Hi,

There were 970 auctions held over the weekend resulting in a clearance rate of 81% according to the REIV.  609 sold at auction, 179 sold before auction and there were an additional 210 private sales.   The clearance rate for houses was 84% with a median price of $1,200,000 and apartments achieved a 76% clearance rate with a median price of $771,000.  Interestingly, this time last year there were only 96 auctions held.

Many experts are expecting property price growth to continue this year and further beyond.  This is all happening without population growth which is not expected to increase again for another two years.  Our employment growth has been better than expected, coupled with low interest rates, strong consumer confidence and many people have actually been able to save quite a bit of money over the past twelve months, this has all contributed to an increase in demand.

It seems APRA and the Reserve Bank are more interested in financial market stability, promoting growth in economic activity and lending regulations than property prices at present, so it doesn’t appear that any intervention is on the cards in the immediate future.

The weekend auctions we attended were once again competitive with multiple bidders and all auctions selling under the hammer.

The auction of 1/7 Crawford Road, Cheltenham produced a higher than expected result.  Entry level houses/units for good quality suburbs are currently in strong demand.  This three bedroom, two bathroom, one of two home attracted three bidders at auction.  The opening bid of $1,050,000 was quickly trumped by another bid of $1,200,000 where the property was announced on the market.  Two bidders then went head to head where the property sold for $1,325,000.

17 Leroux Street, Oakleigh had a lot of interest with land sites with development potential continuing to be in strong demand.  This property is on 702 sqm with a rentable, original house on it.  The property was quoted $1,050,000 to $1,150,000 prior to auction.  There was a large crowd in attendance and five bidders in total (with some not even having the opportunity to put their hand up).  The property sold for $1,387,000.

Have a great day.

Kim Easterbrook