$8M auction sale headlines September's super spring Saturday

A NUMBER of outstanding auction results across the country ensured it was a sizzling start on spring’s first September Saturday as vendors basked in what remains a hot seller’s market.

Following on from the Ray White Group’s best August in its 118-year history, the leading auction house booked a strong preliminary clearance rate of 71.8 per cent.

Australasia’s largest real estate brand had more than one in four of all scheduled auctions across the country this week and booked healthy preliminary clearance rates across Sydney (80.6 per cent), Melbourne (100 per cent), Brisbane (63.6 per cent), and Adelaide (70 per cent).

Ray White QLD Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said the auctions throughout the Sunshine State this week could only be described as electric.

“We had such great sale prices as a direct result of the amount of competition that’s in the marketplace at the moment,” Mr Peereboom said.

“Our average number of registered bidders is again holding consistent with recent weeks and the clearance rate is nothing short of exciting if you compare it to this time last year.

“I’m confident this is going to be one of our best week’s of clearance over the month.”

It’s impossible to start anywhere other than the Sunshine State as Brisbane took out the preliminary highest sale of the day with a jaw-dropping deal on the banks of the river.

Ray White New Farm Principal Matt Lancashire sold the world-class private riverfront estate at 36A Oxlade Drive (above) for a whopping $8,000,000 under the hammer.

“The Brisbane market, especially for fabulous properties like this right on the river, is really hot right now with exceptional results after exceptional results,” Mr Lancashire said.

“Things are a bit different with COVID-19, but the things that aren’t different is there being no substitute for hard work, always calling people back and taking absolutely nothing for chance.

“We had 11 registered bidders for this property, six of whom actively competed, and the price increased exponentially all the way up from the opening bid of $5,000,000.

“We advertised this home everywhere across social media, print media and interstate, and that attracted more than 90 groups through the open homes. The buyer was a local from New Farm.”

“The market is fantastic at the moment. The demand for property is far outstripping what’s available on the market. In fact, I would say if you could choose anytime to be selling your property in the last two years, then there’s never been a better time than now,” Mr Peck said.

“We had more than 50 groups through the property and the lucky winning bidders were a local family who have just sold their house in Bulimba and were attracted to the layout of this one.

“This was the perfect example of why auction is the best way to sell a property - we only had two registered bidders today - but they really competed to earn a great price for the vendor.”

“I’m relieved more than anything. I was attracted to auction - especially with things as they are with COVID-19 - as that offered me unconditional security,” vendor Celine Roche said.

“I believe there aren’t a lot of houses on the market at the moment so that’s why I didn’t want to wait because there's a demand for property with not a lot of homes available.

“Why would you wait? You don’t know what can happen in a month or in two months' time - you just never know.

“Jonathan is great. He actually sold me this property three years ago and we kept in contact and kept a good relationship since then. He made this process easier and less emotional so he was really good - I plan on renting for a bit and I'll see where the market takes me.”

With homemade jam drop in hand, buyers were lining up for the chance to secure their dream home in Bardon, but the final battle came down to two determined bidders.

Sellers Kelly Matthews and Pierre Guillemin said they now have a budget for their next adventure somewhere on the Sunshine Coast or southern Gold Coast.

“We live next to a school but have no kids, we thought why work from home across from a school, when you can work from home at the beach,” Ms Matthews said.

“No one in our marketplace could achieve what Judi did and right from the start we said we want to take the property to auction.”

Ms O’Dea said the campaign could not have gone any better after she oversaw more than 100 groups through inspections.

“Today just shows that there are plenty of buyers out there and there's so much confidence in the market at the moment,” Ms O’Dea said.

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said it was not just the weather that Sydney turned on this weekend, as Ray White New South Wales started spring off with a bang.

“Our auction day clearance rate is sitting around 80 per cent, suggesting properties are continuing to sell under the hammer,” Mr Pattaro said.

“There’s been lots of talk around what the market may do within the next six months, however, looking at our auction metrics, it only suggests that we're heading north.

“A record July and August for the network only suggests properties are continuing to transact and we see no reason why vendors wouldn’t sell at auction in the current climate.”

In what felt like an auction State of Origin, Sydney refused to go down without a fight, and Ray White Surry Hills Directors Ercan Ersan and Shaun Stoker delivered an exceptional result as they managed the $2,350,000 sale of 87 Clarendon Road in Stanmore - $150,000 over reserve.

“We had some star power involved with this auction as Hetti Perkins (above right) - the curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney for 13 years - was the vendor of the property,” Mr Ersan (above left) said.

“The campaign was incredibly active throughout with more than 60 groups through the open homes and that translated into three registered and active bidders on the day.

“The market is red-hot right now and the buyers were two ladies from Newtown who literally saw the property for the very first time this morning. Now is the time to be selling your home.”

“This property was a deceased estate and it turned out to be an excellent result for the three beneficiaries as the highest offer we’d received prior was $1,850,000,” Mr Meadowcroft said.

“The campaign itself was really active with more than 220 enquiries and over 75 inspections - you could say it was the Goldilocks property as it was just right for families and builders.

“The Westconnex development is drawing an awful lot of buyers to this area because they know in the future they’ll be in close proximity to Parramatta and airport access, minus any traffic lights.

“The home sold for $500,000 more than the opening bid and the lucky purchaser was a builder who actually already lives in the same street.”

It was a tense auction for Ray White Oatlands Associate Director Broderick Wright as the four-bedroom home at 5 Altona Place, North Rocks sold for $1,480,000 under the hammer.

“Sellers are realising now is the time to sell and beginning to come to the market, but at the moment, our stock is quality over quantity,” Mr Wright said.

“Buyers are out there and are eager to buy and bid with confidence which is why we're seeing such strong clearance rates.”

Ray White Victoria/Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens said all eyes were on the government this Sunday for announcements around the easing of restrictions across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

"Despite the current restriction levels, the Victorian property market remains resilient and buyer demand is strong," Mr Dullens (pictured above) said.

"As evidence of this, Ray White transacted over 700 sales during the month of August across Victoria, selling in excess of $430 million worth of property - despite the state being in Stage 4 and Stage 3 restrictions for almost the entire month.

"This result shows once again that buyers remain out in force - new listings to market remain low and buyer demand is high - this is producing some excellent results for sellers.

"On the auction front, Ray White called 145 online auctions for the month of August - more than any other group across Victoria.

"This resulted in a clearance rate of 71.7 per cent, an average of 5.5 registered bidders and 3.2 active bidders per auction - some of the strongest results we’ve seen all year.

"In the coming days we'll learn how these easing restrictions will impact the real estate industry and, most importantly, our customers.

"The industry has shown an ability over the last six months to adapt to whatever the conditions and, most importantly, operate in a safe environment for our customers."

The first weekend of spring looked a little different in Melbourne today with many offices postponing their auctions for after Stage Four lockdown. However, there was still some online auction action to be had.

In the morning, Ray White Blackburn Director Peter Schenck sold 3 Allison Road (above), Mont Albert North, under the hammer from his living room. He recorded a $1,170,000 sale with five registered bidders tuning in and an audience of 70 viewers.

Mr Schenck said he was extremely happy with the result which came in well above reserve, showing that the Melbourne market is bulletproof, even in extreme lockdown.

“To have it sell for above $1 million when a week ago buyers were saying they wouldn’t pay more than $1 million is amazing,” Mr Schenck said.

“It proves that buyers are out there and auctions are the way to go to get premium results. It’s just a matter of translating this to our sellers.

“This whole pandemic has taught us to move forward with the times, it’s a bit daunting being an auctioneer talking to a camera but I'm getting used to it and I've have had three of four properties sell under the hammer online, so bring it on.”

Ray White Warrnambool agent Harry Ponting also braved the first week of spring, selling 14 Skiddaw Crescent for $357,500 online, with Ray White Auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell (above) conducting.

Mr Ponting said the three-bedroom house sold with five bidders watching while two were active.

“It was all done and dusted pretty quick to be honest, the first bid was at reserve and then it was pretty quick bidding from then on. I think they got in two bids each and then it was knocked down,” Mr Ponting said.

“It was bought by a first home buyer from out of town who recently missed out on another property so she’s absolutely ecstatic. She only viewed this one for the first time at 4pm yesterday and then came through again this morning for a look with her parents.

Mr Ponting also said they had feedback at around the $300,000 to $330,000 mark but then changed it to $330,000 to $360,000 and got a lot of interest.

“We had a few serious first home buyers and they battled away to get their finance approved throughout the week. It definitely appealed to first home buyers more than any other group,” he said.

“The market is amazing at the moment, it’s just going from strength to strength. The Warrnambool market was strong before COVID-19, but it’s continued to stay really solid during this time as well.

“Buyers are everywhere and there's not enough supply for them which is resulting in multiple bidders at properties like this one and some really good results.”

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris said they were coming off the back of a personal best month, with 111 auctions, and a week where they held an almost 80 per cent clearance rate.

“Ray White certainly has dived headfirst into the spring selling season in South Australia,” Mr Morris said.

“We had a 48 per cent market share of auction listings this week, with 21 out of the 44 auctions scheduled this Saturday brandishing the yellow flag.

“We have a preliminary clearance rate of 50 per cent, and although that's low, there's been bidding at over 91 per cent of auctions.

“The sun is out, the bidders are out, so here’s to a fantastic spring and what’s coming.”

It was a quick auction for 152-154 Bridge Road (above), Pooraka, in Adelaide’s north but the fast paced action translated into a sale that went $130,000 above reserve.

The auction attracted 19 bidders with five actively participating before selling to a local investor.

Selling for $810,000, Ray White Tea Tree Gully Sales Agent Mohit Gupta said it represented the highest sale in the entire zone on record.

“We ran a very controlled campaign and had multiple offers before the auction,” Mr Gupta said.

“There was interest at all different levels and we followed the process and created as much competition as possible to achieve a great result.

“The beauty of auctions is they maximise the competition rather than putting a price cap on the property. We’ve had some very successful auctions in the last couple of weeks.”

Showing that it was never too early to get involved in the housing market, the winning bidder of 5 Austral Avenue, Clearview was only 16-years-old.

Bidding on behalf of his dad with permission from Mr Morris, who conducted the auction, the real estate rookie bought the property for $483,000.

Ray White Norwood Sales Agent Tristian Kennedy said while the teen took cues from his dad, he did not let any weakness show as he countered each offer.

“It was definitely a first for me but it’s a good introduction to the real estate market. He didn’t hesitate and looked like he was loving the experience. His dad is planning to develop the block,” Mr Kennedy said.

Mr Kennedy added that the under the hammer sale came off the back of a good campaign.

“Inspection numbers were light but I wasn’t concerned because I knew there were a lot of buyers out there who had missed out on other properties similar to this that would turn out on the day,” he said.

“We’re finding that development sites are going crazy at the moment so a good site like this with all the government grants available would likely be snapped up at auction.

“It’s the best sales method because it’s unconditional, in a transparent forum, and is in the best interest of my vendors.”