Buyers across the country braved the winter chill and came in out force today, vying for their next home and bidding strongly.
Australasia’s largest property group Ray White recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 78 per cent with the standout city Adelaide, coming in at 100 per cent.
The gap between auction sale price and highest previous offer is now at record highs.
According to Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee the gap between auction sale price and highest prior offer over the past 18 months of more than 9,500 auctions suggests it's never a good idea to sell prior.
"It is particularly not a good idea now where the gap is currently at a record high of 13.1 per cent. The gap is currently highest in Perth, not surprising given how quick the market is now moving in that city," Ms Conisbee said.
After a tumultuous week with our capital cities coming in and out of lockdowns, agents had to quickly adapt to ensure their auctions still went ahead to achieve a premium result for sellers.
As Sydney entered its third week of lockdown, the online auction trend continued to grow. Sellers who chose to forge ahead with their auctions in a virtual format instead of selling prior, were rewarded with fierce bidding soaring past reserves.
Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the city saw another strong weekend of clearance rates and a high number of registered and active bidders.
“If you think the covid restrictions were getting in the way, think again,” Mr Pattaro said.
“It is our suggestion that with the low stock volume, if you are thinking about waiting then our suggestion is to come to market now,” he said.
“Those who come to market sooner rather than later will be rewarded, as opposed to waiting until lockdowns lift where there will be more competition on the market.” 
In Sydney’s inner west, 42 Pleasant Ave, Erskineville sold under the hammer for $2,211,000, smashing the reserve of $2,000,000. The online auction attracted nine registered bidders.
Ray White Surry Hills Director Shaun Stoker said the vendors were nervous, considering the property was listed immediately before lockdown kicked off, which meant no open homes.
“The whole campaign occurred through this lockdown but thanks to still being able to run strict private inspections we were able to get 34 groups through and attract 12 contracts off the back of it,” Mr Stoker said.
“The vendors were in tears after the result today,” he said.
The winning bidder was a young couple from Roseville, who are thrilled because their parents live in the same street.
“People are too scared to put their property on the market at the moment in Sydney, which means there is a huge shortage of stock and those properties that are already listed are getting a tonne of attention,” Mr Stoker said.
A two-bedroom entry level townhouse at 1/1 Belgrave St, Petersham sold for $1,412,000 with a huge 16 registered bidders and 40 more people tuning in to watch it unfold online.
The result was a huge win for the vendor, smashing the set reserve price of $1,270,000. The owner was selling to move onto another renovation project.
The marathon auction garnered close to 100 bids and the ultimate winner was a local young family.
Ray White Petersham director Nicholas Arena so the result was testament to the success seen recently with the online process.
“We had two weeks of open homes before lockdown hit, and our owner trusted the process of carrying the campaign through all the way to our set date,” Mr Arena said. 
The largest sale of the day was at 12 Cutler Road in Clontarf, which sold for $3,701,000.
Ray White Seaforth principal Mark Griffiths said that the winning bidders were a family who had recently relocated to the area from Bronte, and had been waiting for the right property to pop up.
“They only saw the property for the first time at 3pm yesterday!” he said.
“The vendors bought it two years ago for $2,800,000, so they were very pleased with the return of more than 30 per cent in that time frame,” Mr Griffiths said.
Mr Griffiths said that the auction was scheduled for last Saturday and they pushed it back in the hopes of lockdown lifting.
“As soon as we heard that the lockdown was extended, we stayed strong and pushed ahead. The online auction process is really easy, and our auctioneers now have it down pat,” he said. 
In the Sunshine State, Brisbanites donned their masks and came out in force after being released from last week’s lockdown.
Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft said crowd numbers were significant today, even in the cold and windy weather in Brisbane.
“All four of the properties I auctioned today sold under the hammer, and every property had had at least 100 people in attendance, of course masked up and socially distanced,” Mr Croft said.
Agent Tamara Lee from Ray White Ashgrove had two great successes in Brisbane’s inner north today. To kick off, 20 Plant St, Ashgrove sold for $1,560,000. The result was a massive $210,000 above reserve.
Some 16 registered bidders turned up in their masks, and the winning bidder was an investor who eventually plans to move into the home.
“We had a tonne of interest from young executive couples for this property, and the vendor was absolutely speechless with the huge interest on the day,” Ms Lee said. 
Ms Lee then went on to sell 15 Victoria St, Kelvin Grove for $937,000, smashing the reserve of $820,000.
The auction saw 12 registered bidders, with eight of those strongly participating.
“The winning bidders were a young first home buyer couple, who moved back from overseas seven months ago and have been trying to buy ever since. We are absolutely thrilled for them,” Ms Lee said.
The sellers were a large Italian family, who were incredibly emotional and had “tears flowing” as the hammer fell down.
Another hotly-anticipated auction was of 27 Gladstone St, Indooroopilly, which sold for $2,200,000 after 11 registered bidders battled it out.
Ray White Toowong Principal Kris Matthews said the home had a rich history, after well known Brisbane artisan builder Bill Brown spent 40 years renovating it to perfection.
“Bill bought the small cottage in 1988 and paid $85,000 for it,” Mr Matthews said.
The auction drew a huge crowd, and the final winning bid came from a family who lived in the same street and were wanting to upgrade to the beautiful home.
“The market is incredibly strong, 12 months ago we would not have seen a result like this. It really is going from strength to strength and we are seeing no signs of a winter cool down,” Mr Matthews said. 
In a turn of events for Melbournites who experienced a relatively normal Saturday, Ray White Victoria / Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said excitement was in the air across the city.
“It turned into a beautiful day in Melbourne, with healthy crowd sizes at all of the auctions,” Mr Condon said.
“It really feels like the auction atmosphere has returned to the city, with noticeable bidding activity.
“We have seen a significant increase in scheduled auctions, and that increased supply was met with an even higher level of demand from buyers.
“Even with a higher aggressive bidding start at the start, there was still a healthy amount of competition with subsequent bids,” Mr Condon said.
A standout was the auction of 4 Beilby St, Moorabbin, where a house with major structural issues went under the hammer and sold for $1,300,000. Ray White Cheltenham agent and auctioneer Angela Limanis said the reserve was well under $1,000,000.
“The owners had to vacate the premises a little while ago, and we were not even allowed to enter the house physically, so this was pure land value,” Ms Limanis said.
The auction attracted eight fierce active bidders and went for 40 minutes, and the winning bidder waited until the very end to enter the race and come out on top.
“Needless to say, the owners are absolutely ecstatic and the result exceeded all of their expectations,” Ms Limanis said. 
In the city’s south east, 15 Sandford Close, Rowville sold under the hammer for $1,120,000, pushing far past the set reserve price of $940,000. A frosty and foggy morning couldn’t keep the crowd away.
Ray White Rowville agent Nick Strilakos said he took more than 50 groups through the property and three bidders were active at the heated auction.
“The vendors are absolutely wrapped. They are downsizing and this has been their family home for a long time,” Mr Strilakos said.
“The market is just fantastic at the moment. It is important for sellers to come in with educated expectations, and they will generally be well rewarded,” he said. 
Finally, one of the most outstanding results of the day was at 33 Ian Grove, Mount Waverley which sold for $1,240,000, smashing past the reserve by a whopping $360,000.
Ray White Mount Waverley managing director Courtney Matthews said the campaign attracted five bidders, who bidded fiercely.
“The amount of strong competitors at today’s auction was the key reason for its success,” Mr Matthews said.
Mr Matthews said the majority of buyers were young couples and young families, and the winning bidders were a young family wanting to get into the school zone.
“Our vendors were two brothers selling on behalf of their elderly parents, and they were absolutely wrapped,” he said.
“We sold five out of five auctions today, in a sign that Melbourne has really bounced back and that strong campaign processes will deliver strong results,” he finished. 
South Australia experienced yet another week of incredible results, with Ray White South Australia / Northern Territory Chief Auctioneer John Morris putting it down to massive bidder numbers.
“Ray White held more than 35 per cent of the auctions for the week in Adelaide, more than all the six of our nearest competitors combined,” Mr Morris said.
“Many agents are turning to in-room and midweek auctions with the weekends quickly booking out,”
“We had a whopping 12 registered bidders per auction, with lots of properties going under the hammer and selling around the whole state,” Mr Morris said. 
Brandon Pilgrim from Ray White Norwood had an incredibly successful auction at 4A Hextall Ave, Tranmere, selling for $965,000 and smashing the reserve of $850,000. The campaign attracted 30 registered bidders and a huge crowd of onlookers.
“It is a really sought after location and the opportunity to buy land here doesn’t come around too often,” Mr Pilgrim said.
“We were able to qualify the buyers and get a huge number of registered bidders to show up today, which really drove the competition,” he said.
The winning bidders were locals who are going to build on the block, and live two doors down. 
To cap off the day, Principal of Ray White Port Adelaide Nick Psarros had one of the most incredible auction results of his career at 7 Selkirk Avenue, Seaton.
The humble, original brick home sold for $1,000,000, smashing the reserve of $698,000 and attracting a huge 50 registered bidders.
“In the end, the winning bidders were a trio of son, father and uncle, who saw the potential in the corner allotment on large chunk of land,” Mr Psarros said.
“The sellers have had this home for 63 years and it was the first time ever on offer. We broke a record for a house of this kind in the suburb,” he said.
“It certainly was up there with one of the most thrilling auctions I have ever experienced.”
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