ALL eyes were on Melbourne this weekend as private inspections returned after weeks of strict lockdown.
The flurry of activity from both buyers and sellers only points to one thing, a bumper spring selling season delayed but firmly on the way.Throughout the rest of the country, auction metrics were similarly encouraging and have continued to be strong. Nationally, the Ray White Group recorded an 87 per cent clearance rate while average registered bidders sat at 10.4 and active bidders came in at 4.5.Perhaps one of the most telling numbers of the day was the price gap between those auctions that sold prior and those that made it to game day. On average, properties that sold under the hammer achieved 13.43 per cent more than the auction listings that were sold prior. In many cases that represents more than $100,000 more on top of the final sale price.FOR MORE REAL-TIME PROPERTY INSIGHTS READ THE RAY WHITE NOW REPORT HERE.The real estate market once again sprung to life in Melbourne with physical inspections permitted from Saturday. Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens explained how this would once again get Melbourne’s spring market going.“With physical inspections only permitted in Melbourne for nine days since the middle of July, the news that private inspections would once again be allowed has certainly been welcomed by customers and agents alike,” Mr Dullens said.“While we have adapted to the online world, there is no replacement for physically walking through the home before making the major decision to purchase or bid at auction.“This news will once again ignite the real estate market for spring and we are very excited to assist our customers again, even if it will be in a different format to traditional open homes for the near future.”Despite physical auctions not being able to take place, Mr Dullens said he doesn’t expect this to slow down the market revival.“In the last 18 months we’ve seen many changes within the real estate sector,” he said.“Across Victoria, Ray White has called well in excess of 4,000 online auctions - in fact, our clearance rate of online auctions is higher than those called on-street.“We’re expecting one of our strongest ever spring markets with online auctions being a huge part of this, while minimising movement and guaranteeing community safety.“We certainly appreciate the engagement with government in recent weeks and allowing us to work through what we believe were the right settings to once again assist our customers, while most importantly ensuring the right public health protections are in place.”Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief auctioneer Matthew Condon said this weekend has seen a significant increase in auction volumes since the announcement that private inspections could once again be conducted in Melbourne.“It was a busy morning on the ground with today being the very first day that interested buyers and bidders could inspect their desired property before returning home to bid at the online auction,” Mr Condon said.“Preliminary data from the Ray White Group has revealed an increase in both registered and active bidders today. This was evident with all online auctions experiencing high levels of competition.”Following some early morning private inspections, Ray White Craigieburn agent Daniel Diamantopoulos (pictured above with his cheer squad) went on to conduct a virtual auction session in which all six properties on offer were sold under the hammer.Mr Diamantopoulos represented five of the homes while fellow Ray White Craigieburn agent Adrian Prestileo was the listing agent for the sixth, 26 Ocean Way. Between the two agents, they recorded $3.168 million in total sales and 53 registered bidders during the two hour sale session.
85 Whitfield Cres, Craigieburn
Sold: $433,50027 Burrora Way, Craigieburn
Sold: $777,50026 Ocean Way, Craigieburn
Sold: $700,00033 Hollyhock Rd, Craigieburn
Sold: $706,00019 Gateshead St, Craigieburn
Sold: $551,000
Mr Diamantopoulos said with private inspections back on the table, he's seeing renewed energy from buyers and sellers.“It’s been a mad scramble for the past 24 hours, booking in inspections yesterday and getting people through the homes this morning while also keeping with restrictions,” Mr Diamantopoulos said.“We didn’t sleep at all last night, we were just on the phone non-stop because we wanted to make sure all interested parties could physically inspect the homes so they knew what they were buying.“But even without private inspections, so many of our buyers were ready to bid today with confidence, so I think we still would have had a great outcome. Anything that is priced well was going to move today.“We are so grateful for our buyers’ commitment today and to our vendors for trusting in the process.”Meanwhile, Ray White Glen Waverley partner Darryl Wickham flew over the million dollar mark with the sale of 852 High Street Road today which went for a total of $1.505 million under the hammer. Mr Wickham also recorded 56 viewers with 42 of them registering to bid.“There was nothing particularly special about the house but it was definitely hotly contested,” Mr Wickham said.“Our market has gone a bit silly at the moment and especially in Glen Waverley, things have just jumped up dramatically.“It’s being driven by a lack of stock and I do anticipate that once we open up we will see a huge increase in stock coming to the market pretty quickly - especially when vendors see results like this.”The buyers were a family looking for something to knock down so they could build their dream home.
Ray White New South Wales chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro (pictured above) said the high number of registered bidders today resulted in strong property prices under the hammer.“Competition at auctions continues to be the key in order to obtain the best price. We’re obtaining roughly 12 per cent more under the hammer versus pre-auction offers. We will continue to see this trend throughout the remainder of spring.,” Mr Pattaro said.“There are plenty of opportunities for both sides of the transaction to buy and sell and those who are active in the market are reaping the rewards.”In one of the biggest sales of the day, Belinda Clemesha of Ray White Park Coast | Randwick sold 61 Prince Edward St, Malabar for $3.346 million with 17 bidders tuning in to the online auction. She had plenty of interest during the campaign including 250 email enquiries and a highest offer prior of $2.6 million. The new owners are a young family who plan to build their dream home on the block.Meanwhile, Ray White Wetherill Park agent David Perco stole the top spot with a $3,610,500 online auction sale for 210, 210A, 212, 212A Brenan St, Smithfield which attracted 12 registered bidders. The four properties, which were part of a deceased estate, sold $410,500 over reserve under Ray White auctioneer James Kerley's (pictured below) hammer to a local developer after an almost two hour auction.Early this morning, Mr Pattaro brought down the hammer on 187 Denison Rd, Dulwich Hill for $265,000 above reserve at $1.815 million. Selling agent Luke Northcott of Ray White Petersham said he had 10 registered bidders with five of them actively participating in the auction. The three bedroom home eventually went to a buyer new to the suburb after a fierce bidding battle.Mr Northcott said he received good interest and gave out a large number of contracts but was still surprised by the impressive result.“The home is in a good position in a popular suburb so we had good numbers throughout the campaign but I didn’t think we would get to that level,” Mr Northcott said.He added that the spring selling season is definitely on it’s way, just with a slower than usual start due to the tightness of stock.“In the last fortnight, we’ve seen quite a significant increase in the amount of houses that are coming on the market but it’s still not yet at the level we would usually see,” Mr Northcott said.“A lot of the future vendors we are talking to are in a position where they know they will sell well now but are waiting because it’s been so hard to buy. They are trying to juggle it and make sure they have somewhere to go.“A lot of people are ready to go and once they have bought, they plan to launch straight away. It has nothing to do with them holding back to see what will happen in the market.”
Ray White Baulkham Hills principal Darren Dowd topped the leaderboard for most registered bidders today. Mr Dowd recorded an unbeatable 50 registered bidders tuning into the online auction of 6 Northmead Ave, Northmead which sold for $1.415 million. He said the bidder numbers that he has been seeing lately are unprecedented.“I didn’t expect this many bidders, I thought we would have maybe 20,” Mr Dowd said.“The fact that the home is almost in Parramatta which is a major CBD and that it’s an entry level home is what drove the interest - whether it be from investors or first home buyers.“It’s a very strong market in the Hills District right now, we are just seeing a huge amount of enquiry on property.“Stock is also very low which is part of what’s driving these crazy prices and huge numbers.”The three bedroom property was a deceased estate and the buyers were a family from Castle Hill who had plans to knock down the home.Ray White Brighton-Le-Sands | Ramsgate Beach principal Peter Tsekenis held two back-to-back online auctions today, selling for a total of just under $4 million. First up, Mr Tsekenis sold 76 Francis Ave, Brighton-Le-Sands for $1.835 million with 19 registered bidders tuning in and then moved on to 37 Henson St, Brighton-Le-Sands which went for $2.150 million as 15 bidders watched on. Both homes went to owner-occupiers who plan to renovate the properties.Mr Tsekenis said the impressive results came down to one thing.“It’s very simple - it’s about supply and demand. There is no supply and plenty of demand and that’s what’s driving these prices,” Mr Tsekenis said.“It’s hard to predict what will happen in the next few months. If the stock levels stay the same then we’ll probably find that the market will stay strong but if people start to bring their properties to the market then it will likely plateau out. But at this point it’s looking good.”
Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said following a Brisbane clearance rate last week of 95.5 per cent for Ray White, he is again expecting similar results.“On a personal note, I again recorded 100 per cent clearance rate and average registration personally per auction of 7.5 registered bidders and all properties selling well in excess of the reserve prices for another weekend,” Mr Croft said.“The energy and the momentum that is in the current market here in Brisbane at the moment is as good as what we've ever seen.“But again, based on the numbers of auctions still coming through, while we are seeing some increases, it’s certainly still not enough to keep up with demand.”Ray White Bridgeman Downs agent Libby Patrick claimed the biggest sale of the day for Ray White Queensland with 169 Bridgeman Rd, Bridgeman Downs selling for $2.620 million to a local family. The sellers, who had lived in the home for 21 years, were planning to downsize.Ms Patrick said she didn’t expect to have 15 buyers register for the auction despite the property’s popularity throughout the campaign.“It’s pretty hard to come by acreage in Bridgeman Downs so the property was quite popular,” Ms Patrick said.“The market is also incredibly strong. We are seeing a lot of buyers, lots of competition and an increase in prices from week to week.”Ray White New Farm agent Hamish Bowman had a late buyer interrupt one of his auctions today who then went on to become the winning bidder. No. 17 Perihelion St, Coorparoo went to the buyer, who had never seen the property, for $2.003 million after they became the fifth bidder to register.
They were in no hurry to inspect the property as they felt the price was right and represented good value for the 1,190sqm block. They plan to use it as an investment with plans for a significant renovation down the track.
“It’s all systems go in Brisbane for this year’s selling season. It’s high octane which is what we predicted,” Mr Bowman said.“We plan to go hard right up until Christmas Eve.”No. 76 Charlotte St, Paddington last sold earlier in the year for $1.25 million but today it changed hands for $1.45 million at an auction attended by 13 registered bidders. Selling agent Max Hadgelias (pictured above right with the buyers) of Ray White Paddington said the vendors hadn’t done any major renovations while they owned it.“We had good attendance all the way through the campaign, just like last time I sold it, but there is such a shortage of stock on the market right now,” Mr Hadgelias said.“Finding almost 600sqm in the heart of Paddington is not something you come across all the time and if you have stock then you are getting attention on it.
Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris (pictured above) said yet again the auction market was a sea of yellow in Adelaide.“We hold a 35 per cent share of all auctions for the week and it is a record breaking week as well in South Australia,” Mr Morris said.“Last week we had some great numbers, 97.4 per cent of all auctions had bidding. Bidder registrations were above 10 on average per auction and we had a clearance rate of 88.4 per cent.“It's looking pretty much the same again this week.”In the Adelaide CBD, a local latecomer to the auction of 18 Ada Street claimed the keys just before the home could be sold for $861,000. The late bidder, one of eight registered and three active, then took the auction all the way up to $950,000 where it sold through Ray White Adelaide CBD director Andrew Downing.The vendor split the block 15 years ago and turned the original condemned home into two properties, one to rent and one to live in, on the well-known Adelaide street.Mr Downing said he has never seen anything like the current market in his 20 years of working in real estate.“It’s unbelievable, so many people from interstate want to come over here to live. At last Adelaide is becoming a destination place, it’s been brilliant,” Mr Downing said.“We had one bidder who flew over from Launceston last night and another who was bidding from Sydney.“Ada Street is well-known as one of the prettiest streets in Adelaide. They don’t make homes like this anymore so it was really popular during the campaign.”Topping the South Australian registered bidder leaderboard today was Ray White Norwood agent Alex Diamond with his auction sale of 2 Cavan Ave, Renown Park which attracted 35 buyers and sold for $801,000. In the end, the two bedroom corner block went to the neighbours who are planning to develop the site in the future.Mr Diamond said while the campaign was popular he was still a bit blown away by the number of buyers who turned up to the auction.“The house is in a great location and previously I think the area has been a bit undervalued,” Mr Diamond said.“Maybe not so much now because it’s only going to go up. It’s a good time to buy in Renown Park.”
