Sellers have a spring in their step

After an unseasonably hot winter, the auction market continues to sizzle across the country throughout the spring selling season in September.

Australasia’s largest real estate group recorded a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 84 per cent across the country today, with the standout city being Brisbane recording a 92 per cent clearance rate, closely followed by Melbourne sitting at a 91 per cent clearance after a tumultuous week.

Of the 246 scheduled auctions for Saturday, of these 136 proceeded to auction day, with 43 selling prior and 40 postponed to a later date.

The number of bidders was the hot topic of the day, with record crowds showing up onsite and online. Average registered bidders sat at 8.2 nationally. Notably, an auction in Melbourne had 40 registered bidders online.

In this week’s economic update, Ray White Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee noted that the latest ABS data shows household wealth rose 5.8 per cent to a record $13,433.7 billion, the largest quarterly growth since December 2009. This equates to wealth per person of just over $520,000.

“The data shows that on average, we are wealthier than we were prior to the pandemic, however your level of wealth is heavily impacted by whether you own property,” Ms Conisbee said.

In a trend that continues to become more evident week by week, sellers who took their property right through to auction day instead of selling prior, achieved a significant premium on the sale price.

As Sydney continues to endure tight restrictions, auctioneers carry on with their advanced and seamless online auction method.

Ray White New South Wales Chief Auctioneer Alex Pattaro said he was still seeing high registered bidder numbers.

“There are more opportunities starting to come to market now, which is helping sellers alleviate their concerns around buying and selling in the same strong market,” Mr Pattaro said.

“Confidence is still high, and the prices we are seeing are still extremely strong. While seller expectation is growing, buyers are ensuring that these expectations are being met,” he said.

The top sale of the day was of 28 Oxley Ave, St Ives, which sold for $3,720,000 after six registered bidders tuned in online, vying for the architecturally designed oasis in Sydney’s leafy upper north shore.

The property sold significantly above reserve, and the winning bidders were a young local family.

Ray White Upper North Shore agents James Levy and Coco Cui Roskam managed the successful campaign.

“The sellers were absolutely overwhelmed with the fantastic result; they had been thinking about selling for a year and decided now was the right time to make the move,” Mr Levy said.

In the continually sought-after inner west of Sydney, 38 Swanson St, Erskineville (pictured above) sold for $3,242,000 during a heated online auction, smashing the reserve of $3,050,000. Some 10 registered bidders were vying for the property, with two keen parties battling it out until the end.

Ray White Surry Hills sales executive Moira Verheijen said the opportunity was unique, as it was designed to offer a retail/commercial space at the front, as well as a beautiful home.

“The winning bidder was a young gentleman who is renting in the inner west; he is a jazz musician so he will use the front room for practicing his music,” Ms Verheijen said.

“The sellers are absolutely stoked with the result, and it is fantastic that they were able to recognise what a great time opportunity they had to capitalise.”

“Private inspections and online auctions are working really well, and we have a great system implemented. Some of the bidders commented today on how easy the process is,” she said.

Proving the strength of the Sydney apartment market, a one bedroom unit at 7/809 New South Head Rd, Rose Bay sold for $1,280,000. The reserve was $1,000,000.

Eight registered bidders tuned in to the marathon auction, with two fierce bidders fought it out in suspensefully small increments with over 65 bids.

Ray White Taylor and Partners Director Walter Burfitt-Williams said the executor of the deceased estate was watching on in disbelief and was thrilled with the result as the hammer dropped.

“The main bidders today were of an older downsizer demographic, who proved to be incredibly tech-savvy with their bidding!” Mr Burfitt-Williams said.

“This apartment was hard to benchmark as there is not much like it around. Rose Bay is an incredibly desirable location, and it sits right within the boutique shopping and gourmet dining precinct,” he said.

Mr Burfitt-Williams said good apartments were experiencing increased demand, having also just sold an apartment in Kensington after less than a week on the market.

“We are looking forward to doing auctions onsite again, hopefully once 80 per cent of our population is vaccinated,” he said.

A three-bedroom townhouse at 20/100 Carlton Cres, Summer Hill sold for $1,590,000, smashing the reserve by $150,000.

Five registered bidders tuned in online for the auction, and the winning bidders were a couple with their second baby on the way.

“These buyers were very motivated to get into a property quickly, and they are very happy to finally have a place to call home,” Ray White Summer Hill Director Erik Polsek said.

“I sold the next-door townhouse for this same seller earlier this year for $1,385,000. The townhouses are identical, but today we sold for $200,000 higher, which tells you just how incredible the market is,” Mr Polsek said.

“I have only done a handful of online auctions so I was a little apprehensive, but Auctioneer Tim Snell did an incredible job and the systems are really fantastic,” he said.

After what has been a very dramatic week in Melbourne - including an earthquake - buyers and sellers carried on and still enjoyed a successful weekend under the hammer.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania Chief Auctioneer Matt Condon said there was an unusually high number of auctions for a Grand Final weekend.

“We had an average of over seven registered bidders per auctions, with plenty more onlookers tuning in to all of our online auctions this weekend,” Mr Condon said.

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania CEO Stephen Dullens said buyers, sellers and renters have wasted no time getting the market moving again.

“There’s no doubt that customers in Melbourne have eagerly awaited the return to physical inspections and with confirmation this week from the government that property marketing can once again recommence, this is great news for everyone that we can again operate,” Mr Dullens said.

“While the way the industry operates is slightly different, we certainly expect the strong Spring conditions to continue right up to Christmas as buyers and sellers make up for lost time,” Mr Dullens said.

Ray White Ferntree Gully Director Ben Thomas had a cracking result online today with the sale of 3 Hopkins Close, Rowville (pictured above) for $1,517,000. The reserve was $1,320,000 and the renovated four-bedroom home attracted a whopping 40 registered bidders.

“The stars aligned for this auction today, with huge demand from buyers and very little stock on the market. This home is unique and architecturally designed, and is close to the lake and local shops,” Mr Thomas said.

The winning bidders were a young family moving into the area, and the sellers who are relocating out to acreage nearby were absolutely wrapped with the result.

“It was fantastic to achieve this result for our sellers, who spent a lot of time renovating the home which obviously paid off,” Mr Thomas said.

“The market is extremely strong, and trying to find the time to do all of our private inspections is our biggest challenge at the moment,” he said.

A low set brick home at 5 Riding Way, Ferntree Gully sold for $918,000, smashing the reserve of $825,000. With 11 registered bidders, the winning bidder was an investor.

Ray White Ferntree Gully agent Rene Mawad said the sellers, a young family, were thrilled that they could now commence the search for their next dream home.

Mr Mawad then went on to have another cracking sale at 3 Kilcatten Rise, Rowville for $1,081,000, soaring past the reserve price of $979,000. Five registered bidders tuned into the auction, with a young family winning as the hammer fell.

Mr Mawad said that while it is a trying time for agents in the current climate, having an open and transparent relationship with clients will give the greatest chance of auction success.

“Our clients put their trust in us to advise on the best way forward with their properties, and we have a lot of confidence and faith in our online auction and virtual inspection processes,” he said.

“We are still quite dry from a supply perspective; we already had so many buyers lined up for virtual tours of these properties.”

The heat of the Brisbane market was palpable this weekend, with Ray White Queensland Chief Auctioneer Gavin Croft saying today was an amazing end to a very successful week of auctions.

“We are not seeing a change in the strong bidder behaviour that we have seen through this whole year, with incredible numbers of buyers still showing up and bidding strongly,” Mr Croft said.

In an epic result for Ray White Holland Park agent Sim Gill, a three-bedroom home at 28 Landor St, Tarragindi (pictured above) sold for $1,510,000, smashing the reserve by $210,000.

The hot auction drew in 30 registered bidders after an extremely successful campaign that saw 182 groups view the property.

“The winning bidders were a young couple. They have been looking for six months, and have been missing out constantly. They didn’t bid at all until the final call, which was an interesting strategy, but ultimately paid off for them,” Mr Gill said.

“I sold this home to a gentleman only two years ago for $765,000 and he has done a beautiful job renovating it, which is evident in the fact he almost doubled his money,” Mr Gill said.

“The original owners of the property lived here for around 50 years and they also came along today, and were absolutely in awe of the great renovation job.”

In the city’s North, 11 Carrie St, Zillmere (pictured above) sold for $766,000, smashing the reserve of $700,000. A huge 17 registered bidders turned up to bid for the low set brick home, and the winning bidder was an interstate couple.

“The buyers have never seen the property in person, only through video calls. We are seeing a huge increase in this across Brisbane, with many people wanting to flee lockdown and move up to the Sunshine State,” Ray White Ascot agent Penny Johnson said.

Ms Johnson said the sellers were in tears of joy when the hammer fell, after listing the home to take advantage of the current market.

“There is huge demand for homes that are tidy and don’t require a lot of work. All we need now is some more homes to sell to the plethora of buyers we have!” she said.

In an outstanding sale to finish up the day in Brisbane, 15 Blakeney St, Highgate Hill sold for $2,510,000 under the hammer after seven registered bidders battled it out.

Luke Croft from Ray White South Brisbane managed the successful sale, with auctioneer Phil Parker knocking the hammer down.

South Australians hit the streets of Adelaide in force today, with record bidder numbers for yet another week.

Ray White South Australia Chief Auctioneer John Morris said although the Grand Final might be held in Perth tonight, the real sport was happening on the ground in the Adelaide auction arena.

“Incredible numbers are coming out of the state, with a preliminary clearance rate of 86 per cent and average registered bidders at over nine,” Mr Morris said.

“We can’t see this changing anytime soon, with hungry buyers who are turning up in their drones, week after week” he said.

Ray White Norwood had a cracking auction at 71 Lockwood Rd, Burnside (pictured above) which sold for $1,505,000, smashing the reserve of $1,000,000 by an enormous $505,000.

Some 26 registered bidders lined the street and hoped to come out on top to purchase the home in a deceased estate sale.

Ray White Norwood agents Brandon Pilgrim and Damien Fong said the result also achieved a record square metre rate for the suburb.

“This was a phenomenal result for our sellers, who were selling on behalf of their father who passed away. It is a really nice feeling achieving this for such a nice family,” Mr Pilgrim said.

Mr Pilgrim said the large block and the corner allotment was a major draw card, particularly for developers.

“The winning bidder was a developer, who plans to build two dwellings on the large block,” he said.

“When looking at the current market, this result speaks for itself. We seem to be continually surprised at the growing appetite of buyers, week by week.”

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Media Contact:
Nina Clarke
Ray White Group
0448 841 606
nclarke@raywhite.com