National Auction Wrap: Clearance rates cool but not in one property hotspot
Auction clearance rates across the Sunshine State capital have outperformed Sydney and Melbourne for the third consecutive week, with the city’s red-hot property streak fuelling a record-smashing $12 million sale for a spectacular trophy home just seven days after it was listed.
After being inundated with written offers, the luxurious six-bedroom, five-bathroom home at 78 Jilba Street, Indooroopilly, was snapped up by a local family in a pre-auction deal on Friday that obliterated the suburb house price record by almost $6 million. The sale also smashed the city-wide auction record by $2 million.
Across Brisbane, 82 per cent of homes cleared at auction on Saturday, with 77 selling under the hammer for just over $41.1 million. In contrast, Sydney and Melbourne collected some of the softest clearance rates for some time, at 71 and 69 per cent, respectively.
Jason Adcock, of Adcock Prestige, sold the Indooroopilly mansion and said while the transaction had again raised the city’s property price ceiling, the home – on a 6032-square-metre block – would be worth about $60 million in Sydney.
“So, this is incredible value. We had Melbourne and Sydney buyers [interested] and we had expats coming back from overseas and also billionaires,” Mr Adcock said.
“We had four offers on the table [after the first open home] and it was [purchased by] a local family, so the billionaires got pipped. I’ve sold properties dearer than this but never had this level of interest before and I put that down to the level of marketing we did. This is the best trophy home of 2021 in Brisbane … so we needed to go hard.”
Mr Adcock said the winning bidders had been shopping for their dream abode for six months before falling head over heels with Jilba Street, which features a championship-sized tennis court, an elevated pavilion, a pontoon, pool and tiered outdoor living areas.
“It’s got everything you could ever want. The master suite looks like it’s straight out of the Four Seasons in San Francisco,” he said.
Mr Adcock also collected the city’s highest sale at auction on Saturday at 26 Aston Street, Toowong, after two registered bidders fought it out in front of a crowd of 120 to a clean $3 million.
“This one was all local and bidding kicked off at $2.5 million. The buyers loved that it’s four kilometres from the city and it’s totally renovated with river and city views,” he said.
“But Brisbane [in general] is surging. We’ve got state borders opening on December 17 and I’m expecting a massive surge then as well.”
Over at 5 McPherson Street, Gordon Park, a Sunshine Coast couple spontaneously forked out $1.352 million for a modest three-bedroom cottage – beating out seven active bidders – to collect the keys.
Selling agent Holly Bowden, of Ray White Wilston, said she’d never conducted such an unpredictable auction in all her years of real estate, with the eventual buyers only seeing their home a mere 20 minutes before the event.
“It was wild. [The buyers] were driving through the street as they were on their way to help a friend who had just moved into the suburb, so they were in their cleaning clothes and actually after the auction they said to me ‘so what street is this?’” Ms Bowden said.
“I don’t think they have a plan for it to be honest … so, they’ve casually bought a house for $152,000 over the reserve. But our market is really strong right now. I feel that once the borders are open, I’m going to see a lot more buyers from Melbourne and Sydney bidding … and they are not just investors looking to grab a home in the Olympic city; they are choosing to reside up here.”
Ms Bowden said the vendors of the three-bedroom cottage had owned the home for more than 20 years and were planning to move to the Sunshine Coast.
In Sydney, 526 homes sold under the hammer for a total of just over $560.85 million, with a median price of $1.615 million.
Buyers’ agent Emma Bloom, director of Morrell and Koren, said across the two southern capitals the feeding frenzy had subsided as increased stock levels raised question marks on “B and C-grade properties”.
“I think in some cases it’s a one-horse race again for properties and I think that’s a bit more consistent with what we saw pre-pandemic,” Ms Bloom said.
“There’s more choice now, so buyers are more discerning and not grabbing what they can … but the issue now is for agents to manage their vendors’ expectations. The market was flying and they could promise them the world, so while the A-grade properties will always be the A grade (and fetch top prices) with B and C there are question marks again, and then the interest rates rising. For the average punter, people are realising they need to do more homework.
“So, [the market] has slowed, and it has been the bullet train and it’s galloped ahead, but now there are signs of some normality creeping [in].”
Despite the softer clearance rate, the city’s prestige sector continued to perform well, with a glamorous six-bedroom, nine-bathroom mini-mansion at 32 Ermestan Drive, Castle Cove, fetching $14.5 million through Tim Foote, of Belle Property Mosman. Across at 11 The Scarp, Castlecrag, six registered bidders duelled for a four-bedroom statement home, before the winner splashed more than $1 million over the reserve.
While the final sale price was undisclosed, the tri-level home reportedly collected just more than $6 million.
“Interest in the lead up was great and we had a fantastic turnout. We had about 25 price contracts out and of the six registered bidders four were active,” Alon Beran of LITTLE Real Estate New South Wales said.
“Bidding kicked off at $3.3 million and then jumped straight to $4 million. In the past, this part of Castlecrag has been slightly less sought after because it’s at the bottom and away from everything, but since COVID that area has become more attractive – that’s what buyers crave now.
“And while I’ve heard a lot of chat about buyers dropping off in Sydney now, I haven’t felt it at that end of the market. At the high-end, buyers are a little less affected by a 1 per cent interest rate rise.”
The interest rate chatter didn’t stop bidders splashing a record-breaking $4.66 million on a “knockdown” two-bedroom red brick house at 28 Sanders Parade, Concord, an incredible sum that co-selling agent Dib Chidiac, of the eponymous real estate firm, said was a suburb record.
“It was an amazing result … and this wasn’t the biggest block (at 486.9 square metres). In fact, it’s below the average, and the highest knockdown property sale we had here before was for $4.6 million. And that was on an 860-square-metre block.
“We also had eight registered bidders and seven out of the eight [bid].”
Mr Chidiac, who sold the home in conjunction with Paul Caradonna, said it last sold for $1.5 million in 2013, with a local family collecting the keys this time around.
In Melbourne on Saturday, 627 homes sold from a reported 905 for a total of just more than $504.8 million, with a median price of $1.008 million.
A home in Cheltenham’s “golden triangle” – at 43 Oak Avenue – transacted for $1.525 million after six registered bidders, of which four were active, lead to a nail-biting end and one incredible reaction from the elated buyers, selling agent Kevin Chokshi of Ray White Cheltenham said.
“We had the best reaction from the buyers, who were a young family. They had been looking for a while and they thanked the whole crowd afterwards – it was hilarious,” he said.
“The sellers are moving to Queensland like the rest of Melbourne.”
While increased stock levels in the lead up to Christmas have extinguished some of the market heat, Mr Chokshi said the cracking result also proved buyers were willing to compete for quality homes in top locations.
“But because there is more choice now, people have a plan B and C,” he said.
Over at 30 Coral Avenue, Footscray, first-home buyers handed over $1.216 million for a quaint three-bedroom cottage – $216,000 over the reserve, according to selling agent Pat Jamroz of Ray White Seddon.
“The property was popular due to its larger size and the quiet street,” he said.
“The buyers were renting in the area already [and] the sellers are moving out of metro Melbourne.
“People are saying it’s slowing down but the only thing that’s happening is we’ve been on a freeway going 160km/h and now we’re going 130km/h.”
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