18 November 2017

Adam and Kristen in our new Brighton office.

The market is becoming more confusing for buyers.

We are often seeing lower numbers of bidders at auctions; however, if the property is very good or has been quoted low, it is not unusual to see four or five bidders or more, although usually a couple of these fall out of the competition fairly early into the bidding.

Confusion is continuing with regard to quotes, price and value. We are still seeing some properties advertised without the Statement of Information sheet and some properties not being announced ‘on the market’ anywhere near their advertised quotes.

The REIV reported a clearance rate at 70%. This doesn’t accurately reflect the number of homes sold ‘under the hammer’. There are number of properties reported as ‘sold at auction’ that have been passed in on the street and sold afterward in private negotiations.   There are also a number of auctions (many that haven’t sold) that aren’t reported at all.

Next weekend, 25 November, is shaping up to be another really big weekend and the run to Christmas, which is only five weeks away, looks to be a frantic one. As well as properties advertised for auction, there are also an increasing number of homes available for private or quiet sale.

Some vendors may be starting to feel a sense of urgency to sell before the long holiday break. Many of the prices asked for these homes are particularly high, with a view that if that price is not reached, the vendor will try again next year. Unless the market surges again strongly when it resumes in 2018, we are not sure the asking prices will be achievable next year either.

Given the high amount of transactions in the past few weeks, there are a number of homes that will come onto the market as successful buyers now look to offload their previous homes. These sellers can provide great opportunities for buyers looking to buy before Christmas, as the vendors may prefer to try and sell quickly, minimising their risk of any market fluctuations that can occur during extended breaks.

Auction Highlights:

  • 3 Stirling Street Kew (Nick Fletcher/Rob Fletcher, Fletchers) – a nicely renovated brick Victorian single-fronter in a very convenient location, sold well, proving again that location is becoming more preferable to land size – $3.276m
  • 125 Canterbury Road Canterbury (James Tostevin/Nikki van Gullick, Marshall White) – last sold in September 2013 (before auction) for $2.3m, sold again (in a similar condition) for almost $1m more – $3.23m
  • 11 Hamel Street Hampton (Melina Scriva/Matthew Gray, Buxton) – a period home needing renovation, with the Hampton Street shops behind, quoted $1.82-2m – sold for $2.390m
  • 14a Maitland Street Glen Iris (Tom Ryan/Cherie Sun, Jellis Craig) – single-level period style (’90s reproduction) home – freestanding. Quoted $1.3-1.375m, the auction opened at $1.5m. There were four bidders in total with three of these over $1.75m –  selling for $1.77m

‘Land’ Sales:

  • 14 Harts Parade Hawthorn East (Nick Elmore/Tim Mursell, Hocking Stuart) – wide frontage and approx. 668sqm (although south-facing rear) and a ‘ripe for renovation’ house or new build site – $2.735m or $4,094sqm
  • 14 Trentham Street Sandringham (Sam Harrison/Mark Earle, Buxton) – approx. 660sqm in the ‘growth zone’, sold for an undisclosed price in the early $2millions or around $3,300sqm
  • 23 Rangeview Grove Balwyn North (Patrick Dennis/Mark Read, Jellis Craig) – approx. 1,070sqm, prime block, in the heart of Balwyn High School Zone, with north-facing rear, sold for $3.16m or $2,953sqm

New office

Our second office is officially open for trade at 5/279 Bay Street in Brighton, making it easier to help our Bayside clients buy their next homes.  You can’t miss us: we’re next door to the chemist and not far from the Asling Street roundabout.

If you are in the area, please call in and say ‘hi’.

Some of the better properties, due to auction on December 2 

6 Hollingsworth Avenue Hawthorn – Oliver Booth/Abby Innes, RT Edgar

7 St Killian Street Hampton – Jenny Dwyer/Will O/Brien, Hocking Stuart

38 Alice Street Malvern – Tim Derham/Kate Cusack, Abercromby’s

11 Gwendoline Avenue Bentleigh – Gerry Gordon/Ivana Dobro, Jellis Craig

 ‘Off-market’ Properties:       

  • Updated period home – Malvern East – high $1millions
  • Freestanding modern townhouse – Domain precinct, South Yarra – $3m
  • Townhouse – Brighton – $1.98m
  • Renovated Victorian home – Hawthorn – high $3millions
  • Period home, large land – Hampton – above $6million
  • ’60s home – Beaumaris – high $1millions

Auction Spotlight:

64 Mason Street South Yarra

An Andrew Macmillan auction is always an entertaining one, and this was no exception. Although it passed in, this property sold soon after for $3.075m.

A nicely renovated and extended home in a fantastic location was on offer here at 64 Mason Street. Toddlers were able to wander freely in the quiet street as auctioneer Andrew Macmillan gave a concise and very entertaining preamble to the crowd of about 30 people. The auction did open with a crowd bid of $2.7m, but this was fairly quickly countered with a vendor bid of $2.9m. Bidder 2 offered a $20K rise. Bidder 3 joined in soon after, yet the property was passed in to bidder 2 at $3.02m. Not long after, the property sold for $3.075m, which was a solid result, we thought, given next door (an unrenovated version on similar land) sold for $1.85m only a couple of weeks ago. We know architects can be expensive, but…

49 Mills Street Hampton

Robin Parker from Marshall White put on an entertaining auction in the pretty front garden of 49 Mills St Hampton.

A good-sized crowd was drawn to this well renovated original Hamptons-style home. Positioned well to the shopping precinct, schools and transport, plus a good-sized north rear, made this an attractive package for potential buyers. Robin Parker and Kate Fowler from Marshall White welcomed everyone into the pleasant shade of the front garden for the auction. An opening bid of $2.2m was quickly received from a gentleman on the phone before a vendor bid of $2.3m was placed. At this point, all was silent and Robin was made to work hard, including a chat to the man on the phone, but was unable to draw out a bid. Eventually a second bidder came in, and there was a quick discussion with the vendors, followed by a further two bidders, with the price working up to $2.555m. A fifth bidder stepped in briefly for a couple of bids before the final battle between bidder 1 on the phone and bidder 3. The vendors seemed to have higher expectations and the property was eventually passed in to the man on the phone for $2.61m. The home was sold in post-auction discussions for the same price.