Buyers out in force as rates hold

Buyers were out in force at Ray White auctions today as confidence continues to grow after the Reserve Bank’s decision to hold interest rates again on Tuesday.

Australasia’s largest real estate group scheduled 454 properties to go under the hammer today, recording a preliminary clearance rate of 72.9 per cent.

Ray White auctions recorded an average of 4.9 registered bidders and 3.0 active bidders per auction.

Properties which sold under the hammer today were rewarded with premiums an average of 12.1 per cent higher than the highest offer received prior to auction.

The top result for the day went to Ray White Bulimba agents Daniel Lazzaroni and Brandon Wortley who sold 35 Duke St, Bulimba under the hammer for $4.925 million.

There were two top results for the number of registered bidders. Ray White Wilston agent Brooke Copping who recorded 25 registered bidders at her 58 Twelfth Ave, Kedron auction. The property was sold under the hammer for $2.12 million. Ray White Wetherill Park agents Patrick Jerji and Danny Warda also recorded 25 registered bidders at their 11 Macedon Street, Bossley Park auction, which sold under the hammer for $1.313 million.

BRISBANE

Ray White Queensland chief auctioneer Gavin Croft said registered bidder numbers continued to grow.

“Over the last few months we’ve been seeing some consistency in the Queensland auction market,” he said.

“Typically in Brisbane we’ve been seeing an average of five to six registered bidders per auction, and clearance rates hovering between 60 and 70 per cent - it’s certainly become the new norm.

“A trend I noticed today was a real bump in the number of registered bidders at auctions across Brisbane.

“Personally, at auctions I called today, I saw an average of 10 registered bidders per auction which is much higher than what we’ve come to expect over the past few months.

“These are really encouraging signs for potential sellers, as we see Queensland really become an auction state.”

35 Duke St, Bulimba

• Sold under the hammer for $4.925 million

• Lead agent: Daniel Lazzaroni - 0427 138 906

• Ray White Bulimba

• Five registered bidders, five active

• Auctioneer: Haesley Cush, Ray White

The winning bid went to a local family who already lived in the area.

“All five of our bidders were all local families,” Mr Lazzaroni said.

“The sellers were wanting to downsize up to the Sunshine Coast.

“They were actually bidding on an auction up there at the same time this auction was on.”

Ray White Collective group principal and auctioneer Haesley Cush said buyers were out in force at auctions today.

“Sentiment in May is that the family home buyers at the middle part of the market are where a lot of those transactions are taking place, but the prestige market was really strong today as well,” he said.

87 Payne St, Auchenflower

• Sold under the hammer for $3.2 million

• Lead agent: Judi O’Dea - 0417 009 635

• Ray White Paddington

• Four registered bidders, three active

Ms O’Dea said bidding opened at $2.6 million

“The buyers were a young family who were relocating from Greenslopes,” she said.

“The sellers (pictured above right with Judi O’Dea, left) were very happy with the result. They were originally from Noosa and they are relocating back to Noosa.

“They had owned the home for seven years and absolutely loved it. They renovated the house and updated the gardens and added the swimming pool.

“It’s the perfect home for a young family.”

47 Thirteenth Ave, Kedron

• Sold under the hammer for $2.875 million

• Lead agent: Alistair Macmillan - 0410 636 221

• Ray White Wilston

• Eight registered bidders, two active

• Auctioneer: Phil Parker, Ray White

Mr Macmillian said bidding opened at $2.5 million before selling for a record price for a 607sqm block in Kedron.

“I sold the house to the vendors as a brand new home back in 2019, they were relocating from Sydney,” he said.

“They are now relocating back to Sydney after receiving a job opportunity, but are sad to leave Brisbane as they loved the house and loved the location.

“The winning bid went to a young family who had been in the market for about six months and had previously missed out on 3 or 4 homes.

“They are locals upgrading to a larger home.”

58 Twelfth Ave, Kedron

• Sold under the hammer for $2.12 million

• Lead agent: Brooke Copping - 0431 067 766

• Ray White Wilston

• 25 registered bidders, 10 active bidders

• Auctioneer: Christian Hamilton, Ray White

Ms Copping said the winning bid went to a young family from Sydney who were relocating to Brisbane to be closer to family. Their parents were bidding on their behalf.

“Buyers were attracted to the location in Kedron’s Avenues Precinct,” she said.

“It was a larger 610 sqm block, and it was a contemporary home that had been well maintained so people could move straight in and not have to do any work.

“The sellers purchased the block with a small house on it 20 years ago, they did a knock down rebuild 18 years ago, raised their son in the property and now they’re downsizing.

“They were really happy with the result.”

1/16 Wellington Road, Red Hill

• Sold under the hammer for $1.69 million

• Lead agent: Max Hadgelias - 0411 276 372

• Ray White Paddington

• Five registered bidders, three active

“The winning bid went to a family who lived regionally and wanted to move closer to the city for their kids' schooling,” Mr Hadgelias said.

“They were attracted to the size, it’s a terrace house over four levels with different break out areas for the family.

“The sellers bought the property a few years ago and lived in it for a few years before relocating to the Sunshine Coast.”

18 Camden Street, Albion

• Sold under the hammer for $1.27 million

• Lead agent: Alexander Shean - 0414 841 085

• Ray White Ascot

• 12 registered bidders, nine active

• Auctioneer: Gavin Croft, Ray White

Mr Shean said the seller had owned the home for 30 years and was downsizing.“The buyers were a young couple looking to do some renovations in the future,” he said.

“It’s almost an entry-level home in Brisbane now which attracted a lot of buyers.

“It’s a very liveable home with plenty of opportunity, and it’s in a great location close to all amenities. It was a neat and tidy little house.”

SYDNEY

Ray White NSW state auctioneer Perry Edmondson-Clark said Sydney saw plenty of auction action despite the wet weather experienced today.

“There was certainly no sign of the rain scaring away the buyers today with an average of 5.3 registrations per auction in New South Wales for the group,” he said.

“We recorded 147 scheduled auctions today for the Ray White group in New South Wales which is a considerable uplift on the same period of time for last year.

“We are continuing to see strong levels of stock on the market and auction volume, at an all-time high for the May and June period.

“This should give sellers considering coming to the market confidence that winter 2024 is a great time to sell, and holding out till spring may force you to be in higher competition with the same or less amount of buyers.”

47A Bent St, Lindfield

• Sold under the hammer for $3.25 million

• Lead agent: Jessica Cao - 0466 877 260

• Ray White Upper North Shore

• Four registered bidders, two active

Ms Cao said this was the third time she had sold the home, after selling it in 2014 and again to the vendors in 2021.

“The winning bid went to a young family (pictured above) who were upsizing from a townhouse in the Lower North Shore,” Ms Cao said.

“The sellers live in Melbourne and bought the home in 2021 when they received a job opportunity in Sydney. But unfortunately during COVID things changed so they stayed in Melbourne and rented the house out for the past three years.

“They plan to stay in Melbourne so they decided to sell the house.”

12 Dunleavy St, Prairiewood

• Sold under the hammer for $1.72 million

• Lead agent: Andrew Hanna - 0449 567 130

• Ray White Carnes Hill

• Six registered bidders, four active

• Auctioneer: Tim Snell, Ray White

Mr Hanna said it was a record sale for Prairiewood.

“The record was previously held by this same home which sold for $1.6 million in 2021,” he said.

“The sellers were relocating to the Philippines for work while the buyers were a family who were upsizing.”

5/117-119 Bettington Rd, Oatlands

• Sold under the hammer for $1.55 million

• Lead agent: Broderick Wright - 0416 194 157

• Ray White Parramatta Group

• Nine registered bidders, five active

• Auctioneer: Paul Wright, Ray White

Mr Wright said the property sold for more than $100,000 over reserve, with bidding starting at $1.3 million.

“Our buyers were a young couple who were upgrading and looking for a family home.

“All our bidders were either downsizers and young couples.

“Anything around the $1.5 million mark is very well contested.

“Oatlands is the premium market in Parramatta. It’s very hard to get into the area under $1.5 million.”

2/242 Rainbow St, Coogee

• Sold under the hammer for $1.08 - $130,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Angus Gorrie - 0418 282 853

• Ray White Eastern Beaches

• 10 registered bidders, five active

Mr Gorrie said bidders were all first home buyers.

“The winning bid went to a first home buyer who had been looking for a couple of months, but this was the first auction she had bid at,” he said.
“She really loved the outdoor space which was a drawcard for a lot of buyers.

“The sellers were a young couple who are relocating back to Queensland.

“We had 140 groups inspect the property which is a sign of the strength of the market at the moment.”

5/8-10 Broughton St, Parramatta

• Sold under the hammer for $1.17 million

• Lead agent: Steven Fan - 0411 885 168

• Ray White Parramatta

• 12 registered bidders, six active

“The sellers were a family who had owned the home since 1999 and were the first owners of the home, so it was the first time it was offered to market in 25 years,” Mr Fan said.

“The buyers (pictured above with Stephen Fan) were first home buyers and had bid at seven auctions before this one, so they were very happy to secure something.

“We had 82 groups inspect the townhouse prior to the auction.

“It’s a tightly held river bank location with a well-built double brick townhouse.

“There’s not a lot of stock available on the market at the moment, and townhouses are particularly rare.”

11 Macedon Street, Bossley Park

• Sold under the hammer $1.313 million

• Lead agent: Patrick Jerji - 0478 061 166

• Ray White Wetherill Park

• 25 registered bidders, six active

• Auctioneer: James Kerley, Ray White

Mr Jerji said the auction achieved a suburb record for a three bedroom home.

“It was an investor versus a first home buyer bidding it out in the end and the investor landed the winning bid,” he said.

“We had a mix of investors, first home buyers, and some young families registered to bid.

“The sellers bought the home from us in 2019 for $842,000 and are now looking to retire.”

ADELAIDE

Ray White South Australia and Northern Territory chief auctioneer John Morris said the strength of South Australia’s auction market continued to grow.

“The southern lights were visible from South Australia this morning, and what a spectacle that was, but it wasn’t the only spectacle happening around this great state today, as our auction volumes continue to auction that of other markets across Australia,” he said.

“In South Australia, Ray White continues to dominate our competition, with 43.4 per cent of auctions scheduled to go ahead this week are going ahead with a Ray White agent at the helm, inching ever closer to the 50 per cent mark we’re aiming for.

“Investors also seem to have a new found confidence in the South Australian market, qwith 30 per cent of purchasers at auction buying as an investment.

“This should boost the confidence of sellers considering selling, as should the fact that those who sell at auction with a Ray White agent increase their chances of selling by 10 per cent.”

3 Winser Ave, Seaton

• Sold under the hammer for $886,000 - $186,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Justin Irving - 0412 289 674

• Ray White Salisbury

• 11 registered bidders, two active

• Auctioneer: John Morris, Ray White

“The winning bid went to a retired lady who was looking for her forever home,” Mr Irving said.

“It was a villa home on a decent sized block. It was really well maintained, the house was immaculate.

“It had really good features and had a great outdoor area.

“The sellers had owned the property for 15 years and their daughter was living in it for the majority of the time, and they decided it was time to sell.”

13 First Street, Cheltenham

• Sold under the hammer for $1.375 million - $175,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Peter Kiritsis - 0411 501 520

• Ray White Woodville

• 11 registered bidders, eight active

• “The winning bid went to a downsizer who was living not too far away but wanted a real turnkey home,” Mr Kiritsis said.

“The bulk of the buyers were younger couples, second home buyers wanting to upgrade from their first home.

“Bidding was intense between three buyers in the end who were all known to us as they had missed out on other properties with us before.

“A lot of buyers are looking week in week out, with some buyers on the circuit for 5-6 months.”

47 High St, Burnside

• Sold under the hammer for $1.628 million - $128,000 over reserve

• Lead agent: Brandon Pilgrim - 0438 807 061

• Ray White Norwood

• 13 registered, 6 active

“The seller was downsizing and had lived there for around 30 years,” Mr Pilgrim said.

“The buyers were a local family who had been renting and were looking for their first home in Australia.

“Most of our buyers were younger families looking to get into the area, with some buyers looking at it for the land as it was in one of the most sought after streets in Burnside.”

24 Britton St, West Richmond

• Sold under the hammer for $790,000

• Lead agent: Daniel Seach - 0423 598 964

• Ray White Black Forest

• 14 registered bidders, six active.

“The sellers were a young family up-sizing in the same area, while the winning bid went to first home buyers,” Mr Seach said.

“We had mostly young couples interested, either first home buyers or people upsizing from apartments.

“The home is in an area with lots of older larger blocks that are being sold for subdivision, whereas this was a courtyard home that had been well looked after and was ready to move into.”

MELBOURNE

Ray White Victoria and Tasmania chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said confidence was on the rebound at Melbourne auctions this week.

“Buyers hit the market this week with a little more confidence following the Reserve Bank's decision on Tuesday to keep interest rates at bay,” Mr Tyrrell said.

“Auction volume remained steady with 237 scheduled across the state, making it the sixth consecutive week where the number of auctions surpassed 200.

“The overall clearance rate showed that close to 7 out of 10 properties sold via the auction process, making it the number one method to achieve a sale at the best market price.”