Soaring auction volumes and clearance

Auction volumes and clearance are heating up in the lead up to Easter, with Ray White scheduling 401 properties to go under the hammer today.

Australasia’s largest real estate group had a preliminary clearance rate of 74.8 per cent, the highest since April 2022.

There were plenty of buyers out at auctions across the nation today, with Ray White recording an average of 4.8 registered bidders.

The auction with the most registered bidders went to Ray White Grange agents Tristian Kennedy and David Upadhyay where 5 Ragless Avenue, Enfield attracting a whopping 37 registered bidders and it sold under the hammer for $905,000.

The top sale of the day went to 93 Little Chester Street, Teneriffe which sold under the hammer for $3.002 million, a great result for Ray White Clayfield principal Nicholas Given.

Ray White NSW chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said there was plenty of activity at auctions on election day.

“Traditionally we see a quieter weekend of auctions when an election looms but today did not follow that trend with bidders out in force. When bidders turn up at auction sellers can take confidence they’re going to get the best possible price,” he said.

“Auction must be the preferred method of sale as the auction process ensures sellers are obtaining the best price. Auctions ensure buyers are paying to their capacity.”

9 Rowe Street, Roseville Chase

• Sold for $2.84 million - $240,000 over reserve

• Ray White Upper North Shore - Jessica Cao

• Nine registered bidders, three active.

The home had been in the sellers’ family for more than 60 years.

“The buyers were renting in the area and one of their children goes to school in the area,” Ms Cao said.

“They fell in love with the home as soon as they saw it. They’re a young family from China buying their first home in Australia. The house is in a very good location and it has a really nice feel. It’s on a flat block, single- level, and it has a lot of potential and it attracted a lot of young families.”

52 Holmwood Street, Newtown

• Sold under the hammer for $2.675 million - $175,000 over reserve

• Ray White Surry Hills - Ercan Ersan

• 4 registered, three active

• Auctioneer: James Keenan, Ray White

“The winning bid went to a young couple (pictured above) who were previously renting. They’re a young family with two kids who had missed out on a few homes recently and pushed themselves to make sure they didn’t miss this one,” Mr Ersan said.

“Interest came from a mix of buyers. The registered bidders were an older couple upsizing, a young first home buyer, and two younger families. The sellers were a young family upsizing themselves.”

7 Agonis Close, Banksia

• Sold under the hammer for $1.687 million - $1.480 million

• Ray White Rockdale - Nicholas Economos

• 25 registered bidders, six active

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White NSW chief auctioneer

The winning bid went to a local couple of owner occupiers (pictured above) while the sellers were a young couple who were looking to upsize.

“The home was already renovated and ready to move in. It was in a cul-de-sac in a quiet street on a flat level block. There’s also an undersupply of houses in Banksia at the moment.

“The market started off well this year. This was our second auction in Banksia and both did really well, so things are looking positive to start the year.”

21 Wentworth Avenue, Waitara

• Sold under the hammer for $1.488 million - 10 per cent over reserve

• Ray White Upper North Shore - Domenic Maxwell

• 12 registered bidders, six active

The sellers were a family who had owned the home for more than 20 years and were upsizing. The winning bid went to an owner occupier where the buyer’s dad was bidding on his behalf. Mr Maxwell said 80 per cent of interest was from owner occupiers.

“It was a unique offering with heaps of character, great location, and great school catchment zone with potential to add some value,” Mr Maxwell said.

“The market is responding really well to good properties in reasonable locations. There’s been an uptick in numbers through inspections and registered bidders. We had over 260 buyers inspect this property prior to auction, so it’s been really busy.”

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said Melbourne’s auction market was full of action today.

“The lights are shining bright on the real estate market (unlike Friday night's AFL game at the Gabba), as buyers showed up and continued to snap up properties amidst healthy competition,” he said.

“Across Victoria, Ray White had 223 auctions scheduled, the highest volume over a week so far this year.

“With this increase in volume, buyer activity remained strong as we saw 2.7 active buyers on average and the preliminary auction day clearance rate coming in at 71 per cent.

“Including the properties that sold prior to auction, the all sold clearance rate is even stronger at 76 per cent.

“As auction numbers continue to build in the lead up to Easter, this week's results are very positive and should provide added confidence as to the state of the market.”

Ray White Oakleigh Auction Bonanza

The Oakleigh team had 13 properties go under the hammer today as part of its two week auction bonanza, selling more than $9.7 million in property. The business has recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 84.6 per cent.

The top sale of the day for Ray White Oakleigh went to Elroy Malowney with 3 Elysium Cres, Oakleigh East, selling under the hammer for $1,437,500.

Ray White Oakleigh principal Chris Kelepouris said it was an outstanding day of auctions.

“There’s been lots of bidding with a minimum of three bidders per property. It’s been an incredible day with a lot of energy and positivity from the buyers,” Mr Kelepouris said.

“Stock on the market is definitely tight, but I think we’re also putting in a lot of effort into our relationships with our buyers. It all comes down to having good relationships.

“The vendors have also been aligning their expectations with the feedback and meeting the market.”

More results from the Auction Bonanza:

3 Henry st Oakleigh

• Sold under the hammer for $1,050,000

• Nick Strilakos and Daniel Seyran

14/103 Atherton Road Oakleigh

• Sold under the hammer for $410,000

• Daniel Seyran and Nick Strilakos

2 Glenmaggie Close, Berwick

• Sold under the hammer for 1,191,000

• Peter Liu and Lisa Li

2/4 Grovedale Court, Clayton

• Sold under the hammer for $705,000

• Eddy He and Leigh Kelepouris

30 Seebeck Road, Rowville

• Sold under the hammer for $900,000

• Nick Strilakos and Tess Maxwell

72 Eastgate St, Oakleigh

• Sold under the hammer for $1,010,000

• Nick Strilakos and Daniel Seyran

97 Orient Avenue, Mitcham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.207 million - $307,000 over reserve

• Ray White Forest Hill - Aaron McDonald

• Five active bidders

• Auctioneer: Aaron McDonald

The winning bid went to a first home buyer who Mr McDonald said jumped for joy when she won the auction. He said he had a long relationship with the vendor.

“In January 2008 I had a sale next door and the board company accidentally installed the forthcoming auction board on the wrong property,” Mr McDonald said.

“Today’s seller called to ask for it to be removed. I dropped past with flowers and apologised and she asked not to be harassed. I asked if it was ok if I called once a year at Christmas to say hello, and she agreed.

“Last year she decided to move into a retirement home and said ‘let's get that board back on my property’. She is absolutely over the moon about the result today.”

6 Lauren Close, Dingley Village

• Sold under the hammer for $730,000

• Ray White Cheltenham - Kevin Chokshi

• Four active bidders

• Auctioneer: Kevin Chokshi

The seller was downsizing and moving to an off-the-plan apartment, while the winning bid went to a woman who was also downsizing (buyer and seller pictured above).

Mr Chokshi said bidding started at $620,000 and sold above reserve. “The market has been good, properties that are well presented and well priced are doing really well,” he said.

6 Lovell Close, Rowville

• Sold under the hammer for $861,000 - $41,000 over reserve

• Ray White Ferntree Gully - Sam Sassoon

• Seven bidders

• Auctioneer: Rene Mawad, Ray White

The winning bid went to a first home buyer. While the sellers (pictured above) were looking to upsize as their son was getting older.

"The market has still been quite good due to the fact there’s not a lot of homes on the market," Mr Sassoon said. There’s the same amount of buyers but not a lot of properties for them to choose from."

4/31-35 Surrey Rd, Blackburn North

• Sold for $745,000 - $30,000 above reserve

• Ray White Blackburn - Allan Smith

• Three active bidders

The buyers were a family downsizing, while the seller was also downsizing.

“The marker is holding up really well because we’re extremely short of stock,” Mr Smith said.

“The prices in a normal market might be reducing, but they're not because we’re short of homes to sell.”

11 Wilkinson Street, Hoppers Crossing

• Sold under the hammer for $511,500 - $61,000 over reserve

• Ray White Werribee - Alex Krnjeta

• Eight registered bidders, six active

Popular with interstate investors, the seller was an investor from Sydney, while the buyers were investors from Perth. “The market has been phenomenal due to the affordability factor,” Mr Krnjeta said.

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said auction volumes were heating up as March rounds out, off the back of lower stock levels to start the year.

“Last week we saw a nice jump in auction volume which provided a really good test of the Brisbane auction market, and it responded really well,” he said.

“We had a 60 per cent clearance and an average of four registered bidders per auction. The expectation is from today that we will see very similar results this week.

“As we see those rises in auction volumes, it’s good to see the Brisbane market is remaining incredibly resilient.

“Anywhere from those one bedroom apartments to those $5+ million executive homes, there remains an appetite to secure a property. If it’s good real estate and it’s priced well it is selling.”

93 Little Chester Street, Teneriffe

• Sold under the hammer for $3.002 million

• Ray White Clayfield - Nicholas Given

• Five registered bidders, three active

• Auctioneer: Haesley Cush, Ray White

“The buyer came through at the last minute and was a tough negotiator but was very happy once the gavel went down,” Mr Given said.

“He saw the value in Little Chester Street and plans to build a beautiful family home.

“The sellers were a young Teneriffe family looking to upsize, they were sad to sell but wanted a bigger block in Ascot.”

323 Boundary St, West End

• Sold under the hammer $1.85 million - well over reserve

• Ray White Brisbane City - Dean Yesberg

• 20 registered bidders, eight active

• Auctioneer: Gavin Croft, Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer

“West End is an area where there’s limited opportunities for people and only an average of 40 house sales a year, it’s very tightly held,” Mr Yesberg said.

“This property was on the river side of Boundary Street in a flood free area. It was a 521 sqm site with two street frontages, so you could build a bigger house or subdivide.

“The buyers were a couple looking to renovate the house at the front and subdividing the block and building a second house on the Daventry Street frontage.

“The buyer actually rushed off after the sale to go and bid at another auction.”

11 Newbery St, Newmarket

• Sold under the hammer for $2.95 million

• Ray White Wilston - Alistair Macmillan

• Eight registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: Phil Parker, Ray White

Mr Macmillan said the property received a lot of interest with more than 100 inspections prior to auction.

“Newbery Street is a stunning brand new home,” Mr Macmillan said.

“The sellers bought the property to develop and on-sell. The buyers were a young, local couple who didn't want to go through the effort and expense of a build.”

8 Binyara Street, Chapel Hill

• Sold under the hammer for $1.504 million

• Ray White New Farm - Robin McIlwain

• 10 registered bidders, seven active bidders

The first time on the market since the sellers built the home 32 years ago, Ms McIlwain said the sellers were very happy with the outcome.

“It was bought by a young family who came late to the auction and hadn’t seen the property before, they registered as we were getting towards the end of the auction,” she said.

“Buyers are a lot more cautious at the moment. I’ve noticed many were buyers who were at a certain price point 12 months ago, but their capacity to borrow has dropped, and they’re still expecting the same type of property at a lower price point.”

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris (pictured above) said March had been an incredible month for South Australia.

“Bidder registrations sit right above six with an average of 3.5 of those participating. Clearance rates have been in excess of 70 per cent consistently throughout the month,” Mr Morris said.

“There’s a 37 per cent market share for Ray White South Australia this week which has been consistent throughout the year.

“We are now consistently calling one third of all auctions in South Australia, and Ray White should be very proud of the strength we continue to have.”

1 Woodstock Street, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.35 million

• Ray White Woodville - Peter Kiritsis

• Eight registered, six active

The winning bid went to a couple planning to retire who wanted a lock up and leave type of home.

“I originally sold the property to a builder and it was quite run down, and they went through and fully restored it. So it was a great character home that had the benefit of a 2023 renovation and extension,” Mr Kiritsis said.

“We’re still very fortunate; we're averaging 4-5 bidders at every auction and getting strong numbers through every inspection.

“The other benefit we’ve got in the western suburbs is we’re positioned between the city and the beach, so there’s always high demand for this area.”

74 Braund Road, Prospect

• Sold under the hammer for $1.286 million - $86,000 over reserve

• Ray White Norwood - Ryan Stapleton

• 15 registered bidders, six active

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer

The buyers (pictured above) were local investors who were looking to add to their portfolio. The home had been in the seller’s family for about 70 years and was an emotional sale, with the owner’s daughter selling on behalf of her mother.

“The auction took a while to kick off which we’re seeing more and more, but once we get that first bit things seem to gain some good momentum,” Mr Stapleton said.

“We’re seeing more investors in the market at the moment, because as interest rates are rising rents are rising as well. Prospect is a city fringe suburb that always performs quite well.”

5 Ragless Avenue, Enfield

• Sold under the hammer for $905,000

• 37 registered bidders, eight active

• Ray White Grange - Tristian Kennedy

The winning bid went to a first home buyer. “It was a big family home on a full sized block which is rare for the area. Normally blocks that size get snapped up by developers and divided up, so to have a single home on an 800sqm block was really unique,” he said.

“It’s in a great part of Enfield which is pretty tightly kept. It’s on the city side, so generally when properties in the area do come up they fetch a better price.”