Spring market is proving to be a late bloomer

RATHER than ”springing” to action, this season is showing signs of a stabilising market.

From a reported 612 auctions at the weekend, the clearance rate was 70 per cent – the fourth consecutive week of at least 70 per cent.

Agents say that while spring has been a little slow, stock levels are set to pick up after the AFL grand final.

Marshall White director John Bongiorno said that heading into the peak spring period, stock was ”looking alarmingly down on last year’s turnover” but it was still a good steady market.

”Reasons why we don’t have this stock is because of the election and also the old-fashioned cold, Melbourne winter, which has dampened a few people’s enthusiasm.”

However, Mr Bongiorno expects activity to pick up after the school holidays.

Tom Staughton from Kay & Burton Albert Park expected more stock on the market in October.

”I think the spring market will start to show a little bit later this year than normally, so we’re expecting it in October, November and obviously December.”

After a relatively quiet past few months, the market had ”switched back on”, according to Stockdale & Leggo’s Debby Marks.

”Since the election has been sorted out, I think it’s made people more confident.”

Advantage Property Consulting’s Frank Valentic said six bidders, all investors, competed for a block of six apartments at 4 Church Square, St Kilda, which sold for $4 million, $400,000 above the reserve.

He also said the $300,000 to $500,000 range was seeing strong competition from investors, first home buyers and downsizers.

Adrian Jones from Noel Jones said ”demand seems to be increasing in direct proportion to supply”.

Director of Buxton Carnegie, Paul Podbury, also said ”supply and demand are working well together”, after he sold 1/9 Macgowan Avenue, Glen Huntly, for $645,000, above a $595,000 reserve and with four bidders.

Another auction in the area, at 5/29 Moonya Road, Carnegie, had six bidders and fetched $386,000.

JPP Buyer Advocate Catherine Cashmore said most properties were selling within the expected range. However, vendors at times still needed to meet the market at the bottom end of the range rather than hold out for their ”wish” price.

Buyer advocate David Morrell said bidding was subdued over the weekend with ”only one ‘out there’ result for every 10 normal ones”, such as the ”out there” result at 24 Netherlee Street, Glen Iris, which Marshall White sold for $2.66 million.

Meanwhile, buyer advocate Michael Ramsay said while Consumer Affairs was monitoring more than 100 of the weekend’s auctions for misconduct, underquoting was a prevalent problem that also needed to be investigated.