There were some heated auctions around Melbourne on the weekend, with some surprising sales results. For the first weekend of spring, Melbourne achieved a 79% clearance rate. There were 712 auctions held this weekend, with 560 selling and 152 being passed in, 76 of those on a vendor bid. There were also an additional 375 private sales reported.

With less stock on the market, some buyers are finding themselves emotionally attached to a property they want to buy. We have seen a few properties selling well beyond the reserve, in extremely contested auctions. However this trend seems to be more pronounced during periods when auction listings are down.

In the lead up to the AFL grand final, it is unlikely that we will see any 1000+ property auction weekends. Many vendors are holding off their auction campaign until after the finals. Although next weekend there is an expected 850 properties going under the hammer.

18 Linton Street, St Kilda. Sold for $1,819,000.
Fastidiously renovated & extended to designer perfection, this striking four bedroom home close to Carlisle Street cafes became the scene of a fiesty 40 minute auction. The pre-auction price range of $1.35 million to $1.45 million was not even included in the bidding when the first bidder immediately offered $1.5 million. The bids that followed were rising in $10,000 increments until the three bidders began trading $1,000 increases as the price crept past the $1.58 million reserve. The hammer was brought down to a young man who held on for a price of $1.819 million.

83 Tarrengower Street, Yarraville. Sold for $1,165,000.
This renovated three bedroom house double fronted Victorian located close to the vibrant village lifestyle in Yarraville soared to $195,000 above its reserve price. The opening bid was a vendor bid of $900,000 from the auctioneer. From there, it was tough competition as three bidders battled it out wanting to become the new owners. As the bidding came down to the wire, the final bid was placed by a young family who were very pleased to win the keys.

23 Rogers Avenue, Brighton East. Sold For $1,060,000.
Expertly designed to maximise space, this high-gabled 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa unit was hotly contested. The single-level property in a quiet bayside street held a reserve of approximately $900,000. It was five bidders who pushed the price well beyond the reserve, after a relatively slow start to the auction. The final two bidders were both keen to live at the property, but one of them eventually had to step down, when a bid of $1.06 million became the winning offer.

There were 486 properties auctioned this weekend, resulting in a strong clearance rate of 81 per cent. The details are: 392 properties selling and 94 being passed in, 43 of those on a vendor bid. There was an additional 281 private sales reported.

As late winter typically has fewer properties available on the market, resulting in more bidders at auctions across Melbourne. With stronger competition for fewer properties, there is a trend for properties to be selling in isolation, with no similar homes competing for buyers.

Auction numbers are starting to pick up again as we head towards Spring. There are 633 auctions scheduled for next weekend.

33 Emo Road, Malvern East. Sold for $2,080,000
This pretty three bedroom Edwardian home located in sought after Adrie Estate, where homes are protected by a heritage overlay, attracted six would-be buyers to the auction. A fierce opening bid of $1.6 million was quickly overtaken by a $20,000 rise. The duel continued in $20,000 rises until the reserve of $1.72 million was reached. Other parties joined in, helping the price reach $1.96 million, when the pace slowed down to $1000 bids before the property was announced as sold at $2.08 million.

41 Horace Street, Malvern. Sold for $3,800,000
A modern family home with 4 beds, study, kids retreat, 3 bathrooms and an in-ground pool was touted by the auctioneer as the perfect family home with nothing to do but move in. An opening bid got the ball rolling at $3.3m followed by a $20k rise. This continued until it hit $3.6m. A family man offering $3.61m continued the auction. Bids rose in $10k lots until he was out at $3.8m. The agent sought instructions and returned to announce the home is on the market. A call for new bids landed on deaf ears and the property was reluctantly knocked down to the calm and patient woman. In attendance was a decent crowd of about 150.

322 Geelong Road, West Footscray. $751,000
A three bedroom family classic offering a series of tempting spaces behind its appealing original facade close to Hanson Reserve, transport and city access, attracted numerous interested parties at the inspections. However it was a different story during the auction, when it took two vendor bids before the first genuine bid of $700,000. Two more bidders came forward with $5000 rises, and the action came to a halt at $725,000 when the property was passed in. After auction negotiations with the highest bidder saw the property sell to a young couple for $751,000.

Buyers were out in large numbers on the final weekend of the financial year. A clearance rate of 79 per cent was achieved from 181 auctions this weekend, with 133 properties selling and 48 being passed in, 15 of those on a vendor bid. There were an additional 370 private sales reported.

Restrictions to negative gearing tax concessions on new properties may have seen us with a different result last Saturday, if they had have come into effect. As it happens investor activity is up and clearance rates have hit a new high for the year (79 per cent). This is the highest since June 2015 and shows a marked improvement in auction results. With the Australian Bureau of statistics reporting an increase on investor lending by 17.3 per cent over May (compared to April this year) investors certainly seem more confident post-election and the trend looks set to continue.

Lower levels of stock are creating strong competition at auction and private sales are experiencing shorter days on market (according to several outer suburban agents) over the last few weeks. In particular the Northern suburbs are booming where home owners and investors alike are lining up to get a foot in the door. Buyers in the West are also very active with suburbs such as Seddon, Footscray West and Yarraville leading the way.

45 Black Street, Brighton. Sold for $1,500,000
A single level 3 bedroom period home in highly sought after location close to Church Street shopping strip, Brighton Primary and leading private local schools attracted five bidders to the auction. The Art Deco house last changed hands in October 2014 for $998,000. Its value swelled by a staggering $520,000 under the hammer on Saturday. It sold to a local investor, who plans to rent the property out.

374 Richardson Street, Middle Park. Sold for $1,130,000
Located in one of Middle Park’s finest tree-lined streets this single fronted unrenovated brick Victorian house in triple ‘A’ location, is unliveable in its current condition and offers plenty of opportunity. A crowd of 80 watched on as the auctioneer opened with a vendor bid of $900k, followed by a man offering $10,000 more, before two other bidders joined in. The two bedroom plus study house, on approximately 144sq.m, was announced on the market at $1 million, and sold for $1.13 million. The final price was $130,000 more than the vendor would have been happy accepting.

180 Station Street, Port Melbourne. Sold for $1,402,000
Double fronted and free-standing, this inviting three bedroom period home is only a short walk to Bay Street, and easy to travel by nearby tram or bike track to the city. Six would-be buyers put their hands up to attempt to buy the property which had been owned by the one family for about 20 years. The auctioneer started with a vendor bid of $1.2 million, which prompted another man to join in with his first bid of $50k. It didn’t take long to be on the market at $1.28 million. The buyer, who currently rents a property only a few doors down, outbid the competition by paying $138,000 over the reserve.