Spring in full swing

Spring is in full swing, with the Ray White Group scheduling 531 properties to go under the hammer today.

Australasia’s largest real estate group has recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 66.3 per cent, with an average of 3.9 registered bidders and 2.6 active bidders per auction.

The top auction for the day went to Ray White Upper North Shore agent Michael Dempsey who sold 5 Boondah Place, Warrawee under the hammer for $5.3 million.

The auction with the highest number of bidders went to Ray White Mt Gravatt agents Grant Boman and Michael Bagnall who sold 2 Sandringham Street, Mansfield, under the hammer for $1.6 million, with a whopping 23 registered bidders.

The Ray White Group saw 33,329 attendees across the nations 12,199 open homes today. The property which received the most attendees was Ray White South Brisbane agent Luke Croft's listing at 37 Strath Street, Highgate Hill, which saw 73 attendees through the open homes today.

SYDNEY

Ray White NSW head of auctions Perry Edmondson-Clark said the market currently presented an abundance of choice for buyers.

"Stock remains incredibly high compared to last years data with 169 scheduled auctions across the group today in New South Wales and the ACT," he said.

"Despite the considerably higher level of stock available, we are still seeing very strong clearance rates.

"However, registration numbers are down which is further cementing that there is more availability of stock for buyers to choose from.

"Therefore buyers are going to be more picky around which properties they bid on and what price they bid up to."

5 Boondah Place, Warrawee

• Sold for $5.3 million

• Lead agent: Michael Dempsey (0404 353 451)

• Ray White Upper North Shore

• One registered bidder, one active

“We only had one bidder who was bidding against himself from $5.1 million. They were a local family upsizing,” Mr Dempsey said.

“The sellers had lived there for 20 years and were downsizing to the east.

“Even though I only had one registered bidder, we had about 115 groups through throughout the campaign, and several offers prior which were below $5 million.

“I think it just shows that there are buyers out there who are willing to fight for properties they really want.”

175 Newland St, Queens Park

• Sold under the hammer $5.08 million

• Lead agent: Angus Gorrie (0418 282 853)

• Ray White Eastern Beaches

• Five registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: James Hayashi, Ray White Eastern Beaches

“The buyers were a local family who were upgrading. All our interest was from families in the area,” Mr Gorrie said.

“Things are picking up and people are getting confident rates are going to go down at the beginning of next year. There’s also a bit of a rush to get in before Christmas.

“More than 100 groups inspected the house, which is really good numbers. There’s definitely an air of positivity around.”

4 Peke Pl, Rooty Hill

• Sold under the hammer for $1.175 million - $125,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Meshel Bahnam (0478 664 123)

• Ray White Diamantidis Group

• Three registered, two active

• Auctioneer: Bryce Bevin, Ray White

“The buyer was an investor/renovator who was going to do some work to it and rent it out for a while, then eventually resell,” Mr Bahnam said.

“They were interested in the pocket, the size of the land and renovation potential. It had good structure, good bones, but it needs a bit of work.

“The seller has been there since 1994 and is downsizing in the local area.”

13 Pritchard Street, Auburn

• Sold under the hammer for $1.76 million - $360,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Frank La Malfa (0401 316 877)

• Ray White La Malfa Group

• 18 registered bidders

Mr La Malfa said bidding started at $1 million and went up from there with 47 bids in total.

“It went way over everyone’s expectations. The vendors (pictured above right with team La Malfa and the buyer) are ecstatic and can't believe the price,” Mr La Malfa said.

“There was no zoning and it wasn’t a corner block so it didn’t have development potential, but there was incredible competition from first home buyers and investors.

“The buyer is actually a first home buyer who will look to rent it out in the short term and hopes to eventually live in it.

“It had been in the sellers’ family for more than 50 years, and they had grown up there.

“It was completely untouched and needed some renovations.”

MELBOURNE

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said there was increased positivity surrounding the real estate market.

“With the Spring Racing Carnival in full swing, Melbourne has its 'mojo' back with great weather and a festival vibe around the city and state,” he said.

“The safest bet this spring, however, will be real estate, with buyers enjoying a range of options as property on the market continues to build.

“Competition remains strong at auction with sellers enjoying on average, a 4.5 percent sale price above reserve.

“This week, the Ray White group across Victoria had 224 auctions scheduled and a confidence boosting clearance rate of 78.6 percent, an increase of 7.7 per cent against the same period last year.

“These numbers are likely to reflect market behaviour to the end of the year, with the only variable being a decision to lower the official cash rate, which could really open things up.”

2/20 Gillman St, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.352 million

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Kevin Chokshi (0430 195 517)

• Ray White Cheltenham

• Four bidders

Mr Chokshi said bidding started at $1.2 million.

“Our bidders were a combo of young couples and downsizers, with the winning bid going to a young couple who lived on the same street and were upsizing,” he said.

“The sellers were a young couple who bought the home and had a family, and have now moved to Queensland. They did a huge renovation before they sold.

Mr Chokshi said the market was “really starting to pick up”.

“We’re seeing more action in the market now,” he said.

“I think next year will be a really busy year for the market.

“I have spoken to a lot of sellers who have said they want to put their house on the market next year.”

36 Dunlop Crescent, Mill Park

• Sold under the hammer for $835,000 - $60,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Robert Stambolziev (0451 920 558)

• Ray White Mill Park

• Four bidders

Mr Stambolziev said the vendors were investors.

“The winning bid went to a lovely young couple buying their first home,” he said.

“They had missed out at 3-5 other auctions in the past few weeks, so they were very happy to win this one today.”

9 Beverley St, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.634 million - $84,000 over reserve

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Kevin Chokshi (0430 195 517)

• Ray White Cheltenham

• Two bidders

Mr Chokshi said the auction “flew like a rocket”.

“Two young couples fought it out to land the winning bid. The location was a huge drawcard for them,” he said.

“The sellers were a young family with two kids, they had done some renovations to the home but needed to sell in order to upsize.”

BRISBANE

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said auctions across Brisbane today had been a mixed bag.

“The auction market today was feast or famine - properties either saw a lot of bidding and a lot of energy, or next to nothing, with vendor expectations playing a huge role in that,” he said.

“While high quality properties are attracting good interest, we do see those properties that are less appealing to a wide buyer profile, or that are vendor priced too high, receiving less interest.

“Overall I’m expecting final clearance rates today to sit around 50-60 per cent.”

94 Lamont Road, Wilston

• Sold under the hammer for $2.1 million

• Lead agent: Alistair Macmillan (0410 636 221)

• Ray White Wilston

• Nine registered bidders, five active

• Auctioneer: Phil Parker, Ray White

Mr Macmillan said bidding started at $1.5 million.

“The price went up in $100,000 bids, paused at $2 million for negotiation, before selling under the hammer for $2.1 million,” he said.

“Young family with two young kids who were looking for a large block and single storey house. All nine bidders were young families.

“It was a really good house in great condition and very liveable which was an attraction for a lot of buyers. It also had potential to lift and build in under it if you wanted.

“The sellers were a rural family who owned cattle property in Charleville. They bought the home so their two sons had somewhere to live while they were at uni, but now they’ve finished and moved to Sydney, so it was time to sell.”

114 Fulcher Rd, Red Hill

• Sold under the hammer $1.840 million

• Lead agent: Judi O’Dea (0417 009 635)

• Ray White Paddington

• 10 registered bidders, five active

“Almost all of the bidding was done by the people there in person, despite having three bidders on the phone. But then one bidder on the phone from Ashgrove placed one bid at the end and won the auction,” Ms O’Dea said.

“We had a mix of buyers, we had a young family, an investor, but mostly downsizers. The couple who landed the winning bid were downsizers.

“The sellers were a young couple who bought from me two years ago and lived there and did a lot of upgrades despite the townhouse only being four years old.

“They purchased another home in Paddington from me a month ago and have upsized.”

More than $21 million in property sold under the hammer at the Ray White Collective auction event at The Calile Hotel today. Twenty-two properties went under the hammer, with an ADCR of 45 per cent. Another 12 properties sold prior to auction, with more than $40 million in property sold throughout the campaign.

Ray White Collective principal and auctioneer Haesley Cush said it was an incredible result for their first auction event of spring.

“We’re in a state election in Queensland, but I saw zero effect of that on the market, with bidding above expectations,” Mr Cush said.

“Spring is alive and going strong.

“We had an avalanche of sales leading up to today’s auction with buyers keen to lock it in a sale prior to auction.

“We saw some incredible results including 12 Panorama Place, Mt Gravatt East which sold for a whopping $3 million, plus a one-bedroom apartment at 5/190 Moray Street, New Farm, which sold for $800,000.”

The top result of the event went to Ray White Collective agents Zita Durand and Ella Briggs who sold 51 Elliott Street, Hawthorne under the hammer for $3.4 million.

Ray White Mt Gravatt saw 30 properties go under the hammer at their auction event at Mansfield State High School today, with more than $20 million in property selling under the hammer.

The event recorded an incredible 78 per cent clearance rate, with a whopping 486 registered bidders on the day.

The top result for the day went to agents Grant Boman and Michael Bagnall who sold 2 Sandringham Street, Mansfield, under the hammer for $1.6 million, with a whopping 23 registered bidders.

46 Dobson Street, Ascot

• Sold under the hammer for $1.47 million

• Lead agent: Dwight Ferguson

• Ray White Metro North

• 21 registered bidders, 15 active

• Auctioneer: Dave Treloar, Ray White

“We had a mix of young people looking to renovate and families looking to renovate immediately. There was also some interest from developers,” Mr Ferguson said.

“The winning bid went to a buyer who lives in Hong Kong and wants to landbank until he moves back to Australia in the next five years.

“The seller had lived in the home for more than 50 years. It was completely original.”

Mr Ferguson said certain parts of the market were really strong, while others had stabilised.

“The market that's really strong is the bottom end market where the homes are totally unrenovated and a blank canvas. The unit market is really strong. The top end is still also still really strong as well.

“It comes down to affordability in Brisbane and the competition in those areas is really what drives the prices.

“We have units that wouldn't have gotten $750,000 18 months ago which are now selling for $900,000.”

11 Fifth Ave, Kedron

• Sold under the hammer for $1.415 million

• Lead agent: Alistair Macmillan (0410 636 221)

• Ray White Wilston

• 13 registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: Mitch Peerabroom, Ray White Wilston

“The original owner was selling the property so it was the first time it had ever been for sale. The seller had lived there her entire life,” Mr Macmillan said.

“Bidding started at $1 million. Went up in $100,000 increments to $1.4 where it was called on the market at $1.4 million and it sold at $1.415 million, so it was a very short, sharp auction.

“The winning bid went to a lovely young couple who were looking for their first home. They had been in the market for about six months and had missed out a few times previously, so it was nice to see them secure something today.”

ADELAIDE

Ray White South Australia and Northern Territory chief auctioneer John Morris said the AFL grand final nor the recent long weekend could hinder Ray White auction activity.

“Over the last few weeks we’ve had a few events that would usually hinder the auction numbers, like last weekend we had a long weekend, but Ray White South Australia called about 70 auctions,” Mr Morris said.

“Bidders still turned up at auctions, to an average of about six over the week, with an 80 per cent clearance rate.

“The week before was the AFL grand final, with most of the competition abandoning auctions that week, but Ray White didn’t, with another clearance rate of about 80 per cent.

“This weekend there’s nothing to hinder auctions whatsoever, with about 130 auctions going ahead this week, with the majority of them flying the yellow flag.”