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Central Market Watch Newsletter - June 2016

MARKET UPDATE

– ‘Clearly time to buy’ by Belinda Tonkin
– New Home Owner Incentives
– ’10 Essential Tips for First-Time Homebuyers’ by Belinda Tonkin
– Market Report Video by Sam Bennett

COMMUNITY
– An update on the Quiz Night raising funds for Total Recreation
– Upcoming Charity Fun Run – Surf 2 Turf, this Friday afternoon!

SOCIAL
Toni Kostas reports back on the sales agents recent trip to the AREC 2016 (real estate conference)

FINANCE
– How well do you budget by Loan Market


Market Update

CLEARLY TIME TO BUY

There is a lot of movement in the overall Darwin market for the $450k – $600k residential units & townhouses and we have also seen a lot more sales in Palmerston. Higher activity is evident at our open homes through the past few weeks with buyers pre-approved and ready to pounce once they find what they are looking for. This is a good sign of an improving market.

Looking at the below statistics shows me that the heat has come off Darwin and now is a great time to buy. There is some great stock in good suburbs with highly motivated vendors. If you have not already attended one of our Friendly Auctions, I’d strongly recommend that you come along and see why this process has been so successful.

Click here for more statistics and to download last quarters Relm Report by REINT.

Belinda Tonkin (BT)
Sales Professional


New Home Owner Incentives

If you’re a Territory homeowner-occupier you can now apply to receive a voucher of up to $2,000 towards minor improvements, repairs and upgrades to your home.

The voucher will be worth up to $2,000 excluding GST and can be used towards jobs of up to $20,000 excluding GST. You will still need to pay for at least half of the job. Up to 30% of the voucher value can be used towards goods and materials as part of the job.

So if the job is worth $1,000, you might be eligible for a voucher of up to $500 and must pay the remaining $500 yourself, plus GST. If the job is worth $5,000, you can get a voucher for a maximum of $2,000 and must pay the remaining $3,000 yourself, plus GST.

Examples of eligible small jobs might include electrical work, plumbing, tiling, roof repairs, landscaping or tree lopping, irrigation system upgrades, fencing, painting or plastering.

You must own a home in the Northern Territory and occupy that home to participate.

Make the most of the Home Improvement Scheme and use the Territory’s tradies and small businesses to make a big change to your home.

Go to the list of registered tradies and small businesses.


10 Essential Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

You’re tired of renting, you’ve got some cash saved up, and you’ve made up your mind: it’s time for you to become a homeowner. But where do you go from here?

Grab these top 10 tips….

1.    Know your financial boundaries (and stick to them)

It’s easy to start shopping before you even know how much you can borrow… but there are always going to be things that will affect your borrowing capacity if you’ve never spoken to someone before hand

2.    Go to a mortgage broker first

Don’t be afraid to talk to an expert, someone who knows ins and outs of all the banks and credit unions – you want the right deal that suits your personal needs and sometimes that doesn’t always mean the cheapest interest rate…

3.    Be obsessive about tracking your credit

Get online and check out Moneysoft or pocketbook…. Get to know you spending habits, then finally tune them.

4.    Don’t make any big purchases until you’ve closed the sale on your property

Once you’ve found your place and sign your contract. Don’t just run out and start shopping for new furniture. Start making a wish list and go back to your budget. See what you can really afford, don’t set yourself up for eating 2 min noodles from day one…

5.    Get organized. Like, REALLY organized

Have a check list so you keep on top of things, your lender, your conveyancer, current living arrangements and budget

6.    Get an inspection, but don’t ask for every little thing to be fixed before you move in

Just remember if your moving into a 10, 20 or 50 year old property there is always going to be some maintenance issues. The current vendors are not obligated to fix everything to bring the property up to new build quality. More than likely they bought it second hand too.

7.    Keep your debts in mind

So before making future choices always refer to your budget, keep in check credit cards and any interest free purchases that you may have made. Remember that smart people capitalize on “free” and big companies rely on not so smart people forgetting or falling short.

8.    If you’re buying a house with a partner, patience is key

Always keep an open mind and value each other’s opinion. If you both have a level of understanding each other’s needs and motives you’ll get there quicker…

9.    Know the neighbourhood inside and out

Do your research of the neighbourhood; look at the opportunities that might be coming up in the future such as new shopping centres, schools, land subdivisions, what’s the crime rate in that suburb, how many owner occupiers’ vs tenants in the area, etc.

10. Remember, you can do this!

Always have a positive frame of mind and believe that you will get there, give yourself a time frame around it. Otherwise you could still be looking in 12 months’ time…

Belinda Tonkin (BT)
Sales Professional

Sam talks about the First Home buyers new incentives, the NT Home Improvement Scheme vouchers and the latest statistics for the month.


Community

Last Thursday night Simon Watts organised a Quiz Night to help raise funds for Total Recreation.

The quiz night was a huge success with over 100 people attending with a whopping $9,700 being raised that evening!!

We would like to congratulate Mark Langelluddecke who was the winner of the raffle ($3,700 road bike) and we hope you enjoy your new ride!

Thank you to Andrew Lamberton who volunteered his time to host the quiz and thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the night such a success.

Click here to attend on the Facebook event!


Social

Hitting Darwin’s real estate scene for a six.

Last month, ten of the RE Central crew journeyed to the Gold Coast for the Australian Real Estate Conference. The keynote speaker was former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, who proved to be an inspirational and compelling presenter.

Attended by around 4000 agents, AREC 2016 also saw some of Australia and New Zealand’s highest ranking agents as speakers, imparting knowledge that the team at Central will find invaluable. First up though was motivational speaker Robin Banks, who spoke about the power of the mind and our ability to control our thoughts and actions each and every day.

The Central team are now energised and excited about the next period in Darwin’s ever-changing real estate landscape.

If you want a fresh approach to selling your property, the Central team are ready to achieve a fantastic result for you.

Toni Kostas
Sales Professional


Finance

When you’re paying off a mortgage, budgets matter. Knowing how much money is coming in and going out will not only help you manage your monthly repayments, it will also ease stress and give you confidence in your financial situation.

So what makes a good budget? Here are three tips to organise your finances.

Track what you spend

All those morning coffees add up over a year. Start taking note of what you spend on a daily basis. Download an app, start a spreadsheet or use a good old fashioned notebook. Whichever way suits you, keeping record of every cent you spend is the first step in creating an airtight budget.

You might be surprised to find money that can be saved (or redirected) when you see your daily spend written on paper. And the good news is that it’s not something you have to do forever. Tracking your expenses for a month or a fortnight is all it takes to see your spending habits.

Organise your expenses

You have more than mortgage payments each month. Take some time to organise your expenses. We all have regular payments – phone bills, water, electricity, gym fees, private health cover – the list goes on. When doing a budget you can plan for these bills and even put aside money for them.

Have a look at your bank statement and take note of the regular outgoings. When you’re going through this list of expenses, factor in special occasions too – birthdays, Christmas and planned holiday. Having a clear understanding of what payments are due now and what’s coming up will help bring your budget to life and make sure you still get to enjoy the special things.

Write it down

Budgeting isn’t about cutting your spending, it’s about identifying the areas that you want to spend and save money and making sure you stick to it – perhaps you want to pay off more of your home loan and spend less on other areas.

It’s important to actually write a budget – you’re much more likely to stick to something you can track. When you’re doing your budget. include both your expenses as well as a savings plan and make sure you revisit it regularly to make sure your budget is still working for you.


 

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Central Market Watch Newsletter - June 2016