If you’ve spent any time looking at property, chances are you’ve heard at least one of these sayings. The problem is that a catchy saying is no substitute for a sound property strategy.

A market that gives buyers more negotiating power can still produce a poor purchase. Especially when buyers confuse winning the property with buying it well.

For many Australians, saving a traditional 20% deposit has become one of the greatest barriers to home ownership. The Australian Government’s 5% Deposit Scheme can provide eligible first-home buyers with an opportunity to purchase sooner and avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The expanded scheme has no income caps, unlimited places and can be used to purchase an eligible house, townhouse or apartment, subject to the scheme requirements and applicable property price caps. For t

There are few expressions in real estate more powerful or more overused than off-market. Tell a buyer that a property is available online and they will calmly scroll through the photographs. Tell them it is an “exclusive off-market opportunity” and suddenly the same property feels rare, urgent and possibly too good to miss. But let’s clear something up: Off-market does not mean undervalued. It does not mean undiscovered. And it certainly does not mean it is a better property.

A buyer’s agent is not simply being paid to find a property. They are being trusted to protect a client from buying the wrong one, in the wrong location, at the wrong price.

Victoria's latest property reform might be one of the biggest examples of fixing something that wasn't broken.

Negotiating the purchase of a property isn't about making the lowest offer. It's about understanding the game you're actually playing.

Buying your first home is exciting. It is also a strange period in your life when you suddenly find yourself Googling things like: “What is conveyancing?”“ Do I really need a building inspection?” “Why does the bank think I spend $900 a month on takeaway?” "And what on earth is LMI?” The good news is that you do not need to become a property lawyer, mortgage broker, building inspector and professional auction bidder overnight. You simply need the right advice, in the right or

Apparently, all the doom and gloom forgot to check the actual data. If you have followed the recent headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking Melbourne had packed up its coffee machine, cancelled the footy and quietly closed for business. Government announcements, changing property policies, higher costs and relentless negative commentary have painted a fairly gloomy picture of Victoria. There is just one small problem. Melbourne has officially been ranked the third most

Over the past several years, Melbourne has been the underperformer amongst Australia's major capital cities. Whilst Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth experienced extraordinary growth following the pandemic, Melbourne has faced a combination of higher interest rates, increased land taxes, investor uncertainty and softer buyer sentiment. The question many investors are now asking is simple: Has Melbourne reached the bottom of the property cycle? The reality is that nobody can identi

The smartest investors don't follow the crowd. They follow the fundamentals. Since the Federal Budget announcement proposing changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, there has been no shortage of headlines predicting the end of property investing as we know it. At The Property Effect, we see it differently. Property investing isn't dead in Victoria. In fact, for strategic investors, this may be one of the most significant opportunities we've seen in years. The key i

Buying your first home used to be simple. Our parents bought homes in the 80’s and 90’s with a handshake, a local bank manager and often one income supporting the household. Back then, house prices were far more closely aligned with wages. Today, the average Australian home is now sitting at around 8 times the average household income, with property prices continuing to outpace wage growth year after year. (cdn.finder.com.au) Fast forward to today and the property landscape h