Hawkesbury City Council Propose Amendments To Local Environment Plan

I received notification this week that “Hawkesbury City Council is exhibiting a planning proposal (LEP003/15) affecting certain land within the Hawkesbury Local Government Area.

The proposed amendments are generally procedural (housekeeping) as it relates to matters such as updating general wording and referencing; amending the LEP due to provisions of State Planning Policies; changes to minimum lot size provisions; site specific rezoning and land classifications; and correcting some minor drafting and mapping errors.   

The proposed amendments also include the addition of certain land uses as permissible development in the RU1 Primary Production, RU2 Rural Landscape, RU4 Primary Production Small Lots, RU5 Village, R1 General Residential, R2 Low Density Residential, R3 Medium Density Residential, R5 Large Lot Residential and E3 Environmental Management & E4 Environmental Living zones.

Land Affected: Certain land within the Hawkesbury local government area as detailed in the Planning Proposal. 

The Draft General Amendments to the Hawkesbury Local Environmental Plan 2012 (LEP003/15) is on exhibition between Friday 24 April 2020 to Friday 22 May 2020 inclusive. 

A copy of the Draft General Amendments to the Hawkesbury LEP 2012 (LEP003/15) and supporting information can be viewed on Council’s website at “Your Hawkesbury Your Say”

The last day for the receipt of submissions is Friday 22 May 2020.”

This is part of several Local Council’s obligation to prepare changes to their Local Environment Plan so that they can work in with NSW Planning under the new guidelines.

One of the documents Hawkesbury City Council made reference to within these proposed amendments is the Hawkesbury Community Strategic Plan.

Source: Hawkesbury City Council

As I’ve shared previously, Planning NSW announced a new approach to precinct planning which places more involvement and responsibility in the hands of local councils and communities.

“Within the new approach are four pathways, as well as planning for the Aerotropolis, to progress the 51 existing precincts in Greater Sydney. The Department will support each council individually throughout the transition of each precinct into one of the four pathways.

• State-led strategic planning

• Collaborative planning between the State and councils

• State-led zoning

• Council-led zoning

As part of this new approach, local councils will be empowered to plan for their local areas because they know their people and communities best. The Department will continue to support and collaborate with each council to deliver great places while remaining focused on strategic issues and getting a coordinated approach from State agencies.”

I don’t believe that the Hawkesbury City Council have fully anticipated the population growth that will occur in and around Sydney over the next decade and the exponential growth that will occur around the fringes of the North West Growth Centre.

The groundswell of Sydney’s future expansion is on a collision course with The Hawkesbury district and it will be interesting to see how long Hawkesbury City Councils latest amendments are going to apply, especially when considering the anticipated increase in population growth of Sydney of an extra 1.5 million people from the current 5 million approx. to nearing 6.5 million by 2030.

When compared to neighbouring councils like The Hills Council, Penrith City Council and Blacktown City Council which have very deep pockets and much larger planning departments, the Hawkesbury City Council with their current financial position and conservatism will most likely put them in a position where they find the next decade very difficult for the council in its current form.

I anticipate that NSW Planning may actually step in and make some state-based decisions that are going to be beyond their control.

It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out, but one things for sure after tuning into last week’s online Council Meeting, there seemed to be way too much time spent patting themselves on the back for my liking, but then again what could one expect, it is a Council election year after all.

If you’d like to check out the proposed amendments and have your say, visit the link here

Regards

Greg Vincent

CoreLogic Early Market Indicators A Potential Eye-Opener For Acreage Market

CoreLogic recently rolled out a new weekly report titled ‘Early Market Indicators’ and it’s interesting to see how these indicators will play out during the Post-COVID19 period.

In the housing sector there’s been a shortage of listings over the past year with many people holding off from selling during last year’s elections and lots of people currently putting their plans on hold off the back of the Coronavirus pandemic due to the uncertainty in the market.

Interestingly, the acreage market hasn’t experienced the same shortage of listings during this same period, yet there are fewer acreage properties currently on the market than there were around the same time last year.

In fact, as reported in last year’s publication of The Acreage Report 2019 (Autumn edition) there were a total of 479 acreage properties For Sale and there were only 56 acreages sold during that Summer period, whereas, in this years copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) there were 386 acreages For Sale and a total of 104 acreage properties Sold during this corresponding quarter.

These acreage sales results looked set to continue to increase dramatically throughout the Autumn months, however, they were dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 and so far, we’ve seen available listings increase back up to 444 acreages For Sale (as per this week’s Acreage Market Wrap), and there’s been a total of 36 acreage properties Sold during these first two months of Autumn 2020.

As we start to move into a period of reduction of the Coronavirus lock-down restrictions, it looks like we will see a steady flow of acreage buyer activity entering back into the market, especially from buyers craving more room after being stuck in lockdown and those seeking a quieter tree-change lifestyle.

It’s also very interesting to see that the CoreLogic data indicates a 23.94% increase in the number of market appraisal reports generated within their system in the past week (which is shown as Pre-Listing Activity in the Early Market Indicators Report below which means that there could be quite a few new listings coming onto the market in the coming weeks.

From my personal experience and the number of acreage owners that I’ve been speaking with recently who are thinking of selling Post-COVID 19, I anticipate that there could be an increase in acreage listings available, but, after having spoken with lots of acreage buyers throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, I believe that there could be a significant volume of new listings coming onto the market in the housing sector as people make their move to an acreage lifestyle or make a tree change or sea change.

So if you’re Thinking About Selling Your Acreage Property Post-COVID 19, you may find that making a few decisions slightly earlier than you may have been planning could give you the edge over the competition, especially if the market goes through a correction some property analysts are predicting.

To assist you, here’s an article that you may find helpful which outlines…

5 Ways To Jump Ahead Of The Pack During The Post-Covid-19 Recovery

As Eliza Owen from CoreLogic reported in her recent article about The Relative Resilience of Property Values, it was very interesting to see that…

“in the 28 days ending April 21st, the change in value was still positive at 0.4%. It is noteworthy however, that momentum in this positive growth rate has slowed from 1.1% halfway through March.”

For more information about these recent stats from CoreLogic visit the article here.

I hope find this information helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Acreage Market Wrap - 26th April 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?

I normally would've recorded this update yesterday but being Anzac Day I wanted to be respectful to our diggers by postponing this video until today.

Firstly, I’d like to take this moment to remember and salute those brave and selfless Australians who sacrificed so much so that we can enjoy this wonderful country. And at the same time I’d like to pay special tribute to our current front line heroes who have been displaying a similar Anzac Spirit towards fighting off this disease and putting their own lives at risk.

Yesterday, was a very different Anzac Day but on reflection it was one of the most moving and life-changing that I’ve experienced in my life and I’ll be sharing some reflections and insights about Anzac Day here on my website over the next day or two.

Also, I wanted to do a huge shout out of Congratulations to everyone in team Australia (and if you’re here in Australia, that includes you) who’ve been doing an amazing job to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

According to The Guardian App, the number of new cases has dropped significantly over the past month with the latest stats showing that there were 21 cases nationally on Friday and in NSW we saw a reduction from the 21 new cases last Saturday dropping down to single digits for consecutive days for the rest of the week, even dropping down to only 2 new cases on Tuesday, however on Friday it jumped back up to double digits with 12 new cases in NSW which was over half of the new cases Nationally

Update: the stats have since been updated to show that new cases in NSW has dropped back down to 8 yesterday on Anzac Day.

When compared to the peak of 212 cases that we had in NSW back on the 27th March, these reduced numbers are excellent news, however, we certainly can’t relax the restrictions just yet, especially here in NSW, because our death rate is double that of any other state and our current hospitalisation rate is almost 10 times that of any other state.

Compared to what’s happening elsewhere globally we are doing exceptionally well and the Federal Government, State Government and the National Cabinet should be commended for how they have handled this crisis, especially Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his leadership throughout this pandemic, regardless of whatever your political preferences are, and whilst it’s still far from over, it’s been a great team effort and it’s been good to see how they’ve all worked together to steer our country through this global pandemic so far.

Confident, Calm & Considered Leadership Is Critical During Any Crisis

Talking about leadership, I’d also like to give a big shout out to John McGrath for his leadership throughout this pandemic, because every morning from Monday to Friday throughout the past month I’ve had a Zoom meeting with John McGrath and other real estate mentors along with some of the greatest real estate agents in the country.

I must say that the caliber of the people who I have been able to meet up with over these past 4-5 weeks has been extraordinary and it’s helped me to skill-up to a point that I have now been able to take my service level and professionalism to a whole new level in preparation for the Post-COVID 19 period.

It’s been an incredible period of personal growth for me and it goes to show that we should never stop growing, innovating, improving and that it’s important to remain humble, never take anything for granted and always be open to learning new and better ways of serving others.

I am extremely proud of our team at McGrath and their efforts during this time.

One thing that’s very reassuring is that each day during our Zoom meetings I get an update from our team about the large volume of transactions that are still happening across Sydney and throughout Australia despite the Coronavirus restrictions.

These updates are really positive indicators for what I feel may unfold for the acreage market in the coming weeks and months.

I’m looking forward to the future for the acreage market during the upcoming Post-COVID 19 period and helping my clients by providing the best new innovation tools along with the right advice to help them achieve their property goals.

PERSONALLY I THINK THEY GOT THIS ONE WRONG

Whilst I like to try to focus on the positives of the market during this time, there’s something that I must say left me feeling a bit shocked this week.

You see when I was scrolling through the property websites recording the weekly acreage stats, I saw a photograph taken of a couple of other agents (definitely not part of our network) standing in front of a sold sign with face masks and gloves on spruiking that they’d sold a property during Covid-19 and yet the sold sign in the background has a big headline across it saying ‘Deceased Estate’.

With so many people dying of Coronavirus globally and so many people impacted by this crisis it just felt like it was a bit of poor form and was in bad taste.

At the moment I really believe that all agents across our industry need to raise their standards of professionalism and should be adopting a role model mindset throughout the Covid-19 period because families really need us more than ever now to be an example, lead the way forward, step up and be more understanding and empathetic to others during this pandemic.

Maybe I’ve got this one wrong and maybe it was all just done as a bit of fun, or perhaps it’s just a timing thing and the ‘Deceased Estate’ heading on the sign part struck a nerve with me, but, it just didn’t feel right to me.

Especially after recently losing a close family friend very suddenly as well as having one of my other mates Dad having passed away and sadly neither of these amazing men got to have the proper send off that they both so richly deserved at their funeral services this week.

You see, there would normally have been hundreds of people attending these funerals to pay their respects and it’s such an empty feeling when you can’t say farewell to someone you care about and simply being able to give the families a hug to comfort them at the moment.

It’s always a tough time for anyone who has lost a loved one at the best of times, but during the current lock-down I appreciate that it makes it even harder on the families & friends who want to support each other through the grief. Anyway, I’ve had my rant about this matter, let’s move on.

So, getting back to John McGrath, it was great to see his article earlier this week about what he and I both foresee happening Post-COVID 19, once people start getting back to more of a normal life, beyond this lock-down period.

John said,

“As we all spend more time at home due to social distancing and working remotely, there is the opportunity to ponder what is truly important to us and the type of lives we want to lead. Our homes are a reflection of this, so I see a wave of seachanging and treechanging in our near future.”

He also went onto to say…

“I anticipate a surge in demand for rural and regional luxury homes within two hours of the big cities, like they did post 9/11 as many people reassessed their priorities and lifestyle became top of mind.”

If you’re interested to read more on this insight from John McGrath, here’s a link to the article.

Also, this week I shared a helpful article which features…

5 Ways To Jump Ahead Of The Pack During The Post-Covid-19 Recovery

that you may also like to check out ... here’s a link to that as well...

How’s The Acreage Market?

Currently there are 444 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region. This overall total includes 240 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 139 in The Hills and another 65 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

This week, another 11 new acreage listings came onto the market and 6 acreages were Sold this week which is a lot more positive that just the single property being sold last week. Also, there’s currently 13 acreage properties ‘Under Contract’ across the region.

Out in the field, this week, there’s been an increase in online enquiry for acreage and I’ve spoken with a lot of buyers who are now ready to buy if they find the right place. I’ve definitely sensed a more positive and optimistic feeling amongst all of the buyers I’ve spoken with in the market this week.

I have a feeling that the insights I shared about ‘The Future For Acreage This Decade' as well the Two Biggest Factors Set To Impact Acreage over the next 10 years that I featured in The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) are still well and truely on track.

You can get a FREE copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) at…
www.TheAcreageReport.com.au

The Acreage Report features statistics about what's happening in the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market. Plus, you also get instant access to a copy of The McGrath Report 2020 which features exclusive insights from one of Australia’s leading property experts, John McGrath.

Also, this week it looks like we’ll be launching some new ‘Off-Market Acres’ listings, so if you want to get early-bird access to these upcoming acreage properties simply register now at… www.offmarketacres.com.au

When registering for 'Off-Market Acres’ you’ll also receive a bonus copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) and the McGrath Report 2020.

So, with a lot to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead, 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, stay safe, keep up the great work and bye for now.

.Regards

Greg Vincent

5 Ways To Jump Ahead Of The Pack During The Post-Covid-19 Recovery

You can definitely sense a much more positive mood filtering through at the moment and today I noticed a lot more traffic on the road as well as more people out at Rouse Hill Town Centre.

Over the next few weeks, it looks like there could be a bounce of activity in the acreage lifestyle sector as I previously predicted and as John McGrath announced in his article earlier this week.

There were only 4 people diagnosed with COVID-19 within a 24 hour period and Australia ended up having just 12 new cases of Coronavirus recorded overall on Wednesday despite increased testing, (with cases down from 460 at its peak in late March), Alicia Rouse from The Daily Mail shared the latest insight that…

Australia CRUSHES coronavirus: Just FOUR people are diagnosed with COVID-19 in 24 hours as curve 'heads south' and country is told we could be eased back to normal in three weeks

And with beaches having been re-opened for swimming on Tuesday, a sense of normality is starting to come back into ‘The Australian Way of Life’, but we can’t be too relaxed and we still need to stay the course.

Source: Daily Mail

Source: Daily Mail

It’s sooo good to see how Australian’s have pulled together during this Coronavirus crisis. Well done everyone and HUGE THANKS to all of our amazing Frontline Heroes. This mural in Melbourne says it all.

Moving Today & Beyond Covid-19

Behind-the-scenes we have been taking this opportunity to innovate, improve and refine our marketing strategy during this lock-down period in preparation for the Post-Covid19 recovery, and I am about to hit the ‘Go-Button’ on a new campaign designed to help promote acreage properties more extensively.

If you’d like to find out more about how it works and would like to have your acreage property included in this brand new, innovative, highly cost-effective initiative, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me

Here’s 5 Ways To Jump Ahead During The Post-Covid-19

1: Download a copy of the McGrath Selling Guide: We have updated our information rich Selling a Property guide to include our 11 most popular FAQ’s on selling during COVID-19.

Get your FREE Copy Here

2: Book Appointments with Photographer & Property Stylists : Understand that availability for furniture and bookings for these services will fill up quickly as more listings come onto the market. We can help provide you with guidance and helpful tips throughout this process.

3: Request A Copy Of Contract Be Prepared By Your Conveyancer/Solicitor: Any delay in the preparation of the contract will delay the launch of your property and could mean that there’s more competition in the market. Also, if you have a swimming pool and/or a spa make sure to arrange an inspection for the Pool Compliance or Non-Compliance Certificate which is required to be in the contract.

4: Request A FREE Acreage Appraisal: When selling your greatest asset it’s important that you appoint the best agent possible to ensure that you Maximise The Value Of Your Property.

If you’d like to schedule an Obligation FREE Acreage Appraisal, Click Here

5: Consider The NEW Ways Of Buying Or Selling Acres: There are a number of different options available when buying or selling acreage nowadays. For just one example, see… www.OffMarketAcres.com.au

During this Post-Covid19 period it’s going to be to your advantage to consider ways to get the edge over the rest of the market.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your property or would like to know ‘How’s The Acreage Market?’

I hope you’ve found this information helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent

John McGrath Affirms Acreage Lifestyle In Post-Covid 19 Investment Choices

I’ve seen a significant increase to the number of enquiries for acreage lifestyle properties from people thinking about making a move away from the city, which I mentioned in this week’s Acreage Market Wrap…

“As we start to come out the other side of this crisis, a lot of people will be re-assessing their current lifestyle and this week I noticed a large percentage of acreage enquiries were coming from people living in the city who realise that they can work remotely very effectively from a home office.

Many are already starting to look into moving away from the crowded city life as they would much prefer to live and work amongst a more spacious, peaceful, natural surroundings of an acreage or tree-change lifestyle, especially on the outer fringes of the city so they can still commute on the odd-day if required.”

…and earlier today, property expert John McGrath also affirmed acreage lifestyle in Post-Covid 19 investment choices.

As we all spend more time at home due to social distancing and working remotely, there is the opportunity to ponder what is truly important to us and the type of lives we want to lead.  Our homes are a reflection of this, so I see a wave of seachanging and treechanging in our near future. 

Historically, social and economic events of this nature have also been a catalyst for people to reassess their investments. Typically, we see people surge back to property in times of uncertainty. I expect the same will happen again when the dust settles on Covid-19.  

I anticipate a surge in demand for rural and regional luxury homes within two hours of the big cities, like they did post 9/11 as many people reassessed their priorities and lifestyle became top of mind. 

I was out showing the property at 209 Greens Road, Lower Portland which overlooks the Hawkesbury River, where I recorded this Facebook Live video.

I currently have a number of great acreage lifestyle properties available at present and now that ‘the cat is well & truly out of the bag’ about what looks set to happen in the acreage sector Post-Covid 19, now is a good time to get a jump on securing the right escape away from the city life before the large wave of acreage lifestyle buyers begin to flood the market once the isolation restrictions become more relaxed.

Acreage has become very affordable now with interest rates at historically low levels as well as enjoying the additional space, the outdoors home entertainment options like relaxing around a firepit, horse riding, motorbiking and in many cases, you’ll get to enjoy privacy, tranquility plus resort-style living.

As John McGrath also said…

I think the main difference between this period and previous similar events is that everyone is better prepared to withstand the pressures. We are blessed to have some of the best banks in the world presiding over our lending and this has placed us in a stronger position to recover more quickly.  

The government response and stimulus packages have been swift and robust. This should allow most people to move through this with far less pain than they would have otherwise had to endure.

Around the globe, Australian residential property is considered one of the safest assets and now, our weaker currency is providing a 30%-40% discount for many buyers purchasing in other currencies.

When you consider the national measures introduced to limit the spread of the Coronavirus with measures shown starting from the date they were introduced to ten days later, which is a rough estimate of time that researchers from the University of Melbourne believe that they might see the effect of the actions taken on case numbers.

Plus, with NSW having 6 cases of Coronavirus recorded yesterday, when compared to the peak of 212 cases on March 27th, (which was almost double the highest case numbers recorded in Vic of 111 on Mar 28), it looks like NSW has pulled together and have done a brilliant job of flattening the curve. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will see a number of the imposed restrictions reduced. Source: The Guardian

Source: The Guardian

Here at McGrath it’s been business as usual but in an unusual way. There are still a number of buyers out in the market currently taking this opportunity to transact.

Whilst there’s currently fewer buyers in the market, many buyers are taking this opportunity to purchase because they have less competition at the moment, which could change very quickly once the strict COVID-19 restrictions start to become more relaxed.

Whilst sales in the acreage market haven’t been as active as they have been within the housing sector, I anticipate that there will be a lot more buyers in the market Post-Covid 19 looking for an acreage lifestyle.

if you’re thinking of buying or selling acres and would like any additional information about the current trajectory and the future of the acreage market, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

PS: Make sure you check out the full article from John McGrath about Post-Covid 19 investment choices.

Acreage Market Wrap - 18th April 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 I shared an update from Realestate.com.au Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee who explained Why Australia Won’t See House Prices In “Freefall”.

You see, there are always several micro-markets within each property market which means that suburbs throughout the different states & cities will experience differing, independent outcomes off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you haven’t seen it as yet, her article and short video are definitely worth checking out. Here’s a link to it..

If you’re currently going through a difficult time of embracing the pace of change which has been taking place, you may find the message I shared earlier this week about Embracing Change really helpful. It includes a short video featuring a motivational business fable about understanding how some people embrace change quickly and how others refuse to accept change or get stuck in a rut literally paralysed by fear. Here’s the link to that as well.

Something to be very careful of during this pandemic is that as a society there’s now so much talk about Social Distancing, but, actually I think they’ve got that phrasing incorrect.

You see, it’s actually Physical Distancing that we need to do to continue to stop the spread of Coronavirus, but, distancing yourself away socially can cause much deeper issues.

Fortunately, this crisis has happened in an era where we have social connection tools at our fingertips with technology like Zoom meetings, FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts and apps like House Party which allow us to stay connected during these unprecedented times.

Make sure you reach out to others if you’re feeling a bit isolated or get in contact with friends or family who you may feel could be a bit overwhelmed and are distancing themselves at present. Just a suggestion.

What’s Ahead

It’s been really encouraging to see that exactly a month after the SMH headlines said ‘Australia prepares for 50,000 to 150,000 coronavirus deaths’ that we are now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, especially after Thursday’s headline promoted that ‘Australia on course to eliminate COVID-19, modelling shows’

…and Prime Minister, Scott Morrison shared an insight into Charting Our Way Out Of The Crisis which included some hopeful signs that if we keep flattening the curve, restrictions may get a bit more relaxed within the next four to five weeks, as well as a roll-out of infrastructure projects to help move the Australian economy forward. Here’s a link to that article too.

Also, over the Easter weekend, as predicted the NSW State Government announced a Rent Relief package which provided more certainty for Landlords and reinforced that tenants still have an obligation to pay their rent, which should help to instil more confidence back into the acreage market for property investors in search of land banking opportunities and solid rental yields.

How’s The Acreage Market?

As we start to come out the other side of this crisis, a lot of people will be re-assessing their current lifestyle and this week I noticed a large percentage of acreage enquiries were coming from people living in the city who realise that they can work remotely very effectively from a home office.

Many are already starting to look into moving away from the crowded city life as they would much prefer to live and work amongst a more spacious, peaceful, natural surroundings of an acreage or tree-change lifestyle, especially on the outer fringes of the city so they can still commute on the odd-day if required.

Currently there a total of 440 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region. This overall total includes 243 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 136 in The Hills and another 61 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

This week, 9 new acreage listings came on the market, but, there were 7 properties withdrawn which means there was only a net increase of 2 properties added to the available stock levels. For those who are currently on the market, there was only the one acreage property Sold this week which means that the market is become more and more competitive. The positive news is that there’s 15 acreage properties currently ‘Under Contract’ across the region, however a large percentage of those appear to be ‘Under Option’ which means that they’re likely to take quite a while to appear in the Sold data.

Out in the field, this week, it’s been business as usual but in an unusual way. I’ve had a number of private inspections on properties and we’ve had over 200 people join in to receive updates about ‘Off-Market Acres’ where Secret Places are Revealed so far since I launched this brand new service at the beginning of April. The response has been much greater than I’d ever anticipated. The whole system works automatically. I receive notifications on my phone and it just keeps ticking over continuously adding more and more leads to my acreage database every single day.

If you’d like to know more information about how to get early access to any of our ‘Off-Market Acres’ listings simply click on the link to register now at www.offmarketacres.com.au

When registering for 'Off-Market Acres’ you’ll also receive a bonus copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) which features an insight into ‘The Future For Acreage This Decade' as well as gaining Early-Access to any of the 'Off-Market' acreage listings that we have ‘Coming Soon’.

The Acreage Report features statistics about what's happening in the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market. Plus you also get instant access to a copy of The McGrath Report 2020 which features exclusive insights from one of Australia’s leading property experts, John McGrath.

Lastly, if you’re thinking of selling your acreage property, there’s never been a more important time to make sure that your real estate agent is working very closely with their buyer database as well as being fully in-tune with exactly what’s happening in the acreage market, especially during this COVID-19 period.

Someone said to me earlier this week…“

it’s hard to pump up a tyre that has a whole in it”

which is a pretty good analogy of where the market currently sits at the moment, however, it’s important to remember that when you’re buying acreage you should be making your decision based on your life, not based upon the current market.

You see, once the puncture in a tyre gets fixed the vehicle gets back up to speed very quickly and you should take a long term view of the acreage market because there’s a lot of positives that will come out of this current changing landscape which makes the lifestyle of living on acreage more appealing than ever before.

I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years and I’ve experienced enough tough markets to know what happens on the other side of a crisis ...and hopefully there’s still plenty of miles left on my tyres to be able to see what plays out throughout this next decade, because, I can see that there’s definitely some light at the end of this Coronavirus tunnel and there’s a lot on the horizon that we have to look forward to.

So, 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, stay safe, and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Positive Signs That Australia Is Charting Our Way Out Of Strict Covid-19 Restrictions

It’s very encouraging to see the that exactly a month after the SMH headlines said ‘Australia prepares for 50,000 to 150,000 coronavirus deaths’ that we are now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, especially after yesterday’s headline which stated that ‘Australia on course to eliminate COVID-19, modelling shows’.

Our Country Looks To Be In Good Hands

During these unprecedented times, the way people show up and how they react under immense pressure really sorts out the men from the boys (or ladies from the girls), and at this point in time, I think our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has really stepped up and has been an inspirational leader (regardless of which side of politics you vote for) during one of the most uncertain times in our lives.

Whilst we are still a while away from getting through this crisis and we may never actually go back to how things previously were, the bounce in the economy as people begin getting their freedoms back, start going back to work and as infrastructure projects get fast-tracked there will be a positive impact on the current Australian economy.

Last night, Scott Morrison appeared on the 7.30 report and shared an insight into ‘Charting our way out’ which includes some really practical options and an indication that it’s likely we will start to see a relaxing of the restrictions within the next month as well as a roll-out of infrastructure projects to help move the Australian economy forward so that we won’t have to wait for the global economy to recover before we can start reducing our unemployment levels.

Also, when you look at the latest Coronavirus stats across the globe the impact that it’s having on other countries and with many seeing Australia standing out as a safer place to work, trade and live, I anticipate that we will see a lot of foreign investment in the short-medium term as we work our way through this global crisis a lot better than many other countries have to date.

As a friend of mine, Glenn Batten said the other day…

“Australia really has no idea what we avoided. What our health system was spared. Spain has a critical care (ie.. ICU beds) rate 45 times that of Australia and a death rate 175 times that of Australia as their health system was over run. France is 35 times the critical rate and 145 times the death rate. Even the UK has a death rate 80 times higher than Australia. Think about that... It’s not 80 times the number of deaths (they have over 700 deaths per day and we have 60 total) as the UK has a larger population but its death RATE is 80 times higher and still climbing whilst we are declining. The facts are clear, we avoided this because our government acted swiftly and proportionately.“

Additionally, as we come out the other side of this crisis, a lot of people will be re-assessing their current lifestyle and I am already getting a number of enquiries from people living in the city who realise that they can now work remotely very effectively from a home office and they’re looking at moving away from the city and into the more peaceful, natural surroundings of an acreage or tree-change lifestyle on the outer fringes of the city.

It looks like there will be an influx of property coming onto the market as the COVID-19 restrictions are reduced and now could be a good time to try to get in ahead of this influx of listings if you’re thinking of selling.

Also, if you’re looking to buy acreage, there possibly hasn’t been a more affordable time to do so than in the present market due to the historically low interest rates and the current level of acreage stock that is available to purchase at similar prices to pre-election market of 208/2019.

If you have any questions about buying acres or selling your acreage property, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Realestate.com.au Chief Economist explains Why Australia won’t see house prices in “freefall”

Chief Economist for property website Realestate.com.au, Nerida Conisbee shared a valuable insight into how the Coronavirus appears to be impacting the Australian market as well as potential price growth areas.

As Nerida says,

It’s understandable that many Australians expect to see the market behave as it did during previous economic downturns such as the Global Financial Crisis in 2007, which was a financial and demand shock.

Unlike now, previous downturns in Australia have primarily been financially-led, which is the significant differentiating factor. In light of that, there are a number of reasons why Australians shouldn’t expect to see house prices in freefall.

There are always several markets within markets which means that different suburbs across our different states & cities will experience independent, differing outcomes from the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, it’s likely that many of the people who are currently stuck isolating in confined spaces like in city apartments with no yard or in small homes on very small blocks. Also, top it off with lots of people now working from home, kids stuck at home during the school holidays and a feeling of being overcrowded, once the Coronavirus restrictions are lifted many families will be reconsidering their options and may consider a lifestyle change which has the potential to increase activity in the acreage & tree-change sector.

There are several factors that Nerida Conisbee says will have an impact on the market…

1. The banks are a pillar of support

2. Unemployment will only hit some sectors

3. Some sectors will experience growth

To read the full article click here

Keeping an eye on what’s actually happening behind the scenes, especially from people with access to the data & invaluable insights into online consumer behaviour on a site like realestate.com.au is important to take into consideration when deciding whether to buy or sell at the moment.

I hope you find this article helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent

A Fitting Message About Embracing Change

I was talking with a mate of mine today, we were discussing how quickly things have changed over these past few weeks and how some people are really struggling with adapting to change, especially changes in the workplace. It reminded me of a book that I read years ago written by Dr Spencer Johnson titled Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

A New York Times business bestseller upon release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list.[1] It has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books.

Below is an animated video which provides a great insight into the storyline of the book. It’s a motivational business fable about understanding how some people embrace change quickly and how others refuse to accept change or get stuck in a rut (playing the blame game change) literally paralysed by fear.

The book ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ takes very little time to read, and even though it was published back in 1998 it is definitely worth reading and revisiting over these coming months to help you get through the challenges ahead.

Below is also an excerpt from an article by Nick Ray about Workplace change – the dangers of not embracing how people adapt which I also found insightful.

Changing the workplace can deliver significant benefits for an organisation and its people, but it takes awareness, conscious effort and commitment to help people work in new ways. Get it wrong and people will be unhappy and will counter the change with adaptive behaviours to gain back control.

When organisations’ change their work environments, people move from a comfortable predicable environment to one with new ‘risks’ and uncertainties. This disruption can result in lower happiness levels and research from BI Worldwide indicates that a lower level of happiness relates to a reduction in people feeling obliged to work hard – something no leader wants.

Change also means teams and individuals will evolve and adapt their behaviour. This response is partly instinctive as we seek to control the ‘risks’ we might be exposed to, but in the office environment this is also about setting ourselves up to effectively and efficiently deliver our work.

The key is making sure your implementation and change management plans identify adaptive behavior, and work with it to deliver a happy, productive team.

There are a lot of changes currently taking place within the workplace and out in the marketplace, and it’s important to adapt quickly and become service focussed as well as solution focus.

Adopting a role model mindset, facing your fears and seeing the Chance within Change is an important

I hope you find this information helpful

Regards

Greg Vincent

SouRce: travelweek.ca

Acreage Market Wrap - 11th April 2020

Hi, and Happy Easter everyone. I hope you and your family are making the most of your Easter Break even though we’re currently in Lockdown.

For those who may not know me, 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?

Earlier this week I shared an update about What Impact The Coronavirus Is Having On The Housing Market? Which included some interesting insights into the possible scenarios and some expert forecasting by Louis Christopher of SQM Research. If you haven’t seen this update as yet and you’re wondering whether you should buy, sell or hold-off from doing anything in this current market, then this article is an absolute must to tune into. I’ll put a link to it underneath this video.

It's been encouraging to see some positive changes announced recently like the NRL announcing that they will be kicking there season off again in about 6 weeks time and figures showing that we are flattening the curve as we continue to do what we can to stop the spread. We all have to stay the course, stay vigilant and ride this thing out as best we can.

There’s been an enormous amount of changes occurring over these past few weeks, with so many new Government announcements, initiatives and restrictions that have direct and indirect impacts on the housing sector along with new Covid-19 operating guidelines which have changed the way that real estate agents are now doing business... and I’ve been busy Re-Imagining, Re-Inventing and Re-Positioning our business so that we can best serve our customers and clients throughout this pandemic and beyond.

You see, during these times it’s important to remember that in business it’s no longer the big who beats the small, it’s the fast that beats the slow and it’s critical to try to stay a step ahead and anticipate changes that could change how we do business today, tomorrow and over these next few weeks and months.

For example, here in NSW, real estate agents can no longer do Open Homes but we can still conduct private inspections. However in the past 48 hours there’s been a restriction imposed on other states which may also potentially come into effect here which will have a big impact on those agents who aren’t prepared for further imposed restrictions.

You see, late on Thursday evening Victorian real estate agents were instructed that they could no longer do private inspections on owner occupied or tenant occupied properties as it forces both the occupants as well as the prospective buyers or prospective tenants to leave home for trips that aren’t within the guidelines that are deemed to be a necessary reason not to remain at home.

Currently the agents in Victoria can only show homes that have been vacated, which has caused a lot of frustration and inspection cancellations throughout the real estate industry down there today and across this Easter weekend.

This new restriction is currently only in place up until the 13th of April, but it may be extended further and it has the potential to eventually become enforced in other states.

The good news is that, property is still being transacted, for example, our team here at McGrath have sold 190 properties in the last week valued at $185 million, which makes our company amongst one the safest options in the market as we have access to more qualified, finance approved buyers

...and after a highly anticipated announcement expected by the NSW Government over the Easter break or early next week regarding a new Rent Relief package, it looks like Property Investors Will Once Again Be Poised To Jump Back Into The Acreage Market.

Also, this week I started putting together a New Acreage Handbook Featuring Important Tips For Buying Acres - (Coming Soon). To assist me in compiling the best information I possibly can, please let me know if you have any questions about buying acres that you would like to see answered in the booklet (and for current acreage owners, even if you’d like to cast your mind back and share some of the questions that perhaps you would've liked answered before you bought you acres). Simply comment below, get in contact with me or send me a message.

How’s The Acreage Market?

Again this week we’ve seen more new acreage listings coming onto the market and only a small number of sales occurring. If the Covid-19 lockdown remains exactly the same it looks like this trend is set to continue, however, if access to properties is restricted then I anticipate that we will see a lot more acreages going up For Sale ‘Off-Market’ and the number of new listings being uploaded onto the property websites like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au may level off over the coming months purely due to accessibility.

Currently there a total of 438 acreage properties For Sale across the entire region. This overall total includes 235 acreage properties For Sale throughout all of The Hawkesbury, 139 in The Hills and another 64 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

This week, another 17 new acreage listings went onto the market but there were only 2 acreage properties Sold this week plus there’s 15 acreage properties currently ‘Under Contract’ across the region, with a percentage of those being ‘Under Option’ which means that they could take quite a long time to appear in the Sold data.

Whilst none of these statistics factor in any acreages that may have been Sold ‘Off-Market’, but when I researched through realestate.com.au it was very interesting to see that the property we sold at 7 Everett Place, Annangrove is the only acreage property that has Sold in The Hills during these past 4 weeks, which indicates that acreage sales appear to have stalled within that area at present.

Out in the field, this week, we launched another property as part of our new ‘Off-Market Acres’ platform where Secret Places Are Revealed. The property is at 309 Fairey Road, South Windsor on over 5 acres of mostly cleared land and has a comfortable 3 BR home plus large workshop, separate studio/office and horse facilities. It’s positioned is in a very convenient location as it backs onto the residential area of Bligh Park as well as the Windsor Park Public School which means that there’s access to public transport right at your back door. The price guide is $1.35m - $1.4m and is a great opportunity for anyone with trucks, equipment, horses, etc and are currently looking to move onto an affordable 5 acres.

If you’d like more information about this property or get early access to any of our ‘Off-Market Acres’ listings simply click on the link below or register now at www.offmarketacres.com.au to access the site plan, watch the extensive Video Walkthrough and download a copy of the contract of sale.

Once you register for 'Off-Market Acres’ you also get instant access to 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 and at the same time you'll get Early-Access to any of the 'Off-Market' acreages coming up.

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

Plus you get a bonus copy of The McGrath Report 2020 which features some great insights from property expert, John McGrath.

Lastly, if you’re thinking of selling your acreage, promoting your property’Off-Market’ could be a good way to do a soft-launch to test the level of interest during this Covid-19 period before investing thousands of dollars in a traditional marketing campaign. If you’d like to find out more about how selling ‘Off-Market’ works, take a few moments to look at, www.OffMarketAcres.com.au.

I’ve had a lot of people register to receive updates about ‘Off-Market Acres’ during this past week and our database of qualified acreage buyers keeps increasing each day, which means that I may already be working with just the right buyer for your place and chances are that you could become another one of our clients who get to sell their property ‘stress-free’, without all the usual preparation, worry and added expense that can happen when putting your acreage property on the market. It’s definitely worth looking into!

So, 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, stay safe, Happy Easter everyone, bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Property Investors Poised To Jump Back Into The Acreage Market

As I mentioned in this week’s Acreage Market Wrap, “there were a lot of changes announced during this past week which caused a few concerns for property investors, many of whom were looking to move their money across to property on the back of the low interest rates and the falling stock market.

There was some confusion for Landlords around the Rent Relief package released by the Federal Government this week and whilst some tenants thought that because they couldn’t be evicted for 6 months that they no longer had to pay their rent, but that’s certainly not the case.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Tenants have to pay their rent unless they can demonstrate a reason not to. The lease is a contract and the obligations within that contract need to be fulfilled.

The plight of the landlord was completely overlooked in the early stages of the Government's announcement but via some good work done by the REINSW and other industry stakeholders, the difficulties for landlords has been highlighted and more should be announced to resolve this issue early next week.”

As predicted, last night the REINSW President, Leanne Pilkington announced that the State Government have made a decision and the NSW Premier or NSW Treasurer will be making an announcement in the next few days to remove the Moratorium for Residential Tenants in NSW, which means that rents still need to be paid, unless the tenant can show hardship and the State Government plans to release a Rent Relief program for tenants who can’t pay their rent.

Real Estate Coach, Tom Panos caught up with Leanne Pilkington about this decision regarding the rental situation.

This is positive news for existing Landlords, especially Mum & Dad investors who may have bought an investment to help with their future retirement plans (who have investment loan repayment commitments which they rely on the rental income for) along with those who are now looking to invest in bricks and mortar as a safer option compared to the current volatility and unpredictability of the stock market.

There are some excellent opportunities amongst the acreage market for investors at the moment and whilst we are currently experiencing a slight reduction in volume of enquiry, I’m finding that the quality of the buyer enquiry that is filtering through has been of greater quality and are more qualified to purchase.

As I mentioned in a previous article, Investors Appear To Be backing The Property Market In 2020 with interest rates even lower than they ever were and now with the market slowing down over these past few weeks, there’s now a large selection of acreage properties available and overall buying acreage has now become a lot more affordable.

Property is still being transacted, for example, our team here at McGrath have sold 190 properties in the last week valued at $185 million, which makes our company amongst one the safest options in the market as we have access to more qualified,  finance approved buyers.

The way that Australia appears to be reducing the spread of the Coronavirus at present appears that there may not be the need to go into a Stage #4 LockDown like New Zealand did, which would certainly help our economy during this pandemic, but we definitely can’t get too comfortable or complacent.

Over the Easter Break whilst we’d all love to be heading off on a holiday, it’s important that we all pull together and continue to stop the spread.

We have cancelled our planned trip away and I will be available across the Easter weekend to arrange private inspections if you’re on the look out for an acreage property.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling acreage and would like to know more about the numerous options available to you in the current market, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Source: Coulters

New Acreage Handbook Featuring Important Tips For Buying Acres - (Coming Soon)

Buying Acreage: What Would You Like To Know?

:: Hello to All Acreage Buyers as well as Current Acreage Owners :: I'm currently in the process of completing this booklet featuring IMPORTANT TIPS FOR BUYING ACRES. Let me know if you have any questions about buying acres that you would like answered in the booklet (and for current acreage owners, what you would've liked to have been told before you bought)

…anyone who comments will be among the first to receive a copy of the final draft of the booklet before it goes to print.

You can either comment below, or email your questions, thoughts or ideas to me here

Thank You in advance.

Regards

Greg Vincent