After another weekend of great turnouts, many of our rental properties are getting multiple applications on their first opening.
Good family homes in good locations are renting out straight away, we have had huge numbers of enquires on properties and huge numbers turning out at to the opens, even in such wet & cold conditions.
We are fortunate that our landlords are presenting their properties in great condition, and this is appealing to prospective tenants. It is always inviting if prospective tenants feel comfortable from the minute you walk down the driveway to feeling comfortable whilst walking through the home.
As a property manager this current market is very hard to making decisions on applications when multiple applications are all as good as one and another. I only wish we had more properties to rent to prospective tenants.
Our stock of units have been slower to rent out than family homes, this is different at certain times of the year. At the start of the year we could not get enough units, this could be for younger people looking for accommodation for uni students, and that fact that the Christmas break is a good time to move as many people get a good break over the Christmas holidays which make packing and moving easier for all.
Newspapers and magazines are talking up the doom and gloom of the property market, and yes we see this for many people also, but the fact that each house / unit that needs to be sold if in a good location and in reasonable condition is selling and recently selling above reserve. It is unfortunate for many people that they may have over committed in these recent times, or their circumstances have changed and this is putting them into the rental market also. Some of the people I meet have never rented before, so they find it hard to understand what requirements we need. It is also hard for them to have previous history for references regarding rentals as they have owned their own homes. This is really difficult for them to try to explain to you as a property manager, so yes it is hard all round.
I can foresee we will see many many more prospective tenants requiring rental properties for reasonable prices. Closer to the CBD is important to a lot of people, but close to public transport is a big tick also, as the cost of fuel for the cars, and the time sitting in peak hour traffic is not appealing at all.
So if you are thinking of buying an investment property or you have an investment property and would like further information on our property management, don’t hesitate to call or email us for further info.
Sam James
Interesting article on Zoning Changes for Victoria
Written for Smart Property Investor magazine
12 July 2012
Written by Rebecca De Britt
Sweeping reforms will occur in one state to clarify which areas will be zoned for growth, and which will be restricted, according to a new government announcement.
Victorian suburbs and towns will undergo a sweeping reform of planning zones, aiming to clarify growth areas and protection areas.
The government’s zones reform package features three new residential zones, including a ‘Residential Growth Zone’, a ‘General Residential Zone’ and a ‘Neighbourhood Residential Zone’.
For investors, these new planning zones are the greatest indicator when looking for the style of development that can be expected in a suburb, said minister for planning, Matthew Guy.
“The Coalition Government’s zone reforms reflect what communities have been crying out for, for many years – clear identification of areas that can grow and strong protection for areas that are designed to be low rise, low density neighbourhoods,” he said.
The ‘Neighbourhood Residential Zone’ will include a number of features including mandatory height controls, stricter regulations around subdivision and the consideration of minimum lot sizes.
This zone will also be able to protect existing streetscapes and amenity with clear guidelines on what can be supported by a planning permit application.
These projects, combined with planning law changes and planning zone reform represent a major overhaul of the Victorian planning system since the change of government in November 2010.
The changes come alongside reforms to Victoria’s business zones, which are to be consolidated into commercial zones.
According to Mr Guy, “these reforms will place Victoria at the forefront of commercial development and employment”.
The key features of the reformed planning zones will be issued for feedback for a period of two months from Monday 17 July until Friday 21 September.
