What Kind Of People Use Your Service?

Its a mixture. Sometimes it’s locals who are upsizing or downsizing. Mostly I help people who are moving from the cities and want to live in a lifestyle destination like the Byron Shire. Some people are planning their next five to ten-year move. They don’t know the area well or they’re time poor or they need some deep local knowledge before making a major decision like this.

What’s The Main Reason People Hire A Property Buyer’s Agent?

It is different reasons for different people. Probably the main reason is for people who are time poor or not able to be in the area while they’re looking. They need a long term local who knows the area well. Some people find the process of buying property quite difficult and adversarial and they want somebody to handle it for them. Some people want to feel that they are buying with certainty so that they have got experience and knowledge upfront for them. So there are various reasons why people would use a buyer’s agent but that’s the main one; people can buy with certainty when they use someone who knows the area and the process

What Are The Different Types Of Properties You Help People Buy?

We service the whole Northern Rivers area. We have also been south to Yamba and Coffs Harbour more than a few times. I do homes, units, and commercial.

Can You Buy Off-Market?

I do about 20 – 25 percent of my purchases off-market. There are many reasons why a property is off-market. IT varies a bit depending on what the wider market is doing. Some people want privacy and not have too many strangers coming through their house. I also have people who want something specific and since I’ve been doing this for 20 years, I know a lot of properties. I know a lot of owners who I know they may be sellers / they may not, but when I have got something specific, I can go directly to an owner and say are you interested in talking to a potential buyer.

How Does The Process Work?

When you contact me and you’re interested in engaging me, I send you my agreement. I need a $2500 engagement fee before I start. The commission is payable at contract exchange and is between 1-2% pf the purchase price – minus the engagement fee. It can take anything from a few weeks to 6 – 9 months. That is fine. I help you make a decision so it usually does not drift out too far into the future.

Deposit Support Schemes

February 24th, 2022

The federal government, as well as the Commonwealth Bank, have announced deposit support schemes to help first-time homebuyers. The schemes acknowledge the difficulty of new entrants into a market with accelerating house prices but no commensurate rise in incomes. However, there seems to be no plan, or even appetite, to address any of the systemic problems and inequalities in the Australian housing market.

The problem is that these schemes, which have been regularly rolled out for as long as I remember, are actually a price rise incentive more than a levelling influence. It is taxpayer funding being used as a band-aid to make it look like they are doing something. The schemes never go to the core problem of ensuring low-income social housing or key worker equitable access to purchasing or rental dwellings. Fixing endemic outdated planning and policy problems is too hard. Although ACT has done away with Stamp Duty and NSW may soon follow.

Between 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 the federal government is offering 10,000 First Home Loan Deposit Scheme places to eligible first home buyers. The NHFIC (National Home Finance and Investment Corporation) will administer three Schemes on behalf of the Australian Government:

First Home Loan Deposit Scheme supports you to buy your first home sooner, with a deposit as small as 5%.
New Home Guarantee supports you to build or buy a new home, with higher property price caps available in selected areas.
Family Home Guarantee aims to support eligible single parents with at least one dependent child in purchasing a family home, with a deposit as small as 2%.

Price Cap

What is laughable is that this scheme has a price cap on eligible housing. The price cap for Byron Shire, for example, is $600,000. Has anyone done any research to know that the median house price in Byron Shire is more than $1,800,000 – three times the cap on what any recipient is allowed to buy. It has been a long time since I have seen a house sold here for under $600,000.

The CommBank Plan

CommBank announced it has invested $31 mil in a rent-to-own startup called OwnHome. The scheme works by enabling approved, credit-worthy customers to move into their own homes without the need for a deposit. The recipients pay an upfront fee and make monthly payments that build their deposit over time. After three to seven years, customers have the option to buy their home at a pre-agreed price and put the accrued deposit toward the purchase.

CommBank says that the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has become one of the dominant lenders for young Australians. Yet for those who cannot or prefer not to use their parents’ help, building a deposit can be a long process. They hope to fill some of this gap. It is an alternate path to homeownership for aspiring buyers who can afford regular mortgage payments but don’t want to wait out years while they save the deposit.

Again, a worthy scheme and may assist a few people in normal property markets. It will not work in Byron and if it did, the whole investment amount would be gone with only a few dozen people.

Mini Market Watch – Median House Prices
Harvesting West Byron
Byron Shire Property: Hidden Gems, Missed Opportunities

Deposit Support Schemes

Price Cap

The CommBank Plan

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Real Estate Buyers Agent

BYRON BAY | BALLINA | LISMORE | OCEAN SHORES

Since 1999

$310 mil

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