good point skippy girl – sounds complicated doesnt it… but we have economists trying to predict, provide info on subjects much more complicated than the property market…

thats why these statisticians spend 4 years at university…

hehe

just to further my idea on getting a more uniform way of appraising the market this is what they should do

– standard house to work on
– pool of people representing agents, buyers, statisticians, property monitors etc to every month send in what they think is happening in a certain suburb.
– the pool should be a cross section of all interested parties and no loby group shld be stronger than the other.
– doesnt have to rely on sales figures alone
– can be based on a number of criteria such as sales, clearance rates, mortgage figures, building approvals etc etc.

its a tough one but there must be a better way…

hi kay – yep read abt boronia. all i can say is statistics and damned statistics. does anyone really blve this stuff..

there isnt a suburb in australia you would bet 100 bucks on the direction, in the next report produced by one of these infamous property monitors. seriously it is so heavily dependant on the sale of a few larger type properties or on the other side ‘no sale’ of a larger type properyt, that one really has no idea what is going on unless you are on the ground all the time…..

there should be a standard that all these guys work on ie

3 bedroom house, 700 sqm block, 2 bathrooms, 20 years old. now then what is this example house worth in any suburb at any one moment in time. that would then provide us with some sort of common ground with wch to evaluate!!

the outer eastern suburbs of melbourne have always had heaps of churches and bible colleges etc. this is important for many including the older generation who look toward community (lonliness) and god (for answers – because investing didnt quite cut it!!) so thats why i reckon there still good buys…

cheers

g’day – in the eastern suburbs i would stick with any of the suburbs along the belgrave/lilydale train line. from box hill all the way out to liliydale heaps of older type houses primed to be done up. prices have already surged in these areas but developers like you are buying up/doing up and subdividing all the way along. if you can move out a bit further places like baronia/bayswater etc you kind find older dwellings on huge blocks perfect for subdividing. the closer toward boxhill the smaller the blocks, the higher the value and the less liely you are to find a cheaper bargain.

i reckon over the next 10 years proximity to a train line, churches (eatsern suburbs is the melbourne bible belt croydon area) and hospitals (box hill, mitcham, maroondah) is the way to go for the type of thing yr looking for…

but then again its not new news, the small developers have been eating these areas up recently but still room to buy..

ps – 350-400 is entry level box hill through to mitcham

good posts guys. i would add that you only get one crack at this life and therefore why risk being anything else other than honest and righteous.

to me its about perspective. so if you think that making an ‘evil’ (hehe) type investment decision – will further your cause, then maybe you dont have a total grip on what makes you happy, and what success really means..

we spin a viscous web sometime also. for example it is my opinion that those of us who want nice thing ie like a porshe ot a big house etc really want respect, respect from others, status so we are listened too etc etc. but if we obtain that succees and status by being less than ethical then it is hollow.

all the people i know who drive porshes are balding middle aged men who use mens facial products. they dont look too happy to me…

aint to proud to bite…keep rockin..

jo – its the more than slightly belittling tone with wch its delivered. its the mark of a self made man and i recognize it in myself sometimes – but its an ugly mark

i think monoploy is right ‘whatever works for you’. i would also add it has a lot to do with timing!

there is a lot to be said for specialising even in investing. the idea that you should try and be equally proficient in many different investment types i think can be wrong.

its like business through the 80’s and 90’s. first it was about specialisation, then it moved to diversification, then cross polination, then now again back to core business. its like saying to mc donalads – ‘are you in BURGER business’ or ‘are you in BUSINESS’. Mc Donalds will infact tell you there main business is Property as they own more property than the catholic church.

so the answer to aceys question is that ‘it all depends’! no right or wrong answer.

if you diversified in the mid 90’s like i did – you, like me, wld be saying ‘why didnt i specialise in property only’!!! and the cycle continues and then goes the other way…

diversify, specialise, diversify, specialise….

do what works for you, stretch your boundaries, do what works for you, stretch your boundaries….

there is a time for everything!!

im tired – its friday!!![baaa]

interest rates up!