Frank Raiti - Property Buyer's Agent

17/08/2025

A young family paid $1,454,000 for a pretty period home in Essendon during a hard-fought auction on Saturday that rose about $200,000 above the reserve.

Three owner-occupiers competed for the four-bedroom house at 8 Spencer Street in front of a crowd of more than 30.

The freestanding, single-fronted Victorian home came with a bonus studio and was listed with a price guide of $1.15 million to $1.25 million. The reserve was at the top of the range.

Records show the home last traded in 2018 for $1.18 million.

“The market’s really strong … With the rate drop, our firm sold probably around eight properties in the past week so we’re seeing pent-up demand. Melbourne’s coming back,” the Agent said.

16/08/2025

16/08/2025

Melbourne is “tremendously undervalued” and overdue for a boom, with new research showing which suburbs could be set for some of the biggest jumps.

Experts are tipping this year’s third Reserve Bank rate cut could finally be the one to turn the city’s housing fortunes around.

The analysis from SuburbData tracked demand-to-supply ratios, price gaps with neighbouring suburbs, as well as the difference between house and unit prices to pinpoint postcodes primed for the next growth spurt.

St Kilda East leads the pack, with typical house values a staggering $348,000 cheaper than nearby bayside postcodes.

Noble Park and Doreen are also trading at steep discounts compared to their neighbours, despite strong transport, shopping and schooling options.

SuburbData director Jeremy Sheppard said knowing where value lay in Melbourne’s market was critical.

16/08/2025

A young family with kids from Yowie Bay paid $3.3 million at auction on Saturday for a tri-level home in the suburb, in what was described as a “marathon auction”.

The six-bedroom property with panoramic water views at 244 Attunga Road had no guide, but Ray White Sutherland Shire’s Matt Debreczeni received buyer feedback of “mid to high $2 millions” during the campaign. The reserve was $3 million.

The double-brick home has a dedicated games room with a built-in bar, kitchenette and full bathroom, that leads out to a poolside retreat.

There were four registered bidders and all took part. Bidding was slow to start with an eventual offer of $2.5 million. Bids rose in increments of $50,000 and $25,000 until $2.9 million, and then varied with bids as tight as $1000.

Auctioneer David McMahon described it as a “marathon auction with 141 bids in total.”

15/08/2025

Pressure on first home buyers heightens as investors target lower-priced homes and more affordable regions.

Property investors borrowed a record sum, nearly $130bn, to buy homes over the year to June, supported by interest rate cuts but squeezing out first-time buyers.

Banks made almost 200,000 new loans to landlords over the year, the most since 2022, while the number of new first-home mortgages slipped to 116,000.

Cameron Kusher, an independent property expert, said falling interest rates have made borrowing easier for mortgage-holding homeowners and investors than for first home buyers.

Accelerating increases in property values and expectations for more interest rate cuts have led to growing number of analysts hike their price predictions, with ANZ in August calling a 5% rise nationwide in 2025 and nearly 6% in 2026.

14/08/2025

There's even more good news for mortgage holders after a new report revealed resale profits for houses are the highest they've been in almost 20 years.

14/08/2025

The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 3.6 per cent, after July's shock 'on hold' decision.

Betashares Chief Economist David Bassanese analyses the data and predicts the next rate cut will likely be in November as the Reserve Bank will wait to see if quarterly inflation rates fall.

14/08/2025

ANZ Bank has upgraded its forecast for Aussie home prices, tipping capital city values to rise even higher next year as interest rate cuts boost borrowing power.

ANZ Research now expects capital city prices to rise 5 per cent by the end of this year and a further 5.8 per cent — culminating in a near 11 per cent jump in by the end of 2026.

The bank expects the RBA to cut rates by another 25 basis in November, which should support prices further — particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

Lack of supply remains a major factor supporting projected home price growth.

But the ANZ Research team also believes affordability constraints will prevent a sharp upswing in price growth.

12/08/2025

CBA, ANZ, NAB, Westpac — all four major Australian banks have fully passed on today’s 25 basis point (0.25%) cut to their standard variable home loan rates. The RBA reduced the cash rate from 3.85% to 3.60%.

CBA and ANZ: Home loan rate reductions effective from August 22, 2025.

NAB: Effective from August 25, 2025.

Westpac: Effective from August 26, 2025.

Macquarie Bank has also confirmed it will pass on the cut to its variable home loan customers.

12/08/2025

As expected! 😀