Long weekend didn’t dampen auction spirits

Ray White New South Wales head of auctions Perry Edmondson-Clark said that it was a strong day of auctions for the group across Sydney, following the Easter long weekend.

“Market confidence remains consistent with the keenest of buyers happy to commit and secure a property. A grade properties remain at the top of the competition list with multiple examples of top notch properties experiencing very strong bidding.

“As we buckle in for a fun weekend of election auctions next Saturday, the market certainly seems to be in a strong position.”

9/1-3 Bay Road, Russell Lea

• Sold under the hammer for $1.375 million

• Eight registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Mario Carbone - 0415 457 417

• Ray White Drummoyne

Mario Carbone said there was competitive bidding from the moment it opened up.

“The winner was a lady who is downsizing and she liked the easy access for her elderly mum. She fell in love with the location, as did all the eight bidders,” he said.

“The seller is moving into aged care; her and her family were absolutely over the moon. The price is life changing for them. She has lived there since the early 90s.

“The market in general is interesting, properties are still selling well. Buyer work is incredibly important though; you need to constantly communicate with buyers and update them throughout the campaign,” he said.

19 Lomandra Place, Alfords Point

• Sold under the hammer for $5.288 million

• Four registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent: Matt Debreczeni - 0407 204 599

• Ray White Sutherland Shire

• Auctioneer - Dave McMahon, Ray White

Matt Debreczeni said the winning bidders for this grand acreage home were a local Sutherland Shire family who will now be selling their family home. They were looking at moving closer to family.

“The owner built the home in 2014, they are staying local as well and are upgrading to a bigger land holding.

“We have sold five from seven properties since Easter. This is our second sale for over $5 million this week. The public holidays haven’t affected things this year; in fact we are almost on track for a record month,” Mr Debreczeni said.

40 Seventh Avenue, Berala

• Sold under the hammer for $2.3 million

• 14 registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent: Frank La Malfa - 0401 316 877

• Ray White La Malfa Group

• Auctioneer: Mitch Owers, Ray White

Frank La Malfa said the bidding kicked off at $1.75 million, with 18 bids placed in total.

“The winning bidder was from a nearby suburb and they bought it as an investment. They will eventually build there and develop the land,” he said.

“It is the first time it has been offered in nearly 60 years. The seller is 93 and she was born in this home, she inherited it from her family. She is going to live with her daughter now up the coast. They are all over the moon.

“The market is still really strong; the amount of buyers is certainly creating competition. These sought-after land opportunities really go well, and we are getting plenty of interest from buyers from other areas of Sydney,” Mr La Malfa said.

256 Church Street, Newtown

• Sold under the hammer for $1.955 million

• Six registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent: Matthew Carvalho - 0404 006 744

• Ray White Glebe | Erskineville | Surrey Hills | Alexandria

• Auctioneer: Perry Edmondson-Clak

Matt Carvalho said that the winning bidder was a young couple upsizing from an apartment. “The seller had been here for 26 years, and he is retiring and has bought an acreage property outside of Sydney.

“The big drawcard for this home was that it was something different; it had the roof terrace with a cool warehouse feel,” Mr Carvalho said.

Meshel Bahnam and his team had 18 open homes today, among three back to back auctions:

34 Wolseley Street, Rooty Hill

• Sold under the hammer for $1.085 million

• Five registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent: Meshel Bahnam - 0478 664 123

• Ray White United Group

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

“The seller was an owner occupier for 36 years, and they are moving up to Woy Woy for retirement. The buyer was an investor locally, and most buyers were investors for this property,” Mr Bahnam said.

32 Spencer Street, Rooty Hill

• Sold under the hammer for $905,000

• Five registered bidders, four active bidders

• Lead agent: Meshel Bahnam - 0478 664 123

• Ray White United Group

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

“This home was a complete knock down rebuild job. The buyer was an investor who is going to fully renovate. The seller was also an investor,” Mr Bahnam said.

62 Morehead Avenue, Mount Druitt

• Sold under the hammer for $1.1 million

• Five registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent: Meshel Bahnam - 0478 664 123

• Ray White United Group

• Auctioneer: Alex Pattaro, Ray White

“The seller was an owner occupier who has been here since 2010, and another owner occupier family have now bought the property,” Mr Bahnam said.

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said the real estate market had been a little quieter in April with a trifecta of events keeping volume at bay.

“Easter, Anzac week and the lead up to the election has kept auction volume below two hundred each week for the past couple of weeks.

“That said, this downturn in volume played well into the hands of sellers who saw this as more of an opportunity to capitalise on what has been consistently high market demand.

“Over the past two weeks there have been 271 auctions scheduled across the state for the Ray White Victoria network, with a total clearance rate of 73.9 percent, an increase of 4.62 percent year on year.

“The number of active bidders jumped to 2.8 on average, again an increase on the same period last year of more than 12.6 per cent.

“Breaking the numbers down to this week alone, there were 167 auctions scheduled with an even stronger clearance rate of 74.5 per cent,” Mr Tyrrell said.

238 Windermere Drive, Ferntree Gully

• Sold under the hammer for $1.27 million

• 10 bidders

• Lead agent / auctioneer: Matt Morris - 0478 634 185

• Ray White Ferntree Gully

Matt Morris said the winning bidders were a local family who were away on holidays but bidding by phone, showing that if someone wants a property, they will find a way to bid.

“The sellers are downsizing, moving to the Mornington Peninsular. They were thrilled with the result.

“When properties are priced well, they are selling very well. In the last two months we have really seen the market pick up in Melbourne. People are considering potential rate drops before they actually happen,” Mr Morris said.

10A Poole Street, Burwood

• Sold under the hammer for $1.505 million

• Six bidders

• Lead agent: Hans Liu - 0430 595 592

• Ray White Burwood

Hans Liu said the house is only one year old, and that anything turnkey these days tends to be more popular.

“The buyer was a young local couple, it was their first home. They have moved away from the CBD to more space. The seller was an investor; it was a side-by-side subdivision.

“The market is recovering well in Melbourne from the last few years, and things are looking positive,” Mr Liu said.

8 Fletcher Parade, Burwood

• Sold under the hammer for $1.451 million

• 10 bidders

• Lead agent: Hans Liu - 0430 595 592

• Ray White Burwood

“The owner bought it in 2020 for $1 million, so they have made a really great profit without doing anything to the home,” said Hans Liu.

“The location of this home was really popular; across the road from a prestigious private school. The vendor also had very suitable and realistic expectations.

“The power of auctions has been very evident today; the prices are driven by emotion,” Mr Liu said.

34 Pines Way, Craigieburn

• Sold under the hammer for $677,000

• Seven bidders

• Lead agent: Vinny Singh - 0430 037 592

• Ray White Craigieburn

• Auctioneer: Trish Orrico, Ray White

Vinny Singh said that the winning bidder was a first home buyer, a young woman who came with her Dad.

“She has been looking for a long time and she has finally secured a home.

“This was a family home for the sellers, and the parents had passed away a few years ago. The house requires a lot of renovation. The daughter of the original owners was absolutely thrilled with the final price as the hammer fell.

“The market is great in Craigieburn; there are a lot of buyers, and not a lot of stock. It is really a great time to sell in the area,” Mr Singh said.

19 Eckford Street, Dandenong

• Sold under the hammer for $637,500

• Four bidders

• Lead agent: Burak Gul - 0423 887 771

• Ray White Dandenong

• Auctioneer: Ben Jusufi, Ray White

Burak Gul said the low maintenance cottage home drew in a lot of interest.

“These sellers originally bought through us about 5 years ago and have now sold and upsized with us again. They are moving to get some more space.

“The buyer was an investor who was the underbidder on a property with me last week. He was impressed with how we ran last week’s auction, and decided to come and have another go on this property today. He only saw the property for the first time today!

“Listings are a bit scarce at the moment, so everything we list is getting incredible interest levels,” Mr Gul said.

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said in the lead up to an election, the heat slightly comes off the marketplace.

“Auction volumes are down a little, but post election we are going to see this go right up.

There has been a little bit of caution taken by buyers in Brisbane today,” Mr Croft said.

21/38 Barrett Street, Robertson

• Sold under the hammer for $860,000

• 13 registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: John Heng - 0430 800 208

• Ray White Robertson

• Auctioneer: Phill Broom, Ray White

John Heng said the property was called onto the market at around $830,000 and then two of the bidders battled it out strongly

“The winning bidders own a few houses on the same street as investments. They will be living in this home because they love the convenience of the area.

“They won with a $1,000 bid, beating out an investor.

“I sold this home to the sellers in 2016. They have had their second baby and their parents are moving in from overseas, so they needed something bigger.

“The market is great particularly for townhouses at the moment, and I expect it to grow even further. The standalone houses are out of budget for many people. We sold a 400sqm new house a few weeks ago for $3.16 million in Robertson,” Mr Heng said.

92 Edinburgh Road, Benowa Waters

• Sold under the hammer for $2.8 million

• Five registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: James Gien - 0408 894 628

• Ray White Palm Beach QLD

• Auctioneer: Mitch Palmer, Ray White

James Gien said the winning bidder moved up from interstate; they are doctors and work at the hospital across the road. The couple saw it for the first time today.

“The sellers were downsizing locally on the coast.

“The property is a fantastic family home, and buyers were aware that the property needed to be sold which drew in a lot of attention.

“The market is a little hit and miss at the moment; often at the higher price point, properties are at risk of sitting on the market,” Mr Gien said.

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said that there were 100 auctions for the week in South Australia, with around 40 of those from Ray White.

“Registered bidder numbers have been sitting at around five per auction as per normal and clearance rates are sitting at around 65 to 70 per cent across the state.

“Things have been a little quieter due to Easter and the public holidays, however the numbers have still been strong across the state,” Mr Morris said.

9 Fergusson Avenue, Kidman Park

• Sold under the hammer for $1.18 million

• Eight registered bidders, four active

• Lead agent / auctioneer: Liam McDevitt - 0430 501 122

• Ray White Walkerville

Liam McDevitt said the winning bidder was a local couple who purchased the home for their son, who couldn’t make the auction in person today.

“This home has been in the same family for 50 years, they were the second ever owners. The dad is moving into aged care. They were absolutely overjoyed.

“We had a pre-auction offer of $1.05 million which was already a great price, but we are thrilled that we took it all the way through to auction day,” Mr McDevitt said.

26A Castle Street, Modbury

• Sold under the hammer for $1.11 million

• Three registered bidders, two active

• Lead agent: David Scalamara - 0422 545 495

• Ray White Magill

• Auctioneer: Sam Grover, Ray White

David Scalamara said that the buyers, who recently sold their home with Ray White, are a young couple with a growing family.

“There are not a lot of sales over $1 million in Modbury, so this was a great result. Being on a large block was the main drawcard for buyers.

“The sellers are a family who were looking for a larger yard and more space.

“The market is performing well, with people still making offers and stock is clearing within three weeks,” Mr Scalamara said.

90 Bagot Avenue, Cowandilla

• Sold under the hammer for $1.3 million

• Six registered bidders, all active

• Lead agent: Peter Kiritsis - 0411 501 520

• Ray White Woodville

Peter Kiritsis said that the winning bidder was one of the neighbours, who bought it as an investment, because they know the value of the neighbourhood.

“It was an investor who sold it, as well,” Mr Kiritsis said.

21 Trune Avenue, Seaton

• Sold under the hammer for $890,000

• Two registered bidders, both active

• Lead agent: Peter Kiritsis - 0411 501 520

• Ray White Woodville

Mr Kiritsis said that a young couple bought the property and plan to renovate it. The auction was a deceased estate sale.

6 High Street, Sorrento

• Sold under the hammer for $2.325 million

• Nine registered bidders, three active

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Scott Langley - 0417 181 185

• Ray White North Quays

Scott Langley said that the winning bidder was a young family; they are builders who are looking at some renovations and extensions to the whole house.

“The seller is an investor from over in the East and they have cashed in. They bought it for $1.65 million in 2021, and they haven’t done anything to it.

“This result gives you an indication of the strength in our market; it is very active along the coast,” Mr Langley said.