Melbourne auctions: Hughesdale home still for sale as buyers hoping for big discounts disappointed
Buyers hoping to snare an ultra-bargain were largely disappointed at Melbourne’s virtual auctions on Saturday, with some homes passing in as sellers hold firm.
Other parties were able to agree and get deals done under the hammer, although bidding in many cases was slow and hard-fought.
There were just 109 auctions scheduled in Melbourne on Saturday, a quiet weekend of sales by owners who have had six weeks to adjust to the idea that auctions would be conducted online to comply with social distancing rules.
By evening, Domain Group recorded a preliminary clearance rate of 47.6 per cent from 53 reported results and 29 withdrawn properties.
The number of withdrawn homes was unusually high in the first weeks after the public auction ban, although it eased noticeably last week and today. Homes withdrawn from auction are counted as unsold when calculating the clearance rate, even if they are listed for private sale.
Three bidders competed for a family home in Hughesdale that passed in at $1.105 million.
The three-bedroom house at 93 Willesden Road had been listed with a price guide of $1.15 million to $1.265 million.
Bidding kicked off at $950,000, and rose steadily to $1.08 million before proceedings were paused.
After some encouragement to make the highest offer and win the right to negotiate with the seller afterwards, a handful more bids of $10,000 and $5000 were placed before the home passed in.
Two offers had been received by mid-afternoon, auctioneer and listing agent Jonathon Eaves of Ray White Oakleigh said, adding the owners planned to consider them over the weekend alongside any other offers received.
The highest bidder was a first-home buyer planning to renovate the home in time, he said, although a couple of other potential buyers faced a change to their work situation such as a reduction in pay during the campaign.
“Property sub-$1 million is performing well at the moment with the online auctions,” he said.
“Over $1 million, your buyer pool does shrink a little bit.”
Even so, he has noticed a shift since online auctions began in the early, panicked days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The bidding’s a bit more solid and more intense,” he said. “People are understanding a different method of auctions.”
A couple of suburbs away, a two-bedroom semi-detached home found a buyer under the hammer.
Five bidders competed for 6A Newham Grove, Ormond, pushing the price to $917,000.
It had been listed with a price guide of $800,000 to $850,000 and proceedings began with a vendor bid of $800,000 from auctioneer and listing agent Benjamin Dax of Woodards Carnegie.
The price rose at a healthy pace in $10,000 increments, dropping to $5000 and then rises as small as $1000 as buyers inched to the end.
Its reserve had been set at $850,000 and interest was largely from young couples and young families looking for their first or second homes, Mr Dax said.
In recent weeks he said prices had been largely stable, although most properties were selling at expectations rather than above.
“Stock levels are way down, there is a huge reduction in stock, especially in houses,” he said.
“The buyers are hoping there is a reduction in price. On the other hand they need to find a home and there is very little to look at.”
In the northern suburbs, a three-bedroom Reservoir house passed in for $850,500, about the bottom of its price guide.
The home at 14 Cheddar Road came with a permit to develop two townhouses on the site and was listed with hopes of $849,000 to $933,900.
Bidding began at $800,000 and rose in small increments from $10,000 down to a final $500 offer.
The same agency, Harcourts Rata & Co, had better results elsewhere, with another three-bedder in Thomastown selling under the hammer for $607,000, just above its reserve of $600,000.
It was a quick auction for 12 Palm Street, kicking off at $550,000 and rising mostly in jumps of $10,000 and $5000.
Harcourts Rata & Co auctioneer Tony Lombardi said six bidders made offers, with an upgrader beating out interest from other first-home buyers.
His team had called five auctions today, selling four under the hammer and he was hopeful the last would be sold soon.
“We are slightly down on sales year on year but that is more a reflection on the number of properties on the market as opposed to the number of buyers,” he said.
“Every property today had multiple bidders.”
In Blackburn South, a family home sold under the hammer for $915,000 after competition from three bidders.
The block at 7 Faulkner Street was listed with hopes of $920,000 to $990,000.
The three-bedroom residence drew an opening offer of $800,000 after buyers were hesitant to kick off, listing agent Jichen Quan said.
“It feels a bit awkward for them to start with,” he said. “But once we break the ice, it was getting a lot easier.”
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