Melbourne Auction Results – November 18, 2013
By Peter Sarmas on 18 Nov 2013
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Melbourne Auction Results November 18, 2013
We Are Either Entering a Boom or Already In One
When I sat down for my dose of The Financial Review on Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help thinking we are either entering a boom or we are already in one.
Success stories were splashed across the front page, including Freelancer.com’s public float on the Australia Stock Market, and the fact that more floats are expected when the right conditions become apparent.
On the very same page there was a story about two young executives facing their downfall over insider trading. One has already been jailed, while the other will appear in court on the same charges.
It almost feels like the late 1980s when massive successes were regularly paired with tales of corruption and criminal entrepreneurs Bond and Skase dominated the news.
Have we really entered this era again, or is this just a taste of what’s to come?
Stay tuned.
Melbourne Auction Results
This weekend was the seventh weekend this year that auction numbers exceeded a staggering 1000.
It’s reassuring that Melbourne property buyers were able to absorb these large numbers. The clearance rate was a healthy 71 per cent on 1178 auctions.
According to RP Data, residential houses are now spending 33 days on the market, which is in line with figures demonstrating lower vendor discounting for November.
“This weekend was the seventh weekend this year that auction numbers exceeded a staggering 1000.”
“This data reflects the overall situation which is seeing new residential listings increase compared to a year ago whilst the overall number of homes for sale has reduced,” said Robert Larocca of RP Data.
Interestingly, over the last month a -0.5 per cent change in the dwelling price index indicates that Melbourne house prices have flattened.
Data indicates Melbourne house prices have flattened
Photo: Stephen Michael Barnett
What Property Experts Experienced on the Ground
Over the weekend, buyer advocates Kim Easterbrook and Cate Bakos were on hand to offer their reports on the property market.
Buyer Advocate: Kim Easterbrook
According to Kim Easterbrook, “a number of factors seem to be positively affecting the Melbourne property market. We are seeing strong interest and competition in the $400,000 to $800,000 price range. A large segment of the market seems to be driven by investors.”
She referred to an auction she attended at 6/15 Wheatland Road in Malvern as an example.
“This was a highly contested, two bedroom renovated apartment in a small block,” she said. “It had car parking, it was in a location close to Malvern train station and it had shops in a beautiful, quiet street.”
“Properties located in suburbs close to the city, in quiet streets and at entry level prices are most in demand.”
“There were no doubts this was going to be a hot property. Five bidders fought to secure it, and it’s no question there were other buyers in the crowd who didn’t get an opportunity to put their hands up. The property sold for $643,000, which was well above the $600,000 reserve price.”
Ms Easterbrook went on to discuss other sectors of the market, noting that properties located in suburbs close to the city, in quiet streets and at entry level prices are most in demand.
“They are largely being snapped up by investors,” she said. “Second to this, we are noticing that there is pressure on the price of family homes in the 10 to 15 kilometre radius next to popular school zones (e.g. McKinnon and Balwyn High schools), train stations and shops. Their price points range from $1 million to $1.5 million.”
“These buyers are predominantly upsizing from first homes they have now outgrown,” she continued. “Many are choosing to keep their first property as an investment property rather than sell it.”
Buyer Advocate: Cate Bakos
Buyer advocate Cate Bakos told a similar story about her weekend experiences.
“Today was no exception to the increased buyer competition and reducing new listings we have been seeing recently,” she said. “Buyers in higher demand, inner urban areas scrambled to secure properties going under the hammer.”
“Melbourne is not entirely in a vendor’s market.”
She believes it’s fair to say that Melbourne is not entirely in a vendor’s market, however.
“Some auction properties still failed to sell under the hammer,” she said. “This was the case with a property I secured on Saturday for my client in Cheltenham. A lack of bids on the day left me to negotiate with the agent and to my delight, I managed to successfully secure a three bedroom unit.”
Like Ms Easterbrook, Ms Bakos also sees strength in certain pockets of Melbourne.
“My industry colleagues were sharing their happy results all day on social media. I can only conclude that the tightly held inner suburbs are faring very well in this final sprint to the Christmas Eve finish line.”
“The following few weeks will only become more intense in these areas.”
Top 5 Houses
1. 50 Fellows Street, Kew $4,100,000
2. 520 Arthurs Seat Road, Red Hill $3,300,000
3. 22 Mangarra Road, Canterbury $2,830,000
4. 23 Rose Street, Bentleigh $2,635,000
5. 2 Alma Road, Camberwell $2,580,000
Top 5 Bargain Houses
1. 349 Frankston – Dandenong Road, Frankston North $255,000
2. 22 Hampstead Drive, Hoppers Crossing $255,000
3. 13 Regal Avenue, Thomastown $297,000
4. 3 Grist Street, St Albans $306,000
5. 6 Raimeno Street, Lalor $317,000
Top 5 Apartments
1. 72 Oban Street, South Yarra $2,335,000
2. 2/2 Hastings Road, Hawthorn East $1,655,000
3. 1/29 Huntingtower Road, Armadale $1,625,000
4. 4/168 Toorak Road West, South Yarra $1,400,000
5. 62 Beacon Vista, Port Melbourne $1,350,000
Top 5 Bargain Apartments
1. 33/25 Redan Street, St Kilda $140,000
2. 404/408 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne $210,000
3. 11/133 Park Street, Moonee Ponds $221,100
4. 4/3 Perkin Avenue, Pascoe Vale $252,500
5. 10/18 Orange Grove, Balaclava $257,500
Source: REIV
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