Archive for October 2015
October 24, 2015
Malvern: 67 Wheatland (Jack Bongiorno, Marshall White), sold $2.555m, 2 bidders
The ‘biggest’ auction weekend for the year passed the test, with an overall clearance rate of 71% suggesting the state of the market overall is still quite strong, although under the weight of record numbers the market showed some signs of pegging back.
Buyers are starting to demonstrate discernment for properties such as those with privacy or noise issues and those where a lot more (yet to be quantified) money may be required to improve the property.
For some auctions on the weekend, two buyers were at higher levels than the rest of the crowd, providing good outcomes for vendors. With one of each of those buyers having now purchased, this may have an impact on future results for some properties.
Whilst the number of bidders can be used as a guide to help qualify buyer depth, where the bidding starts can also impact the numbers. Sometimes a higher starting point can eliminate interested parties. Therefore, a full understanding of the market can be helpful. Two bidders, does not necessarily mean only two people wanted the property, it means that only two people were interested at the declared levels.
A reduction in the number of buyers with capacity to spend a little more, may not necessarily mean that overall buyer depth has dropped. For vendors who are willing to meet the market, the market may still be there. Time will tell.
From our observations there is still strong competition for the following:
- The ‘completed’ family package – 83 Sandringham Road, Sandringham (Jenny Dwyer, Hocking Stuart), a new build timber home with pool – $2.43million;
- Land – 50 Gordon Street, Balwyn (Lykourinos/Graham, Bekdon Richards) approx. 727sqm – $2.75m or almost $3,800sqm.
Very good crowd in leafy Central Park Rd, Malvern East. John Morrisby (Jellis Craig) 3 bidders, bought for $3,055,000.
Auction results:
- 25 Hambleton Street, Albert Park (Shane Siemers, Greg Hocking), 410sqm and with one owner for 42 years, this timber double fronted home was ripe for renovation – $3.105m, or nearly $8,000sqm.
- 11 Hilda Crescent, Hawthorn (Balloch/Wilkinson, Kay & Burton). One of just a few properties to come on to the market in Grace Park this year and on 964sqm, achieved an undisclosed price in excess of $6m.
Land sales:
- 2-4 Mangarra Road, Canterbury (Ptak/J.Tostevin, Marshall White), 1479 sqm –$5.515m or $3,730sqm.
- 2 Atkins Avenue, Glen Iris (Lawson/Walker, Jellis Craig), 771sqm – undisclosed over $1.7m or around $2,200sqm.
- 31 Alicia Street, Hampton (Smith/Smith, Hocking Stuart), 963sqm, northern rear in the GRZ 2 zone – $2.46m or $2,550sqm.
We are still seeing a number of properties selling before auction. This can still be a good strategy to buy your new home, however, it will help to have a good understanding of values. Where you may believe you are offering an enticing price to avoid competition on auction day, you may also now be the only buyer and good agents recommending vendors accept offers in these instances rather than allow the buyer to see they may be the only buyer on auction day.
Sold before auction:
- 12 Eddys Grove, Bentleigh (Ivan Blow, Buxton). Pretty period home, nicely renovated, good street – $1.951m.
- 146 Highfield Road, Camberwell (Mark Sutherland, Marshall White) – 782sqm, wide frontage, basic home which could be renovated or razed (stca) – undisclosed over $1.7m (or nearly $2,200sqm).
- 11 Margarita Street, Hampton (Graham/Bond, Hodges) – renovated but dating home, good street, potentially also a new build site – $2.31m
With Cup weekend looming the market will take its last mini break with a final run to Christmas.
We have seen a lot of homes purchased over the last fortnight, and many of the successful purchasers will now have homes to sell, replenishing the recently depleted stock numbers.
This should hopefully provide a good number of properties for buyers to consider right up until Christmas as most of these buyer/sellers will be wanting to sell before the long summer break to minimise any exposure to changes in the market place.
Auction Spotlight:
Malvern: 50 Glendearg Grove (Andrew Hayne, Marshall White), after auction undisclosed, 3 bidders
50 Glendearg Grove, Malvern, Andrew Hayne (Marshall White), sold after auction undisclosed, 3 bidders
Close to 100 people gathered to see what would transpire at 50 Glendearg Grove – a pretty renovated period home on approximately 750sqm near shops, cafes and station. Andrew Hayne was our auctioneer and after a thorough preamble, called for an opening bid. Bidder 1 offered $2.4m and Andrew promptly tabled a vendor bid of $2.6m. Bidder 1 accepted the challenge and bidders 2 and 3 soon entered the competition. Bidding continued until the price hit $2.95m when Andrew passed the property in for further negotiations. Sold after auction for an undisclosed amount.
Malvern: 67 Wheatland Rd (Jack Bongiorno, Marshall White), sold $2.555m, 2 bidders
67 Wheatland Road, Malvern, Jack Bongiorno (Marshall White), sold $2.555m, 2 bidders
Not quite as big a crowd as the previous auction in Glendearg Grove, but still impressive as around 70 people lined the street to watch proceedings. Jack Bongiorno took centre stage and tabled a vendor bid of $2m straight out of the gates to kickstart the bidding. Bidder 1 came in at $2.05m, Bidder 2 at $2.075m and at $2.47m Jack went inside to speak with his vendor. Back outside and the reserve has been me – bidding continued, with Jack professionally extracting every last bid out of both bidders. The hammer finally coming down at $2.555m to a round of applause.
Agent Opinion: There was an expectation that there was always going to be a late run this year, with a surge close to Christmas. Is that the case, or do you think that stock levels are lower than expected?
Tim Derham (Abercromby’s): “There has been an increase in listing activity in the marketplace in the lead up to Christmas. Stock levels remain high for November which is consistent with our expectations but will taper off come early December. There are a significant number of highly qualified buyers keen to buy this side of Christmas.”
October 17, 2015
Hampton: 29 Thomas Street (Campbell Cooney, Hodges), strong auction – big crowd of 100 – sold $2.43m
While there has been intensified talk in the media for the last week about the property market crashing, we didn’t see any evidence of that on Saturday, particularly for the well-positioned, good properties.
Some agents are claiming a reduction in numbers at opens, but with the great weather upon us and many properties to look at (often opening at the same time as competing properties), this may be one explanation for the perceived drop.
With another big weekend of auctions and quality properties next weekend, a similar result could see us continue with this market through to Christmas.
Auction results:
- 25 Raheen Drive, Kew (Peter Batrouney, Jellis Craig). Compact modern home with tennis court –approx. 1239sqm and a signature location. $3.7m and $850k above the reserve, yet in keeping with the recent result at number 11 which was around two thirds the land size and approximately two thirds the price.
- 3 Joyce Street, Elwood (Sam Gamon, Chisholm & Gamon). Modern two-storey townhouse, 328sqm – $2.575m. In a similar to condition to the last sale in March 2012 for $2m, that’s an increase in excess of 25%.
- 29 Thomas Street, Hampton (Michael Cooney/Paul Bond, Hodges). Large land (approx. 830sqm), north rear, smaller period home, pool and ‘old school house’ within the ‘high density zone’ – $2.43m.
Land sales:
- 17 Raynes Street, Balwyn and nearby (conjoined) 8 Bruce Street (Helen Yan, Hocking Stuart). Sold for $1.85m and $2.01m respectively (or $2,900sqm).
- 28 Sussex Street, Brighton (Strickland/Gregory, Marshall White). 897sqm – $3.86m (approx. $4,300sqm)
- 31 Pine Street, Brighton East (Enticott/Augustini, Hodges). 993sqm with north rear – $2.32m (approx. $2,335sqm).
- 44 Renwick Street, Glen Iris (Andrew Wilkie, Jellis Craig). Parkside block, 1000m2 – undisclosed over $2.3m (approx. $2,300sqm)
Sold before auction:
- 49 William Street, Brighton (Whiting/Campbell, Buxton). Large land (almost 1,100sqm), resort style home – $3,902,500
- 11 Rowland Street, Kew (Nick Ptak, Marshall White). 782sqm, north rear, dated but liveable home – $4.3m
- 32 Hillcrest Ave, Kew (Stephen Gough, Marshall White) 866sqm, period single level home close to Kew Cemetery – $3.01m
- 18 Station Street, Hawthorn East (Peter Vigano, Jellis Craig) updated period home backing onto flats – over $2.2m.
With multiple bidders and results often well above the quote price, should buyers just pay more? Click Here to read our thoughts.
Auction Spotlight:
Hawthorn: 20 Elgin St (Kay & Burton), sold $1.86m
20 Elgin Street, Hawthorn (Walter Dodich, Kay & Burton), sold $1.86m
A pleasant morning greeted 80-100 people for this auction, in a popular West Hawthorn location. Auctioneer and listing agent Walter Dodich gave a no-nonsense preamble and got straight into proceedings without too much fuss. The home at 20 Elgin Street was located on the corner, and thus the crowd was well spread out, but Walter and supporting agents Geoff Hall and Andrew Jose did not miss any of the bidders. Opening at $1.4m, three bidders took part in the action seeing the property come on the market at $1.65m and sell strongly not long after for $1.86m. Key pluses to this property; single level, car garaging, free-standing brick home and this well appeals to downsizers, couples, singles and small families.
Toorak: 4 Landale Road (Marshall White) sold $2.792m, 3 bidders
4 Landale Road, Toorak, Justin Long (Marshall White), sold $2.792m
Justin Long showed the patience of a saint at this Toorak auction, which lasted a good 45 minutes and featured well considered & last minute bidding – as well as big and small increments from each of the three bidders – throughout proceedings. An opening bid of $1.8m came from the crowd and two additional bidders were quick to join the action. Inside at $2.5m and Justin returned to advise that the reserve had been met. Bidder 2 eventually pulled out of the race, while bidders 1 and 3 battled it out for at least another 30 minutes – Bidder 1 strategically slowing down the bidding and then offering $1k rises, while Bidder 3 fluctuated between big and small bids in an attempt to throw off his opponent. With each small increment, after Justin called it down three times (each time!), the crowd sighed – it seemed the auction would never end! Justin was professional throughout and managed to extract every last bid from both parties, right up until the hammer came down at $2.792 to Bidder 1. The crowd applauded – most seemed amazed at how long the auction actually was!
Sandringham: 141 Abbott Street (Buxton), after auction $1.73m
141 Abbott Street, Sandringham, Mark Earle (Buxton), after auction $1.73m
The sun was blazing by early afternoon – just in time for the auction of this Sandringham property in a popular family locale. Mark Earle stood in front of a crowd of around 65 people and extolled the virtue of this large family home on a prominent corner block. Opening on a vendor bid of $1.55m, Mark looked for $20k rises. Unable to secure one, he offered a second vendor bid of $1.6m and subsequently passed the property in with no genuine bids on the day. The home was sold after auction $1.73m.
Agent Opinion: “We have seen a big trend in down-sizers. Port Phillip has always been a good down-sizer area – have you seen any changes in the demographics in this area of late?”
Damian O’Sullivan (Marshall White, Albert Park): “Our market place has always been a big draw card for the ‘down-sizers’ who cherish the low maintenance lifestyle and village atmosphere that typifies Albert Park, Middle Park and surrounds. The down-sizers have been particularly active of late as they look to acquire a home for the new year and beyond as the finish to the school year looms and their ‘empty nester’ status becomes a reality. We find that the down-sizers are often simply returning to the neighbourhood they once enjoyed before having to move to other areas such as Stonnington and Booroondarra which offer more family sized accommodation and an abundance of choice in terms of schooling.”
Should you just pay more?
When the market is strong and prices feel like they are increasing weekly, to buy the property, should you just pay more?
This is not a simple yes or no answer.
There are many things to consider:
- Is this the right property for you?
- How long are you going to be living in this home for?
- Do you need to spend more money on it to make it work for you?
- Will the position still work in 5, 10, 15 years?
- How long have you been looking for?
- Is this the right home because you need to buy something and you don’t want to rent?
- Will this property grow with the market financially?
Depending on how you answer these questions will help determine whether you should pay more money for the property.
If the outcomes you are wanting to achieve are different to another buyer who is prepared to pay more, at certain levels, there may be a stop price, regardless of what level other bidding may be at.
Let’s look at buying on a main road for example.
For many, first thoughts about buying do not include homes on main roads. However, buyers have three main areas of flexibility when looking for homes:
- Price
- Location
- Land size
- House
If one of the key criteria is to be near a specific school or close to family, for example, then some flexibility around the home or the price is probably going to be required.
If you don’t need to be near specific amenities or family, then there is potential once the novelty of moving into your nice new home wears off, that the road may become a concern.
To move again, without going backward financially, you are likely to need to sell the property for around 10% more than you paid to cover stamp duty (5.5%), agents’ fees, advertising fees, moving costs and solicitor fees etc. just to break even. Not to mention the additional stress on the family as you embark on the merry-go-round of open for inspections again.
Ensuring you are buying the ‘right property for you’ is the key to buying successfully.
Therefore, just because others may be prepared to pay more for a property, it does not mean you should always follow. Properties have stop limits, depending on what it is that you are personally trying to achieve.
October 10, 2015
Kew: 60 Edgevale Road (Richard Winneke, Jellis Craig), auctioneer Campbell Ward, sold after $2.552m
The Melbourne property market kicked back into gear on the weekend, and aside from a small break coming up again in three weeks time (Derby Day/Melbourne Cup weekend) the market should have a very steady run into Christmas.
Although the overall number of homes auctioning on Saturday was lower, we saw good competition and multiple bidders at the auctions we attended.
We will see increased numbers and some good quality homes over the next fortnight, which will help gauge where the last quarter for 2015 is heading.
Auction highlights:
- 90 Edgevale Road Kew (Richard Winneke, Jellis Craig). One of the better renovated single level double-fronted Victorian homes you may see. A great home to downsize in, yet the clear weakness was access to off-street car-parking, which was via a narrow cobbled rear laneway. The auction started low at $2m and drew in 6 bidders, passing in for $2.4m. Selling afterwards for $2.552m. The result was solid, but felt about right. The property last sold as an unrenovated version in 2013 for $1.175m.
- 20 Eildon Road St Kilda (Kaine Lanyon/Sarah Wood, Marshall White). Well located freestanding brick interwar mansion. Over two storeys and essential two dwellings, this had plenty of potential and opportunity for the canny buyer. Sold for $2,350,000.
Land Sales:
- 112 Ashburn Grove, Ashburton (Jason Brinkworth/Justin Krongold, Marshall White). Approx. 1529sqm, backing on to the Anniversary Trail. Bought for an undisclosed price over $2million or just over $1,400sqm.
- 4 Crossakiel Court Hawthorn (Campbell Ward/ Richard Winneke, Jellis Craig). 721m2 in coveted Scotch Hill location. Sold very strongly for $3.56m or $4,937sqm.
- 44 Birdwood Street Balwyn (Guy Coles/Jeremy Desmier, Fletchers). Outside the Balwyn High Zone, south facing rear and some slope issues. Still sold for $1.81m (about $3,000sqm) – this market is not backing off, based on this result.
- 3 Roslyn Street Brighton (Stephen Smith, Marshall White). Sporting an older architect designed ‘award winning’ home, for many the flow and levels are now seen as unconventional, the property now predominantly land. Three bidders took the price to $2.314m where it passed in, selling after for $2.335m (approx. $2,700sqm).
New off-markets:
- family home, Kew – circa $3m
- large family home, minutes from Church Street, Brighton – $4mish
- single storey period home, Hampton – high $1millions
- updated family home, Malvern East – $3.5-3.8m
- Canterbury, with court – $10m
- Basic family home on 650sqm, Toorak – $4m
- Modern townhouse, Hawthorn East – $2m
Auction Spotlight:
Canterbury: 15 Parlington St (Heather Elder, Marshall White), sold after auction undisclosed
15 Parlington St, Canterbury, James Tomlinson (Marshall White), sold after undisclosed
A crowd of around 100 gathered for this auction, in leafy Parlington Street Canterbury, which is not far from many private schools and the Burke Road shops. This was going to be an interesting auction; while the house had plenty of character and had been well maintained, it could be bulldozed and a demolition permit had even been recently granted to pull the house down. Nearby in The Ridge there had been several strong land sales well over $3000/sqm, so that should underpin demand. This block was 696sqm here which was OK, yet it sloped down to the rear which is not ideal for building new and something Chinese buyers do not overly like. With listing agent Heather Elder not far away, auctioneer James Tomlinson gave a considered preamble and kicked proceedings off with a vendor bid of $2m. Bidder 1 entered after some time for a $20K rise. The pace was slow for this auction, and eventually the property passed in for $2.3m with 4 bidders taking part. Sold after auction for an undisclosed price in the vicinity of $2.4m, which feels about right in the current market.
Brighton: 2 Peacock St (John Clarkson, Buxton), sold $1.84m
2 Peacock St, Brighton, John Clarkson (Buxton), sold $1.84m
John Clarkson always provides entertainment at his auctions and 2 Peacock was no exception. With realistic vendors, this home was always going to have competition, particularly in the ever increasing ‘downsizer’ market. Although dated and offering limited outdoor space, this James Rigney designed townhouse had excellent proportions, a large double garage and a downstairs bedroom/bathroom combination. Four bidders quickly pushed the price to $1.65million, where it was announced ‘on the market’, selling for $1.84million.
Prahran: 65 Greville St (Jack Bongiorno, Marshall White), sold $2.529m
65 Greville St, Prahran, Jack Bongiorno (Marshall White), sold $2.529m
Just metres from the bustling Chapel Street shop & restaurant scene, the auction of this home attracted a crowd of around 70 people initially, but grew beyond that as plenty of passers by stopped to see what would transpire. Jack Bongiorno was our auctioneer and he stood in front of the crowd and gave a succinct preamble, praising the many virtues of the double-fronted home on a large, north facing block. “Move in before Christmas and the only decision you’ll have to make is where to put the Christmas tree,” he said before tabling a vendor bid of $2m to kick-start proceedings. All remained quiet so Jack headed inside for a quick referral. Back outside within minutes, Bidder 1 chimed in at $2.025m and Bidder 2 at $2.05m. Bidder 3 came in soon after with a $10k rise. At $2.455m Jack headed inside again and announced that the home was now on the market. Bidding between bidders 2 and 3 continued slowly in $1000 increments – Jack’s enthusiasm, professionalism and patience never wavered. The hammer finally came down at $2.529m to a round of applause from the appreciative crowd.
Agent Opinion: “Have there been any noticeable changes in sentiment from buyers/sellers since the school holidays?”
Nick Johnstone (Nick Johnstone Real Estate): “Not really – we are seeing the normal spring surge, buyers are chasing property aggressively if they are priced right. The change I am seeing is that people are reluctant to sell before they buy & are petrified about being “out of the market”. In recent years we have seen downsizers selling and then struggling to get back in the market.”