Buyer demand remains strong at auction

THIS time last year we were deep in the pandemic and many Australians were worried about the property market outlook.

Fast forward a year and while some metrics are beginning to slightly soften as the market goes its annual winter hibernation, we can safely say the property market has surpassed all of last year’s dire predictions.Ray White’s auction data from last year shows the market today not only recovered but excelled and reached some historic highs.On the fourth weekend of May last year, the Ray White clearance rate was 60 per cent while average registered bidders were 4.8 and active bidders were at 2.8. But what was most concerning was the number of auctions, there were 134 scheduled last year while 33 per cent did not make it to auction day.In contrast this weekend, the Ray White Group recorded an 78 per cent clearance rate, 5.2 average registered bidders and 3.3 active bidders across 398 scheduled auctions. The auction method has proven itself over the past year as buyers flood the market and Ray White sellers have seen an average 12.54 per cent extra on their sale price when they go all the way to auction day in comparison to the highest offer prior.May has proven similar to the last few months where listing authorities were up on the last two years as sellers rush to capitalise on a hot market. There have been 3,881 listing authorities to date in May with Ray White while in 2020 the number sat at 3,188 and in 2019 it was 3,451.Buyers are still everywhere and anywhere, mirroring the trend of last year. This month, loan pre-approvals numbers were still well up compared with the last two years by 62 per cent on 2020 and 124 per cent on 2019.Ray White New South Wales chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said buyer demand remains strong, especially within affordable areas.“Properties that are desirable and in great locations continue to shine,” he said.“The upper end of the market between $3 million to $5 million, and $5 million plus remains the strongest it has been, while family homes also remained popular.“You can see the real cautiousness within the market where buyers really need to see competition to engage in the auction.“Buyers are suggesting they are seeing more stock within the market and feel at ease if they miss out on auction day.”Mr Pattaro started off the day at a beautiful character home in Dulwich Hill. No 15 Abergeldie St sold for $2.4 million under the chief auctioneer’s hammer after bidding began at $2.2 million.Ray White Petersham selling agent Luke Northcott said the three registered bidders came to compete today but in the end it was a young couple who claimed the keys.Mr Pattaro then moved on to Ray White Rockdale agent Nicholas Economos’ three bedroom Federation home listing at 38 Forest Road, Arncliffe. The home sold for above expectations for $1.25 million to an audience of four registered bidders with all actively participating. The buyer had been looking to buy in the area for a while and decided today was his day after continuously missing out.

Ray White Woollahra | Paddington principal Randall Kemp came in with the top sale of the day across the group, selling 292 Edgecliff Rd, Woollahra for $5.35 million under the hammer.

The second top recorded sale today also came from Sydney where Ray White Touma Group agent Roger Wardy sold 10 Eastern Ave, Kensington for $4.2 million. All four registered bidders threw their hat in the ring with bidding kicking off at $3.2 million. The sellers, who are downsizing, are thrilled to be able to pass it onto another family looking for their forever home.Mr Wardy said despite the market coming back a bit in the last two weeks, good quality stock was still achieving premium prices.“The start of this year went off and a lot of sellers rushed to the market to capitalise on the demand,” he said.“Obviously, buyers have become a bit more reserved as they see prices going up but at the same time people are still happy to pay for something that they are planning to stay in for the long term.”In Marrickville, Ray White Surry Hills director Ercan Ersan said the strength of the market showed at the auction of 20-22 Surrey St which sold for $3.41 million.An ambitious bidder opened the auction with a $3.1 million bid in the hopes of knocking out their competition. The tactic may have worked on two of the registered bidders but the other three were undeterred until eventually the original bidder dropped out. Holding his cards close, the winning bidding swooped in at the last minute with the final bid. The Sydney local was attracted to the two titles and plans to build to sell on one side and reside on the other block. The sale was bittersweet for the vendors (pictured above) who were selling their late brother’s home.“It just goes to show the strength of the market. Houses of this calibre very rarely hit the market which drove demand even higher,” Mr Ersan said.“Compared to this time last year there are more active bidders and even bidders themselves aren’t focused on owner expectations and price guides - it’s more about what they’ll pay against the competition.”Mr Ersan sold seven from seven today which also included the sale of 210 Belmont St, Alexandria for $1.91 million and 104C Wells St, Newtown for $1.76 million.

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said it’s been an incredible week of auction with some outstanding results coming from a huge number of registered bidders.“Our average number of registered bidders continues to remain consistent in 2021 with so many buyers that want to get their hands on property that have got themselves in the position to bid on a cash unconditional basis at auction,” he said.“We're seeing sale prices that are just absolutely moving through the roof, which is a result of getting these buyers in competition, taking it to auction rather than doing the deal earlier in the campaign.“We do see sales that happen off market or early in auction campaigns where the seller decides to take that offer, but overwhelmingly the evidence is when we actually go through the process we take these buyers, we put them in competition with other buyers in a similar position, that's when we're going to be able to get the best outcome.”In Brisbane, leading principal Matt Lancashire of Ray White New Farm had an outstanding Saturday of auctions and recorded one of the highest Ray White sales of the day in Bulimba.Early in the morning, fellow principal Haesley Cush donned his signature broad brim hat to call the auction of 32 Bulimba St, Bulimba for Mr Lancashire. The luxe five bedroom home was knocked down for $4.01 million in front of a huge crowd of avid onlookers and six registered bidders.Later at 33 Rosina St, Kangaroo Point, Mr Lancashire helped a family say goodbye to their home of nearly 100 years. The bidding began at a humble $500,000 and quickly made its way up to the sale price of $1.17 million which was bid by a young couple who saw off nine other bidders to get the prize.Mr Lancashire said interest rates are low and there’s more people in the market creating competition for buyers.“No one knows where the market will end. Brisbane has so much infrastructure coming and with the Olympic bid as well that’s a really encouraging factor,” he said.

“The prestige market is performing particularly well. The demand from people looking for high end properties is incredible.

“I used to say that prestige was $2 million but now it’s $5 million plus. The amount of sales we’re transacting now that are above that $5 million range is just unheard of.”Ray White Ascot agent Damon Warat was also busy this morning, selling 22 Upper Lancaster Rd for $3.36 million (pictured above) to the opening bidder who started the auction with a $1.8 million bid. The auction attracted multiple registered buyers and a huge crowd of around 60 people.“People are optimistic about the future and that the Brisbane market will continue to run how it’s been running over the last six months,” Mr Warat said.“Internal migration has been stronger than ever and I think a lot of corporate and executive workers have realised they can live and work anywhere, they no longer have to work from the hubs of Sydney and Melbourne for their business.“Activity and the number of buyers are tenfold compared to this time last year, particularly in the prestige market.”Mr Warat had been heavily involved over the last 18 months assisting the owners with the design and the full renovation of the Ascot dream home. The seller originally bought the property from his father with plans to renovate and resell while the buyers were a local family.

Ray White Victoria | Tasmania chief auctioneer Matthew Condon said today's beautiful Melbourne weather was perfect for auctions, bringing crowds and bidders out in force.“Preliminary data from the Ray White Group revealed yet another increase in the average number of registered bidders,” he said.“It is clear that there's still more demand for property than supply. Competition at auctions started strong today that increased even further once properties were announced on the market and selling.“Despite recent talk of a cooling market, Ray White Victoria continues to see consistent and exceptional results, week after week, with the demand for quality properties still outstripping supply.“Market conditions remained conducive towards sellers, achieving a premium price.”Peter Wootton, brother of agricultural giant Mark Wootton, was busy today with his auction at 21 Blackwood St, Carnegie (pictured above). Ray White Carnegie selling agent Josh Hommelhoff sold the unusually shaped 1923sqm property for $3.75 million - well above reserve.“While the auction was slow to start, with a $3 million vendor bid, it gained momentum from there as all five registered bidders joined in,” Mr Hommelhoff said.“All the bidders were families wanting to secure their dream home including the winning buyer.”Selling for a massive $406,000 above reserve, 27 Diane Cres, Viewbank was a hit at auction this morning. The three bedroom home was knocked down at auction for $1.401 million through Ray White Macleod agent Brett Schembri.It seems the knockout bid was a popular tactic today with one bidder trying to scare the competition with an opening bid of $1.1 million. Of the six other registered bidders, only two were game to keep up and the property sold to a couple who had fallen in love with the house and the area. Meanwhile, the seller, who originally built the house about 50 years ago, is moving on to a smaller property.Mr Schembri said family homes have been particularly popular in his local market at the moment and is shocked by the difference a year makes.“The numbers and confidence we are seeing this year is in stark contrast to this time last year. The level of competition out there hasn’t been seen since 2017,” he said.“The office is about to have a personal best month and if you’d said that to me last year I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s amazing to see how quickly the market has bounced back.”The buyer of 21 Willow Ave, Glen Waverley was relieved to end her property search after weeks on the hunt for a new home. The four bedroom home sold for $1.77 million through Ray White Glen Waverley agent Belinda Van Suylen this morning. Ms Van Suylen said the auction, which attracted five registered bidders, was quite emotional for the vendors who are now moving into their retirement home.

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said there were great numbers yet again in South Australia for the Ray White Group.“Market share has grown this year to about 32 per cent of all auctions within South Australia, that's up from 27 per cent last week,” he said.“The figures from last week again were very impressive. 91 per cent of all auctions had bidding, there was an 83 per cent clearance rate, we have 6.7 bidders per auction and 41 auctions last week.“This week we had 40 auctions. Seven were during the week, all seven of those have sold with 9.3 bidder registrations per auction and 5.1 of them participating.“Every auction I've had today has had bidding and every auction has sold. The average registered bidders for my auctions so far is about nine, which is absolutely fantastic and everything's selling at or above reserve.”Topping the leaderboard for most registered bidders at auction today is Ray White Glenelg agent Nick Beneke. The Adelaide agent had 35 registered bidders plus families at his morning 6 Tandanya Ave, Grange auction today. The three bedroom home was in hot demand, selling for $1.11 million under the hammer. Mr Beneke said he knew the auction was going to go well but was pleasantly surprised by how well it actually went.“We had good interest throughout the whole campaign with a lot of families coming through looking to upsize,” he said.“We had every type of buyer through from families wanting to live in it as in, others wanting to do a big renovation and some that were thinking of knocking down the house and rebuilding.”Mr Beneke added that it was the biggest auction result of the suburb for the year and the most registrations he’d ever received.“The owners are gobsmacked. After last year where we were the most unsure we’ve ever been we are now in the best selling market on record. It’s unprecedented.“I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many people wanting to buy property, the demand is ridiculous.”The sellers built the home 56 years ago but are now planning to downsize closer to family while the buyers (pictured above) have a new family home.”Meanwhile, Ray White Norwood agent Ryan Stapleton has welcomed investors back into the market after selling 8 Liberman Rd, Para Hills for $434,000. After some solid interest throughout the campaign, nine registered bidders attended the auction with an investor placing the winning bid.