Cunninghams Property Update

Rain, rain go away. Come again preferably not tomorrow or the next day and give us a bit of respite! Last week of Autumn and we’re sick of Winter before it’s even here. Let’s hope for some sunshine soon. It doesn’t feel like we’ll ever get to that, given the grey skies that have been hanging around recently.

We have 28 properties open this weekend, including 4 Old Sydney Road in Seaforth. Without a doubt this property would boast one of the most beautiful views on the Northern Beaches – see if you agree. Andrew Lutze of Cunninghams Marketingis the agent marketing this property.

Let’s hope we get better weather for the annaul Manly Food and wine Festival (5th and 6th of June)  .Rather have it now instead of next weekend This is the 24th of these festivals – an institution in the area and very much an event on the locals calendar each year!

Have a great week!

Hopefully we’ll see you on the weekend!

How good is the weather – everyone loves the onset of Autumn.  Each year we seem to forget how wonderful the cooler evenings, crisp morning and clear, sunny days are!  It’s perfect.

 We had perfect conditions for a  great auction on the weekend.  Beautiful property, spirited bidding, lovely sunny morning.  Great circumstances all round – it’s a great time of year to be looking – almost a carnival atmosphere.   Enjoy this time of year before Winter sets in – again it’s always a surprise when it arrives.

Hope you can get out to the many community based Anzac services over the weekend – Manly Council has details on their website if required.  It’s an important day and we should all get involved. 

Have a great week

Last weekend brought us to our last official weekend of Summer – bring on the cooler weather we say!  Or maybe we could just lose the muggy days and nights.    Although it was disappointing having to hop out of the water on Sunday and not being able to enjoy a swim.  Better to be safe than worry we say.

In real estate, the last weekend of Summer used to be fairly significant in terms of a busy spring and summer – especially after a break at Christmas – this time of year was almost a final dash.  It’s a bit like the first weekend of Spring – it’s really just another busy weekend for us.  Over the past couple of weeks, we had an average of sixteen parties through each of our open for inspections.  And, with better technology and smarter methods of marketing, there’s something happening in the market every day of every week.   

The interest rate rise yesterday was fairly expected and with mortgages in this area above the average mortgage it will make a bit of a differenct to everyone’s pocket.  But it does have a flipside bringing some stability to the market which I think we’d all like to see.   

Speaking of markets and activities that are on – there’s some great community events going on – do you get down to the Manly West Organic Markets each Saturday?  Or maybe you prefer the Manly Farmers Markets – held down at Short Street Plaza each weekend.  Manly Council has also been running the fantastic Saturdays at Sunset – last one this weekend.   At Cunninghams, we love these sorts of events and organisations – they have a great energy about them and make this community such a pleasure to be involved in.

This is our last blog communication for the year – can you believe how quickly the year has gone? It was an interesting year to say the least, and not as dire as many predicted, particularly on the economic front.

We hope that everyone enjoys the festive season and manages to take some well deserved time out. It’s shaping up to be a very hot summer judging by our recent weeks, so take care in the surf and don’t get sunburnt on the beach! Our volunteers up and down the coast and in the bush do such a good job keeping us safe – take care of them too! Christmas can be a great time for most of us, but it can be stressful so do take the time to enjoy it and make the most of it.

It’s been a great year for Cunninghams, we have thoroughly enjoyed our interactions with buyers and sellers of properties, investors and tenants. We continue to grow – we’ve had record months this year, it’s been wonderful to reach these levels in an industry that all of us at Cunninghams are so passionate about. So thank you!

We’ve got plenty of stock ready to come onto the market in January – we can’t wait for the year ahead.

Have a great Christmas and all the very best for the New Year. Stay well and happy.

Wow, how brilliant a location is the Northern Beaches of Sydney? 15 magnificent ocean beaches to enjoy surfing and nippers with your family, 15 beautiful harbour beaches to swim, snorkel or just people-watch and 15 minutes to the city on a fast ferry (well don’t get me on a technicality!) We’re always amazed at what we have on offer here, Sydney is a unique global city in this regard and we have all of this and a national park right on our doorstep.

Take the plunge and secure your own slice of paradise – now is the time to commit. We have sold 35 properties in the past 5 weeks but we still have 20 open for viewing this weekend and 5 new listings in the wind. The festive season is upon us so act soon before the market quietens down and you could still be in before Christmas. There’s still time to enjoy your summer and all the great things on offer on your doorstep

With the outcome of yesterday’s official ’shocking’ interest rate rise – sorry we’re getting Melbourne Cup winners and our finances mixed up – who was surprised?  We weren’t and we suspect most probably weren’t.  Everyone has a view on how this will impact property and prices and number of buyers in the market – but the flip side of such a rate rise is a good indication that the economy is well and truly on the mend.  Business is doing well and people have jobs – a much better position all round than was predicted same time last year.

 Here at Cunninghams Property we set ourselves what we thought was a fairly formidable goal – 30 properties in 30 days.  We finished the month with 32 sales making October our most successful month on record.  Interestingly, our average sale price is now just below $1 million dollars, considerably lower than in the July/August time frame.  This might surprise some but we see this as good news – it’s a strong reflection of a stable market – for buyers and sellers alike where a good mix of properties are being sold across all price ranges instead of an abundance of first home buyer units as it was in the first quarter of the year (where the average was a low of $750,000) or as it was in July when an abundance of significant family homes were sold.

 In the local press last week there were some comparisons of the median prices of some suburbs – with some considerable differences and seemingly alarming ‘drops’ in some suburbs.  This information was based on the Australian Property Monitor quarterly house price series report.  Having been firmly established in the area for over 18 years, we’re always wary of marking short term comparisons of results and sales prices as this doesn’t give a true indication of the market.  This sort of information can leave both buyers and sellers confused and uncertain.   Whether you are a buyer or seller in today’s market, be cognizant of the broader picture and other factors at work.  Median prices regularly rise and fall however the real picture shows a rationale behind every set of figures.

 Earlier this year, the first home buyers market was totally dominant and in the months following there was a strong flow on effect to 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th tier buyers and then months where there was a shortage of stock for 1^st home buyers.  When studying quarterly data in isolation, the bigger picture is missing.  At Cunninghams, we’re thrilled with our results for this month and the momentum we have achieved this year.  Our results are up by more than 40% on the same time last year and our median price has risen by approximately 10%.  Activity is up, the economy is on the up (unfortunately so are interest rates) and the market is balanced.  Ride out the bumps and look at the bigger picture – we have done this for a long time and haven’t been proven wrong yet.

Cunninghams Property are  proud to announce our sponsorship of the Manly Festival of Surfing. 

This event to run in the first week of November will feature a vast array of surfing events.   If you are intersted in this event you will find full details here. 

Our very own World Tour Champion Surfer Kingsley Looker will feature in the Legends of Surfing exhibition on the Sunday so get down to the beach and cheer him on.  

Cunninghams Property welcomes the opportunity to be involved in our local Northern Beaches community. 

Manly Festival of Surfing

We could all do with a mini holiday, so here is your chance to win an indulgent escape to the newly renovated Crowne Plaza Terrigal.

All you have to do is click the link below and vote for your favourite real estate agency, Cunninghams Property, it takes around 2 minutes of your precious time and automatically puts you into the draw to win this escape.

http://www.businessachieverawards.com.au/Vote/tabid/69/Default.aspx

The Manly Daily 2009 Business Achiever Awards.

Tune in to this ABC News Radio podcast interview after John Cunninghams own experience in sleeping out rough as part of the 2009 CEO sleepout http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/newsradio/audio/20090619-sleepout.mp3

The event has grown from 28 participants last year to 220 this year and has raised over $560,000 for The St Vincent de Paul Society to assist with it’s homeless program. 

Imagine next year if we can multiply it 10 fold again with over 2,000 participants and 10 fold the result. it is possible and just needs engagement from all the business community in sydney and across Australia.