Initiative

Golden Age&rsquo;s irregular initiative at its Sky Garden, Glen Waverley apartment project, which offers&nbsp;prospective&nbsp;buyers a chance to stay at the apartment for a few nights&nbsp;before committing to a purchase, has been met with keen interest and demand.

Potential buyers will be able to stay at&nbsp;one of six display residences, featuring a similar layout and/or aspect they are interested in purchasing and can stay for up to two nights.

Program manager Michael Tay secured a two-bedroom investment in the building after taking part in the initiative with his family.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881 project_image_fid=183532]

Tay felt that the &#39;Try Before You Buy&#39; offered a renter&rsquo;s point of view and consequently a more accurate representation of the Sky Garden lifestyle, which could only have been achieved through the in-person experience.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The Try Before You Buy initiative is very good, staying in the apartment overnight makes a big difference because you get a sense of the area in the evening, and what it is like to wake up there in the morning,&quot; Tay said.

&quot;There was no traffic or road noise during the night thanks to double glazed windows.

&ldquo;The initiative by Golden Age allowed us to experience life through the renter&rsquo;s perspective by living in the residence for a night, which is very different to just looking at a floor plan or taking a tour, as you do not get as good a sense of what you are buying,&rdquo; he added.

Residing in a styled residence also gave Tay and his family an accurate idea of available space.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881 project_image_fid=183523]

&ldquo;As the apartment is already furnished, you get a feel for what it is like to walk through the space, see the joinery and cabinetry, and how much of the space could be filled by your own furniture if you live there,&rdquo; he said.

Tay said that he was surprised by the high-level of amenity in the project.

&ldquo;I was surprised by how well maintained the amenities were, particularly the pool and sauna. The stay also gave me an idea of what the crowd is like at the gym on a Saturday morning, and how people use the facilities.&rdquo;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881 project_image_fid=184593]

The &lsquo;Try Before You Buy&rsquo; initiative provides vetted prospective buyers exclusive access to all amenities, including the swimming pool, gym, library and mahjong room, and booking privileges to the private dining room and movie theatre.

Golden Age Sales and Marketing Director Dandan Zhao said buyers are often hesitant to buy an apartment if they are conditioned to living in a house, but once they try it, it provides them a new perspective.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881 project_image_fid=184593]

&ldquo;We want everyone to experience the benefits of living in an apartment firsthand as we believe it will help break down any misconceptions they may have,&rdquo; she said.

Conveniently located below Sky Garden, The Glen features an array of 240 specialty retail stores and a fresh food market hall. Australia&rsquo;s largest air rights development to date was designed in collaboration with multi-award-winning architect Rothelowman, with interiors by DKO Architecture and landscaping by Aspect Studios.

Sky Garden highlights include a 4,000sqm outdoor podium garden complete with a relaxation zone, entertainment lounges, vegetable gardens, children&rsquo;s play area and outdoor fitness areas.

[smartcode_project_cta: project_id=2881]

The initiative offers potential buyers have access to one of six display residences featuring a similar layout and/or aspect they are interested in purchasing and can enjoy up to two nights stay in the residence. 



alisonwarters@gmail.com

Buyer snaps up Sky Garden, Glen Waverley apartments after ‘Try Before You Buy’ initiative

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EXPERT OBSERVER
The Governor of the Reserve Bank has announced a number of important initiatives to support the Australian economy and the financial system. Most of these initiatives come as no surprise. Westpac released a note on March 16 which set out its expectation for these initiatives.
<ol>
<li>The cash rate target has been reduced from 0.5% to 0.25%. Furthermore, it will not be increased until the Board believes that progress has been made towards full employment and inflation is sustainably within the 2–3% target band. Since exchange settlement balances are remunerated at the cash rate minus 0.25%, the Reserve Bank has committed to increase the remuneration to 0.10% in recognition that exchange settlement balances are likely to increase significantly as a result of this policy package. 
</li>
<li>The RBA has now adopted Quantitative Easing. However, instead of nominating a volume of bond purchases, it has nominated a target yield for the three year Australian government bond rate of “around 0.25%”. This is a bold move given that, in admittedly light trading, the yield on these bonds had been around 0.6% up until the announcement. Since the announcement, the rate has fallen to around 0.4%, and further adjustments to market rates may occur. Of considerable interest has been the reaction of the bond market in longer term securities, where the rate has increased to a volatile 1.6%, indicating a very steep yield curve. This yield objective is expected to be achieved through purchases of government bonds and semi government bonds, with the purchases to occur across the yield curve. These will commence tomorrow. 
</li>
<li>Westpac is particularly pleased to see that the RBA is offering a term funding facility for the banking system. This facility will be provided for three years to authorised deposit taking institutions (ADI’s) at a fixed rate of 0.25%. ADIs will be able to obtain funding for up to 3% of existing outstanding credit. The objective is to support small and medium sized business. ADIs will still be required to take on the credit risk associated with these facilities, but may consider switching more expensive facilities for existing borrowers into these facilities, providing a cash flow boost to small and medium sized businesses. 
</li>
<li>These initiatives will not affect the Bank’s ongoing provision of liquidity to Australian financial markets through repo operations which have recently been extended to six month maturities or longer.</li>
</ol>
In addition to these initiatives announced by the RBA, the Treasurer’s Office has announced that the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) will be provided with an investment capacity of $15 billion to invest in wholesale funding markets used by small ADIs and non-ADI lenders. As signalled in Westpac’s note of March 16,  this initiative parallels a similar initiative by the AOFM  during the Global Financial Crisis. It will be of particular support to issuers of Mortgage Backed Securities.
Comment
The Bank is adopting a bold policy response to target the three year bond rate at well below current market pricing. This means that they are using their balance sheet to make a significant difference to the risk-free yield curve and therefore providing support to the financial system.
The market will no doubt take full advantage of this policy decision, and it will be interesting to see the volume of required purchases to achieve the interest rate target.
Westpac has been promoting the use of term funding facilities since around July last year, and we are particularly supportive of this initiative.
This article was <a href="https://westpaciq.westpac.com.au/Article/42641/14186/" target="_blank">first published on WestpacIQ</a>
<div>
BILL EVANS is the <a href="https://www.westpac.com.au/news/authors/bill-evans/" target="_blank">chief economist at Westpac</a>.
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