Coochie Hydrogreen are your lawn care specialists. They provide professional horticultural lawn care products and services designed specifically for turf & lawn maintenance.  Their attention to detail, commitment to ongoing customer service & quality control standards are the very foundations that have seen their business grow.

Simon Beck, Principal of Tweed Heads Real Estate, first met Greg from Coochie Hydrogreen approximately 5 years ago & believes the services they provide are great for potential sellers, or anyone wishing to enhance their property.

For more information on Simon Beck of Tweed Heads Real Estate & Coochie Hydrgreen, simply click on the link below:

Simon Beck of Tweed Heads Real Estate comments on Coochie Hydrogreen

International Property click here

More information click here  

UK’s housing mix is not what the UK wants

The UK is simply not providing the homes people want, according to new research from property website, propertyfinder.com. The website analysed the mix of housing in the UK and then asked people looking to move how many bedrooms they hoped to have in their new home. The survey results show a startling mismatch between the homes that exist and the homes that people actually want to live in.

UK housing stock v homebuyers’ aspirations and the resulting excess or shortage of homes on an annual basis

Annual oversupply of smaller homes

41% of the UK’s housing stock has two bedrooms, yet only 21% of homehunters are looking for a property of that size. In an average year, 240,000 homebuyers are forced to buy two bedroom homes when they would like something larger or smaller. Only 3% of homebuyers are looking for one bedroom homes, but because 9% of the housing stock has 1 bedroom, 76,000 are forced to buy a home of that size instead of a larger property.

Annual shortage of larger homes

By contrast, 30% of homes in the UK have three bedrooms, and yet 40% of respondents to the survey want to move to a three bedroom home. This means there is an annual shortage of 125,000 three bedroom homes on the market.

Those wanting a four bedroom home are even worse off. Less than a tenth of the UK stock has four bedrooms, while over a quarter of homebuyers would like to buy such a home, bringing an annual shortfall of 224,000 four bedroom homes changing hands.

In total this means that around one quarter of average annual home purchases are of homes that do not exactly match the buyers’ requirements.

Oversupply of very large homes

Not all of those wanting 4 bedroom homes are forced to trade down. The research also revealed a surplus of 5 bedroom homes among the UK’s housing stock. A significant minority (8.5%) of those ideally wanting 4 bedrooms are buying homes with 5 bedrooms or more instead.

If the homes that buyers say they want actually existed, there would be 4.3m fewer two bed homes in the UK, 4m more 4 bed homes and 2.3m more three bed homes.

Availability, not affordability is the key

Although affordability will always be a constraint on people’s expectations, affordability is a simple function of supply. This is proved by the fact that there is a large oversupply of two bedroom flats, many of which are lying empty and unsold. As a result, prices of these homes have been falling in recent months. The lack of availability of larger homes has in turn affected their affordability as excess demand and insufficient supply has increased the gap between the price of a two-bed and a three bed home. On average the price increment up to a three bedroom home is an additional £49,800.

Jim Buckle, Managing director of propertyfinder.com commented:

“Of course there is an element of wishful thinking in buyers’ aspirations. Many people set out looking for a larger home before realising that it is outside their budget and have to settle for something smaller. But this affordability gap is a determined by the availability problems.

“All other things being equal, three bedroom and particularly four bedroom properties should perform better in price terms than their smaller counterparts as long as the relative oversupply of two bedroom properties persists.

“There is also a small oversupply of very large homes with five bedrooms or more. To a large extent this reflects historic patterns of larger families and lower levels of divorce. Today’s smaller, more fragmented families have led demand to shift towards medium-sized homes.”

New Zealand Real Estate

Looking to purchase property in New Zealand or maybe you are looking to sell your property in New Zealand. Click on the link above for information on buying or selling in New Zealand.

Asking Price:  The listed price of a property.  The owner may be willing to negotiate so may not be the selling price.

Assessed Value:  The valuation placed on the property.

Auction:  Real estate that is sold to the highest bidder.

Body Corporate:  The administrative body made of the owners of a group of units or apartments of a strata building.

Bridging Loan:  A short term loan used to cover the financial gap between buying and selling.

Building Inspection:  A thorough inspection by a licensed builder that evaluates the structural and mechanical condition of the property.

Buyers Market:  When the demand for property is less than the supply of property the advantage shifts to the buyer.

Caveat:  A warning on the title that a third party may have an interest in the property.

Certificate of Title:  A description of a property that includes the name of the registered owner and any encumbrances such as mortgages and easesments.  Included in the contract of sale prepared by the solicitor.

Commission:  A proportion of the sale price (generally a percentage) of a property paid to real estate agent for negotiating the sale.

Contract of Sale:  An agreement in writing that details the terms and conditions in regards to the sale or purchase of a property.

Cooling off Period:  A period of five clear business days after the contract is signed during which the purchaser may elect to withdraw from the contract, providing they are not excluded under Section 31(5) of the Sale of Land Act.

Convenant:  Terms, conditions and restrictions noted on the title.

Deposit:  A percentage of the purchase price given at the time of exchange to bind the sale.

Easement:  A right that someone has to use the land that belongs to another.  An example is a water authority having a sewerage easement.

Exclusive Authority:  A written contract that gives the real estate agent the exclusive right to sell a property in a specified time period.

Exchange of Contracts:  The point at which signed contracts are physically exchanged, legally committing the buyer and the seller to the purchase and sale of a property at an agreed price.

Fittings:  Objects that can be removed from a property without causing damage.

Gazumping:  Gazumping occurs when a seller accepts a buyer’s offer and verbally agrees to sell the property to that buyer but later sells the property to another buyer offering to pay more.

Joint Tenancy:  A form of co-ownership that gives each tenant equal shares in the property including the right of survivorship.

Listing:  A written contract between an owner and a real estate agent, authorising the agent to perform services for the sale of the owners property.

Market Value:  The price at which a seller is happy to sell and a buyer is willing to buy.

Offer:  A sum of money that a buyer offers to pay for a property.

Open Listing:  A type of listing agreement in which more than one real estate agent may be employed to sell the property.

Passed In:  The highest bid fails to meet the reserve price of a property at auction and therefore does not sell.

Private Sale:  The sale of a property by the owner without the use of a real estate agent.

Private Treaty:  The sale of a property through a real estate agent by negotiation.

Reserve Price:  The minimum price which a seller will accept at auction.

Settlement:  The sale of a property is finalised by the legal representatives of the vendor and the purchaser and the new owner takes possession of the property.

Stamp Duty:  A State Tax on conveyance or transfer of real property calculated on the total value of the property.

Valuation:  A written analysis of the estimated value of the property prepared by a qualified valuer.

Vendor:  The seller.

Zoning:  Local authority guidelines for the permitted use of the land.