The Evolving Acreage Market: Some Positive Signs But Not Exactly Business As Usual

This past few weeks has seen a lot of brand new, unexpected challenges that our broader community have had to face due to the Coronavirus.

The survival of any species on this planet has always relied on its ability to change and adapt to the changing environment, and adaptation is one of the greatest traits of human beings.

It’s important during these unprecedented, challenging times that we come together as a community and build a deeper mutual respect for each other, which may actually end up being one of the positive outcomes once we get through this pandemic.

During this current period of uncertainty, there’s an opportunity to both educate and adopt new ways of evolving the ways to do business more effectively and more efficiently, especially via the use of technology.

The number one priority must be… ‘A Safety First Approach’

I have done extensive research into what the recommendations are around COVID-19, what’s currently happening overseas to anticipate any further changes. Plus, I have spoken in depth to a General Manager within the cleaning industry who has been advising councils and companies on Coronavirus contingencies and risk assessment plans.

How Will Real Estate Be Affected?

There are a number of factors that are going to impact the way that the real estate industry operates and in anticipation of these changes we are adopting the necessary measures to ensure that we can continue to provide service excellence to our clients. in an effort to establish an evolving ‘business as usual’ approach.

In fact, there is now an opportunity for us to evolve and take our service delivery to another level across the acreage market.

As my friend, Tom Panos says after his numerous battles with cancer and the transformation it has made in his life, is…

Sometimes the best gifts are badly wrapped

In an announcement today, one of the latest technological improvements we’ve adopted here at McGrath is Auction Live Streaming. See today’s announcement below…

Yesterday, our company set out new guidelines via a CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS OPERATIONS UPDATE which outlines a planned approach to inspections and the processes we will be using whilst selling property during this current phase of the pandemic. Note: These operations may be subject to change.

Business as usual at open homes and inspections with added hygiene procedures

Our open homes will continue to be conducted with strict hygiene procedures in place right across our network, to help mitigate the spread of the virus, including:

• Regularly cleaning hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub

• Not shaking hands with colleagues, clients and open home visitors

• Making sure where possible hand sanitiser is used at open homes and auctions     

• Giving “shared” pens a quick wipe down with the sanitiser

• Washing and sanitising hands thoroughly after each property opening or inspection

• Always washing hands with soap and water before eating and after visiting the bathroom

• Covering their nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing, and disposing of used tissues immediately

• Avoiding close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms

• Seeing a health care professional if they are unwell and staying away from the workplace and other public places

• Recording contact details of everyone entering a property. This is mandatory before entry

• At all times be respectful of each other

Your agent may also be organising inspections by private appointment in order to reduce the number of people inspecting the property at the same time. This will vary by property and agent so please contact the sales agent directly about this. In addition, we will be displaying the following sign at our open homes: 

COVID-19 NOTICE

If you are feeling unwell and experiencing any cold or flu-like symptoms we ask that you do not enter this property.

Please contact the real estate agent managing the property and we will organise a way for you to view our properties without coming on site. 

It’s important if you are symptomatic or do not feel well that you maintain respect for the homeowners who are selling or leasing their properties and that you do not go on site and potentially increase the spread of any illnesses.

 We thank you for your cooperation.

McGrath

For more information regarding, How we will run property auctions? and What individuals can do to prepare? , visit CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS OPERATIONS UPDATE

There are several other safety measures and innovative approaches that we will be adopting in the coming days & weeks to assist our acreage clients.

Whilst doing my research, I found this recent interview featuring a lady who had contracted Coronavirus and Dr Elizabeth Forsyth, Medical Registrar from the Gold Coast Hospital to be extremely helpful and very informative.

I hope you find it helpful too.

Whilst it’s not exactly business as usual, here at McGrath we are on the front foot and are taking advantage of this time to ensure that we continue to evolve to the next level of Competency, Confidence, Connectivity, Caring, Calculation and Calmness that these difficult times require from our clients and the broader community expect from leaders in their field.

If I can be of any assistance to you or if you have any questions regarding what’s the best approach for your situation in the current acreage market, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Market Wrap - 14th March 2020

Hi, my name is Greg Vincent and welcome to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

So this week, the Coronavirus has created quite a bit of uncertainty in the market as many business owners are now trying to anticipate foreign trade impacts and cashflow projections.

In fact, I had a buyer pulled out from an acreage purchase in Annangrove earlier this week due to concerns about their suppliers being able to provide materials for their construction business during the short to medium term. (But the good news for the owner is that we have another buyer for the home who should be exchanging contracts early this week).

Whilst this was all unfolding, I did some extensive research and I discovered that the ships out of China are back on the move and a large percentage of the delay in ship movements was actually due to the Chinese New Year, not so much from the Coronavirus as had been reported.

For anyone interested, here’s the link to the shipping information I discovered.

I also spoke with another business owner I know who regularly imports furniture from China and they’ve been receiving emails saying please place orders because they’re back to work and production is as usual. So, as you can see the exact impact of the Coronavirus is still such an unknown.

One thing's for sure is that whilst digital media has many positives, its biggest downfall is that it amplifies negative news dramatically.

There's been a lot of panic amongst the world and times like these calls for a calm and logical approach if you're looking at investing.

You see, when the share market drops as evidenced by the ASX 200 index shedding eight percent in value during February, historically many share market investors start withdrawing their equities and place their money in safer alternatives like property.

With interest rates at historically low levels and an unprecedented number of property investments now becoming positively geared with rental yields returning more than the mortgage repayments.

There are some great opportunities to invest in property at present and this current climate of investment affordability is something Australia has never actually seen before.

In the words of Warren Buffett: "The time to be greedy is when everyone else is fearful."

...and I anticipate that this current period of time will bookended by the positive start to 2020 and a return to a positive market after the period of Coronavirus nervousness actually settles down.

My greatest concern for the acreage market, is that currently on the latest Herron Todd White property clock, the Sydney property market was sitting firmly at 9 o'clock (a Rising Market), but we may find that due to the nervousness being experienced globally, the cycle of price recovery may actually become a shorter cycle than first anticipated and the housing market could actually reach the 12 o'clock position faster than first predicted.

Which would be a shame for acreage owners, because the recovery in the property market hasn't actually reached the acreage sector as yet and it's likely that we'll have to wait until the nervousness settles down before we see the double digit price growth that we were anticipated to occur around the middle to later part of the year, which looked set to occur off the back of the strong growth experienced in the housing market over these past 6-7 months.

On a positive note, bear in mind that acreage sales will still keep occurring, however, if you're looking to sell understand that the acreage market looks set to remain a lot more competitive than anticipated during these Autumn months as you'll see from this week's statistics.

So, what’s happening in the acreage market?

There are currently a total of 397 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region.

This overall total includes 218 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 125 in The Hills and another 54 For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

This week, there’s been another 16 new acreage listings come onto the market but only 5 acreage properties were Sold this week (less than half the number of sales that happened last week) but on a positive note there are 15 acreage properties that are currently ‘Under Contract’ across the entire region.

Out in the field, this week I listed an incredible acreage property which has a magnificent home plus a 2nd accommodation, a tennis court, motorbike track, flying fox over the dam, plus a brand new, enormous 360m2 workshop on nearly 7 acres of some of the best land you'll find in the district.

I can't wait to share this stunning property out to my database. Personally I think it may even get snapped up before it goes onto the real estate websites.

If you'd like to know more about this property get in touch with me.

At today's auction at 6 O'Dell Street, Vineyard, the property was passed in, but, we do have a couple of parties that we are currently in negotiations with.

Also, earlier this week I had a buyer who was due to do a 2nd inspection on another property this week, but when the husband flew home from overseas he was unwell and has gone in for testing and they're unable to inspect until he gets the all clear from the Coronavirus test.

So as you can see The Coronavirus is having unexpected impacts in a number of ways.

But, this is also an important time to make sure that both you and your agent maintain a level head and stay in tune with what's really happening and not get swept up into all of the panic & hysteria.

If you want a more balanced understanding about what's happening in the acreage market make sure you grab a copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) which features an insight into ‘The Future For Acreage This Decade' and outlines the Two Biggest Factors Set To Impact Acreage over the next 10 years.

The Acreage Report includes statistics and updates about exactly what's happening within the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market.

When you download your copy, I've also included instant access to The McGrath Report 2020 which features some great insights from property expert, John McGrath.

The report is FREE, you can access a copy right now at www.TheAcreageReport.com.au

Well there you have it, that’s it for another week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

If you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or would like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for watching.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Market Wrap - 7th March 2020

Hi, and welcome to the first Saturday of the Autumn selling season for 2020.

My name is Greg Vincent and thanks for tuning in to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

So this week, the Reserve Bank cut interest rates further by 0.25% with the Cash Rate now at a historical low of 0.50%. Their decision to cut rates is off the back of the Coronavirus causing global economic shutdown along with both wage growth and inflation still remaining stagnant.

The rate cut and the fact that the banks agreed to pass on the full rate cut is very positive for the housing sector and buyer sentiment, especially with affordability set to reach new heights amongst the acreage market.

Also, with First Home Buying having soared to 10-year highs as thousands of young people take advantage of stamp duty concessions, record low interest rates and the new federal loan deposit scheme to get into the market.

There are some great opportunities for first home purchasers in both metro and regional locations in 2020, and all of this added activity is helping to fuel price growth amongst the entry level priced properties, as well as the house & land packages and eventually all of the extra activity at the bottom end of the market will help to drive price growth in the acreage market.

As a result we should start to see a lot more acreage sales occurring during the Autumn months.

Enquiry for acreage has definitely increased, especially from people looking to upgrade to acreage, as well as, investors looking at moving their savings into property investment as they’re now on the look out for better returns than the banks and the share market are currently offering.

I anticipate that many will be opting to land bank or future invest in the acreage market to capitalise on the inevitable re-zonings and urban sprawl that will take place around Sydney's fringe suburbs throughout this next decade.

...and speaking of Sydney's population growth and what's going to happen this decade, you'll be pleased to know that, The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) is Out Now! ...and it features a vitally important insight into ‘What’s Ahead For Acreage This Decade? as well as identifying the Two Biggest Factors Set To Impact Acreage between now and 2030.

I have a feeling that this latest edition is going to be extremely popular because it's packed full of valuable insights into the What? Where? and When? of the changes to acreage this decade along with statistics and updates about exactly what's happening within the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market.

Plus, when you grab a copy you’ll also receive instant access to The McGrath Report 2020 which features exceptional information from property expert, John McGrath.

The Acreage Report is FREE, and you can access a copy right now at www.TheAcreageReport.com.au

What’s Happening In The Acreage Market?

Well during February there were a total of 39 acreage properties sold across the region, with 21 sold in The Hawkesbury, 14 sold in The Hills and the remaining 4 sold in Penrith and Blacktown areas.

The number of New Listings in February was a total of 71 across the region, which is nearly double the number of acreage properties that were Sold this past month, which means that the acreage market is currently still lagging several months behind the significant price growth which has been widely experienced across the Sydney housing market.

Currently there are a total of 402 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region. This overall total includes 222 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 126 in The Hills and another 54 For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

So far for March, there’s been 22 new acreage properties listed this week and 11 acreage properties Sold this week (almost double that of last week) and another 16 properties are currently ‘Under Contract’ across the entire region.

As predicted, it’s not necessarily a booming acreage market as yet but it’s already starting to look like Autumn is set to be an extremely active acreage market for buyers.

Out in the field, I’ve had a number of more qualified enquiries from buyers this week who are currently ready & waiting to make a move onto acres, and they’re open to moving quickly or purchasing under delayed settlement conditions if they find the right property.

So, if you’re planning a move in the near future, now may be a good time to capitalise on the positive mood in the market ...and if you’d like a McGrath perspective on market value and discover how you can maximise the value of your property, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Well there you have it, that’s it for another week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

If you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or would like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for watching and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Lifestyle Set To Reach New Affordability Levels As RBA Cuts Rates

As predicted, the Reserve Bank of Australia have cut rates at today’s meeting with the Cash Rate now at a historical low of 0.50%.

Their decision to cut rates is off the back of the Coronavirus causing global economic shutdown along with both wage growth and inflation still remaining stagnant.

The decision is positive for the housing sector and buyer sentiment, especially with affordability set to reach new heights amongst the acreage market.

The PM has put pressure on the banks to pass on any rate cuts, however, at this stage it looks like the banks are expected to pass on 0.08% to 0.13% with fixed rates already cut last week.

The US looks likely to also cut rates in coming weeks, which is indicative of further RBA cuts.

With the quarterly statistics in the latest Autumn edition of The Acreage Report 2020 showing a reduced number of sales during Summer compared to the Spring 2019 quarter, there’s still a large volume of acreage stock available.

This means that whilst the acreage market is still in the early stages of a ‘U’ curve recovery, right now is an opportune time for buyers to secure an acreage lifestyle or invest in affordable land bank opportunities with excellent potential returns.

Source: Herron Todd White

The Sydney residential market has moved from the previous ‘Start of Recovery’ position on the Herron Todd White Property Clock and this month moved into the positive 9 o’clock position on the Property Clock - ‘RISING MARKET’ as the residential market remains extremely active with new record prices being achieved across lots of Sydney suburbs at present.

While money is cheap, easier to access and acreage stock volumes remain high, early Autumn is an excellent time to make your move into the acreage market if you’re looking to buy to live in or invest.

If you have any questions about buying acreage… Or, if you’re already living on acres and you’re not sure whether to sell your acreage property now or you’re currently wondering whether or not it’s better to hold, then don’t hesitate to get in contact with me to discretely discuss your plans.

I hope you find this acreage information helpful.

UPDATE: It’s great to see that the major banks have agreed to pass on the full 0.25% rate cut.

Regards

Greg Vincent

First Home Buyers Set To Fuel Acreage Market Growth

First home buying has soared to 10-year highs as thousands of young people take advantage of stamp duty concessions, record low interest rates and the new federal loan deposit scheme to get into the market.  

There is great opportunity for first home purchasers in both metro and regional locations in 2020, and all of this added activity is helping to fuel price growth amongst the entry level priced properties, as well as the house & land packages.

in a recent article, property expert John McGrath revealed

According to latest ABS data, the number of new loans issued to first time buyers in December was at its highest level since December 2009. 

The figures also showed that first home buyers were borrowing more, with the average loan size up by about $50,000 year-on-year, indicating APRA’s loosening of loan criteria in July and falling interest rates in June, July and October has given young people a bit more borrowing power.  

As developers start to clear lots of their previously oversupplied land stock and home sellers are achieving higher prices for their homes, acreage properties are becoming a more affordable lifestyle and as well as becoming an appealing option for many investors or astute buyers looking to land bank acres on the outskirts of Sydney ahead of the population explosion predicted during the remainder of this decade and beyond.

The historic low interest rates and the need for extra living or storage space for vehicles, equipment, dual accommodation, etc, is making acreage a very appealing option for many of today’s buyers.

The lowest home loan interest rates since the 1950s make this an incredible time to take out your first loan. Rates might go even lower this year to support our economy through the impact of the bushfires and coronavirus so, as always, I recommend taking a variable rate over fixed. 

On top of the Loan Deposit Scheme are state government stamp duty concessions and First Home Owners Grants available across the East Coast in varying forms. Here are the details to remind you. 

NSW - No stamp duty payable on new or established first homes up to $650,000, with concessions available up to $800,000. There is also a $10,000 FHOG if you buy land to build your first home worth up to $750,000; or buy a new house or off-the-plan apartment worth up to $600,000. 

With all of the first home buyer activity plus with both investors and developers back in the market, the acreage market looks set to have a very active Autumn market.

If you have any questions about what’s happening and How’s The Acreage Market? in your area, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

There’s An Even Bigger Housing Crisis On Its Way For Sydney And Here’s One Reason Why?

The Daily Telegraph featured an article titled, SYDNEY SUBURB COMES TO LIFE 130 YEARS AFTER PLANS DRAWN featuring…

Plans drawn up 130 years ago to transform Riverstone from farming paddocks to Paddington-style terraces are finally coming to life, with residents staking a claim to building lots. Among them is 22-year-old Chandini Suresh.

Source: Daily telegraph

It’s a timely article showcasing how slow the local councils and governments are with providing the necessary housing and infrastructure for Sydney’s growing population.

These past few years of pathetic time-wasting and holding off on projects to try to save votes is going to cause absolute chaos in the housing sector as Sydney bursts at the seams.

Just wait and see what happens this year during the council elections, most of the protectionist Councillors will be too scared to make the necessary decisions for what the communities really need and instead they’ll be making decisions and spruiking promises and running popularity campaigns based purely on trying to protect their job, instead of getting on with the job.

As I shared in a recent article, Draft Report: A Look Into 'The Future For Acreage This Decade'

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) medium-growth model, we can expect Australia’s population to grow to 30 million by 2030 and by the end of this decade Sydney is projected to have a population nearing 6.5 million. That’s an extra 1.4 million on top of the current 5.1 million population of Sydney.

Where on earth are all of these people going to live?

The Aerotropolis will provide some of the housing, but it won’t be anywhere near enough to make a dent in the growing housing demand in Sydney

The proposed plans for the Aerotropolis shows that there are 10 precincts proposed in total, with housing estates not included in all of the precincts.

However, the 2 initial housing precincts:

1. Aerotropolis Core Precinct has a total area of 1382 hectares with housing proposed for 20-24,000 potential residents

2. Northern Gateway Precinct covers 1,616 hectares with housing proposed for 8 - 10,000 potential residents.

The other initial precincts which are scheduled to be signed off on by the end of 2020 are for parkland, waterways, commercial, light industrial, warehousing, freight distribution, agribusiness and urban services.

“Urban services includes industries that enable the city to develop and its businesses and residents to operate. Urban services support the activities of local populations and businesses. They include concrete batching, waste recycling and transfer, printing, motor vehicle repairs, construction depots, and utilities (electricity, water, gas supply)”, according to the Greater Sydney Commission.

There will be more housing provided within some of the Stage 2 precincts, but by the time the initial 2 housing precincts are gazetted, and the necessary services are provided (roads, water, sewer, electricity, and gas, etc) and the blocks of land get registered, then add on top the delay in getting the building approvals processed , plus the time it takes to build the homes, let alone providing community services like schools, transport, shopping centres, etc it’s going to take years to develop.

My prediction is that, it’s unlikely that there will be any homes to live in out in the Aerotropolis prior to late 2022 - early 2023 at the current rate.

By which time Sydney’s population is expected to have grown by another 300,000 people and yet these 2 precincts will only provide at best housing for 34,000, approx. 11% of Sydney’s population growth during that period (and bear in mind that by the time the population has grown by the predicted 300,000 people, they will only just be completing the first of the 12-15,000 places in these precincts. The construction of all of properties for 34,000 people will take around 3 - 4 years to complete, which means that by then there’ll be another 300,000 people in Sydney looking for a place to live.

Apparently, even the mayor of Blacktown admitted recently that the City of Blacktown is currently about 55,000 homes behind where they really need to be …and this is only going to become a more common and growing problem unless something is done, and fast.

The current NSW Government has been spruiking that they’re building the infrastructure for the future and building a better Sydney, but, they need to pull their finger out and get on with providing housing or we’re going to end up with an unfixable housing crisis on our hands.

Right now is the time for the State Government to start fast tracking projects and for the local governments to streamline processing. It’s also time for the Federal Government to invest further in Sydney’s projects, water supply issues and maybe consider a reduction to the volume of immigration until the country can actually cope with the rate of population growth.

I hope I’m wrong, but it currently looks like Sydney’s going to be in one hell of a horrible mess this time next decade.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Market Wrap - 29th Feb 2020

Hi, and Happy Leap Year Day and welcome to the last leap year Saturday that we'll see for another 28 years.

Plus, today is the last day of Summer ...and Mother Nature has certainly made this a Summer that a lot of us will never forget.

My heart goes out to all of those people impacted by the bushfires, floods and storms we experienced this season.

My name is Greg Vincent and welcome to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

So this week, the uncertainty of the Corona Virus has had an enormous impact on the share market as well as the value of the Aussie dollar.

As a result we should start to see a lot more investors looking at moving their money into property investment.

Prediction: I anticipate that many will be opting to land bank or future invest in the acreage market to capitalise on the inevitable rezonings and urban sprawl that will take place around Sydney's fringe suburbs throughout this next decade.

Despite the RBA holding rates steady this month, several of the banks have just cut their mortgage rates for investors in anticipation of an increased uptake in investment loans from investors moving across from the share market. There will also be an increase in Mum & Dad investors who after the recent property price increases will now have extra equity in their home that they could use to buy an investment property and start expanding their property portfolio.

If you're thinking about investing in property, earlier this week, John McGrath shared his top tips for property investment in 2020.

In other news, Infrastructure Australia released the 2020 Infrastructure Priority List earlier this week. There are 147 infrastructure proposals on the list, which is the largest since its inception, with 37 new proposals added this year.

Whilst the infrastructure links to the Western Sydney Airport and the extension of the Sydney Metro rail through to the city and out to Bankstown will have some impacts, the three main projects that will have a direct impact on acreage in this area are…

1. Proposal to raise Warragamba Dam

2. South Creek Integrated Land Use And Water Cycle Management

3. The Outer Sydney Orbital (M9) corridor.

To find out more about the 2020 Infrastructure Priority List click here.

So, what’s happening in the acreage market?

As predicted, there’s now a lot more acreage stock coming onto the market.

In fact there were 28 new acreage properties listed this week (the largest number we've seen so far this year) which means that currently there are a total of 395 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region.

This overall total includes 218 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 125 in The Hills and another 52 For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

But, there’s only been 6 acreage properties Sold this week and 15 properties that are currently ‘Under Contract’ across the entire region.

…and Autumn looks set to be an extremely active acreage market off the back of the positivity in the housing market with auction clearance rates hovering back up around the 80% mark again.

However, the reality is that with the current rate of new acreage stock coming onto the market, it will take a dramatic increase in sales volume over the coming months before we can start experiencing a booming sellers market in the acreage sector again.

Out in the field this week, there were a lot of enquiries from buyers who are now fully qualified and ready to purchase if they find the right property.

Also, this week I’ve been putting the finishing touches to The Acreage Report (Autumn edition) which will be going off to print next week. It includes an exclusive report on 'The Future For Acreage This Decade' and here’s a ‘Sneek Preview’ of part of that report.

Draft Report: A Look Into 'The Future For Acreage This Decade'

While I was putting together this latest report all I kept finding myself asking was if Sydney's population is projected to increase by 1.4 million in this next decade, then where on earth are all of these people going to live.

To find out more, check out the link above, and if you want to receive a copy of The Acreage Report (Autumn edition) before it goes to print then register now at…

TheAcreageReport.com.au

The current edition of The Acreage Report 2020 (Summer edition) was by far the most popular edition we’ve released to date, but, I have a feeling that this next edition is going to be even more popular.

The Acreage Report is packed full of valuable insights and updates about exactly what's happening within the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market.

Plus, when you grab a copy you’ll also receive instant access to The McGrath Report 2020 which features some great information from property expert, John McGrath.

So there you have it, that’s it for this week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

If you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or would like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for watching and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent

John McGrath’s Top Tips For Property Investment In 2020

With the share market suffering huge losses this week, with the ABC reporting today that the…

“Australia's share market has joined Wall Street in a correction, falling more than 10 per cent since their recent record highs, while the Australian dollar plumbed a fresh 11-year low.

In the space of just a week, the ASX 200 has gone from a record closing high of 7,162 last Thursday to a low of 6,427 in today's session.

This morning's initial 3.3 per cent slump took the losses above 10 per cent since that record, marking the beginning of what traders call a "correction".

To enter a "crash" or "bear market" share prices would need to lose another 10 per cent from there.

Looking at the broader market, represented by the All Ordinaries index, Australian shares have lost more than $240 billion in value since their highs last week. 

It is the biggest weekly drop for both Australian and US share markets since October 2008, during the peak of the global financial crisis market chaos.

The Australian dollar has also again plumbed financial crisis depths, falling to 65.29 US cents during afternoon trade.”

A Turn Towards Property Investment

When share markets fall a lot of investors often look to invest in the housing market again to diversify and spread their risk as bricks and mortar is seen to provide a more resilient investment during uncertain times. Whilst the bad news surrounding the impacts of the current global health crisis is causing turmoil & chaos amongst business.

If you’re thinking of switching across to investing in property, we’ve got some news! It’s now not only easier to get a loan but several of the banks have just cut their mortgage rates for investors, despite the RBA holding rates steady this month.

Property investment should always be for the long term and it’s certainly advantageous to get started when rates are at record lows.

if you’d like to know more about investing in property, and gain some valuable insights from one of Australia’s leading property experts, make sure you check out John McGrath’s top tips for property investment in 2020 here

Also, when looking at investing in property, it’s worth checking out my recent article titled…

Draft Report: A Look Into The Future For Acreage This Decade.’

There’s going to be some massive changes in the acreage market this decade.

Plus, I currently have some great opportunities amongst the acreage sector located on the fringes of Sydney which are showing excellent returns and excellent potential for growth along with future development opportunity.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to know more about these properties and the long term benefits of investing in acreage.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Draft Report: A Look Into 'The Future For Acreage This Decade'

Please help... DRAFT REPORT: A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE FOR ACREAGE THIS DECADE!

Hi, I'm currently in the process of writing a report on 'The Future For Acreage This Decade', see the first part of the report below.

But as I'm writing this report, one question just keeps going over and over in my mind... 'Where on earth are all of these people going to live?'

First part of the report...

"Australia’s population clock ticked over to an historic milestone: 25 million people in August 2018. It took Australia 23 years to increase from 15 million people to 20 million people. But the latest 5 million, to reach the 25 million milestone, was added in just 14 years.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) medium-growth model, we can expect Australia’s population to grow to 30 million by 2030 and by the end of this decade Sydney is projected to have a population nearing 6.5 million. That’s an extra 1.4 million on top of the current 5.1 million population of Sydney.

Now when you consider the latest North West Growth Sector precincts already released like Riverstone East (Stages 1 and 2) provides 3500 homes and Vineyard Stage 1 will add a further 2300 homes and these precinct plans were finalised in August 2016 and December 2017 respectively, and only one precinct has several homes completed or being built, whereas, the other precinct doesn’t have a single parcel of land ready to build on as yet.

With the latest census showing Sydney having an average household size of 2.72, these 2 precincts will eventually accommodate approx.16,000 people in total, but, if it takes 4 years to go from precinct release to homes built, with an extra 1.4 million people going to live in Sydney in the next decade, our city will conservatively need approximately 400,000+ more homes and very quickly."

I know the Aerotropolis precincts are going to add enormously to the volume of housing, but, there's a lot more that will need to be done to accomodate Sydney's population growth.

I'd be really interested in gaining any insights from town planners, community leaders and acreage owners currently living on the fringes of the development areas or anyone who has ideas about what can be done.

Thank You in advance.

UPDATE: The full report is available in The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition), grab your copy at www.TheAcreageReport.com.au

Regards

Greg Vincent 

South Creek Integrated Land Use And Water Cycle Management Is Now On 2020 Infrastructure Priority List

The 2020 Infrastructure Priority List has uncovered the scale of the challenge for Australian governments in addressing emerging and enduring infrastructure needs.

“Australia’s infrastructure task is getting bigger and more complex across our fast-growing cities as well as regional areas,” said Ken Morrison, Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia.

“The Infrastructure Priority List is a huge call to action for our governments to support the city-shaping and nation-building projects that are needed for a growing population, to boost productivity and sustain our standard of living.

At a Glance:

• The Infrastructure Priority List new focus areas are on water, waster, coastal inundation and road maintenance

• There are 147 infrastructure proposal on the list, the largest since its inception

• 37 new proposals were added this year

…with one of the key Priority Initiatives being the South Creek integrated land use and water cycle management scheme which is scheduled for assessment by the NSW Government within the next 5 years.

The South Creek catchment covers an enormous area of Western Sydney which includes the Aerotropolis extends from where it reaches the Hawkesbury River to the north and runs almost as far south as Narellan and is bounded by Blacktown to the east and almost to Penrith to the west.

As part of the Western Sydney City Deal, the commitment is to Restore and Protect South Creek

The South Creek corridor from Narellan to Hawkesbury has been identified as an important environmental spine and organising landscape element for the Western Parkland City. The NSW Government will develop a strategy for South Creek that will investigate its restoration and protection as part of the broader strategy of integrating land use and water management within the 63,000 hectare catchment.

The Western Sydney Aerotropolis is going to be where most of the development and infrastructure focus will be in this next decade.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how Infrastructure NSW are going to minimise the downstream impacts to the Hawkesbury River and avoid large scale ecological impacts as Western Sydney keeps developing over the next decade and beyond.

Our population is growing rapidly and as Ken Morrison Chief Executive, Property Council of Australia outlined

“This is the ‘new normal’ for Australia’s infrastructure challenge, not just a short-term boom,”

“We need to plan for, fund and deliver new infrastructure on a much bigger scale and over a longer period of time than we have experienced previously.

“This will require a new mindset from our governments and the community – one which is always focused on constantly planning and building for the future."

Mr Morrison said that as the Infrastructure Priority List continued to grow, only seven projects had ‘graduated’ from the list to project delivery stage.

“We need to see more projects moving into delivery stage if we are going to keep with the demands of a growing nation,” said Mr Morrison.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Market Wrap - 22nd Feb 2020

Hi, my name is Greg Vincent and welcome to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

This week, the RateMyAgent industry awards were held and I’m extremely proud to share that our McGrath Rouse Hill office received an Agency of the Year Award for sales in 2020.

This outstanding result is not only a fantastic achievement for our team at Rouse Hill, but it’s also a terrific outcome for our clients as we constantly aim to raise the bar for customer service and set new standards of excellence to ensure that you receive the best possible experience and outcome.

On top of that, the McGrath Network also won the Large Agency Network of the Year award. I feel extremely proud to be part of such a customer-focused and professional group of estate agents.

In other news, this week HIA and CoreLogic released figures to show that the demand for residential land has increased 45.9 per cent since March last year.

“With leading indicators showing that the housing market has improved and the increased demand for residential land is further evidence of the growth occurring in the market.

Plus, with Sydney’s rapidly increasing population combined with a shortage of available land these two factors have played a big part in driving home prices up substantially over this past decade.”

With demand for land picking up, it is important that an adequate supply is maintained each year to avoid undue pressure on housing affordability, which should put pressure on the State Government, Planning NSW and Local Councils to start releasing more acreage properties for subdivision because in the end people are going to need somewhere to live and soon.

For more information visit, Increased Demand For Residential Land Set To Have A Positive Impact On The Acreage Market

As more of the North West Growth Centre Precinct Plans are released and acreage parcels become rezoned, the surrounding acreages also become highly sought after and the positive flow-on impacts are felt across the entire acreage market.

So after a lengthy wait for so many acreage owners living on Sydney’s fringes, I anticipate that the pressure for more land releases is now becoming far too great for the state government and local councils to hold them back for too much longer.

Plus the extra stamp duty, extra rates and infrastructure contributions from the developers will help add millions of dollars to their coffers to help them provide much needed community services like transport, schools, hospitals, etc.

Also, with data just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the value of new housing loans has surged by almost 21% since the Morrison Government was returned, with new owner occupier mortgages in NSW and Victoria being the main drivers.

The Federal Government First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has been extremely popular and it’s helping to fuel the bottom end of the market which will have a flow on effect into the acreage market over the coming weeks... and as I mentioned in an article earlier this week, Early Autumn Looks Like Being A Much More Active Time To Sell Your Acreage Property.

The Latest Insight Into What’s Happening In The Hills Housing Market?

Now for something a little different, this afternoon I went along to see today's auction at 57 Hadley Circuit, Beaumont Hills. I thought I’d drop by to get a clearer picture of exactly how strong The Hills residential market currently is. ...and I must say that it's on fire.

The stunning home was promoted perfectly by the McGrath team and with the bidding starting at $1.2m it climbed quickly and kept climbing way beyond the $1.5m reserve …and amongst some very spirited bidding the property ended up being SOLD for $1.67 million. Nearly $200,000 above reserve.

Here’s the Facebook Live video I recorded of the auction (from when the bidding was up around $1.5m).

Congratulations to both the owners and the successful bidders, and well done to our McGrath team for another sensational result.

....and the good news for acreage owners is that the positive wave is on its way, but, it comes with a word of warning. Be very careful if you're waiting for the acreage market to increase before you sell and your plan is to move closer into the city, you may actually be better off moving now before the prices in The Hills keep climbing higher and higher. It's just some food for thought.

So, How is the Acreage Market?

More acreage properties are starting come onto the market with another 13 new acreage listings launched this week which means that there are now currently 381 acreage properties for sale across the region.

This overall total includes 214 acreage properties For Sale in The Hawkesbury, 117 throughout The Hills and another 50 For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

There were 6 acreage properties SOLD this week along with another 15 acreages currently Under Contract.

Out in the field, after over 6,000 internet views, 153 enquiries, 35 inspections, as well as 7 contracts having been issued and 3 parties negotiating very competitively, the property at 7 Everett Place, Annangrove has now gone ‘Under Contract’.

As you can see from those stats there are lots and lots of acreage buyers actively looking to move onto acreage at present.

So, perhaps if you’re thinking about selling your acreage property I may just have the right buyer for your place currently sitting there waiting for you amongst my acreage database.

Also, for anyone watching who may be looking to buy an acreage property, I regularly sell properties before they even appear on the real estate websites, so if you want to be kept in the loop about any new listings before they hit the broader market, make sure you get in contact with me and ask to be added to my Exclusive Pre-Launch Acreage Database.

For example, I have several new listings about to come onto the market, one of them is a stunning 25 acre property right beside the Hawkesbury River in Lower Portland which is a perfect Acreage Escape and playground for anyone into waterskiing, horse riding, motorbikes, etc.

If you'd like more information about this 25 acre property or any of the other properties that I have coming up, simply get in touch with me.

Lastly, to wrap up, I just wanted to let you know that I'm currently just adding the finishing touches to the upcoming Autumn Edition of The Acreage Report 2020 which features a special article that provide “A Look Into The Future Of What’s Ahead For Acreage This Decade”.

So, if you want to be amongst the first to receive the exciting new Autumn edition then register now at www.TheAcreageReport.com.au and at the same time you'll receive a copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Summer edition) plus The McGrath Report 2020 which includes insights from property expert, John McGrath.

The new Autumn edition will not only feature that exclusive article, but you'll also get the most up-to-date acreage market statistics and insights into what's happening within the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market.

So, there you have it. That's it for this week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

As usual if you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or if you’d like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks again for tuning in and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent

McGrath Rouse Hill Receives Agency of the Year Award

This outstanding result is not only a fantastic achievement for McGrath Estate Agents Rouse Hill but it’s also a terrific outcome for our clients as our team constantly aim to raise the bar for customer service and set new standards of excellence to ensure that you receive the best possible experience and outcome.

In addition to our Rouse Hill office receiving an Agency of the Year Award for sales in 2020, the McGrath Network also won the Large Agency Network of the Year award at the RateMyAgent Awards last night!

I am extremely proud to be part of such a customer-focused and professional group of estate agents.

We look forward to continuing to set the standard of excellence along with having the opportunity to combine the enormous resources of McGrath Estate Agents along with experience and energy to help you achieve your real estate goals.

Regards

Greg Vincent