Auction wrap from around the grounds

BUYERS were hoping to celebrate the Australia Day long weekend by purchasing a property with bidders out in force across the country at Ray White Group's 112 scheduled auctions today.

All eyes were on the Gold Coast where the Ray White Surfers Paradise Group’s annual flagship real estate program 'The Event' took centre stage as a full house and vigorous bidding throughout the day helped achieve $17,000,000 worth of sales.

Ray White Queensland CEO Tony Warland said The Event had always been a barometer of the market’s taste for property heading into the new year.

“There’s nothing quite like The Event when it comes to a day of properties being available and on display to be purchased,” Mr Warland said.

“Andrew and Greg Bell have done a terrific job once again in producing The Event, that’s now in its 28th year, and it’s one of the many reasons why Ray White Surfers Paradise has been our leading business in Queensland for the last 30 years.

“It’s not just a day of bidding and purchasing, it’s essentially a property expose, where people are able to take advantage of a suite of stalls that offer services to assist home buyers and sellers.

Ray White Queensland CEO Tony Warland (left) with Ray White Surfers Paradise Director Greg Bell (right).

“January is exceptionally busy for all of our businesses on the Gold Coast, with auction events running throughout a 10-day period across the region.

“Stock levels are lower than this time last year and because of this we’re seeing a huge amount of enquiry that results in properties being on the market for a shorter period. The auction method in particular helps reduce days on market and to increase competition.

“Recent statistics show that across our more than 240 Queensland offices, properties are selling within 51 days of being on-market, on average.

“The Gold Coast has a buzz about it heading into 2020 and everyone working for our 24 offices across the region are excited to service the needs of the real estate community.

“Making predictions can only come from past and present data but indicators at present show a market that’s strong, as Queenslanders have always had a deep passion for a home and property investments, and we’re seeing that passion become more ambitious within the marketplace.”

Ray White Surfers Paradise CEO Andrew Bell said the Gold Coast was like no other market with so many buyers coming from interstate.

"The buyers and sellers are not here to just test the market, they're actually here to buy and sell their properties," Mr Bell said.

"This has been the strongest start to a year in our 30-year history and that's a clear indication of the strength of the market at the moment."

78 properties were due to go under the hammer with 11 already sold prior and there were a number of highlights as the packed house competed for their ultimate prizes.

One of the stand-outs was that of Ray White Surfers Paradise's Henk Schreurs, who was able to successfully orchestrate the $725,000 sale of 1105/9 Hamilton Avenue (above).

But the action certainly wasn't limited to the Gold Coast and over in New South Wales, Ray White Yamba Joint Principal/Licensee Daniel Kelly was orchestrating Yamba's highest residential sale in four years, selling 40 Clarence Street (above) for $2,600,000.

“This is one of the most tightly-held pockets of Yamba and it drew a huge amount of interest with more than 135 inspections throughout the campaign,” Mr Kelly said.

“The property was bought by a lovely Melbourne-based family who had holidayed in Yamba previously and had fallen in love with the area as a holiday retreat.

“They also loved the positioning of the home, with its 270-degree views and the four-bedroom two-bathroom layout, making it the perfect size for a family.

“The market here is still very strong as it’s close to the CBD and the beach, so there are some really good signs for people who are thinking about selling.”

Staying in New South Wales and it was Ray White Cherrybrook I Thornleigh I West Pennant Hills Director - Principals Dion Verzeletti and Nathan Leuzzi managing the successful $1,510,000 sale of 52 Nicholson Avenue in Thornleigh.

"There was such high demand for this property that after having 54 groups through the first open home, we decided to bring the auction forward a week," Mr Leuzzi said.

"Thornleigh is a popular suburb with a good catchment for schools and that showed on the day as 14 registered bidders battled it out for the home.

"After bidding crept up from the opening offer of $1,400,000, the lucky winning bidders were a local family who loved everything about the house, especially the pool.

"The market here is looking strong, and after a positive finish to 2019, it certainly looks like that upbeat momentum is set to continue."

Over in Victoria, Ray White's Senior Sales Executive Shane Fox and Executive Assistant Tanjil Williams were having similar success, selling McCrae's 2/8 Highfield Road (above) for $689,000.

"There was a huge amount of interest in this one with the eventual buyers, an older couple with teenage children, planning to use it as a holiday getaway,” Mr Fox said.

“The suburb is highly attractive being close to shopping facilities, the beach and the entry and exit points to the freeway.

“Stock levels in our area are pretty low at the moment so when a property like this hits the market it attracts a lot of competition from buyers.

“That was evident in the more than 50 groups we had through the open homes and the three registered bidders that were bidding against each other on the day.”

The success continued in South Australia where Ray White Woodville Sales Agent Jonathon Kiritsis sold Brooklyn Park's 55 Marshall Terrace (above) for $555,000.

"We started running shorter auction campaigns towards the end of last year and it was a tactic we employed on this property, and it turned out to be a success," Mr Kiritsis said.

"This property was a one-owner home that's never changed hands. It was immaculate throughout and being on a corner block it provided the option for subdivision in the future. It was purchased by a family from an adjoining suburb as an investment.

"We had a strong finish to 2019 in our market and this year has picked up from where it left off. We were busy right up until Christmas and that momentum has continued."