A strong clearance rate of 92% was achieved over the weekend with many buyers and sellers trying to transact despite Melbourne being in Stage 4 lockdown.  165 auctions were reported, with 60 selling before auction, 90 at auction and there were an additional 183 private sales.  Over the next five weeks there will be very few transactions but we are expecting the Melbourne property market to be very active once restrictions are lifted.

With metropolitan Melbourne in lockdown, Melbourne buyers are no longer able to travel to regional Victoria to inspect properties.  With Melbournians making up a large percentage of buyers, this could result in some very good buying conditions in Geelong, Ballarat and other regional areas that we have not experienced before.  Regional Victoria have Stage 3 restrictions imposed which means regional selling agents can still conduct private one on one inspections for regional residents only.

Geelong in particular is experiencing population growth from Melbourne residents moving there due to affordability, good schools and it is an easy commute to Melbourne whether that be by car or train.  The lower price point in Geelong, Ballarat and other regional towns has also resulted in a spike in Melbourne investors due to the higher rentals yields and a lower price point.

There was a lot of confusion last week as to what the Stage 4 lockdown meant for the Melbourne real estate industry with notification that the industry was effectively shut down.  This meant for people due to be moving houses in this time were left in limbo.  On Friday, there was an amendment announced which now allows final inspections for both rentals and property settlements and people who were due to move house during this time can now do so.

Stay safe everyone and keep positive.

Kim Easterbrook


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Over the past few days we have been waiting in anticipation to find out what the Real Estate Industry can and can’t do during Stage 4 restrictions.  On Tuesday, it was announced that in metropolitan Melbourne the industry is only allowed to work in an online and virtual capacity. This means all Real Estate offices are to close and all staff must work from home.

All physical inspections for the purposes of selling, buying and leasing are not permitted as of midnight last night.  Online/virtual inspections and online auctions are allowed, however there are very few people that will purchase and lease a property from a virtual tour, therefore in effect, the industry has come to a grinding halt.  We do not have clarification as to what this means for owner occupiers or tenants who are relocating during this time.  The REIV are pushing for this to be a permitted activity but at this stage, this has not been agreed to.  The government have advised that urgent maintenance can be conducted through time and property settlements can still take place.

In regional Victoria, stage 3 restrictions mean that inspections are allowed however they must be one on one, private inspections only.  Auctions are now to be online as well.   As buyers from Melbourne are not allowed to go to regional Victoria to inspect properties, this could present a good time to buy.

This does not mean that our works stops.  Selling Agents will be busy trying to sell their current properties, listing new properties and working on properties to launch in six weeks time.  Buying Agents will be busy liaising with Selling Agents to be kept informed about their new listings.  Property Managers will still be busy in their day to day activities, creatively overcoming the obstacle of no physical inspections but still fulfilling their obligations to their landlords and their tenants.

Stay safe everyone and keep positive.

Kim Easterbrook


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An auction clearance rate of 78% was achieved over the weekend on 176 auctions and last week, there was an additional 154 private sales.  In comparison, last weekend there were 292 auctions.  Stock levels have been declining due to the recent spike in Covid-19 cases and vendors holding off selling their properties.

There is no need to elaborate too much on the state of the Melbourne property market today as we are expecting an announcement from Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, that could impact the way the Real Estate Industry trades over the next six weeks.

Once I have some clarity as to what the Stage 4 restrictions mean for buying/selling and leasing of residential properties in Victoria, I will send out a comprehensive outline of what we can and can’t do.

As at right now though, in Metropolitan Melbourne, there has been no change so we can still inspect and open properties via private inspection where one person is allowed through with an agent at any one time.  Auctions are to be held online.  In Regional Victoria, the implementation of Stage 3 restrictions means that there are no more open for inspections to be held, all inspections are to be via private appointment only and auctions are to be moved to an online platform.

For today, it’s business as usual, tomorrow though, is likely to be a different story.

Stay safe everyone and keep positive.

Kim Easterbrook

There was another strong auction clearance rate over the weekend with 78% of the 248 auctions reported selling.  This is slightly down from 80% on 253 auctions last week but we are starting to see some consistency in the amount of auctions being conducted as vendors, agents and buyers are just getting on with things, even amongst the Covid-19 outbreak.  In addition there were 261 private sale demonstrating that expressions of interest, off market transactions and private sales are still the preferred way of selling.

We are seeing a bit of a mixed bag of property results though with some suburb record prices being achieved, some selling well above reserve but the odd one passing in with or without a bid.   For a property to sell well, it really needs to be ticking a lot of key boxes as there is understandably some nervousness in buyers.  It firstly comes down to the property selection itself and then how it is marketed for sale.  Buyers are drawn to properties that are presented very well, this means freshly painted, often updated/renovated, styled with display furniture and then marketed with high quality photos and priced accurately to sell.  Properties that are priced too high or not presented well are often having some difficulty selling.

In addition to this, properties that are selling strongly are well located properties in a quiet street, close to shops/cafe’s, close to public transport, boasting a good floor plan and in a low density location. Properties that have the X factor and scarcity are the ones that are showing resilience in the current market from a selling and rental point of view.

There is no doubt the rental market has been hit hard with higher vacancy rates and an increase in properties coming up for lease.  That being said, it is the properties that tick the investment criteria mentioned above, that are leasing out easier with higher quality tenants and near rents that they were achieving twelve months ago.

Stay safe everyone.

Kim Easterbrook


Refer A Friend and Receive a $200 Voucher to Stokehouse.

Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

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* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

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It certainly has been an interesting week with the cases of Covid-19 in Melbourne rising to levels which almost triggered a Stage 4 lockdown.  At this stage, the government have not introduced Stage 4 restrictions however the wearing of masks will be mandatory from Wednesday night which means the real estate industry can still operate for the purposes of buying and leasing.

A clearance rate of 81% was recorded on the weekend on 188 auctions, in addition to this there were an additional 186 private sales.  In June, the amount of auctions was triple the amount for May, being 1,540 auctions.

The REIV have released the latest quarterly median prices which is consistent with the Core Logic data that was released a couple of weeks ago.  The median house price for Melbourne dropped 3.5% over the June quarter after four quarters of continual growth. Unit prices dropped 2.5% in the June quarter.  This demonstrates even with the utmost uncertainty in the country that the Melbourne property market has remained very resilient. Regionally, houses prices remained stable however the median prices for units increased to record levels.  We have also had multiple reports of suburb record prices being achieved at Melbourne auctions.

On the weekend, we were successful purchasing a property at auction in Carnegie which had 19 registered bidders.  Another online auction we participated in also had very strong competition with 9 bidders registering to bid.  Online auctions are proving to be successful for both vendors and buyers alike and allowing the industry to transact whilst limiting face to face contact.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook


Refer A Friend and Receive a $200 Voucher to Stokehouse.

Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

Please contact our team on 9592 1122 or email admin@elitebuyeragents.com.au

* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

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As the Covid-19 second wave worsens in Melbourne, it doesn’t seem to have deterred many buyers from purchasing a property.  Even though fearful, there is a “lets just get on with it” attitude across the city.  We are all learning to live with this disease and we are becoming more accepting that this is the way of life at least for the next year or two.

The weekend produced a staggering 88% clearance rate on 211 auctions.  To break this down, there were 104 sold at auction, 80 before auction, 1 sold after auction and an additional 339 private sales bringing the total number of sales for the week to 524.  These numbers are not dissimilar to an average July week of sales in a normal market.  In comparison last year there were 295 auctions with a clearance rate of 76%.

Lockdown life in the property market has now reverted back to how it was in March. Auctions are now back online, increase in private sales, inspections are via private appointment only. Reports from many selling agents have suggested very active private inspections on many of their properties.

Unfortunately, some businesses may not survive this second wave and people could lose their jobs.  However vulnerable buyers exited the market in March and we do not anticipate this second wave will have much impact on demand.

Online auctions are now the new ‘norm’ with almost 100 people joining a Zoom auction of 30 Trinian Street, Prahran.  The property was quoted at $1,850,000 to $1,950,000 prior to auction and sold for $2,300,000 which was $350,000 over the vendor’s reserve.  Five bidders in total drove the price to this level.

Over the next month or so, we are expecting there to be drop in properties listed online for sale and a rise in off market activity to levels seen in March/April.  We are also anticipating that prices will remain stable as purchases/sales will still need to happen.

Stay safe everyone.

Kim Easterbrook


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* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

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Over the weekend, the auction clearance rate increased to 72% which is an increase of 1% from last weekend and interestingly, an increase from 66% for the same time last year.  For the first time since March, we can accurately compare the clearance rates to last year as the number of auctions were similar with 300 over the weekend to 339 this time last year.  In addition there were 203 private sales.

Core Logic recently released its Monthly and Quarterly Melbourne Property Market reports which supports what we have been experiencing on the ground.  Their reports suggest that property prices in Melbourne dropped 1.1% in June 2020 and overall fell 2.3% in the June 2020 quarter.  These results are nowhere near the property price falls that many journalists and experts were predicting.  We were expecting these quarterly results to show small drops in property prices which resulted from the initial shock of Covid-19 hitting our shores and the lockdowns we had in March and April. This data also confirms how resilient the Melbourne Property Market is as we face the biggest challenge our country has ever seen. Many forget that we all still need to supply the basic need of shelter.

What impact will Melbourne’s second wave have on property prices?

We have become a lot more knowledgeable and experienced in how to carry on business with COVID-19 from the first wave.  Selling Agents will reimplement virtual tours again and online auctions are already set for areas in lockdown.   There is no doubt some vendors will put their selling plans on hold so we are likely to see stock levels fall even further.  On the flip side though it seems many buyers are just getting on with it as property prices remain stable.  First home buyers have been active all the way through but now investors are gaining confidence, as too are upsizers and downsizers.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook


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Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

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There were 443 property sales in Melbourne last week which is an increase on last week’s final sales numbers.  The clearance rate was 65% on 415 auctions demonstrating we are in a balanced market.  A balanced market is where housing prices are stable and there are an equal amount of buyers and sellers in the marketplace.  That being said ‘on the ground’ we are experiencing a lack of quality properties.  That being ones that ticks the boxes for a lot of buyers.  An example of this could be a structurally renovated period home, in a quiet street, close to shops and cafes, in an inner city suburb.

Many people are asking us about the impact on the property market a spike in Covid-19 will have.  In my opinion, it could result in us going back to how we were transacting in April and May.  More online auctions, less people at open for inspections and so on.  The industry adapted very well then and will easily be able to revert back should we need to.  It also could result in a further decrease in stock on the market as sellers become afraid to have too many people come through their properties, or could again give rise to an increase in off market (quiet) listings.

We are also being asked on a daily basis as to whether we are seeing any distressed sales.  In actual fact, we haven’t seen any properties selling at largely discounted prices.  It could be reasonable to assume that if anybody was experiencing financial hardship, they would be recognising this now before loan repayments start again in September.  These particular people would likely currently have their properties on the market to avoid having to sell their property under distress.  Even if there was extreme urgency, the amount of buyers in the market are creating competition and therefore not allowing properties to sell cheap.  On the flip side, we are very rarely seeing runaway results where a property is selling significantly above the reserve price. Properties are mostly selling within a 10% range of market value.

The sale of 137 Male Street, Brighton is a great example of where the market is at.  The property sold at auction on the weekend with three bidders for $2,470,000.  The property sold two years ago for $2,350,000 and previous to that it sold for $2,010,000 in 2015.  As you can see consistent growth has been achieved over the past five years.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook


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Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

Please contact our team on 9592 1122 or email admin@elitebuyeragents.com.au

* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

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There were almost 400 property sales in Melbourne last week as property listings and auction numbers start to rise (although still low volumes compared to previous years).

Buyer confidence and low stock levels produced some strong auction results with many properties selling with competition from multiple bidders.  77 McCracken Street, Essendon sold with four bidders for $2,985,000, 6 bidders pushed the price of 24 Laura Street, Moonee Ponds $351,000 over reserve selling for $2,201,000.  21 Margarita Street, Hampton recently sold for a record price of $5,950,000. Just to name a few.

But what has really got me thinking as to where is this market at, is the sale of 12 Hammerdale Ave, St Kilda East.  This renovated two bedroom, two bathroom renovated semi-detached house sold at auction on the weekend for a record price (for a two bedroom house in the suburb) of $1,690,000.  We purchased 16 Hammerdale Ave, St Kilda East for an investor in August last year for $1,320,000.  Number 16 was on slightly smaller land but structurally had a better floor plan and an extra bedroom.  One could argue 16 Hammerdale is a superior property.   This is $370,000 or 28% more in less than 12 months.  A huge gain for our client.

So whilst we are seeing some properties selling very strong, there is still the odd opportunity that presents itself.  Of the last three auctions that I have been a bidder, two of them passed-in to me enabling me to purchase them under what we expected them to sell for.  Although the properties were well bought, there were still multiple buyers circling who were willing to make an offer had we not purchased them.

We may see stock levels reduce again as a result of the rise in Covid-19 cases however the Government have introduced restrictions quickly and hopefully this is just a little blip in the recovery stage.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook


Refer A Friend and Receive a $200 Voucher to Stokehouse.

Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

Please contact our team on 9592 1122 or email admin@elitebuyeragents.com.au

* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

Screenshot2020 02 06at4.34.06pm1 9900000000079e3c

For the first time in many months, there seems to be a feeling of normality in air. This included the Melbourne Real Estate Market which was very active with buyers inspecting properties, auctions with competitive bidding and just a feeling that we may have turned the corner.

Over the weekend I inspected many properties varying in prices from $600,000 to $6,000,000 in which all of the open for inspections were busy.  Some of these opens even reached full capacity of 20 people which lead to people waiting outside and lines down the street.  Even properties that had been on the market for quite some time achieved greater numbers than they previously had.

We don’t know yet whether this will lead to buyers having the confidence to bid as of yet, but in time, I am sure they will.  After speaking to many selling agents, I found it very interesting to hear that many of these buyers are not returning buyers, but in fact many of them are new to the market.  The first home buyer is extremely active with good quality apartments attracting huge numbers at open for inspections and strong bidding at auctions.  I attended an auction on the weekend of a 1970’s two bedroom apartment in Richmond which had 14 registered bidders (photo above).  Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, only 20 people in addition to the selling agents staff are allowed to attend.  The auctioneer had to awkwardly ask all partners to leave and wait in the laneway at the rear.  The auction took place in the car park to avoid any passersby stopping to watch and there were very strict social distancing measures in place.

The upper end of the market is also waking up with active bidding and busy open for inspections.  33 Mangarra Road, Canterbury sold for $4,120,000 which was $470,000 above its reserve price with three bidders fighting to secure the home.  It is important to note that there are still some properties that are selling short of expectation which means there is a level of caution with some buyers.

Have a great week.

Kim Easterbrook


Refer A Friend and Receive a $200 Voucher to Stokehouse.

Refer a friend to our Buyer Advocacy or Property Management services and enjoy a $200* voucher to Stokehouse Restaurant for a relaxing lunch or dinner by the Bay in St Kilda.

Please contact our team on 9592 1122 or email admin@elitebuyeragents.com.au

* Offer applies to a referral that leads to the engagement of our services.

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