First home buyers and entry-level investors are the heaviest users of suburb median data. They are also the buyers most likely to be researching the suburbs where that data is least statistically reliable. The irony is not accidental - it follows directly from how affordable markets work.A median figure for an outer affordable suburb sits a… Read More

Most vendors spend more energy negotiating the the agent commission than they spend evaluating whether the agent can actually negotiate on their behalf.That response is understandable. Commission is the most visible cost in a property sale. Because it is tied to a sale price that has not yet been determined, it becomes the easiest number to… Read More

Most people decide to sell before they know what selling actually costs.It usually starts with a conversation - a strong auction result down the street, a change in circumstances, a sense that the market is moving. The decision to sell is made emotionally. The full cost of that decision is discovered gradually, often after the process is al… Read More

Three agents. Same property. Appraisals that differ by $40,000 to $60,000. It happens more often than vendors expect, and when it does the instinct is to assume someone is wrong. Usually no one is. Appraisal is interpretation, and interpretation produces a range of legitimate conclusions from the same evidence.The confusion is understandabl… Read More

First home buyers and entry-level investors are the heaviest users of suburb median data. They are also the buyers most likely to be researching the suburbs where that data is least statistically reliable. The irony is not accidental - it follows directly from how affordable markets work.Affordable suburbs - outer ring, lower price point, m… Read More