Love Thy Neighbour This Christmass

Misuse of parking, noisy neighbours and loud parties are some of the top pain points of apartment living according to the annual survey of members by the Institute of Strata Title Management (ISTM).

President of the ISTM, David Morris, said: "the festive party season can be the catalyst for upsetting the usually harmonious strata living experience and it’s the perfect time to embrace the ISTM’s top tips to ensure you and your neighbours have a Merry Christmas. As the festive season is in full swing we’re encouraging apartment dwellers to think of their neighbours and consider some easy steps to spread some Christmas cheer.



The survey of strata managers revealed that the five pain points of apartment living are:
1. Misuse of car parks
2. Misuse of common areas
3. Noise pollution
4. Unfriendly and unco-operative neighbours
5. Loud Parties

“Each festive period our strata managers report that Christmas revelers really can push the boundaries of apartment living and it can be the most prevalent time of year for the top five pain points to rear their head. Our members’ advice is to be tolerant and considerate and to remember that strata living is community living so learn to love your neighbour this Christmas,” he said.

The ISTM Top Five Tips for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for all apartment residents:
1. Inform your party guests where to park their sleigh
People are territorial over their car parking space and this one issue causes more disharmony than any other. If you are inviting your friends over for a Christmas party advise them where they can and cannot park. Even better encourage them to leave their car at home.
2. Turn down the volume on your Christmas Karaoke
When you’re cranking up the Christmas carols spare a thought for your neighbours who may not want to listen to your rendition of Jingle Bells. Also remind your guests when they leave the party to do so as quietly as possible.
3. Don’t leave your Christmas lights flashing
Save your neighbours a headache and do the environment a little favour by turning off your flashing Christmas lights when you go to bed.
4. The More the Merrier
A bit of Christmas courtesy goes a long way. Inform your neighbours that you are having a party and even better invite them to join you for your Christmas celebrations.
5. Spread Christmas cheer not smell
If you are having a Christmas BBQ in communal areas, or on your balcony, think about reducing both the noise and smells that can carry through to your neighbours’ apartments.

The Institute of Strata Title Management (ISTM) is the peak industry body for strata title management in New South Wales; promoting the role of the professional strata team and the value such a team adds to owners corporations in managing risk and a creating a harmonious strata living experience.

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source: realestate.com

Real estate rates gain overnight

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued higher Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield dropped to 4.15 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average climbed to 5.9 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate gained to 5.47 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate was up at 5.59 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield edged down to 4.58 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.

In other economic news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 172.65 points, or 1.29 percent, finishing at 13,167.2. The Nasdaq lost 61.28 points, or 2.32 percent, closing at 2,574.46.

Stock figures are current as of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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source: lendinguniverse.com

The year the property boom snuck up on us.

The reported increases in median property values of over 17% and 18% for Melbourne and Brisbane would not have been dreamt of at the beginning of the year. Being averages these figures don’t show the true strength of the markets in the more affluent suburbs in these cities where values increased substantially more than this.

And things look very positive for our property markets for 2008 on the eastern seaboard of Australia with the property markets finishing the year strongly. Prices are rising, as are auction clearances, the numbers of days a property remains on the market before selling has dropped and the discount between the initial asking price and the final selling price is also falling.

Of course not all markets are booming. The western suburbs of Sydney are still depressed and the Perth property market remains flat.

While it is hard to imagine another year of growth similar to that experienced in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, property owners and investors can look forward to a strong start to the 2008 property markets. The fundamentals of strong demand fuelled by a healthy economy and record levels of immigration together with limited supply because of limited new housing stock will ensure that the value of well located properties will increase.

But it’s not all good news for our property markets in 2008.

Rising interest rates are likely to increase the gap between the performance of the inner city suburbs which are booming and the outer suburbs where rising mortgage payments are biting and prices are flat.

Property owners in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra will enjoy strong growth in the value of their properties as owner occupiers and investors chase well located which are in undersupply. On the other hand many home owners in the outer suburbs, who are already struggling with mortgages, will suffer more in 2008 with at least 2 further interest rate rises on the horizon. Affordability problems and mortgage stress are hurting the outer fringe suburbs, where many of the buyers who would typically purchase a home at or even beyond their borrowing capacity.'

While the 'chicken littles' will be back again yelling the 'sky is falling' as interest rates rise and affordability bites some property owners and sophisticated investors will be out buying the right type of property. Sitting on the sidelines may seem safe but it also means you could miss out on great opportunities. It is easy to do nothing and as Donald Trump says "Nothing is easy... but who wants nothing".


Michael Yardney is Director of Metropole – Property Investment Strategists, and a leading property commentator and publisher of Property Investment Update. Subscribe for free at www.PropertyUpdate.com.au
He is also author of How to Grow a Multi Million Dollar Property - in your spare time and co author of All You Need to Know about Buying and Selling Your Home.

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source: realestate.com

Housing starts, permits hit 16-year low

The rate of single-family housing starts and building permits in November sank to the lowest level since 1991, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of building-permit authorizations for new single-family housing units fell about 33.7 percent in November compared to the same month last year. The monthly rate of 764,000 in November was the lowest since June 1991, when it stood at 763,000.

This rate is a projection of a monthly total over a 12-month period, adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations in construction activity.

Single-family housing starts dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 829,000 in November, down about 34.9 percent compared to November 2006. This was the lowest rate since April 1991, when it stood at 819,000.

The rate of total building-permit authorizations -- including single-family homes and multi-unit structures -- dropped 24.6 percent, from 1.53 million in November 2006 to 1.15 million in November 2007. This November 2007 rate was the lowest since the June 1993 rate of 1.13 million.

And the rate of total housing starts fell to 1.19 million in November, down 24.2 percent from the November 2006 rate. This rate was comparable to the September 2007 rate of 1.18 million -- the lowest rate since the July 1992 rate of 1.14 million total starts.

The rate of total housing completions dropped 28.7 percent, from 1.89 million in November 2006 to 1.34 million in November 2007 -- the lowest level since January 1998.

The agencies noted that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics can show irregular movements, and it can take three months to establish an underlying trend for building permit authorizations, four months for total starts and six months for total completions.

Statistics are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability and nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting and undercoverage.

On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total building permits, housing starts and housing completions are revised about 1 percent, according to the report.

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Point2 names RealTown's Saul Klein as CEO

Saul Klein, an Internet pioneer for the real estate industry who leads an online community of real estate professionals and created the e-PRO technology certification program for Realtors, is the new CEO for Point2 Technologies Inc., a company that is restructuring following resignations by a group of managers earlier this month.

Klein, who has served as president and CEO for Internet marketing and support company InternetCrusade and the RealTown online community, will continue in that role while taking on the new position with Point2.

Based in Saskatoon, Canada, Point2 offers real estate technology and marketing services for real estate professionals. The company operates a property search and marketing service called Point2 National Listing Service, or Point2 NLS, that allows real estate professionals to exchange property listings information for display on other participants' Web sites.

The company's Web site reported today that Point2 NLS has 164,300 members. Point2 also has operations in the construction industry, and began offering services for heavy-equipment dealers in 1996. The company added its real estate operations in 2003. The Realtown.com Web site reports that community has about 59,000 subscribers.

Point2 and RealTown earlier this year announced a "single sign-on" collaboration that allow members of the Point2 NLS community and RealTown.com community to access or sign up for either system using a single password.

And Barry Willick, Point2 Technologies president, said in a statement, "Over the past few months we've examined the value and need to add a CEO position to our leadership structure. In light of the recent restructuring of our management team, we moved to attract one of the best, most respected minds in the industry to help us execute on our mission and vision."

Klein plans to spend one week each month in Canada, two weeks each month in San Diego, and a week each month fulfilling speaking engagements on the road.

"I see great opportunities for collaboration" between Realtown and Point2, Klein said. "It's just going to work to our mutual advantage. We do have some great synergies between the two companies." He added that there have been no discussions about merging the companies.

Prior to his hire as CEO, Klein was named to serve on Point2's board of directors about two months ago. He received a call on Monday last week from Willick asking him to serve as CEO. "I thought about it until Saturday," Klein said, adding that the only potential conflict he saw was in relationships with some of RealTown's advertisers.

He said he has been impressed with Point2's NLS system, which allows brokers to make decisions about where to advertise proeprty listings. Such a system could spark revolutionary change in the industry, he said, related to broker control over the dissemination of listings information online.

"I really see this as an opportunity to move Point2 forward and to move InternetCrusade forward and we believe move the real estate industry forward," he said.

Inman News reported earlier this month that Point2's chief operating officer, chief technology and five other managers for Point2's real estate division resigned from the company, and the chief operating officer for the construction division also resigned. Outgoing COO Brendan King told Inman News that he left for personal reasons, including a fundamental disagreement with the company's future plans.

"I disagreed with the strategy and direction going forward, so I decided to move onto different opportunities," King said.

Klein served as a consultant for the Realtor Information Network in the formative days of putting property listings on the Web. That effort led to the creation of property-search site Realtor.com.

He also served as the 1993 president of the San Diego Association of Realtors and has been a licensed real estate broker in California since 1977. He has also served as a director for the California Association of Realtors, a member of that group's MLS Committee, and has served on numerous National Association of Realtors committees and in numerous NAR forums.

The CEO position at Point2 had been vacated by Willick's brother, Point2 co-founder Wendell Willick, who resigned in September and later that month entered a guilty plea in a criminal case that is unrelated to his work at the company.

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source: lendinguniverse.com