AS the market continues to surge, auctions have become the best placed method of sale to take advantage of the hugely competitive buyer activity across the country.
Ray White listed more properties in February than the same time in the last two years, it’s clear low stock levels are no longer the catalyst for the current intense buyer demand. Following a year of reduced activity in the market, pent up demand and fear of missing out (FOMO) has created a perfect storm that continues to build momentum in the market.
With so much competition out there, according to Ray White data, those listings that make it to game day in February sold far more than the highest offer prior. Those vendors who held out not only saw higher returns on their property but also benefited from the unconditional sale transparency that an auction brings.
Ray White Managing Director Dan White said the most important message that can be communicated to vendors was the value being created by taking properties all the way through to auction day, rather than selling before auction.
“In a month in which 43 per cent of all our sales were made via the auction method, our data shows that our clients achieved prices 12 per cent more on average under the hammer than by accepting the highest offer prior,” Mr White said.
While, 23 per cent of auctions scheduled this Saturday were sold prior a further 173 proceeded to their date with the gavel across the country, netting an impressive clearance rate of 82 per cent. Those that went under the hammer sold 12 per cent above the highest offer prior once again today. Bidder numbers continued to soar with 6.7 registering to bid while 4.1 actively participated in the bidding. This represents an increase of 3.6 and 2.4 respectively compared to last year.
Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro cautioned Sydney sellers to be careful not to get drawn into any hype surrounding property prices.
“We are seeing inflated expectations on top of offers and feedback that is well above previous recorded results but we are still seeing strong bidding activity and solid prices at all Sydney auctions, especially for family homes within a 10km radius from the Sydney CBD,” Mr Pattaro said.
One of Mr Pattaro’s last auctions of the day netted an impressive $1,502,000 under the hammer. The unrenovated three bedroom 114 Harrow Rd, Bexley home sold for only $48,000 less than the recent private sale of a four bedroom, two bathroom, double garage, fully renovated home three doors up the road. The Bexley home sold for $202,000 above its reserve with selling agent Nicholas Economos of Ray White Rockdale saying the auction vibe was very competitive.
“Bidding was very aggressive, we filled out a full bidding sheet with 42 bids. Once it was called on the market, it went to another level. Auction is the way to go in this market, especially with houses,” Mr Economos said.
“We had an unbelievable 24 registered bidders attend the auction but the winning bidder was actually the next door neighbour.”
Coming in at the highest sale of the day was Ray White Roseville agent Jessica Cao’s $5,530,000 auction of 15 Woodlands Rd, East Lindfield. The auction drew a crowd of 100 spectators and 14 registered bidders, however 10 were knocked out with the first bid. Last standing was a local Upper North Shore family with school aged kids looking to upgrade from their current home.
"The price was a shock to everyone, even the vendors, who are thrilled," Ms Cao said.
"The market is so hot right now, even at this level. Everything is selling above expectations, we thought it would just be the entry level market that is hot but the high end market is also achieving amazing prices, far above what everyone is thinking.
"We made the decision not to sell prior as auction is the way to go. I don't see a market better than this to run an auction campaign in."
Early this morning in a Pennant Hills yard, seven hopeful buyers threw their hat in the ring in the hopes of securing the five bedroom 10 Greenhaven Drive home. Only one could come out the winner and in the end an Ermington family came out on top after casting the winning $2,015,000 bid. This time last week, the family had no idea they would be the new owners of the Pennant Hill home after only viewing it on Wednesday.Selling agent Alex Gayl (pictured above far left with the sellers on the left and the buyers on the right) of Ray White Cherrybrook said the home sold about $100,000 above reserve and eight per cent more than the highest offer prior.“At the end of the day, the vendors and I as a team decided not to take the offer because of the interest we had in the house,” Mr Gayl said.“It was the right move and I feel like it allowed us to bring out the entirety of the market and allowed all participants to be engaged in the bidding process.“There was complete exposure of the property to the market and looking at our seven registered bidders, three of them had seen the property within seven days of the auction. If we were to take the offer prior then those people wouldn’t have had a chance to view the home.“The fourth week is critical, people are coming out of the woodwork right before the auction and that’s when it really counts.”In Maroubra, the 45 Hannan St auction smashed its reserve, selling $406,000 above reserve for $2,806,000. Ray White Bondi Junction partner Sam Capra oversaw the campaign during which 160 groups inspected the property. The buyers were a local family who came out on top after 13 potential buyers registered to bid.“There’s a very strong owner occupier market at the moment, we are finding, like with this auction, that everything is selling well over reserve,” Mr Capra said.“There are a lot of registered bidders out there and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. It’s not always the case that there is an abundance of buyers so in this low stock market, I would definitely recommend auction.”
Ray White Victoria | Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matthew Condon said it had been another outstanding week of auctions for the state.“Auction numbers have returned to a normal volume after the long weekend and despite the weather today, buyers are still out in force. It hasn’t changed the crowd size which is quite interesting,” Mr Condon said.“Again, we are seeing an increased amount of average registered bidders at auction and most noticeable has been the competitive bidding coming from buyers. They are bidding aggressively and in high increments, not $1000 back and forth bids, they are coming out with massive bids.“Sellers who are choosing to sell in the current market are being rewarded with above reserve prices.”A four bedroom waterfront home at 97 Palm Beach Drive, Patterson Lakes ranked Ray White Victoria’s top recorded sale of the day, going under the hammer for $2,200,000. It was a welcome sight to see Mr Condon (pictured above at the auction) back on-site, conducting the morning auction after months of online auctions in his own home.
The waterfront property was originally listed as a private sale but after a recent impressive sale in the area, Ray White Patterson Lakes director Stephen Hill advised moving it to auction.
“A result happened five weeks ago which was out of the ordinary for a waterfront home in the area, I discussed switching to auction to create urgency in the marketplace with my vendor,” Mr Hill said.“A local buyer can now call the Palm Beach Drive home and my vendors are thrilled they can move on.”
After selling 2/13 Cassels Rd, Brunswick close to $100,000 above reserve, Ray White Brunswick agent Abdul Allouche said sellers would be crazy not to take their property all the way to auction in this market.“At the moment, buyers are there and they’re not scared to spend. There is no shortage of properties, everyone just has confidence to start buying again,” Mr Allouche said.“The COVID scare is over and everyone is saying it’s time to jump back on it and buy now before things start to get even hotter in the market.”Mr Allouche sold the two bedroom unit for $825,000 at auction to a first home buyer who is over the moon after missing out on her dream home for the past few months. There were 13 other registered bidders for her to contend with but after bidding kicked off at $650,000, flying past the $730,000 reserve, she managed to steal keys. During the campaign, there were almost 300 inspections so when faced with an offer of over $100,000 less than the final sale price, the vendors (pictured above) decided to go all the way.
The Ray White Mount Waverley team had a cracker day with managing director Courtney Matthews selling 18 Halliday St for $1,510,000 to five of eight registered bidders. Area manager Jay Warnak also sold 1/20 Humber Rd, Croydon North for $111,000 above reserve at $771,000 in front of 18 registered bidders (pictured above).Mr Warnak, who sold the block to its current vendors five years ago, was thrilled with the great outcome.“There was a massive turnout at the auction, we had first home buyers, downsizers and families interested, ” Mr Warnak said.“I think low stock and huge buyer demand are both influencing the market. For this to go $110,000 above reserve is amazing.“Buyers can see, especially in Melbourne, that the difference between now and in 18 months means they will need to have a bigger budget so they are being spurred on to buy now.”
In Brisbane, Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said it had been another outstanding week of auctions across Queensland.“We're seeing excellent competition. We know that buyers are wanting and willing to compete for properties,” Mr Peereboom said.
“They want to get offers in prior to the auction but the key thing to make sure is not to sell prior and to go through to the day, because ultimately for our sellers we want to get the best price and competition is what gets us the best outcome.
“If you look across the group, we've had great performances across all different market segments from inner city apartments through to properties between $500,000 and a million dollars right through to multi-million dollar rural sales, one selling for $8,770,000 this week.”
Coming in with the highest registered bidders of the day was Ray White Ascot agent Nick Kouparitsas who sold 50 Grove St, Albion for $967,000 to an audience of 31 registered bidders (pictured above with Ray White auctioneer Phil Parker bottom left). The three bedroom cottage went to a young family and Mr Kouparitsas said it attracted so many buyers because of the sought-after location.
“Albion has become a really popular suburb, it’s very tightly held and not much pops up on the market so when it does buyers come flooding in,” Mr Kouparitsas said.
“Interest mainly came from young families and first home buyers. It’s the perfect spot for them, close enough to the city and with good access to public transport and lots of new infrastructure going up in the area - they are looking to get in before it starts.“The interest was expected but the price was well above all our expectations given the feedback we received. It was well above the highest offer prior and it just goes to show that selling off market does not help the seller when there is so much buyer activity out there.”
All eyes will be on the Calile Hotel tomorrow as Ray White New Farm, Bulimba, East Brisbane and Spring Hill host another prestige auction event. Ray White New Farm principal Haesley Cush said he expects this Sunday to be another exciting day.
"Late last year, born out of the strength of the Brisbane prestige market, we hosted our first prestige property auction event. The day boasted 11 of Brisbane's finest properties and nine sold. This Sunday's event is even bigger and again presents some of the state's finest properties,” Mr Cush said.
"We have interest from buyers locally, interstate and overseas. Many firmly believe that even with the recent energy in the Brisbane market it still represents incredible value on the east coast of Australia.
"The driving forces are the combination of low interest rates, our incredible value and the evolutionary infrastructure that will change the face of our city over the coming years"
"The Brisbane prestige property market is the best I have ever seen," added fellow Ray White New Farm principal Matt Lancashire.
Order of sale
2 Inverness St, Ascot - SOLD PRIOR
753 Clear Mountain Rd, Clear Mountain (pictured above)
55 Beresford Tce, Coorparoo - SOLD PRIOR
24 Wolseley St, Paddington - SOLD PRIOR
17 Welwyn Cres, Coorparoo - SOLD PRIOR
12 Glasgow St, Ashgrove - SOLD PRIOR
In Adelaide, Ray White SA Chief Auctioneer John Morris said Ray White dominated the numbers again in South Australia.“Today we only have 31 per cent of the auction market share of the 61 auctions going ahead throughout the state but 42 overall throughout the week and on Sunday,” Mr Morris said.“I am loving the fact that agents are embracing non-traditional auction days, such as Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and also the fact that there are more and more embracing the in-room events.“Over the last few weeks, the non-traditional days have actually outstripped the Saturdays.“I think this is only going to continue growing throughout South Australia as agents get busier and busier.“Results last week were great, 10 registered bidders, on average, and while the clearance rates dropped down to about 70 per cent, I think that that was something to do with the vendors expectations becoming over increased by the stories throughout the state.“But I think that there will be adjustments coming in the next few weeks and months.”Ray White Semaphore agent Sophia Pampena (pictured above left with the buyer right) made a snap decision on Wednesday to change her 42 Esplanade, Semaphore listing from a Best Offers By campaign to auction after seeing huge activity from interested buyers. The move paid off for Ms Pampena as Mr Morris brought down the hammer at $1,785,000 in front of 13 registered bidders.The property went to a family who intend to knock down all three units and build their dream home on the block. Ms Pampena said the sale price exceeded expectations.“I made the decision to change the sale method because of the level of interest I received. I had multiple people around the same price so I switched to auction to make it more transparent for them and give them the opportunity,” Ms Pampena said.“I evaluate every property individually on its merits to decide on what type of campaign is best but my preferred method is auction, especially when you know multiple offers will be coming in.”Meanwhile, Ray White Port Adelaide agent Petra Mells sold 46a Catalina Ave, Parafield Gardens for $512,000 at auction - an impressive figure for the area. With nine registered bidders, Ms Mells said it was popular with a wide variety of buyer groups.“There was a mix of owner occupiers and first home buyers coming through opens,” Ms Mells said.“The auction did really well and set a good price for the area. The market is obviously very strong, I think everyone is seeing that properties are being snapped up quickly at the moment.”
