Boost in online auction results as Melbourne faced first stage 4 weekend
People flocked to online auctions and inspections in Melbourne on the weekend, the first since the city’s stage 4 restrictions began.
Under the strict new rules aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus, one-on-one inspections of properties have been banned, with property viewings shifted online.
Auctions that have been held online for weeks — since Melbourne returned to stage 3 restriction — must now be held at an auctioneer’s home, rather than at agency offices, which have been closed under the new rules.
With five weeks of the lockdown to go, agents are expecting a very quiet month as house-hunters come to terms with not being able to see in person properties they want to buy.
Still, buyers were jumping online on Saturday, with Melbourne recording a 60.3 per cent preliminary auction clearance rate from 123 reported results. Across the city there were 218 online auctions scheduled, 52 of which were withdrawn.
For the properties that went ahead, the preliminary clearance rate was 71 per cent.
But not too much should be read into these results, AMP Capital’s chief economist Shane Oliver said.
“These sales are coming off a lower level of volumes,” Dr Oliver said. “I tend to think they were transactions already in train because people were previously able to inspect them.”
With the ban of inspections firmly in place, he predicted that sales activity would “grind to a halt” in the coming weeks.
Multimillion-dollar sales were still on the cards on Saturday, despite the doom and gloom.
One of the biggest reported sales for Melbourne was a three-bedroom house at 39 Iffla Street, South Melbourne, which sold under the virtual hammer for $1,732,500 — $157,500 above reserve.
The auction was led by Marshall White Port Phillip partner and auctioneer Nicholas Hoo from the comfort of his living room.
“It was a little bit weird,” Mr Hoo said. “We like to have crowd engagement.”
Eight registered bidders signed up, with another 80 or 90 people watching the action online. In the end, it came down to two bidders — both couples —with one making the winning bid.
The vendors are now looking for a bigger family home and will try to do so under the tight restrictions, Mr Hoo said.
Meanwhile, in the eastern suburb of Box Hill, a four-bedroom house at 8 Kangerong Road sold for a similar price – being snapped up for $1,751,000. The property had price expectations between $1.5 million and $1.6 million.
Fourteen registered bidders logged on to fight it out for the keys, with an investor making the 109th, and winning, bid.
“There were a mix of buyers – owner-occupiers, developers and a couple of them were bidding from overseas,” Buxton Box Hill director Jim Chen said.
Mr Chen, who auctioned the property from his own home, said though the house had been advertised with potential to develop, the investor, who was from Melbourne, was looking to rent out the existing home.
Mr Chen sold another four-bedroom house at 52 Peter Street, Box Hill North, on Saturday for $1,209,000. Six bidders competed, with a local family walking away with the keys.
“I think the Box Hill market is doing better than expected,” Mr Chen said.
Closer to the coast, a three-bedroom home at 59 Stotts Lane, Frankston South, sold for $1.35 million – $50,000 above the reserve.
Two registered bidders competed for the home, Ray White Frankston director Ashley Weston said.
“The buyer was a woman from Glen Iris who, like the seller, is part of the Australian Native Plant Society,” Mr Weston said. “She had one inspection and just fell in love with the gardens and the house so she’s over the moon that she can now call it her own.”
Ray White Victoria chief executive Stephen Dullens said while there were some strong results, the market would slow as vendors waited out the lockdown.
“Quite a few vendors hit the pause button and when restrictions ease they’ll put [their homes] back on the market,” Mr Dullens said.
Meanwhile, first-home buyers were jumping online to compete for homes in Melbourne’s outer north-eastern suburbs.
A young couple snapped up a three-bedroom house which was largely unrenovated at 1 Valda Street, Watsonia, bidding $773,000 — $48,000 above reserve — to win the keys. They were one of nine registered bidders on the property.
Another first-home buyer couple are now the owners of a three-bedroom house at 50 Flannery Avenue, Bundoora. The couple bid $70,000 above reserve, buying the property under the virtual hammer for $680,000.
Barry Plant Bundoora’s David Moxon said there were some solid sales at the weekend, however, he was expecting the activity to slow.
“I think as we go through this [lockdown] the stock levels will dry up. There’s not enough property on the market to satisfy the demand at the moment,” Mr Moxon said. “There won’t be many wanting to buy without a physical inspection.”
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