Bidders were not deterred by the cold or rain on Saturday with many auctions again seeing multiple bidding and strong results above reserve.

The talk during the week about oscillating share prices and a lowering Australian dollar appeared to have little impact on buyer interest over the weekend, particularly for the goodies.

There were a number of homes ‘bought before’ this week, particularly in Bayside.

Whether this is an anomaly or a new trend, time will tell. Perhaps with only one buyer or one standout buyer prepared to pay more than everyone else, agents saw the opportunity to sell well and the vendors were listening.

‘Smaller Land’ Auction Highlights:

Clever renovations / updated homes sold well:

New off markets this week: 

Auction Spotlight:

39 Coppin St, Malvern East (John Bongiorno, Marshall White), under hammer, $4.46m, 5 bidders

A crowd of well over 100 braved the cold to watch the auction of 39 Coppin Street.  With the inspection buzzing prior to the start of the auction, John Bongiorno didn’t need to talk the property up – it spoke for itself.  Opening with a vendor bid of $3.6million, three bidders quickly took the price to $4.31million, where the property started to slow.  After adjourning for a half-time break, the property was announced on the market where two more parties joined in, the final result a solid $4.46million.

47 Victoria Road Hawthorn East (Andrew MacMillan, Jellis Craig), under hammer, $2.63m, 6 bidders

An icy chill was in the air for this 1pm auction, and auctioneer Andrew MacMillan did his best to warm up the very good-sized crowd of around 120 people which flooded Victoria Road (a central part of Hawthorn East). The auction started “like all others” with a vendor bid by Andrew of $2.2m, and it did take a while for crowd bidding to come about, but it did with nominated, modulated rises.
A long auction which finished at 1.30pm, the property was announced on the market at $2.51m and had good bidding depth from 6 bidders, selling for a very solid $2.63m.

2b Erskine Street, Armadale (John Bongiorno, Marshall White), after auction, undisclosed above $$4.95m, 2 bidders

Jack Bongiorno held proceedings under the soaring glass ceilings of the conservatory style dining/living area of this stunning Victorian home in front of a large crowd of close to 100 people. Jack didn’t waste any time and, after a thorough preamble, tabled a vendor bid of $4.7m, looking for $50k rises. Bidder 1 offered $4.75m and after some silence, Jack ducked out to speak with his vendor. Back within minutes, Jack told the crowd that we were now at the business end so if you want to bid, bid now. Bidder 2 offered $4.8m and with some more back and forth bids, the home was eventually passed in at $4.95m before selling after auction for an undisclosed amount.

2a Emily St, Brighton (James Paynter, RT Edgar), passed in $3.525m, 1 bidder

This architect designed home was a striking visual surprise at the end of the long driveway, tucked away discreetly behind a pretty period home close to Church St. After inspecting the home, around 70 people waited eagerly as James Paynter took centre stage – quite literally as he stood on the driveway’s turntable! Looking for a “nice, easy open”  – but unable to secure one from the crowd – James instead tabled a vendor bid of $3.3m. A second vendor bid did little to excite the reserved crowd, so James headed inside for a half-time break. Back outside, he asked a potential buyer if he wanted to bid. “Not ready yet,” was the reply. James joked that perhaps he should just keep vendor bidding until he reached a level the bidder was comfortable at, which drew some laughs from the otherwise silent crowd. Just as James was about to pass the property in, a gentleman offered $3.525m which secured him the right for post-auction negotiations.

Agent Opinion: “Are you seeing more offers before auction, are you recommending them and are the vendors accepting them?”

David Hart (Buxton, Brighton): “We are certainly seeing more buyers trying to take properties off the market prior to auction. From our perspective it needs to be an absolutely “auction stopping offer” before we recommend our vendor accepts it. As long as we contact every single buyer who has inspected the property to ensure there isn’t a better offer available before closing the sale, our vendors are invariably following our advice.”

 

Glen Coutinho (RT Edgar Boroondara): “We are actually seeing fewer offers prior to auction as most buyers understand that vendors prefer to go to auction in a hot market. Our recommendations to vendors in this climate is to run the property to auction.”

 

David Gillham (Noel Jones, Camberwell): “Last weekend we sold 50% of our auctions before,the offers were exceptional and our vendors were keen to sell before as the properties involved were on a main road and a railway line. A great offer should always be considered before auction providing all parties are given the chance to put forward an offer.”