“No end in sight” for barnstorming auction market

THERE seems to be no end in sight for a barnstorming auction market that has again produced some fantastic results for sellers and delivered outstanding clearance rates across Australia.

According to innovative internal data, scheduled auctions for Ray White were up more than 25 per cent on the same dates last year, with 288 auctions scheduled just for today. The leading group booked a strong preliminary auction day clearance rate of 85.7 per cent.

The desire for sellers to send their property under the hammer is also on the rise with the leading auction house seeing a huge 19.88 per cent lift in scheduled auctions compared to last year.

Sydney saw an exceptional preliminary clearance rate of 91.7 per cent while Melbourne, where auctions were back on site after restrictions were lifted, was at 81.8 per cent clearance. Brisbane had an astonishing day with a 100 per cent clearance rate and Adelaide came in at 90 per cent.

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said there was no end in sight for the barnstorming property with the Easter rush starting early.

“It’s absolutely incredible. My diary is booked solid for auctions right up until the end of March as vendors look to take advantage of the favourable seller’s market,” Mr Pattaro said.

“I understand that some people are hesitant to come to the market because they’re concerned about going on to buy - but I can ease those fears because there is more property about to come online as we head into what is going to a swashbuckling Easter period for auctions.

“Although properties are selling for excellent prices, money has never been cheaper with the historic low interest rates, so buyers’ money will go further than it ever has done.”

There is nowhere else to start than in Elizabeth Bay where Ray White Maroubra I South Coogee Directors Phillip Elmowy and Anthony Vella managed the astonishing $8.5 million sale of 84 Elizabeth Bay Road (above) - a property known as ‘Keadue’.

Designed by internationally renowned architect John Bede Barlow who died in 1925, ‘Keadue’ is a large, three-storey Queen Anne Revival style residence.

“We had more than 125 inspections of this historic property and that resulted in all five of the registered bidders on the day raising their paddle,” Mr Elmowy said.

“Bidding started at circa $5 million and the bidding was strong. There was a lot of local interest because there are not many free-standing homes in the area and they understood the values.

“The market is strong and the market for high-end properties is more popular than ever.”

It was Ray White Surry Hills Director Matt Carvalho and Sales Executive Bianca Field who set the tone for the day as they sold Glebe’s 21 Burton Street for $1.735 million - $185,000 over reserve.

“This was a terrific campaign with more than 125 groups coming through the open homes and that culminated in seven registered bidders for the property on the day,” Mr Carvalho said.

“Competition for properties is rife right now and the market is as strong as it’s ever been. The buyers were a couple from northern NSW who plan to use the property as a city weekender.”

Vendor Mike Hercock (pictured above right with his partner Jo Hardy on the left) said the sale price was a good six figures more than they thought they would get.

“The whole campaign and all the processes were handled really well and because Matt handled the communications so well throughout, we were anxious, but cautiously optimistic,” he said.

“I feel like we presented the property really well and had good buyer interest throughout. I also thought the marketing and media coverage achieved for us was really important.

“The campaign was absolutely unreal with nearly 300 groups coming through the property and then 10 of the 42 registered bidders battling it out on auction day,” Ms Malone said.

“I called every single one of the people who inspected back because I believe in doing the best by my seller and that has certainly paid off for this particular property.

“The home mainly attracted young couples and young families and the eventual winning bidders were a young family who are already from Loftus and are upsizing.

“I think COVID-19 has been a real trigger for people to upsize and spend their money on their next property because they can’t spend it on other things like holidays. We’ve also seen a lot of eastern suburbs buyers head south because you get more for your money here.”

Arguably the result of the day came in Kingsgrove as Ray White Norwest Sales Executive Sue Jin and Principal Allen Yan successfully managed the $1.805 million sale of 44 Arinya Street (above) - a whopping $385,000 over the reserve price.

“The campaign was fantastic with more than 125 enquiries on the property and we had over 50 groups coming through the open homes. We ended up with 20 registered bidders,” Ms Jin said.

“The block size and the fact it had dual street frontage really appealed to buyers, and because of the really large block size, it has a lot of potential to be developed in the future.

“The auction attracted a huge crowd of around 120 people and the winning bidders will live in the property now - but may look at building a much bigger dream home there in the future.

“The market is looking very good at the moment and our sellers are extremely happy.”

The outstanding results continued as Ray White North Ryde I Macquarie Park Sales Agent Ben Boutros (pictured above right with sellers Mr and Mrs Lowe and their daughter left) and Sales Associate Tracy Zhang sold 54 Parklands Road for $2.3 million.

“We had more than 115 groups through during the campaign and that resulted in six of the 15 registered bidders actively competing come auction day,” Mr Boutros said.

“Bidding started at $1.9 million and then the auction just took over and it ended up selling for a whopping $250,000 over the reserve price - our downsizing sellers are of course delighted.

“The market in our area really is buoyant right now. There are heaps of buyers out there and there just isn’t enough stock to keep up with the demand at the moment.

“It’s the first time the house has come to market in 36 years and it just ticked so many boxes. It’s a brilliant property that you can just move straight into and live in right away. It’s also on a great block size and the buyers from Gymea Bay loved the pool and the location.”

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said with auction volume on the rise, Victoria's real estate market continued to go from strength to strength.

“Prelim data from the Ray White Group has revealed, yet again, one of our strongest weeks when looking at the average number of registered and active bidders per auction,” Mr Condon said.

“Buyers are arriving at each auction with a clear strategy in mind and doing everything they can to secure their desired property.

“This increase in buyer demand is creating a high level of competition at each auction and producing some exceptional results for our clients.”

Auctions were back on site in Melbourne following the easing of restrictions and they certainly did not disappoint as Ray White Brunswick Sales Agent Alex Ilyin and Director Jamil Allouche successfully sold 8 Stawell Street (above) in Coburg for $1.285 million.

“This was a fantastic result for our vendor as it sold substantially over its reserve and well over the price guide we quoted of between $1 million and $1.1 million. The result is testament to the competition we’re seeing in the market right now,” Mr Ilyin said.

“We had exactly 100 groups through during the open homes and that included multiple second inspections as this really well-presented home ticked a lot of boxes for potential buyers.

“We had six of the 10 registered bidders actively competing and there’s no doubt that demand is outstripping the supply at the moment. It’s the perfect time to be selling your property.”

“Everything went really well throughout the campaign with strong numbers coming through the open homes and Alex handled everything brilliantly,” said seller Sarah Donato-Richetti.

“We actually picked him out of four agents and of the main reasons was because he had a COVID-19 contingency plan so that really helped put our minds at ease.

“We had a strong campaign before the most recent lockdown and we were confident with the numbers we had already had through, and with Alex’s help, we presented the property well.

“We’re delighted with the outcome and it sold for far beyond what we could have expected.”

“The result was anything but ruff and seeing my owners so happy is pawfect,” said Otto the dog.

It was a similar story in Craigieburn where Sales Consultant/Auctioneer Daniel Diamantopoulos and Sales Assistant Phil Betteley sold 4 Hamersley Road (above) for $1.01 million.

“This is a quite incredible result for our sellers. To crack the $1 million barrier in Craigieburn for a property that’s only on a 512sq m block is actually quite staggering,” Mr Diamantopoulos said.

“The property itself was only two and a half years old and was being offered to market for the first time. It was sold by a young couple with no family and bought by a young couple with no family.

“Craigieburn is going crazy right now, but to be honest, so is every other Melbourne suburb. All we’re seeing is swelling open home numbers, more registered bidders, and prices going up.

“There’s absolutely no doubt that demand is outstripping the supply. As soon as a well-looked after and well-presented home hits the market, it just goes berserk.”

The Melbourne hat-trick was then completed as Ray White Cheltenham Director - Chief Auctioneer Kevin Chokshi and Sales Consultant Nakita Tate successfully managed the $695,000 sale of 4/2 Bayliss Street in Cheltenham.

“This property was absolutely perfect for the first-home buyer and that’s the demographic we saw most of during the campaign with 94 groups coming through,” Mr Chokshi said.

“We had three active bidders competing on the day and that competition drove the sale price to $45,000 over the reserve - so our sellers are very happy with that.

“There is a major shortage of family homes at the moment, but there is a bit more stock when it comes to townhouses and units, so while the interest rates are low it’s the perfect time for first time buyers to get their foot on the ladder.

“It’s a nice story because one of the couple, Chris (pictured above right with his partner Nicole), actually grew up just a few streets away so he knew the area really well already.”

Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Mitch Peereboom said a record number of bidder registrations had been the main theme for the day.

“We've seen excellent results across the board in Brisbane for auctions today, but also that's wrapping up a week across Queensland, with some outstanding results under the hammer,” Mr Peereboom said.

“Across all market segments, if you look at the unit marketplace and sub-$600,000 in Brisbane CBD and surrounding, that's performing exceptionally well.

“When you look at properties between $500,000 and $1 million, they're absolutely going off. We've seen some excellent results for our rural network throughout the course of the week, and multi-million-dollar luxury properties on the Gold Coast as well.

“We're so confident to recommend to sellers to come to the market now as we're dealing with an amazing amount of competition so you can take advantage of the market there.”

It was a case of double delight for Ray White Paddington Sales Agent Judi O’Dea and her Sales Associate Michael Kleimeyer as they sold 63 Park Street in Kelvin Grove (above and below) for $1.078 million, and then went on to sell 25 Evelyn Street in Paddington for $1.715 million.

“The campaign for 63 Park Street was incredibly active with more than 150 inspections and the interest was phenomenal right from the very beginning,” Ms O’Dea said.

“The property attracted 16 registered bidders on the day and bidding was fierce throughout as the price climbed all the way up from the opening bid of $800,000 to $1.078 million.

“It really is an exceptional price for a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, one-car property in Kelvin Grove and it was beautifully presented as well. It was purchased by a local woman who has lived around here for some time and has been looking for a while.

“25 Evelyn Street (below) attracted six registered bidders and the guy who put his hand up for the first bid at 1.3 million actually ended up as the buyer at the end at $1.715 million.

“He has only been in Brisbane for a little over a month after moving from Perth and he fell in love with both the property and the area of Paddington.

“I firmly believe that these great prices would not have been achieved for our sellers if not for the auction method of sale - it’s simply the best way to sell in any market.

“I believe it is fairer for the buyers because everything is transparent and out in the open and you get to look your competition in the eye and know exactly where you stand in the process.

“It’s the best way to achieve the best price in this red-hot property market for sure.”

Ray White Holland Park then got in on the act as Principal Piers Crawford and Property and Marketing Consultant Rocky Glanville sold 212 Beddoes Street (above) for $895,000.

“Holland Park is really up-and-coming and we had more than 75 groups through to inspect what was essentially a knockdown on a 750sq m flat block perfect to build on,” Mr Crawford said.

“The location is just so good, being so close to the CBD and easy access to the Gold Coast, and it was a developer who purchased it with a view to build and then sell on.

“The market is looking good across the board with units starting to pick up too. Knockdowns are becoming really popular now and you can tell there is real confidence in the end value.”

“I think the area is about to go through a big transition period and there aren’t many places on the southside where you can still build your own house like this - especially on such a perfect piece of land,” Seller Glenn Crawford said.

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris said the Southern Hemisphere’s largest real estate group continued to create a frenzy in the auction space with record-breaking numbers.

“There are 49 auctions scheduled this weekend throughout South Australia with 21 of them for Australasia's largest auction house, a 43 per cent market share,” Mr Morris (above) said.

“There are yellow flags flying absolutely everywhere. Of my auctions called this weekend, there have been 18 average registered bidders, with an average of 22 bids per auction.

“Everything is selling way above reserve. There are fantastic numbers at both open homes and auctions and it really is a frenzy of bidding activity on auction day.”

One of the highlights came courtesy of Ray White Henley Beach Principal Anthony Fahey and Sales Agent Tom Royal as they sold Kidman Park's 15 Chatswood Crescent (below) for $865,000.

“The campaign attracted more than 125 visits and we had 20 registered bidders on the day - with eight of those competing in an auction that was literally done and dusted within five minutes of the first paddle being raised,” Mr Fahey said.

“I’m delighted for our sellers Ian and Barbara McPhee (above) as they were great clients to work with and achieving a result for them of $95,000 over the reserve is just fantastic.

“The property mainly attracted young couples and young families and that’s a trend we’re seeing at the moment - the family home is just flying away.

“The lucky winning bidders were a young couple and their parents live just around a corner so it’s really nice they get to stay in an area they know and love.”