Lucas Docklands Blog

Summer is magnificent at Docklands. Take a sunny stroll along the waterfront promenades, drink in the refreshing atmosphere and soak up the views. Treat yourself to a shopping adventure or have fun at any one of the family attractions such at Wonderland Fun Park, the Icehouse, Black Light Mini Golf or Monkey Mania these school holidays.

DOCKLANDS SUMMER COMPETITION
Get excited! Starting Monday 17th January, 2011, Destination Docklands is giving away a 1st prize trip for a family of four to visit the London Docklands for one week valued at $13,000!
All you have to do is dine at your favourite restaurant in NewQuay or Waterfront City, shop at Harbour Town or visit any one of the family attractions, spend $10 or more, keep your receipt and enter this fantastic competition at www.docklands.com

WHAT’S ON AT DOCKLANDS IN JANUARY
For updates on whats on at Docklands visit Special Events & Entertainment
- Circus Oz presents The Blue Room 2011 – The Blue Show 2011 will be held at the Circus Oz Melba Spiegeltent, Harbour Town, Docklands.
For a chance to win 2 tickets to the show, please email michelle.kemp@destinationdocklands.com.au and give us a compelling reason (in 25 words or less) why you deserve them!
– Audi Victoria Week – Audi Victoria Week is one of the worlds premier yachting events and this month the 7 day event will bring as much glitz, entertainment and excitement off the water as on.
– Wake Wars – THIS WEEKEND! On Saturday 8 January, 2011, Australias premier wakeboard event is at the Docklands.
– City 2 Bay – THIS WEEKEND! On Sunday 9 January, 2011, hit the year running! Docklands to St Kilda Beach.
- FREE Kids Entertainment at Waterfront City – Keep the kids entertained these school holidays with four jam packed weeks of FREE entertainment on the Waterfront City Piazza stage.
– Docklands Sunday Market – The Docklands Sunday Market offers fashion, accessories, arts and crafts.
– Hub Club Lunchtime Activities Every Weekday – Working at Docklands? Get out of the office at lunch, meet others working in the area and do something different.
THE NEW DOCKLANDS FERRY
Passengers can now experience the newest waterway precinct linking Melbournes river city, on this thirty minute cruise which includes a live commentary from the captain, on the history of the Docklands precinct and the Yarra River. Full details at www.melbcruises.com.au

DID YOU KNOW …
There are eight different precincts throughout Docklands? Read more about the different precincts that comprise Docklands

For more information visit www.docklands.com

Looking toward 2011 there are a number of trends that will influence the local residential property market.

Interest rates and housing affordability

House prices may have stabilised over the past six months but the cost of home ownership has not. As a result of multiple increases in interest rates, which have not been matched by higher incomes, the affordability of housing has been substantially eroded over the past 12 months. Further interest rate increases would have a negative impact in 2011. As a result, in 2011 suburbs at or below the median will increase in popularity.

Auction stock levels

Many home owners looking to sell in 2011 will have watched the performance of the auction market over the last few months and noted the drop in the clearance rate to around 60 per cent. This is likely to lead to a number of sellers looking to use private sales rather than auctions as the selling method in the same way that high clearance rates in 2009 led to more auctions in 2010. This is then likely to increase competition for the homes at auction.

First home buyers

With the promise of a 20-per-cent cut in stamp duty from 1 July 2011, we are likely to see a small increase in first home buyers in the second half of next year.

Population pressure

There still remains a substantial gap between the Victoria’s population growth and the supply of new dwellings; this gap won’t be closed in 2011, resulting in ongoing pressure in all segments of the housing market.

www.reiv.com.au

Lucas Real Estate is leading the way… Again!

If you want to keep up to date with what’s new on the market, why not put you iPhone to good use and download the FREE Lucas Real Estate iPhone App?

With this user friendly iPhone App you will be able to view all of the properties that Lucas Real Estate have available to rent and buy as well as having access to view all of our open times for the properties that catch your eye and take a look at what’s new on our official Docklands News page!

There is no easier way to search for your dream home so download the new and exiting Lucas Real Estate iPhone App today, and make your search an easy one!

The Lucas Real Estate team were lucky enough to be invited on a VIP tour of Harbour Town with the friendly staff at Habour Town Tourism. From food tasting to perfume samples, even a tour of The Icehouse- we were really given the VIP treatment!

Harbour Town caters for all ages with a range of designer brands, discount clothing and accessories, children’s play centers and plenty of cafe’s and restaurant’s to keep you coming back for more!

Our friendly tour guides took us to the cafe that was voted ‘Best Coffee in Docklands’, Le Cirque, where we tasted some delicious calamari and were pleased to hear that all of the products they sell and supply are Australian products only.

We were also taken to Palermo where we were given some perfume samples that smell amazing! With such a wide range of mens and womens fragrances for such a reasonable price, I could have stayed in there for hours!

We were greeted with a glass of champagne at Designers’ House, which I gracefully refused as a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choo’s was already making me weak at the knees…

To see The Icehouse was a great experience, and to learn that you don’t need to wear skates to have a go on the ice was a bonus! The Icehouse have an activity called Curling which they hold every Monday night from 6pm to 8pm. Curling is a non contact sport where you can put a grip over your own shoes and away you go! The Icehouse also hold team building days, conferences and have their own bar upstairs for visitors to socialise, have something to eat and drink, and of course, jump back on the ice!

For someone like myself who lives outside of Docklands, the Harbour Town tour gave me a chance to visit this amazing complex and see all the exciting things it has to offer.

To organise a group tour of Harbour Town or for more information about these activities and more, visit www.harbourtownmelbourne.com.au

Santi Films are currently working on a new short film titled Katieland. With a mysterious and intriguing story line, it is sure to be a big hit with many twists and turns along the way. Below is a brief run down on what to expect with this exciting new addition to the silver screen!

We all lose things – from time-to-time we can even lose ourselves

Katie Colvin wakes up in a strange room surrounded by everything she’s
ever lost. It’s a surreal place with no windows or doors and she soon
discovers she’s not alone.

In the room with her, squeezed into one of her old frocks is a very
confused boy.

Who is he? How did they both get there? And can they ever escape?
Katieland is a thought-provoking short film that poses more questions
than it answers; questions about loss, the past and what our possessions
mean to us.

Lucas Real Estate are proud sponsors of Katieland and look forward to seeing the final product. If you would like to track the progress of Katieland, please follow the link below which will direct you to their blogs!

http://www.katielandthemovie.com/

This year, Community Safety Day at Docklands will be the premier event of Community Safety Month. There will be live demonstrations throughout the day to show how services ‘work together’ during an emergency. There will be displays providing education and promotion of how every Victorian can take an active role in community safety.

Victoria’s emergency and safety services are bringing their special skills and impressive equipment to a fun day at Docklands. The wow factor will be high as you get close to helicopters, boats, fire trucks, working dogs and horses, interactive displays, emergency demonstrations, water rescues, specialised vehicles used to ‘work together’ in rescues and emergencies around Victoria.

The event offers family oriented entertainment including children’s photograph opportunities, face painting, prizes and giveaways. Plus, performing live will be the Victoria Police Show Band.