Seller's market stays hot at winter auctions

BIDDERS today defied dropping temperatures across the country as the cold weather was no deterrent for a seller's market that remained red-hot.

Ray White Group booked a preliminary clearance rate of 68.6 per cent on a week when the leading auction house conducted more than one in every four auctions across the country.

The stand-out of the day was Melbourne, as the city enjoyed a preliminary clearance rate of 73.1 per cent, with an average of 4.3 registered and three active bidders per auction.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said this week had seen the highest volume of auctions scheduled for the past 12 weeks.

"It's great to see that the increase in supply was met with even higher demand," Mr Condon said.

"Based on preliminary data, Ray White Victoria is reporting an increase in the average amount of active bidders per auction, to three.

"Earlier today an announcement was made by the Victorian Premier that the easing of restrictions for real estate would be deferred for a further thee weeks.

"Ray White's continued focus on online and on-site auctions will ensure that we're well-placed to achieve exceptional results for our clients, while providing a safe environment for all involved.

"This week, Ray Victoria is expecting one of our strongest clearance rates for 2020, and that should give vendors confidence that now is the time to list and sell."

The Victorian highlight of the day belonged to Ray White Glen Waverley Area Manager Calvin Huang and Sales Associate Christian Pecoraro who orchestrated the $1,304,000 sale of 28 Tobias Avenue (above) - a huge $200,000 over the reserve price.

“This was a really wonderful auction with more than 50 bids ensuring the final price sailed through its reserve and it’s testament to auctions working as the method of sale,” Mr Huang said.

“Buyer confidence is certainly on the way up - especially now with the return of on-site auctions - they can see their competition physically whereas with online they’re more wary.

“Both the buyers and sellers are thrilled with this result. The family who bought it will rent it out for a couple of years before knocking it down and rebuilding their son’s dream home.

“The property attracted five registered bidders and it was that competition that drove the price up from the starting bid of $1,000,000 to the sale price of $1,304,000.”

There was an incredible result in Black Rock where Ray White Cheltenham Director Kevin Chokshi and Executive Assistant Mia Aleardi managed the $1,262,000 sale of 266 Beach Road (above) - a whopping $162,000 over its reserve price.

“Vendors and buyers are ecstatic with the result today. The winning bidders are a young family from Burwood who will rent the property out for a couple of years and will then build their dream home,” Mr Chokshi said.

“The market is still strong - especially when it comes to a property like this one. Our deep pool of buyers don’t seem to care about the negative speculation surrounding the current market.

“We had strong interest in this home, particularly as a result of an intensive Be Seen Facebook marketing campaign, and we actually had bidders live from Athens, Hong Kong and Belgium.

“We knew from the 130 groups we had through during the campaign that this one was going to be an auction to remember - and our instincts were right on that front.”

The success continued in Fawkner as Ray White Coburg Director/Auctioneer Nazir Abbouchi and Sales Executive Raphael Houston sold 27 Shirley Street for $920,000 - a massive $220,000 over reserve.

“The bidding process actually started bang on the reserve price and I can honestly say there’s no better feeling in real estate than when that happens,” Mr Abbouchi said.

“The property attracted the perfect mix of buyers as we had builders, first-time buyers, developers and investors all competing to secure this one.

“Demand is very much outstripping the supply. Our buyer pool is so deep that I can say with confidence if I had 10 properties under the hammer today - I would have sold all 10.

“The perfect example of that was today - one of the open homes at one of my properties had 52 group through - that’s almost unheard of.”

The day was rounded off by two excellent results. The first was managed by Ray White Ferntree Gully Sales Consultant and Auctioneer Rene Mawad who successfully sold 45 Station Street in (above) for $743,000 - $23,000 over the reserve price.

“The market is very competitive at the moment, and as long as buyers have proof that others are buying - which is the case, then they're willing to the make their move now,” Ms Mawad said.

“There are also a lot of buyers who are finance-ready now so there's a good opportunity at the moment to create strong competition."

It was a similar story in Sydenham where Ray White Taylors Lakes Sales Agents Dianne Robinson and Luke Vitas sold 21 Stagecoach Crescent (below) for $770,000 - $50,000 over the reserve.

Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer said the energy in the auction market continued to increase and there was never a better time to be selling than now.

"Auction crowds and open for inspection attendance has been the hot topic this weekend and we're seeing higher than usual for both," Mr Pattaro said.

"More buyers are coming to the market and have started to get a feel for what's out there, leading to more competition.

"Sydney’s average registered bidders were at five this weekend, with three active, an example of how strong competition is at the moment.

"Prices across Sydney appear to be stable and we continue seeing higher auction volume indicating the strength in the market."

The NSW highlight of the day came in West Pymble where Ray White Upper North Shore Sales Agent Thomas Merriman and Sales Associate Logan Knight successfully managed the $1,879,000 sale of 31 Gloucester Avenue (above) - $179,000 over the reserve price.

“We had more than 100 people through the open homes and issued 16 contracts during the campaign, so we had a feeling this one would be a special auction,” Mr Merriman said.

“West Pymble is incredibly tightly-held and this is only the eleventh sale recorded in the suburb this year - even the people who live here already tend to try and stay if they’re looking to sell.

“There was a huge amount of activity in the first week and the result is a great sign of how strong the market is right now - now is definitely the time to be listing your property.

“We actually would have had more bidders here than the five we had registered but one had already bought during the week so that gives you an idea of how active the market is.”

“My partner and I have just had our second child so we were looking to upsize into a family home and we love the area of West Pymble,” said purchaser Belinda.

“We actually sold our property in Lane Cove last week and only saw this property for the first time on Wednesday - so we knew we had to act fast.

“We love the large size of the property and how nicely it has been renovated - it’s great that we can move in right away - we’re delighted with the purchase.”

The highest preliminary sale of the day came at the hands of Ray White Bexley North Sales Agents Con Klironomos and Anthony Klironomos who sold 12 Mabel Street in Kingsgrove (above) for $2,015,000.

“It was a very active campaign throughout with more than 100 people coming through the open homes - it particularly appealed to upsizers and young families,” Mr Con Kilronomos said.

“It really appealed because it was a brand-new property, close to all the local amenities and was in a desirable school catchment area.

“We've seen an increase in buyer enquiry recently and demand is outstripping the supply.”

The success continued as Ray White Cherrybrook I Thornleigh I West Pennant Hills Directors Dion Verzeletti and Nathan Leuzzi sold 2 Nicholson Avenue (above) in Thornleigh for $1,390,000 - $90,000 over the reserve price.

“Auction as the method of sale really paid off here as the property sold for $160,000 over the highest offer received prior to the home going under the hammer,” Mr Verzeletti said.

“We only had two registered bidders but today proves that’s all you need for real competition - both buyers really wanted this one and you could tell that neither were going to give up easily.

“There’s no doubt demand is outstripping supply. We’re seeing inspection and enquiry numbers both on the rise so it’s a great time to be listing and selling.

“This particular property was a cute little cottage that needed some renovation but the family that bought it could see the potential and they loved the station being a 15-minute walk away.”

Not to be outdone, the beautiful area of Yass got in on the action as Ray White Rural Canberra/Yass Sales, Stock and Station Agent George Southwell sold 16 Walgrove Road (above) for $1,800,000.

“We had fantastic interest in this property, which just shows how active the market really is at the moment. The under-bidder was actually bidding from Tokyo and never visited the property, wanting to get into the market in Australia,” Mr Southwell said.

“We're noticing a big drive to people moving out to the country after COVID-19. We were expecting a downturn in this local market due to Coronavirus, but it's simply not happening.

“A lot of agents have moved away from their traditional sales methods - but we're sticking to what has been working for us for all these years - and we've sold $4M worth of rural lifestyle property this week.

“Now is the time to sell. This sale makes it well and truly evident that we're dealing with a market that will operate at all levels.”

“We're really happy with the result. We couldn’t fault the service that George and his team gave to us,” said vendor Peter Miller.

“They worked extremely hard. We were really happy with the number of people that went through the property and were here today.

“We had to make a calculated risk assessment about going to market now and we're so glad that we decided to go through with it.”

Ray White QLD Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said clearance rates continued to hold as buyer demand pushed averaged registered bidders up.

"We're creating competition every week and we're so proud of our members who are committed to auctions," Mr Peereboom said.

"Auction volumes are comparable to this time last year as vendors see value in chasing the best price."

The highest preliminary sale of the day for the Sunshine State belonged to Ray White East Brisbane Sales and Marketing Consultants Madi Roche and Cathy Roche as they successfully sold 12 Stafford Street (above) for $1,500,000.

“The buyers and sellers are really happy with this property - the family who sold it have been there for 30 years and have decided to downsize as their children grow up,” Ms Madi Roche said.

“They maintained the home so beautifully, to the delight of the buyers who are a young family wanting to upsize from an inner-city apartment. We're seeing a lot of qualified buyers out there - the hardest part is managing the numbers with the restrictions.

“This is our first on-site auction since COVID-19 and we're absolutely thrilled. There's a lot of activit,y particularly in East Brisbane, there's a lot of buyers and not enough stock.

“Things are aligning very well for us at the moment. Interest rates are so low and people aren’t hesitant to come out in public again.”

Success continued on the Sunshine Coast as Ray White Maroochydore Sales and Marketing Consultant Jason Mills sold 8 Point Court (above) in Mountain Creek for $1,110,000.

“Our numbers for open homes are better than they've been for the whole year,” Mr Mills said.

"This is because the locals are a lot more active at the moment for fear that when the borders open, competition will increase.

"This is organically increasing local competition. This sale was a lakefront record in the area and both the sellers and buyers are over the moon.

“The buyers actually saw the property for the first time today at the auction. They enquired last night, we gave them the building and pest and all the information, and they came and saw it today and loved it.

“The buyer is thrilled with the result - and even happier not to be looking for property anymore.”

The hat-trick of success was completed in Gordon Park where Ray White Wilston Sales and Marketing Agent Holly Bowden sold 48 Highland Street (above) for $850,000.

“I'm really confident with the market at the moment. It's really strong - in fact, we haven’t seen any price movements in Gordon Park,” Ms Bowden said.

“The area we're in is hitting a really great demographic of medical professionals; being located between the RBWH and the Prince Charles Hospital means there's always demand.

“I have a really strong database of clients desperately looking for property. When sellers contact me, I'm so confident that I can sell their property easily. I have such a good pool of buyers now, particularly now that we are able to have open homes back again.

“This was my first on-site auction back since COVID-19 and it was a great result for all parties.”

Ray White SA Chief Auctioneer John Morris said the leading auction house held 65.5 per cent of the auction market share for the week.

"We're absolutely dominating the auction market here. Preliminary clearance rate is at 40 per cent which is up on last year - campaign clearance is at 50 per cent," Mr Morris said.

"80 per cent of our auctions have bidding which is a fantastic figure and the average registered bidders is extremely high at 9.4 per auction.

"I must make mention of one of the major reasons why the bidder average is so high, which is that an auction with Joe Marriott had 35 registered bidders, for an auction in Elizabeth East.

"Elizabeth East is seen as a non auction area, but I believe Joe Marriott has proven that it absolutely is."

Another area that seemed to love an auction was Croydon Park as Ray White Henley Beach Sales Agent Mark Bowden sold 21 Stevens Street (above) for $477,000.

“The market is really good, there's certainty a lot of confidence and it's a great time to sell. The vendors and buyers are both really thrilled with the result today,” Mr Bowden said.

The west coast was having its own success, as Ray White Applecross Sales Executive Noel Rogers orchestrated the $700,000 sale of 20 Kemp Road (above) in Mount Pleasant.

“We're finding the market is extremely active - we're finding generally we have more than one offer presented prior to sale - so there's strong competition,” Mr Rogers said.

“Both the buyers and sellers are extremely happy with today’s result.”