Melbourne’s auctions over the weekend saw a slight increase in the clearance rate to 75 per cent which is 5 per cent higher than this weekend last year, on a higher volume of auctions. There has been an increase in homes going to auction from 14,000 to 18,000 compared to last year for the first six months of this year and the increase in volumes have not impacted clearance rates.

Melbourne’s new planning laws are to be rolled out by the 1st of July with the existing Residential 1 Zone, Residential 2 Zone and Residential 3 Zone being replaced by three new residential zones. These are:

Residential Growth Zone which is designed to enable housing growth and encourages the highest residential density and development.

General Residential Zone allows modest housing growth whilst still protecting the current neighbourhood character.

Neighbourhood Residential Zone is designed to restrict development and housing growth to preserve the neighbourhood character.

Councils such as Glen Eira, Boroondara, Port Philip, Bayside, Moonee Valley and City of Yarra have been requesting upto 70% of their suburbs be allocated to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone. Suburbs such as Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Brighton, Sandringham and Black Rock are among some suburbs to get two storey height limits in place. Some suburbs have even had approved minimum sized lots of 400 square metres for subdivision.

If you are looking to purchase a property for development, it is important to research the new planning laws as they will most likely, affect your plans.

What an end to Autumn! Could this mean a strong winter in the property market? The number of auctions around Melbourne has soared in recent weeks, giving buyers more stock to choose from, and slowing down price growth. The latest results show a clearance rate of 73%, which is on par with recent weeks. There were 1,107 auctions held this weekend, with 806 selling, and 298 being passed in, 165 of those on a vendor’s bid. In addition to the auctions, there were also 455 private sales recorded over the weekend.

With the surge in listings in recent weeks, buyers are continuing to have the upper hand, and are willing to wait for the right property rather than rush in. This doesn’t mean that they’re not buying, there is simply so many properties to choose from that they are prepared to walk away if the price is not right. What does this mean for vendors? The market is remaining steady, and some vendors are being more realistic with their price expectations currently, as buyers become savvier.

As we’ve commented on in recent weeks, there is still a high demand at the top end of of the market (over $2 million). Particularly in prime streets within prime suburbs. Some suburbs experienced record sales on the weekend. A property in Glen Iris sold under the hammer for $3.47 million.

Winter is beginning, and we are expecting a tightening of new listings coming on to the market. With the long weekend coming up, we expect only about 250 auctions next weekend.

A clearance rate of 73% was recorded in Melbourne on the weekend, compared to 70% last weekend, and 69% on the same weekend last year. Of the 1,017 auctions held, there were 746 sold and 271 passed in, 149 of those on a vendor’s bid. In addition to the auctions, there were also 465 private sales recorded over the weekend.

Despite a large increase in listings, the weekend clearance rate performed strongly. Buying in suburbs surrounding prime locations is creating a ripple effect, changing the character of the Melbourne property market. Suburbs such as Glen Iris and Northcote both had large numbers of auctions over the weekend, including a range of $2 million-plus homes. Areas such as Ashwood and Ashburton are experiencing clearance rates of over 90% for homes in those areas.

The market doesn’t seem to be showing signs of slowing down as we head into winter, which is unusual for this time of year. Next weekend, there is expected to be more than 1,000 auctions held in Melbourne.

Could buyers be gaining the upper hand again in the Melbourne property market? There were 863 auctions were held this weekend across Melbourne, with 623 selling, and 240 being passed in resulting in a clearance rate of 72%. In addition to the auctions, there were also 455 private sales recorded over the weekend. These latest figures are showing a change in the market.

It’s becoming apparent that house price growth in the city is slowing, while the number of properties listed for sale is up. Family homes with three to five bedrooms in favoured residential areas are still achieving strong results, in a high demand market.

The auctions we attended on the weekend reflect these trends, with family homes acheiving fair value sale prices. The market is competitive, but fair. Buyers are also making decent offers for homes before auctions, which can be seen with the increase in private sales. The final two weekends in May will see an expected 2,500 homes go up for auction, and we look forward to seeing the results.

Saturday’s weather, and Mother’s Day celebrations didn’t keep people away from attending auctions over the weekend, where we saw a 70% clearance rate recorded. There were 576 auctions in Melbourne, with 401 selling and 175 being passed in, 99 of those on a vendor bid. In addition to the auctions, there were also 452 private sales recorded over the weekend. The clearance rate has not reached higher than 70% since mid-March, while the number of properties up for auction remains high.

Last week’s Reserve Bank decision to keep interest rates on hold at a record low of 2.5 per cent, could see some areas of Melbourne reaping the benefits in property values. The interest-rate sensitive areas of outer-eastern suburbs and the inner-west are experiencing higher house-price growth than some wealthier areas of the city since late 2012.

These areas, particularly the inner-west are undergoing gentrification from industrial backgrounds to bustling villages which are popular with young families, solo buyers and investors. We’ve seen housing prices in areas like Seddon and Yarraville spike sharply in the past six months, and we believe that there is still more great opportunities to be had in these areas amongst others.

The Melbourne property market has been reawakened after the quiet long weekends in April, and with this comeback there is a bit of a reality check for sellers. There were 704 auctions were held this weekend across Melbourne, with 496 selling, and 208 being passed in, resulting in a clearance rate of 70%. In addition to the auctions, there were also 479 private sales recorded over the weekend.

The lower clearance rates recently could be a sign that buyers are willing to walk away from prices that don’t reflect fair market value, particularly in the mid-range houses and apartments markets. There are plenty of options to choose from in the B and C-grade property listings, and buyers are setting the pace for pricing. A-grade properties, which are typically well-located and well-presented are still being snapped up quickly at strong prices.

We are expecting favourable conditions for buyers in the coming weeks, with a few Super Saturdays on the calendar. There’s plenty of housing stock to choose from, and potentially the competition will be a little less fierce for buyers.

The property market is still showing consistent clearance rates but also producing strong results for some properties too. The weekend’s clearance rate was 66 per cent on 575 auctions. Last weekend, the clearance rate was 68 per cent and the year to date average is 69 per cent. There were 560 private sales and 780 auctions are expected for next weekend.

Over the weekend our Managing Director, Kim Easterbrook, featured in an article in the Herald Sun named ‘Boom Time in the Burbs’. Four of Melbourne’s suburbs have recorded their highest ever median prices, being Brighton, Northcote, Doncaster and Yarraville. The rise in the Brighton median price can be attributed to a stronger market which has strengthened the higher end sector. The 22 per cent increase in median price from 2012 to 2013 does not reflect an increase in prices by this amount, but has resulted from the increased results in the higher end market and not just the entry level properties in the area.

Northcote and Yarrraville increases have come at no surprise to us at all as we have seen an increase in demand by professional couples entering into the market. We are also seeing a rise in demand in areas such as Richmond to the same degree as Northcote and Yarraville, and we are predicting to see a rise substantial rise in Richmond’s median price for the June Qtr.

Population growth has also been a topic of discussion in recent weeks with the Australian Bureau of Statistics stating that Victoria has 94,800 new residents from September 2011 to September 2012. This population growth is one of the key drivers of capital growth in Melbourne.

The weekend clearance rate dropped but this was due to the volume of sales being very high, with the market still showing signs of strength. Of the 1,201 auctions reported to the REIV this weekend, 842 sold and 359 properties were passed in (184 of those on a vendor bid). The resulting clearance rate was 70%, which is similar to last week’s final result of 69%. Aside from the auctions on the weekend, there were also 424 private sales.

The first quarter of the year has seen record numbers of properties on the market, and higher than average clearance rates. It does appear with the choice of properties on the market, that auctions overall have become slightly less competitive than what they were a couple of months ago. We do expect May to produce a high volume of sales with 5 auction weekends for the month.

This weekend should be very quiet with auctions due to Easter with only 60 auctions scheduled.

The weekend clearance rate of 70% is on par with last weekends figures, and considerably more than the same time last year when it was 63%. There were 899 auctions reported over the weekend, with 629 selling, and 270 being passed in. In addition to the auctions, there were also 474 private sales recorded in Melbourne.

Vendors have been trying to get their properties sold before the Easter holiday period, so we are expecting the high auction numbers to ease off after next weekend. Demand for properties within 10-12 kilometres of the city is still high, particularly in the wealthy suburbs such as Balwyn, Armadale and Hawthorn East. In these areas, buyers have been attracted to desirable homes near prestige schools and within government school zones.

The market is producing healthy results, with buyers not getting too carried away as there has been plenty of properties on offer in the first quarter of the year. There is an expectant 1500 properties going to auction this weekend before a couple quieter weeks then full steam ahead into May which historically is a high transaction month.

Melbourne has experienced a record number of properties being listed for sale this month. There were 1,124 auctions were held this weekend across Melbourne, with 795 selling, and 329 being passed in resulting in a clearance rate of 71%. In addition to the auctions, there were also 452 private sales recorded over the weekend. These latest figures top off a massive month with 4,600 auctions held, which is 30% higher than the previous record month in 2008.

The inner suburbs are in high demand as the population grows. Buyers are keen to secure properties near transport and schools, which could result in rising house price growth in the inner suburbs.

Melbourne has outshone all other Australian cities for population growth since 2004. The city attracts over 25% of net overseas migration to Australia, as well as being the most desirable city to move to for interstate residents. With this level of population growth in Melbourne, it’s no surprise that there have been higher numbers of properties being listed for sale this year. What is surprising is the demand for properties priced between $1 million and $2 million. It seems that many previous first home buyers are now looking to step up into larger family homes.

March has capped off the first quarter on a high note for the Melbourne property market, increasing median house prices. With an expected 1,000 auctions to be held next weekend, will this trend continue?