Melbourne auctions: Buyers and sellers prepare for biggest weekend of the year so far

Melbourne’s auction market is picking up, with this weekend set to see the highest volume of homes go under the hammer for the year so far.

There are 919 auctions listed for Saturday, beating the year’s previous high point of 900 auctions held on the weekend of February 23, Domain figures show.

Agents, buyers and sellers are readying themselves for a busy weekend before the AFL Grand Final public holiday next week, which will see a big drop in the number of homes going under the hammer. 

While the weekend’s figures are well up on previous months, they are still far from spring “Super Saturday” levels as the market begins to recover from its recent downturn. On the same weekend last year, 1029 auctions were scheduled. 

Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said while numbers were down, auction volumes were returning to more normal levels in spring.

“Throughout winter, Saturday auction numbers were typically 20 to 30 per cent below a year ago,” Mr Wiltshire said.

“The number of auctions this Saturday is still 11 per cent below the comparable Saturday last year, but they are rising, and the gap is closing.” 

The drop in listings follows a tumultuous time in the Melbourne market which saw the biggest price falls since the 1980s.

As the market begins to recover, homeowners have continued to hold back from selling, waiting to see whether prices will rebound to boom-time levels of late 2017.

Melbourne’s median house price peaked at $909,609 before experiencing 18 months of falls. Prices began to recover in the June quarter, up 0.3 per cent to $818,237.

Despite these price falls, auction numbers remained strong throughout 2018 with 1010 auctions held on December 8 last year, the last time more than 1000 auctions were held in a weekend.

Recent weeks have seen a string of top results, including a Port Melbourne apartment that sold for $1.54 million over vendor expectations.

Agents now say auction numbers for October are looking up, putting a spring back into sellers’ steps.

Russell Cambridge, director and auctioneer with Biggin & Scott Richmond, said he had adopted a mantra for the current market, which has fewer properties listed in spring.

“I keep saying that clearance rates are up, sale prices are up,” he said. “It’s a good time to sell.”

Last year, Richmond was one of the suburbs with the largest number of auctions over the super spring weekend.

While numbers were down this year, more houses were coming onto the market in the inner suburbs, Mr Cambridge said.

Two three-bedroom homes are going under the hammer in the next few weeks at 12 Malleson Street and 37 Highett Street in Richmond.

In Doncaster and surrounding suburbs including Templestowe, Balwyn North and Box Hill North there are 28 auctions scheduled for Saturday. 

These areas have proved popular in the past few months, often boasting some of the largest auction volumes in Melbourne each weekend.

Buxton Box Hill director Jim Chen said the local market had improved in September and they were expecting more auctions on average in October. 

Mr Chen said a home in Davey Street, Box Hill had sold for $402,000 above the reserve last weekend.

The four-bedroom home sold for $2.052 million, with 10 bidders battling it out for the keys.

“We do find buyers are [far] more active now,” Mr Chen said. “The spring market looks positive.”