Big sales as auction numbers and clearance rates stay low in Sydney and Melbourne

The lack of new properties for sale is affecting the major auction markets in Sydney and Melbourne, with low auction numbers continuing because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sydney had 367 scheduled auctions on Saturday and recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 61.9 per cent from 219 reported results.

Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate was 64.8 per cent, though that result was from far fewer auctions, with just 174 scheduled on Saturday and 110 reported results.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver compared the current auction market to The Twilight Zone, saying it was hard to understand and predict what would come next.

“It’s sort of lacking any clear direction,” Dr Oliver said. “The listings were up compared to last week but not dramatically.

“The auction clearance rates aren’t all that impressive and will probably drop down to around 60 per cent once all the results are in,” he said.

It appeared there was a reluctance to both sell and buy property at the weekend, he said.

Those that did sell however, sold very well.

SOLD - $3,088,000

4 McLeod Avenue, Roseville NSW 2069

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One four-bedroom house on Sydney’s upper north shore, untouched since being built in the 1960s, sold for $3,088,000.

Seven of 14 registered bidders actively competed for the keys to 4 McCleod Avenue, Roseville. The buyer, who bid over the phone, is an expat from Singapore. 

Belle Property Lindfield’s Geoff Dean said the house — which still had the original wallpaper, flooring and kitchen — was one of few homes in the area that was not in a conservation zone. 

“There’s not many homes that are not in a conservation area, and this was one of them which is why it was so popular,” Mr Dean said.

He said the buyer planned to rent out the property before moving back to Australia to knock it and build his dream home.

SOLD - $1,325,000

29 Trade Street, Newtown NSW 2042

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Another piece of history was sold at the weekend – as a two-bedroom Victorian Terrace at 29 Trade Street, Newtown, and owned by the same family for 70 years, went under the hammer.

The home sold for $1,325,000 to a builder from Epping in front of a crowd of 30 people.

Nathan Briggs, of Ray White Surry Hills, said the sale was an emotional one for the family – with the home sold by the children of the vendor, who is in a nursing home.

One of the biggest results for Sydney at the weekend was a three-bedroom house in Mona Vale, which sold under the hammer.

The home at 70 Surfview Road, one street from the beachfront, sold for $3.5 million to a local woman looking to downsize.

SOLD - $3,500,000

70 Surfview Road, Mona Vale NSW 2103

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The auction received a lot of interest, not only from the eight registered bidders, Raine & Horne Mona Vale’s Ben Spackman said.

“There were plenty of people on the street and neighbours looking over the fence,” Mr Spackman said.

It was a similar story in Melbourne where a crowd gathered outside an auction at 2A Forest Road, Blackburn.

“During the course of the auction, we had no board and no flag out; it was only advertised online, but a crowd gathered out the front of the house,” Jellis Craig auctioneer Grant Lynch said. “We had to ask people to disperse.” 

SOLD - $1,435,000

2A Forest Road, Blackburn VIC 3130

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Mr Lynch said it was his first auction back since the COVID-19 restrictions, which banned public auctions, were introduced in March. Auctions in Victoria were first opened up to 10 people in May, and up to 20 people will be allowed to attend auctions and open homes from June 1. 

The property proved popular, as the four-bedroom house sold for $1,435,000, $115,000 above the reserve. It was snapped up by downsizers – one of six active bidders on the property.

Mr Lynch said the buyers had been looking for a new home throughout the coronavirus pandemic so they could purchase a property closer to their family.

The biggest result in Melbourne was the sale of a two-storey, four-bedroom house at 104 Middlesex Road, Surrey Hills.

It sold for $2,491,000 to a family who wanted to move away from the CBD.

SOLD - $2,491,000

104 Middlesex Road, Surrey Hills VIC 3127

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Like the other auctions, a crowd gathered — though socially distanced — on the street as the action got under way, Marshall White Boroondara’s Shamit Verma, said.

“I think a lot of people are still waiting to see what happens,” Mr Verma said. “There is a shortage of stock, but there are a lot of active buyers competing for the right property.”