It’s good to be back

THIS weekend marks the beginning of a return to normal for Ray White offices in Victoria, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia while New South Wales are heading into a second weekend of onsite auctions.

Some restrictions will still remain including a maximum of 10 people at any onsite auction and social distancing requirements of 1.5m outside and 4sqm inside. But as Ray White auction numbers rise, it’s clear that many sellers are seeing this as a greenlight to get back into the market.

Last weekend will be a hard act to follow after Australasia’s largest real estate group recorded a 66 per cent campaign clearance rate - up 50 per cent on that time last year. But Ray White agents across the country are confident they can pull another great weekend out of the bag with 72 homes set to go under the hammer.

The Ray White Surry Hills | Alexandria | Glebe | Erskineville office will be at it again this weekend after knocking it out of the park last Saturday with two outstanding auction results.

Following on from their huge weekend of success that saw the return of some of the first on-site auctions in the country, Director Ercan Ersan is predicting another great result at 49 St Marys St, Camperdown (pictured above).

With a price interest of $1.5 million, Mr Ersan expects the auction to draw at least five registered bidders.

“It’s going to be a cracker, it should 100 per cent sell,” Mr Ersan said.

“Interest has come from mostly families and young couples looking at buying a nice big home in a great location.”

While the office recorded some mammoth online auction results over April and May, the team are excited to get back to on-site auctions and are taking social distancing and hygiene measures seriously.

“We love it, it’s good to be back,” Mr Ersan said.

“Last weekend we had someone monitoring how many people were around and ensuring they comply with social distancing requirements but people have been sensible so it was quite easy to manage.”

The Ray White Surry Hills | Alexandria | Glebe | Erskineville Director is also confident about 51 Llewellyn St, Marrickville going under the hammer on Saturday which has a price guide of $1.3 million.

Over in Victoria, Ray White Cheltenham Principal and Auctioneer Kevin Chokshi is ready to add another sold to his office’s 100 per cent online auction campaign clearance rate.

Both calling and selling the three bedroom home at 54 Jack Rd, Cheltenham (pictured above), Mr Chokshi said he already has two registered bidders on the house and is expecting several more to sign up on the day.

“We’ve had good interest with about 20 viewings so far. Interest has come from a combination of different buyers including developers and families,” Mr Chokshi said.

The Cheltenham principal is also raring to go now that onsite auctions in Victoria are back on the table.

“We will still offer an online bidding platform, if buyers are more comfortable doing so online but we are well prepared to make the switch to onsite auctions this weekend,” he said.

Ray White Craigieburn Elite Sales Consultant and Auctioneer Trish Orrico will be calling auctions back to back on Saturday starting with the cottage-style, Craigieburn home at 3 Berkshire Lane.

Selling through Ms Orrico, the three bedroom home has attracted 35 groups through private inspections, with a price guide of $450,000 to $480,000.

The agent and auctioneer said she will still go ahead with an online auction despite restrictions being lifted in Victoria.

“For me personally, I’d stick to the online. The issue I find is controlling crowd numbers so I think it's going to be easier with an online process for now,” Ms Orrico said.

Ms Orrico is also confident about the online auction method and so are her buyers. She said there has been a mix of interest on the cottage-style home which she is selling for the second time in her career.

“There has been a variety of interest from first home buyers to downsizers, all drawn to the low maintenance of the house and the great location,” she said.

Many of the unsuccessful buyers will also be tuning in to the later Ray White Craigieburn auctions at 21 Gardner Tce, Craigieburn and 1 Yorkshire Tce, Craigieburn.

Queensland won’t be left behind in the auction stakes on Saturday with some great properties up for grabs through Ray White Ascot.

Office Principal Dwight Ferguson is selling the post war, three bedroom home at 9 Marie St, Hendra (pictured above) through online and in-room auction platforms. However, with eased auction restrictions just announced he is excited about the possibility of moving to onsite or in-room in future.

“Right now we are doing it online but we are considering moving to an onsite auction and online by invitation or in-room and online where registered bidders can choose which they are more comfortable with,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Whatever we choose to do, it will be compliant with social distancing and hygiene restrictions laid out by the State Government.”

The property has had no shortage of interest, resulting in 30 private inspections. Mr Ferguson said that post war homes in blue chip suburbs like this one are becoming harder to find but always in demand.

Ray White Ascot sales agent Ian Cuneo is also taking the sought-after four bedroom home at 25 Vale St, Wilston to online auction on Saturday.

The South Australian team at Ray White Norwood are no strangers to auction success and this weekend will be no different.

Selling 4 Idla Cres, Enfield under the virtual hammer this weekend, Norwood sales executive Tristian Kennedy said the market outlook has been good despite recent events.

“We’re not seeing a drop in buyers to be honest. As far as buying goes, this has had the opposite effect - there are less people selling on the market so there is more competition,” Mr Kennedy said.

The South Australian agent is expecting up to six registered bidders for his Enfield property after interest coming from a mix of first home buyers, downsizers and investors.

“The house is in a new development in the suburb that has just started up and what’s been handy is a lot of buyers want to move into the new development but are not keen to build brand new,” he said.

“This one is the first to come to market that is already done and that’s what’s bringing in so much interest.”

While auction restrictions in the state are being scaled back, the Norwood team are considering keeping the online auction format in conjunction with the onsite method.

“We are thinking of doing a split of online and onsite auctions, we want to keep it as an option now that we have confidence and there is no reason we can't do that,” Mr Kennedy said.