described as the RBA makes pre-emptive strike, economists say. Then as quick as Americain down the Flemington track the Commonwealth Bank adds 45bp to home loan rate effective from today, citing “overall wholesale funding costs continue to increase as cheaper funding expires and is replaced with more expensive funding”. The banking stewards (otherwise known as politicians) were quick to saddle – up although opposition Treasurer Joe Hockey was already in a somewhat awkward and lonely canter.

A graph that has figured prominently in Virtual Realty News is the Household Estimates of 2007 – 08 which is the last Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) measure of Australian households that rent, own with a mortgage and own without a mortgage – which I call The Big Third Theory.

• The number that rent – 2,399,900 which equates to thirty (30) per cent.
• The number that own with a mortgage – 2,835,200 which equates to thirty six (36) per cent.
• The number that own without a mortgage – 2,679,200 which equates to thirty four (34) per cent.

Based on this anecdotal data where with each and every cash rate increase the impact affects sixty six (66) per cent or 5,079,100 Australian households. Politicians need to cease being statues.

BUY PRINT

Another Tim Mooney brilliant capture that would make a great front cover for Eastern Suburbs real estate agents’ Christmas cards – nothing beats a sensational aerial shot.

Credit card debt more common than mortgage debt and we all know that the Big Gang Theory of increased funding does not apply when they are already charging consumers around twenty (20) per cent. When the Melbourne Institute revealed their June quarter 2010 results they announced that for the first time since November 2006, credit card debt is the most common form of debt among Australian households, rather than mortgage debt. The number of households with credit card debt was 36.6 per cent, while 33.9 per cent had mortgage debt. Credit card rates should be at the very same rate as home mortgage rates.

Customer service is all about meaning business not being a mean business – The Big Gang Theory.

Joe Hockey has good idea, no – one takes notice given banks showing no rates restraint, despite massive profits so out came Joe Hockey’s Nine – Point Plan when he addressed the AIG Annual National Forum in Canberra on October 25 in Canberra – “It’s time to talk banking.” Banks, rates and regulations: who’s in charge here? As Westpac chief Gail Kelly calls for calm as anger builds over bank rate rises given the banks are wary of Hockey bandwagon. The irony being that just only last week it was Hockey who was copping the bashing when he suggested that he’d re – regulate interest rates. As Dennis Shanahan wrote in The Australian – It’s Hockey’s turn to bash Swan. “In just a few moments yesterday, Joe Hockey and the Coalition went from being buffoons to heroes. And Wayne Swan went from being economically and politically superior to being populist, ineffective and trailing the opposition Treasury spokesman on banking policy.” Out from the gates then jumped Wayne Swan flags banking reforms declaring the federal government would now announce banking reforms next month prompting Hockey “The Jockey” to demand release reform plan now – the “Big Fella” was now on a roll dining out on roasted swan.

There was still plenty happening within Fort Fumble’s home economics kitchen when Phillip Coorey from the Sydney Morning Herald revealed – Out in the cold: Rudd held fake budget meetings to stop leaks not to be confused with steamed leeks. “Kevin Rudd and his senior ministers were so suspicious of Lindsay Tanner that they used to hold fake pre – budget meetings to ensure their plans did not leak. According to accounts of meetings of the now abandoned Strategic Priorities and Budget Committee, nicknamed the gang of four, some meetings with Mr Tanner would deliberately be light on detail. After the meeting concluded and the then finance minister had left, the other three members of the committee – Mr Rudd, Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan – would reconvene and discuss their budget plans in detail.”

Lindsay Tanner is writing a book and I can’t wait to read that given the revelations say very little for Kevin Rudd’s schoolyard games amid financial crisis. I can’t ever remember reading a more damaging report about an elected Australian government’s economic credibility. I must admit that I have always been a Lindsay Tanner admirer – he was smart, to the point and definitely not a populist policy proponent.  Kevin Rudd denies holding fake budget meetings … why am I not the least surprised.

In the meantime, Australia is bathing in a budget surplus (not) as Labor racks up $25.2 billion deficit in just three months shadow minister for finance and debt reduction Andrew Robb reported. The latest government financial statement reveals a staggering budget deficit of $25.2 billion for the first three months of the financial year. “The government is banking on improvements in revenue to bring the budget back to surplus, yet this statement shows no signs of the level of improvement that will be required and therefore spending must be cut.” CommSec chief economist Craig James estimates that the underlying budget deficit in the year to September was a record $63.3 billion. “The main concern is that revenues are still tending sideways rather than showing signs of repair. Meanwhile, government spending is at record highs and showing no signs of stabilising.”

Without a doubt one of the smartest economic reports that I have read is Economic reform will curb pressure on rates which lays much of the blame for increased interest rates on inept government policies. “But while rate rises are a blunt instrument, they are just about the only way the RBA can suppress demand. With a rising dollar, which will depress exports other than minerals and energy production, it is an automatic stabiliser that will slow the economy. A far better solution would be for government to have invested in infrastructure – railways and ports – to increase the efficiency of exports and to have improved productivity in southeast Australia, which is not benefiting directly from the boom. But the Howard government spent the taxes raised by energy exports on its watch on welfare payments and Kevin Rudd threw money at unproductive job programs, as Julia Gillard is still doing.”

“In the current circumstances, the price of stalling economic reform will be more painful than interest rate rises”. Hence, building approvals slide more than expected in September with a 6.6 per cent fall – in the year to September building approvals were down 11.6 per cent.

So figures confirm building weak which is understandable given the Gillard government still has more than $6 billion to be spent with her Building Education Revolution. Don’t blame the Big Gang Theory entirely as we all know they suffer on compassionate grounds. The answer should not be directed to angry customers should switch banks: Gillard rather economic reform, and we all know what happened to the Henry Tax Review.

No wonder Australians want an election – now given both forms of government continue to ignore economic reform. It is becoming increasingly obvious that economics is not a strong point for either party of choice – hence the ongoing and growing budget deficit.

When it comes to Nation Building – Fort Fumble (Gillard) has lost the plot!

Subscriber sales jumped to $986,510,220 so we are closing in on the magic $1 billion in subscriber sales.

Cheers ^__^

This week’s sales Mosman real estate, Beauty Point real estate, Clifton Gardens real estate, Balmoral real estate, Cremorne real estate, Cremorne Point real estate, Neutral Bay real estate, Cammeray real estate Click Here

Follow Me on Twitter

5.11.10Robert Simeon6 Comments »

.
Next week the nation stops for the running of the Melbourne Cup, so out comes the form guide. Nothing unusual one might say, as it is well documented that Aussies would have a bet on two flies climbing up a wall. I’m not sure if any punters will have a wager as to whether or not the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will hike up the cash rate when they gather to assess the track condition of the Australian economy. On Melbourne Cup day last year, the RBA broke tradition when it reached for the whip and increased the cash rate target by +0.25 percentage points to 3.50 per cent.  When the RBA meets on Melbourne Cup Day we don’t believe the cash rate will move from the current level of 4.50 per cent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released some interesting data this week that identified how the GFC pushed businesses to the wall – in the two years from June 2007 – encompassing the boom and subsequent bust – more than half a million Australian businesses shut up shop. Nationwide, there was a 73.6 per cent survival in that two years, with the number of businesses falling from 2.07 million to 1.52 million. The number of small businesses (up to 20 employees) fell 24,931 nationally in the period, with more than 80 per cent of the fall occurring during the worst of the financial crisis, in 2008 – 09. It was interesting to note that the majority of failed businesses  employed between one and four people and this is the number where the vast majority of businesses open their respective doors. What you won’t read is why these businesses actually failed which makes one wonder exactly what the Minister for Small Business actually does during the week. Obviously, not very much at all which hardly comes as any great surprise.

BUY PRINT

All eyes were this week on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures which came in at 0.7 per cent for the three months to September 30 – slightly up from the June 30 figure of 0.6 per cent according to the ABS. What is clear is that inflation is being driven by rising government charges and not increased domestic demand. As Macquarie Economics Research intelligently pointed out “Indeed, business surveys point to a very subdued inflation in the retail sector, partly due to cautious consumer behaviour. This has also been complemented by Australia’s major supermarket chains, which last week reported flat to negative price growth in the food segment. The point is, if all households are facing rising electricity and gas costs, then this in itself will be a dampener on discretionary consumer spending. And this should lessen – rather than boost – the case for further monetary policy tightening.”

Surprise, surprise, as Fort Crumble – NSW government, has moved to rein in surging electricity prices in a bid to put brakes on runaway electricity prices. Household power prices have already risen by up to 13 per cent this year and within three years, could go up by 42 per cent under power company increments approved by federal and state governments. One of my favourite graphs shows the price changes – so here it is for the year to September where I draw your attention to electricity, health and housing which just so happen to come under the jurisdiction of our elected politicians.

For the year to March 2010

BER projects fail to boost construction which comes as little surprise because construction in schools, bears absolutely no resemblance to housing. Chronic rental shortage a fact of life, says new study as metro areas in NSW face a permanent, chronic shortage of available rental homes. The Real Estate Institute of NSW revealed that the residential vacancy rate fell to its lowest level over the past twelve months, falling to 1.2 per cent. Bear in mind that one third rent, one third own with a mortgage and the final third own without a mortgage. The general rule of thumb a few years back, was 2.5 per cent (that was without population increases) so today it should be over 3.00 per cent. It won’t be that far off when the Sydney vacancy rate falls below 1.00 per cent and that will deliver catastrophic  results. Sydney take note – infrastructure is not a dirty word “The irony will not be lost on anyone who lives here. Because when it comes to infrastructure, Sydney is a town that nodded off for a rest on its laurels and ended up in a 30 – year coma.”

“The nation’s biggest town is spending less on infrastructure than any other Australian capital except Darwin. Compared with major cities in Europe, Sydneysiders know they have been left behind in public transport, high – density residential planning and urban development”. Hence, the funniest story of the week harbour underwater rail option to combat gridlock which is nothing more than an election gimmick given Fort Crumble is paranoid about losing its  AAA credit rating. The last time Fort Crumble honestly embarked on genuine infrastructure was back in 1995 when it won the bid to host the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. “NSW governments have lost their appetite for major infrastructure construction. The result for Sydney in 2020 is a sub – par rail system, gridlocked weekday traffic, a CBD that struggles to stay relevant at weekends and one of the worst rates of housing affordability in the OECD. Quite simply, Sydney is a city that has lost its ambition. Like a naturally gifted athlete who cannot be bothered to train hard, Sydney runs the risk of being left behind by hungry competitors who enjoy none of its inherent advantages.”

Bugger! Reserve Bank earnings slump to 30 – year low – wow an Australian bank not making billions. The bank blamed the loss of earnings on a slump in foreign interest rates and the surging Australian dollar. Its annual statement, shows underlying earnings last financial year were $866 million which were that low back in 1983. So this year, Fort Fumble won’t be receiving a dividend which is bummer, as  last year it collected a respectable $6 billion windfall.

This week we released our iPad website so whether you are using your mobile phone, iPad or computer, when you type in rwm.com.au you will automatically be directed to your preferred application of use. Another real estate first, thanks to our developers Agentpoint. Infrastructure in real estate is imperative also and no other Mosman real estate agency offers its clients this unique online option of communication and information.

Cheers ^__^

This week’s sales Mosman real estate, Beauty Point real estate, Clifton Gardens real estate, Balmoral real estate, Cremorne real estate, Cremorne Point real estate, Neutral Bay real estate, Cammeray real estate Click Here

Follow Me on Twitter

29.10.10Robert Simeon7 Comments »

.
Forget the spin and electoral rhetoric – Australia had just one quarter of negative growth yet in the wash – up many businesses did very well from the (apparently) worst global financial crisis (GFC) since the Great Depression. Danny John from the Sydney Morning Herald wrote “What crisis? Westpac gains ground from the GFC “A close study of Westpac’s annual financial result shows just how much the country’s second – biggest bank has benefited from the gains in revenue – and therefore market share – which all four of the majors have enjoyed in the wake of the global financial crisis.” No doubt shareholders will be happy with this most taxing banking stimulus!

That other stimulus paints an entirely new picture IMF praises handling of financial crisis when Peter Martin from the Sydney Morning Herald wrote “The International Monetary Fund has singled out Australia as one of the best managed economies, declaring that only Denmark, Korea, Norway, Australia and Sweden among advanced economies will require little or no medium – term adjustment to keep government debt at safe levels”. Now that may be fine however, Fort Fumble (Federal government) has some amazing housekeeping to balance both past and present where it will require some pretty amazing creative accountancy to balance its books. You can read Fort Fumble’s very own accountancy plan MYOB – (May You Obey Bureaucrats) here.

Tim Mooney Photography captures Cammeray, Tunks Park and Northbridge Golf Course

www.timmooneyphotography.com

Still on creative accounting, the award would have to go to our very own Nathan Rees who presides over Fort Crumble. This week he approved a three per cent pay rise for all NSW MP’s making himself the highest paid in Australia after The Emperor – Kevin Rudd. Now before we jump to conclusions both are battling enormous budget deficits so that in itself highlights the pressure they currently find themselves in.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed “Nathan Rees’ master plan to convince NSW to give him one more term. “Nathan Rees needs cash – and plenty of it – to convince fed – up voters to give Labor one more chance. Linda Silimalis reported “Embattled NSW Premier Nathan Rees is pleading with Kevin Rudd to help fund a $10 billion – plus pre – election spending spree to save his government.” Reads more like a last rites request although many would agree that from a business growth analogy, NSW passed away a few years ago and remains the highest taxing state with the least to show in terms of infrastructure.

As we all know, everything requires a plan although it would appear that a few requiring that stimulus are looking rather sick after construction on a Fort Fumble rail project was shut down in Sydney due to a financial blow–out, allegedly caused by poor planning. Our very own Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, said earlier this year, that this project to take freight trains off the Sydney passenger rail network would be completed by early 2010 (now on hold indefinitely). Note this is a Fort Fumble initiative as against another Fort Crumble ongoing malfunction.

For me, another great read of the week was the transcript from Stateline NSW – when Quentin Dempster quizzed Kevin Rudd and Nathan Rees – Discredited

Later in the week, The Daily Telegraph ran the story – Developer lobbies for Della Bosca (Bonka) to become premier. The country’s biggest property developer Harry Triguboff is privately lobbying Labor Party officials to support John Della Bosca’s bid to become NSW premier. You can draw your own conclusions on that although it is interesting to see a property developer interested in re-building Fort Crumble – (I will get to that shortly) as trigger – happy. Makes plenty of sense when the NSW government has next to no idea about building infrastructure. After all it is actually broke!

The Melbourne Cup rate increase (whilst widely tipped) had little effect on the punters and a record $95.600 million was bet on race day. The Emperor keeps telling us that we need his stimulus yet Australia is the only country raising its cash rate so who is actually punting?

Macquarie Economics Research – How high will rates go? They lead the tipping competition on our interest rate predictions? “The similarity between the October and November statements suggests that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) game plan remains unchanged. This means that the first stage of tightening will be out to get interest rates back towards a neutral level – which we think this is now 4 1/2 %“. That means another 100 basis point increases although it should be noted that the RBA has never before increased the cash rate three months in a row.

Robert Gottliebsen wrote on Business Spectator  Rate rises may backfire “Tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup deliberations by the Reserve Bank board present issues far more complex than most commentators are canvassing.” Enter Harry Triguboff again backed by the Macquarie Bank graph (above). “The Reserve Bank, its hidden agenda is that it is deeply concerned that the recent sharp rise in dwelling prices and the bank fears that a new bout of housing affordability issues and an eventual price bubble is looming as Australia’s housing prices move outside world trends. The rising prices move outside world trends. The rising dwelling prices are pushing the central bank towards lifting interest rates more sharply, despite Treasury caution.”

“Then enter Harry Triguboff – the largest owner and builder of apartments in Sydney and a major force in Queensland.”

“Understandably many discount Triguboff’s conclusions because he clearly has an axe to grind. But over the years I have found that the base trends that Triguboff isolates are right nine times out of 10, but his remedies are uncomfortable. When Sydney was booming he said the city was dying, but then declared it would not die because eventually the politicians and local councils would start making sensible decisions. It’s taken eight years but they are now listening to him.”

“Triguboff points out that for the last five years the construction of Australian housing has been half the demand created by rising population, so a huge backlog has developed.”

“Triguboff now says: “If the Reserve Bank insists on raising interest rates in the hope of suppressing prices then they must understand that they will in turn suppress construction.”

“Banks are still very cautious and will insist on decent margins of profit, otherwise they will not advance loans to developers. I know that the Reserve Bank does not want to do it, but they have to make up their minds. Interest rates should not rise until building activity increase significantly. That is the true reasons for raising interest rates – stop oversupply. But all the evidence and rents and prices point to undersupply for the foreseeable future.”

“What Triguboff is highlighting is that the dramatic rises in Australia’s population complicate the interest rate argument. The Reserve Bank will not halt interest rates because of the Triguboff warning, but they need to understand that their current decision making process may create the opposite of what they expect in long – term dwelling prices.”

This should be a cornerstone point with the Ken Henry Review into Australia’s taxation report which is due on Christmas Eve.

On a lighter note – towel surfing was introduced to Australia last Friday when over 200 people on Bondi Beach joined in a synchronous dance to the music of local resident Ben Lee. I wonder when it will come to Balmoral Beach or possibly an open for inspection. (Turn up the volume).

Our property markets need to start dancing to the right tune – the RBA is obviously playing the wrong music as the dance floor is empty.

Cheers ^__^

For this week’s recorded Mosman real estate, Cremorne real estate, Cremorne Point real estate, Neutral Bay real estate and Cammeray real estate sales www.rwm.com.au/news/

Follow Me on Twitter

6.11.09Robert Simeon2 Comments »

.
Twelve months ago all we were looking for were “green shoots”. Our economic gardeners are now embarking on a crash – course of selective pruning (and I’m not talking ‘whipper snippers’). Australia appears to have bloomed too early and the economic chainsaws are sharpening their jaws. Now it is not the “buck”, rather the bulbs, that are firmly placed in the economic gardening gloves of The Emperor (Kevin Rudd) – let’s hope he has a green thumb!

Yes, the last twelve months have been a roller coaster ride that continues to gain momentum and what remains to be seen is whether as an economy, we can stay on the tracks – the alternative is not pretty if one is reliant on the cash rate remaining low. Many borrowers will find out first hand, that fortune does not always favour the brave when it comes to bricks and mortar.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced this week, that consumer prices increased by one per cent during the September quarter which was a direct result of higher prices from electricity, petrol and utility prices. Fort Fumble treasurer, Wayne Swan, was quick to emphasise that the economy was continuing to operate below capacity. Capacity is this week’s economic measure of confusion – too much stimulus, too much debt, too much immigration and possibly too much spin. Each and every cash rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is a further burden to consumers and property prices have eclipsed recent records (we all know this is defined by capacity).

Is this Sydney’s coldest beach? Competitors in the World Masters Games thought so as the water was too cold – now they are demanding a refund. Photo: Tim Mooney Photography

www.timmooneyphotography.com

So Wayne Swan thinks our economy is operating below capacity? Australian Property Monitors (APM) yesterday released its September House Price Series Report and here are the key statistics.

• Nationally, house prices jumped +3.7 per cent and unit prices + 3.4 per cent in September quarter
• Strongest quarterly growth in house prices since 2003
• National house prices up 7.1 per cent in 2009
• Melbourne experienced strongest house price growth, up 12.3 per cent in last six months
• House and unit prices rise in every capital city in September quarter

Wow – if this is an economy running under capacity, just imagine what happens when it grows with confidence. The Housing Industry Association (HIA) announced this week, that new home sales fell in September and nationwide sales dropped 4.5 per cent which is in direct contrast to a 11.4 per cent increase in August.

Source: Australian Property Monitors

.

Source: Australian Property Monitors

.

This week Taylor Fidan and I extrapolated all house, semi, apartment, and townhouse sales in Mosman from January 1, 2006 to October 19, 2009 – in total 3,054 sales. Here are our findings (houses this week and apartments next week). I wish the property data aggregators would offer this data as it is very time consuming to compile but, then again, such information has never before been presented on a public domain. We present another Richardson & Wrench Mosman & Neutral Bay (RWM) first.

Source: DomainPropertyData
.

MOSMAN HOUSES/SEMIS SOLD – I JANUARY 2006 TO 31 DECEMBER 2006

.

0 – $1,000,000

44 sales

.

$1,000,000 – $2,000,000

177 sales

.

$2,000,000 – $3,000,000

97 sales

.

$3,000,000 – $4,000,000

49 sales

.

$4,000,000 – $5,000,000

27 sales

.

$5,000,000 – $6,000,000

9 sales

.

$6,000,000 – $7,000,000

10 sales

.

$7,000,000 – $8,000,000

3 sales

.

$8,000,000 – $9,000,000

1 sale

.

$9,000,000 – $10,000,000

1 sale

.

Above $10,000,000

5 sales

.

Total

423 sales

.

Undisclosed

22 sales

.

MOSMAN HOUSES/SEMIS SOLD – 1 JANUARY 2007 TO 31 DECEMBER 2007

.

0 – $1,000,000

30 sales

.

$1,000,000 – $2,000,000

144

.

$2,000,000 – $3,000,000

115 sales

.

$3,000,000 – $4,000,000

53 sales

.

$4,000,000 – $5,000,000

39 sales

.

$5,000,000 – $6,000,000

13 sales

.

$6,000,000 – $7,000,000

10 sales

.

$7,000,000 – $8,000,000

9 sales

.

$8,000,000 – $9,000,000

1 sale

.

$9,000,000 – $10,000,000

2 sales

.

Above $10,000,000

10 sales

.

Total

426 sales

.

Undisclosed

30 sales

.

MOSMAN HOUSES/SEMIS SOLD – 1 JANUARY 2008 TO 31 DECEMBER 2008

.

0 – $1,000,000

26 sales

.

$1,000,000 – $2,000,000

110 sales

.

$2,000,000 – $3,000,000

78 sales

.

$3,000,000 – $4,000,000

37 sales

.

$4,000,000 – $5,000,000

27 sales

.

$5,000,000 – $6,000,000

14 sales

.

$6,000,000 – $7,000,000

2 sales

.

$7,000,000 – $8,000,000

5 sales

.

$8,000,000 – $9,000,000

3 sales

.

$9,000,000 – $10,000,000

3 sales

.

Above $10,000,000

3 sales

.

Total

308 sales

.

Undisclosed

52 sales

.

MOSMAN HOUSES/SEMIS SOLD – 1 JANUARY 2009 TO 19 OCTOBER 2009

.

0 – $1,000,000

19 sales

.

$1,000,000 – $2,000,000

77 sales

.

$2,000,000 – $3,000,000

38 sales

.

$3,000,000 – $4,000,000

20 sales

.

$4,000,000 – $5,000,000

9 sales

.

$5,000,000 – $6,000,000

2 sales

.

$6,000,000 – $7,000,000

1 sale

.

$7,000,000 – $8,000,000

1 sale

.

$8,000,000 – $9,000,000

1 sale

.

$9,000,000 – $10,000,000

0 sales

.

Above $10,000

2 sales

.

Total

170 sales

.

Undisclosed

73 sales

.

2009 is still a work in progress – however it should be noted that the volume of sales remains on the conservative side. We would be lying (not our style) to suggest that the Mosman market is also in boom with houses.

UPDATE

– last week we reported 2009 Mosman house/semi sales were at 243 sales with a value of $483,925,627. We can advise that this week, sales increased to 258 with a value of $512,781,127 (still $321,596,485 in deficit from last year’s total house/semi sales). The 73 undisclosed sales (thus far) may reveal a few secrets.

Which leads me back to capacity – where it is abundantly clear that the cost of living is on the rise and it would come as little surprise to see the inflation genie touch five per cent again.

The capacity to understand as against the capacity to compete beyond ones means is clearly evidenced by sales volume in Mosman – arguably the strongest property municipality market in Australia.

In summation – I draw your attention to this recent commentary by Alan Jones at radio 2GB.
“… a note that was sent to me which explains to me that six leading members of the Government from Mr. Rudd down, the top six have a collective work experience of 181 years, but only 13 in the private sector.

If you take out those 13 years the number that were spent as trade union lawyers that total 11, of the 181 years only two years were spent in the private sector.

So the people, who will rack up a net Federal debt of a minimum of $188 billion, the highest in our history, have virtually no experience in business.

So out of the 181 years:

- No years spent running their own business – no years spent starting their own business – no years spent as a director of a family business or company – no years as a director of a public company – no years in a senior position in a public company – no years in a senior company in a private company – no years working in corporate finance – no years in corporate or business restructuring – no years in or with a bank – no years of experience in capital markets – no years in a stock – broking firm – no years in negotiating debt facilities with banks – no years running a small business – no years at the World Bank or IMF or OECD – no years in Treasury or Finance.”

Not sure if the Opposition could improve much on these statistics either.

The Emperor promised at the last election campaign, that he would personally deliver one million computers to all year 9 to 12 students within Australia. Currently, just 150,000 computers have been delivered – must be another capacity problem with too much |Ctrl – Alt – Delete|. Maybe he should have focussed on the school band – if bulls@&% was music, you would be a brass band. Alas, I guess The Emperor is too busy taking over our health system – oops! that also appears to be on |Ctrl – Alt – Delete| too.

Cheers and best of luck at the Melbourne Cup – although the odds are stronger on another RBA rate increase. Plenty of capacity growth there – although if the RBA has rates at emergency levels, when does it then become a capacity emergency for borrowers? That would be found on the perceived green (and greener) grass of home. A home is not exactly sweet as it could be gone tomorrow for some. That too, is known in modern media as |Ctrl – Alt – Delete |.

In times of “green shoots” for new housing opportunities, does fortune favour the brave? After all, it was a first, when elected governments started teasing first home buyers with cash hand – outs.

^__^

For this week’s recorded Mosman real estate, Cremorne real estate, Neutral Bay real estate and Cammeray real estate sales www.rwm.com.au/news/

Follow Me on Twitter

30.10.09Robert Simeon1 Comment »

We welcome you to our new look E-Zine (electronic magazine) and website which forever will identify our online points of difference. This latest online release is a defining moment within our industry and one that we obviously treat very seriously. Our electronic platform is an industry first where the customer also comes first. Please enjoy

It has been our absolute pleasure to deliver to the clients in our dynamic market, the most comprehensive online electronic property data. Richardson & Wrench Mosman & Neutral Bay (RWM) continues to lead our markets with results, performance and innovation – “we never stop thinking about you.”

Without a doubt, the introduction of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) has seriously impacted on our markets and has definitely stymied property development and investment in housing. Some even refer to it as a Value Added Tax (VAT). The only problem is, that governments reap the financial benefits to the detriment of consumers. Banks are also reluctant to pursue mortgagee – in – possession (MIP) sales simply because they will have to pay GST on these forced sales. As stated previously, we have received just one instruction to act on a MIP sale in 2008.

Continue reading »

Follow Me on Twitter

7.11.08Robert Simeon5 Comments »

As we enter the final stretch, we have more than the Melbourne Cup to occupy our thoughts. Just like daylight saving, the property market is sending out a clear message that there is still plenty of light shining upon it. The auction market is certainly very different, with the buyers willing the market down, and many have stopped waving at the auctioneer. What happens now is determined by how the respective agencies adapt to this market, and what strategies they exercise to secure a sale. From our perspective, we prefer a more laid back approach wherein we exhaust all avenues before we execute the sale, as against some agents whose vendors are leaving the auction rooms with a tourniquet and severe concussion.

At the end of the day the sale of a home is not life threatening, nor should it be treated that way, because the purchasers will still be there tomorrow, as was the case with our auctions this week. The two properties that failed to attract a single bid were both sold the very next day, and yes the vendors are very happy. What we are seeing is a ‘push and shove’ market. Some purchasers believe that they are in the driver’s seat, only to find out the car they are sitting in is actually in neutral. Oh well, back to the real estate section in The Mosman Daily for them!!

As we enter the first week of November it will be interesting to see when the market drops the final curtain for the year 2002. We believe that unlike last year, the market will effectively trade well into December. The ex-pats are somewhat dominant at the moment and over Christmas and the New Year period, they will be the big contributors to the market. From the e-mails we are receiving many are returning home for Christmas, and January could very well be a record selling month. Actually, next year is shaping up well with the much-awaited news that the interest rates will drop again, which is great news for the property market. We expect the first run of properties in the New Year to be much the same as this year. In a word, “bullish”.

Many of the ex-pats who inspected properties at the end of last year have now studied and compiled twelve months of market research, leaving them better informed which will allow them to comfortably purchase a property over the Christmas period. The property market is really and truly a global market now. It will be very interesting to see what volume of sales are attributed to the ex-pats over Christmas and New Year.

We have around fifteen million dollars of Mosman property awaiting exchange at the moment, and we will report more on those next week. For any who believe that the property market is a spent force, here is an interesting observation. A few agents will eclipse their all time selling records this quarter, and that is not off the record.

Have fun, and if you are in negotiations on a property don’t think you are Robinson Crusoe, a few this week were left feeling like him!! Cheers and clink …^__^

Follow Me on Twitter

2.11.02Robert SimeonNo Comments »