Melbourne comes back with first Super Saturday of auctions for the year
Melbourne posted its first Super Saturday of the year after a late surge in auction numbers at the weekend.
Numbers jumped from 864 scheduled on Thursday afternoon, to 1004 by Saturday, after Melbourne came out of its third strict lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Agents, who were scrambling last week to change auction dates when in-person auctions and inspections were banned under lockdown rules, found themselves scrambling to hold the sales under the hammer this weekend.
This was the case for the auction of a five-bedroom home in Melbourne’s south-east, which was originally scheduled to be sold on February 13.
The home 48 Nicholas Street, Ashburton, sold under the hammer on Saturday for $2,021,000, above the $1.91 million reserve.
Belle Property Glen Iris selling agent Tony Doh said the home was snapped up by a family, one of four bidders on the day.
“We moved the auction from last Saturday because we advised the vendor we felt it was best to have a public auction,” Mr Doh said. “The vendors were pleased and the purchasers were very pleased also.”
Agents reported no ill effects from the lockdown in Melbourne, with buyers back at public auctions in big socially distanced numbers at the weekend.
Melbourne’s preliminary clearance rate bounced to 78.8 per cent after 744 results reported.
There were 70 properties withdrawn from auction, counted as not sold as part of the clearance rate.
Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said the market in Melbourne was still being fuelled by record low interest rates.
With news the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out would begin this week confidence was growing, Dr Powell said.
Though listing numbers were down on the this time last year, this may not last for long.
“With such strong results, more vendors will be enticed to the market eventually and while housing finance is as it is, the market is going to remain heated.”
One of the biggest results in Melbourne at the weekend was the sale of a five-bedroom home in Melbourne’s inner east, which had one lone bidder.
The home at 29 Munro Street, Kew East, sold for $4 million, after passing in with a huge $3.75 million bid.
“It was a big, bold opening bid and some negotiation with that bidder afterwards saw it sell for $4 million,” The Agency Boroondara partner Michael Paproth said.
The winning bidders, a family from Hawthorn, had been looking for a bigger family home while the vendors were looking for a sea change, Mr Paproth said.
In Albert Park, a buyer used an unusual bidding method to buy a four-bedroom home close to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
The buyer turned up late to the auction at 5 Boyd Street, Albert Park, making quite the entrance by strutting around in front of other buyers and bidding with a loud “yep”.
“It worked for him though, he bought it,” Greg Hocking Holdsworth director and auctioneer Simon Gowling said.
The home sold for $3.62 million, above the $3.2 million reserve, with the winning bidder one of four who competed.
On Sunday, Mr Gowling also sold a four-bedroom Victorian style home for $2,205,000, above the $2 million reserve, in Port Melbourne..
The home at 97 Heath Street, which featured a rooftop entertainment area, was snapped up by a young family.
“It was a huge weekend,” Mr Gowling said. “The only thing the lockdown did was hold back buyers like holding racehorses back at the gate.”
In the city’s inner north-east, a three-bedroom house at 74 Stafford Street, Abbotsford, sold well above the reserve of $1.45 million. When the hammer fell, the winning bid was $1,705,000.
Biggin & Scott Richmond director and auctioneer Russell Cambridge said four bidders battled it out for the keys, with one bidder waiting until the very end to put in the one bid that bought the home.
“In the end, he bought it with a big bid that knocked the other bidders out,” Mr Cambridge said.
A four-bedroom home in Beaumaris was popular with bidders on Saturday, with three locked in a battle for the property, which had a pool.
The home at 9 Hume Street sold under the hammer for $3 million after bidding kicked off at $2.5 million.
A local couple looking for some extra space snapped up the home after some intense bidding.
Hodges Real Estate Sandringham director Angus Graham said he didn’t believe the lockdown had affected Melbourne’s market.
“I don’t think the most recent lockdown had any affect on the market at all. Buyers have definitely come back,” he said.
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