NYE Party Of The Decades: Raising Funds For Bushfire Relief

As the new decade approaches it’s such a surreal feeling that on one hand there’s a sense of anticipation about what’s ahead in 2020 and beyond. Then, on the other hand it’s hard to even consider celebrating with so many Australians being impacted by the devastation of the bushfires currently ravaging through community after community leaving many families homeless and completely gutted by the loss of loved ones.

Even though there was a lot of controversy over any fireworks being held, with several displays being cancelled, it’s good to see so much money has been donated to the www.redcross.org.au/NYE during the ABC’s Party Of The Decades concert held at Sydney Opera House.

These bushfire ravaged communities are going to need lots of support, not just in the coming days or weeks, but these families who are having a really tough night tonight will need to be supported for many months and possibly years to come to rebuild their lives.

If you’d also like to support these Australian communities that are currently ‘under-fire’, together we can all do our bit to help by donating via www.redcross.org.au/NYE or calling ‭1800 733 276‬ (1800 RED CROSS)

Merry Christmas + Acreage Update: A Review of the Past Decade

As this decade comes to an end, it’s hard to believe the changes we’ve seen over this past 10 years.

For example, this time last decade Rouse Hill Town Centre had only recently opened. Now it’s become the major shopping hub for this district ...and it’s been extra busy over these past few weeks throughout the Christmas period.

The rapid expansion of the North West Growth Centre has seen acreage properties being rezoned and extensive development throughout Box Hill, Riverstone, Schofields, Rouse Hill, Vineyard and Marsden Park which included the Sydney Business Park with IKEA and Costco, etc, as well as the development of large estates like Elara, The Gables and The Hills of Carmel.

During this past decade we’ve also seen the development of land subdivisions in Pitt Town, the Redbank Estate in North Richmond, along with the release of several acreage subdivisions around Kenthurst, Maraylya, Cattai, Kurrajong, Kurmond, Blaxlands Ridge, Sackville North, Maroota, Wilberforce and Grose Vale.

In regards to Infrastructure, the duplication of Windsor Road, Richmond Road and Schofields Roads, along with the opening of the Sydney Metro have been some of the more significant projects completed in the area this past decade.

In relation to the market, median prices have typically doubled across the acreage market over the past decade, whereas, in the areas that were rezoned like Box Hill, Schofields, etc. the median price quadrupled as developers bought up big during the boom that we experienced mid-way through this past decade.

As 2019 draws to a close, there’s a lot more confidence in the housing market and we’re anticipating strong price growth for acreage properties at the start of the New Year, with lots of buyers flooding back into the acreage market.

During this upcoming decade, the construction of Sydney's 2nd airport and the aerotropilis projects around Badgerys Creek, plus, the release of Marsden Park North and West Schofields precincts, it looks like acreage properties around the fringes of Sydney will continue to provide a blue chip investment opportunity.

At the same time, rural properties nearby will still enjoy the lifestyle of acreage as well as strong price growth along with the added convenience of having new facilities built closer to their doorstep.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what opportunities this next decade has in store for my acreage clients.

At this time, I’d especially like to share my heartfelt thanks to all of the dedicated firefighters who are bravely protecting our communities and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of those impacted who have lost loved ones, lost homes or are displaced during this Christmas period as a result of the fires. It's devastating at anytime, but, it's especially harder around Christmas.

There are several people I know who have lost loved ones this year and I wish them extra love, strength and support throughout this difficult Christmas period.

To all of my clients, I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to be of assistance to you throughout this past year. It's been a pleasure to be of service to you.

To everyone watching I wish you a wonderful, joyous Christmas and a safe 2020 full of good health, fun, love and lots of good times.

Thanks for watching. Merry Christmas everyone.

UPDATE: Richmond Bridge Duplication Submission Deadline Extended

For anyone interested in the Richmond Bridge Duplication, I received an email earlier this afternoon from Transport for NSW stating that they have extended the submission deadline until Friday 17th January 2020.

“Good afternoon

Transport for NSW appreciates the community’s interest in proposed options for the Richmond Bridge duplication and traffic improvements project.

After listening to the community and to ensure all feedback is received, Transport for NSW has agreed to extend the submissions deadline for the proposal to Friday 17 January 2020.

The community and stakeholders are encouraged to provide their feedback via email, phone or the interactive map on the project page.

You can also find the interactive map on the project page https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/richmond-area-projects/richmond-bridge-duplication-and-traffic-improvements.html

You are receiving this email following your interest in the Richmond Bridge Duplication Project. If you no longer want to receive project updates please reply with ‘unsubscribe’ to this email.”

It’s quite interesting to see the differing opinions on each route proposed on the Interactive Map.
Don’t forget to have your say, at https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects/richmond-area-projects/richmond-bridge-consultation-map.html before the Jan 17th 2020 deadline.

I hope you find this helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Property Data Is Not A One-Size-Fits-All

There are so many different ways that the media sources interpret their housing market statistics, but, mostly the percentage increases or decreases rarely relate directly back to the statistics required to interpret what’s actually happening within each of the acreage sectors.

IMPORTANT: Every acreage property has to be assessed on its own merits, improvements, situation and nature.

Property statistics are general broad-brush indicators and even in the housing sector some properties will set new street records, whereas, often a similar property in the same street may sell at a much lower price due to forced sale circumstances or appointment of an under-skilled agent using a poorly executed marketing campaign.

Also, a lot of statistics are based upon sales that have settled, whereas, a switched-on real estate agent normally has their finger on the pulse about current offers, under contract pricing and unconditional exchanged prices.

Whereas Tim Lawless from CoreLogic reported in a recent article, that “The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports on housing prices quarterly using a stratified median methodology.  This method is different to CoreLogic’s hedonic regression series; in simple terms, the stratification methodology measures price changes across a number of ‘strata’ or sub-regions before aggregating the data back to the capital city level.  Generally the ABS and CoreLogic measures show very similar trends over time, however, the CoreLogic series is more timely (one day in arrears), higher frequency (monthly rather than quarterly) and provided across small regions as well as quartile and decile based valuation cohorts.”

Image Source: CoreLogic

Sydney 
The ABS reported a 3.6% rise in Sydney housing values over the quarter compared with a 3.5% rise in the CoreLogic index.  The growth trend is skewed towards houses (+4.0%) compared with the unit sector (+2.8%).  Since the September quarter, the CoreLogic index has continued to gather pace, with November results showing Sydney housing values rose at  their fastest monthly pace since 1988.

Image Source: CoreLogic

As explained in Tim Lawless’s article, “Differences between the indices can be explained by a number of factors.  Although both index providers utilise the same source data (CoreLogic supplies the record level data that powers the ABS residential property price index), the methodologies for cleaning and filtering the underlying transaction data are likely to be very different, and there are also likely to be differences in how property types are derived (houses v units).  Of course there are also the pure methodological differences with the ABS utilising a stratified median while CoreLogic prefers a hedonic regression series.  

Despite the differences, its clear that over time both series show very similar trends.  The housing market is clearly on a strong recovery path in the largest cities and growth is now rippling out to many of the smaller capital cities.”

There are several suppliers of property data information like SQM Research “who is an independent property advisory and forecasting research house which specialises in providing accurate property related advice, research & data” along with Australian Property Monitors APM who “as a leading property intelligence platform in Australia since 1989, deliver data to banking, insurance, media, real estate and government industries; making it easier to navigate data for better insights and business growth.”

Then there’s the valuers, like Herron Todd White who provide their monthly report which includes the National Property Clock.

Image Source: Herron Todd White

No two acreage properties are the same and the perceived value is highly subjective and can be influenced by numerous external and personal factors.

So whilst the property data reporting about the housing sector is extremely interesting to track and use to reinforce decisions to invest within different markets, how much your property has changed in price within the current market is definitely NOT a simple One-Size-Fits-All answer.

If you’d like to how to maximise the value of your property and get a professional indication of what your acreage property should sell for in the current market, please feel welcome to contact me personally or Request An Appraisal

I hope you found this article helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent

PS: For an insight into The Year in Property, see today’s article by John McGrath here

Black Friday - Acreage Market Wrap

Hi, Happy Black Friday, my name is Greg Vincent and welcome to The Acreage Market Wrap where we discuss what’s happening throughout the Hawkesbury, Hills and North West Sydney acreage market.

We’ve just come out of a much busier Spring period than was experienced last year, where amongst The Hawkesbury area 70 acreage properties were Sold. This is almost double the amount of sales that happened during Spring 2018 within The Hawkesbury and the other areas have experienced an increase in sales as well.

There’s still a large volume of stock currently available with an overall total of 432 acreages for sale across all regions with 254 for sale in The Hawkesbury, 124 in The Hills, and around the North West area of Penrith there are 29 and 25 acreages for sale in the Blacktown development area.

Whilst there’s currently still quite a selection of acreage available, we should see sales of acreage properties increase even further in the early part of 2020 due to a number of factors.

Firstly, confidence has come back into the market after the result of both the State & Federal elections plus APRA made changes to their Assessment Rate which increased borrowing capacities, the Reserve Bank reduced interest rates several times over the past 6 months leaving the cash rate at historically low levels and the banks have freed up lending.

When you add in all of these factors, especially the low cost of funding along with the significant price corrections which have occurred throughout the acreage sector over these past few years, right now acreage properties are significantly more affordable to purchase today than they were a couple of years ago, but that won't be the case for long.

You see, the housing property market has experienced significant price growth over the past few months plus the media have stopped all of the doom & gloom reporting and are now back talking about the booming Sydney market again.

Source: Herron Todd White

Property Valuers, Herron Todd White recently released their December report which shows on the Property Clock that Sydney's housing market has now gone through the bottom of the market and is now in the Start of Recovery phase which sits at around 7 to 8 o'clock on the Property Clock.

We have experienced a dramatic increase in buyer enquiry for acreage properties in recent weeks and there's been some very active competition between buyers during a number of our most recent sales.

Also, I have just had another property go under contract without even making it to the market, plus, I've recently trialled an exclusive, Social Media and Acreage Database only pre-launch strategy for a new acreage listing at Annangrove.

We've had several enquiries from buyers already, along with a number of inspections and contracts issued. It looks like this property may also get Sold without making it onto the major real estate websites.

It's incredible to see how effective a highly-targeted Social Media strategy can attract so many extra buyers in today's market.

If you'd like to know more about how this brand new Off-Market selling strategy works, please feel free to contact me.

Along with the excellent growth anticipated for 2020 in the acreage sector, I have some exciting news in store for acreage owners including a brand new suite of property marketing strategies that I will be rolling out in the New Year.

In the meantime, if you're considering selling your acreage property and would like to know how much your property is worth and how to maximise its value please don't hesitate to get in contact with me.

Thanks for tuning into the Acreage Market Wrap, I look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Planning To Sell Early In Jan 2020: Don't Miss This Vital Piece Of The Puzzle!!

Each year there’s usually hundreds of property owners who decide not to sell before Christmas and hold off putting their property on the market until early in the New Year. Which is completely expected.

The lead up to Christmas is normally such a hectic time of year that getting your property ready to sell is most likely the last item you’ll even think about adding to your Christmas List.

I completely understand! However, if you are planning on putting your property on the market in the early part of January 2020, there’s ONE THING that you should definitely do before everyone shuts down for the Christmas break.

You see, under NSW Fair Trading regulations…

Residential property cannot be advertised for sale until a Contract of Sale has been prepared. The contract must contain a copy of the title documents, drainage diagram and the Planning Certificate (s 10.7) issued by the local council.

If the property for sale has a swimming pool or spa pool, one of the following must also be attached to the contract:

- a copy of a valid certificate of compliance or;

- relevant occupation certificate and evidence that the pool has been registered or;

- a valid certificate of non-compliance.

The vast majority of Solicitors and Conveyancers close over the Christmas break and depending upon when they return and which council you’re located within (some council’s can take up to 7-10 days to issue the s 10.7 certificate). PLUS if you have a swimming pool or spa pool which hasn’t been inspected for a certificate of compliance or a certificate of non-compliance, whilst you’re waiting for these certificates and documents you could seriously miss out on the early mover advantage opportunity available to you at the start of January 2020.

Actually, if you wait until after the Christmas break to order your contracts you may have to wait until late January before your property can get advertised at all, which happens every year to lots of property owners across NSW who wait until the New Year to instruct their Solicitor/Conveyancer to prepare your contracts of sale.

Ordering your contracts from your Solicitor or Conveyancer and booking your pool/spa inspection prior to everyone closing for the Christmas break is the vital missing piece of the puzzle that can give you a HUGE ADVANTAGE over the rest of the market in the New Year for 2 main reasons:-

1. Both of the major property portals, realestate.com.au and domain.com.au report almost every year that January is typically their busiest month of the year for visitors to their site, which means that having the early mover advantage can expose your property to more potential buyers online.

2. While your property is already out there on the market, there are hundreds of property owners across NSW waiting for their contracts before they can launch their property, which means that your place will have less competition within the critically important first week or two launch phase of your property going onto the market.

Note: If your acreage property is larger than 2.5 hectares (over 6.18 acres) your property does not come under the Residential regulations and can be advertised without a contract of sale, but if a buyer is found then the contract will need to be prepared anyway and if you have a swimming pool or spa pool you’ll need the same pool regulation certificates inserted into the contract, so it’s still better to get your contracts ordered prior to the Christmas break if you also want to take advantage of the active Early January market..

If you have any questions regarding this process or if you’d like me to provide you with an assessment of value of your acreage property, either via private inspection, drive-by inspection or a digital assessment (which includes a detailed property market report), don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

I wish you every success with your planned move in 2020.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Take a Sneak Peek into the ‘New Look’ Facebook

A good mate of mine, Peter Brewer had the opportunity to get a sneak peek behind the curtain to see what the New Look Facebook is going to be like the other day as many Facebook users are now starting to get access to this major redesign.of their platform.

Images courtesy of Peter Brewer

Whilst these New Look changes may take a little getting used to, there are other changes to Facebook which are going to be very significant as they plan ahead and look forward to the rapid changes in store during this next decade of Social Media.

Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year at the F8 Summit that Facebook was set to get the biggest redesign in years and there are some significant changes also on the way which could impact advertising on their platform moving forward with Facebook releasing New Placement Controls for Advertisers as well as Implementing Limits to Ads Run in 2020.

For more Information about these upcoming changes visit the Facebook developers information about proposed changes to advertising limits and an insight into other recent changes shared by Adespresso

Staying at the forefront of Social Media is going to be an ongoing challenge, but, it’s set to become one of the most important marketing skills for real estate agents during this next decade.

Firstly, it’s going to be vital for those property owners who want to ensure that they maximise the value of their property, and secondly, if an agent still wants to remain relevant within their marketplace.

if you have any questions about how best to use Social Media marketing to maximise the value of your acreage property, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Richmond Bridge duplication and traffic improvements community consultation phase

This evening I attended the first community session held at North Richmond Community Centre where the RMS and Transport for NSW displayed a number of potential route options.

“The Australian and NSW Governments have allocated $250 million to deliver traffic improvements including an additional bridge between Richmond and North Richmond area.“

All of the potential route options can be seen at rms.nsw.gov.au/Richmond-Bridge

Feedback is supposed to be in prior to 20 December 2019, however, there was talk during the session that the Community Consultation phase has been extended until early January. But it’s better to get your submission in early if you want to have your say.

Image source councillor sarah richards

Here’s just a few of the routes proposed and some of the feedback from attendees.

Once this initial Community Consultation phase is completed there will be an Options Report released (possibly around April 2020) which the RMS and Transport for NSW will then invite further Community Comment.

This is an important issue for The Hawkesbury community and it’s vitally important that you have your say.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Reserve Bank leaves interest rates on hold

The RBA has announced that it has decided to leave the Cash Rate on hold at 0.75%.

As expected, the Cash Rate was left on hold, particularly with house prices rebounding in the back end of the year. We have had three rate cuts since June, and interest rates are already at an all-time low.

This was the final cash rate decision of the year. The next RBA Board Meeting will be held in February, 2020.

Image via AFG

As Samantha Megginson from Your Investment Property Magazine reports…

“Following a reasonably volatile 12 months in terms of property price movements and consumer access to mortgage funding, some sectors of the housing market appear to be responding to an environment of lower interest rates, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

In fact, new data from the November CoreLogic Home Value Index data released Monday December 2 highlights the continued, somewhat surprising rebound in residential property price growth in Sydney and Melbourne, with the price index up around 8% in both cities since June 2019.

It’s important to note that sales volumes are still down, and this median price ‘growth’ may be driven in part by more higher-value transactions, as APRA’s lifting of the serviceability cap has increased borrowers’ access to finance this year.”

Back in July, The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced that it had loosened the serviceability restrictions on home loan mortgage assessments. They no longer expect lenders to assess home loan applications using a minimum interest rate of at least 7 per cent or 7.25 per cent which had been the common industry practice.

Lenders now use a revised interest rate buffer of at least 2.5 per cent over the loan’s interest rate which has generally improved the borrowing capacity for home buyers.

“Looking ahead, if rebounding property prices fail to translate into increased consumer confidence and therefore, rising consumer spending and a growing appetite for investing, then we may see another interest rate cut in February or March 2020.  

The case for an interest rate cut in February will depend on housing, construction and economic data released over the next two months. If consumers are buoyed by recent interest rate cuts and this translates to big Christmas spending, it may form part of a fiscal stimulus that gets the economy moving. However, if consumer spending fails to alleviate the Reserve Bank’s pressure to drive the inflation rate up, this could give them cause to reduce the cash rate further next year.” Samantha predicts.

It will be interesting to see what happens with interest rates in the early part of 2020 when the Reserve Bank meet again.

If you have any questions about the current market or acreage market trends, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards

Greg Vincent

HOT TIP for Acreage Buyers: It’s Time To Act Now!

The Acreage Market is now on the move off the back off a highly anticipated 7% median home price rise since the start of August and “the fastest monthly growth in prices since May 2015, when the housing market was in its last major boom”

View fullsize

Don’t wait to buy acreage until after Christmas because acres located around the fringe areas of Sydney are set to increase substantially in 2020.

If you already own acres and would like to know what’s happening to the acreage market in your area, and you’re wondering whether to sell now or hold on, don’t hesitate to contact me for an obligation free chat.

Regards

Greg Vincent

2020 Vision for the Acreage Market

There are lots of positive indicators that the market correction we experienced over these past couple of years has now stabilised and we should experience a healthy price growth throughout 2020 within the acreage property sector, especially around the fringes of Sydney.

As the population of New South Wales continues to increase by over 100,000 people per annum, the urban sprawl will naturally occur around Sydney’s fringes, plus with all of the development surrounding the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and the confidence coming back into the property market since both the State & Federal elections as well as record low interest rates, there will be several sections of the acreage market which look set to experience significant median price growth during 2020.

The Acreage Report

Summer 2020 edition Coming Soon…

Click Here

The recovering Sydney property market is already showing key indicators that the acreage sector is heading towards another period of double digit median price growth so long as the NSW Government keeps moving ahead with infrastructure construction projects along with the further release of development precincts as part of Sydney’s urban expansion.

The Federal Government’s new first home buyer deposit scheme commences as of Jan 1 2020 should also help fuel the bottom end of the market with 10,000 eligible buyers being able to enter the property market with a 5% deposit for homes up to $700,000 in Sydney & $600,000 in Melbourne. These extra buyers entering the market will create a domino effect for current property owners looking to sell, as well as assisting property developers who have been struggling to clear some of their development stock. 

The RBA has cut the cash rate 3 times in the last 5 months: June, July, and October. The cash rate now sits at a record low of 0.75%. Most of the major banks passed on 0.15% for Owner Occupied & Investment Principal & Interest Loans and 0.25% rate cut for Interest Only Investment loans after the last rate cut.

Also, if you’re looking to raise finance to purchase an acreage property, borrowing options offered by the banks have become more relaxed compared to earlier in the year, however, it’s important to be aware that as of the 1st September 2019, Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR) has come into effect.

Credit reporting refers to the data available in your credit file. Every time you apply for credit your credit file is reviewed by the potential lender to gain an insight into your credit history and creditworthiness before they make a decision on your application. CCR is a new government initiated system and the available data is much more comprehensive. CCR information is available for all consumer credit products, including credit cards, personal loans, home loans, car loans, etc. It is now more important than ever to pay your bills and financial commitments on time so that you can demonstrate a favourable repayment history on your credit file if applying for any loan.

On another positive note, Sydney auction clearance rates have been climbing back up to around the 73%-82% mark over the past few months and enquiry levels have increased dramatically off the back off renewed confidence in the market

The strong activity in the residential market sector of Sydney (especially the excellent price growth currently occurring within The Hills area) is already starting push more buyers into the outer lying suburbs due to affordability. The gentrification and infrastructure roll-outs occurring within the fringes of Sydney will help to fuel price increases in 2020 throughout the district and acreage properties will experience much stronger demand.   

The average days on market for acreage properties should reduce significantly due to fewer properties now on the market along with an increase in the number of qualified buyers that I am currently working closely with.

In fact, there are quite a few who have sold their property and have decided that moving to an acreage lifestyle is where they would like to purchase and several are currently patiently waiting for a suitable property to come up for sale.

If you’re thinking of selling or if you’d just like to get an indication of what your acreage property may be worth in the current market, please feel most welcome to contact me or click here

Regards

Greg Vincent

Enquiry Into The Proposal To Raise The Warragamba Dam Wall

Image: Source WaterNSW

This afternoon I attended a NSW Legislative Council hearing held in the Macquarie Room at the Windsor Function Centre as part of the enquiry into the NSW Government’s proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.

It was interesting to be able to gain a better understanding of the process surrounding this important decision for our area.

There were representatives from Infrastructure NSW, Water NSW, Transport for NSW, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment plus NSW State Emergency Service along with expert independent advisors as well as council representatives from Hawkesbury City Council, City of Blue Mountains, Penrith City Council and Wollondilly Shire Council.

The proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall is part of a plan by the Infrastructure NSW to “reduce significant existing risk and building community resilience”.

To explain why they are looking at raising the dam wall, here’s an excerpt from the Water NSW site…

“While major flooding has not happened in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley for more than 25 years, it can occur at any time. Sometimes, extreme weather events will strike without warning, so we all need to be prepared.

In May 2017, the NSW Government released the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy – ‘Resilient Valley, Resilient Communities.’  

The strategy is designed specifically for the valley as the most flood-prone region in NSW, if not Australia. It is a long-term plan to minimise significant risks to life and livelihoods; damage to urban and rural property; and, the major dislocation of economic activity from rapid, deep flooding.

It is the framework for the government, councils, businesses and communities to work together to reduce and manage flood risk in the Sydney Region’s most productive food bowl.

And, after four years’ investigation, it recommends that raising Warragamba Dam to create a flood mitigation zone of around 14 metres is the best option to reduce the risks to life, property and community assets posed by floodwaters from the extensive Warragamba River catchment.

While a range of other infrastructure and non-infrastructure outcomes are included in the strategy and must be part of the solution for managing ongoing risk, no other mitigation measures can achieve the same risk reduction as the Warragamba Dam Raising Proposal.

WaterNSW, as owner and operator of the dam, is consulting widely about the effects and benefits of the proposal to inform the environmental assessment, concept design and, subject to all planning approvals, a business case to assist decision-making in 2020 about whether to proceed with these major flood mitigation works.”

In reality, after today’s hearing, until the Environmental Impact Statement is officially released (projected to be available in 2020) there’s not much to report at this stage of the process.

As an Acreage Specialist working within the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley the decisions about reducing flood-risk and evacuation planning will have a big impact upon communities in this area and it’s important for me to be as well-informed about this project as possible.

Regards

Greg Vincent

DISCLAIMER: I am an ordinary member of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Mitigation Community Group

How's The Property Market? ...and should you sell before or after Christmas?

Today i caught up with one of Australia’s leading real estate agents, Phillip Nicholas to discuss How’s The Property Market around his area and how the change in the market is impacting the local acreage market?

Also, it looks like being a very busy period for property sales heading into Christmas and we discussed whether to sell before or after Christmas and what to be aware of if you’re planning to make a move in the early part of the New Year.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Phil again for his time and invaluable insights today.

I hope you found this video helpful.

If you have any questions or require any assistance, please don’t hesitate to get in contact.

Regards

Greg Vincent

'Dadirri' - Award Winning Acreage Retreat For Sale

I am extremely proud to present the exclusive ‘Dadirri’ property, an award-winning acreage retreat located at the foothills of the Blue Mountains along a quiet country lane at 83 Serpentine Lane, Bowen Mountain.

A haven of serenity, 'Dadirri' is an award winning master built home of architectural significance, enhanced by natural beauty and superb Sydney skyline views. This resort like retreat is nestled and perched on 5.5 secluded acres off a quaint country lane, moments to Kurrajong Village.

- Designed by the acclaimed Clinton Cole of CplusC Architects
- Series of exquisitely appointed pavilion style living zones
- Cascading decks for entertaining, relaxation, contemplation 
- Alluring grounds, pool, tranquil courtyard with koi fishpond
- Well equipped custom kitchen has island bench, gas cooking 
- Breathtaking bedroom captures uninterrupted valley outlook
- Rustic cabin, art or yoga room, guests poolside cabana, sauna
- Bathrooms feature timber and glass to embrace the environment
- Florid gardens, fruit trees, workshop, bore and 110,000L tank water
- Foothills of the Blue Mountains, around 70 minutes to CBD

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this property or if you would like to arrange an inspection

Regards

Greg Vincent

A new approach to precinct planning in NSW

Planning NSW have just announced a new approach to precinct planning which allows more involvement and responsibility in the hands of local councils and communities.

“Within the new approach are four pathways, as well as planning for the Aerotropolis, to progress the 51 existing precincts in Greater Sydney. The Department will support each council individually throughout the transition of each precinct into one of the four pathways.

• State-led strategic planning

• Collaborative planning between the State and councils

• State-led zoning

• Council-led zoning

Planning NSW says, “It follows a Department of Planning Industry and Environment review in partnership with the Greater Sydney Commission and Government Architect. This review found the Department could better target its role in the delivery of precincts, giving councils and communities a greater say while allowing the Department a more focused set of priorities for better outcomes.

Local councils will be empowered to plan for their local areas because they know their people and communities best. The Department will continue to support and collaborate with each council to deliver great places while remaining focused on strategic issues and getting a coordinated approach from State agencies.

If you would like further information on the new approach please contact Planning NSW here

It will be very interesting to see how this new approach plays out between the government departments, local councils and communities. Only time will tell if this will be an effective move or not.

Regards

Greg Vincent

Extraordinary 45 acres with over 2 kilometre frontage

NEWLY LISTED - 235 STANNIX PARK ROAD, WILBERFORCE

Prodigious rural lifestyle property is an extremely rare opportunity to secure a vast 45 acres parcel in a tremendous location with two separate dwellings featuring over 2,100 metres of road frontage. Situated adjacent to a recent acreage subdivision.

- First time offered outside of family since the original grant
- Over 45 acres of quality acreage with extensive fencing
- Stylishly renovated main home with tree-lined entrance
- Separate studio plus large workshop and massive garage
- Multiple income opportunity plus first-rate building site
- Ideally suited to land bank, equestrian facility or farming
- Tremendous location amongst premiere acreage homes
- Numerous dams and lightly treed, mostly cleared grazing
- Enjoy spectacular sunsets over Blue Mountains backdrop
- Situated only 1 hour from Sydney, just 10 mins to Windsor

For more information contact Greg Vincent

Important tips for acreage owners whose properties are being rezoned

Are you living on acres that have been rezoned or are proposed for rezoning and are a bit confused about the whole process plus feel uncertain about dealing with developers?

If so, this brief interview with Josh Pyatt, McGrath Sales Manager provides some great insights and tips.

Thanks for watching. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or require any assistance.

I hope it helps.

Regards

Greg Vincent

So your child wants a horse …what should you know?

Almost every child’s dream is to one day have a horse or a pony as a pet, and they can bring so much joy to your child and open up a whole new world of enjoyment, but, before you race out and decide to buy a horse there are lots of things to consider.

Firstly, do you have enough room on your property to keep a horse or pony? If so, is it suitably fenced and do you have the right facilities for a horse? Alternatively are you going to pay to agist the horse on someone else’s property?

Before deciding whether to purchase the horse and where to keep the horse, here’s a few suggestions from the RSPCA that you may like to know…

One of the factors to consider is that it is difficult to combine owning a horse or pony with having other interests because of the time involved. So keep in mind that if your child takes up ownership it may be difficult for them to be involved in other hobbies. It is a commitment every day of the animals life, often for several hours a day! It may also mean other family members having to accept compromise because of that commitment.

“If a child expresses an interest in horses, start with riding lessons at a reputable riding school to see how interested your child is. A child must be keen enough to want to be involved with all aspects of taking care of an animal, not just the parts that are the most fun such as riding in the case of horses. A good riding school should offer courses in horse/pony care so that people who are thinking of buying one can learn something about what is involved before they decide to buy. A local Pony Club can also be a good source of information. Some Pony Clubs offer courses for families who are just starting out.”

For more insights, visit the RSPCA knowledge base about when is the right time to buy a horse or pony?

Every horse owner should have a commitment to look after their horse(s) in a responsible and ethical manner. Anyone who owns or cares for horses should understand at least the basics of horse care and welfare - by having a horse you take on a ‘duty of care’. Good horse care is essential for the well-being of a horse, they rely on us completely to get it right. We believe that as a bare minimum, an owner should be aiming to follow the principals laid out in the Three F's. ’Forage, Friendship & Freedom’

For some great tips about Responsible, Sustainable & Ethical Horse Ownership check out this article about Responsible Horse Care

While you’re there you may like to check out the Free Mini-Course which features a 7 video course about Horse Grazing Characteristics - You’ll learn about:

• What is a horse? What characteristics do they have that make them what they are?

• Why do horses eat so much and why do horses have to have so much food?

• How do they live in the free living situation?

• How does this compare to when we keep them as domestic animals?

• How do horses normally spend their day?

• How do horses affect the land that they live on?

• How can we improve our domestic horse’s lifestyle?

I hope you find this information helpful and I wish you many years of enjoyment with your horse or pony if you decide to go ahead.

Acreage Tips On How To Be Bushfire Prepared This Season

I recorded this Facebook Live video the other day from out at the Breakaway Oval at Freemans Reach (beside the Hawkesbury River) to provide some tips to help ensure that people are bushfire prepared.

Unfortunately, the wind was quite gusty which impacted some of the audio but hopefully you’ll still find the information helpful.

Here’s a link to download the info pack I mention in the video
https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/resources/factsheets

Plus, if you’re in NSW make sure to download the RFSNSW Fires Near Me smartphone app.

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/news-and-media/stay-up-to-date

Thank You again to the dedicated firefighters and their support crews who volunteer and put their lives at risk to protect people and property. You are such an incredible group of Aussie heroes. We simply cannot thank you enough for all that you do during the bushfire season.

Regards

Greg Vincent