Buyer demand is insatiable

Today’s auctions brought a huge number of bidders out and about to the streets of Australia, showing buyer confidence in the wake of the federal budget delivery.

Australasia’s largest real estate group reported a clearance rate of 73 per cent nationally, with Adelaide coming out as the top capital city, reporting a 93 per cent clearance rate.

There was an average of 4.2 registered bidders nationally, with 3.1 active bidders.

The highest sale of the day was in Brisbane for agents Matt Lancashire and Nick Mogridge, who sold 16 Bennison Street, Ascot for $6.571 million to a local family.

Ray White Collective CEO Haesley Cush said that while the month of May is often quiet, this May is showing the complete opposite in Brisbane’s prestige market.

The sale of 43 Rowe Avenue, Northfield from Ray White Adelaide City agent Sumit Khatri attracted a huge 20 registered bidders and a crowd of more than 80 people, further cementing Adelaide’s reputation as the home of high bidder numbers.

On average, sellers achieved 11.9 per cent more by taking their property through to auction day, than if they had accepted the highest offer prior.

In her assessment of the federal budget this week, Ray White chief economist Nerida Consibee highlighted the importance of “Mum and Dad” investors getting the funds required to substantially increase rental housing availability and housing supply.

This week, 42.3 per cent of those selling their properties via auction were investors and anecdotally around the grounds today, there were many investment properties changing hands.

BRISBANE

In what is becoming an ongoing trend recently, the sunshine state experienced an influx of outstanding results, and higher than normal bidder numbers.

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said that the crowds were absolutely back in force in Brisbane.

“I had a 100 per cent clearance rate with the auctions I called today, with an average of five registered bidders per auction.”

“There were a lot of people out today including many observers who were just having a look, and I would suggest that we are set to see a new wave of buyers to the market soon,” he said.

“If a vendor is priced right, they have a large market that they are able to showcase to.”

16 Bennison Street, Ascot (pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $6.571 million

• Lead agent: Matt Lancashire - 0416 476 480

• Ray White Collective - New Farm

• Eight registered bidders

• Auctioneer: Haesley Cush, Ray White

Ray White Collective CEO Haesley Cush said that the auction was absolutely thrilling, with a huge crowd and bidding kicking off at $5 million.

“The bidding rolled along quickly in $250,000 bids, and being called on the market at $6.46 million,” he said.

There were two buyers’ agents among the bidders, with one of them winning the auction and representing a local family. Haesley said that there was a mixture of local and interstate bidders.

“We are finding that buyers tend to come out of the woodwork for very special properties in well-established streets. People have ‘favourite’ homes that they would be willing to sell their homes for if they ever come to market,” he said.

“This home was designed by Shaun Lockyer and built by Tim Black, who have waitlists for approximately two years. If you buy a finished product, you are four years ahead than if you planned to build and renovate a home of this calibre.”

The team have their inaugural Auction Under the Stars event on Monday night, but Haesley said that due to the huge demand for prestige homes, eight of the 20 properties have already sold prior.

“Traditionally May is a quiet month, but it seems to be firing this year,” he finished.

144 Mein Street, Hendra (buyer pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $1.42 million

• Lead agent: Leigh Kortlang - 0400 434 244

• Ray White Ascot

• 12 registered bidders, nine active

• Auctioneer: Phil Parker, Ray White

Alexander Shean, principal of Ray White Ascot, said that the property was called onto the market at $1.31 million.

“The winning bidder was a young gentleman who will be living here, attracted to the amazing Eagle Farm track view,” he said.

“The seller was an investor from the Sunshine Coast who was offloading the property because it was surplus to her needs.”

Alexander said that properties in this ‘entry-level price bracket for Hendra’ are extremely sought-after at the moment, with 11 underbidders now looking for similar homes.

27 Sierra Drive, Spring Mountain

• Sold under the hammer for $875,000

• Lead agent: Jonathan McMahon - 0400 012 139

• Ray White AKG - Brookwater and Greater Springfield

• Two registered bidders, both active

Ray White AKG got underway this morning by selling this home with a crowd of over 20 onlookers, as the greater Springfield region surges in popularity due to the livability options.

“The market is experiencing a flywheel effect with the momentum from earlier this year, creating more momentum now,” Director Avi Khan said.

“We are seeing record prices across the Brisbane region and record numbers of attendees and active bidders. Buyers are showing more confidence and with the end of the financial year approaching, investors are looking to purchase before the year is out,” he finished.

1110/289 Grey Street, South Brisbane

• Sold under the hammer for $775,000

• Lead agent: Roxanne Liu - 0421 825 557

• Ray White AKG

• Three registered bidders, two active

Roxanne said that the winning bidder is planning to move into the unit, and that the price broke the one-bedroom record for the complex.

“The campaign attracted inquiries from across Australia, as lifestyle apartments with amenities close to the city are very attractive to a wide variety of buyers,” she said.

SYDNEY

Ray White New South Wales state auctioneer Perry Edmondson-Clark said that it was a balanced week of results for the group, recording 231 auctions, a sharp increase of 25 per cent compared to last year.

“All of our data shows that registered bidder numbers remain steady in the 3’s and there is ample demand for properties positioned correctly in the market,” he said.

“Auctions continue to provide the platform for sellers to make informed decisions after 21-30 days of exposure to the market. The sellers who accept that auction day has presented the market’s best price are being rewarded, while those gambling more money post auction may struggle to see the same offer again.”

71 Virgil Avenue, Chester Hill (pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $1.368 million

• Lead agent: Jordon Le Breux - 0414 585 364

• Ray White Bankstown

• 14 registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: Tony Romanous, Ray White

Agent Jordon Le Breux said that the winning bidder was a local who lived around the corner, and that they will ultimately hold it as an investment.

“They are planning to build a granny flat to add rental value to the property. This home is right near the train station and it is a good help for the tight rental market,” he said.

The sellers are moving to Carlingford to be closer to family.

“The market is very strong here, I have had a lot of auctions selling above expectations. We had 24 bidders at an auction last week and are generally seeing huge bidder numbers,” Jordon said.

11 West Hill Place, Green Valley

• Sold under the hammer for $1.5 million ($350,000 above reserve)

• Lead agent: Michael Makrinakis - 0414 746 461

• Ray White Green Valley

• Nine registered bidders, six active

• Auctioneer: Perry Edmondson-Clark, Ray White

Agent Michael Makrinakis said that there is very limited stock in the area, and a large single story home in a cul-de-sac is always very sought after.

“The winning bidder was a gentleman from Oatley, and he bought it to retain it as an investment. It is tenanted now; the sellers built the home 30 years ago and they have sold to enjoy retirement.” Michael said.

“This result shows high demand and strong buyer activity. The feedback throughout the campaign was around $1 million, so this is truly an incredible result.”

MELBOURNE

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said that auction volume across the Ray White Victoria network exceeded 200 for the seventh consecutive week, as buyer confidence returned and clearance rates soared to new heights.

“This week the overall clearance rate skyrocketed to 95 per cent, with the average active bidder count at 3.1 across the 204 scheduled auctions,” he said.

“Buyer confidence may be up following the federal budget announcement; it was clear that buyers were out and about with reports of bidder numbers pushing into double digits across some of our auctions.”

“Overall, there are some locations and price points that are outperforming other areas, however one thing is for certain - if the buying market sees value, they're there in numbers.”

“Loan Market data shows that housing loan pre-approvals are up 79.88 percent year on year, meaning there are more buyers in the market than the preceding 12 month period. Should listing volume begin to decline into the winter months, it may be a little warmer for sellers than the weather suggests!”

13 Thomas Street, Clayton

• Sold under the hammer for $1.7 million

• Lead agent: Peter Liu - 0451 367 278

• Ray White Oakleigh

• Four bidders

• Auctioneer: Jonathan Eaves, Ray White

Agent Peter Liu said that the winning bidder was a buyer who was actually bidding online from Greece; they had family in attendance at the auction and will be keeping the home as an investment.

“This auction was thrilling, with bidding starting at $1.3 million and rising in $100,000 increments,” he said.

“The seller is a family who bought this house in the 70s, and they wanted to sell before the new capital gains tax regulations came into effect.”

19 Crown Close, Oakleigh East (pictured above)

• Sold under the hammer for $800,500 ($100,500 above reserve)

• Lead agent: Leigh Kelepouris - 0422 283 480

• Ray White Oakleigh

• 5 bidders

• Auctioneer: Robert Cincotta, Ray White

Agent Leigh Kelepouris said that the winning bidder was a young first home buyer, who had missed out on a few auctions and had brought his friend along to help him bid

“I sold this home to the sellers in 2015, and they are upsizing to a bigger property a little further out of town,” Leigh said.

“There was a home in the same complex that sold two weeks ago for $665,000 which shows that you need to style a home beautifully and make sure that the presentation is immaculate.”

“The market is very hard to pick at the moment. Some auctions are firing, and some are only just selling. We have found that styling homes well makes for much better results.”

ADELAIDE

Ray White South Australia’s chief auctioneer John Morris said that the market in their state has been one of the most consistent across the country

“Everytime it looks like there is going to be an adjustment of sorts, we are again surprised by the amount of bidders that turn up and the phenomenal clearance rates,” he said.

“This year so far, our clearance rate is on average about 83 per cent with seven registered bidders per auction

“Last week our clearance rate was almost 90 per cent. 12 of the 13 auctions I have called so far this week have sold. It is like nothing I have seen for many years,” John finished.