Auction activity remains high

Auction activity remains up across the board and the housing market is still functioning at a high level, with sellers taking advantage of continued buyer demand.

Ray White had 831 auctions booked this week, an increase of 44 per cent on last year.

This is the largest auction week in 2022 so far and the first week above 800 for the year.

With 483 of those on Saturday alone, Ray White reported a healthy preliminary clearance rate of 80 per cent. Adelaide was the standout city achieving a 89 clearance rate.

Buyers have more choice to choose from when buying their property but Ray White data shows there’s still good competition with 4.6 registered bidders on average.

A trend appears to be forming in vendors opting to sell prior, accepting strong offers from buyers wanting to avoid the auction day nerves.

However those who proceeded all the way through to auction day were rewarded, achieving on average 12 per cent more than the highest offer prior.

The Ray White economics team will be carefully watching the potential property outcomes from Tuesday night’s federal budget.

“There is a lot of good news - we are coming out of the pandemic and our economy is in growth mode,” Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee said.

“The bad news is that the pandemic has left us with surging inflation, increased likelihood of interest rate rises and a national debt level approaching one trillion dollars. Added to this is that 2022 is an election year - this means the budget will need to balance keeping voters happy without overspending” she said.

SYDNEY

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro labelled the Sydney auction market as “steady”.

“Auction volume is higher than it was this time last year, making it a great time to transact. With an average of four registered bidders which appears to be the new normal, sellers can take confidence that the buyers who are attending auctions are looking to secure a deal.

“Properties that are priced correctly attract competition and are still selling exceptionally well.”

43 Euston Lane, Alexandria

• Ray White Surry Hills - Ercan Ersan and Astrid Joarder

• Sold under the hammer for $2,050,000

• 9 registered bidders and four active

• Auctioneer: James Keenan, Ray White

Celebrity couple Susie Burrell, one of Australia's leading dietitians, and her radio star husband Chris Smith of 2GB today sold their urban tri-level home on the city’s fringe.

Mr Ersan said the result was fantastic for all involved.

“The campaign drew huge interest because of its practical open plan layout, modern finish, and of course being in one of the most desirable city fringe suburbs,” Mr Ersan said.

The winning bidders (pictured above) were a young couple wanting to move into the area.

704 Punchbowl Road, Wiley Park

• Ray White Punchbowl - John Yatman (pictured above with the buyers)

• Sold under the hammer for $1,080,000 - over reserve by $180,000

• Four registered bidders, three active

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer

“The feedback on this home was around the $850,000 mark throughout the campaign, so we were thrilled when bidding started at $820,000 and after nearly 100 bids it pushed to over $1million,” Mr Pattaro said.

Mr Yatman said the seller was emotional with the result, and had a wonderful experience selling her home because of a relocation to Perth.

“The buyer has been in the market for well over three years and due to the lockdowns has missed out on so many auctions so it was a fantastic result for all parties,” Mr Yatman said.

5 Glen View Avenue, Earlwood (pictured above)

• Ray White Earlwood - Dean Vasil and Kieran Gianoudis

• Sold under the hammer for $1,810,000 - above reserve by $110,000

• Five registered bidders and three active

• Auctioneer: Tim Snell, Ray White

“The most exciting part for the vendors was that the highest offer we had prior was $1,430,000, which just shows what an amazing result you can achieve by taking your property all the way through to auction day,” Mr Vasil said.

He saw 43 groups through the property throughout the campaign, with the winning bidders a couple who recently sold in nearby Kingsgrove.

MELBOURNE

With more than 260 auctions scheduled across the Ray White group in Victoria this week, the property market continues its strong run.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens said the stellar results continued to be achieved right across the board.

“We’re seeing another strong week of auction results, our preliminary clearance rate currently sits at 80 per cent. We continue to see strong demand and large crowds at auctions, with buyers out in force.”

Data across Ray White Victoria shows new listings are trending in line with the high levels of last year, despite the significant increase in listing numbers from October to December 2021.

“At the end of last year, we saw our strongest period of new listings coming to market on record. This strength in new listings has continued into the first quarter of 2022, yet we continue to see strong results achieved. This shows once again the strong demand that still exists across the Victorian property market,” Mr Dullens said.

13A Tagell Road, Heathmont

• Ray White Ferntree Gully - Matt Morris (pictured above with his parents and brother)

• Sold under the hammer for $1,180,000 - over reserve by $230,000

• 15 registered bidders, seven active

• Auctioneer: Jeremy Tyrell, Ray White

The elated sellers of this home were thrilled with today’s result, and it was quite an emotional one for Mr Morris, as the sellers were his parents.

“It was quite interesting selling for my own parents, they did their best in trusting me but it didn’t stop Mum from giving me advice!” Mr Morris jokes.

The winning bidders were a first home buyer couple, with a passing of the baton to the next generation of homeowners.

“My parents are moving into the same street, and eventually will make a green change to the country. It was quite emotional as I lived here myself, and watched my parents build the home. We had a quick celebratory champagne before I continued working for the day!” Mr Morris said.

20 Sampson Drive, Mount Waverley (pictured above)

• Ray White Glen Waverley - Darryl Wickham and Alan Zhang

• Sold under the hammer for $2,410,000 - above reserve by $310,000

• Six registered bidders and five active

• Auctioneer: Andrew Davies, Ray White

“This is the third home that I have sold on behalf of this vendor, who was actually sitting in his parents lounge room in Thailand as he watched the auction unfold!” Mr Wickham said.

“There was strong bidding from the five fierce bidders, and the winners were a lovely local blended family who had a buyers advocate representing them,” he said.

The stunning four-year-old home was popular because of its proximity to the Mount Waverley Secondary College.

QUEENSLAND

Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft said throughout the week, he saw a slight softening of the local clearance rates.

“We had been hovering around the 75 per cent for a while now, and it dropped just below 70 per cent this week, with the gap between seller and buyer expectations starting to show,” Mr Croft said.

“However, bidder numbers are still very strong at an average of five registered bidders,”

“Affordable markets such as Coopers Plains and Durack, are performing incredibly well. This week we have seen a 20 per cent increase in auction volumes for Brisbane.”

29/1 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise (pictured above)

• Ray White Burleigh Group - Mark Stafford and Andrew Rouse

• Sold under the hammer for $2,600,000

• 11 registered bidders and seven active

• Auctioneer: Mitch Palmer, Ray White

This deceased estate sale in one of the Gold Coast's most iconic buildings drew a huge amount of interest from local, interstate and international buyers.

“The building has one of the best positions on the Gold Coast, being north facing, absolute beachfront with never to be built-out views from every room,” Mr Stafford said.

“It is made up of two apartments joined together, which gives it a huge footprint,”

The winning bidder of the auction was a buyer from Sydney, and the under bidder was from Melbourne.

Ray White data shows in the last 30 days, more than 21 per cent of Gold Coast auction buyers were from interstate.

“With all the interest at the moment from interstate buyers, you really have to present the property beautifully and make the investment in cosmetic upgrades and quality staging, paired with a strong advertising campaign,” Mr Stafford said.

“The property has enduring quality - it was renovated beautifully the first time and has remained timeless,”

“We even advertised the property to buyers in New Zealand, which drew in a lot of interest.”

Mr Stafford said the auction was online only, which is something their team are focusing on to ensure they capture interest from everywhere and are not hindered by any travel restrictions.

19 Havana St, Ashgrove (pictured above)

• Ray White Ashgrove - Brigette Righton and Amy MacDonald

• Sold under the hammer for $2,141,000 - above reserve by $141,000

• 9 registered bidders and 5 active

• Auctioneer: Phil Parker, Ray White

“The winning bidder was a relocator from Canberra using a buyer's agent, and the underbidder was actually from Melbourne,” Ms Righton said.

“Last year we had so much interest from interstate buyers, but I am noticing more interest from local buyers in general at the moment,” she said.

Ms Righton said the exciting part about the day was that the highest offer prior to auction was $1,800,000, achieving a huge increase for her vendors on auction day.

50 Hawthorn Circuit, Stretton (pictured above)

• Ray White Sunnybank Hills, John Heng

• Sold under the hammer for $1,758,000 - above reserve

• Seven registered bidders and five active

“Six of the registered bidders today were owner occupied buyers, with one investor,” Mr Heng said.

“The seller built this house in 2012 and has since gone on to have a family and decided to move closer to city,”

“The winning buyers are from Rochedale and bought this house for their son to live in, who is moving back home from interstate,” he said.

Mr Heng said while some buyers appear to be cautiously ‘hanging back’, the well presented family homes are still performing well.

ADELAIDE

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris was in isolation with a bout of COVID-19 but it didn’t stop the great results and huge bidder numbers to keep rolling on in Adelaide.

“Adelaide is not only the most livable city in Australia, but it is quickly becoming the auction capital of Australia,” Mr Morris said.

“So far this year we have seen an 82 per cent clearance rate, 8.7 bidder registrations at auctions and active bidding at 96 per cent of all auctions,”

“Ray White has also retained the auction market share in South Australia, holding around 34 per cent of all auctions in the state,” he said.

6 Verran Avenue, Hilton (pictured above)

• Ray White Henley Beach - Mark Bowden and Harrison Tuck

• Sold under the hammer for $950,000

• 10 registered and eight active bidders

“The main attraction of buyers to this home was the location being so close to the city, with the surrounding suburbs growing significantly higher in price,” Mr Bowden said.

“Hilton is a really small suburb, so opportunities don’t come up very often,” he said.

Mr Bowden said all the bidders were owner occupiers, and the winning buyers were downsizers looking for something small that ticked all the boxes.

32 Turnbridge Street, Woodville South

• Ray White Adelaide CBD - Chris Xu and Andrew Downing

• Sold under the hammer for $745,500, above reserve by $45,500

• Nine registered bidders and two active

• Auctioneer: Sam Grover, Ray White

“We are thrilled for our vendors for achieving a premium price for the area, and drawing in a crowd of at least 70 onlookers today,” Mr Xu said.

“The vendor is a friend of mine from cycling, and it is actually my birthday today as well, so we have a lot to celebrate!”

CLICK HERE FOR HIGH-RES IMAGES AND AUDIO

Media Contact
Nina Clarke
Media - Ray White Group
0448 841 606
nclarke@raywhite.com