As more stock arrives on the Spring market, we are seeing villa units in demand, but not from the downsizers who seem to have gone to ground, the young professionals are buying for investment and owner occupation. This weekend Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 64 per cent, up 4 per cent achieved last week. There were 677 auctions held on the weekend with 356 properties selling at auction and 243 being passed in, 124 of those on a vendor bid. In addition to the auctions, there were 216 private sales reported.

Buyers are trying to read and control the market with a mixed bag of results because we have a market in equilibrium. Some results are favouring the Vendor and in other negotiations, the buyers feel as though they have the upper hand. However properties priced correctly, marketed well are selling despite the lower clearance rates. Vendors are readjusting their expectations with more realistic prices if they want or need to sell, even if that means a few weeks after the auction.

The higher interest rates for investor loans has had an effect on the market, while opening up the door for owner-occupiers especially first home buyers. Suburbs in areas where a property can be secured sub $750,000 has seen buyers have a stronger influence on prices and therefore no surprise in seeing some suburbs within Geelong and the out ring of the West and South East still seeing a lot of activity.

Kind Regards,

The Team at Elite.

3/6 Maher Street, Highett Sold for $746,000

On the weekend Elite attended a highly competitive auction at 3/6 Maher St Highett with a quoted range of $600,000 – $650,000 prior to auction. With a strong opening bid of $600,000 wasn’t enough to stop a bidding frenzy.  The property was announced on the market at $680,000 however, it could have been on the market prior due to competitive bidding which caused the auctioneer to hold off announcing it on the market. Five bidders in total fought to secure the property but many bidders not even getting a chance to put their hand up. The property sold eventually for $746,000 to a first home buyer. Mostly all buyers in the large crowd were first home buyers with the occasional downsizer. Well positioned large villa units like this are in strong demand by first home buyers and downsizers due to their affordable price point for high demand suburbs, and this was no exception.

3/8 Creswick Street, Glen Iris Sold for $820,000

A charming two bedroom villa, this bright abode in a boutique block of four offers immediate appeal with recently refreshed interiors, exceptional al fresco living and lifestyle convenience in a blue ribbon pocket. This house like villa in Melbourne’s inner East drew a crowd of around 80 onlookers, with plenty there to bid on the semi renovated villa in a boutique block. The opening bid was $650 from a man in the crowd starting well beneath the advertised quoted range of $580,000-$620,000. Three more bidders eventually became involved and there was a fairly heated contest until the property went under the hammer at a healthy $820,000. Glen Iris is a well-established, leafy suburb is ripe with gorgeous period homes, but you’ll also find a good range of apartment and villa living too.

21 Maple Crescent, Camberwell Sold for $3,060,000

On a lovely sunny Melbourne spring morning there was a good turn out to this renovated 1930’s family home in Camberwell which initially attracted just 1 bidder starting the auction at $2.6 million. The auctioneer had mentioned in the preamble speech that he already had instructions from the vendor prior to the auction so did not need to seek further vendor consulting. However when only 1 bid was received he went back inside the property after which when he came back out another bidder entered the auction. The auctioneer tried to entice in more bidders with main 2 bidders battling it out in $25,000 bids which then went $10,000 bid increments. At $2,810,000 the property was on the market with it eventually being sold for $3,060,000 to a Chinese family group after the other bidding party walked away from the auction up the road.

Clearance Rates
Melbourne

10th September 2018
This week: 677 Auctions

Clearance: 64%

Last Year: 74% [source: REIV]

Spring property season started with mixed results. Many $2m+ properties passed in, whilst the first home buyer and lower priced investment properties performed strongly along with the second home market sub $1.5m also performing well. 100 Little Charles Street Abbottsford is a 300sqm land site and attracted three bidders and fetched $1.26 million. A run-down house in Fitzroy went $307,000 past it’s reserve, with an amazing 130 bids to sell for $1.757m, so some surprising sales results to start spring in Melbourne.

For the first weekend of Spring property season according to REIV, Melbourne achieved a 61% clearance rate. There were 611 auctions held this weekend, with 296 sold at auction and 236 being passed in, 126 of those on a vendor bid. There were also an additional 165 private sales reported. The overall fall in prices for houses and apartments during the past 12 months has been less than 1 per cent, from June 2017 to June 2018 according to analysis by CoreLogic.

With harder to find quality stock on the market, some buyers are finding themselves emotionally attached to a property, but worried about being the odd-person-out at auctions not knowing enough about the market conditions to know when to bid and when not to. The fear of overspending is now greater than the fear of missing out, that is until they failed to bid and then enter an auction after the auction with the lack of transparency. We have seen a few properties selling well beyond the reserve, in extremely contested auctions…but these contested auctions are in the lower price points or in suburbs with high income capacity above the average property prices, and predominately owner occupier buyers who are still accessing cheap funds from the banks.

Kind Regards,

The Team at Elite.

6/770 Malvern Road, Toorak Sold for $1,374,000

A gorgeous land mark Toorak mansion apartment, one hundred years old this year, and with heritage listing, went under the hammer in front of a cool crowd of about 40 onlookers. Bidding opened at $1.15m and was quickly rebuffed with a vendor bid of $1.2m. The bidder was happy to provide a rise of another $20k but it stalled from there. After the auctioneer referred inside with his vendor it was on. Another bidder jumped in at $1.24m, and the initial bidder went momentarily into seclusion. A third bidder then entered the fray and spirited bidding ensued until the third bidder ran away with the keys at a healthy $1.374m. Quote range was $1.2m-$1.3m. It was on the market at $1.32m.

19 Acland Street, St Kilda Sold for Unknown

This Beautiful terrace in the heart of St Kilda, at the crest of the hill connecting Fitzroy street and Acland Street has been meticulously renovated and extended to offer magnificently proportioned light-filled living and entertaining areas, and has a west facing rear garden. With a crowd of around 50 or more, the bidding started on a vendor bid of $2,250,000 and the auctioneer tried to encourage bidding from a reported 4-5 interested parties to bid but no one was willing to put up their hand so the auctioneer passed the property in on the one and only Vendor Bid of $2.250.

42 MAcfarland Street, Brunswick Sold for $1,100,000

In Brunswick, a three-bedroom California Bungalow sold post-auction after passing in with four bids, split between the vendor and one registered bidder. With Generous bedrooms sizes and access to a stylish bathroom, the lounge boasted an ornate fireplace and elegant leadlight bay window while the kitchen/meals domain incorporates a charming window seat which overlooks the covered north facing alfresco deck. Bidding opened at $1 million, and the property passed in at $1,055,000. The sole bidder later bought 42 Macfarlane Street for the $1.1 million reserve.

Clearance Rates
Melbourne

3rd September 2018
This week: 611 Auctions

Clearance: 61%

Last Year: 73% [source: REIV]

Houses in Melbourne are spending longer on the market but overall the market appears to be balanced.  First home buyers are active in the marketplace with more affordable properties achieving strong competition at auction.  Higher prices homes are seeing less bidders at auction.

Chris Tollhurst from Domain commented over the weekend that “Buyers under the age of 30 were among the most energetic purchasers of residential real estate across Melbourne’s suburbs on Saturday as property investors held fire.”  We would say this is an accurate assessment of what we witnessed on Saturday as well.

This week a clearance rate of 60% was achieved from 649 auctions. Of those properties, 319 sold at auction, 70 sold before auction, 1 sold after auction and and 259 were passed in. There were also 182 private sales over the past week.

With buyers now appearing as though they hold all the cards at auctions, there is still good competition out there for sought after and prime locations. With underlying demand for inner-suburban properties in Melbourne across different price brackets which are rock-solid, this market is proving that A grade properties are selling and selling well, whilst B and C grade properties are seeing buyers in more control, allowing properties to pass in and negotiate thereafter.

Kind Regards,

The Team at Elite.

1/29 Goleen Street, Coburg North Sold for $742,000

The auction attracted a large crowd of 70 people, mostly first home buyers and some downsizers. The property is a very neat, updated, two bedroom, one bathroom 1940’s home on a subdivided block. The property was quoted at $590,000 to $649,000 prior to auction. An opening bid of $600,000 – bidding was slow to start however once the property was announced on the market at $680,000 the was a sea of hands in the air. Six bidders in total drove the price to $742,000 where it sold to a first home buyer.

22/10 Blackburn Street, Surrey Hills Sold for $780,000

A decent crowd of about 40, mostly young home buyers and some investors attended the auction in a fabulous pocket of Surrey Hills. A vendor bid opened proceedings at $650k and the auctioneer called for a $20k rise. Excruciatingly it took all his efforts to finally receive a genuine bid at $670k from an elderly lady standing on her own. Another buyer eventually entered the fray and they very slowly built bids up until the second buyer was last man standing at $775k. The property was still not on the market and the buyer went inside to negotiate with the agent. The property was later sold for $780k to the man with the final bid.

126 Maysia Street, Canterbury Sold for $1,910,000

In Canterbury, Kay & Burton’s Scott Patterson rallied five bidders at the auction of an English-style, inter-war villa on 757 square metres. The three-bedroom home sold for $1.91 million, about $100,000 above the reserve. With a largely original layout and located in the exclusive Hassett Estate, this superb 3 bedroom family home reveals amazing accommodation, lovely lead lighting, stucco walls, solid timber features, ornate ceilings and flexible living in this prestigious residential position.

Clearance Rates
Melbourne

27 August 2018
This week: 649 Auctions

Clearance: 60%

Last Year: 76% [source: REIV]

With the auction market stabilising it appears everyone is getting ready for Spring Auction time in Melbourne with more properties to start coming onto the market in the next few weeks.

This weekend a clearance rate of 57% was achieved from 624 auctions. Of those properties, 297 sold at auction, 59 sold before auction, 2 sold after auction and and 266 were passed in. There were also 183 private sales over the past week.

As many investors take a pause in the property market, it opens up the opportunity for first homebuyers, upgraders and downsizers. Although it appears downsizers are a little quiet in the marketplace at present.

August is looking like it will have lower auction numbers to last year, but there are some great property finds to be found in the Melbourne Property market.

Kind Regards,

The Team at Elite.

23 Odessa St St Kilda Sold for $1,580,000

A run down St Kilda home in bad shape attracted huge interest at auction on the weekend and achieved what was thought to be an unlikely result. The sale was a deceased estate and the agent had concerns as buyers were indicating that it was going to take big budgets to bring things period home back to its former glory. However, the auction was strong and a bidding frenzy resulted in a sale price of $1,580,000 which was almost $200,000 over reserve.

2/4 Garden Court, Elwood Sold for an undisclosed amount

Positioned in an exceptional Art Deco complex and delivering an astonishing amount of space and light, this coveted 3 bedroom apartment offers amazing Elwood convenience while having the St Kilda Botanical Gardens at the end of the street. Bidding opened with a vendor bid at $900,000, immediately knocking out some potential bidders, and there were around 11 more bids before being passed in at $992,500. The property sold immediately afterwards for an undisclosed amount.

18 Holyrood Street, Camberwell Sold for $2,020,000

The last sale in this street was over 10 years ago for $1,300,000 so this property is located in a very tightly held pocket of Camberwell. This 5 bedroom art deco property on decent land of 760 sqm of land with a heritage overlay and single dwelling convenant attracted strong bidding showing that A Grade properties are still selling well. The property was quoted at $1,800,000 – $1,900,000 before auction and the bidding started on a vendor bid of $1,800,000 but then competitive bidding caused the price to storm past its $1,950,000 reserve and selling for $2,020,000.

Clearance Rates
Melbourne

19 August 2018
This week: 624 Auctions

Clearance: 57%

Last Year: 77% [source: REIV]

This weekend a clearance rate of 64% was achieved from 555 auctions. Of those properties, 273 sold and 201 were passed in, 112 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 120 private sales over the past week.
It’s a remarkable thing that the RBA has just clocked over two years of no changes to the 1.5 per cent official interest rates. But the tighter lending conditions have made a difference to buyer activity.In Melbourne, properties on offer for less than $750,000 and with potential for development or renovation were the strong performers this weekend.

Properties in the $1.5 million and above range were finding more difficulties in selling, unless they ticked all the boxes for buyers.

Regards,

The Team at Elite.

63 Arthurton Road, Northcote Sold for $1,465,000

With its versatile two-level design and surprisingly large single-front block, this freestanding period home was pushed $35,000 past the reserve by three bidders on Saturday, in front of a crowd of almost 50. The auction commenced with a $1.3 million vendor bid, and was followed by a mix of $1000 and $10,000 bids. The property sold to a young family moving from Sydney.

2/15 Hennessy Avenue, Elwood Sold for $888,000

This beautifully renovated top floor 2 bedroom apartment in ‘Neville Court’ which features only four boutique properties in the complex had an advertised price guide of up to $820,000 pre-auction. A crowd of more than 80 onlookers attended the auction which commenced with an opening bid of $700,000, followed by a vendor bid of $770,000. The apartment was on the market after the third bid of $840,000, and three bidders pushed the price up to $888,000 where the hammer fell to an investor. 

50A Melville Road, Brunswick West Sold for $460,000

Measuring 6.1m across the front along with a depth of 15m (approx 91.5sqm in total), the block itself boasts Residential Growth Zone status (RGZ1) for multi-level potential. The auction attracted a lot of attention to watch the small block sandwiched between shops and St Johns Anglican Church go under the hammer. An opening bid of $390,000 kicked off the auction, and bidding rises of $10,000 to $1000 followed before it was called on the market at $430,000. A young family became the new owners at $460,000.

Clearance Rates<

11 & 12 August 2018

This week: 555 Auctions

Clearance: 64%

Last Year: 72% [source: REIV]

This weekend a clearance rate of 62% was achieved from 401 auctions. Of those properties, 199 sold and 154 were passed in, 60 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 165 private sales over the past week.

The number of auctions has dipped considerably this weekend compared to last weekend of the same weekend last year,but this is due to school holidays.

School holidays have now finished so we should see a rise in stock levels and auctions of the next one to two months before another slowdown due to the AFL finals.

10/393 Gilbert Road, Preston. Sold for $702,000

Advertised at $580,000 – $630,000, the auction of this two bedroom unit in Preston surprised everyone when the opening bid was higher than the price guide. An opening bid of $640,000 kicked off the auction, and the battle began between three bidders offering $5,000 increments until the price reached the high $600,000’s. At that point bidding slowed down to $1,000 or $500 increments before the property was announced as sold at $702,000.

17 Gipps Street, Richmond. Sold for $1,117,000

On a wide street in the heart of Richmond, this one bedroom plus study character-filled abode that sold for $67,000 past the reserve on Saturday. Two bidders, seeing the corner block’s potential, and loving the location being so close to Swan Street and the MCG, battled it out with bids of $10,000 and $5,000 increments. Bidding slowed to $1,000 increments before the hammer was brought down at $1.117 million.

12 Turner Street, Abbotsford. Sold for $1,620,000

This large double fronted, beautifully renovated Victorian in arguably Abbotsford’s best street, attracted 50 onlookers to the auction. The auction commenced with a $1.4 million opening bid with two couples in their 30s going toe to toe in an attempt to win the keys. The bidding continued up to $1.6 million. When the home was declared selling. It was soon sold to the first couple to bid for $1.62 million.

Clearance Rates Melbourne

14 & 15 July 2018

This week: 401 Auctions

Clearance: 62%

Last Year: 77% [source: REIV]

This weekend a clearance rate of 62% was achieved from 446 auctions. Of those properties, 224 sold and 169 were passed in, 79 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 169 private sales over the past week.

The Melbourne Property Market is currently quiet due to school holidays, however the 62% clearance rate is a still a solid result considering.  Vendors of larger family homes are holding off until after school holidays before listing their properties, in the hope of achieving a better result.

606/120 Palmer Street, Richmond. Sold for $678,000

About 20 people watched on as three bidders vied for the keys of this two bedroom two bathroom top floor apartment being sold by a Richmond Tigers player, Alex Rance. Quoted at $620,000 – $680,000, the home offered two balconies looking out to Melbourne’s north and CBD. The property was announced on the market at $672,000 and sold shortly after at $678,000.

86A Gordon Street, Coburg. Sold for $1,505,000

Surrounded by lush gardens on an expansive 700sqm+ block, this landmark Victorian combines lifestyle, period character, contemporary comfort in its renovated glory. The three bedroom home was built in 1904, and had been purchased by the vendors for $128,500 in 1996 in a dilapidated state. A crowd of 40 watched on as three bidders battled it out. But it was a $4,000 rise that knocked out the competition who were bidding in $1,000 increments, that seale the deal for the new owners at $1.505 million.

124 Stanhope Street, Malvern. Sold for $2,740,000

A spectacular presentation of classic Victorian architecture, this c1893 home tastefully mingles the glorious attributes of its day with our beloved 21st century comforts and is located close to renowned schools including Malvern Central School, while just footsteps to transport, shopping, and eateries. The last time this four bedroom house sold was in 2006 for $1.115 million. On Saturday the bidding opened at $2.7 million. The property was on the market at $2.74 million with two bidders and sold for exactly that amount.

Clearance Rates Melbourne

7 & 8 July 2018

This week: 446 Auctions

Clearance: 62%

Last Year: 76% [source: REIV]

This weekend a clearance rate of 63% was achieved from 710 auctions. Of those properties, 361 sold and 264 were passed in, 136 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 142 private sales over the past week.
Astute buyers are acting quickly on properties that they know are solid purchases. A sign that the market is not quite as dire as the media have been reporting.
Inner city properties offered below $800,000 were hotly this weekend, with many auctions attracting three or four bidders.  The market is still very active and it will be interesting to see how long this balanced market lasts.

Regards,
The Team at Elite.

5/28 Rockley Road, South Yarra sold for $1,1510,000
Bids were flying everywhere in an effort to secure this rare style of home in South Yarra.  The property was a 1960’s 3 level townhouse with large wraparound courtyard and large garage.  The property needed updating but this did allow a buyer to put their own stamp on the property.  A downsizer secured the property which sold for $260,000 above the top of the price range they were quoting of $1.15m to $1.25m.

247 Coppin Street, Richmond sold for $2,420,000
Directly facing Barkly Gardens, this once-charming Victorian Italianate home, offered for the first time in nearly sixty years a brilliant opportunity to secure a rarely-found 405m2 (approx.) allotment with rear right-of-way access in Richmond’s most idyllic setting. The rundown three-bedroom house soared $220,000 above the reserve with three bidders putting up their hands at the auction. A $1.7 million bid started the auction, and the property was announced on the market at $2.2 million. It was then that the bidding really took off with rises of $5000 and $10,000 increments before the hammer was brought down at $2.42 million.

13 Lansdown Street, Brighton East sold for $2,125,000
The auction of this architecturally designed home in a popular location near Landcox Park sparked interest from 3 bidders.  The property was announced on the market at $2.05m and sold for $2.215m which was $65,000 over reserve.  The sale price was not a surprising result as the home was on a good sized land of 775 sqm with a north facing rear.

This weekend a clearance rate of 61% was achieved from 731 auctions. Of those properties, 374 sold and 285 were passed in, 145 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 103 private sales over the past week.
Buyers are certainly welcoming the relief that the market is providing now with less bidders at auction across the board. However we believe the Melbourne market is increasingly running at two speeds. There is a widening gap between A-grade properties with quality renovations in good streets, close to schools, and less desirable properties.

Renovated period homes close to shops and transport in quiet streets, and quality villa units are attracting competition and in many cases still selling above their reserve.
Although the clearance rate has dropped, good quality properties are still selling well and should continue to do so.

Regards,
The Team at Elite.

21 Hume Street, Armadale. Sold for $2,800,000
A decent crowd of about 50 gathered in the narrow street to see a single level 10 year old 2 bedroom home go under the hammer. No surprise to anyone that the crowd was mostly downsizes (and neighbours). The lucky auctioneer didn’t have to wait long when he called for bids as an elderly gentleman politely offered his opening bid of $2.3m. Again not long before another silver haired gentleman returned another bid of $25k and so ensued a game of tennis – as the first bidder cleverly remarked. A couple of hopeful knock out bids from both until the first bidder had the gavel knocked down to him at $2.8m. Not bad for a 2 bedder!

52a Lansell Road, Toorak. Sold for undisclosed price.
A popular Sue Carr designed brand new three-bedroom townhouse had the auction conducted from the kitchen to protect the potential bidders from freezing in the Melbourne cold. The auctioneer, Justin Long didn’t bother to call for bids. Instead just opening with a vendor bid of $4.75m. From there one bid was extracted from the audience from a well dressed family. Long was about to pass the property in to the family when $5k rise was offered before the first bidder quickly hit back with another $10k. A few more bids followed until the original bidder had the luxurious home passed in to him at $4.85m. The property sold for an undisclosed price.

8 Eumeralla Road, Caulfield South. Sold for $1,750,000
A crowd of about 40 people attended the auction of this large four-bedroom home on a corner block in a prime location with approximately 613m2 allotment. It was a young family who secured the keys after a 7 minute auction with only one bid of $1.55 million. The Californian Bungalow with charming facade was passed in and sold after negotiations for $1.75 million.

This weekend a clearance rate of 62% was achieved from 843 auctions. Of those properties, 439 sold and 321 were passed in, 174 of those on a vendor bid. There were also 174 private sales over the past week.
Listing activity is quite strong across the city, and there was an increase in the number of auctions held this week compared to last week. Attendances at auctions across the board were very strong so the market is showing there is still a lot of interest from prospective buyers, but buyers appear to be holding off from bidding.  This may indicate the eased buying conditions could be shortlived.

There is no doubt the Melbourne property market has turned into a balanced market which is very much welcomed by buyers entering into the market.
Regards,
The Team at Elite.

9 Stonehaven Avenue, Malvern East. Property Passed In. 
About 30 gathered to see the old Edwardian go under the hammer. Renovated and extended some time ago the home sits pretty on the North side of the tree lined street and is surrounded by some old and many new, large family homes in the popular family orientated location. A vendor bid of $1.95m took some time to eventually see a rise from the crowd of $25k, to take the price to $1.975m, but then that was it. No further bids, and the property passed in to the Chinese couple on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

16 Jupiter Street, Caulfield South. Sold for $1,705,000 
The auction of this four-bedroom three-bathroom home in a popular location of Caulfield South drew a large crowd of over 60 attendees and achieved some bidding competition. The first bidder was bullish and started the auction at $1.5m with another gentleman contesting his bidding, but he ran out of steam very quickly. The original party bid strong when a third bidder jumped in who then went on to win the keys. The property was announced on the market at $1.65m and sold for $1.705m.

15 McFarlane Court, Highett. Sold for $1,360,000 
This substantial two-storey, four bedroom house, set with a sunny rear orientation in Highett’s quietest hidden cul-de-sac location sold under the hammer on Saturday. With a bid of $1.175 million kicking things off, two families bids pushed the price $160,000 above the reserve at the auction. The property had a pre-auction price guide of $1.15 – $1.25 million. It last sold in 1977 for $20,800 according to CoreLogic records.