August 22, 2015

Warburton

Canterbury: 34 Warburton Rd (Hamish Tostevin, Marshall White), big crowd, opened $2m, sold for an undisclosed amount above $2.5m

Under the weight of greater auction numbers, the clearance rate stayed healthy over the weekend – hovering around 76%.

There was a level of discernment from buyers for properties with concerns, or those with ‘high’ vendor expectations.  The buyers were competitive, but not willing to ‘just keep going’.

Auction Highlights

  • 97 Gordon Street Balwyn (Bronwyn Lucas/Ken Wu, Noel Jones) – 681sqm, basic house. $2.61m or $3,830sqm. This part of the world (and indeed this street, which is pretty but does carry local traffic) continues to motor along.
  • 57 Glen Street Hawthorn (Lucy Jiang/Antony Woodley, Marshall White) – $2.56m. This property ‘struggled’ back in late 2013,eventually selling for $1,888,888.
  • 41 Ardoyne Street Black Rock (Graeme Virgona, Bayside Beaches RE) – advertised as approximately 778sqm north facing land backing onto Royal Melbourne Golf Club – $1.89m or almost $2500sqm.

With some unsettling at the stock exchange last week, it appeared more vendors were willing to accept the ‘bird in the hand’ prior to auction this week.

  • 86 St Helens Road, Hawthorn East (David Gillham, Noel Jones) – 833sqm, land bought for $2.7m or around $3,200sqm
  • 32 Milton Street Canterbury (Mark Sutherland/Doug McLauchlan, Marshall White) – high $2m’s
  • 44 Keats Street Sandringham (Sam Harrison / Mark Earle, Buxton), over $1.7m
  • 59 Brinsley Road Camberwell (James Tostevin/Duane Wolowiec, Marshall White – mid $2m’s

The off-market numbers continue to increase providing more opportunities for the local market to consider, however buyers need to able to sift through the properties that are really for sale and those that aren’t, and have a good understanding of the values and the process to ensure they buy well.

Hampton: 24B Bateman St (Simon Derham, RT Edgar), opened $1.2m, passed in $1.245m, sold after undisclosed

Hampton: 24B Bateman St (Simon Derham, RT Edgar), opened $1.2m, passed in $1.245m, sold after undisclosed

New this week:

  • Renovated period home in Hawthorn East  $3.3m
  • Modern home in Sackville Ward Kew  $4-4.3m
  • Renovated home, pool and good garaging, Malvern East  $4-4.1m
  • Modern family home, low maintenance, Brighton circa $4m

Some areas of the market are starting to experience an increase in property appraisals.  No doubt buyers will be excited at the thought of more properties potentially coming onto the market before the end of the year, however, with the continuing media hype about the Melbourne ‘bubble’ and some shakiness in the stock market, this may be the first sign that the market could be settling, or dare we say it, cooling.

It’s hard to imagine the market cooling yet, and these are early days.  A settled week at the stock exchange could restore any waning confidence.  Of the auctions we attended on the weekend, we saw multiple bidders at every auction.

However, for some vendors, particularly those on busier road or with some other property concerns, the opportunity to sell now may provide additional piece of mind.

Agent Opinion: Do you expect to see an increase in appraisals in the coming weeks?

3876787Kaine Lanyon (Marshall White): “We haven’t seen big, noticeable increases in appraisals (in Port Phillip)..maybe a little up, but it still very much feels like there are low numbers on stock, which should ultimately keep putting upward pressure on prices.”

It is different in Bayside, however. Speaking with Jenny Dwyer, (Hocking Stuart) office is experiencing a spike in property appraisals. Nick Johnstone (Nick Johnstone Real Estate) agrees. “Yes definitely. Lots of people want to get in before they think (the market) will come off. I don’t think it will come off though!”

Sandringham: 47A Vincent St (Steve Tickell, Hocking Stuart), open $1.2m, sold over $1.3m

Sandringham: 47A Vincent St (Steve Tickell, Hocking Stuart), open $1.2m, sold over $1.3m

Auction Spotlight – Some we attended this week:

6 Victory Street, Sandringham (Mark Earle, Buxton), under hammer, $1.69m, 4 bidders

Mark Earle stepped out into the sunshine in front of around 70 people to begin proceedings. With the crowd buzzing & a number of Buxton agents in attendance, there was a feeling of anticipation the air – this should be a good auction! And we weren’t disappointed. Bidder 1 came in strongly with an opening bid of $1.3m. Bidder 2 was quick to counter with an offer of $1.4m. Bidder 3 entered the fray and at around the $1.5m mark, Mark said we would be selling. Some rapid-fire bidding continued, with Bidder 4 joining the contest at $1.61m and the hammer coming down at $1.69m. An entertaining auction with strong bidding and great result for all involved.

Victory

Sandringham: 6 Victory St (Mark Earle, Buxton), under hammer, $1.69m, 4 bidders

33 Middle Crescent, Brighton (Peter Kakos, Marshall White), after auction, undisclosed above $5.1m

A big crowd flowed through the huge, 5 bedroom home on nearly 1150sqm before proceedings began in the lush front yard. Auctioneer Peter Kakos described the home as “prime Brighton real estate” before tabling a vendor bid of $5m straight off the bat. Bidder 1 offered $5.1m and after some prolonged silence, Peter headed inside to speak with his vendor. “I’m happy to take a gentle $50k rise,” he encouraged upon his return, but when all remained quiet, Peter passed the property in for further negotiations. Sold after for an undisclosed amount.

middle cres

Brighton: 33 Middle Crescent (Peter Kakos, Marshall White), after auction, undisclosed above $5.1m

6 Medhurst St, Sandringham (James Wardrop/Hodges), under hammer, $1.295m, 3 bidders

A beautiful Spring-like day, and around 50 people lined Medhurst St to watch proceedings. James Wardrop was our auctioneer and after a thorough preamble, called for an opening bid. Bidder 1 kicked things off, tabling a bid of $1.1m. Bidder 2 joined quite quickly, and at $1.2m James announced we were on the market. Pointing out that all the action was to his left, and trying to encourage some bidding to his right, Bidder 3 (also to his left) joined at the death knoll. The hammer finally came down at $1.295m to the delight of the crowd.

Medhurst

Sandringham: 6 Medhurst St, (Hodges), under hammer, $1.295m, 3 bidders

9 Armfield Street, Brighton (David Hart, Buxton), after auction, $3.025m, 1 bidder

Standing tall at the end of the street, and abutting Whyte St Park, spectators took a moment to enjoy the views from the top deck before auctioneer David Hart stepped out to begin proceedings. After a succinct preamble, David called for an opening bid. Quiet, so David tabled a vendor bid of $2.65m to kick-start the auction. Bidder 1 offered $2.7m, but with no further bidding on the day, the property was passed in. Bought after auction for $3.025m.

Brighton: 9 Armfield St (David Hart, Buxton), after auction, $3.025m, 1 bidder

Brighton: 9 Armfield St (David Hart, Buxton), after auction, $3.025m, 1 bidder

Architectural Concept

New houses designed and built some time ago often are purpose built for the owner and therefore it can be hard for new buyers to see potential in them.
Sometimes though with some careful consideration and planning they can be transformed to better suit modern day living. 33 Middle Crescent we thought was one of those offerings.

Challenges of the property :

  • Rear open plan living area lacks space and wall space for larger TV
  • Secondary bedrooms are small
  • Main bedroom is weak – lacks size and outlook

Key pluses of the property :

  • Good land size, and wide frontage
  • House has nice street presence (yet may not be to everybody’s liking)
  • Location. This area and the address will protect and justify the capital improvement spend, as there are many $4-9m homes in the area.

Below represents a potential design option,using wasted space to the side of the house and also building over the rear roofline. This design is of course subject to required council approval.

Concept 33 Middle jpeg