Grand final day delivers auction blockbuster

Ray White New South Wales state auctioneer Perry Edmondson-Clark said it had been a strong weekend of auction volume, with 210 auctions scheduled today and 400 over the last seven days, up over 30 per cent compared to last year.

“What does 30 per cent more availability of stock mean for the market? It means that buyers have more choice and are being a lot more conscious of the prices they offer,” he said.

“A-grade properties are still certainly seeing the most competitive bidding and competitive results. Less desirable properties are certainly having more reluctance from buyers, due to the uncertainty around the market and factoring costs to do upgrades,” he said.

25 Bangalla St, Warrawee

• Sold under the hammer for $9.2 million (reserve was $8 million)

• Six registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Michael Dempsey (0404 353 451)

• Ray White Upper North Shore

The winning bidders of this grand estate were a young family, who already lived in Warrawee and were upsizing.

Agent Michael Dempsey said the family love the area and particularly the schools.

“The appeal of this home was its proximity to schools, huge size, beautiful view over Gillespie Fields,” Mr Dempsey said.

The sellers, who have been there for 30 years, have decided to downsize to Barangaroo.

“They are still in shock with the result.”

Mr Dempsey said that a crowd of over 60 came to watch and the 120 groups through the three-week campaign shows demand at the moment.

“This high end market is transacting well, and this auction proves that. There is always a big demand for spectacular properties regardless of price point.”

2 Karoo Ave, East Lindfield

• Sold under the hammer for $4 million

• Three registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: Jessica Cao (0466 877 260)

• Ray White Upper North Shore

Ms Cao said that the buyers were from Melbourne, and had recently relocated to Sydney and were renting until they found their dream home.

“The sellers were locals who have been in the area for a very long time and are moving on,” she said.

“The market is very strong in general. We have auctions every week which are selling. Even today, having just three bidders vying for one property creates competition.”

3/53 Glenayr Avenue, North Bondi

• Sold under the hammer for $2.6 million

• Nine registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Ty Demirezen (0422 577 720)

• Ray White Eastern Beaches

• Auctioneer: James Hayashi, Ray White Eastern Beaches

Mr Demirezen said that the winning bidder was a young couple from overseas; they are expats and have been living in Qatar.

The sellers were a young family who outgrown the property and are upsizing. They provided the seller with a beautiful letter about their time at the unit.

“We showed the letter to buyers and had it on display at the property, and gave people copies to take away with them,” he said.

“This property was an outlier in a tricky market currently. Unique homes are selling really well,” he said.

36 & 36a Carpenter St, Colyton

• Sold under the hammer for $1.4 million

• Eight registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Eli Alkassar (0451 019 524)

• Ray White Diamantidis Group

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White NSW|ACT

The sale of this double brick home with a granny flat set the suburb record, the highest price for a house in the Western Sydney suburb of Colyton.

“The winning bidder was an investor, and he was particularly motivated as his best friend owns the house next door,” Mr Alkassar said.

“The sellers are looking to relocate suburbs and $1.4 million was their dream price, so there were lots of celebrations amongst the crowd after the auction.”

10 Crimson Street, Ashbury

• Sold under the hammer for $1.755 million (reserve was $1.550 million)

• 13 registered bidders, seven active

• Lead agent and auctioneer: Sebastian Bonaccorso

• Ray White Elevate Group

This house was on the market for the first time in 90 years. “The vendor is moving on to a nursing home, and the children were selling the home on her behalf after having it for three generations,” Mr Bonaccorso said.

“The winning bidders were a husband and wife, living locally and wanting to buy a home that they could renovate.”

Mr Bonaccorso said it had been a great campaign, with over 100 buyer inspections throughout the open homes.

“This was one of those special time-capsule homes that needed renovation but still in good condition.”

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said the streets were alive with the AFL grand final week in Melbourne.

“The biggest competition this Saturday will be at the MCG between the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans, as real estate takes a backseat this weekend with auction volume dropping by more than half in our state,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“That said, the Ray White network had 137 auctions scheduled for the week, with more than 60 percent being conducted midweek as opposed to Saturday.”

“74 auctions were conducted during the week with a clearance rate of 72.8 percent and the strongest active bidding count this year, of 2.9 on average.”

“Key in-room auction events for Ray White at Melton and Taylors Lakes saw more than 30 properties go up for auction and clearance rates in excess of 80 percent.”

“Moving past the Grand Final, auction volume starts to explode with 269 scheduled next week, as we kick off the second stage of the spring market in the lead up to the Melbourne Cup in November,” Mr Tyrrell said.

12 Wrigley Crescent, Roxburgh Park

• Sold under the hammer for $660,000

• Four bidders

• Lead agent: Ramazan Yavuz (0452 555 333)

• Ray White Craigieburn

• Auctioneer: Trish Orrico, Ray White

Mr Yavuz said the buyers and sellers essentially did a city swap, with the winning bidders being a young couple moving from Sydney for affordability, and the sellers moving to Sydney for the warmer weather.

“You almost couldn’t buy a carpark for this price in Sydney, so the buyers were thrilled with what they were able to buy in Melbourne,” he said.

“I am selling everything that I list at the moment; this market requires accurate pricing and vendor management. The auction method will prove a property's worth in the most transparent way to the vendor.”

3 Suffolk Grove, Mulgrave

• Sold under the hammer for $1.07 million

• Six bidders

• Lead agent: Rick Cheah (0434 085 265)

• Ray White Glen Waverley

• Auctioneer: Andrew Davies, Ray White

The winning bidders for this three-bedroom home were a young first home buyer couple. “The sellers are upsizing, building a house in the surrounding area. They were first home buyers 10 years ago,” Mr Cheah said.

“This property was really well received throughout the campaign, and even though it was on a main road, it was presented well. The sellers invested in fully painting the home, installing new carpet and staging furniture,” he said.

26 Moresby Avenue, Bulleen

• Sold under the hammer for $1.182 million (reserve was $1.05 million

• Seven bidders

• Lead agent: Tim Milaki (0413 336 177)

• Ray White Ferntree Gully

Mr Milaki said that the winning bidder of this tidy family home was an investor.

“The location was the number one appeal of this property, close to schools, shopping centres and the Koonung Creek Trail,” he said.

“It was on the market previously with another agency, and the contract unfortunately fell over. The transparency of the auction process is the best thing for buyers and sellers; in my experience, nobody can walk away unhappy.”

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said it was a fairly indifferent day on the auction front, with rain bucketing down on Brisbane.

“The weather doesn't stop the genuine buyers from coming out and participating in auctions, albeit it does impact onlooker crowd numbers,” Mr Croft said. “Many bidders were out and about wearing their Brisbane Lions jerseys today, ready for the big game.”

“Average registered bidders seem to be slightly down, hovering between three and four at our auctions today. However, we still had great bidder numbers in emerging suburbs like Logan Central, and more established suburbs like Moorooka.”

29 Vendale Street, Moorooka

• Sold under the hammer for $1,220,000

• Five registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Michael Nolan (0406 267 089)

• Ray White West End

• Auctioneer: Gavin Croft, Ray White QLD chief auctioneer

Mr Nolan said the winning bidders for this parkside bungalow were a local couple upsizing from townhouse.

“The sellers are relocating to northern New South Wales,” he said.

Speaking of the current market in his area, Mr Nolan said that open home numbers have been very strong.

“Winter was extremely strong this year, particularly in Brisbane. There is a lot more stock on the market, which means buyers have more of a choice and can choose more carefully.”

48 Derwent Avenue, Upper Mount Gravatt

• Sold under the hammer for $1.420 million

• 16 registered bidders, six active

• Lead agent and auctioneer: James Austin (0425 890 657)

• Ray White Mt Gravatt

The winning bidders of this renovated family home were a young couple relocating from the west side of Brisbane. Mr Austin said the buyers didn’t expect to win the auction today, and were thrilled when the hammer fell in their favour.

“The seller bought it as an original home, completed a huge renovation and now is having a seachang to the coast,” he said.

“The market is great in our area, with huge open home numbers and getting between 10-20 registered bidders per auction. Our clearance rate is sitting at around 90 per cent,” Mr Austin said.

3 Karri Avenue, Logan Central

• Sold under the hammer for $757,000 (reserve was $730,000)

• Eight registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Isaac Turner (0433 263511)

• Ray White Logan City

• Auctioneer: Gavin Croft, Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer

Mr Turner said that the winning bidder was a single owner occupier.

“The auction was a bittersweet one, with the husband of the seller having passed away, and the family having too much emotional association to the property so decided to sell.”

“Registered bidders and open home numbers are still holding fairly strong in our Logan area,” Mr Turner said.

Ray White South Australia auctioneer John Morris said the AFL grand final has affected auction numbers across South Australia, with volume down this week but ready to rise back up again next week.

“Across South Australia, we are seeing a 40 per cent auction share for Ray White. In Metropolitan and surrounding suburbs, we hold more than 50 per cent market share,” he said.

“Last week Ray White reported an 85 per cent clearance rate, while our collective competition reported a 62 per cent clearance rate.”

“I personally have sold all properties today, with an average of nine registered bidders at my auctions.”

119 Coombe Rd, Allenby Gardens

• Sold under the hammer for $1.690 million

• 15 registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Peter Kiritsis (0411 501 520)

• Ray White Woodville

Mr Kiritsis said It was a fantastic auction, setting a suburb record for Allenby Gardens.

“The winning bidders were a lovely young couple from the other side of town, moving closer to their parents,” he said.

“The sellers had been in the home for over 20 years, it was time for them to downsize by the beach. We are noticing that almost all of our big family home sellers seem to be having a seachange!”

“We are selling strongly at auctions every weekend. We are finding the number of attendees at open homes slightly dropped off, but genuine hot buyers are still aggressively bidding,” Mr Kiritsis said.

14 Avalon Rd, Marion

• Sold under the hammer for $1.061 million

• Eight registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Samuel Paton (0401 757 819)

• Ray White Glenelg

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White SA/NT chief auctioneer

Mr Paton said the outstanding result was all about the presentation of this mid-century home in southern Adelaide.

“We had a good feeling about this property, and knew that its beautiful presentation would produce a great result,” he said.

“The auction boiled down to two hungry bidders in the end, with the winning couple buying their first home together, overcome with emotion.”

Mr Paton said that the home was loved by its owners, who recently had to relocate to the other side of town.

53 Rapid Avenue, Lightsview

• Sold under the hammer for $1.325 million

• Five registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent and auctioneer: Liam McDevitt (0430 501 122)

• Ray White Walkerville

Mr McDevitt said that the happy buyers already live in Lightsview, and were looking for their dream home to upsize to.

“The sellers are building in Magill, just 15 minutes down the road,” he said.

“It is a Scott Sailsbury built home, who is a very high-end builder, and it has a beautiful louvre verandah,” Mr McDevitt said. “This is a phenomenal result for a three-bedroom home.”

“The market is fantastic in general, the auctions are flying every weekend, and prices are still going up.”