Hervey Bay Gossip

While the real estate industry throughout Queensland seems to be pushing the line that things are picking up here in Hervey Bay the word on the street is that the real estate industry is in trouble.

Sales have stopped … new construction has slowed considerably … and there’s even a rumour that another Real Estate Agent will close up shop in the next few days.

However things aren’t all gloom and doom and when you pass Hungry Jack’s you will see a “Sold” sign being displayed. The land has been up for sale for some time and a deal seems to have been closed earlier this week.

When people think of Hervey Bay they automatically think of this as a boom town and for quite some time now Hervey Bay has been amongst the top five growth areas in the country … but it’s not necessarily booming for the real estate industry.

Things are actually quite tough if you’re selling houses in Hervey Bay at the moment and rumour has it that one large real estate agency has already folded it’s tents and gone and another that changed hands not that long ago is about to follow.

The ABC is currently carrying a brief story about rent stress in the Wide Bay and names Hervey Bay as one of the areas where high demand for limited rental properties has led to the cost of rents going up.

To the casual observer it would seem that there are quite a few rental properties  currently available in Hervey Bay. There are a number of houses around town that are displaying signs that they are for rent.  There is a block of Main Street units in the centre of Pialba that have never been fully occupied since they were completed over 12 months ago and there is a modern block of units down on the Esplanade between Scarness and Torquay that haven’t been fully occupied for months.

At the same time demand business premises is at an all time high and rents are soaring. One shop in the centre adjacent to Viva Italia that will soon become vacant has had numerous people inspect it with a view to renting it and the annual rental will go from under a thousand dollars a month for the old tenant to several thousand dollars a month for whoever moves in.

A Hervey Bay real estate agent has been banned for life after he failed to declare he was director of a company that bought a property from one of his employer’s clients.

Fair Trading Minister, Margaret Keech, said Philip John Dickins, of Uraween, committed a serious breach of trust resulting in financial gain.

“When handing down its decision the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal described him as ‘devious’,” Mrs Keech said.

“The penalty handed to Mr Dickins should be a warning to others in the industry that agents will not get away with deceiving their clients.

“Mr Dickins was the director of Caltowie Nominees Pty Ltd when the company bought a Point Vernon house for $200,000.

“As the director of the purchasing company, he illegally charged the vendor commission on the sale. The company sold the property less than a month later for $230,000.

“He knew it was illegal for a person acting as a real estate agent or sales person to gain a beneficial interest from the sale of property on their books, unless full disclosure of the interest was first made clear to the vendor.

“Vendors should not be out of pocket as a result of this kind of deal. The client should certainly not have to pay commission to the person or company who is buying the property.

“Mr Dickins was prosecuted under the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000, losing his registration certificate and paying more than $3,000 in fines and costs.

“Mr Dickins withheld the details of his dealings from his employer, who was the licensee of the real estate office.

“His employer became aware of the suspect dealings during an internal audit, and lodged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading.

“Laws are in place to protect consumers from this kind of unprofessional conduct.”

While most things aren’t growing around Hervey Bay at the moment there is one thing that seems to be shooting up all over town and that’s ‘Sold’ signs on houses from one end of the town to the other.

Even some houses and units that have been on the market for over 12 months have now been sold.

If you’re thinking of making a sea change to Hervey Bay but aren’t sure what your house might be worth it will definitely pay to get a property value report.

In the last week or so ‘Sold’ sales have been popping up faster than grass after the rain. Sales seem to be right across all price ranges too.

Property values are also increasing and the last 12 months have seen some big increases in several parts of Hervey Bay. Today the Australian reported on the increasing property values in various part of the country and it had this to say about Hervey Bay

A 25.4 per rise in the 12 months to September took the median price of homes at Dundowran Beach, in the northern suburbs of Hervey Bay, to more than $473,000.

Prices at nearby Toogoom rose 13.4 per cent to almost $329,000, while at Burrum Heads they were up 3.7 per cent to $350,000.

You can read the full report here

A HerveyBay real estate agent has been fined $2000 for failing to advise clients about his personal financial interest in the purchase and sale of a house in 2005.

Philip John Dickins, 54, pleaded guilty in Hervey Bay Magistrates Court to one count of beneficial interest. He was fined and ordered to pay court costs.

Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech said the prosecution highlighted the Beattie Government’s commitment to cleaning up the real estate industry.

“Dishonest traders will have their day in court,” said Mrs Keech.

“The Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 states that if a real estate agent receives a beneficial interest from a property, they must inform the buyer and seller.

“In this case, Dickins purchased the Point Vernon property in HerveyBay from a client for $200,000 and failed to disclose himself as the director of the purchasing company, Caltowie Nominees Pty Ltd. He on-sold the property less than a month later for $230,000.

“During this time, he also withheld the details of his dealings from his employer, who is the licensee of the real estate office.

“The licensee became aware of the dealings during a routine internal audit and subsequently lodged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading.

“The licensee also paid the original owner $30,000 in compensation for the difference in the subsequent sale price.”

Mrs Keech said laws are in place to protect consumers from unprofessional and dishonest conduct.

“Magistrate Graeme Tatnell said the Court should view any breach of this nature seriously because the legislation existed to protect vendors listing property with real estate agents, who are in a high position of trust, to do the best for vendors,” she said.

“This case should serve as a deterrent to any real estate agent and salesperson who think they can get away with being dishonest.”

For more information on real estate agent obligations, visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au.

It seems that the Urban Development Institute of Australia seems to think so and has named Mackay and Hervey Bay as the only two property markets in Queensland where house prices have reached the point of being ‘unaffordable’ for young home buyers.

It’s not only the real estate that is changing along The Esplanade here in Hervey Bay, it’s the people behind the real estate changes who are changing too.

John and Cathie Crampton became the new owners of The Professionals Hervey Bay as of September 8

Well if you’re the CEO of property group Lend Lease you certainly think that it’s going down. In fact, it’s probably going down a whole lot faster than most people would like.

The head of Lend Lease was quoted today as describing the housing market as being in distress and suggested that the market in New South Wales was probably the worst affected.

Here in Hervey Bay there are still ‘Sold’ signs appearing on but it does seem that the prices have dropped.