Budget boost steadies Melbourne auctions, with $473.2m worth of property sold

The robust Melbourne home auction market produced another strong result for sellers on Saturday following the positive initiatives announced in last week’s budget.

Melbourne recorded a clearance rate of 78.3 per cent at the weekend which was similar to the 78.7 per cent recorded the previous weekend but still well ahead of the 73.6 per cent recorded over the same weekend last year.

Auction listings bounced back hard at the weekend with 936 homes scheduled to go under the hammer which was significantly higher than the previous weekend’s 646 listings and also well ahead of the 759 listed over the same weekend last year. Higher auction numbers will continue through the remainder of autumn with over 1100 auctions listed next weekend.

Melbourne’s suburban regions continue to record consistent results with most areas reporting strong late autumn market conditions.

Melbourne recorded a median auction price of $783,250 on Saturday which was slightly lower than the $784,750 reported over the previous weekend but 3.7 per cent higher than the $755,000 recorded over the same weekend last year. A total of $473.2 million was recorded for Melbourne at the weekend.

Last week the federal government announced in the budget a number of policy initiatives designed to alleviate perceived housing market imbalances. These included allowing first-home buyers to save home loan deposits through superannuation accounts, incentives for older down-sizers to sell larger homes and financial penalties for foreign investors that leave investment properties vacant.

The government also announced a number of specific initiatives designed to directly increase the supply of new housing.

Although these measures are welcomed they are unlikely to have a significant impact on housing market outcomes. The continued underperformance of the national economy as also revealed in the budget will however have a more direct influence over housing market activity, particularly in regard to the likely future direction of official interest rates.

Melbourne’s booming north recorded another strong result at the weekend with a leading clearance rate of 83.1 per cent. Next highest was the inner south with 81.1 per cent followed by the inner city 80.5 per cent, the west 79.8 per cent, the inner east 79.0 per cent, the north east 78.0 per cent, the south east 73.1 per cent and the outer east with an auction clearance rate at the weekend of 71.6 per cent.

Notable sales reported at the weekend included:

• A four-bedroom home at 21 Morrah Street, Parkville sold for $3,970,000 by Collins Simms;
• A three-bedroom home at 17 View Street ,Canterbury sold by Marshall White for $3,725,000;
• A four-bedroom home at 6 Kingsley Street, Camberwell sold for $3,550,000 also by Marshall White;
• A five-bedroom home at 2 Somme Parade, Edithvale sold for $3,550,000 by Buxton;
• A four-bedroom home at 235 Amess Street, Carlton North sold by Nelson Alexander for $3,450,000.

The most expensive property reported sold at auction was a five-bedroom home at 8 Mawson Street, Kew sold for $4,515,000 by Marshall White. The most affordable property reported sold at the weekend was a one-bedroom unit at 8/131 Grange Road, Glen Huntly sold for $260,000 by Woodards.