Auction wrap from around the grounds

AS the Wallabies prepared to take on the old enemy in the Rugby World Cup quarter final today, buyers were out in force across the country, with strong bidding across Ray White Group's 275 scheduled auctions.

The nation's largest auction house booked a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 80 per cent, with an average of five registered bidders per auction.

It was Melbourne that stole the limelight with the leading group's preliminary data showing an auction day clearance rate of 84.9 per cent with an average of 4.1 active bidders per auction.

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Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said auction volume continued to rise with the group reporting one of its biggest weeks of auction volume for 2019.

"Based on preliminary data, this week has seen a great number of active bidders per auction, and healthy crowd sizes across Victoria," Mr Condon said.

"On the ground, buyers are continuing to display a high level of confidence in the real estate market, by actively competing at each auction."

And that confidence was certainly on show in the south-east of Melbourne where Ray White Glen Waverley Partner Marc Lum and Sales Associate Ryan Zhu orchestrated the $1,345,000 under the hammer sale of 13 Harris Crescent (pictured above) - $195,000 over the reserve price.

“This auction highlights why this method of sale is the only way to sell your home. There were four bidders battling it out on the day, with 40 bids driving the price up from $900,000, all the way to its sale price,” Mr Lum said.

“There are a number of reasons why the market is performing well in this region at the moment. Buyers are certainly coming back with finance flexibility, interest rate cuts and people just recognizing this is the time to buy before the market goes up again next year.

“The house itself was very well maintained having not had any upgrades from its original 1960’s build. Bought by a local family, they loved the yard and alfresco area.”

The success continued in Bentleigh East as Ray White Carnegie Sales Consultant Gerry Setiyadi and Director/Auctioneer Matt Hurlston sold 8 Paloma Street (pictured below) for $1,272,000 - a massive $322,000 over the reserve price.

“The opening bid of $1,100,000 was well over the reserve price, so we knew we were in for a special auction when that happened, the 11 registered bidders saw to that,” Mr Setiyadi said.

“The property is still in its original condition and is perfect for someone wanting to come in, demolish and rebuild, and that’s exactly what the family buyers will be doing.

“The confidence has returned to the market, and with measures like interest rate cuts, we’re seeing developers and family buyers come back to the market.

“More properties seem to be coming to the market but it’s still a great time to sell.”

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the spring rush was truly living up to the hype.

"We're seeing more and more buyers roll in to auctions and an increasingly higher number of first time buyers circulating through the market," Mr Pattaro said.

"The Inner West of Sydney has been extremely popular, with many buyers turning up to auctions and inspections. Inspection numbers have been compared to the property market in 2016-2017.

"If you're thinking of selling, consider taking full advantage of the competition within the market. More properties are coming to market but we're not seeing a shift in clearance rates."

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And it was Sydney that took the title of preliminary highest sale of the day in Kensington, where Ray White Kingsford Senior Sales Executive Theo Felekos and Principal Costa Kaparos managed the $2,725,000 sale of 36 Cottenham Avenue (pictured above).

“There was a huge amount of interest in this property with a massive 175 groups through the open homes and nine registered bidders on the day,” ” Mr Felekos said.

“A young couple looking to start a family bought the property and they appreciated the character features that had been preserved from the 1930’s.

“The property is in a wonderful location and offered the chance for value-add in the future. Being in the catchment area for the Kensington Public School was also a real draw card.

“The market is starting to pick up now and we've seen a real flurry of activity in the last two weeks as buyers look to be in their homes before Christmas.”

Sydney success continued as Ray White Northbridge Director Rose Farina and Sales Executive Jeff Woo sold 36 Dalmeny Road (pictured above) for $2,530,000 - $230,000 over the reserve.

“There was an exceptional amount of interest in this home as it’s the first time the property has come to market since being built in the 1920’s,” said Ms Farina.

“It was the very last of the unrenovated homes in a high-end street and the family buyers are already working with an architect to make alterations and add to the property.

“People want to buy here because it’s a small peninsula suburb with a great community vibe and is in the catchment for some really terrific schools.

“The purchasers have been looking for some time and I think it’s wonderful that after so many years in one family, that another family now gets to come in and make their own memories.”

And Sydney wasn't done there, as Ray White Kiama Director Michelle Lay successfully managed the $1,390,000 sale of 70 Collins Street (pictured below), more than $100,000 over reserve.

“This home was a beautiful old girl and the local family that bought it intends to preserve the character and the charm of the property, which is great for Kiama,” Ms Lay said.

“The residence itself is 68 years old and was built with double brick and has great views - the buyers love older style homes and are passionate about its heritage.

“We had more than 60 groups through the open homes and actually, on auction day, the first bid of $1,100,000 took a lot of the registered bidders out.

“The market here is bubbling along nicely but there’s still a lack of stock which means more competition when a property does come on the market.”

Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said it was a great day for auctions in the Sunshine State with great results across all price points.

"People are willing to compete and they're getting themselves in a position to bid because they don't want to miss out on a property," Mr Peereboom said.

"If you're considering selling or coming onto the market, then you can with so much confidence knowing that there are buyers there willing to put offers forward that will get you a great result."

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And it was in Queensland's Sunnybank Hills where Ray White Sunnybank Hills General Manager Gordon Sui and Sales and Marketing Morgan Guo managed the $1,270,000 sale of 10 Meadow Place (pictured above).

“The young family that bought the property had been looking for a while and when this one came to market, it matched their space requirements perfectly,” Mr Sui said.

“It’s rare a property like this becomes available and that was evident in the fact we had seven registered bidders on the day and the multiple groups we had through the opens.

“We believe the market will continue to get better and we see that there are more buyers willing to come to auction and to bid and buy.

“We have certainly seen an increase in enquiry numbers and open home attendances.”

Not to be outdone, Balmoral was the scene of more auction success as Ray White East Brisbane Sales Agent David Farrell and Sales and Marketing Consultant Jonathan Peck orchestrated the $1,055,000 sale of 15 Barton Parade (pictured above).

“The market around here is pretty solid with confidence in the market continuing to flow and that was highlighted by the eight registered bidders we had,” Mr Farrell said.

“The bidding started aggressively at $950,000 and the property went on the market at $1,000,000, before eventually selling after more competitive bidding for $1,055,000.

“We had a lot of interest throughout the campaign with locals and people from further afield particularly enjoying the wonderful panoramic city views.

“It’s close to the city, in a popular area and on a big block, couple that with low interest rates and you can see why this property sold so well.”

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris said the auction market seemed to be on fire this week in SA.

"Of the 30 auctions the Ray White Group had scheduled, we're showing a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 78.6 per cent," My Morris said.

"Stock is still quite low and this is resulting in large turnouts and lots of registered and active bidders at auction."

And that was the case with Ray White Adelaide City Sales Agents Leon Yuan and Michael Wood, as they sold 14 Leisure Court (pictured above) in Fulham for $1,035,000.

“This sale is a great example of why auction works for vendors because the highest offer we had previously was below the figure it sold for under the hammer,” Mr Yuan said.

“The property is very open and bright and is on a great block of land. The location was also very good, as you have the convenience of being close to the bay, not far from the CBD and having a shopping centre and park in close proximity.

“The market has certainly picked up compared to six months ago and you can feel that buyers want to buy now so they can be settled before Christmas.”