November 7, 2015
Off the back of Cup weekend, we saw quieter auction activity with a smaller sample size and some lesser quality properties on offer. The clearance rate according to the REIV was 71%, which is still quite healthy.
With Christmas not far away, stock numbers are slowing. Unless vendors are prepared to shorten their campaigns, there are only three more weeks where we are likely to see new properties advertised for auction – this would take us to the 19th December. Agents are starting to talk of upcoming auctions for 2016 and ‘off-market’ properties, quietly for sale now.
Auction Highlight:
- 10 Maple Grove, Toorak (Warwick Anderson. RT Edgar) Original home, north facing rear – $8,350,000 ($1million over reserve).
Land sales:
- 22 North Road, Brighton (Nick Johnstone, Nick Johnstone Rear Estate). Approximately 919sqm, south rear, busy location – $3,160,000 or over $3,400sqm
- 17 Manningtree Road, Hawthorn (Chow/Hammill, Woodards). Approximately 359sqm, basic home, north rear, corner site in development precinct – $1,536,000.
- 7 Gould Street, Brighton (Johnstone/Carrington, Nick Johnstone Real Estate) Approximately 615sqm, north rear, close to the beach – $2,515,000 (or just over $4,000sqm)
Off-markets:
- Large single-level period home with double carport – Windsor, circa $3m
- Edwardian (grand façade) ripe for renovation, large land –Malvern, mid $3m
- Modern home, – Brighton over $5m
- Comfortable bungalow in the shorter term, but likely to updated/extended by most in the future – Hampton early $2ms
Sold before auction:
- 4 Wellington Street, Brighton (Kate Strickland, Marshall White) large modern home with a basement, undisclosed over $6,500,000
- 61 Goldsmith Street, Elwood (Sam Gamon, Chisholm & Gamon) renovated semi-detached home, 500sqm – undisclosed, mid $2millions
Auction Spotlight:
17 Clyde St, Glen Iris (John Morrisby, Jellis Craig), sold $1.92m, 4 bidders
About 60 people were in attendance for the auction of this basic period home on about 650m2 with north facing rear and two-storey flats to the eastern side. Representing basically entry level into this area, Auctioneer John Morrisby gave a good preamble and then looked for an bid of $1.5m. Listing agent Ian McLennan scouted the crowd for bidders and before long three were in play, seeing the property to be announced on the market at $1.826m. Not long after Bidder 4 timed her run late and needed only two bids to buy the property under the hammer for $1.92m – good tactic this. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t!
5 Barkly Ave, Armadale, Kevin O’Brien (Jellis Craig), passed in $1.85m, 1 bidder
A colourful ice-cream cart offering free frozen treats brightened up a rather gloomy Spring morning. Kevin O’Brien was mindful of the ominous weather too, and gave a fast-paced preamble to ensure that proceedings weren’t interrupted by rain. Calling for an opening bid, but met with the usual silence, Kevin tabled a vendor bid of $1.75m to get things underway. After a half-time break, Bidder 1 offered to meet Kevin’s vendor bid, which Kevin accepted before tabling a second vendor bid of $$1.775m, and then a third of $1.85m. With no more bidding on the day, the property was passed in and remained for sale at the time of publishing.
150 Canterbury Road, Middle Park (Greg Hocking, Greg Hocking Holdsworth), passed in $3.5m
Greg Hocking, assisted by John Holdsworth, stepped out onto Canterbury Rd in the early afternoon sunshine in front of a crowd of around 30 people. After a succinct preamble, Greg asked for an opening bid but, unable to secure one from the quiet crowd, tabled a vendor bid of $3.5m to kickstart proceedings. Inside for a half-time break, Greg returned and did his utmost to encourage bidding. Unfortunately the crowd remained silent and Greg was forced to pass the property in.
Architectural Insight: Swimming Pools
Should we have a pool or not? Is it worth buying a home with a pool even if we don’t need one yet? These are some common questions and when looking at a property with a pool, there are some key things to look for:
- Positioning – does it dominate the backyard? (i.e. placed close to the house, so you have to walk around or through it, or it there any other space left?) In addition, it should be located in the backyard in a location that maximises its access to natural light (i.e. on the southern or eastern side of block).
- Size – depending on what you are wanting the pool for, a good-sized pool for a younger/growing family is about 6 x 4m. Plunge pools (particularly for larger homes on decent blocks) are seen as a waste and can turn buyers away. Lap pools are becoming more popular with older families/couples as they can exercise at home and they are not too bad to play in either – a good size is 2m x 10-13m. Kidney-shaped pools were popular in the 1980s, but now are not that popular with buyers and are often don’t have self-cleaning equipment or solar heating.
- Safety – goes without saying really, but a good glass fence around the pool is paramount and there needs to be good room inside the pool enclosure.
- Condition/age – Dated fibreglass pools with old filtering systems and those that need to be cleaned manually are not popular with buyers, as they often don’t have the time or inclination to do the work.
- Heating – as standard today the pool would be a heated one. This makes sense living in Melbourne, as the pool can be used all year round. Solar is the way to go, and often is backed up with gas booster systems.
Often buyers do not want a pool and will not look at properties that have them. These can be good opportunities for buyers, as you can easily remove and/or fill them in – at a cost of course. While this is not that simple, it is possible and certainly worth considering.
Agent Opinion:“The lead up to Christmas is looking to be much of the same as it was before Melbourne Cup Weekend. Do you think that the market will change after Christmas, or do you expect it to stay the same?”
Julian Augustini (Hodges): “Spring stock levels heading into the latter part of the year are solid but there is not an oversupply. I would expect that if a 70% success rate maintains across Melbourne until the end of the year, then a positive market will flow through into 2016. “