Fifty years on:

It has been 50 years since Thomson opened its doors in Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena. It was a branch office of G. A. Thomson & Co. whose Carlton office was originally established in 1878. The Murrumbeena office was born out of a need to develop investment properties south of the Yarra, on behalf of many clients whose properties were to be acquired by the Housing Commission in the Carlton area.

The City of Caulfield (now Glen Eira) became the chosen area and two–storey, one bedroom flats in multiples of 8, 10,12 & 14 were developed and continued to be
built during the 70’s. George Thomson Snr had recently retired from the business
and George Thomson Jnr was appointed manager at Murrumbeena, with his cousin
Richard Gedye as the manager at Carlton.

Many of our clients followed the company south, continued investing in real estate and introduced others to the company. Within a short space of time Thomson Murrumbeena was established as the largest property management business in the area.

As the business grew more office space was acquired including the conversion
of five retail shops facing the railway line. Of course, the staff had to also
be expanded. George Thomson Jnr was appointed Chairman of the Real
Estate Council in 1985 and in 1988 he was appointed the Vice-President of
the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

During the past 50 years, Thomson’s Murrumbeena Office has been regarded as offering the complete real estate services be it in Sales, Property Management, Valuations and
Auctioneering. It continues to be a most respected real estate agency with a
very long standing relationship with many of its clients and their families.
50 years on, under the Directorship of David Thomson, Anthony Lee and
Felicity Thomson, the office now employs 25 specialist & qualified staff.

Residential Investment likely to rise

Australians love bricks and mortar. Not only is home ownership the great Australian dream, but with the benefits of negative gearing many of us again turn to property when it comes to investing.

According to the Real Estate Institute of Australia, the latest taxation statistics show 14.9 per cent of taxpayers are investors in the residential property market – that’s 1.9 million people.

The majority of those are regular people with only one investment property. In fact the latest available statistics, 2010-11, 73 per cent of investors had only one such property. With record low interest rates and many people opting for self-managed superannuation funds the proportion of Australians investing in residential property is likely to grow.

If you are considering investing in property for the first time, it is important to put aside emotion. You don’t have to love your investment property – it is doing a job for you. Think about what would make your property attractive to tenants. For example proximity to
public transport, shopping and cafe for younger couples or if you are buying
a house likely to be leased by families is it close to schools and parks?

Any purchase should be underpinned by thorough research. Get a good understanding of the area and amenities as well as the median sale prices, consult your bank and be clear on your maximum price. Whilst it will not be your own home you should always inspect the property and get to know it well. Of course the Murrumbeena/Carnegie
area has long been a proven area to invest in and has a multitude of investment options to suit any budget.