“Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind; large ones weaken it.” – Leonardo da Vinci

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House size is an important consideration to many when choosing to buy a home. Historically, bigger has been seen as better. More space meant we could have more things and room to expand. There is also that sense of prestige when living in a large home.

This month, Secret Agent will look at some of the problems with large stand alone dwellings from a sustainability perspective. We will then discuss why smaller is the way of the future in the housing world.

Access the House Sizes and Efficiency report now!

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“I’ll tell you what hermits realise. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.” – Alan Watts

This month, Secret Agent will discuss the implications of connectedness in designing spaces. Is there such thing as being too connected? We believe that limiting connection is just as important in both the home and the workplace.

Access the To Connect or Disconnect report now!

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“There is now around one occupied apartment for every five occupied separate houses in Australia – compared with one to every seven, back in 1991.” (ABS, 2017)

Apartments are increasingly popular living options for owner occupiers and tenants alike. They are located in some of the best positions, close to schools, transport, work and lifestyle precincts. They are well suited to a variety of audiences, from young professionals entering the property market to retirees looking to downsize, to office workers who want to cut down on transport time, to students who want to reside close to university.

In this report, Secret Agent will take a look at the state of the apartment market in Melbourne and Australia in general.

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They are the latest generation to enter our property market. Generation Z, or those born between 1995 and 2010, are coming of age and many of them will begin their property experience as renters, investors and home owners over the next few years.

For this report Secret Agent decided to take a look at this particular generation in order to get a better idea of their preferences and what this may mean for other buyers and sellers alike.

Access the Generation Z report now!

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A subdivision refers to an area of land that has been divided into separate lots. In this report, Secret Agent wanted to investigate whether different shaped subdivisions have an impact on the sale price of a property. 

The subdivisions in the suburbs we looked at for this report date back to the original founding of Melbourne. The shape of these subdivisions have a wonderful aesthetic from a bird’s eye view and break the grid like structure that is so common in Melbourne. These subdivisions have an elite European feel to them and perhaps reveal a lot about the early power structures within Melbourne society. 

Access the Unique Subdivisions report now!

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It is long known that colour psychology is a thing when it comes to advertising. In other words, the colours used in promotional materials matter as they evoke different emotions from the consumer. This may make them more or less likely to buy something.

This made Secret Agent wonder if the overall image colour of photos used in sale campaigns had an effect on property sale results in inner Melbourne. In this report, we discover what tone of images used in real estate marketing campaigns are best for the sale price of a property.

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There are various types of open space and not all of them are equal in terms of the value they provide. If you had to choose out of being close to Carlton cemetery versus Royal Park, which is only on the other side, most would choose Royal Park. Similarly, most would prefer to be next door to a vacant block full of neatly manicured plants compared to just a vacant block of land. Other than the obvious aesthetic differences, what else could make Royal Park more attractive to the cemetery?

Secret Agent has been pondering this question this month and has hypothesised that it is the wildlife and biodiversity that makes some of our open spaces within Melbourne so special. The more biodiversity, the more connected to nature we feel and the more we are willing to pay for property to be nearby this. It sounds like a far fetched idea but we are not the first to have thought of this. In fact it has been studied quantitatively in America.

This month, Secret Agent discusses wildlife and the potential impact it may have on property value.

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The Melbourne Metro tunnel is an initiative launched by the Victorian Government in 2015, with construction already underway. The project includes the addition of five new stations connected underground, with an expected completion in 2026.

There are clear benefits to the project, including an increased capacity of 36,000 passengers during peak periods, as well as easing overcrowding of the current city loop and the inner-city tram network.

While the social benefits are clear, the impact this project will have on properties near the construction and eventual completed infrastructure is unknown.

In this report, Secret Agent will investigate; how the construction will affect businesses, prices and buyer sentiment; what the tunnel will mean for new developments such as townhouses and apartment blocks and how the Melbourne Metro compares to other city transport systems such as the Scania region in Sweden and Montreal.

Access the Melbourne Metro: Revisited report now!

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2017 saw remarkable shifts in how investors pick what to invest in and when.

This month, Secret Agent recaps the year of inner Melbourne property in 2017. We review the performance of houses, townhouses and apartments and highlight the best performing suburbs.

Access the EOY 2017 report now!

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This month, Secret Agent investigates how a property’s elevation above sea level influences its price.

The suburbs analysed include: Albert Park, Middle Park, Carlton North, Princes Hill, East Melbourne, South Yarra, North Melbourne, Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Toorak, Essendon and Hawthorn.

Access the Elevation report now!