Auctions end financial year with a bang

There was plenty of auction action during the last weekend before the new financial year.

Australasia’s largest real estate group had 297 auctions scheduled to go under the hammer today, recording a preliminary auction day clearance rate of 75.5 per cent.

The group recorded an average of 4.5 registered bidders and 2.6 active bidders per auction.

Ray White’s top results for the day came from outside the country’s capital cities, with the top result based on price going to an auction at 3152 Sutton Road, Sutton, which sold under the hammer for $3.325 million - more than $1 million over its reserve, a great result for Ray White Canberra listing agent Chris Dixon and his vendors.

With Ray White Canberra auctioneer Alec Brown on the gavel, the auction attracted six registered bidders and four active bidders, with the winning bid going to a local buyer.

“The property was in an incredible location in Sutton and that region at the moment is incredibly tightly held. It’s so close to Canberra which is the big appeal,” Mr Dixon said.

“The majority of bidders were already invested in the area and recognised that land of this size in Sutton is very hard to come by.

“They were looking to build a home and have good pasture to run stock. Cattle country in the area is in high demand.”

The property was marketed by Ray White Newcastle and Lake Macquarie agent Shaun Elms, with Ray White Newcastle and Lake Macquarie auctioneer Melanie Payne calling the auction.

The winning bid went to a couple (pictured above) who are going to live in the property and renovate it.

“It had two street access and Lake Macquarie views at an entry level price for the suburb,” Mr Elms said.

“The Warners Bay market has low supply at the moment with residual buyers missing out properties and still trying to find something. Stock is at an all time low for the area.”

Ray White NSW state auctioneer Perry Edmondston-Clark said the Sydney auction market was performing well.

“Our Sydney auction results continue to show that we’re experiencing phenomenal winter trading conditions,” Mr Edmondston-Clark said.

“Registered bidder numbers and active bidder numbers show that buyers have a willingness to transact under the hammer at auction.

“This should give sellers an incredible amount of confidence along with all of our pricing and clearance rate data, that now is a great time to come to the market and beat the spring rush.

“This should also tell buyers that with other buyers willing to come to the market and transact, now is the time to secure a property.”

9 Saddington St, Turramurra

• Sold under the hammer for $2.775 million - $25,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Liana Power - 0403 691 747

• Ray White Upper North Shore

• Nine registered bidders, six active

The sellers were relocating to be closer to family.

“The buyers were a couple upsizing. They had bid at an auction I held earlier in the day and missed out, but they landed the winning bid on this one,” Ms Power said.

“The market has been really good. We brought this auction forward by a week as the interest was so strong. We issued 46 contracts throughout the two week campaign.

“It was an amazing flat block with a substantial single level home which ticked the box for a lot of demographics.”

21 Panorama Road, Kingsgrove

Sold under the hammer for $2.475 million

Eight registered bidders

Lead agent: Allen Yan - 0430 456 119

Auctioneer: Perry Edmondston-Clark, Ray White NSW state auctioneer

“It was a great design, the seller was an architect and designed the home and did the renovations and extension himself,” Mr Yan said.

“It has all the smart home systems. The buyers were a young couple who were upsizing and they enjoyed all the modern features.”

Mr Yan said this was an example of the strength of the auction method.

“There's a lack of stock on the market which has resulted in more people through the open homes and more registered bidders at auctions,” he said.

“The auction process creates competition and has led to a sold price above the highest offer prior to auction.”

150 Braidwood Drive, Prestons

• Sold under the hammer for $990,000

• 11 registered bidders, five active

• Lead agent: Shafeel Haq - +61 452 054 290

• Ray White Carnes Hill

• Auctioneer: Tim Snell, Ray White NSW CEO

The winning bid went to a family who were upsizing, while the sellers (pictured above) were also a young family upsizing and relocating to another suburb.

“There’s not a lot of stock on the market. We’re down 20 per cent compared to the number of properties we typically see in our market,” Mr Haq said.

“There’s still plenty of buyer activity if it's a good property and it's prepared well.”

84 Rogers Street, Roselands

• Sold under the hammer for $1.57 million - $170,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: John Yatman - 0423 344 868

• Ray White Punchbowl

• 12 registered bidders, six bidders

• Auctioneer: Elliot Shoebridge, Ray White

The seller built the home himself 50 years ago and is downsizing and moving closer to the water.

The buyer was an investor who bought due to the industrial zoning and future development potential.

“I’d say 10 of the registered bidders were there for the home, it's a good family home in a good locale,” Mr Yatman said.

“The market has been fairly strong, people are looking to transact, and there’s not much stock which is keeping things going.”

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said there were plenty of buyers active across Melbourne auctions today.

“The world's third most liveable city (that's Melbourne for those that weren't aware) continued to be in high demand as buyers turned out in numbers to claim their slice of the globally renowned capital,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“This week there were 162 auctions scheduled across the state of Victoria, with the clearance rate remaining strong at 69.1 per cent

“Properties with all the right ingredients and realistic vendor expectations saw fierce competition in the double digits, with a number of sale prices far exceeding expectations.”

20 Purches Avenue, Pascoe Vale South

• Sold under the hammer for $1.305 million - $205,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Abdul Allouche - 0410 477 112

• Ray White Brunswick

• Three registered, three active

• Auctioneer: Hassan Allouche, Ray White

It was a family effort to sell 20 Purches Avenue under the hammer today, with Hassan Allouche, the younger brother of listing agents Abdul and Jamil Allouche, calling his first public auction.

“It was a very proud moment for myself and Jamil to have all three of us there, and to have Hassan calling a really successful auction for me was amazing,” Abdul Allouche said.

The winning bid went to a young local couple. The seller was an investor who was over the moon with the result.

“The home attracted such a strong result due to its superior charm, north facing aspect and being a corner block,” Mr Allouche said.

39 Kardinian Ave, Cheltenham

• Sold for $1.09 million - $90,000 over reserve

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Kevin Chokshi - 0430 195 517

• Ray White Cheltenham

• Six registered bidders, two active

Both active bidders were young families, and the family who landed the winning bid (pictured above) intend to live in the home and potentially do a renovation in the future.

The seller was a lady who lived there for 27 years and was downsizing.

“The market is good, buyers have accepted the interest rates are what they are, they’re anticipating a few more rises and are factoring that in,” Mr Chokshi said.

“Properties that are presented well and priced well are getting really strong numbers.

“It was a buyers market six months ago but I think that's changing now.”

22 Taylan Street, Craigieburn

• Sold under the hammer for $576,000

• Lead agent/auctioneer: Trish Orrico - 0423 336 636

• Ray White Craigieburn

• Four registered bidders, four active

The buyers were newly weds who were previously renting

The sellers (pictured above) were a young family who owned the home since it was built 10 years ago.

“It's a very well loved home, there’s nothing to do. It's move-in ready in a nice quiet pocket.

“Homes that are well presented and move-in ready are still doing really well.”

2/53 Prince Charles Street, Clayton

• Sold under the hammer for $1.058 million - $158,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Peter Liu - 0410 380 606

• Ray White Clayton

• Five registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: Robert Cincotta, Ray White

“The buyer was an investor who bought the property due to the good rental income achieved in central Clayton,” Mr Liu said.

“The seller is an investor who had previously lived there and then rented it out.

“The seller wanted us to wear red ties and hand out red candies for good luck. The vendor was wearing a red dress. Red is a Chinese symbol of good luck.”

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said there were plenty of people out at Ray White auctions in Brisbane today.

“In one of the coldest weeks in Brisbane in some time, we’ve had one of the hottest weeks on the auction front,” he said.

“It’s extraordinary in the midst of a winter market, the crowd levels at auction are some of the highest I’ve seen. At our in-room auctions and onsite this week, our crowd numbers are certainly up.

“Personally I’ve sold 100 per cent of auctions under the hammer today, with registered bidders sitting around five to six per auction, which is very reflective of the week prior.

“With the lack of stock on the market, appetite from buyers will remain strong until we see an influx of new listings which will buoy the market and improve choice for buyers.”

26 Marshall St, Kingston

• Sold under the hammer for $530,000

• Lead agent: Rob Tindall - 0406 854 141

• Ray White Beenleigh

• Four registered bidders, three active

• Auctioneer: Gavin Croft, Ray White

The sellers were a young couple relocating to the Gold Coast and upsizing, while the buyer was a young investor from Melbourne.

“It was a freshly modernised high-set home. The best aspect was the fresh kitchen and flooring with new paint throughout. It was a really lovely, well presented home,” Mr TIndall said.

“The market is really good with good activity. People are still actively buying and we had a lot of people through these open homes and plenty of offers prior.

“The interest rate rises don’t seem to have affected people’s mentality and people are still coming out and trying to snap up their dream home.”

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said the last weekend of auctions before the end of financial year finished with a bang.

“The penultimate week of auctions before the new financial year is upon us, and it looks like we’re going to finish with the same gusto that we started with almost 12 months ago,” Mr Morris said.

“We are now almost consistently calling more than one in three of all auctions in South Australia, and we continue to sell in excess of 70 per cent of properties either by or on auction day.

“Bidder registrations have steadily crept up, with an average of 6.1 registered bidders per auction.

“The auction market is still very strong and looking very positive, and if sellers aren't going to auction in the first instance they’re certainly missing out.”

17 David Avenue, Findon

• Sold under the hammer for $901,000 - $101,000 reserve

• Lead agent: Samuel Parsons - 0431 934 575

• Ray White Henley Beach

• 17 registered bidders, seven active

The home had been in the seller’s family for 63 years and the seller was downsizing.

“The property was still at an affordable price point which attracted a lot of people, and it was a corner block so there’s a development aspect,” Mr Parsons said.

“Most of the registered bidders were developers but the winning bid went to a young couple who hope to renovate the property.”

29 Anstey Cres, Marleston

• Sold under the hammer for $830,000

• Lead agent: Mannas Chan - 0451 858 389

• Ray White Norwood

• 11 registered bidders, three active

• Auctioneer: Damian Macolino, Ray White

The winning bid went to a local investor (pictured above) while the seller was downsizing.

“The property has subdivision opportunities but it's also a liveable house with good bones,” Mr Chan said.

“Most of the bidders were investors and developers with a few first home buyers.’

39 Nolan Way, Bateman

• Sold under the hammer for $1,131,500.

• Lead agent: Greg Cahill - 0402 522 538

• Ray White Applecross

• 8 registered bidders, five active

• Auctioneer: Patrick Derrig

The buyers were a local family upgrading, while the sellers (picture above) were empty nesters who were downsizing.

“The home is in a particular highschool zone which was very sought after. Most of our registered bidders were families,” Mr Cahill said.

“As the market continues to tighten sellers are more open to doing what it takes to increase their sale price including taking their properties to auction.”