Hi,

The clearance rate over the weekend improved again resulting in solid rate of 76%.  There were 608 auctions reported to the REIV of which 337 sold at auction, 123 before auction and 148 passed in.  There were an additional 298 private sales which is a high number and demonstrates that many vendors are still choosing to sell by other means than auction.

PropTrack (a company owned by the REA group who run a large valuation platform) released data last week which suggests the rate of property price declines was now minimal and the median house price remained stable in metropolitan Melbourne at $903,000 in January.  Regional Victoria’s median house price also fell only marginally and remained stable at $593,000.  This supports what we have been seeing on the ground over the past month or so and the improved sentiment that we have seen so far this year.

There is a sense that some buyers are factoring in interest rate rises into their budgets and just getting on with it.  The drop in stock levels has no doubt assisted in keeping the market stable but there are no signs that there will be a flood of properties coming onto the market any time soon, even with many mortgages changing from fixed rate to variable in the near future.

Interestingly PropTrack’s data for the rental market showed that Melbourne’s rent hit a record high in December with the median rent rising 2.3% to $450 which is a 9.8% increase since the start of 2022.

26 Bay Street, Brighton went to auction over the weekend which is a well located, 1,311 sqm block of land with a large unrenovated house on it.  The bidding opened at $7,100,000 and the property sold for $7,300,000 with active bidding.

The auction of 23 Malakoff St, Caulfield North attracted a huge crowd on the weekend with the first bid of $3,000,000 putting the house immediately on the market.  The renovated four bedroom, two bathroom pretty period home was in high demand and the competitive auction achieved a price of $3,540,000, which was over $540,000 above it’s reserve price.

Have a great week.

David Easterbrook