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This Thursday, First National estate agents are heading to Hyatt Regency, Sanctuary Cove for the network’s annual commercial conference.
With a sharp new brand and renewed momentum, First National Commercial has grown considerably this year, adding 10 offices to its national network already. Another two will join within the next two weeks!
The conference will bring together keynote presentations from BIS Shrapnel, Westpac, and a series of business contemporaries from professions including law, human resources, commercial real estate development, sustainable building designers and marketing strategy.
First National Commercial helps First National residential members seed additional income streams, thereby strengthening their businesses. Major commercial brands are chiefly centered in capital cities but the suburbs are where First National Real Estate holds an advantage. The vast bulk of Australian commercial property is situated not in high-rise office towers but suburban shopping strips. First National’s spread of residential agencies throughout Australian suburbs places First National Commercial in a unique position as its growth rate makes it one of Australia’s most prolific commercial brands.
       
One of First National's latest search engine optimised websites
First National’s Chief Executive Ray Ellis has commented on the critical importance of real estate website search engine ranking, saying Australian consumers should take a closer look at their agent’s websites.
‘While many homeowners understand that the Internet is now a crucial component of marketing when the time comes to sell, how many of them actually check an estate agency’s Google ranking before signing up with their agent’ says Mr Ellis.
It’s now a well accepted fact that nine out of ten people start their search for a new home using the internet. While the major real estate portals like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au may seem like a logical starting point to many consumers, more people start out by entering the name of the suburb plus the words ‘real estate’ in a search engine like Google.
‘This is where the results get interesting’ says Mr Ellis.
‘One prominent real estate brand markets itself to Australians with the promise that its brand is “searched more often than any other real estate brand” but the evidence shows that it just isn’t being found. Consumers need to be wary of listing with agents who have an ineffective Internet strategy as their home may not receive the exposure it needs to maximise its price.
‘A common mistake is making the assumption that the agent with the most advertising in the local newspaper will achieve the best result. First National Real Estate’s research shows nothing exceeds the importance of Internet marketing and the ranking an agent’s website receives when it comes to maximising price. The vast majority of buyers find our listings online so agents must work to achieve page one search engine results for their website’ says Mr Ellis.
Business Review Weekly conducted a review of Australia’s top 30 real estate brands in 2009. The websites of those brands were then subjected to an independent assessment that found First National Real Estate was number one at marketing its listings in a way that attracts a maximum of exposure.
Those in the know refer to ‘Inbound Marketing’ as the Holy Grail of search engine optimisation. To the merely mortal, ‘Inbound Marketing’ loosely translates to the steps an entity takes to attract ‘views’ or ‘hits’ to its website. The more hits for real estate agents, the more sales. The major real estate brands are therefore locked in a pitch fork battle as they vie for supremacy, and the stakes are high!
‘Newspaper advertising volume once helped major brands retain their coveted prominence but First National Real Estate recognised six years ago that print media was a battle of the past and that it had to revolutionise its Internet strategy if it were to deliver the greatest value to its customers’ says Mr Ellis.
The network terminated its former web-hosting alliance partner in 2004 and set about building a completely different approach to website management.
‘We listened to the best and brightest in the website design profession and we also consulted our own agents to craft the most flexible, user friendly, search engine visible websites in the profession. Our strategy is quite simply the most effective in Australia right now.
‘When the director of another major brand writes to his franchisees, as took place this week, acknowledging the brand’s search results are “hopeless” and that they are not the dominant force online that they feel they should be, it underlines just how careful consumers need to be when choosing their agent’.
       
One of First National's latest search engine optimised websites
First National’s Chief Executive Ray Ellis has commented on the critical importance of real estate website search engine ranking, saying Australian consumers should take a closer look at their agent’s websites.
‘While many homeowners understand that the Internet is now a crucial component of marketing when the time comes to sell, how many of them actually check an estate agency’s Google ranking before signing up with their agent’ says Mr Ellis.
It’s now a well accepted fact that nine out of ten people start their search for a new home using the internet. While the major real estate portals like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au may seem like a logical starting point to many consumers, more people start out by entering the name of the suburb plus the words ‘real estate’ in a search engine like Google.
‘This is where the results get interesting’ says Mr Ellis.
‘One prominent real estate brand markets itself to Australians with the promise that its brand is “searched more often than any other real estate brand” but the evidence shows that it just isn’t being found. Consumers need to be wary of listing with agents who have an ineffective Internet strategy as their home may not receive the exposure it needs to maximise its price.
‘A common mistake is making the assumption that the agent with the most advertising in the local newspaper will achieve the best result. First National Real Estate’s research shows nothing exceeds the importance of Internet marketing and the ranking an agent’s website receives when it comes to maximising price. The vast majority of buyers find our listings online so agents must work to achieve page one search engine results for their website’ says Mr Ellis.
Business Review Weekly conducted a review of Australia’s top 30 real estate brands in 2009. The websites of those brands were then subjected to an independent assessment that found First National Real Estate was number one at marketing its listings in a way that attracts a maximum of exposure.
Those in the know refer to ‘Inbound Marketing’ as the Holy Grail of search engine optimisation. To the merely mortal, ‘Inbound Marketing’ loosely translates to the steps an entity takes to attract ‘views’ or ‘hits’ to its website. The more hits for real estate agents, the more sales. The major real estate brands are therefore locked in a pitch fork battle as they vie for supremacy, and the stakes are high!
‘Newspaper advertising volume once helped major brands retain their coveted prominence but First National Real Estate recognised six years ago that print media was a battle of the past and that it had to revolutionise its Internet strategy if it were to deliver the greatest value to its customers’ says Mr Ellis.
The network terminated its former web-hosting alliance partner in 2004 and set about building a completely different approach to website management.
‘We listened to the best and brightest in the website design profession and we also consulted our own agents to craft the most flexible, user friendly, search engine visible websites in the profession. Our strategy is quite simply the most effective in Australia right now.
‘When the director of another major brand writes to his franchisees, as took place this week, acknowledging the brand’s search results are “hopeless” and that they are not the dominant force online that they feel they should be, it underlines just how careful consumers need to be when choosing their agent’.
CEO Ray Ellis and Principal Lynette Allison outside Home Central
First National Real Estate Home Central of Hamilton, Newcastle recently launched its new look as part of the national network’s new brand rollout.
“While our current brand has served its purpose, the First National Real Estate network decided it needed a brand that was more in keeping with who we are today and where we want to go in the future”, Lynette Allison said.
“Although we’ve re-branded, you’ll get the same great service we have provided to the Hamilton area since 2006. We’ve been almost overwhelmed by the response from our customers since unveiling our new look. You wouldn’t normally expect people to praise a new design and colour scheme but Hamilton residents think it’s fresh, modern and professional. Some have even said they hadn’t noticed us before but that we really stand out now”.
First National Real Estate’s chief executive Ray Ellis attended the official launch, commenting that there were a number of reasons that brought about the need for Australia’s largest independent real estate network and the third largest real estate brand in the country to take on a new logo.
“Independent research showed us the general public viewed our current brand as conservative, heavy and dated, and as members that was also our feedback,” Mr Ellis said.
“First National has changed a great deal in our 26 year history, having grown from 30 members in 1983 to 450 plus member offices employing in excess of 5000 people today.
“The old brand was designed to operate in traditional mediums such as newspaper advertising and signboards. However, this type of media is declining as the internet and social networking technologies become the dominant media in real estate.
“More than 80 per cent of buyers look on the internet first and we wanted to use a brand that can perform well in that smaller visual medium. Our home buying public is getting younger and increasingly searching first online, and we felt we wanted to be one of the first in the First National Real Estate network to take advantage of the new brand.
“We love our new brand, it gives us a bold, fresh, new identity that links with our past, yet paves the way to engage with a new group of customers” Lynette Allison said.
       
 Media Release – 1 Sept 2010
With the election and winter behind us, the property market is once again set to spring into action. Increased buyer activity, improved market conditions and stronger competition means those seeking a top price for their property have to work extra hard to catch buyers’ attention.
According to Stewart Bunn, National Communications Manager, First National Real Estate, money can be made with plants, shrubs and trees, especially with Spring in the air. So, now is the time for seeds to be sown and money to take root.
“Home owners should never underestimate the importance of landscaping a property to maximise the value of their home,” Mr Bunn said.
“Street appeal, especially landscaping, has the potential to add up to 10 per cent, or more, to an achievable sale price of a property.
“Make first impressions count starting from the letterbox. Make sure fences, gutters, paths and gardens are well maintained and make the right type of statement about your property.
“Then, stand at the front of your yard where a potential buyer will first set eyes on your property and cast a critical eye over it to see what improvements can be made.”
Mr Bunn says a rule to remember is to keep things simple, allowing buyers to feel they can add their own touch to a garden.
“Remove any personal aspects such as fairy lights which, while helping to create an ambience at night time for outside gatherings, can interfere with a buyer’s perception of what they may wish to design,” Mr Bunn said.
According to Mr Bunn, more and more buyers are seeking native drought tolerant gardens, which are best planted in springtime. But, he cautions, make sure you know your product.
“Design the garden for the market you are selling to. If it’s a family home, make sure there is plenty of room and grass, for the kids to run around.”
Cottage gardens with flowering shrubs and long blooming perennials are great for country style homes, while desert type plants finished with pebbles or river rocks are an excellent way to finish a Mediterranean style property.
Another tip, Mr Bunn said is to add colour, which can be added with the use of flowers and foliage plants, and tend to suit more contemporary homes.
“Your local garden centre is the best place to go for advice on the types of plants that will suit the positioning and soil type in the local area,” Mr Bunn said.
“Colour is also an excellent means of creating or reflecting moods.
“Softer cool colours such as blue, lavender and pink are ideal for relaxing areas of the garden, while yellow is a happy colour and provides a welcoming vista for visitors.
“Reds and oranges are perfect for tropical gardens and in areas generally used for family fun and high activity.”
An effective, yet inexpensive, way of sprucing up a garden is weeding, trimming and edging, applying a layer of mulch to finish it off and clearing away unsightly eyesores and toys.
“Mulch immediately neatens up the garden and is especially useful on sites that have not been particularly well prepared or where the ground is a little uneven,” Mr Bunn said.
“For an immediate tidy up, mow the lawn, pressure-clean paths and the outside of the house and put away belongings or children’s toys.”
       
Information of dwelling prices from RP Data, Australian Property Monitors (APM) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that few locations had extraordinary price growth in the 2010 financial year.
Melbourne certainly did, but most of the other state and territory capital cities had markets ranging from below-par to “normal”.
Brisbane, for example, had price growth averaging 4% to 8%, depending on which data source you believe. Perth prices grew 9%, if you accept APM figures, or just 4%, if you favour RP Data’s data.
Sydney’s market had an average year (10%, according to RP Data), or slightly above-average (13%, according to APM) or an exceptional year (a 21% rise in the ABS house price index). Canberra had an above-average year, according to both the ABS and APM, but merely an average year, if you believe RP Data.
The average market performance across the eight state and territory capitals ranges from mediocre (RP Data’s 10%) to good (APM’s 15%) to very good (the ABS’s 18%).
Therein lies the problem. There are such wide variations in the results published by the various data sources that it’s difficult to determine what has really happened in our markets.
The ongoing dilemma for real estate consumers is the nature of media coverage of the market. Each scrap of “research” spat out by the industry is treated as a matter of great significance, even when it contradicts information released by another source only days earlier.
When RP-Data published its June Quarter figures for houses, showing a tiny (0.3%) decrease in the price index for the eight capital cities, most media reported this as “the end of the boom”. But the ABS recorded a 3.1% increase in its price index for the June Quarter and APM reported a 2.4% rise.
There is, indeed, very little consistency among the three sources on what occurred with prices in the June Quarter. In Darwin, for example, APM says prices fell 0.7%, while RP Data says they rose 0.3% and the ABS says there was a 2.8% rise. Both APM and ABS say Perth prices rose slightly but RP Data says they fell 2.8%.
So where do the different data sources agree? Here’s what we can be reasonably sure about …
· Brisbane has been the bottom-ranked capital city on growth in house prices, although both APM and the ABS record 7-8% growth over 12 months, which suggests a solid market.
· Melbourne is the top-ranked capital city with all three data sources, but the level of growth differs greatly. APM claims Melbourne’s median price rose 28% in 12 months, but RP Data says 16%. The latter suggests a good year but the former records a phenomenal performance.
· APM and RP Data report a 15-16% rise in apartment prices in Melbourne, a 7-8% increase in Adelaide, and an 11-12% improvement in Sydney.
· Adelaide has had a good, solid house market for 12 months, with prices on average rising 10% to 12%.
· Canberra ranked in the middle of the pack with all three research sources which, historically, is what the national capital always does – never the market leader, but seldom performing poorly.
SOURCE: Terry Ryder, The Australian
       
Regardless of who wins the Federal Election later this week, now is the ideal time for those interested in investing in property to get on the bandwagon, according to Ray Ellis, CEO of First National Real Estate.
“Strong rental yields coupled with good buying conditions are creating a perfect market for would-be investors to build their wealth through property,” Mr Ellis said.
“There are many advantages to investing in property and at the start of a new financial year, when people’s minds are on tax, investors should look at capitalizing on the tax advantages in particular.
“Property as an investment is also an excellent vehicle for generating income and capital gains and it is relatively low risk.”
Mr Ellis said there are a lot of ways for people to take the first step on the property investment ladder, such as buying with family, friends or work colleagues – it’s just a matter of being a little more creative and strategic in their thinking.
“Investors are once again claiming the market space being vacated by first home buyers whose numbers are beginning to level out,” Mr Ellis said.
“So, now is the time to capitalize on market conditions before investor activity returns to normal levels and competition begins to heat up again.
“Existing home owners could consider using equity they have in their own home, or other investment properties.”
Over the last 12 months, rental yields have strengthened, vacancy rates have remained tight and there is an ongoing supply shortage in the face of strong and growing demand, especially as increasing interest rates erode housing affordability.
“This general trend in the rental market is expected to continue for some time, and certainly for as long as neither party plans to do anything to effectively manage the supply versus demand equation,” Mr Ellis said.
“Regardless of the political outcome, property will remain a strong contender for the investment dollar.”
       
 Uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the weekend’s federal election looks like having a depressing effect on share, money and real estate markets. The Australian dollar was already falling on early morning trade as as this article was being written.
With the coalition releasing its housing policy just one day before the election, and there being so little housing policy debate throughout the campaign, it could be some time before a degree of normalcy returns. That, of course, depends entirely upon a smooth resolution of the current situation.
Both Labor and the Coalition are busy courting independent MPs and the Greens in order to form a Government. With The Greens likely to hold the balance of power, it may not be long before Bob Brown’s stated intention to demand a higher mining super profits tax becomes reality. Weeks before the election, sales were reported as having fallen by as much as 18 per cent in some mining towns, even after Labor’s hurried, reparative negotiations with mining companies, so property investment in Western Australia and Queensland may suffer further.
While reports of slower sales and hesitant buyers have dominated media recently, this is typical of the winter months and is likely a reflection of the wearing off of historic low interest rates as well as historic Government incentives and stimulus. You can’t have 20 per cent capital values growth in one year and no penalty in the following, on the back of a GFC and a housing market force fed on steroids. The market has to adjust and with the additional retarding effect of a federal election, any other outcome would see the bubble brigade gaining legitimacy.
While niggling uncertainty about world financial health continues, rightly or wrongly, the perception is that low unemployment, the minerals boom and China’s economic growth offset Australia’s risks. The RBA’s decision to keep rates on hold earlier this month has also helped, enabling the market to quickly adjust to real world rates being closer to 7.5 per cent.
Headlines about lower auction clearance rates don’t necessarily accurately reflect the true state of the market. The Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that there was a 2.3 per cent rise in May loan approvals and in July first homebuyer mortgages were up from 9.5 per cent to 11.1 per cent – indicators that don’t look too shabby at all. The combined national rise left loans up 1.9 per cent, the first such increase in eight months – a good harbinger for spring.
Valuer Herron Todd White’s August review might have had some journalists thinking agents should be running a bath and looking for a toaster. Fundamentally, it indicated fewer properties were for sale, more were being sold by private treaty and things were taking longer to sell. Once again, a quiet market is common in winter and the quieter the market and the fewer the listings, the more likely a spring surge of listings and activity becomes.
HTW indicated a slight August fall in values in the prestige Melbourne markets and the under $600,000 segment in Brisbane was thought to be driving the overall market. Perth’s median has again fallen below $500,000 but prestige sales have been so limited that it is impossible to draw a conclusion as to what’s happening there. Darwin prestige units have stabilised but houses over $1m are thinly traded. Hobart sales are slow, but no more so than normal for this time of year. Adelaide showed some minor growth in the June quarter.
In all cases it seems quality property is moving but secondary property is taking longer to find buyers – again, unsurprising in winter. Overall, there are positive indications that once the winter chill and political impasse are history, there could well be a groundswell of vendors ready to sell on the spring market. First homebuyers are likely to make a return however investors may, depending on the political landscape, be less inclined to invest in the traditionally high return mining markets.
       
PM Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
This Saturday Australians go to the polls to elect a new Federal Government. However, whereas the pre-election debate in 2007 included policies to increase housing supply and affordability, there has been scant focus on housing in 2010 by either Gillard or Abbott, something quite remarkable considering community concern about the cost of living.
While the Kevin 07 election message was about sympathy for family mortgage or rental payments, and policies aimed at increasing supply, house prices and rents have simply increased throughout the current Government’s term.
The doubling of the first home-buyers’ grant to $14,000 helped 250,000 households and individuals into the housing market. However, it pushed up prices and average first home loans also increased from $230,000 to $290,000. So, many households now have increased debt burdens with 11 per cent of income now going on interest bills. While this may be down from 14 per cent before the GFC, it’s actually double that of a decade ago.
Renters remain ‘stressed’ with almost 170,000 lower-income households paying more than half their income in rent.
Labor’s National Rental Affordability scheme has run at a slower pace than anticipated with investors complaining about an excessively bureaucratic approval process. Superannuation funds have also given the scheme a wide berth.
The commitment to build 20,000 affordable homes has similarly faltered, with new construction of low-income apartments being stymied by ‘not in my back yard’ community groups. Accusations have been made that the scheme undermines the ability of local Governments to create and plan decent communities because of poor design and lack of parking.
The opposition has not released its policy but according to its spokesman Gary Humphries, ‘there isn’t likely to be a great deal of reorganisation, as in wholesale ousting of programmes. There will certainly be a refocusing of some of them, but the changes won’t be massive.’
Julia Gillard’s initiative to help councils clear the way for development with a $200 million regional building fund looks like a step in the right direction, however the money is simply being shifted from the rental affordability scheme.
What’s entirely absent from the 2010 election debate is what First National Real Estate and many industry lobby groups have called for – the need to reform planning laws to help private developers increase housing stock.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) held a one-day summit in Sydney last week, the outcome being statements that the supply of new housing was being negatively affected by inequitable infrastructure funding models. It believes the lack of planning and approval coordination and the requirement for developers to fund community infrastructure to win approval makes the cost of development unaffordable.
Gary Humphries admits that local and state governments have been a key part of the problem with supply and intimates that the opposition would offer policies to remove the stumbling blocks. Detail, however, is lacking. Meanwhile, the current government has commenced an inquiry into local and state planning laws through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).
Either way, neither major party appears to offer new policies related to supply and affordability with Labor offering yet another ‘review’ and Liberal, a suggested but yet to be announced policy to remove obstacles to development.
       
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