Auction action kicks off the long weekend

Ray White NSW | ACT state auctioneer Perry Edmondson-Clark said momentum has continued into winter across the state.

“Auction volume continues to rise across the state to unseasonably high levels, bucking the trend elsewhere of low volume. This week alone there were in excess of 230 auctions scheduled just for Ray White,” Mr Edmondson-Clark said.

“Even with the high volume, bidding activity has not suffered. There has been a consistent amount of bidders across properties and an eagerness to buy.

“The heat in the market has built an encouraging amount of conviction surrounding auctions.”

13 Imperial Ave, Bondi

• Sold for $4.3 million

• Four registered and three active bidders

• Agents: Ron Bauer and Madison Watt

• Ray White Unlimited | Bondi Beach

“It sold above reserve to a young couple who had been looking for about 18 months for a home to live in, they are really happy,” Mr Bauer said.

“We had another lady bidding who was looking for a home to live in and also a dad wanting to buy for his kids. It was a good auction with strong bidding, we had about 30 people in the crowd.

“It’s a wonderful south Bondi location and the house has a great feel and vibe.

“The market in this area is hard to assess, some things are running out the door while others are sticking around longer than you’d expect, so it’s not consistent.

“But I would say it’s a more fair market, there’s more fairness to both sides of the equation.

“The high end, over $10 million, is pumping but for anything below that, people are being more thoughtful about their moves at the moment.”

2 Fairyland Avenue, Chatswood

• Sold for $2.02 million - $320,000 above reserve

• 17 registered and five active bidders

• Agent: Jessica Cao

• Ray White Upper North Shore

The smallest block in Chatswood, it was designed and built by architect Maurice Perry. He was director of Hely Horne Stuart and Perry, later Hely Horne Perry Medcalf. They were the architects for Bondi Junction Plaza, the Piccadilly Centre in the CBD and Narellan Town Centre among many other significant projects.

“This was an unusual sale because properties in the area are usually around 1,000 sqm with four to five bedrooms. But there is good buyer activity across the board and the popularity of this home just goes to show there is a shortage of affordable properties in the area,” Ms Cao said.

“This price, which was a street record, is really closer to where apartments are sitting in the area so being a house, it represented good value for buyers. We had so many young families looking at it.

“The couple who bought it (pictured above) have young children, they live in the area and are upsizing from an apartment.”

7/2 Ford Rd, Maroubra

• Sold for $1.44 million - $115,000 above reserve

• Five registered bidders and three active bidders

• Agent: Jason Malouf

• Ray White Maroubra | South Coogee

“All the bidders were young couples, including several local sporting personalities. The buyers were a young couple who had been renting in Maroubra and been looking on and off for the last six to 12 months,” Mr Malouf said.

“That’s coastal units for you, the demographic is mainly young couples with a young child, or their first on the way.

“The unit is great internally and the view is spectacular. It has unobstructed views along the coast.”

Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said while there was a dip in auction volume for the state, next week it’s back to business as usual.

“The King’s birthday long weekend saw a drop in auction volume but not in buyer activity, as the clearance rate maintained a healthy 66 per cent,” he said.

“There were 160 auctions scheduled across the Ray White network in Victoria for the week, the first time in over nine weeks where the number of auctions dropped below two hundred.

“However, next week it’s back to business as usual with 230 auctions scheduled for the week.”

112 Windsor Boulevard, Derrimut

• Sold for $1.23 million

• Nine registered and five active bidders

• Agents: Leigh Grixti and Jamee Favorito

• Ray White Deer Park

• Auctioneer: Matthew Condon, Ray White

“The auction was incredible, it had such a vibe, we had more than 80 groups there. This is the highest sale in the suburb this year and the third highest sale ever,” Mr Grixti said.

“We ran it on-site and streamed it live and had phone bidders, it was a multidimensional auction where we had an on-site atmosphere, people streaming online, watching live and we had a phone registration. We had all the components we could have possibly had of an auction and all the ingredients for a massive sale.

“There was rapid fire bidding. It started at $950,000 and ended up selling $30,000 above reserve.

“The buyers were a beautiful, local family, buying it to upsize. They are incredibly happy, it’s their dream home.

“It was all families looking to upsize and purchase a dream home for them and their kids, that was the common theme.

“The location is great, nice and close to the city and close to the local shopping strips. It’s a family oriented position and basically 30 seconds to the freeway entry.

“The layout was also a drawcard, it’s based on a Porter Davis display home and has only had one owner so it’s in immaculate condition. People were walking through it and the comments were that they’d never stepped foot in a cleaner home.

“It’s a classic example of a dream home.”

Earlier in the day, Ray White Deer Park agent Stephanie Bazzano along with Mr Grixti also sold 65 Duncombe Park Way, Deer Park for $676,000 with three active bidders.

"This was my first auction campaign, and it was incredibly exciting to achieve $46,000 over our vendor's reserve price. I wanted to demonstrate to my team that I am willing to dive into challenges and that they can trust in my abilities," Ms Bazzano said.

The purchaser was a local, first-time home buyer who was very excited to buy his home after months and months of searching for the perfect place.

16 Canberra St, Brunswick

• Sold for $1.553 million - $253,000 above reserve

• Seven registered and five active bidders

• Agents: Aaron Hill and Debbie Hollibone

• Ray White Sunbury

• Auctioneer: Jamil Allouche, Ray White

“It kicked off at $1.2 million and was pretty competitive,” Mr Hill said.

“Every bidder was a local young couple with kids including the buyers.

“It’s probably in one of the best pockets of Brunswick, which made it very popular.

“The vendors were the first people to live in the house so there has only been one family that’s lived there. It’s a deceased estate and all the family came along to the auction.”

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said this winter will be a good opportunity for sellers with a continued lack of stock on the horizon.

“Average registrations were slightly down today which is interesting, there is perhaps no rhyme or reason behind it but we have had some lofty heights, reaching in excess of eight registered bidders per auction over the last few weeks across Brisbane,” Mr Croft said.

“When you look at it and take it into perspective, it’s still very good when they do sit somewhere around 4.2 personally for the day.

“Looking forward to this winter period, it appears that it will be a winter where there will be a limited stock supply which will impact buyers but will be exciting news for sellers. I would seriously say to sellers that now is an opportune time to sell.”

101 Hawdon St, Wilston (pictured at top)

• Sold for $2.15 million

• Five registered and three active bidders

• Agents: Alistair Macmillan and Sam Hagen

• Ray White Wilston

• Auctioneer: Mitch Peereboom, Ray White

“It was a deceased estate, the original owners had passed away, so I was working with the executors and beneficiaries of the estate,” Mr Macmillan said.

“It’s a beautiful old house, the whole family was there so it was pretty emotional for them.

“We had 80 groups of buyers through the home over the four weeks of the campaign.

“The auction opened at $1.5 million and went up in $100,000 bids to $1.9 million. Then from there it went up in lower increments until it got to $1.99 million. I was able to then move the highest bidder to $2.15 million, it was then called on the market and sold.

“The buyers are a local couple, they’re both architects and were looking for an original Queenslander in a good location to embark on a renovation project that would be their principal place of residence.”

21 Almandin St, Logan Reserve

• Sold for $726,000

• Seven registered and four active bidders

• Agents: Jett Jones and Katie Gear

• Ray White Marsden

“A retired couple (pictured above) beat six bidders to secure their perfect, low maintenance lifestyle home,” Ms Jones said.

“The eventual buyer was a beautiful retired couple who will call it home. The sale broke the street record, even with a 378 sqm block.

“The sellers were interstate and called in to the auction via phone and were blown away with the result. Logan Reserve continues to be a highly desirable suburb for all types of buyers.”

Later in the day, Ray White Marsden Chairman’s Elite sales agent Rebecca Cuderman and associate Isabelle Ogg sold 66 Princess St, Marsden for $630,000. Three bidders competed for the three bedroom home in Marsden. Ms Cuderman said, “there is intense competition for property in Marsden. This home had substantial inquiries and interest prior to auction.”

The eventual buyer was an investor who plans to rent it out.

Ray White South Australia chief auctioneer John Morris said it remains to be seen how the recent announcement on stamp duty will affect auctions.

“There was an announcement this week that stamp duty will be abolished for first home buyers for new builds or those that are building with no cap on it as there was beforehand,” Mr Morris said.

“Will this make a difference to our auction numbers? I don’t know but we will find that out in the next weeks, months or even years, but what I can say is there is nothing putting a damper on the spirits of bidders at the moment in South Australia.

“We’ve had almost 1,200 auctions so far this year. The bidder registrations have remained above seven per auction and our clearance rate has remained above 80 per cent for the whole year as well.”

70 Darley Rd, Paradise

• Sold for $1.06 million

• Two registered and active bidders

• Agents: Sumit Khatri and Marco Lai

• Ray White Adelaide City

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White

“We had a crowd of about 15 and the two bidders. One was an investor while the other bidder represented a joint family,” Mr Khatri said.

“The joint families were the winning bidders. It’s a huge property with a lot of living space, they couldn’t find anything this spacious on the market in this price range.

“In terms of stock levels, every suburb in the area is a bit low but there are more buyers out there. They are happy to pay the price if the property is right.”

5 Carramar Ave, Edwardston (pictured above)

• Sold for $912,000 - $164,000 above reserve

• 12 registered and six active bidders

• Agents: Blake Scholz and Brett Brook

• Ray White Unley | Colonel Light Gardens

• Auctioneer: Robbie Smith, Ray White

“The auction was pretty competitive, it started at $700,000 and just went back and forth between a number of bidders. The winning bidder was there the whole way,” Mr Scholz said.

“It was bought by a buyer’s advocate on behalf of a local family. They were very happy and really excited.

“We had young couples and first home buyers, along with a couple of families. It’s in that entry level price bracket for the area and really neat, you could move in straight away.”