nyonyamansor09

The first thing you need to know about real estate is you have no idea what your house will sell for. When mad drooling cretins, fuelled by debt, fear and delusion start moving in herds, your property might be the scene of growling and teeth gnashing. Several of these cretins may rear up, savaging each other with lashes of a bank's sharpest instrument - a loan approval. And at the end, chests will be puffed out as one side imagines their victory becoming BBQ folklore, while the other consoles themselves with a half-hearted, "it wasn't the house for them." Which leaves you sitting on a pile of money. The other scenario is no where near as exciting, there's no victorious party and only one loser. That's you, because no one gives a jack - about you, your house, nor what you think it's worth. Welcome to the reality of the 4x2 located in Somerset. Five months on the market, one failed auction, long sitting empty and the asking price of $383,000 becomes $289,000...

Just when you think it can't get any worse... If you're one of the illustrious eight people who read this blog, yes I'm actually growing at the rate of 4 people a month, you may remember this house in Launceston I've previously mentioned: Last sold for $335,000 in mid 2009. The going price in my post was $325,000, that was after the first discount. It's yours now for $315,000. With $20,000 already flushed and another $11,000 torched in stamp duty, it's worthwhile asking how far ahead would the renter be in this situation? Price to rent a similar house, in the same suburb for 14 months? Around $17,000. Of course I'm presupposing the occupants are still in this house, which they aren't. They're long gone along with a good chunk of any equity they might have had. Be it they had to move on, or were forced to, they left with less than they came with. We're on the eve of an RBA interest rate decision and thousands now have a nervous night ahead - they...

Well eventually I knew there would come a time I had to do some real work maintaining this blog, I couldn't get by on smart arse comments and poor sub-editing forever - I just needed a hook to get me going. It came in the most depressing way, as I was informed several people I knew were sitting on a second property - a second empty property - a second empty property they'd renovated and hoped to flip. 'Hoped' being the operative word. As previously mentioned the, details are too depressing for words and if I went into them I'd probably turn all Glenn Beck as I start blubbering at the prospect of the financial Armageddon these people face. Putting two and two together I quickly find the properties listed online, pictured dead empty - then something clicks. If you're someone like me - with too much time on his hands and a mild case of undiagnosed asperger's - you notice a few patterns and being the relentless and lifeless fool I am, I decided to follow them. T...

It was a momentous moment. After four months and two discounts, the pictured house dropped below the 400k price level. Why is this so momentous? The house sits within one of Burnie's McMansion estates, where eight houses, equating to over 20% of this estate are up for sale, and all houses were listed over 400k. That was until this week. It's now at $399,000 (I'm sure that $1000 was a true psychological barrier for buyers) down from $425,000. Reluctantly this owner has seen the writing on the wall and offered a token discount, while no doubt the other vendors keenly observe. Only one other vendor has seen fit to discount, and this amongst a group of houses that have sat, without interest, from two to seven months. The pictured vendor may still walk away with significant gains, the house was purchased in 2002 for $179,500, but it's the newer owners in the estate who will be getting edgy. When you shelled out 400-600k over the past couple of years and the guy across the ro...

As the agent says, it's a prime investment - for the vendors. It cost them $47,000 in 2001, no you're not reading that wrong. Mind you, this was way back when houses were somewhere you lived and not something you got an erection for, then ran to the bank asking for 30 years to life. See things were a little different in Tasmania, there was honour, innocence and common sense. You bought a house, you sold a house, you might have even lost a couple of bucks, but it was only ever a couple and it didn't matter - because your neck was never on the line. Then credit exploded and mainlanders arrived, buying up every house they could and renting them back to the locals. That's how someone had the audacity to ask $319,000 for that heap just over six months ago. Thankfully no one is that stupid and it's just been knocked down to $265,000. Still, there can only be one loser in this situation - the buyer. Cause it's important to see where this house has come from, then ask ...