Know Your Market When Buying in Bentleigh

By Catherine Cashmore on 16 Oct 2013
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29 McArthur Street, Bentleigh
Photo: Century 21

In any housing market, some suburbs perform better than others.

As a result, buyers need to focus on what’s happening on the ground in their suburb if they want to understand buyer competition and how this could affect prices in the short-term.

Over the weekend, I attended an auction in Bentleigh at 29 McArthur Street. The house was marketed as a knock down or ideal for a complete renovation, so its main value was the land and its position.

Bentleigh predominately attracts family buyers. The suburb, which can be found 13km from the CBD, was originally an area of market gardens before it was later subdivided into blocks approximately 500 to 600 sqm in size.

“Investors interested in Bentleigh should focus on houses if they want to capture strong market demand.”

Families residing in Bentleigh love its beautiful parks and the well-facilitated shopping strip on Centre Road.

There are two train stations – Bentleigh and Patterson stations – while Brighton East is just next door. Buyers who can’t afford to be situated closer to the Bay are drawn to the area, which benefits house prices.

The kitchen at 29 McArthur Street, Bentleigh
Photo: Century 21

The McArthur Street property was quoted at $720,000 to $760,000 with a reserve guaranteed to be within that range.

An analysis of comparable sales over the last few months indicated that its value would be between $760,000 and $780,000. However, due to the fact that only 19 houses are currently listed for sale in Bentleigh, competition was expected to push this figure to the upper end of the range.

The auction started with a vendor bid of $720,000, and it didn’t take long until four bidders registered their interest.

At $753,000, the property was declared on the market. Two bidders were still very active, and the price soon reached $800,000.

After the auctioneer encouraged the buyers to stretch “just that bit further,” the hammer finally fell at $806,500, which was a very healthy result for the vendor.

It’s worth noting that the weekend clearance rate for houses in Bentleigh was 100 per cent. Unit sales and townhouse subdivisions didn’t fare so well, recording 5 passed in results.

Investors interested in Bentleigh should focus on houses if they want to capture strong market demand from the predominant family buyer demographic. This will enhance their chances of getting good capital growth over the longer term.

For more information about Bentleigh, read our suburb profile here