Auction wrap from around the grounds

BIDDERS were out in force on the weekend as buyers looked to snag the ultimate end of financial year buy across Ray White's 263 auctions scheduled around the nation.

The leading auction group booked a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 62.7 per cent nationally, with 34 people attending each auction on average. On another positive note, the group's data recorded 3.6 registered bidders per auction. Some 10,555 attended our auctions last week in total.

Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said first home buyers continued to swarm into the property auction arena.

"Obtaining finance may still be a hold-up for some, but we're certainly seeing higher engagement from this sector," Mr Pattaro said.

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"It's evident from high auction attendance and clearance rates that well-price properties and properties in desirable locations are still performing significantly better than the remainder of the market."

And NSW's glorious Elizabeth Bay was the scene for the highest under the hammer sale of the week, with 8/12-16 Billyard Avenue (pictured below) selling for $3,815,000.

"This property generated a lot of interest throughout the campaign with more than 100 groups coming through the open homes," Ray White Elizabeth Bay Principal Ian Campbell said.

"There's a shortage of stock at the moment, and when you combine that with increased buyer confidence since the election, it makes sense that open home numbers and auction clearance rate numbers are up.

"The buyers will be moving in to the property and loved the convenience of being able to walk in to the city or take the ferry."

And in the space of just a few minutes, Sydney had its second home sell under the hammer for more than $3M.

Ray White Lower North Shore Senior Sales Advisor Desiree Hough said the property at 23A Glenview Street in Greenwich, that sold for $3,025,000, was perfect for the buyer.

"This sale is a prime example of knowing what buyers want and matching them to the perfect property within their budget," Ms Hough said.

"The couple that bought the property had been looking for two years and when I came across this property, I knew it ticked all the boxes for them.

"We had five active bidders competing (pictured below) on the day and they all loved the property being less than 10 years old, in a great location and built over three levels in contemporary style."

The NSW success story continued in Epping, where 2 Leicester Street (pictured below) sold under the hammer for $1,382,000, under the guidance of Ray White Epping Agent James Kwon.

"This is a really lovely family home in a quiet street, is north facing and has had a lot of renovations done to it, with a good-sized yard for the kids,” Mr Kwon said.

“After having 130 groups through the door, we were able to achieve a sale price $82,000 over the vendor’s reserve, so both buyer and seller are very happy.

“We had 55 people watch as three active bidders battled it out, with a family currently living in Hong Kong purchasing the property as an investment, to then live in.

“The competition that an auction creates and the post-election confidence is a great tonic for people looking to sell their homes right now.”

The positive feeling carried on across the state, where Ray White Petersham Director Nicholas Arena sold 9 Perry Street (below) in Marrickville for $1.22M, $80,000 over the reserve price.

“We’re still seeing and feeling the post-election bounce in the market with inner-city Sydney in particular continuing to show strength,” My Arena said.

“We had 126 inspections throughout the campaign and the bidding was really competitive between the three registered bidders.

“Bidding started at $950,000 and the final sale price of $1.22M was $80,000 over the reserve so both buyer and vendor are very happy.

“This particular market will only go from strength to strength, and with so much more confidence and positivity back in the market, buyers are feeling good about bidding at auction.

“There’s such a buzz in the inner-city and so much diversity with great restaurants, eateries and bars. It really is a great place to live and offers a great access point to everyone.”

Not wanting to miss out, Redfern in NSW provided Ray White Touma Group Principal Charles Touma with an over-reserve sale of $1.32M at 87 Boronia Street (below).

“There’s no doubt the market has seen a post-election injection in confidence, and although that honeymoon period has eased a little, there’s no substitute for a well-priced and well-presented property,” Mr Touma said.

“We had more than 100 groups throughout the campaign and that culminated in seven registered bidders, with four of them pushing the sale price up to $1.32M.

“Having an architect as an owner, the property had been renovated to a very high-end finish and was fantastically well designed.

“It’s in the perfect place being on the cusp of Surry Hills, backing on to a really nice reserve, and was bought by a Sydney couple.”

In Gladesville, some 28 bidders registered for the auction of 35 Bridge Road, North Ryde which ended up selling for $1.632 million. Ray White Gladesville agents Barrie Brown and Monica Carollo said it was the first time the property had sold in 64 years. "The whole parcel of land was originally was passed down in the family and it took four years to build the house in 1951 and the family lived in the same garage during the build. It was so sought after as it's a nice level block of land that's bigger than normal at 827sqm. The market's certainly changed a bit since the election, and one of the first bidders tried to put a big bid to try scare the others off," Mr Brown said, who ran a "textbook auction campaign" with 90 couples through during the campaign.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said the week had seen the Victorian property market perform exceptionally well.

"It's been another confident post-election week, especially when you look at the strong average number of active bidders per auction," Mr Condon said.

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"When properties are hitting the market and announced as selling, more often than not, we're seeing competition past that point."

And it was a positive day in particular for Ray White Carnegie Sales Consultant | Auctioneer Tom Grieve who successfully sold two properties under the hammer.

49 Holywood Grove (above) in Carnegie sold for $925,000 and the hammer fell at $392,250 at 1/9 Sydney Street (below) in Murumbeena.

"Because the weather wasn't looking great we had to move the auction for Holywood Grove inside, which made for a more intimate setting," Mr Grieve said.

"The starting bid was $700,000, and 29 bids later the hammer fell at $925,000, which is not surprising given the interest we had throughout the campaign.

"This is the best street in Carnegie and the buyers were delighted to snap up what is their first ever purchase in Melbourne, having been in Sydney.

"Sydney Street was a first home buyer's paradise, and that showed as four of the five active bidders were looking for their first property.

"Without doubt we've seen a jump in inspection numbers since the election and the rate cuts and people simply confident enough to bid again."

Over in Burwood, it took a massive 50 bids for 10 College Way (below) to sell, as Ray White Burwood Senior Sales Executive Kenneth Kong led the eventual $941,000 sale.

"We had more than 150 groups through during the campaign and more than 100 people turned up to watch six registered bidders battle it out," Mr Kong said.

"The bidding started back at $700,000 before jumping straight to $800,000 with the second bid and then it ignited all the way to its $941,000 sale price.

"The last time a property was sold in this particular road was back in 2015 and because it's so family orientated, once people move in, they don't want to leave."

There was another success story in Bundoora, where 12 Abelia Court (below) sold under the hammer for $621,000, $41,000 over reserve.

“This property was particularly popular with first home buyers and indeed the winning bidders and the under bidders were both in this demographic,” Ray White Bundoora Director Andrew Mizzi said.

“A strong campaign and six competing active bidders on the day meant the price pushed well above its reserve of $580,000, selling at $621,000.

“The market is looking good here with interest rate cuts and a Coalition victory still providing the nucleus for bidder confidence and positive stability for buyers.

“This is a great renovation project with hardwood flooring hiding under the carpet, a good-sized north-facing backyard and only having one previous owner dating back to 1968.”

Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said confidence continued to reign supreme in the Sunshine State with auctions having performed strongly.

"So many parties are ready to go unconditionally to bid and that shows confidence in the marketplace to participate and compete," Mr Peereboom said.

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"We've shown a real commitment this week to marketing property to the best of our ability and that has really paid off."

And it was certainly anything but "d'oh" in Bardon, as 171 Simpsons Road (below) sold under the hammer for $1.3M, a massive $260,000 over its reserve.

"The incredible thing about this particular auction wasn't just selling $260,000 over the reserve, but two of the three highest bidders hadn't even raised their paddle until the house had actually gone on the market," said Ray White Toowong Sales and Marketing Consultant Steven Tozer.

"The market has undoubtedly picked up since the election. It was a bit stagnant before that, but people are now getting back out there and are willing to put offers on the table.

"The bidding started at $750,000 and climbed a massive amount, courtesy of a huge 50 bids, all the way up to its selling price of $1.3M.

"The people that bought the house were living in Teneriffe and are going to extend the property because it's such a big block.

"I'm delighted for the buyer and the vendor and also proud as this is my highest sale by any method for Ray White."

And finally, a bit further south in Kingston, Ray White Logan City Sales and Marketing Executive Chris Liu successfully sold 34 Antares Avenue (below) for $195,000.

"This property was a renovator's dream and it was at a price that attracted a lot of first home buyers looking for a project," Mr Liu said.

"We had five registered and three active bidders with the starting bid creeping up from $160,000 to it's over-reserve sale price of $195,000.

"When you have a property like this, especially for someone looking to start a renovation empire, it will sell well in any market."