There has been a great deal of commentary in the media about the so called end of the resources boom. Like many people living in the suburbs of Perth, you may be asking the question, “What boom?” It is true that anyone directly associated with the mining and oil and gas industries has done very… Read More

Last Saturday August 11 2012 marked the 26th anniversary of my entry into the real estate industry. I commenced my real estate career with Roy Weston Real Estate in Duncraig WA under the excellent tutelage of John Arthur. Prior to that the first 16 years of my working life were spent in the mining towns… Read More

This is a question I often get asked in my capacity as a real estate agent. The answer is, “It all depends.” There are a number of things to be considered before selling a property. The first question I ask of people thinking of selling is, “Why do you want to sell?” Sometimes selling a… Read More

I read an article in a real estate business magazine the other day where the author suggested that sellers should be paying more money to agents to market their properties. Vendor Paid Advertising (VPA) has been around for a while but it is something I, as a practising real estate agent for the past 26… Read More

I recently went on a bit of a buying spree and purchased 5 electrical items valued from $79 for a heater to $485 for a juicer. As you’d expect all of the appliances came with a written guarantee. Would you buy an electrical appliance or a car or most other things without some form of… Read More

This week we have invited respected investment advisor Philip Carman to share his thoughts on how professional fund managers earn their daily crust. It is an interesting perspective but nonetheless something to take into consideration if you are looking to have your superannuation managed by the big fund managers. Philip Carman: Not that share markets… Read More

I recently attended a seminar where celebrity economic futurist, Harry S Dent, was speaking live via video link from Florida in the US. Harry was confidently predicting the second phase of the GFC, which he said would be worse than phase one. We’ve all heard about the tragedy which is Greece, where no one pays… Read More

The term ‘negative gearing’ is almost synonymous with property ownershop in Australia. Australia is one of the few places in the world where people deliberately buy property with the intention of losing money. Lose money on property???? …. Never!!! Yes, to negatively gear a property is to lose money on the difference between the rental… Read More

There are a number of gloom and doom merchants out there, some from the other side of the world, peddling the line that Australian house prices are overvalued by 40% to 60%. It is true that property prices in WA were over valued following the boom of 2006, when the median price increased by 42%… Read More

Often the question in any seller’s mind is whether to use the local agent or to use someone they know and trust and who has the experience but is not local. There are aguments for and against. From a personal point of view as a practicing real estate agent with over 25 years experience and… Read More

The question many people are asking me as we return from holidays and the Christmas break is “What will real estate do in 2012?” It’s a fair enough question following the depressed market of the past two years. In fact the Perth property market has been trending down since the peak of the boom in… Read More

As 2011 draws to a close we can reflect on what has arguably been the worst year for Perth property prices and the number of transactions for over 25 years. The Real Estate Institute of Australia in it’s latest “Market Facts” reports that house prices in Perth declined by 6.3% over the September quarter, to… Read More

I was reading the Australian Financial Review the other day (29/11/11) and came across a story by economics correspondent Michael Dwyer. He begins with this, ‘Resilient as Australia is, there might be no escaping at least some of the backwash of the economic tsunami now threatening the entire euro zone”. Whilst the euro plays a… Read More

I’m sure everyone recognises this famous equation Einstein used to represent the Theory of Relativity. The question is how many people actually understand it and can explain it? Well, I for one certainly can’t but what I’ve done is come up with my own theory of relativity aptly named “Bernie’s Theory of Relativity”. Here’s how… Read More

Today I’m referring you to a recent report by consumer group ‘Choice’ about how much influence the real estate industry has over newspaper editorial content. You will find a link to the report at the end of this blog if you would like to read it. Essentially Choice is saying that the real estate industry,… Read More

Follow @bkroczek I saw a video recently where a real estate agent was suggesting that agents who do NOT charge sellers for marketing their property, were not acting in the seller’s best interest. I found this to be an interesting and different perspective on this rather vexed question of Vendor Paid Advertising or VPA. It… Read More

Follow @bkroczek I saw an article on a News Ltd website recently about what was referred to as “real estate agents latest tricks”. Some real estate agents in Sydney are using computer software to enhance photographs of properties, which are being marketed for sale on the internet. You know how it works, making a less… Read More

Follow @bkroczek You quite often see properties advertised for sale with no price. For example, headlines starting with the property suburb and then “OFFERS!” If you were in the market to buy something in this particular suburb what would your initial reaction be on seeing a property advertised without a price? Mine would be that… Read More