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We are very honoured to be short-listed into the Finalist and winning the "Highly Recommended" award at the Monash Business Awards 2023 Gala Dinner and Awards Presentation. This award is dedicated to our clients who trusted our services, allowing them to swiftly Outsmart the Property Market and buy confidently. Special mention to our supportive business partners, family and friends. Without which we wouldn't have given our clients the confidence, the seamless experience they deserve. When we started this journey at Concierge Buyers Advocates at #GlenWaverley, Melbourne, we never imagined we would come this far. It all began with a simple idea: to provide an affordable property advisory service to regular folk like us - mums, dads, everyday property buyers who needed a helping hand in the real estate market. Our journey has been a wild ride. We faced challenges, highs and lows. The lockdowns didn't kill the virus, but it almost got us. But we never lost sight of our mission. We wanted to empower people to make confident decisions, to outsmart the market, and get their dream properties without breaking the bank. This award means a lot to us and our clients. And we will keep pushing the boundaries to deliver the best service possible. We're thrilled and humbled and we'll continue to strive for excellence in everything we do. #conciergebuyersadvocates #buyersadvocate #buyersagent #buyersadvocateaustralia #buyersagentaustralia #buyersadvocatemelbourne #buyersagentmelbourne

Surprising results isn't it? Or is it? In the midst of one of the worse virus pandemic, Melbourne property auction clearance rates hits 90%. This is 10% points higher than a "good-time" average of 80%. So, what's happening? Is this the real story? While real estate agents would want you you believe it's good time to sell, be vary... Only just 363 auctions were held. This is almost two-thirds less than the week before. And it is less than half of what we're sold this time last year, when everyone was not buying. That's not all gloom though. One of the reasons why auctions held was low, was because many sales had been pulled forward, and held during the weekdays, or have been converted to private sales. And if you've been holding your breath, expecting prices to fall, don't. Breath now. Prices have not fallen. At least not significantly. Many people had been overpaying for the last 6 months during the buying euphoria, anyway. It's not time to expect bargain prices. Banks have openly announced that they'll give struggling home owners a 6 months holiday, so, prices are not going to fall anytime soon. But there could still be an occasional bargain. You just have to keep a keen eye on the market. Or we can do it for you. Get in touch with us. Sign up for a free notification when we've spot a bargain. We can do the property inspection on your behalf as well, if you are unable to.

Have you been debating over investing in property vs saving your money in the bank? Let's explore the facts together CoreLogic, largest provider of property information, analytics and property-related risk management services in Australia and New Zealand, released this chart summarising the recent price correction. It is a chart which included the recent price corrections. Looking at Melbourne, prices has dropped 11.1% since peaking in late 2017. Despite this, it is still 23.5% higher than what it was 5 years ago. What does that mean? Imagine, if you had $50,000 5 years ago, and you put that into a savings account, it will become $52,550 in 5 years, at a very optimistic average of 1% interest pa. If you had invested this $50,000 into property 5 years ago, your $50,000 would have turned into a $61,750 investment. I.e., the $50,000 would be worth a massive $9200 more! So, would you invest in property? If you have the serviceability, why not? But you need to get the right property at the right location. Have a chat with us. We can help you achieve your real estate investment goals.

Do you see yourself owning a property here? A recent report from QBE finds that while major metropolitan cities in the Eastern Seabord of Australia has taken a tumble in the last 1.5 years, The Hunter region and Central Coast of NSW has surprisingly bucked the trend. It has grown 7.6% per annum compared to falls of over 10% in major capital cities. So, what makes the area attractive? ✅ Median house price sits below the threshold for the stamp duty exemption for First Home Buyers - making it more an affordable entry into the property market ✅ Employment growth has strengthened significantly. Down to 5.6% in 2018 from 7.9% in 2015. ✅ Low vacancy rates of averaging 2%, with some areas as low as under 1% ✅ University of Newcastle expansion project planned for coming years ✅ Major infrastructure projects int he region will continue to drive net migration inflow ✅ Forecasted price growth of 7% by 2021 Here at Concierge Buyers Advocates, we have direct contacts to developers in the region, and we are able to source for brand new properties at below market price. Here is an example of a typical deal: 🆓 Special Fee Free Deal. Yes you will NOT be charged a fee. We'll still negotiate using our buying power to help secure your property. Contact us for more details. There are properties which suit buyers from $400k to over $600k. There is a budget to suit everyone. * Limited Stock! And stock varies.

Came across this property. 5 bed 3 bath 3 cars. Situation in prime Melbourne inner city blue chip suburb. Asking $4.5M, in a suburb with median of over $7.7M for similar properties. Get in touch if interested.

In a dramatic turnaround, Melbourne Property prices is continuing its climb to recovery. In September alone, Corelogic has reported that prices has risen an impressive 1.9% compared to previous month. Echoing our observations a couple of weeks ago, Corelogic also reported that the fear of missing out (FOMO) is back. It is normal to see property sold at auctions for up to $200k above reserve. It is anyone's guess if this upward trend will continue. As the trade war between US and China and the global economic slowdown is starting to impact local businesses. Australian property prices is likely to be affected if the Australian economy does slow down. If that happens, property buyers who had overpaid in the last couple of months is going to feel the pain. Doing the right research to determine a fair value for a property is not easy. There are lots of factors to consider, to derive at a fair value. Have a chat with us, if you want to find out more. https://www.realestate.com.au/news/melbourne-real-estate-corelogic-tips-rapid-bounce-back-to-continue/

Can a foreigner own a property in Australia? This is one of the most frequently asked question. Short answer is yes. But there are some limitations. ​ Melbourne is a pro-property investment state. Not only does it have one of the lowest property investment taxes, fees and stamp duties, the property investment rules are generally more investor-friendly than any other states and territories in Australia. ​ There are, however, some restrictions on the types of properties a non-resident can buy in Melbourne. More information on what these restrictions are in our Foreign Property Investor page.. ​ A non-resident buying properties in Australia is subject to approvals from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). And approved non-resident buyers buying properties in Victoria, might also be subjected to additional stamp duties on their share of the property being acquired. ​ When do additional stamp duties apply? Additional stamp duties apply to any arrangement or transaction involving the transfer of an interest in residential property to a foreign purchaser, including: Buying a residential property at, for example, auction or by private sale. Buying a non-residential property with the intention of converting it to residential property. Being given a residential property as a gift. Certain leasing arrangements in respect of residential property. ​ Additional Stamp Duties in Victoria For contracts, transactions, agreements and arrangements entered into on or after: 1 July 2015 but before 1 July 2016 (even if the settlement date is on or after 1 July 2016), the additional duty rate is 3 per cent. 1 July 2016, the additional duty rate is 7 per cent. 1 July 2019, the additional duty rate is 8 per cent. ​ More information can be found on the Victoria State Revenue Office website

Many home buyers have been asking how a Buyers Advocate can help them save, when it comes to buying their properties. Some have also wondered what a buyers advocate do to help them buy their house, that they cannot do on their own. Too many people simply focused on what they can save upfront in terms of buying price. Buyers have forgotten the benefits of buying their property fast. Many believe they do not need the house now, thus, they are in no hurry to buy. Is this really true? I will explain what else property buyers need to consider, when you buy your house in this article. This is true, usually when times are bad, and there are not a lot of buyers in the market. But it is hardly the case, during good times, where they can be 5 or more buyers for each property being sold. What can a Buyer Agent save during bad times? During bad times, when there are more properties being listed for sale than interested buyers, it is possible to negotiate for a good price, as there are not a lot buying competition. You are probably the only person interested in the property. Thus, buyer's advocates would be able to help purchase the property at a better price or with better terms. On average, we are consistently securing saving of between $30k to over $100k for our clients. What can a Buyer Agent save during good times? During good times, where there are more more buyers than properties being available, saving on upfront costs is very unlikely. We definitely can submit low-ball offers for the property, but this would not be fair to the buyer, as they would be missing out on the property that they want. Instead of looking at upfront savings, consider how much faster a our Buyers Advocates can help to buy your property. With our buyers advocates in their buying team, our property buying clients has been able to purchase in under 3 months. Now, let us compare this to a typical buyer who chose to buy the property on their own. Canstar studies have shown that it can take a buyer up to 12 months to buy their properties. Why is it critical to buy fast in a booming market? Many buyers believed they are in no hurry to buy, just because they currently have a stable roof over their head. While this is true, what else are they missing? What have they not considered? Have you thought of: How many weekends you've spent searching for house, and going for inspections? How do you put a value to these lost time? How much does disappointment cost? How much do you value your time? How much have you missed by buying just a month slower than others? It is true that there COULD be a better house in coming weeks. How many "coming weeks" have you waited for that house? Have a look at the list price. Is the next house any cheaper than what you've just walked away from? What does this mean in terms of dollars? Let us have a look at the following case study. Benefits of Buying Property with and without Buyers Advocates This case study is based on 2 actual groups of buyers. They are colleagues at work, and had decided to buy their first homes with similar budgets. The real names had been replaced by Group 1 and Group 2, and their budget and property price growth has been rounded up to whole numbers to simplify the illustration. Case Study: Group 1: Budget $1,000,000. Bought with our Buyers Advocates, and took 3 months. Group 2: Budget $1,000,000. Bought on their own, and took 9 months longer. From 2020-2021, Corelogic reports that house prices in the Melbourne property market has been growing at an average of 1-2% EVERY MONTH. That's about 20-24% a year, compounded. Group 1 found and bought their first home in 3 months. Our buyers advocates have found a good property and secured it for our clients at $1,000,000. Group 2, however, were still searching for their home. It took them a further 9 months before they find their first home. In these 9 months, Group 1, who had already secured their home, had a significant growth in their asset. The value of their house has increased to $1,143.000. If they had not engaged our Buyers Advocates, they would have to spend over $1,143,000 (+ stamp duties) to buy the very same property. IE, instead of having to spend an extra $143,000(+stamp duties), they have effectively increased their asset base by $143,000. Buyers Advocates helped save over $143,000. Their Asset increased by $143,000. Meanwhile, Group 2, who is buying on their own, would have to spend a further 9 months and $143,000 + Stamp duties, if they are looking for something similar in a similar area. IE, they would have to spend a further $151,000 (considering 5.5% stamp duties) more, to buy their home. Or, like most first home buyers, they have no choice but to buy in a lesser location. Keeping their original budget of $1,000,000, they managed to buy about 15km further away from the city. That is about 30 minutes further, during peak hours. That is 1 hour of extra travel time every day, and they have lost $143,000 in equity growth, due to this delay. Buying without a Buyers Advocate, cost them 1 hour more in travel time every day and $143,000 in lost equity growth. Conclusion: Buyers Advocates Do Help Save Costs Now, hasn't Group 1 saved $151,000, just by engaging the services of our Buyers Advocates? And by the time Group 2 buys their home, Group 1 would have an extra $143,000 in asset to tap into. Assuming a typical buyer's agent charges a fee of 2% of the property price, Group 1 would have gained $143k by investing in the $20k buyers agent fee, a return on investment (ROI) of over 700%! While, by saving the $20,000 buyers agent, Group 2 have to spend $151k more to buy their house. A loss of over 750%. It is true that the services of Buyers Advocates are not for everyone. We have rejected many clients because we believe we are unable to help them. But more importantly, we keep this service exclusive to help those who genuinely wanted the assistance and who would appreciate our expertise. Here are some reasons why you would NOT need a buyers agent. If you are interested to discover if our Buyers Advocates are for you, get in touch.

With the Coronavirus (a.k.a COVID-19) hogging the news in recent months, we've been asked many times, for our opinion on how this virus is going to affect property prices here in Melbourne. First, let's look at the property clearance rates for the last 4 weeks, and the outlook for the next 3 months. After the traditional Christmas break, buyers are flocking back to the Melbourne market. This is reflected in the Auction clearance rates, which has remained high at around 80%. This suggests strong demand for properties in the market. Is this going to last? This is the answer everyone wants to know. Buyer sentiment is the biggest determinant factor. And over the next 3 months, that is going to be affected by, no surprises, the COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 As of now, symptoms are rather mild, like a bad flu. Death rates outside of China is less than 0.2%, which is similar to flu. However, it is FEAR that is driving people into irrational behaviours. It is a very new virus. It is similar to the SARS and MERS viruses, but different enough to cause fear. The death rates are relatively low, compared to SARS (10%) and MERS (35%). How is that going to affect the property market in Melbourne? As of now, there seems to be little effect at all. The property market is probably fuelled by First Home Buyers, taking advantage of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS). You know, that 5% deposit scheme promised during the 2019 Federal Elections. The first batch of 3000 was released in Jan 2020, and it was 100% allocated within weeks! The second batch of 7000 was released in Feb 2020, and was meant to last till 30 June 2020. However, indications suggests that it is not likely going to last. Once this year's allocation of 10,000 FHLDS golden tickets has been allocated, buying activities are expected to slow. Which ultimately, could mean less demand for properties. This may or may not translate to lower prices, though, as vendors (sellers) still have certain expectations for how much their house is worth. Melbourne Property Outlook What does that mean? Put simply: March till April (and potentially May) - we are likely to see stable property prices. It could see a slight rise of between 1-3%. The virus is still going to be bothering us for the next 2-3 months. Buyers could stay away from auctions, or their focus could shift to maintaining their businesses and jobs. May till June - Judging by how quickly the situation has stabilised in China, we are likely to see the situation stabilised and put under control. We will be more familiar with the COVID-19 virus by then, and would have developed more pragmatic plans to get on with our lives / businesses / jobs / economies, etc. This is going to help with buyer sentiments. Prices are likely to be flat, and could retreat slightly (so slight, that it is hardly worth waiting for), although some suburbs (typically the top end suburbs) might see a more significant fall in prices. July and on - When 2021's allocation of 10,000 FHLDS is released, we could see First Home Buyers get back into the market again. In short, we are unlikely to see any major dips in Melbourne property prices. We might see a slight dip, but that's hardly worth the wait. Finally, when is a good time to buy? It depends on your risk appetite. If you are risk adverse, wait till the Virus is under control. But you'll be missing out on some really good deals. For the risk takers, and our regular followers you would know, by now, that the best time to buy is when no one is buying. So, get your finances ready, start to keep a look out or give us a call.

The internet is thriving with news that overseas buyers have been property shopping in Australia, and in particular, Melbourne. But why this interest in Melbourne properties? Why are overseas investors buying up properties in Melbourne? What do they know that you don't? How do you get started? What do you need to know? As an overseas investor, if you've been planning to invest in Melbourne properties, you would have come across FIRB, and you're also probably aware of how the different types of residency status affects what you can and cannot buy. You'll also be aware of some possible additional stamp duties which are applicable to your situation, depending on your residency status and the type of properties you are intending to invest in. If you would like more information on these, follow these links: Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) Residency status and what you can buy Additional Stamp Duties In Melbourne and Victoria, an additional stamp duty of between 3% and 8% are imposed on non-residents purchasing properties in Victoria. More details here. But is this something an overseas property investor should be worried about? No, is the short answer. But why no? Here are the facts. Property investment is for the long term Most property investors typically hold their investment properties for between 10-15 years, or longer, if the property is performing well. Unlike other forms of investment such as shares, currency speculation, unit trusts, etc, property investing has a relatively high entry and exit cost. Compared to these other types of investment as well, the lead time to buy and sell properties are typically months, instead of hours. There are also a lot more due diligence checks to be done when buying properties. You need to pick the right property, with the right condition, at the right price, in the right location and with the right tenants. Every property is unique, even if they are built by the same developer, there are always something unique about each property that makes it different from the one next door. That's why savvy investors invest in the services of independent in-country buyer agents to prevent them from buying a dodgy property. Other considerations for a non-resident As we've mentioned earlier, you'll need to be aware of the purchase process for a non-resident. The FIRB process, as well as what you can and cannot buy, depending on your residency status. There is also a purchase stamp duty which varies by state. We'll be discussing this stamp duty in Victoria context, and how this stamp duty affect or doesn't affect for a property in Melbourne, Victoria. It will take weeks to discuss how stamp duties impact purchases in different region in different state, as this stamp duties varies by state, and each region in the states perform differently. It is yet another reason why successful investors engage the services of a good in-country property advisor. Stamp Duties in Melbourne and Victoria The standard stamp duty for property purchases in Victoria is approximately 5.5% of the value of property. It is levied for all property purchases. As a non-resident, you may be required to pay an additional stamp duty of between 3% to 8% of the value of the property, depending on your circumstances, what you purchase and when you purchase. There are certain situations where you might be exempted from paying this additional stamp duty. Now, 8% may sound a lot, but it is not something most savvy investors are concerned with. At least, not for the next 6 to 12 months. Our overseas investor clients can attest to that. Why is this not an issue for these investors? These investors have researched the Australian market and saw the upcoming boom, and they are setting themselves up to reap the rewards. Here's what we are seeing: 1. Consistent Growth in Melbourne Properties For the last 30 years (1988-2018), Melbourne property prices have been growing an average of 7% annually. During some good years, growth of between 10% and 20% annually are not unheard of. At an average of 7%, property prices doubles every 10 years! Not many other investment vehicles give you this kind of consistent growth. On this fact alone, the additional stamp duty of up to 8% will be recovered in just over 1 year. Official numbers for 2019 has not been release yet, as they were being finalised when COVID-19 forced a delay in the release. Melbourne prices have been consolidating for the last 2 years (2018-2019), and at the second half of 2019, it rose a phenomenal 15% before COVID-19 forced a slow down in the property sales. If you were to look at the 30 year performance chart below, Melbourne right now, is at the tail-end of the consolidation phase and Melbourne is entering the BOOM phase. Melbourne is currently in similar periods as 2007-2008 and 2010-2012, where Melbourne property prices grew between 15% to 20% annually. The patterns are similar: slow-slow-boom, slow-slow-boom! It definitely points to BOOM time for Melbourne properties. If this happens, you could be looking to recover your 8% stamp duty in 6 months! 2. The recovering Australia Dollar The Australian Dollar has been relatively low, compared to other major currencies. But it is not going to stay this way for long. With China's economy recovering, and China buying Australian natural resources, the Australian Dollar is set to rise. And this is backed by analysis of the AUD performance against USD and SGD. Chart analysis of the Australian Dollar (AUD) against US Dollar (USD) and Singapore Dollar (SGD) both points to a recovering Australian Dollar. And the Australian Dollar looks set to recover to around AUD 1.00 : SGD 1.05. An upside of about 8%. It is a bit uncertain against the USD, due to the political uncertainties in the United States, but we would expect a similar 8% recovery. Advantages of buying properties in Melbourne Now, when you combine the 7% annual growth in Melbourne property prices and the recovering AUD; plus, if you hold the property for 10 years of compounded growth, you stand to gain more than double what you invest. An investment of $500,000 today, could be worth over $1 million in 10 years time. This is why our overseas clients have no qualms investing in Melbourne properties. They are preparing themselves for the imminent boom in property prices and the Australian Dollar. The clients who had trusted our opinion and had bought when the Australian Dollar sank to an all time low (March and April this year), are now smiling, as the AUD had appreciated almost 25% from its low. Their properties are now worth about 18% more on average, in 2 months! It definitely does pay to engage the right independent, in-country property buyer's agent to buy the right property at the right price, in the right location. Melbourne Property Outlook So, what is the outlook of the Melbourne property? Follow our blog and like and follow our Facebook and Linkedin pages for the latest news. We provides regular updates, outlook and forecast on the Melbourne property market. How can our Melbourne property concierge service help you? Prices of Melbourne properties range from $400,000 to well over a few million dollars. Each type of property caters to different buyers and investors. If you are interested in buying the right property at the right, find out why our clients are engaging the services of Concierge Buyers Advocates. Have a look at our success stories. Find out about their experience and testimonies. Get in touch, for more information.