Hi,

Auction numbers were down on the weekend with 482 auctions postponed.  387 auctions were still reported to the REIV with 214 of these selling at auction, 154 before auction and there were an additional 149 private sales.  Most of the auctions that are scheduled for this weekend coming will likely be pushed out until after lockdown ceases unless the agent is confident that they have a number of strong buyers.  And even in that case, most of these negotiations have been brought forward.

For our Melbourne offices, it will be a quiet period of buying until we can inspect properties again, however for our Geelong/Ballarat office, it has been busy and business as usual.  Our rentals team have been surprisingly busy leasing a number of properties last week via virtual tours which shows that the lockdown has not deterred tenants from planning their next move.

Online auctions continued to deliver some strong results with an unrenovated house at 25 Hume Street, Armadale selling well above the price guide.  Five bidders tried to secure the property that was quoted prior to auction for $3,500,000 to $3,850,000 and selling for $4,200,000.

The Geelong market continues to go from strength to strength with a house in Hamlyn Heights selling for $138,000 over the reserve price.  12 Langibanool Ave, Hamlyn Heights was quoted for $525,000 to $550,000 prior to auction with ten buyers registered to bid but only five of them participated in the auction. The fourth bid was $550,000 where the property was announced on the market but strong bidding pushed the sale price to $688,000.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

Hi,

What a difference a day can make, one day the State Government was announcing no Covid-19 cases then the next day we are in lockdown.  There were over 1,000 auctions scheduled for the weekend however 701 have been reported to the REIV as being postponed.  Of the 397 auctions that were to be held online, 267 sold at auction, 92 sold before auction and 38 passed in resulting in a clearance rate of 90%.  In addition, there were 149 private sales.

It seems that 2021 is the year of in and out of lockdown.  The real estate industry has adapted very well however there is still only a certain amount that can be done under the tight restrictions.  Auctions can easily be converted to online however onsite inspections of properties are not allowed.  This basically puts the industry into a holding pattern until restrictions ease.

Lockdown aside, there were some very strong auction results over the weekend with some properties selling hundreds of thousands of dollars above the vendor’s reserve. 4 Hamilton St, Seddon was quoted $1,200,000 to $1,300,000 prior to auction and is a three bedroom, two bathroom, single fronted period home on 322 sqm.  The property whilst updated, did not have a great floor plan and could have done with some additional works to lift it to its full potential.  The property sold for $1,567,500 which was $276,500 above the vendor’s reserve.

8 Grange Road, Sandringham was also another popular property.  The property was quoted $1,690,000 to $1,790,000 prior to auction and is an entry level, family home for the area with four bedrooms, two bathrooms in very liveable condition on 356 sqm of land.  The property had reached the vendor’s reserve after a strong opening bid of $1,900,000 which knocked out some participants immediately.  There were an additional two bidders above this level with the property selling for $2,155,000.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

Hi,

Lockdown 5.0 thankfully ended last week which allowed onsite auctions to take place over the weekend.  433 auctions were reported to the REIV weekend resulting in a clearance rate of 88%.  278 properties sold at auction, 50 passed in, 105 sold before auction but 595 were postponed (to take place over the next few weeks).  In addition, there were 186 private sales.  Interestingly, this time last year there were 217 auctions and a clearance rate of 78%.

Lockdown 5.0 does not appear to have impacted the property market with buyers very willing to participate at auctions over the weekend.  If anything, it may have had a negative effect on the amount of properties coming onto the market.  Some vendors are concerned about the disruptions of lockdowns and are holding off selling whilst in actual fact, the lack of stock couldn’t make it a better time to put their properties on the market.

As a company, we have seen a small impact of the Covid situation in Sydney.  The first six months of the year we had received considerable buyer enquiry from both owner occupiers moving to Victoria due to the housing affordability factor and Sydneysiders wanting to invest in the Victorian property market.  Over the past few weeks this enquiry has dropped to virtually zero.  Whilst we believe this will only be short term, there is no doubt and understandably, residents from Sydney may have put their plans into a holding pattern.

75-77 Haydens Road, Beaumaris went to auction over the weekend which was quoted $2,500,000 – $2,650,000 prior to auction.  The three bedroom, two bathroom home in need of renovation is set on a large block of 1,226 sqm sold for a huge $580,000 over reserve for $3,230,000.

A fire damaged home 44 Collins Street, Thornbury sold for a big price considering that it would be unlikely that a bank would lend money against the property in its current state as it could be deemed as uninhabitable.  The tenants who resided in the property unfortunately fell asleep whilst a candle was burning and the front section caught fire.  Five bidders participated in the auction with the property selling under the hammer for $1,517,500 which is significantly higher than the $1,150,000 to $1,250,000 quoted price range.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

 

Hi,

The second week of lockdown didn’t deter hundreds of vendors moving their onsite auctions to online with 443 auctions reported to the REIV.  This was down on the previous week but up on the same time last year which only produced 293 auctions. Another high clearance rate of 94% was achieved however 527 auctions were postponed so it is not a true reflection of what the market would have produced had lockdown not occurred.  Of the 443 auctions, 418 sold (with 202 of these selling before auction and 216 sold at auction), 155 were withdrawn and there were an additional 190 private sales.

With promising signs that lockdown will cease tomorrow night, the state government has given a stern warning that restrictions will be in place for quite some time to come. Whilst we may be able to inspect properties again, it is likely these will either be private inspections with capped numbers and auctions will again be either outdoor only with limited numbers or still online.  Hopefully we will hear an announcement today.

The auction of 21 Aberdeen Grove, Northcote was scheduled to go to auction last Saturday but was brought forward due to an ‘acceptable’ offer being received.  The property had been quoted $1,400,000 to $1,500,000 prior to auction with an offer well above this range triggering the property to sell before auction.  Three additional buyers were wanting to challenge the offer so a zoom auction was then scheduled.  The auction ended up with four bidders in total and sold well above its reserve price for $1,811,000.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

Hi,

The REIV reported 729 auctions over the weekend producing a clearance rate of 79%.  443 sold at auction, 135 before auction, 1 sold after auction and a total of 150 passed in.  In addition, there were 182 private sales.  In comparison, last year there were 262 auctions reported resulting in a clearance rate of 85%.

The demand for property in Melbourne and some parts of Regional Victoria is not slowing down, even in the middle of winter and school holidays.  This demand however is not being matched with supply as some vendors are still not willing to put their properties on the market.  This is partly due to some vendors not willing to sell until they have purchased (and this has been taking many buyers extensive amounts of time) but others are just not confident that there is not another lockdown looming which is disruptive to a selling campaign.

The number of properties passing in at auction is also rising due to some vendor’s price expectations exceeding the amount a buyer is prepared to pay.  Some of these properties have been passing in well above the quoted price range.  Last week, The Age reported that Consumer Affairs Victoria has seen a huge increase in complaints about underquoting.  Whilst it is likely that some properties are been under quoted, there are some situations where the vendor has increased their reserve price just minutes prior to auction  There is no legislation that requires a vendor to be locked into a reserve price and it gives them the right to change their mind any time throughout a sales campaign.

Prices in the inner north have been soaring and the auction sale of 55 Arthurton Road, Northcote was no exception.   The three bedroom, one bathroom, updated home on 557 sqm proved very popular with buyers.  Even though the property has a south facing backyard, poor floorplan and was located on a busy road.  This does go to show the lack of quality stock on the market where compromised properties are gathering strong interest.  But….this property did boast 557 sqm of land and had been updated very appropriately which obviously appealed to buyers.  The property was quoted $1,400,000 to $1,500,000 prior to auction with the opening bid being $1,500,000.  Four bidders drove the price to $1,820,000 which was $300,000 over the reserve price.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

 

Hi ,

Auctions were back on the weekend with the REIV reporting 543 auctions with a clearance rate of 83%.  314 sold at auction, 135 sold before auction and 719 postponed. There were an additional 133 private sales reported.  This time last year there were 438 auctions with a clearance rate of 67%.  The next two weekends are predicted to produce very high numbers of auctions as we play catch up from lockdown 4.0.

Winter and school holidays historically results in a slow down in the amount of properties for sale however the fourth lockdown may have made some vendors nervous about putting their property on the market for fear of further interruptions.  Stock levels are low across Melbourne and Regional Victoria.  New sales campaigns have been delayed as stylists and photographers were unable to get access to properties during the two week lockdown.

Vendor’s need not fear about putting their properties on the market.  As an industry, we have adapted extremely well and properties have still been selling under strong competition.  That being said, the panic and FOMO we experienced at the start of 2021 has eased.

An unrenovated house at 8 Lysterville Avenue, Malvern went under the hammer on the weekend.  The property last sold in 1997 for $440,000.  Four bidders participated in the auction after an opening bid of $2,500,000.  The property was announced on the market at $2,650,000 and sold for $2,940,000.

Villa units are continuining to show their popularity and 2/4 Sandford Street, Highett was no exception.  Investors, first-home buyers and downsizers were all in the mix to secure the property which was quoted at $600,000 to $660,000 prior to auction.  Six bidders pushed the final sale price to $743,000.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

Hi,

A strong clearance rate of 96% was achieved over the weekend with 565 online auctions conducted.  The final result for the previous weekend was 869 auctions and a clearance rate of 93%.  In comparison, the same weekend last year produced only 159 auctions and a clearance rate of 67%.  It must be noted that these results do not take into account the properties that have been converted from auction to private sale nor the auctions that have been postponed until after lockdown.  However, it does tell us is that almost every property that went to auction….sold.  There were an additional 183 private sales and lockdown has certainly not impacted on the amount of property transactions too dramatically.

Melburnians’ are hoping for some good news that lockdown will end this week and we are expecting an extremely busy few weeks in the real estate market playing catch up.  My company, once again has experienced strong new buyer enquiry over the past week and a half with investors making up a large percentage of this enquiry.

With currently no population growth in Melbourne, and even some long term residents moving to the country/sea, there is still a strong demand for buyers to invest their dollars into the Melbourne property market.  We have seen how property prices have soared in Sydney to unaffordable levels and a large majority believe that Melbourne property prices will follow suit (and already are).  Property prices have remained very resilient throughout the biggest test it has ever experienced (a pandemic).  Population growth is expected to resume once the international boarders open due to immigration.  Investors have also had particular interest in buying in Geelong and Ballarat.  This is due to these locations being a lot more affordable than Melbourne and both towns also offering a great life for families with very good private and public schools.

Unfortunately, first home buyers are the casualty here with strong demand further pushing them out of the property market.  There is no surprise that the banks are seeing a decline in first home buyer lending with Melbourne’s median house price now tipping over $1,000,000.   This will likely result in more first home buyers opting to rent or looking at properties at a more affordable price point, eg. apartments or properties further out from the CBD.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

Hi,

There were 922 auctions reported to the REIV weekend producing a strong clearance rate of 86%.  623 sold at auction, 169 sold before auction and in addition there were 207 private sales.

Active bidding, large crowds, reserves were smashed and whilst we thought a slow down in growth was in sight, the results from the weekend demonstrated this may not be the case.  There is high interest from buyers across the board from investors, first home buyers, upsizers, downsizers, renovators/developers with pressure on prices at all price points.

Land sites for buyers looking to build large family homes are in high demand, 13 Mangan St, Balwyn sold at auction on the weekend for $3,381,000 with five bidders trying to secure the land site. The price quoted was $2,800,000 to $3,000,000.  Another land site at 3 Bay Street, Parkdale sold for $2,575,500 on an agents price guide of $1,950,000 to $2,145,000.  Whilst some agents price guides are low, reserves generally speaking have not been too far from the top of the range.  It is the buyer competition that is pushing prices to these levels.

The REIV released their quarterly data last week which showed property prices increased by 8.8% in Melbourne, resulting in the Melbourne median house price surpassing the $1 million mark for the first time.  The house prices in regional Victoria increased by 4% which equates to 12% growth for the year and 19% for units.  The median unit prices across Melbourne increased by 5% for the quarter.

The amount of transactions for the quarter reached 35,000 which is the highest in six years.  We are still playing a lot of catch up from last year however no one could have predicted the level of interest property has received this year.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook

There’s a secret to getting a house in one of Melbourne’s up-market suburbs.

Find our very own Kim Easterbrook commenting on ‘hidden gems’ in the Herald Sun here.

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