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A FEELING of confidence swept over the Australian property market last week, with buyers “out in force” as attendance numbers and clearance rates jumped dramatically, according to Ray White.
The leading auction group booked a preliminary national auction campaign clearance rate of 57 per cent on Saturday for its 259 auctions scheduled. Sydney Blue had an auction campaign clearance of 72 per cent last week, with 62 per cent cleared in Sydney Metro. Victorian members cleared 59 per cent last week, while Queensland cleared 46 per cent and Rural cleared 58 per cent. More than 12,200 people attended our auctions last week, with the average crowd size sitting at 43 people, which was considerably higher than previous weeks.
Average attendance was more than 66 people per auction in Melbourne - more than twice the yearly average of 2019. In Sydney, crowds swelled to 50 people at each auction too.
The Government’s re-election provided the kickstart, which was quickly followed up by the prudential regulator who appears to want to make it easier for people to borrow again. Now all eyes will now be on the smoke signals coming out of the central bank on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank itself has signalled the official cash rate might be cut at its next board meeting on June 4.
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Ray White NSW Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said that across Sydney the “happiness quotient” among buyers and sellers was definitely on the rise.
“Property inquiries continued to blossom this week and this was reflected in the larger attendance numbers at auctions and opens this weekend. We see this as a real positive for the market as a whole,” Mr Pattaro said.
Matthew Carvalho, Associate Director and Senior Sales Executive at Ray White Erskineville today sold 211 Bridge Road, Glebe for $1.95M in the backyard in front of a crowd of 50 people. There were five registered bidders and three of them were active. The bidding opening $1.7 million started went up in increments of $50,000s to $1.85 million and then it ricocheted in $10,000s to $1.95 million. Mr Carvalho had a huge group of 150 buyers had inspected the property during its campaign.
“It really was an extraordinary opportunity as it’s a beautiful grand terrace that has instant ‘wow’ factor with no expense spared, but it also has a self-contained one bed apartment with private entry and courtyard. This would make for an easy passive income for someone,” he said. “The fact is there’s very limited stock on the market but buyers are more confident than I have seen in a long time. The election is done and dusted and now we have a shortage of supply, so it really is a great time to sell. I think we’ll continue to see good results throughout the rest of Winter which bodes well for Spring.The market is good value now.”
But it was in the Lower North Shore of Sydney that saw Ray White’s Group top sale of the week recorded. Anthony Cowie, Ray White Cammeray licensee and director, said 273 Edinburgh Rd, Castlecrag sold for $5.3 million under the hammer on Thursday night with nine registered bidders in front of a big crowd.
“We had 100 people packed into our auction room and the vibe was electric, the best it’s been in 18 months. We put up four properties, three sold and the other is very close to being sold,” Mr Cowie said. “Confidence is back as everyone has now accepted that the bottom of the cycle is probably here and they are willing to transact. “The proof is in the pudding and we are seeing a lot of buyers from across the Eastern Suburbs, Lower North Shore and Upper North Shore, attracted to Castlecrag for its big blocks and value.
“It’s getting very busy here, and at 273 Edinburgh Rd we had 210 groups through in the campaign plus we issued 30 contracts prior to the auction. There were nine registered bidders and six of the bidders were active in the hunt for this six bedroom modernist local treasure. It’s a nostalgic modernist family home with a Palm Springs contemporary feel that has an almost a 30 metre street frontage. The house itself stretches nearly the entire width of the 1581sqm landholding,” Mr Cowie said. The house was built in 1955 as the architect's own private residence, and the current owners have lovingly held and maintained the home over the past 54 years. The new buyers are said to be lower north shore locals.
Robert Cassidy, Director of Ray White Gladesville, held a cracker of an auction today at 89 Champion Rd, Tennyson Point which sold under auctioneer James Keenan’s hammer for $2.85 million with a whopping 12 registered bidders who had come from all over Sydney. “It’’s been an incredible campaign where we issued a contract per day to buyers - some 30+ contracts were issued in total. It’s quite unbelievable how confidence has switched back on,” he said. The house was a large brick three bedroom home but the land offered a wonderful opportunity to secure a 765sqm parcel in sought after Tennyson Point with a wide 20.1m frontage which lent itself to a duplex site or great foundation to build a magnificent home.
“People are now seeing good value and they have confidence in the economy but the spike has definitely been amped up here since the election was won by the Coalition. With interest rates so low, and possibly even lower, people feel that the timing is right now as the market feels like it could shoot up again.”
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In Melbourne, Ray White Victorian and Tasmanian Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said that for the second week in a row there was “a lot of confidence” from both buyers and sellers.
“Crowds were out in force this weekend, with a huge increase in the average attendance per auction. It was also great to see that when properties were announced on the market that we were seeing a good second wave of bidding coming through,” Mr Condon said.
“Based on preliminary data, we are expecting Ray White to have a healthy clearance again this week in Victoria.”
Superstar agent Malek Younan of Ray White Gladstone Park efficiently sold this modest Westmeadows unit at 9/309 Mickleham Rd for $415,000 in front of a crowd of 40 people. “We had three registered and they were all active. It was a good sign as we had 45 people through the property, which is more than double than normal during a campaign of late," Mr Younan said. "Our office sells close to 90 per cent of all our stock under the hammer, which compared to about 60 per cent for our competitors is simply down to our process and structure.”
In Coburg, at 5 College Blvd, the crowed swelled to 80 people to watch Malek Younan sell the property under the hammer for $961,000. “There were four registered bidders and they were all active in the auction, and the buyer is a local from Northcote,” Mr Younan said. “One thing that is good is that now the election is over, it’s just one less objection from buyers. For me, I don’t have any problem getting buyers, it’s stock that is in short demand. "Winter is actually a great time for people to sell as there less competition,” he said. Mr Younan flew to the Gold Coast on Saturday night as he had been asked to speak at the Australian Real Estate Conference (AREC 2019) about his “hustle and passion”. “I am both excited and nervous at the same time but I am privileged to be asked to speak.”
In the capital, Kate Coultas of Ray White Canberra sold 15 MacNamara Pl, Chisholm for $860,000 in front of 70 people in the front yard on a crisp yet sunny day. “It was nice in the sun but still cold and we could see snow on the top of the Brindabellas,” Ms Coultas said of this immense property which attracted nine registered from all over Canberra. Seven of the bidders were active and the winning bidder was a local family. “The house is monumentally, gigantic, colossal - no-one told me once during the campaign that it was too small! This masterpiece totalling 456sqm of home,on a 1,533sqm block. I wish I had five more just like it to sell now!”
At 78 Davidson St, Higgins some 18 registered bidders turned out for the auction of this spacious family home which sold for $650,000 to a local investor. Ray White Canberra agent Micky Jacobs said there was more than 100 people in the crowd. "It was mental! We had interest from the start on this property. It always stood out from the crowd and we had 110 groups through across the campaign. It was the perfect middle ground home, which suited a lot of first home buyers. The kitchen was done and the all the extras were already done but it still has potential to add more value. In the end it was bought by an investor who was very excited about its future potential."
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In Brisbane, Ray White Ascot Principal Dwight Ferguson sold a tidy post war home at 23 Pringle St, Ascot for $1.3M to a local property builder and developer who plans to build a trophy home on the level 554sqm site.
“We had 11 registered bidders, and 10 had a go. The bidding kicked off at $900,000 and stalled at $1.275M where it was called on the market and sold,” Mr Ferguson said.
“I had 73 groups through the property during the campaign and there’s no doubt that buyer sentiment is very positive,” Mr Ferguson said.
“We have had huge groups through all our open homes today, and many of them are coming straight off our print media marketing.”
