In the News
Bad neighbour: Failure to disclose disruptive neighbour leads to $500K compensation
“The purchase of a Strata Inspection Report is a fundamental part of your due diligence when buying into any Strata, Community Title or Company Title building,” said Ray Ellis, First National Real Estate chief executive, who added such a report is as critical as a building and pest inspection when purchasing starta property.
Smart Property Investment magazine talk to Ray Ellis.
The West Australian Supreme Court decided that a buyer was entitled to rescind the contract on her purchase of the $390,000 unit because of the seller’s failure to disclose historical problems with a neighbour living upstairs in the strata complex.
The buyer discovered the issue herself after being informed of abuse directed at tradespeople undertaking renovations before she moved in. Further inquiries at that point revealed prior reports of belligerent behaviour on the part of the neighbour.
There is still an ongoing compensation claim being made by the buyer, which now exceeds $500,000. The ruling in the compensation claim rests on a determination of the fair value of the property, had the conduct of the neighbour been taken into account at the time of purchase.
First National Real Estate chief executive Ray Ellis has said this incident should serve as a warning to all parties involved in a strata sale.
Regional Migration. Just a fad or here to stay? Ray Ellis speaks to Electrical Gems magazine issue #169
According to stats released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) earlier this year, regional Australia grew by almost 71,000 people in the 12 months to 30 June 2021. Regional NSW grew by 26,000 while regional Queensland shot up by almost 25,000.
"Firstly, there was an exodus from a safety point of view", says Ray Ellis, Chief Executiv of First National Real Estate. "And secondly, there was an exodus because people were working from home and re-evaluated what was important in their lives."
How latest interest rates rise will affect house prices, rental market. Ray Ellis speaks to news.com.au
There’s been lots of talk about how hard house prices will be hit by repeated interest rate rises, but as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) prepares to hike the cash rate again, a new crisis is emerging.
First National Real Estate CEO Ray Ellis and Greville Pabst, Executive Chairman of property valuation firm WBP Group told news.com.au to expect rents to continue to surge as rates rise.
First National Real Estate Supports Thailand's Disabled. Ray Ellis presents $125,000 Thai Baht to APCD on behalf of First National Foundation.
The donation was presented to APCD’s Executive Director, Piroon Laismit, who thanked First National Real Estate for committing to host its annual convention in Thailand last year, before the country’s international border had opened.
‘We are incredibly grateful to to First National Real Estate’s 350+ delegates for coming to Thailand and for supporting the Thai economy, but especially for supporting the country’s disabled’ said Mr Laismit.
Can you get solar panels as a renter? Ray Ellis talks to news.com.au
First National Real Estate’s Chief Executive Ray Ellis said installing solar panels on rental properties has become a very popular choice in the past five years.
Ray Ellis on why now is the ideal time to buy in Inner City Melbourne
Read the full article on afr.com here
Agents are reporting fresh interest in inner city apartments in particular, First National Real Estate CEO Ray Ellis says.
Initiatives such as the temporary stamp duty concession is luring buyers, with a 50 per cent saving for new residential apartments under $1 million, for contracts entered into from 1 July, 2021 to 30 June, 2022, he explains.
How and why should I buy a property off-market?
Ray Ellis speaks to Harrison Astbury from savings.com.au
Real estate: Covid homebuying tactic that has changed real estate forever
Read full article on realestate.com.au here
Speaking to James MacSmith, Ray Ellis said: “First National has witnessed a five-fold explosion in homebuyers not physically touring a property before purchase – a new state of play that is set to stay.
“Pre-Covid, if we were selling 20 houses in a certain suburb, maybe one of those might have been sight-unseen,” he said.
“But now we are selling four or five a month that way.”
“People just don’t want to miss out. When that new home is about family happiness or a key lifestyle driver, buyers are comfortable buying it without physically walking through it. Everyone has re-evaluated what is most important to them and if they find a house that fits the bill they are going after it.”
Pandemic Pain Not Enough to Bet Against Melbourne Apartments
Ray Ellis interviewed for article on The Urban Developer
Rents surge a 'concerning' 13.7% in a year to a $508 median
"Naturally, Coronavirus and lockdowns have brought the advantages of home ownership into sharp relief over the past 18 months. Fundamentally, many Australians still aspire to having space and fresh air around them," Ray Ellis told Savings.com.au.
"When Australians first experienced freedoms being curtailed in major cities, our ingrained desire for 'the great brown land' took over and we saw a flight to the regions."
Why do house prices seem to appreciate faster than units?
"Without doubt, the quarter acre block, your own piece of land, your 'castle' if you will, is indelibly imprinted in the psyche of Australians," Ray Ellis told Savings.com.au.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of buying at auction?
Read full article by Harrison Astbury here:
"One of the greatest advantages of buying at auction is the certainty that when the gavel falls, the property is yours," Mr Ellis told Savings.com.au.
"Compared to private treaty negotiations, there’s no risk of a last-minute buyer making the agent a higher offer before contracts have been exchanged.
"Another benefit is that you get to see what everybody in the market thinks the property is worth. Whether that works in your favour or not, you are not left in doubt as to whether you offered the vendor significantly more than anybody else has been prepared to pay.
"This is where the transparency of open competition provides both vendor and buyer with clarity.
"One of the great lessons from COVID is that, once again, Australians have fallen in love with their home. It doesn’t matter whether it is an acreage property, house or unit, our fascination is unique in the world. As a result – the price we can obtain in selling our castle is a national sport."
Ray Ellis, CEO, First National Real Estate
Nine out of 10 Australians have sold their house for a profit in 2021
25th June, 2021
Ray Ellis speaks to Sue Williams, Domain Reporter.
Nine out of every 10 Australians who sold their homes in the first part of the year made a profit, bringing them in a stunning $30.6 billion in extra cash, a new report has revealed.
The big winners were owner-occupiers of houses, particularly in regional Australia, while investors tended to make slimmer gains, and nearly a fifth of apartment-owners made a loss on their properties – almost two and a half times the rate of houses that didn’t sell for a profit.
For the CoreLogic report, researchers analysed about 98,000 resales across the country from the March 2021 quarter, a period that was buoyed by an 8.1 per cent rise in national housing values from September 2020 to the end of March 2021.
“The total profit reaped by sellers in the first quarter of 2021 was $30.6 billion nationally,” said Eliza Owen, head of research for Australia at CoreLogic. “This is actually down from $32.2 billion in the December quarter, but that is likely a reflection of seasonally lower sales activity through the start of the year.
“March 2021 also marked the fourth consecutive quarter where regional Australian resales sustained a higher rate of profitability than in the capital city markets — 90.6 per cent of regional resales saw a profit through the quarter, compared with 90 per cent of capital city sales.”
That gap in the rate of profit seen between capital cities and regions has narrowed, however, with capital-city growth rising to closer to regional rates through April and May.
The surprise high level of profitable resales has been welcomed by the real estate industry, with agents feeling it may well encourage home-owners to enter the market and boost the low level of supply.
“That does mean a lot of motivation for potential vendors to come in and look at the market, and I think that’s great,” said Richardson & Wrench managing director Andrew Cocks. “It certainly will encourage people to sell.
“But, there’s still an element of uncertainty in the market that’s demonstrated by the number of listings that are still below historic numbers. While interest rates are still so low, there are other hurdles, like the number of sellers who are putting their prices up and up too high and buyers dropping out, particularly at the lower end, because they can’t compete.”
First National Real Estate CEO Ray Ellis has also greeted the report’s findings with enthusiasm. He believes that Australians has a passion for property that’s unparalleled in the rest of the world, and this latest result has underlined their belief in how powerful it is as an agent for wealth creation.
“The report has identified how Australians, during COVID-19 times, fell in love with their homes all over again as they’ve become their playgrounds, their holiday destinations, their office, and their games room, as well as somewhere to live,” he said.
But while there’s a lot of demand now to downsize, upsize, relocate or get into the market for the first time, with finance so cheap, there’s not enough property to buy, and people traditionally want to buy before they sell.
“So, hopefully people are realising that now is the perfect time to sell, with our average days on market shrinking from 25-35 days down to three to 10 days, and bridging finance so cheap and back in vogue.”
The CoreLogic report found only 6.8 per cent of houses sold at a loss, compared with 16.8 per cent of units being sold for less than for what they were originally bought. The 90.3 per cent that sold for a profit was up on the 89.1 per cent that did so in the previous quarter, while homes in regional Australia sold for a profit for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Sea change and tree change markets performed strongly, with Victoria’s Ballarat recording a 99.5 per cent profitable sales rate, while Melbourne CBD units had the highest rate of loss. Resource-based housing markets in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, meanwhile, experienced a sharp fall in loss-making sales.
“This result, showing so many profitable resales nationwide, is obviously not surprising given that prices have risen so strongly in cities and regional markets, with high demand and quite low stock levels,” said Adrian Kelly, national president of the ReaI Estate Institute of Australia.
“But, I’m hoping this spring we might see extra stock come to the market, particularly in regional areas which will help the market become more balanced, which it clearly at the moment isn’t at all.”
Add value to your home in 2021
21st June, 2021
Read full article here:
https://www.finder.com.au/add-value-to-your-home-in-2021
Install solar panels
Solar panels are becoming increasingly popular with buyers who know they'll benefit from green energy and far cheaper electricity bills. In fact, Origin Energy surveyed over 1,000 Australians and found 77% valued a home higher if it was installed with solar panels.
"Solar panels do indeed add value to a home – even more so if they have a battery storage system," said Ray Ellis, chief executive of First National Real Estate.
"It is definitely becoming more common and statistics are showing Australians are adding solar to their rooftops at some of the fastest rates in the world," he told Finder.
With government rebates available to many buyers, the average solar panel installation might not be as expensive as you think. Plus, international studies show it could add thousands of dollars to the value of your home.
Consider heating and cooling systems
Once a luxury, heating and cooling systems are gradually moving into must-have territory for many homebuyers.
"Air conditioning and heating units are absolutely desirable – reverse-cycle air conditioning is considered the most efficient in hotter climates whereas in cooler climates gas systems are considered the best and do add value to a property both in sale and rental," said real estate exec Ray Ellis.
"We are finding particularly in Victoria there are mandatory requirements to add energy-efficient heating with other states likely to follow suit soon," he told Finder.
How this CEO, Ray Ellis made it through COVID-19
May 20, 2021, REB - realestatebusinessonline.com.au
Addressing network members at the network’s Canberra Convention 2021, First National Real Estate’s CEO said “when the tide goes out, you get to see who’s been swimming naked”.
Reflecting on how the real estate group made it through the period of uncertainty for the first time since the event, Mr Ellis said leadership is easy when the tide is high and all is going well.
Noting 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic as the exact opposite of going well, he took the time to laud the “talented” board of directors he said espouse “the strength of First National”.
“Leaders throughout Australia, our governments, businesses and personal lives each had their moment to either shine or be exposed,” he began.
“The best example of being exposed was Virgin Australia. The airline failed to address weaknesses in its balance sheet and strategy for several years. By April 2020, it was bankrupt.”
While acknowledging that certainty was taken away from the First National group last March, Mr Ellis said “what we needed was clarity, not certainty”.
“We had a plan: improve our members’ businesses, save the network and emerge stronger. There was no confusion,” he said.
Highlighting that he met with board members “virtually, daily”, the CEO said decisions were made quickly, without listening to noise or panic.
“That is what is called a moment of truth,” Mr Ellis considered, flagging that, together, the board and chief executive made a number of big calls early in the pandemic.
He outlined: “We committed our national performance manager, Ted Piteo, to Zoom meetings that focused on our individual members’ balance sheets and cash positions, to assure that clear decision-making was being made and government financial support was being accessed.”
Elsewhere, chief operations officer Ed Atkinson “was directed to assure the digital tools members needed to market our brand, products and services — without open homes — were being fully implemented”.
According to Mr Ellis, “this is where the network’s heavy investment over the five previous years succeeded brilliantly”.
At the same time, First National’s chief communications officer, Stewart Bunn, was tasked with “assuring members received detailed operational protocols and explanations of government policy in plain English”.
The CEO added that the team worked “hand in hand” with their business growth managers “24/7 to assure our members received information before anyone else in the industry”.
“Other networks were sharing our material — again, clarity over certainty,” reflected the CEO in front of the sold-out convention crowd.
Another measure used to combat the crisis was the targeting of a “business blitz” program.
Mr Ellis said this saw heavy investment into members’ businesses for upgrades around technology, shopfronts, marketing and advertising — of which 83 per cent of members participated within.
Continuing, the CEO expressed that COVID had “provided networks and agency owners many opportunities, which they were derelict in their duty as principals and professionals if they didn’t take”.
“The trauma of 2020 gave the opportunity to you, your business and your teams to rise and shine, and this was evident throughout most of our agencies throughout Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
“You navigated the financial distress caused for commercial and residential tenants, and this was under great duress as the Mandatory Code of Conduct was not regulated consistently across the states.”
Now, Mr Ellis believes it’s “not the time to lose concentration”.
He urged network members to take the time to “reset your business and prepare for the future”.
How to become a real estate ‘influencer’. Tips from Ray Ellis.
Read full article on realestate.com.au here
Ray Ellis, chief executive of First National, the third biggest real estate group in the Australia, says those interested in buying or selling should be looking to use these perhaps never-before-seen conditions to make their property dreams comes true.