Bidders out in force across Australia

BIDDERS were out in force today across Australia as limited crowds were allowed on-site ensuring healthy clearances rate once again, according to the Ray White Group.

The leading agency, who had 44 per cent national auction market share this week, booked a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 72 per cent nationally today.

Sydney members cleared 80 per cent of all auctions held, with a whopping 9.1 registered bidders on every lot today, up 5.1 from a year ago.

Ray White Managing Director Dan White said that despite more speculation on the property market again this week, active bidder numbers rose again.

“We are not surprised by the strong activity at our auctions. Bidding activity remains well up on where we were last year,” he said.

“Congratulations to all our vendor clients that took advantage of these favourable selling conditions.”

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said the confidence within the market was 'electrifying. "Homeowners who are looking to cash in must act fast because buyers across Sydney auctions were out in droves," he said.

“We saw an average of nine bidders across Ray White auctions in Sydney today, an incredible 5.1 jump on this time last year and a strong clearance rate. Activity within the market has also bounced back, average crowd sizes were hovering around 30 attendees - of course keeping to our social distancing requirements."

The top sale kicked off early with Ray White Erskineville | Surry Hills | Alexandria Director Ercan Ersan and Agent Nathan Briggs selling 49 St Mary’s St, Camperdown for $1.845 million, $245,000 over its reserve.

There were 15 registered bidders, and five of them were active in the auction.

The double fronted home in a leafy pocket of Camperdown is very rare to find in this market and sold to a buyer from St Leonards.

“Confidence is very high with buyers. Once the restrictions eased and buyers could inspect property again, the heat has dialed back up as people can feel the economy is starting to move again

“I am encouraging all my vendors that now is the time as the virus hasn’t stopped the banks from are lending and money is cheap. The biggest risk to the property market is if the banks stop lending. That’s where any impact will come on prices.”

Vendors Christian Clark and his sister Amelia Clark today sold their late father’s estate.

“We couldn’t be happier with the campaign run by Ercan Ersan and the outcome. He really is simply the best,” Mr Clark said.

The classic parkside semi at 51 Llewellyn St, Marrickville also sold for $1.435 million to a young first home buyer who lives in nearby Newtown. Mr Ersan said the sale sailed through its reserve set by his Melbourne-based investor.

“There were eight registered and half of them bid today. It’s been a positive day for us. The big thing for me is hardly anyone else is auctioning right now, so we haven’t stopped and taken a break like many others.”

In south west Sydney, at the end of a cul-de-sac, some 15 registered bidders vied for 5 Snapper Close, Green Valley.

Ray White Auctioneer Tim Snell (pictured above) said the five bedroom home on 701sqm - close to the M5 and M7 motorways - sold for $803,000.

“There’s definitely an air of confidence around. The simple fact is there is a lack of stock, so buyers have a lot of competition. The supply demand balance is still in favour of the vendors right now,” Mr Snell said.

“We had 15 bidders on this, and they lobbed some 25 bids and it sold above its reserve by almost $40,000.”

Ray White Green Valley Managing Director Michael Makrinakis said 79 groups of buyers had inspected the property in only two and a half weeks.

“All the bidders were locals and eight of them were active in the auction. There’s simply not that smooch stock to buy. It’s been a great week, with a lot of activity across the board and a lot more inquiries.”

In Rockdale, this flawless federation style family home at 662 Princes Highway today sold for $1.1 million after a successful marketing campaign run by Nicholas Economous and Con Economous of Ray White Rockdale.

There were 12 registered bidders in the backyard, competing to be heard over the ibis birds in the trees. There were six active bidders. Winning bidder Patricia Leung said she only started looking for a property to buy last month in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown. "I think there's good value out there now," Ms Leung said.

Ray White North Ryde agent Jason Segon today sold 71 Wicks Rd, North Ryde for $1.315 million. ‘There were 10 registered bidders - three online and seven onsite. The first bid was from an online bidder and then there were more than 35 bids. Both the winning bidder and underbidder were both locals,” Mr Segon said.

“Some 54 groups came through the property during the campaign and I issued 14 contracts during. There’s very little stock but no shortage of buyers.”

Ray White Victoria | Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matthew Condon said with the softening of restrictions in Victoria earlier this week, Ray White has seen a mixture of onsite and online auctions conducted across the weekend and some agents even opting for a combination of the two.

“This just goes to show that no matter what the auction day environment looks like, we are able to achieve exceptional results for our clients while practising correct social distancing and operating in a safe environment,” Mr Condon said.

“Based on preliminary data from the Ray White Group, it was exciting to see yet another increase in the average amount of registered bidders per auction.

“There still remains a shortage of properties available for sale, this is providing a great opportunity for anyone that is considering selling as the demand currently exceeds supply.

“Overall, it’s great to see the confidence of Victoria’s real estate market continues to increase and strengthen. Ray White Victoria is expecting a strong auction day clearance rate this week.”

(Ray White Craigieburn’s Trish Orrico and Shayla Spiteri.)

In Victoria, Ray White Craigieburn Elite Sales Consultant | Auctioneer Trish Orrico got Melbourne auctions off to a great start selling two properties before 1pm.

Confidence was high for the auction at 3 Berkshire Lane, Craigieburn which sold for $492,000 under the hammer after some competitive bidding. Ms Orrico said everyone involved is over the moon with the result.

“There were three active bidders in total which was really good, it was the buyers we were expecting and it was a battle out of the last two who got down to $1,000 bids,” Ms Orrico said.

Ms Orrico also brought down the hammer on 21 Gardner Terrace, Craigieburn which sold for $440,000 in one of the quickest auctions the Craigieburn agent has ever called.

“The auction just went off and after 10 bids the property was sold - it must have only taken about 20 minutes,” Ms Orrico said.

“It was bought by a young family, they had been on it from day one - they were thinking about buying another property but we managed to keep him on this one and they are ecstatic about the result.”

(The winning bidders of 2 Olympic Court, Glen Waverley.)

The Ray White Glen Waverley team were quick to embrace the new return to normal, selling 2 Olympic Court, Glen Waverley through an onsite auction, netting $1.317 million for the four bedroom home.

Sold through Glen Waverley Area Manager | Agent Calvin Huang the single level home attracted a massive 15 registered bidders - 10 onsite and five bidding from the comfort of their couch.

The winning bidders were locals buying the property on behalf of their mother so she could be closer to her family. Mr Huang said the lifted auction restrictions are clearly giving buyers and sellers more confidence.

“The auction campaign went well, I think buyer confidence is back in the market and I don’t think we would have had more than 15 bidders even pre-COVID,” Mr Huang said.

“There’s a big bank up of buyers who have been holding off in the last few weeks and now they’ve come back to the market in force and ready to buy.”

There was more success for Victoria after Ray White Bundoora Director Andrew Mizzi sold 225 Bell St, Coburg (pictured above) through an online auction on Saturday morning. The three bedroom home sold for $755,000 - $60,000 over reserve with three of four bidders participating.

“Throughout the campaign we had 35 groups come through for private inspections - the house does need some work so we mainly had interest from buyers happy to renovate the property,” Mr Mizzi said.

“The auction went really well, it started at $675,000 and went up in $10,000 increments until it came on the market at $695,000 and then to the sold price after 23 bids.”

Winning bidders, Samuel Cooper and Jennifer Leishman are ecstatic that they are now able to call the Coburg property home. The couple said they had begun the process of buying a year ago so they were well prepared for recent market uncertainty.

“We sorted out finances probably a few months after we first started looking, this is our sixth auction, everything we have looked at has been in the Coburg area and we finally lucked out,” the couple said.

“We got prior approvals, we went in knowing our borrowing and personal financial limits. We did our research and made sure to watch online auctions last weekend so we knew what we were stepping into.

“We’re ecstatic, it’s pretty amazing just being together at home, being in front of the computer. The adrenaline was pumping so it was nice to have that moment for ourselves without having a lot of people around.”

Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said there was an average of 3.3 registered bidders per auction this week for Ray White Queensland which was an outstanding result.

“At this point in time the clearance rate is 41.2 per cent of all the auctions conducted this week that have sold under the hammer or prior to the auction and we do have a few that are being negotiated currently,” Mr Peereboom said.

“We’re definitely seeing interest from buyers willing to compete through our online platforms still, as we make sure we’re creating the safest environment we possibly can.

“As we head into the end of May and certainly into June we’ve got a number of auctions that have been booked and volume is certainly increasing as again, in alignment with restrictions being lifted in Queensland.

“So over the next few weeks we look forward to continuing to report on the results and of course work closely with our customers to keep delivering outcomes.”

Ray White Ascot Principal Dwight Ferguson said there were seven registered bidders and they were all actively bidding on 9 Marie St, Hendra which sold for $847,500.

“We held the auction on the footpath outside our office on Racecourse Road, Ascot. We had two bidders in the crowd and five online. They were all local buyers, actively looking in the area. My seller is happy, she is over the moon,” Mr Ferguson said.

There was strong interest for 25 Vale St, Wilston which Ray White Ascot agent Ian Cuneo sold for $1.06 million.

“Buyer enquiry has doubled in the last two weeks and we hald 94 private inspections last week and we’ll hit 150 this week,” Mr Ferguson said.

“We have listed 10 properties so far this month, which is close to one a day. There’s an air of confidence in the market, and people feel safer and not so restricted.”

On the Gold Coast, Ray White Robina agent Matt Micallef sold the three bedroom villa at 2/38 Alfred, Mermaid Beach for $817,000.

“This is Mermaid Beach living at its best,” Mr Micallief said.

“We had three registered bidders and they were all active in the auction.”

The buyers are both agents at Ray White Broadbeach | Mermaid Beach.

Elly Patsis, who works at Ray White Broadbeach and her partner Conner Malan, who works nearby at Ray White Mermaid Beach, are the lucky first home buyers.

The house is just 22m away from his new office.

“It couldn’t be any more convenient! That just shows you the level of commitment I have to my work Ellie and I have been looking on and off looking for some time and I have been following this one in particular since it was listed,” Mr Malan said.

“The auction process works as I just paid $17,000 more than I wanted as Matt had created the right competition for his vendor. He’s a very good agent and we ended up in a bidding war with a Sydney-based investor.”

Mr Micallief held 19 private inspections during the four week long campaign.

“All of them were private inspections and there’s some very positive buyers in the market right now,” he said..

“There were two local bidders and one who was bidding from Sydney sight unseen.”

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris said that while there may only be 10 auctions this weekend in South Australia, Ray White is the only brand to be holding auctions in the state this Saturday.

“We do have a lot to live up to on last week’s numbers, the average registered bidders was 7.8 with 3.4 of them participating,” Mr Morris said.

“Add to this the fact that there were absolutely no auctions that didn’t have any bidding - every single auction last week had bidding, we certainly have a lot to live up to this week and I’m sure we can smash it.”

(Bidders at the Ray White West Torrens auction at 76 Rose St, Mile End.)

Ray White West Torrens Sales Agent Raffaele Spano held one of the first on-site Ray White auctions in the state at the 76 Rose St cottage in Adelaide’s Mile End. The two bedroom home sold under the hammer for $665,000 in front of nine registered bidders.

Mr Spano said he had two active bidders who battled neck and neck throughout the auction to secure the Mile End home. In the end, the winning bidders were a family originally from Western Australia who had been renting nearby.

“I’m just happy we had the chance to get back to onsite auctions - there’s no better feeling and it’s a good step towards normality,” Mr Spano said.

“Early in the week was a bit strange but then the new regulations came out and we got the roadmap to easing restrictions.

“Everyone was pretty receptive to the way we wanted to run it from the 1.5m distancing and ten people maximum, there was no blow back at all.”

Mr Spano also said the property received close to 40 private inspections and in the last week they had more than 50 groups attend multiple open houses.

The Ray White Norwood team’s decision to stay with online auctions this weekend didn’t disappoint with the office selling two properties under the hammer.

(Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris calling the Norwood office auctions.)

Norwood Sales Agent Stefan Siciliano sold the renovator’s dream at 19 Leander Crescent, Greenacres $41,000 over reserve for $525,500. Mr Siciliano said the property went to a local developer who had already purchased through the office previously.

“We had 10 registered bidders with six actively participating, the auction was competitive and capped off a good campaign so we’re really happy with the result,” Mr Siciliano said.

Fellow Ray White Norwood Agent Mannas Chan also sold the three bedroom home at 32 Hudson Ave, Rostrevor for $520,000. Mr Chan said the auction attracted five registered bidders.

“The bidding started at $330,000 and went up to $503,000 where we paused and had some private negotiations, getting it up to the sale price,” Mr Chan said.

“It was quite competitive, we had four of the five bidders active during the auction.”