Archive for June, 2011

Is this the world’s most expensive home? - 24 | 06 | 2011

International property websites are abuzz with the rumoured sale of LA’s ‘The Manor’ – more recently known as ‘Spelling Mansion’ as it has been home to Candy Spelling, widow of the late TV mogul Aaron Spelling for the past 20 years.

Unashamedly lavish and filled with every bell & whistle imaginable, the grand estate occupies an impressive two hectares of manicured grounds in the exclusive Holmby Hills suburb of Los Angeles, California. It features a total of 14 bedrooms and 27 bathrooms over four levels. Acres of imported marble stretch as far as the eye can see and antique chandeliers dazzle in formal rooms plus there is a motor court that can hold 100 cars.

The property had been languishing on the market for at least three years as Mz Spelling dug in her heels and held on to her initial asking price of $150 million, despite the impact of the GFC and rapidly falling property prices in the US market.

The fortunate buyer, rumoured to be Petra Ecclestone, the 22-year-old heiress of British billionaire and famous Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, lodged an initial offer of $85 million. Californian prestige realtors Hilton & Hyland have presumably been frantically haggling to get that figure closer to the asking price but have not confirmed how close they got – the property is now listed on their website as ‘under contract’.

The mansion was built by the Spellings in 1990 after demolishing the home of late singer Bing Crosby.

category: Real Estate

‘The Block’ finds some challenging times - 20 | 06 | 2011

Channel Nine’s ‘The Block’ is about to return to our TV screens (starts tonight) and production company Watercress Productions have snapped up a row of four dilapidated terraces in Melbourne’s hip city fringe suburb of Richmond – just around the corner from IMAGEination’s Victorian HQ. The Victorian and Edwardian homes sit in the shadow of nearby Housing Ministry flats and have many real estate experts baffled as to how they can turn a profit in this challenging property market.

Watercress paid $2.85 million for the properties after they passed in at auction last November. After stumping up $198,000 stamp duty, the cost of each house comes to just under $950,000. That’s nearly $4 million and not a hammer or floor sander has been lifted. Objections from nearby residents regarding lodged renovation plans have further hindered the development. Most notably, neighbour Molly Meldrum was particularly unimpressed by a proposed rooftop terrace that overlooked his backyard. A compromise has been reached and no rooftop terraces will be constructed – quashing the scope for city skyline views.

With the property market cooling and buyers few and far between, there is doubt as to whether the selected team of hapless renovators will be able to reach reserve price by the show’s climax. Time will tell.

category: Auctions, Real Estate, marketing

RBA keeps interest rates on hold - 09 | 06 | 2011

The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept interest rates on hold for a sixth straight meeting this week but economists still expect a hike in the next few months.

The central bank’s board of directors voted to keep the cash rate steady at 4.75 per cent at its meeting in Sydney on Monday 7th June 2011. The decision met the expectations of the financial markets, which had tipped the prospect of an increase at just 16 per cent.

It‘s the sixth consecutive meeting at which rates have been kept on hold since a 25 basis point hike was ordered at the November 2010 meeting. The floods and cyclones over the summer also resulted in a sharp fall in economic growth in the March quarter, but over the medium term, overall growth is expected to be at trend or slightly higher.

The majority of economists had predicted there would be no move ordered today, especially after official figures published last week showed the economy contracted by 1.2 per cent in the March quarter.

But economists believe that an interest rate rise remains inevitable in the coming months due to the prospect of a sharply rebounding economy – financial markets are pricing in the chance of a move before year-end.

category: Interest rate watch, Latest trends

The Skinny on Going Green - 04 | 06 | 2011

A recent study by Melbourne University has called into question the benefit of new eco-friendly houses on the city’s urban fringe with 6 or 7 star energy ratings. Although much more efficient and environmentally-friendly than houses built in previous decades, homeowners appetite for new household appliances and the increasing reliance on car travel has negated many of the benefits. This together with the embodied energy – the energy used make products for a household – and the increased size of an average new house, compared to one built in the 1950s, means that the level of greenhouse gas emissions per person has actually risen by nearly 400 percent.

The study also noted that Melbourne’s suburban fringe in the 1950s was about six kilometres from the CBD, it is now about 35 kilometres away. At this distance, Melbourne’s public infrastructure struggles to keep up. Compare this to inner city high rise developments that offer less commuting cost, lower heating and cooling requirements and shared facilities but a higher individual usage and it raises the question of which housing type greater benefits the future population.
Australia is one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world on a per person basis.

category: Environment