Latest News from Around The Traps

These days, more of my work is helping sellers as a Vendor’s Advocate. Therefore, I like to keep an eye out for how other properties are presented and marketed. This involves advising owners on how to best present their property and then finding the most suitable agent for them. You can find out more about this service here. Good photography and video are crucial for presenting a property, but do you think this campaign is over the top? This listing in Greenhills Beach near Cronulla pulled out all the stops, enlisting star actor Richard Roxburgh. Shot by award-winning director Josh Edgerton, brother of one of my favourite actors, Joel Edgerton. Lights, camera, action, I give you Number 33 The Movie!

All industries are susceptible to unethical or greed-motivated individuals, and the buyers’ agency industry is no exception. I first started over 25 years ago, and it was a natural extension of my interest in property and having deep local knowledge of a place I love – Byron Bay and the hinterland. I also had a natural desire to help people, so being a BA was a natural fit.

Unfortunately, there has been a recent surge in the number of new, inexperienced BAs who are motivated by turnover and by doing deals rather than by serving clients well. Many of them are enticed into an online course with the promise of excessive incomes for minimal work. This article mentions how it looks like APRA may need to enter the market to try to cool off this side of the business., If you, or people you know, are looking to use a BA, I encourage you to use one registered with a reputable Guild like REBAA, Real Estate Buyers Agents of Australia.

On the other end of the spectrum, many long-term, experienced BAs are assisting their clients more often with off-market sales. Up to one-fifth of property sales these days are sold without being publicly listed. This podcast explains how it is done and why it is gaining popularity.

Andy Hamilton has been doing great work in the shire, helping teenagers with their mental health issues. Human Nature is the organisation he has been running along with the CEO, Jen Parke, for ten Years. Andy and Jen have created an event to celebrate this special anniversary and would like both new and old supporters to attend a celebratory dinner. The Human Nature program takes troubled teens on adventure trips into nature, believing that nature is a form of medicine for the heart.

This is an excellent opportunity for people to give back and keep our vibrant community a truly great place to live. Many of my past clients have benefited from joining up to community-based organisations like this one and NRCF. They find it to be a great way to meet like-minded people and build stronger community cohesion.

Tickets for the event are available here and will cost $150. It will be at the River Hawk Ranch in Brunswick Heads. Acclaimed chef David Moyle will craft a dining experience to mark this milestone moment.

You can watch a podcast here with Andy and Chris Hanley on Our Byron Community and learn more about Human Nature.

I was intrigued to hear that some draftsmen and builders have a busy timetable raising houses for flood resilience. I have seen evidence of it already in Mullumbimby, Ocean Shores and SGB. This is good news, as most of the news on this has focused on how slow and inefficient the Reconstruction Authority has been in handling the buy-backs and house raising. I have been involved with a couple of these properties that have had work done to help residents bounce back after the inevitable next flood. It is something we will have to learn to live with. You can find out more about the program here.

Local Byron architect Christine Vadasz has been awarded a Life Fellowship by the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA). Her quirky, unique and environmentally sensitive buildings are scattered throughout Byron Shire and the Northern Rivers. She and her partner, Oliver Dunn, have contributed significantly to the area’s creativity and culture. Christine visited the area to design a house in Wategos Beach and stayed. She also worked for radical architect Bill Lucas in Sydney, who was part of the Aquarius Festival in 1973. The film Aquarius has now been released and is worth a watch if you want to understand this area’s alternative roots.

There is lots to love about Brunswick Heads. What’s not to love about Simple Pleasures? However, there are a couple of things that need some attention.

Brunswick Heads Fish Coop

I spent some time at the Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour and Marina over the Xmas break. What a sorry state it is in. Eight years ago, it was closed for redevelopment, but nothing has happened since. When there are overlapping government departments, a demanding developer and stakeholders resistant to change, things can get bogged down. Anyone who has visited the marinas at Bermagui or Port Macquarie will know what a good boat harbour facility can look like. In Bruns, many moored boats look like hulks, and I worry for the occupant’s safety. Since the toilet block is closed, are all those sedentary sailors releasing raw sewage into the river? I am not swimming at Torakina anymore. That is a simple pleasure I will do without.

South Beach Road, Brunswick Heads

The council has released the plans to redo South Beach Road – from the bridge to the Lifesaving Club. Unfortunately, the plans released are all about car traffic and parking, but many pedestrians and bikes use that route to the beach. People I have talked to who know about these things explain that bikes and pedestrians will now have “shared access” on the road in a 10km zone. That would be fine, but apparently, there is no money to differentiate the look of the road to drivers, and it could be a safety risk.

Brunswick Heads Surf Lifesaving Club

Visitors to Bruns Beach will see that the Lifesaving Club is also about to be pulled down and rebuilt. This has been a long time coming, and the existing building has passed its use-by-date. Unfortunately, the Clubbies only have enough to build the ground floor and will need another $2.5 million to finish the first floor. This is for the restaurants and facilities that generate income. Here is the website, but the donate page link is not functioning. It would be great if someone could inform them, as I am sure they are missing out on donations.

Saddle Road and Mullumbimby Road intersection.

The proposed development site at 66 Saddle Road Brunswick Heads is creeping along slowly. This 125-acre site has been approved for residential and social housing through Group Homes and an industrial “Business Park”. The site has been earmarked for some development since the original LEP in 1988, so this is not an overnight sensation.

The contentious issue is the access road where Saddle Road meets Mullumbimby Road, which is on a crest with terrible sight lines. Most drivers are looking at the tip of Mount Chincogan as you crest the hill – a sight I never tire of. Finding an alternative access off Gulgan Road with a roundabout is proving difficult. The other argument against this development site is that we should build on a ridgeline and keep preserving the rural look of the shire. I sympathise with this view, but what do we do if we can’t build on floodplains or ridgelines? We probably need to accept more medium-density developments on suitable sites. That is a conversation well overdue.