Wining, Dining and Living Large in Superb Surry Hills

Food at Nour, Crown Street, Surry Hills

Surry Hills has long been known as one of the best places to eat out in Sydney, and at no time this uber cool suburb’s wining and dining been better. Taking a culinary and vinous trip through the culturally buzzing streets of the Surry Hills Hood, we have discovered some extraordinary venues that should be at the top of any food and wine appreciation list.

 

Nour, Crown Street, Surry Hills

One of our absolute favourites is Nour, a Middle Eastern restaurant that is not only aesthetically superb, but also appeals to the most demanding gourmand’s palate. Chefs extraordinaire, Farag and Lonati take classic Lebanese flavours and through bold experimentation, create dishes that will set your senses alight. Standout á la carte dishes include the Mussel-topped Hummus, Raw Bluefin Tuna with Caramelised Kishk and Bulgur, Glazed Lamb Shoulder, Wagyu Beef Skewers and Chicken Bits Shawarma. And check out the award-winning wine list for the smoothest drop.

Armorica Grande Brasserie,  Crown Street, Surry Hills

Next up in our list of favs is Armorica Grande Brasserie, latest offering from the owners of the highly successful Franca in Potts Point. Sumptuously self-described as ‘an elegant evocation of a traditional Parisian Brasserie’ and ‘homage to the city of Paris’, Armorica is a delight to Francophiles and gourmands alike. Featuring a custom-built Josper grill, the menu showcases wood-fire cooking at its finest and takes steak and chips to a whole new level with their extraordinary choice of cuts. The sides are divine and the seafood is superb. If you want to get fully decadent, go for the sumptuous Seafood Tower, and with Amorica’s Friday Late Night Jazz and carefully curated wine list, you’ll surely be in foodie heaven.




 

Poly, Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

Housed in the Paramount House Hotel on Commonwealth, subterranean wine bar and restaurant, Poly, is the more laid back sister to Ester, one of Sydney’s most acclaimed restaurants. Sample the sublime small scale producer wine list featuring Organic and Biodynamic offerings. Their innovative, ever-changing snack menu focuses on ironbark woodfire flavours. Current standouts on offer are Fermented Potato Bread, Cured Iberico Cebo Shoulder, Grilled Murray Cod and Whole BBQ Spatchcock.


     Tokyo Bird, Belmore Lane, Surry Hills                                                                          Tio’s Cerveceria, Foster Street, Surry Hills

In Surry Hills, brilliant bars are on almost every proverbial corner. Tokyo Bird brings a taste of Japanese bar culture to Sydney, specialising in whisky, cocktails, beer, yakitori and Studio Ghibli films projected on the walls. Go hard or go home with their Whisky Highball complete with a painstakingly hand-chipped ice ball coupled with your choice of charcoal cooked skewer. Then for some Mexican culture, head to Tio’s Cerveceria for tequila, mezcal or their killer Margarita.




 
Brix Distillers, Bourke Street, Surry Hills

And if rum is your thing, be delighted and surprised at Sydney’s one and only dedicated craft rum distillery, Brix Distillers. A rum trolley roams the venue every night, encouraging guests to sample the range, or there are more than 150 premium rum labels from around the world. And to soak up the alcohol, sample the Colombian chef’s South American fare such as Fish Taco with flair, Rum-glazed Lamb, Pork or Beef ribs or a fiery Pimped Smashburger.

To live moments from all the action in the divinely decadent designer development, Surry Hills Village, call Emma Chappell today to find out more about the outstanding properties on offer.

Labour’s new Help to Buy Scheme

Labour’s new Help to Buy Scheme - A lifeline that’s not only for First Home Buyers

Labour have just announced more details of their Help to Buy Scheme, a key promise in last year’s election. Yet to give a specific date for when the scheme will come into effect, Labour has assured the Australian people it will begin in 2024 and it will apply to 10,000 homes. 

Help to Buy is what’s known as a Shared Equity Scheme, allowing eligible home buyers to co-buy a home with the government. Purchaser’s will only need a 2% deposit and the scheme will provide an equity contribution of up to 40% of the property price for new homes and 30% for existing properties. You will also need to prove you can service your share of the loan, that you can pay all associated costs such as Stamp Duty, legal fees and bank fees and you must be able to pay all rates, strata and electricity bills. 

The scheme will run for 4 years and help 40,000 low and middle income earners to buy a home. To be eligible, you must be an Australian citizen over 18 years of age, your annual income must be $93,200 or less for individuals and $124,200 or less for couples and you must live in the purchased home. The scheme is available to First Home Buyers but also includes single parents, singles over 50 and First Home Buyer key workers who are employed as police, paramedics, nurses, midwives, teachers and early childhood educators. 

Sydneysiders will reap the biggest rewards, as you will be able to purchase a property for up to $950,000. When estimating how much you will save in real terms, Labour states that the scheme will help to cut the cost of a mortgage by up to $380,000 on a new home and $285,000 on a pre-existing home, depending on the price you pay for the property. 

To make it economically viable for the government to fund this, scheme participants will need to pay a component of any capital gain back to the government, which will be calculated in reference to the portion of the government’s equity share in the property. This equity only needs to be repaid on the sale of the property, but you can increase your stake in the home by paying a minimum of 5% towards the government’s share if and when you have any extra money. 

The major benefits of the scheme are would-be homeowners can get into the market far sooner than would otherwise be possible, the government will not charge any fees or interest, Lenders Mortgage Insurance will not need to be paid (potentially saving over $30,000) and the home loan amount and repayments will be far less than if the loan balance was for the full equity amount. 

Cramer have a number of outstanding apartments in excellent locations that meet the criteria for the Help to Buy Scheme, costing $950,000 or less. To find out more contact the Cramer team today.

To Invest or Not to Invest, That is the Question - Part 3

Part 3 - Property Investment in High Interest Rate Environments

In Part 3 of investing in property in a high interest rate environment and assessing your personal suitability to do so, we continue to draw upon the financial and economic wisdom gleaned from Arjun Paliwal of InvestorKit and Redom Sayed of Confidence Finance’s whitepaper, ‘5 x Rules for Investing in High Interest Rate Environments.’ 

Another of Paliwal and Sayed’s rules states that no matter the market, there is always something somewhere that is growing in real estate investment terms. Sydney has many markets that are growing at different rates at different times. By observing location-specific fluctuations over time, seasoned investors often become more disposed to diversification of property assets by splitting properties across different locations. 

Sentiment plays a huge role in what happens in any market, and the property market is no exception. The effect of a global pandemic and what has seemed like an unremitting interest rate up-cycle created fear and confusion in the market, sparking a downturn in prices. The fact that Australian households are carrying far more debt than a decade ago means the speed in which interest-rate- associated price changes occur and market shifts happen is far quicker. 

Regardless of these negative impacts, data shows that interest rate rises have not correlated with the Sydney property market falling significantly, largely due to a quick regain in confidence, a notable undersupply of property and the sentiment that the majority of rate rises are behind us. Loan defaults have been super low, finance movements have been very high, and the depth and length of any price declines have been very shallow and short in many areas, all clear signs of Sydney’s inherent property market resiliency. In addition, the Reserve Bank’s common-sense policy and the country’s tough lending laws have protected Australia well from any major upheavals in the market. 

Finally, with the banks far more willing to reduce repayments than even a few weeks ago, investors are more likely to be able to target and reduce their debt portfolio. By shopping around, investors can reduce their repayments by taking advantage of a much lower assessment rate, with many banks offering cheaper and better terms in the last two months now the 3% buffer has been lowered due to confidence that we’ve seen the vast majority of rate rises. 

If you are considering an investment property, Cramer offer a range of architecturally superb properties with outstanding amenities in fantastic locations, contact the Cramer team today to discuss your requirements.


Disclaimer: This information and any content provided is general in nature and should not be taken as investment advice. Cramer Property are not liable for actions taken based on this content. Always seek advice from relevant professionals such as legal, financial and accounting experts.