4one4 are excited to announce that this weekend they will release their first web based TV series designed for the Tasmanian Market. Filmed last week the show has been designed to help home sellers and purchasers become fully prepared when it comes to selling and purchasing property within the Hobart market place.

“4one4 always enjoy pushing the boundaries when it comes to agency marketing and hope that our newly designed TV series will be a great help when it comes time for the average person to sell their home”, said Patrick Berry 4one4 Marketing Manager.

The first edition of 4one4 TV will feature a market wrap-up for the first quarter, tips on preparing your kitchen for sale, a look at 4one4’s achievements thus far for 2012 and an interview with Matt Jones, Director of Video Open Homes on why you should use video to market your home in 2012.

Subscribe to their facebook or YouTube page today and be instantly notified when the first edition of 4one4 Web TV goes live this week end.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia last night hosted their annual awards dinner at the Darwin Convention Centre showcasing Australia’s most outstanding agencies and consultants.

4one4 were lucky enough to be nominated for “Medium size agency of the year” and to our surprise took out the national award one of the night’s most prestigious awards.

“This achievement is the result of an accumulation of hard work and training,” Paul Berry, Director of 4one4 Real Estate said. “4one4 certainly put in the effort and this award shows our drive and determination to succeed for all our clients”.

This was 4one4’s first National Award, and truly acknowledges the talent and creativity that their staff and management have to offer the real estate industry.

4one4 Real Estate are proud to be bringing home Southern Tasmania’s first national award and look forward another successful year ahead as Australia’s Best Medium Size Agency of 2012!

Patrick Berry | Thursday, 19th January 2012

Brighton is constantly being recognised as one of Australia’s fastest growing suburbs. Located only 26.9KM from Hobart’s CBD it is only a short  30 minute commute to the city which makes it the perfect place for young couples to raise a family and elderly people to retire and enjoy activities such a bowls, golf and swimming in the Brighton local pool.

Since 2006 there has been a population growth of 90% from 2920 to approximately 5,550 people with an estimation of an additional 2,000 people in the next 3 – 4 years. This growth in population is due to developments like Brighton Estate; a 329 lot approved subdivision located in the heart of the Brighton community.

So far Brighton estate has been developed into 58 lots with 54 of them successfully being sold to developers and a further 27 lots about to be developed to keep up with the ever growing demand for new homes within the Brighton community.

Although 83% of properties are privately owned within Brighton, there is an ever increasing demand for rental properties within Brighton due to the newly constructed Brighton Industrial Estate which includes the Brighton Transport Hub (Hobart’s main link to the Australian transport network). This increase of employment has seen rental demands rise with the average three bedroom home renting for up to $360 per week and two bedrooms units renting for up to $280 per week.

Developers have remained strong within the area due to the affordable land prices and the easy building allotments. As the majority of Brighton’s land is level this allows developers to build homes more quickly and creates a cost effective option that other areas in and around Southern Tasmania find hard to match.

Overall we believe that the Brighton Community will continue to grow over the coming years with great opportunities to be had by home owners, developers, tenants and landlords and look forward to future developments of this already rapidly growing community.

The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania last night hosted their annual awards dinner at Wrest Point Casino showcasing Tasmania’s most outstanding agencies and consultants.

4one4 were lucky enough to be nominated in several categories and to our surprise took out the “Medium size agency of the year for 2011”, one of the night’s most prestigious awards.

“This achievement is the result of an accumulation of hard work and training,” Paul Berry, Director of 4one4 Real Estate said. “4one4 certainly put the effort in and the dedication to our clients is second to none”.

This was 4one4’s third year in a row to win the prestigious award, and truly showcases the talent and creativity that their staff and management have to offer the real estate industry.

We now look forward to competing at a national level by entering the REIA awards for excellence being held in the Northern Territory in March next year.

Buying a home is very stressful and purchasers sometimes lack confidence when making their final choice. Having started out with a “wish list” they find themselves sacrificing up to half of what they originally set their hearts on.

“The problem is deciding which fifty percent to sacrifice,” Patrick Berry, Sales Consultant of 4one4 Real Estate said. “People get very confused about their priorities, especially if they “fall in love” with a property even though it does not actually meet many of their more practical needs.

According to Patrick the best way to end up with your ideal home in the long run is to buy prudently from an investment point of view and plan to get your dream home second or third time around.

“Above all, make sure you don’t ignore the old wisdom about location taking up places one, two and three on your list of criteria,” Patrick said. “Decor, even house style and size can always be changed or improved but location and land size (apart from extraordinary circumstances) are basically there forever.”

“Focusing on location can help purchasers be more objective so they avoid letting their hearts rule their heads,” Patrick said.

Patrick said that, location aside, there are many ways of ensuring that you make a good buy from a structural and amenities point of view.

“Checking thoroughly before making an offer can save time and money,” Patrick said. “It means you can rule out most of the properties that won’t come up to scratch before you spend money on a professional building report.”

Patrick said 4one4 have made things easier for purchasers by compiling a comprehensive checklist for use during a second or third inspection on a property.

“Purchasers can call at our office and get one or phone us on 03 62 737 414 and we will mail it out to them,” Patrick concluded.

Some people argue that renting a home is a better financial proposition than buying one. “They say that renting leaves more disposable income,” Karen Bowerman, Sales Consultant of 4one4 Real Estate said. “But for most people the lifestyle benefits are relatively short lived. Real spending power decreases over time because rents and prices go up faster than incomes.”

Karen said that by contrast people who are paying off a mortgage end up increasing their spending power. “The equity in their home grows as property values rise and their re-payments accumulate,” Karen said. “This pattern of income availability suits people who plan to have children at some stage because it produces more disposable income at the time when their expenses peak rather than when they are young. At the same time they have the security of a permanent place to live.”

Karen said that many renting singles or couples without children are reluctant to make the lifestyle sacrifices necessary to buy their own home.

“But often they are merely postponing the sacrifices,” Karen said. “As real disposable income shrinks they will find themselves moving to a smaller or less well located property to avoid spending a bigger proportion of their income on rent. And if they are living up to their income they will find it hard to change their lifestyle to make way for new expenses such as children.” According to Karen high income earners are not exempt.

“Wealth is not the automatic result of a high income,” Karen said. “It depends on lifestyle choices. Conversely people on low incomes can build wealth. Compare two couples on an average income with around $35,000 in the bank. Couple A go on a $5,000 holiday to Tahiti and buy a new car for $30,000, keeping it for seven to ten years, spending their income on rent and lifestyle. Years later their only asset, the car, is worth little or nothing – a few thousand dollars. Couple B buy an older but reliable car for a few thousand dollars and use the $30,000 as deposit on a $150,000 home. In the same period as Couple A’s car value dwindles, their home doubles in value to $300,000.”

Karen said that even if Couple B pay off the interest only and not the principal of the loan, their net wealth will be $180,000 – their original $30,000 deposit plus the $150,000 increase in the value of the property. “Furthermore, at some point in this mortgage re-payment period they will be able to borrow on their equity to buy a new car or start an investment portfolio if they want to,” Karen concluded.

Vendors who sell privately think that without agents’ fees they will end up with more money in their hand. Their outsider’s view of the industry tells them that selling a house is easy work.

“In reality they not only find that there is more to it than they could ever have dreamed of but many end up with a lower selling price,” Martin Evans, Property Consultant of 4one4 Real Estate said. “For a start buyers know that the vendor is not paying a fee and expect to negotiate accordingly.”

Martin said that a family’s single greatest asset requires professional marketing and expertise.

“It takes a lot of training and experience before a selling agent is skilled at marketing and negotiating and there are many pitfalls for the uninitiated,” Martin said. “Negotiating direct with a purchaser is extremely difficult because of a vendor’s emotional involvement and lack of experience. The net result is often lost opportunities through personality conflicts or poor negotiating.”

According to Martin many vendors take their property off the market thinking they have a buyer only to find that their inexperienced eye had been unable to spot an unqualified or shaky purchaser.

“Timing is one of the crucial factors in successful marketing and many may well end up missing out on genuine motivated purchasers who would have paid more,” Martin said.

Martin said that inexperience combined with familiarity often causes vendors to overprice or underpriced their property.

“While the financial loss of under pricing is obvious, overpricing is a bit more insidious, Martin said. “Overpricing means the wrong market is being targeted and a sale is unlikely to result. By the time the price is varied, the property is already stale and the ultimate selling price may be lower.”

According to Martin the risk inherent in allowing anyone who knocks on the door to enter your property should not be underestimated.

“Professional real estate agents are skilled at qualifying purchasers,” Martin said. “The time spent with purchasers in the office prior to inspecting properties becomes, in effect, a pre-inspection interview. Home owners are unable to create this middle step in a way that won’t antagonise buyers.”

“While it’s possible that everything may run smoothly, there are so many different stages of the process where using the experts will ensure a professional, stress-free result and add thousands of dollars to your final price,” Martin concluded.

4one4 Real Estate Glenorchy, Tasmania For Service Excellence

This Award recognises their commitment to delivering service of the highest quality for its customers, trade suppliers and business associates.

The Australian Excellence Awards are a nationally recognised and self-funded Business Awards Program. In the current program year, there have been a large number of new business entrants from across the country; the latest Award Winners are among an esteemed group who have demonstrated the core values of excellence in business enterprise, customer service and e-commerce.

This Australian business has established itself as a Service Excellence leader. We congratulate the management team and its people for their determination to succeed in a broad marketplace with tough competition.

Luke Chiodo-Gurr, CEO at the Australian Excellence Awards personally congratulated them for their outstanding effort and commitment to leadership as a business that exhibits ‘best practices’. Customers were clearly pleased too, as these testimonials proved;

“…I had not dealt with matters regarding property for many years so when it came time to downsize, I decided to check out all the local real estate agents until I found one I could trust to help me with my biggest asset and retirement nest egg; 4one4 Real Estate was the only agency I felt really comfortable with…”

“…Patrick Berry is fantastic! He was recommended to me by a good neighbour and it’s the first time a real estate agent not only met my expectations but exceeded them in every way; attention to detail, patience and great advice are just a few of their strengths…this business is a shining example of professional service above all others…well done.”

“…I recently sold my family home and bought a new home outside the local area but that didn’t bother them at all; they made all the arrangements to view other properties and drove to see most of them before we found the right fit for me, a newly-built home…Patrick still checks in with me ocassionally to ensure I’m still happy…well-deserved recognition…”

REIT Media Release | Wednesday 4th of May 2011 | www.reit.com.au

The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT) today released the March 2011 Quarterly Property Report, revealing the volume of house sales across Tasmania is at its lowest point in two decades.

REIT President Adrian Kelly said during the March quarter, while house sales in Tasmania had increased by 3.1 per cent, the figures were still down 18 per cent on the previous March quarter.

“The reason for the low number of sales is not due to a lack of houses on the market, but the fact that many properties are overpriced,” Mr Kelly said.

“Those houses that are priced correctly are selling in a reasonable time frame, while those that are overpriced are just sitting there.

“The March quarterly report revealed the average number of days a house sat on the market increased by 11 days on the same quarter the previous year, now sitting at an average of 64 days.

“Anyone currently selling a house in Tasmania needs to be willing to meet market prices or be ready for their house to sit on the market for up to a year or more.”

“Buyers are certainly not silly, with most buyers being well aware of the estimated value of a property, so if a property is overpriced, even by five per cent, it’s not going to be sold in a hurry.”

Mr Kelly said contained within the report was the statewide median house price, which remained relatively steady for the March quarter, recording a marginal decrease to $310,000.

“The report also showed that Launceston was the only centre to record an increase in median house price for the quarter, with a 1.8 per cent rise,” he said.

“Hobart and the north west centres’ median house prices decreased by 5.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively.

“Interestingly, house purchases made by people interstate were up 23.3 per cent. Interstate purchasers are spending an average of $320,000, mainly in the areas of Launceston, Kingborough and West Tamar.

“One out of every four properties sold during the March quarter was purchased for investment purposes, although these were cheaper houses, with each investor spending an average of $245,000 on a property.

Mr Kelly said the quarterly report also revealed the top three most expensive suburbs in Tasmania, which were Sandy Bay, Kettering and Mount Nelson, while the top three least expensive suburbs were Waverly, Scottsdale and Bridgewater.

“The top three Tasmanian suburbs with the highest turnover in house sales were Devonport, Glenorchy and Kingston,” he said.

The REIT is a member organisation representing the views and the professional needs of its members – these being more than 95 per cent of real estate agents (and their staff) throughout the State.

Top 10 median price growth for March quarter

Montrose, 6 sales, median price, $360,250, 37.5% change.

Westbury, 6, $353,750, 28.6%.

South Hobart, 12, $492,500, 20.7%

Deloraine, 11, $260,000, 19.5%

Riverside, 22, $327,000, 18.4%

Primrose Sands, 14, $210,000, 17.3%

Carlton, 8, $235,000, 17.2%

Beaconsfield, 12, $191,500, 13.7%

West Moonah, 13, $345,000, 13.7%

West Launceston, 12, $323,500, 12.7%

Top 10 median price growth over the year

Westbury, 6, $353,750, 45.9%

Wynyard, 18, $342,500, 35.9%

Newstead, 18, $338,000 19.5%

Smithton, 9, $260,000, 19.3%

Montrose, 6, $360,250, 18.1%

Spreyton, 7, $323,000, 17.6%

Huonville, 7, $320,000, 16/4%

Hadspen, 9, $310,000, 16.1%

Launceston City, 15, $370,000, 14.7%

Kettering, 7, $532,000, 14.7%

Top 10 most expensive suburbs/towns (change over year)

Sandy Bay, 28, $652,5000, -5.4%

Kettering, 7, $532,000, 14.7%

Mount Nelson, 6, $520,125, 13.1%

South Hobart, 12, $490,500, 8.5%

New Town, 13, $460,000, 11.7%

Mount Stuart, 7, $450,000, -20.7%

West Hobart, 20, $443,500, -5.8%

Taroona, 13, $430,000, -6.1%

North Hobart, 6, $421,000,-7.5%

Blackmans Bay, 21, $415,000, -10.3%

Top 10 most affordable suburbs-towns (change over year)

Waverley, 5, $165,000, -0.6%

Scottsdale, 5, $168,000, -2%

Bridgewater, 7, $170,000, -1/2%

East Devonport, 9, $172,000, -3/1%

Risdon Vale, 9, $176,000, -9.7%

Upper Burnie, 5, $187,000, -22.1%

Beaconsfield, 12, $191,500, -40.3%

Chigwell, 7, $193,000, -10.6%

Mowbray, 9, %197,000, -19.4%

New Norfolk, 15, $200,000, -18.4%

Top 10 highest turnover (change over year)

Devonport, 35, $245,000, 1.7%

Glenorchy, 29, $267,000, 4.4%

Kingston, 28, $387,000, -2.4%

Sandy Bay, 28, $652,500, -5.4%

Invermay, 25, $220,000, 2.3%

Claremont, 25, $260,000, -2/9%

Howrah, 23, $366,000, -6.2%

Ulverstone, 22, $232,500, -9.2%

Newnham, 22, $264,500, 5.8%

Riverside, 22, $327,000, 5.5%

4one4 Real Estate is always pushing the boundaries in ensuring our clients have every option available to them when it comes to selling their home. It’s our love for innovation that encouraged us to re-launch our You tube page over a month ago.

Since launching our new look channel we have had a large uptake in property tours from our vendors with the videos proving to be very popular with many purchasers. We would like to thank Video open homes for filming our properties and look forward to a strong partnership growing over the coming months.

If the idea of a video tour to assist the sale of your property interests you contact 4one4 on 036 277 414 or visit video open homes online.