Serious buyers and social distancing at big auction weekend in Sydney and Melbourne
Sydney and Melbourne’s auction markets had social distancing top of mind at the weekend as the strict, stage 4 lockdown saw the Victorian capital with only 14 online auctions on Saturday.
In Sydney, meanwhile, agents reported that Fair Trading NSW representatives would be in the crowds in Sydney, checking that agents and bidders were following social-distancing rules.
A Fair Trading NSW spokesperson said real estate agencies were visited this week to ensure compliance with social-distancing rules and that they had had a COVID-19 safety plan.
“Fair Trading NSW will be conducting COVID-Safe compliance checks at auctions and open homes in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
Sydney’s auction market gained strength at the weekend, registering a preliminary clearance rate of 70.9 per cent, following 449 scheduled auctions, of which 56 were withdrawn from sale under the hammer.
By Saturday night, 284 results had been reported in the harbour city.
Melbourne’s continuing stage 4 restrictions on auctions and inspections saw the preliminary clearance rate fall to 53.2 per cent. That was after 139 scheduled online auctions on Saturday, 63 reported results and 46 withdrawals.
Of the online auctions that went ahead, the clearance rate was 67 per cent.
One of the biggest auction results for the weekend set a record in the Sutherland Shire for being the biggest residential sale result under the hammer.
The four-bedroom home at 42 Bulls Road, Burraneer, sold for $7.1 million, an eye-watering $1.85 million above the reserve.
The previous record for the area was in 2017, when a three-bedroom home at 48 Grandview Parade, Caringbah South, sold for $5.62 million.
Cooley Auctions Andrew Cooley, who sold the property on behalf of Honer Dodd Realty, said there were 10 registered bidders for the property, which features a pool, a private beach and a place to park your boat.
The reserve had been set at $5.25 million but was quickly surpassed after a $5 million opening bid. In the end, it came down to two bidders taking the sale price to $7.1 million after making $100,000 bids.
“It’s the first time the home has been offered for sale in just under 50 years,” Mr Cooley said. “It’s rare these types of properties come on to the market.”
Serious bidders were also out in Little Bay in Sydney’s south-east, where a five-bedroom, four-storey home at 6 Lister Avenue sold under the hammer for $6.4 million. The opening bid was $5.8 million.
Designed by architect Andrew Stanic, the luxury property described as a “brand new architectural masterpiece” includes open-plan living, a pool level and sweeping ocean views from large balconies.
Ray White Maroubra director Nader Hotait said the vendor was selling the home to move back overseas.
Although four bidders registered, in the end it was a battle between two of them for the keys to the prestige property.
“The prestige market is very active, especially in the $3 million to $7 million price range, but there’s just a shortage of stock despite plenty of buyers,” Mr Hotait said.
He said a local family bought the property, wanting a larger home near the beach.
“They wanted something they could walk into and keep,” Mr Hotait said.
While buyers were mostly looking for properties they would not need to renovate or rebuild, a home that needed “a lot of work” sold for $3 million, $550,000 above the reserve.
The home, at 5 Park Avenue, Mosman, had original features from the 1920s when it had been built, LJ Hooker AVNU Lower North Shore’s Sean Phuah said.
“The final purchaser turned up on the day and inspected for the first time at 1.15pm – the auction started at 1.30pm,” Mr Phuah said. “The vendors were ecstatic.”
Mr Phuah said the buyers were making plans to tear down the original home and rebuild. The massive result had been a boost for local agents, and vendors, he said.
“It gives us confidence that the market is still there [despite coronavirus],” Mr Phuah said.
Another fixer-upper at 4 Garden Street, Maroubra, which had a reserve of $1.5 million, sold under the hammer for $1,576,000.
The three-bedroom home had barely been touched since being built in the 1940s, McGrath Coogee’s Charles Stevens said.
There were 12 registered bidders for the property which attracted an opening bid of $1.4 million.
“A young couple who have family in the area bought it,” Mr Stevens said. “Their parents are from a building background so they will have help to fix it up and make it a family home.”
At the more affordable end of the Sydney market, an apartment at 17/280-284 Burwood Road, Belmore, sold under the hammer for $750,000.
“Bang on the reserve,” Ray White Sydney’s chief auctioneer Alex Pattaro said.
The buyers were a local family, looking for an investment, he said.
“They’re [NRL] Bulldogs supporters so they’re looking forward to walking to games after the restrictions are over,” Mr Pattaro said.
In Melbourne, while auctions were few, bidders were plenty with more than 30 potential buyers registering for an auction at 3a Deane Street, Blackburn North.
The two-storey, three-bedroom home sold for $838,000, well above the $700,000 to $760,000 asking price range.
Buxton Box Hill’s Calvin Chan said he was surprised by the amount of interest in the property.
“It was crazy,” Mr Chan said. “I’ve never seen that, even when the market was hot.”
By the end of the auction, only eight of those who registered had a chance to bid.
The buyers, a young family, had inspected the home before Melbourne’s strict stage 4 restrictions that meant all inspections and auctions had to be done online.
“The buyers had inspected the property but the under bidders didn’t,” Mr Chan said.
Post-auction sales have also seen some success in Melbourne, with a home at 8 Meyer Road, Burwood, selling for $1,785,000 after it passed in at auction more than a week ago.
Fletchers Waverley partner and auctioneer Steven Zervas said the buyers, who had been waiting to sell their own property, had decided to throw caution to the wind and make an offer.
They had not inspected the home and made the offer sight unseen, Mr Zervas said.
“We had the auction a week-and-a-half ago and it didn’t get to the price the vendors wanted,” Mr Zervas said. “It passed in for $1.73 million.”
The family were looking for a single-storey home, and were wanting to buy the home because of its floor plan, he said.
They had put their own property sale on hold, until after stage 4 restrictions eased, and had not inspected the property even though they had an opportunity to, as they also wanted to wait to buy.
But the photos and video inspection of the home had seen them want to make a move earlier, he said.
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