Online Real Estate Technology

India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has moved into his new home — a 27-storey mansion worth $1 billion.

The enormous Mumbai palace has three helipads, a dance studio, a ball room, a 50-seat theatre and an underground car park for 160 cars, according to media reports.

The 37,000 square metre home is believed to be the world’s most expensive and took seven years to build.

Mr Ambani, 53, is a major shareholder at Reliance Industries — an oil, retail and biotechnology conglomerate.

Forbes magazine has ranked Mr Ambani the fourth-richest man in the world and values his net worth at $29 billion.

The tycoon’s mother, wife and three children will live with him inside the 173m tall monolith, alongside 600 staff members.

The building has been named Antila, after a mythical island, and has views over Mumbai and the Arabian Sea.

Shiny Varghese, an Indian design magazine editor, said Antilia was "obscenely lavish".

"But we are heading into the sort of culture where money is not a question when setting up a home," Mr Varghese told The Guardian.

But an associate of Mr Ambani told the newspaper there was nothing obscene about Antilia, and that the businessman had simply "built a house to his requirements".

"He can’t just walk into a cinema and watch a film like you or me," the unnamed associate said.

"So he has built a house to his requirements like anyone else would. It’s a question of convenience and requirements. It’s only a family home, just a big one.

"It’s just another home that someone is living in. It’s no big event."

Story from ninemsn staff reporters

What a fantastic response we’ve had to our next social media training day in New Zealand, over 550 real estate agents are confirmed as attending the 2 sessions on the day, we still have room for a small number of additional places for agents who’d like to attend the afternoon session on Wednesday the 6th October.

Location is The Great Northern Room, Ellerslie Event Centre, Ellerslie Racecourse Auckland New Zealand, as I mentioned earlier the morning session is now fully booked, so the only session available is the afternoon session commencing at 1:30pm.

You can download the flyer with all the information on the sessions Social Media Training Day New Zealand Registration Form or you can book by faxing the completed registration form to 00617 5534 1046, you can also email your registration form to amazing@iangrace.com.au or info@mikeandrewconsulting.com

Room is limited, so the earlier you register, the more likely you’ll reserve yourself a place.

Your speakers for the day will include Ian Grace and Mike Andrew

IT’S no secret overseas investors have identified Australia as a growth region when it comes to buying property.

The funds are coming in not only to buy direct assets but also via investing in Australian real estate investment trusts, which are now more focused on the local property market than at any time in the past three years.

Jones Lang LaSalle research on global capital flows confirms Australia’s attraction to investors led it to be ranked seventh in the world as a destination for cross-border investment for the first half of 2010.

The report says cross-border investment in Australia increased more than five-fold, at $US1.8 billion, compared with $US319 million at the same time last year. The research reveals Britain has been the most popular destination for cross-border investment so far in 2010, with $US7 billion invested, while Germany replaces the US as the second most popular destination.

The US was in third place (from second in the first half of 2009), despite a doubling in transactions in the American market from $US2.2 billion to $US4.3 billion.

The director of international investments at Jones Lang LaSalle in Australia, Simon Storry, said the country’s ranking confirmed the view that Australia remained a destination of choice for foreign investment.

”We expect Australia to continue to be on the radar of foreign investors for the remainder of this year,” Mr Storry said.

”Commercial real estate in Australia has offered solid and stable returns and an attractive environment for investors seeking stability in their globally diverse portfolios.”

The Jones Lang LaSalle research reveals a near-doubling of global commercial real estate transactions in the first half of 2010, compared with the same period a year ago.

According to the report, total global commercial real estate investment was $US132 billion for the first half of 2010, compared with $US76 billion in the previous corresponding period and, after reaching a low of 31 per cent of total volumes in the first half of 2009, cross-border activity was back above 40 per cent, a trend set to continue.

Mr Storry said this reflected a general market pick-up, a return to the globalisation of real estate investment and a search for value by investors.

Carolyn Cummins Sydney Morning Herald

THE sale of a Karrinyup home without the owner’s knowledge by a Nigerian scammer has prompted an investigation by five government agencies and a warning to real estate agents to beware of fraud.

Roger Mildenhall, 64, was living in South Africa when his $485,000 Perth property was sold in June by someone posing as him.
The money is gone, but WA’s Registrar of Titles Bruce Roberts said Mr Mildenhall would be able to apply for compensation for his losses.

The Commercial Crime Division of WA Police, Consumer Protection, Landgate, the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board (REBA) and the Settlement Agents Supervisory Board (SASB) have joined forces to investigate the fraudulent sale and consider measures aimed at minimising the risk of a repeat occurrence.

Similarities to an attempted fraudulent sale of a West Perth apartment in 2008 will also be studied as part of the extensive review.

REBA Chairman Mark Cuomo said real estate agents had reported several other cases of attempted fraud recently and the number could rise.

“The fraud attempts might increase after the success of the Karrinyup case,” Mr Cuomo said.

“All real estate agents must now be increasingly vigilant against these types of scam attempts and carry out extra checks to verify an owner’s identity, particularly those who are selling local property while overseas.

“It would be an effective fraud-prevention practice that, if a property owner changes their postal or email address, they should send a confirmation to the old address to make sure the new address is genuine. Similarly, if phone and fax numbers change, try the old number to double check.

“We would also suggest to agents to ask questions of absentee owners that only the real owner would know, perhaps about the last sale or characteristics of the property.”

“Agents could also consider asking for selling fees up front, as scammers will most likely be discouraged from pursuing the sale or will make up excuses as to why they can’t pay them.

“The onus, however, is on the agent to exercise due diligence in these situations and to be extra vigilant. It is imperative that agents adequately manage the risks involved in these sales, and, ultimately, if there is any doubt, they should report their suspicions to the proper authorities and not proceed with the transaction.”

Officer-in-charge of the Major Fraud Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Don Heise said both these cases involved scammers from Nigeria with possible collaborators in South Africa.

“It appears there was an interception of the landowner’s mail in South Africa, where the fraudsters stole his identity and falsified a number of documents. These were then sent to the relevant real estate agent in Perth,” Det Snr Sgt Heise said.

Characteristics of the 2010 successful scam that could be a warning to absentee home owners, real estate agents and settlement agents are:

· Notification of a change of contact details, email and postal addresses of the property owner prior to the sale request;

· Sale was communicated as urgent for business or other personal reasons;

· Promise of future sales through the agent as an incentive to cooperate with a speedy sale and settlement;

· Documents from Notary Public in Nigeria, verifying documents and identity;

· Request for a short-term loan before settlement;

· English in some of the correspondence very basic or poor.

Commissioner for Consumer Protection Anne Driscoll said scams are now becoming more professional and more elaborate.

“The forging of signatures and the production of fake documents is, in some cases, highly professional so these scam attempts may not be so easily spotted. It’s important that all businesses have a system in place to verify the legitimate owner before money changes hands, especially if the person they are dealing with is unknown to them and comes from overseas.”

A checklist of what agents should consider includes:

· Check signatures with those that may already be on file from previous transactions

· If official documents look suspicious, have them independently verified by the issuing authority

· If a request for change of address is received for the property, send confirmation to old address as well

· If being asked to sell house remotely, ask questions about the property that only the real owner would know

· Consider a 100-point identity verification system which includes passport or driver’s licence with photograph and signature, as well as independent proof of address from employer or local council

In another fraud case originating in Nigeria, a number of Perth businesses have lost thousands of dollars in a ‘Yellow Page’ scam.

Consumer Protection earlier listed an alert on their website warning the public of a scam involving letters sent by a company calling itself “Yellow Page”.

This company advises the recipient of the letter that payment is outstanding for an advertisement for their business and demands payment of AUS $1548.00.

Police are urging business owners to be vigilant when processing invoices.

To date detectives have seized more than 1,500 envelopes destined for potential business victims and intercepted more than $140,000 worth of cheques sent back to the scammers.

Source: www.perthnow.com.au

Guest post by Nikki Taylor, director of ICG Recruitment and Real Estate Jobs Search.

Ever thought of saving time and money and having a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

Do you know what a Virtual Assistant can do for you and your business?

So you have all of your paper work piling up, your databases have contact details that are not updated , business cards need loading into your database and you need emails sent, you have a presentation you have to prepare for tomorrow, and you need to organise that business trip for next week by end of the day, alongside the things you actually get paid for in your business!

Perhaps you should consider using a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT, your very own Personal Assistant  to take over some of your non-paying to do jobs. We call them the $25 an hour jobs.

A Virtual Assistant or “your very own PA” is a self employed professional Administrative / Personal Assistant.  A Virtual Assistant works from their own remote office and this normally would be from their own home  to provide a range of virtual business support services, using technology such as phone, skype internet and email to communicate with you.

Just what can you ask a Virtual Assistant to do?

A Virtual Assistant can provide most of the same services as an onsite employee, but without the added expense to you or your employer.  You can also work with a virtual assistant on a one off project, rather than ongoing, which is perfect in those busier times.  I believe having your own Virtual Assistant means she or he gets to know how you work and starts to understand  your needs very quickly.

Some common services your Virtual Assistant should do for you would include;

• Data Entry
• Word Processing
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Travel Arrangements
• Diary Management / Appointment making

• Customer Service / diverting your mobile to assist your calls

• Event Planning
• Website Maintenance and Updates
• Database Management
• Online and Offline Marketing and Promotion
• Bookkeeping
• Mail outs

What are the benefits of using a Virtual Assistant for your business?

There are a loads of benefits of using a Virtual Assistant and include such things as;

Saving valuable time and money, allowing you time to work on your business

No office space, equipment or software required.

No payroll tax

No super, sick and holiday pay

Only pay for time on task or per project, so only time actually spent working, they can record each 10 minutes

Support on an “as needed” basis. You can your  Virtual Assistant on a full time, part time, casual basis or for a one off special project.

Ok, so just how much should you expect to pay for this kind of help?

The cost of using a Virtual Assistant can vary depending on the service required and the particular Virtual Assistant’s skills and experience. Virtual Assistants are generally paid by the hour and these arrangements need to be set up prior to the job description and requirements that are  given to your Virtual Assistant. 

But when you consider that you only pay for the time they are actually working on your job, which may only be 3 to 4 hours a week  or 5 to 10 hours a week, or even a month, to do the roles that need to be done in  administration  that you just don’t have the time to do. These are tasks that on a daily basis you say to yourself, “ I shouldn’t be doing this I should be doing what I’m good at leave this administration work to some one else.”  and you think about how much you could make per hour if you were just working on what you love and are good at, then you really need to consider this option.  Free your time up more.

Who can use a Virtual Assistant?

Almost any kind of business can benefit from using a Virtual Assistant.    ICG Recruitment want to see more Real Estate Agents and Principals using their own Virtual Assistant’s.  ICG will match you with your own Virtual PA  and the rest is up to you to delegate the work load.

How to work really effectively with a Virtual Assistant:

As you and your Virtual Assistant will be in different locations, (sometimes as remote as the other side of the country or even the world!) communication is the key part  in any Virtual Assistant / Client relationship.  You can Skype and email as often as required.

You will need to discuss things such as;

What is expected for the project, the timing, deadlines etc. So a really good and clear brief (explanation of what the job is that you want done) is essential.  Be specific and make sure both of you understand the outcome.  Indentify what sort of communication is best suited to you both e.g.; phone,  email, instant messaging, skype.  Computer programs and versions to be used that suit your requirements.  Have a  system to advise when a task is done without the micromanagement.

My Virtual Assistant – My story

I have employed two Virtual Assistants and both I have trained  face to face and the rest is based on excellent communication, via phone and skype and email   With a busy successful recruitment company for the Real Estate Industry we have been fortunate enough to obtain our latest Virtual Assistant that has also worked in the Real Estate Industry.  In our first week she was onto it and enjoying the flexibility the role gave her and I was also enjoying the flexibility that she was always available.  I do supply our Virtual Assistant  with a blackberry giving them access to emails and unlimited use of phone calls.  Our line of communication is through Email, Phone, Instant Messaging and Skype.  Face to Face can be done if needed but do think of your time and productivity and most things can be done from the computer these days. Training on new software can also be done as one can access each other’s computer.  I never go without saying a simple “ Thank You” for the work they do every day to make our life a whole lot easier.

Here are my five tips for working with a Virtual Assistant – my very own PA.

1. Be clear about what you want your Virtual Assistant to do

The first thing I did was a write down all the things I needed done that I don’t want to be doing, the things I want someone else to do, things I can delegate.  If you cant delegate then you have some serious problems getting your self a VA, you need to learn to delegate the smaller jobs that makes your job easier. things I would like my VA to do for me. So now I have the list of jobs I need to be done now and the things I can get my VA to do as she/he gets to know the role.  It was critical for our industry to have someone that understood the Real Estate Industry. Can make the role so much easier to delegate tasks.

This allowed me to find a Virtual Assistant that had skills and experience to match my requirements in our industry.

2. Communicate your personal quirks

As a Boutique Specialist so much about the way we run our business in comparison to the Corporate, we need to have someone understand our point of difference and why we like to respond to emails or communicate in certain ways.   Our logo states “its all about attitude”  and our VA needs to know all about that.

3. Be clear with instructions and deadlines

You must clearly define the task and deadline to your VA, therefore you will not have any confusion on when the job is required.  Be specific about the hours you want your VA to spend on a task. .You also need to be clear and precise and clarify the understanding of each task.   You are not there to oversee this and you do not need wasted time spent on one task. Remember, much of what you do is habit and you can’t assume someone else will think the same way you do.

4. Agree on a work flow process

Spend time in the early stages of your working relationship agreeing on work flow processes. How will you share information? How will you ensure things don’t slip through cracks or get double handled? How will you issue instructions – verbally or in writing? Will you send requests as they happen or save them up in batches?

Discussing these things up front will minimise the chance of things going wrong.

5. Be willing to let go – delegate*

Yes I like to do it all myself, however time doesn’t permit.  As I have found my Virtual Assistants have worked so very well for me I now find it so much easier to delegate what needs to be done. . The most challenging thing for me was to let go of tasks and trust my VA to do a great job. I didn’t want to drive my VA crazy by always micro managing is it done etc .

On delegation – Say it with me now: It’s OK to delegate. It’s OK to delegate. It’s OK to delegate. Now if only doing it was as easy as saying it. When you’re a small business owner who prides yourself on doing everything on your own, delegation is hard. Your business is your baby and your blood; it seems unnatural to trust someone else to take over your responsibilities, I mean, surely, there’s no way they could do a task better or more thoroughly than you could, right? As your business begins to grow or you are putting in the long hours then  it’s inevitable that you’ll have to become comfortable with delegating tasks.

Having a Virtual Assistant can be a wonderful addition to you and your business. Take the time to create the structures that will support it being a great experience for both of you.

Best of luck Nikki Taylor ICG Recruitment, The Recruitment Specialists for the Real Estate Industry

If you are wanting to know more about Virtual PA’s – Virtual Assistant’s then email Nikki at ICG Recruitment Nikki Taylor now at ICG Recruitment as we are launching this as a new service to the Real Estate Industry across Australia.

Queensland real estate agents are struggling to make ends meet in the current property climate, slashing staff, costs and even closing their doors for good.

Figures released last week by RP Data showed Brisbane to be the worst performing capital city in Australia, dropping -2.5 per cent in the three months to July.

Brisbane’s median house price is now reportedly $440,000, making it the third-cheapest capital city behind Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra and Darwin. Only Adelaide and Hobart are still cheaper than Brisbane.

Dan Molloy, managing director of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), said agents all across Queensland had been hit hard by the downturn.

“Anecdotally, I can tell you that there are agents laying off staff, merging their businesses and in some cases, having to liquidate,” he said.

“There is certainly a lot of pressure on agents at the moment because for the first time in a long time, we’re seeing more sellers than buyers.”

Mr Molloy said open houses that might have drawn up to 30 groups within a half hour three years ago now struggled to get a couple of viewings.

“I would expect the market to pick up again by 2011…regrettably; a return to normal market conditions will be too late for some.”

Mr Molloy said stability with interest rates was paramount.

“We’re still seeing the flow-on effect from those consecutive interest rate rises. We really only see the effects after six to 12 months,” he said.

“Consumer confidence is down and I think with some stability in the government and in interest rates, we will see an improvement there. In the meantime, the industry will be hurting.”

Story by Ellen Lutton www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Despite a general drop in home prices during the recession, home affordability problems persist for many Americans, according to recent data from The Urban Institute’s MetroTrends.

Home Affordability Problems Began During Boom
MetroTrends research indicates that during the boom years (roughly 2003-2007), unemployment was low in most of metropolitan America, but average earnings remained essentially flat. In the top 100 metros nationwide, average earnings grew only 1.2% from 2005 to 2007, after accounting for inflation.

And because real rents and house prices rose significantly during this period, housing hardship worsened. The share of households spending 30% or more of every month’s income on rent or mortgage costs climbed from 30% in 2000 to 40% in 2008.

Lower Prices Don’t Ease Problems
Since the recession started, unemployment has spiked, jumping from 4.6% among the top 100 metros in 2007 to 9.6% in October 2009. In addition, MetroTrends analysis indicates average earnings have declined, although 2009 data aren’t yet available, and house prices have plummeted.

However, average home prices remained 26% higher in 2009 than in 2000. And most families’ monthly rent or mortgage payments haven’t fallen because they haven’t yet moved or refinanced. At least for now, housing affordability problems are more prevalent, not less.

MetroTrends says one indication of deepening hardship in the downturn is the recent rise in food insecurity. Until 2007, about 11% of metropolitan households experienced food insecurity. But in 2008, this share climbed to almost 15%.

Coastal Metros Hardest Hit
Residents of coastal metropolitan areas have been especially affected by housing hardship. In metro Los Angeles, for example, the share of households with unaffordable housing cost burdens topped 50% in 2007. And in the Miami region, 53% of households lived in unaffordable housing.

Coastal areas of California, Florida and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic have been especially hard hit. Twelve metropolitan areas in central and southern California have 43% or more of their population spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs. Florida has three metropolitan areas with 43% or more of their population spending this much on housing costs, as well as four areas with 37-42.9% of residents spending this amount.

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic only have two metropolitan areas with have 43% or more of their population spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs, but have at least 10 metro areas with 37-42.9% of residents spending this amount. The only other state with a metropolitan area where 43% or more of residents spend 30% or more of their income on housing is Nevada (Las Vegas).

Hope for Improvement Exists
MetroTrends predicts that during the next five to 10 years, as the economy recovers and housing values stabilize, there’s a reasonable chance for better alignment of housing costs and incomes, because housing markets will likely recover without immediately forming another bubble. If house values increase moderately as employment and earnings gradually return to normal, more families will find their housing costs affordable. The lowest-wage workers still won’t find much housing that they can reasonably afford, however.

Short-term Unemployment Hits Mortgages Hard
While the long-term unemployed have suffered the most during the Great Recession, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that shorter spells of unemployment also have been painful for many Americans and their families.

For example, one-third of all long-term unemployed (33%) say they have had problems paying their rent or mortgage, identical to the proportion of those unemployed less than three months who experienced difficulty paying for housing.

However, this proportion is more than double the share of Americans who have not been jobless at any point during the recession but who have had difficulty paying for housing during the recession (16%).

A large California based real estate brokerage with more than 700 agents has announced a joint venture with a major international real estate franchisor this week.

Altgera Real Estate is forming a new company, Harcourts Pacific, with New Zealand based franchisor Harcourts International which has more than 630 offices and more than 4,000 agents in nine countries including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Zambia, and Singapore.
Altera marks the company’s first venture in the United States, adding 23 independently owned offices and more than 700 agents to the franchise’s network. Real Trends ranked Altera Real Estate as No. 101 of the 500 largest brokerages in the country by sales volume in 2009.
Financial details about the transaction were not disclosed, though Mike Green, managing director for Harcourts International, said in a statement, ‘As a 50% shareholder in the US joint venture, Harcourts will have a heavy focus on the American market throughout 2010, as long term plans are put in place for further expansion in the country’.
Both Harcourts International and Altera Real Estate are part of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (RELO) organization.
Gary Thomas, one of Altera’’ founders, had met Harcourts executives more than a decade ago, and the franchise company first approached him about a partnership to expand into the US about five months ago, said Dennis Badagliacco, Altera’s president and now president of Harcourts Pacific.
He, his wife Colleen, and Thomas founded Altera in 2008. Both Colleen Badagliacco and Thomas are former presidents of the California Association of Realtors.
All Altera offices will retain their current branding, except any new materials ordered will have ‘a Harcourts company’ added next to the Altera name, he said. Altera asked to retain that branding as part of the deal. Any new franchises the company opens will be branded as Harcourts, he added.
‘We’ll be able to expand services in a geometric way for our agents. Right now, we have one person that handles agent interactions, marketing packages, and then does some educational classes,’ Badagliacco said.
From the Academy, agents ‘can learn to be an agent, in management, or a broker owner. (The agents) are going to take classes equivalent to college classes. There’s no other company in the world that does that that we know of,’ Dennis said.
‘For the training of agents, they don’t have just these one day seminars. They actually have classes in REOs, things like that. We had all of the same things, but didn’t have the volume or the depth that they did,’ he said.
Brokers will also get one on- ne training monthly, he said. Harcourts will also give agents free iPhone and iPad applications to work with. These will include an app for property search and for transaction management as well as listing presentations that can be given on an iPad, Badagliacco said.

Original story from Propertywire.com

Property prices in Australia could start to fall as a result of interest rate cuts and a cut back in mortgage lending, it is claimed. Despite prices increasing by up to 20% in the last year, a six interest rate rises in the last eight months could put the brakes on and there is evidence of a slowdown, experts believe.

REAL estate experts are bracing for the housing market to finally slow down, as the effects of the latest interest rate rise filters through to buyers.

According to Australia’s largest real estate group Ray White, turnover in the first three months of the year is sluggish compared with last year, up only 8%, the smallest increase since the global financial crisis.

The reduced activity has continued in to April, said Brian White, joint chairman. ‘Judging by our April results, it looks as if the interest rate increases are having an impact on activity. With the additional interest rate hike, it would be the first time that the Australian market has not shrugged off the pattern of increases in the past. At last, it would appear that the ambition of the Reserve Bank to slow down the residential activity has been achieved,’ he explained.

Another outcome of soaring prices is an increased in those struggling to make mortgage payments. According to independent interest rate monitor RateCity about 27,000 households have already missed mortgage repayments and thousands more are expected to fall behind after the latest interest rate rise.

The number of securitised home loans more than 90 days in arrears has rapidly increased from 0.05% in January to a current rate of 0.6% it said.

The worsening financial crisis in Europe could also affect the Australian market. Some analysts even believe there might be a rate decrease later in the year, although most are predicting they are likely to remain on hold.

‘There will be a slower housing market in Sydney in the second half of this year, even with a normal economy,’ said SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher. But he added that if the euro zone woes worsen there would be the potential for quarter on quarter falls at the end of the year.

Residex chief executive John Edwards believes price growth will moderate and he forecasts 5 to 8% overall. The top end of the market would do best, while some cheaper areas of south western Sydney were already going backwards.

According to Australian Property Monitors economist Matthew Bell prices in the most expensive half of the property market would rise at twice the rate of the bottom half.

Story from PropertyWire.com

Australian mortgage holders are a third time unlucky this year, after the Reserve Bank board today lifted interest rates by 0.25 per cent. It is the third rate rise in as many months.

Mortgage holders will be disappointed with the increase. After being told by the Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens, that rates were getting close to normal levels, borrowers would have been hoping the pace of rate rises had slowed. Today’s 25 basis point rise takes the official rate to 4.50 per cent.

It is the sixth increase since September and means mortgage holders are now paying about $300 a month extra for their mortgages than they were in the middle of last year, says Domain.com.au blogger and property author Carolyn Boyd. "There were a lot of mixed signals this month that may have had mortgage holders thinking they were in for a break. While inflation last week came in higher than expected, consumers have been spending less at the shops."

Until today’s decision, mortgage holders on variable interest rates were paying about 7 per cent to their lenders. The rates that borrowers pay to their financial institutions are expected to normalize at about 7.5 per cent to 7.75 per cent by year’s end.

That could signal there are still one or two more rate rises to come before Christmas.