Buyers keen to purchase a home before Christmas keep Australian auction markets on the boil
Determined Aussies desperate to bag a new home for Christmas splashed big sums at hundreds of auctions across the nation over the weekend, with property punters warning a fear of missing out would drive the market until the end of the year.
In Sydney, a “bargain” entry-level home in one Mosman’s most prized pockets – at 7 Wudgong Street – fetched a reserve-busting $2.75 million under the hammer, despite the two-bedroom house needing a major renovation and being initially marketed with a $2.25 million price guide.
A young couple returning from New York threw down the unbeatable bid to nab the keys on Saturday, said selling agent Adrian Bridges of Atlas Lower North Shore, trumping a handful of registered bidders off the back of a competitive campaign in which 31 contracts were issued beforehand.
“It was a good result and it was only a little place. We ended up setting the reserve at $2.4 million and the opening bid was $2.6 million,” Mr Bridges said.
“The location was a huge drawcard … and a home like this, well there’s only been a couple available in this pocket this year, so it’s tightly held,” Mr Bridges said.
“This result shows buyers are confident in the market and they are anticipating another growth spurt in the next 12 months.
“There’s an increase in activity, which will climb between now and Christmas.”
Over at 136 Doncaster Avenue, Kensington, a pint-sized three-bedroom home on a 304-square-metre block collected $2.465 million at a virtual auction, after 14 bidders – of which nine were active – fought tooth and nail for another rare slice of prime real estate.
“Homes here don’t come up much … and there’s only been one or two sales in this street this year,” said selling agent Phillip Elmowy of Ray White Maroubra/South Coogee.
“But it’s also in a lovely area that’s very central to the tram and you’ve got the whole gamut there … so that’s driving the market.”
Bidding kicked off at $2 million, Mr Elmowy said, before shooting up to $2.4 million where it slowed to a crawl with two determined buyers battling it out until a local claimed the keys.
Across at 13 Chesterfield Road, Epping, a four-bedroom Federation home on a 1005-square-metre block sold for $2.867 million under the hammer after seven registered bidders – of which most were young families – duelled it out in the hopes of landing a house near top schools.
“This home is in the blue-ribbon area of Epping … that’s just five minutes’ walk to Epping Station,” said selling agent Kate Seehusen of Atlas – Northern Districts Epping.
“We had more than 100 groups through and seven registered bidders. Bidding started at $2.4 million and it sold for well over the reserve. Homes are tightly held here, but recently there has been quite a generational change. The owners of this one had been here for 45 years.”
Across the NSW capital 533 homes sold on Saturday for a strong median sale price of $1.6 million.
The clearance rate was 75 per cent, which is just under the average of 77.3 per cent collected for the city throughout October, the latest Domain Auction Report showed.
According to the report, 78.5 per cent of houses were cleared at auction over the month, compared with 74.4 per cent for units.
The median sale price for houses over the month was $2.04 million and $1.15 million for units.
Despite the strong figures, clearance rates were slightly softer over October as a result of increased property listings, with auction volumes surging by 42.5 per cent as sellers seek to cash in on the pandemic-induced property boom.
In Brisbane, 29 bidders registered at the auction of a renovated brick home at 35 Pareena Crescent, Mansfield, with a local buyer splashing $1.252 million – $287,000 over the reserve.
The four-bedroom house was snapped up by a young couple upgrading from a townhouse, with the suburb’s famously popular state school fuelling the cracking sale.
“Mansfield State School is one of the biggest drawcards for half of Wishart and Mansfield,” selling agent Geoff Sellars of Ray White Annerley said.
“And we had a lot of interstate buyers interested as well, with nine bidding online.
“I generally just think there’s some FOMO at the moment. Only six months ago this was a $900,000 house.”
While proximity to a top school sparked a buyer avalanche in Mansfield, it was prime positioning next to the Brisbane River that helped 415 Brisbane Corso, Yeronga, secure the city’s top reported sale at $3.86 million, despite the home selling days prior to auction.
“This is the strongest the riverfront market has ever been here and most of the interest on this house was local,” selling agent Jane Elvin of LJ Hooker said.
“We had four offers prior to auction and those four would have registered to bid as well but two of them stood out.”
The competition led to an offer that was simply too good to refuse, Ms Elvin said, in a move that highlighted just how much confidence locals had in the Queensland capital’s market.
“I think it will stay strong until Christmas and it’s going up weekly with prices. It’s funny because we used to look at house prices here yearly but now, we look at it weekly,” she said.
Across the city, 60 homes sold under the hammer on Saturday, with an 82 per cent clearance rate. The median house price was $1.252 million, which was well above the house median of $1.182 million throughout October, the Domain Auction Report showed.
According to the report, last month’s clearance rate was 71.5 per cent for houses and 50 per cent for units.
In Melbourne, a three-bedroom Californian bungalow on a prime 637-square-metre block in Brunswick West changed hands for the first time in 60 years, collecting $2.12 million in the process.
Greg Cusack of Jellis Craig – Brunswick sold the prized property at 2 Halpin Street after a hotly contested auction that saw five bidders raise their paddles until a local woman nabbed the keys for just over the $2 million reserve.
“I still think period homes and family homes are very sought after but that said we’ve got lots of stock [right now],” Mr Cusack said.
“Normally, the Brunswick office has about 40 to 60 auctions a month but this month we’ve got just shy of 100.”
Over at 68 Wilcox Street, Preston, a quaint three-bedroom yellow and green cottage fetched more than $400,000 over the reserve after 35 registered bidders led to one buyer splashing $1.31 million.
Ray White Mill Park agent Daniel Nardella sold the popular house to a pair of young first-home buyers who he said planned to renovate the house down the track.
“The house is in a sought-after pocket of Preston, it has a lovely facade and a lot of people have Block fever, so they are looking for something they can renovate and put their own touches on,” Mr Nardella said.
Throughout the Victorian capital, 71 per cent of homes cleared at auction on Saturday after 578 sold under the hammer.
The October Domain Auction Report revealed the overall clearance rate for the month was 75.3 per cent. The clearance rate was higher for houses at 77.4 per cent and lower for units at 67.6 per cent while being the highest monthly rate to date in 2021. The median house sale price was $1,234,567 and $744,000 for units.
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