Private auctions go out with a bang in Sydney and Melbourne

THERE were some strong auction sales recorded across Sydney and Melbourne last night, the final opportunity to sell on-site ahead of the new government restrictions.

From now on interested bidders will all stay home and participate at auctions, using digital platforms or phone bidding, yet the final round of on-site auctions still attracted many eager buyers.

In Melbourne, Ray White Ferntree Gully wrapped up their private on-site auctions last night with a 50 per cent clearance rate, selling four of eight properties. Ferntree Gully managing director Patrick McConnachie said his agents were focused on doing what was best for their vendors by making the decision to bring several forward.

“Our agents are doing the best for their vendor at the moment and if that was bringing the auction forward to make a decision and it didn't work then we are ok with that. In these times that’s still a 50 per cent clearance rate so we classify it as a win for the owners,” Mr McConnachie said.

Mr McConnachie also said his agents are more than prepared for new changes to auction and inspection methods which will now all be conducted virtually.

The standout of the night was 24 Cinerea Avenue, Ferntree Gully which was represented by agent Jack Rickard. The four bedroom property sold for $940,000 and was marketed with a price guide of $850,000 to $935,000.

“The property sold under the hammer above vendor expectations with three of the five registered bidders participating. In the end the winning bidder was a family,” Mr Rickard said.

Another notable sale for the Ferntree Gully office was 4 Thomson Court, Rowville which was sold by agent Ben Thomas which sold above reserve.

“The property sold above the vendor’s reserve before the cutoff deadline of midnight with ten people in attendance and two active bidders. The sale went to some first home buyers, a young couple chasing the great Australian dream of owning their own home,” Mr Sorrell said.

Ray White Glen Waverley also moved forward their auction of 25 Monash Drive, Mulgrave resulting in a $1.1 million sale under the hammer for the four bedroom house. Glen Waverley partner and lead agent Marc Lum said they were happy to get all interested parties to the auction despite the short notice and ended up having five of eight registered bidders actively participating.

“It was a really great auction and literally as soon as we heard the news we spoke to the vendor about moving the auction forward and contacted all the bidders immediately and were able to get in every single interested party,” Mr Lum said.

“The buyers were a family of four who had been looking for the last six months, they weren’t concerned about recent events and said they were buying a property to live in for the next ten to fifteen years so it was really irrelevant to them in that respect.”

Ray White Carnegie also had an outstanding night selling four properties to happy buyers from across Melbourne. Carnegie agent Josh Hommelhoff sold 55 Railway Rd, Carnegie and 26 Leura St, Murrumbeena for above vendor expectations while fellow agent Tom Grieve had a stand out sale at 35/997 Dandenong Rd, Malvern East.

In New South Wales, the short notice didn’t deter buyers who jumped at the chance to buy their new home two days early.

Ray White New South Wales Auctioneer James Kerley called 6 Trinity Ave, Kellyville (pictured above) where he said he saw some spirited bidding resulting in a sale price of just over $1.3 million.

“It was the last on-site auction we were doing, it was a private auction so only people who were registered bidders were able to attend. We used a mixture of Google Hangouts and livestreaming on Gavl for those not able to attend,” Mr Kerley said.

“But even if we are doing things differently, it’s still the same process of creating competition and getting the best for our sellers.”

The property was represented by Kael Sharp of Ray White Castle Hill.

Ray White Narrabeen | Narraweena were able to get some practice in for the coming virtual auctions by inviting buyers to bid online as well as on-site. The private auction at 4/35 Lagoon St, Narrabeen garnered three on-site bidders and one online with Ray White Auctioneer Brian Fairweather calling the night.

“The night was really competitive with 12 bids starting at $850,000 and ending with $930,000 sale which made the sellers really happy,” selling agent and Narrabeen | Narraweena principal Michael Ferguson said.

“The winning bidder inspected the property six times and was really happy with the result.”