Auction volume is peaking

Ray White NSW and ACT head of auctions Perry Edmondson-Clark said auction volume was continuing to build in November and currently tracking towards a personal best for the network, with 1,458 currently scheduled.

“372 of those auctions were this week with clearance rates sitting around 60 per cent. While clearance is down on November 23, it is expected, given the choice available to buyers,” Mr Edmondson-Clark said.

“We continue to see some sales not eventuating, as there is a gap between buyer and seller that cannot be bridged, often due to an inflated seller expectation.”

“We continue to hear buyers talk about their desire to purchase before Christmas. With a small period of time left to launch, if you are considering a sale, the next 7-10 days are critical to get your property online if you wish to sell before the break,” Mr Edmondson-Clark said.

81 Clissold Parade, Campsie

• Sold under the hammer for $2 million

• Four registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: Manuel Roussakis - 0412 973 793

• Ray White Canterbury

• Auctioneer: Tim Snell, Ray White

Mr Roussakis said the winning bidder of this home in the heart of Campsie was an investor.

“The home needed some major TLC. The floors were caving in and it needed major repair work. It’s a deceased estate sale and a family member had been living there.”

Mr Roussakis said buyers looked past the faults due to its fantastic location with potential for rezoning.

“The marketing is softer now; we are not getting 10+ registered bidders like before. The people that are registering though are serious and ready to buy. Marketing plays the most important role in getting buyers through a property.”

11 Coolabah Avenue, Turramurra

• Sold under the hammer for $5.07 million

• Three registered bidders, two active

• Lead agent: David Walker - 0414 184 911

• Ray White Upper North Shore

David Walker said that the winning bidders were a local family upsizing, and the sellers were a family upgrading locally as well. The price guide for the home was $4.8 million.

“We are getting deals together, because of the time of year; there is no new stock on the market. People are trying to secure things before Christmas,” Mr Walker said.

16 Warrowa Avenue, West Pymble

• Sold under the hammer for $4.32 million

• 12 registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Thomas Merriman - 0401 840 859

• Ray White Upper North Shore

Thomas Merriman said that the winning bidders were a local family from nearby Castle Hill.

“The sellers have been here for 20 years, and had renovated the house 12 years ago. They are making a sea change up the coast,” he said.

“Everything for us is selling at auction; there are still great buyer numbers, but people are holding back a little. There are still outstanding results like this one. It was a great house, positioned perfectly in the market. The buyers responded positively to it being well priced.”

10 River Avenue, Chatswood West

• Sold under the hammer for $2.62 million

• 11 registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Jessica Cao - 0466 877 260

• Ray White Upper North Shore

Jessica Cao said that in front of a massive crowd, a young first home buyer, who had been renting in the eastern suburbs, ended up securing the property.

“The sellers are relocating and they were thrilled that we got there in the end, despite the initial hesitance from bidders,” she said.

14/6A Ingleby St, Oatlands

• Sold under the hammer for $1.102 million (reserve was $970,000)

• Four registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: Brandon Hay - 0434 986 284

• Ray White Baulkham Hills

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

Brandon Hay said a young Chinese first home buyer couple won this exciting auction.

“We had a few downsizers and first home buyers bidding. The underbidder downsizer was battling it out, they were all lovely people and I wish they could have all won!”

Mr Hay said buyers have a lot more choice now with the current large amount of stock on offer.

“It is harder to hold onto buyers, especially in the Hills because there is a lot of stock out there. Driving inspections is extremely important, rather than just relying on the portals to advertise. Being proactive and specifically reaching out to buyers is essential at the moment.”

89 Griffiths Avenue, Bankstown

• Sold under the hammer for $1.676 million (reserve was $1.6 million)

• Five registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: John Yatman - 0423 344 868

• Ray White Punchbowl

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

John Yatman said the sellers were absolutely thrilled with the result after offloading their investment property.

“The winning bidder was a first home buyer who had been trying to buy since 2021. He has missed out on quite a few auctions with us. We were absolutely thrilled to hand him the keys. He is a single gentleman and decided that this was the one for him. He will rent it in the short term with the plan to live there,” Mr Yatman said.

Mr Yatman said dual income properties were performing really well, properties with granny flats, because it makes the overall financials so much more attractive.

“There is a bit of a shift to a buyers market. Anything over the $2 million price point at the moment is struggling, because lending is hard.”

134 Kangaroo Point Road, Kangaroo Point

• Sold under the hammer for $3.4 million (reserve was $3.25 million)

• Three registered bidders and all active

• Lead agent: Adam Crawley - 0401 333 442

• Ray White Sutherland Shire

Sales executive Alyssa Kaly said that the winning bidders of this family home with water views were a young family, upsizing to their dream home.

“The seller was downsizing; she was living there by herself and it was too big for her. She plans to stay local,” Ms Kaly said.

“The market is softening; we are seeing less people through open homes. Great quality properties are still performing well. Around six months ago we were seeing an incredible number of bidders. Properties are still selling well, but not like ‘hot cakes’ anymore,” she said.

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said auction volume has settled into a consistent pattern with 242 scheduled this week across Victoria. Next week has 238 booked.

“It looks like the ship has settled as we sail towards the home stretch with five weeks remaining on the real estate calendar,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“In what is now labelled a 'normal' or 'steady' market, competition across all auctions was healthy with 2.5 active bidders on average and a confidence building clearance rate of 80.3 per cent, a huge increase of 14.2 percent year on year.”

“Auctions are set to dominate the real estate landscape over the next few weeks, with sellers opting to set their big day on any day of the week, to ensure they don't miss out. Twilight auctions mid-week are becoming increasingly popular, with Wednesdays being the strongest clearance rate of the week at 100 per cent for all auctions conducted.”

50 Lahinch Street, Broadmeadows

• Sold under the hammer for $725,000

• 20 registered bidders, seven active

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Steph Shepherdson - 0400 451 400

• Ray White Craigieburn

Steph Shepherdson said the sellers were very receptive and trusted the auction process.

“I have sold for their family three times before. They had owned this property for 53 years, so it was a very emotional day for them,” she said.

The winning bidder was an investor from Sydney, who dialed into the auction. There were another seven investors on the Zoom link, and 80 people out on the street watching.

“There were lots of different opportunities for this one; subdivision potential, affordability to first home buyers, and proximity to the city,” Ms Shepherdson said.

“We had lots of Sydney bidders, as well as some from Western Australia and Queensland. Melbourne is experiencing an influx of interstate investors, as Melbourne is believed to be at the bottom of the market in terms of growth. We can see prices rising due to this interstate interest.”

81 Devon Street, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.307 million (reserve was $1.1 million)

• 14 registered bidders, six active

• Lead agent: Trevor Bowen - 0417 501 327

• Ray White Cheltenham

• Auctioneer: Greg Brydon, Ray White

The classic brick home was called onto the market with only the second bid. There were 92 people in the crowd and 55 bids placed.

Trevor Bowen said because the bidding started so high, it knocked a lot of bidders out straight away.

“It offered so much to so many different types of buyers. We had many renovators and only one developer,” he said.

“The winning bidders were a young family with two kids, moving about nine houses away. I sold their townhouse for them a few months ago. They were upsizers, and not wanting to leave the golden triangle.”

Mr Bowen said the deceased estate sale was being managed by two adult sons, who were overwhelmed with the result.

3 Oak Avenue, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.366 million (reserve was $1.35 million)

• Four bidders

• Lead agent: Trevor Bowen - 0417 501 327

• Ray White Cheltenham

• Auctioneer: Greg Brydon, Ray White

Mr Bowen then went on to sell a charming 3-bedroom home around the corner. The winning bidders were a young couple from Hawthorn who wanted to come Bayside

“The sellers lived in it and rented it out for 18 months, and are selling it because of land tax and compliance that Victoria is going through at the moment,” Mr Bowen said.

“Overall it has been an incredible day around the grounds for the Bayside suburbs of Melbourne.”

2 Parkview Ave, Brunswick East

• Sold under the hammer $1.52 million

• Six registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Jamil Allouche - 0410 415 197

• Ray White Brunswick

The winners of this inner-Melbourne renovator were a couple upsizing from an apartment.

“The location was the huge selling point for this property, however we were absolutely blown away by how well this auction went,” Jamil Allouche said.

“The sellers lived in the home for over 50 years. The parents passed away a few years ago and kept it as a rental, but decided that now was the time to sell it. My vendors were such beautiful people, and it is so nice to see good things happen to good people. It was incredibly emotional,” Mr Allouche said.

“In general the market is performing reasonably well. We are seeing strong results and a bit more confidence in the market, compared to a few months ago. People are feeling more comfortable, we are noticing a few more bidders for auctions.”

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said heavy rain in Brisbane dampened some auctions but others continued to explode with activity.

“Today was an entree for the main event. On Monday Ray White Queensland will host the next Brisbane 100 auction event at Howard Smith Wharves, which will see 115 auctions going under the hammer. In the next 48 hours, Brisbane will really turn it on and energy will be felt in the market,” Mr Croft said.

“There were some real highlights today, including 16 Magnolia Street, Stretton which sold for $1.520 million after four bidders fought it out. Eric Li from Ray White Robertson managed the sale.”

“For the buyers that were out and about today and braved the weather, there were some really positive outcomes,” Mr Croft said.

264 King Street, Caboolture

• Sold under the hammer for $920,000 (reserve was $800,000)

• Three registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: Nick Thornton - 0407 736 046

• Ray White Wilston

• Auctioneer: Mitch Peereboom, Ray White

Nick Thornton said he was blown away by the auction result today.

“$780,000 was the best offer prior to auction. I thought that if we could get the sellers to $820,000 then I had done a great job,” Mr Thornton said.

“I was referred to the seller, and they loved everything we put in front of them and trusted the auction process. It was a family home for over 50 years, with six children,” he said.

All family members were there to watch the auction unfold and were absolutely over the moon.

“The winning bidder was an Indian gentleman who I have sold to before. He is an investor and plans to rent it out,” he said.

The underbidder made the offer of $780,000 prior to auction. She ended up bidding for $915,000 on auction day.

“This is the beauty of the auction; pressure and competition. The buyer knows the value of the property when they see their competition in front of them,” Mr Thornton said.

33 Highbury Street, Acacia Ridge

• Sold under the hammer for $890,000 (reserve was $850,000)

• Seven registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Bevin Powell - 0405 650 609

• Ray White Annerley

Mr Powell said two bidders fought it out for the postwar home to push up the auction past its reserve. An investor from Tarragindi was the eventual winning bidder.

“The sellers bought it 10 years ago and renovated it; they want to move closer to the city,” he said.

“The market has normalised; good properties are selling well. It is all about presentation. We are back to a normal, solid market.”

31 Lucy Street, Albion

• Sold under the hammer for $1.115 million

• 9 registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Ashley Robinson - 0417 771 491

• Ray White Metro North

• Auctioneer: David Treloar, Ray White

Mr Robinson said that it was a textbook, brilliant auction today for this challenging home in Brisbane’s inner north.

“There was rapid fire energetic bidding, with around 50 people there. There was really strong bidding from the start.”

“It is the first time this home has sold in over 60 years and is a complete renovator. It has only ever had two owners. They were absolutely over the moon; they had held it as an investment property for all that time,” Mr Robinson said.

Mr Robinson said that the buyer was a gentleman who bought it as an investment for the family trust, and that they will likely renovate it and sell it.

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said it had been an incredible week of auctions, with 158 auctions for the week in the state, with 95 of those being Ray White auctions.

“We are sitting at 60 per cent market share for auctions. In November, we have 396 auctions scheduled to go ahead which is a record for the year,” Mr Morris said.

“The preliminary clearance rate is around 76 per cent, which sits on par with last week.

There were 5.5 registered bidders on average in SA this week, slightly up on last week.”

“I have had auctions every day this week, and of the 15 auctions that I have called so far, all 15 of them have sold. The market is still extremely strong in South Australia, and it is looking like that won’t change anytime soon,” Mr Morris said.

9 Almond Avenue, Glynde

• Sold under the hammer for $1.2 million (reserve was $1.020 million)

• Eight registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Linda Clemente - 0409 099 046

• Ray White Norwood

• Auctioneer: George Kargiotis, Ray White

Linda Clemente said the winning bidder for this original 1963 home was a developer, who will likely be knocking it down and building two on the block.

“There was a mixture of owner occupiers and investors / developers bidding,” Ms Clemente said.

“The sellers have just bought a new home in the East. The settlements married up perfectly for their new home purchase. The market is great in general, we had another brilliant land auction last night with 12 registered bidders. For quality properties that people can see value in, they are performing very well.”

22 Lyndon Road, Macdonald Park

• Sold under the hammer for $1.176 million (reserve was $1.050 million)

• Nine registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Jamie Wood (0403 592 500)

• Ray White Barossa Valley

• Auctioneer: Darren Pratt, Ray White

Jamie Wood said that the auction of this brick family home saw a huge 180 bids placed.

“Macdonald Park has had really high investor interest recently, with large blocks, close to the expressway and amenities,” he said.

“The online forum allows for smaller bidder increments. The winning bidder was a local investor from the north east of Adelaide.”

“Most recently it was a rental property for the sellers, who had once lived in it before they moved interstate.

231 Gilbert Street, Adelaide

• Sold under the hammer for $1.450 million

• Three registered bidders, two active

• Lead agent: Chris Xu - 0433 770 616

• Ray White Adelaide City

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White SA chief auctioneer

Chris Xu said that the winning bidder was a gentleman who lives on the same street in Adelaide City, and he is upgrading.

“He has a young family and wanted to upgrade from his nearby house. He fell in love with the property,” he said.

Mr Xu said that the auction started at $1.25 million. The underbidder also lived in the city and wanted to upgrade.

“The seller bought it in 2017 and had been holding it as an investment, he decided now was the time to hand it on to someone else who loved the property.”

“The champagne was flowing, mainly because it is 35 degrees in Adelaide today!”

Pictured below is auctioneer John Morris with an aspiring future auctioneer Mila. She is the daughter of business development manager Monique from Ray White Adelaide City.