Showing posts with label foreclosure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreclosure. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Not out of the woods yet

I was speaking with a U.S. homeowner recently who handed her keys back to the bank.  She bought a house in NY State about 5 years ago, substantially renovated her house, but it was still way underwater today.  From what she told me, there are many other homeowners who are still in negative equity in the U.S.  And there are a large number of homes still going through the foreclosure process in some states.

One company that has been buying up U.S. homes is Waypoint.  Have a look at the Waypoint website  to see their rental homes.  They list and manage directly, without agents.  An interesting story about Waypoint is here.  There is consolidation occurring in the buy-to-rent market in the U.S.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Florida Foreclosures

It is interesting to see that in Florida, it is possible to buy a one bedroom apartment for less than $80,000, including whitegoods.

1)  http://searchbankproperties.com/2014/03/bank-owned-condo-in-bermuda-dunes/


Makes the Gold Coast look very overpriced.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Soul Surfers Paradise

The receivers of Soul have started a marketing campaign.  See www.soulatsurfersparadise.com.au.  The pricing on the Internet seems to show high discounts for the more expensive apartments.



Saturday, December 8, 2012

Viridian Noosa Massive Discounting

The Viridian Noosa "resort" is discounting the unsold apartments.  The website states that one bedrooms that were $656,000 are now $280,000.  I doubt that this is correct -- most of the one bedrooms were originally sold for less than $600,000, so the discount is probably not as large as stated. Also, it will be interesting to see if they are selling the better apartments at this price, or only the apartments that look at the carpark.  The complex is managed by Outrigger, and is a long walk up the hill from Hastings Street.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Trouble In Paradise - Soul

The Soul apartment development in Surfers Paradise went into receivership today, most likely due to a large number of unsold apartments, pre-completion off the plan contracts that did not settle, and a falling Gold Coast market.  This is not a surprise.  The Oracle development at Broadbeach went into receivership last year.  At Soul, receivers were appointed over a number of Juniper companies.  Graeme Juniper, who developed a number of apartment complexes on the Sunshine Coast, bit off more than he could chew and got his timing wrong.  See Soul in Receivership

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

El Dorado Bust

Although there is still website advertising for PCN's El Dorado Village apartment development at Indooroopilly, it seems like the developer is in receivership, and the undeveloped property is for sale.  This is not a surprise.  See past posts on this issue.  Supposedly over 70 of the 100 apartments had been sold of the plan.  Either this was a lie, or the developer just could not make the project work even at PCN's crazy high off-the-plan prices.  I hope you are not waiting to move in to your new apartment at El Dorado Village!

I guess it is good-bye, not good buy, El Dorado Village.


Thursday, May 3, 2012

Genworth Says Queensland is a Problem

U.S. mortgage insurer, Genworth, that has operations in Australia, released a report yesterday to Wall Street regarding its Australian residential mortgage insurance business.  See report here.  The report says that its overall performance by geography is solid, with the exception being Queensland.

Coastal Queensland is particularly pressured.  Delinquency development in coastal Queensland has risen to 1.13%, compared with 0.8% for Queensland and 0.54% across its loan insurance portfolio.  The peak to trough decline in values is 17% for FN Qld, 12% for Sunshine Coast, 15% for the Gold Coast and 8% for the rest of Queensland.  The average mortgage insurance claim in coastal Queensland has risen to over $120,000.  This is significant enough to report to Wall Street.  See article here.  And note this article.



Saturday, April 14, 2012

Macrossan Residences Sale

I bet well-known Brisbane solicitor and Labor Party identity Con Sciacca is not happy.  He purchased an apartment off-the-plan in 2008 in Macrossan Apartments for $1,835,000.  The developer went bankrupt, and the remaining apartments have been bought by an investor, who is listing them for resale at "Almost $1 million below what they cost."
"Were Selling for up to $3M, Now Priced from $1.395M to $1.575M"

(I suspect that the real estate agent is exaggerating slightly - I doubt that the same apartment that Con purchased would sell for less than $1M.  So the million dollar discount is a bit of a stretch.  Video here.)

These discounts make it hard for an original buyer to resell without making a huge loss.

In any event, even these discounted prices are high for a 3 bedroom apartment that is not riverfront and that is sandwiched by Skyline and Soleil.

Friday, March 30, 2012

AFR: Qld Property Due for Kick Start

Extract from Story in the AFR:

For years now, much of Queensland has been a home-grown testament to how property booms can go dreadfully wrong. But a select few see the parlous state of the Queensland housing market as a rare opportunity to pick up homes with great growth prospects at bargain prices. Many see the landslide election of the LNP government as a key catalyst.

Earlier in March, private equity firm Engage Capital bought 19 luxury apartments from the Bank of Scotland in The Macrossan tower in central Brisbane, developed by Macquarie Group. Engage Capital director Ben Grootemaat says he paid about $1 million less for each apartment than off-the-plan prices. He thinks Brisbane values have bottomed and he plans to sell the homes straight away, claiming there is strong demand for the right kinds of apartment at the right price. “There is a lot of demand, especially for three-bedroom residences,” he says. “We have a strong level of interest.”

He’s not the only one positive about the sunshine state. Veteran developers Ken Woodley and David Devine founded apartment developer Metro in March 2010. Since then they have bought or are in the process of buying 2500 apartments in inner-city Brisbane. Woodley says the company sold more than 450 apartments last year, and hopes for a similar result this year. The drivers he is banking on are a tight rental market and the influx of resources employees.

“Because of the huge influx from the resources companies in the office towers, I think what is going to happen within six months is people will have to pay three months’ to six months’ rent in advance to secure an apartment,” Woodley says. “There really aren’t many being built.” But he’s also hoping a confidence boost will come with the reforms new Premier Campbell Newman has promised to deliver in his first 100 days in office. One is stamp duty exemptions for the principal place of residence, which may become law on July 1, costing the government $900 million.

Combined with more interest rate cuts that most banks are still expecting, housing will become more affordable. “I would think those two things would kick start the market,” Woodley says.

The value of houses in Brisbane fell 7.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of February, according to RP Data Rismark, the worst decline in any mainland capital. The fall in values and dearth of credit have caused a plunge in building. Mirvac research figures show per capita housing levels in Queensland have plunged to their lowest levels since about 2002. But Hoke Slaughter, Morgan Stanley head of real estate investing in Asia, believes the supply-demand picture in Queensland will be “quite attractive” when the market finally recovers. And there are certainly some bargain prices on offer.

Queensland has been littered with receivership sales. Receivers KordaMentha predicted last month there would be an increase in the volume of distressed assets put to market in the state this year as financial institutions attempted to clean up their loan books. Savills agent Greg Harris is selling new townhouses on the Gold Coast that were once priced at $635,000 for about $500,000. He says although prices have fallen 30 per cent, rents haven’t.

Australian Property Monitors senior economist Andrew Wilson says some “green shoots” are emerging in Brisbane. Home values fell 1 per cent in the three months to February, according to his figures, a slower rate of decline than last year. There were other early signs of improvement, such as an increase in home loans and positive feelings about the new government, which may improve buyer sentiment. “The whisper around is we’re just starting to get some early cycle momentum in that Brisbane market,” Wilson says. “With the election behind them, there is always a honeymoon period for the market, which can lead to a more positive attitude.”

Friday, March 23, 2012

The risk of falling prices

Financial comparison website RateCity CEO Damian Smith said borrowers who have taken on a home loan with a small deposit are most at risk from the impact of falling prices.

For example, if a property was purchased for $400,000 with a 5 per cent deposit, but then that house price fell by 10 per cent, instead of having $20,000 of equity value in the property, there would be none at all.

"If you try to refinance in those circumstances, you will find yourself owing more than the property is worth - a mortgage of $380,000 as against property value of just $360,000," Mr Smith said.

Average Australian capital city property values fell by 3.6 per cent in 2011, according to the latest RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index. For a $400,000 home, that decline translates to a new value of $385,600. Property values declined in every capital city with Brisbane experiencing the biggest fall of 6.8 per cent. Full story here

Friday, February 24, 2012

Receivers Move Into Alderley Square

This blog reported recently that PCN's Alderley Square development was on hold.  The AFR reported on Thursday that receivers have moved into Alderley Square, due to a significant slow down in sales.

  • Developer owes Westpac $12 million.
  • Construction has not yet started.
  • Off-the-plan purchases have dried up.
  • Colliers reports 30 months of supply of new apartments in Brisbane.
  • Alderley Square had 234 apartments across 3 buildings.
  • In the first 12 months, $55 million of contracts, mostly to locals.
  • In the next six months, only $4 million in sales, even with the $10,000 building boost.
  • The AFR reports that buyer fatigue extends throughout south-east Queensland.
  • At Australand's Yungaba project at Kangaroo Point, only 37 out of 167 lots have been sold, or about $33 million out of $150 million of stock.
  • What will happen to PCN's El Dorado Indooroopilly development?
  • See also story here and here.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Scott Street Apartments Go Under

Bank of Scotland has become mortgage-in-possession of the remaining unsold apartments in Waterford Properties' Scott Street development at Kangaroo Point.  The luxury complex, with one apartment per floor and a total of 12 apartments, was completed in 2010.  It has Brisbane city views, but looks West.  The development has at least $30 million of unsold stock at current list prices (that may be revised downwards).  Photos here.

The penthouse sold for $7 million, and other apartments sold for $7.65 million and $4.06 million.  One of the purchasers was Scott Hutchinson, who was the builder.

According to the AFR, demand for the high end of the market has been sliding in Queensland.

Place real estate agents said that the premium market had dropped back.  "Realistically, the top-end apartment market has come back 30% and in some cases 40%.  The market was overinflated.  We were going through a boom and the prices were ridiculous" said Lachlan Walker of Place.

Now I bet Place real estate agency didn't tell buyers a few years back that the prices they were paying were ridiculous!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Gold Coast Still Oversupplied


"The high-rise market on the Gold Coast is nothing like any other Australian market.
"It's a unique market and it's driven by speculation and not necessarily the fundamentals. But we just don't need any more high-rise developments for the moment.''
Mr Morris said his latest research indicated there were 625 new high-rise apartments for sale on the Coast. That represented a 2 1/2-year supply based on the average sales rate over the past two years.
"But the figure is a bit camouflaged by a rather big project in Southport - Philip Usher Constructions' $200 million H20 on Broadwater development, which is completed, but has not yet been put to the market.
"So there's another 350 apartments just sitting there which, when they get released for sale will add another year to supply, increasing it to 3 1/2 years.''
In the wake of the GFC, the Gold Coast high-rise apartment market has been hit by spiralling valuations and two high-profile victims of receivership, Southport Central and the twin-tower The Oracle Broadbeach.
It has led to heavy discounting of stock, with prices of some luxury apartments slashed by as much as 30 per cent.
But Mr Morris believed prices could fall even further throughout 2012.
"Most of the stock on the Gold Coast is held by receivers and the prices are not being driven by the market.
They're being driven by what the receivers have to do to get rid of the debt,'' he said. ``So it's quite possible the average price of new apartments could sink below the average price of resale stock.''
Research by the Oliver Hume Real Estate Group shows the Coast's total supply of available apartments - low, medium and high-rise - has reached 1626, down from its peak of more than 2000 over the past couple of years.  And the figure is expected to continue to fall with predictions of the strongest summer sales since the GFC. 

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Distressed Sales

A recently Landmark White report states that about 31% of properties advertised for sale and coming onto the market recently are listings that are distressed sales.  Many of these would be Gold Coast apartments.  The report covers industrial and commercial properties as well as residential.

See full report here and this comment.

Photo above of one of the pools at The Oracle.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Oracle Gold Coast

Oracle receivers have released a special new price list for local agents for Oracle apartments in Broadbeach.

Agents report that the new prices fit squarely into the current hi-rise market values of central Broadbeach at around $4200-4900sqm.

During the past week, it is reported that 12 Oracle properties changed hands on the new prices with around another dozen or so under offer.





Photos show an Ocean view from a one bedroom apartment in The Oracle.




Update from 15 December:  "During the past 24 hours, 6 out of the 59 receivers stock has sold and 18 are on hold."  [I suspect that the receiver has more than 59 apartments that are unsold, so this must be a trickled release.]

Monday, August 15, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

US Banks Own Nearly A Million Homes

"Over all, economists project that it would take about three years for lenders to sell their backlog of foreclosed homes. As a result, home values nationally could fall 5 percent by the end of 2011, according to Moody’s, and rise only modestly over the following year. Regions that were hardest hit by the housing collapse and recession could take even longer to recover — dealing yet another blow to a still-struggling economy."

Sunday, April 10, 2011

From the USA

"Developers say that renters do not make the same price-per-square-foot calculation as buyers, and that smaller apartments — with some studios less than 500 square feet and larger one-bedrooms barely topping 1,000 square feet — will not discourage the target audience. "
Note that 1000 square feet is 92 sqm. You can't find many one bedrooms in Brisbane at 92 sqm. Brisbane apartments are small, and overpriced.


Sunday, May 30, 2010

Buy in the Bust?

"Mr. Sternlicht hopes to foreclose on many of Corus’s errant borrowers, restyle their buildings and sell units for a significant profit once the real estate market recovers. He says he and his investors can afford to wait until then because the F.D.I.C. has provided them with $1.4 billion in zero-coupon financing and an additional $1 billion in low-cost loans that can be used to complete unfinished projects."

See full article in NY Times: "Barry Sternlicht, the Real Estate Bargain Hunter"