Spring seller's market continues at a rapid pace

WITH a lot of spotlight on Australian treasure Cathy Freeman in recent times, there has almost been a perfect irony that the nation's spring selling season has shot out of the blocks so quickly, and today was no exception.

The Ray White Group booked a healthy preliminary clearance rate of 67.1 per cent, in a week when the leading group conducted over 30 per cent of all scheduled auctions across the country.

Sydney was the star of the show with a strong preliminary clearance rate of 79.4 per cent. The leading auction house also saw 5.1 registered and 2.9 active bidders per property, on average.

Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the first auction month in spring was done and all the metrics were pointing in the right direction.

“We're seeing strong momentum throughout the entire Sydney real estate market with more agents reporting a higher number of open home attendees and registered bidders,” Mr Pattaro said.

“Demand still outweighs supply, suggesting it remains a seller’s market.

“Buyers haven’t noticed a dip in prices across Sydney and are going all-in once they see a property they desire. Auction is certainly the way to go to ensure premium prices.

“Confidence and positivity are fueling the market and we're expecting this trend to continue throughout the remainder of 2020.”

The highest preliminary sale of the day came courtesy of Ray White Maroubra I South Coogee Director Nader Hotait as he successfully sold 61 Victoria Street (above) in Malabar for $3,200,000 - $100,000 over the reserve price.

“This was an exceptional result and the vendors are incredibly happy with the outcome - all three registered bidders competed for this beautiful property today,” Mr Hotait said.

“There was a huge amount of interest throughout the campaign with the home attracting more than 90 groups through and the buyers were a family of five upsizing from the North Shore.

“The market is strong this spring, especially coastally, where there's a real shortage of stock. There’s no doubt demand is outstripping the supply available, so when something does come to the market, buyers are just going crazy over it.”

It was a fantastic day for Ray White Georges River I St George I Oatley as they sold all four of their properties under the hammer, Principal Matt O'Shea selling three of them, with the highlight bring Oatley's 5/8 Louisa Street (above) that sold for $1,340,000 - $90,000 over the reserve.

“It was a huge day for us, not only with the four auctions, but we also had more than 20 open homes - I don’t ever recall an August and September being so busy,” Mr O’Shea said.

“We obviously had quieter months during COVID restrictions, but as people have got more used to the status quo, they’ve realised now is not the time to wait.

“There’s so much pent-up demand from buyers and that’s being reflected in some excellent prices for our vendors - we had more than 75 groups inspect this one during the campaign.

“We had five of the eight registered bidders compete on the day and it’s actually a beautiful story. The buyers were a young family moving from a unit and they had previously been the under-bidders at two of my auctions - and it was their daughter’s first birthday - it was just perfect.”

The tone was set early with the day getting off to a rip-roaring start as Ray White Balmain Sales Agents Chris Williams (above right) and Benjamin Martin sold 30 Arthur Street in Balmain for $1,305,000 - $55,000 over the reserve.

“I don’t remember ever seeing an auction where it felt more like you were at the footie with the atmosphere that was produced - the winning bidders celebrated like they had won The Price is Right at the end - it’s always a pleasure to bring such joy,” Mr Williams said.

“The campaign itself was extremely active with more than 105 groups through over four weeks and we issued 15 contracts - that led to five of the six registered bidders competing on the day.

“Spring has started very well. There’s a direct correlation between a flattening curve and a rise in confidence and any ground we lost during lockdowns and restrictions, we’ve more than made up for in the last few months.”

Angela (above left) spoke on behalf of her family member Kalli (above right) who will live in the property and said they were all overwhelmed with joy at being the winning bidders.

“It’s not every day you’re able to buy a house for a family member and this is the exact property we wanted because we knew it would be right for Kalli,” Angela said.

“It’s the first auction I’ve ever been to and fortunately it was our cousin who was actually bidding because he was so calm and collected throughout the process.

“I thought the real estate team were very professional and are really good at what they do, and because it felt like this property was meant to be, it seemed we just wanted it more.

“COVID or no COVID, there’s always going to be something in life, if you want something then you may as well go for it instead of waiting and missing out.”

Over in Drummoyne, and in keeping with the Cathy Freeman theme, 118 Gipps Street (above) sold at a rapid pace under the hammer for $1,830,000 - tens of thousands over the reserve price.

“The sellers had attended a few of our auctions recently and were expecting it to last around 40 minutes - but this one was over in a flash as the winning buyer bid hard to ensure they took home the keys,” said Ray White Drummoyne Sales Agent Fiona Hellams.

“We had more than 75 inspections during the campaign and interestingly, only one of the five registered bidders was local; the other four were from the inner city or north side of Sydney.

“There are so many buyers out there by not enough stock, there's been some more stock come on this week, but demand is outstripping the supply and the momentum is so good right now.

“Confidence is also high and it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen so many people out.”

“We’re relieved more than excited, to be honest. It feels so good to get our Saturdays back now we don’t need to attend open homes anymore - we’ve been looking on and off for the last 9-10 months, but more consistently, the last four months,” said buyer Fahad.

“We had attended three auctions before - all of which passed in - and once the nerves were out of the way it felt good to raise our hand and it felt even better for the hammer to fall in favour of us.

“We were looking to move into a bigger space to live in for the next 10-15 years so we didn’t even consider COVID impacts because we just wanted to get it done now.

“The agent Fiona was amazing. She made us feel comfortable and took us through what we should expect and we ended up with the keys to the property that we really wanted.”

Ray White QLD Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said it had been another great week of results for the Sunshine State.

“We’ve had great volume with our auctions this week which has translated through to some great clearance rates as well,” Mr Peereboom said.

“If you look at the average number of registered bidders, we can see so much activity from buyers that are in a position to bid.

“That’s translating into some massive sale prices which we’re seeing as a direct result of creating this competition.

“We really are recommending to anyone right now to come to the market with confidence, we’re seeing fewer listings than we usually would this time of year, but certainly no shortage of buyers.”

Auctions were off to a good start in Queensland’s capital with the sale of 16 Wride Street (above), Wooloowin, kicking off the day.

The five-bedroom home on Brisbane’s north side went under the hammer through Ray White New Farm Agents Nick Mogridge and Nicholas Given and sold for $785,000.

After some strong interest in the pre-war property, the auction attracted 15 registered bidders, while 12 actively participated. After a nail-biting 20 minutes of bidding, the Wooloowin home went to a young, local couple.

“We had some really healthy bidding today with multiple buyers having a punt,” Mr Mogridge said of the Wooloowin auction.

“The auction just flew without any pauses, the house went on the market within five minutes of starting, and it just went up from there.

“Everyone is thrilled with the result. It just proves that buyer confidence is strong and the Brisbane market is alive and well.”

Ray White Paddington (QLD) Sales Agent Judi O’Dea continued her weekend auction streak by selling 24 Fletcher Parade, Bardon, for $1,140,000.

Ms O’Dea and Sales Consultant Michael Kleimeyer have now sold four from four since coming back on the auction scene in early September.

Ms O’Dea said the auction attracted six registered bidders, with three heavily active throughout the bidding.

“It started at $900,000 and quickly went up from there until just over $1,000,000 when it slowed, but after some negotiations, a young couple with two children came out on top,” Ms O’Dea said.

“The buyers, Trent and Kate McKay (pictured above) are over the moon, and even their children were excited, with their son eager to help his parents sign the contract.”

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matthew Condon said it was great to see confidence was still in the market after today’s auction results.

“The confidence in Melbourne's real estate market remains strong despite the low volume of auctions this week. The lack of supply on the market is creating a very high demand for quality property,” Mr Condon said.

“Buyers remain out in force and are prepared to bid in excess of owners’ expectations to secure one of the low numbers of listings available, and today’s results are evidence that there's plenty of pent-up demand coming from buyers who need to transact now.”

“Despite the real estate deep freeze in Melbourne, Ray White Victoria still managed to post some great auction results today. ”

Elsewhere, Ray White Lara Agent Matthew Wade-Taylor sold 5 Minyip Road, Lara, via online auction which was conducted by Mr Condon (pictured below).

The 1.4ha land parcel sold for $585,000 following a starting bid of $520,000. Mr Wade-Taylor said he had interest coming from across the state, including from Melbourne treechangers.

“The winning bidders are a couple buying their first house together. She’s from the area but he lives in Melbourne. They're looking to renovate the whole house and have horses on the land,” Mr Wade-Taylor said.

Mr Wade-Taylor added that he was seeing really good signs in the market.

“With the demand being so strong and supply being so low, vendors are still getting great prices, especially if the property is positioned and priced well,” he said.

“Today we had eight registered bidders and 40 people online and we couldn’t have done that at a physical auction.”

Ray White Nagambie Principal Matt Boyer also had his own land sale success at auction. Mr Boyer sold Lot 1 Wedmores Lane, Kirwans Bridge, for $281,000.

The 1.5ha lot in regional Victoria was called on the market at $267,000 after the bidding began at $230,000. The auction attracted five registered bidders, with two active.

“In the end, the winning bidders were a young, local family who are planning to build their dream home on the block,” Mr Boyer said.

“It just goes to show the market in our area is reasonably strong at the moment, especially among local buyers.”

Ray White SA Chief Auctioneer John Morris said the first month of spring had produced some outstanding results across the state.

“Looking back over the month we held around 28 per cent of all auctions across the state, with this week being a dominant one for Ray White, with 46 per cent market share,” Mr Morris said.

“We continue to see some of the highest registered bidder numbers we've ever had, with a number of auctions today attracting buyers in the double figures.

“Looking ahead to October, and it's going to be an exciting month. Personally, I have more than 50 auctions booked alone, and that's the most auctions I've ever had booked in one month.”

In Adelaide, Ray White Tea Tree Gully Agent Mohit Gupta sold both 4 Shepherd Street (above) and 1 Carter Street (below) in Ridgehaven.

Both were unusual sales for Mr Gupta as the properties backed onto each other and ended up selling to the same buyer for $500,000 and $530,000 respectively.

“This is the biggest real estate development proposition in the north east and it fetched a record combined price of $1,030,000,” Mr Gupta said of the two auctions.

“Never has something similar come on the market before. It was a very unique campaign with two individual sellers with adjacent blocks selling through the same agent at back-to-back auctions.”

Mr Gupta said the auctions, both called by Mr Morris, were hotly contested.

“We had a fantastic turn out with 11 registered on Carter Street and five on Shepherd Street. There was some solid bidding and a mixture of people interested in just one or both,” he said.

The buyer plans to rent the properties until they are ready to develop both blocks together.