147 auctions were reported to the REIV over the weekend producing a clearance rate of 97%. 72 properties sold at auction, 71 before auction, 329 were postponed and 4 passed in. In addition, there were 152 private sales. This time last year there were only 17 auctions.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews announced at a press conference last week that private inspections of vacant properties MAY be permitted once 70 per cent of Victorians had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. This was estimated to be by the 23rd of September however new data suggests it could be as early as the 18th of September. Whist this is welcoming news for both landlords and owners of vacant properties, this only makes up one portion of the market. Virtual inspections may be the only way in the short term to view occupied properties or some vendors may decide to move out into short term accommodation during their property’s sales campaign.
An interesting report was released this morning in regards to the amount of money Australians have saved in cancelled overseas travel. The figures provided by the Tourism Research Australia found in the financial year to 2019, that Australian’s spent $62.3b on international travel.
The cancellation of this travel has resulted in over $60b being saved and in the pockets of Australians. Some of this money has been used to purchase property with some buyers increasing their deposits or using extra funds to purchase a holiday house or investment property. In addition to this, dining out, going to the movies and other entertainment has been very limited, particularly in Melbourne over the past 18 months which has also assisted to an increase in savings for the ones who have managed to stay employed throughout the pandemic.
Properties continue to sell sight unseen with a four bedroom home in Box Hill North selling at auction on the weekend for $1,557,000. 25 bidders registered for the auction of 50 Mersey St, Box Hill North with 5 bidders participating. The property sold $257,000 over the top of the advertised price range, it is unclear what the reserve price was.
A house in Elwood also sold last week achieving six offers after one virtual open for inspection. Buyers appear to become more accepting that this is the only way to move forward in the current environment with the saving grace being that builders are allowed to enter to conduct building inspections to ensure the property is structurally sound.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
The REIV reported 223 auctions over the weekend producing a clearance rate of 99%. Of the 223 auctions, 100 sold at auction, 120 sold before auction and 1 after auction. 441 were withdrawn and 634 postponed. In addition, there were 144 private sales.
With no end in sight to lockdown ending, it is looking more likely that the busy spring period for real estate will be pushed out to summer with some selling agents suggesting that auctions could run as late as the 23rd and 24th of December. The length of auction campaigns could be shortened from four weeks to three weeks and perhaps even two weeks if enough interest can be generated. We should see an increase in stock at the cessation of lockdown due to some vendors holding off launching their campaigns but also selling agents are appraising and listing properties via virtual inspection.
Some vendors are pushing on with the sale of their property by offering virtual tours via zoom to prospective buyers. I attended one of these over the weekend and it worked very well. This can only occur at properties where either a tenant or vendor are currently living there as no one is able to attend a vacant property to film. While the vendor walks their camera through the property room by room, the selling agent narrates in the background. Whilst this is obviously not as good as inspecting in person, it is the best that can be offered in the current environment. If a buyer chose to purchase this way, a building inspection (which are allowed) should be conducted to ensure any issues with the property are found.
3 Collis Street, Brighton East sold via virtual auction on Saturday to a buyer who had not physically inspected the property. The property only had a short period of time for physical inspections prior to lockdown so inspections were converted to online with the vendors walking through prospective purchasers in the lead up to auction. The auction attracted five bidders and smashed the reserve of $3,950,000 selling for $4,362,000 to a buyer who had not physically seen the property.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
Auctions were back into full swing on the weekend with 823 auctions reported which was the highest number of auctions we have seen this year. Of those, 554 sold at auction, 151 sold before auction and 118 passed in. There were an additional 300 private sales. In comparison, this time last year there were 1,138 auctions with a clearance rate of 80%.
Auctions are now allowed to be conducted at the property with no limit on the amount of people attending. It was pleasing to see masks were worn by many, even when social distancing was achievable.
The gap between a property’s advertised price and sale price is broadening with many examples over the weekend of the sale result far exceeding the advertised price. In most of the cases, this is not due to a high vendor’s reserve but rather buyer competition pushing the price to these levels.
The auction of 27 Margaret Street, Carnegie was competitive with multiple bidders trying to secure this older style family home in need of some cosmetic updating on 610 sqm of land. The first bid of $1,650,000 put the property on the market but it did not stop there. There were five bidders over $1,700,000 with the property selling for $1,781,000.
The inner northern suburbs has been achieving some strong results with 55 Union Street, Brunswick being no exception. This two bedroom, one bathroom, single fronted Victorian home on 232 sqm in need of renovating sold $135,000 above the reserve for $1,075,000.
Although we are seeing a number of runaway results, there are still a number of properties that are selling exactly where the comparable sales demonstrate the value. There is also the odd property that is selling under what we thought it would achieve at auction. This means whilst there are many buyers in the market, some are still a little cautious of the price they are paying for property. In addition, there are some buyers who are waiting on their bank pre-approval due to long delays with the banks. Other buyers are just monitoring (sitting back) and watching the market just to see where it is at before they have the confidence to buy.
Selling agents have been reporting a substantial increase in vendors requesting market appraisals which means we should start seeing an increase in properties coming onto the market over the next month or so.
Have a wonderful week.
Kim Easterbrook
What a difference a week can make!
Victoria’s property market was thrown into disarray with the announcement of a ‘circuit breaking’ five day lock down from Friday, 11:59pm. Some scheduled auctions were immediately converted to online auctions, others were postponed to the following weekend and a few selling before auction. All of the scheduled open for inspections (for lease or sale) were cancelled with a mad rush for some agents to get prospective buyers/tenants through via private inspections on Friday. Under Stage 4 restrictions, inspections for pre-settlement, commencement or end of lease services are permitted.
The REIV clearance rate over the weekend is subject to change (and is not a true reflection of the current market) but at this stage stands at 95% on 329 auctions reported. 16 passed in, 170 sold at auction, 143 sold before auction, 60 were withdrawn, 219 postponed and 231 not reported.
It looks likely that regional Victoria’s lockdown will cease Wednesday night however it is still unknown what this week will look like for metropolitan Melbourne. We have adapted so well from the previous lockdowns it has been easy to convert most activities to online. If Stage 4 restrictions are extended, it will mean that the Melbourne real estate market will have a short pause before being fully functional again.
Will this have any affect on property prices? Not likely, but there is no doubt the economy has taken another hit, especially in the hospitality and retail sector. But we have lived through two of these before, lets just hope this third one is as short as we hope.
Kim Easterbrook
Auction numbers are on the rise with 430 auctions reported over the weekend resulting in a clearance rate of 82%. This time last year there were 392 auctions with a clearance rate of 76%.
Whilst we have only seen two weeks of auctions results this year, generally speaking, properties are selling above reserve and above the latest comparable sale in areas of metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat.
Each time there is a prediction of a property market crash, prices have often decreased a little and then bounce back stronger than before. Melbourne’s property market in particular, has just gone through it’s biggest test of all time and has shown amazing resilience. With the level of confidence and number of buyers in the market, it is likely we will see a rising market for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.
Jobkeeper is set to cease at the end of next month but as the economy starts to recover, this seems to be a less of a concern that it will affect the property market. In fact, it seems that some businesses are starting to rehire again. Also banks have extended out their mortgage holidays to the end of March but payment breaks are set to cease at the end of July. The amount of people on mortgage holidays though is less and less as time goes on.
There was a very interesting sale in Bentleigh East over the weekend. McKinnon High School is opening a new campus in 2022 to meet growing demands for the school. This has resulted in an extension in the school zone even spilling into Carnegie and Murrumbeena. 12 Fisher Court, Bentleigh East went to auction on the weekend which is now located in the new school zone. The property has a liveable but very dated home on 721sqm of land and sold for $1,610,500. A result that is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than what it would have achieved not being in the school zone. The last sale in the court was $660,000 in 2013.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a more positive year with hopefully less challenges than what 2020 brought us.
The Victorian property market has swung back into action and signs are indicating that we are going to be in for a very active year. With record low interest rates, stamp duty concessions available to all purchases up to $1,000,000, record levels of savings which means some buyers have larger deposits (which means higher budgets), COVID-19 under control at the present time (in Australia) and with many people’s just wanted to get on with things now has created a spike in buyer demand.
There were 202 auctions reported over the weekend with a clearance rate of 82% in comparison to 203 auctions reported the same time last year with a clearance rate of 69% In addition there were another 153 private sales.
At the end of December 2020 quarter, Melbourne’s median house price reached a record $936,000 (an increase of 5.3% over the quarter). Units prices also reached a record high of $570,000 but the gap between houses and units prices seems to be widely with lock down changing the wants and needs of some property buyers to want more space. This has also put pressure on property prices in Regional Victoria with a shift in some people wanting the quieter lifestyle opting for a treechange or seachange. The Greater Geelong median house price is currently at $606,000 and achieved a growth rate of 4.1% over the past twelve months. We are predicting the growth rate in Geelong to be strong over the next six to twelve months as investors come back into the market and some families making the move from capital cities (including Melbourne and Sydney) to the area.
At Elite, we are seeing a range of new buyers coming into the market from first home buyers, upsizers, downsizers, local investors, interstate investors, expats purchasing homes with the view of returning to Melbourne, an increase in Sydneysiders moving to Melbourne and Geelong as properties are too expensive for some in Sydney. It appears that all segments of the market are active and will likely be so for this year.
The levels of stock on the market have been low which is a natural occurrence for the holiday period (December and January). Now that Australia Day has passed, stock levels will rise over the next few months starting this week and should continue until the end of May.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
Melbourne’s auction numbers are almost at normal Spring levels as the year begins to close. The REIV reported 803 auctions on the weekend which was an increase on last year but still down on the same weekend last year. A clearance rate of 80% was achieved. 492 sold at auction, 147 sold before auction and 1 after auction. In addition there were 285 private sales.
There has been a rush of properties onto the market over the past two weeks with auction dates as late as December 23. This is due to vendors and selling agents wanting to take advantage of the strong buyer activity that has occurred over the past month or so.
The Christmas break will be much shorter this year with many selling agents coming back to work on the 11th of January. A normal January would be very quiet with many agents not back until just before Australia Day, however this year we are expecting things to be a little bit different as we are still playing catch up from a disrupted year.
2021 is likely to be a busy year. Interest rates are at record lows, employment and buyer confidence is rising and now stamp duty discounts have been introduced for all properties under $1,000,000 which is bringing more investors into the market.
In Regional Victoria, the property market is very active with many properties selling within days of hitting the market and reaching prices well above the asking price (some properties being purchased sight unseen). Geelong also had a busy weekend of auctions with reports of many properties selling well above reserve. The auction of 12 Cambra Road, Belmont was competitive with six bidders wanting to secure the three bedroom, two bathroom renovated home. The reserve of $690,000 was overrun with a selling price of $777,000 being achieved. Belmont has been a popular area for investors and first home buyers for quite some time.
In Melbourne, the auction of 5 Fontein Street, West Footscray attracted 23 registered bidders with the opening bid of $880,000 hitting reserve and putting the property on the market. Mostly young couples participated in the auction with the property selling for $990,000 ($110,000 over reserve). Three bidders participated in the auction of Garry Lyon and Nicky Brownless’ home at 12 Ashleigh Road, Armadale with an original price guide of $3,000,000 to $3,300,000 and selling for $3,370,000.
After what has been an extremely challenging year, it is a great feeling to be finishing the year on a positive note. The vibe in Melbourne is a stark contrast of what it was only a few months ago buzzing with activity and so many smiles on people’s faces. The way that everyone has adapted this year is nothing short of amazing.
This is the last market wrap for the year so I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2021.
Melbourne’s auction numbers are almost at normal Spring levels as the year begins to close. The REIV reported 803 auctions on the weekend which was an increase on last year but still down on the same weekend last year. A clearance rate of 80% was achieved. 492 sold at auction, 147 sold before auction and 1 after auction. In addition there were 285 private sales.
There has been a rush of properties onto the market over the past two weeks with auction dates as late as December 23. This is due to vendors and selling agents wanting to take advantage of the strong buyer activity that has occurred over the past month or so.
The Christmas break will be much shorter this year with many selling agents coming back to work on the 11th of January. A normal January would be very quiet with many agents not back until just before Australia Day, however this year we are expecting things to be a little bit different as we are still playing catch up from a disrupted year.
2021 is likely to be a busy year. Interest rates are at record lows, employment and buyer confidence is rising and now stamp duty discounts have been introduced for all properties under $1,000,000 which is bringing more investors into the market.
In Regional Victoria, the property market is very active with many properties selling within days of hitting the market and reaching prices well above the asking price (some properties being purchased sight unseen). Geelong also had a busy weekend of auctions with reports of many properties selling well above reserve. The auction of 12 Cambra Road, Belmont was competitive with six bidders wanting to secure the three bedroom, two bathroom renovated home. The reserve of $690,000 was overrun with a selling price of $777,000 being achieved. Belmont has been a popular area for investors and first home buyers for quite some time.
In Melbourne, the auction of 5 Fontein Street, West Footscray attracted 23 registered bidders with the opening bid of $880,000 hitting reserve and putting the property on the market. Mostly young couples participated in the auction with the property selling for $990,000 ($110,000 over reserve). Three bidders participated in the auction of Garry Lyon and Nicky Brownless’ home at 12 Ashleigh Road, Armadale with an original price guide of $3,000,000 to $3,300,000 and selling for $3,370,000.
After what has been an extremely challenging year, it is a great feeling to be finishing the year on a positive note. The vibe in Melbourne is a stark contrast of what it was only a few months ago buzzing with activity and so many smiles on people’s faces. The way that everyone has adapted this year is nothing short of amazing.
This is the last market wrap for the year so I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2021.
Melbourne’s auction clearance rate over the weekend remained steady at 80% on 585 auctions reported. 357 of those sold at auction, 110 before auction and there were an additional 278 private sales.
The State Government announced last week of stamp duty discounts which is welcoming news to many property buyers. There will be a 50% stamp duty discount on newly built homes valued upto $1m and 25% discount for established properties for upto $1m for the rest of the financial year. Whilst welcoming news this is likely to encourage more buyers into the market which could result in further pressure in prices.
There is such a buzz around Melbourne at the moment…cafe’s and restaurants are open, masks are off outside and there were large attendances at many auctions on the weekend (socially distanced of course). There is a feeling that we are back to some kind of normality and this was also the case at auctions on the weekend with active bidding and in some cases, properties selling well above reserve.
We attended many auctions in Melbourne and Geelong with all of them selling well above reserve. The type of bidders were varied from investors, first home buyers, upsizers and downsizers.
The auction of 5/86 Cromwell Road, South Yarra achieved 9 bidders mostly from first home buyers with the property selling for $111,000 over reserve. The property was quoted $600,000 to $640,000 prior to auction and was announced on the market at $620,000 at auction. The last two sales in the block sold for close to $700,000 but this property was unrenovated, (almost unliveable), so to achieve $731,000 was a very good result for the vendor.
41 Middle Cres, Brighton sold for $5,425,000 at auction which was over $1,000,000 above reserve. This huge result was only achieved through two buyers who both desperately wanted the property. There were three bidders in total but two of these bidders belonged to the one party. The bidding was so fast and in large increments that no one else got an opportunity to put their hand up and I have no doubt there were other buyers there to bid. It just goes to show that auctions can achieve huge results if emotion comes into play as both buyers had pushed way past their budgets to try and secure the home.
In Regional Victoria, 5 bidders fought to secure a renovated home at 5 Spring Street, Belmont. The property was quoted at $670,000 to $700,000 prior to auction and was announced on the market at $700,000. The bidding kept going until it sold for $750,000. Selling agents have been reporting that buyer enquiry has doubled or even tripled in some cases since the ‘ring of steel’ was lifted.
After so many dire forecasts this year about the Victorian property market, it is a nice change to see reports of confidence with many experts now predicting property prices to rise. With record low interest rates, increased confidence, unemployment rates falling, stamp duty concessions and the likely vaccine roll out next year, an increase in property prices next year could quite be on the cards.
The REIV auction clearance rate has improved once again achieving 85% on 400 auctions reported. 220 properties sold at auction, 118 before auction and 1 after auction. In addition there were 241 private sales. The clearance rate for houses was 88% and units 80%. These percentages whilst high, overall transaction numbers are still well down on the 1034 auctions reported on the same weekend, last year.
We have just over four weeks left before the holiday season commences and I am expecting a shorter break in the property market than previous years. Many people still have not booked holidays due to the uncertainty of borders opening and others are choosing to stay local so they can play catch up on lost work during lock down.
New buyer enquiry should continue to be strong throughout January as confidence improves which is not dissimilar to January 2020, as long as we don’t see any spike in Covid-19 cases. Hopefully the resilience the property market is demonstrating will encourage more vendors to put their properties on the market.
Off market listings are on the rise as selling agents list properties due to go on the market in the new year. Many of these vendors will be willing to sell now and the Elite Buyer Agents team are working extremely hard to find these off market properties for our clients. In addition to higher levels of off market properties, historically December can be a very good month to buy as vendors become even more motivated to sell their property before Christmas.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
The REIV auction clearance rate achieved a result in the 80’s again with 382 auctions reported. 231 sold at auction, 85 before auction and an additional 206 private sales. The clearance rate for houses was 84% and units 80%.
In the first 12 days of November, CoreLogic’s data shows that Melbourne property prices were bouncing back and outperforming all other major capital cities around the country. This data is supported by four weeks of strong auction clearance rates.
Over the past six months, I have been asked almost on a daily basis about distressed sales. The second lockdown financially hit some people very hard and no doubt some people will lose their businesses and potentially their homes. However, the government have helped support many businesses through JobKeeper and other grants, and the banks allowed mortgage holidays to try and help keep people afloat. On the flip side, there have been many people who haven’t lost their job, in fact, have been saving a lot more money than what they normally would have. This has allowed some buyers to have increased budgets due to larger deposits.
The banks have extended mortgage holidays for another four months, now ending March 2021. This has given homeowners plenty of time to sell their home if they anticipate they financially need to. Interestingly, 50% of all mortgages on holidays have now had their repayments resume, not needing to make use of the extended holiday.
Many selling agents are reporting they are rarely seeing a distressed sale and even when the odd one does come onto the market, the buyer demand is strong enough to achieve a sale at market value.
There have been many reports this year that Melbourne property prices will drop and thus far, the market has remained very resilient. If everything remains as it is now, we will enter into a very active late Spring and busy start to next year.
Have a great week.
Kim Easterbrook
