Selling at auction? These are the suburbs that held the most auctions, and it paid off

Selling a property under the hammer can be challenging, especially when auction clearance rates are softening, but several suburbs in Melbourne cleared more than 50 per cent of their stock after posting some of the highest auction volumes last month, according to Domain data.

This comes as every other capital-city market recorded a monthly decrease in clearance rates in October.

In particular, Reservoir in Melbourne’s north-east hosted 82 auctions, of which 70 per cent cleared under the hammer. In the same period a year ago, 76 properties went to auction, with a clearance rate of 47.9 per cent.

“We’ve been telling sellers all year to get their properties on the market and, for whatever reasons, they’ve made a late birth and are trying to get them on before the Christmas break,” says local agent Ian Dempsey of Ray White Preston.

“At the start of spring, we were tight on stock for a couple of months and then, all of a sudden, everybody’s wanting to go to market at once.”

Sellers have adjusted their price expectations in response, Dempsey says.

“If you’re a savvy home seller, I would say to [sell] that little bit earlier because you want to sell in isolation and not in competition,” he says.

“And having had more stock come to market, especially in the last month, we’ve had conversations with sellers to adjust their expectations. Buyers have more choice now and that’s softened prices just a touch.”

The latest Domain House Price Report listed Reservoir’s median house price at $783,500, down by 6.7 per cent year on year. Its median unit price was $570,000, down 2.6 per cent.

SOLD - $1,115,000

1/83 St Vigeons Road, Reservoir VIC 3073

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Preston, also in Melbourne’s north-east, held 86 auctions and recorded a 64.6 per cent clearance rate. In October 2022, the suburb had 43 auctions and a clearance rate of 62.8 per cent.

This was followed by Bentleigh East in Melbourne’s inner south with 63 auctions and an 86.7 per cent clearance rate. A year previously the figures were 41 auctions and 77.5 per cent.

These figures have come as no surprise for Chris Hassall of Buxton Real Estate Bentleigh, who says the suburb has been a strong performer all year.

“It’s like a workhorse,” he says. “I’ve been serving the Buxton area for the last 20 years and it’s always bucked market trends. There’s much to offer in Bentleigh East from the schools and the amenities including the GESAC, a sports and aquatics centre. All these things are a magnet for buyers.

“We’re also near the beachfront properties of Brighton, only 15 minutes down the road. So for those wanting bayside but can’t afford it, [Bentleigh East] is the next best thing and offers just as much value.”

SOLD - $1,241,000

2/67 Lancaster Street, Bentleigh East VIC 3165

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Bentleigh East has a median house price of $1.425 million, down 3.7 per cent year-on-year; while its median unit price is $640,000, down 2.8 per cent.

Despite the slight price falls in the last year, Hassall is optimistic about the neighbourhood’s performance, particularly as families try to buy within the McKinnon Secondary College catchment area.

“When the [property] market is slow, it doesn’t affect Bentleigh East’s market because the school catchment area has been very popular for families looking to enrol their kids there,” he says. “It’s a very prestigious school so demand for properties here has been non-stop.”

Melbourne’s overall clearance rate has been consistent for the last three months, says Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell.

“Clearance rates have remained very resilient for three months now and stability has held for some time, while auction volumes have risen significantly,” she says.

In October, Melbourne held 4497 auctions across the city and recorded a 64 per cent clearance rate, up 0.6 percentage points over the month, and up 5.5 percentage points year-on-year.

“What that showcases is, the higher volume of auctions that have occurred have been met by higher levels of demand in the market because it hasn’t seen pull-back in clearance rates,” Powell says.

“You’ve got a spring selling season that has surpassed the spring 2022 selling season — that tells you a lot about seller sentiment. Sellers have become more confident in bringing their homes to market and actually bringing their homes to sell by auction.”