Teamwork is important! WoledgeHatt enjoying a round of golf together.

Good properties performed well on Saturday, with multiple bidders, and some had solid results.

A number of quality properties have also hit the net over the past couple of weeks and buyer numbers over the weekend were plentiful. One agent quoted 45 groups through in 22 minutes for a property in South Yarra.

There were a number of homes that sold above their quotes on the weekend (see a sample in our highlights below); however, there were also a large proportion that sold within their quoted range. The REIV clearance rate sat at 76% at the end of the evening.

If a property has problems or is incorrectly quoted, it can sit without interest indefinitely. If the quote was the problem, a number of these homes are now selling as vendors have reduced their expectations to meet the market.

While we continue to see good homes sell well (sometimes very strongly) in the current market, if a vendor’s expectations are well above what makes sense, they are likely to encounter resistance from buyers and may be better to wait before selling rather than damage their campaign from the outset and spend the rest of the time playing catch up trying to re-engage buyers.

With a tenth consecutive interest rate hike likely (at the time of writing), such uncertainty is certainly putting a cloud on the market. If as a buyer your pre-approval is about to run out, you may find your borrowing capacity is reduced. Those that are ‘buy fit’ right now are at an advantage, yet stock levels remain tight. When is the right time to buy? We have always said that the right time is when the right home to live in for the longer term becomes available, as predicting the future is very hard.

A number of agents are starting to comment that vendors are now talking about Spring. This may suggest that the volume could remain tight right through until August/September. If the number of people attending inspections is anything to go by, this could mean some serious competition for properties marketed and priced correctly.

Highlights:

• 13 Central Avenue Black Rock – approx. 470sqm with a fairly original, single storey 80s home on it, quoted $1.5-1.6m, sold for $1.7m, five bidders
• 1 Courang Road Glen Iris – comfortable period family home, could be further improved, quoted $2.3-2.5m, sold for $2.7m, three bidders
• 19 Earlsfield Road Hampton – turn key large modern home close to schools but a bit further to shops/station, quoted $3.6-3.7m, sold for $3.84m, three bidders
• 122 Cochrane Street Brighton – scheduled for auction 23^rdMarch has sold beforehand. Quoted $2-2.2m, sold well above for an undisclosed figure toward the mid $2m mark
• 25 Finch Street Malvern East – large single storey period home, comfortable as is but could be further improved over time, quoted $6-6.6m, sold for $6,666,666
• 26 Mount Pleasant Grove Armadale – renovated, single storey Victorian terrace, quoted $1.5-1.65m, sold for $1.805m
• 10 Evelina Road Toorak – two storey Victorian Terrace, renovated with a bedroom/bathroom option downstairs and excellent garaging, quoted $3.5-3.7m, sold for $3.93m
• 15a Osborne Court Hawthorn – neat, extended 1930s home near the river, quoted $2-2.2m, sold before auction for $2.511m

Some of the better properties currently on the market; an architect’s view

15 Mills Street Hampton – Jenny Dwyer/Sandra Michael, Belle Property

34 Glendearg Grove Malvern – John Manton/Fiona Ansell-Jones, Marshall White

55 Guildford Road Surrey Hills – David Smith/Nikki van Gulick, Marshall White

‘Off-market’ Properties:

• Double fronted, timber, Victorian, 4-2-2, Elwood – circa early $3m
• Renovate or rebuild, 4-2-3, ~920sqm, Brighton East – circa $3.9m
• Freestanding TH in heart of Village, 3-1.5-1, Sandringham – circa $1.5m
• Modern family home, 4-3-2, ~940sqm, Brighton – circa $5.5m
• Double fronted, brick, Victorian, 4-2-1, Brighton – circa $3.7m
• Brick period home, 5-3-2, opp park, Hampton – circa $2.6m
• Edwardian, 4-2-2, ~680sqm, north rear, Cheltenham – circa $1.9m
• Downsizer, 3-2.5-2, renovated, Malvern – circa $3m
• Double fronted Victorian, 4-2.5-1, renovated, Brunswick – circa $2.15m
• Fully renovated/extended brick single front, 3-3-2, West Melbourne – circa $3.7m
• Fully renovated, contemporary, 5-3-2, 3 living, pool, Glen Iris – circa $3.4m
• Modern family home, 4-3-2, ~700sqm, spa, Kew – circa $3m
• Renovated brick Edwardian single fronter, 3-1, Prahran – circa $2.1m