May 27, 2017
AREC 2017
Consistency in the inner Melbourne property market is continuing with the REIV reporting a clearance rate of 77% at 6pm on Saturday evening. This is slightly down on last week’s clearance rate.
On the weekend, we noticed the continuing trend in successful post-auction negotiations after the property has passed in on the street, perhaps signifying a mismatch between vendor and buyer price expectations. Our conversations with some key agents have confirmed that, for the first time in a long time, their company clearance rates have dropped below 80%.
Many working in the real estate industry are in Queensland early this week for the annual real estate conference (AREC). Perhaps still heavily tailored to achieving outcomes for vendors, we find the conference is a good opportunity to stay up to date with the most current trends, ensuring we can continue to put our clients in the best positions to secure their new homes.
Auction Highlights:
16 Marian Street Hawthorn (Desirée Wakim/Hamish Tostevin, Marshall White) – another good downsizer option (although all bedrooms upstairs), architect designed and around 10 years, was still very well received – $3.399m
39 Mason Street Hawthorn (Scott Patterson/Tom Staughton, Kay & Burton) – renovated single-storey period home on the north side of the street, another to suit families or downsizers – passed in and sold afterwards – undisclosed in the early $4m
8a Central Park Road Malvern East (John Morrisby/Genevieve Hoyle, Jellis Craig) – thoughtfully renovated family home with generous spaces and good bedroom separation – 3 bidders and sold for an undisclosed amount between $3.5-4m
68 Littlewood Street Hampton (Robin Parker/Kate Fowler, Marshall White) – family home option in good street, however, still with some issues (small kitchen/family area, south side and sloping block) – $2.905m
79 Victoria Street Sandringham (Romana Altman/Rebecca Beacall, Buxton) – family home option with good north rear, desired street (although Bluff Road end) – $2.1m
Land Sales:
27 Vears Road Ashburton (Jesse Matthews/James Karantonis, Buxton) – approx. 720sqm, east rear – $1.775m or $2,465sqm
106 Head Street Brighton (Jason Collie/Barb Gregory, Marshall White) – approx. 1010sqm, south rear, good position (although close to intersection) – undisclosed amount over $3.5m and in excess of $3,500sqm
6 Nicol Street Highett (Mandy Engelhardt/Stuart Mahoney, Hocking Stuart) – approx. 615sqm, east rear – $1.395m or $2.268sqm
Off Market Properties:
- land with older style home (3 bed, 2 bath) in the Balwyn High zone – high $1m
- large land with no heritage overlay – Kew – over $5m
- dated but good sized family home – Brighton $3.5-4m
- ’50s style family home – Malvern – circa $2.5m
Auction Spotlight:
39 Mason Street Hawthorn
Scott Patterson from Kay & Burton worked the crowd hard at Mason Street, Hawthorn but was unable to get an outcome for his vendor until after the auction.
More than 100 people came to witness the auction at this beautifully renovated, single-level Victorian. Scott Patterson from Kay & Burton opened the auction with a vendor bid of $4.0m, calling for $50k rises. One bidder took up the offer, while the rest of the crowd remained silent. Following a brief half-time break, no further bids could be drawn out, so the property was passed in for $4.05m. The bidding party went inside for further negotiations and the property sold shortly after in the early $4m range.
76 Manning Rd Malvern East
Daniel Wheeler and the Marshall White team working the crowd at 76 Manning Road Malvern East
Lovely morning sunshine shone on the crowd spread along Manning Road for the auction of this fully renovated family home. Daniel Wheeler from Marshall White faced a good crowd on both sides of the street. Opening with a $2.0m vendor bid, four bidders kept proceedings going up to $2.33m where it passed in, not quite meeting the vendor’s expectations. The property sold shortly after for $2.4m.
Agent Opinion – Bob Wolff, Harcourts (USA) – the key to success in real estate
Bob spoke at the first AREC conference in 1997 and returned to AREC this week, where he spoke about his eight key strategies to achieve success for his clients. His strategies have been honed during his 44 years’ experience in real estate. While aimed more at selling agents, we found plenty of useful insight to share with our clients.
