Posted to The Age (13/12/2011) on 15/12/2011 at 11:44 AM
Commenting on "Where is the housing market headed?"
http://theage.domain.com.au/blogs/talking-property/where-is-the-housing-market-headed-20111213-1osf0.html
@tim, collecting, collating, analysing data and presenting them in readable form are laborious and expensive. You probably understand that there is no free lunch in this world. Did you pay for the data? If you did not, then the result published is done with the minimum time and effort. Even the new Australian Consumer Laws will not be on the users' side, because you get what you pay for.
If all the auction results are submitted and the clearance rate calculated to 4 decimal places, it still does not give a true picture of the real market trend. A lot of properties are sold by private sales, and there is no obligation for data to be released for public consumption. Then there is the problem of when properties should be considered sold - the day the sale document signed by vendor and buyer, immediately after cooling off or all special conditions are met. If any special condition, e.g. bank loan approval, architect’s and termite/pest inspection, FIRB approve, etc., is not met satisfactorily, the sale can be voided by the buyer.
One more thing to consider is how relevant is the statistics, either clearance rate or median price, to the location of the specific property where one is intended to invest in.
With the latest and most advanced technology available to date, original source data still depends on human to input to the system; and most people will manipulate the data to their benefit.
Besides money, investing in property requires time, effort and brain juice.
Commenting on "Where is the housing market headed?"
http://theage.domain.com.au/blogs/talking-property/where-is-the-housing-market-headed-20111213-1osf0.html
@tim, collecting, collating, analysing data and presenting them in readable form are laborious and expensive. You probably understand that there is no free lunch in this world. Did you pay for the data? If you did not, then the result published is done with the minimum time and effort. Even the new Australian Consumer Laws will not be on the users' side, because you get what you pay for.
If all the auction results are submitted and the clearance rate calculated to 4 decimal places, it still does not give a true picture of the real market trend. A lot of properties are sold by private sales, and there is no obligation for data to be released for public consumption. Then there is the problem of when properties should be considered sold - the day the sale document signed by vendor and buyer, immediately after cooling off or all special conditions are met. If any special condition, e.g. bank loan approval, architect’s and termite/pest inspection, FIRB approve, etc., is not met satisfactorily, the sale can be voided by the buyer.
One more thing to consider is how relevant is the statistics, either clearance rate or median price, to the location of the specific property where one is intended to invest in.
With the latest and most advanced technology available to date, original source data still depends on human to input to the system; and most people will manipulate the data to their benefit.
Besides money, investing in property requires time, effort and brain juice.
