Recently Chris Boyd, founder and director of AYAC, was flown to Melbourne to present his charity to a panel of judges for the Young Social Pioneers Australia competition. He was selected as a finalist after submitting a written application on his charity.

AYAC was picked as one of thirteen winning organisations. Over the next twelve months, Chris will participate in a series of workshops that will provide him with the skills necessary to build and manage the charity effectively as it continues to grow. He will meet with CEOs and community leaders, as well as networking with other Young Social Pioneer winners from Australia and around the world.

This is an enormous achievement for Chris and AYAC, especially considering the charity was only founded earlier this year. Beach and Bay once again congratulate Chris on his relentless efforts and outstanding ambition.

1. Go whale Watching at Cape Solander
2. Catch a ferry to Bundeena and see the Bundeena/Maianbar Art Trail (first Sunday of the month)
3. Join one of the Cronulla swimming clubs and go ocean swimming between 5am and 8am (we haven’t road tested this one just yet….)
4. Visit the Hazelhurst Art Gallery in Gymea
5. Play 10 pin bowling at Sylvania (at least its in-doors!)
6. Visit the Brass Monkey Cronulla mid-week. There are always incredibly talented local and international bands playing week in and week out.
7. Spoil yourself and eat at Summersalt restaurant in Cronulla on a clear night (Enjoy that view)
8. Visit the Camelia Gardens in Caringbah and feed the ducks
9. Play a round of golf at Kareela Golf Course
10. Go for a bushwalk around Waterfall

Once upon a time (10 years ago at least) some agents used to encourage the auction process over private treaty (for sale). Some of the reasons behind auction marketing favouritism was:

-          Auction marketing is normally on a shorter time frame of 4 weeks, therefore increasing sales turnover and profit for the agent.

-          Because of this shorter time frame, advertising was encouraged to be bigger and bolder to get the maximum number of buyers interested.

-          Property agents like to see their names and portrait photos in print. The bigger the advertisement the bigger their profile! This was a time when print media was the unchallenged medium for real estate marketing.

-          It was common for real estate bosses to incentivize auction listings over private treaty listings i.e. agents earn greater split of commission for auction listing.

10 years ago though real estate agents used brick-sized mobile phones too, so obviously things have changed.

Fast forward to 2010, where online advertising is now a huge part of real estate marketing and has helped to reduce marketing costs. It is now common for an auction advertising campaign to be similar in cost, if not cheaper, than a private treaty campaign.

With an auction campaign there is obviously the additional cost of an auctioneer, but marketing an auction campaign is limited to a 4 week period, whereas private treaty has no deadline and can drag on for months.

One of the positive results of this is that agents are now more inclined to promote and encourage the auction process only if it is suitable to the property and clients needs and not for the agents needs.

In the next blog I will cover ‘The Bidder’s Guide to Auction Day’. Until then!

Check out my last post on On-site vs In-room autions.

I’m sure there are plenty of aching legs in the Shire this morning!

Yesterday over 7000 people lined up to take part in the 2010 Sutherland to Surf. The overnight rain made for a very wet road, but the sun came out as the pelaton (I have Le Tour fever) followed the Kingsway down to the Cronulla beaches towards the finish, making for an enjoyable (and exhausting) morning.

Rachael, Murray and Natalie from the Beach and Bay team ran the 11km in (almost) record time. Kylie’s fund raising efforts are focused elsewhere as she runs the final legs of her own personal marathon as Dry July draws ever closer to its end!

Beach and Bay were part of the Australian Youth Against Cancer (AYAC) running group, who collectively managed to raise over $4000 (and counting). Beach and Bay would like to congratulate Chris Boyd and the AYAC team on their efforts yesterday in raising so much money.

Congratulations also to everyone who completed the 11km course. The City to Surf is coming up next month and spots are filling very fast, so get involved! Online registration can be found here.

Grind Espresso – 2 Surf Rd, Cronulla

Residential real estate auctions are all about pulling at the emotional heart strings of a buyer so that they spend, spend, spend, bid, bid, bid!

At an on-site auction buyers can see, touch and smell what their money is buying them, whether it is the view of Sydney Harbour as the boats sail past or the sundrenched north facing backyard for the kids to play in all year round.

Can a powerpoint presentation create the same atmosphere for a property as on-site? Probably not, and they often technically break down, leaving the auctioneer in the lurch with a room full of people.

Saying that, in-room auctions have some advantages over on-site;

• In-room auctions are weatherproof
• Normally have a large audience (although not if your property is scheduled last)
• Are sometimes cheaper for the vendor (economies of scale)

The ultimate experience for an on-site auction is when someone walking past stops to see what is happening and suddenly decides to bid! This does happen and has happened to me several times. Nothing beats the client quickly having a look through the property and registering (which you can do at anytime throughout the auction process). With in-rooms this is less likely to happen….

Auction Series Part 1: Aution Vs Private Treaty

Auction Series Part 2: The Vendor Bid

Auction Series Part 3: How Much Is An Auctioneer?

Other auction articles we’ve covered in the past.

Registering for an Auction

If an Auction, go to Auction

A friend and I took advantage of all these when we took a mid-week break to Mollymook and stayed in 48 Lockhart Avenue. We arrived late Monday night and after unpacking we quickly claimed our rooms. “You can have the master bedroom”, my mate chimed, “and I’ll have the other master bedroom.”

The holiday house itself is wonderful. Open plan living that flows from a huge kitchen area allows for conversation and cooking simultaneously! With only two of us in the house, we didn’t even enter half of the available rooms. Nor did we use the second living area. But in a place that could comfortably sleep eight people (probably more) it’s not surprising really.

We woke up to a beautifully clear Tuesday morning, only to find Mollymook beach resembling a lake. Whilst Sydney copped wind and rain, it also copped most of the swell. My predictions had been slightly off, so we hit the road. Eventually we settled on Durras and managed to sneak a wave in there. We relaxed on a headland with lunch before heading back to Mollymook to explore a little more.

We dined at the Beach Hut on Mollymook beach that night and ate some of the best burgers we’ve ever had. You can’t go wrong with a Mexican Beef Burger, with all the trimmings. Spectacular!

Wednesday morning was a lazy start, but we packed up and headed north by mid morning and surfed in the Shellharbour region. We arrived home to hear tales of rain and wind, and we hadn’t seen a cloud in three days. Thank god for the South Coast.

And thank you to Beach and Bay for the junket. It’s a beautiful part of the world.

How Much Is An Auctioneer?

A residential property Auctioneer charges anywhere from $400 to $600 and must be booked a month in advance. If you sell prior  most Auctioneers still charge their fee as they set aside  a date on their calendar and times are limited.

An auction can take 5 mins or an hour so bookings have to be made so that the Auctioneer has plenty of time to move from one property to the next on a Saturday. In-room auctions are easier in this case and more auctions can be done so sometimes a lesser fee is charged for in-room auctions.

Some Auctioneers have a driver for Saturday auctions and some have scribbers so that during the auction they can easily refer to the bids.

Auctioneering is a specialised profession. To be an Auctioneer you must be a Licensed Real Estate Agent and you need to do further training to qualify as an Auctioneer. A good Auctioneer needs to be confident, engaging, enthusiastic about the property and should have thorough knowledge of the local area.

For past blogs see part 1 “Auction VS Private Treaty”, or part 2 “The Vendor Bid”.

Andy is now 17 and off to college. It is the end of an era and the toys face the depressing realisation that they’re time with Andy is over. They soon find themselves at Sunnyside Day Care Centre, a proverbial paradise for toys run by the cute and not-so-cuddly Lotso (Ned Beatty).

After a relatively slow start the movie picks up at a frenetic pace, with twists, turns and plenty of laughs culminating in a spectacular conclusion.

Toy Story 3 is nothing short of brilliant. This film appeals to everyone, regardless of age. Family films are extremely hard to do well, but Toy Story 3 hits every nail on the head with brutal accuracy. I actually struggled to keep back crocodile tears on more than one occasion. Picture that – an adolescent youth struggles to keep back tears as a toddler in the next chair laughs excitedly and claps his hands.

What really makes this movie special though is the profound sense of realism. These characters are literally built from scratch on a computer, yet they manage to tug at all your heart strings far better than most live actors do. It is extremely well written and intensely clever.

All the original voices return with Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack as Jessie, as well as a cast of new characters. Worthy of note is Michael Keaton as the very loveable albeit flamboyant Ken.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who grew up loving the Toy Story series. It is rare that the third movie in a series satisfies, but Toy Story 3 goes above and beyond anything I expected. Five stars!

Toy Story 3 is now screening at Cronulla Cinema Centre. Click for session times and other information.