Mark Bowis | FY14/15 Property Report

FY14/15 PROPERTY REPORT BIRCHGROVE | BALMAIN | BALMAIN EAST MARK BOWIS

Mark Bowis Our local market has shown incredible growth across all price points over the last financial year, with buyers taking advantage of record low interest rates and using this opportunity to upgrade their homes.

These bullish market conditions are the strongest we have seen for over a decade. Key drivers are low stock levels, low interest rates and increased demand for property around the Balmain Peninsula, with buyers wanting to live close to the city, whilst still being able to enjoy a village atmosphere.

We have seen healthy activity in the local prestige market, with an increased demand for prestige and waterfront properties on the Peninsula. In the last 12 months, there has been 28 properties sold over $3M, with McGrath Balmain responsible for 13 of those sales.

On a personal note, I am proud to say that my team and I achieved the highest house sale on the Peninsula for a property that went to market, with 5 Simmons Street, Balmain East selling for $6,560,000 in November 2014. This sale was only surpassed with an off market sale of 7 Gallimore Avenue, selling for $11,800,000 with an out of area agent.

When considering suburb price growth over the last year, it needs to be noted that these figures are influenced by not only the number of sales compared with the previous year, but also the frequency of high end sales and some prices remaining confidential. Balmain East led the way with 32.28% growth, whilst Balmain had 20.05% and Birchgrove 1.87%.

If you have any questions regarding this report or if you are considering your property options, please do not hesitate to call me on the details below.

Mark Bowis D 9556 9917 M 0415 681 628 E MarkBowis@mcgrath.com.au

Autumn Market Review It’s been another spectacular year of growth in Sydney with property price gains of 16.2% for FY15 – slightly higher than the 15.4% increase of FY14. Most of us expected price growth to begin moderating from January this year following a flood of stock that came onto the market in November 2014, which did affect prices in the short term. But no! Two interest rate cuts have prolonged Sydney’s boom with a strong 9.1% lift in prices over the first six months of the year alone (CoreLogic RP Data).

Where to from here? Affordability is really starting to bite and a lack of stock is pumping up competition – and therefore prices, on good quality homes for sale in good locations. Right now, the lack of stock is being caused by sellers holding off til Spring. They know they could get a fantastic price right now but they’re concerned about being able to buy back in with so few homes available for sale. Hopefully Spring will break the cycle and we’ll see more trading. Bring on FY16.

John McGrath CEO McGrath Estate Agents

Top 15 Birchgrove Sales - FY14/15 Address

Bed

Bath

Car

Sold

Land Size

Sale price

1

82 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

5

3

2

Sep 14

516sqm

$5,600,000

2

1/36 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

4

4

4

Mar 15

561sqm*

Confidential

3

106 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

3

2

1

Dec 14

253sqm

$4,000,000

4

116 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

3

2

-

Nov 14

199sqm

$3,760,000

5

4/36 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

4

3

3

Nov 14

325sqm*

$3,600,000

6

12 River Street, Birchgrove

5

3

1

Feb 15

266sqm

$3,575,000

7

3 Water Street, Birchgrove

5

3

2

Dec 14

366sqm*

$3,500,000

8

118 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

3

1

-

Mar 15

259sqm

$3,276,000

9

23 Dock Road, Birchgrove

3

3

1

Mar 15

171sqm

$2,940,000

10

47 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

4

2

-

Jul 14

252sqm

$2,790,000

11

6 The Terrace, Birchgrove

4

2

-

Jan 15

190sqm

$2,650,000

12

16-18 Wharf Road, Birchgrove

3

3

2

May 15

247sqm

$2,650,000

13

56 Church Street, Birchgrove

5

2

1

Sep 14

251sqm

$2,550,000

14

40 Wharf Road, Birchgrove

3

2

2

Mar 15

198sqm

$2,490,000

15

23 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

4

3

1

Oct 14

304sqm

Confidential

*total area on title

Activity Summary Highest Price**

Lowest Price

Number Sold

Average

% change on average sale price since FY 13/14

Houses

$5,600,000

$960,000

41

$2,071,600

+1.87%

Apartments/Townhouses

$3,600,000

$332,500

30

$1,391,217

+18.05%

Notes: This information is being provided by RP Data and Australian Property Monitors based on exchanged sales. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Parties should rely on their own enquiries and McGrath will not be liable for errors or admissions herein. **Not including confidential sale prices

5 Thomas Street, Birchgrove

118 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

4/36 Louisa Road, Birchgrove

6 Grove Street, Birchgrove

Top 15 Balmain Sales - FY14/15 Address

Bed

Bath

Car

Sold

Land Size

Sale price

1

22 White Street, Balmain

3

2

2

Jun 15

798sqm

Confidential

2

61 Glassop Street, Balmain

5

3

1

Nov 14

464sqm

$4,175,000

3

5 Tilba Avenue, Balmain

-

-

-

Jun 15

740sqm

$4,000,000

4

2 Wallace Street, Balmain

4

2

1

Jul 14

946sqm

Confidential

5

93 Elliott Street, Balmain

5

4

3

Aug 14

382sqm

$3,776,000

6

75 Smith Street, Balmain

8

8

-

Oct 14

715sqm

Confidential

7

5 Booth Street, Balmain

5

2

3

Nov 14

503sqm

$3,500,000

8

13 Jane Street, Balmain

4

2

-

Feb 15

556sqm

$3,500,000

9

26 Terry Street, Balmain

5

3

2

Oct 14

348sqm

$3,300,000

10

465 Darling Street, Balmain

4

2

2

May 15

254sqm

$3,275,000

11

5 Addison Street, Balmain

5

2

1

Nov 14

300sqm

$3,250,000

12

19 Mullens Street, Balmain

5

4

3

Apr 15

382sqm

$3,000,000

13

28 Terry Street, Balmain

4

3

2

Dec 14

360sqm

$2,950,000

14

15 Turner Street, Balmain

4

2

2

Jan 15

349sqm

$2,800,000

15

26 Llewellyn Street, Balmain

4

2

2

Feb 15

259sqm

$2,750,000

Activity Summary Highest Price*

Lowest Price

Number Sold

Average

% change on average sale price since FY 13/14

Houses

$4,175,000

$851,000

161

$1,793,781

+20.05%

Apartments/Townhouses

$2,675,000

$398,286

67

$912,501

+4.18%

Notes: This information is being provided by RP Data and Australian Property Monitors based on exchanged sales. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Parties should rely on their own enquiries and McGrath will not be liable for errors or admissions herein. *Not including confidential sale prices

24 High Street, Balmain

37 Montague Street, Balmain

54 Beattie Street, Balmain

2 Wallace Street, Balmain

Top 15 Balmain East Sales - FY14/15 Address

Bed

Bath

Car

Sold

Land Size

Sale price

1

7 Gallimore Avenue, Balmain East

4

3

6

Nov 14

955sqm

$11,800,000

2

5 Simmons Street, Balmain East

4

2

2

Nov 14

607sqm

$6,560,000

3

40 Nicholson Street, Balmain East

5

3

2

May 15

456sqm

$4,700,000

4

16 William Street, Balmain East

4

3

2

Dec 14

369sqm

$4,611,000

5

13 Gilchrist Place, Balmain East

3

2

1

Nov 14

305sqm

$4,030,000

6

33 Duke Street, Balmain East

4

2

2

Mar 15

524sqm

$3,650,000

7

7A Duke Place, Balmain East

4

3

2

Feb 15

310sqm

$3,400,000

8

7B Duke Place, Balmain East

4

3

2

Sep 14

310sqm

Confidential

9

17 Duke Street, Balmain East

5

3

2

Jun 15

253sqm

$3,340,000

10

3 Stack Street, Balmain East

4

4

2

Mar 15

297sqm

$3,275,000

11

8 Stack Street, Balmain East

4

2

2

Jul 14

300sqm

$3,120,000

12

100 Darling Street, Balmain East

4

3

2

May 15

352sqm

$2,800,000

13

3 James Lane, Balmain East

2

1

-

Sep 14

450sqm

$2,680,000

14

11 Hosking Street, Balmain East

3

2

2

Jun 15

142sqm

$2,650,000

15

20 Paul Street, Balmain East

4

2

1

May 15

228sqm

$2,600,000

Activity Summary Highest Price

Lowest Price

Number Sold

Average

% change on average sale price since FY 13/14

Houses

$11,800,000

$939,000

29

$2,722,911

+32.28%

Apartments/Townhouses

$1,520,000

$420,000

24

$960,875

+4.81%

Notes: This information is being provided by RP Data and Australian Property Monitors based on exchanged sales. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Parties should rely on their own enquiries and McGrath will not be liable for errors or admissions herein.

5 Simmons Street, Balmain East

17 Duke Street, Balmain East

127 Darling Street, Balmain East

16 Paul Street, Balmain East

Where do the buyers come from?

2041 postcode North Shore Inner West Western Suburbs 3%

Northern Suburbs

3%

2%

4%

East/City 5%

Interstate/Regional Overseas Northern Beaches

6%

48%

13%

16%

What our clients say “Mark successfully sold our apartment in Birchgrove in February 2015. Before appointing Mark, we had previous listed our property with another agent and had a failed campaign. When Mark came on board we immediately noticed a difference between him, our previous agent, and every other agent we had interviewed. Mark came to us with a comprehensive sales plan. He was strategic in his approach, intent on minimising any damage done by the previous agent and maximising our sales price. This meticulous approach was typical of Mark’s work throughout the campaign. We found to be highly reliable, professional and thorough. Working with Mark we found that everything was done when he said it would be and to the highest standard. This allowed us to relax while Mark sold our property.”

Phillip and DT – Water Street, Birchgrove “I recently engaged Mark to perform an off market sale of our rental property in Birchgrove. From the initial meeting, right up until contracts were signed and exchanged Mark was the ultimate professional and most importantly kept us informed every step of the way. The challenges we thought we may face with access and managing the tenant were all taken care of seamlessly by Mark and his team. Having Eliza part of that team helped tremendously getting clients to the open houses and following up with further enquiries. Mark’s attention to detail and calm nature made the whole experience stress free. We are extremely happy with the result he achieved for us and I would not hesitate to recommend or use Mark for a sale that you may be considering either now or in the future.”

Trent and Phyllis – Grove Street, Birchgrove “We recently sold our house then bought another with Mark Bowis’ help. My husband and I were very impressed by how hard working Mark was and his attention to detail. Mark was always prepared with his research and his manner was friendly, approachable and professional. He worked very hard to get us the best price for the sale of our house. Mark maintained frequent contact with us to give us regular updates. He was able to give us sound advice without taking the final decisions away from us. He seemed to know the potential buyers well and this enabled us to decide on a strategy that gained us a great price for our house. Mark and his assistant Eliza, organised the makeover of our house. The tradesmen they organised were very competent and easy to deal with. We were very happy with the results of the new paint, carpet, garden and styling. We also dealt with Mark as potential buyers. We missed out on the first property. Mark contacted us overseas to alert us to the second property as he thought this suited us.

We loved the house and bought it that week. Thanks Mark!”

Justine and Andrew – Montague Street, Balmain “We need hardly say how delighted we are with the outcome of the auction on Saturday. We know that this is due to your hard work and professionalism, and your good advice which proved to be spot-on throughout the entire process. We especially appreciate that you were frank and up-front with us and kept us informed all the way along. You put your heart into the campaign and we could not have asked for more. We’d have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone.”

Verona and Ian – Balmain Road, Leichhardt

Mark Bowis D 9556 9917 M 0415 681 628 E MarkBowis@mcgrath.com.au

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