We’re back with Nicola McDougall and Kevin Turner as they discuss interesting stories in the real estate industry this week.
And since we missed you over the Easter break, we’re featuring some long articles and specials in the “Why Women Live Longer than Men” and “Building Stuffs Up” series!
Living above your station is something most people want to do, even though it’s not the wisest decision. But what if we take it literally? To improve commute speeds, 300,000 homes may be built above London’s railway tracks.
Clapham Junction, for example, remains a problem for the burgeoning population in Battersea and Wandsworth. It is the fourth busiest railway station in the UK and runs workers into London from Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, and even Milton Keynes.
A recent customer service survey gave damning results with reports of Clapham being too congested, with poor shopping options, and only one step-free entrance.
A new proposal by the collaborative efforts of Homes & Property, Hawkins\Brown, Mott MacDonald, and Laing O’Rourke, maps out a dramatic overhaul of the station that mirrors the success of King’s Cross. “One that could be enjoyed by local people and not act solely as a transit point for commuters.”
A recent report from engineers WSP also mentions that around 300,000 homes can be built above London’s railway tracks. “There are challenges, of course. The building of homes must interfere with signaling or site lines. There’s the issue of getting natural light into the railway station if you are building on top and around it.” Mott MacDonald’s Watkins says.
Our second story talks about the millennial bank for mums and dads. In nearly every media, millennials get a bad rap about their finances and mindsets in life. But these young adults stepped in when their parents faced money troubles.
32-year old Darcy’s* life changed when her father died of pancreatic cancer. Her mother had a traditional relationship with her father and thus, did not have a hand in managing their money. The parents managed to buy a house in the 1980s but they still had a large chunk of the mortgage to pay off.
Darcy teamed up with her siblings with a plan to help pay the mortgage. Selling the house and moving somewhere smaller or not helping their mother wasn’t an option for them.
Aged pension can be enough if a person lives in their own house, but it’s not enough if they’re paying rent.
Other stories include millennials teaching their parents how to budget and manage their finances and aiding with emergency expenses like house and vehicle repairs.
For our third story, we discuss the 8 year flood cycle. Luxury homes in Brisbane are on the upswing after 8 years of floods. Prices and interest in prestige properties have remained strong in recent months.
Brisbane River was subjected to terrible flooding in 2011, which caused widespread and devastating damage to the city’s property market. Prices dropped immediately, but the city has staged a slow and steady recovery.
Real estate agents report that they’re receiving multiple offers on prestige waterfront homes with prices around A$4 million to A$10 million. They remain cautiously optimistic however, citing that competition was what led to the price spike.
Experts say that there aren’t enough prestige and good quality homes for cashed-up buyers. “Quality sells,” Mr. Juresic of NGU Real Estate says, “...don’t bother putting your house on the market unless it’s in perfect condition because buyers in that price range don’t want to renovate or do anything to it. Make it perfect because you’ll get your money back or make dollar on top.”
“Brisbane is an extremely liveable city at the moment. It’s not a little village anymore,” Juresic adds.
Our fourth story deals with a viral video that we’re not sure was a mistake or a marketing masterstroke. We’re talking about the sexy video posted by LJ Hooker Bankstown to promote an upscale listing. The Sydney-based brokerage arranged for the production in a style resembling an R&B music video that featured a male and female model dancing and flirting with each other before disappearing in a bedroom.
Social media viewers are divided in opinion with some calling the video humorous, while others called it an embarrassment or a smear in the reputation of the brokerage industry. Some viewers also noted that the female model in the house was not the same one in wedding photos hung on a wall.
The video featuring the flirtatious couple had gone viral by the time LJ Hooker Bankstown removed it from the firm’s website.
The brokerage has then canceled the open house for the residence in light of the “unforeseen circumstances.”
For our last story this week, we discuss how Jenny Craig has shed dollars, not pounds as her California Home sheds another $7 million off its listing price.
“The beachfront home, located north of San Diego, has been listed twice before, according to public listing records. In 2014, Ms. Craig listed the home for $39.5 million and it was available for about 18 months. It returned to the market for the majority of 2017, asking $35 million. It's latest price decreased occurred earlier this week.
Inside the 7,625-square-foot oceanfront home are five bedrooms, six-and-a-half baths, and two guest units. The property, which sits on three-quarters of an acre of land, includes a private gated driveway, a four-car garage, a swimming pool, spa, and indoor-outdoor kitchen. Del Mar Beach is also steps away from the home’s back patio.”
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